I wiped the sweat from my forehead. I had just finished clearing the paint from town square (apart from the graffiti on the statue, which I showed the cops that it only got bigger with water), and was about to start on the beachfront. I began to walk towards the sand, but suddenly, FLUDD shouted, "Shine detected! Shine detected!" He pointed his nozzle at the statue. I looked at him, then made sure I knew what he was pointing at by moving to the side. His aim stayed fixed on the portal.

"You're detecting another Shine? And through the paint?" I asked him.

"I am detecting seven Shines through the paint."

"Seven?! Why didn't you detect them the first time?"

"They weren't accessible at that point."

I blinked. "Seriously, how does that scanner work?"

"It runs on plot convenience and Video Game Logic."

"Oh… Wait, what?"

"Just get in."

I shrugged, and jumped back through. Another trippy experience later, I was back at Bianco Hills, only this time, things seemed different. For one thing, a large gate was now opened, allowing me to access the other side of the wall without having to jump over it. And for another, the path on which I found the first Shine was now raised at the end, and there was a bridge leading to a large windmill on a hill (Though the windmill was there before; I just didn't feel the need to mention it).

And standing atop the windmill was a giant humanoid Piranha Plant (not made of paint this time), a Shine Sprite glowing in his hand/frond/leaf/thing.

I ran forward, taking extra care not to slip and fall down the wet slope, and leapt onto a log that was floating in the river. The momentum of my landing caused the log to pivot, and when it pivoted back, it launched me up, allowing me to land on a large, horizontally-stretched wire (don't ask me why it didn't electrocute me or how it supported my weight; I don't know, either). I bounced until I was able to launch myself high up into the air. I pressed the trigger on FLUDD's left handle, changing his nozzle to the what he called the 'Hover Nozzle'. Water came gushing out, causing me to stay airborne.

For a couple of seconds. Then the water stopped, and I started to plummet.

I grabbed onto the wire on my way down, which caused it to break. FLUDD and I screamed as we swung on the wire and were flung forward, landing and skidding to a halt on the grass.

"Why did you even try doing that?!" FLUDD asked, surprisingly sounding mad.

"I thought I could hover straight to that Piranha Plant and skip all the platforming!"

"Didn't you hear my tutorial earlier? 'You can then press the right trigger to hover in the air for a short time'!"

"Well, I know that now! Ugh, let's just walk there."

I got up, wincing at some bruises, and began to head towards the Windmill.

Along the path, there were many challenges, including dodging rolling paint boulders, spraying small Piranha Plants, and jumping across four big red balls lined in a row (no wait, I'm thinking of something else). Finally, I hitched a ride on the windmill's blades and rode them all the way to the top. I leapt onto the roof, and looked up at the behemoth in front of me. He seemed smaller when I was looking at him from the hill.

The Piranha Plant chuckled. Then, surprisingly, it spoke: "I'm Petey Piranha, and you are?"

I was slightly taken aback. "I'm Mario. I'm here to get that Shine you've got, and bring it back to Delfino Plaza."

"Why?"

"I've been wrongly accused of a crime, so —"

"So you're gonna steal something to try and prove your innocence? That's incredibly counterproductive. You're weird; Get lost!"

"But it doesn't belong to you! Heck, what are you even doing up here with it?"

"I'm trying to look for more. I saw a bunch fall into the area from the sky, but I didn't see where they landed, and so far, I've only been able to find this one — which I'm GOING to keep!"

"No! It belongs to the Piantas of Delfino Plaza!" I was getting mad.

"I found it! It's MINE!" He punctuated that by stomping his foot in anger.

But unfortunately, his large size and weight gave his stomp incredible power, and the roof began to crack beneath us. We looked at each other for a moment, then screamed as it collapsed and we fell in.

"Mario!" FLUDD shouted, reminding me that I still had him, and he was still on the Hover Nozzle. I pulled the trigger, and he sprayed water down, allowing me to slow my descent and land with a gentle thud.

Petey, on the other hand, landed hard. But he was a big guy, and a plant, so he was able to survive without any major injuries.

He got up. "Now look what you made me do! The windmill's broken! Where am I supposed to scout from now?!" He growled in anger, practically foaming at the mouth.

Actually, something was coming out of his mouth in his anger. But it wasn't foam —

It was paint?

"You want this Shine so badly? Then you can have it — when you pry it from my cold, dead hands!"

He hocked up a large wad of paint in my direction, but I dodged it, as there was a lot of room inside. For a windmill, there sure was a lack of actual windmill parts. The only things in the room were us and a system of pipes that broke when Petey fell, and was now pouring water out. I refilled FLUDD using this, then started running towards Petey.

"Mario! Aim for the mouth, and give it all you've got!" FLUDD shouted. I nodded.

Switching FLUDD's nozzle back to 'Spray', I waited for an opening. When Petey readied another ball of paint to spit at me, I pulled the trigger and sprayed directly into his mouth, not stopping until the tank was empty. He practically ballooned up with water, becoming sluggish, and eventually toppling over. It was a rather cartoonish sight to behold.

"I'm not finished yet!" He said, straining. "Just gotta… get up…" He tried to get up, but he was too heavy.

FLUDD shouted, "Now's your chance! Ground pound on his belly!"

"What? Ew, no!"

"That's the only way you'll be able to defeat him!"

"How do you know?"

"Do you not see the giant red arrow?!"

I looked, and sure enough, there was a giant red arrow pointing directly at his distended belly (I still don't know what caused it). Sighing, I begrudgingly jumped up and ground pounded the spot. The water practically exploded out of his mouth, and he screamed in pain.

FLUDD cheered, "Good job, Mario! Now, do it two more times!"

"NO!" Petey shouted. "Alright, I give up! Just take it!" He practically threw the Shine at me, then rubbed his aching body. "You guys are weirdos!"

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" FLUDD said, a hint of smugness in his voice.

Petey groaned and coughed, then flapped his arms/fronds/leaves/wings?!/things and took off, leaving us with the Shine. I grabbed it and pulled a pose, and with that, I was out of there.