In this chapter, Toad Town is going to be invaded by Shy Guys! They're a bunch of dirty thieves! Don't worry, they won't try to steal Baby Mario. I'm pretty sure Yoshi will make sure of that.
Rest assured, our heroes will do their best to get their belongings back. They're the heroes of this fanfic, after all. You probably already knew that, but yeah. Strangely enough they're being led by a general.
Chapter 29: It's Bedlam
As soon as our heroes arrived back at Toad Town, they quickly realized that something was wrong.
'Psst! Mario!" exclaimed Twink.
He was hiding in a cardboard box.
"Why are you hiding in that box?" asked Lincoln.
"I'm trying to stay safe...the next Star Spirit is located in the Shy Guys' toybox!" shouted Twink.
Mario looked around, and realized why he was hiding.
There were Shy Guys everywhere. One of them scampered by Mario.
"Since when was this town known as Shy Guy Town?" asked Kooper. He was reminded of the time that Fuzzies decided that they would cause trouble in Koopa Village.
"I don't know, but that's what bothers me..." said Lincoln. It reminded him of the time that Fuzzies decided to invade Koopa Village. They had made off with everyone's shells, which were precious to them.
Although, it didn't seem that the Toads had been replaced with the Shy Guys. The Toads still seemed to be there.
However, they could tell that they were panicking. Something bad was going on.
In fact, it looked as if they were being invaded.
Apparently, the Shy Guys had chosen to strike while they were off attempting to collect the Star Spirits.
"Aahhh!" screamed one of the Toads.
Not only that, but it seemed like there were things that were...missing.
"Something is going on here..." noted Lisa.
Lily had a worried expression on her face. And yes, even though she was a baby, she had a good grasp of her surroundings.
"These Shy Guys remind me of me..." remarked Lucy. Perhaps they weren't in public very often, just as she was.
Lincoln decided to ask what was going on.
"Thank goodness you're back, Lincoln and Mario!" shouted the Toad.
"Can you explain what's going on?" asked Lincoln.
"While you were away, some Shy Guys began looting the town! We don't even know where they're coming from!" shouted the Toad.
"There's got to be a source somewhere..." noted Goombario.
For now, perhaps they could check to see what had been stolen.
Curiously enough, nobody had attempted to rob the Master.
Perhaps it made sense considering how strong he was. Maybe they were looking out for themselves.
They also discovered Chuck Quizmo.
However, there seemed to be something different about him.
"Can we play trivia?" asked Kooper.
"Not at the moment. The Shy Guys stole my hat!" exclaimed Quizmo.
"Oh no!" shouted Bombette.
Sure enough, his top hat was missing.
Perhaps they should look around for it.
It seemed that Tayce T's cookbook had been stolen as well.
In other words, they wouldn't be able to have her make food for them until they got it back.
"What am I going to do?" asked Tayce T. Was her days of being a chef over?
She hoped not.
The Shy Guys sure were making things inconvenient for our heroes.
However, they hadn't tried to rob them yet. Perhaps they thought it was too risky.
"By the way, one of the Shy Guys mentioned something about a Star Spirit..." noted the Toad. Another had mentioned one of the Koopalings.
Sure enough, Twink seemed to be around.
"You don't suppose one of the Star Spirits was underneath our noses the entire time, do you?" inquired Lisa. Usually Bowser would locate the Star Spirit further away from Toad Town than this, though for whatever reason they seemed to be able to get to where the Star Spirits were being held from Toad Town.
"It would be the ideal hiding spot..." noted Goombario. It would be the place that they least expected.
Twink explained that the next Star Spirit was located in the Shy Guy's Toybox.
Now that they thought of it, there seemed to be a lot of Shy Guys in this town as of yet.
Perhaps that was where they were coming from.
Maybe if they defeated their leader, they could put an end to the thefts.
At the very least, they could find what had been stolen.
"Has any of you seen a toy box?" asked Lana.
Lola happened to have a lot of toys personally. However, she wondered if the Shy Guys happened to have an even bigger toy box than she did.
If so, she was feeling kind of jealous.
"No, though one of the Shy Guys did enter that empty house." noted the Toad. It seemed odd that he would enter it considering that there was nothing for him to grab inside.
Curious, the heroes decided to investigate.
Using Lady Bow, they decided to hide themselves.
One of the Shy Guys revealed a secret passageway.
Sure enough, it led to a toybox.
It looked as if this was their hideout. Theoretically the Shy Guys were coming from somewhere.
If so, it was likely that the toybox was where they were keeping what they had stolen.
The heroes decided to make a checklist of what had been stolen.
Sure, they wanted to rescue the Star Spirit, but considering that the Star Spirits were absent, why not grant the townsfolks' wishes and bring back their stolen items?
Besides, helping others was what heroes did. And Lincoln was pretty certain Mario was a hero.
Much to Parakarry's fury, the postmaster had his mailbag stolen.
"They've gone too far!" shouted Parakarry.
Fortunately, that meant Parakarry was onboard to stopping the Shy Guys.
It was just as well. Something told Lincoln that some of the Shy Guys had the power to fly.
Considering that Lincoln had the power of flight, it would make sense if they had some countermeasures for that. Mario himself couldn't fly...unless of course, he had a Wing Cap.
But it didn't seem as if Wing Caps were in stock at the shop at the moment.
Speaking of shops, Rowf had his calculator stolen.
This wasn't good, for he used that calculator to determine how much money his customers owed him. It looked as if they wouldn't be able to buy badges from him at the moment.
Surprisingly, it seemed that while the Shy Guys had only stolen his calculator, and that they hadn't touched the badges.
Perhaps they didn't know how to use badges as Mario did.
One of the Shy Guys might know how though.
Harry also had his Storeroom Key stolen...so it looked as if they were going to have to find it if they wanted to buy from him again.
"What did he even want with that key?" asked Harry. He didn't even bother unlocking the door.
Apparently, they were just kleptomaniacs.
For now, our heroes entered the toybox.
"Is it just me, or is it a lot bigger in the inside that it is on the outside?" inquired Bow.
"Actually, i have a theory for that." answered Goombario.
It seemed as if though they had been shrunk down to fit inside of it.
Sure enough, there seemed to be Shy Guys.
However, there was no sign of what had been stolen at the moment.
The heroes decided to look around.
Sure enough, there was a Shy Guy wearing a top hat.
"Look at me! I'm a millionaire!" exclaimed the Shy Guy. He had put on a monocle to go with it.
That undoubtedly belonged to Chuck Quizmo.
"Get him!" shouted Lincoln.
The Shy Guy attempted to run away, but he tripped.
Mario grabbed the top hat.
"Darn it! It made me look wealthy!" exclaimed the Shy Guy.
Curious, Lola noticed another Shy Guy attempted to steal her crown on her head.
She pulled out her frying pan.
"Don't even think about it..." said Lola.
The Shy Guy scurried away. There was some things that just weren't worth stealing.
"Alright! We got Chuck Quizmo's hat back!" exclaimed Lincoln.
Mario gave the thumbs up.
No doubt Chuck Quizmo would be happy to have it back.
And indeed he was.
"Thank you!" exclaimed Chuck Quizmo. Now he could ask trivia questions again.
"What trivia questions did you have in mind?" asked Lincoln.
Chuck Quizmo pulled out his list.
"Let's see..." said Quizmo.
The heroes waited patiently.
"How many stars were there to collect in the original Super Mario 64?" asked Chuck Quizmo. "I'll give you a hint, it's not 64!"
There were actually more that could be collected in the remake, but that game was somewhat different in that there were four playable characters instead of only Mario. Strangely enough one of them happened to be Yoshi who had a cameo in the original.
"120!" shouted Lincoln.
"Correct!" exclaimed Quizmo.
Unsurprisingly, Lincoln received a Starman plushie.
Strangely enough, touching the Power Stars didn't actually make Mario invincible.
Of course, if they did, there was no way that Mario would have defeated Bowser after he stole that enormous Power Star.
"What is the sequel to Paper Mario?" asked Quizmo.
Mario spoke in Italian.
"Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door? That's correct!" exclaimed the worm.
Lincoln wondered if there would be a sequel to this fanfic based on that. Then again, his parents would be worried if he was swallowed inside a video game once more.
Mario got a Goombella plushie.
Chuck Quizmo asked another question.
"Who is Lincoln's voice actor?"
"Huh?" asked Lincoln.
Crickets chirped in the background.
"I think you broke the fourth wall..." noted Goombario. Next he would be asking who created Mario. Though truth be told, there were actually multiple answers to that question.
Then again, didn't asking what the sequel for Paper Mario was also count as a fourth wall break?
"Anyone?" asked Quizmo.
"I think it's Grant Palmer..." said Lynn.
Lincoln scratched his head.
"Correct!" exclaimed Chuck Quizmo.
Lynn got a Lincoln plushie.
"Wow, it really looks like the real thing." noted Lynn.
"I hope that's not a voodoo doll..." said Lincoln.
"Don't worry, it's not. We don't practice that sort of thing." noted Chuck Quizmo.
Lincoln sighed in relief. To be honest, he wondered if Lucy had an interest in that sort of thing.
She didn't seem interested in hurting others, though. Even those that mocked her for being different at school.
He had one more question to ask.
"What was Tubba Blubba's weakness?" asked Chuck Quizmo.
"Good question." answered Lincoln.
That was something that the Boos were dying to know. They didn't stand a chance of stopping him without it. As long as his heart and Tubba Blubba were separate, the latter was effectively invincible.
"It was his heart." said Bow.
"Correct!" exclaimed Chuck Quizmo.
Bow got a Clubba plushie, but she didn't seem to want that after facing a certain Boo eater.
She handed it to Parakarry. To be honest, she wouldn't be too surprised if Parakarry slept on the job every once in a while.
Though they were certainly happy to get the top hat back for Chuck Quizmo, it also occurred them that the other residents of Toad Town still needed their help. Until they did so, things in Toad Town just wouldn't be the same.
Besides, the Shy Guys still had one of the Star Spirits. They should try to reclaim THAT at least. Otherwise their dreams would stay dreams and not become reality. That wouldn't be fun.
However, the Star Spirit was most likely not being guarded by a normal Shy Guy.
They decided to go back to the toy box.
However, it seemed that the Shy Guys were starting to become aware of their presence.
Perhaps they would eventually alert their leader, whoever they might be.
Curious, they noticed a portrait of General Guy on the wall.
Could it be he was the leader?
Although, it was strange that the normally goofy Shy Guys would have a general.
Then again, maybe times had changed now that Bowser was in charge of them.
Suddenly, they heard laughing.
"Lemmy?" asked Lincoln.
Sure enough, it was none other than Lemmy Koopa. As usual, he was riding a ball. Compared to the other Koopalings, he was rather short. That did not mean he wasn't a good fighter, however.
"Come here to spoil our fun, huh?" asked Lemmy.
"You're behind the invasion?" asked Bombette.
"Yes, and no. General Guy masterminded the invasion, but I was the one who came up with the idea in the first place!" exclaimed Lemmy Koopa.
"Give back everything you stole!" demanded Parakarry.
"How about no." answered the small Koopa.
Lemmy Koopa pulled out his wand and summoned several Shy Guys.
"Keep our playmates company, will you?" asked Lemmy Koopa.
He hopped away.
"I guess we better get ready to fight." noted Lincoln.
Fortunately, it didn't seem they were hopelessly outnumbered.
However, it seemed that with General Guy leading them, the Shy Guys were fairly organized.
The Shy Guys lunged towards Lincoln.
He punched one of them, then flew up in the air.
However, it seemed that the Shy Guys had thought of that.
As it turned out, some of the Shy Guys had propellers on their heads.
They began to fly towards them.
"The Shy Guys can fly too?" asked Lincoln.
"Apparently." answered Lisa. Given that General Guy knew that one of his enemies could fly, it would probably be a good idea to get some flying units as well.
One of them tossed a Bob-Omb at him.
It exploded.
"Oww!" shouted Lincoln, who was now covered in soot.
It looked as if they were going to have to try and shoot them down. However, Kooper wasn't able to reach them at all.
Fortunately, Bow could fly as well.
She began to slap the Shy Guys in the face...or should we say masks.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" shouted one of the Fly Guys.
Lily whacked another Shy Guy with a rattle.
He attempted to swipe her candy, but she gave him a glare.
"Alright! You can keep your candy!" exclaimed the Shy Guy.
Incidentally, he happened to know a black Shy Guy that happened to be a real sweet tooth. He also happened to be really tough. Perhaps not even General Guy was as tough as he was.
There were also Fat Guys, who may or may not be related to Gourmet Guy.
One of them sat on Kooper.
"Help!" exclaimed Kooper.
Mario attempted to push him off, but he was too heavy.
Fortunately, Lynn was able to kick him off of him.
The Fat Guy tipped over.
"Oof!" shouted the Fat Guy.
Mario tossed Bombette at the Shy Guys.
They were sent flying.
The Shy Guys retreated. It seemed that they were fighting an uphill battle. It wasn't too surprising considering that they were facing the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom in the flesh.
General Guy taught them that sometimes it was best to retreat than to keep on fighting, especially when their enemies had their outnumbered.
He certainly wouldn't give up the Star Spirit without a fight though. Bowser had entrusted him with it for a reason.
"I think we've scared them off." noted Lisa.
"You think it was my doing?" asked Lucy.
"Maybe, though it could also have had to do with the fact that we were clobbering them." noted Bow.
"Yes, but they're bound to call in for reinforcements sooner or later." remarked Bombette.
"True..." nodded Goombario.
Meanwhile, Watt was flying around when a ghost suddenly stuffed her in a lantern.
For some strange reason, he happened to have a bandage on his head. Did Gourmet Guy sit on him or something? For now though, she had other things in mind.
"Let me out of here!"exclaimed Watt.
The lantern ghost simply laughed. The Shy Guys were in fact aware of his presence, but they had decided to leave him alone rather than try to swipe his lantern. He kind of creeped them out.
Now he wouldn't have to bother looking for oil to keep the lantern fueled.
It was most convenient.
Nearby, Luan noticed what had happened.
"I'd make a joke about this...but that would probably be in bad taste." noted Luan.
"Hey! Got any food for me? I heard taste and, well..." asked Gourmet Guy.
"I'm sure I can find something. It'll be a piece of cake!" exclaimed the comedian.
"Ooh! Cake!" shouted the glutton.
I guess not even Chuck Quizmo is safe from the Shy Guys in this fanfic. At least they got the top hat back. In the next chapter, our heroes will continue getting everyone's stuff back. They'll also encounter Gourmet Guy.