I woke up the next morning well-rested and feeling relaxed. I took a hot shower, changed back into my normal clothes (as I was still wearing the prison uniform), and poured myself a hot cup of coffee.

But as I took the last sip, there was a knock at the door. I opened it, and gasped, dropping my mug.

"Hey, bro!" Luigi said, setting down his suitcase and giving me a hug.

"Luigi!?" I was flabbergasted. "What're you doing here?"

"Didn't you see the news?" He came in and turned on the TV, but the news wasn't on. "Huh, that's a first... Anyway, I heard all that stuff about you getting arrested, the Shadow Mario, the Bowser Mech —everything!"

"Right... And you're here because...?"

"I wanna help!"

"You do?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Luigi, a scaredy cat through and through, wanted to willingly join in on an adventure?

"Yeah! It's gotten kinda repetitive living at my mansion with the Professor. Oh, and speaking of which, he sent me with a message! I'd asked him how he knew that you'd need that FLUDD thing, and he told me that he accidentally sold a paintbrush he made to — get this — Bowser's son!"

"Wow, that explains a lot. I mean, I already learned about Bowser Jr."

"You did?" That seemed to kinda take the wind out of his sails a bit, but he quickly regained it when I explained what Bowser Jr. had said. "He really thinks that Peach is his mom?"

"Yeah, how ridiculous is that?"

"Well, what with the kidnappings, they do spend a lot of time together..."

I was appalled at the mere thought of it. "Luigi! She said so herself!"

"Ah, nevermind."

I shook my head and patted Luigi's.

Suddenly, FLUDD whirred back to life. "Charging complete."

Luigi looked over and saw him. "Oh, it's you!"

"Luigi!" FLUDD recognized him. "I haven't seen you since I was a little spray bottle!"

Luigi patted FLUDD's spray head.

Suddenly, Peach burst in. "Who wants to go have some fun at Pinna Park?"

Then she realized that Luigi was in the room. "Oh, hey, Luigi."

—

We got off the boat a half an hour later, and stepped into Pinna Park proper. There were a lot of Piantas, as well as tourists from lots of other places, standing in lines for the rides. From where we stood, I could see a carousel, a rollercoaster, two pirate ship-themed swings, a Ferris wheel, and the head of the Bowser Mech, which had been carried into the park and repurposed as a kind of "Freakish Anomalies" museum.

We paid for tickets and headed for the rides.

Long story short, we all had a great time. Luigi threw up a few times, but he still went on the wilder rides.

I had just gotten off of the Ship Swing, when I noticed a large egg sitting in the corner between a picnic table and the concession stands. I walked up to it and lightly touched it, surprised to discover that it was made of paint. Suddenly, it started to jerk around.

Then a female voice came from inside, "Help! A weird guy trapped me in this egg!"

I gasped, then decided to help. I tried to spray it with water, but it did nothing. I then looked around for something hard to help me break it open.

When I passed the concessions, I noticed that they had coconuts, so I bought one, and went back to the egg. I tried to smash open the shell with it, but the moment it touched the egg, it was drawn in, phasing through the shell. I heard the creature inside chewing, then suddenly, the egg split apart, freeing its victim.

When I saw what was inside, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a pinkish-white Yoshi!

"Thank y—" She stopped when he saw my face. "Wait, aren't you the guy that trapped me in here?!"

"No, no! The guy who trapped you disguised himself as me to ruin my reputation! Is it really that hard to tell us apart?"

"Well, I'm colorblind, so it's at least harder for me..." She calmed down. "I'm Yoshiki Kiyoshi, but you can call me Shiki."

"And I'm Mario Mario, but you can call me... Mario."

"And I'm FLUDD, a robotic water pump and Mario's partner in his quest to clear his name and stop the imposter."

Shiki blinked. "Alright, I'm just going to pretend I understood that. Anyway, I'm really thankful that you saved me!"

"I'm just glad I could help."

Yoshi looked around. "Where's my buffet?"

"Your buffet?" I was confused.

"Buffet, the collective noun for Yoshi."

"Oh, I get it; because Yoshi are known for their insatiable appetite."

"Yeah... My friends were all here, but now they're gone!" She gasped, "Did that bad guy kidnap them?!"

"I don't know," I admitted, "But I'll help you look for them."

"Really? Oh, then I really owe you!"

"Oh, it's no trouble. When I was a baby, I was rescued by a buffet of Yoshis, so I'm kinda like family"

"Wow, really?"

Before I could respond, Luigi came rushing past me, stopping at a trash can to throw up.

"Hey, Luigi! Once you're done, I've got something you can help me with!"

"Awesome," Luigi replied.