After stepping down the mountain, our heroes finally reached Dry Dry Desert. From their point of view, there were yellow sands, rocks, and cacti, as to be expected from a desert. In front of them was a white-sand path. Everyone started to pant and wipe their foreheads as the sun started hitting them with its heat. Double D read the map that was next to the team. It was a picture of Dry Dry Desert. The desert was shaped into a square; Dry Dry Outpost was at the far end in the east but there was no mark of Dry Dry Ruins. There was also a warning on the map.

"'Beware of Bandits, Pokeys, and the heat.'"

"Bandits!" Rolf fearfully said as he gripped his staff. "You shall not have Rolf's livestock!"

"Bandits are sneaky creatures who steal your stuff. As for Pokeys, they are cactus monsters." Goombario explained.

"Well, Let's-a-Go!" Mario said and the group trekked down the white sand path. As they continued, they couldn't help but start to sweat from the heat. Kevin and Jimmy pulled back their hoods while Parakarry and Goombario took off their headgear. Mario, Rolf, and Johnny were the only ones unaffected for the most part.

"Aren't you guys hot?" Nazz asked.

"A little. But I've-a gone on so many adventures through-a deserts that I've built up a tolerance." Mario explained.

"Rolf laughs at the heat for Rolf has toiled in the soil under the blazing sun many a time!" Rolf said proudly.

"Plank and I have roughed it up in nature with our parents in the worst climates! So we've built up an immunity. Besides, the sun is good for Plank's photosynthesis!"

"I need ice! A breeze! Anything!" Complained Eddy before he felt the wind blow against his face. "Ah, thanks, Parakarry."

"That's not me, Eddy."

"Huh?"

Suddenly, the group realized that winds were picking up and before they knew it, they were being pulled across the ground.

"OH, MY GOODNESS, WHAT'S HAPPENING!" Double-D cried.

"IT'S A TWEESTER!" Mario exclaimed. The group all screamed as they ended up spinning around before going flying in different directions. The Tweester couldn't help but giggle evilly as they went flying.

Mario, Sarah, and Jimmy all screamed as they flew southeast and landed in the sand. Jimmy had used his shield to cushion his fall while Sarah and Mario landed face-first into the hot sand, which they quickly got out of and wiped the particles out.

"That smarts!" Sarah grimaced as Mario took off his hat and knocked bits of sand out of it before putting it back on.

"Um...W-Where is everybody?" Jimmy nervously asked as the three realized they were separated from the rest of the group. The sun beat down on them as they began sweating.

"Mamma-Mia, if we don't-a-find shade soon, we're-a gonna sweat ourselves to death!"

"Then let's not dilly-dally!" Jimmy said as he held his shield above himself to provide some semblance of shade over him, Mario, and Sarah as they traversed the desert together.

Double-D, Goombario, Johnny, and Parakarry all landed northeast. Double-D shook the sand out of his clothes while Parakarry flapped his wings heavily, scattering sand everywhere. Johnny realized Plank was missing and panicked before finding his wooden pal wedged in the sand and quickly dug him out.

"Are you okay, buddy? No splinters?"

"Oh, dear..." Double-D said worriedly as he looked at the sun, squinting his eyes to avoid the sting.

"I think the sun will be setting soon, Double-D. We'll need to set up camp somewhere." Goombario said as Double-D nodded.

"Indeed. Come on, fellows, we need to find shelter. Also, if you need to drink water, drink plenty of water."

"Double-D's right!" Johnny affirmed. "Just sipping water won't do any good for your brain and organs. A lot of people have died because of that mistake."

"Good thing we looked up that Desert Survival Guide," Goombario said. "But how do you know that stuff, Johnny?"

"I read. You'd be surprised how often I do that!"

"And maybe, if we're lucky, we might find an oasis. It's good to hope." Parakarry said as he took to the sky to find the perfect place to set up camp. Sure enough, he found it in the form of three trees in a triangular shape. The trunks were long and skinny by the leaves on top were big enough to provide shade.

"Good news, I've found the perfect spot!"

With their destination set, the four heroes headed off to the trees with Parakarry guiding them.

"Stupid desert...stupid twister..."

Eddy grumbled as he took another big swig of his canteen. He, Kevin, Bombette, and Nazz had all winded up in the southwest part of Dry Dry Desert. Eddy passed the canteen to Kevin, who took an equally big swig of water.

"Don't you think you shouldn't drink so much water? We only got so much." Nazz said worriedly.

"We're hot, dang it! It's no wonder this dump is called Dry Dry Desert!" Eddy barked.

"Wait, guys, I think I see Mt. Rugged from here!" Bombette perked up and sure enough, the other three saw the mountain on the horizon.

"Wow, you're right Bombette!" Nazz said before perking up. "Wait, Double-D said Dry Dry Outpost is at the far end of the east side of Dry Dry Desert, right?"

"Where are you getting at, Nazz?" Kevin asked as the blonde pointed at the sun.

"Well, see the sun? It's setting down at the east. if we can follow where the sun sets, we can make it to Dry Dry Outpost!"

"And hopefully, we'll be able to meet our friends there too. Come on, let's go!" Eddy cheered as the four prepared to head off before noticing footprints in the sand.

"Say...what are those footprints doing here?" Eddy said, his curious mind getting antsy as he began to follow. Nazz, Kevin, and Bombette looked worried before pinpointing where the sun was setting and making a long mark in the sand so that they could retrace the footprints and go back to it.

"Alright, guess we got a mystery on our hands."

They proceeded to follow the footprints. After a few minutes, the four saw a giant rock with a cave in it. When they got inside, there was a small crack at the wall, which they peeked inside. There were a bunch of red-clothed Bandits roaming around. There were a lot of buildings that almost looked like a military camp. Their base was in a rectangular shape surrounded by tall fences. At the end was this camps' biggest building.

"This must be where the Bandits lived. I thought it was strange for Bandits to roam around Dry Dry Desert." Bombette said.

"They must be planning something bad. Why don't we be the Heroes we are and go in there and kick their asses?" Eddy suggested.

"Dorky...that is the single stupidest idea I've ever heard..." Kevin smirked. "And I'm in!"

"Me too. I could give these gauntlets a test drive!" Nazz said, punching her gauntleted fists together as Bombette giggled.

"You guys are crazy but I think that's what I like about you. Let's go!"

After scrounging the desert, Mario, Sarah, and Jimmy stumbled upon grass growing in the sand.

"Grass! That can only mean one thing!"

The three followed the grass and before their eyes, they saw a large beautiful oasis that was as large as an Olympic swimming pool. There was also a large tree growing limes and another tree growing lemons.

"It's beautiful, Sarah! Like all of my dreams come true!" Jimmy said with tears of joy in his eyes while Sarah laughed and picked up her friend, spinning him around as Mario smiled happily at the two in such high spirits. After refreshing themselves with the water and refilling their canteens, Mario picked a few lemons and limes from the trees, figuring they could be of use at some point.

"Hey, I think I see Dry Dry Outpost!" Sarah cried and sure enough, they could see it in the distance. After taking some time to refresh themselves, they headed towards salvation.

With the combined effort of Double-D, Johnny, Goombario, and Parakarry, they already finished up their shelter. The four used the leaves to act as a hammock. Parakarry put his leaf hammock way up to the trees. Their shelter had a campfire in the middle, four hammocks, and their shelter illuminated in the dark.

"Dinner is ready, fellows!"

Everyone sat down, Double-D having cooked Fried Eggs and Shrooms. As they ate, Goombario looked up at the stars in the night sky.

"Wow, look at all those stars..."

"Plank says starlight can give you Cancer...but then again, what doesn't these days?" Johnny said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"What's Cancer?" Parakarry asked as Double-D bit his lip.

"It's a very terrible disease people in our world can get. It's not exactly something you want to get contracted with."

"I see..."

After the four finished eating, they were about to go to sleep before Parakarry noticed something bright in the distance.

"Everyone! There's something over there!" He picked up Double-D and lifted him up to the top of the trees while Johnny used his Urban Ranger training to scale the tree. Goombario remained on the ground.

"I see it, too! Could it be...?"

"It is! It's Dry Dry Outpost!" Parakarry squinted, seeing something else. He saw three people running to Dry Dry Outpost. "Double-D! There are three people running to Dry Dry Outpost, but I can't tell who it is."

"Then it must be our friends!"

"Yee-haw! They're okay!" Johnny cheered as he hugged Plank close. The three went back down to the ground and were prepared to follow when Goombario noticed something.

"Hey, Double-D, was that camera always there?"

Double-D looked up at the trees and noticed a small video camera hooked up to one of them. It was dangling down and staring at the group of four.

"Parakarry...take that video recorder and destroy it."

Parakarry looked puzzled but followed Double D's request. He grabbed the recorder and smashed it to the ground with his foot.

"Wh-what's that doing here in the middle of this desert?!"

Double-D had a serious look. "We were being watched ever since we got here. Fellows, we must make haste and hurry to Dry Dry Outpost!"

"But...maybe it was Dry Dry Outpost's camera."

"I doubt that they have this kind of technology, Parakarry. And besides, they should have come here a long time ago since we needed help. Let's take our stuff and head to Dry Dry Outpost!"

"We're with you!" Johnny said as the group gathered all their stuff and ran as fast as they could.

Double-D's hunch was correct. Someone watched them earlier.

Kooper felt his senses coming back as he slowly opened his eyes. His vision became blurry before it became clear. He noticed he was in a tent, not on the sand.

"Ugh...where am I? The last thing I remember was hitting the sand and blacking out..."

He got up and saw Ed and Rolf eating with some other Koopas.

"Hello, Kooper!" Ed said with his mouth full.

"Salutations, Bandaged-Kooper-Boy!" Rolf said with a wave.

Kooper walked slowly due to the pain. There were two Koopas wearing excavation helmets with flashlights.

"What happened? Did you save us?"

"We sure did," one of the Koopa answered. "It was all thanks to Kolorado that he found you three in the middle of this desert."

That name stopped Kooper's heart. "The famous Kolorado is here?! In this very tent?!"

"You bet he is!" someone said out of nowhere. Everyone looked at the entrance of the tent and saw a Koopa with a helmet and a small mustache. "Kolorado, at your service."

Kooper could not stop shaking. "I-it is you! Kolorado! Remember me?! I lived by your house when I was a child!"

"Oh yeah! Kooper, is it? How long has it been, my boy?"

"Too long! So what are you doing here? Are you searching the mystery of Dry Dry Ruins?"

"Sure am, old bean! Right now, we're just taking a break from our seven-day journey. We still have not found it, but I can feel that we're close. So what were you two doing lying in the middle of this desert?"

"We got separated from our friends by a Tweester."

"I see... Since you are here, why not you and your tall friends join my exploration?"

Kooper leaped in joy. "Oh boy! I would love to!"

"In that case, let's just stay here till dawn."

Ed finished all the food on the table, much to the disappointment of all the Koopas.

"Forgive the Ed-Boy. He eats like a ravenous pig when he is denied food!" Rolf apologized.

A Bandit was patrolling near the cave. A pile of tiny rocks fell down the cave and landed near his feet. As the Bandit looked up, he could not help but check, just to be safe. But when he entered inside, the sounds of a wrench bludgeoning a body was heard before a small trickle of blood leaked out. Eddy then came out wearing the Bandit's clothes and mask while Nazz, Kevin, and Bombette peeked out next, Kevin's wrench covered in blood.

Bombette came out next. "Looks like our plan worked," she said.

"Can't believe we just murdered that dude..." Nazz said, cringing in disgust at the Bandit's dead body.

"Yeah. So let's review our plan." Eddy put on the mask. "I'll go to the main entrance wearing this costume. Meanwhile, you guys dig under the fence right behind their headquarters. We'll go inside there, find whatever treasure they got and get the heck out of here. They won't even know what'll hit them!"

"Roger." The four split up and walked to the Bandits' home base. As Eddy walked forward, two Bandits guarded the main entrance.

"Everything okay?" the one on the right asked.

"S-sure! Everything cool," Eddy replied as he strolled down the path with a few Bandits roaming around.

"This is easier than I thought!"

Meanwhile, Bombette, Kevin, and Nazz finally made it at the backside of the Bandits' headquarters. Nazz dug under the fence and made it inside as Kevin and Bombette followed her. They noticed a ladder and climbed up. When they reached the top, there was a small ventilation shaft that they could all fit through. Kevin unhooked it with his wrench and led the way, but not before Nazz put the cover back on.

A loud siren echoed throughout the area. "Attention!" someone said through the intercom. "All Bandits who are not doing anything productive must go to the main headquarters for the meeting."

Everyone, except the guards, did what they were told. Eddy was one among them as he kept up his disguise. When they got inside, it was a place where they could store giant vehicles. There were none, except several railroad carts and tracks that could go out of the building. About 20 Bandits line up in a 4X5 group. At the end was a giant screen with a video recording four different screens.

A purple Bandit was in front of the giant screen. "Ten-hut!" he said. Everyone stood in attention, facing forward. Eddy quickly adapted to what they were doing. Bombette, Kevin, and Nazz crawled inside the ventilation shaft and found a shaft to peek through. They saw 20 red Bandits and a purple Bandit inside.

"Now, as you all know, today is the day. Today is the day we will not disappoint Lord Bowser and Mr. Velhallen Beo! After this meeting, we shall commence our operation! Operation: Destroy Mario and Friends!"

Everyone cheered and chanted the operation name over and over while Eddy, Bombette, Kevin, and Nazz widened their eyes, thinking one thing.

"FUCK!"

Next Time: Dry Dry Outpost!

-Current Badge Collection-

Mario: Power Jump, Shrink Stomp

Ed: Close Call

Double-D: Refund, Damage Dodge

Eddy: Feeling Fine

Kevin: Smash Charge, Quake Hammer

Rolf: Dizzy Attack

Johnny: Hammer Throw

Nazz: Power Bounce

Sarah: D-Down Pound

Jimmy: Pretty Lucky