CHAPTER 7

-Chopper Shoots the Moon-

Everyone got out of the pipe, and they saw snowflakes coming down from the foggy white sky. One even went down on Chopper's head, and also one came down on Scrub's nose. And since there was snow, it meant the place was cold. Both Chopper, Scrub and Kirby began to shiver.

"Man, it is STUPID cold out here! I don't know how long I'll be out here!" Scrub whined before he sneezed. Icicles came out of his nose and landed by Kirby, who picked them up and looked confused.

"Poyo… (Yeah, this place IS cold... It's probably the coldest place I've been in...)" Kirby commented.

"With this kind of cold weather, it might be difficult to go through here," Berry shivered. "Too bad we didn't bring any winter clothing with us... Even I'm getting cold..."

"We need something to help us get warm," Vivian said.

"I have no suggestions..." Shadower trailed.

"Well, then… If we are to stay warm, ye all would have to get a little close to each other. Ye know, body heat, or somethin' along those lines?" Bombette suggested, who didn't feel cold. It was most likely because Bob-ombs were capable of handling such cold environments.

"Body heat? Is that such a good idea?" Scrub asked.

"Well... I think it might help." Berry smiled as she turned to Chopper, who quickly backed away. "What? I think it's for the better anyway."

"Not for me! I have a better suggestion." Chopper took another step back, but he accidentally fell over in the snow. Vivian helped him up and noticed the snow left on his face resembled a beard.

"Here, let me get this off," Vivian wiped the snow off Chopper so he could get back to what he was planning on doing. He conjured up a fireball and let it stay on his hand. He started to feel much warmer, which caused Scrub to run over to it first and feel warm.

"Ahhhh... Now THIS is what I'm talking about!" Scrub grinned.

"But we need more than just a small fireball," Berry said. "We can't just huddle up together!"

"But you're perfectly fine with huddling up with Chopper only..." Shadower trailed.

"...Yeah."

"Well I'm sure I can do something," Vivian said as she conjured up a flame. "If we all stay close and not huddle too close together, I'm sure we should be just fine."

"C'mon, Contadre and everyone else! Let's move!" Scrub suggested. "Fahr Outpost should be just up ahead! I think!"

"Yar! Then off to Fahr Outpost we go!" Bombette declared as she hurried on ahead, while the rest of the group stayed together and followed her.

"I don't know if this fireball is enough... I'm gonna make things easier." Chopper became Fire Chopper, and he felt much warmer. Now everyone knew to stay close to Chopper, so they did that as they moved on.

They headed over to the next part of the snowy field and found some light blue puff clouds called Ice Puffs. They only had 9 HP and an attack of 4. They were also capable of freezing any of them, which could be very dangerous.

"Ice Puffs…" Vivian muttered. "They can be a hazard. I think I should help you with these fights, Chopper."

"Yeah, I think you should…" Chopper agreed as he breathed fire on the Ice Puffs and Ice Piranhas to deal some extra damage, and her Fiery Jinx finished them off, since her fire attacks were capable of dealing a lot of damage to them.

"So I'm guessing we won't be able to do anything?" Shadower wondered.

"That stinks... Especially since I was the most recent one to join you guys." Berry frowned.

"Phew… Let's see what's ahead." Chopper suggested after he collected all the coins the enemies dropped.

After finding a hidden Shine Block containing a Shine Sprite by a tree at the beginning of this area, they moved on to the next area, where they found a dirt path on the snowy ground. Chopper whacked at some trees, but there weren't anything in them except for a Snow Fruit, which could make any of them resistant to being frozen. However, a red ? Block on the ground did contain a HP Plus P Badge, which Berry quickly picked up. Afterward, they hurried on ahead, where they saw a town. A blue dome could be seen in the big area of the town, and gray Bob-ombs with furry hats were walking around in the town.

"So we've made it to Fahr Outpost… This reminds me of when I came here with Mario. It hasn't changed ever since." Vivian recalled.

"Hrmmm… Now where could that cannon be?" pondered Bombette.

"We should go speak to these villagers and see what we can get. That's the most we can do at this point." Shadower suggested. Kirby nodded in agreement and walked around. They decided to speak to the first villager they could find.

"Welcome to Fahr Outpost," the Bob-omb greeted. "Whoa! Look at those flames on your head! OK, now I give you my special flame-head-viewing personality analysis, da? Ah. Da. Da. Hmmmmm… Da, da, I have got it now… Your flames means… That you are an angry and hot-headed boy. So, how did I do?"

"That doesn't really suit me..." Chopper trailed. "It's just an ability."

"No, do not protest. I know. No one likes to admit their faults."

"Do one for me!" Scrub cried out.

"And me too," Berry added.

"OK, I give you my special big-nose-viewing personality analysis, da?" the Bob-omb said.

"Big nose...? You serious?"

"Your big nose means... That you are a very snotty Yoshi who tends to snort."

"What?! That doesn't define me!" Scrub frowned.

"Let's see what I am," Berry smiled, feeling that hers would be better.

"OK, now I give you my special pink-face-viewing personality analysis, da?" the Bob-omb declared.

"Pink-face? What...?"

"Your pink face means... That you are a very mean person that likes to hurt people and you have no regards to anyone."

"...You serious?" Berry asked while slack-jawed.

"So how did I do? No, do not protest. I know. Not everyone likes to admit their faults."

Both Scrub and Berry were fuming in annoyance while the rest decided to go over to another villager. Most of them were hoping that they wouldn't have to get angry.

"This is Bob-omb Village, DA-BLOOIE! There is nothing here, DA-BLAMMO!" the Bob-omb informed.

"Ummm... OK..." Chopper trailed as he spoke to another villager.

"Hello, traveler. First time in Fahr Outpost, KA-BOOIE? What? Fahr Outpost cannon? …Wah! I apologize for that. No, I just had distraction… It is nothing, KA-POWIE!"

Unfortunately, they couldn't get anything from the villagers, so they headed over to the town area of Fahr Outpost. They found a statue of a cannon in the center of the town on a plaque. Beside it was a green Bob-omb with a mustache and a furry hat like the others.

"Let's go ask that guy," Chopper suggested. Everyone agreed and walked over to him and spoke to him.

"Da... What business do you have here?" the mayor asked.

"We'd like to use your cannon so we can go to the moon," Chopper replied.

"What? A cannon? ...No such thing is here."

"Wait, what? But I heard about a cannon being here! We are CERTAIN that there is DEFINITELY one in here!"

"What do you want me to say? We do not have one!"

"But we heard about a cannon being here!" Scrub gaped. "Don't lie to us, man!"

"We have no cannon. Simply put." the mayor stated. "I suggest you leave now and forget about whole cannon thing."

Nearly everyone sighed and decided to turn away, since they had a feeling that the mayor was most likely too stubborn to listen to them. However, there was only one who didn't give up just yet and walked over to the mayor herself.

And that was Bombette.

"Arr! Now listen here, Bob-omb!" Bombette started. "Yer the mayor, correct? How can an official like ye lie that way to these people?"

"SHUSH! You call yourself a Bob-omb? I spit at you!" the mayor whispered.

Chopper quickly turned around and smirked at the mayor. "Actually, she's a Bob-omb who thinks she's a pirate, and she can certainly talk to you like that!"

"You know the rules, Bob-omb! There is to be NO mention of cannon to non-Bob-ombs! NO mention! We must not allow it to be used for evil..." the mayor trailed.

"Of course I would know all about that, ye little blowhard," Bombette replied. "I'm tryin' to fight off evil at this moment! And now, we need to use that cannon if we are to go to the moon, matey! An' if we don't...the entire universe could end!"

The mayor's eyes widened before he started to ponder. "Hm... Universe ending... Ummm... Well, we cannot have something like that happening here... This is a nice place… Still... You cannot use cannon right now because of certain...circumstances."

"Circumstances?" Chopper gawked.

"We need to have special permission from Goldbob to use cannon," the mayor explained. "He is the one who started whole blasting-things-to-faraway-places policy... Once he got rich, he let business slide and does not start it up again... However, he DID start it up once, but decided not to do that anymore. Also... General White was the one who devoted himself to operation of cannon... But since Goldbob let business end, he stopped using cannon and took key and left."

"Goldbob an' General White?" Bombette spoke.

"Da, that is correct. If you want to use cannon, you must find Goldbob and General White."

"Very well!" the pink Bob-omb whirled around to her friends. Chopper an' mateys! I think I remember seein' a gold Bob-omb in a hat, an' his wife and child at Sand Town when we returned! Considerin' he has 'gold' in his name, we should try askin' him! As for General White… I'm not too sure..."

"Wait, back at Sand Town?" Berry gasped. "I didn't expect to be going back there so soon! Maybe while we're there, I can show you my whole room, Choppy. I DO have a GameCube there."

"The GameCube sounds cool, but I don't think we'll have time," Chopper replied. "Anyway, you did a good job with that, Bombette!"

"Why thank ye! Now let's get goin' before the universe starts to end!" Bombette suggested.

"OK, but first..." Chopper approached the Shine Block resting on the ground, and with one whack from his hammer, he collected the Shine Sprite. "All right, now we can go!"

With that settled, they began their way back to Sand Town. Some were excited to go back, while others were not looking forward to the extreme heat of the desert.

Right after a long interlude chapter, we have a short little chapter here! And yes, I HAD to do that with the name of this chapter. :P

What's next? Probably everyone's favorite sidequest in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door! :D