11C - The Dark Flower Fields
It's the next morning at 7:30 AM. The sun shining through Mario's bedroom window blinds slowly woke him up.
"Ugh... My eyes..." Mario groaned while sitting himself up. He was still in his red shirt and blue overalls, but his cap, gloves, and shoes were taken off by Luigi before he was tucked into bed.
"How am I in my bed...?"
Over in the kitchen, Luigi overheard Mario waking up, but didn't want to call out to him because it would make him irritated. Mario walked into the kitchen about two minutes later. For today, Luigi was wearing his regular green cap along with a blue shirt and green overalls.
"Hi, Mario. How was your sleep?" Luigi asked Mario, who sat down at the dining table. Luigi was in the middle of making Mario's breakfast.
"It was bland," Mario replied. "I mean, I don't think I dreamt of anything at all."
"Yeah. It happens to me sometimes."
"What are you making?" Mario asked.
"Your favorite ham and cheese omelet with mixed cheddar on top," Luigi answered with a smile.
"Thanks, bro."
"Good morning, Mario," Watt said after flying in from the living room. "I'm glad you're feeling better."
"How did I end up in my bed? Wasn't I in the ferry last night?"
"You completely dozed off, so I had to carry you home and tuck you in," Luigi replied.
"Just like what Mother did when I was little," Mario added in.
"Yeah. No matter how old we are, I'll do anything for my big brother." In addition to his ham and cheese omelet, Mario had his daily cup of coffee and buttered toast. Luigi ate the same thing, except his omelet had red bell peppers and Colby-Jack cheese.
After breakfast, Mario put on a blue shirt with red overalls while keeping his red cap.
"I wonder what Twink will tell us next," Mario said as he, Luigi, and Watt made their way to the Warp Pipe that took them to Toad Town. Twink was hovering in front of the pipe just like he was told to by Peach.
"Good morning, Mario and Luigi!" Twink greeted the Mario Bros.
"Good morning, Twink," the Mario Bros. returned the greeting.
"To tell you where the next Star Spirit is at, me and Princess Peach found this little note in the castle's guest bedroom that mentioned a giant brown cloud in a distant flower field."
"How far away is it?" Mario asked.
"Pretty far. And that's why there's a special gateway that leads to the field. To open the gateway, you must seek some colored seeds that Bowser's gang hid at different parts of the world," Twink explained.
"Are you talking about the three Magical Seeds we picked up recently?" Luigi questioned.
"I believe that was what the note mentioned," Twink replied. "You should take those seeds and find some sort of nearby garden to plant them. Hopefully, the gateway appears in front."
"Thanks again, Twink," Mario thanked Twink.
"No problem. Well, I'm gonna go back to Princess Peach's castle. As I said before, Princess Peach and I know you can do it. Just a couple more Star Spirits and you'll be on your way to save the princess." Without hesitation, Twink flew back up to Peach's castle before the group went east down Toad Town.
"I just thought of something," Mario said after a few seconds of brainstorming. "Remember when we kicked out one of the Shy Guys from this flower garden near Merlon's place?"
"Yeah. What about it?" Luigi asked.
"Maybe the gardener knows about the gateway to the flower field." It took Mario and friends 10 minutes to arrive at Mindy T.'s garden. She was standing next to the left side of the garden.
"Hello, ma'am. You having a nice morning?" Mario greeted Mindy.
"Mario! Great to see you again!" Mindy exclaimed. "I got to thank you again for saving my garden from those Shy Guys yesterday. These flowers are really delicate."
"I'm sure they are. Now, do you know anything about a distant flower field with a gateway leading to it?"
"As a matter of fact, I do. You've encountered Bub-ulbs before, right?"
"We've seen a couple, and they gave us Magical Seeds," Luigi answered. "Wait a second... I'll be right back. The seeds are still at our house." Luigi hurried back to Mario's Pad to get the Magical Seeds while Mindy continued to talk to Mario and Watt about the flower field.
"You see, Bub-ulbs come from Flower Fields, which is the place you were asking about. They say that the flowers in Flower Fields are in trouble! To get to Flower Fields, you need three Magical Seeds that you appear to have in your possession. Once you give them to me, I'll plant them in a jiffy and a door should appear in the archway behind me."
Five minutes later, Luigi came back with the Magical Seeds and handed them to Mindy, who planted them as quick as possible. The flowers produced from the seeds only took one minute to bloom entirely. After all the seeds were planted, a bright white glow slowly flashed within the archway and spawned a wooden door in seven seconds.
"Voila!" Mindy declared. "You should be able to go to Flower Fields from here. Mario and Luigi, Flower Fields needs your aid. Please help them."
"All right-y. Wish us luck, ma'am," Mario bid Mindy goodbye before the group entered Flower Fields through the wooden door. They came out the other end into a giant green field with two long patches of yellow and pink flowers on the west and east ends. In the middle was a giant oak tree with two big eyes near the blue green canopy. The door leading back to Toad Town served as the tree's mouth.
"What ho...? Now who might that be?" the tree wondered out loud, having heard Mario and friends enter Flower Fields. The elderly voice caught their attention and they looked up at the tree. "Hohohoho! Up here, fellows!"
"Hi...Mr. Tree..." Mario said with hesitation.
"You're close, son. My name's Wise Wisterwood. I am the oldest tree here in Flower Fields, the land of trees, flowers, grasses, and plants. And you must be Mario along with your brother Luigi. I've heard a lot about you two."
"Such as us trying to save the Star Spirits?" Luigi asked.
"Absolutely. If that is true, then your arrival means a Star Spirit is here in our land. I would help you in your quest, but alas, I cannot right now. Flower Fields is in trouble," Wise Wisterwood said.
"A creature named Huff N. Puff and his followers invaded our fair land not long ago. These creatures brought clouds to our sunny sky. It has been dark and cloudy ever since. The sun doesn't even bother to rise in the sky anymore. We are all weak and fading..."
After Wise Wisterwood finished his explanation, Mario, Luigi, and Watt gazed at the cloudy skies. The clouds looked like they were gonna pour rain on the flowers below.
"That's not good at all. And I thought Flower Fields was meant to be sunny with clear skies," Mario said.
"It was until now," Wise Wisterwood said. "Hmm... Oh! I remember something! The rumor is that Huff N. Puff is holding somebody captive, which might be the Star Spirit that you're searching for! It would make the wishes of Flower Fields come true if you defeated the wicked Huff N. Puff."
"That's why we're here, Mr. Wisterwood," Luigi stated.
"Don't think it'll be an easy task. Huff N. Puff is up in the sky, on what we call the Cloudy Climb. There's no way up there now. Well... You might be able to reach it if you find a Magical Bean or something that grows high..."
"You mean a giant beanstalk?" Watt questioned.
"Yes. That should be what the Magical Bean should turn into," Wise Wisterwood replied before thinking things over. "Wait a minute... I think there IS a flower that has a Magical Bean...somewhere. Umm... I believe... Her name is Petunia. Perhaps she is off to the east. It wouldn't hurt to go visit her and ask about it. The other flowers and Bub-ulbs around here might have some useful information as well. I'd say talk to everyone!"
"Thanks, Mr. Wisterwood," Mario thanked Wise Wisterwood.
"You're welcome, son. Go on now, fellows, for time must not be wasted."
Mario and friends immediately went to the east en route to Petunia's location. Will the Magical Bean be enough to grow the beanstalk, or will there be more than just the bean itself?
