"What do you guys want to do together this time?" Mario asked the team. Instead of separating from each other like the last two breaks, they decided to hang out together. As everyone began thinking, their stomachs began to growl.
"Ed is hungry..." Ed said, touching his tummy.
"My tummy needs food..." Jimmy whimpered.
"Rolf craves the succulent meat..." Rolf said while drooling.
"All we ate were our rations and Luigi's meal," Goombario said. "Maybe we should spend our time in a restaurant."
"Good idea!"Let's try that restaurant across from here." Bombette said as she pointed to a fancy restaurant. The team went inside and saw it was even more fabulous than the outside. Customers ate peacefully while chatting with their friends; most of them were Toads but there were a few Koopas and other creatures.
"Remember, everyone: be on your best behavior," Double-D said.
"What are you, my mom?" Eddy asked.
"Head-In-Sock-Edd-Boy is not Rolf's Mama. You do not command Rolf."
The group walked forward to the front desk. Double-D counted all the members before speaking up.
"Table for sixteen, please."
"Of course," the Toad manager, Delic T. said. "Let me take you all to a nice table."
The manager led the group to the second floor where the tables were even larger than the first floor. Their table was a couch shaped in a "U". From the left, Mario, Goombario, Eddy, Bombette, Rolf, Johnny, Kooper, Parakarry, Bow, Ed, Sarah, Jimmy, Nazz, Kevin, and Double D sat in that order.
"Here are your menus, everyone. I'll be back shortly for your reply." After he departed, everyone read their menus for their drink first before deciding their meals. Once they were ready for both, the same Toad came back. "How are you all today?
"We're-a doing pretty good," Mario replied. "I'll have-a the usual Super Soda."
"I want the Goomba Juice," Goombario said.
"Same with Mario," Eddy said. "Super Soda."
"I'll have what Eddy and Mario are having," Kevin said.
"Fresh Juice," Bombette said.
"Oh, me too!" Nazz said.
"Me three!" Jimmy chimed in.
"Me four!" Sarah added.
"Parakarry and I will have Koopa Teas," Kooper said.
"I'll have a Herbal Tea." Merlow said.
Everyone waited for Bow's order. "Hmm... I can't decide," she said while Eddy, Sarah, and Kevin tapped the table and narrowed their eyes. "There are so many things I haven't seen in Forever Forest. Should I try this one or the other one? Maybe this is a suitable drink for me, but-"
Eddy slammed his hand on the table. "Just pick a drink! Any drink!"
Bow frowned at him. "I'll try...Fresh Juice."
"Me too, please!" Ed said, waving at the Toad.
"Just regular water for me," Double D said.
"How lame," Eddy said. Kevin snickered before shutting up when Nazz gave him a dirty look.
The Toad wrote all the drinks. "All right," he said. "Now that I have the drinks, what about your main meal for today?"
"Spaghetti," Mario answered. "Lotsa Spaghetti."
Back at the Mario Bros. House, Luigi sneezed.
"Why do I a-feel a sense of a-deja vu all of a sudden?"
"Nutty Cake," Goombario said, folding his menu down.
"Omelette Meal," Eddy said. "Make sure the eggs are high-quality eggs or else."
Bombette rolled her eyes. "Ignore that last sentence. The Fruit Parfait, please."
"I'll take the Koopasta," Kooper said.
"I'll take the lunch's special meal," Parakarry said. "Meteor Meal."
"This time," Bow said, looking at Eddy, who stuck his tongue out at her. "I know what to order. I'll order a Heartful Cake."
"Kaets Soorhs," Ed said, which made everyone confused, especially the Toad.
Double-D noticed something off about Ed. "Excuse me, Ed, but I believe you have your menu in reverse."
"Oh! Thanks, Double D!" Ed read his menu again after fixing it. "Shroom Steak!"
"The Deluxe Meal for Rolf! It has the steak and potatoes Rolf craves!" Rolf ordered.
"I'll try the Courage Meal. Sounds like my style." Kevin said.
"Plank and I want the Fried Shroom Plate!" Johnny ordered.
"I'll try the Hamburger. I prefer to stay in my comfort zone." Nazz said.
"Ooooh, Ink Pasta!" Jimmy said with a sparkle in his eyes. " I want that!"
"Me as well. I do enjoy unique delicacies." Merlow said with a smile.
"I'll have the Gorgeous Steak," Sarah said.
Double-D looked at the Toad. "And, finally, I'll order a Healthy Salad."
"Nice choices, everyone," the Toad said, already written everyone's orders. "We'll have your orders ready in around 20 minutes."
"20 minutes?!" Eddy asked. "That's too long! I'm so hungry I could eat this table!"
"Well, we've never had this many people before in a long time. The last time this restaurant had many customers served at once was many years ago when this used to be a small diner that the heroes visited together after vanquishing the great evil. We'll make sure to finish your meals before you know it." The Toad headed back, leaving the team to sit back and wait patiently.
"This reminds me of that restaurant scam, Eddy," Double D said.
Eddy blinked first until he remembered. "Oh yeah! That scam would've worked if Ed didn't become a real turkey."
"For crying out loud, Plank still has the dreams!" Johnny cringed as he held Plank close.
"I thought the order was Ed Turkey," Ed said.
"As I said before, Ed," Double-D said. "you were supposed to use a real turkey."
"You were a turkey?" Bow asked Ed.
"I wanna listen to your lives, guys," Goombario said as everyone listened closely to the Cul-de-Sac kids.
"Better sit tight, it's a big file." Kevin chuckled.
Double-D cleared his throat first. "In the past, we'd used a restaurant scam one time. Eddy was the manager, Ed was the chef and I was their waiter."
"Ed was the chef?" Parakarry asked. "Out of the three of you, it was Ed?"
"Why didn't you just let Ed be the waiter?" Mario asked. Double D and Eddy pondered for a moment.
"Oh, dear..." Double-D murmured.
"Yeah, that's the problem. You dorks never think things through." Kevin said with a shake of his head.
"I think that scam would've worked if Double D was the chef," Eddy said while giving Kevin a nasty look for his comment.
"So how did Ed became a turkey?" Bombette asked.
"Johnny ordered an Ed Turkey Al-a-King. Ed thought he was supposed to the turkey and ended up scaring everyone!" Everyone, except the Eds and the Cul-de-Sac kids, snickered.
"You three are very interesting," Bow said, chuckling. "Anything else to share with us?"
"I know!" Ed said. "Remember that time where I became a monster?"
"It was fun for you; fun for me, but horrible for everyone in the end," Eddy said sternly.
"I can still remember those images," Double-D said, closing his eyes. "Ed's terrifying actions, the kids stuck on Ed's wall with greasy Chunky Puffs, and hiding underneath Eddy's bed."
"Ugh, you guys know how long it took to get the Chunkjy Puffs out of my hair?" Nazz groaned.
"I still feel violated..." Jimmy shuddered.
"You guys hid underneath Eddy's bed?!" Goombario asked. The team, minus the Eds and the Cul-de-Sac kids, laughed out loud again.
"Oh! There was also the time when I used to be chubby!" Nazz perked up.
"Yeah. Even then, you were still righteous, babe." Kevin said as Nazz blushed and giggled while Rolf looked back fondly on the memories.
"She could truly inhale Nana's glazed ham streaks!"
After their conversion ended, the Toad brought back their meals.
"That was quicker than I thought!" Eddy said.
The Toad smiled. "See? I told you we would be back. Here are your meals everyone."
Mario's Spaghetti, obviously, was a composition of yellow noodles with tomato sauce on top. Mario received his usual purple Super Soda.
For Goombario, his Nutty Cake was a Goomnut cake with a Honey Syrup included. His Goomba Juice was a brownish color with a straw inside the cup.
Eddy's order was a steamy Omelette Meal and a can of Super Soda. After taking a bite from his lunch, Eddy's looked satisfied "Not bad, but mine is better."
Bombette's Fruit Parfait has a wide cup, which contained many varieties of fruits. Her Fresh Juice was a curved cup with honey juice and a lemon hooked to the cup.
Kooper ordered a Koopasta, composed of greenish noodles with a leaf on top. The Koopa Tea, which he and Parakarry ordered, has the same color as Kooper's meal, but in a form of a beverage.
Parakarry's meal was very special while everyone scanned his meal in amazement and jealously. It was a fried Mushroom standing on top of his plate while surrounded by golden stars cookies.
Bow was delighted to see her Fresh Juice and Heartful Cake. Its components consisted of a small mountain in pink color with white icing on top and a heart.
The Shroom Steak Ed wanted were two Mushrooms in a form of meats; french fries and ranch flavor were included as well.
Double-D's Healthy Salad was mostly vegetables, leaves, and white crackers in the middle. His drink was just plain ice water.
Rolf's Deluxe Meal consisted of steak and scalloped potatoes with a side of fries. Kevin's Courage Meal looked like well-done meat inside a Koopa shell-shaped bowl with salad and potatoes on the side. Johnny's Fried Shroom Plate was a fajita plate-esque dish with fried mushrooms.
Nazz's Hamburger was a hamburger steak with gravy and butter. Sarah's Gorgeous Steak was a steak with butter, carrots, tomatoes, and salad on the side. Finally, Jimmy and Merlow's Ink Pasta was noodles in ink sauce.
"Enjoy your meal, everyone!" the Toad said, taking his leave.
While everyone enjoyed their meal or playing around, Mario had an idea. "Hey, everyone! Since we'll be here for a while, why don't we a-get to know each other?"
"That sounds like a good idea," Goombario said, smiling. "There some people here I don't actually know yet."
"Then allow me to have the floor," Double-D said, sipping his water. "My name is Double D from another world called Earth, where I resided in a Cul-de-Sac. I am the smartest of the three Eds, and the most generous person you'll meet. I've invented many things using scarp components, and I'm the top student in my school."
"From another world?" Bow asked, widening her eyes a bit. "The nine of you are from another world?"
"That's correct. It all started when we found a strange pipe while camping and then Ed decided to jump in. We all followed after him and found ourselves near Goombario's village."
"My turn! My turn!" Ed said. "My name is Ed. How are you? Anyway, I loved horror comics, space aliens, gravy, monsters, buttered toast, chickens, Chunky Puffs, movies, ghosts, turtle guys, worms, jawbreakers, and-" He continued to list many things as he counted with his fingers and toes.
"We get it, Ed!" Eddy said. "Next!"
"So rude!" Bow said, scoffing. "I don't have to introduce myself since I'm the latest member. I enjoyed wearing my signature red bows on my head and fanning myself with my pink fan. Everyone in Forever Forest and Gusty Gulch adores me as the prettiest Boo in the world. I inherited the mansion after my parents passed away."
"How do specters pass?! They have already passed!" Rolf exclaimed, freaked out.
"Guess it's my turn," Parakarry said. "I am Parakarry, one of you friendly paratroopa mail carrier in Toad Town. I delivered letters...but...I can be slow at times. I even lost most of the letters across the Mushroom Kingdom. I joined Johnny to help him and deliver all the letters I lost before I lose my job. I wouldn't be here without the team."
"The Koopa chain is not over," Kooper added. "I'm Kooper! My dream is to become an archaeologist like my childhood hero: Kolorado. I got this wound when I fought a Fuzzy before Mario and the Eds came. I'm the only blue-shelled Koopa in my village, and I love adventure."
"Edventure!" Ed said to emphasize as he gave Eddy a high-five.
"My name is Bombette," she said. "I lived near where Kooper lives. I can be tough on the outside, but sweet on the inside. I like to joke around, especially with Eddy. Recently, I broke up with my ex-boyfriend: Bruce, who constantly tries to reunite with me."
Everyone turned and looked at Eddy, who had his cheek resting on his hand. His elbow touching the table.
"Yeah," Eddy said with a bored look. "The name's Eddy. Loves money, scams, and jawbreakers."
"Eddy, I think you could provide more background information than that," Double D said.
"I don't feel like it."
"Come on, Eddy," Bombette said. "I want to know more about you. At least something positive."
Eddy sighed. "All right, all right. I'm the leader of the Eds...and I'm the most handsome of all the kids in my place. My brother was the hot-shot before he moved away. I learned everything from him."
"Your bro was also a real prick who treated you like crap." Kevin pointed out as Eddy sighed while the others felt sympathetic to his situation.
"Okay, everyone," Goombario said, eating his Nutty Cake. "My name is Goombairo, and I'm the first partner to join Mario and the Eds. I am Mario's number one fan, and I studied many things in our world. I guess that's why I know so much like Double D. I hate eating fish, but I like to own a pet called an Albino Dino. I have acrophobia, which means I'm afraid of heights."
"The name's Kevin. I'm the star athlete at our school. I love my bike and my dad has a job at the Jawbreaker Factory in our world, so my house has jawbreakers all over the place." Kevin said. "The Dorks and I used to butt heads but lately, we've been cool."
Eddy gave Kevin a thumbs-up which he returned as Johnny went next. "I'm Johnny and this is my pal, Plank! We love roughing it out in nature and just playing around. I'm also part of the Urban Rangers with Rolf and Jimmy!"
"Rolf goes next," Rolf said. "I am Rolf, Son of a Shepard. Do not be bothered by my accent, Rolf prefers to stay in tune with my home country while also embracing the go-go ways of the new world. Rolf tends to his family's farm in the Cul-de-Sac as well as our beloved goats, pigs, chickens, and cows."
"I'm Nazz. People like to say I'm the prettiest girl in town but I don't let that get to my head. I'm the lead cheerleader of our school and I try to see the best in everyone." Nazz introduced.
"I'm Sarah. For those who already know, I'm Ed's little sister. He's been a real pain in my ass ever since he carried me when I was a baby...but I guess he's my only brother and I gotta live with him." Sarah said as Ed smiled happily.
"A-And I'm Jimmy. I'm best friends with Sarah and I enjoy art, ponies, fairy tales, and being with Sarah. I hope to be an artist some day."
"And that leaves Mario," Kooper said, finishing his Koopasta.
Mario chuckled. "I guess most of you know me," he said. "I'm Mario who rescues Peach from my arch-nemesis: Bowser. Ever since I've always defeated him with new powers and friends. I used to be a plumber who lived in Brooklyn, New York, by the way."
"Are you in a relationship with Peach, by any chance?" Double-D asked.
"Well-"
"I don't wanna hear about that!" Eddy said. "Let's just go to the next Star Spirit thing."
After everyone finished their meals, the Toad came back with the total cost of today. Luckily Eddy's Money Money Badge, plus the others' money, was nothing compared to a 167 coins cost. Before they left to find their next destination, they heard a familiar call.
"Mario!" Twink said, rushing inside and floated in front of the team. "There you are!"
"It's Twink," Mario said in astonishment. "How's Peach doing?"
"Well, she was caught sneaking, but other than that, she's okay. I know where the next Star Spirit is."
"Do tell."
"Have you ever heard of Shy Guy's Toy Box?"
"What kind of a lame name is that?" Eddy asked.
"A baby name, that's what it is." Kevin snickered.
"I don't think I've heard of that," Goombario said with a slight frown. "What about the location?"
"I'm afraid I don't know," Twink answered. "All I know is that the next Star Spirit is in Shy Guy's Toy Box."
"That's a shame," Bow said.
"Let's go to Merlon's place," Mario said. "He'll tell us what to do."
"It's time for me to go," Twink said. "Peach and I are always cheering you all." He zoomed out of the restaurant after that. Suddenly, the team heard a crashing noise and a scream.
"My frying pan!" an elderly Toad woman said. When the team looked down the first floor, they saw it in a complete mess. These guys wore red robes, white masks, blue shoes, and black belts while stealing everything they could carry. .
"Shy Guys!" Goombario said.
"Shy Guys?" Eddy asked in disbelief. "They don't look shy to me."
"More like stealing from a poor lady," Double D added.
Eddy looked at the Shy Guys. "You know...those guys look awfully familiar."
A couple of Shy Guys entered the second floor and spotted the team.
"We've finally found you four!" one of the Shy Guys said.
"What do you mean by 'four'?" Mario asked, taking out his hammer. Everyone in the team got in their battle stances and took out their weapons as well.
"I mean that short brat, the hooded one, the blonde bimbo and that pink Bob-omb menace!" The Shy Guy pointed to the two.
Eddy and Bombette widened their eyes and gasped. Kevin growled while Nazz looked rather offended at being called a 'bimbo'.
"What do you mean by that?!" Bombette asked angrily, setting up her fuse.
"You four are under arrest! It's time for your punishment!"
Next Time: WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE!
-Current Badge Collection-
Mario: Power Jump, Shrink Stomp
Ed: Close Call, Multibounce, Mega Rush
Double-D: Refund, Damage Dodge
Eddy: Feeling Fine, Money Money
Kevin: Smash Charge, Quake Hammer
Rolf: Dizzy Attack, Power Rush
Johnny: Hammer Throw, Spin Smash
Nazz: Power Bounce, Zap Tap, D-Down Jump
Sarah: D-Down Pound, Power Smash
Jimmy: Pretty Lucky, Spike Shield