Chapter 14: Well…I updated sooner than I thought! This is a moment for me to be proud of. :D I hope you guys enjoy the story! I'm not so good with names either. Excuse the crappy yet so obvious names. ^^; Also…I planned for this to be longer…but I decided to keep it this long. ^^; I like it this way. Enjoy the story!

~Chapter 14: Outset Island~

The Great Seas

The man chuckled. "Do not worry, I am also doing research on the pure and chaos hearts."

"Really! Oh that's great! We're also doing research on them! You see, chaos and pure hearts also exists in other planets," jumped in Blade.

"Interesting..."

"It's great to see another fellow researcher!" exclaimed Sword, shaking the man's hand.

The man smiled. "Would you like to come to my house? We can share our knowledge on the Pure and Chaos hearts. It is really an honor to come across fellow researcher."

Sword and Blade looked at Leaf.

"Alright we can go!" said Leaf.

"Thank you very much! My name is Noir," said the man. He began to walk to the ladder. The others instinctively followed.

They exited the temple and walked to a house close by to the ruins. It was hidden in the dark forest with only a few lights poking through the trees. Noir opened the door and allowed Leaf and her group to enter.

"Thanks" said Leaf. She bowed down and entered the house. The others followed her behind. They sat in the living room with a small coffee table at the center.

"NO TV!" cried out Blade, staring at an empty spot where he thought the television was supposed to be.

"I'm too busy with research," said Noir, feeling oddly embarrassed.

Sword slammed his fist onto the coffee table. "Now let's discuss!"

"That wasn't necessary," mumbled Leaf.

"Well," began Noir, "these ruins hold a lot of secrets and I spent years deciphering the hidden messages. The Pure Hearts and Chaos Hearts really despise each other. That is very paradoxical because Pure Hearts are such loving people."

"Hmm...I guess that is why Meta Knight and Yellow were so passionate about killing Tabuu..." thought Sword out loud.

"But Bowser Jr. is a Chaos Heart and he and Yellow get along very well," reminded Jigglypuff.

Blade stood up. "But look at Tabuu! That guy is just pure evil! Bowser Jr. just doesn't understand his powers and I'm glad he doesn't!"

"Bowser Jr. seems interesting," said Noir. "Is he evil?"

"That's arguable," said Blade.

"I think he's sweet," said Jigglypuff. "He seems awfully caring for such a mischievous child."

"He prank calls me a lot," said Sword.

"He flames my blog under username 'Evilrokz123'" added Blade.

"He's such an asshole!" shouted Sword, slamming his palm onto the coffee table.

"Watch your language!" scolded Leaf.

"Sure he's pretty cool but he's selfish and gains joy from others' misery."

"That definitely sounds like a chaos heart, though a very childish one," said Noir. "You should be really careful when he gets older."

Blade sighed. "Yeah...I'm really worried too. Chaos Hearts are naturally evil."

"There is no hope for Jr. even if Yellow shows a lot of compassion. Pure Hearts are very naive and persistent." said Sword.

"Tell me about the pure hearts you know," said Noir.

"Well...one of the pure hearts is Jigglypuff's boyfriend. Despite being cursed, he continues with his relationship. I don't want to criticize the relationship, but that proves how naive Meta Knight can be."

"I do have to admire his persistence and dedication," said Jigglypuff smiling dreamily.

"While Yellow is always trying to be nice to Jr.," added Blade.

Noir was taking notes and looked up. "It's interesting to hear about them coming from people who personally know them. I get my information all from the ruins, but I hope my knowledge is valuable. The chaos and pure heart were always in a constant battle against each other. It was an endless war to the civilians. A group of strangers captured the pure and chaos hearts. They cast a powerful spell that forever sealed their powers."

"Who were those guys..." wondered Blade.

"I don't know, but they combined their power for that spell. The cursed and pure hearts were released. I know the pure heart chose to live a normal life, but I don't know what became of the curse heart..."

"Well...we shouldn't worry about the chaos heart since his power is sealed," said Sword.

"Ah but you never know…"

"They're falling back!" shouted SD.

The Smashers and Tideshi's crew dropped their guard. They watched the enemy pirate withdraw into their ship. The pirate captain glared at Toony for a moment, until one of his crew caught his attention. Toony returned the glance with his tongue sticking out at the captain.

SD turned to Yoshi. "You alright?"

"Yeah I'm alright," replied Yoshi, breathing heavily. "Man, that was some battle! Pirates are really tough!"

"But you did really well, Yoshi, so let's keep the training up, alright?" said SD before walking to Tideshi. "Tide, you ok?"

"Yeah, I had worse," said the dark green yoshi. "Still nice to see an old mate of mine, what are you doing out here with this lot?"

"We're traveling the great seas in search of power for a friend," replied Toony. "The ship we're using belongs to a friend of mine."

"I see, well with S. Dragon with you, things should be easier for you then," said Tideshi. "Well, my crew will have to dock at the island anyhow to restock on supplies."

Toony perked up. "I gotta see how my grandma is doing!" he suddenly cried out. "Everyone get on board! I have to see how everyone on the island is doing! Tetra! Get the damn ship ready!"

The Smashers returned to Tetra's ship, except for one clueless person. Link exited the enemy pirate's ship with a toilet paper hanging off the sole his boot. He removed the toilet paper and looked up. The sail of Tetra's ship were up and the ship began to move.

"Wait for me damnit!" shouted Link. He ran for Tetra's ship.

Bowser Jr. spotted Link from the crow's nest. "Tetra! Can't the ship set sail any faster!"

"Oh…that asshole is gonna pay," grumbled Link.

Link jumped and grasped the edge of Tetra's ship. He looked down and saw sharks below his feet. He tried to pull himself up, but he was losing his grip. Bowser Jr. stood by his fingers. He looked down at him with an evil sneer.

"Damn you Jr.! Is this funny to you!"

"Of course…it's funny seeing you struggle like that, especially since you just came from taking a shit."

"Help me up you freakin asshole! Now!"

"Oh Jr.!" called out Yellow.

Bowser Jr. immediately turned his head. He saw Yellow waving to him. The young koopa ran towards the yoshi, leaving the swordsman hanging for his life.

"Uhm…can anyone help me…?" mumbled Link.

"I got you," said Zelda, grabbing Link's hand. Zelda pulled Link up and wiped his tunic. "You have to be more careful Link. There are sharks down there. I don't think it's a good idea for you to be hanging out here."

"It was that damn koopa's fault!" shouted Link.

Zelda sighed. "Let's just go inside."

Zelda and Link walked into the ship. Link took a glimpse of Bowser Jr. The young koopa stuck out his tongue. Link tightened his fist, but he continued to walk with Zelda. As soon as the door shut behind Link, Bowser Jr. burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" asked Yellow.

"Oh…just stuff," replied Bowser Jr., nearly choking with laughter.

The ship landed on the shores of Outset Island. Toony immediately ran out of the ship and jumped onto the sandy shore. He ran toward his house, but tripped on a pebble.

"haha!" laughed Bowser Jr. "What a fail!"

"SHUT UP!" roared Toony. He stood up and began walking to his house.

Meta Knight chuckled and faced SD. "I noticed Yoshi had done very well during the battle with the pirates," said Meta Knight. He then faced Yoshi. "I am proud of you."

"Thanks Meta Knight," replied Yoshi, "but it wasn't easy. Those pirates were tough."

"Well, there are going to be tougher foes, like Vincent, so we need to keep training, alright?" said SD.

"Damn, you got a point there. I don't know how tough Vincent is, but I'm guessing that he'll definitely put up a fight." Yoshi tightened his fist and faced the sky. "I wanna kill him for trying to go after my sister."

"Well for now, let's get some rest. It's still nighttime," said SD.

Yoshi yawned. "You're right…let's go."

"Land ahoy!" shouted King Dedede.

"You're not a pirate, so shut up," said Bowser.

King Dedede climbed down the crow's nest and made a silly face at the Koopa King. Bowser turned away and faced the island that was rising from the horizon.

"Outset Island…" muttered Vincent.

Bowser faced the black Yoshi. "And why are we going there?"

"Because…I sense the pure heart's approach…"

"Can you tell us again what we're gonna do?" asked King Dedede.

Vincent sighed in annoyance. "You are too forgetful. We are going ambush the Smashers. It is that simple. You got it?"

"Yes! I can finally kick that blue puffball's ass!" shouted the dreamland king, as he raised his arm and jumped into the air.

"Okay, I'll go with your plan, Vincent," said Bowser. "I trust you on this."

Vincent smiled and spotted the Smasher's ship from a distance. "If anything happens, I am always one step ahead…"

The sun rose from the horizon and struck Yoshi's eyes. Yoshi rose from his bed and stretched. "I feel so good, even though I had a few hours of sleep…morning SD!" Yoshi looked to the side and didn't see the scarred red yoshi on his bed nor his sword.

"SD! Oh no…where did he go…?" wondered Yoshi. He walked out of the room and climbed the stairs to the deck. He saw SD alone, watching over the port.

"Hey SD!" greeted Yoshi. "What are you doing?"

"Huh?" SD turned around and looked at the green yoshi... "Oh, Yoshi, you're up early."

"Well you were up earlier than me."

"True, just thinking about my son. I did try to tell you about him at the lake back at Yoshi's Island. Remember?" reminded SD.

"Yeah I remember…where is he?"

"Well, he's with his mother, my wife, in a forest. It's a warrior's village. Maybe I can take you and the Smashers there soon and my son. I think you already know him from a long time ago."

"I can't recall the days before my mother died. It was so traumatic, but I do remember I used to play with someone. Those were the happiest feelings I could remember."

"Yeah…maybe this name will help you remember. His name is Alex." SD held a locket in front of Yoshi. He opened it and allowed Yoshi to see a picture of a white yoshi with a headband, a smaller red yoshi with a scarred white marks on his cheeks.

"I-I remember him! Hehe, I remember I used to play with him practically every day! You would come over my house and bring him over! We'd chase each other a lot. Those were the days, which I missed…I haven't felt such happiness in a while…"

"Yeah, you two were best friends, and I know for a fact that he still remembers you, a lot better than I did."

"I'm sure he does if I can remember him that well! I wish I can see him again someday…maybe after all this is over?"

"Hehe, it's a promise, Yoshi. Since we're the only ones awake, how about we get on land and look around a bit?"

"Alright! I wanna go exploring!"

"I got food with us, so let's go!" SD jumped off the ship and landed on the sandy shore. Yoshi jumped off as well and followed the red yoshi behind.

A few small wooden houses were scattered across the island. The lights within the houses were dark and no villagers were in sight.

"Where's Toony!" shouted Yoshi all of a sudden. "This place is too damn small for me to lose him!"

SD continued to scan the area. "Not sure….wait up there!" he said pointing at a look-out nest. Toony was seen looking out at the sea from there. The yoshis immediately ran and climbed up the ladder.

Toony turned around and looked at the yoshis. "Hey guys! What are you doing here?"

"Looking around," replied SD. "Thought we explore the island abit."

"Yeah! Hope you don't mind, Toony," said Yoshi.

"Go ahead," said Toony. "We're restocking the ship anyways. We'll be here for a while. There are lots of places to explore. Don't let the size of the island fool you."

"We won't. Just make sure you and Link don't think of any more pranks!" shouted SD as he began to walk down the ladder.

"Do you really think we're gonna do a prank!" retorted Toony.

"Yes." SD and Yoshi stepped onto the ground. They walked toward a steep pathway, which lead to the top of the cliff overlooking the small village. They crossed a roped bridged and entered a dark forest.

Yoshi held out his sword in defense and looked around the area. "This place looks creepy."

SD nodded and withdrew his sword. "Yeah, but there are worse places I bet. Just keep your guard up, alright?" He walked ahead of Yoshi, gazing further into the woods. "Seems pretty silent," he mumbled.

Suddenly, a loud cry came from afar. Yoshi turned around and spotted two creatures moving towards the yoshis. SD turned around and swung his sword, sending a firey energy wave at the creatures. "Careful Yoshi!" he shouted. "They might not be alone!"

"Got it!" shouted back Yoshi. He dodged an attack by the creatures and retaliated with a slash of his own. Five more creatures surrounded the two yoshis.

"Ambush…" muttered SD.

Suddenly, a gunshot was heard and one of the creatures dropped dead. Tideshi appeared next to the two yoshis. "Looks like you wandered into a fight. Mind if I join matey?"

"Tideshi!" shouted Yoshi. "You came just in time!"

Tideshi nodded and slashed one of the creatures that came at him, leaving three left. "Good, let's teach them a lessons!" he shouted. SD nodded and at once parried an attack away, smashing his foe with the hilt of his sword.

"Thanks!" said Yoshi. He ran up to a creature and slashed it down.

"Just a couple left mates!" Tideshi shouted. He dashed toward another creature with his sword held out, but the creature jumped away and ran off with the others. Tideshi dropped his guard and watch the puny creatures disappear. "Looks like they ran off!"

Yoshi faced the direction where the creatures ran off and sighed. "I was hoping to get a chance to fight more."

SD placed his hand on Yoshi's shoulder. "We might later," he said before facing the pirate yoshi. "Anyhow, thanks for joining in Tide."

Tideshi nodded. "Hey, there's nothing better to do, besides looking for treasure. The villagers told me there could be a few hidden treasures on the island somewhere."

"Treasure? On this island?" said SD surprised.

"Yeah, but I think that kid in green heard it too. Toony was it? He ran off ahead of me."

Yoshi sighed. "Yeah that's Toony alright."

"Wonder what he knows? It's his island after all," said SD thinking out loud.

"Yeah you got a point there," replied Yoshi. He was looking at his sword and rubbing its smooth surface. Despite slashing many creatures with it, the sword remained clean. He put the sword away. "Let's go get him. I'm sure he can help us find something here."

"IF we can find the lad," reminded Tideshi as he walked toward the thicker trees. "Come on! We got treasure to find

Yoshi quickly followed Tideshi, but SD remained behind. A thought ran through his mind. "Speaking of others, I hope that Kamek and Bowser haven't found out about me yet. They might think I'm after Jr. for all of those times I was tortured." He shook his head and caught up with the other two yoshis."

As they continue to explore the forest, Yoshi suddenly stopped. He looked around the forest and frowned. "There's nothing but enemies in this place! How the hell do you expect to find something? This is getting pointless."

"But Toony and Link had to deal with this sort of thing, didn't they?" reminded SD.

"Well I'm not Toon and Link!" shouted Yoshi. "Do you really expect to find something in a small forest on a remote island?"

"Yes," replied SD, climbing up a tree. He poked his head above the leaves and saw smoke shrouding the base of a rocky mountain. "There's smoke to the north! Just up ahead!" shouted SD. He pointed toward the direction.

"Let's go see what it is!" said Yoshi before running off. SD jumped down the tree and followed Yoshi and Tideshi behind. They came across a small clearing where the smoke scattered across the base of the rocky mountain. A carved symbol was barely visible through the smoke.

"Well that's something you don't see every day," said Yoshi staring at the smoke. He glanced at the carving beyond the smoke. "…and what's up with that wall?"

"First thing's first, let's do something about…Tideshi?" SD turned his head and saw the pirate yoshi throw an object onto the fire causing the smoke. As soon as the object made contact, a horrid smell began to spread. The enemies that were around the yoshis ran off.

"What the hell was that!" shouted Yoshi as he noticed the unpleasant smell.

"A good old stink bomb. Works wonders during raid." Said Tideshi.

"But it smells THAT bad!" shouted SD.

"I was planning to run away myself!" shouted Yoshi.

"Never mind that, let's check the symbol." The smell had no effect on Tideshi, so he casually walked over to the carved symbol. Yoshi and SD slowly followed, covering their noses.

"How the hell do you get used to this, I'll never know," mumbled Yoshi.

Tideshi paid no attention. He placed his hand over the carving and began to feel its surface.

"You have any idea what that can be?" asked Yoshi. He crossed his arm and gave an impatient look to the pirate yoshi.

"Not a clue. Just this small writing under the symbol that says heart."

SD perked up. "Heart huh? Yoshi! Try touching the symbol!" he commanded.

"Why me?" asked Yoshi pointing to himself. "Oh fine…" He walked up to the wall and touched the symbol. Suddenly, the symbol glowed. The wall split in half and an entrance was revealed. Yoshi's jaw dropped.

Oooooh…what can that be? D: Well…that's why there is the next chapter. I don't know why I take forever to write these chapters. o.o I blame the fact that too many people loves talking to me on various chats. Lol I hope you guys enjoy the story! ^^ It's cute to see Yoshi slowly remember the memories before his mother's death. So Yoshi is slowly starting to feel happier. :)