CHAPTER 16
-Viti, the Island of the Gods-
Exploring the hallway of the cruise, they all felt the soft red carpet on the ground and saw shiny, brown walls. The people they had walked past consisted of a couple of Toads, Lakitus, Koopas and Bob-ombs. That wasn't all, however. Some Waddle Dees and Cappies were on the cruise. Very strange indeed...
"Huh... This cruise actually looks neat." Chopper smiled. "I'd like to see more of this place, but I think we need to go get our rooms first. There ARE rooms to sleep on this cruise, right?"
"There should be," Vivian answered. Chopper nodded and they all headed to the left hallway and then the right one to find a small line with a couple of the passengers on the cruise getting a room.
"This is going to be GREAT! I'm so excited!" Goombella exclaimed. "You have NO idea how much I want to explore Viti! There's just SO much to discover there!"
After a couple of minutes, it was their turn to come up to the stand and get their rooms, which relieved everyone. Chopper was the first one to approach the blue Toad.
"We have twelve people here…so do we need six rooms?" Chopper asked.
"You have twelve?" the Toad looked over at the others behind him. "Well, there are four bunks in each room, and if there are twelve of you, I would set up three rooms for you all. You'll have rooms 777, 778 and 779. Here are the keys to your room."
The Toad took out three keys and handed them to Chopper.
"Thank you!" the antennae boy said, right before turning around. "All right, we've got three rooms. Four of us have to share a room."
"I think it's safe to say that the girls should share a room together," Shadower said.
"Ummmm... OK, that's fine." Chopper replied, unsure of why that was a suggestion.
"Well that stinks..." Berry groaned. "I'd actually like sharing a room with Choppy. It'd help us be closer."
"I take it back. I'm fine with this..."
"All right, then I'll hold onto the keys for Room 777 then," she decided, taking the key from Chopper's hands.
"I guess I'll hold onto the keys for Room 778 then," Chopper said, looking down at the key. "So which one of you guys would like to room with me?"
"I'll share a room with you," Flyer volunteered.
"OK. Anyone else?"
"Yo! Contadre! Pick me! Pick me!" Scrub shouted, jumping in the air.
"OK! You can come with us too, Scrub!" Chopper stated. Scrub fist pumped in response.
"Well, I suppose I'll go into Room 779, but I'm not holding the key," Sonic stated.
Mario: I'll hold onto it, then!
"Poyo, (I'll go room with you guys if you want,)" Kirby decided.
"Sign me up," Shadower added.
"Well... I guess that leaves me with a room." Tamber smirked, putting his hands on the back of his head. "Yeah, it stinks that all of you guys have to share a room. But, someone such as myself deserves to have his own room."
"No one is having their own room," Goombella deadpanned. "There's only one room available for you."
"Oh, really? Then who do I have to share it wi-" Tamber stopped, his eyes widened upon realizing who he had to share a room with. "Are you SERIOUS? You want ME, a ripped and sweet kid, to share a room with a gumball?! Nooooo way! I'm not sharing a room with HIM! We…whatever the heck I am, aren't supposed to share rooms with gumballs. It's a family statement!"
"...Actually, I'd probably want to share a room with the other group," Chopper said.
"Uhhh... Sorry, Chop. We're full." Sonic mentioned.
"Oh... Crud."
"Well now that we've got our keys, let's go find our rooms!" Bombette suggested.
They walked through the hallway an saw the 660's hallway. There were a couple of other hallways, but they finally past the previous hallway and found the 770's hallway. This hallway was right by a dining area, while the other hallway ahead led outside to some outdoor activities. There was also a hallway leading to a mall and places where people can get massages and jewelry.
"Here we are. Our rooms..." Chopper unlocked the room to his door and they all saw that the inside had a red carpet, a table, curtains on a window that showed the blue sky and the water, and two bunk beds, which made four beds altogether.
"I call top bunk!" Scrub shouted, getting on the bunk.
"AW, MAN! You gotta be KIDDING ME! Well, at least I can get the top bunk over…" Tamber noticed Flyer go up to the top bunk on the left and lay down on it, which got him angrier. "Oh, come on!"
"Poyo. (I suppose we should to our rooms, right? I'm willing to do that.)" Kirby said, waiting for Mario to unlock the door to their room. Berry opened the door to her room and went in, with Vivian following next.
Chopper walked into his room, closing the door behind him. Scrub was lying down on his top bunk with his legs crossed, looking up at the ceiling. He smirked and looked down at Tamber.
"Boy, it sure feels good being on this cruise!" Scrub smiled. "And we're even away from those older men and those girls! This is like a men's club right here! …Except we're younger than that."
"Men? I don't want to be a man though..." Chopper trailed, lying on the bottom bunk on the left side. "I like being my ten-year-old self! It helps me enjoy life at its fullest. Why can't we have a world that will stay peaceful for all eternity?"
"For once, I have to agree with the gumball. The whole peace around the world would be a nice thing." Tamber said, looking out the window. "Hey, guys... What do you think the southwestern area of the sea is like?"
"Unfortunately, I've never been to Viti, so I wouldn't have a clue," Flyer answered, working on his gadget. "Though, the island itself sounds very intriguing... The only thing that actually worries me is that rumor of a demon being born there..."
"Hmmmmm... Could that demon be... No, it couldn't be..." Chopper pondered.
"What's up with you, Chopper?"
"I was wondering if that demon was actually the Shadow Queen... I mean, she had to be born somewhere..."
"Say, Contadre, since there's been a Shadow Queen already, do you think there's possibly a Shadow King?" Scrub asked.
"A Shadow...King?" Chopper began to ponder for a moment. Then he remembered what that spirit in the Sun Temple mentioned something. "Well... I do remember that spirit in the Sun Temple mentioning a king getting defeated by chosen ones or something..."
"Oh, yeah. I guess that king's long gone then?"
"I think so."
"Hey, let's talk about something else," Tamber suggested. "Like what's going on in the other rooms. Do you think the guys in the other room's just chilling? …What if the girls are talking about us? I bet they're talking about me!"
"Not likely," Scrub snickered.
"HEY!"
Room 777-
"Wow! That's interesting! So you had bombnesia when you first joined Chopper?" Goombella asked Bombette, looking very surprised. "And you even went on a quest with Mario?"
"Yeah, that's right! I once went on a quest with Mario before." Bombette recalled. "That was about two years ago. I remember I had a Bob-omb that was so obsessed with me. I ended up breaking up with him, but he wouldn't stop bothering me afterward. It got kind of annoying, if you ask me… But then I found out he traveled with Chopper, which is pretty surprising... Also, I found it weird that I thought I was a pirate when I had bombneisa…"
"That does sound pretty interesting. I mean, your ex-boyfriend knew Chopper before YOU knew about him? I'm really interested in this stuff! Say, Vivian… How did you meet Chopper? You never told me about that."
"Ummm... Well, at first I was actually on Grodus's side because of Beldam." Vivian explained timidly. "She said that she had a new plan, but I was never told about it. Maybe it's because she KNEW that I was going to betray her and join up with someone…who happened to be Chopper."
"Wait a second… I remember when I went to see you and your sisters." Goombella recalled. "Beldam said she wouldn't treat you horribly. That just doesn't seem right! She was lying this whole time? Sheesh! What an ugly liar!"
"I don't really understand why Beldam lied to me like that. She once told me if I didn't bring the mail in, she would hang me over a pool filled with Piranhas. It felt terrible to me…but then she said that she had discovered a plan that would benefit us. I didn't know what it was, but we went over to the X-Nauts to convince them to go after twenty of the Crystal Stars."
"Wow, I never knew that…" Berry gawked.
"Grodus decided to send us to the Rainbow Train to find the first Crystal Star, but there was a problem when the sketch of Chopper went missing. She blamed it all on me, and I was forced to go find the sketch and Chopper in order to get the map from him. If I didn't, she said she would've given me the punishment of a lifetime. It wasn't easy…"
"That sounds SO wrong!" Goombella commented. "That's just abuse right there, sister! ...Wait, but how did you join him?"
"Ummm… Well, when I was searching for the Diamond Star, a robot called a Phi was about to attack me because I looked threatening to it. I tried fighting back, but it didn't seem to work too well for me. I thought all was lost…until Chopper came and beat the robot down."
"I'm guessing this was the first Phi you've ever encountered?" Bombette guessed. Vivian gave her a nod.
"It was. Well, at least for us it was the first one. I thanked him, even though I didn't know who he was. But when he gave me the sketch, I finally realized he was Chopper. …But I didn't have what it took to hurt him. After what he had done for me, it was too difficult. But we had a little conversation, and he was very nice. Since I didn't really like working with Grodus, I decided to join him instead."
"I would've done the same thing," Goombella remarked. "You're better off with us than them anyway."
"Mmmmm-hmmmm," Vivian nodded in agreement.
"Oh, yeah!" Goombella turned her attention to Berry. "So you and Chopper are the same species? Did you ever meet before?"
"Yeah. We met at a daycare when we were only two. He was my best friend back then... I can still remember that day when he was at my birthday party..." Berry smiled. "I think I wanna go spend some time with him tonight."
"And why is that?" Bombette asked.
"We haven't hung out together in a long time. I'd really like to do something like that, especially for a good friend."
"You're going to spend some time with him?" Vivian asked. "Maybe I should spend some time with him tomorrow night... There's something he needs to know right now before it's too late..."
"Hmmmmmm... I'm sure I might have a good idea of what we can play. After all, there's a game room on this cruise." Berry smirked. "Surely he'll be into that!"
"Game room? Oh, yeah. I'd like to play those...if I had hands." Bombette grumbled, only to notice some pale green near Berry. "Hey, Berry! What's that you've got?"
"Oh, this?" Berry took out a Chopper plushie. "This is a plushie of Chopper, obviously. I really like the design of this thing. It feels like I'm holding a miniature Choppy!"
"Though... Something seemed awfully strange about the one selling them..." Vivian trailed.
"Well, while we wait to go out and do something. I'm going to go check what's in these magazines." Goombella took a magazine out from a drawer and began to read them. "Ooh! There's a pool and museum here! I HAVE to check out that museum!"
"Goombella, this is a time for relaxation..." Bombette pointed out.
"True, but I'm curious as to what's in that museum."
Room 779-
"Man, it feels great that we're on this cruise! THIS is what I've been waiting for! A little vacation is what I need!" Sonic smirked, lying on his bottom bunk.
"Thankfully, we're not in the water, so there's no reason to be afraid," Shadower added. "Though, I hope no one gets seasick..."
"Poyo! (I'm going to love it here!)" Kirby cheered. "Poyo! (There's going to be so much to do on here for THREE days! And we don't even have to go out and fight any villains or get hurt! It's three days of relaxation!)"
Mario: ...What did he just say?
Kirby ignored him and found a little magazine upon jumping off the top bunk. The magazine was labeled as "Rainbows".
"Poyo? (Why is the restaurant called 'Rainbows' anyway?)" Kirby wondered as he cruiously looked through the pages and saw a couple of nice things on the menu. It had a Max Tomato Sandwich, chili dogs, pasta and even a banana sundae! "POYO! (I SERIOUSLY NEED TO GO TO THE RESTAURANT AND GET SOME OF THIS FOOD! A TOMATO SANDWICH! YESSSS!)"
He quickly bolted out of the door, making Mario sit up. He checked his pockets and remembered the key in his own hands.
Mario: He should've taken the keys with him before he left… Oh well.
Room 778-
Back in room 778, the four boys were relaxing, now that there wasn't much to talk about. The only one who wasn't relaxing was Flyer, who was working on one of his inventions. Well, two of them, actually. The new one was shaped like a circle with a radar on it.
"Chopper! Take a look at this nifty device I just made while you were sleeping!" Flyer told Chopper, who opened his eyes and got up from his bed and saw the invention Flyer worked was working on on the table.
"Whoa, what IS that device?" Chopper asked, now looking curious.
"I decided to call this… The Fumu Locator."
"The Fumu Locator? Why are you naming it after her? ...Are you still brainwashed?" Chopper gawked, knocking on Flyer's head to make sure.
"Calm down, Chopper! I'm not brainwashed!" Flyer replied, swatting his hand anyway. "But, anyway… This device can tell us where we are. So far, we're a little close to Pudgy Island at that moment. We're going west, see?"
"Yeah, I can see we're going west. But we're going so slow..." the pale green hero frowned. "Well, what about the other gadget? That looks like the one you made to get rid of that collar on Fumu."
"Uh huh," Flyer nodded. "I'm actually very close to finishing it. It can break through any locked collars and remove it. I'm calling it the Removicollar. And maybe, just maybe..."
"Maybe what?"
"...Nothing."
"Oh, OK. Right now, I think I'm going to see if I can get something to eat. Maybe later all of us can go to the restaurant and get some food there. After all, we have enough spare time!"
"Food? Eh… I think I'll just sit here." Tamber decided. "I ain't going to go join a gumball to eat anyway, so get outta here, ya gumball."
Chopper gave him a glare before leaving the room with the keys and headed through the hallway to where the restaurant was.
"I might just go get one little snack and that'll be it. It's not like anything bad is going to happen…" Chopper trailed upon walking into Rainbow's. Thankfully, it was pretty close to their hallway. However, instead of people eating food, he saw a couple of people by the Cheep Cheep chef and the Toad waitress with two purple ponytails. "What the… What's going on over there?"
The only person he recognized there was Kirby, who looked like he was going to cry for some reason. He also saw a blue Bumpty with a brown cap and a magnify glass. He had recognized him from the dock. He didn't recognize the other people that were there, but there was a Toad with a black polka dot cap and a frown on his face.
"It was awful, I tell you!" the chef named Chimi cried. "I had the pot earlier, but it was grated by someone! …Ack! Stupid Cheep Cheep tongue of mine! I meant to say that it was TAKEN by someone."
"Hmmm. Yes. This is most definitely a case to me. A case that's…interesting." the Bumpty deduced. "But, what shall I call it, that is the question before us. I got it! This is 'The Case of the Missing Stew Pot II'! Indeed. That will do nicely."
"Missing Stew Pot II? There was another mystery like this?" Chopper pondered.
"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm… My dear cruise passengers… This appears to be a full-fledged mystery, one that could possibly impact us all, to the least."
"WHAT?! A MYSTERY?!"
"A mystery, you just said? …And uh, um, er, exactly…what kind of dish is that, you say?" Chef Chimi asked.
Everyone else: ...
"Hey, can someone tell me what's going on here?" Chopper asked, approaching the group. "I'm looking for some food, but I find you guys here instead..."
The Bumpty walked over to him and looked at him in suspicion. "So, it WAS you, wasn't it? I KNEW you were behind all of this! Answer me now, little boy! Or else I, Pennington, shall be forced to take drastic measures."
"I don't mean to sound, like, worried, but I don't think you're even allowed to do that here," the Toad Waitress said.
"Oh, I'm not saying I shall harm him, dear woman. Let's just say that I have many ways in getting people to talk..."
"I didn't even do anything wrong," Chopper objected. "I just came in here and suddenly everyone was around here. Heck, Kirby would know that I didn't do anything wrong!"
"Poyo, (Yeah, he's right,)" Kirby agreed.
"Ermm… My apologies, dear boy." Pennington apologized. "I was just practicing my accusation skills, you understand. Yes, sorry."
Everyone else: ...
"Actually, I don't understand..." Chopper trailed.
"Now, onto the case!" Pennington declared, ignoring Chopper and turning to the others. "I believe that all of this started when we got on the Rainbow Cruise. I am going to find the culprit and put an end to this mystery! This little conundrum doesn't appear to be a challenge…for me…"
"Oooooooooooooooh…"
"The central clue to this case, and also probably the most vital one, as it happens… Is that someone has stolen Chef Chimi's pot of Golden Mushroom Stew and has probably eaten it all. That would most likely be my prediction. But, who do I suspect? Well, my friends, it leads me to esteem that the one responsible…is YOU, gluttonous woman!" Pennington exclaimed, pointing to the Waitress.
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?! ME?!" the Waitress cried. "Are you totally koo-koo? Why would I, like, take something like that? I don't even like Golden Mushroom Stew!"
"Errm… Pardon me… Sorry. Please accept my apologies, my dear woman. I just had some suspicion on you, that's all. But, seeing as though you are confused, I don't find you suspicious at all. So sorry."
Everyone else: ...
Along with that, Pennington had earned a glare from the Waitress.
"…Ahem. Very good. Now, let us get serious, shall we?" Pennington declared. "This, I believe, will be a case noteworthy of my intellect! Hmm… Yes…"
"OK, OK… Hang on a second. So, what you seem to know so far is that you don't know who the culprit is. And uh… I guess that's about it, right?" Chopper asked.
"Yes, you would be correct, dear boy," Pennington nodded.
"But you randomly accused people! I don't think that's good detective skills..."
"Urgh… This is not getting anywhere." the Toad with the black polka-dot cap groaned. "You people can have fun with your little game. I'm going back to my room."
"Hrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmph!" Pennington turned his attention to him and pointed at him with his magnify glass. "You there! In a hurry to get back to your room, eh? You, sir, are highly suspicious! I have now just broken the case! The true culprit I believe… Is Dark Toad, the strange Toad!"
"So because I'm leaving, that means I'm the culprit. Maybe you should learn to get your facts straight, beak-faced geezer."
"Beak-faced… Geezer… GEEZER?! Well, I can't say I deserved such a verbal thrashing, but… Then who did do it, hm? Hrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmph! This puzzle keeps deepening with every confounding step…"
"Poyo! (No food? Aw, man! This isn't good at ALL!)" Kirby complained. "Poyo! (Without any food, I'm going to starve! I LIVE to inhale food!)"
"I love food too...and with no food being made here... Oh, man, I don't like that thought." Chopper gulped. However, he paused when he noticed a spill on the floor. He approached it and started to inspect it. Meanwhile, Pennington left the restaurant to find the culprit, not paying attention to the spill on the carpet.
"That culprit should be here somewhere..." Pennington trailed. "They won't be getting away... Not on my watch!"
"Hey, Kirby, look at THIS!" Chopper pointed at the spill and getting Kirby's attention. "It looks like a clue that'll lead us somewhere. We should follow the trace to the room where it ends at."
"Poyo! (Yeah!)" Kirby agreed, following him through the hallway. The trail had led to the 760s hallway, and they heard a belching sound coming from Room 764. Not only that, but the trail appeared to end at the door.
"BUUUUUUURP! Boy, that was tasty…" the voice said behind the door. "I LOVE this stew! It's so delicious and…golden! I gotta do this a little more often, y'know? I wish I had a delicious strawberry cake too. Those things are DEE-LICIOUS!"
"Hmmmm… I'm getting a little suspicious now. He might be the one." Chopper deduced, listening in on the voice. Kirby knocked on the door, and when it opened, they saw a big fat Shy Guy with a bib, a fork, and a knife. To some people, he is known as the Gourmet Guy. The inside of his room only had one bed, but it wasn't as big.
"Whoawhoawhoawhoa! What do you want?!" Gourmet Guy asked nervously, noticing the trail below. "BUUUUUUUUUURP! Ermm… Sorry about that. Now, what do you need?"
"There was a pot taken from the kitchen, and now people are are trying to find it," Chopper explained. "And... I guess it was probably you."
"What? A pot from the kitchen? Oh, I get it! Just because I'm chubby, that instantly means that I ate that stew! That's not nice!"
"Yeah, but there were drops of stew outside of your door."
"Wh-What? N-No… I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about!" Gourmet Guy stammered. "People spill stuff! And there's nothing in the drawer, so no need to look! You won't find a thing!"
"Poyo… (Well... I guess we ought to take a look at what's in the drawer.)" Kirby suggested.
Chopper agreed and opened up the drawer to see what was inside. He saw several gourmet magazines, and one of them was an issue devoted to the food of the Rainbow Cruise. There was a large photo of Chef Chimi on the cover… His smile was just blinding. However, Chopper noticed something under the magazines.
"What's this?" Chopper pulled the item out and it was indeed the Galley Pot. "Ah-HA! So THIS is it!"
"Doh! I'm sorry! I ate it all! It was MEEEEEEEEE!" Gourmet Guy confessed. "Now I'm in some serious trouble!"
"Kirby, you stay here and make sure nothing goes wrong," Chopper suggested. "I'm going to get Pennington and show him the REAL culprit!"
"Poyo! (All right!)" Kirby nodded, just before Chopper went out to find Pennington.
Pennington's room-
In Pennington's room, Pennington had managed to find the culprit, and he was now interrogating the person with a small chair and a light hanging over it. This was something common for Pennington. At least, when it came to getting questions.
"Ah-HA! So it WAS you!" Pennington exclaimed, pointing his magnifying glass at the perpetrator. "YOU were the one responsible for taking the pot of stew that belongs to Chef Chimi!"
Potato Chip Bag: …
"Answer me now!" Pennington demanded, glaring at the potato chip bag. "Where did you put the pot of stew? Don't make me go to drastic measures…"
Potato Chip Bag: …
"Nothing, huh? Interesting… Well, you asked for it…" Pennington walked over to the bag and picked it up. He was about to open it up, but then he heard the door knocking, so he checked that instead to find Chopper.
"Follow me, and fast!" Chopper requested.
Confused, Pennington followed Chopper back to Gourmet Guy's room, but not before grabbing the bag of potato chips. Once they were back in the fat Shy Guy's room, he found the empty pot and the spilled stew on the ground. He smirked, realizing he had found the true culprit.
"So! You were so enamored of the stew that you wanted to steal it and devour more?" Pennington questioned. "And you stole the entire pot when the chef was chopping shallots? Answer!"
"Yes… Yes, that's right." Gourmet Guy admitted. "I'm so sorry, I just couldn't control my hunger… Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"
"Very well! Justice has been served! Let this be a lesson to you, Gourmet Guy! May this terrible crime never recur! And you, my dear sir…"
Chopper: ?
"Yes, you with the two antennae that hang above your head! My keen sleuthing instincts identified you as the correct person to collar the ruffian!" Pennington deduced. "Now, about your little hunt you're on. Yes, it would be the Crystal Star on Viti, am I right? I have been confined by the captain that you are searching for them, is this correct?"
"...Wait, the captain knew about that? ...Well, anyway, I am. You want to speak about this to me, right?"
"It would be a good idea! But we cannot speak here. Find me in room 741 so we may discuss this in private… Trust me, I've known about these Crystal Stars for a long time… Oh, and make sure you return the pot to the chef. That is all." With that, Pennington made his exit.
"Kirby, do you mind taking the pot back to Chef Chimi?" Chopper asked.
"Poyo! (Of course! Maybe then there will be food ready!)" Kirby said happily, taking the pot and leaving the room to return it to the chef. Meanwhile, Chopper went over to room 741 and entered Pennington's room, which he left unlocked for him.
"Ah-ha! I have been waiting! I must admit, I was rather impressed with your work on the last case." Pennington complimented. "But, anyway… I believe you have a certain knack for detective work. So it is decided then. I shall take you on as my very new assistant!"
"New assistant? I don't know anything about detective work, though…" Chopper trailed.
"You have keen eyes, though. I can most certainly tell you would make a great detective! My eyes never deceive! But, let me introduce myself while we're here. To reiterate… My name is Pennington. I am a detective from Poshley Heights. However… I was fired after two robots broke into the sanctum and took the Garnet Star away. So now I am heading to Viti to help the Gods with some crimes. Surely they will reward me with a job."
"Two robots? That sounds kind of like the Phis…" Chopper thought.
"I am also known as 'The Penguin With the Improbably Large Brain.' I am sure you have probably heard of me, so that is all I will say on the subject."
"Large brain?" Chopper gawked, trying to get a better look at him. "How do you have a large brain?"
"A high level of intelligence is all that is needed for a large brain," Pennington said confidently. "And as for your name… Wait! I demand you do not tell me. I shall deduce your identity!"
"Ummm… OK?" Chopper gawked, seeing Pennington identify him with his magnifying glass. Simply put, he didn't like it.
"Those antennae… Those gloves… That pale green skin… And that roundness… …Ho ho ho! All too easy! You, sir, are quite obviously the famed Flyer, are you not?"
"WHAT?!" Chopper waved his arms and he then shook his head. "I'm NOT Flyer! My name is CHOPPER! The REAL Flyer is in the room I'm staying in, if you must know…"
"No need to introduce yourself! I know all about the famous Flyer from Clara! You are indeed the one that has stopped the Star God Staris, haven't you? I know of this because my family lives in Shiver City, and they told me everything about what happened there." Pennington explained. "Now, about the Crystal Star… So it seems that one of them is located on Viti, is it not? Let me see that little thing you use to find them!"
"You mean the Magical Map? I guess you could…" Chopper took out the map and showed it to Pennington. He studied the map and looked at the Crystal Star on the island with interest.
"Ah! So this IS the Magical Map that was once used by Luigi! Interesting… Well, I can't do much about it now. We're not on Viti just yet. However, once we're there, we shall discuss this issue. Perhaps I should take you to the Gods themselves? They could help you… But, for now, there's not much else I have assigned for you. Perhaps you should relax for now."
"Well, thanks for the help, I suppose. I might as well take a break. Take care, Pennington…" Chopper left the room and went over to the gaming corner, where he saw Scrub playing a game that required a toy gun.
"Aw, c'mon! I almost have this! I know I can do it!" Scrub was shooting the zombies in a game called "Zombies Galore", a survival game that required the player to defeat the zombies before they got to them.
"Scrub? What the heck are you playing?" Chopper asked, getting a look at the game. "Zombies Galore? Never heard of it."
"It's not a bad game. You ought to try it, Contadre. It's full of AWESOMENESS! …Oh, there's also a game called 'Chopper of Clara' over there. Kinda strange how they have an arcade game of you."
"Really?" Chopper walked over to the other machine and saw the exact game. "Listen, Scrub… We're going to be going to the restaurant in the evening. I think you'll be pleased to see some choices of food."
"REALLY? Oh, boy! Now I'm excited!" Scrub exclaimed. "I can't WAIT to go out and eat something! It's only 4:00, so what time are we eating?"
"Ummmm... Six? Anyway, I gotta go!" Chopper took off and headed back to his room. However, there appeared to be a note on it. "Huh? What's this? A note?"
He took the note off the table and began to read it.
Turn back now! The boat will be destroyed if you don't get off!
"Oh, crud… I think we're being threatened on this boat…" Chopper entered his room and saw Tamber lying down on the bed just like before and Flyer was still tinkering with his gadget "Guys, we've got trouble! I just found this note and it says that the boat will get destroyed if we don't get off!"
"What? Are you serious?" Flyer gawked, stopping with his invention and going over to the note. "Oh, dear... This is not good."
"Yeah... I thought we'd be safe! We're toast!"
"Pbbbbbbbbth! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Tamber laughed, getting up and taking the note. "I KNEW you would fall for that one! I wrote this note just to mess with your gumball mind! I can't believe you fell for it!"
"Hey! That wasn't funny!" Chopper frowned. "I could've told everyone about the note, and there'd be a big problem!"
"But you didn't..."
"I know I didn't... Anyway, I'm going to relax for a little bit until six. I think we'll go eat then." Chopper decided, getting back onto his bed to relax.
"What about Scrub? He can't get in the room if you're holding onto the keys." Flyer mentioned.
"Well... The door is unlocked on this side, right? Someone can open it then."
And with that, Chopper took a little snooze.
Two hours later-
It was dusk on the Rainbow Cruise, and Chopper and his friends were at a table at Rainbows. Goombella came with them to the restaurant because she was hungry too. Chopper had opened a menu and gazed in awe at it.
"Wow! I can't believe they have something that shows off all sorts of foods! I thought you could only see it at the entrance!" Chopper gaped.
"You've...never been to a restaurant before?" Flyer gawked.
"No... I live in a giant jungle on another planet. There aren't restaurants there."
"Well, there are a lot of interesting choices on this menu," Goombella remarked. "I don't know what to choose from!"
"Soup and salad? Where the heck is the MEAT? I can't eat vegetables!" Tamber asked angrily. Vivian sighed and flipped over to the page to the meat on his menu. "Aw, sweet! THIS is what I'm talking about!"
The Waitress had come to their table to place their orders. "Hi, there! Welcome to Rainbow's! I'll be your server today! Is there anything you want to, like, drink?"
Mario: I remember you! You were on Excess Express!
"Hey, I remember you too! I was, like, lucky enough to get a promotion to work on here! It's GREAT!"
It hadn't been long until they all got their drinks and food and were now eating. For people such as Chopper and Kirby, they had quickly finished their food due to their insane ways of eating. While that was going on, Sonic was telling a little story.
"…And then I hit his cockpit and he was DOWN! …Again." Sonic concluded. "I can't believe he still refuses to give up after all the failures he's endured..."
Mario: Same here.
Most of the group had started to become tired due to it getting dark outside. Seeing this as an opportunity to talk, Berry had inched over to Chopper to talk to him.
"Hey, Choppy..." Berry started, only to notice some food left on his mouth.
"What?"
"Errr... You've got a little something on your face."
"Huh? I do?" Chopper began to feel his face. "Ummmm... I don't feel anything."
"I'll take care of it," Berry took a napkin and began to rub his mouth with it. He winced, attempting to object, but the napkin had muffled his voice.
"What was that for?" the antennae hero asked angrily, rubbing his mouth after she finished.
"Look, let's get to what I wanted to talk about. Do you wanna spend some time together after this?"
"Spend time together? What do you mean?"
"I mean by hanging out. Just us."
"Oh... That doesn't sound so bad."
"Thanks, Choppy!" Berry gave him a smile and got back to eating her food.
After dinner-
They were leaving the restaurant, but before Chopper could get to his room, he felt his hand being grabbed by someone else's. He turned to see who it was who grabbed his hand, and it turned out to be Berry.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Chopper asked.
"Don't you remember, Choppy? You said you'd spend some time with me, and that's what we're going to do." Berry stated. "Now let's go spend some couple time together."
"Wait... Are you making me go on a date with you?" Chopper gulped. "I take it back... I'm out of here!"
He made a bolt for it, but Berry remained calm and got her hammer out. She swung it and summoned a pink tornado in Chopper's direction that sucked him in and brought him back to her. He had been left dazed, but when he quickly shook his head, he noticed he was back with her. Before he had time to react, she grabbed his hand and dragged him into the gaming room. He noticed their location and was surprised.
"Wait, what? A gaming room? Did someone pile-drive your head, Berry?"
"Nope, no one pile-drove my head," Berry answered. "Didn't you remember that gaming system I had back in my apartment? You'd probably know a little more about me."
"Oh... OK. Some games doesn't seem so bad... I thought you'd give me the cooties..." Chopper walked over to an arcade game called "Light and Dark War". "Hmmmm... Maybe this game?"
Chopper started the game up, and he and Berry both chose a character. Chopper decided to play as a Light Soldier, while Berry chose to be a Dark Soldier. The goal was to capture the other base and destroy the opponents.
"I KNOW I'm going to beat you in this, Choppy!" Berry smirked, destroying some of the Light army. Chopper gasped, but he had a trick up his sleeve. He began to send bombs down on the Dark Soldiers.
"Oh, I don't think so! These bombs are certainly helpful! They'll crush you!" Chopper replied. Unfortunately, Berry already took him down, and he saw the words "You Stink!" on his side of the screen.
"Oh... I lost..." Chopper trailed. "A girl just beat me in a video game..."
"Did I just hear a familiar voice?"
Bow was floating past the gaming room, but she stopped when she saw Chopper with Berry. An idea struck her mind, and she quickly disappeared before they could see her.
"I think we should play another round of this game," Berry suggested.
"But I don't want to get my butt handed again," Chopper complained.
"Then... I think I have a better idea." she said, leaning her face closer to Chopper's and giving him a flirty look. He quickly backed away in fear, having a feeling what that could be.
"Ummm… I say we play another game then!" Chopper turned around, but he stopped when he saw Bow appear in front of him and scare him, making him fall back. "Eep! What was that?!"
Bow took her fan out and waved it. "Ahhhhh... Something like that is always so fun. It's actually surprising to see how easy you fall for that."
"Oh... It's you." Berry deadpanned. "What do you want?"
"Oh, I was taking a little vacation to see my father," Bow answered. "Probably nothing you'd be interested in."
"OK. Well, I'll be going then." Berry turned away and headed for another game, but she tripped and dropped her hammer. It had bounced off the wall and hit Bow in the head, knocking her out. Chopper hadn't seen the hammer, but he did see the Boo get KO'd.
"Bow! Are you OK?" Chopper gasped, trying to get her up, but to no avail. Berry had noticed the hammer and knocked out Boo and gulped.
"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…" Berry quickly grabbed Chopper's hand. "…I think we should get out of here."
She bolted out of the room with Chopper and her hammer, surprised to see Bow get knocked out so easily. Then again, seeing something like that almost made her laugh. Almost.
They went outside while it was nighttime and sat down on the beautiful chairs so they could get a view of both the water and the moon. Well, more like Berry made Chopper do that. What was also nice was that the rainbow trim on the Rainbow Cruise had began to glow.
"Look at that moon, Choppy… It looks so beautiful tonight. It's usually not this pretty back in Sand Town." Berry said. "Maybe this is what it looks like when we're located south from Rogueport."
"Yeah, the moon looks pretty cool, I'll admit," Chopper agreed. "Though, I think it was cooler when we were all on the moon."
"Yeah, I'll agreed to that. But seeing the moon and water here... It just feels so...romantic."
"...What?"
Berry placed her hand on top of his and she leaned on him with her eyes closed. Chopper, of course, was extremely uncomfortable and quickly moved away from her.
"Hey, why did you do that?" Berry asked.
"Pl-Please don't do th-that," Chopper stammered, now shaking in fear.
"Come on! There's no reason to be like this! Having someone close to you is supposed to be a good thing." she scooted up to him and wrapped her arms around his. "Just remain calm, Choppy... Don't try to struggle."
"B-But I can't! Why do you keep doing this to me?"
"Isn't it obvious, Choppy? I love you!"
"But why?"
"Because you're such a caring and kind person. Of course, I find you incredibly cute, but I wouldn't be that shallow." Berry explained. "Plus, looking back at the daycare, I saw something in you. You didn't seem to be like those bullies that had bothered you, and I couldn't let someone such as yourself be bullied by them. Heck, I even got bullied myself there and in Sand Town for my name, but it was thanks to you that I was motivated into standing up for myself. Did I motivate you into doing the same thing?"
"Well... Ummmmm..." Chopper trailed, trying to ponder. "I think I did. Back on my first adventure..."
"Then I'm proud of you for what you did," Berry smiled, closing her eyes and letting her hair touch Chopper's head. "You have no idea how happy I am to be with you..."
"Pl-Please let go of me... I really want to go back to my room."
"...OK, I guess you can," Berry decided, letting go of Chopper. "But I want to do one more thing before you go."
"Like what?" Chopper gawked, titling his head.
She stared at him with a smile. "I want us to kiss."
Just the mention of that was enough to make Chopper bolt back inside the cruise in fear. Berry only stared in bewilderment.
"Dang it... I thought I had him there." Berry said in annoyance, making her head back to her room.
However, when she left, it was discovered that they weren't the only ones looking out at the water. Up on the upper level, Mario had been looking up at the moon and water, and he had even seen the whole scenario with Chopper and Berry. However, with them gone, he brought his attention back to the moon.
"Wow, this is such a beautiful sky! Much nicer than what I've seen before!" Mario thought.
While he was looking at the moon, he heard a small sound coming from afar. He noticed by the moon a small, dark indigo mist was flying toward the cruise ship. ...Or was it him?
Mario looked at the mist get closer and closer until it had appeared in front of him. He had stepped away while gawking, looking at is suspiciously.
Mario: What is that?
The last thing he saw was the mist charging directly at him before his sight had completely gone black.
This was definitely a long chapter, but I think it's packed with some interesting moments. I personally liked seeing Pennington make his return here in the story. What's also coincidental is that in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Pennington appeared in Chapter 6, while in this, he's in Chapter 16. Both have the number 6 in it. :P
Anyway, next up, we go to the second day of the Rainbow Cruise!