OK, readers. This is the 36th chapter of this story!
Now, there isn't much for this part of Chapter 4. Andrew and his four partners are trekking through the woods in Twilight Trail, some puzzles have to be solved, Andrew comments on the linear setup of the woods, they deal with Crazee Dayzees, and they make it to Creepy Steeple.
Additionally, they check out the well, find out that they can't get by a window of some kind, release several Boos that are in a chest, deal with an Atomic Boo, deal with more puzzles, and some other stuff will occur. How will this go for the five of them? Read and find out, now!
AT TWILIGHT TRAIL:
It didn't take long for the five travelers to make it back to the Twilight Trail, where the knocked-over tree was. Andrew figured that now would be a great time for him to try out his new paper tube curse, in which he could enter Tube Mode.
"OK, guys. I guess it's time for us to get into Tube Mode," Andrew had to instruct his four partners. "First, let's all go into Paper Mode."
Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Yoshiam nodded as Andrew entered Paper Mode, in which his four partners did the same. Once they were all paper-thin, Andrew gave them the next step that they have to do.
"Great. Now we just have to spin around in circles repeatedly," Andrew told them. "Then we should enter tube mode."
"Hey Andrew? You sure this'll work for us?" Goombella queried.
"I'm sure it will," Andrew said. "Now let's do it."
In a matter of seconds, all five of them spun around in circles repeatedly. In no time at all, the five travelers turned into paper tubes, essentially going into Tube Mode.
"Excellent! Now in this mode, we should be able to slip right underneath this fallen tree," Andrew had to tell them. "Come on!"
Andrew then rolled right under the fallen tree. Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Yoshiam rolled right behind him as they got through the fallen tree.
"OK! Now let's shake our heads and we'll turn back to normal!" Andrew advised them as he shook his head, and went back to normal.
His four partners did the same, as they shook their heads and went back to normal as well.
"Wowsers! Omigosh Andrew!" Goombella had to admit. "That was 'totally' AWESOME! Seriously! I never thought we could do something like that!"
"Wow. That was...something, Andrew," Koops commented. "Pretty neat, with how we rolled up into tubes to get underneath that tree and all."
"My, my, my! That has to be a rather fabulous experience we went through, dearie," Flurrie gleamed. "I daresay, we shall have to do that kind of stuff sometime soon, Andrew!"
"Yahoo! All right! That was pretty rad, Presto," Yoshiam jumped up and down. "Who would've thought that adventurers could do something as impressive as that!?"
"I know guys. It was impressive," Andrew found a Star Piece behind the fallen tree before he pocketed it and saw the forest in the distance. "Hey guys, check out the forest over there!"
"Yeah, Andrew. Looks like some seriously spooky woods over there," Goombella shared with him ala Tattle. "I hear some of the villagers go there to collect herbs. That's 'totally' insane... I'd NEVER go someplace like that on my own, not for a million coins!"
"But Goombella? We're not going in there for a million coins. We're going in there for the Crystal Star," Andrew told her. "Besides, you won't be alone. I'll be right by you to keep you safe. And so will Koops, Flurrie, and Yoshiam."
"Yeah. Well, I guess your right, Andrew," Goombella sighed. "Let's just get this over with..."
"All right then. Let's...huh?" Andrew continued walking forward when he saw something bizarre.
"What's up?" Koops was curious about this.
"Look over there," Andrew pointed as they looked at what it was Andrew noticed.
It was a giant haystack. Based on its triangular appearance, it took the appearance of a pine tree, similar to the ones in the distance where the woods are.
"Jeepers Andrew. That's some strange pile of haystack," Goombella blinked at it. "Wonder how long that's been there..."
"I dunno," Andrew rubbed his chin as he approached it. "But something tells me that it must hold a secret on how we can get to the woods."
"Well Presto, what should we do?" Yoshiam questioned. "What kind of secret does it hold for us? C'mon, man!"
"Lemme check it out," Andrew walked over and touched the haystack and realized something; it was fake. "That's odd. This haystack doesn't feel like a haystack at all. It feels more like a paper mache of a haystack."
"Gee whiz, Andrew..." Koops started speaking. "Ummm...Does that mean...?"
"Yeah, Koops. It means that it's hiding something, which'll be revealed if we get rid of it," Andrew then turned to face his Wind Spirit partner. "Flurrie, would you do the honor and get rid of this haystack for us?"
"Why, 'absolutely', darling," Flurrie floated forward. "I daresay, I am quite curious as to what secret shall be revealed once I blow it away."
Not saying anything else, Flurrie unleashed her Gale Force move on the fake haystack, as she managed to blow it out of the way, revealing a green pipe that leads to another green pipe in the distance.
"Well, that's convenient," Andrew blinked as he walked over and grabbed another Star Piece that was behind the pipe. "Let's get going to the woods in the distance."
His Goomba, Koopa, Wind Spirit, and Yoshi partners all nodded in agreement as all five of them jumped on top of the pipe.
They went down through it, which took them to the pipe in the background. Upon jumping down from it, the five of them headed straight to the woods that were on the left side...
IN THE WOODS - OF TWILIGHT TRAIL:
The first thing Andrew noticed was that the ground was no longer red-orange. It was now purple. He also took notice of all the bare trees and dark green grass that surrounded them, even though the sky was still the same color as it was before they entered the woods. Needless to say, the woods look more dense than the area outside of the woods.
"Wow," Andrew had to blink. "So these are the woods."
"No kidding. We're in the woods now," Goombella had to advise him. "It's 'really' dark here, so watch where you step..."
"We will," Andrew took notice of the linear appearance of the woods, noticing how narrow it was, and that bothered him to the point where he had to comment on it. "Guys? There's something about the linear setup of these woods that bothers me. Like it is the perfect setup for someone to get lost in from having to do a ton of backtracking."
"I must say, it does seem to be a little on the tedious side," Flurrie had to rub her chin. "But we shan't worry too much about it. We're going to get that Crystal Star, defeat this dark creature, and free Twilight Town of its horrible pig curse."
"Exactly, Flurrie," Andrew nodded as they continued walking down the path.
Andrew had to deal with a Crazee Dayzee that tried singing a lullaby to them, but Andrew bashed it with his Super Bat, and then Yoshiam landed his Ground Pound on it. After that, Andrew saw a wooden block which he jumped and hit several times, earning plenty of coins from doing so.
He then saw a thin narrow gap in the grass that they needed to get by via Paper Mode if they hoped to get further through the woods. Letting out a sigh, Andrew went into Paper Mode along with his four partners as they slid right through the gap.
Immediately after making it to the other side, a Crazee Dayzee ambushed them, but Andrew used his Power Swing to dispatch it in no time. He then saw a ?-block nearby in the northeast that he jumped and hit. It revealed to be an Earth 'Quake' item, which Andrew picked up and placed into his backpack.
"Gosh guys," Andrew shook his head. "I never expected these woods to be this dense."
"N-No kidding, Andrew," Koops had to comment. "Sure hope we don't run into vicious monsters in these forests..."
"What kind of monsters?" Andrew raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, you know? The usual," Koops answered fearfully. "Things like zombies, vampires, werewolves, that kind of stuff. Ummm... Golly, thinking about it is making me feel the creeps, Andrew..."
"Oh Koops," Andrew had to assure him. "I seriously doubt that we'll encounter any zombies, vampires, or werewolves in these woods."
"Even if there were, Presto here will bash their heads in without breaking a sweat," Yoshiam had to declare. "Wouldn't you, Presto?"
"Sure. I guess," Andrew shrugged as they continued walking. "But like I said, I doubt we'll encounter those here."
"Mercy me, I shall hope not, Andrew my darling," Flurrie had to gasp. "I must say, I do not fancy the thought of running into a werewolf around this spooky place. Unless he happened to be as attractive and as handsome as you, Andrew."
"Oh c'mon, Flurrie!" Goombella yelped. "There's no way Andrew will turn into a werewolf!"
She then huffed before she added. "Besides, you're thinking about one of those movies where the hero turns into a werewolf!"
"Don't I know it," Flurrie had to sigh. "And I happened to have starred in one of those movies too."
"And I know which movie it was too, Flurrie," Andrew had to smirk. "It was I Was a Teenage WereToad. It was a good classic too."
"Ah yes. Indeed, it was a classic sweetums," Flurrie said. "Anyhow, how far do you think these forests go?"
"Pretty far, and deep too, if I can imagine," Andrew pointed towards the path ahead.
The five of them continued getting through the path when they entered another part of the woods. Here, another Crazee Dayzee was ignorant enough to pick a fight with the five travelers, but they dispatched it right on the spot. Andrew then found a red ?-block, which he jumped and hit it.
It was then a badge came out of it. It was a Bat Throw badge; which was an orange-colored bat-shaped badge.
"Hello? What kind of badge is this?" Andrew picked it up and observed it. "I think this badge might be important for later. I better put it on."
And that's just what he did. He put it on with the rest of the badges he had on under the left flap of his button-up long-sleeved shirt.
"Good find there, Andrew," Goombella winked at him. "You'll never know when you'll have to use that badge in battles."
"No kidding," Andrew put the left flap of his shirt back down. "Anyway, these woods certainly give me the creeps."
"You ain't the only one, Andrew. I feel like something's just gonna pop out of that thicket and attack us! Like what?" Goombella told him. "Well, it could be..."
She stopped herself and froze on the spot.
"What could it be, Goombella?" Andrew asked curiously.
"Stop it!" Goombella yelped in fear as she started shivering. "I don't wanna think about what it might be! Suh-Suh-Scary..."
"Goombella," Andrew sighed as he came up with an idea that he had done before. "Would you like to ride on my right shoulder so you will feel protected?"
"Oh, what? Are you 'totally' falling for me this time?" Goombella asked teasingly, getting Andrew to blush at that. "Kidding Andrew. Just kidding. I'd love to ride on your right shoulder so you can keep me safe."
After shaking off the blush, Andrew grabbed a hold of Goombella and placed her on his right shoulder. "There. Do you feel safer?"
"A little, yes," Goombella nodded with a smile. "Thanks, Andrew. I 'totally' appreciate this from you."
"No problem," Andrew told her as he continued walking with Goombella on his right shoulder, with Koops, Flurrie, and Yoshiam trailing right next to them.
"Ummm...Andrew? I hope that nothing happens to us," Koops had to gulp. "These woods are giving me the heebie-jeebies."
"I think we're all feeling the same way, Koops," Andrew advised him. "Just stick close to me, and you'll be safe. The same goes for you too Flurrie, and Yoshiam."
"Certainly," Flurrie said softly. "I'd be delighted if you shall keep us feeling safe and secured from these treacherous woods."
"Well normally, I wouldn't need that stuff," Yoshiam then had to admit. "But given that these woods also wig me out, I'll be willing to stick right by you, Presto."
Andrew just nodded as he kept walking with Goombella on his right shoulder and Koops, Flurrie, and Yoshiam right next to him. They kept doing this until they reached a dead end.
The dead end in question was a giant leafless tree. Andrew could see a stump with a large hole in the background, which means going through the hole in a tree would lead them to the deeper part of the woods that he saw in the distance.
"Well, it's a dead-end," Goombella moaned. "Whatcha think we should do now, hmm?"
"Hang on," Andrew rubbed his chin before he tapped the tree with his knuckles.
It also felt fake. And that meant there was a secret behind this fake tree too.
"This tree is fake. Which means that there's another secret behind this one too," Andrew turned to face Flurrie. "Flurrie, if you wouldn't mind."
"'Absolutely', Andrew," Flurrie nodded as she floated forward and unleashed her Gale Force move on the fake tree.
She managed to blow it away and unveiled the tree that was under it, which looked identical to the fake tree. The only difference was that there was a giant hole in the center bottom for the five of them to get through.
"Wow. These forests are full of mysteries," Koops had to blink at this.
"All of which seem supernatural," Andrew agreed. "But that's hardly important. We can get by and enter the deepest part of the woods over there. Let's go."
Andrew walked through the hole with Goombella still perched on his right shoulder while Koops, Flurrie, and Yoshiam followed right behind him. In no time at all, they came out of the hole that was in the giant stump that was in the background.
"I'm...not gonna say how that is possible," Goombella blinked. "That would 'totally' wig me outta my mind! Seriously!"
"Well, whatever," Yoshiam shrugged. "Let's get into the deepest part of the woods and find this stupid monster for ourselves!"
"Right," Andrew nodded.
With that, the five travelers made their way to the deepest portion of the woods that was off to the right. They would see that it'll get darker once they get to that portion of the wooded area of Twilight Trail...
IN THE DEEPEST PART OF THE WOODS - ON TWILIGHT TRAIL:
One thing that Andrew took notice of when they got to the deepest part of the woods was that the sky now looked dark blue or purple, with that massive yellow full moon still towering over them. The Creepy Steeple couldn't be much further now.
"Whoa. Are we still in the woods?" Andrew had to blink after claiming some coins from a hidden wooden block that was near a tree. "It's gotten much darker here."
"Yup, still in the woods..." Goombella shivered as she remained on Andrew's right shoulder. "Can't argue with you there, Andrew. It's getting 'awfully' dark around here..."
"Hey Goombella," Andrew then came up with a solution. "Maybe you can use the light on your helmet to get us by here."
"Oh. Duuuuuuuh! Of course!" Goombella proclaimed. "We can use that to get by these dark woods!"
Without saying another word, Goombella turned on the light of her helmet, and a ray of light was pointing in front of the five travelers.
"All right! Now we can see what's in front of us," Koops had to admit. "I was getting the creeps from all of this darkness..."
"And we were having a hard time with seeing what was in front of us," Andrew told him.
Andrew then saw what was ahead of them. A giant rock was blocking their way. There was another rock in the background which looked like it had some connection to the rock in front of them.
Something else that Andrew took notice of was the grayish-purple circle in front of them as he walked across her.
He could feel a wooden panel underneath it. There must be yet another secret here.
"Drats! Looks like we're unable to go on with this rock in the way!" Yoshiam kicked the ground in irritation. "What should we do now?"
"Well, if there were like, a big hole in the ground, you'd probably fall in without seeing it," Goombella felt like sharing.
"Hey, speaking of a hole," Andrew got Goombella's attention as he stomped on the ground where a wooden panel was located. "Do you notice how there's something underneath this circle? There's a paper thingy right in front of it."
"Omigosh! You mean..." Goombella had to gasp as she looked at Andrew.
"That's right. We'll have to blow it away," Andrew then looked towards Flurrie. "All right, Flurrie! You know what to do!"
"I would be most honored to do so, hon," Flurrie floated up and then used her Gale Force move to blow away the paper thingy that was hiding that wooden panel in that circle.
In a matter of seconds, she blew it away and revealed a wooden panel right where that circle was.
"All right, Flurrie! Now we can check this out," Andrew then had to advise his Goomba partners. "Hold on tight, Goombella. I'm about to do the Spin Jump on that wooden panel."
"You don't have to tell me twice," Goombella told him as she kept her grip on Andrew's right shoulder.
Andrew went over to the wooden panel, jumped up, spun around, and performed his Spin Jump on it, causing him to smash right through it butt-first as he went right down the hole.
He then found himself coming out of the hole that was in the background, with Koops, Flurrie, and Yoshiam going in after him and Goombella.
"Well, that was interesting," Andrew dusted himself off. "Now we're in the background again."
"Gotcha! As for holes, we'd fall right through it, like the one you just made," Goombella told him. "Flurrie would float right over it, so I'm sure SHE'S not worried..."
"Why, I do believe you're right, Goombella," Flurrie had to agree with her. "I would float right over it, that it would be a tragedy to see that you folks would've fallen into a hole, and I might have missed seeing you fall in."
"Yup. That would be a problem," Andrew tugged on his handkerchief. "Anyway, maybe if I can push this rock, it might end up moving that giant rock over there."
"Good thinking Andrew! These forests are mysterious!" Goombella had to beam. "Strange things have happened since we got here!"
"Uh huh," Andrew nodded as he went and pushed the rock.
As it turns out, the rock being moved in the background had caused the giant rock to move too. They pretty much solved the puzzle that they needed to get by.
"Wow. That giant rock did move when you pushed this rock," Koops had to admit. "Well, we better get back..."
"You said it," Andrew smiled as the five of them went back for that hole.
"Hey, by the way, Flurrie, I've been meaning to ask you something," Yoshiam had to ask the Wind Spirit. "You are a Wind Spirit and an actress, right? Well, you aren't pulling my leg, right? Or ripping my chain? Cause I'm wondering how you can do both!"
"My, my, my, little Yoshiam. I can assure you that it's very simple for me to handle," Flurrie then decided to share. "'In fact', for some of the movies and plays that I've starred in that require wind as a visual effect, I would be the one to provide that wind for the visuals, in addition to being an actress!"
"She's right," Andrew agreed as the five of them went through that hole and made it back to the main path of the woods. "All the movies I've seen starring her that feature wind were also done by Flurrie. On top of her performing as an actress."
"Gosh, that sounds pretty neat," Koops admitted before seeing a hole where that giant rock was. "Guys, look! A hole is ahead of us!"
"All right. We better go right on through it," Andrew jumped into the hole with Goombella staying on his right shoulder.
Koops, Flurrie, and Yoshiam went through the hole after them, and the five of them popped out of the other hole that was on the other side of the giant rock.
After they got back onto the ground, they got ambushed by a Hyper Cleft; which looked exactly like a Hyper Bald Cleft. Except this one had spikes on its head. Luckily, the five of them were able to dispatch it quickly and were able to make it by.
It was then Andrew saw something behind the tree that was in front of them. It was another Shine Sprite, that was in that clear yellow box. Feeling satisfied with the find, Andrew walked over jumped up, and punched it, causing the Shine Sprite to come out and fall into his hand.
"All right Andrew! Score!" Goombella beamed. "You're 'totally' killing it with finding the Shine Sprites by this point, huh?"
"Yeah Goombella," Andrew had to smirk while putting the Shine Sprite into his backpack. "I'm pretty sure that I can find others around this area."
"You said it," Goombella smirked herself.
"Hey guys! Look!" Yoshiam had to point out. "There's a building straight ahead of us!"
"Hmm?" Andrew could see the blue building that Yoshiam was referring to. "Hey! That must be Creepy Steeple that we're looking for!"
"Cool! I 'totally' knew that we could find it," Goombella said with a sigh. "Let's get over there and get this done and over with already."
"Ummm... OK... I can do this," Koops gulped and nodded.
"Why, I do believe we shall be making progress at all," Flurrie admitted. "Come along, now, dearies!"
"Yeah," Yoshiam had to nod. "Let's get going already!"
And with that, the five of them headed out of Twilight Trail and were gradually approaching the Creepy Steeple that was just ahead of them...
AT THE CREEPY STEEPLE:
It didn't take long for Andrew to make it to the Creepy Steeple along with his four partners. They 'actually' saw that it looked like it was curving to the left at the top.
They saw a giant circular cyan window with a weird pattern on the front, and there was a front door right behind a barred metal fence. The Creepy Steeple also had many dead trees surrounding it, and there was a gate that had something on the front, which meant that it was locked.
There was a small opening nearby that required them to be in Tube Mode, and there was also a well nearby. Needless to say, Andrew was convinced that this was the place.
"Well guys, here we are," Andrew proclaimed as Goombella jumped off and turned off her helmet light.
"This is Creepy Steeple, where the monster supposedly lives..." Goombella declared, cringing at the fact that she had to go in there. "This place creeps me out..."
"That monster lives here, right?" Koops wondered as he gulped. "This place makes me woozy..."
"I do NOT like this place..." Flurrie had to admit with a shiver.
"This place wigs me out..." Yoshiam then declared. "Look, Presto, let's just get that Crystal Star and get out of here, FAST!"
"What about defeating the nasty monster that has been turning people into pigs, Yoshiam?" Andrew had to ask while raising an eyebrow.
"Oh? Oh, right! Yes! Of course!" Yoshiam had to backtrack after he realized that he let something slip. "Let's teach that monster a lesson!"
"Uh, one problem," Koops was already in front of the gate as he pulled the gate to open it, to no avail. "We can't get by through here. Umm... It won't open."
"Weak!" Goombella shouted in an irate manner.
"Oh, my!" Flurrie gasped in shock.
"Lame!" Yoshiam had to gripe at it.
"Oh yes," Andrew pulled on the gate for himself. "This gate is 'definitely' locked. Looks like we're gonna have to go in through another route."
"I kinda wish that we could find another way in fast," Goombella had to admit. "Seeing this place in the moonlight gives me the willies... It looks like a ghost could pop out at any minute. No way I'm going in there."
"You're not serious right now, are you Goombella?" Andrew gave her a look.
"Uh... Although, I guess since YOU'RE with me, Andrew," Goombella had to gulp and say anxiously as she scurried over to Andrew. "I'll give it my best..."
"You'll be OK, Goombella," Andrew had to assure her as he held her in his arms. "I promise."
"Gee, Andrew. Couldn't you sound any more romantic?" Goombella had to retort playfully. "You sound so much like those macho guys that try to please women. Kinda like the Goomba men that I had to put up with at the University of Goom."
"What?" Andrew was blushing again.
"Oh, c'mon, Andrew! I'm just teasing you again," Goombella rolled her eyes as she rubbed her head against his arm. "Sheesh. Y'know by now how much I appreciate you being here for me."
"I know, Goombella," Andrew's blush turned light pink before he noticed a well. "Hey guys, look! There's a well right over there!"
His four partners saw it for himself as they looked curious.
"Wonder where it leads too," Koops had to scratch his head.
"Only one way to find out," Andrew rushed over there with Goombella in his arms. "Let's check it out."
And so Andrew jumped into the well while still carrying Goombella. Flurrie floated after them, and Yoshiam raced down the well too.
"Hey ummm..." Koops approached the well. "Don't leave me here alone..."
After taking a deep breath, Koops jumped down too to join the others down there.
It didn't take them long to reach the bottom, as they saw a jump pad that they could use to get back up. There was also a Buzzy Beetle, which the five of them were able to dispatch fairly quickly.
"All right. So this is the bottom of the well," Andrew looked around.
"That's right. This is the well's bottom..." Goombella explained. "But it seems to have dried up. Which is good for us."
"Oh! That's not the only thing that's good for us Goombella," Andrew pointed out as he saw another Shine Sprite in that yellow clear box near the jump pad. He then went and jumped for the block and punched it, causing the Shine Sprite to fall right into Andrew's hand.
"Aw yeah! Rock on, Presto! You got another one!" Yoshiam had to cheer for his find. "We'll get three of these Shine Sprites in no time!"
"But there's just one problem with that," Andrew had to point out. "You guys have all been powered up already. And no one else has joined our team yet..."
It was then Andrew had to start thinking while rubbing his chin. "Come to think of it, who do you think will join our team next?"
"Beats me, Andrew," Goombella proclaimed. "We'll have to find out for ourselves."
"I guess your right," Andrew sighed as he put the Shine Sprite into his backpack with the other Shine Sprite he had just recently found.
"Anyway, there's a corridor leading out of here..." Goombella directed him to the pathway ahead of them. "Smells like a puzzle to me, Andrew!"
"Good thinking," Andrew smiled. "Let's check this room out."
And so the five of them went into the room to the right. As soon as they entered there, there was a flock of Buzzy Beetles and Spike Tops in there, eager to pick a fight with them.
Of course, Andrew used a POW Block that he kept all this time to flip them over. Koops plowed into them with his Power Shell, and Andrew performed his Multibounce on every one of them, dispatching them in a flash.
As soon as they were taken care of, Andrew took notice of a red ?-block that caught his attention. He went over and jumped underneath it and hit it. The block then unveiled a badge shortly afterwards.
Specifically, it was a Tornado Badge, which Andrew managed to pick up. He then took out his badge kit and placed it in there with the rest of his badges. After he put the badge kit back into his backpack, he took notice of something particularly strange.
It was some kind of window that could be pushed back, but apparently couldn't be pulled out. This got Andrew to raise his eyebrow as he commented on it.
"Hey guys," he approached it. "What do you suppose this thing is?"
"I dunno. Some kinda window, I guess," Goombella made a random guess.
"I wonder what's beyond it," Andrew mused. "Maybe I can move it out of the way..."
And so Andrew tried to remove it so they could get by. Unfortunately, the next few moments were spent trying to remove it, with all attempts resulting in failures. At first, he tried pushing it, but it wouldn't go past the top. He tried pulling it, but it wouldn't come out. He tried batting at it repeatedly, but it didn't budge. He tried to kick jump it, but no success.
Koops tried to plow through it with his Shell Toss after Andrew jumped and kicked him right into it as soon as he was in his shell. It didn't get demolished.
Flurrie also tried to use her Gale Force to blow the window away. But that proved to be fruitless too, as it wasn't going anywhere.
And Yoshiam attempted to wrap his tongue around the bar to pry it out by force. All that did was ram the Yoshi kid into the window, where it clonked him square in the face as he released his tongue from the window.
As soon as Andrew helped Yoshiam up and got his tongue back into his mouth, he stared at the window and was pretty much unable to do anything to it.
"Well, this is a downer. We can't remove it," Andrew moaned. "Goombella? Do you have any suggestions?"
"I gotta say, I'm outta ideas," Goombella had to admit. " I mean, you can't pull it out, push it away, bat at it, or jump-kick it. Koops can't plow right through it in his shell. Flurrie can't blow it away. And even Yoshiam couldn't pry it out with his tongue... What should we do, Andrew?"
"I was hoping that you'd know," Andrew told her. "Because I've done everything that I could think of doing to it."
"Hmm... I got nothing," Goombella sighed. "I'm thinking we probably oughta just leave it for now."
"I guess so," Andrew moaned. "We have no way of removing it. Let's get out of the well."
"OK, Andrew," Koops said. "I'm sorry we couldn't do anything to it."
"My darling, I do sincerely apologize if our attempts to remove it were fruitless," Flurrie told him sincerely.
"Yeah, dude. That window is one tough nut to crack!" Yoshiam had to snap his fingers. "I guess there's nothing we can do about it!"
"It's fine. Let's go," Andrew jumped onto the jump pad and went back outside in front of the Creepy Steeple.
Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Yoshiam joined him afterwards as all five of them were not out front of the gate again. It was then Andrew saw a small gap to the side that they could get through by using Tube Mode.
"Hey, guys? We can get through this gap to get into the steeple," Andrew pointed out. "We'll just have to go into Tube Mode to get by it."
And that's just what they did. They went into Tube Mode to get through the gap and made it to the other side of the gate. Once they were near the front door, they got out of Tube Mode and returned to normal.
After Andrew found a Star Piece to the left of the main gate, by the back side, he walked over to the front door and opened it up for himself and his partners.
"Well, shall we head on inside?" Andrew told them.
They simply nodded as the five of them entered the Creepy Steeple for themselves.
Once they set foot inside the steeple, they took a look at the place for themselves. It was massive on the inside.
There was a pathway right above them, with parts of the path having crumbled over time. There was also a stained glass window above them, with a strange picture that Andrew felt was sorta suspicious.
There was some light coming in from the full moon, albeit slightly. Needless to say, Andrew was a little curious about the setup.
"Huh. Some creepy place, isn't it?" Andrew rubbed his chin.
"Yeah. At least the moon provides a LITTLE light, y'know?" Goombella said with a slight shudder. "This place seems super old, huh? I'd like to research it...as soon as it's not haunted."
"Yeah. You're an aspiring archaeologist. You should," Andrew told her. "Unfortunately, I don't think this place will ever stop being haunted."
"That's what I mean," Goombella rolled her eyes at this.
"Hey, uh, Andrew," Koops got his attention. "Check that out."
The shy Koopa was pointing towards a gap that led into a secret room, and this caught the muscular man's attention.
"Hey, there's probably something useful in there," Andrew decided to go into Tube Mode again. "Let's check it out!"
"I daresay, perhaps it might lead us to something we could use on our quest, Andrew," Flurrie proclaimed. "We shall see for ourselves."
"You got that right," Yoshiam declared. "Let's check that room out for ourselves, Presto!"
"Got it," Andrew nodded at that.
All five of them went into Tube Mode and went into the secret room beyond that gap. Once they got in there, they found two brown treasure chests, a Star Piece, and a Shine Sprite in that clear yellow box. Along with a bunch of useless junk that hasn't been used in ages, and a lot of cobwebs.
The five of them returned to normal as Goombella had to balk on the spot upon seeing the cobwebs, while Andrew rubbed his chin, walked over to the Star Piece, grabbed it, and pocketed it.
"It would appear that this happens to be a storeroom located in the Creepy Steeple," Andrew mused. "And there's some treasure here that we can claim."
"Sheesh, have a few cobwebs!" Goombella yelped in fright. "I'm not so good with ghosts OR spiders, to be honest..."
"I know that Goombella," Andrew went and claimed the Shine Sprite that was in that clear yellow box. "But I haven't seen any spiders yet."
"And ghost spiders...horrible." Goombella felt a chill crawl up her spine.
"Are there such a thing as ghost spiders?" Andrew queried. "Why are we talking about this? I just found our third Shine Sprite!"
"Cool, Andrew. Way to go," Koops told him. "Wonder what's in these other chests."
"Let's find out for ourselves," Andrew opened the chest on the left.
It contained an Ice Swing Badge, which showed a bat that was covered in ice. Andrew mused at the sight of it as he put it in his badge kit which he took out of his backpack.
"Whoa, Presto! That's another badge!" Yoshiam stated. "You've been on a roll with finding those bad boys."
"I've been told that before," Andrew put his badge kit into his backpack. "Let's check the treasure chest on the right."
Andrew walked over and opened it up. When he opened it, he saw something that was in there. It was a book. Specifically a cookbook and it was covered in dust.
"What the...?" Andrew took it out and wiped off the dust. "Hey! This is a cookbook!"
"Oh, my word! Mercy me, darling!" Flurrie seemed curious by this. "Wonder why that's been in there."
"I dunno," Andrew couldn't help but look through it a little. "I'm pretty sure the monster who lives here is too lazy to cook himself."
"Wowsers, Andrew!" Goombella had to blink at the book. "Y'know what this is? This happens to be the book of the famous chef, Maitre Delish!"
"Maitre Delish? I think of heard of him," Andrew queried. "Wasn't he a famous legendary chef?"
"Exactly!" Goombella nodded. "Y'know, I never told you this, but my mom was always a good cook! She happened to take inspiration from Maitre Delish's recipes! Not that, y'know, she could copy the recipe bit by bit. But she did try her best to make them look as perfect as possible to them."
"Really? That's nice, Goombella," Andrew had to smile at her. "I'm glad you told me this."
"Thanks," Goombella beamed. "Tell me, Andrew, was your mom a good cook?"
Andrew was rather apprehensive about answering that, considering that this was his mother that she was referring to. He did remember all the times that she used to cook a well-put-together dinner for him, and he has had some ways around a kitchen as well. How else would he be able to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily?
After thinking of it, he felt that a short simple answer wouldn't hurt to give to her.
"Yes, Goombella," Andrew sighed. "Yes, she was."
"Oh! Good!" Goombella beamed, satisfied that Andrew told her something else about himself.
She still had a long way to go, but she was making some progress.
"Wow! Uh, golly!" Koops couldn't help but look on. "Must've been some important cook. I must admit, Koopie Koo sometimes needs help from a cookbook to make our meals. You know? Before my dad came back to live in Petalburg. And even then, Koopie Koo still needs the cookbook for certain meals."
"That's rather nice, Koops," Andrew told him calmly.
"Hey darling," Flurrie was curious about something. "By any chance, are there any recipes in there involving caviar? I haven't had a good caviar meal in ages!"
"I think there is, Flurrie," Andrew searched through the Cookbook and found what he was looking for. "Ah-HA! They 'actually' have one that uses Cheep Cheep caviar! Hmmm, wow! Very impressive!"
"Oh, how simply marvelous, Andrew," Flurrie had to swoon. "I can already see myself stuffing my face at the thought of having a delectable caviar meal."
"C'mon! Why are we talking about food now!" Yoshiam had to complain. "All this talk about food is making me hungry! And we are nowhere near an area where we can find food!"
"Oh, we're 'terribly' sorry, Yoshiam," Andrew had to skim through the book. "We didn't mean to make you hungry."
"Nah, it's all cool, Presto," Yoshiam waved off. "It just helps me to get eager for another fight."
"That's good, I suppose," Andrew nodded before closing the Cookbook. "Looks like we better leave this place since there's nothing else that we can take."
"Totally with you on that," Goombella was eager to get out of the room. "By the way, what are you gonna do with that Cookbook?"
"Hmmmm...You know what? I'm gonna keep it," Andrew decided to put it into his backpack. "If worse comes to shove, and we're in a situation, we can also use a recipe to make us some delicious grub from this book."
"Not a bad idea, Andrew," Goombella had to wink at him. "Trust me. There's some good recipes in there."
"I do trust you," Andrew had to smile at her. "Now, let's get out of this storeroom."
All of them agreed as they went back into Tube Mode and left the storeroom. As soon as they left the room, they returned to normal and walked down further into the main room.
Andrew then caught the attention of a star statue. He had to wonder if that statue was supposedly a Crystal Star Statue. There was something about it that looked suspicious. And it also looked important too.
"Hey guys," Andrew pointed towards the statue. "I bet that statue is hiding something important for us!"
"Omigosh! You're right, Andrew!" Goombella blinked. "I think you can push that statue, and sometimes, a hole will be revealed underneath. That's part of Adventurers 101 in my book, y'know what I mean?"
"Sure do," Andrew walked up to it and decided to push it. "All 'righty', here I go."
Andrew went and pushed the statue to the right. As soon as it couldn't be pushed anymore, a hole appeared right under where the statue was resting. It didn't take longer for Andrew to almost fall into it as he caught himself and teetered off to the side as he caught himself.
"Andrew, hon," Flurrie floated over to him. "You OK, darling? You aren't hurt, are you?"
"Yeah. I guess so," Andrew sighed as Flurrie helped him up while Goombella, Koops, and Yoshiam ran over to join them. "I think this hole will lead us to somewhere. Let's go check it out!"
"Good idea, Andrew," Koops had to admit. "I'm pretty sure we may not get through the steeple unless we check it out. It's just like our time in Hooktail Castle, where we had to solve many puzzles."
"Exactly," Andrew nodded. "Now come on! Let's go!"
All four of them nodded as the five travelers jumped down the hole and landed on a jump pad which bounced them to the side. Flurrie was the only exception, as she floated down to join the others.
"Whoa! That was pretty cool," Yoshiam blinked before shaking his head. "Wonder what we'll find next..."
"Well, we'll have to find out," it was then that Andrew saw a paper flap covering a secret walkway that must have something valuable beyond it. "Hey! Here's another paper flap that's blocking some kind of secret for us to look into! OK, Flurrie? You know what you need to do."
"I'm already ahead of you, dearie," Flurrie then went ahead and performed her Gale Force move on the paper flap, blowing it away in the process.
Once she was done, the flap was blown away and it revealed a secret passageway for them to explore. Andrew motioned his four partners to follow him as the five of them went through the passageway. At the end of the passageway, Andrew came across a brown treasure chest.
"Hey guys, look! Another treasure chest," Andrew pointed out.
"Wonder what's inside," Goombella proclaimed. "Only one way to find out, right?"
"Of course," Andrew then opened the treasure chest and looked to see what was in it.
He had found yet another badge. This time, it was a Flower Saver Badge. He took out his badge kit for the umpteenth time and placed the badge in there.
"Sure seems like you've been hauling a good score of badges today since we've gone into the woods of Twilight Trail, huh?" Goombella smirked.
"Yeah," Andrew put the badge kit into his backpack. "Well, now that that's over with, let's check the room that's beyond the door to the left."
"Okay doke, Andrew," Koops nodded. "You know where it is..."
Without saying anything else, the five of them left the secret room and headed for the door to the right.
They ended up in another corridor, where the torches were lit up right above them.
"What is this place," Andrew scratched his head. "Is this another corridor?"
"Seems to be an underground corridor in Creepy Steeple," Goombella explained. "The flames are kinda freaky. The fact that they're burning means someone must've been here recently, though."
"I wonder what the reason for it is," Andrew saw the door to the right and tried opening it, but it wouldn't budge. "Looks like this door is locked on the inside."
"Hey, Presto! Check out this chest!" Yoshiam pointed out to the chest that was in the middle of the room.
It looked different from the other chests that he had seen. For one, it was shaped like a cube. It also had a rose on the front with thorns on both sides of it. And it was green in color.
"That's odd," Andrew approached the chest. "I've never seen this type of chest before."
"Neither have I," Goombella agreed. "Oh well. Guess one way we can find out what's inside of it is to open it, don'tcha think?"
"Uh-huh," Andrew nodded as he then proceeded to open it up.
As he tried opening it, the chest started shaking several times, which got their attention.
"Hmmm?" Andrew raised his eyebrow, as did his four partners.
Before they knew it, the chest flew open, and bursting out of the chest was a whole lot of Boos, all of which floated out of it. This was enough to get Andrew to wince and his partners to jump and gasp in fright.
"What the...?!" Andrew winced.
"OMIGOSH!" Goombella yelled in panic.
"GEE WHIZ!" Koops shouted in fear.
"MERCY ME!" Flurrie bellowed dramatically like she almost had a heart attack.
"WHOOOOOOOOOA!" Yoshiam howled at the surprise from all of those Boos.
"Uhhhh..." Andrew found his voice as the Boos still flew out of the chest. "Those are Boos, right?"
"Yeah. They are," Goombella panted while she confirmed.
By then, all of the Boos that were in the chest had got out and it seemed that all of them went back upstairs in the steeple. But at the last moment, one last Boo popped out of the chest and looked at the five travelers right in the eye.
"OK! It's quiz time, interloper!" The Boo announced like he was a game show host. "Just now, when the box opened... How many of us Boos came out? Total!"
"There were so many, I lost track," Andrew had to shake his head at trying to remember how many came out. "Though if I can imagine correctly, I'm gonna say there were 200 Boos in that box, total."
"Good... Very good," that one Boo decided to leave a present for them and their troubles. "Take this...math nerd."
The Boo dropped what seemed to be an Ultra Shroom, which got Andrew to give him a rather shocked expression.
"Uhhhh, thanks... I think," Andrew said awkwardly.
"Yeah. Yeah," the Boo rolled his eyes. "See you, sucker..."
He then flies off to join the other Boos who had escaped from the box.
"Andrew? How did you know there were 200 Boos in there?" Goombella had to ask.
"It was a lucky guess," Andrew then walked over to grab the Ultra Shroom. "Well, looks like I have two Ultra Shrooms now."
"Wow. Didn't think that Boo had one of those on hand," Koops had to rub his left arm. "Lucky gift, I imagine."
"No kidding," Andrew put the Ultra Shroom in his backpack. "Now come on! We better go back upstairs!"
"Why, I am more than honored to go back upstairs after the fright that we had to endure from those ghosts," Flurrie told him.
"Yeah. That stuff creeped me out," Yoshiam had caught his breath. "Let's blow this underground corridor or whatever the heck it's called."
"Got it," Andrew then went back out the door he came in from, along with his four partners as they used the jump pad to go back up to the main hallway in the Creepy Steeple.
Once they made it back up, the five of them saw a single Boo standing in the middle of the room. They could hear him sniffling to himself, as this got them a little curious.
"Look there," Andrew pointed out. "It's another Boo."
"You think it's one of the Boos from that box?" Goombella had to ask.
"Maybe," Andrew rubbed his chin. "There's only one way to find out. Let's go check it out."
And so, the five travelers cautiously approached the lonely Boo that was standing there. Once they were in front of it, Andrew decided to get its attention.
"Uh, hello?" Andrew greeted the Boo cautiously.
"Are you going to be mean to me?" The Boo asked him all of a sudden.
Andrew and his partners were taken aback by that question coming out of nowhere. Why would this Boo ask if they were gonna be mean to him? Why should it care?
Nonetheless, Andrew wasn't interested in looking for trouble of the sort, especially one from a ghost such as this Boo. After clearing his throat, Andrew decided to give him his honest answer.
"No," Andrew said. "We're not looking for trouble. Honest."
It was then that the Boo covered his face in a typical manner before he grew in size and revealed his face to them in a spooky manner.
"Promise?" The Boo asked.
"Whoa!?" Andrew, Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Yoshiam all jumped and yelped at that, before that Boo decided to holler.
"Come on out, guys!" The Boo yelled out.
All of a sudden, the entire room got filled up with all of the Boos that were released from the box in the basement. The five travelers were speechless at first until they saw that the Boos were surrounding them as if they were attempting to flock and drag them collectively.
"What the...?" Andrew felt some of the Boos surrounding him. "What's going on? What are they doing?"
"OMIGOSH!" Goombella yelped in panic as one of the Boos almost touched her. "These Boos are trying to grab us and throw us out! They 'totally' aren't down with us being in their home!"
"Ummm...uh oh..." Koops shuddered as he almost felt a Boo smack him on the shell before he hid his head into his shell a bit. "This isn't good...Andrew. Man...What do we do?"
"By the stars! That shan't be a good thing!" Flurrie yelled dramatically as a Boo came in close contact with her massive buxom. "I don't fancy the thought of having some ghosts throw us out of their home like this!"
"Lemme at 'em!" Yoshiam howled his battle cry as he smacked the Boos that were surrounding him away. "I'll show these Boos a thing or two for trying to kick us out!"
"Don't worry, guys! I've got this!" Andrew got out his Super Bat and started doing his Super Bat swing. "Flurrie, give me a hand!"
Flurrie simply nodded as she used her Gale Force move on the Boos that tried to grab them, while Andrew smacked the Boos away with a swing of his Super Bat. It only took a couple of minutes for them to back off as the one Boo from before materialized right in front of them.
"Heee... Hoooo... Heee..." The Boo huffed before declaring. "You said you'd be nice!"
"'Actually' you guys were trying to attack us and throw us out," Andrew deadpanned in annoyance as Koops stuck his head out from his shell again. "So we were only reacting as we should've."
The Boo shook its head and yelled. "Let's get him, guys!"
It was then all of the Boos went up and started fusing. It didn't take long for all of them to combine 'together' to form one giant Boo, which was known as the Atomic Boo.
"YAH!" The Atomic Boo bellowed before charging for them.
"Guys! We better GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Andrew yelled out.
It didn't take long for all five of them to get out of the way in time, as they then found themselves in front of the Atomic Boo. After catching themselves, Andrew had to look towards this Goomba partner and asked her the appropriate question.
"Goombella? Do you have any information on this ghost?" Andrew had to ask.
"H-Hold on...I'm getting it," Goombella stuttered as she got out her Tattle Log and started searching for the Atomic Boo in there.
It didn't take long for her to find it. "Ah-HA! Here it is!"
"Well, what does it say?" Andrew asked her.
"I'll read it to you," Goombella then started reading it out loud. "That's an Atomic Boo. It's a giant Boo made up of a ton of smaller Boos."
"I think we figured that one out after they fused 'together'," Andrew rubbed his neck at that.
"Yeah. Well, anyway, this thing will try to smoosh us," Goombella continued. " It can also split up and send hundreds of Boos at us. And, when we attack, we might get so scared that we get confused or can't move."
"Yeesh," Andrew had to tug at his handkerchief. "We certainly can't have that! We'll have to avoid that at all costs!"
"No kidding," Goombella started to shudder as she then finished saying. "I sure wouldn't want to see this thing standing behind me in the middle of the night... Creeeeeepy..."
"Ulp...T-That wouldn't be good," Koops agreed, feeling himself shiver at the thoughts of this giant ghoul sneaking into his house in the middle of the night just to spook him.
"Yeah. I sure wouldn't like that," Andrew then saw that the Atomic Boo was about to perform a Heavy Drop on Goombella, which got his attention. "Goombella! Watch out!"
Goombella looked up and saw the Atomic Boo try to get the drop on her, but Andrew came in the nick of time as he scooped her up and did a somersault a few feet forward on the ground, making sure the Atomic Boo missed entirely.
"Whew. That was close," Andrew wiped his forehead. "You OK, Goombella?"
"Whenever you save me like that, I am," Goombella smiled. "That'll never get old."
"Can't argue with that," Andrew smirked. "Now let's go! We got a giant Boo to take down!"
"Right!" Goombella beamed as they both charged for the Atomic Boo.
Andrew started with his Power Bounce, in which he landed 11 hits in a row. Goombella followed up by using her Multibonk, where she struck the Atomic Boo 8 times.
Koops would've liked to hit him, but he couldn't reach it. And every time he'd try to hit it with his Shell Toss or Power Shell, the Atomic Boo would float up and get out of the way in time. All Koops could do was get in his shell and propel himself to avoid the Atomic Boo's attacks.
Flurrie was more fortunate with battling though. She was able to make good contact with her Body Slam attack, doing a significant amount of damage. She also performed her Lip Lock on the Atomic Boo, kissing it and draining some of its energy out while adding it to her own.
As for Yoshiam, he certainly was having the time of his life battling with this humongous ghost. He flutter-jumped into the air to perform his Ground Pound on it. Once he was above it, he spun around in the air and struck the Atomic Boo five times in a row.
There was also a point where the Atomic Boo would summon a Boo Swarm to attack the five intruders. But Yoshiam was way ahead of them, as he used his tongue to swallow each one of them whole. This was the fuel Yoshiam needed to pull off his Mini-Egg move.
After holding his butt up to the left, he managed to lay three small Yoshi Eggs, each one with different colored spots. One had green spots, another had pink spots, and the last had yellow spots.
Without wasting a second, Yoshiam took the three eggs one at a time where he tossed them directly at the Atomic Boo, resulting in three successful hits. Needless to say, Andrew was impressed by how Yoshiam pulled that off.
"Way to go, Yoshiam," Andrew told him. "I'm impressed by how you pulled that off!"
"Yeah!? It was pretty sweet, wasn't it," Yoshiam told him.
"Well, as nice as it is, there's still so much energy in this ghoul," Goombella panted. "Jeepers! Isn't there any way we can tire this oversized ghost faster!?"
"You know? I might have something," Andrew snapped his fingers as he remembered something important. "I've been wanting to do this for a while now. And I think it's time to put it to use."
"I beg your pardon, darling?" Flurrie raised an eyebrow. "By whatever do you mean by that?"
"Oh just a little special move that we got from the latest Crystal Star we've gotten," Andrew took out the Magical Map and held it over his head. "And we can summon the Gold Star to do it."
"Ummm...Wait, Andrew?" Koops tried to say. "Do you mean...?"
"Yes, Koops," Andrew nodded as the Gold Star came to their aid. "Time to try out Power Lift!"
It was then the Gold Star started dropping some stuff for the muscular man to touch, while the Atomic Boo was startled by the bright light that was coming from the Gold Star, using its Hide move to disappear.
Andrew saw that there were several orange up arrows, and blue up arrows that were falling. Andrew then ran and touched each one of them before they fell on the ground in a yellow-orange sparkle. Andrew figured out that the orange ones raise their attack while the blue ones raise their defense.
After a few minutes, Andrew managed to touch 16 orange arrows and 12 blue arrows. It was then the Gold Star vanished in the blink of an eye as it sprinkled that yellow-orange sparkles around them. Andrew felt himself get more strength and got covered by a thick armor to protect himself. His four partners felt the same way, as they were quick to react to it.
"Omigosh! That felt 'totally' AWESOME!" Goombella had to beam. "I dunno what happen, but I feel like a stronger and firmer Goomba girl, ready to fight harder and defend myself better!"
"Wow! That was...something," Koops had to agree. "Feel like my shell got a little harder on the surface."
"I daresay, that was a terrific experience," Flurrie had to admit. "I take it that the Power Lift ability was responsible for gifting us with a little pick-me-up and a boost in strength!"
"Aw yeah! Who cares how it happened?! This is so cool!" Yoshiam was more than raring to fight again. "I'm ready to kick the butt of this ghost and send 'em packing!"
"You know something? I feel like I've just had several protein bars and iron pills. And it feels great!" Andrew admitted with a smile. "Now let's take care of this Atomic Boo!"
With that, Andrew decided to use his Bat Throw attack on the Atomic Boo, in which he held his bat over his head and tossed it directly at the ghost, hitting him square in the face.
Based on the screech that came out, it must've done more damage than usual.
"All right! Now we're talking!" Goombella beamed as she stormed up. "Let's give it our all!"
Goombella then went and performed her Headbonk on the Atomic Boo, which did more damage than usual. Flurrie followed up with another Body Slam to the big Boo, and Yoshiam struck it with another Ground Pound. Both attacks collided and did more damage than usual.
It was then the Atomic Boo decided to use its Summon, in which several Boos came out of it and surrounded the five travelers before they struck them with the move. They then regrouped and went back into the Atomic Boo.
Andrew felt his heart pounding from that as he was panting along with Koops, Flurrie, and Yoshiam, while Goombella looked so terrified that she stopped moving.
"Whoa! Who would've thought that this Atomic Boo could do something like that," Andrew had to wipe his forehead. "What do you think Goombella?"
It was then he saw that Goombella wasn't moving or talking, and this got him concerned. "Goombella? Goombella, what's wrong?"
"Oh, my stars!" Flurrie had to gasp at this. "Goombella must've become frozen with fear from that move they did! Just like she warned us to stay cautious of!"
"Oh, great," Andrew moaned as he saw that the Atomic Boo was about to use its Spook move next to do more damage to Goombella. "Don't worry Goombella. I'll save you!"
With a sprint, Andrew stormed over to the frozen Goomba girl, where he scooped her in his arms again and rolled out of the way in time so they wouldn't be affected by it. Andrew felt how frozen Goombella was, so he was going to keep her with him for protection.
Meanwhile, Koops was having his 'own' problems. The Atomic Boo was attempting to scare the shy Koopa to be frozen with fear too. He'd keep defending himself by going into his shell and rolling out of the way.
This did him little good as the Atomic Boo kept attempting to attack him, and it was only a matter of time before Koops became frozen too.
Andrew witnessed this and was growing anxious. Only Flurrie and Yoshiam were still raring to fight. Goombella was frozen and Koops was barely hanging in there while being unable to attack the Atomic Boo.
It was then Andrew came up with an idea. It was something similar to a couple of things that he'd done previously, but he decided to give it a go.
I just hope that this plan works... Andrew thought as he put Goombella in his backpack to keep her safe.
"Hey, Koops!" Andrew ran up to him. "Do you mind if you can stay in your shell?"
"Ummm...sure. I can," Koops muffled from the inside. "I don't think I can face that ghost right now, anyway."
"That's fine with me," Andrew nodded. "Listen, I'm gonna give you a boost so you can strike that Atomic Boo in the air. Does that sound good?"
"Oh. You mean like what you did with Hooktail?" Koops wondered. "Sure. Guess I can do that."
"OK," Andrew smiled as he grabbed Koops by the shell.
Koops then started spinning in place once Andrew tossed him into the air. Once he was in the air, Andrew took out his Super Bat, and once Koops was in close range of him, he swung his bat and caused Koops to ricochet right into the Atomic Boo, plowing right into it multiple times before falling to the ground.
As soon as Koops was within a few feet from Andrew, he grabbed his shell again and then approached Flurrie. "Hey Flurrie? Could you do me a favor?"
"Why sure, sweetums," Flurrie floated down to him. "Whatever do you need from me?"
"I would like you to give me a lift on your back so we can attack this Atomic Boo together," Andrew instructed her. "If I can get close enough, I can toss Koops in his shell to make a significant impact on this giant ghost."
"Why, that does sound like a splendid idea. It also seems like what you did when we fought that colossal Magnus von Grapple machine that one time," Flurrie mused. "All right, dearie. I'll be honored to give you a lift!"
"Thank you," Andrew got on her back with Koops still in his shell and Goombella still in his backpack. "And Yoshiam! I'm gonna need you to use your tongue to catch Koops in his shell and toss him back at the Atomic Boo to cause more damage!"
"You got it, Presto!" Yoshiam showed Andrew his tongue. "I'm ready!"
"OK. Ready to start, Flurrie?" Andrew asked his Wind Spirit partner.
"Gladly," Flurrie floated up and once she was in front of the Atomic Boo, she stopped.
"Perfect," Andrew then took Koops in his shell and was ready to throw him at the ghost. "OK, Koops! Get ready to impale that ghost several times in a row!"
"Ummm...OK! I can do this, Andrew!" Koops muffled in his shell.
"All right! Here we go!" As soon as Andrew said 'go', he tossed Koops towards the Atomic Boo, where he struck and plowed into it multiple times.
Once he saw Koops heading for Yoshiam, Andrew took out his Super Bat and was planning to hit Koops into the Atomic Boo again once he came back from Yoshiam throwing him at the giant Boo.
Then right on cue, Yoshiam wrapped his tongue around Koops and started spinning his tongue until he released him from his tongue, causing Koops to spin in his shell while making more direct contact with the huge Boo, plowing several more times before heading back to Andrew.
Once he was in close range, Andrew swung his bat and sent Koops back into the Atomic Boo before heading for Yoshiam, who then did the same thing as before, and vice versa, and so on. This little routine went on for a few minutes or so, as they noticed that the Atomic Boo was starting to run out of steam.
By now, Goombella was coming to her senses as she no longer was frozen from fear. She groaned and shook her head.
"Ugh...Oh man, what happened?" Goombella groaned.
"Oh, Goombella! You're all right!" Andrew told her as he saw her squirm in his backpack.
"Andrew? What's going on? And why am I in your backpack?" Goombella had to ask him. "Did that Atomic Boo do something to me?"
"Sure did," Andrew told her. "The Atomic Boo did something that scared you into fear, where you couldn't move. So I grabbed you and put you in my backpack..."
"For protection, am I right?" Goombella couldn't help but smirk. "Gee Andrew. For a modest person, you sure are quite the hero of mine. That's twice during the same battle. I'm impressed."
"Yeah. I know," Andrew said as he saw the Atomic Boo has almost had it. "Looks like we can wrap this up with one more attack! Goombella, would you mind Headbonking this ghost for us?"
"I'd thought you'd never ask," Goombella smirked as she got onto Andrew's shoulders. "This is for scaring me into a frozen state of fear!"
With that, Goombella leaped off of Andrew's shoulder and landed a strong Headbonk on the Atomic Boo's head. By now, Yoshiam grabbed Koops who was still in his shell, and brought him back down to the ground. Once Koops emerged from his shell, he felt his head spinning as he was seen shaking it.
Once Goombella struck the giant Boo two times on the head, she did a back flip through the air where she then landed right where Koops and Yoshiam were standing.
Flurrie floated back down and joined them along with Andrew, who jumped off of Flurrie and stood right in front of them. By now, the effects of Power Lift have finally worn off, as the five of them returned to normal.
It was apparent that the Atomic Boo couldn't fight anymore, as it was making that typical Boo screech that they make.
In a matter of seconds, the Atomic Boo exploded, causing all of the Boos to be sent packing in all directions. Needless to say, the five travelers were relieved that it was over.
"Whew! That was way TOO close," Andrew wiped his forehead. "Glad that we took care of that."
"You're telling me," Goombella shivered. "Glad to know that you came to my aid when I was frozen with fear. I could've been a goner if it weren't for you."
"Anytime, Goombella," Andrew smiled at her.
"Gee whiz. Sure glad that's over," Koops wiped the sweat off of his nose. "Don't think I would've liked it if I was startled by that ghost. Just like Goombella was."
"My, my, my! Mercy me!" Flurrie waved her hand in her face. "I daresay, that we did a tremendous job with averting the rest of us becoming frozen with fear. And it was thanks to our muscular heroic man Andrew here for planning out how we should handle that cad!"
"Awww, it was nothing, Flurrie," Andrew rubbed the back of his neck at that. "Really..."
"Hey, Presto! Check that out!" Yoshiam then pointed to something that fell on the floor around the same time that the Atomic Boo exploded.
It was a badge. Specifically, it was a Lucky Start badge, and to Andrew, it looked important as he walked up to it.
"Hey. We got another badge," Andrew picked it up and looked at it. "Seems like that Atomic Boo had possession of this badge. And now it's our."
"Like heck it is," Goombella beamed as Andrew took out his badge kit and put it in there. "I know it's been said before, but you've been getting a good haul of badges here, Andrew."
"I think I noticed that," Andrew told her as he put the badge kit back into his backpack. "Now, let's continue exploring the steeple so we can find a way to reach the top floor."
"Hey, Andrew! Look at that door!" Koops pointed to the door that was to the south of where they were standing. "Should we check that door out?"
"Good thinking, Koops," Andrew gave him a thumbs up before walking towards that door. "Let's go."
His partners nodded and followed Andrew to the door, which he opened up and the five of them walked right through it, as they appeared in one of the courtyards of the Creepy Steeple.
They felt the breeze in the air as they walked onward. A couple of Swoopers had swooped in and tried to attack them, but Andrew was able to fend them off and dispatch them in no time. Andrew then saw that the courtyard was just as spooky as the inside of the steeple itself.
"Goodness," Andrew had to tug on his handkerchief. "This place is pretty spooky too."
"No kidding. This is a courtyard of Creepy Steeple, though," Goombella then saw the garden in the distance. "Boy, that garden sure could use some love."
"Garden? You sure that's a garden Goombella?" Andrew had to blink at it. "Because it looks more like a graveyard of some kind. Not only that but there is a dense fog covering parts of that garden that you are referring to."
"I know what you mean, Andrew," Goombella couldn't with Andrew about that. "Anyway, aside from the switch, there isn't much here."
"What switch?" Andrew asked as Goombella pointed towards it with her right foot.
It was a typical red switch like the one that he had seen before. Next to it was a door that led into another room in the steeple. This caught Andrew's attention as he rubbed his chin.
"Gee whiz..." Koops said. "What do you suppose that switch is for?"
"Hmmm...I have a hunch," Andrew mused. "Let's check this room out."
Andrew opened the door as the five of them poked their heads in and saw it for themselves. It was a regular spacious room with three doors above, and one single staircase that was in the center. This came as a bit confusing for Goombella.
"Wow, interesting staircase... Hmmm... Just one staircase, but three doors..." Goombella had to think. "What's the story with THAT, you think? Lazy architects?"
"Or maybe it's another puzzle," Andrew pointed out. "And it must have something to do with the switch we just passed."
"Oh, my, my! Andrew, my darling!" Flurrie had to swoon. "You must know something about what kind of puzzle this one could be. Do show us what you are referring to, hon."
"With pleasure, Flurrie," Andrew smiled as he went back outside in the courtyard and closed the door behind him once his four partners got out of the way.
Taking out his bat, Andrew approached the red switch and smacked it with his bat. As a result, this caused a slight tremor to occur, which got the five of them a little curious about what that was about.
"Whoa! Presto!? What do you think that was?" Yoshiam had to ask once the shaking stopped.
"Ummm...I'm kinda curious too," Koops agreed. "Where did that earthquake come from?"
"Looks like we're about to find out in a minute," Andrew opened the door leading to that room with the single staircase.
It was now shown that the staircase had moved down and was leading to the door on the left.
"Omigosh! So that's what the switch does! It allows the stairs to move exactly where we need to go!" Goombella had to blink. "Wowsers. Now that's supernatural for ya!"
"Can't argue with that," Andrew climbed up the stairs. "Let's see where this door leads us to."
All five of them approached the door and opened it to find themselves in the same main room of the steeple, only on the pathway above to the left. Parts of the pathway were crumbled, but thanks to some jumping, they made it by until they got to the end. It was then Andrew saw a key. It was a white Steeple Key, and it looked important.
"Hey! There's a key!" Andrew pointed out. "Koops? Could you retrieve it for us?"
"Sure thing, Andrew," Koops nodded as he went into his shell again.
Andrew then went and jumped and kicked him towards the Steeple Key, which he grabbed and then came back with the key in his possession, like a boomerang.
Andrew grabbed the key from him as Koops came out of his shell and was back on his feet.
"Why, that's a precious-looking key," Flurrie had to admire. "By any chance, what do you think that key goes to?"
"I dunno," Andrew shrugged. "Probably something important."
"Or maybe it goes to that door over there," Yoshiam saw the door on the other side which had a padlock on it. This indicated that the door on the opposite side was 'definitely' locked.
"Good eye there, Yoshiam," Andrew smiled. "We better get to that door and unlock it to see what's beyond that door."
"Probably will lead us to this nasty monster that's been turning people into pigs, don'tcha think?" Goombella had to ask.
"It's likely," Andrew shrugged. "Only one way to find out. Let's reach it."
And so the five of them jumped down and took the top door that led to the other courtyard in the Steeple.
After dispatching two more Swoopers, and finding a gold tree that had some Golden Leaves that Andrew claimed and put into his backpack, he hit that switch twice to ensure that they could reach that other pathway. He then made it to the door that was locked and unlocked it to see what was beyond that room.
But the five of them had no idea what they were going to be up against once they reached the highest point of the steeple.
Andrew especially had no idea of the horrifying fate that he'd fall into by the outcome of defeating this nasty monster. He would find that out for himself. There was no doubt about it at all...
END OF CHAPTER 36...
Yeah, this chapter is pretty long and packed to the gills with stuff that I decided to include in it. But there are several factors here that'll be brought up later on in the chapter, especially after Andrew gets his identity stolen. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter anyway.
Now, this is just a buildup chapter leading through Twilight Trail and the Creepy Steeple, aside from the Atomic Boo and the improvised teamwork attack that Andrew did with his partners.
So I came up with extra depths for some of the partners, such as Goombella's mom being a fabulous cook taking a page from Maitre Delish, Flurrie starring in another movie called I Was a Teenage WereToad, the wind that was featured in the films Flurrie starred in were also done by Flurrie herself, etc. And a few other things. I hope that it was good enough for you.
Lastly, I'll have Andrew keep that Cookbook, seeing that he could make some use of the recipes at some point later on in the story. I just want to point that out.
Anyway, I don't have much to say now, so I'll say that the next chapter will have the five travelers go against the Chapter 4 boss, who isn't as scary as he looks, he pulls a nasty trick on Andrew, and this creep is beaten, before a plot twist takes place, and other stuff will happen. How will this go for Andrew and his four partners? Find out next time, readers!
For now, only if you like, you can leave a review and tell me what you thought of the chapter.
Otherwise, I have nothing else to say. So until next time, I hope you look forward to the rest of Chapter 4. And on that note, thanks again for reading, everyone!