Super Smash Bros adventures chapter 46
"Wow! The view is amazing up here!" Pit cries, looking out over the plaza.
Mario, Pit, and Palutena are standing on the roof of one of the buildings. The fountain and oceans sparkle beneath them and Pinatas run about their daily business. Mario smiles. "At least no one is on fire today!" he says.
"Wait, what?" Palutena asks, eyes wide.
"Long story." Mario says, "But, if you think the view's great out here, just wait until we go in there!" he points to the warp pipe they are standing by.
"Wow! That sounds- Yikes!" Pit cries, nearly falling back at the sight of a huge pineapple that is blocking the pipe. "Th-That's a pineapple?" Pit asks, staring wide-eyed at the massive fruit.
Mario calmly walks up to the pipe. "Yep." he says. "Big, isn't it?" He smiles, remembering the giant watermelons on the beach.
Last summer, the locals had a festival, and there was enough watermelon juice there to fill a small lake thanks to the enormous fruits. Mario climbs on top of the pipe and pulls out the big pineapple with all of his strength. "Alright lets go." says Mario.
So Mario, Pit, and Palutena jump into the pipe. The pipe deposits them on a sandy beach. Red and gold light covers the sky, creating a splash of color. It sure was a pretty sunset… or sun rise? Mario can never tell with time here. He always found it strange that on one part of the island, the sun could be high in the sky, while on another, it could be setting. He'd just have to keep track of the actual time with his watch. "Here we are, Sirena Beach." says Mario, motioning to the sand and palm trees around them.
"Is that a Hotel?" asks Palutena, pointing to the building twenty feet away.
"Yep. It's a four start hotel that has a pool room, a fruit bar, and a big casino." says Mario.
"I want to go to the fruit bar." Pit cries, nearing jumping with excitement.
"All right then." says Mario, and the three of them head to Hotel Delfino while taking some pictures.
The inside of the hotel looks pretty fancy, but it gave off an eerie sort of vibe. "Ugh! Feels like a ghost hotel," Palutena remarks, shivering.
"That's because it once was!" Mario informs. "Don't worry, though. F.L.U.D.D and I cleared them out a while ago."
"Awesome!" Pit cries with relief, and runs up to the fruit bar.
"Hello young man. Would you like a smoothie?" asks the Fruit Bartender.
"Yes please." replies Pit.
"Great! You can try our special Watermelon Pineapple Splash! It'll be served at this year's festival." The Fruit Bartender starts mixing fruits in a blender. He pours the concauction into a cup and hands it to Pit.
Pit tries it and immediately falls in love with it. The angel quickly finishes his smoothie. "Can I have another one?" he asks.
The fruit bartender laughs. "Sorry. We're actually a little short right now, so only one per customer per day…"
The Fruit Bartender then notices Mario. "Oh Mario, I didn't know you came here!" he says.
"It's nice to see you again too," Mario says. "Can we have a smoothie?"
"Oh sure. One smoothie for you and your girlfriend." replied the Fruit Bartender.
Mario and Palutena blush as Pit grins. "We're not dating." says Palutena.
The Fruit Bartender waves a hand dismissively. "Sure you aren't." he teases.
Pit giggles. "Hey! I came here to get away from all that!" she says to Mario.
Mario shrugs. "I know, right?"
The Fruit Bartender finishes making Mario and Palutena's smoothies and slides them across the table. "Here you are!" he says cheerfully, and chops up more fruit for other customers.
"Lady Palutena can I have your smoothie?" asks Pit.
"What? No. You already had one!" Palutena exclaims, sipping her drink.
"Aww come on. Please?" asks Pit as he does puppy eyes.
"Fine. Here." says Palutena.
Grinning, Pit pulls Palutena's smoothie close to him, closes his eyes, and slurps it down. "Don't worry Palutena. I'll let you have some of mine." says Mario.
"Aww thank you, Mario." says Palutena.
Mario nods and looks across the counter. "Fruit Bartender, do you have an extra cup?" he asks.
"Sorry, but all my glasses are in use at the moment. I have an extra straw though."
"That'll work." says Palutena.
Palutena takes the straw from the Fruit Bartender and puts it in Mario's cup. Mario and Palutena start drinking at the same time and make eye contact. Pit snaps a quick picture and gives them a thumbs up, grinning to himself. Unbeknownst to the happy couple across from him, he had gotten some pretty great shots. His prize so far was the one where Mario and Palutena were eating together at this morning's breakfast. He wishes they'd get together already. "Ah! Young love." the Fruit Bartender sighs to himself.
Mario and Palutena start blushing and decide to take turns.
Mario is drinking when a chill rushes down his spine. Though the Fruit Bar is warm, he feels cold. Then, he hears a voice in the back of his mind. It is faint and distant, yet drips with an evil intelligence. "Soon… Very soon…"
Mario's mouth falls open and the straw drops back into his cup. What was that? His mind flashes back to the nightmare on the plane. No, it couldn't be! Not that! Not them!
"Mario? Is something wrong?" Palutena asks.
"Uh-" Mario shakes his head. "Not a thing! I'm fine!" He slurps another mouthful of smoothie.
"Okay! Pit and I are going to play some of the games here." Palutena says.
Mario nods and his friends head to the roulette wheel. He looks out the window, trying to make sense of what just happened. That voice sure didn't sound like Master or Crazy Hand… Then who...? "Ugh!" Mario cries, shaking his head. "I'm getting scared over nothing!" he gets up and heads to the game room, determined not to let a voice and creepy dream ruin his vacation.
When they get back to Delfino. Mario takes Pit and Palutena to the top of the Shine Gate. They venture into the pipe hole, and arrive at a small settlement with tall tree, floating puffs, and- Palutena gasped! "Were those giant mushrooms?"
"Here we are, Pianta Village." says Mario.
"I thought all of the Piantas live in Delfino Plaza." says Palutena.
"This is also a place where they can live." Mario explains. "There's also a hot spring here." He adds on, imagine Pit's reaction.
He isn't disappointed. Pit's eyes shine with excitement. "Hot spring? Lets go!" he exclaims, and runs ahead before Mario can show him the way.
"Pit's pretty excited," Mario observes.
Palutena nods, and follows Mario.
"Hot spring!" cheers Pit as he does a cannonball, splashing the surrounding areas. "Aaahhh." Pit leans back, closes his eyes, and places his hands behind his head.
"Pit. Shouldn't you have changed before you went in?" Palutena asks.
The angel shrugs. "I'm fine. My clothes can dry up while we're walking."
"Okay, okay." Palutena says.
Palutena looks at Mario, who seems lost in thought. Something is definitely bothering him… After a while Pit gets out of the hot spring. "That was awesome!" the angel says dreamily. "What's next?"
Mario immediately snaps out of his thoughts and grins. "A surprise." he says, and leads Pit and Palutena uphill to the highest part of the entire village.
Mario motions out in front of him to a cluster of huge, flat, colorful mushrooms. "Whoa! Is all the food in Delfino this massive?" Pit asks.
"These are bouncy mushrooms." Mario corrects. "You can jump on them like a trampoline if you like."
Pit jumps on a bouncy mushroom and starts having fun. "Yahoo!" Pit screams, spreading his wings in the air. "Come on, Lady Palutena!"
Palutena chuckles and jumps onto the bouncy mushroom. Pit is having such a good time that he doesn't look where he's jumping. He slams into Palutena and accidently knocks her off their trampoline. "Lady Palutena!" Pit yells as the goddess falls.
Palutena is too shocked to summon her magic. "Palutena!" Mario cries in shock.
Mario grips F.L.U.D.D. and jumps to her aid. Thinking quickly, Mario points his head towards the ground to fall faster so he can reach his friend. He grabs Palutena out of the air, carrying her like a bride, and activates F.L.U.D.D.'s Hover Nozzle and two streams of water carry them safely to the grass below.
"That was close." says Mario, trying to catch his breath.
Mario sets Palutena on her feet and holds her steady until he is sure she has her footing. "Thank you, Mario." says Palutena, heart racing.
All the Piantas in the Village cheer for Mario and Palutena. Pit hurries to where Mario and Palutena are. "Lady Palutena, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he pants.
"Don't worry Pit. I'm not mad." says Palutena.
"Really?" Pit asks.
Palutena summons her staff and bonks Pit on the head. "Nope." She giggles.
"I deserved that." says Pit, rubbing his head.
After the hotel and their adventure in the village, the three Smashers take a quick lunch break. But, their adventure isn't over yet. Mario still has much planned for them. "A cannon? What are we going to do with it?" asked Pit once they reach the large, red barrel.
"We're going to the amusement park you wanted to see so much." replies Mario.
Pit gasps. "Well, what are we waiting for?" he splutters. He darts forward and jumps into the cannon. "Yahoo!" the angel cries as he is launched way higher than the bouncy mushrooms could have gotten him.
Mario grins. "Ladies first," he offers.
"Why, thank you." Palutena says regally, and enters the cannon.
Mario sighs to himself as a thought of the Smash Mansion enters his mind. "Wonder how everyone's doing…" he mutters, but he can't shake the cold, persistent feeling that something might be wrong.
"They can't come back!" Mario reassures himself. "It's way too soon. I've defeated them already." Stubbornly pushing his negative thoughts aside, Mario enters the cannon and launches himself.
The red clad plumber lands next to Pit and Palutena, who have been waiting for him. "Look at all the rides!" exclaims Pit.
"Looks fun." Palutena comments.
"Let's go before the lines get long." says Mario.
Without a care in the world, Mario, Pit, and Palutena go to the rides while taking pictures, exploring attractions such as the roller coaster, pirate ships, clam cups, Ferris wheel, and the Yoshi Go-Round. Mario leads his friends on ride after ride, but no matter how he tries, his uneasiness won't leave him. Finally, they decide to get some snacks and rest for a bit.
"This is so fun!" Pit practically squeals with glee.
"I know!" Palutena laughs. "This is one of the best vacations I've been on!"
"I'm glad," Mario says. Then, he gets an idea. "Uh, I'm going to get some cotton candy." he says to Pit and Palutena, who are now sipping lemonade and munching on Shroom Cake.
Mario slips off their bench and heads across the park. Only, at first, he doesn't go to the snack stands. Taking a deep breath, Mario heads for the nearest pay phone and dials a number.
His heart pounds in his chest as the phone rings twice… three times… "Smash mansion!"
A knot loosens in Mario's stomach when he hears the voice on the other end. "Sakurai!" he says with relief.
"Hello, Mario! Enjoying your vacation?" Sakurai asks.
"Oh, yeah!" Mario scratches his head as he tries to figure out what to say. "I was just wondering… if everything was all right at the mansion…"
"Oh, yes. Everything's fine." Sakurai replies. "You don't miss us already, do you?"
Mario laughs, releasing all his built-up tension. They're all right!
"Uh, well… just called to see how everyone was!" Mario says.
"Gotta go now! Bye!" He hangs up the phone.
Mario hurries back to the bench, feeling so happy that he almost forgot to buy cotton candy on the way back. "Hey, Mario!" Palutena waves.
"Hey!" he calls as he rejoins them, and the three Smashers get on with their day, Mario feeling better than ever.
Before they know it, the sun sinks below the horizon, and Mario, Pit, and Palutena leave the park, too full to eat any actual dinner. They go back to their beach to turn in early for the night.