Chapter 5: A Path of Pleasantries
"We're on our waaaay!" sang Kirby as the team walked down Pleasant Path, "A Pure Heart must be saveeeeeed!" Timpani giggled and hummed along to Kirby's tune. Mario was still concerned by the fact that there weren't any people out on the path. There weren't even any Goombas or Koopas that followed Bowser. Mario's mind was full of concern, but also hope as they group got closer to the fork between the Koopa Bros' Fortress and Koopa Village.
"What exactly is a Koopa Bro?" asked Blumiere while stroking his chin.
"From what Link told me," answered Kirby, "They are four Koopa brothers who some how got a fortress. I have no idea what they've been doing since Junior Troopa beat them up in Bowser's Castle."
"This world is so charming," smiled Timpani, "We should come here, when Dimentio is not in supreme reign." Timpani nudged Blumiere, who smiled back. Mario sighed while looking at Timpani and Blumiere. He knew they were happy together, but the plumber couldn't help but feel a little bit sad. Kirby noticed the upset look on Mario's face.
"Mario," comforted Kirby, "What's bugging you." Mario looked at his left hand and sighed. Peach was somewhere, and Mario had no idea where she was.
"Are you thinking about Peach?" asked Blumiere. Mario nodded slowly.
"If there's anything I've learned from my time with Blumiere," assured Timpani, "You will find the one you Love. You just have to be alive to see them. I know that last part is a bit grim, but trust me." Mario took a deep breath. He looked at his friends and smiled. He knew that Peach was out there somewhere, he just had to keep looking.
"Sometimes, all you need is some reassurance," smiled Blumiere.
"Yeah!" agreed Kirby, "There's a great guy back on Popstar. He got me great reassurance rates on my house!" Timpani giggled as Blumiere just facepalmed. Soon enough, the team reached the fork between the fortress and village. "Should we go and check to see if the Koopas are alright," pondered Kirby. Mario put his hand on his chin and thought for a moment.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to check on them," stated Timpani. Mario agreed with Kirby, maybe Kooper would be home. The quartet started making there way down the hill that lead down to Koopa Village. Timpani and Blumiere talked about the brilliant architecture of the bridge they passed under.
"This would be a wonderful place to have a picnic," grinned Blumiere while holding Timpani's hand. The group entered the quaint town, and just like with Toad Town, the place was completely silent. There wasn't a single Koopa Troopa in sight.
"Oh boy," starred Kirby, "This doesn't look too good." Mario told the members of the party to check all of the houses. Perhaps some Koopas were lucky enough to evade being corrupted. Timpani went and checked the shop. Kirby and Blumiere checked the other two houses while Mario headed to other side of town. The red plumber's eye widened as he entered the next area. He saw Kolorado being chased by two black and white Koopas, and a black and white form of Parakarry. Somehow, Kolorado kept dodging the attempts to be tackled.
"Oh, what poppycock! Balderdash! What has happened to you Parakarry!?" screamed Kolorado as he rolled out of the way from a Sky Dive. Mario immediately called for the three on the other side of the village.
"Mario?" Kirby noticed the commotion, "Oh, that's why you called us."
"I may be mistaken, but I think that Koopa needs help," added Blumiere.
"We're coming!" shouted Timpani as she led the charge to battle. The four koopas stopped running as they saw the group of four charging at them.
"Mario, my old boy! You've come to save me in my hour of need!" cheered Kolorado as he fled the area. The battle began. The black and white Koopas were not followers of Bowser, because they weren't wearing sunglasses. The order of the enemies was the two koopas, and then Parakarry. Mario jumped on one of the Koopas twice, flipping it over and doing one damage.
Timpani and Blumiere performed their tattle, with Timpani announcing, "This is a Corrupted Koopa Troopa. They have 4 HP, 1 Attack, and 1 Defense, but if you flip them over their defense falls to 0. These poor turtles need our help!" Now it was Kirby's turn. The pink puffball leaped onto the second Corrupted Koopa, performing an action command to leave it with 3 HP. The enemies' turn started with the Koopa Troopas attempting to get up. The discolored Parakarry performed a Sky Dive on Mario, doing three damage. Mario started his next turn by using his hammer to deal 2 damage to the front Koopa. Timpani and Blumiere performed another Tattle on Parakarry.
Blumiere stated, "This must be Corrupted Parakarry. He has 6 HP and 3 Attack and no defense. Be sure to be careful when he fires off a Shell Shot." Kirby followed his Italian friend by finishing off the first Koopa with a Final Cutter. The second Corrupted Koopa managed to get to its feet before Parakarry used a Shell Shot that did five damage to Blumiere and Timpani. Mario jumped onto the remaining Koopa, flipping it over and doing one damage. Blumiere and Timpani used Spear Spike on Parakarry, which took down 3 HP. Kirby then proceeded to take out the last Koopa with a swift jump. Parakarry then performed a Sky Dive on Kirby, but the Pink Puffball blocked, only taking three damage. Mario jumped one last time, doing two damage to Parakarry, before Blumiere and Timpani finished off the corrupted mailman with a Spear Spike. The team gained lots of Star Points from the battle.
"Woohoo!" cheered Kirby as the color returned to the Koopa's faces. The group helped the turtles to their feet before explaining what had happened.
"I was delivering letters to Koopa Koot," explained Parakarry, "There was this great big bang! Then I passed out, the next thing I remember was waking up in a cage somewhere. I saw a whole bunch of other Koopas and Goombas. Then I was knocked out by a Corrupted Koopa and that's the last thing I remember before waking up here."
"That's the same thing for us," added the other two Koopas.
"That probably was the Koopa Bros' Fortress," explained Blumiere, "We are heading there right now to find a way to stop these corruptions."
"Mario!" called Kolorado as he ran to the group,"They took my wife!"
"How awful!" interjected Timpani.
"Kolorado," sighed Kirby, "She's probably at the Koopa Bros Fortress."
"Then I will wait for you guys to bring her back!" declared the archeologist, "I will allow my friends to hide with me in my house." The two regular Koopas cheered as Parakarry was thinking.
"How come you weren't corrupted?" I was away at an archeological site. Good luck Mario, if you need me I'll be at my house." Kolorado and the two Koopas walked away to Kolorado's house.
"Such a strange character," remarked Kolorado.
"Mario," stated Parakarry, "I'm coming with you guys! I may have lost my upgrades, but I still can help." Mario nodded. Parakarry had been a reliable partner during his first adventure.
"So the corruption also weakened you as well," commented Blumiere.
"I guess so," stated Parakarry, "But that won't stop me from helping!"
"Hooray!" cheered Kirby, "I wish Link was here, to do a proper introduction."
"We better get going," added Timpani. With that, the party became a group of five. Parakarry became Kirby's partner, while Timpani and Blumiere remained as Mario's. The group made their way out of Koopa Village and was on their way to the yellow Pure Heart. As they crossed the bridge they passed under earlier, Timpani and Blumiere were asking questions about mail to Parakarry.
"A mailman's job is never done," chuckled Parakarry as the group came to a stop. There was a gap where a bridge used to be.
"Huh," shrugged Kirby, "I could have sworn there was a bridge here at some point." Mario signaled to Parakarry who sighed.
"A mailman's job is never done," groaned Parakarry as he flew each of the party members over the gap. The fortress was close, and the team was ready to save some Koopas and find some Pure Hearts.
