10B - Meeting Familiar Friends

"What an amazing story, Mario," Watt said. Mario had just finished telling her about his adventure with Luigi and Jim to Dinosaur Land in November 1990.

"Not just amazing. It was a mixture of sadness, heart warmth, fun, and epicness," Mario replied. "It's not a proper adventure without more than one definition."

"I see."

Just then, Mario heard the bedroom door open and Luigi walked out wearing his trademark outfit and his skin was back to normal.

"It feels great to be my old self again, bro," Luigi remarked. "I mean, my homemade Fire Flower outfit was cool and all, but I find it weird to put on spray tan just to resemble myself from that one game with Spinies and Fighter Flies."

"Why don't we go ask Daniel how to get to Lavalava Island?" Mario offered.

"Good idea, Mario. If the island is somewhere in the ocean, maybe near Dinosaur Land, I brought some music handhelds for both of us." Luigi took out two Walkman media players from his overalls pocket.

"All right-y. I think we're good to go. Ready, Watt?"

"I'm ready!" Watt declared. "Let's go!"

Without hesitation, Mario, Luigi, and Watt made their way to the Information Center and approached Daniel T. at the receptionist desk.

"Welcome back, Mario Bros. How may I help you?" Daniel asked.

"Well, we're going on another long trip. This time, it's to this distant place called Lavalava Island," Mario explained.

"What's over there?"

"From what we know, there might be some-"

"Exotic treasures!" a familiar voice called out. The group quickly turned to see Dr. Kolorado walking into the Information Center.

"Dr. Kolorado! Great to see you again!" Mario cheered before shaking Dr. Kolorado's hand.

"I guess that's a good reason to go to the island," Daniel said to himself.

"Nice to see you too, old boy!" Dr. Kolorado turned to Luigi. "Hello, Luigi!"

"What's up, Doc?"

"I read a book yesterday that there's a Volcanic Vase deep within Mt. Lavalava," Dr. Kolorado explained. "The Museum of Archaeology's director asked me to search for it, and I want you to help me on this quest."

"Mt. Lavalava? You know that's just as dangerous as Dry Dry Desert is," Daniel warned the group.

"That's true, but we know what we're doing, Daniel," Luigi said. "Don't worry about us."

"Not a problem. Now, there's a ferry that goes to and from Lavalava Island. It's a luxurious one, to be exact. You're gonna love the trip," Daniel explained. "It does take four hours to get to the island because it's way out there, but I know it'll be worth the ride."

"When's the next departure?" Mario asked.

"It's 10:01 AM now, and the ferry leaves for Lavalava Island at 10:30."

"Thank you so much, Daniel. You're a really great friend, I tell you," Mario said.

"You too, Mario. Good luck on that treasure hunt, guys," Daniel bid the group goodbye as they left the Information Center.

It took 24 minutes to get to the Toad Town Port, where the SS Oceania ferry boat was stationed.

"There she is, old boys: the SS Oceania," Dr. Kolorado said. "Since I had a feeling you two were gonna go to Lavalava Island as well, I reserved the boat for the three of us."

"That's so nice of you," Mario replied. "I can't wait."

"Me too," Luigi agreed.

The group approached the ferry entrance, where the captain, Jonah T., was standing by.

"Good morning, Dr. Kolorado."

"Greetings, Captain Jonah," Dr. Kolorado greeted Captain Jonah. "How's the boat looking?"

"Pretty clean and neat. We're leaving in five minutes, so you and the Mario Bros. may make yourselves comfortable."

"Right-o." Dr. Kolorado beckoned Mario, Luigi, and Watt into the ferry, whose interior resembled a miniature cruise ship.

"Mamma mia... This is... I can't describe how lovely this ship looks..." Mario murmured while looking around the dining room, which was what the entrance led to.

"Let me show you guys around," Dr. Kolorado said before giving the Mario Bros. a quick tour of the ferry. The first floor comprised the dining room for up to twenty passengers, an open balcony on the back end, and a bar on the front end. On the second floor, there were ten quarters housing two beds each and a game room complete with a pool table and four arcade machines. The third floor comprised the ship's bridge and an open patio that serves as an observation deck.

"Why don't we sit on the deck for a while?" Dr. Kolorado offered. "We might as well get some fresh air in our systems."

Just as Mario, Luigi, and Dr. Kolorado sat themselves on some of the patio chairs, Captain Jonah turned on the intercom and announced, "Attention, passengers. Welcome aboard the SS Oceania bound for Lavalava Island. We'll be departing in less than a minute, so hang tight while the boat starts up and leaves port. You can then walk around once we're in the open waters."

"The ride time from Toad Town Port to Lavalava Island Beach will be three hours and 50 minutes," Captain Jonah went on. "Depending on how the ocean traffic holds up, we could arrive several minutes ahead or behind schedule, so just bear with me. Other than that, we hope you enjoy your time today. Thank you."

As soon as the intercom shut off, Captain Jonah started the ferry's engines and left Toad Town Port at a slow speed.

One hour into the ride, Mario went down to the bar with Dr. Kolorado and got two cola bottles for both.

After going back up to the third-floor deck, Mario saw Luigi wearing his Walkman headphones, lip-syncing to the songs he's listening to.

"Well, what do we have here, bro?" Mario asked while sitting next to Luigi. He initially didn't hear Mario speak to him but paused his music when he saw Mario sit down.

"Oh. Hi, Mario. What took you so long?"

"Not that long. Me and Dr. Kolorado got some sodas," Mario replied. "What are you listening to?"

"Dave Rodgers. He's the best Eurobeat artist ever."

After Mario nodded, he turned to Dr. Kolorado. "Luigi wants to be a Eurobeat artist in the future since he loves that music genre. He said he'll do covers at first, but he'll eventually make original songs."

"What's Eurobeat?" Dr. Kolorado asked.

"It's a type of dance music. Really catchy." Mario reclined in his chair and let out a sigh before covering his eyes with his cap; Luigi resumed his music at the same time. "Might as well get some rest since we got three hours."

"Me too," Dr. Kolorado agreed before he reclined himself.

Two hours and 45 minutes later, at 2:15 PM, the SS Oceania finally pulled up at Lavalava Island, which was located northeast of the Mushroom Kingdom by a couple hundred miles.

"Attention, passengers," Captain Jonah said over the intercom. "We are now pulling up at Lavalava Island Beach. Once the ferry comes to a complete stop, please collect all your belongings before proceeding to the exit down in the first floor's dining room. Thank you once again for choosing the SS Oceania and have a wonderful afternoon."

Mario and Luigi decided to leave their Walkman players on the ship because they believed the players would melt from the extreme heat of the inside of Mt. Lavalava.

As soon as the group made their way to the exit, Captain Jonah opened the exit door and laid out a walkway reaching the shore.

"I'll be waiting here with the boat until you guys come back," Captain Jonah said. "I dear hope you make it out of the volcano safely."

"We'll be fine, Captain Jonah," Dr. Kolorado replied.

"Good man. See you soon." Without further ado, Mario and friends started down the beach to explore the island before going inside Mt. Lavalava.

"Behold, old boys! Off there in the distance is the summit of Mt. Lavalava! Triumphant!" The group turned to see the top half of Mt. Lavalava with steam coming out of the caldera.

"Is that volcano active?" Luigi asked.

"I hope not. But I'm a risk-taker like you two are. I'd give my life for precious treasure because that's my long-time passion."

For ten minutes, the group walked along the shore, gazing at the vegetation and the beautiful white sands. They then traversed through tall trees and bushes in a vast area known as Jade Jungle. Within the jungle were Jungle Fuzzies, Hurt Plants, and Putrid Piranhas that let out bad breath as their main attacks.

It was a bit hard for Mario, Luigi, and Watt to fight the Putrid Piranhas due to their bad breath; at one point, Luigi almost puked up his lunch that he ate on the ferry ride. Other than that, the jungle wasn't that bad. Eventually, Mario and friends came across a sign that read, "Welcome to Yoshi's Village".

"Oh my God," Mario gasped. "Does that mean..."

"Probably," Luigi interrupted. "I bet Yoshi will be excited to see us."

"Are they the dinosaurs that live in Dinosaur Land, from what I've read?" Dr. Kolorado asked.

"Yes. Princess Peach said that the Yoshis are cute and friendly," Luigi explained. "They'll be more than welcome to let us into their village."

The group proceeded to walk into Yoshi's Village, which was a smaller version of the village in Yoshi's Island within Dinosaur Land. Only three buildings were built: a dining hall, an Inn complete with six single living quarters, and an entertainment center with all kinds of games. There were only eight Yoshis that lived in the village, given that it was a small place.

"Hmm... None of the Yoshis look familiar..." Mario wondered out loud, looking at the Yoshis.

"Yeah. At least we can-" Luigi started to say before another familiar voice called out from the Inn.

"Mario! Luigi!"

The Mario Bros. turned to see Yellow Yoshi quickly approaching them; he was so excited to see them.

"Yellow Yoshi!" Mario exclaimed before hugging Yellow Yoshi. "It's been too long!"

"I know! I'm so excited to see you again!" Yellow Yoshi turned to Luigi and hugged him too. "Oh, Luigi! Thank you so much for coming over too!"

"You know them?" Dr. Kolorado asked.

"Of course! We met in Dinosaur Land after they rescued me from those bad Koopas who trapped me in an egg."

TEN YEARS AGO

As soon as Iggy disappeared completely, a white egg with yellow spots rolled in the opposite direction of Iggy toward the group. It slowly cracked open, revealing Yellow Yoshi. His right forearm was broken, and his left cheek bore a blackish-green bruise.

"Yellow Yoshi! I can't believe it's you!" Yoshi exclaimed with excitement.

"Yeah. Thanks for saving me, Yoshi. And thank you too." Yellow Yoshi told everyone.

"You look pretty hurt. Did Bowser beat you up?" Jim questioned, having noticed Yellow Yoshi's injuries.

"Luckily, Bowser didn't hurt me himself. Those bad guys did a great deal of damage to me. One of them threw a football at my arm and broke it in half, and some red turtle headbutted my cheek so hard," Yellow Yoshi explained.

Mario immediately felt sorry for Yellow Yoshi's well-being. "Oh no... I'm so sorry..."

PRESENT DAY

"So, yeah. That was a painful experience," Yellow Yoshi said, ending his little story. "But at the same time, I had faith in myself even when I was trapped in the egg."

"Hi, Yellow Yoshi. I'm Watt," Watt introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you, Watt. I'm guessing you're one of Mario and Luigi's allies?"

"Yes. They rescued me from those crazy Shy Guys and I'm returning a favor by helping them save Princess Peach," Watt said.

"Why are you here in Yoshi's Village?" Luigi asked.

"Well, over the last ten years, my original home at Yoshi's Island was growing with lots of Yoshis. I mean, it got to the point where the population went over the maximum we could allow," Yellow Yoshi explained. "Yoshi, who's the leader of that village, suggested that some of the Yoshis move out to find another place to live. And I volunteered to lead the Yoshis who also opted to leave."

"How are Yoshi and Red Yoshi doing?" Mario questioned.

"They are doing awesome. In fact, both have been dating for several years now, which is weird. I thought they were regular friends."

"Same," Mario agreed. "I guess it'll be some time before Yoshi asks Red Yoshi to marry him."

"So, what brings you guys to Yoshi's Village?" Yellow Yoshi asked the group.

"I didn't get to introduce myself, Yellow Yoshi," Dr. Kolorado said. "I'm Dr. Jesse Kolorado, and my mission here is to seek a Volcanic Vase in Mt. Lavalava for the Museum of Archaeology."

"Mt. Lavalava, eh? You want to venture inside an active volcano that could literally burn you alive?"

"We're risk-takers, Yellow Yoshi!" Mario exclaimed.

"I can tell. You just want to ignore my warnings, don't you?" Yellow Yoshi said with sarcasm. "I'm just kidding. I know you can handle it."

"How can you help us with accessing the volcano?" Luigi asked.

"Follow me. I'll lay out a plan." Yellow Yoshi beckoned Mario and friends into the dining hall to discuss the dangers of Mt. Lavalava and how to brave them.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Just to point out, Sushie will not be included in this fanfic because she joined the team thinking that Princess Peach and the Star Spirits being kidnapped sounds like a romantic story. I see that as another deviation from the plot.