Super Mario Sunshine Adventure

Episode 6: The Shell's Secret

"So, now we have sixty Shine Sprites! Wow!" exclaimed Silver as he relaxed in the sand in the Delfino Plaza area. The hedgehog from the future had some coconut juice in a cup and he was sipping on it through a straw, just enjoying himself. "I mean, I know wasn't here for the majority of them, and neither were you, Blaze, but we still have so many!"

Sitting beside the hedgehog, Blaze bobbed her head in a nod, totally agreeing with him. She was eating a bowl of fruit salad and was also enjoying herself. Mario was out holding conversations with Toadsworth, the other Toads, Baby Daisy, and Baby Peach, Sonic was out for a run, and Pauline was probably with him. Everyone was just taking a break before they had to venture back to Noki Bay. They were obviously almost done with that area and they would move on to the last area of Isle Delfino before going to Corona Mountain. They were another step closer to rescuing Peach and Amy!

Silver quickly gulped down the rest of his coconut juice and then sighed blissfully, finding the taste to be highly pleasant. Setting his cup down, the hedgehog licked his lips and then turned his head to look at the purple feline next to him. Blaze was just sitting in the sand, devouring her bowl of salad. The hedgehog watched her for a few minutes.

Why was it that he always got this foreign feeling around his best friend? It was odd and unfathomable. It was clear to him that he really did like her and enjoyed her company immensely. Whenever he thought about her, butterflies would attack his belly and he would smile for no reason at all. Silver knew Blaze probably wouldn't approve of these strong feelings towards her, but he still liked to hope.

Besides, even if they were to become an item, how would that even work? He was from the future and Blaze was from another dimension! She was a princess and had many duties! They had just come to Isle Delfino for vacation; that was all. It made him very crestfallen and a tad bit remorseful whenever he thought about this fact. They couldn't be together all the time. They were from two different worlds, unfortunately.

"Uh…Blaze?" Silver managed to say, his voice coming out like a squeak. His face turned red from embarrassment and he quickly turned away from the cat so she wouldn't see his colored face. Why did he have to behave this way all of a sudden? Why in the world did his voice come out like that? Now he looked like a complete fool!

Blaze moved her eyes to him, ignoring her unfinished salad for the time being to see what her friend wanted. "Yes, Silver? What is it?" she asked him, curiosity painting her eyes.

"Um…uh…well, you see…" Silver lifted a hand and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Spit it out, Silver…"

Silver threw up his hands as if he were being caught by the cops from some heinous crime he had committed. "Okay, okay! Yeesh! Ah…"

The hedgehog dropped his hands into his lap and sighed heavily through his nose, unsure of how to ask such a question. "Um, Blaze…well…" Silver shook his head. "Would it be okay if two people from two different dimensions came together and, well…fell in love?"

Blaze stared at him oddly. "That is a very strange question, Silver…"

"I-I know…!" Silver's face turned crimson again. "I'm weird!"

Blaze watched him closely for another long minute before looking away and staring up at the sky. "It would be very difficult for these two people to be together," she responded to his question anyway, thinking nothing more of it. "It all depends on their situations. If they truly do love each other and want to be near each other all the time, they would find some way to make it work. That is my opinion."

"So…w-would we, uh…work then?" Silver questioned timidly, fiddling with his fingers and avoiding the cat's gaze.

Blaze froze.

Wait, what?

"Silver, what are you going on about?" the princess demanded to know of him, eyes getting slightly larger. Her heart was frantically beating against her chest like a wild drum. It was as if her heart was trying to escape her body. "What do you mean 'we', huh?"

Silver didn't look at her. "You know what I mean…"

Blaze fought hard to search for coherent words that she could use, but could not find any. It was as if she had forgotten how to speak all of a sudden. Her limbs felt weak and she felt…happy for some reason. She now knew that Silver liked her. Blaze had to admit, she really did like him too, in the same way, but she thought that it wouldn't be able to work out because Silver was from the future and she was just from another dimension.

"…you're so naïve," she said finally.

Silver whipped his head to look at her. "Hey!"

Blaze shut her eyes and smiled genuinely. "But that's what I like about you."

"Huh…?!"

Before Silver could do anything, Blaze's hands were on his cheeks and he felt her lips on his. Silver could do nothing but close his eyes and return it…

Uh, anyway, while that was happening, Sonic had stopped his running for a minute, hearing someone calling him from behind. Twirling around, he found Pauline jogging towards him, hair blowing in the wind and hand waving in the air to catch his attention.

"Sonic!"

"Uh…hello?" Sonic had no idea what she wanted. He had a lot on his mind at the moment; like rescuing Amy and Peach. The blue speedster had no clue what they were going through right now and he wished that he knew if they were alright. The hedgehog knew that Mario felt the same way.

The ravishing woman halted in front of him and wheezed, trying to catch her breath. When she finally did, she straightened up and grinned at the blue hedgehog pleasantly. "Sonic! You are so fast! I can't even keep up with you!"

Sonic snorted. "Of course you can't!"

"No need to rub it in!" Pauline gave him a bitter look.

Sonic stuck his tongue out at her childishly before laughing afterwards. "Anyway, what did you want?"

"I just…I wanted to know if, well, if we're cool?" blurted out Pauline, putting her hands on her slender hips.

Sonic appeared confused for a moment, but then he snapped his fingers and nodded his blue head, giving her a thumbs-up. "Oh yeah! We were in the midst of a terrible feud!" He chuckled after that. "Yeah, I forgot all about that. Yep. We're cool, Pauline. No worries."

A sigh of relief escaped the female's mouth and she smiled contently and fondly in the blue hedgehog's direction. "Thanks, Sonic."

"No problem!"

Suddenly, Mario approached them with FLUDD. "Hey, guys," he commented.

"Yo, Mario!" Sonic waved.

"Hello, Mario." Pauline smiled.

"I talked to Toadsworth and everyone else, telling them of our status." Mario informed them through a deep sigh. "We're almost there to saving Amy and Peach. Ready to head on back to Noki Bay?"

Sonic instantly nodded his head. "You bet, pal!"

"I'm ready," replied Pauline.

A simper curled the red plumber's lips. "Good! Now we just need to get Silver and Blaze."

Anyway, the trio left their location and got a very flustered Silver and Blaze. Sonic immediately knew what was up and Mario and Pauline eventually found out too. Apparently, Silver and Blaze had become an item! Blaze had been so embarrassed, but Silver had been gloating and talking about how they'll be together forever and all that stuff. So, after that, they traveled back to Noki Bay and the grandpa was there waiting for them again.

"Master Mario, you've become tied to our destiny, I'm afraid," yawped the grandfather, waving his hands about.

Mario pursed his lips. "What is it now?"

"A pathway to another world has opened above our fair land," answered the old guy.

"WHAT?!"

The old Noki nodded his head. "It's true! Surely you will go there? Of course! You must go there! I apologize for involving you in all of this! Good luck! We'll cheer you on from here! Farewell!"

And that was it.

"A pathway to another world?" repeated Pauline, bringing a hand up to her chin, awe touching her features. "That sounds so mysterious!"

"And exiting!" added Silver.

"Not to mention dangerous…" trailed Blaze.

Mario raised a hand to gather their attention. "Uh, well, it might be a pathway to one of those strange worlds we've been in already. We'll get a Shine Sprite at the end, remember?"

"Mario's right, guys!" Sonic threw a fist into the air, seriously pumped up. "Let's go get that Shine Sprite!"

So, the quintet made their way up, traveling along thin ropes and avoiding getting electrocuted by those annoying electric contraptions gliding along the ropes. When they got to the top, they found a giant seashell that had an opening and they instantly assumed that was where the pathway was. They went inside and were immediately in some white place where Shadow Mario came and snatched FLUDD away again.

So, from there, they appeared in that weird world.

"Alright! Bring it on!" Sonic was ready for this as they appeared in a glass tank.

"You sure are excited, huh?" Silver pointed out, levitating up to the top.

Blaze followed him, jumping from wall to wall to reach the top. It was easy for her. Sonic and Mario did the same too while Pauline just used her wind abilities to fly up there.

"I AM excited, Sil!" responded Sonic, grinning from ear to ear crazily.

"Please don't call me that…" mumbled Silver.

Sonic rolled his eyes.

Mario looked ahead and found a spinning platform that was, like, shaped as a skinny rectangle. It spun around slowly. On the other side of it was a flipping square platform and on the other side of that there was a still platform like the one they were standing on.

"Well, here we go!" the plumber declared as he jumped on to the spinning rectangle. Once he was on there, the others followed him. Silver, however, just levitated across, whistling as he did. Mario envied him and wished he had FLUDD with him, but he had to rely on his impressive acrobatic skills for this.

After they made it across, they came upon other obstacles that dared to get in their way. They pretty much found out that this world was much like the others, but with different obstacles to deter them and slow them down. As they went along, Sonic almost fell to his death, but Silver had to catch him with his telepathic abilities. It really didn't take long for the team to reach the end of the stage.

The Shine Sprite waited for them and they took it with glee and pride, ecstatic that they were almost there to finishing their adventure.