All right, readers. This is the 28th chapter of this story!
Now, there's not much to say here. So, in this chapter, Andrew and his four partners get ambushed by Bowser in the Glitz Pit ring, and the five of them have to fight him off as a result.
Additionally, Rawk Hawk threatens them to stop stealing his spotlight, the five of them explore the storage room with the key they find, Andrew encounters Ms. Mowz for the third time, and they eavesdrop on a conversation between Jolene and Grubba in the latter's office and find out about missing fighters. And some other stuff will occur. How will this go for them? Read and find out, now!
IN THE GLITZ PIT:
It certainly didn't take long for Andrew and his four partners to get registered for another match. The match this time was against the Magikoopa Masters; which consisted of three differently colored robed Magikoopas. There was a Red Magikoopa, a Green Magikoopa, and a White Magikoop.
Andrew was given the condition from Grubba to not allow his partners to fight with him, and that he had to fight solo this time. This didn't bother him though. With the use of the Emerald Star's move Clock Out, the three Magikoopas were frozen in time. Long enough for Andrew to dish out his usual moves, including jumping, batting, punching, and a few other things.
By the time they got unfrozen from time, they only had enough time to blast one 4-Polygon Blast at him, before he used his Multibounce to finish it off. Needless to say, the crowd enjoyed Andrew's performances even though he fought solo that time.
The partners, for their part, were impressed that Andrew was able to fight the Magikoopa Masters on his own, without their help in the slightest.
"Omigosh, Andrew! You did it!" Goombella called out as she approached the muscular man along with Koops, Flurrie, and Yoshiam. "I 'totally' knew that you could do it!"
"Wow, Andrew," Koops commented. "You were excellent out there. And without us there to aid you in the match. Happy to see that the match went well."
"I was simply astounded by what I saw," Flurrie had to admit. "Though it was a tad shame that we couldn't aid you here, I don't suppose there was ever any doubt in you and your hunky muscles."
"Are you guys kidding? Presto made quick work outta them out there," Yoshiam had to give Andrew a thumbs up. "Way to go with whooping their butts for us, dude!"
"Yeah. I guess there was no doubt about that, especially with the carefully planned out strategy that I came up with," Andrew had to rub his chin before dusting his gloved hands off. "Well, in any case, that's another fight down for us. So we might as well head back t-"
Andrew wasn't able to finish his sentence as he heard a loud noise come from nearby.
"GWAAAAAAAR!" That voice came from the crowd as someone was pushing through to get to the ring.
That someone in particular was massive, and was a very familiar figure too, as this big familiar person jumped up onto the stage. He was up close for Andrew and his four partners to observe him, while Grubba felt the need to announce to the crowd.
"Whoa!" Grubba yelped. "Another fighter's stormin' in, screamin' his fool head off about somethin'! Presto has lots of foes, folks! Some 'who' don't even know his name! Will he live?"
"Wait a minute," Andrew was able to get a good look at the big turtle dragon in front of him, and he instantly recognized him. "Is...Isn't that...Bowser!?"
"Oh, for crying out loud!" Goombella had to yelp. "What's he doing here!?"
"Wait, that's B-Bowser," Koops had to gulp and stuttered. "As in, the Koopa King himself? King Bowser?"
"Oh my, mercy me! That lout has some nerve showing up here in a public place such as this!" Flurrie had to yell dramatically.
"So, this is the king of the Koopas, huh?" Yoshiam just rubbed his chin and shrugged. "This chump doesn't look so tough."
"OK. I think we all want to know why Bowser is here," Andrew proclaimed.
"Gwa ha ha ha ha haaaaa! I got some word on the street of Rogueport that some scrawny two-bit wimp was in Glitzville with a Crystal Star in his possession. And look what I found?" Bowser declared. "Talk about perfect timing! And now all these folks get to watch me murdalize you!"
"Excuse me? I dunno who this scrawny two-bit wimp you're talking about is," Andrew told him in a rather deadpan sarcastic manner. "But he isn't here."
"Bah, no matter!" Bowser had to declare. "I'll still get the pleasure of frying you to a crisp and then taking your Crystal Star afterwards!"
"You too!?" Andrew had to yelp. "Well, you aren't getting the Crystal Star. I may not be like Mario, but I am still capable of fighting!"
Bowser, of course, was willing to brush that off, as he wasn't taken aback or intimidated by the man who was far stronger than he looked.
"Gwaaaaaa ha ha ha ha ha!" Bowser bellowed. "I am gonna DESTROY you! And I have witnesses!"
"I think you're gonna learn the mistake of underestimating me," Andrew uttered under his breath before he turned to face Goombella. "Goombella? Do we need to look this guy up in the Tattle Log?"
"Not necessarily. But what I want to know is what's he doing here?!" Goombella nonetheless took out her Tattle Log and looked at the page his info was on. "My mind just blew a fuse!"
"So did mine," Koops had to shake his head at this.
"All of us blew a fuse in our heads at how he got here." Andrew pointed out.
"He's uglier than I expected," Goombella had to retort, earning a snicker from Andrew, which she smirked at. "He's got a poisonous bite, so watch out! Use your Sweet Treat move if you DO get poisoned! Also, if he ground-pounds you, you won't be able to jump on him or bat him away."
"That makes sense. And I know that he can breathe fire," Andrew remarked. "Anything else?"
"Nothing that we don't already know," Goombella told him. "Y'know? This guy has been kidnapping Princess Peach for years. And he's always being defeated at the hands of Mario. Blah blah blah blah blah. The sort of thing that any regular Einstein would know."
"You got it," Andrew then saw that Bowser was going to start with his Fire Blast attack, by breathing fire at them. "Guys! We better scatter!"
Bowser then breathed his Fire Blast at the five of them, hoping to crisp them to ashes. They were one step ahead as they scattered away from the area. Koops launched himself from his shell, Flurrie floated away, and Yoshiam used his flutter-jump to get out of the way in time.
As for Andrew and Goombella, they just made a run for it as they nearly got charred. They were still able to fight quite all right, though.
Koops got a few burnt smears on his shell, while Flurrie felt a little sweaty from the attack, but they were also all right. Yoshiam, though, nearly got his tail set on fire, as he saw a small amount of smoke coming from his rear. This didn't sit well with the Yoshi kid at all.
"All right! That does it!" Yoshiam declared. "I don't care if he is the Koopa King! No one gets away with setting my tail on fire!"
Yoshiam decided to use his Ground Pound attack on him by flutter-jumping through the air until he was right over Bowser's head.
Once he was, he spun through the air a couple of times before landing on his head at least four times. They barely did too much damage to him, but he was still able to deal some out.
"Yoshiam!" Andrew then dashed over. "Let me give you a hand with that!"
Andrew then decided to use his Spin Jump attack on the Koopa King as he jumped through the air, spun around in a circle before jumping on Bowser's head, and then slammed his bottom onto his head. Needless to say, Bowser felt that attack.
"GWAAAAARR! Yowch!" Bowser sneered. "All right! You asked for it now, scrawny!"
It was then Bowser was trying to bite him with his Poison Fang attack. Andrew was able to jump out of the way in time before he took out his Super Bat and slammed Bowser on the head with it before he bit him.
It was then that Goombella stepped up and delivered a painful Headbonk to the head, landing two hits from it, before Koops rammed into the Koopa King with his Shell Toss move.
Letting some steam out of his nostrils, Bowser decided to use his Jump or Ground Pound attack on Andrew to keep him from using one of his attacks. However, right before he could land right on top of Andrew, Flurrie floated into the air, stopped right in front of him, and grabbed him, to keep him from landing the attack head-on.
With Bowser in her rather strong grip, Flurrie then planted her lips on the Koopa King where she performed her Lip Lock move, by draining out some of his energy which she then added to her own. Once she was done, she decided to drop Bowser, who landed flat on his stomach as she dusted her hands off.
"Great work, Flurrie!" Andrew gave her the thumbs up while he dashed over and landed a Power Jump attack on the Koopa King's head, dealing some more damage on him, before decking him and then landing his right elbow right onto the head.
Koops got into his shell again and rammed right by Bowser with his Power Shell attack. This time, he stopped in the middle of the ring and did that breakdancing routine that he'd mastered for the crowd. Goombella followed up with her Multibonk attack, dealing at least 8 hits to the head.
By then, Bowser had gotten back up onto his feet as he shook his head. He didn't think that Andrew was this powerful. Did he truly underestimate him and his powers? Was he going to lose to this chump too?
"Owf! Well, I don't believe it," Bowser huffed. "You are far tougher than I thought!"
"Well now you know that you shouldn't have underestimated me," Andrew told him dryly.
"Bah! So what?" Bowser was still raring to fight. "I'm still gonna enjoy burning you to a crisp!"
With that, Bowser unleashed another Fire Blast attack on Andrew, who was quick enough to jump out of the way and land right behind the Koopa King.
"Hey Goombella?" Andrew decided to ask his Goomba partner. "Is there any other way for me to beat this oversized Koopa?"
"Well, you could always try grabbing him by the tail and throw him that way," Goombella suggested before adding. "But that is like, so Super Mario 64, y'know?"
"Maybe," Andrew rubbed his chin in amusement. "But it just might be able to work. You guys just keep him distracted in the front while I approach him from the rear."
"Hey, Presto! I can do that! Watch this!" Yoshiam then got Bowser's attention. "Hey Mr. Big Fat Ugly Horns! You think you can hit me with those things on your head getting in the way!?"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?" Bowser boomed as he was now furious with the Yoshi kid. "Why you little!? I'll burn you to a crisp for saying that!"
Bowser wasted no time in unleashing yet another Fire Blast on Yoshiam, who was quick enough to dodge him. Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie had to aid Yoshiam by attacking Bowser from the front as well.
This resulted in the Koopa King trying to bite, scratch, pound, and breathe fire at the four partners, unaware that Andrew had managed to approach him from behind. Once he was in front of his tail, Andrew decided to get ready.
OK. If Mario can throw this guy around by the tail, then so can I... Andrew thought as he took a deep breath, rubbed his hands together, and then proceeded to grab Bowser's tail.
As soon as he grabbed his tail, Andrew made sure to plant the heels of his feet firmly on the ground before he started hoisting Bowser in the middle of the air while slowly spinning around with his tail firmly in his grip.
Bowser, for his part, suddenly realized what Andrew was doing. How did he know to grab him by the tail like this? Did Mario somehow tell him about how he beat him in their fights when he stole all of the castle's stars, barring the secret stars in the castle? Regardless, Bowser didn't like this, as he was irritated by this twist of events.
Still, he was unable to do anything since Andrew had quite a strong grip on his tail.
Argh! I don't believe this! How did this Andrew chump quickly figure out to grab me by the tail? Bowser thought as he quietly fumed at this.
By now, Andrew was spinning faster and faster with the Koopa King getting dizzy as his tail was still in his grip. The audience was ooo'ing at what Andrew was doing, while Grubba seemed to be quite intrigued by this fighting style.
"Whoa, nelly, folks!" Grubba proclaimed. "That happens to be some fine fightin' style comin' from the Prevailin' Presto himself!"
"All right! Rock on, Presto!" Yoshiam had to cheer. "We'll beat this chump in no time!"
"Right," it was then Andrew had another idea, and it involved Yoshiam's tongue and his Gulp move. "Hey Yoshiam! Be sure to get that tongue of yours ready! I'm about to hurl a big one in your direction!"
"You got it, dude!" Yoshiam prepared himself to use his Gulp attack. "Ready when you are, Presto!"
"Perfect," Andrew smirked.
After he was pointing toward Yoshiam, he stopped spinning and tossed Bowser toward Yoshiam. Bowser was flying forward with no way to regain his balance.
And the next thing he knew, Yoshiam launched out his tongue and wrapped it around the Koopa King, stuffing him into his mouth. Andrew had to shake his head at how he was still able to hold someone 10 times his size in there, as he got out his Super Bat and was holding it correctly.
"Okay, Yoshiam! Spit him out towards me, and I'll be able to swing a home run with this bat!" Andrew informed him.
"Omph Kmph!" Yoshiam talked with his mouth full as he obliged and spat the Koopa King towards Andrew.
Once he was close enough, Andrew swung his bat with his Super Bat attack. It sent Bowser skyward again before he plummeted into the ground and landed right on his bottom.
The Koopa King was in a daze that he couldn't do anything now. Goombella seized the opportunity to dish out another Headbonk on him, scoring two successful hits. Koops followed by plowing into him with his Shell Toss and did that breakdancing routine again for the crowd. Flurrie hurled herself through the air and landed a successful Body Slam attack on Bowser.
"Geez!" Yoshiam shook his head. "If only I had more power in these feet, then I could dish out more damage on this giant meathead!"
It was then Andrew remembered something. He had some Power Punches that he bought from the Souvenir Shop. And he happened to have one in his possession. Perhaps it could help.
"Hey Yoshiam!" Andrew took out the Power Punch he had and tossed it towards him. "Catch!"
Yoshiam was able to leap through the air and grab it before flipping back down onto the ground.
"You better use that! It might help!" Andrew advised him.
"Sure thing," Yoshiam wasted no time in eating it.
Once he did, felt himself grow bigger, as he had gotten a sudden power boost from the Power Punch too.
"Whoa!" Yoshiam spoke with a low-pitched tone. "This is so aweeeeesooooooome! Finally, I can kick this Koopa King's butt!"
With that, the giant Yoshiam flutter-jumped through the air and landed a successful Ground Pound on Bowser. Because of the power increase, the attack was more powerful than before, hitting him at least four times. Flurrie then landed another Body Slam on Bowser, before doing a pose for the audience.
By now, Bowser got up, and even though he was almost out of steam, he was still more than determined to fry Andrew and his crew one last time.
"That's it! It's time to fry all five of you doofuses!" Bowser then shot another Fire Blast at them, which they were able to dodge easily.
Considering how much damage Bowser had endured, it was clear that he wasn't going to be able to fight for much longer. Andrew took notice of this and had a blank stare in his eyes.
"You know? I'm beginning to see why this chump constantly loses to Mario all the time," Andrew said dryly before he stormed over to finish him off.
He was able to land one last attack on him, in the form of a Power Swing with his Super Bat. The bat struck Bowser right across the head, as he felt that one. He was just about down for the count.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Bowser then fell onto his stomach, and he was unconscious after that.
By then, Yoshiam returned to normal size since the Power Punch's effects had worn off.
"Well, looks like we took care of that one," Andrew dusted off his hands again as his four partners went back to his side.
"Gruuuuuuuuuuurgh..." Bowser moaned under his breath at how he was defeated by the likes of Andrew, someone he never knew about before.
The crowd was thrilled and excited at the fact that this fight fell straight in Andrew's favor, allowing him to beat the Koopa King despite how he came out of nowhere.
And from the looks of things, it seems that Bowser was humiliated yet again. And on live TV too. In other words, he was publicly humiliated.
"Hoo! That's our Presto!" Grubba had to admit. "He 'don't even bat an eye when some nut ambushes him! Tough! Yer too tough, son! And yer only gonna get tougher! Stay tuned, folks! Until next time, everyone... See ya!"
It was then Andrew and his four partners were escorted back to the Major League Locker Room after having engaged in this unexpected battle.
As for Bowser, well, two Security Guards came up and dragged Bowser out of the ring and sent him on his way. Back in his Koopa Clown Car and away from Glitzville. Possibly to regroup with Kammy Koopa, wherever she was at the moment...
IN THE MAJOR LEAGUE LOCKER ROOM:
It didn't take long for them to get back, as Jolene had given Andrew his prize money before she decided to take her leave. Once she was gone, it was clear that Andrew and his four partners had to pant at the unexpected battle that they got into with Bowser. It was quite the workout though, and they were successful in dealing with him.
"OK guys," Andrew huffed. "Did any of you even expect Bowser to show up out of nowhere like that?"
"I know," Goombella gulped. "Jeepers, who woulda thought he'd show his face HERE?"
"What was he doing here?" Koops shivered slightly. "That...kinda freaks me out."
"My word! Who would expect THAT lout to show up here?" Flurrie had to fan her face quickly from the heated draft she was overcome by at the moment. "My goodness, gracious!"
"WOW!" Yoshiam had to stretch his arms out. "That guy's insane!"
"No kidding there," Andrew sighed. "Well, I don't know how Bowser was able to find me up here, nor do I know how he heard of the Crystal Stars."
"Perhaps one of his subjects informed him about it," Goombella made a random guess. "Y'know? When he was eating dinner?"
"Yeah," Andrew said. "In any case, we got rid of that problem. Bowser is the last thing we need to be dealing with right now. Especially with the situation about X, the person who sent me that threatening e-mail, and especially the whereabouts of the Crystal Star."
"Yeah, Andrew. Man, that was close though," Koops had to catch his breath. "We should probably catch ourselves before reserving another match..."
"Splendid. Splendid. Mercy me, that is a fabulous idea, Koops," Flurrie had to agree. "We've certainly gone through all that trouble getting to this point, only for that Koopa King to show up out of nowhere."
"I think it's a good idea to rest before fighting again," Andrew stretched his arms out. "We still need to wait to hear back from X again."
"You got it, Presto," Yoshiam had to admit. "We can wait out a bit before our next match."
And so, the five of them took it easy for a bit before reserving another match in the Glitz Pit. They had no idea what else would be in store for them later on...
By the time they reserved their next match, they were next pitted against the Craw-Daddy, who happened to be a Dark Craw; a darker-looking variant of the regular Craws that are found roaming the streets of Rogueport. Specifically the ones in the Robbos gang, such as Gus.
He was surprisingly tough, as Andrew had a rough time trying to beat him with his raw power. Nonetheless, Andrew prevailed once again as he and his four partners managed to outdo him and earned the victory, landing them Rank 4 in the Glitz Pit.
Once they were back in the Major League Locker Room, Jolene gave Andrew his prize money before she left the room. As soon as she was gone, Andrew heard his Mailbox SP going off again, which caught his attention, as well as that of his partners.
"Ummm... Andrew?" Koops commented on this. "Your pocket's beeping."
"Here we go again! Another mail!" Goombella declared as Andrew took out his Mailbox SP and opened it up to see who it was. Thankfully, it was from X, and it was another task that they had to run. This is what the message said.
"gO tO tHe TeLePhOnE bOoTh OuT oN tHe PaViLiOn"
[FrOm] X
"Ah, our mysterious friend!" Flurrie had to sigh in relief. "Where to this time? A telephone booth outside?"
"Where was that thing?" Yoshiam questioned before huffing. "Aw, we'll find it. Let's head outside!"
"I think the telephone booth was right next to the Souvenir Shop," Andrew recalled seeing it earlier as he grabbed his backpack and put it on. "We better get there quickly."
"Gotcha, Andrew," Goombella beamed and smiled. "Let's check it out."
With that, the four of them left the Major League Locker Room to head back outside.
As soon as they left the room though, they came face to face with the Rawk Hawk again. And judging by the look on his face, Rawk Hawk was waiting for Andrew to step out of the locker room right on cue.
"Presto! Good timing, you brawny little punk. Uncle Rawk Hawk's got some advice for ya," Rawk Hawk sneered at him before giving out a threat. "If you keep stealing the spotlight from me, you're gonna enter a world of hurt! Quit making such a splash, if you value your puny life! Harharharharharhar!"
With that, Rawk Hawk stormed off towards the direction he came from, leaving Andrew there to furrow his eyebrows at what he just told him, while his partners were equally mad with what he just told Andrew.
"What...a...CREEP!" Goombella had to snarl. "How DARE he threaten us like that?"
"You, you BETTER keep walking, you punk chicken!" Yoshiam then felt like bellowing toward Rawk Hawk while shaking his fist. "YOU HEAR ME TALKING?!"
"Wow. He has some nerve talking to us like this," Andrew scowled. "And making such pointless juvenile threats towards us too."
"Talk about low-class!" Goombella rolled her eyes in agreement.
"I shan't agree more with that," Flurrie admitted. "That chicken is rather rude. I hardly think it's necessary to resort to threats..."
"Who does that guy think he is, threatening us?" Koops had to query himself before he realized something important from that. "But wait... Threatening us..."
"Dear me, Koops," Flurrie had to gasp. "Could it be that you're implying that the nasty e-mail came from him?"
"Maybe," Andrew shrugged. "He has the ego attitude to boot, after all."
"I guess it doesn't matter," Yoshiam decided to forget about the Rawk Hawk for the time being. "SOMEBODY hates us so we better watch our steps."
"Good idea," Andrew nodded in agreement. "Shall we head outside for the telephone booth?"
Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Yoshiam nodded as they followed Andrew through the backstage corridor until they went through the door leading to the lobby again. As soon as they entered the lobby, they wasted no time in heading for the front door, where they went outside of the Glitz Pit again...
OUTSIDE OF THE GLITZ PIT:
The five of them wasted no time in heading straight for the telephone booth that was right next to the Souvenir Shop. Andrew was quickly able to spot it, as he also noticed that a red-orange key was inside the phone booth.
"Hey, guys. Look," Andrew walked over and picked up what appeared to be a Storage Key. "This key was left behind in the telephone booth."
"Wowsers!" Goombella blinked at it. "Where do you think that key goes?"
"I dunno," Andrew pocketed it before grabbing a nearby Star Piece behind the telephone booth. "Guess the only way to find out is to head back inside."
Right as Andrew was walking away from the phone booth, his Mailbox SP started going off. Letting out a sigh, Andrew took it out, opened it, and saw another message from X.
"gO tO tHe StOrAgE rOoM nExT tO gRuBbA's OfFiCe."
From X
Andrew felt his left eye twitching at this as he realized that this was becoming a load of backtracking to his legs. His partners felt the same way, as they had to react to what they had to do now.
"What the heck is this guy's problem?" Yoshiam spat. "The storage room?"
"Sheesh! What next?" Goombella had to complain. "This guy's got us running all over! It's driving me 'totally' nuts!"
"Man... This seems like a lot of legwork," Koops had to confess with a pant. "Is this guy just playing with us?"
"Mercy! This fellow seems to like making us run about..." Flurrie expressed herself. "I can't say I approve."
"This dude is 'really' cheesing me off." Yoshiam had to grit in irritation.
"OK, guys. I get it. We're all exhausted from the running around this suspicious character is making us do," Andrew sighed. "But this X guy is our only clue to finding the Crystal Star. So let's head back inside for the storage room."
His partners had to agree with him on that as they walked away from the telephone booth. After Andrew found another Inn Coupon near the Juice Bar, where he placed it in his backpack, then headed back inside the Glitz Pit.
Once they got back in, they went back through the backstage corridor with the ambition of heading for the storage room. Once they were in front of the locked door leading to the Storage Room, in which the key Andrew found went right into the padlock, the five of them saw Jolene talking to a Security Guard.
And by the expression on her face, it seemed she was extremely disappointed in the guard with something important. They could overhear her scolding the guard in a stern cold manner.
"So you're telling me that you have no idea who got inside?" Jolene sounded a little callous when she spoke without raising her voice. "What do we pay you for?"
"I'm 'awfully' sorry, Ms. Jolene," the Security Guard apologized to her before telling her. "I heard a noise in there, but I couldn't find 'nothing'..."
"Hmph," Jolene huffed before sighing in defeat at this. "Fine, leave the rest of this matter to me. Go back to your post."
Before the guard could do so, Jolene had to give him a warning. "And listen to me carefully: do not EVER tell anyone of this or I'll have your job."
The Security Guard said nothing as he walked off back to his post where he belonged. Once he was out of sight, Jolene then took notice of Andrew and his four partners being nearby. She gasped before frowning at them for being out here where they shouldn't be.
Approaching Andrew, Jolene decided to voice her thoughts on his mysterious appearance.
"You! Mr. Presto, this is highly inappropriate!" Jolene then asked sternly. "What business do you have here?"
"We were told to come here..." Andrew deadpanned.
"Please, I must ask you to stay out of places where you have no business being." Jolene didn't bother commenting on what Andrew just said as she turned around and walked off.
"Jeepers. What's her beef," Goombella had to ask once she was gone, as Andrew got out the Storage Key.
"Beats me," Andrew shrugged as he approached the lock. "In any case, I think this key unlocks the door."
"Golly, Andrew. Hope you're right," Koops said shyly.
Andrew nodded as he placed the key into the padlock, turned it, and caused the padlock to fall onto the floor, vanishing seconds later. The door was officially unlocked.
"Let's head on in," Andrew advised his four partners as the five of them entered the storage room for themselves...
As soon as they entered the storage room, the five of them were immediately greeted by the sight of Ms. Mowz on a bunch of crates right in front of them. Ms. Mowz squeaked when they entered, only to calm down moments later when she saw that it was just Andrew.
"Oh! Mmmmm hmm hmm hmm!" Ms. Mowz had to comment on seeing Andrew like this. "We meet again, you husky muscular hunk, you."
"It would appear that we have," Andrew crossed his arms and smirked; a sign that he knew exactly who sent him the Cake. "Great to see you again, Ms. Mowz."
His partners, on the other hand, had different reactions towards her presence. Goombella and Flurrie were pretty ticked and upset from seeing her again, Koops felt his heart pounding in his throat once more, and Yoshiam gave her a rather suspicious look, kinda like how Andrew felt when he met Ms. Mowz for the first time.
He didn't know who this mysterious Little Mouser woman was, but she looked like she was bad news to Andrew.
"You again! Miss Flirt-a-lot!" Goombella sneered at her. "Are you following us or what?"
"Oh! Ms. Mowz! Hi there!" Koops had to say to her, feeling his heart pounding. "Are you stealing something again? How exciting for you!"
"Why, if it isn't the young lady felon!" Flurrie huffed in disapproval upon seeing her. "I don't approve of you following Andrew, dear."
"Are you a friend of Presto?" Yoshiam asked her suspiciously. "I didn't know he hung with crooks...and you look like one."
Yoshiam then continued before pointing at her. "Security was talking about noises in here... Did you make noise while you stole stuff?"
"Yeah!" Goombella wasted no effort in pinning the blame on Ms. Mowz. "Security heard you bungling around in here. It WAS you, right?"
"Goombella, please, knock it off," Andrew had to tell her to settle down.
"Oh, please! No one heard ME!" Ms. Mowz had to huff, not approving the accusations that Andrew's friends were dishing out on her. "I'm the best mouse burglar of all time! I'm silent! It's quite obvious that someone else must have been monkeying about in here..."
"Well, whatever, lady..." Yoshiam rolled his eyes before asking. "But you ARE a thief, right?"
"Pffffft! PUH-leeeeeeze!" Goombella was yelling in such a sassy manner when she said that. "I am, like, SO sure!"
"We didn't mean to doubt you, Ms. Mowz..." Koops said shyly.
"Are you 'absolutely' sure?" Flurrie raised her eyebrow at her. "You didn't make just a little bit of noise, dear?"
"Hush," Ms. Mowz decided to have them drop the accusations right then and there. "All you need to know is I've taken what I needed and now I'll be on my way."
She then added with a more casual tone of voice. "As for the rest, help yourself to whatever you like."
"Will do," Andrew had to comment calmly as Ms. Mowz jumped down from the crates and she landed right in front of Andrew again.
"Mm hmm hmm hmm hmm!" Ms. Mowz had to hum seductively before saying to Andrew. "And now, we must part again, my sweet muscular man!"
"I guess so," it was then Andrew whispered so only Ms. Mowz could hear her. "I take it that it was you who sent me that cake."
"Mm-hmm hmm hmm hmm. What gave it away, my sweet?" Ms. Mowz asked in a whisper.
As soon as she whispered that, she jumped up and gave Andrew yet another kiss on his cheek, the same one she pecked the first two times. All four of his partners had different reactions.
Goombella was fuming something fierce, Koops had a look of awe at how Andrew got kissed once again, Flurrie had to gasp in appall as she couldn't believe she'd pull that same stunt again, and Yoshiam had to jaw-drop at what he just witnessed. 'Apparently', it was unnecessary for him to be suspicious of Ms. Mowz despite what he thought at first.
"Are you, like, the biggest floozy ever or what?" Goombella asked in such a bitter and jealous manner.
"Oh... Andrew, you lucky dog..." Koops said in awe, a little jealous that he still didn't get one.
"My! You ARE brazen, aren't you, dearie?" Flurrie had to gasp at what she just witnessed.
"Is that what's called a kiss?" Yoshiam had to ask before sharing how he felt. "I heard about those things! I'm jealous! Only you get it?"
"I almost forgot, my sweet..." Ms. Mowz decided to share more advice with Andrew before she left. "This arena holds many secrets, you know."
"I think I already noticed that," Andrew tugged on his handkerchief.
"You should be very careful," Ms. Mowz had to tell him sweetly. "Lest you end up like those poor souls upstairs."
"Uh, OK?" Andrew was confused by that part before he shook his head and told her. "Well, thanks again for the advice, Ms. Mowz."
"Anytime, my sweet," Ms. Mowz decided to give her farewells to the muscular man. "And with that, goodbye, my delectable hunk of cheese! We shall meet again!"
"I'm pretty sure we will," Andrew told her. "We'll be seeing you."
After Ms. Mowz nodded at him, she turned around and left the storage room. This left the five travelers alone again as the Little Mouser left quite a taste in the room for them, albeit in different forms.
Andrew was more than glad to not feel suspicious of Ms. Mowz any longer. He knew that he'd meet her again. However, something told him that it wouldn't be anytime soon.
It was then he was able to hear his partner's different reactions to what Ms. Mowz had done to Andrew.
"What's with that burglar rat?" Goombella sneered through gritted teeth. "I swear, I'm gonna Headbonk her if she doesn't watch it!"
"Boy, Ms. Mowz sure is cute," Koops had to admit. "Too bad I sound like such a dork whenever I talk to her."
"Well, I daresay she IS a thief, hm?" Flurrie had to admit in a huff. "She certainly stole your lips with ease, Andrew!"
"Well, she took off, huh?" Yoshiam didn't sound suspicious of her anymore as he decided to voice himself. "What was that kiss like? I gotta get me one of those..."
"All right guys. Regardless of our opinions of her, she's gone," Andrew had to tell them. "But did you guys catch what she said about someone being upstairs?"
"Yeah. I was curious about that," Yoshiam then decided to ask. "What do you think she meant about somebody being upstairs, huh?"
Goombella looked like she was about to say something, but then Andrew's Mailbox SP went off again. This got him to sigh as he took it out.
"Let's see what it says this time," Andrew opened it and read what the message told them to do now.
"finD tHe StAiRcAsE sWiTcH tO rEaCh ThE aTtIc."
From X
"The staircase switch?" All five of them questioned in unison.
"Am I to understand there's a staircase hidden in here?" Flurrie sounded a little confused by that as she scratched her head.
"Hmmm..." Andrew did some thinking before he recalled something. "Wait, now that I think of it, Goombella? One of the Seven Wonders of the Glitz Pit mentioned something about a room having a second floor with no stairs, right? Wasn't it the Stairs of Mystery?"
"Omigosh! You're right, Andrew!" Goombella gasped. "It said that an unknown room in the Glitz Pit has a second floor but no stairs and groaning voices can be heard coming from above. I hate to say this, but...could Ms. Mowz have been referring to that when she mentioned somebody being upstairs?"
"Could be," Andrew shrugged, seeing how hard it was for Goombella to say that. "The only way we can find out for ourselves is if we find the switch to activate the staircase."
"But how? We don't see any switch," Koops pointed out. "Man... All there is in here are crates..."
"Hmmmm... Maybe..." Andrew rubbed his chin curiously as he knocked on one of the crates with his fist.
They didn't feel like crates at all. They felt like they were covering something else. Could these be hiding something for them to discover?
"Guys? I think there's something hidden underneath these crates," Andrew then turned to face his Wind Spirit partner. "Flurrie, could you blow these crates away?"
"Why, certainly. I shall try my best to do so," Flurrie floated up and performed her Gale Force move to blow away the crates.
Then just as Andrew thought, she blew away what appeared to be a cover for something else. The objects that they were covering were a bunch of yellow blocks that Andrew could smash with his bat.
"Well, that resolves that problem," Andrew got out his Super Bat and started smashing all of the yellow blocks in the room.
As soon as he was done, two things were revealed to them. One was a Charge P badge that caught Andrew's attention. The other was the blue switch that was surrounded by the yellow blocks that Andrew smashed down.
"All right," Andrew grabbed the Charge P badge and got out his badge kit.
"You got it! Wowsers, Andrew, you are skilled with finding badges everywhere we go, y'know?" Goombella had to smirk at him for this.
"Yeah. I've been told that before," Andrew put the Charge P badge into the badge kit.
"Whoa! Whoa! Hold it! What's this about collecting badges?!" Yoshiam was confused about this so he decided to ask. "Presto? Have you been holding out on me or something?"
"Oh, right! You didn't know this since you recently joined us, Yoshiam," Andrew put his badge kit back into his backpack. "I've been finding badges since Goombella and I first went to Petal Meadows, where we went to Hooktail Castle."
"Wow! I see!" Yoshiam seemed amused. "That seems pretty cool."
"Yeah," Andrew nodded. "And it was at Hooktail Castle that Goombella, Koops, and I took down Hooktail and got the Crystal Star from there. Hooktail was a gnarly-looking dragon and you could tell just by looking at it."
"Whoa! Awesome!" Yoshiam seemed eager. "You must've been on quite an adventure for you to be able to tell this!"
"Yeah. It's been impressive so far," Andrew then walked over to the switch. "In the meantime, let's see if this activates the stairs."
Once Andrew slammed the switch with his bat, a row of two stairs appeared leading upstairs to the second floor.
"Well, I guess this answers that mystery," Goombella had to admit. "The unknown room it was referring to was the Glitz Pit's storage room."
"Sure seems like it," Andrew put his Super Bat away. "Let's see what's upstairs."
With that, the five of them went upstairs to the second floor. Once they reached the top, they saw something that got their attention. It was another Shine Sprite, in that clear yellow box.
"Wow!" Yoshiam was rather amazed by seeing it. "What the heck is that?"
"That, Yoshiam, happens to be a Shine Sprite," Andrew explained as he went over and smacked the box and claimed the Shine Sprite. "I've been collecting these since the first one that I encountered at Hooktail Castle."
"Woah, Presto. That sounds super cool," Yoshiam commented.
"It gets even cooler," Andrew continued to explain. "I've been using these to allow Merlon in Rogueport to power up each of my partners for three Shine Sprites. And not only do they get stronger, they learn a new move that Merlon teaches them."
"You've used them to power up your partners," Yoshiam was more than eager to be next. "I wanna get a power up too!"
"Easy there, Yoshiam. I know how badly you want it," Andrew had to get him to calm down. "But we need three of them to do it. However, since Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie have already been powered up previously, this means you'll be the next one who can be given the same treat."
"OK. So we just need to find one more Shine Sprite and then I can get stronger and learn a new move," Yoshiam figured out. "Is that correct, Presto?"
"Exactly," Andrew nodded as he put the Shine Sprite into his backpack with the other Shine Sprite that he claimed earlier. "Now come on! Let's see what's up here!"
Yoshiam nodded as he joined Andrew along with the other three partners as they explored the second floor. Andrew went to the right at first, only to see that the door was locked.
"Looks like we can't go through here without a key," Andrew then pointed in the left direction. "We better head this way."
With that, the five of them went off to the left where they jumped up onto the nearby crates. With Yoshiam's help, they managed to get over to the crates that they couldn't reach alone.
From there, Andrew found a giant yellow block, which he destroyed in seconds with his Super Bat swing move. It was then Andrew saw an HP Plus P badge on one of the crates out of reach.
Getting back onto the crates, Andrew had Koops go into his shell as he jumped and kicked him over towards the HP Plus P badge, which he retrieved and went back to him like a boomerang. Once Andrew grabbed the badge, he put that badge into his badge kit too.
"OK guys, there's this hole that was revealed when I destroyed that giant yellow block," Andrew jumped back down and pointed to the hole. "Let's go check it out."
And with that, Andrew jumped down the hole, with Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Yoshiam following right after him.
They ended up in an attic of some kind that was right above the Storage Room and Grubba's Office. This made Andrew a little skeptical as he was curious about this.
"Uh, is this an attic of some kind?" Andrew had to ask.
"I guess so," Goombella frowned. "I mean, it's COVERED in dust!"
"But...wouldn't that make sense since no one's been here in a long time?" Koops wondered. "Wouldn't that be why it's called an attic?"
"I must say, attic or not, this place seems a bit spacious," Flurrie had to admit. "It makes me wonder why no one's bothered using this room for quite some time."
"Hey, guys?" Yoshiam had to say something. "Am I hearing voices, or is there someone talking right below this room?"
"Wait. You're right, Yoshiam," Andrew leaned his ear closer. "I can hear it too. We better investigate it."
With a collective nod, the four of them followed Andrew to the other end of the room until they saw a peephole nearby. They could hear that the voice was coming from right below that peephole.
They leaned their heads down towards the peephole, as they had heard Jolene and Grubba talking down below in Grubba's Office. They managed to have overheard the entire conversation that was going on down there.
"...So you didn't find hide or hair of nobody in the storage room, that what yer sayin'?" Grubba had just asked Jolene after she had explained it to him.
"Yes, Mr. Grubba. It appeared to be secure. Don't worry about it, sir," Jolene had confirmed before telling him. "I've taken the necessary precautions. It was most likely just a rat or something."
"Well, no big deal either way," Grubba had decided that this matter wasn't really important to stay on top of anyway. "Ain't nothin' in there we'd miss too much anyway. Thanks fer stayin' on top of this, Jolene."
It was then Grubba decided to ask Jolene an unexpected out-of-nowhere question. "Hey, [an'] by the way, any word on King K?"
"I'm afraid we still don't know the whereabouts of King K, Mr. Grubba," Jolene had to explain to him. "And so... I deleted his spot on our roster per regulations. The Glitz Pit no longer has any official connection to KP Pete, a.k.a King K."
Andrew had a shocked expression on his face as he overheard that. He had thought that King K had gone home to enjoy his retirement from the Glitz Pit. Instead, he was reported missing from the Glitz Pit.
It was then Jolene revealed something else. "I have, of course, taken the same steps with all fighters who have gone missing."
Grubba couldn't help but frown at this. There was something seriously wrong with how fighters have gone missing in this Glitz Pit lately.
"Hoo, fighters sure have been goin' missin' a lot lately!" Grubba had to admit. "That's the fifth this year! What in tarnation's goin' on? I even heard some security ijit sayin' the Pit's cursed!"
"I doubt that sir, but I certainly don't understand the disappearances," Jolene had to be honest with him.
"Well, fer the time bein', tell the other fellas that King K headed on home for a spell," Grubba instructed her. "If word gets out about missin' fighters, it sure ain't gonna be good for business, no siree! Nasty rumors have a way of sendin' folks runnin' to the hills, know what I mean?"
"I understand completely, Mr. Grubba," Jolene had adjusted her glasses. "I will take care of everything, sir."
Jolene was just about to leave his office. But before she could, Grubba decided to bring something else up with her, and it involved Jolene herself.
"Y'know, Jolene..." Grubba started. "Yer a dang fine manager, but you just plumb disappear sometimes... I gotta know! Where in the world do you go, darlin'?"
"Uh... Th-That's..." Jolene stuttered, sounding like she was showing some worried emotions in her voice before she cleared her throat and pulled herself together. "Mr. Grubba, I know you're my boss, but I don't believe that's any of your business."
"Easy! Didn't mean to pry, now!" Grubba had his hands up defensively before he asked another out-of-nowhere question. "How 'bout this, then... Heard of the Crystal Star?"
Jolene couldn't help but gasp in fright at what Grubba just asked her. It's as if she had just been caught guilty of committing a crime. Or that she was caught red-handed doing something underhanded.
"N-No..." Jolene stuttered before clearing her voice. "I've never heard of such a thing, Mr. Grubba."
"Okeydoke, well, I 'preciate yer time, Ms. Jolene," Grubba decided to let the subject go for now. "You go ahead [an'] run along, now, y'hear?"
Jolene only nodded slightly before she turned around and walked out of Grubba's office. Once she was gone, Grubba decided to talk amongst himself with supposedly no one there to hear him, even though five people heard him talking.
"Well, if this ain't a fine how-do-you-do!" Grubba said. "Seems like good fighters are a dyin' breed. That wild child Presto is just about the only draw I still got 'round here."
Back in the attic, Andrew and his four comrades pulled their heads away from the peephole as they took in everything that they had overheard from Jolene and Grubba.
"Pssst! Andrew!" Goombella whispered loudly to the muscular man. "You listening to this?!"
"I've listened to all of it," Andrew nodded. "It's about the fighters that have gone missing."
"Yeah. Fighters are going missing!" Koops proclaimed. "Talk about scary!"
"It is, Koops," Andrew had to rub his chin. "But how did they vanish?"
"That poor, sweet King K..." Flurrie had to shake her head in pity and sadness. "I just assumed he had retired to his hometown..."
"So did the rest of us, Flurrie," Andrew couldn't help but frown as he shook his head.
"Yeah!" Yoshiam said loudly. "I thought he retired!"
"Shhhh..." Andrew, Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie had to shush him as the former covered his mouth so Grubba wouldn't hear them up in the attic.
Unfortunately, this was all for naught, as Grubba managed to hear them speaking anyway. He had no idea who it was that was talking, but he was feeling a little creeped out about it.
"What in the hey?! Dang cellin' is spookin' me!" Grubba had to proclaim before demanding from up above. "HEY! Somebody up there?"
Now it was apparent that all five of them had nervous beads of sweat dripping from their foreheads. Had they just been discovered? Were they gonna get caught red-handed if they gave it away? Regardless, they had to do something fast, as Andrew was thinking about what to say to keep him from growing suspicious.
Uhhhh... Andrew thought nervously as he felt his forehead now covered in sweat beads.
After getting to compose himself, he decided to make a simple sound.
"Squeak!" Andrew squeaked appropriately as he hoped that he'd buy it.
Thankfully for him, Grubba had felt a little more at ease, knowing that it was nothing more than a simple mouse in the attic.
"...Hoo, nelly! Just a little ol' mouse..." Grubba had to wipe his forehead at that. "Here I am, thinkin' someone's up there a-peepin'!"
He then took some deep breaths and composed himself before he continued. "I gotta relax...take some yoga classes or somethin'... Yep. Well, back to the ring!"
With that said, Grubba walked away from his desk and he left his office with the intention of going back to the ring to host the next match that's been registered. As soon as he was gone, the office was now deserted.
Back in the attic, Andrew, Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Yoshiam all sat down, panting and sighing in relief as they were not caught after all.
"Whew! That was WAY too close, guys," Andrew wiped his forehead as he expressed relief.
"No kidding Andrew!" Goombella agreed with a pant. "Phew! Boy, that was close!"
"So, Andrew, you heard that part about the Crystal Star, right?" Koops had to ask.
"The one that Grubba brought up all of a sudden?" Andrew asked as Koops simply nodded. "Perhaps Grubba is looking into researching the Crystal Star too while working as the promoter of the Glitz Pit."
"Perhaps," Flurrie then decided to bring something else up. "Although, I couldn't help but notice that Ms. Jolene acted a touch strange..."
"It's almost as if Jolene was acting a little suspicious about it, Maybe too suspicious. It's as if she knew something about it but lied to Grubba," Andrew rubbed his chin. "Either way, we should dwell on it later."
"Yeah, whatever," Yoshiam agreed. "For now, we better bail before somebody finds us up here!"
"Good idea," Andrew stood up along with his four partners. "Let's get out of here!"
Andrew then walked back in the direction they came from with his four friends, and he then found an A/C grate. This meant that it was time to go into Paper Mode to get by it.
"Well guys," Andrew motioned his partners to the grate. "You know what we gotta do here, right?"
"You betcha, Andrew," Goombella beamed. "Time to go into Paper Mode!"
"Paper what?" Yoshiam was confused yet again. "Dude?! Is this about something else that you have already encountered on your journey so far?! C'mon! You gotta tell me!"
"OK, Yoshiam. OK," Andrew decided to explain the short version of it. "Long story short, I had gotten cursed by a black chest in Hooktail Castle that makes me and my partners as thin as paper by going into Paper Mode. It helps with squeezing through tight spots like bars, gaps, and stuff like this grate."
"Whoa! That is too cool, Presto!" Yoshiam was impressed by this.
"Isn't it?" Andrew smirked. "I had also gotten cursed by another black chest back in Rogueport Sewers. This one allows me to turn into a paper airplane every time I step on a Paper Airplane Panel."
"Sweet. That is pretty rad, man," Yoshiam had to grin. "I hope we get to encounter more stuff like what you've already seen so far."
"We probably will," Andrew nodded. "But for now, we can give you a demonstration as to how Paper Mode works. You ready?"
"Aw yeah! Of 'course' I'm ready!" Yoshiam was eager to see how it works.
"OK! Let's do it!" Andrew then started thinking like he was a flat cardboard.
After a few moments, he turned paper thin along with Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Yoshiam. Because of this, all five of them were able to squeeze right through the grate and fell back down into the first floor of the storage room.
"WHOA!" Yoshiam blinked as they turned back to normal moments later. "That was probably the coolest experience that I had gotten put through."
"Yeah. All of us are impressed by it," Andrew admitted. "Anyway, let's head back to the Major League Locker Room. We should probably register for another match right now."
"Good idea, Andrew," Goombella smirked.
"Hey, before I forget Goombella, now that it's on my mind." Andrew decided to bring it up with her. "Didn't one of the Seven Wonders of the Glitz Pit involve something about fighters going missing? Wasn't it the Missing Ones?"
"Omigosh! You're 'totally' right, Andrew!" Goombella gasped upon remembering. "'Apparently', it involves how sometimes fighters disappear for no reason and never return. I guess King K must be one of them, and four others had gone missing too. Including Prince Mush."
"Prince Mush?" Andrew tilted his head in confusion.
"Yeah. Prince Mush, from what I've read, happens to be the first champion in the Glitz Pit," Goombella exclaimed. "No one truly knows where the missing ones disappear to. All that I know is that it happens randomly around the Glitz Pit, and no one has been able to report how it happens without going missing."
"I see," Andrew rubbed his chin. "I guess we better be on our toes during the rest of our time as fighters in the Glitz Pit. Hopefully, when we're champs, we can get all the answers we need about the real Crystal Star."
"Good idea, Andrew," Koops remarked. "Now, ummm... Shouldn't we head back to the Major League Locker Room to register for a match?"
"I daresay, that's a terrific idea," Flurrie said. "I could very much savior the moment of getting back into the ring for another match."
"Of course," Andrew walked towards the door and opened it. "Ready for another match, Yoshiam?"
"Sure thing, Presto," Yoshiam beamed. "Let's get cracking and bust some more heads!"
"Right," Andrew walked out of the storage room along with Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Yoshiam as they headed back to the Major League Locker Room.
They could only wait and see what else would be in store for them in the Glitz Pit, aside from learning how fighters have gone missing there. There was no doubt that the five of them would be shocked when they learned something else about one of the rooms on the second floor of the storage room. It would shock them to the core...
END OF CHAPTER 28...
Yeah. That's it for this chapter. I do hope you all enjoyed reading it, folks.
Honestly, I think I did a decent job with writing the battle against Bowser, even though Andrew isn't usually the one who fights him, and that Bowser fights Mario instead. Still, this showed the Koopa King that Andrew is far stronger than he looks if he's able to hoist him up by the tail as Mario did in Super Mario 64. Don't ever underestimate Andrew, straight up.
Lastly, I do enjoy writing the scenes where Andrew encounters Ms. Mowz in a certain location. Unfortunately, this'll be the last time Andrew encounters her for a while.
Don't worry, I'll have her appear in Chapter 6 for this adaptation of the game. And it will blend in well with the plot and her presence will keep the story flowing forward. I can promise you that. Of course, that won't be for a while.
Anyway, the next chapter is where everything starts to unravel. For the next chapter, Andrew gets another threatening email to stop snooping around about the Crystal Star, and a poisoned cake gets sent to him, which someone else eats instead, X sends Andrew and his four friends on another errand involving a Presto Poster and checking out a locked up room on the second floor of the storage room, which reveals a horrifying sight for the five of them.
And of course, Andrew and his four partners get locked up in an empty room and they have to break out to meet their title match with the Rawk Hawk. Plus the fight between them and the Rawk Hawk will be shown. Along with a few other things. How will this go for them? Find out next time, readers.
In the meantime, only if you like, you can leave a review for this chapter, and tell me what you thought about it overall. Nothing else to say there.
Other than that, that's all that I have to say. So until next time, I do hope you all take care of yourselves. And on that note, thank you for reading once again, everyone!