Chapter 24 No Koopas Allowed

Toadette yawned and stretched. Light was streaming through the windows, indicating that morning had finally arrived. She smiled. She actually felt a lot better. It seemed that rest was all that she needed.

She heard the bathroom door open. She saw Sunny come out with a toothbrush in his mouth. He said something to Toadette, but she couldn't make out what it was.

"What was that?" she asked.

Sunny held up his hand and ducked back into the bathroom. He came back out with his mouth coated in toothpaste.

"I said good morning, Toadette."

"Oh. Well, good morning to you too," Toadette responded. "Where's Bank?"

"He went to talk to Toadelle."

"Ah," Toadette said with a nod. That most likely meant that Bank would return with their tickets. Sunny smiled and sat back down on the bed.

"Now, if you don't mind," he said as he pulled the covers over him. "I am going back to sleep."

Toadette gave him a weird look as she laughed.

"You brush your teeth and now you are going to go back to bed? That seems kind of redundant."

Sunny shook his head.

"Oh believe me, it's not. Have you tasted Dragon Koopa morning breath? It's nasty!"

"That's fair," Toadette said as she shrugged. Sunny turned over on his side. Just before he could really get to sleeping, Bank came back into the room.

"Well, I got em," he announced. He displayed three tickets to the others like they were golden eggs. Toadette smiled.

"Nice! Good job, Bank."

Bank only nodded as a sign of thanks. He went over to Sunny and started to shake him.

"Wake up, lazy koopa. Get your shell out of bed!"

Sunny groaned.

"I didn't exactly have the best day yesterday. I think I'm allowed to be lazy."

"Well, Toadette and I want to be able to rescue our colleagues. I think that it's okay if I want to get moving."

Sunny looked thoughtful.

"I suppose that's fair."

Bank's face got a little more smug.

"Besides, these tickets are our way of getting off the island. If I didn't know any better, Sunny, I'd say that you want to stay."

Sunny smiled and threw the pillow at him.

...

On some level, Toadette was sad to leave the island so soon. As she and her party walked to Ricco Harbor, she took in the sights and sounds. The sun was dazzling, but not overbearing like it was in World 2. The grass was a beautiful shade of green, the perfect shade of green as a matter of fact. Even so far inland, Toadette could hear the waves crashing headfirst onto the beach. It sounded amazing. Toadette had to keep reminding herself of her mission so she wouldn't be distracted by the beauty.

Finally, the trio got to Ricco Harbor. They saw the boat that would take them off the island. It was just resting patiently in the water as people boarded it. Toadette walked over with her ticket in hand. She was greeted by the captain, a pianta with pink skin and a professional looking costume. He smiled at Toadette.

"Hello, lovely young lady. You going to World 2, too?"

Toadette giggled at his repetition.

"Why, yes. In fact, all three of us are going."

The pianta looked up. When he saw Sunny, he instantly became cross.

"No Dragon koopas allowed."

"What?" asked Bank. "Why not?"

"It's company policy. No Dragon koopas are allowed to board our boats, for the safety of the other passengers."

"What? That's bull!" Bank exclaimed.

"It's just how it is," said the Captain. "Sorry. It looks like you three need to find another way off the island."

With that, he boarded the ship. Toadette exchanged a disappointed and dejected look with her party members.