Chapter Three: The Video.

We sat in closely as our father began his testament. His pleasant face brought a warmth throughout the musty hut as we listened intently for his words. Maybe it was the radiation of the set, or his whistly voice, but something gave us the distinct feeling that he was standing right there, before us.

"To my oldest son, I leave my collection of coins I have amassed in my many adventures. May their shinyness fill you with joy."

Mario sat, frozen in place. The entire collection? He must have thought. Mind you, it wasn't much after the currency exchange, but maintaining and managing such a large amount of coins would be a nightmare. Just hauling that stuff over to his place would be a hassle.

"I also leave him all my old uniforms," continued Papa.

This was what Brother had feared. To strap on someone else's clothes was to continue in their footsteps, to complete their legacy. Was he ready for this? Could he handle the dry cleaning expenses?

The video resumed. "To my youngest son, I give my kart garage and repair shop."

I smiled. Even in his old age, Papa tuned up the vehicles before every Grand Prix. It wasn't a surprise that he had left the place to me, since he taught me to carry on the business. But now that he was gone, I could probably get around to adding some seatbelts on the forsaken things.

"Along with this, I pass on the tennis courts, golf clubs, and Hotel deed."

A smart person could guess what I would do with those.

Papa went on. "To Toad, I-"

Toad?

"Hold on, stop the tape!" Mario said. "Toad isn't here, and he really should be a witness to this."

"That's all right," said the jungle guide. "I'm his cousin."

Cranky ran a finger through his woolly beard. "Oh? Hmm... I suppose a relative to the one receiving an heirloom is enough of a witness."

The tape was rewound, then un-paused. "To Toad, I leave my priceless porcelain Yoshi eggs. Remember to keep them at a low, secure place."

"I'll be sure to give Toad the message," said the guide.

"Now," said Papa, "What was the other thing? Oh yes: I leave my cash and all the rest of the Mario fortune to..."

"Yes?" said Mario, as if he were right there.

"To..."

"Come on now!" yelled Cranky, frantically hopping on one foot.

The video image began to distort and bend, making the message unclear. The ape attempted to fix this by slapping the side of the monitor with his cane. Surprisingly, it didn't work.

Smartly, Mario ejected the tape, shook it around a lot, then reinserted it. This time, the monitor blinked gray, then black, in a repeating cycle.

"Darn it!" said the guide, then climbed to the top of the device, and jumped on it. His idea actually worked a little.

The image jittered. "For-fortune to..."

We finally received the gratifying answer. "The lady Pauline, my love."

The guide fell off the monitor like a log, losing his footing after being momentarily dazed.

Our mother? Pauline? "Who knows where she might be now?" I spoke aloud, no longer able to hold it in.

"I believe that would be me," said Cranky simply.

My jaw instantly dropped. "Are you telling me that all this time you knew who our mother was and where to find her?"

"Not exactly," said the gorilla. "I received a tip a few weeks before your father passed, concerning her whereabouts. Unfortunately, the details aren't exact."

"Well?"said Mario, speaking with utter indignation. "What were they?"

"Most of it mentioned a bit about the inner city - the commercial district, if I remember correctly. But there was also something about an item that was shipped to the same area..."

Brother definitely looked confused. "What do you mean?"

DK waved his cane up and down for effect. "I mean there was supposed to be a package delivered to one of you two, but my son may have mislabeled it and sent it over there by mistake."

"But what's inside the package?" asked the guide, finally getting to his feet.

Papa's voice suddenly came back on the set. "Erm, I think I'm running out of room here, so I'll switch over to tape two."

Cranky pointed his cane at the screen. "That would be it." He then stabbed his cane sharply on the ground to heighten the tension. "If there's any more info on how to find Pauline, it would be on that second tape."

I was dumbfounded. A second tape? How much did Papa have to say?

The ape reached behind the ornate barrel once again, this time revealing a small, messy map written on a scrap of parchment. "Just follow these directions. They should get you within a one-mile radius."

Just what we wanted to hear.