Okay, readers. Here is the 25th chapter of this story!
Now, I'm not gonna mention much in the author's note right now. I'll save that for the end.
In the meantime, for this chapter, Andrew and his three partners tour through the minor leagues after meeting the minor league gang, the fights will be shown in order, and the four of them will discuss amongst themselves what they got offscreen, such as Goombella learning about the Seven Wonders of the Glitz Pit.
Additionally, the four of them go out for a lunch break and help themselves to one of Mr. Hoggle's Hot Dogs, witness a bouncing egg that they have to get for Mr. Hoggle before they decide to liberate the egg, Andrew ends up signing an autograph for a Bob-omb kid, and the egg decides to tag along with Andrew and his three partners.
How will this go for them? Read and find out now!
IN THE MINOR LEAGUE LOCKER ROOM:
Andrew was able to make his way back to the minor league locker room along with Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie, as Jolene was issued to escort them back. For this time, though, Grubba decided to accompany them to inform Andrew of how he truly felt regarding the match that Andrew took part in.
"Well, Presto, that fight wasn't a total loss..." Grubba had to tell him.
"I guess so," Andrew said rather sheepishly.
"But listen, son, fighters gotta play to the crowd!" Grubba suggested to him. "You know, pump 'em up more!"
"I'll try. It's just that, I've never done anything on this scale before," Andrew had to explain shyly. "This is pretty much my first time doing this. So I don't exactly have the experience in doing so just yet."
"Ah, don't sweat it none, pard. You'll get used to it soon enough. Comes with the program, you know what I'm sayin'," Grubba explained to him. "In the meantime, I'm hopin' you'll gimme more razzle-dazzle next time, huh? We understand each other?"
"Sure," Andrew nodded as he had a small smile.
"Good. I'll be on my way, then," Grubba then motioned his attention to Jolene. "Ms. Jolene here'll give you yer fight money. See ya!"
"Right," Andrew nodded as he watched Grubba take his leave as he went back to his office.
Once he was gone, Jolene approached Andrew with the fight money that he earned from the match he took part in.
"Here's your prize money, Mr. Presto," Jolene gave it to him.
"Thanks, Ms. Jolene," Andrew thanked her as he counted three coins.
It wasn't much, but then again, he was just getting started. So it was to be expected, for now. Until he gets into the higher ranks, that is.
"The next fight will not be set up until you select 'Reserve a Match' on the terminal," Jolene explained to him. "You can also check your current ranking on the terminal's screen. Feel free to do whatever you like until your next fight."
"That 'actually' helps," Andrew nodded at that. "Thanks, Ms. Jolene."
Jolene adjusted her glasses and then told him. "You have a nice day, Mr. Presto."
Andrew then watched as Jolene took her leave and left the minor league locker room. He had to wonder why she was always sounding so unrelaxed and taking her job seriously. Was it because she was getting too involved in her work in the Glitz Pit? Or was there another unknown reason that he was unaware of?
He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard someone nearby call out to him.
"Yo, Rook!" That voice came from near the bed. "How was your first fight, dog?"
"Hmmm?" Andrew had to look up when he saw a Koopa.
This Koopa looked like the red-shelled Koopas that tried picking fights with Andrew and Goombella back on the path to Shhwonk Fortress. He had the same shades, neck spike collar, and wrist collars. The only difference was that his shell and shoes were yellow instead of red.
"Oh hey," Andrew greeted. "I don't think we've met. Who're you supposed to be?"
"I'm King K, man," the Koopa, known as King K, introduced himself. "Just a bush-league scrub like you. Good meetin' you, man."
"Oh," Andrew cleared his throat and told him. "Great to meet you too."
"You look like a stand-up dude," King K had to admit. "I think I can hang with you."
"That's pretty cool," Andrew had to admit, as King K held his fist out for a fist bump.
Andrew complied as he decided to go along with the fist bump. Afterwards, King K decided that Andrew should get to meet the rest of the minor league gang.
"Hey, so, why don't you meet the gang, huh?" King K suggested.
"The gang?" Andrew seemed curious as did his three partners.
"Yeah, man. These guys are my bros, after all," King K directed Andrew towards a regular Bob-omb as he introduced him to the muscular man. "This guy here's Master Crash."
"Nice to meet you BOMB!" The Bob-omb, named Master Crash told him.
"You too," said Andrew simply.
"Well. Now that we've gotten to know each other, I will give you advice BOMB!" Master Crash decided to share. "As Ms. Jolene was saying, you'd better BOMB obey Mr. Grubba's conditions. If you clear the conditions and win, you get to fight higher-ranked foes BOMB! If you can't clear them, you BOMB end up battling a lower-ranked fighter BOMB!"
"I think that's already been established to us," Andrew tugged on his handkerchief.
"Yeah, well, you can't climb the BOMB ranks fighting the bottom of the barrel BOMB-BOMB!" Master Crash added.
"That makes sense too," Andrew understood what he was getting at.
"Yeah. My man's got, you know, some speech issues," King K told Andrew. "But he's got good advice sometimes."
"It's cool," Andrew proclaimed.
"Not just sometimes BOMB!" Master Crash declared in response to what King K said. "Advice is ALWAYS useful BOMB-BOMB!"
"Riiiight, man, whatever," King K rolled his eyes before directing Andrew's attention to a green-hooded Bandit, known as a Big Bandit who was near the lockers. "Anyway, this lean machine over here is Bandy Andy."
"Heh. Nice to meet you," the Big Bandit named Bandy Andy told him. "I'm not in here too often, but if you see me around, say hi."
"I see," Andrew crossed his arms at this.
It was then Bandy Andy remembered something, as he decided to share it with Andrew.
"...Oh yeah. If you sleep in the bed over there, you will feel your energy get replenished," Bandy Andy told him. "It's not like the cushy bed in the champ's room, though. So don't expect to be fully energetic upon waking up from it."
"Great," Andrew moaned. "Thanks for the warning and the heads up."
"OK, cool," King K then introduced Andrew to the last person in the room. He looked like a Bald Cleft, except he was green, and had purple shoes instead, so he was a Hyper Bald Cleft. "And his last guy with the sweet purple kicks is known as Cleftor."
Unlike the other three people in the minor leagues, Cleftor didn't exactly seem friendly with Andrew being around, as he didn't give him a proper greeting. After turning around, Cleftor turned around and huffed.
"Grack!" Cleftor then grumbled. "Cleftor no like make friend with muscles."
This got Andrew to jump a little bit, along with Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie. King K realized the tension that was coming from Cleftor as he decided to step in.
"Easy there, Cleft-dog!" King K was telling him to chill out. "Dude ain't the friendliest guy, but you get used to him."
"I see," Andrew had to rub his chin.
"Anyway, that's the core minor-league crew, man!" King K informed him.
"Great. Now, I guess you already know me in the Glitz Pit as the Prevailing Presto or just Presto," Andrew then motioned him to his three partners. "And these three happen to be a part of my gang, I guess. This Goomba girl is Goombella. This shy Koopa is called Koops. And this glamorous Wind Spirit woman is Madame Flurrie."
"Hi!" Goombella beamed. "Nice to meet ya!"
"Yeah..." Koops said shyly. "Ummm...nice to meet you guys..."
"It's an absolute pleasure to make your acquaintance," Flurrie had announced.
"Yeah," Andrew said while smiling. "These guys came with me to join the Glitz Pit. So the four of us are a team if that makes sense."
"Yeah. That's cool, man," King K admitted. "It's always cool to have your bros there for you to back you up when you're in a jam, isn't it?"
"That's pretty much a good way to put it," Andrew had to admit.
"Yeah, Presto. Anyway, if you need something, ask us," King K told him.
"All right," Andrew said. "Thanks King K."
"No problem, dude," it was then King K remembered to tell Andrew something. "Oh, yeah... I almost forgot. You and I gotta eventually square off, so good luck, man."
"I should have guessed," Andrew then informed him."And I look forward to it too."
"You and me both, Double-P-dog," King K walked back over towards his usual hanging spot near the bed. "Good luck to both of us."
"Of course," Andrew then turned to face his three partners before he told them. "Maybe we should take it easy for a few minutes before reserving another match. I still have some Mushrooms that the four of us can have in my backpack."
"'Totally' a good idea, Andrew," Goombella agreed with a smile. "Would be a great idea to save some of our energy for other matches that we'll be taking part in."
"Good call, Andrew," Koops nodded. "Maybe we can think of routines to get the crowd going during our fights... Like Grubba suggested..."
"I say, it's a fabulous idea, dearie," Flurrie remarked with her trademark wink. "It shall be like rehearsing for my upcoming stage performance as an actress. I'm more than certain that we can please the crowd with our acting and fighting. Wouldn't you agree, Andrew?"
"Yeah. You know, that reminds me," Andrew went towards his backpack, took out the badge kit, and opened it up. "I better put this on since it might help us in getting the crowd excited for our matches."
He then took out the Super Appeal P badge and put it on. Although it won't do much good for Andrew himself when he's appealing and pleasing the audience, his partners will get a bigger chance to shine and show off their prowess and appeal to them greatly.
"Splendid choice, sweetums," Flurrie seemed in awe at how Andrew remembered that badge. "Surely, that shall help us boost the popularity of our matches if need be."
"Too right there, Flurrie," Goombella agreed as she smirked. "Grubba won't know what hit him when he sees how great our fights will get when he sees our stuff, don'tcha think?"
"I sure do," Andrew then took out four Mushrooms for each of them to have. "Now, let's eat these up while we relax for a few minutes, huh?"
"Sure," Koops grabbed his Mushroom while Goombella and Flurrie claimed their own. "I sure look forward to this..."
Andrew only nodded at that as the four of them ate their Mushrooms up and took it easy for a few minutes before reserving another match. The four of them would be surprised when they find out how far they would end up getting in the Glitz Pit...
The next thing Andrew knew was that he was pretty much tearing through the minor league and going up the ranks at a rather quick rate.
The first opponent that Andrew and his crew were up against was the KP Koopas; consisting of two KP Koopas (one of them was King K), and one KP Paratroopa. The condition that Andrew was given was that he could only resort to using his basic jump and hammer, while his partners could only use their basic attacks.
Andrew started by jumping on one of the KP Koopas, which knocked him onto his back. Goombella followed by Headbonking on the other KP Koopas, knocking him onto his back as well. The KP Paratroopa tried using his Shell Shot into Koops, but the shy Koopa went into his shell and got out of the way in time.
Flurrie then decided to ground the KP Paratroopa by using her Body Slam on it. The KP Paratroopa lost his wings and was now a regular KP Koopa. By now, the other two managed to get back up and launched themselves into their shells to attack Andrew with a Shell Toss attack. Andrew jumped out of the way in time as he slammed his bat onto one of them, while Koops countered the other with his own Shell Toss.
The KP Koopa were then taken out when Andrew jumped on one of them, Goombella Headbonked another, and Flurrie Body-Slammed into the remaining one. This caused them to get knocked out cold and were unable to fight, leaving Andrew the winner of the match.
The next opponent that they had to face was the Pokey Triplets; which consisted of three Pokeys. Grubba issued him the condition of only using one partner for this match, and Andrew settled on using Koops. The fight started with each Pokey performing a Body Throw at Andrew by flinging their lower parts at him.
Andrew was more than ready for this as he had his bat out and held it correctly. Each body part that got within close range of him ended up getting struck by Andrew swinging his bat at them, causing all three of them to get struck by their 'own' parts as a result, taking damage from them.
Koops followed this up by plowing through them with his Power Shell, making them lose another body part as a result. Once Koops was in the center of the ring, he got onto his back and started doing a breakdancing routine, which got the crowd excited.
'Apparently', the audience was amused and thrilled by Koops' breakdancing moves in his shell, always cheering when he did it. As such, Grubba encouraged Koops to continue doing that every time he takes part in a fight.
Meanwhile, Andrew dodged their Slam attack by jumping out of the way and finishing up the fight by using his Quake Bat, he slammed the bat into the ground, causing a tremor that shook the Pokeys up and they were knocked out cold as a result.
After them was the Dead Bones; consisting of three Dull Bones, Grubba instructed Andrew not to use any items, and this was something that Andrew could do without right now. Andrew started by using his Multibounce attack on all three of them, followed by Koops plowing through them with his Power Shell.
Goombella performed her Multibonk on the leading Dull Bone, while Andrew smacked the bones that they tried throwing at them with his bat, turning them into dust as a result.
Flurrie finished them off with her Gale Force move, which blew them out of the ring and into the wall several feet above. Upon making contact, the Dead Bones needed to be given an ambulance for their injuries, and Andrew was made the default winner.
Their next opponent after them was the Spike Storm; which consisted of two Spinies and a Lakitu. Grubba gave him the condition to finish the fight in less than 5 minutes. The fight started with the two Spinies trying to plow into Andrew with their Spikeball Shot move, which Andrew had to sidestep carefully to avoid getting struck by them.
Andrew decided to flip both Spinies over with his Quake Bat, shaking the ground and getting them flat onto their backs. The Lakitu then went by performing a Spiny Flip attack, only for Andrew to react by swinging his bat into the Spiny Egg, causing it to be sent flying back into the Lakitu, who yelped in pain at the contact of the move.
While he was yelping in pain, Andrew and Goombella decided to handle the knocked-over Spinies with their Power Bounce and Multibonk, respectively, landing a total of 8 strikes.
By then, Flurrie floated up to the Lakitu and performed her Lip Lock ability, essentially kissing him and draining out his energy, adding it to her own afterwards.
The Lakitu and the two Spinies were out cold, essentially leading to the defeat of the Spike Storm within 3 minutes and 30 seconds.
As soon as they were defeated, Andrew was pitted against the Hand-It-Overs, which consisted of two regular Bandits and two Big Bandits (one of them was Bandy Andy). Grubba advised him to avoid using his bat, in which he could only use his jump attacks.
Andrew started by using his Multibounce on all four of them, landing an effective attack on each one before Koops stepped in and slammed into them with his Power Shell. The four Bandits approached Andrew and attempted to steal his belongings; the regular Bandits went after his coins, with their Coin Dash, and the Big Bandits went after his items, with their Item Dash.
Andrew put a stop to them by decking them in the face with his fists, before he jumped up into the air and landed a successful Power Jump on one of the Big Bandits.
Goombella then stepped up and landed her Headbonk on one of the regular Bandits, while Flurrie Body Slammed the other regular Bandit. Andrew wrapped this up when he used another Multibounce, which knocked out the two regular Bandits before Koops used his Power Shell into the remaining Big Bandits.
This knocked them out as well, with Koops giving the crowd one last breakdancing routine to wrap it up, getting the crowd ecstatic.
Following the Hand-It-Overs were the Punk Rocks; consisting of three Hyper Bald Clefts (one of them happened to be Cleftor). Grubba gave Andrew the condition of waiting three minutes before attacking them. Andrew decided to take advantage of this by having Koops perform his Shell Shield for him.
As a result, Koops summoned a massive-looking shell-shaped shield, which Andrew was given to protect himself. Meanwhile, Flurrie decided to appeal to the crowd using her fabulous poses that she did in the days when she was a famous actress.
This impressed the crowd, and thanks to the Super Appeal P badge Andrew was wearing, the crowd was twice as excited as they would've been without it.
And Goombella did some flips through the air and made some preppy chants similar to the ones that she did while at the University of Goom. Andrew was impressed by this, and by the breakdancing moves that Koops was doing for the audience, that he made sure to use the Shell Shield to defend against the Hyper Bald Clefts.
At first, the Punk Rocks each tried to Charge into Andrew, as he used the shield to block their attacks and protect himself. After doing four of them, the Hyper Bald Clefts perform a Charge Up, before landing a Missilecharge onto the Shell Shield.
Andrew could feel the powerful blow he endured from the attacks as they went through the shield. Despite this, he was still doing OK. Unfortunately, their Missilecharge pretty much destroyed the Shell Shield, causing it to crumble into a bazillion pieces.
By then, however, the three minutes were up, meaning Andrew could attack them. From there, Andrew landed a successful Quake Bat, shaking the ground and getting the Hyper Bald Clefts onto their heads for Goombella to Headbonk one of them while Flurrie Body Slammed another.
Two of the Hyper Bald Clefts were out cold when Andrew decided to land a Power Jump on the remaining one. This did the job, as the Punk Rocks were out of commission, meaning Andrew was the winner.
Next up for them to face was the Mind-Bogglers, which consisted of three familiar species; a Pale Piranha, a Dark Puff, and a Pider. Naturally, Goombella was grossed out by the Pider that she refused to fight it. Grubba had instructed Andrew to appeal to the crowd at least three times.
Thankfully, Andrew was feeling a lot more comfortable with it by this point, and he put in more energy and enthusiasm with his appeals the crowd was more ecstatic by this. Flurrie decided to give him a helping hand, resulting in more of those fashionable poses that she made before.
When it came to the Pale Piranha trying to lash at Andrew with its Jaw Clamp, Andrew swung his bat into its maw, causing it to back away from him. Meanwhile, the Dark Puff tried Slamming into Koops, but Koops got into his shell and zipped away from it, as Andrew followed by using his Power Jump on the Dark Puff, before giving another appeal to the audience.
The Pider tried landing a Multispit at Goombella, but Andrew got in the way and swung his bat three times, causing the Pider to get hit by all three spits that it launched at her. Essentially, Andrew saved Goombella's hind yet again, which by this point, she wasn't surprised by.
Flurrie then used her Lip Lock on the Pider, essentially kissing its energy away, while adding it to her own. The Mind Bogglers were then taken out when Andrew used his Power Swing on the Pale Piranha, Goombella used her Multibonk on the Dark Puff, and Flurrie performed her Body Slam on the Pider, as all three of them were knocked out.
The recent fight that they got into was against the Bob-omb Squad, which consisted of four Bob-ombs (one of which was Master Crash). Grubba had issued for Andrew to use at least one special move, which Andrew quickly realized meant the moves he could perform with the Crystal Stars that he got so far.
Naturally, Andrew decided to use this opportunity to try out the Emerald Star's Clock Out, in which he took out the Magical Map and summoned the Emerald Star. The Emerald Star went into the air and wondering what he should do with it, Andrew simply pointed at the Bob-omb Squad.
This caused a time bomb to appear with a green star on the front. It appears that the Emerald Star transformed into a time bomb, which only got bigger and bigger until it blew up. As a result, all four Bob-ombs got frozen in time and were unable to move for a little bit.
Taking advantage of this, Andrew started by using his Quake Bat to shake the ground again, causing some damage to the Bob-ombs. Koops followed up by using his Power Shell again on all four, causing more damage before he went and did his breakdancing routine for the audience, which they enjoyed just like before.
By now, Andrew also noticed that their fuses were lit, despite being frozen in time from Clock Out. So Andrew allowed Flurrie to perform a grand finale by using her Gale Force move to blow their fuses out.
Naturally, this caused the four of them to explode, and got knocked out instantly afterwards. This landed Andrew and his three partners yet another victory within the Minor Leagues of the Glitz Pit.
Needless to say, Grubba and Jolene were 'absolutely' stunned, shocked, and surprised by the fact that the Prevailing Presto and his three loyal partners had managed to plow through the ranks until they were officially in the 11th place rank.
There was no doubt that Andrew and his friends were great fighters, and it was evident that they'd be wonderful fighters once they got into the Major Leagues. However far they may go from there.
Currently, Andrew, Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie were planning on taking a break from fighting as they were heading back to the lobby; the former brought his backpack with him this time before leaving the locker room. They were pretty impressed by how far they've gotten into the Minor Leagues. And it was apparent by the tones in their voices.
"Wow. I can't believe it," Andrew had to remark. "I can't believe that we plowed through the competition in the minor leagues and that we're already at the 11th rank."
"Was there any doubt for the four of us, Andrew?" Goombella had to ask with that smile on her face.
"None at all, I suppose," Andrew had to flex the muscles on his arms to see how strong they looked. "I guess all those years of working out frequently the way I did them have finally paid off."
"I daresay, I couldn't be more proud of you for saying that, Mr. Hunky Muscles," Flurrie told him flirtatiously. "You and your strong muscles were what got us through the ranks and in the 11th rank."
"Now, now. I can't take all the credit," Andrew said modestly before looking at his partners. "I gotta give credit where the credit is due. All three of you were excellent out there. From Goombella's preppy cheerleading flips, to Koops' breakdancing moves that the audience seems to love, and Flurrie's glorious poses that she has done back in her days as an actress. I honestly am impressed with you guys too."
"And y'know why we were excellent? Because the four of us ROCK out there," Goombella informed him while smirking. "The four of us 'totally' wrecked the competition in the minor league, and we're almost one battle away from the major leagues."
"No kidding there," Andrew had to agree with a grin.
"Hey uh, Andrew? Did you see King K when we got back into the Minor League Locker room when we got done with our recent match?" Koops felt like asking. "I couldn't seem to spot him anywhere."
"He's probably in a match that he was taking part in," Andrew informed him. "I'm sure he'll be all right, Koops."
"Ummm...Okay. I hope so," Koops decided to accept his answer.
"I'll tell you one thing's for certain, I can't wait to look into those Seven Wonders of the Glitz Pit that Bandy Andy shared with me earlier," Goombella spoke up. "Looking into them will 'really' help with unearthing the secrets and history of the Glitz Pit and its past."
"You aren't seriously gonna look into those secrets that a conspiracy theorist gave to you, are you Goombella?" Andrew had to ask, as he figured out that in addition to being absent in the minor league, Bandy Andy was also a conspiracy theorist, who had heard of these seven wonders from sneaking around the Glitz Pit.
"What d'you take me for Andrew? Who am I to pass off such a mysterious opportunity," Goombella asked him with a smirk. "As an aspiring archaeologist, I must look into and research a little on these Seven Wonders of the Glitz Pit."
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised by this, Goombella," Andrew had to admit. "I'd expect nothing less from you."
"You betcha, Andrew," Goombella winked at him.
"Well, before you look into the Seven Wonders of the Glitz Pit, I think we should get a bite to eat. I'm pretty hungry," Andrew rubbed his stomach. "All this fighting and wrestling in the Glitz Pit has worked up an appetite."
"Can't argue with you on that, Andrew," Goombella agreed. "A girl's gotta eat before looking into whatever mysteries there are in this location."
"Ummm...I think we're all hungry. But..." Koops then started to ask. "What are we gonna eat? I'm not entirely sure what we should have."
"I'm saddened to say that I haven't the foggiest idea as to what we shall eat either," Flurrie had to confess. "Pray tell, do you have any suggestions, Andrew?"
"No. I'm sorry, but I don't," Andrew then looked at his Goomba partner. "Goombella, what do you think we should eat for our lunch break?"
"Well, if you guys are interested, I suggest that we try some of Mr. Hoggle's Hot Dogs," Goombella suggested.
"Mr. Hoggle?" Andrew tilted his head in confusion.
"Yeah! He's sold dogs for like, 30 years!" Goombella shared with him. "Nobody's as hot for Hot Dogs as him. He's always looking for the next miracle Hot Dog! Anyway, his dogs are famous. Nobody comes to visit here without having one. Maybe we ought to try one of them, don'tcha think?"
"Well, that seems pretty interesting," Andrew smirked in amusement. "OK. We can have some of Mr. Hoggle's Hot Dogs. Right, Koops? Flurrie?"
"Uh, sure. I'd love to try one of his Hot Dogs," Koops admitted.
"Why, I certainly would love to try one of them myself," Flurrie proclaimed. "I daresay, I'd love to know what all the fuss is about with them."
"Very well, then," Goombella smirked. "Let's all go to the Hot Dog Stand that's outside of the Glitz Pit."
"You got it," Andrew opened the door leading to the lobby as he headed right through it. "Let's get going."
Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie followed Andrew out the door as they made their way through the lobby until they made it to the front door leading outside...
OUTSIDE OF THE GLITZ PIT:
Once they got outside of the Glitz Pit, however, they heard a commotion coming from where the Hot Dog Stand was. And it caught their attention.
"No! Bad!" A voice called out frantically. "So very bad! Behave yourself, egg!"
Andrew looked over towards the Hot Dog Stand along with Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie. They saw Mr. Hoggle standing behind the counter of the Hot Dog Stand.
Mr. Hoggle was revealed to be a pig of some kind (the irony that he's been selling hot dogs all this time), who had a zig-zag mustache on both sides of his nose, and he was dressed in a light blue and white outfit that looked like the kind that most Hot Dog Makers usually wear.
What made Andrew jump next was what hopped out from behind the Hot Dog Stand and bounced around. It was a spotted egg, and from what Andrew could get a glance of, it appeared to be a Yoshi Egg. Unfortunately, it was moving so fast that he wasn't able to see the colors of the spots. All he saw was four colors; white, blue, yellow, and red-violet.
The Yoshi Egg had escaped from the Hot Dog Stand, and Mr. Hoggle was not thrilled about this in the slightest as he had to get out from the Hot Dog Stand and stand on the right side of his stand as he yelled.
"No! Bad! Come back!" Mr. Hoggle yelled. "Help! My imported egg escaped! Somebody, catch it!"
As Mr. Hoggle tried to run after it, Andrew and his three partners were at a loss for this. Just the sight of Mr. Hoggle chasing a bouncing egg got them a little confused.
"Uhhh...Andrew?" Goombella trailed awkwardly. "Is...Is Mr. Hoggle trying to catch...?"
"To answer your question, yes." Andrew nodded. "Yes, he's chasing a bouncing egg."
And by the looks of it, it would appear that that's a Yoshi Egg. Andrew thought to himself.
"But ummm..." Koops had to figure out something to say. "Why would Mr. Hoggle own an egg?"
"I dunno," Andrew rubbed his chin. "But something tells me that we better go check this out. Come on, guys."
"I daresay, that's a splendid idea," Flurrie agreed. "Let's what this Mr. Hoggle is trying to do."
And so the four of them went over to Mr. Hoggle as Andrew decided to get to the bottom of all of this.
"Excuse me, Mr. Hoggle, sir? But could you tell me what's going on?" Andrew decided to ask him. "Are you trying to catch that bouncing egg by yourself?"
"Yes! So bad!" Mr. Hoggle exclaimed. "It does not even have arms and legs, and still I cannot catch it!"
"I don't get it," Andrew scratched his head. "What's the big deal?"
"My menu was going to have the Southern Fried Egg Dog of Tastiness, but now... Bad!" Mr. Hoggle explained to him.
A Southern Fried Egg Dog of Tastiness? Who the heck would eat eggs on a hot dog? Andrew thought in disgust.
"I ordered that naughty egg from an island in the south!" Mr. Hoggle had to reveal to him.
An island in the south? Andrew thought as he remembered how it looked like a Yoshi Egg. The egg must've been imported from either Lavalava Island or Yoshi's Island...
"I had to pay shipping, too!" Mr. Hoggle declared before wanting their help in catching the egg. "Don't just stand there! Help catch it!"
"Well...all right. If you say so," Andrew then awkwardly turned to his three partners. "Well guys, looks like we have to catch a bouncing egg..."
His three partners didn't say anything as they helped Andrew by chasing after the egg. The egg proved to be too fast for the four of them, let alone Mr. Hoggle.
Eventually, Andrew came up with the plan that he and his three friends could surround the egg on all four sides. The four of them had the egg pretty much trapped in a corner. But before Andrew could rush on over and scoop the egg up, the Yoshi Egg ended up outsmarting them again as it hopped up on top of the Hot Dog Stand.
"Well, that could've gone better," Andrew said rather sarcastically.
"MOST 'AWFULLY' BAD!" Mr. Hoggle yelled in irritation at this. "Come down from there, bad egg! How am I supposed to get it now? FLY there?!"
"I'm pretty sure that'll happen when pigs fly," Andrew had to say dryly in a deadpan voice, getting Goombella to snicker at what he said.
"You!" Mr. Hoggle pointed towards Andrew. "Don't just stand there with your muscles! Find a way to get up there!"
"OK. OK. I will," Andrew sighed. "But it'll take a few minutes."
Mr. Hoggle said nothing else as he walked back over to the right side of his Hot Dog Stand and stood there. Meanwhile, the Yoshi Egg was now taking a nap on the Hot Dog Stand; a sign that it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
"OK guys, we're gonna have to find a way to reach the top of the Hot Dog Stand," Andrew had to pace and rub his chin. "But how?"
"Hey ummm...Andrew?" Koops got his attention as he pointed. "Take a look at that!"
Andrew looked in the direction he was pointing. Not far from where the juice bar was was a big blue switch near some crates. It looked similar to the other blue switches that he saw, only this one was bigger.
"Hey! It's a switch!" Andrew proclaimed. "But it looks bigger than the other ones I've seen."
"That's because it's called a super switch," Goombella shared. "To activate those, you'll have to stand on top of it and use your Spin Jump."
"That makes sense," Andrew walked over to it. "OK. I'll do my Spin Jump."
As soon as he climbed on top of the switch, he did his Spin Jump, which activated it as it disappeared. Once he activated it, a pair of stairs appeared, leading to the roof of the juice bar.
"I'm not gonna ask how those stairs appeared there," Andrew blinked before shaking his head. "In any case, we better check this out."
Andrew and his three partners went up the stairs until he made it to the roof of the juice bar.
Andrew then saw another Star Piece in a small gap right underneath the Rawk Hawk poster. He had Koops go into his shell and jump and kick him underneath to retrieve the Star Piece and go back to him like a boomerang. Andrew took the Star Piece and pocketed it when he saw a brown treasure chest.
Seeming interested in this, Andrew decided to open the chest and saw that a Power Plus P badge was found in there. Andrew took out his badge kit and put the badge in there.
"Wowsers Andrew. That's another badge," Goombella proclaimed. "Looks like that badge might be important to you later, y'know?"
"Yeah," Andrew returned the badge kit to his backpack when he saw a jump pad. "Well, we better use this to get on top of the Rawk Hawk Poster."
And that's what they did. Once they were on top of it, they realized that they were now standing on a Paper Airplane Panel, which started glowing once Andrew stepped on it. And the four of them knew what this meant.
"OK, guys. Be sure to grab onto me," Andrew informed them.
Goombella jumped into Andrew's right hand, Koops held Andrew's left hand, and Flurrie grabbed a hold of Andrew's waist. From there, Andrew put enough focus into it until he transformed into a paper airplane.
While in paper airplane mode, Andrew was able to soar through the air and ended up landing right on top of the Hot Dog Stand. Once he was on top of it, Andrew turned back to normal and his three partners let him go.
Now that the egg was in front of him, no longer bouncing, Andrew was able to get a better look at it up close.
It was a Yoshi Egg all right. But what perplexed him was the uniquely colored spots that were on it. From what he's seen, most Yoshi Eggs would have spots that are of a single color, with the green spotted ones being the most common.
But this one had spots that came in three different colors. The colors happen to be blue, yellow, and red-violet, as this Yoshi Egg only had spots in those three colors, scattered all around the egg.
Seeing that he had observed it enough, Andrew shook his head and reached down in an attempt to grab the egg. Before he could grab it, though, the egg started bouncing, as if it was trying to tell Andrew something important.
"What the...?" Andrew was confused by this as his three partners were curious about this strange Yoshi Egg.
"Huh? Did you hear that, Andrew?" Goombella looked confused as she looked at the Yoshi Egg and squealed in adoration. "You want us to help you, little eggy-weggy? It's so ADORABLE!"
"Yeah," Koops decided to say something about it. "Is it just me, or do you think that egg..." Koops paused when he heard the egg try to say something to them. "What? You want our help, egg?"
"You wish for us to help you, you darling little egg?" Flurrie wondered in a motherly manner.
"So, let me get this straight," Andrew had to ask the Yoshi Egg. "You don't want to become a topping for a Hot Dog Special. Is that right?"
The Yoshi Egg bounced up and down as if it was trying to say that it didn't want to be a topping and wanted to be set free.
"What should we do, Andrew?" Goombella asked.
"Umm... Your call, Andrew," Koops proceeded to ask. "What do you want to do?"
"Andrew, hon, what do you think we ought to do?" Flurrie had to query as well.
It was then Andrew looked at the egg 'really' carefully as he picked it up. He was now lost in thought. Why should he force this egg to be a topping for a Hot Dog special that he 'really' didn't see any appeal in? Who in the world would want to eat a Hot Dog that's covered in egg yolk anyway? Let alone from a Yoshi Egg. Just the thought of it grossed him out.
After thinking about it, Andrew sighed as he decided to speak up on the matter.
"Guys? I honestly think we should help the little guy get set free," Andrew exclaimed to them. "You know? We should liberate him."
"I am TOTALLY with you on this one, Andrew," Goombella told him in a preppy manner.
"Good call, Andrew," Koops remarked.
"Not that I expected any less. We shall free him!" Flurrie then looked towards Mr. Hoggle. "You, sir! Mr. Proprietor! Would you allow us to free this poor soul?"
"Yeah, Mr. Hoggle," Andrew decided to ask him. "Would it be all right if this egg could be set free and not be a topping for a Hot Dog item?"
Mr. Hoggle wasn't too impressed by this. Nonetheless, he was willing to let it happen.
"Aww... Fine," Mr. Hoggle complained before sighing. "Most people don't like eating stuff that jumps all over the place, anyway."
As Mr. Hoggle went back inside the Hot Dog Stand, Andrew jumped down from the roof with the Yoshi Egg in his hands. Goombella and Koops jumped down after him, while Flurrie just floated down to join them. Andrew walked to a nice spot where nobody would try to bother the Yoshi Egg.
"Well guys," Andrew had to look at his three partners. "What do you have to say to the egg that we had just liberated?"
"Right, Andrew!" Goombella beamed before telling the Yoshi Egg. "You're free! See ya around!"
"Looks like you're free and clear, little guy," Koops told the egg. "Bye!"
"You're free to do whatever you like, dear egg!" Flurrie encouraged the egg sweetly. "Farewell!"
"Well egg, we freed you. You no longer have to fear being used as a topping," Andrew put the Yoshi Egg on the ground and patted it in a friendly manner. "We'll be seeing you."
And with that, the Yoshi Egg was left there as Andrew went to Mr. Hoggle's Stand with Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie accompanying him. Andrew ordered four Hot Dogs from the stand for himself and his three partners. It cost 40 coins in total. But thanks to the money he's been making as a Glitz Pit fighter, it was hardly a problem.
As Andrew was eating his Hot Dog, he felt someone approach him. He then heard someone get his attention.
"Excuse me, sir," the voice got Andrew's attention, as it was revealed to be a yellow Bob-omb with a small mustache, had black boots, and was wearing a top hat on his head. "But would you happen to be the Prevailing Presto?"
Andrew had looked at the Bob-omb and realized that he wasn't alone. Accompanying him was what appeared to be his wife, who was a silver-colored Bob-omb, wearing pink pointed shoes, and a small pink hat, that was decorated with pearls and feathers.
The other Bob-omb that was with them was a little kid Bob-omb, presumed to be their son. Unlike his parents, the little Bob-omb was 'basically' an orange-colored Bob-omb with brown shoes, and that's it.
"Yes. Yes, that's what they call me in the Glitz Pit," Andrew confirmed this to be true. "And what can I do for you, sir?"
"Well, it's not for me though. You see, I'm Goldbob," the Bob-omb introduced himself as Goldbob before introducing his wife and son. "This is Sylvia, she's my wife. And this is Bub, he's our son. Bub happens to be a big fan of yours."
"Oh, come on," Andrew seemed a little flattered by that as he then sounded as modest as possible. "Really?"
"Yes," Sylvia decided to explain. "You see, our son happens to be a big fan of yours. He's been watching all of your matches, and he idolizes you."
"Ahhhhh, come on, now," Andrew had to say as modestly as possible. "I'm not someone that anyone could idolize. Honest."
"It's true, Mister," Bub told him honestly. "I think you're the greatest. Is it true that you're almost gonna make it into the Major Leagues?"
"Well, I sure hope so," Andrew said sheepishly as he tugged on his handkerchief. "All I can say is that I can do the best that I can."
"'Personally', I'm not the biggest fan of wrestling, to be honest," Sylvia had to explain. "But if watching your fights could be a great way of teaching him to fight for self-defense purposes, then I am willing to allow him to watch."
"I see," Andrew said shyly.
"Anyway, Presto, I have to be honest, I happen to be a fan of the Prevailing Presto, myself," Goldbob had to admit. "Besides, I've been earning all the money that I've been wagering off in bets for your matches."
"Well, that's flattering, I guess," Andrew had to rub the back of his head as he was finished eating his Hot Dog, and Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie were nearly finished with theirs too as they looked at the Bob-omb family. "Just know that I haven't been winning these by myself."
He then motioned them towards his three partners. "These three here are the reasons that I've gotten this far in the Glitz Pit. If anything, they deserve as much credit as I do."
"Hmmm... That's true," Goldbob had to admit thoughtfully. "Well anyway, it was a pleasure meeting you out here like this."
"Yeah," Andrew said shyly. "Same here, I guess."
"Hey Mister," Bub then decided to ask him. "Would it be all right if I can get your autograph?"
"Why sure, kid," Andrew as Bub gave him a piece of paper and a pen. "You're name happens to be Bub, right?"
"That's right," Bub confirmed.
Andrew then used the pen and wrote his 'own' signature on the paper, before addressing it to Bub. As soon as he was done, he gave him the pen back and gave his signed autograph.
"There you go," Andrew gave him a small smile. "There's my autograph."
"Woah! Cool! This is great," Bub then decided to thank him. "Thanks, Mister."
"Anytime kid," Andrew then decided to take his leave. "Well, I'll see you guys around. Take care."
The Bob-omb family said their farewells while addressing him as Presto, as Andrew couldn't help but smile at this. He never had fans before, so this was a first for him. He assumed that once he got into the Major Leagues, he'd get more fans similar to that.
"No need to feel so modest about it, darling," Flurrie had to tell him. "It comes with being a famous person, such as myself. As you can see, there shall be plenty more people like them that'll idolize you."
"Yeah. That's true," Andrew had to smile. "I'll take your word for it, Flurrie."
"You can because it's true," Goombella had to tell him. "You are a pretty great guy, and you're also sweet."
"They're right. No doubt about it," Koops had to say. "You are considerate to others."
"That's certainly true, Goombella. And Koops," Andrew had to admit. "Anyway, I think our lunch break is over. Let's head back to the Minor League Locker Room so we can...huh?"
Andrew could not finish his sentence when he saw something jump right in front of him. It was the same Yoshi Egg that he liberated before. What did it want from him?
"Oh, hey! It's you again," Andrew greeted the egg. "What can I do for you?"
It seemed like the Yoshi Egg was trying to tell Andrew and his three partners something important. From the looks of it, the egg looked like he wanted to accompany the four of them.
Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie took notice of this and they decided to comment on it.
"What is it now, eggy? You want to follow us?" Goombella had to query. "Is that it?"
"Huh? You want to follow us or something?" Koops scratched his head.
"You wish to accompany us, you adorable thing?" Flurrie wondered. "I daresay this little dumpling wants to stay with us, Andrew."
"Is that what you want?" Andrew had to ask. "Do you wish to accompany us back into the Minor League Locker Room?"
The Yoshi Egg jumped up and down again as if it were a sign that he wanted to stick with the four of them.
"I'm pretty sure our little buddy here wants to hang out with us," Goombella declared before asking. "Do we let him?"
"I think he 'definitely' wants to stick with us," Koops also concluded. "What should we do, Andrew?"
"What shall we do?" Flurrie was also wondering.
Andrew had to think for a minute as he picked up the Yoshi Egg. Surely, he wouldn't just leave this Yoshi Egg all alone, would he? Then again, he helped with liberating it from Mr. Hoggle. So maybe it would be best if he kept the egg under his custody. And maybe that of his three partners too.
After thinking, Andrew started smiling to himself as he made his decision. "Guys? Maybe we should allow this egg to follow us for a bit, and stick with the four of us."
"That's great, Andrew," Koops admitted. "You're in with us, little buddy! Stay out of the way, OK?"
"I 'totally' agree with you there, Andrew," Goombella smiled before looking at the egg. "You hear that, little guy? Just make sure not to get in our way, though, OK?"
"I daresay that that's a fabulous idea to let him stay with us, dearie," Flurrie remarked happily before looking at the egg. "You're all clear, little one! But do try not to get underfoot, all right?"
"You heard what they said. We're allowing you to stay with us, but don't try getting in the way," Andrew had to advise the Yoshi Egg as he picked it up. "It's very dangerous in the Glitz Pit, and we don't want you getting hurt in the middle of it. Understood?"
The Yoshi Egg squirmed a little in his grip before stopping. It was the egg's way of promising that he'll behave.
"Good," Andrew smiled before facing his three partners. "Ready to get going, guys?"
They nodded as Andrew went back into the building with the Yoshi Egg in his hands. Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie followed right behind him as they were planning to head back to the Minor League Locker Room.
"Well, with all that taken care of, I guess we should get back to our actual goal," Goombella reminded them. "Getting to the top, earning the Champ Belt, and claiming the Crystal Star that's on it."
"Ummm...Yeah. Good idea Goombella, but..." Koops paused for a moment before he could continue. "Do you think that we can earn it? I mean all those brutes in the Major League seem tougher than us. And I don't think we have a chance against the Rawk Hawk."
"Why, don't be silly, Koops," Flurrie assured him. "The four of us shall prevail, for our darling muscular man here wouldn't be called the Prevailing Presto in the Glitz Pit for nothing! That Crystal Star shall be ours!"
"Right. We can get that Crystal Star from the Champ Belt, once we've earned it," Koops nodded before facing Andrew. "Right, Andrew?"
"Hmmm? Oh yeah! Right," Andrew answered, hiding the suspicion he had of the Crystal Star on the Champ Belt being a fake until he could confirm it to be fake. "This is for the Crystal Star. Let's roll."
Andrew then went through the door heading for the backstage corridor with the Yoshi Egg in his hands, with Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie following right behind him. They then made it back to the Minor League Locker Room and got themselves situation as soon as they entered.
Once they entered, they noticed that King K was back from his recent match. He then took notice of Andrew having come back into the locker room with his three partners and a Yoshi Egg.
"Presto. You've made it back, dog," King K approached him.
"What's up, King K?" Andrew had to ask curiously.
"Listen, man..." King K decided to tell him. "Keep it under your hat, but I'm thinkin' 'bout retirin' soon."
Andrew thought he had misheard him. Did King K just mention something about retiring from the Glitz Pit? Surely, he's very low in the ranks, but he was always so chill about it. What could be the problem?
"You're thinking about retiring?" Andrew then had to ask. "How come?"
"If I stay any longer...well, my future might get shorter, dig?" King K had to answer his question.
"Oh. I see," Andrew said simply.
"After the next match, I'm gone," King K told him, getting Andrew to frown a bit. "It ain't cool, man, that's for sure, but you know what? That's life, Double-P-dog."
"Right," Andrew had to mutter.
"Listen... You be cool, man," King K told him as he gave Andrew another fist pump. "Promise me you won't forget you once knew the King K!"
"We won't. And it was a nice pleasure to have known you, despite the short time that it's been," Andrew had to admit. "I hope your life will be better after you retire and return to your hometown."
"It will be. You just stay awesome, Presto, my home slice," King K told him. "Keep kicking butt in the Glitz Pit for me. And take care of yourself, dog."
"You too," Andrew sighed as King K walked back over to the part of the room where he usually hangs out.
With all this going through his mind, Andrew knew that after the next match, King K would be gone from the Glitz Pit for good. He just hoped that life for him would be better off wherever he came from.
"We better get ourselves ready for our next match, guys," Andrew advised his three partners.
"Totally," Goombella beamed. "That oughta help us a little."
"Right," Koops said shyly. "Should be able to get into the Major Leagues next."
"Certainly, my darling," Flurrie informed him. "We shall make our way into the Major Leagues for sure."
"Yeah," Andrew nodded as he placed the Yoshi Egg on the bench nearby. "And you. You stay here while we register and take part in our next match that'll get us into the Major League. OK?"
The Yoshi Egg bounced up and down in understanding as the egg remained on the bench while the four travelers got ready for their next match.
They had no idea what was going to be in store for them against their next opponent. And they were also gonna be in for a surprise once that Yoshi Egg hatches. That was a given...
END OF CHAPTER 25...
Yeah. That's it for this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it!
Now, I decided not to show any quotes for any of those Minor League fights that I wrote out, seeing that it would become redundant and it would drag the chapter on far longer than it should be. I hope you all understand my reason for doing so.
Also, yeah. I decided to have the Bob-omb family play a small role in this chapter since the family will end up becoming important again in a later portion of the story. Particularly with Chapter 6. So that's why I had them get a role here.
Anyway, the next chapter is gonna be a treat. In the next chapter, Andrew and his three partners try fighting the Armored Harriers but are unable to win since they can't hurt them, they lose, the Yoshi Egg that was following them is revealed to have been hatched, and Andrew gains his fourth partner in the story, and a few other things will occur. What color Yoshi will it be? And what name will Andrew give to him? You'll have to find out next time, everyone!
For now, only if you like, you can leave a review and let me know what you think of this chapter overall. That's all I need to say.
Otherwise, I have nothing else to say here. So until next time, I hope you look forward to the rest of Chapter 3. And on that note, thanks again for reading, everyone!