Unlike all the previous days, ashen clouds covered the sky. In Mario's house, Luigi started the day by cleaning the dishes from last night's dinner. With a sponge and soap, he whistled a piece of upbeat music, not caring about the weather. He believed staying positive would make the "depressed" clouds go away.
As for the rest of the team, Mario, Double-D, Rolf, Goombario, and Merlow began to integrate a plan on how to reach Lavalava Island. Kooper already told them about the last ship that departed last night. Much to their frustration, finding a ride in this heavy weather would be difficult for the team.
Ed, Johnny, Kooper, and Bow sat down at the table, finishing up their breakfast. Ed had a nice bowl of "Mushroom Cereal" while Kooper ate "Nutty Koopas". Bow simply drank some tea with satisfaction, provided by Luigi. During breakfast, Kooper decided to play around by flicking a piece of his food to Ed's head. Ed soon caught on with this charade and poured all of the cereal from the "Mushroom Cereal" to Kooper's head. At first, Kooper had a serious expression but laughed out loud with Ed. Bow raised her eyebrows at their stupidity but resumed her drink.
Eddy and Bombette sat on the logs outside of the house. For them, the weather felt nice to embrace the air. Eddy would talk about his past scams to Bombette. She thought that scamming people for candy and money was wrong, but did not say it to Eddy. Thankfully, Kevin and Nazz were there to point out how a lot of Eddy's scams were flawed for her. They waited outside until the team was ready for action.
Lastly, Jimmy took care of Watt by providing her with milk in the living room. The rubber mouthpiece, or teat, was made of an insulator, which was safe for Watt to use.
"Yummy!" Watt said with a beaming smile. "So this is what, um, milk tastes like!"
"Yup, it's yummy with peaches and cream!"
"Where does milk come from, Jimmy?"
"They come from the udders of the cows or sometimes pigs, little one," Rolf explained as he walked by.
Johnny saw Parakarry next to him on the couch. Parakarry still had that sad look on his face as he looked at one of the letters he had salvaged.
"Parakarry?"
Parakarry heard Johnny's voice and turned to him. "Yeah?"
"Don't lose hope, Parakarry. Remember, all you have to do is deliver that letter to the receiver. It's as simple as that."
"I know...but..." Parakarry's eyes glanced away.
"Have faith in yourself by acknowledging yourself as the best mailman in the world."
Parakarry scratched his head in doubt. "Yeah...but...should we-"
"Plank says that the mission comes second, helping you keep your job comes first."
"Double-D?" Mario said, entering the living room as Double-D had been working up a plan. "It's time to go, even though we have no leads."
"Very well then, Mario." The team was finally ready to move out. Luigi, of course, had to stay behind and watch the house and Chompy. The team all jumped inside the Warp Pipe to Toad Town.
"There they go again..." Luigi said with Chompy by his side. "I wish I could go with them for once."
Chompy looked up at the gray clouds, scanning very closely at it. "What is it, Chompy?"
Chompy barked at the clouds. He moved his head to the house.
"You think it will rain, and you want to go in the house?" Luigi laughed a bit. "Just because there're clouds doesn't mean it will rain. We don't get rain around here that much."
Chompy motioned his head repeatedly, still wanting to go in the house. Luigi sighed and led Chompy inside the house, not noticing or feeling a single drop on his green hat.
"It's true," Goombario said as the team walked to the harbor. "There are no ships scheduled to depart."
The team saw no ships or anything that can carry all 17 members to Lavalava Island. However, they noticed a strange oval shape in the water.
Kooper, however, did not notice it because he saw a familiar idol at the port. "Kolorado!"
Indeed, Kolorado from Dry Dry Desert was here in the harbor. "Well, if it isn't Kooper! What brings you here around these parts, hm?"
"I should ask you the same thing. You should be at a remote place, discovering the impossible possible."
"Actually, I wanted to go to Lavalava Island because I've heard tales of ancient treasures in a volcanic cave."
"Wait," Mario said. "You're going to Lavalava Island? We're going there as well."
"Well, if you don't say, eh? How about joining in my team in search of treasure, no?"
"Absolutely!" Kooper replied. "I could learn a thing or two about you!"
"Since when did we became a part of his team?" Eddy asked, raising his right eyebrow.
"Ironic that this team became another team," Double-D added.
"Coconuts!" Ed said. Meanwhile, their partners stood near the water, examining the strange large oval-like object in the water. It was almost as if the object was alive.
"Oooohhh..." Watt said in awe, circling around the thing.
Goombario managed to walk on top of it and pushed his foot down. "It's soft. Squishy...and very smooth... Is that a blowhole?"
"I wanna touch it!" Watt inched closer to the thing until Goombario gasped.
"No! Don't touch it! This is a-"
Watt sparked off the thing, making it shake. "Huh?"
"Uh-oh..." Bow said, backing away.
"You said it, sister," Bombette added, stepping back as well.
"YOU IMBECILE! YOU'VE DOOMED US ALL!" A french voice from out of nowhere screamed but there was no indication of who said it.
Goombario and Watt, mostly Goombario, stumbled on top of the thing and were launched off into the air. A loud wailing roar echoed throughout the harbor, capturing a few sailors' attention. The team stopped and saw a giant whale emerging out of the water. Goombario landed on the ground roughly while Watt floated down with a giggle.
"That was fun! Let's do it again!" Watt said.
"Holy moly!" Eddy said, startled by its size. "Look at that size of that...that..."
"It's a-a-a..." Kooper stammered, pointing at the whale with its shaky right hand.
"A tuna!" Kolorado, Ed, and Johnny answered.
"Actually," Double D said, "it's a whale. It could be characterized as a Balaena mysticetus or a Bowhead Whale. Maybe a Southern Right Whale..."
"I only got the part that it's a whale, Sockhead," Eddy said, narrowing his eyes in annoyance.
"Yeah. This is no time to wax science, Double-Dweeb." Kevin said in agreement.
"I'm not a tuna! I'm a whale!" the whale said, surprising everyone.
"My word!" Double-D said in a state of shock and astonish. "It spoke in complete exclamatory sentences!"
"What are the chances of seeing a talking whale?" Parkarry asked, being startled along with the team.
"What mysteries of the deep have you come to tell us, O' Sea Monster!" Johnny said, getting on one knee and bowing.
"Ohhh..." the whale groaned.
"Are you okay?" Mario asked. "You seem to be in pain."
"There's something inside my stomach that's...jumping around..."
"By your big mouth, your victim must be alive," Bow said, which she saw everyone staring at her. "It's a possibility."
"That was gonna be what Plank was gonna say!"
"It looks like the whale has a stomach ache," Double-D said, noticing the whale's painful expression.
"Poor thing. We can't just let it suffer like this." Nazz said in sympathy.
Just...go inside my stomach." The whale whimpered as he opened up his giant mouth, revealing his long red tongue. The pathway was really dark while everything inside was dripping. Most members of the team and Kolorado stepped back away from the horror.
"I'm not going in!" Eddy said, cringing his face.
"Me too!" Bombette added. "A girl should not enter inside a whale!"
"I agreed with the Bob-omb," Bow added.
Mario sighed. "Oh, come on, guys! We have to help him. I'm going in."
Before Mario was able to walk in, Double-D handed over his flashlight to Mario. With a click of the switch, Mario ventured inside the mouth slowly. The whale, noticing someone was inside, closed his mouth.
"Goodness gracious!" Kolorado said. "Mario is the first person to enter inside a live whale!"
"Was that really necessary?" Eddy asked, crossing his arms.
"Rolf could have easily been the one to do the deed of slaying the whale's interior germs!" Rolf said with his arms folded.
"Ugh..." Mario's face felt scruffy. The scent inside the mouth was more powerful than outside; it began to feel overwhelming. The tongue kept on moving, making it hard to stand. Some saliva fell down on him, much to his disgust. Still, he slowly crept forward inside the throat. His flashlight pointed around the stomach. There were wooden crates, bottles, and even a boat. Everything around was really wet, even the flesh he was standing on. The whale's skeleton added up more horror inside, but that did not faze him. Suddenly, he spotted a movable object.
It was a Fuzzy with blue fur and a big green mouth.
"Who dat?!" it asked, known as Fuzzipede.
Mario backed away but regained his composure. "Are you the one jumping inside this whale?"
"You got that right! I have to get out of here!" Fuzzipede jumped around the belly, making the whale moan in pain more. Mario reacted quickly by jumping on Fuzzipede once it touched the ground.
"Hey, fella! You wanna piece o' this?!" Fuzzipede stumbled back from the blow, and out of pure rage, he fought back with a tackle. Mario flew back, dropping his hammer and his flashlight. The flashlight went behind Fuzzipede, shining both of them. Mario crawled over to retrieve his hammer, noticing Fuzzipede's shadow shrinking with every bounce, meaning he was coming closer. Once Mario felt the hammer, he waited for Fuzzipede to come closer. With a swift blow behind, Fuzzipede landed on the ground roughly. Mario breathed very hard and quickly grabbed the flashlight.
"Mario, can you hear me?" the whale asked. "I don't feel any pain at all! I feel fantastic!"
Mario gasped that the water was rising. It took all the objects, Mario, and the defeated Fuzzipede. Mario kept on struggling until he was very close to the whale's skeleton, running out of oxygen.
The whale grunted for a second and let a burst of water out of his blowhole. He popped out Mario and Fuzzipede as they landed on the ground.
"What a way to exit a whale," Goombario said, then looked at the soaked Mario.
Fuzzipede slowly stood up and turned at the whale with a furious expression. "Hey, you! You're that dumb ol' fish that swallowed me up! I got away from that fishing man, swallowed by you, and got my butt whooped by this fella with that bushy mustache! Do y'all understand what it's like to be grub?"
"I'm so sorry!" the whale said with a pleading look. "I just happen to open my mouth while taking a nap."
"Well...make sure you close that mouth up next time you take a nap." He turned at Mario, who was standing up now. "Listen, I owe you my thanks, Mr. Mustache. Y'all take care, now."
Fuzzipede bounced off away from the group.
"That was the cause of the whale's stomach ache?" Double-D asked. "Who would have thought."
"Intense."
"Man, that's one way to cure a belly ache," Kevin said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"You okay, Mario?" Goombario asked with concern.
Mario shook off some excess water off. "I'm fine," he replied. "Just wet and all."
"Thank you so much, Mario!" the whale said, beaming with happiness. "Man, they should call you Dr. Mario."
Mario scratched his back with a smile. He felt it would be weird if he said right now that he actually did do part-time as a doctor. "There must be some way to express my gratitude."
Mario's head perked up a bit. "I know. How about you take us to Lavalava Island?"
"That island with a volcano? Are you sure about that? I heard it's dangerous."
Eddy growled. "We're going in there, and you'll like it!" he said, startling the whale.
"Of course! Of course! Next stop: Lavalava Island!"
"Sheesh, don't have a bird, Eddy..." Nazz sighed.
"Why should I? I hate birds!"
"It's time to head out, my tuna friend!" Kolorado said, pointing his finger to the sea. "To Lavalava Island!"
Fourteen minutes later, the remaining members of the main team were still sailing to Lavalava Island.
Eddy let out a loud groan. "Are we there yet?" he asked.
"No," Goombario answered in a stern manner.
"Now?"
"No."
"Now?"
"No."
"Now?"
"No!"
Eddy grumbled to himself.
"Are we there yet, now?" Bombette asked.
"No!" Goombario answered with an angry look. "We'll get there soon, okay?! You need to have patience, everyone!"
"But we're bored!" Everyone said, except Kolorado, Mario, Rolf, Nazz, Jimmy, Double-D, Goombario, and Kooper.
"Uh...isn't sightseeing enough for you all?" Mario asked.
"We wouldn't be bored if these dark clouds weren't here," Bombette replied.
"Actually, this is my kind of environment," Bow added, shielding herself behind her fan. "Look at these beautiful pitch-dark clouds, surrounding your very existence...with lightning and thunder!" She revealed her scary expression with thunder and lightning behind her to add the effect. Everyone on board shrieked and hugged each other while Bow cackled.
"Must you shave years off the Son of a Shepard's lifespan?!" Rolf asked in annoyance.
"Too cool!" Ed said, laughing while Bow looked at him with a bored expression.
"And you're still in your happy place."
"Nothing can freak my brother out...except maybe the Kankers." Sarah pointed out.
Suddenly, a raindrop hit on Bow as it slithered down her face. Everyone looked up and noticed it had started to rain with lightning and thunder behind.
"What have you done, Bow?!" Ed asked, shaking Bow. "Mother Nature is crying!"
"It was probably from Bow," Bombette said.
"I guess Mother Nature is afraid of Bow," Kooper added.
"Maybe Mother Nature doesn't feel accustomed with Boos," Kolorado added
"Whatever it is," Eddy said, "Bow will feel the wrath of Mother Nature's sorrow and anger!"
"YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW, SHE-WHO-IS-DEAD-BUT-NOT-DEAD!" Rolf cried.
Bow released herself from Ed's grip and slapped all of them. "Oh, be quiet, everyone! This is normal for every bad weather!"
"Guys?" the whale said, grabbing everyone's attention. "The waves here are getting violent! It's hard to swim!"
"I could tell that!" Goombario said as everyone started to wobble back and forth while staying on the whale's back. This was proven to be difficult due to the whale's smooth back with no grip.
"Poseidon!" Ed said as the water splashed him. "What do you want from us?! Are you in league with Evil Tim?!"
"Shut up, Ed!" Eddy said, grabbing Bombette in his arms. Ed and Bow held onto each other while Kolorado and Kooper did the same thing. The rain was getting heavier; the waves were slamming at the whale. The thunder was booming with resounding force; the lightning felt dangerously close. A strong wave slammed to the whale, making Mario lose his grip on Goombario and Nazz to tumble over with him.
"OH MY GOODNESS, OH MY GOODNESS!" Double-D panicked as he and Jimmy held Watt close.
"Mario!" Goombario said.
"Nazz!" Kevin cried.
Mario and Nazz slithered down the whale's back and fell down to the raging ocean. "MARIO! MARIOOOO!"
"NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZZ!"
Mario continued to struggle underwater. He tried to swim up, but the currents were too strong for him to handle. He could not see as he felt his whole body tearing up; he began to lose oxygen. He eventually lost sight of the whale as he was plunged deeper into the water of darkness. Nazz trying to swim over to him before being overtaken by the waves as well.
"NOT MARIO AND NAZZ! WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE THEM?! CURSE YOU, CLIFFHANGERS!" Ed screamed.
Next Time: Nazz's Fishy Friend
-Current Badge Collection-
Mario: Power Jump, Shrink Stomp, I Spy
Ed: Close Call, Multibounce, Mega Rush
Double-D: Refund, Damage Dodge, Power Plus
Eddy: Feeling Fine, Money Money
Kevin: Smash Charge, Quake Hammer, Defend Plus
Rolf: Dizzy Attack, Power Rush, Ice Power
Johnny: Hammer Throw, Spin Smash
Nazz: Power Bounce, D-Down Jump, Spike Shield
Sarah: D-Down Pound, Power Smash
Jimmy: Pretty Lucky, Zap Tap