All right, fellow readers. Here is the fourth chapter of this story!
Now, we're almost to the end of the prologue, and we'll be starting chapter 1 by the next chapter. I hope you look forward to that.
One other thing I should mention that I forgot to do in the previous chapter, you can expect a lot of characters commenting on Andrew's muscles to identify him. These comments about his muscles and being muscular will be a running gag throughout the story; similar to all the comments that characters make about Mario's mustache. I hope this will be something clever that I'll do to make up for Andrew's lack of a mustache.
Anyway, with all that said, I suppose we can start the next chapter. In this chapter, Professor Frankly reveals the special move Andrew received from the Magical Map, he reveals the location of the first Crystal Star, the talk about Princess Peach will be brought up with Professor Frankly, Andrew ends up getting a badge and makes a reveal, and Andrew and Goombella face off a giant Blooper, along with a few other things. How will this go for them? Find out now!
OUTSIDE OF PROFESSOR FRANKLY'S HOUSE - EAST SIDE OF ROGUEPORT:
It didn't take long for Andrew, Goombella, and Professor Frankly to make it back to Rogueport by using the same pipe they used to get into the sewers. As soon as all three of them emerged from the pipe and were back on the ground in the East Side of Rogueport, Frankly turned to face Andrew and Goombella.
"Let's get back into my house, Andrew and Goombella," he advised them to follow.
Neither one of them said anything as they nodded, and followed the Professor back into his home. The Professor opened the door and stepped inside, with Andrew and Goombella entering shortly after, closing the door behind them as a result.
Professor Frankly went and grabbed one of the books from his shelf and he placed it on his desk. He then turned to face Andrew as he gave him a simple request.
"May I see the map again for a second, Andrew?" Professor Frankly asked.
"Sure," Andrew walked over and gave him the map, which he placed on his desk. He then opened the book that he placed on his desk and began examining the pages.
"This'll take just a minute or so, you two," Frankly informed the two of them. "Just be patient and I'll have all the answers in just a minute. OK?"
"Right Professor," Goombella said casually.
"Yeah. We can wait," Andrew told him calmly as he skidded himself onto the floor to sit down.
Goombella walked over and took a seat right next to him as she then asked him. "Isn't this exciting?"
"Uh, yeah," Andrew said slowly as he looked at the eager Goomba girl. "I guess so."
"I can't wait to find out what happened to the map and what those lights were about," she beamed in anticipation. "It's gonna be AWESOME!"
"I'll bet," Andrew remarked calmly. "We'll just have to wait until the Professor tells us what he has found out."
"Of course," Goombella smiled as she scooted close to Andrew. "And we can wait together."
"Right," Andrew tugged on his handkerchief sheepishly, not objecting to Goombella's company as he just sat there, with the Goomba girl by his side.
Several minutes have passed as they waited for Professor Frankly to tell them what he found out. Eventually, Andrew and Goombella fell asleep from being patient. Andrew's head was leaning upward a bit against the bookshelf, while Goombella found herself snoozing right up against Andrew's lap.
Professor Frankly was too busy looking through his book to have noticed this taking place. He was heard grunting to himself as he searched for what he was looking for.
"Hrmmm..." It was then at that moment, Professor Frankly found exactly what he was looking for, as he had a eureka moment. "Aha! I see!"
"Wuh...? Huh...?" Andrew murmured as he wiped his eyes with his hands while Goombella let out a yawn.
"Goombella! Andrew! I found out what had happened at the site of the Thousand-Year Door," Professor Frankly hollered. "And what that light was about!"
"What!?" Andrew managed to bolt up as did Goombella as they got up onto their feet and went right over to the Professor.
"You understand it, Professor?" Goombella asked eagerly.
"My dear, of course I do!" The professor proclaimed.
"What did you find out?" Andrew asked.
"Well, firstly, about that light we saw shining on Andrew," Professor Frankly explained. "By my reckoning, Andrew can now perform what is known as a special move."
"A special move?" Andrew and Goombella asked simultaneously.
"Yes, it... Well..." Professor Frankly tried to find the right words. "Stuff like this is better explained by example rather than words. Would you like to try it out, Andrew?"
"Sure," Andrew nodded before asking. "Wait a minute, shouldn't we go outside? Wouldn't it help better if we did it outside this house?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Frankly told him. "We don't need to be outside. It's not like there's an audience watching this story take place."
"What?" Andrew raised an eyebrow at what he just said.
"Nothing. Nothing. Forget that I said that. Let's just try out the special move," Professor Frankly decided to change the topic as he gave Andrew the map for a second. "Now, first off, take this map, and hold it right over your head."
"Okay," Andrew did so as he held the map over his head with his hands reaching out.
The map then started floating magically in the air as Andrew watched it. Goombella walked over and witnessed it for herself.
"All right. Now the special move should take effect right about now," Frankly informed him.
In a matter of seconds, some magical sparkly bright stars glittered down from the matter as they surrounded Andrew and Goombella. From the looks of it, it looked like it was some type of restoration move as they felt their energy starting to heal back up.
Both Andrew and Goombella had their eyes closed as they were letting out relaxed sighs, showing that the special move was working.
After several more moments, the special move came to a stop as the sparkles faded, and the map started floating back down again, which Andrew managed to catch once more as he placed it back on Frankly's desk.
"Wow... Gosh," Andrew blinked in amazement. "What was that? I feel like I'm full of energy again."
"Wowzers! That felt amazing!" Goombella beamed. "I feel completely energized from that special move!"
"Well that, my dear, was the special move that I was referring to," Frankly explained. "And that move, in particular, managed to replenish any energy that you two may've lost during our trip to the Thousand-Year Door."
"Well, does it have a name, Professor?" Andrew asked. "What was it called?"
"From what I've looked up, the move happens to be called Sweet Treat," Professor Frankly answered.
"Sweet Treat?" Both Andrew and Goombella wondered. "Wow."
"That's right," Professor Frankly continued. "And there's more. Every time you collect a Crystal Star, you'll be granted to use another new special move associated with each Crystal Star."
"That's 'totally' AWESOME!" Goombella seemed thrilled about that.
"I'll say," Andrew agreed calmly. "Now, about the map, Professor? Where is the location of the first Crystal Star?"
"I'm already on it," Professor Frankly looked at the map. "Now, let's have a look at that Magical Map and see what we can learn about the..." He then cut himself off for a second as he figured out what had happened to the map. "WOW! ASTOUNDING! This map has radar-like functions! It now shows the location of a Crystal Star!"
"So where is it?" Andrew asked again.
"It looks like the first Crystal Star is to be found in a place called the Petal Meadows." Professor Frankly answered honestly.
"Petal Meadows?" Andrew and Goombella raised an eyebrow at that.
"Yes. The area is a vast meadow that lies far to the east of Rogueport," Frankly told them. "To tell you the truth... I've always thought that place was a tad suspicious."
"It has?" Andrew wondered.
"Yes. The name Petal Meadows did come up from time to time in my research," the Professor answered.
"OK, fine. So we'll go there," Goombella proclaimed before asking. "Does anybody know how to get there or what?"
"I'm fairly certain that somewhere beneath the city is a pipe to Petal Meadows," Frankly gave them the answer. "If you could just find that, you'd get there instantly. Pipe travel's efficient!"
"Yeah. And convenient," Andrew rubbed the side of his arm. "Especially if you want to get there quickly."
"Yup," Professor Frankly nodded as he closed his book before looking to Andrew as another question came to him. "Say, by the way, Andrew... I'm curious. Where did you get that map, anyway?"
"Well, Professor, it's quite an interesting story," Andrew decided to explain. "You see, Princess Peach was the one who found this map. She had intended to send it to Mario so he could join her on a treasure hunt. But due to some adventuring exhaustion on Mario's part, he turned the offer down and had the map and letter sent to me instead. That's pretty much how I got the map and why I bothered coming to this place."
"Wait? Really? Her Highness originally found this map," Professor Frankly wondered. "And she intended on sending it to someone else, but you got it in the mail instead due to fatigue?"
"That's right," Andrew nodded.
"This Princess Peach..." Professor Frankly took out a photo and held it out for him to see. "This wouldn't be her, would it?"
Andrew only needed to look for a few seconds to confirm it. "Oh yeah. That's her, alright."
Andrew was able to recognize her as the princess, what with the pink dress, the long blonde hair, the crown, and whatnot.
"So it IS her!" Frankly remarked, putting the photo away.
"How did you know about her?" Andrew felt like asking.
"The princess came to see me the other day," he answered him. "She wanted to learn about the treasure..."
"You don't say," Andrew mused while rubbing his chin. "Talk about a coincidence..."
"I told her about the Crystal Stars and my suspicions about Petal Meadows..." Professor Frankly exclaimed. "It doesn't seem likely, but perhaps she tried to go to Petal Meadows on her own..."
"Maybe... But given her reputation, if she did try to go to Petal Meadows by herself, chances are, she probably got kidnapped along the way," Andrew came to a rather cynical conclusion.
"Y'know, Professor, there was another suspicious group asking about the same thing," Goombella decided to bring up with him.
"Yeah. They had attempted to abduct Goombella at the Rogueport Harbor for not telling them about the Crystal Stars," Andrew added. "But I was at the scene at the right time, and I stepped in and put a stop to it."
"And aren't I grateful for that," Goombella gave Andrew a brief smirk, showing how she felt about it.
"Hrmm... But I can't imagine Princess Peach getting involved with THEM..." Frankly had to admit.
"Neither can I," Andrew agreed. "But now I get this funny feeling that there is a connection between Princess Peach's disappearance and the suspicious gang we dealt with. I assume that the suspicious group might have something to do with what happened to the princess."
"I feel the same way, Andrew," Goombella agreed with him calmly.
"All right! It's settled!" Professor Frankly decided to have Andrew and Goombella get the ball rolling. "Off to Petal Meadows you two go! If Princess Peach indeed went there, your 'first' priority must be to catch up to her. Collecting the Crystal Stars is a means to an end...and that end is Princess Peach!"
"Right. So if we start with collecting the first Crystal Star, we might get some answers about Peach's disappearance," Andrew came to that particular conclusion.
Professor Frankly didn't say anything about it as he grabbed the map and gave it back to Andrew.
It was then that Goombella was curious about something so she asked her professor. "Aren't you coming, Professor?"
"No, I'll stay in town and ask around about Princess Peach and that suspicious gang," Frankly turned down the invite. "Besides, I doubt a shriveled old Goomba like me could handle the trials of the road."
"You know Goombella, I think he's right," Andrew said before pointing towards himself and Goombella. "This is an adventure that should be left up to the young, healthy, and physically fit, like the two of us."
"Yeah. You're probably right, Andrew," Goombella sighed. "We can go with that."
"Of course, if anything happens and you need some advice, come see me, OK?" Professor Frankly offered some encouragement on his behalf.
"That'll be fine with us, Professor," Andrew told him.
"Yeah! You got it, Professor!" Goombella then turned to face Andrew. "Well, Andrew, we're off!"
"Right," Andrew nodded as he and Goombella were about to head out the door before Professor Frankly remembered something.
"Wait just a moment! I just remembered something," he informed them. "There's something that I'd like to give to Andrew."
"Hmm? What is it?" Andrew looked curious by this as Frankly took something off from a shelf, and went over to give it to him.
It was a badge. Specifically, it was a badge of a gray bat that had a nail sticking out of the head of it. Andrew ended up taking it as he observed it.
"Andrew, it's scary out there. Take this with you. It's called a badge, and it is incredibly helpful. They call this the Power Swing badge," Professor Frankly explained. "You see, You see, depending on the badges you have equipped, you'll get much more powerful."
"Badges?" Andrew mused. "I've heard of badges before."
"Oh?" Professor Frankly raised an eyebrow curiously at this. "You have?"
Andrew nodded as he took off his backpack, and opened it up as he was now digging through it for something important.
"Andrew? What are you looking for?" Goombella questioned.
"Hold on a minute. I'll show you." In a matter of seconds, Andrew managed to grab something from his backpack, took it out, and showed it to the two Goombas.
It was a badge similar to the one Frankly gave him. Only this one showed a gray boot with two spikes on the bottom of it. It was 'apparently' called the Power Jump badge.
"Is that a badge?" Goombella wondered in amazement. "Where did you get THAT?"
"Well, I bought it at a Toad Town Flea Market a couple of years back. I always thought it was important, so I kept it," Andrew explained. "Now I'm glad that I did save it."
"Oh. Well, seems to me that you have a badge on hand," Frankly exclaimed. "Badges like that can help out in fights and other situations. So be sure to wear them and use them wisely."
"Right," Andrew then asked about the Power Swing badge. "Uh, what about this badge?"
"Keep it. Consider it a gift, from me," Professor Frankly insisted. "The more badges you collect, the better."
"All right," Andrew put both badges on as they were safe under his long-sleeve shirt since he was wearing a t-shirt underneath. "Thanks, Professor Frankly."
"You're welcome, Andrew," the professor decided to send them on their way. "Well, here's hoping you find that pipe to Petal Meadows."
"Got it, Professor," said Andrew as he turned around towards Goombella. "Come on, Goombella. We better get going."
Goombella only nodded as she followed Andrew out the door as he was heading for the green pipe, planning on entering the sewers again.
Before he did though, Goombella decided to get his attention. "Hey, Andrew! Wait!"
"Huh? What is it, Goombella?" Andrew turned to face her.
"That talk we had about badges in the Professor's house had just reminded me of something," Goombella told him. "I got something that I'd like to give you."
"You have something for me?" Andrew seemed perplexed by this as Goombella dug through her hammerspace.
In a matter of seconds, she found what she was looking for as she took it out and showed it to Andrew. It was what appeared to be a make-up kit...except it was empty, and the make-up accessories weren't with it.
"Listen, this is the old make-up kit that I had during my stay at the University of Goom," Goombella explained. "I emptied it since I didn't need to use it anymore after getting a new one. But I'd like to give this empty one to you. Y'know? For any badges, you might collect on this journey to getting the Crystal Stars."
"Oh, Goombella," Andrew shook his head. "You didn't have to do this for me. You didn't have to give me this."
"Yeah, well guess what? I wanted to," Goombella insisted. "That way you won't lose any important badges that you get if you keep them in your backpack. Besides, I 'really' owe you one for what you did for me earlier."
"Oh... Well..." Andrew sighed, seeing that she was being thoughtful with this gift that she was giving to him. "Thanks, Goombella. I'll be sure to use this for any other badges we encounter."
"Glad that I could help," Goombella winked at him as Andrew looked at the front tin cover of the make-up kit.
"University of Goom?" Andrew read what was on the make-up kit as he looked at her.
"Well it was a make-up kit I got specifically from U Goom," Goombella answered. "It was worth the buy, though."
"I see," Andrew said as he looked at it. "Looks nice."
"Thanks. I thought so," Goombella beamed as Andrew put the newly acquired badge kit away in his backpack. "Now, whattaya say we go down this pipe and head straight for Petal Meadows."
"Of course," Andrew jumped on top of the green pipe, with Goombella jumping right next to him. "Let's go find that pipe."
Goombella nodded as the two of them went down the pipe, they went back into the Rogueport Sewers, so they could find the pipe that could lead them straight for Petal Meadows...
IN THE ROGUEPORT SEWERS:
Once the two of them made it back to the sewers, they decided to head off in the same direction they had gone in before when trying to find the Thousand-Year Door. Only this time, they ignored the pipe that was behind the iron bars as they continued to go right.
"Hey Goombella," Andrew decided to ask her. "Are you truly sure that you'd like to travel with me? This adventure could be dangerous."
"So what if it's dangerous? I'm always up for a new adventure," Goombella snorted, playfully rolling her eyes as she added. "Besides, you can't get rid of me. I'll be sticking by your side, every step of the way as we're traveling to collect the Crystal Stars."
Andrew had to think about this. Even though he's never been on a journey on this grand of a scale to collect the seven Crystal Stars, he would've preferred if he had traveled alone, being a loner and all. But seeing that Goombella was serious about sticking with him and that there was no convincing her otherwise, Andrew decided that it'd be best to accept her company. Not to mention that she might help him get around this foreign region.
"Well, I suppose having you travel with me wouldn't hurt," he sighed. "After all, I don't think I know my way around this area, and how to get around."
"Exactly! And that's what you have me for. I will give you helpful advice to get by the areas we'll be exploring," Goombella informed him. "Trust me. This'll be a lot of fun."
"I'm sure it will be," Andrew said sheepishly. "Now let's see where we can find that pipe."
"Hey, Andrew! Look!" Goombella directed him to another paper airplane panel. "There's that same airplane panel that we saw before. If we use it to have you turn into a paper airplane, we can get by to that ledge over there."
"That makes sense," Andrew walked onto the panel as it started glowing. "All right, Goombella. Grab my hand."
"Right," Goombella did just that as she allowed Andrew to pick her up before he went ahead and transformed into a paper airplane.
It took no longer than a few seconds for him to make it to the other side, where he turned back to normal and let go of Goombella. Feeling satisfied that they could continue onward, the two of them went into the next room.
As soon as they got into the next room, they noticed that there was a dead-end thanks to the ocean water that was ahead. Andrew also noticed a brown panel with a boat on it, that he felt would become important later on.
However, the elephant in the room happened to be in the form of a large tentacle that was sticking out of the water and was dangling on the side of the pavement ground. This got Andrew's attention as he approached it.
"What the...? What's this supposed to be?" Andrew quizzed as Goombella approached it too.
"Hmmm... It seems to be almost inviting us to do something, doesn't it?" Goombella shook her head in confusion as she was unsure of what it was too. "But what? You could jump on it, but you'd totally ruin your shoes, so I'd just whack it with your bat."
"Good idea," Andrew nodded as he took out his bat. "Let's see what it does."
With that, Andrew smacked the tentacle with his bat, getting a reaction instantly as he heard something come from under the water.
"Bloop! BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!" A voice yelped in agony. (Translation: Ouch! That HURT!)
It was then the tentacle went back into the water, getting Andrew and Goombella a little confused, and walked over to see what was in the water. They heard the water starting to ripple, and in a matter of seconds, their question was answered when suddenly, a giant Blooper burst right out from the water to reveal itself.
"What the...?!" Andrew yelped at the sight of a giant Blooper.
The giant Blooper then managed to jump and attach itself to a ceiling that was right above Andrew and Goombella. The Blooper looked down and wondered who just smacked its tentacle.
"Bloobloobloobloop! (Translation: Who just up and whacks someone's tootsies like that?)" The Blooper wondered. "Blooblooop! BLOOOP! (Translation: Somebody with some serious moxie, that's who!)"
It was then that Blooper saw Andrew from down below, as it then glared at the muscular man, clearly wanting payback for it.
"Bloobloop! Bloobloobloop! (Translation: Would you look at that? It's some saucy muscular guy!)" The Blooper bellowed. "Bloopity bloop! Blooooo! (Translation: He's in a WORLD of hurt!)"
It was then the Blooper allowed two of its tentacles to dangle down as it planned on using it to smack Andrew and Goombella.
"BlooblooblooblooblooBLOOP! (Translation: I'll give him a taste of the old tentacle trample!)" The Blooper declared to start a battle with the two of them.
"Okay. So I'm guessing that this Blooper wants to pick a fight with us as well," Andrew sighed.
"That's right," Goombella cringed a little. "Guess we'll have to beat it together."
"Yeah. But I'm not sure how to beat it," Andrew scratched his head.
"I think I have the solution," Goombella then went ahead and pulled out what appeared to be a green-covered book filled with information on enemies and stuff.
"What is that?" Andrew queried.
"It's my Tattle Log," Goombella picked it up. "I use it when it comes to searching up different monsters."
"You have a Tattle Log?" Andrew was surprised by that.
"Duh! Of 'course' I do," Goombella snorted playfully. "I got this book from the University of Goom."
"Really?" Andrew raised an eyebrow. "Were you the one who happened to write out the reports and information on every monster that's in there?"
"I wish," Goombella then made a 'pffft' sound with her mouth. "No. The information and reports were already written in there by the person who had it published. I just got it from one of my professors while at U Goom."
It was then that Goombella decided to admit. "Although, I do need to confess that I did write some extra notes on several of the species and monsters that I have encountered already. I'm still waiting to find more enemies that I could write some notes on. But yeah. This is my Tattle Log."
"Wow," Andrew blinked. "Whoever wrote that Tattle Log out must've taken a lot of time just to write out information on every monster that exists in this area."
"You bet," Goombella smiled at him. "Would you like me to give a demonstration on this Blooper over here?"
"Knock yourself out," Andrew allowed her to do the honor as she flipped through her book to find the right page where the Blooper was located.
"AH-HAAAA! I found the page," Goombella kept the book opened to the page that provided information on the Blooper. "This is the same Blooper that's in front of us."
"Impressive," Andrew said with slight amusement. "Why don't you read it out loud for me, hmm?"
"With pleasure," Goombella said as she then provided him with information while gagging. "That's a Blooper…and a 'really' super-humongous one, too! EWWWW! It's all slimy! I just totally can't STAND slimy, nasty, icky things. G-R-O-S-S, gross!"
Goombella looked like she was going to be sick from staring at it before she continued.
"It attacks with its tentacles and ink. Once you damage both its tentacles, it'll fall 'down'... And then it's attack time!" Goombella shared with Andrew. "By the way, it'll be easier if you can attack both tentacles at once. Now relax and house on that slimy, nasty Blooper!"
"Wow," Andrew had to blink as Goombella put her Tattle Log away. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were providing me with both facts and your personal opinion on how you feel about this Blooper."
"Wasn't it obvious," Goombella smirked before she noticed something. "Andrew! Watch out!"
"What?" Andrew wondered before Goombella got him out of the way of what would have been an attack from one of the tentacles.
The second one tried to smack him, but Andrew was prepared that time as he rolled out of the way, with Goombella right by his side. It was then he looked at his Goomba partner.
"Goombella? You did say something about attacking both of the tentacles at once just so it can fall onto the ground, right?" Andrew had to make sure.
"Yeah. That's what I said," Goombella then looked at the Blooper in a disgusted manner. "But how are we going to do that?"
"Hold on. I got just the perfect tool for the job," Andrew went ahead and dug out the 'Fire Flower' that he found earlier from his pocket, as he was prepared to use it. "This should be the perfect tool to help us."
"You kept that on your hand this whole time," Goombella was impressed. "Wow. You're resourceful."
"Thanks. I do what I can," Andrew said out of flattery. "Now watch as I let it do its job."
Andrew went ahead and planted the flower into the ground. In a matter of seconds, the flower spat out fireballs at the Blooper, making a direct impact with its tentacles and the body. The tentacles rolled back up as the Blooper fell right onto the ground. The Fire-Flower disappeared immediately afterwards.
"All right, now we're talking," Andrew said while taking his bat out. "It's showtime."
With that, Andrew immediately charged towards the knocked-down Blooper with his bat over his head. He then went and performed a strong Power Swing attack, which was possible thanks to the badge he was wearing.
"Okay Goombella," Andrew then turned towards his Goomba partner. "Come over here and help by Headbonking this creep."
"Uhhhh...I dunno. A-Are you sure," Goombella looked grossed out again. "I mean, it's all slimy, and nasty looking..."
Andrew had to turn around and place his hands on his hips, with his bat to the side. "Goombella? If we're going to be a team, you're gonna have to contribute your share to the fights we'll be having."
"Ooooh...You're right, Andrew," Goombella sighed as she sucked it up. "OK! I'll give it my best."
From there, Goombella charged over and jumped into the air, landing head-first onto the knocked-over Blooper, achieving a successful Headbonk before striking it again.
"Perfect," Andrew saw that the Blooper was still knocked over. "Looks like it's still unable to fight. Guess we can attack it again."
Andrew decided to jump on top of the Blooper this time. Shortly afterwards, he landed a successful Power Jump attack, which again, was thanks to the badge he was wearing. Goombella then gulped and landed two more strikes to the Blooper with another Headbonk.
By then, the Blooper got back up and had decided to spray them with an ink attack. Andrew and Goombella ducked out of the way as the Blooper fired several ink sprays with its tentacle.
Eventually, the Blooper made direct contact with them, as both Andrew and Goombella were completely covered in Blooper ink. Needless to say, Goombella was completely grossed out by it.
"EWWWWWWWWWWW! I'm all covered in Blooper ink!" Goombella yelled in complete disgust. "OMIGOSH OMIGOSH OMIGOSH OMIGOSH OMIGOOOOOOOSH! This is so GROOOOOOSSSSS!"
"Not really a pleasant experience, if I must say," Andrew wiped his face of the ink that was covering it. "But that's not enough to stop me."
Feeling determined, Andrew landed another jump on the Blooper before smacking it downward with his bat.
"Looks like we're almost done," Andrew took notice of how weakened the Blooper was. "Now Goombella, hit it with one more Headbonk."
Goombella was still very upset about being covered in ink, but she obliged as she ran over and delivered two more strikes to the Blooper with her Headbonk. The Blooper wasn't able to fight any longer as Andrew decided to get rid of it.
Holding his bat in his grasp, Andrew jumped in front of the Blooper and performed a powerful swing on it. It was strong enough to send the Blooper back into the water, as its head was now sticking up. Seeing that it was numbered, the Blooper could only accept defeat.
"BLUH-BLOOOOOOOOP!" The Blooper moaned in pain as it careened upward and crashed through whatever it was that was up above.
It was then Blooper had been sent flying to parts unknown. Or likely, it was sent back to the western sea, which it had probably come from in the first place.
As soon as the Blooper was gone, two stone platforms surfaced above from the water for the two adventurers to ride on.
"Hey. Two platforms just surfaced for us," Andrew said. "Now I think we can get across."
"Right," Goombella used a towel to wipe off the Blooper ink that was all over her face and body, something that Andrew took notice of.
"Well, Goombella? Are you 'absolutely' sure that you want to travel with me," Andrew had to double-check. "Because I can guarantee you that we'll probably be fighting more gross and disgusting-looking monsters like that Blooper."
"No way... ICK! No way am I missing out on this," Goombella stubbornly refused to leave Andrew's side. "I'm staying by your side, no matter what! Regardless of whether we encounter Bloopers, spiders, or whatever else that's out there, I'm not leaving you. Besides... As long as you are by my side, I'll at least feel safer, knowing that you can protect me from anything like spiders... IIICCKKKK..."
Wow. Now I know how Mario feels whenever Princess Peach shows how grateful she is for his assistance and for saving her. Andrew thought before he saw something up ahead. It was a pipe.
Or more specifically, it was a uniquely colored brown brick pipe. He assumed that it led straight for Petal Meadows. This seemed very peculiar to Andrew, so he decided to point it out to his Goomba partner.
"Hey Goombella, check out that pipe over there," Andrew pointed towards it. "This might be me, but I have a hunch that that pipe might lead us directly towards Petal Meadows."
"Gosh. Your 'absolutely' right," the Goomba girl managed to point out. "That pipe does connect to Petal Meadows. I mean look at the brown-colored brick pattern on it."
"Yes. I've seen it. So it's all settled," the muscular man put away his bat. "We just have to use these platforms to get over to where that pipe is, and then we can head to Petal Meadows."
"Just make sure not to fall into the water," Goombella warned him in a sing-along kind of voice. "Cause them Nibbles will come up and chew you up for lunch."
"Yeah. And we can't have that." Andrew proclaimed.
With any amount of luck, Andrew and Goombella used the two platforms to safely get to the platform that the pipe was standing on. As soon as they were in front of the pipe, Andrew decided to jump up onto it.
"Are you ready to head to Petal Meadows?" He asked him.
"You know it," Goombella smirked as she jumped up onto the pipe next to Andrew.
"Very well, then," Andrew nodded as he went down the pipe along with Goombella, resulting in them traveling to Petal Meadows.
They had no idea what they would be in for when they reached Petal Meadows. Nor were they aware of what they'd have to deal with to get the first Crystal Star; the Diamond Star.
But they both knew that one thing was for certain; the first part of their new adventure had just begun...
END OF CHAPTER 4...
Yup. That's it for this chapter. Now we're officially done with the prologue, and we can start chapter 1 with the next chapter. Still, I hope you've been enjoying this so far, even though there will be more interesting content in the following chapters.
Anyway, the Power Smash badge has been changed to Power Swing to match Andrew's bat that he uses. I also decided to have him get a Power Jump badge a couple of years back in Toad Town. So now he has both variant badges. The make-up kit that Goombella once used that was emptied was made into Andrew's new badge kit for all the badges that he'll be collecting along the way to find the Crystal Stars.
Badges will be playing a role in this story as Andrew will be collecting them throughout this story. Especially since a certain someone happens to be associated with badges, who'll also be appearing in this story. Just a heads-up to you all.
Lastly, I hope you like the Tattle explanation Goombella did on that Blooper. It's pretty much taken from the tattle explanation on Mario Wiki, except I excluded any mention of HP, attack, or defense. It allowed Goombella to give her personal opinion on the Blooper; which happens to be disgust. I hope this'll be an entertaining part of this story.
Anyway, next time will be the start of Chapter 1. For the next chapter, Andrew and Goombella arrive in Petal Meadows, witness a dragon flying overhead, reach a village that mainly has Koopas, Andrew gets mistaken for a thief and gets called a name that's misheard by a senile old Koopa, and Andrew and Goombella will have to go on a quest to get to where the first Crystal Star is located. How will this go for the two of them? Find out next time, readers!
For now, only if you like, you can leave a review and let me know what you think of this chapter. Things should start getting interesting here, so I hope that I've caught it.
Aside from that, there's nothing else for me to say for now. So until next time, I hope you take care of yourselves. And on that note, thanks for reading once again, everyone!