Chapter 8: Blooper Harbor
Mario's Part
This adventure had proven to be perilous and very suspenseful for Mario and his crew. They had never imagined all of the challenges they would face in only a few days. It was as if, they had completed the end, by defeating Bowser and his army. They had thought they had more to expect, but they couldn't imagine any of it. The quest was getting harder and harder by the second. It was a precarious adventure indeed, but with all of the dangers and challenges, there is some suspense going off. This suspense is a great one, since ending victorious is such a great feeling. Luckily for Mario, he had this great suspense all the time so far, as he had won everything to come in his way… But as I've said a lot of times… the adventure is only merely unfolding. We now find our heroes wandering through vast lands containing littered remnants from the people who had passed only some days ago… Obviously no one was respectful in these parts, there was trash every direction Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi walked. Luigi soon threw a fit, he was enraged.
"What's a matter with these people? They have no respect whatsoever," he stated.
"This reminds me of Rogue Port, yet here, it's a tad worse. Wow, I never seen such a horrible thing," Mario said.
"Yes, this barren wasteland is beyond polluted. How can anyone live here?" Yoshi asked, pulling a damp peace or discarded news paper from his shoe.
"Well, in case you haven't noticed… No one really does live here!" Mario said.
"Which is why we are not stopping here," Luigi concluded.
"Right… We are going to arrive to Blooper Harbor in about two minutes now," Mario said.
"Hopefully it's a lot nicer there than here," Yoshi muttered.
"It should be… There isn't anything worse than here… yet," Luigi responded.
"I wonder if people live there," Yoshi pondered, thinking out loud.
"Nah, I highly doubt that. Just an occasional passer by," Luigi answered.
"Well, it's a harbor, so you never know. There are probably fishermen or sailors there," Mario disagreed.
The heroes stated different opinions, which ended up forming a minor argument. It had ended when they arrived at Blooper Harbor. Mario was the first to enter and inspect the place.
"Come on, watcha waiting for?" Mario called to his comrades.
"Let's a go," Luigi said to Yoshi.
"Right," the dinosaur agreed.
Yoshi and Luigi soon accompanied Mario, and they journeyed through the harbor looking around, their eyes flickering in every direction. Turns out, Blooper Harbor was fairly populated, and contained many people. There were mostly Nokis and Piantas. Homes were built side by side, and although they were small, they were nice… on the outside anyway. Each one was built of white strong sturdy bricks, and the doors were made of the finest wood. Plus, the sunlight beamed across the harbor, casting a shine on the houses and the lake that rested some paces in front of the beautiful homes. Mario formed a smile. He was actually happy to have arrived here.
"Yahooo! We made it!" he cheered.
"Yes, to a fairly decent place," Yoshi said factually.
"Oh yeah! Now, we need to do stuff!" Luigi said.
Just as they marched off, they heard a moan from an old Noki that lay on the ground. He shot up one hand.
"Help me," he struggled to say.
Mario ran over to the injured person.
"What happened?" he questioned.
"I was attacked… By A Glooper Blooper… It was a giant squid. It shot up one of its huge tentacles and whacked me down hard…" he managed to mumble.
"Are you going to live?" Mario asked.
"I don't want to die. I have a family to support. I just have a son, my wife and my other child perished in a horrible boat incident. Without me, my son… He will be alone for the rest of his life… Uh…. ACK!" he shrieked. He started to gasp for air, as feint coughs came out of his mouth. He looked up and managed to get out another set of words. "Good bye friend. Just please… Kill the Glooper Blooper…." He said. With these words, the Noki shut his eyes, and died. Tears fell down Mario's friendly face.
"NO! This isn't right… I need to help this man," Mario cried.
"There is nothing to do to help him… Just defeat the squid," Yoshi calmly said.
Mario looked up. He got mad. He stood up, and looked over the lake.
"I will defeat the squid! I must succeed! Let's a go!" Mario declared.
"Yes, but uh… where do we a go?" Luigi asked.
"We need to find out about this squid… Its whereabouts," Mario said.
'Right, let's ask a captain… perhaps. If anyone, a captain knows about the sea," Yoshi said.
"True, but where would we find a captain? There are so many places to look!" Mario complained.
"Over there maybe," Luigi suggested pointing to a house. "It says Captain Jack," he added.
Mario felt like an idiot. "You know, you have a talent at finding some of these things bro," Mario remarked.
"Yup," Luigi agreed. The heroes entered the house, only to find no one available.
"It's empty, so now what?" Yoshi asked.
"Hmm… Perhaps we… Leave and find someone else," Mario guessed.
"Yeah, that's an idea," Luigi agreed. The heroes started to leave.
"Get out of here!" a voice roared, causing loud echoes. They stopped in their tracks, and turned around. A Pianta was charging at them, armed with a pitch fork. He swung it at Mario, who flipped over it.
"Watch out there," Mario warned.
"Get out intruder!" he shouted. The Pianta swung again, this time at Luigi. He ducked, then shot off next to Mario.
"Sir, calm down," Mario said calmly.
"No! Thieves!" he bellowed. He ran at Yoshi now. He swung horizontally. Yoshi made a leap, and he planted a kick, pushing the crazy guy away.
"We don't want to hurt you, we are good guys. We came here for a few questions," Yoshi explained.
"Hmm… State your business trespassers!" he demanded.
"Well, we are heroes. I am Mario, that is Yoshi, and this here is Luigi. We come from Mushroom Kingdom. We had recently arrived here, and heard about the Glooper Blooper. We need to destroy it…" Mario said.
"Destroy the squid eh? You boys don't look like you can accomplish much. I am not seeing it happen," he laughed.
"We can do anything. We are heroes, and The Glooper Blooper killed an old Noki. We must redeem him, by destroying the wretched creature," Mario said.
"I can get you to the squid, but ya can't kill it!" the Pianta shouted.
"Why is that sir?" Yoshi asked, speaking up.
"He is the reason we named this harbor Blooper harbor. DUH! He hasn't been destroyed by anybody. We can't it's against our code," he explained.
"But it destroys innocent people!" Luigi barked.
"True, but that's only because people bother it by getting in its way," the Pianta said, beginning to be frustrated.
"Still…. It's dangerous… People should be aware…" Mario said, not thinking of another way to object.
"I see your logic… Plus, the squid pollutes the water… Hmm… Stop by tomorrow, I'll have directions and all," he said.
"Thank you so much," Luigi said.
"Thanks," Mario said.
"Yeah, what they said," Yoshi spoke.
"Just be sure you can survive, I don't think you will find beating this squid a walk in the park," he said.
"Oh believe me, I've gone through tough things, and this… I don't think is gonna be so tough," Mario laughed. Among saying that, the heroes departed and looked for a hotel to stay at. The sun was starting to set. When they were out of ear shot, the Pianta slammed the door.
"I have no faith in them whatsoever," he told himself.
Peach's Part
Peach was awaken by a roar of a mafia Toad.
"GET UP NOW!" he bellowed. Peach shot up, and looked around.
"Okay, I'm ready,"
she said.
"About time! Get outta here, and enter Magma's room.
You know where that is don't you?" he asked.
"Yeah, I think so," Peach answered.
"Good, then get goin!" he roared.
So Peach exited here room, and began walking to the other Princess's room. When she arrived, the princess turned around.
"Alright, let's get the show on the road. Enter here, this door. When inside, press the button that says transport. You will then be at Toad Mountain… So yeah. You will be able to hear me, with this microphone thing. I will talk to you often, with instructions and all, so don't worry," she instructed.
"Right," Peach said.
"Step inside now," the princess told Peach.
At those words, Peach wandered into the room. She glanced at the buttons and found the transport one. She pressed it, and closed her eyes. Nothing happened… what was up? She still had her eyes closed, and waited. She then opened her eyes, and she was there. No feeling was felt during the transporting process… none. She was just… there all of sudden, no trick. The air was cold… Freedom felt good. So she started walking, and then soon stopped. She began to cry. She was trapped, and she knew it. No matter how close she was to being free, something held her back. She needed to escape. But how? The fire princess was watching her every move…
Bowser's Part
The army had began to move on. They all had no clue where they were, and they dragged the snoozing Bowser along. He hadn't awoke, and it had been a day now. What was up? A Hammer Bro ran up to Kamek.
"Where are we headed?" he asked.
"Umm… There is a town up ahead. We are taking Bowser to the doctor. Something is up," Kamek answered.
"Oh… Do ya think he's okay?" the Hammer Bro asked.
"I kinda hope so," she responded.
"Me too…" he said.
They continued walking, and then they came to a halt. Kamek glanced around. He was lost.
"Where is the stupid town?" he roared.
"Up ahead," a Hammer Bro said pointing to the right. Kamek looked to the direction, and there was one.
"Okay, let's go," he said. They soon came to the doctor. He inspected Bowser, and took many tests and observations. In two hours, he walked over to the army and Kamek, head bowed down.
"Hello, I have Bowser's results," he said in a cold tone. Kamek knew this was bad news.
"Is he sick? How bad?" Kamek asked.
"Umm… Bowser is dead," the doctor said.
Everyone was shocked. This couldn't happen… not now! They were leaderless and hadn't a clue as to where they needed to go. That Warpster guy was behind it all. He had killed Bowser! Why? This was horrible. So Kamek and the army departed… Unsure of where to go… Unsure of too many things. To carry on, or find a way back. To hunt down Mario, or leave him be. Kamek roared and banged a fist on the ground… He needed Bowser.
To Be Continued in Chapter 9: Squid War
