Super Mario Sunshine Adventure

Episode 8: Fluff Festival Coin Hunt

The next day presented the heroes with a beautiful morning in Pianta Village. It was so very nice and serene. The atmosphere was filled with jubilance and there wasn't anything wrong. In addition to all of that happiness, the villagers were all dancing about and enjoying themselves! Plus, there were giant fluffs floating in the air delicately and silently. They were like clouds, but, well, they were fluffs! The wind blew them gently and they just soared through the air beautifully. While the villagers celebrated, they had fruits, vegetables, and seafood of all kind to eat. The mayor was also celebrating, dancing around and appearing as though he were in some kind of trance.

Well, before they discovered all of that, when they first arrived, Mario had a feeling that they would be searching for Red Coins. Everyone groaned, not wanting to do that, but Mario reminded them that they would get a Shine Sprite out of it. So, Mario went down to the village's underside and found a Red Coin down there with complete ease. Also, he found a Blue Coin too, which was something that he loved. Anyway, when he got back to the others they all ventured deeper into the village, finding out all about the joyousness.

"This is so cool!" Silver exclaimed, totally awestruck by the massive fluffs floating in the sky softly. "Wow! I want to touch one! They look so soft!"

Pauline was gazing up at them in wonder, equally awestruck. Her hands were clasped in front of her and there was a small smile playing on her lips. Her eyes were wide with fascination and she felt as though she just wanted to grab one of the fluffs and hug it close to her. They were so big! "I want to touch one too! Do you think there's a way we can touch one, Mario?" questioned the burgundy haired woman, hope shining within her eyes.

"Maybe," answered Mario, shrugging his shoulders as he wobbled over to a patch of tall grass. He rummaged through the cool grass before finding another Red Coin. "Guys, before we start doing anything else, we have to continue looking for these Red Coins. I've found two of them, we need six more. After that, we can celebrate with the villagers."

Sonic casually strolled over to the plumber and rested an elbow on his shoulder. "Why're you always ruining the fun, huh?" Sonic had a playful grin on his lips.

"I don't always ruin the fun, hedgehog!" Mario snapped at him, shoving him off. "I'm just trying to get this over with so we can have some fun! Better to do work first, right? Besides, if we start partying now, we'll be thinking about searching for the Red Coins right after! Get it?"

"Oh, I get it alright. Good point," spoke Sonic, nodding his head. Then, he clapped his gloved hands and gathered the attention of Pauline, Blaze, and Silver, motioning for them to come over. "Come on, guys! Let's look for the rest of these Red Coins! Then, we can party afterwards!"

Blaze strolled over to them, nodding her head with a very serious expression dancing along her facial features. "Right. We have to stick to the priorities right now." The purple cat didn't look as though she wanted to have some fun. It appeared as though she just wanted to complete their adventure so that they could continue their vacation here on Isle Delfino. That was what they came there for in the first place until it was ruined by Shadow Mario and his delusional assumptions about Peach being his mother and Amy being his aunt.

"Oh, fine!" Silver pouted.

"Fine…" Pauline also pouted.

Anyway, the group split up, Sonic racing up an overgrown tree with gigantic, green branches. Once he got to the top, he searched around for a Red Coin. The blue hedgehog put a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun's harsh light. Pursing his lips, his green eyes widened when he caught sight of Gelato Beach! He could see it from where he was! Memories from the time on that beach pierced his mind and he ended up smiling. That's where they found Blaze at! Oh, and he definitely couldn't forget the Sand Bird and those annoying Cataquacks!

Still grinning, Sonic didn't find the Red Coin up there, but he sped down the tree with glee and approached another tree. He ran up the tree and walked along one of its overgrown branches. Surprisingly, the branch didn't fall underneath his weight. Sonic found a Red Coin up there and he snatched it up. "Three down, five to go!"

While the speedster was doing that, Silver was dancing around to the music that the villagers were playing. He was quite close to them. The hedgehog so desperately wanted to join them, but remembered what Mario and Sonic said. They wouldn't be very happy if he didn't help out. So, he continued on his way, trying to ignore the festivities and the massive fluffs floating in the sky. When he came across the fruit tree, he found a Red Coin dangling from it along with various fruits.

"Oh, well, that was easy!" Silver plucked the Red Coin off of it and put it away, eyeing the other fruit hungrily. He snatched a banana from the tree and peeled it, devouring it quickly and then rapidly stuffing his face with more of the fruit hanging from the tree. "So good! Er…uh…I mean, four down and four to go!"

Meanwhile, Blaze the Cat was taking her time walking to the hot spring. As she got closer to it, she noticed steam rising from the water. Looking into the small pool, she found a Red Coin at the bottom of it. As she slipped into the water, she couldn't help but release a moan of satisfaction. It felt so nice to her fur! Blaze scooped up the Red Coin and then just relaxed in the water for a moment, enjoying it immensely.

"Goodness…" she breathed, shutting her eyes and lounging back.

Nope, she didn't plan on moving any time soon. It was too great and she really didn't feel the desire to pass up an opportunity like this. "Five down, three to go…you guys can do it." Blaze sunk deeper into the hot water until her entire body was covered, including her head.

Ha, anyway, while Silver was stuffing his mouth with fruit and Blaze was relaxing in the hot spring, Sonic the Hedgehog zoomed close to the hot spring, not noticing the purple cat deep within the warm water. Instead, he headed for the tree near there and slipped behind it, instantly finding a Red Coin there. Face lighting up with surprise and mirth, the blue hedgehog reached for it, but a hive of bees were disturbed and they immediately exited their hive to sting Sonic without mercy!

"ACK?! GAH!" Sonic swatted at the little bees, trying to get them away from him. "Get off me! Get OFF! Ah!" The blue hero was desperately trying to get them off of him while he reached for the Red Coin. Once he managed to wrap his fingers around it, he sped away as fast as he could, leaving the bees in the dust. "Wow, that was pleasant!" Sonic sarcastically put out there as he ran.

Mario was running around the village like crazy, trying to hurry up and snag all of those Red Coins. They only had to find two more! The red-capped hero dashed towards a chockablock of crates and examined them, glancing at FLUDD over his shoulder. "FLUDD, do you think there's a Red Coin in there?"

"There's only one way to find out!" responded FLUDD.

Mario climbed on top of the crates and destroyed them with a Ground Pound. For a few seconds, he didn't find anything, but then he finally discovered a Red Coin deep within some of the crates. Mario grabbed that and put that away, knowing that there was just one more Red Coin to find!

Pauline somehow found herself at the top of the biggest tree in Pianta Village, searching around for the final Red Coin. She knew the others were successful in finding the others, now it was up to her to seek out the last one. The ravishing female stood there as the wind blew her burgundy tresses harmoniously. Her eyes found all of the giant fluffs floating in the air and she smiled. One of them was coming towards her, so she took that chance to jump onto it and grab the stem, holding on for dear life as it floated her away.

"Wow!" she exclaimed, extremely happy about this fact as the fluff floated her over to a cloud. As this was happening, her eyes lowered and she could see the village from below. Her eyes caught Mario running around and she could see Blaze relaxing in the hot spring. Silver was partying with the other villagers and celebrating cheerfully.

"Pauline!"

Startled, Pauline turned her head in the direction of the voice and could see Sonic on his own giant fluff, waving at her in excitement. There was a large grin stuck on the hedgehog's face and he was in a very good mood. Pauline maneuvered the fluff so that she was floating next to the hedgehog as they headed towards the cloud.

"Sonic!" she yipped, mirth dancing in her eyes. "What are you doing up here?"

Sonic gave her a wink. "Couldn't pass up this awesome experience!"

Pauline giggled at that. "I understand that!"

"So, you ready to talk?" Sonic asked completely out of the blue, his expression turning serious.

Pauline was caught off guard. "What?"

"You heard what I said."

Pauline's body stiffened, but then she sighed and her shoulders lowered. Shaking her head, her look became very forlorn and she pursed her lips, a frown jumping onto her face. "Sonic…" she started, reluctant. "…I just don't want us to separate, you know?"

"Oh…" Sonic's green eyes enlarged in realization. "That's why. I see."

"Yeah…" Pauline mumbled brokenly. "I don't want us to separate and go back to the way things were before. I'm so glad to have met you, Blaze, FLUDD, and Silver. I was happy to have encountered Mario again too. You guys are really good friends to me."

Sonic was quiet for a moment and then said, "It's not forever, Pauline."

"…huh?"

"We won't be separated forever," Sonic told her, shaking his head and giving her a wink. "Nothing is ever forever, Pauline. Remember that. We'll all see each other again. I just know it."

Pauline let that information settle within her being and then she ended up smiling. Sonic was smiling at her and his smiles were contagious; she couldn't help it. "You're right. Okay."

"Cool!" yawped the blue hedgehog, giving her a thumbs-up. "Here's our stop!"

Before Pauline knew it, Sonic jumped off of his fluff and scooped Pauline up into his arms, landing on the cloud beneath them where the Red Coin was located. Sonic gently put the woman down and then picked up the Red Coin, retrieving a Shine Sprite right after.

"Now," said Sonic, looking at the girl beside him. "What do you say we go join that party, huh?"

Pauline nodded. "Yeah!"

And so they did.