Mt. Tourmaline

8:48 am

Mario ended up finding out what a "wandering star" was much sooner than he had expected.

Stubba had promised them that they were nearly at his village, and the group was very much looking forward to finding civilization once again. As they hiked along, Mario was trying to forget about all the Clubbas that would be there; he had to convince himself that he was being stupid about all of this, and besides, they were all probably as nice as his new partner.

But he forgot all about that when he suddenly noticed a strange sparkling out of the corner of his eye.

"Woah. You see that, Mario?" asked Hanner, clearly noticing it as well.

Hovering in the air off to the side of the trail was a small cluster of sparkles of light. They would twinkle and flash for a moment before vanishing, and others would take their place. They didn't seem to have any source, though.

"Ooh, that's pretty!" said Stubba, walking up to it.

Mario glanced at him. "Uh… you don't know what that is, do you, Stubba?"

"Uh uh," the little Clubba replied with a shake of his head, never once taking his eyes off the sparkles.

Mario stared very intently at them. The more he looked, the more certain he was that something was causing those sparkles… and that something was right in front of him. But why couldn't he see anything?

Suddenly, he got an idea. "Hmm… I wonder…"

Remembering an old trick he had used in previous adventures, Mario turned himself sideways, becoming thin as a sheet of paper. More importantly, though, he was now able to see anyone else who was standing in a similar position. He remembered that some little stars liked to hide this way…

And sure enough, he saw it.

Floating in front of him, emitting the glimmer of sparkles, was a bright yellow star – but not just any kind. It was very round and pudgy, had big black eyes, and its top point ended in a small curl.

"Oh me, oh my…" it sighed, looking frightened. "You found me, didn't you?"

"Holy – " Mario was stunned. "You're a Luma! …A paper Luma?"

"That's right! That's right!" the star declared, bobbing frantically up and down. "But oh, I'm in trouble, you see… I fell all the way down from the sky, and I can't get back up again! Will you help me, please?"

"Well, I… I would, but I don't know how to get you back up either."

"Oh, oh! That's easy!" said the Luma. "Just bring me to a Star Pedestal! If you do, I can find my way from there, I'm sure! And I will thank you dearly for it!"

Naturally, Goomblaine, Hanner and Stubba were all very confused at this point.

"Am I the only one hearin' voices?" Goomblaine demanded.

"How did Mario turn invisible?" Stubba wondered.

Mario quickly grabbed the Luma and flipped back to normal so his friends could see him once again.

"Sorry about that, you guys," he said quickly. "Um, Stubba, does your village have a Star Pedestal in it?"

"Well, yeah!"

Mario grinned. "Perfect."

––

Pebblegem Village

9:00 am

"Woah… Mario, look at this place!"

"I'm looking, Hanner."

Following the path had eventually led the group through a narrow canyon between two tall stretches of rock… that had opened up into a large valley right in the middle of the mountain.

The grass was green and lush, and there were even a few pine trees growing here and there. Most of the houses in the village were simple, two-story cottages. There were towering cliff faces surrounding the place protectively on all sides, and coming from inside one of them was a waterfall that cascaded down into a little pond on the far side of the village. It was like something right out of a storybook.

"You live here, Stubba?" Hanner marveled.

"Yeah! You like it?"

"It's so pretty here!" the Hammer Sis laughed, twirling around. Goomblaine rolled his eyes.

Mario was quick to notice that there were indeed many Clubbas wandering around here, and fully grown ones at that. He swallowed hard, trying to ignore them. There were several other species living here as well, including Clefts (the variety with spikes, unlike Clefford), and even a few friendly Swoopers.

Then he noticed something else. Right near the entrance to the village was a white marble Star Pedestal, identical to the one in Soluna Town.

"Okay, little guy, here we are," he said the Luma he was still holding in his hands. He walked over to it, and the little star suddenly became so excited that it leapt out of his grip and began hovering on top of the pedestal.

"Oh, joy of joys!" it laughed. "This Star Pedestal will light my way home, kind sir! I can't thank you enough! How may I repay you?"

"Oh, you really don't have to – "

"Oh, oh, I know!" it realized. "As thanks for your kindness, I will power up one of your friends before I go!"

"Power up my – ohhhhhh. Is that what this is about?"

"What's that mean? You're gonna make one of us stronger?" Goomblaine asked skeptically.

"OOH! OOH! PICK ME!!" Hanner and Stubba both shouted frantically, waving their arms.

"Guys!" said Mario. "Now look. Goomblaine's been with me the longest, so it's only fair that he gets this one."

"Aww…" Stubba sighed, kicking the ground. Goomblaine, on the other hand, looked completely indifferent as he walked up to the Star Pedestal. The Luma began twirling around, emitting an entire shower of sparkles that floated over the Goomba and surrounded him. He started glowing briefly, and there was a flash before everything returned to normal.

Goomblaine was upgraded to Super Rank! He can now use Multibonk to repeatedly jump on an enemy!

"That's so neat…" Hanner groaned jealously.

"You must listen to me, kind sir!" the Luma addressed Mario once again. "I've heard of many other friends of mine who have also fallen to earth and are unable to go home. If you can help them the way you helped me, I'm sure they would give more power to your other friends as well!"

Hanner immediately perked up. "Really? Awesome!!"

"Thank you again, sir… and farewell!" laughed the Luma. Suddenly, a faint beam of light came down from the sky and illuminated the pedestal. The Luma began to rise up in the light, finally shooting off into the sky and vanishing, leaving a trail of sparkles behind.

––

"Hello?" Mario called, knocking on the door of Stubba's house. "Anybody home? We have Stubba here with us!"

"Mommy? Daddy?" Stubba shouted hopefully.

Momentarily, they heard the sound of footsteps coming from inside, and then the door pulled open – but the wizened White Clubba standing in the doorway looked much too old to be Stubba's mother.

"Whazzat?" she croaked out. "Stubba? Is that you?"

"Oh, hi, Nana!" said Stubba, walking eagerly up to her.

"Oh, you're his nana, huh?" asked Mario. She didn't frighten him quite so much; she didn't look capable of doing much damage.

"That's right. I'm his babysitter while his parents are away," she replied, eyeing the plumber suspiciously. "And who are you?"

"My name's Mario, and this is Goomblaine and Hanner. We found Stubba further down the mountain. He kinda got lost."

"Are Mommy and Daddy here, Nana?" Stubba asked her, gazing up at her. "I couldn't find them."

The old Clubba stared down at Stubba as though he were crazy. "You mean you lost them?" she said incredulously. "But weren't they with you when you went off on that walk? They certainly haven't come back here yet."

Stubba's face fell.

"Y'mean they're still lost?" he asked hopelessly.

He sat down on his doorstep, his eyes brimming with tears again. "But I dunno where they are!" he cried. "What if they got hurt? I'm so scared, Nana!"

Mario frowned in sympathy, and so did Hanner. Goomblaine, however, had just turned away and was now glaring off into the distance, like he couldn't stand to watch the scene anymore. Mario didn't fail to notice.

"Oh, Stubba," Nana sighed, picking up the little crying Clubba. "You'd better come inside and tell me the whole story."

"Is it okay if we come in too?" Hanner asked awkwardly. "We've been walking a long time."

"Oh, yes, yes. You did find him, I suppose. Just wait in the kitchen. He and I have to talk."

All five of them filed into the little house. Nana led Stubba into the living room while Mario, Goomblaine and Hanner obediently went into the kitchen and sat down at the table. They could hear Stubba begin to talk to Nana in choked sobs.

"Poor little guy," Hanner sighed.

"Where could his parents be, though?" Mario wondered. "It's like they just disappeared or something."

Stubba and Nana ended up talking for a long time, and not just about his missing parents. Their conversation ended up covering all sorts of topics, including the mysterious rockslides that had been striking the mountain and other strange goings-on that people had begun to notice. Before long, Mario was starting to get bored, while Goomblaine and Hanner took it upon themselves to peer inconspicuously into the living room and listen in on the conversation.

After a while, they heard something from Stubba that greatly surprised them both. Their eyes grew wide.

––

Mario had left the house and was now pacing back and forth outside, wondering what to do next. He wanted to help Stubba, but at the same time, they had to get to the top of the mountain as quickly as they could. And even if they managed that, they still had a Guardian to find. Mario had no idea who that could be…

Eventually, he decided the best thing to do while he was waiting would be to explore the village a little more. He'd noticed that this place didn't have a Hotel anywhere, but it did have a Tavern that seemed to double as an inn. As he walked over to it, he could hear some lively voices coming from inside.

He thought they sounded a little familiar…

He pulled the door open, and his jaw dropped.

Sitting around the circular tables, downing several mugs of something brown and frothy, were Clefford and the rest of the tour group.

"THIS IS THE BEST TOUR I'VE EVER BEEN ON!!" laughed a Little Mouser in a very loud voice.

"Hey, look, everybody! It's Mr. Mustache Man!" slurred a Koopa, noticing Mario standing in the doorway.

"Wow… I actually found you guys! What a lucky break!" the plumber remarked, although he was suddenly embarrassed to be seeing them in their condition.

"Urgh… sir, would you please get these friends of yours to leave? They're running up quite a tab," the Clubba bartender impatiently asked Mario.

"Sorry about that," he sighed in response, walking over to Clefford's table. The Bald Cleft was slumped over in a daze, and Morris was sitting next to him, looking more humiliated than ever. He hadn't had anything to drink.

"Hey, Clefford. It's me."

"WHAT?!? STEAL MY PONIES, WILL YOU?!?" Clefford suddenly bellowed, jerking upright. Then he seemed to recognize Mario, and his vision cleared slightly.

"Oh… it's you! Mr. Annoying Freeloader! So you didn't die after all, eh? That's a shame."

Mario frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Oh, don't take offense! It just means that I have to tell you the bad news after all. Well, bad news for you, anyway. Good news for me! HA HA HA!!"

"What news?" Mario asked, growing increasingly frustrated.

"As I'm sure you know, you poor penniless man, I only allowed you to join this tour so you could show us the location of the glorious shining egg thing!"

"Right…"

"But now I realize – I already know where it is!" the Cleft laughed in triumph. "You already told me! It's at the very top of the mountain! I can find that thing all by myself! HA HA HA HA HA!!"

Mario was stricken by this revelation. "So you're saying – "

"I'M SAYING YOU'RE OUT OF THE TOUR GROUP, YOU FOOL!!! You and that ridiculous oversized 'stache!" Clefford bellowed. "So you thought you could get a free ride out of Clefford, did you? Not likely! I have you and your cheating ways all figured out! I'm a genius!!"

"If you were a genius, wouldn't you have figured all this out before we even left Soluna Town?" Morris sighed.

"STAY OUT OF THINGS YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, MORRIS!!!"

"Yes, sir…"

"But – but you don't understand!" Mario cried desperately, though he was aware of how futile it was. "We have to get to the top of the mountain! We need to get that Sun Soul!"

Clefford glared at him. "What's this? You're looking for that thing?"

Mario's blood ran cold. He'd just made a huge mistake.

"Oh, crud…"

"YOU ARE A SWARMING NEST OF LIES!!!" Clefford bellowed, hopping furiously up and down in his chair.

"Sir! Don't do that! This furniture is expensive!!" the bartender shouted at him.

"You promised that shiny egg to me, you duplicitous deceiver you!" Clefford furiously accused Mario. "And now I hear that all along, your intention was to take it for yourself? How reprehensible! I've never heard of someone so greedy!"

"Uh huh. I'm sure you haven't."

"Well, I will have none of this nonsense! Not only are you off the tour, my good man, but I will exact every effort to make sure you don't get to the top! You'll never get your grubby hands on my property!!"

Morris watched in horror as Clefford suddenly smashed an empty bottle and brandished it at Mario.

"THIS MEANS WAR!!!"

"GEEZ!!" Mario cried, racing out of the Tavern as fast as his legs would carry him. He slammed the door behind him and leaned against it, trying to calm down. Thankfully, Clefford didn't bother following him out.

"Okay. Well… this complicates things," he said to himself.

––

Not knowing what else to do, he finally resigned himself to walking back over to Stubba's house. He had to tell his partners about this anyway. He could just imagined how thrilled Goomblaine would be when he heard how Mario had managed to mess things up.

As he walked up to the door, it suddenly opened and Goomblaine and Hanner came out, looking shaken up by something.

"Where were you, Mario?" asked Hanner.

"Uh…"

Goomblaine looked at him suspiciously. "You look freaked, Fat Man. What's your problem?"

Mario gazed guiltily at the ground, not wanting to look them in the eye. Well, it was now or never.

"Well, guys… the rest of the tour group is over at the Tavern."

Hanner brightened up. "Really? That's great!"

"No, it really isn't. Clefford kicked us out of the group, and he says he's going to stop us from getting to the top of the mountain."

Hanner's smile instantly fell. "Why would he do that?" she asked in confusion.

"Well, I may have kind of… maybe… toldhimwewereaftertheSunSoul."

Dead silence.

"Of course," Goomblaine groaned. "Of course I get stuck on this ridiculous thing with the biggest idiot who ever lived. Well, now what do we do?!?"

"I don't know," Mario sighed. "But somehow, we're going to have to figure out a way to get up there with just the three of us."

Hanner stared at him. "Three of us? Don't you mean four?"

"Well, we can't let Stubba come with us. It's too dangerous for him, and anyway, his nana would never let him."

His two partners glanced at each other.

"Mario," Hanner said unsurely, "I think we might need Stubba more than you realize."

Mario looked at them both in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Goomblaine and I were just listening to him – "

"It was her idea," Goomblaine cut in sharply, sounding like he wanted no part in this.

"Yeah, well, anyway… remember how we had to find the second Guardian, Mario?"

"Of course. That's another thing we still have to take care of."

Hanner shook her head slowly. "No, Mario… I don't think so. I think we've found him already."

Mario looked at her dumbly for a moment… and then he realized what she meant.

"You guys think it's Stubba?" he said incredulously. "But he's just a little kid!"

"But don't you remember, Mario? Only the Guardians are supposed to be able to remember what Day and Night used to be like."

"And have you heard the guy?" Goomblaine growled.

Completely dumbfounded, Mario let his other two partners lead him back inside. All three of them peered into the living room.

"But Nana, I mean it!" Stubba was saying stubbornly. "How come you don't remember? It used to get dark out and there was nighttime every day! But it doesn't happen anymore, and I dunno why!"

"Stubba, stop playing around," Nana scolded him. "There's no such thing as 'Night'. This is no time for one of your games. We have to focus on finding your parents."

"Nana! I swear I'm telling the truth!" Stubba cried, starting to sound genuinely scared.

Mario stared in disbelief.

Nana just then looked up and seemed to notice them. "Eh? What're you all still doing here?" she demanded. "Look, I'm glad you found Stubba and all, but I think you'd all better be on your way now."

"Oh… of course…" Mario said unsurely, still shaken by this revelation. If Stubba really was a Guardian, they had no choice but to bring him along, no matter how young he was. Even if he was a Clubba.

"Can we say goodbye to him first?" Hanner asked, obviously thinking the same thing. Good old Hanner. He didn't know what he'd do without her.

"Oh, I suppose," Nana sighed, and Stubba climbed off her lap and walked over to them.

"Stubba, come out here for a sec," Mario said quietly, opening the front door and leading them all back outside. There was one way to know for sure if Stubba was the person they were looking for, and he didn't want Nana to see him do it.

"Stubba, I heard you talking to your nana," he said once he'd closed the door. "You were talking about Day and Night, right? And how it's never night here anymore?"

Stubba stared up at him. "Yeah!!" he said excitedly. "But she doesn't even believe me! She thinks I'm lying, but I'm not! It really used to be night out! Mario, do you believe me?"

Mario nodded. "Yes, I do. We all believe you."

"We remember Night too," Hanner told him with a wink.

Stubba started looking hopeful for the first time. "You do? Really?" Then, after a moment, he started looking confused. "Then do you know how come it's never night anymore?"

"As a matter of fact, we do," Mario replied, slowly pulling out the Aeon Hourglass. "Stubba, I want you to stay right there and don't move, okay?"

Stubba nodded, stiffening his muscles. Mario turned the hourglass over, and as the sand fell, the ensuing flash enveloped all four of them.

––

Pebblegem Village

9:00 pm

As the light faded, Mario saw that Pebblegem Village was now cloaked in darkness. Looking up, he saw the sky was now pitch black, and the bright stars could clearly be seen.

And all his partners were still there. Including Stubba.

"Woah!!" he cried, whipping his head around in shock. "How'd you do that, Mario?!"

"This hourglass. It's magic," Mario replied simply, holding it out. He didn't think he wanted to tell Stubba the whole story yet.

"That's so cool!!" the little Clubba laughed. He began scampering around the village, looking thrilled as he explored. "I told you I was telling the truth! I knew it! I knew it!"

Mario shook his head slowly as he, Goomblaine and Hanner watched him. This was irrefutable proof.

There was only one Stubba, all right… and he could travel between Day and Night just like the rest of them…

Suddenly, there came a loud shattering noise from down the path that burst through the Nighttime silence. Mario whipped around to see it had come from the Tavern. Someone had just been thrown through the window and was now lying on the ground, surrounded by broken glass.

"AND STAY OUT!!!" came the bartender's voice from inside.

"What the – oh no," Mario groaned. He had dashed over to the Tavern to see who it was, but as he did, he slowed to a stop.

"You've gotta be kidding me," he sighed as Goomblaine, Hanner, and finally Stubba came up behind him. "Clefford's here in Nightside too?!"

"I guess the tour schedule is the same in both places," Hanner decided.

"YOU RIDICULOUS EXCUSE FOR A PROPRIETOR, YOU!!!" the enraged Cleft bellowed as he jumped back to his feet. "I WILL NOT BE TREATED IN THIS MANNER!! Besides, that chandelier couldn't possibly have been worth much anyway!"

"Clefford, what do you think you're doing?" Mario asked impatiently as he walked up to the inebriated tour guide. Clefford turned to look at him and narrowed his eyes.

"How do you know my name, suspicious type?" he demanded. "Although, somehow, you do seem familiar… do I know you?"

"…That's a complicated question."

"I was merely making a demonstration of my frustration in there!" Clefford explained. "I'm in the middle of a ridiculously lucrative tour of Mt. Tourmaline, you see, but it seems disastrous circumstances have struck… we can't go any farther! We have to go back!"

"Go back? Why?"

"You want to know why? It's because SOMETHING HAS EATEN OUR SUPPLIES!!!"

Mario blinked. "Something did what?"

He walked over and looked into the now-broken window. The Tavern looked the same as it had in Dayside, except there was now a roaring fire in the fireplace. Sure enough, all the same people in the tour group were seated around the tables… but nearly all of their supplies were missing. All that seemed to be left were a few peoples' backpacks, and their owners were holding them up in despair and examining the large bites that had been taken out of them.

"That fool of a bartender assured us our supplies would be safe here, but NOOOOOOO!!" Clefford raged. "And now we have no choice but to turn back! Do you have any idea how much this is going to cost me?! It's a complete outrage!! I'm so furious right now, I could just – "

He suddenly broke off and slumped over on the ground, sound asleep, and began to snore.

Stubba started giggling. "He's funny."

"Something tells me he's had a little too much to drink," Hanner observed.

"Well, this is actually a good thing for us," Mario decided. "Now we have a much better chance of getting that Sun Soul."

Goomblaine raised an eyebrow. "Care to explain that?"

"Well, think about it. The Nightside Clefford can't even go any further up the mountain now. Whereas the Dayside Clefford is not only going all the way to the top, he's actively trying to get in our way."

He folded his arms. "So, I would say it's the smartest and safest idea to go the rest of the way up the mountain in Nightside."

Hanner shrugged. "Sounds good."

"Whatever," said Goomblaine.

Stubba said nothing.

"Stubba?" said Mario, just then realizing the little Clubba was missing. "Oh, great – where'd he go?"

"He probably just went off exploring somewhere, Mario," Hanner reassured him as he started looking around. "It's not a big deal."

And then they heard Stubba scream.

Hanner jolted. "Stubba?!" she cried, racing off in the direction of the scream. Mario and Goomblaine quickly followed after her, Mario in particular starting to panic.

What could have happened? There's nothing dangerous in this village, is there?

Finally the three of them approached the waterfall at the far end of the village. There was Stubba, and he was standing in front of the waterfall, trembling and frozen in fear.

He was staring up at three very familiar-looking Putrid Piranhas.

––––

A/N: There will actually be ACTION in the next part, so don't go!