Even though problems have been staking up for our protagonists, at the very least, they have taken Johnny out of his confinement and are poised to leave at any moment. However, everything is at stake, with Lemmy and Ludwig set to arrive for their respective errand. With the situation beyond code red and with so little time left, when will this time bomb finally detonate?

-o-

Yielding Fruit

Location: Underground cavern,warden's side

Time left: 54 minutes

…

The dust cloud has finally settled inside the cavern, revealing a throng of soldiers tending to each others wounds, while some help Daisy up to her feet. Her fall was cushioned by the warden, and he pretends to be unconscious as a ruse to being close to the princess of Sarasaland. Other soldiers already have the dark skinned Koopaling in custody, and opt not to cuff him again, simply removing his broken cuffs.

They soon help Warden Leroy up, who had just "woken up;" another soldier arrives with a torch, which didn't help much there, as the light from the jail above penetrated the cave, but it would prove to be useful later. The doogan warden sniffs a few times.

"Well, this is certainly a twist," begins Warden Leroy, "Didn't think that nose hair burning stench would impair my sense of smell. And on top of that, not a single doogan soldier is here…" "Your highness?"

"Yes, warden?" Daisy clears her throat as she resumes her act, while Morton Jr. tries his best not to laugh.

"I assume you're, ahem, not hurt?"

"I'm not." Morton snorts a couple of times, but stops after seeing the soldiers' confused reactions.

"Rest assured, as our top priority, we'll get you to safety first. This is an extraordinary ordeal, but nothing we, the soldiers of this desert infantry, can't manage. As for the Scourge over there..." Everyone stares at the big boned Koopaling, who in turn, looks away as he whistles the SMB3 airship theme while kicking at nothing. He accidentally kicks the soldier to his left, and another ruckus begins, Warden Leroy not amused at that turn of events. "We'll deal with him later."

"What about the ninja? A-a-and the shark?" Daisy looks concerned and strikes a cute pose, clasping her chin and resting her index finger on her lower lip, causing the warden to blush and almost nosebleed, though his furry face hides that façade. He clears his throat as he returns to reality.

"Hmm…" The warden becomes pensive. "Now that I think about it, there is no submarine here. It wasn't an illusion; it looked too real. Maybe, it wasn't a submarine at all, but some magical… Men…"

All the soldiers are now in attention save for two that are holding Morton Jr. captive.

"The princess' safety is our top priority. However, the puppet ninja and another creature, possibly a green fellow, are to be apprehended on sight. Only the shark may be taken out for good, understood?"

Daisy gasps and Morton Jr. drops his jaw as a chorus of "Yes, sir!" echoes throughout. She looks back at the Koopaling who in turn returns his sight toward her. Before they could say anything, the group of soldiers, led by the warden (who was given the aforementioned torch), marching about as they take both Daisy and Morton Jr. and look for an exit leading to the jail above.

Flaming, blue eyes suddenly shine out of the darkness, and soon after, the Fire Bro. Hitatsu walks into the light. He is panting slowly, and grabs his right shoulder. Though not terribly injured, he was banged up pretty badly, and his shades show a thin but noticeable crack on the right lens.

'That Yoshi and doll dude got away, huh? And the other dude's with the warden… If I get found out, it's curtains for me…' He scoffs as his grins. 'Though, these dudes will get lost for sure; I still have the map. I'm gonna get my money from these dudes whatever the cost.' With that, he vanishes into the darkness once more.

…

Location: Desert Hill jail, Geno's side

Time left: 47 minutes

…

Geno and Yoshi rush through the cave as the shark pirate continues to gasp for air, fearing that Johnny might buy the farm at any moment, or that the loud panting might attract someone to their vicinity.

Suddenly, Yoshi's body gives in, and the green dinosaur trips over nothing, causing Geno to lose his balance and get smashed underneath the pirate. The doll pulls himself from under the shark, and runs toward his fallen comrade.

"Come on, Yosh, the show's almost over. We just need a little more."

"Sorry, Gee, my body won't respond anymore. Go on without me, you'll have a better chance to…"

Yoshi lies on his back panting. They are still eluding the guards, but Geno didn't want to take any chances, even to rest for a while. He gets under Yoshi's right arm, trying to lift his friend up.

"There you go." They walk toward Johnny. "No matter what, no one gets left behind. Just a little while longer, we almost got this."

Johnny's wheezing became very slow and throaty, making the doll look down at the pirate with certain fear for the worst, but soon after, gets the resolve to beat this ordeal regardless. He lots go of the green dinosaur and has him wobble in place as he picks up Johnny's tail.

"Grab his tail, Yosh. We'll never know when an opportunity will open up…"

Yoshi somewhat gets his balance back and grabs the tail, and almost drops it. As soon as they move a couple of steps, a stone begins moving to the side, revealing a dark passageway made of sandstone, surprising both Geno and Yoshi. A fishy stench couple with a pastry aroma flow into the cave.

"I don't like how convenient this is," remarks Geno, "But beggars aren't choosers."

"Wait…" Yoshi begins to sniff about and releases the tail. "Are those… cookies?" Yoshi continues to sniff when he suddenly begins to float toward wherever the smell led him to, as the lovely aroma of baked goods coaxed him to a most likely delectable treasure.

"Weren't you tired a second ago?" a perplexed Geno inquires, but lifts his right hand. "Right, not the time to be questioning. A Yoshi is still a Yoshi." The doll resorts to pulling the shark pirate himself, but soon finds he'll need help; his left arm pops off and remains on the tail as they plop together on the gritty ground.

The hungry dinosaur floats along until he rests in front of a clean plate full of Yoshi cookies, which he begins to gobble up. A distinct clearing of a throat makes the green dinosaur stop eating (a cookie just outside his mouth) and look up, horrified at what he sees.

Vice Warden Tanuki looks down at Yoshi as he shakes his head, Stuffwell 2.0 in his right hand. Yoshi is so shocked that he continues eating slowly.

"My timing for opening that passage mechanism couldn't have been better." Tanuki sighs before continuing. "So, sad… To think that one of the famous heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom, and Mario's best friend, no less, has stooped to these depths… Such a shame that it's come to this, but no crime shall go unpunished under my watch."

Tanuki strikes an action pose without letting go of the chrome colored suitcase. Just then, Geno blasts himself inside the hallway, unaware of the current predicament. He figured he would use the rocket launchers in his body to propel the shark inside by himself. Although the impulse of the rockets manages to get the shark inside, it wasn't enough to get them far, with Geno falling on his face. He begins stating his plans as he wipes the dust off.

"Okay Yosh. I get the suitcase, you get Johnny here to the… Yosh! Stop dozing… Oh…" He looks up to the vice warden as well.

"Must be my lucky two-for-one day." He gets a good look at Geno. "I don't know where you have come from, but you must also meet your end by yours truly."

The doogan vice warden darts at the wooden doll and thrusts his left palm in Geno's chest, pushing him back slightly. Yoshi snaps out of his trance and throws the ceramic plate at the vice warden after scarfing down the rest of the cookies. In a seamless continuity of moves, the vice warden turns around and releases the suitcase, catching it with his left hand, and shatters the plate.

Both Yoshi and Geno are amazed; however, Geno wastes no time to retaliate. He points his right arm at the doogan vice warden and expected to rain bullets on his foe, but nothing happened. He tries his elbow shot, followed by a rocket launched double punch… Zilch…

"This is why I'm Vice Warden," says Tanuki, amidst Geno's confusion, "I may not have elemental powers like the warden, nor have his stamina and strength, but I do have special powers in my hands. My left hand, when well placed, disables your artillery and special attacks, forcing you to a hand-to-hand combat. And my right can deflect and resist those same attacks, leaving me impervious to…"

Yoshi goes on to kick Tanuki, but the doogan stops the kick with his forearm. Yoshi then jumps back, next to Geno.

"I said I was weaker than the warden, but not that I was weak. Show times' over. Surrender while you can!"

…

Location: Mountain range in western Desert Hill

Time left: 21 minutes, 30 seconds

Ludwig stares at the western crags as an untimely desert breeze blows gently through his unruly hair. The eldest Koopaling waits silently inside the Clown Car, while his younger sibling attends to nature's call behind a rock. He seems to be musing over something, when his brother interrupts his thoughts quite vulgarly.

"Now that was a leak!" Lemmy announces in his uncharacteristic bass voice, one Ludwig was still not used to.

"My felicitations for successfully realizing your corporal functions," Ludwig sarcastically replies.

"You're welcome. And congrats on becoming the poster child for L'Oreal. You're worth it."

Ludwig becomes upset over the immature comment, but chooses to restrain his emotions.

"Pity, here you are squandering with your infantile quip, when we have the Master's work to finish. I'm sure he'll be keen on your reckoning for an abortive mission."

This time, Lemmy is the one who stops smiling as the blue haired musician sneers back. A call from the Clown Car's communication system interrupts their small standoff, making Ludwig answer the call.

"Kiss me, I'm Irish."

"Yo, Meister. The bourgeois foo' answered."

"Excellent, Roy. I'll take it from here."

"Hmm, the brute made a call… That's a first…" ponders Ludwig before the Master continuing.

"Ludwig! We've arrived earlier than scheduled. As soon as Prince Peasley gets strapped before the transfer machine, we get Iggy to operate the thing. And you? Have you made it yet?"

"Negative. Lemmy had to relieve himself, and…"

"LUDWIG! This is unacceptable, even for you! How long are you going to drag out your arrival? Every second counts; none can be wasted on such trivialities." Ludwig stands in silent contempt, being reminded of Bowser's treatment over his failures as a commander. The Master continues. "How long will take you to get there?"

Ludwig sighs. "Fifteen minutes…"

"Good. I'll send Slyklyde over for backup. I'm counting on you." The call ends.

Ludwig drops the receiver and turns the vehicle on. He's seething in anger, as even Lemmy didn't dare make a comment. Suddenly, Ludwig's complexion changes quickly once more, chuckling for a bit, making his brother even more confused.

"That's creepy. Are you bipolar now?"

"No. Just an epiphany. But never mind that. We have a job to finish…"

…

Location: A secret cavern hidden somewhere near the jail

An unknown source of light penetrates a still and dim cavern, far from the rocky labyrinth that is the maze under the desert penitentiary. No soul has entered this cave for eons, and the crystal clear waters lay unperturbed as no wind disturbs the tranquil place.

A single beam illuminates a lonely, leafless branch, which protrudes from a pile of smooth stones, which seemingly, were stacked to keep the branch from falling and withering away. On it is a cerulean colored gem, the fabled Bubble fruit. (Do not confuse it with the Bubble berry, endemic of the Flower Fields.) Its rarity is surmised to be one of two in the world, with the fruit taking decades to mature, and its tree too fragile for most environments.

As no one alive has ever seen the fruit in person, legends and fables passed down for generations kept this supposed mythical item alive, though only few know of it at all… But here it is.

Legend has it that if one was to consume this fruit, they would be able to breathe underwater, or conversely, an underwater creature would be able to breathe on land. Their former breathing ability would be as it was before consuming the fruit. A side effect of this would be that the one who consumed it would forever be cursed with burping bubbles, which could be a good or bad thing depending on the ability of the person to control and be creative with this new condition.

As no other benefits or abilities have been discovered, more questions arise to the validity of the myths behind it. In the wrong hands, this could prove to be lethal, if true. But, if it happens to be correct… Who will finally consume this coveted, yet unknown treasure?

-o-

The fruit has finally made its debut. Also, I've dragged out the Koopaling's arrival long enough... Or have I? Next time: the story continues.