Author's Note: This episode was supposed to be posted yesterday, but I decided to take a break from FFN and writing for a day. Anyway, here it is and I hope it's enjoyable. :)

Super Mario Sunshine Adventure

Episode 4: The Wilted Sunflowers

"I didn't think Yoshis were bad creatures, that's for sure…" said the Noki that greeted newcomers into Pinna Park. Mario, Sonic, Pauline, Silver, and the babies had all devoured lunch, which was seafood and fruit and then they all ventured back out to the beach in the evening. That was where the Noki uttered his sentence to them that didn't quite make sense.

"What is he talking about?" Mario wondered as a frown jumped onto his facial features.

"Beats me," Silver didn't feel like figuring it out. He was too busy eating a banana that he had taken from the place where they dined at. "I'm just standing here enjoying my scrumptious banana!"

Sonic let his eyes roam around the beach and until he spotted a horrific sight. The sunflowers that inhabited the beach were all wilting and sagging forward, dark and gloomy. They were slowly withering away and it was terrible! Plus, there were abnormally large Yoshi eggs all over the beach and near the dying sunflowers. It was odd.

"Guys, I think you better come look at this…" trailed Sonic as he gazed at the abhorrent scene. Just looking at it made him want to do something about it!

"Oh no!" gasped Pauline as she saw what Sonic was talking about. She immediately started running forward and toward the wilting sunflowers, worry dancing along her face. "Oh no, oh no, oh no! This is so awful!"

Mario shook his head and joined Pauline. "Yoshis wouldn't do something like this, right…?" he was starting to doubt himself and Yoshis now. However, there was something really strange about the Yoshi eggs decorating the beach. Something didn't seem right at all to him.

"Not sure, Mario!" Sonic answered, coming over.

Silver told the babies to stay put before going over there as well, gazing sadly at the wilting sunflowers that had once glowed beautifully underneath the sun's harmonious light. "What happened to them? Why are they wilting like that? Are they not getting enough sun or water?" he wanted to know, a sullen expression resting on his face.

"I brought this baby to view the sunflowers, but this looks unsafe!" a Noki woman yawped as she held her baby in her arms. She was looking over at the heroes while standing underneath a tree, away from the sunflowers and strange-looking Yoshi eggs sticking up out of the ground.

"What a cute little baby!" Silver cooed, running over to the woman and her baby.

"SILVER!" everyone yelled at him, wanting him to get back over there so they could work together to fix the problem.

Silver chuckled sheepishly and trekked back over. "Sorry!" he apologized.

"Mario, Sonic, why don't you two give these Sunflower Kids some water as well as the Great Sunflower? It looks like they really do need it!" Pauline told them with sadness coloring her tone.

Mario gripped the triggers of FLUDD and then unleashed the water through FLUDD's nozzle, spraying one of the sunflowers with it. The Sunflower Kid rose up a little, but then sagged back down, unable to be strong again. Mario took a step back, surprised that it didn't work.

Sonic gave it a try by summoning some water from across the beach, flinging it at the large plant. Just like with Mario's attempt, it did absolutely nothing!

"This is really bad…" trailed Sonic.

"Maybe we need a lot more water?" Silver suggested thoughtfully.

Pauline gazed at the flowers sadly. She really did care for them. The woman seemed to care about the Sunflower Kids and the Great Sunflower more than anyone there. She wanted to make sure they were standing proud again. But what in the world could she do?

"That egg just hatched on the beach!" one of the Sunflower Kids exclaimed weakly.

"It has something to do with these Yoshi eggs around here!" Pauline yipped, angry all of a sudden. The Sunflower Kid had sounded so very weak and fragile, like it was about to disappear at any given moment. "We have to do something about them!"

Sonic eyed her. "Okay, okay…but let's not jump to conclusions!"

"He's right, Pauline," Mario caterwauled quietly. "Yoshis wouldn't do something so evil like this," as he said this, he knew that there was something odd about the Yoshi eggs!

"I really don't know what it is then if it's not the Yoshi eggs randomly poking out of the ground around here." Silver commented while shrugging.

Pauline ignored what they had to say and marched over to one of the Yoshi eggs. She waved her hand violently at it and summoned a strong wind that pushed against the egg, rocking it back. Immediately, the egg jumped up out of the ground and it was actually a Snooze-A-Koopa!

"Whoa!" Silver yawped, arms flailing. "What IS that thing?!"

"That's certainly NOT a Yoshi!" threw in Mario, eyes getting huge.

"I wasn't expecting this!" Sonic admitted, watching in awe and shock.

Pauline wasn't surprised because she knew that the eggs had something to do with the flowers' sadness. The pretty lady jumped backwards as the Snooze-A-Koopa tried to slam into her with its shell. Once it was stuck on its back, Pauline jumped up and easily Ground Pounded it, defeating it instantly. When that was over, a whole bunch of little sunflowers sprouted up out of the ground beautifully and one of the Sunflower Kids perked up and breathed out a happy sigh.

"Hurray!" it cheered. "I feel so much better! These eggs are trying to eat us from below the surface! Now our little friends are fewer in numbers…"

Pauline whipped around to peer at her teammates. "Now you know what we have to do!" she barked at them, wanting this to be over with as soon as possible.

Not wanting to disobey, Sonic, Mario, and Silver all helped out to get rid of the Snooze-A-Koopas. It didn't take very long and they were incredibly easy to take care of. When the last one was defeated by Mario, the Great Sunflower perked up instantly and smiled brilliantly underneath the sun's light. A Shine Sprite pushed itself out of the Great Sunflower and floated into the air towards the group of four.

"The sun feels so very good!" one of the Sunflower Kids chirped.

"Thanks, people!" another Sunflower Kid commented.

"Thanks for helping me! Now, maybe the Yoshis will come back too!" the Great Sunflower remarked in pure elation, a wonderful smile on its face.

"We did it!" Pauline jumped up into the air cheerfully, dancing around when her feet made it back to the ground. She was grinning from ear to ear! "The sunflowers are saved!"

Sonic smiled and gave a thumbs up. "They sure are!"

"Yeah!" Mario agreed, nodding.

"That wasn't so hard!" Silver put in.

After that, Pauline walked over and grabbed the Shine Sprite, holding it up above her head in a very victorious manner.