The Two-sided Race Begins

Location: Birabuto Fair

Yoshi, still yellow due to his transformation, stands open-mouthed in disbelief as his arms hang loosely on his sides. The pianta chancellor places his hands on his hips as he shakes his head, obviously very disappointed, all while Yoshi's face slowly follows Daisy as she runs toward Morton Jr., chuckling and shaking her head. Daisy helps the dark skinned Koopaling sit up properly as he is catching his breath.

"Aww, Morty! And here I thought you were going to win!"

"Bu-bu-but, that chump…"

"Shh, it's okay. We'll play Cops and Robbers some other time. Here's your consolation prize…" Daisy looks at Morton with a wide, toothy smile.

Morton Jr. jumps up like if he wasn't hurt. "You mean…"

Daisy replies with a nod as she bites her lower lip. Then, they both yell out of the top of their lungs, "CHEEESEPUUFFS!"

Both get some bags full of cheese snacks out of nowhere and rip them open, chugging the content, some orange dust and puffs falling outside their mouths. Yoshi's left eye starts twitching and his mouth quivered in disbelief. The chancellor waddles close to Yoshi, his arms behind his back and his cherry blossom branch swaying back and forth. He clears his throat, making Yoshi look at him.

"Gu-gu-GUEST!? You mean, he, you, …?"

"Precisely, my dinosaur friend," interrupted the yellow pianta chancellor, who then stares Yoshi down. "Weren't you green a while ago or something?"

"Yes I was… But, that's not the point! Mario is missing, not to mention Luigi, Peach and Toad, and… "

Yoshi's stomach grumbles. He blushes as he looks down at it, just as Daisy approaches both him and the pianta chancellor. She wipes her mouth with her right arm, leaving a streak of orange running to her right cheek.

"Hi, Yoshi!" she says in her usual cheery voice, "Guess what you won?"

"But I wasn't playing!"

"Nonsense! You beat the reigning champ. Soooooo… You win the big prize."

"Is it a trip back to reality?"

Daisy laughs. "No silly! You won a…" She pulls out a card and grimaces after reading it silently. She nervously continues, "Uh, a trip back to my… palace?"

An awkward silence ensues as she shrugs, just as Morton Jr. collapses next to the tomboy princess.

…

Location: Daisy's Castle, main palace

One trip back to the castle later, Yoshi (still yellow) and a bandaged Morton Jr. are seated at a dinner table, devouring the banquet provided by the red Birdo chef of the inn. Many servants fill the place, bringing full dishes and leaving with empty ones. Morton somehow speaks and eats simultaneously without choking, greatly amusing Daisy.

The pianta chancellor wipes his mouth with a fancy napkin and puts down his bowl to speak to Yoshi. Before doing so, Yoshi's yellow transformation ends, and the dinosaur changes back to his former green self, albeit bloated from the food he'd eaten.

"Uh, how can yellow Yoshis eat so much?" Yoshi complains, dropping his head chin first onto the table, letting out a burp soon after.

"I assume you have no idea where to go next, yes?" asks the pianta chancellor. Yoshi painfully nods.

The cherry blossomed pianta stands, causing everyone's eyes to fall upon the chancellor, and all the servants immediately stop moving, regardless of their current task. "I wish to speak to our guests privately, if you please. Call in the chef in here as well."

Almost in a flash, the banquet hall is emptied of everyone but those at the table. The red Birdo walks in moments later, furiously glaring at both guests.

The yellow pianta narrows his eyes as he stares down at the table; he sighs. Startled by the sudden change of atmosphere, Morton finally silences, and suddenly begins choking on a bite of food. Both Daisy and Yoshi pay no attention to Morton for now, and the red Birdo gets closer. The chancellor looks at them all, especially Yoshi.

"Yoshi, at the fair, you said something about Mario and his friends, right?"

"Um… yeah, I did. I was going to say…"

"That Morton was sent by the enemy, yes?" The chancellor clears his throat. "Wrong you are there, my green friend. As for why he is here in Sarasaland, that will be for when we have time. Right now, saving Mario, his friends, and the world is imperative."

Morton is starting to turn blue as he taps Daisy on her shoulder. She then asks the chancellor as she turns toward the Koopaling, "How bad is it really? I mean nothing that bad has happened here."

The chancellor closes his eyes. "When we arrived at the palace from the park, I received a call from the Mushroom Kingdom's Professor E. Gadd. Those unruly Toads have finally taken over Toad Town in a partying frenzy, and now, rumors of the Beanbean Kingdom openly waging war against the monster that kidnapped the world's heroes are in today's newspapers… This does not bode well for our world."

"So what exactly do we do?" asks Yoshi.

"This may seem unorthodox, and may be even impossible, but we must try. There are various nations from beyond the vast ocean in the far south, ones that we have never dreamt of seeing yet, and are away from the sphere of influence of the Mushroom Kingdom. We must begin our search there." The chancellor clasps his hands as he opens his eyes.

"Is that all?" asks Daisy, as she performs the Heimlich maneuver on Morton, who coughs out a mushy mess onto the floor. "That doesn't seem bad to me. We can even go there right now if we wanted to." She lets go of the Koopaling, whose intense breathing is starting to stabilize.

"The problem isn't getting there, milady, it is who will take you and how you will reach those countries safely. To go south, especially the underwater shark kingdom, the Same-Same Kingdom, you will need someone who has come from that area and is familiar with the sea." The cherry blossomed pianta starts to shake and sweat. "I can tell you now; neither will it be easy nor safe."

"Hold on!" interjects Yoshi while flailing his arms, "Why can't we just travel by air? All I know is that we need to hurry up so that whoever this creepy jerk is won't do his plans. Ships are slow…"

"When compared to planes, yes?" interrupts the chancellor, upsetting the green dinosaur. "I see what you mean, Yoshi, but no plane routes go directly south to these unknown areas. I know, because I almost tried that a few decades past."

The chancellor goes quiet for a second. "And those that have, disappear. No radar will pick up their signal, and that is that. There is an anomaly at work here. But rest assured, Yoshi, ships are a different story. I am sure you will be successful in your endeavors if you take that option."

"I still don't see what's all the fuss about," interjects Daisy, as she stands and puts her hands on her hips.

"Wait, did you say, Same-Same?" interrupts Yoshi as he rubs his chin. He then pulls out two envelopes from Stuffwell 2.0, which was next to Yoshi the entire time. "Parakarry gave me these to deliver to Daisy and… someone else. All I could make out is some numbers and 'Same-Same'. Everything else is a bunch of scribbles, at least to me."

Daisy snatched both letters and rips them open, making Yoshi sweat drop and the pianta chancellor face palm.

"Yaay!" squeals Daisy, "My cheesepuff order will come in two days!" She looks over the other letter put tosses it aside. "I can't read these scribbles!"

The pianta chancellor picks up the other letter, as he shakes his head, scanning it quickly. "Ah, this script is from the shark people of Same-Same."

He stops at some point, and is shocked when he sees the content. He covers his mouth. "What a twist in fate! It is all clear now! A summon letter from the Same-Same Kingdom!"

"Wait," interrupts Yoshi, "You can actually read that?!"

He sternly faces them all again. "Took two years of it in college. Still, I can't make some of this out… But I digress! As I see it, there is no other way, and I'll do everything in my power to see that you three will be safe." He sighs. "To be frank, you three must break the pirate Jonathan Jones out of his prison and return to Sarasaland as soon as possible."

The red Birdo is visibly shocked along with the other three, who are now confused.

"Wait, so, we need to become criminals to save the world?" asks Yoshi. "Wonderful! That does it for me; you can count me out! I am not about to join the criminal life like Morton here."

"Hey, chump!" retorts Morton Jr., "That ain't true no more! I was kicked out of the Troop, and…" Morton lower lip quivers and his eyes begin to water.

"Aw, Morty," said Daisy as she hugs the sizable Koopaling.

"I know this is sudden," continues the chancellor, "but if we must save the world from uncertain doom, we must do this. I will provide you all with the protection of Sarasaland. However…"

He points afar to the red Birdo. "This red Birdo here is an experienced sea man, and as you already know, an excellent cook. He'll accompany you on your sea journey after you return with the shark pirate safely."

Daisy suddenly choke hugs Yoshi, as she says while he gasps for air, "Aww, Yosh, we are in it together. As long as we have cheese puffs, nothing else matters."

"Um, how does that help?" asks Morton Jr., making Daisy stop to think and let Yoshi fall on the floor.

The pianta chancellor interrupts her fallacies. "I'll have the servants pack your belongings, milady, and any other supplies you'll need. Your personal 'copter will also get readied. Red Birdo, I surmise you can handle this task for me?"

The red Birdo bows his head and leaves at once.

…

All preparations are done within an hour, and soon, everything gets packed inside Stuffwell, and all three board Daisy's helicopter, which is already outside, ready for liftoff. The midday sun is blaring overhead and the chilly, Chai mountain wind has slightly picked up. The pianta chancellor walks toward the helicopter's door and stares into the cockpit, finding Daisy smiling back in the pilot's seat.

"Milady, are you sure you don't need a pilot?" asks the chancellor with an uneasy tone.

"Of course not!" she gleefully replies, "This shouldn't be different from go-carting. How hard can it be?"

Yoshi, who is sitting next to Morton in the passenger chamber of the helicopter, clears his throat, making the chancellor look back towards him. Yoshi looks very upset; although the sound of the propellers is quite loud, Yoshi can still hear Morton amidst the whirring.

"So, we head to…?" began Yoshi before getting interrupted by the chancellor.

"Desert Hill it will be, Yoshi. Please, you two, watch over milady's safety."

Yoshi nods while pouting and grunting. The helicopter lifts and takes off toward the far east.

…

Location: Bowser's Castle, Iggy's laboratory

While the heroes' travel to Desert Hill, night has fallen over Bowser's castle. Back at Iggy's lab, Parakarry, Kooper, and Goombario are strapped onto a metallic panel, with a death ray pointing at them. Ludwig took extreme precaution to ensure the success of his project, so he strapped them completely from wings to limbs, and blindfolded the three.

Roy teases them as Ludwig finishes the preparations with the assistance from Iggy, who is under the influence of his ADHD meds. The rest of the Koopalings present and two of the cloaked generals stood afar at a safe distance from the experiment area, wanting to witness Ludwig's latest 'Modus operandi.' The Bowser marionette lay cold and lifeless on the lab's gray stone floor. Ludwig frowns while he hears Roy still teasing the captives, and soon after, Larry and Bowser Jr. take part of the ruckus. Except for the bullies or the ones preoccupied with the task at hand, everyone is either snickering or grinning maliciously. Without turning from his work, Ludwig sternly confronts Roy.

"That will be enough sophomoric misbehavior from you, Roy. Desist at once!"

"Make me, sucka!" Roy defiantly replies, rubbing his chin.

Ludwig stops his work to arrogantly glare at Roy from the corner of his eye, and almost immediately, he turns his body completely and rests his elbows back on the work station. He closes his eyes and beckons his manly pink brother with both hands. Roy returns a grin and pulls out his Bullet Bill launcher and didn't hesitate to shoot, silencing everyone in the lab, who anxiously wait for the outcome of the clash.

To Roy's annoyance and almost everyone else's astonishment, Ludwig takes a conductor's baton with his left hand from inside his shell and envelops it in lightning. In that quick instance, it doubles as a fencing sword, and Ludwig slits the Bullet Bill in two. Ludwig levitates with the baton still in his hand, and elegantly tosses the stick at the very center of the launcher, which penetrates to the other side, and causes the weapon to explode on Roy's shoulders.

Roy falls covered in soot, and later shook of the blast while fixing his shades. "What the…! You son of …!"

"Surprised, you imbecile?" Ludwig's eyes shadow out as he smirks. "Beneath the shadow of our preceding leader, we were limited to a fool's failing strategy. Now, I have been liberated, and no dolt will restrain my vast capacity."

"Hey, Wiseguy!" interrupts the cloak clad Don Albino, "Stop messin' around! We have the Beanbean Kingdom t' squash an' the boss wanted t' try out his new toy soon!"

"Besssidesss," continues another ally nearby, whose yellow serpentine eyes glow from within the shadows of the cloak, "You and Lemmy need to bring the rouge Fire Brother of Dessssert Hill and that shark pirate Johnny Jonesss."

Before Ludwig replies, a 'calm' Iggy interrupts, "Luddy, all systems are go. Ready to commence at your signal."

As Larry and Bowser Jr. get shoved aside by Roy for wanting to help him back up, Ludwig fixes the other ray directly above the Bowser puppet. He nods to Iggy, who starts the death ray before Mario's former companions. The three solemnly engage in a nearly inaudible conversation one last time, beneath the whirring of the machine.

Goombario, with deep colored bags under his eyes and purple ooze dripping from his mouth, begins to shake. "Mom… Dad… Goompapa… Everyone… I didn't make it… Sorry…"

Kooper pants as blood trickles down the side of his face. "Dude… Goombario, Parakarry… I never thought we would be taken out like this. It's so sad."

"So this is it, then?" Parakarry replies, smugly grinning. "My replacement is a clumsy idiot, just as I was a while back. How ironic! I hope my struggle won't be in vain." He lifts his head toward the lifeless ceiling and thinks, 'Yoshi… the world is at stake; it's all you now. Save our wor…'

A red laser shoots at the three, who begin to slowly fade. Being stronger than the experiments used previously, it took a while for them to dematerialize. But their moment came; Parakarry's cracked goggles fall and shatters into the floor. Kooper's soiled red scarf and his newly acquired Koopa Mach 1 Sprint shoes plop onto the grey stone floor, and Goombario, after shedding a final tear, disappears; his hat melancholically glides down to its final resting place next to the fallen objects.

Ludwig nods at Iggy again; the other laser machine powers up and shoots a yellow beam at the lifeless Bowser puppet. It stops after a moment, leaving the wooden body steaming hot. With the process done, the Master shows up with the rest of the generals.

"Let's go," says the Master, and right on mark, the Koopalings sans Ludwig and Lemmy, and the other general begin to march out. The generals all remove their cloaks, but remain unseen behind their cloaked leader. Ludwig and Lemmy walk to another location in Bowser's Castle, where the Clown Car is parked. After boarding the Clown Car and starting it, they quickly begin their travel to Desert Hill.

-o-

The clock is ticking and the race for the Mushroom World is on! Who will win this race? See you all next chapter!