Pikpixie (disclaimer): I don't own anyone or anything of this game. Wish I could! ;p (This '' means continued with sentences when characters talk) Oh and I used Latha font for FLUDD. And I gave the Polluted Piranhas some other ways to attack since in the game they basically don't do anything to you. I hope you enjoy the revised version of my fic.
On with the story!
Chapter One
Vacation
A high-pitch roar sounded as Princess Peach's pink jet soared among the clouds. Deciding to take a break and unwind, Mario and the princess, along with Toadsworth and a handful of other Toads, decided to go to one of the islands to take their vacation in. Being the princess, Peach got to pick out one of the islands first. After she picked one out, they boarded her plane and took off. Destination: Isle Delfino.
The plumber and the princess discussed how they should spend their vacation time once they got to the island. Toadsworth, the princess's adviser, waddled in from checking up on Lemon T., the yellow Toad, and Tide T., the blue Toad, the plane pilots. The elder Toad hopped on his seat and settled into it just as a cute golden sun symbol appeared and sparkled over the Isle Delfino map.
"Ooh, look at that!" Peach remarked as a group of Piantas overtook the screen. The islanders introduced them all to Isle Delfino in a warm greeting. They launched into telling them all the wonderful things about their island; the lands, the shops, the rides on the theme park, and...the food. Yes, the food. That one word was all it took for Mario to go into La-La Land. Throughout most of the pleasant greetings...a strange black figure ran about in the background. Princess Peach noticed...
"Mario?! That...that shadow..." Peach was surprised to see a black image of her greatest friend in the screen. She turned and looked at the plumber. Yep. Still not home. She turned back to the screen, confused. "Toadsworth did you see..." Peach murmured, turning to her adviser, only to realize that he, too, was gone into La-La Land when they spoke about the rides. The princess sighed helplessly as Delfino Airstrip came into view.
"Airstrip sighted. We'll be landing right about..." Lemon T. reported from the speakers. Peach closed her eyes and relaxed as the plane touched down. Which only lasted for about two seconds before she was startled back awake when Tide T. yelped.
"HIT THE BRAKES! Turn right! Turn right!!" he yelled as the yellow Toad slammed on the brakes and wrenched the wheel to a hard right. The plane screeched into a halt as it made the turn, stopping at an angle. The sudden stop flung everyone in the plane to the floor with a crash.
"What happened?" Peach mumbled from the below the pile of bodies. Wouldn't she like to know?
Everyone stared in horror at the pinkish paint-like goop that covered most of the middle section of the airstrip. The Toads took a closer look. They scrunched up their faces in disgust at the goo.
"What's this paint-like goop?" Ben T., a red Toad, asked.
"It's...moving!" Lemon T. wailed, as Toadsworth waved his cane at them.
"Now now, boys! Don't touch that stuff." he warned.
Mario spoke to him about how suspicious this was. He then eyed the gooey mess warily. Peach looked up to see how far the paint went. She saw more than she hoped for...
On top of one of the water tanks, stood the black stranger. It stared at her. Only her. It seemed to ignore the others and focused all of its attention at her. Peach blinked rapidly in surprise then glanced down at everyone else.
"Um, excuse me but..."
No one paid attention to her because they were still talking about the goop that was in the way. The princess sighed and looked up again to see if the stranger was still looking at her. He was gone.
"I'm most concerned about the well-being of the princess in this dreadful heat." Toadsworth turned to Mario. "Master Mario, if you would, cross over to that shore and find some assistance."
"Okay. I am concerned about her being in the sun, too. But..." Mario agreed, glancing back at the gunk still on the airstrip with suspicious look, "I'm also concerned about that junk." He started to walk off when Peach touched his arm, worried.
"Mario, be careful. I have a bad feeling about this..." the princess whispered. Mario nodded as Tide T. smiled up at him.
"Don't worry, Mario! We'll look after the princess! Please go and get help." he assured the plumber.
"Oh, yeah. I'm sure you'll watch her very closely. You guys have the eyes of a hawk. Or, more likely, the eyes of a blind man." the plumber muttered under his breath. As he was making his way out, Mario listened to Lemon T. and Wit T., a green Toad, complain about either the goop or the ruined vacation.
"Ick, Mario! It's all...goopy!" the yellow Toad whimpered.
"We came all this way, and now look! Everything's spoiled! Oh...this is the worst! Mario! Please go get some help!" the green Toad groaned.
The red plumber then came upon Mon T., the purple Toad, who was hunched over the pink goo. He hummed, struck his finger in the paint and scooped some up. He then rubbed the substance between his fingers and hummed some more. Mario watched it all with a raised eyebrow.
"What are you doing, Mon T.?" the Mushroom Kingdom hero asked. The Toad looked up at him briefly before returning his gaze back to the mess with a suspicious look on his face.
"Thinking. It looks like this gunk is coming from somewhere below." Mon T. replied, pointing at the large mound of it in the center of the mess. "It's really slippery, so watch your step," he advised. Mario thanked him and moved on.
It took some time but Mario finally made it to the opposite shore, after a few close encounters. Along the way, he tried to help a Pianta that was trapped in the gooey mess. Which was noticeable from the small tree that grew on their heads was the only thing sticking out of there. Try as he would but he just couldn't get the Pianta out, even with the pink female Pianta yelling at him, "What're you waiting for? Do something! This gooey paint of yours completely covered my friend!!!"
But what shocked him the most was what she said to him. But that's impossible! How could this paint be his? It was his first time being here. Still pondering over the questions, Mario walked over to a light blue male Pianta. The islander smiled at him and snatched up a book. Mario looked up at him and smiled. Finally! Someone who can help him out!
"Hello. Do you mind helping me-" the plumber started but the Pianta cut him off. The islander slapped the book to Mario's chest. Hard.
"Welcome to Isle Delfino! Step right up and get yourself a free tourist map!" he greeted as he slapped the plumber on the back. Hard. The slaps knocked the wind out of him. Mario stood there, gasping, to regain his breath. The Pianta waved him goodbye and walked away.
"Okay...thanks...ow." the plumber wheezed, clutching the book to him.
After recovering his breath, Mario walked toward an orange male Pianta. He sighed as he tucked the guidebook into his pocket and walked up to the Pianta. The Pianta was looking at a poster on the wall of a check-in tower.
"Um, excuse me. But can you help me?" the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom asked. The Pianta turned to him with a blank look.
"Huh? Have we met somewhere before? I feel like I've seen you somewhere...and recently, too." he assumed, peering at the plumber. Mario looked confused.
"Um, no." Mario turned and walked away. He came upon a yellow male Pianta, who was hopping up and down like mad. The plumber walked up to him and cleared his throat. The Pianta glared down at him. Mario gulped and asked him if he could help him out. The Pianta's eyes flashed angrily.
"Help? Help you? Are you crazy? We're the ones who need help! Take that water pump and clean up the airstrip, you...you!" he sputtered in rage, pointing at a strange looking pump. Mario backed away toward the pump, sensing his anger.
The plumber reached the pump and looked at it. The pump was no bigger than him. Yellow and blue in color, it has a clear hard plastic tank, filled with water. The nozzle made up the head of the thing and attached to the sides of the upper part of the tank were the controls, or the arms of the pump. Mario took a step forward to pick it up when the pump shifted on it's own!
It spread its arms to balance itself and shook it's head as if it just woke up. It looked up at the plumber. Mario stared back, amazed.
"Power-up complete. Thank you for purchasing this item from Gadd Science, Incorporated. Preparing to register customer information. Scanning subject now..." it said in a strange robotic, yet soft voice, which took Mario by surprise, and began to scan Mario, "Subject classified as Mario, resident of the Mushroom Kingdom. Data storage complete. I am FLUDD, Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device. I hope to be of assistance."
Mario strapped the pump onto his back, it was a bit heavy but he'll get use it. FLUDD looked over the plumber's shoulder and at him. It seemed to smile proudly at the plumber. "Proceeding with user information."
After a few short minutes of explaining how he was worked and used, Mario soon got the hang of using FLUDD. "User instructions complete. Proceed." FLUDD remarked and looked around. It spotted two red M's on the side of two water tanks. "Mario! Try washing off those M's to test your skills." the pump advised. Mario turned, spotted them, aimed, and fired.
A stream of cool water spewed out of FLUDD's mouth and slammed onto one of the tanks. The red M washed off and left behind a gold coin. The duo did the same to the other tank and received another gold coin. Mario beamed happily and raced off to clean up the area.
He first ran toward the trapped Pianta. He aimed and FLUDD sprayed, washing away the pink goop. The Pianta popped out of the muck and tried to clean himself off, but the paint wouldn't come off! Mario sprayed him to help him clean off. The Pianta jumped for joy as Mario ran up to him and asked if he was okay.
"Brrrrupth! Bleeah! Whoa! I really thought I was a goner!" the Pianta exclaimed after he spat out leftover paint from his mouth. He then looked Mario over and grew angry, "Hey...Hang on! It's you! This whole mess is your fault!" he snapped and walked off in a huff along with his friend. FLUDD cocked his head, confused.
"It appears to be that they accuse you for the mess." FLUDD remarked. Mario frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Yeah, I know. It's strange though," he muttered, "I've never been here before in my life." FLUDD turned his head around and looked at the large paint mass in the middle of the mess.
"How about we forget about that and clean that mound of paint." the pump suggested. Mario looked over his shoulder, which was difficult to do because FLUDD was in the way.
"Oh, yeah. May be if we clean this up then everyone can get off my case. And I can start on my vacation."
They raced off toward the mound and sprayed it. It quivered and made a strange noise. The plumber glared at it and marched forward. Of course, Mario didn't see a glob of paint in front of his foot. He slipped and slid over to the mound and smacked into it. The mound expanded in response, which caused Mario to be flung backwards.
The plumber held his head, dazed and sore. FLUDD looked at the pinkish goop, studying it. He returned his gaze back a Mario.
"Mario, are you alright?" the water pump asked. The red plumber nodded; shaking off the dizziness and standing up, ready to face the mass of paint again. FLUDD smiled, which was hard to see because he was only a pump, and studied the paint again.
"Mario, I've scanned the mass. It seems that the paint is weak against water. Why not spray it and see if it's true?" FLUDD advised.
"Right! Let's just see how strong that goop is!" Mario replied and sprayed it.
The pink mound quivered in response of the sprayed water. The duo continued to spray it until it took up a new form: a huge pink Piranha Plant. People on the Airstrip screamed in terror and ran about in an effort to get away. Mario's blue eyes went wide in horror as the creature towered over him. It was about the same size as Lava Piranha in Lava Lava Island! FLUDD scanned it.
"Exactly how in the world do I beat this thing?! Lava Piranha was hard to beat! It took me hours before I was able to defeat him! And that's with help! This thing is gonna be awfully difficult to beat!" Mario wailed as FLUDD finished his scan.
The Polluted Piranha didn't do much of anything...just wavered it's head around, opening it's mouth every once in awhile.
"And why isn't it attacking me?"
"Mario, forget about why that thing isn't attacking you. Just figure out how you should attack it."
Mario aimed FLUDD at it and sprayed. Polluted Piranha quivered in response of the water attack with ease. It smiled cruelly at them. The plumber glared at it.
"Well, that was pointless. It didn't do anything." Mario grumbled, lowering his eyes to think of a plan of attack, as FLUDD looked at the painted piranha plant. Polluted Piranha chose that moment to attack.
It opened its mouth and spat out an over-sized paint ball at Mario! FLUDD reared his head back in horror at the paint ball's incredible speed and size.
"MARIO! Look out!" the water pump cried out too late. Mario snapped his head up in time to be slammed against the floor by the ball. Polluted Piranha seemed to enjoy its attack on the unsuspecting Mario. The plumber emerged from the pink paint and shot the piranha plant an angry glare.
"Oh, you did not just do that, painted piranha freak!" he snapped. Polluted Piranha opened its mouth mockingly, as if to stick it's tongue out at him. Mario growled, aimed and fired a stream of water into it.
Polluted Piranha yowled deeply in its throat in pain. FLUDD scanned the muck-covered plant's head. There! Its mouth was the weak point of this monster! Just two more sprays should do it! He relayed the information to the plumber.
The piranha plant coughed up more painted sludge balls at them in frenzy. The duo maneuvered around the attacks and continued to spray its mouth two more times.
"Mrrrraaaallll!" Polluted Piranha shrieked in pain and evaporated into the air, taking all of the paint with it. Without the weight of the piranha plant, the rest of the Airstrip popped up to the surface. Something else also popped up. Something small, gold, and glowing. Mario grabbed it.
The plumber looked at it, turning it over in his hands. A cute sun symbol with eyes was the object he grabbed. It was smooth and warm, like the sun's rays. It looked familiar to him. He knew he saw it somewhere before...but where?
"Nice work, Mario" Princess Peach called out to him, breaking his thoughts. Mario looked up at her and smiled, absently pocketing the small sun. The rest of the group joined her, shouting in joy and happiness at Mario's victory. Toadsworth looked at Mario's back.
"Quite an unusual device." the old Toad remarked, "Is it some sort of pump?" FLUDD shifted, surprising everyone except for Mario.
"I am FLUDD. Glad to meet you." he greeted cheerfully, surprising the group again. As the group celebrated on the victory, Lemon T. noticed two Pianta officers marching up to them. And they didn't look too happy.
"Hey! Someone's coming." he called out to get their attentions. Everyone looked up in time to see the two officers standing there, glowering at Mario.
"You are under arrest for the pollution of Isle Delfino." one of the officers said to Mario. The other snapped the handcuffs onto the plumber's wrists. The group looked shocked and began to protest against the charges. Mario was shocked as well but made no move to resist. Had he did, then the officers will be sure that he was the criminal. The Pianta officer turned to Peach and the Toads, motioning them to follow.
"Objection" "Objection" both Peach and Toadsworth cried, sitting up in their seats in the courtroom. The Pianta Judge slammed the small hammer down.
"Overruled!" he replied sharply, "Until the island is free of his vile handiwork...Mario is not allowed to leave!"
BAM!
BAM!
Mario sat on the floor in his cell, quite confused. FLUDD looked sad and did a scan of the entire island.
"This appears to be quite a predicament, Mario. Data analysis verifies that the island's inhabits are indeed troubled by pollution. But the pollution itself is not the main problem." the water pump said, turning to face Mario. "Mario, you witnessed this object at the Airstrip, correct?" it asked, drawing a sun symbol in the dust on the floor. The red plumber nodded and pulled it out. It glowed softly.
"It is a Shine Sprite. Shine Sprites are the source of power on Isle Delfino. They used to gather in great numbers at the Shine Gate. But the graffiti incident has the polluted the island and most of the Shine Sprites have fled. There is no longer any power to support the peaceful lifestyle of the islanders. It is the most pitiable.
The only way to ensure the return of the Shine Sprites is to keep the island from becoming any dirtier. The perpetrator is likely at work, even as we speak. And you, Mario, are being treated as a criminal. Tomorrow we must do our best to resolve this situation." FLUDD murmured and Mario agreed...
Pikpixie: Well? What do you think? Good? Bad? This is a lot harder than it looks! I've already beaten the game so I have to reset a file to get all the info I need for this fic. (Whew!)
?: When do I make my appearance?
Pikpixie (angrily): When you disappear! Now get! It's almost time for your part.
?: I'll be waiting for you Mario....
Mario: I'm already here.
?: Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! (Jumps into the air)