breath20k
Yeah! Sounds exciting, doesn't it?
LiamTheYoshi
Flavio may be hearty, but he can get a bit out of sorts. Regarding Mario letting Luigi be the captain, the former has been a bit too nice lately, giving Luigi almost everything even though he didn't have to.
mariobroultimate
Thanks for your advice about responding to the reviews I receive. I'm so sorry I didn't read them thoroughly. And as for Flavio and his tale about the treasure, the inspiration to compare them to real-life counterparts came from when I took American history in high school.
Nataly Guardado
We'll find out about Bobbery's situation right now.
Chapter 35: Admiral Bobbery
After the Mario Bros and Vivian boarded the SS Flavion again, Mario stepped up and told Flavio what they discovered earlier.
"Just earlier, we met this Bob-omb with a captain's hat, a white mustache, and a ship's wheel on his back. But he says he's not Admiral Bobbery. Is that what he looks like?"
"That's strange..." Flavio said. "From what I remember, he does look like how you described him. But I would ask someone who is knowledgeable about the neighborhood about this."
"Good idea." Suddenly, Mario stopped in his tracks before he could leave the ship, having seen someone else on the deck.
The person was wearing a black shirt and boots with yellow overalls and a red bandana on his neck. He also wore a blue and white striped cap with purple horns.
Mario stood in shock, thinking the person would spot him. Luckily, he had his back turned, so he didn't notice Mario yet.
"What's wrong, bro?" Luigi asked, seeing Mario staring at the person.
Mario hesitated to think of an answer. "I... I thought I saw..." But he decided to forget the matter. "Never mind. It's just another crewmate."
Luigi took a quick look at the person too. "I see. Well, we're leaving to find Admiral Bobbery. Come on." He beckoned Mario to leave the ship with him. Vivian was already waiting for them on the dock.
"I was thinking, if Flavio was at the bar and knows about Admiral Bobbery, did he talk to the bartender while getting a drink?" Luigi asked.
"I hope so. After all, he needed someone to talk to before he met us," Mario agreed. They went back to the Inn's sports bar and met up with the bartender.
"Excuse me? Do you know about Admiral Bobbery?" Vivian asked the bartender.
"Hmm... Admiral Bobbery..." the bartender thought it over before figuring it out. "Yeah. I remember this guy Flavio telling me about the admiral earlier this morning."
I knew it, Mario thought.
"His house is just past the wall in the eastern part of town. But I think it would be better off if you just let him be."
"But why? We need him to go to Keelhaul Key!" Vivian said. "He's our only chance!"
"Miss, I know you and your friends want to talk him," the bartender said. "You can at least try, but there aren't any guarantees he'll speak up."
"All right..."
"Don't worry, Viv," Mario coaxed Vivian. "I'm sure Admiral Bobbery will talk to us."
Mario, Luigi, and Vivian left the Inn back to the old Bob-omb's house and knocked on the front door. The Bob-omb opened up a few seconds later.
"You again? What do you really want?" the Bob-omb calmly demanded.
"Are you Admiral Bobbery, sir?" Mario asked.
"Admiral Bobbery? I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about. Now, if you please-"
"Don't kick us out again! Please!" Vivian begged. "We know you're the admiral! Someone at the Inn told us!"
"Harumph! What poppycock..." Bobbery gave in. "Tell me, what would you want with me if I were this chump?"
"Well, we're going on a trip to Keelhaul Key, but there's no navigator onboard our ship," Luigi explained. "One of our shipmates, Flavio, said you can help do the job."
"I'm so sorry, but you'll have to look elsewhere. I shall set sail upon the sea...nevermore!"
"Sir, we need you," Mario said. "Think of how important this is. We can't get to Keelhaul Key without you."
"Again, I'm awfully sorry, dear boy," Bobbery apologized. "But when I say 'no'...it means 'NO'!"
Vivian backed up quickly, having been startled by Bobbery's outburst.
"Yes, sir. We understand," Mario responded. As Bobbery shut the door, Mario came up to Vivian. "I'm sorry he yelled at us. He's just cranky about something."
"I know... And I want him to be happy again..."
"Me too," Mario agreed. "And it looks like he can't be convinced no matter what we say."
"Maybe the bartender knows more," Luigi said. He led Mario and Vivian back to Inn's sports bar and spoke to the bartender. "We just talked to Admiral Bobbery, but he says he won't go to sea anymore. Like, we don't know why a sailor like him would hate the sea."
"Well, can't say that surprises me," the bartender answered. "The real question is, are you folks really sure you want Bobbery back on the water?"
"If you heard us earlier, we were talking with Flavio about going to Keelhaul Key, which Vivian pointed out," Mario said.
"Well, most sailors would meet their ends in the rough seas out there," the bartender stated. "Not ol' Bobbery, though. His side of the story is... Uh... It's actually pretty sad. Not kidding you."
"What's it about?" Mario asked. The bartender sighed before beginning his story.
"First off, Bobbery was once married to a wife of enduring beauty named Scarlette. The two of them were madly in love, the sort of love reserved for fairy tales. Now, Bobbery was a renowned sailor, so he was away from home for long periods. Scarlette never complained, though, and always waited faithfully for Bobbery's return. And Bobbery... His eye never drifted. He loved only Scarlette, truly and deeply. So they lived, and found happiness where they could. And all was good, for a time... But not all good things can last."
"It was a particularly icy winter when it happened... Scarlette fell ill. She had a fever and was constantly coughing up blood. Everyone assumed she had tuberculosis, but wasn't quite sure."
The Mario Bros and Vivian gasped upon hearing the word "tuberculosis".
"But it soon turned serious; Scarlette lost weight very fast and became so weak that she had to be bedridden. There was no doubt she did have tuberculosis." The bartender felt a lump in his throat and started to get choked up. "Bobbery, at sea on a long, lonely voyage, knew nothing of his diseased bride... By the time he returned, all he saw was... He could o-only see h-his wife's corpse on h-her bed...!"
Vivian was the first to get emotional, feeling so sorry for Scarlette. Mario tried to hold back his tears, yet Luigi kept his cool.
"L-literally...she was gone...! Gone, I tell y-you...! And B-Bobbery blamed himself for it...!" the bartender cried. "His reasoning was, 'My l-loving wife perished because of me... If I w-were not at sea, I could've nursed h-her to health... I could've saved her...'" The bartender stopped to wipe the tears off his face.
Mario was already crying too, thinking of Peach potentially dying from a similar disease while he and Luigi were out trying to save her from Bowser. He could've given up on everything, leaving the Mushroom Kingdom for good and letting all his friends down including his brother.
"I'm sorry, guys... I c-can feel Bobbery's pain, especially since I'm one o-of his good friends..." the bartender apologized while Mario took his cap off. "All those thoughts p-plagued him mentally... He barely got any s-sleep because that's a-all he dreamt of... And that's why he hasn't set sail ever s-since..."
"I feel you," Luigi said. "Trust me, we all have loved ones and there's that one worry about losing them all of a sudden." Luigi felt his heart drop and laid his hand on his chest. "Whoa... That just hit me..."
Just like Mario, Luigi thought of Daisy suffering the same way since both lived far from each other.
"No wonder he w-won't set sail..." Mario sniffled. "I d-don't wanna say this... But... If..." Mario stopped, not wanting to bring up the hypothetical scenario of Peach dying. "No... I can't..."
"You don't have to tell him, bro," Luigi coaxed Mario. "I know what you're thinking."
"I can tell you guys are determined to talk Bobbery into going back to sea..." the bartender said.
"We have no choice..." Mario responded.
"If that's the case, I'll give you this..." The bartender turned to the vodka bottle shelf and carefully pulled out a sealed yellowish-white envelope to give to Mario. On the front read, "To Bobbery. From Scarlette."
"There's a letter in here that you can give to Bobbery. Scarlette wrote him this just as she was dying. I don't know what she wrote, but I remember being next to her deathbed in her final moments. She said, 'If I die from this disease, and if my love should blame himself for my death...then give this letter to him so he may hear my voice.'"
Again, the bartender teared up, but managed to hold it back.
"Right as I retrieved the letter, she fell limp with her eyes open... I had to close them myself..."
"What happened when you gave the letter to Admiral Bobbery?" Luigi asked.
"When I saw Bobbery in misery...trying to forget the pain as he mourned his wife...I just couldn't bring myself to present this letter to him... I've regretted it ever since..."
The bartender slowly laid his head on the counter while Mario put his cap back on.
"Just... Just give that to Bobbery... That's all I ask... Please..."
Having composed themselves, the Mario Bros and Vivian left the sports bar, barely hearing the bartender break down again.
"Poor man," Luigi said. "He was so close to Admiral Bobbery and his wife. He may have been a brother figure or something."
Upon reaching Bobbery's house again, Luigi stepped up to knock on the door. He could hear Bobbery groaning prior to him answering the door.
"By Blabberton's beard! Not you again!" Bobbery exclaimed. "No matter how many times you entreat me, my stance is firm! Now-"
"Sir, calm down! There's no need to get pissed at us!" Mario interrupted Bobbery. "We're just here to give you something." Mario gave Bobbery the enclosed letter.
"For me? A letter?" Bobbery asked.
"It's a special one," Mario said.
Bobbery looked at the addressee and addresser on the envelope and his eyes widened.
"S-Scarlette...! It's her handwriting...!"
As Bobbery stepped back in his house, the Mario Bros and Vivian followed him inside. Then, Bobbery opened the envelope and began reading the letter.
"My love, if you're reading this letter, then I am no longer by your side. Because fate has stepped between us, I have decided to write you this letter. If you're reading this, I must have passed away while you were out to sea... I can only assume that you will blame yourself for it, my sweet Bobbery. Although my life was short, you gave me more than a lifetime's worth of joy. Though you will mourn, I beg that you remember that time, like love, is a tide. You are one with the sea...as you were one with me... Do not lose both your life's loves..."
By now, Bobbery was starting to tear up, not being able to state the complimentary closing on the bottom.
"A th-thousand pardons...but... I need some privacy b-by myself..."
Bobbery went to his bedroom to the left of the chimney and locked the door. Mario was tempted to tiptoe to the door and eavesdrop on what Bobbery could be doing, but stayed in place. He was told as a child never to disrespect any member of the military, especially an admiral.
Instead, all Mario can hear was some faint murmurs he couldn't make out. He assumed Bobbery was praying at his bedside. After five minutes, Bobbery exited his bedroom.
"Again, I apologize for the wait," Bobbery apologized. "I had to have a moment with me and the Lord."
"We understand, sir," Mario replied. "But if you still don't want to help us with the trip to Keelhaul Key, I'll have someone else be the navigator. Possibly me."
"Nonono! Don't say that! You said you need an old sea bomb like me, so I'm making that commitment!"
Mario sighed with relief. "All right-y. I guess we're off."
"Yes, let's shove off!" Bobbery agreed. He led the way out of his house toward the SS Flavion. "So, I presume your ship is in the harbor, hm?"
"It is. I hope Mr. Flavio hasn't left yet," Vivian replied. She was right after everyone reached the harbor; the ship was still awaiting departure.
"Allow me to inspect her before we leave," Bobbery requested. He did a quick walkaround and checked the exterior of the ship before boarding it. Mario, Luigi, and Vivian boarded shortly thereafter.
Flavio was smiling big once everyone was on deck.
"I knew you guys would get Bobbery on board! Especially you, Luigi! I can't ever repay you and your friends! And was I wise to accept you as captain!"
Luigi blushed at Flavio's compliment. "Uh, don't mention it."
"To you, I must say, 'Ahoy, mateys!' And to me as well," Flavio declared. While Flavio talked with the group, one of the Toads prepared to bring in the plank that was used to board the ship, but a blue Bob-omb ran up at the last second.
"Wait up!"
The Bob-omb hurried onto the ship before the plank was pulled onboard. While Mario and Luigi approached the ship's wheel, another Toad started to pull the anchor up.
"All right, crew! To the sea! Raise anchor and set sails for thrills and emotion! And romance! And money! Our destination is dread Keelhaul Key!"
Everyone but Mario cheered in response; Mario wanted to take the trip seriously. At the same time, he chose to keep Vivian with him and Luigi to ensure her safety.
A moderate breeze blew against the sails, causing the ship to officially start cruising forward.
But right as the SS Flavion left the harbor, an X-Naut hurried onto the dock and watched it sail away. He then started speaking through a walkie-talkie.
"This is X-Naut One here, come back, dude? I repeat, X-Naut One here, over. Roger, reading you five-by. Infiltration is successful. X-Naut Black aboard vessel. Repeat: X-Naut Black aboard the vessel."