Mushroom Story

by F14M3RZ

In a world where males are a commodity and everyone is a gijinka, join Mario on this monster girl quest as he saves Prince Peach from Queen Bowsa in this retelling of Paper Mario 64. Adopted from the OG theirself, Mushroomstoryperson, and inspired by the mind of ShadowKnux372.

38. Chapter 37: Interlude 6

AN: Hey guys, it's finally time to see who won the vote. With 8-4 votes (using the responses on ffn and A03, discounting the guest votes since it'd be 15-5), Mario's next party member will be…

---

"Well… she might have beaten us up before, but it's impossible to deny that Nita is strong," Mario said, finishing his long pause. "Plus, Watt… don't you have a family waiting for you up in Sparkburg?"

"I mean… yeah, I guess I do… and they are all probably wondering where I've been…" Watt admitted. "But I still want to go adventuring with you, Mario! You saw how I was able to help against General Gal, didn't you? With my powers, I can be twice as helpful as Nita ever could be!"

"Yeah… I remember feeling that exact same need for adventure when I first met Mario. He was my hero for the longest time, after all," Goommaria said, stepping forward. "But are you sure you're really ready for this? If there's one thing I've learned about being an adventurer, it's that it's not nearly as easy as it sounds. It's dangerous, and people are always after you… and if you make one mistake, it might be over for everyone for good."

"That… sounds like a lot of pressure…" Watt looked down at the ground sadly for a few moments. "But… I can't just go back home and do nothing! Not when goons like General Gal are still out there conspiring to take over the world!"

"Well, maybe you don't have to do nothing," Bombette suggested. "Like, Sparksburg has to have problems like the rest of the Toybox and the world, right?"

"Yeah… but what does that have to do with anything?" Watt asked.

"Well, what's to stop Bowsa from showing up in Sparksburg and giving power to another lonely girl like Jenny so she can start this mess all over again?" Bombette asked. "But if you head back, you can warn them not to listen to her, and you can try to help people before Bowsa takes advantage of them."

"Really?" Watt blinked in surprise. "But… I'm just one girl! Would anyone really listen to what I have to say?"

"Well, there's no way to know unless you try," Mario replied. "And for what it's worth… I believe in you."

"Alright… I'll head back home then." The electric girl flew over to Anita and gave the Gal a small bow. "Good luck out there, Nita. I know you were one of General Gal's soldiers until just a few minutes ago, but… I still wish you the best."

"Thanks… but after that last mission failure, I wouldn't put too much hope in me," Nita replied to the Li'l Sparky. "I've still got a long way to go before I'm the best at anything again."

"Don't worry, I know you can do it!" Watt smiled and bounced up and down in the air. "Alright, I guess this is goodbye for now, everyone! Thank you so much for saving me from that ghost woman! I promise, I'll never forget any of you!"

"Goodbye, Watt! It was nice to meet you!" Mario said as he and his friends waved goodbye.

"Bark bark!" Chompy added poignantly.

"Yes, yes, we'll miss you, and this is so sad, and yadayadayada," Bow said disinterestedly as Watt flew out of the castle. "Augh, finally, she's gone. I thought I was going to get a sunburn from just floating next to that little lightbulb for too long."

"Hey, don't be like that! That girl helped save our lives!" Koopie pointed out.

"But that doesn't make her presence any less annoying." Bow fanned herself and used a compact to quickly make sure she didn't actually have any burns. "As far as I'm concerned, Mario clearly made the right choice."

"Hmph! You're lucky she didn't hear that," Koopie huffed. "Sorry about all that, Nita; I don't want you to feel like we're only choosing you because we felt we had to - I think you can really make a good part of the team! You seem like a really good fighter, after all."

"Well, gee, that's great," the red-hooded Shy Gal replied, though she didn't actually seem that excited. "But I'm afraid it might take a little bit to get my mojo back, though. After all, someone doesn't just lose the title of Anti-Gal and then keeps fighting at 100%".

"Well... that's fine," said Goommaria. "It would be terrible game balance if we suddenly got a partner who was all-powerful, after all."

"Wait, what?" asked Mario.

"Er, I mean… hey, Muskular! Are you finally ready to leave yet?" Goommaria shouted, changing the subject.

"Yes ma'am! Let me give out just one more hug…" The tall Starman picked up a Shy Gal in a yellow hood and hugged her so lovingly that glittering pink hearts shot out of her body. "Alright, now I'm ready! But, before I go, I believe you deserve a reward, Mario…"

Mario, knowing where this was going, nodded and closed his eyes, allowing Muskular to touch his forehead.

---

After leaving the carriage with Peach and Luigi, Mario walked into Toadstool castle for the first time. The inside was so picturesque that the plumber could barely believe his eyes; glittering chandeliers, spotless furnishings, and a beautiful, sunny landscape painted on the walls that seemed to be straight out of a fairytale storybook. Mario honestly thought he was dreaming for a few moments when he saw it all, but the sight of two Toad women pointing spears at him snapped him out of that.

"Halt!" the Toad on the right, with a red-spotted cap, demanded. "Who are you, and what are you doing with the prince?"

"Don't worry, girls, he's with me," Peach interrupted, pushing the spears away. "Sorry about that, dears; the guards are a little protective of me, ever since… well, nevermind that! Follow me, and I'll introduce you to my mother."

"Wow, this place is so huge!" Luigi commented, his voice deliberately loud to try and elicit an echo from the building. "Does it have a library? A pool? How about an arcade?"

"Well, I'm not sure what an 'arcade' is, but we do have a library, and a pool, and we even have a race track in the back," Preach replied as he led his new friends up several long flights of stairs.

"Impressive," Luigi replied. "I'm surprised we ran into you all the way out in Dry Dry Desert; if I were you, I'd never want to leave this place."

"Yes, well, I am going to have to rule the Mushroom Kingdom one day. My mother made me regent of that province to help give me experience in ruling," Peach explained. "Besides, this place really does get stuffy once you're in it for too long; I honestly enjoy every chance I get to travel. I'd travel the whole world if I could, to be honest."

"Oh, how big is this world, anyways?" asked Mario. "Is the Mushroom Kingdom the only country, or are there others?"

"Well, the Mushroom Kingdom is definitely one of the biggest nations on the planet, but there are hundreds of smaller ones, most inhabited by their own breed of Mono," Peach explained. "You'll find Toads or other Bi races like Piantas or the Beanish just about everywhere, though."

"Ah, I guess that makes sense - in this world, whoever controls the source of men controls the world, right?" said Luigi.

"Something like that." Peach gave a soft chuckle as he opened the doors to the throne room. On the other side, past a long line of tall windows and flags and an even longer red carpet, Mario and Luigi could see the thrones of the Mushroom Kingdom. On the left, an elderly Toad woman with fading yellow spots on her cap and long grey hair sat speaking to a slightly-less-old Toad with a brown-spotted cap, silver hair, glasses, and a regal business suit. The elderly woman herself was wearing a glittering white dress, still impressive even after years of wear, and a small golden crown studded with jewels sat atop her mushroom cap.

The seat next to her was empty, save for a matching crown that sat in the seat.

"There she is; my mom, Queen Amity Toadstool. She found me when I was just a baby and she raised me as her own. Tragically, she wasn't able to have any children of her own," Peach whispered to her guests before shouting across the throne room. "Mother dearest! I'm back!"

"Oh, Peachy! It's so good to see you again," the queen said as her son ran up to her. The two hugged gently but enthusiastically, the queen remaining in her seat. "I trust your time in Dry Dry Desert was lovely."

"It was, mommy! I mean, some of the people there are… less than friendly, but the scenery and the food were both amazing!" Peach hugged Amity again before stepping back. "Plus, I met these two while I was there! Mom, I'd like you to meet Mario and Luigi."

"Eh? Are these two…?" Amity asked.

"Yes, mom; they're humans!" Peach answered, not waiting for his mother to finish. "And, what's even better is that they arrived from the human world just recently! That means that they remember everything about what it's like there!"

"Oh, that's wonderful! I always wished you had more human friends for you to play with." The queen clapped her hands together and turned towards Mario and his brother. "It's nice to meet you, Mr… Mario and Lugi, was it?"

"It's, uh, Luigi, your highness, but it's great to meet you too!" Luigi replied. "Man, I can't believe this is really happening… just yesterday we were fixing toilets in Brooklyn for nickels, and now here we are meeting an actual queen!"

"Yeah, imagine that," Mario replied with a laugh. "It's an honor to meet you, your Majesty. Thank you so much for your kindness and hospitality."

"Please, there's no need to be so formal," Amity replied. "Any friend of my Peachy is a friend of mine. So please, just call me Chant-"

"Amity!" A booming voice suddenly interrupted from behind Mario.

"Uh oh," Amity gasped quietly.

"Oh dear me," said the elder bespectacled Toad next to her. "Guards, quickly! Barricade the doors to the throne room, before it's too late!"

Several Toad guards swiftly moved to block the doors to the throne room, but they were all tossed to the side as a powerful foot kicked the doors open. On the other side, Mario could see a tall, muscular woman with flowing green hair with yellow highlights, shining white claws on the ends of her fingers, and tiny white horns sticking out the top of her head. She was wearing a long green dress that looked freshly tailored, black high heels, a spiked black collar around her neck, a glittering pearl necklace, a golden crown on her head, and what appeared to be a massive spiked green turtle shell on her back.

"Amity! It's soooo good to see you again!" The massive turtle woman said with a smile on her face as she walked into the room, her footsteps so powerful they shook the floor. Several Toad guards tried attacking her as she approached, but she simply snapped their spears like toothpicks and ignored them. "Say, have you lost weight? Started working out? You look so much younger, I swear!"

"Queen Koopa… how many times do I have to tell you to address me by my title?" Amity asked the towering woman in front of her.

"Aw, but that's so formal!" The Koopa woman whined. "Plus, I am going to be your daughter-in-law soon, so we might as well start talking to each other like this now."

"Uh… who is this?" Mario whispered to Peach as the queens spoke to each other.

"That's Queen Bowsa… she's in charge of the second largest country on the continent, the Koopa Kingdom," Peach whispered back. "She's been trying to get me to marry her for years now… but she's just not my type. Plus, she can be such a cruel brute sometimes…"

"For the last time, I am not marrying my son off to a brute like you," Amity continued, speaking up a bit louder now. "He's not interested in you. You should either just move on, or you should spend more time finding out what happened to your last two husbands."

"H-hey, those were just two tragic accidents, nothing more," Bowsa replied with a cough. "But you need to understand, your majesty; I'm not just doing this because your son is a total stud. I mean, not to say that he isn't; just look at him! Amazing blue eyes, blonde hair, a delectable little bu-" Amity interrupted Bowsa with a cough. "Er, anyways, I'm not doing this for my sake. I'm doing it for his. You know as well as I do that men can't inherit the throne to the Mushroom Kingdom and become king unless they're married, and you've only got so much time left. The instant you're gone, Peach is going to be absolutely hounded by suitors day and night who are trying to get the throne for themselves. But, if he were to marry me now, then he won't have to deal with any of that… unpleasantness later."

"I told you before, Bowsa; no means no!" Peach spoke up. "So please, just leave me alone already!"

"Ssh, quiet down, little boy - the women are talking," Bowsa replied. "Think about it, Amity… if we were to marry, then our two rival nations would finally be one; we'd be so rich and powerful together, that there wouldn't be anyone who could stand up to us!"

"You mean, there wouldn't be anyone who could stand up to you," Amity countered. "I'm only going to give you one more warning, Queen Koopa; leave us now! I have guests today, and I'd rather we not be disturbed!"

"Guests?" Bowsa looked to Mario and Luigi and scoffed. "Pfft, weaklings; not worth paying attention to. But listen, you really should reconsider not giving me your son; I mean, I already have my wedding dress picked out, and the cake, and the decorations, the army I am going to have guard us…"

"Enough!" The mushroom queen stood up from her chair and pointed at Bowsa. "Guards! Seize this rude woman at once and throw her out of the kingdom! I will not stand here while you keep harassing my… my…" Before she could finish her sentence, Amity broke into a fit of coughing and collapsed back onto the throne.

"Mother!" Peach rushed to Amity's side. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, dear… I just… need to rest a moment," the queen replied, her voice raspy.

"Hahaha! See, what'd I tell you? She's got less time in this world than a Goomba." Bowsa cackled and turned around, Toad guards till not succeeding in getting her to leave. "I'll give you a bit more time to think about my generous offer, though. Just remember; I'm the only one who can keep your boy safe."

Bowsa then moved to head back out the way she came, but stopped when she felt something heavy bounce off the back of her turtle shell. The impact was so hard and sudden that she couldn't help but stumble forward and ultimately trip, landing on her large chest and scuffing her brand new dress in the process.

"Wha-?" Bowsa turned her head back, a fiery glare in her eyes. "Who did that?"

"Did what?" Mario replied innocently. "It's not like there's anyone here strong enough worth paying attention to here… your shoe must have gotten stuck on something." Next to him, Prince Peach was just barely stopping himself from breaking out into laughter.

"Hmmph…" Bowsa snorted steam out of her nose and stomped over to Mario, her shadow blocking out the sun completely from his view. "You're lucky I don't want to get my future throne dirty… or else I'd end this right here and now."

Mario glared back at Bowsa, unphased, until the Koopa queen suddenly felt another pair of feet land on her back.

"Ooof!" Bowsa grunted, almost falling over again.

"Sorry, but my brother has more spare lives than a cat, so he's not afraid of bullies like you!" Luigi said confidently as he bounced back off the green-haired woman's shell. "So why don't you take your bad attitude and… and… uh…" Luigie's confidence seemed to disappear entirely as Bowsa walked up to him and stared at him with murder in her eyes. "Uh… um...what I meant to say was, er…"

In response to Luigi's stammering, she gripped Luigi's watch off his wrist and ground it into dust between her fingers before finally stomping her way out of the room.

"You haven't heard that last of me," Bowsa said under her breath as she left, and there wasn't any doubt in Mario's mind that she was telling the truth.

"Wow… I can't believe you actually stood up to Bowsa like that! She's, like, the single most feared woman on the entire planet," Prince Peach said in amazement once Bowsa was gone. "And you did that by jumping on her no less!"

"Yeah… I, uh, honestly don't know why I did that," Mario replied embarrassedly. "It just… seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I have no idea why I was able to jump so high, though."

"Hmm… perhaps gravity is lower on this world than on yours?" Amity suggested.

"Sure, I'll buy that explanation," said Luigi. "Hopefully nothing bad happens the longer we're exposed to the difference in gravitational pull."

"Blast it… that's the second door this month we've had to replace," the queen's bespectacled advisor cursed as she looked at the rubble throughout the throne room. "Don't worry, your Majesty, we'll get it fixed right away. Do you need anything; a lozenge, something to drink, perhaps?"

"Thank you, Toadsworth, but I am fine," the queen replied. "I just need a little more rest is all… and besides; we have much more urgent matters to attend to."

"Urgent matters? Such as what?" Toadsworth asked.

"Well… it would makes sense that, if Mario and Luigi just arrived in this world, that they have nowhere to live," the mushroom queen replied. "Why don't we do something to fix that?"

---

When Mario opened his eyes again, he found himself back with his friends and Muskular back in the Toy Box.

"I'm afraid that's all I can do to repair your memories for now," Muskular said apologetically. "I'll need the rest of my energy to make it back to Star Haven and rejoin my fellow Spirits. But, not to worry; if you ever need my help again, just make a wish and I'll do my best to grant it."

"Thank you, Muskular," Mario replied. "We'll do our best to finish rescuing your friends."

"Yeah! And that's a promise!" added Goommaria. "Right, Nita?"

"I suppose so," the Shy Gal replied. "Have fun going back to the star place…. and thank you."

"Thank you - your dedication is appreciated," Muskular replied, tipping his hat. "Unfortunately, though, I don't think I can return back to Star Haven while inside this little pocket dimension. Do you, uh, mind leading me out of here?"

"Sure, we could do that," Koopie replied. "Though… we have kind of been on our feet for a while, and it's starting to get late in the day… I think." Koopie glanced out a window at the ever present 'sun' in the sky of the Toy Box.

"Well then, why don't you all stay the night at my place," the Shy Gal Mayor offered as she approached them. "My family owns a lovely little dollhouse over by some giant rocking horses nearby; there will be more than enough room for all of you there."

"Wow, really?" Bombette blinked in surprise. "Gee, thanks! We really appreciate it!"

"Don't mention it; it's the least I could do after you helped get my daughter under control," Mayor Gal replied. "Now, just follow me; don't worry about the mess here, the Recesstance will take care of it."

"Oh? Is it time to head home already?" Oaklie asked, perking up at her mother's words. "Alright, Jenny, let's get going! The sooner we get you back home, the sooner you can start your sentence."

"Augh, I'm coming, I'm coming," the ex-general said as she walked in front of Oaklie, her arms still bound behind her and a sack still on her head. "At this point, a time-out actually sounds like a nice break."

Mario and his friends followed closely behind the Shy Gal mayor through the ruins of Jenny's fortress and out into the surrounding areas. They had to climb over quite a few plastic fortifications to get there, but eventually they spotted the mayor's picturesque blue home in the distance, its structure so untouched by Jenny's army that it still looked exactly like the picture on the box it came in sitting behind it.

"Alright, welcome to my lovely ab-" Mayor Gal began to say before being interrupted by what sounded like a meteor falling out of the sky. Turning around, the group spied a Koopa girl wearing a tie-dyed shirt that just barely fit over a ridiculously large rack, a rainbow-colored mohawk, a short black skirt, striped socks, and with an orange shell on her back. She looked at the group mischievously with her multi-colored eyes - one green, and one orange.

"Ahuhuhu… so, you thought you'd won, didn't you?" The Koopa girl said as she stepped forward, eyes spinning strangely as she twirled a golden magic wand between her fingers. "Well, it ain't over yet! You see, General Gal promised me a very special part of her toy box in exchange for mommy's help, and I'm not leaving until it's mine!"

"Oh jeeze, it's Lemmy! Bowsa's most mischievous daughter!" Goommaria whispered to Mario. "Not the craziest Koopa Kid, but probably one of the most persistent."

"You promised her a part of the Toybox?" Oaklie scolded Jenny. "Wow, you really were desperate to play your games. What part did you promise her?"

"Why… the balls of course!" Lemmy shouted as she laughed with maniacal glee. "Every single one; the soccer balls, the beach balls, the ball pits - they are all going to be mine!"

"Sure; go ahead, take them," Mayor Gal interrupted.

"Ahuhu! You might beg for mercy, but I- wait, what?" Lemmy blinked her eyes in confusion. "Wait, you'll just give them to me?"

"Yeah - we're in a magic toy box, so they're essentially limitless in supply," Mayor Gal replied.

"I also gathered up all the balls in Red Station and put them in a pit behind my fortress," Jenny said underneath her hood. "You can head over to them now if you want."

Lemmy looked at Mario and then back at the fortress behind her and then back at Mario.

"No take-backs!" She said as she dashed back towards Red Station. "Ahuhuhu!"

"Well… I'm glad she gets to be happy," Koopie said as the group returned to heading to Mayor Gal's place.

"As I was saying before, welcome to my lovely abode!" Mayor Gal said as she held the front door open for everyone. "Don't worry, I make the money of four mayors, so there's more than enough room and stuff here for everyone. Make yourselves at home!"

"Wow, this place looks lovely, miss Mayor!" Koopie said as she walked in behind Mario. "I'm surprised that Jenny didn't destroy this place when she took over Red Station, though."

"Yes, that is rather strange, isn't it?" Mayor Gal agreed, glancing at her daughter.

"N-none of the parts were military-grade, that's all," Jenny replied, her blush visible even from underneath the sack on her head.

"Right, of course not," Oaklie replied before sneaking a quick hug from Jenny.

"So… most of the stuff in here is just plastic, right?" Goommaria asked as she picked up a plastic apple from a nearby dining table. "That, uh, doesn't include the bathrooms too, does it?"

"Don't worry, I had the real deal installed a while ago," Mayor Gal replied. "We also have some real food as well. Which of you would like to try my home-made banana bread?"

"Aaugh, seriously? You're still making that!?" Jenny gasped. "That stuff is absolutely awful!"

"B-but… you liked it when you were just a little Shy Girl," the Mayor pointed out.

"Yeah, and I also thought Chai Checkers was actually Chai back then too," Jenny countered, but she began to waver when she heard her mother start to sniffle. "Fine, I'll have some of it, but don't expect me to eat it every day just because I'm your prisoner!"

"Teehee! I'll get baking right away!" Mayor Gal said before skipping off to the kitchen.

"Ah… it feels good to finally be somewhere we can relax again." Koopie stretched her arms and legs as hard as she could before popping herself entirely inside her shell. She remerged a few seconds later, taking herself out of her shell and revealing that she was wearing a red nightgown that matched her bandana. "I know we've only been here about a day, but it feels like we've been walking around for months."

"Tell me about it!" Bombette kicked off her high heels and began stripping out of her tight pink dress. "I was kind of hoping that this adventure would be child's play, but I guess that's what I get for judging a toy by its wrapper."

"Tell me about it - if I knew that this place didn't have any night inside it, I'm not sure I would have bothered floating inside," Bow said, her clothes fading into a translucent green nightie. "Your bedrooms here are at least dark, right?"

"Don't worry, the shutters will make sure that not a single beam gets in," the mayor called from the kitchen.

"Ah, finally some good news," Bow sighed happily.

"..." Nita silently blushed behind her mask as she watched her new friends, except for Chompy, all changed into their eveningwear in front of her, most of whom didn't seem to care about modesty.

"Huh? Is something the matter?" Goommaria asked as she revealed the blue bra that she was wearing that day. "You look a little nervous, Nita."

"It's nothing, it's just… well, you know how nervous Gals like me are about showing our faces, right?"

"Oh! Of course, of course!' Goommaria replied. "You don't have to change with the rest of us if you don't want to. Feel free to use a bathroom or something."

"Thank you." Nita went into the nearest bathroom and shut the door behind her. A moment later, a zipping noise could be heard on the other side, and Nite reemerged a second later wearing a red hoodie very similar to her last one, but it was fuzzy like a blanket. "Alright, I'm all ready for bed. It's a good thing I had this ready, just in case I became a failure."

"Well, luckily they captured me in my pajamas, so I don't have to change," Muskular announced, motioning to his sailor outfit. "What about you, Oaklie? Are you going to change?"

"Don't worry, I already have," the guerilla guardian replied. "I just did it so stealthily that no one noticed."

"Oh, right! I can't believe I didn't notice that. I must say, you do look very dashing in that new outfit," Muskular replied, even though Oaklie looked exactly the same. He sounded so enthusiastic, though, that Mario couldn't tell if he actually meant that or not.

"Okay, everyone! The banana bread is in the oven, but please feel free to have some animal crackers while you wait," Mayor Gal said as she remerged from the kitchen carrying a plastic bowl full of snacks. "Don't worry, they're all free-range and ethically raised."

"Well, don't mind if I do!" Bombette said, enthusiastically taking a handful for herself and tossing another for Chompy below her. "Mmm, sugary! I wish food outside the box was always this tasty!"

"I'm pretty sure that you'd get sick pretty quickly if you're not a Shy Gal, but I'll admit that it is pretty good." Goomaria grabbed a handful and sat down at the main dining table, her new friends all joining her around it. "So, now that you're part of the team, Nita, why don't you tell us a little about yourself? You grew up here in the Toy Box, right?"

"Yeah, around Red Station," Nita replied after slipping a cracker underneath her mask. "I never really got along well with a lot of the other Gals, though. My moms said that I was born with 'too much energy', so I was always bouncing off the walls. Which is great when you're trying to play tag, of course, but it's less helpful when you're trying to do arts and crafts or read a picture book for the class."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that… school must have been really tough for you," Koopie said sympathetically.

"Eh, not really." Nita shrugged. "School is very easy if you just forget about all the silly letters the teachers write on your homework and exams and just focus on playing games and practicing sports. Though, I'll admit it's not the best strategy for actually graduating."

"Wait, do jobs here even need degrees?" Bombette spoke up.

"Actually, no; Gals just pretend to have jobs, but I got more than a few disappointed looks from my moms for not having a diploma to pin to the fridge," Nita replied. "After I was out of school, I went to try out for every sports and game team in the box, but then I got kicked off half of them when it turned out you're not allowed to play for multiple teams at once. Then, I got kicked off the rest of the teams for being 'too competitive'. After that, I mostly spent my time over in Green Station, challenging anything that moved to a laser tag games. I actually put on my first black hoodie when I lived there to help me sneak up on people, both inside and outside the arena."

"Hmm, black isn't my favorite color, but I admire your style nonetheless," Bow said as she dipped her crackers in some tea she brought with her.

"I'm surprised that someone like you wound up falling in with Genera-er, I mean Jenny," Goommaria spoke up. "Doesn't she like, hate everything sports related?"

"Yes, I still do - and you don't have to talk about me like I'm not here, you know!" Jenny shouted from the corner of the room. "When I first met Nita, though, I saw some potential in her. After I refused to play 'extreme kickball' with her, she offered to play Uno instead; and despite the fact that I technically won 37 times, she never stopped trying to complain and twist the rules so that she could keep playing. Who's ever even heard of 'Uno Out' before?! I knew right away that she was a Gal after my own heart."

"Wait, it's called 'Uno' here too?" asked Mario.

"Yeah, not every boardgame is a pun," Goommaria replied. "Other humans live here too, you know."

"After that, I gathered up a few Gals of similar caliber, and used them to form my elite Anti-Gal unit to take on the biggest threats I faced," Jenny continued. "Unfortunately, they still had their competitive streak, so the instant my army marched to conquer Red Station, the Anti-Gals all defeated my force before we even reached the train tracks to stop them from getting any of the 'points'. After that, I had no choice but to 'reassign them' for the good of the Gal army."

"Yeah… that was one of the proudest days of my life." Nita stared off into the middle-distance nostalgically.

"Uh…" Mario mumbled.

"I may have told her that being reassigned was the ultimate reward, and there'd be an ultimate-X2 reward if they completed what I told them to do," Jenny whispered to Mario.

"Ah, gotcha," Mario replied.

"Wait, so if you reassigned all the Anti-Gals, where are the rest of them now?" Koopie asked curiously.

"Oh, the other ones were even worse than Nita, so I had them to go work for Bowsa herself," Jenny answered. "They're her problems now."

"You sent them all away so easily? I guess that's one thing that separates peasants from true nobility; we never let a good servant go to waste," Bow commented after another sip of her tea.

"Alright, everyone! The banana bread is ready!" Mayor Gal walked gingerly from the kitchen carrying a steaming loaf of bread in a small tin. "Who wants the first slice?"

"Oh, I do, I do!" Oakley said, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Hehe, be my guest." Muskular chuckled softly as he took a knife and cut Oaklie a big piece of the bread.

"Oh my goodness! It's exactly the right size!" Oaklie said in amazement. "How in the world did you know?"

"Stars are pretty good at guessing wishes," he replied proudly.

"Huh… I'm starting to wish I lived in a place with stars now." With that, Oaklie began shoveling the warm treat under her leafy mask as the others gathered around for their slices, settling in for an evening of respite and relaxation.

---

"Ah! That was great!" Koopie pat her full stomach, stood up form her chair, and stretched her arm up towards the ceiling. "That's so much for the food, Ms. Mayor!"

"It was no problem at all, my friends!" the Shy Gal said as she collected everyone's dishes. "And I trust you liked it too, Jenny?"

"Hmm… maybe just a little bit…" ex-General Gal grumbled in her time-out corner, crumbs littering the bag on her face. "But that still doesn't mean I want you to make any more of it!"

"Right, of course, dear." Mayor Gal pat Jenny on the head a few times before turning her attention back to her guests. "Alright, you can find all the bedrooms upstairs. The one on the left is mine, but you can all feel free to divide up the rest among yourselves however you like."

"Oh, that won't be necessary - our team can do with just one bedroom." Goommaria smiled and put her hand around Mario's shoulders, but she flinched when she noticed Nita standing right behind her. "Er, unless you're not comfortable sleeping with the group just yet, Nita."

"Comfortable? Just because I don't like taking my mask off around other people doesn't mean I'm not okay with a little 'playtime' on the side… though, I'm not sure how good a failure like me would do in bed," Nita replied.

"Aw, don't talk like that! I'm sure you'll do absolutely wonderfully!" Koopie walked to Nita and took her by the sleeved hand. "You can start with me! I promise to go slow so we can ease you into things and build your confidence back up."

"You do realize she's not actually a child, right, Koopie?" Bow asked as she floated toward the stairs. "You don't have to hold her hand the entire time."

"I know, I'm just helping her out a little!" Koopie blushed as she and Nita followed behind her to the biggest bedroom on the upper floor.

"What about you, Muskular? Will you be joining us for the night?" Goommaria asked the Starman as she went for the stairs too.

"Thanks for the offer, but I prefer things to be one-on-one," he replied. "And my lovely new friend Oaklie here offered to keep me company for the night."

"Please! Helping lonely people is half of what I do," Oaklie replied as she hung from the man's muscular forearm. "And besides, I'd like a little company myself~"

"Oh, that reminds me; now that you're officially out of exile, does this mean that you'll stop being guardian for Forever Forest or whatever?" asked Bombette.

"Hmm… that's actually a pretty good question. To be honest, it was hard for me to believe the Recesstance would ever make it this far… and I only helped travelers get through because I accidentally got lost there myself." Oaklie scratched her chin curiously for a few moments. "You know what; I think I will actually be heading back there. Sure, living out in the woods has its downsides, but… I kind of like doing something that's real and not just some kind of weird game, like pretending to cook clay patties, or tax accounting. Plus, leaf-camo is kind of my thing now, and I can't really get more of those inside the toybox."

"Yeah, I suppose not. But I'm happy to hear that you like helping people!" Mario smiled and pat Oaklie on the shoulder. "We could use a lot more people like you out in the world!"

"Thanks, Mario; that means a lot to me forming from you," Oaklie smiled underneath her leaf mask before stopping a moment to pick a bedroom for her and Muskular to use. "Alright, I guess this is goodnight for now! Sleep well, Mario!"

"Yes, sleep well, Mario; I have a feeling that you'll need it after fulfilling so many desires tonight," Muskular said, following in behind Oaklie.

"Thanks, you guys! See you in the morning!" Mario waved the starman goodbye and headed off to his bedroom, where he found his partners all waiting on a Bowsa-sized bed inside.

"All right, let me just close the curtains and we can get started." Goommaria stood up and drew the heavy curtains of the room close, hiding them from the pastel light of the outside and shrouding the room in pitch black darkness. "... okay, this might be a little bit too dark."

"Speak for yourself - I think this is just lovely," Bow's voice said.

"Hang on just a sec… I think I saw something that might help." They could all hear Koopie get up off the bed and, a moment later, the room was illuminated by several fruit-shaped night lights attached to a nearby wall. "There! That should give us enough light for us to have fun!"

"Night lights?" Mario shivered. "I know they don't actually belong to a kid, but I can't help but feel a little skeevy about this."

"Eh, you'll get over it," Bombette said with a shrug. "Now, how are we going to get this night started?"

"Well, I was hoping I could double-team Mario with Chompy - with me fucking his dick cowgirl while she rides his face," Goommaria said, causing Chompy to smile and wag her chain tail loudly.

"That might be fun, but I don't want to have to wait for Mario," Bombette replied. "I'm so pent-up right now that I think I might literally explode, so how about I have Mario fuck me hard into the wall first while you guys have fun by yourselves for a little while?"

"Excuse me? You don't honestly expect me to have to wait, do you?" Bow interjected. "I might let you have a taste of him after an hour of teasing him with my noble Boo rear, but only if you properly behave yourselves."

"Bark bark!" Chompy said before throwing herself at Mario's groin, rubbing her face against his pajama pants and taking a deep whiff of his cock underneath.

"Hey! You stop that right this instant!" Bow said angrily as she, Goommaria, and Bombette tried to pull the Chain Chomp off Mario.

"Oh dear… this isn't good," Koopie said next to Nita on the other side of the bed. "I wish there was a way we could settle this without any fighting…"

"Well, there might be one way." Nita reached into her plush hoodie and pulled out seven bendy straws that she had in case of a juice box emergency and scribbled on the ends with a permanent marker. "Have any of you ever heard of… Bowsa's Game?"

"Bowsa's Game?" Mario blinked in confusion as everyone turned toward the Shy Gal. "That sounds like something made for starting arguments, not ending them."

"Well, it used to just be called the Queen's Game, but the name changed pretty quickly after she took the throne," Nita explained. "The game is simple; these straws are all labeled 1-6, and one is labeled with a crown. At the start of the round, we each draw a straw, and whoever gets the one with the crown on it gets to be 'Queen Bowsa' for the round. Then, Bowsa picks one or more numbers, and whoever drew those numbers have to do whatever 'Bowsa' tells them to."

"Oh, I remember playing that with my friends when I was a kid!" Bombette commented. "One time, one of my friends ordered me to headbutt a rock; she didn't expect it to hurt more for the rock, though."

"Right… but I trust that the way we'll be playing the game will be much more… adult," said Bow.

"Yeah; this way, no one has to worry about fighting over partners, or even what to do," Nita replied. "We can all just wait for our numbers to come up."

"That's a wonderful idea, Nita!" Koopie hugged her new Shy Gal friend. "But, uh, if you don't mind me asking… what happens if someone asks someone to do something that they don't want to do?"

"Well, then they lose the game," Nita replied. "But since that's a fate worse than time-out, let's do our best not to think about that." Nita then turned around for a moment and randomly shuffled the straws around in her hands. "Alright, everyone; take your picks!"

They all did as Nita instructed and took a straw.

"So… who's the first Bowsa?" Goommaria asked.

"Ahem." Bow lifted her straw and showed the crown at the bottom. "Was there ever any doubt?"

"Ah, I should have known better." Bombette subtly rolled her eyes. "So what's your first order, your 'Majesty'?"

"Hmm… well, I suppose I may as well start out mercifully. Numbers 3 and 4… kiss each other."

"Alright, I have number three!" Bombette announced. "Who's got lucky number four?"

"Bark bark!" Chompy replied happily with a straw in her mouth.

"Oh…" Bombette looked down at Chompy's oversized tongue as it hung out past her lips. "Could you give me a moment to get re-mmmph!"

Chompy interrupted Bombette by jumping at the taller blonde girl, shoving her tongue into Bombette's mouth and all the way into her throat. The others could hear her start to gag a little as Chompy treated Bombette's mouth like her playground, not intending to dominate it, but doing so nonetheless. By the time the kiss finally ended, Bombette was completely out of breath and her eyes were starting to water.

"Wow… cough… that's one hell of a smoocher… you've got there…" Bombette gasped, to which Chompy wagged her tail proudly. "I think I'll… hold the straws this round."

Bombette grabbed the straws and distributed them again.

"Oh my! It looks like get to be Bowsa this time," Koopie announced, a little nervous. "I'm not really sure what to ask… uh… how about numbers 1 and 5… do a 69!"

Bow looked at her 5 straw and then over to Goommaria, who had the 1. "Very well then; but I expect you not to slack off."

"Hey, I'm a Goomba! We might not be that strong, but we never give up!" Goommaria said as she climbed on top of Bow and spread her pale legs wide. "Just let me know what does and doesn't feel good, okay?"

"Very well then…" Bow pushed Goommaria's blue panties to the side and began to lick, her tongue moving with both grace and power. The instant she found Goommaria's clit, she showed no mercy and went at it as hard as she could to try and make the Goomba woman squeal.

"Eeeeh!" Goommaria's whole body tensed as she felt a sudden spike of pleasure surge right through her. "O-oh, so you're playing dirty, huh? Well, two can play at that game!"

Goommaria pulled down Bow's panties, grabbed ahold of her thighs, and began eating her out. Her tongue immediately dove into her ghostly snatch, past her warm labia, and deep into her inner folds. Her tongue might not have been as long as Chompy's, but Goommaria was still determined to shove as deep into Bow's pussy as she possibly could, and a brief moment of ghostly transparency showed that she actually made it pretty far.

"Ah! G-good so far… but don't expect me to forgive you if you let up even a little!" Bow said as began her licks. As a boo, her tongue was just as long and powerful as Chompy's was, but she focused on just licking Goommaria's clit for now, perhaps out of concern for smudging her lipstick.

"Okay, I guess we'll just leave their numbers out for a little bit as we keep playing," Koopie said she gathered the straws for yet another round. This time, it was Bombette who got to be Bowsa.

"Sweet! I've always wanted to be in charge!" the bombshell said with a proud smile. "But what to make you guys do? Hmm… ah, I might as well just skip right to the good stuff! Number 2, make Number 3 orgasm however you want!"

"Huh, it looks like I'm number three," Mario said, holding up his straw. "Who's number two?"

"That would be me," Nita said, raising her hand. "I've never been with a human before, let alone a male though. I'm... not really sure where to start." Mario could tell that Nita was blushing underneath her mask.

"Don't worry, it's not that hard!" Koopie said reassuringly. "Well, I mean, besides his dick of course. First, you just take off the clothes that you need to and snuggle in close!"

Nita pulled her black panties off from underneath her night hoodie and Mario took off the rest of his pajamas. Then, the Shy Gal pulled herself into Mario's lap, where she placed Mario's hard cock in between her thighs.

"There we go! Good job!" Koopie congratulated. "So, how does it feel?"

"Really hot… and it's moving all on it's own. It's kind of weird," Nita replied, shuffling her thighs from side to side.

"You can get off if you're uncomfortable," Mario assured her.

"And lose the game? No way!" Nita snapped, upset by the mere suggestion that she'd give up.

"Yeah, but I don't think you're going to get Mario off by just using your thighs like that," Bombette pointed out. "You're going to have to go a lot further than that!"

"Right, of course… I knew that!" Nita insisted. "Just give me a moment to get ready… I mean, so he can get ready! Even I know you need to have proper foreplay before you have sex with a guy!"

"Right, of course!" Mario smiled, pleasantly surprised to see the woman who he was terrified of hours before in such an honest and vulnerable position. He sat there and enjoyed the sensation of the Gal's soft thighs as they continued to massage him, with Nita gradually scooting herself forward as time went on. Soon, Mario's dick was underneath the hem of her hoodie, and he could feel her moist labia start to rub against it.

"Ooooh… that feels kind of good!" Nita shivered with arousal as she increased the pace of her movements, eager to feel more of Mario's cock against her. "And rubbing against it like this is starting to make me feel so… hot! I'm starting to realize why so many Gals back in high school talked about these things so much!"

"If you think it feels good now, just wait until you have it inside you!" Bombette assured her. "Trust me, your mind is going to explode once Mario really starts fucking you; he might have amnesia, but he still really knows what he's doing!"

"Really? That good." Nita's body grew even hotter as she imagined what that might feel like. This led to even more arousal leaking out slicken Mario's dick, which let her rub against him even faster and turn her on even more. "Ah, I can't take it anymore! I'm gonna put it in right now!"

Nita raised her hips a little and slammed them back down - only for Mario's cock to slide sharply across her lower lips and not enter her, though the sensation did cause her to let out a loud yelping noise.

"Ah!" Nita shivered for a few moments before glancing downwards to see Mario's cock head pressing up through the lower fabric of her hoodie. "Hey, it didn't go into me! What gives?"

"Hehe, sorry! It takes a little bit more… finesse than that," Bombette informed her as Goommaria and Bow continued to lick each other behind her. "I mean, yeah, you can get a guy inside you in one movement if you practice enough, like I have, but that takes-"

"Hmmmm…" After pausing for a bit, Nita repositioned herself, and actually managed to pull it off in one solid motion. "Just had to aim better. Thanks!"

"O-or you could just master it right away, that works too." A bead of sweat ran down Bombette's face as Nita got used to the feeling of having Mario inside her.

"Ah… so this is what 'real' sex is like." The Shy Gal began to rock her hips back and forth again, rubbing Mario's shaft against all her warm, moist inner folds. "It feels pretty good so far, but I don't think my mind has been blown yet."

"Well, that's because we haven't started moving yet," Mario grunted, struggling to keep his voice steady with the way she was squeezing his cock. "Here, let me show you."

Mario grabbed the Shy Gal by her sides and began to move her up and down, thrusting her on his dick. She was relatively small compared to Mario, so she wasn't that difficult for him to get moving even with how hard she was squeezing around his shaft.

"OoOoOh yeah, that's more like it!" Nita said happily over the wet sound of their hips colliding together. "Keep going! Do it faster! Faster!"

Mario did as she asked and quickened his bace, and he even thrust himself up into her for good measure. Her petite breasts began to bounce inside her hoodie, though that quickly stopped as she began to roughly massage them. The springs of the large bed underneath them began to creak as their fucking grew more and more intense, and their bodies grew even hotter. All the while, their friends watched with their eyes transfixed on their grinding forms, knowing that they could keep playing Bowsa's Game, but not wanting to look away.

"Nya! Ah! Gah!" Nita let out a cute squeaking noise whenever she felt Mario press close to her womb, which was quickly becoming every single time they thrusted into each other. Part of Mario wished he could see the adorable faces that she made while she made those noises, but he knew that she'd have to show him that on her own. "More… faster! Faster! I want to feel even better!"

Growing impatient with the pace Mario was moving at, Nita gripped his shoulders and began to move herself, bouncing up and down on his lap like it was her first trampoline.

"A-ah! S-so fast!" Mario couldn't help but grunt as Nita took control of their fucking. Her movements were quick and reckless, and she was clearly trying to wring as much pleasure out of him as she could as quickly as she could. "You… really have a lot of energy, don't you?"

"Are you kidding? I could keep going like this all night!" Nita replied, her pssy seemingly growing tighter with each passing second.

"Hey, uh, maybe you should slow down a little bit," Koopie suggested softly. "I mean, that's Mario's groin you're bouncing on right now, not a trampoline."

"Hey, Bowsa said that I get to make Mario cum however I wanted, and this is how I want to do it!" Nita replied. "Besides, he's having plenty of-aaah! Fun! Isn't that right, Mario?"

"Y-yeah, this does feel pretty good," Mario admitted, unable to deny how much he enjoyed the feeling of entering her tight hole over and over again. "But, if you could slow down just a little bit, I could thrust more and-"

"What was that, Mario? Go even faster?" Nita grabbed onto Mario's legs by the ankles, lifted them over her head, and began to pound herself down onto Mario's sky-pointed shaft as hard and as furiously as she possibly could ."I thought you'd never ask!"

"Oh wow… I never thought I'd see such a small girl put a man in the Yoshi position like that," Bombette said in amazement as they watched Nita's hips become a blur. All Mario could do at that point was grunt and take it as Nita grew so aroused that her juices were dripping down his groin all the way across his stomach. "It's honestly kind of impressive."

"Yeah… and she hasn't slowed down in the slightest," Koopie pointed out. "I wonder if she's hitting her womb like that."

"I'm pretty sure that's why she's doing it," Bombette replied.

"Ahaha! Winning… has never felt quite this good!" Nita giggled maniacally over the wet sounds of her slapping hips underneath her. "If I knew having sex with guys was this fun, I would have asked out those cute Toad cheerleaders I knew back in high school! Gal, what I've been missing out on!"

"Well, at least you know now, right?" Bombette said encouragingly. "And I know some really good Toad Houses for you to try out once we're out of the box."

"Hmm, I might just have to take you up on that offer," Nita replied, her body growing even hotter at the idea.

"N-Nita! I'm getting close!" Mario warned the Gal piledriving herself onto his throbbing pole.

"Aww, already?" Nita whined. "Are you sure you can't last a little longer? I wasn't kidding when I said that I'd go all night!" Despite what she said, Nita absolutely refused to slow down the pace of her fucking or stop the intense squeezing of her folds.

"N-no! And if you don't pull off soon then… you could get pregnant!" Mario pointed out.

"Hmmm…" Nita finally decided to take a break from her thrust to consider what Mario said, though she still wiggled her hips from side to side to grind Mario's swollen cockhead right next to her cervix. "Say, Mario… have you ever failed to defeat Bowsa? Or any other bad girl?"

"What?" Mario asked in surprise. "Uh… Goommaria! Have I ever lost?"

"Mmm… not that I can recall," Goommaria answered, lifting her face out of Bow's dripping, twitching pussy. "You've had a few close calls, of course, like that time you met Exor and she tossed you out of Bowsa's castle straight to- mmph, mmmph!"

"Did I say that you could stop licking me, knave?" Bow asked as she forced Goommaria back between her legs. Bow then returned to licking Goommaria's pussy twice as hard as before making the Goomba moan and whine uncontrollably into the ghost girl's clit.

"Then that means, if we have a kid together, that means… we'll have someone who's even better at winning than we are!" Nita gripped Mario's legs again and resumed her powerful, frantic thrusting. "She'll pretty much be invincible, and I'll win at giving birth!"

"Actually, Mono only get a small percentage of the fathe-mmmmph!" Goommaria began before being cut off by Bow's thighs again.

"Don't stop until I finish, or I'm going to drown you," Bow threatened, to which her friend dutifully resumed eating her out.

"Yes, yes… I can see it now! Our Gal daughter is going to be perfect!" Nita screamed as her thrusts reached a fever pitch and Mario could feel her wet walls clamp down like a vice around him. "Go right ahead, Mario! Give me all that you've got! I'm… going to win!"

Mario could only let out one last grunt before he began to unload inside the Shy Gal, packing her small womb so full of his cum that it overflowed out around his dick and onto groin. But that didn't seem to be enough for Nita's greedy body, which seemed to keep squeezing him again and again to milk out as much of his cum as possible, even if there was nowhere left for it to go.

"Ah~ So this is what a creampie feels like~" Nita shivered in pure ecstasy as she held herself tightly against Mario's groin. "It's not quite as tasty as the ones that grow in the Pink Station fields, but it is twice as filling!"

"W-well… I'm glad you liked it…" Mario replied as he caught his breath. "Can I… sit back up now? My back is starting to hurt."

"Oh, right! I guess it is time to move onto the next round anyway." Nita hopped off Mario's softening dick and sat back down on the bed, crossing her legs to make sure not too much more of his sperm leaked out.

As Mario righted himself, they could all hear the 69 going on behind them get more intense, with their faces now both drenched in arousal as they moved their tongues as aggressively as the could. In the end, Goommmaria was the one who finished first, with her pussy spraying Bow's face as her whole body shook. She remembered the threat the noble Boo gave her earlier, though, so she kept on attacking Bow's clit until she was finally rewarded with an orgasmic moan from Bow.

"Ah… that was… adequate," Bow said as she released Goommaria's head from her thighs, allowing the Goomba to breathe properly again. "Now, shall we start the next round? It's been too long already since I was last in charge!"

"Aaaaah!" Right before they started handing out the straws again, the group was interrupted by sound of a Shy Gal screaming in the bedroom right next to theirs. The voice belonged to Oaklie, and by the sound of the thuds that were also emanating from the room it sounded like she was starting to have fun with Muskular.

"Wow… sounds like he's granting a very special wish in there." Koopie couldn't help but blush as they all stared at the wall the noises were coming from.

"Tell me about it; he sounds more violent than an cannon over there," said Bombette. "I hope he doesn't break her or anything."

"Don't worry, us Gals are a lot sturdierner than we look. Now, let's start the next round already!" Nita demanded, so they passed out the straws. "Yes! I'm Bowsa this time! So, how about numbers 1 and 2… if you're both girls, let's see how you trib!"

"Oh my! It looks like that's us," Koopie said as she looked at Goommaria. "I'm not entirely sure how to do that, but… I guess I'll try my best!"

"Well, if you need help getting into position, then let me help," Bombette said as she brought Koopie and Goommaria closer together. "Now, just put your hips together like this, and make sure that your clits are touching directly…"

"So… do you feel like you're part of the 'team' yet, Nita?" Bow asked on the other side of the bed.

"Not quite… but I can tell that hanging out with you guys is going to be a lot of fun!" the Gal replied.

"Bark bark!" Chompy happily jumped on the Shy Gal and licked at her mask in response.

"Heh, well it's good to see that you're getting along with everyone already!" Mario said with a smile. "Now, for the next round…"

They passed out the straws again while Koope and Goommaria kept rubbing their pussies together in the background, and this time Chompy had the honor of being Bowsa.

"Bark bark bark!" Chompy jumped around on the bed excitedly before giving out her orders. "Bark bark, bark bark bark, bark bark!"

"Oh! You want 5 and 3 to do… what?" Bombette looked to Mario with an embarrassed look on her face. "I don't know, that might be a bit too far, even for me."

"Oh, that's just fine… as long as you're okay being a looooser," Nita said, poking the blonde bombshell teasingly in the tits.

"Hmmph… fine! I'll try it!" Bombette raised her arm and turned her armpit toward Mario. "Alright, plumber! Get in there!"

---

Meanwhile, above the toy box, above Toad Town, above the whole Mushroom Kingdom, Peach looked down at the giant spinning orb beneath him off his balcony. It was almost torture to him to look at it, because it let him know that his escape was right there, sitting in front of him, but there was absolutely nothing he could do to get to it.

"Well… that's the last of the chocolate officially gone," Twink said behind Peach, wiping some chocolate off her face as she tossed a candy wrapper as big as she was in the trash. "How are you feeling, Peach?"

"I'm doing fine, thanks for asking" Peach replied, putting on a practiced smile as soon as Twink asked. "Have you checked the halls yet, Twink? Do you think it's safe to try exploring again?"

"Yeah; it doesn't look like the guards are paying too much attention to you anymore, so they probably won't notice if you slipped out," Twink replied. "But are you sure it's still safe to use that secret passage? If Bowsa suspects that you might be sneaking out through her planning room, you could get in big trouble!"

"Don't worry; there's no way Bowsa could have figured that out by now," Peach replied. "If her daughters were here, maybe, but on her own she's just a bonehead. We'll be fine! Besides, we still have to keep trying to help Mario on his quest out there, don't we?"

"I guess so… but promise that you'll still be extra careful when we go out this time, okay?" Twink begged.

"Of course, dear." Peach hugged his tiny friend. "Now, let's go see what we can find!"

The two then went through the secret passage inside Peach's fireplace and entered the main hall of the castle. They could see armored Koopas patrolling through the darkness, but it was clear that they were mostly just going through the motions and weren't even looking where they were going.

Still, Peach knew it was best to be cautious, and carefully snuck along the outside wall of the hall until he found the first unlocked door he could. Behind it, Peach found a small dining room and a rather portly Shy Gal in a red hoodie sitting on the far side of a small table.

"Goodness me!" the Gal gasped in surprise when she spotted Peach, forcing the prince to shut the door behind him to avoid any of the guards hearing her. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know… I'm just your average, everyday tourist from the Koopa Kingdom," Peach lied as he walked in the room. "I was just taking a look around this place and-"

"Wait… I know that crown! It's on all the coins!" The Shy Gal would have jumped out of her seat if her legs had enough energy. "You're Prince Peach himself!"

"Er… yes, I am," Peach admitted. "And… might I ask who you are?"

"My name's Gourmet Gal, and you could call me a bit of a traveling foodie," she replied. "And I heard Bowsa was offering free grub to whoever works for her as a soldier, so I decided to stop by."

"Oh… so I guess that means you'll be calling the guards on me then, huh?" Peach asked.

"Hmm… I could, but I don't think I get extra food for actually working," the Gal replied. "I'll tell you what, though - if you can make something extra yummy for me in the kitchen nearby, I'll keep this little meeting of ours a secret. Sound like a deal?"

"Something yummy?" Peach repeated as Twink hid behind his back. "Well, I suppose I could try to make you something. Are you hungry for anything in particular?"

"Yes - tasty and fast," Gourmet Gal replied. "Everything else is secondary. Here; take this key; you'll need it to get into the kitchen."

"Okay then - I'll try my best!" Peach said cheerfully before exiting back out the way he came.

"Good thinking, Peach! By the time she realizes you won't be making her anything, you'll be long gone!" Twink quietly exclaimed.

"Actually, I was being completely serious just now," the prince replied as he carefully made his way toward the castle kitchen.

"Wait, what? But how will you know what to bake for her when she's been so vague?" Twink gasped, unnerved by Peach's casual confidence.

"I don't understand the question." Peach said, having already gathered the ingredients necessary, wearing a pink apron with a peach on it. "If someone wants me to bake for them, it's only natural to bake. Besides, we could use a little extra food to take back to the bedroom, right?"

"I suppose so." Twink flew closer to Peach and watched curiously as he mixes eggs, flour, and sugar together. "You know, I never really understood why people on this planet bake so much. I mean, can't you just eat star bits when you're hungry?"

"Star bits are pretty rare down here, I'm afraid," Peach replied as he put his concoction into a pan and then into the kitchen oven. "In fact, they only rain down from the sky once per year, and they're always eaten by the next morning."

"What!?" Twink exclaimed, shouting until she realized just how loud she was. "Ooops… I mean… what? You're telling me that people in the Mushroom Kingdom barely eat star bits once per year? I can barely go a week without them! How do people survive down here?"

"Well, it is a lot of hard work making food all the time, but I like to think that it's worth it!" Peach replied as the smell of cake slowly filled the air. "I mean, not only is prepared food really tasty, but making it is a great way to make people happy!"

"Really? Does that mean that royalty like you cook stuff for people all the time?" Twink asked.

"Well, most royalty actually has others bake for them - but my mother was always an exception." Peach leaned on the stone kitchen tabletop behind him. "She always loved baking for people so much! She'd do it all the time, from morning until night. It didn't matter if you were a guard, or a queen, or a peasant; if you came by the castle, she'd offer to make something for you to eat!" Peach sighed wistfully with nostalgia. "Sometimes I think she did it because she missed cooking for dad… or maybe she did it because it was something she saw as 'useful' as her health started failing… but I swear, I'll never forget the recipes she taught me."

Suddenly, the timer that Peach had placed over the oven let out a small ding.

"Ah, the cake is done!" Peach put on white oven mitts, pulled out the cake, and set it by a nearby window sill to let the night air cool it. Then, once it was cold enough, he took the cake tin back into the kitchen and carefully removed the cake with a knife. Then he smothered it in thin layer of pink icing, and then circled the top with strawberries. "There! My mother's famous strawberry cake! Oh, I do hope Gourmet Gal likes it!"

"Don't worry, Peach! If it's your mother's recipe, I'm sure she'll love it!" Twink assured the prince.

"You're right." Peach took a deep breath and turned back to the kitchen exit, cake in-hand. "Now, let's get this back to the dining room before any of the Koopas smell this!"

Twink nodded and dutifully opened the door for Peach to sneak out. Luckily, the walk was so short that they didn't even see any Koopa guards in the shadow.

"Here you go!" Peach merrily announced as she entered the dining room. "One cake, all for you!"

"There you are! I was wondering when you'd get back!" Gourmet Gal said as the cake was placed in front of her. "You were gone so long, that I practically wasted away to nothing!"

She then took a large fork and scooped the upper half of the cake under her mask in one swift motion.

"Oh…" Gourmet Gal paused to chew. "Oh!" She chewed even more furiously. "Ooooooh! Delicioooooooous! This is way… too… good!"

With speed that was far faster than a woman her size should have been able to achieve, Gourmet Gal hopped up out of her seat and began to literally bounce around the room in excited glee. Eventually, she came to a stop in front of peach, but even when she was trying to stand still her feet kept moving at a blinding pace underneath her.

"Oh my goodness! That cake was so awesome!" Gourmet Gal was panting now and running her hands up and down her body, barely able to contain all the energy she had. "They should make you the Pastry Prince instead of the Mushroom Prince with skills that good!"

"W-why thank you!" Peach replied slightly awkwardly. "Uh… but is there a reason that you're rubbing yourself like that right now?"

"Of course! Don't you know that the quickest way to a woman's heart is through her stomach? And with a cake like that, you might as well have just speared me straight through the atrium!" Gourmet Gal exclaimed as she stepped closer to Peach. "I know I just asked for the cake, but… you can't leave me hanging like this! I have to have more!"

"Ah! Ms. Gal! Are you… propositioning me right now?" Peach blushed pinker than his shirt.

"I'm not quite sure what that means, but I really want to have sex wtih you," Gourmet Gal replied. "Please, prince! If I don't let this lust out, I feel like I'll explode!"

"Well… I guess this is partly my fault… and I'm not in a hurry to go anywhere…" Peach looked Gourmet Gal in the mask and nodded. "Okay, I'll do it."

"Yes! Thank you thank you thank you!" Without a moment's hesitation, Gourmet Gal picked Peach up, placed him on dinging table, and began ripping off his clothes, She then leaned down and began to lick Peach's exposed chest, her mask still obscuring her mouth, but not blocking her ravenous mouth at all!

"Ah, aaaah!" Peach moaned, wanting to stay quiet to avoid attracting attention but barely able to contain himself with the intense sensations rushing through him. "C-careful! My skin is delicate."

"Oh, I can tell! It's softer than the icing of an eclair, and I love it!" Gourmet Gal licked Peach's hairless chest even harder. "Mmm, you're almost as delectable as that cake you made! I could spend all night just eating you up! But I think we both know we won't have time for that."

She then crawled on top of the helpless prince, placing her thick rear on his groin and dangling her oversized breasts in front of his face. They weren't as big as Bowsa's tits, but they were far bigger than breasts a girl her height had any right to have, and they were so stuffed with fat that they had an almost hypnotic jiggle to them even when confined inside her red hoodie - and he got to see them jiggle quite a lot as Gourmet Gal began to grind herself against Peach.

The prince blushed silently as he felt the Gal's warm groin rub against his, only a thin lawyer of white satin cloth separating their sexes from each other. That cloth soon became soaked as a mixture of Gourmet's arousal and Peach's precum began to leak onto it, soaking it through and causing it to cling tightly to her aroused lower lips. The Gal only had the patience to keep rubbing for a few minutes before that was no longer enough for her, and she ripped her panties off and let them smack the wall behind her.

"Ah, so delicious! Your body tastes so good!" Gourmet Gal moaned, now rubbing Peach's dick directly. "It's sending shivers up and down my spine every time I touch you, and your cock…! Ah! It's the biggest hunk of rock candy that I've ever felt on a guy!"

"Th-thank you. You have a really nice body as well, you know." As he spoke, Peach reached for Gourmet Gal's love handles and gripped them to help with her grinding. "Nice, and full, and so much to play with!"

"Yeah - I'm definitely not your dainty Goomba! You can go all out with me, and I promise I can take it!" Gourmet Gal lifted her hips a little and slammed them back down for emphasis, eliciting a soft moan from the boy trapped beneath her.

"Th-thanks… but I don't think I'll be able to do that much from my position," Peach replied.

"Don't worry; I'm not above a little exercise every now and then!" Gourmet Gal lifted her hips again, but this time she held herself up long enough to grip Peach's dick and line it up with her dripping entrance. Then, she slammed herself down onto his cock so hard that Peach thought for a moment that his groin was about to go through the most pleasurable bone-breaking of his life.

"Ah, aaaaah! So… tight!" Peach gripped Gourmet Gal even harder as his mind struggled to withstand the pleasure currently rushing through it. "Gourmet Gal! You feel so good! I don't think I've ever had a woman take so much of me inside her in one movement before!"

"Ooooh~ Whatever you're feeling, Peach, I swear I'm feeling it ten times as strong~" Gourmet Gal began thrusting herself up and down Peach's long cock, her groin making a wet slapping noise every time she hilted Peach inside her. "This long john of yours is even more scrumptious than I thought it would be! It's filling me up so much, it's like I just had a full meal! And the way it's making my head spin whenever I move… I'm going to have to savor this~"

Gourmet Gal placed her hands onto Peach's shoulders and moved her hips even more violently, the powerful energy of her sugar rush returning in full force. Her massive bust now completely obscured Peach's vision, making it so he could do nothing but focus on the sway of her tits as she rode him furiously. Peach did his best to fuck her back, but he was so meek compared to Gourmet Gal that he was like a bird trying to speed up a hurricane. Eventually, Peach decided to let all pretense of his participation melt away and just closed his eyes and laid to enjoy the feel of Gourmet Gal's folds.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! So yummy! So this is the royal candy that Bowsa has hunted for so long!" The Shy Gal screamed, the smell of her sweat now mixing with the sweet smell of what was left of Peach's cake. "Aaah, and I can feel you twitching inside me! I bet your cream is just a delicious as the rest of you! I can't wait to taste it!"

"Y-yes, well… I'm afraid that you're going to have to taste it… very soon! Guuh!" Peach grunted as the Gal's bouncy booty squeezed him inevitably towards a powerful orgasm. "I-if you want me to pull out… you'll need to start getting ready soon!"

"What? And miss my cream filling? That's the best part!" Gourmet Gal wrapped her arms around Peach's neck and pulled him into her bosom as she kept riding his dick as hard as possible. "Go ahead and spray your batter as deep as you can! My womb is hungry, and you're the only one who can feed it!"

"G-uh! Gah! Aaaaaa!" Peach gave one last powerful grunt before unloading inside the Shy Gal, his long cock painting her insides a thick layer of white. His orgasm was so powerful that, even while he was crushed underneath Gourmet Gal's weight his hips couldn't help but shake and buck with each powerful shot he gave. Then, just as Peach felt that his orgasm might be coming to an end, he felt the Gal's powerful folds clamp down around him to wring out even more cum into her overstuffed pussy.

"Aaaah~ It feels even better than I imagined it would!" Gourmet Gal sighed in bliss as she enjoyed an orgasm of her own before starting her thrusts all over again.

"W-wait! Be careful! I-I just came!" Peach gasped.

"More!" was Gourmet Gal's simple response. "Must have more! More of your delicious, scrumptious, mouth-watering-"

And then the dining table they were fucking on broke underneath them and they fell to the floor.

"Ah! Oh dear!" Peach pulled himself out of Gourmet Gal and brushed away the cloud of dust surrounding them. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah… sorry about that," they Shy Gal said as she cleaned herself off. "I guess I got a little carried away there, huh?"

"Not to worry - I have plenty of tables to replace this one," Peach assured her as they both stood up. "Do you want to keep going, or…"

"Nah - the mood has kind of been ruined. Thanks again for making that delicious cake, though! It was the best I've ever had!" Gourmet Gal then dipped two fingers into her pussy to collect some semen and then placed it underneath her mask. "Hmm! And your creampies aren't bad either!"

"Thanks… but you're being too kind, really," Peach replied as he put his clothes back on. Up above them, Twink was still blushing and hiding behind a light on the ceiling. "I didn't do anything that special."

"No, I mean it! In fact… for making me such a nice meal, I'm going to tell you a secret!" Gourmet Gal exclaimed. "One of the Star Spirits that Bowsa is holding captive is trapped on Mt. Lavalava on Lavalava Island, to the south. I also heard Bowsa say that there's a nasty Piranha Plant guarding it, so if you send Mario there, he should be extra careful."

"Wait… you know about Mario freeing the Star Spirits?" Peach asked.

"Yeah - I ran into him a little bit ago, and he made me a really nice cake! Not as good as yours, of course, but enough to prove what a swell guy he is," the Gal replied.

"Ah! So he is still doing well! Oh, thank you so much for telling me that, Ms. Gourmet!" Peach leapt onto the larger woman and gave her stomach a tight hug. "Have a good rest of your night, miss! If I get out of this, you can come by for a treat whenever you'd like!'

"Mmm, I have a feeling I'm going to take you up on that offer," Gourmet Gal said before waddling to the door. "So long, prince!"

"Lavalava Island… I think I've heard of that place before," Twink said as he flew out from her hiding place behind Peach. "It's supposed to be really beautiful there, but also really dangerous!"

"That's unsurprising… but we still have to let Mario know! The whole world is counting on him to save the Star Spirits, after all!" Peach replied. "I'm sorry, Twink. I know I've relied on you so much so far, but could you please find Mario and let him know as soon as you can?"

"Of course, Peach!" Twink smiled and gave a tiny salute. "I'll get on that right away - just as soon as we get you a bite to eat."

"Oh… I suppose we did forget to get some food while we were in the kitchen, huh?" Peach felt his stomach rumble. "I guess Mario could wait until we got a small snack."

Peach walked back toward the exit, but right before his hand could reach the doorknob it began to turn on its own. Gasping, Twink immediately flew above the doorframe, but Peach didn't have time to hide anywhere before the door opened and Kammy Koopa stepped through.

"Ah-ha! I knew I heard some noises coming from in here!" Kammy groaned, clearly annoyed. "Remember, you are our prisoner, and prisoners should do their best to remain-" Kammy cut herself off and blinked at Peach in surprise before taking out her wand. "Wait just a moment! How did you get out of your room!?"

"Oh, you see… Bowsa said that she wanted me to, uh…" Peach stammered.

"Augh, nevermind!" Kammy interrupted. "I need to get you back before her Grumpiness realizes what happened. "Guards!"

Two Koopa women with long red hair and full sets of armor rushed into the room.

"You called, Kammy?" one of them ask.

"Yes - get Prince Peach back to his room, on the double!" Kammy ordered. "And don't dilly or dally, you hear me?"

"Yes ma'am! Right away ma'am!" The guards swiftly picked Peach up over their heads and carried him out of the dining room, disappearing back into the castle.

"Oh dear… hang in there, Peach," Twink whispered to herself as she watched this happen from up above. "Help will be here soon, I promise!"

With that, the little star flew out a nearby window and began descending to the planet below.

---

When Mario woke up the next morning, he was greeted by strong smell of sex and the feeling of all his friends lying on top of him. They had a very fun night together, and all the damp spots that were left on the other side of the bed were proof of that. Throughout their little 'Bowsa's Game', they fucked each other in every position they could, pairing up in ways they never expected to and bringing each other to orgasm again and again. The one downside to all that fun, though, was that it made actually sleeping a little uncomfortable, so they all gathered together into one big pile to avoid all the damp spots. Sleeping like that was very fun too, of course, but now that he was awake again Mario was starting to feel a little bit suffocated.

"Alright… rise and shine everyone," Mario said as he wiggled his face out from underneath Bombette's tits. "It's time to get going."

"Hmm… just five more minutes," Bow grumbled.

Koopie, meanwhile, yawned as she pulled out of the combined embrace of Chompy and Goommaria before getting up from the bed and opening the nearby window curtains.

"Ah!" Bow winced and let out a long hiss as she covered her eyes from the incoming light. "Dammit… the fact that you corporeals insist on walking around in the day still baffles me."

"Sorry, but not all of us can see in the dark like you do." Goommaria turned and kissed Bow on the cheek. "I could help you curl your hair this morning, if it would make you feel better."

"Fine, but you better know that I have very high curling standards," Bow said as she floated up off the bed.

"Bark bark!" Chompy exclaimed before jumping off the bead and dashing toward the door.

"Hey, no fair!" Bombette whined as she stumbled off the bed in her underwear after the Chain Chomp. "I was going to use the bathroom first!"

"Don't worry, I'm sure we can make room for more than one of us," Goommaria said as she followed her friends outside and found Nita, fully clothed and wearing a small backpack, standing outside in the hall. "Oh! Uh, hello there, Nita. Uh, is there a reason you weren't with us when we woke up a minute ago? Did you have trouble sleeping."

"No; the only problem I have with sleeping is the fact that when you snooze, you lose," the Shy Gal answered. "So, I got up an hour before you guys and did all my morning stuff already. I'm all set and ready to go!"

"Wow! That's impressive!" Goommaria replied. "Did you learn that habit from working with General Gal's army? Or back when you were an athlete?"

"Maybe… but I have a feeling that she just didn't want to risk anyone seeing her without her mask and hoodie," Mario said as he left the bedroom.

"Pfft, as if." Nita scoffed but Mario could tell she was blushing with embarrassment under her mask. "I've just had ten sisters growing up. Back when I was little, losing the race to the bathroom meant going the whole day without washing. It was survival of the fittest!"

"Right, of course," Mario replied. "Well, since you're already done up here, do you think you could get breakfast ready for us when we come downstairs?"

"Hmm… well, I've never actually cooked for anyone besides myself before," Nita admitted. "But, it can't be that hard, right?"

But, despite what Nita said, when they came downstairs half an hour later they started coughing because of the smoke that was billowing from the kitchen stove.

"W-what is going, cough, on?" Koopie hacked through the smoke. "Did Bowsa… light the house on fire?"

"Nah, I'm just making some pancakes," Nita replied back through the smog, totally unphased. "I think they might turn out a little crispy, but I still have a good feeling about this batch."

"S-stand aside!" Muskular pushed Mario's friends to the side and concentrated, using his powers to grant everyone's simultaneous wish that the fire Nita had started was out, and the smoke was gone. "Phew… that was a close one."

"Yeah - what's the big idea?" Oaklie asked as she walked forward, her camo outfit still slightly disheveled from her fun with the Star Man the night before. "Are you trying to burn down my mom's home or something?"

"No, of course not! I was just trying to make some food!" Nita insisted. "You know, like a good teammate."

"Now you're starting to understand why I sent her her on that mission, huh?" Jenny asked from the corner of the dining room.

"W-wait, have you been there all night?" Bombette asked the ex-general.

"Yeah; I am still in time out, after all," Jenny replied. "I can't even go to the bathroom unless Mayor Gal says so."

"Ah, I knew I forgot to do something last night," Mayor Gal spoke up as she walked down from her bedroom on the second floor, wearing her blue hoodie that day. "You can go to the bathroom real quick, Jenny, but then it's right back to time-out! You still need to learn what you did is wrong, after all."

"Yeah, yeah... " Jenny grumbled as she finally left the corner.

"Ah… so I see my stove has been permanently ruined, and it isn't even 8 AM yet," Mayor Gal said as she approached the kitchen.

"Uh…" Nita hastily stepped in front of the stove. "It's not ruined! I just made it cooler by turning it black, that's all!"

"Don't worry, I'm not upset!" Mayor Gal replied. "After all, I'm in charge of the whole toybox again because of you! I can just raise taxes if I need to get that replaced."

"R-right, of course," Koopie replied, clearly a little unnerved by the open corruption. "A-anyways, thanks for letting us stay the night, Mayor, but we really should get going. We have a lot to do if we're going to save the world, after all."

"Yes, of course - a public servant's duty is never done." Mayor Gal walked to her front door and held it open. "The train tracks should all be back in place by now, so you should be able to go straight to Blue Station without any problems. Good luck out there, and give Bowsa an extra stomp for me when you finally meet her, okay?"

"Don't worry, we'll do our best!" Goommaria assured her. "Come on, everyone; let's go!"

"Coming, coming!" Oaklie straightened out her leaves and jumped onto Muscular's back, riding him as they all left the house.

"Good riddance… about time they left our box!" Jenny grumbled under her breath.

"Now, I guess it's just the two of us now, huh?" Mayor Gal said as she sat down in a chair by the grounded Gal in the white hoodie. "No more guests, or guards, or anyone."

"Let me guess - you're going to make me play outside again, aren't you?" Jenny asked underneath her bag.

"No… actually, I was thinking we could do something else," said Mayor Gal. "I wonder if we still have that chess board…"

---

The group finally arrived back outside the toy box half an hour later, standing in the hidden room in the abandoned house that they found it in.

"Ah, finally free!" Muskular took a deep breath in and out. "I can feel my connection to the cosmos returning already."

"Aw… does this mean that you have to go now?" Oaklie asked as she hopped off her strong new friend.

"Yes, but don't worry - I'll always be there when you look up at the stars at night." Muskular put a reassuring hand on Oaklie's shoulder. "Stay strong, and keep helping people, and I'm sure we'll meet again."

Oaklie smiled and nodded before they walked out of the house together and back onto the streets of Toad Town, where almost all of the damage from the Shy Gal mischief rampage was finally gone. They couldn't admire it for long, however, as the quiet noise of the bustling city was suddenly interrupted by a voice screaming out from above.

"Marioooooo!" Twink shouted as she hurtled toward the ground at a breakneck pace, the air behind her sparkling as she went. She was going so fast that when she finally stopped in front of Mario that sparks flew out from under her feet. "Yes! I managed to find you quickly this time! And… wait, is that Muskular?"

"Hello, Twink! It's good to see you again," the brawny star greeted. "Are you still studying hard to become a professional wish-granter?"

"Yes, of course!'' Twink replied, blushing slightly. "In fact, I'm here to fulfill a wish right now! Prince Peach wants me to let you know that the next Star Spirit is trapped on Lavalava Island, in the southern sea!"

"Prince Peach!?" Mario perked up instantly when he heard that name. "He sent you again? Is he doing alright?"

"Don't worry, he's still safe. Bowsa still hasn't figured out exactly what we've been doing yet." the Star Kid assured him. "You might want to start worrying about yourselves, though. I heard someone say that Lavalava Island is super dangerous! Be careful when you go there!"

"Aw… and here I was hoping we might get the chance to relax in the sun," Koopie whined, to which Bow shivered in disgust next to her.

"Very good, Twink! I can't say that I can approve of a star your size putting yourself on the line like that, but I thank you for your help," said Muskular.

"Th-thanks… that means a lot to me." Twink blushed and looked away. "Say, Muskular, when all this is over, do you think we could… you know…" Twink trailed off and blushed so brightly that she looked like a red dwarf. "N-never mind! I have to get back to Peach! Good luck everyone!"

"Thanks, Twink!" Koopie waved up at the Stargirl as she flew away. "We won't forget your help!"

"Well, I'm afraid it's time for me to depart as well, my friends," Muskular spoke up. "Farewell, Mario! I know you have what it takes to free my comrades. We're all counting on you!"

With that, the Starman floated up toward the sky and disappeared in a column of light.

"Yeah… all counting on me," Mario said to himself as he watched Muskular disappear. "No pressure, right?"

"Hey, don't be like that! We've already freed most of the Star Spirits, haven't we?" Koopie interrupted encouragingly. "I'm sure the rest of them will be a snap by comparison!"

"Actually, Mario's quests generally only get harder with time," Goommaria pointed out. "Fighting Bowsa just makes her angrier, after all."

"Uh... oh! I know! Why don't we go get some breakfast somewhere? I'm sure that will take your mind off your worries!" Koopie suggested.

"Some food would be welcome right about now - but only if we eat indoors." Bow blocked out the sun from her view with her fan. "The brightness is already ruining my appetite."

"Well, if you need someplace like that, I suggest you check out Club 64," Oaklie interjected. "I won't be joining you, though; there's a berry bush out the woods waiting for me with my name on it."

"Okay; see you later then! Thanks for all your help!" Goommaria waved as Oaklie jumped onto the nearest tree and crawled up it. "Now… where to find Club 64?"

"Hmm… the name sounds familiar, but I don't remember seeing it anywhere nearby," said Mario. "What about you girls?"

"Why are you asking me? This is literally the first time I've been outside the box," said Nita. "... Huh, so this is what fresh air is like. It smells kind of funny."

"Bark bark?" said Chompy.

"In a good way," Nita clarified.

"Well, if we don't know where it is, then let's just ask," Goommaria suggested. "Oh, but before we do, you might want to… lay a little low, Nita. The last time Shy Gals were in town, they kind of wrecked a bunch of stuff, so they may not be too welcoming when they see you."

"Lay low?" Nita looked down at her bright red hoodie through her unmissable white mask. "How am I supposed to do that? Pretend to be Mario's hat?"

"Good point…" Goommaria rubbed her chin in thought. "You know what? Just stand behind us and if someone has a problem with you, then they'll have to go through us!"

"I'd remind you all that she's the one who needs protection the least, but I have a feeling that wouldn't stick," Bow said before floating to a nearby Toad woman with brown pigtails and a yellow dress. "Excuse me, miss; have you heard of a place called 'Club 64'? My friends and I would like to eat there."

"Sure - just head south and turn left just before you reach the docks," the Toad woman replied. "You can't miss it! If you're going for the entertainment, though, you might as well go somewhere else."

"Huh? Why's that?" Mario asked curiously.

"Chanterelle, the famous singer who performs there every day, lost her voice," she replied somberly. "Everyone was so sad after Peach was kidnapped that she sang her heart out to try and keep people happy. She was wonderful, but it really took its toll."

"Oh, that's terrible! My little sister loves her music!" Goommaria gasped. "I hope she gets better soon."

"I hope so too, but… at this point I think it would take a miracle to get her singing again," the Toad replied. "And the whole kingdom is pretty short on miracles right now."

"Yeah, that is true…" Mario sighed and glanced up toward the sky.

"Hey!" Goommaria snapped at Mario. "No feeling down about the weight of the world on your shoulders right now, remember? We're going to get a nice breakfast, and relax."

"R-right, of course." Mario nodded. "Thanks for your help, miss. Have a good day!"

Following the directions of the Toad woman, the group began walking its way south through Toad Town, passing by many of the city's residents as they went. Most of them were Toads, which didn't surprise Mario, but what did catch him off-guard was the shocking number of Shy Gals that were still walking around.

"Huh… didn't you guys just tell me that they don't like seeing Shy Gals around here?" Nita asked as she looked at a Toad woman teaching a Shy Gal how to garden in her front yard.

"Yeah, I honestly wasn't expecting this either," said Bombette as they watched a Shy Gal push a young Toad on a swing. "Especially with how mono-phobic Toad Town tends to be. Why the sudden change?"

"Well… maybe being out here in the real world matured the Shy Gals a little, and they've learned to like it out here," Goommaria suggested.

"That, or they just got used to them running around," Bow said as she watched a Shy Gal hide around a corner with a can of shaving cream, only to be disarmed when a Toad woman walked around the corner offering freshly-baked snacks. "It must be a nice change of pace for the Toads to have enemies that can actually be defeated with a kind smile and a good treat for once."

"True - but they'll still probably get blasted out of here the moment they try hitting on too many Toad guys," said Bombette.

"H-hey, I'm sure they wouldn't do that!" Koopie spoke up. "I'm sure that this is the start of a hundred beautiful friendships! Just you wait!"

"Bark, bark!" Chompy suddenly interrupted the conversation and pointed further down the street to a small blue building with a glowing rainbow neon sign that said 'Club 64' over the entrance.

"Ah, there it is!" Koopie clapped her hands in joy. "Let's go in and see what they have."

"Yes, hello there," a waiter with short brown hair and green spots on his cap said as the group walked into the restaurant. Inside, they could see the place had somewhat of a sailor theme to it, with life preservers, anchors, white sailor hats, and plastic fish nailed to the wall. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah - a table for…" Mario took a second to count his companion. "Seven please."

"Right this way, sir." The waiter took the group to the biggest table the restaurant had and quickly took their orders. "Alright, your breakfasts will be ready in just a moment. Please wait here."

"Catch of the day, huh? I'm surprised; I didn't take you to be much of a meat eater," Bow said to Koopie.

"I'm not, actually," Koopie replied. "But I know Chompy would like to eat what's leftover, so I figured we might as well split the meal."

"Bark bark!" The Chain Chomp said, already salivating at the thought of fresh fish bones.

"Hey, Mario! I think I see Chanterelle over there, by the stage," Goommaria said, pointing to a Toad woman with curly brown hair, a purple-spotted cap, and a glittering purple dress. "She has a microphone, too. Poor thing… she must be trying to sing right now."

"Really? Sounds to me a bit like someone doesn't know when to quit," Nita said dismissively. "N-not that I'd know anything about that, of course."

"Right…" Mario looked back at the woman as she forlornly kept trying to sing, to no avail. "Hey, who's that suspicious person next to her? The one sitting at the piano."

"Huh?" Goommaria looked back at the stage and saw a woman in a black conductor's suit with long blue hair, a blue turtle shell on her back, and what looked like a pair of plastic glasses and a fake moustache on her mischievous face. "Oh no…"

"No no no! You're doing it all wrong!" The obviously-a-Koopa woman grunted in frustration as she slammed her hands down on her piano keys. "You need to sing using the diaphragm! Otherwise, you'll never get a loud sound!"

"I'm trying my best" Chanterelle replied, her voice just barely above a whisper. "But my throat… the sound just won't come out!"

"Well, it better! There's no way my new kingdom is going to be without the best musical talent of our generation! It'd practically be worthless without your voice!" the Koopa woman shouted. "Now, go get a lozenge and we'll try again in ten minutes. We'll get you singing again even if it kills me!"

"Yes… thank you for you help, Widlug," Chanterelle whispered, a genuinely grateful smile on her face as she stepped down from the stage.

"Yep… that's Ludwig, one of Bowsa's kids," Bow commented. "I rarely leave my mansion, and even I can recognize her by that ostentatious hairdo of hers."

"Should we do something about her?" Nita asked. "Like, I don't know if you have time-out up here or anything, but having your enemy walk around your town like that can't be safe."

"No" Goommaria slammed a hand dramatically down on the table. "We're just here to get breakfast and relax, remember? Besides, it doesn't even look like she's up to anything nefarious anyways; just trying to get that pop diva to start singing again."

"True… but I can't help but wonder why she can't just get Bowsa to fix the woman's voice with the Star Rod," said Koopie.

"Who knows? Maybe Ludwig is too prideful, or Bowsa's getting stingier with her magic," said Bombette. "We're getting closer to fighting her, and she's going to need all the magic she can get to stop us."

"Wait… you don't think there's a chance that Bowsa could still beat us even with all the Star Spirits, do you?" Mario asked.

"Uh… hey, look everyone! It's Parakarry!" Goommaria interrupted, pointing to the ditzy Parakoopa floating by the main bar.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I'm afraid I took a wrong turn at a shell-wash, and your parcel got a little… moist," Parakarry said as she handed a soaking object covered in brown paper to a Toad woman with silver hair and a chef's hat on top of her red-spotted cap. "I, uh, hope it isn't ruined."

The chef took the package and opened it, revealing that there was a fish, still alive and moving, inside.

"Er… what I meant to say was 'you're welcome' for keeping your package moist!" Parakarry added hastily. "Thank you for using Mushroom Kingdom Mail! Have a wonderful day!"

"Hey! Parakarry!" Goommaria shouted from her party's table on the other side of the room. "Over here!"

"Huh?" The mailwoman stopped right as she was about to reach the exit. "Oh! It's you guys again!"

Parakarry smiled and flew toward Mario's table, though she had to stop when a gust from her wings sent a woman's salad directly into her face.

"Oops!" The Koopa blushed with embarrassment and finished the rest of her trek on foot. "It's good to see you again, Mario! How's your quest to save the world going?"

"Well, we haven't been captured yet, so I suppose things have been going as well as they could be," Mario replied. "How has your quest to find all your lost mail going?"

"Just swell! I mean, yeah, I have nearly drowned, been electrocuted, stabbed, and eaten by feral bats, but it's been worth it to make sure each piece of mail gets delivered!" Parakarry puffed out her chest proudly. "Oh! And it looks like you got a new partner since the last time I met," she added when she noticed the Shy Gal at the table. "What's your story?"

"Hello, my name is Nita," the Gal replied with a lazy wave. "My sense of self-esteem and self-worth was destroyed, and we're doing our best to try and get it back so I can be a 'winner' again."

"Oh! That sure sounds like fun!" Parakarry replied, pretending to know what that meant. "Oh, speaking of mail, I actually have some for you, Mario! Do you mind if I give it to you here?"

"Of course not!" Mario replied. "In fact, I could use a little distraction right now."

"Alrighty then!" Parakarry reached into her brown mail bag and pulled out four letters. "Let's see here, this one is from… Goombaria to Goommaria! Would you like me to read it to you?"

"My little sister sent me a letter? That's great!" Goommaria exclaimed. "Go ahead, read it!"

"Alright then! Ahem!" Parakarry cleared her throat and opened the first letter. "Dear hermana… Hey! Guess who! I mean, yeah, you probably know who this is since I wrote my name on the envelope, but… sorry! I didn't really know how to start this out; this is my first letter after all."

"Aww… your sister sounds like she's absolutely adorable," said Koopie.

"Yeah, she kind of is," said Goommaria. "Keep going, Parakarry!"

"Anyways, things are going pretty well back at Goomba Village! Mamá has been trying to teach Madré how to properly cook, and Abuela keeps trying to fix things around the house. Neither of these have been going that well, of course, but I make sure to keep cheering them on! In other news, they're building a new house nearby for a new Goomba family that's going to be moving to the area. I hope they have kids who like playing house, and who won't try to steal my doll. Oh, speaking of which, I noticed that Jr. Troopa doesn't seem to be hanging around the village anymore? What is up with that?"

"Ah… you don't want to know, sis… you don't want to know," Goommaria said to herself.

"Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that we're all thinking of you back home, and we hope that you can finish your big epic journey soon!" Parakarry continued. "By the way, how's Mario doing? Has he been talking about me at all? I hope so; he's so cute! Don't tell our moms, but just the other night I had this dream that Mario-"

"O-okay, you can stop now," Goommaria interrupted, blushing. "You can move onto the next letter now."

"Really? But I'm not done yet." Parakarry shrugged and opened the next letter. "Okay then; this one is from Tayce T. to Mario. Ahem…"

"Hello, Mario! How are you doing? Are you still out there, eating regularly? Remember not to skip breakfast; it's the most important meal of the day after all!"

"Augh, she sounds just like my old homeroom teacher." Nita rolled her eyes underneath her mask. "Hey, I can skip breakfast and go straight to chugging away caffeine soda if I want to!"

"Uh… actually, Tayce T. Is a guy," said Bombette.

"Oh… well then, I might not mind if he made breakfast for me," Nita added. "But only if it was a good one!"

"Anyways, I'm mailing you to say that I ran into someone really interesting who says that she knows you!" Parkarry continued. "Her name is Gourmet Gal, and she had me cook a few meals for her. I was a little afraid of her at first, since she seemed like the kind of woman who would eat me out of house and home, but she was actually pretty nice! She also had some nice cooking ideas; I never thought about mixing fire flowers with eggs before, but it turns out they make quite the tasty combo! Give it a try yourself if you ever find the time."

"Gourmet Gal? I remember her," Nita said as Parakarry put the letter down. "We went to high school together; she was one of the closest things I had to a friend."

"Really? But… weren't you kind of a jock?" Goommaria asked.

"Yeah, but I couldn't help but admire her for doing what she loves, you know?" the Shy Gal replied. "I once saw her eat 64 strings of licorice in one sitting. Any woman with that much dedication deserves respect, you know?"

"Now then, onto the letter from Tubba Blubba and Shaid to Bow," Parakarry announced.

"Did they mail it first-class express?" Bow asked.

"You bet!" Parakarry enthusiastically replied. "They even went all-out and bought an extra-thick envelope to protect it from any, uh, accidents that might occur during transit."

"Then you may read it to me." Bow took out her fan and lightly cooled herself as Parakarry began.

"Dear Bow; this is Tubba here! I, uh, hope you're doing well! I know that might sound a little insincere from the woman who ate a bunch of your friends, but I really mean it! I've been trying to turn over a new leaf ever since my heart and my body reunited! I even let some of your Boo friends hang around my fortress, and they showed me how to make ghost food! It passed straight through me, though… literally… but it was still tasty!

"Some old habits die hard, though. There were more than a few moments where a Boo almost popped out to scare me on reflex, and I have felt the need to punish a few girls on occasion but… I think we can all say that this is at least better than all of us having to stay awake in fear of each other.

"Anyways, thanks again for apologizing to me! I know it took a lot out of your pride to do something like that, and… well… it just means a lot to me that you'd go out of your way just to make me feel better. I hope the sun hasn't been too much of a bother for you, I know it must be pretty tough."

"My, my… asking how I'm doing for once?" Bow said with a faux gasp. "I must say, it doesn't sound quite as sweet as her screams of terror did back in the day, but this is a nice change of pace." Mario shot Bow an upset glance at that comment. "Joking, only joking!... unless you plan on punishing me again, of course~"

Mario sighed, knowing that spanking her now would just encourage her.

"Anyways, I look forward to getting the chance to see you again. Even if you seem scary sometimes, all your Boo friends say you're so nice and… I'm starting to think that's true," Parkarry continued. "Now, onto Shaid's portion. Ahem…

"Dear Lady Bow; as requested, I have thoroughly uncleaned the manor, put up new cobwebs, un-raked the leaves, and restocked the mansion store with all the worst goods. I have also filed three marriage requests, one plot to steal your inheritance, nine requests to spend time with you, and eleven saleswomen scared off from your doorstep. This morning, I rearranged your-"

"Okay, I'm going to have to interrupt you there, Parakarry," Bow spoke up. "Just go ahead and skip all the managerial stuff. I don't bother reading most of that stuff anyways."

"Righto!" Parakarry saluted and skipped past most of the rest of the letter. "And now for my personal comments; I do hope that you are doing well out there in the world, Lady Bow. You know you and your family mean the world to me, and I cannot help but lie awake at day wondering if any harm has befallen you. I know you are a strong young woman now and I should trust your judgement, but… I can't help but remember you as the little girl that I taught how to play 'peekaboo' all those years ago. Please, stay safe out there, and let me know if you need anything - anything - at all. Yours forever,

Shaid."

"Tch… idiot… I can't believe she got so emotional there at the end," Bow said in annoyance, though she was hiding a blush behind her fan. "She really should work on her professionalism."

"Hey, don't be like that! She just cares about you, that's all!" Koopie commented.

"Hmm… I wonder how cute she really was when she was younger?" Bombette rubbed her chin curiously as she stared at the Boo. "Baby Bow… I can see it now!"

"Hey! Don't imagine me that way!" Bow huffed angrily. "We Boos like to be scary, so we all want to grow out of our cute days as quickly as possible. Otherwise, we'd never frighten anyone."

"Well, at least you got to be cute," Nita interjected. "Shy Gals like me don't get that privilege."

"Uh… I think we might have gotten a little side-tracked here," said Goommaria. "Parakarry, do you think you could read the next letter?"

"Of course!" The mailwoman replied. "This one is from Tutankoopa to Chompy. It reads, and I quote… 'Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!' Endquote."

"Bark bark!" Chompy wagged her chain tail and hung her tongue out of her smiling mouth in joy as Parakarry finished the letter.

"Ha! Sounds like someone is still having fun with your friends!" Bombette laughed so hard her breasts nearly burst from her bra. "Well, serves her right for what she did to them out in Dry Dry Desert!"

"Oh my! You're telling me there were even more Chain Chomps out there in the desert? Maybe it's for the best that I didn't go with you after all," said Parakarry. "Okay, I think that's all the mail that I had for you all! Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my route. Drop by the mail office if you ever need to mail anything, okay?"

"Bark bark!" Chompy replied, sending a shiver down Parakarry's shell.

"Of course we will!" added Mario. "Thanks for the letters, and good luck out there!"

"Thanks, Mario; but I don't need luck," Parakarry replied. She then turned around and immediately tripped on one of her own wings, causing her to land on a nearby table and send a bowl of Tartar sauce right into Ludwig's hair across the room. "I, uh… meant to do that."

"Alright, your orders are all ready," the waiter from before said as he returned to Mario's table with a large tray of food. "Please, enjoy to your hearts' content!"

"Ah, finally! Thank you so much!" Bombette said as she dug into her fish and chips. "You guys are definitely going to earn a tip for this stuff!"

"Don't worry, it was no trouble at all, miss," the waiter replied. "Please, let me know if you need anything else."

---

Half an hour later, the group had paid for their delicious breakfast and left out the doors of Club 64 together, with Chompy still chewing on the bones of the fish Parakarry had brought.

"Ah… that was great! I really needed that!" Goommaria sighed and rubbed her stomach. "What about you, Mario? Do you feel more relaxed now?"

"Yeah, I do, actually," Mario replied. "In fact, I don't even remember what I was so stressed about earlier!"

"Uh, wasn't it the fact that we still have to save the whole world, and it's only going to get harder from here?" Koopie asked.

"Oh… right." Mario's shoulders drooped instantly.

"Ooops… sorry," Koopie said as Goommaria shot her a glare.

"Uh… I know! Before we go on the next leg of our journey, why don't we check up on your brother, Mario?" Goommaria walked up behind Mario and put a hand on his shoulder. "I bet he's really missed you, staying home all alone and injured."

"Oh! Right, Luigi!" Mario began perking up. "I suppose I wouldn't be a very good brother if I don't check up on him every now and then, huh? Well then; let's-a-go back to my place!"

Mario then walked back to the city gates at the north end of Toad Town and led his friends out past the city limits to the pipe that led to his home. A few moments later, and they were miles away in the forest at the humble cottage that the Mario brothers called home.

"Hey, bro! Are you there?" Mario shouted as he stepped off his transport pipe. "It's-a me, Mario! How are you holding up?"

"W-woah, hey! Be careful with that! That's not a toy!" Mario could hear Luigi's voice say as they approached his front door. "Well, okay, maybe you can play with it a little, but just don't break it!"

"Luigi? Who are you talking to?" Mario asked as he reached for the doorknob. "Are the Bob-Ombs still with you?"

Mario opened the door and what he saw made his jaw drop straight to the floor. There, in Mario's bedroom, he could see Luigi on his back, broken arm in a cast, tended to by several Medi Gals.

"Now, hold still, and eat up," a Gal in front of Luigi said as she held a bowl and a spoon full of warm soup. "You're going to need lots of energy to get better, after all!"

"Yes, and do your best to relax too - too much stress will impede your healing," another Medi Gal said as she rubbed Luigi's shoulders from behind.

"And don't worry about chores! I've got them!" a third one said as she held up a pile of dirty laundry that was bigger than she was. "Just tell me what to do and when to do it! And, uh, where your washing machine is."

"Ah!" Mario gasped before taking out his hammer and getting into his combat stance, with his friends following his lead behind him. "Don't worry, Luigi! We'll save you! Charge!"

"Oh, hey there, bro!" Lugi called out through a mouthful of soup when he finally noticed Mario. How's it going?

"AAAAaaaah… huh?" Mario and his party's initial charge lost its momentum as they realized that neither Luigi nor the Medi Gals were panicking. "Uh… we're fine, thanks for asking. Uh… weren't the Bob-Ombs from Bombette's fortress the ones taking care of you?"

"Oh, well, funny story about that…" Luigi sat up further on his bed so he could speak directly to Mario. "The bomb girls heard that the Koopa Sisters might still be around and looking to take over their home, so they headed back for a little while to help guard it. I didn't mind since I figured I could take care of myself for a little while - but only an hour after they left and I was trying to untie my shoes, these girls showed up."

The Medi Gals all gave Mario a friendly wave.

"They caused some trouble for me at first, but when they noticed I was injured they just wanted to play doctor with me," Luigi continued. "And, well, that play quickly became the real-deal."

"You don't need any analgesics, do you?" one of the Medi Gals asked Luigi. "I'd hate for you to suffer unnecessarily."

"Don't worry, I'm good," Luigi replied. "I can't believe I'm saying this, bro, but I think these Gals might actually be better caretakes than the Bob-Ombs!"

"Wow, that's great to hear, but… you Gals aren't still loyal to General Gal, are you?" Goommaria asked nervously.

"Oh, don't worry - this is way more fun than working for General Gal ever was!" the Gal massaging Luigi replied. "We gave up on her the moment we started caring for Luigi here!"

"Well, as much as I hate quitters, that's probably for the best," said Nita. "Jenny's regime folded like one of those paper fortune-teller things, so there's nothing to go back to now."

"Really?" The Gals all gasped at once. "That's great! That means we can stay here as long as we want without worrying about getting court-martialed!" The Gals cheered and jumped for joy. "And we can invite our other Medi Gal friends to help take care of you, Luigi!"

"That's great!" Luigi replied. "How many friends do you have, by the way?"

"Just ten or twenty," the Gal holding Luigi's laundry replied.

"Oh… oh boy!" Luigi swallowed nervously. "A-anyway, what did you come home for, bro? Did you need something?"

"No, I just… I just wanted to see you again, Luigi. To make sure you're alright." Mario stepped forward and gently hugged his brother. "It had been a bit too long since I've seen you."

"Ah… I know that tone," Luigi said as he hugged back. "Things have been pretty crazy out there, huh?"

"Yeah, a little bit," Mario admitted. "No, it's more than that. I guess I'm just starting to realize just how much the world is counting on me, you know?"

"Hey, don't sweat it - I know things seem stressful sometimes when you're out there kicking turtle tail, but you're never truly alone," Luigi told Mario. "I promise you, even if things look bleak, things will work out. And, even if they don't, I'll still be there for you no matter what!"

"Heh… was that supposed to make me feel better?" Mario asked with a half-bitter laugh."How are you supposed to help me out when you're all beat-up like this?"

"Hey, I always find a way, don't I?" Luigi asked. "Oh, wait, you don't remember most of that yet do you?"

"Not yet, but I am getting things back piece by piece," Mario replied. "In the meantime, you stay here and keep on healing, okay?"

"Well… if you insist." Luigi kicked up his feet and let the Medi Gals return to feeding and massaging him. "Good luck out there, bro! Remember, if you need anything at all, I'll be here."

"Thanks, Luigi - that means a lot to me." Mario gave his brother one last embrace before heading back outside with his friends and returning to Toad Town.

"Awww… that was so sweet!" Koopie said as they reentered the capital. "I had no idea that brothers could be so loving!"

"Well, of course we can be," Mario replied. "Why wouldn't we be able to be?"

"Uh… I don't know, actually," the Koopa answered. "I just… never met a pair of brothers before in my life. It's usually just sisters, sisters, and more sisters for Mono like us."

"Ah, right - I keep forgetting that you're not just normal people sometimes." Mario rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly. "Anyways, we should probably start thinking about getting back to our main quest. Twink said that the next Star Spirit is on an island to the south. Do any of you know how we might get there?"

"Well, I think our best bet would be just to head back to the docks we were at before," Goommaria answered. "If we're lucky, we'll be able to charter a boat there that isn't too expensive. After that, we'll be there before you even know it."

---

"What do you mean you won't take us to the southern sea!?" Goommaria complained to the Toad woman with red hair, red spots, and a white sailor suit in front of her.

"Sorry, but everyone knows that part of the ocean is super dangerous," the sailor replied as she tied a knot on her ship. "Some even say that it's cursed; going there is just a one way trip to Della Jane's locker. Trust me, I'm doing you a favor by not taking you."

"But you don't understand! We have to get there to save the Mushroom Kingdom!" Bombette pointed out.

"Yeah, well, a lotta good a kingdom will do for me if I have lungs full of salt water, huh?" the sailor replied. "Go find someone else to grant your death wish, okay?"

"Augh… that was the fifth sailor I asked today…" Goommaria's shoulders slumped with depression. "What about you girls? Have you had any luck?"

"I'm afraid not," said Bow. "A few women even accused me of being a pirate ghost when I asked; can you believe that? Pirate ghosts are so last century."

"Bark bark!" Chompy shook her head.

"Well, I got someone to give me this toy boat?" Nita said, holding up a small white piece of plastic. "Does that count for anything?"

"Not unless we're planning on sailing across a bathtub," said Goommaria. "At this rate, we'll never get to Lavalava Island!"

"Oh, you're having trouble finding passage to Lavalava Island as well?" A familiar voice perked up.

"Wait, Kolorado? Why would you need to get to Lavalava Island?" Koopie asked.

"It's rumored that there are ruins from an ancient civilization hidden away somewhere in that lonely piece of land, and I couldn't call myself an archaeologist if I didn't try to see if the rumors were true." Kolorado said with a tone of confidence and optimism.

"Oh. Well if we ever find someone willing to take us, I'll be sure to let yo-"

"Ooooooh…" Before Mario could finish, he was interrupted by a loud, whale-like moan. Turning around, the group saw a giant woman with long, dark blue hair, and wearing a soaked white shirt leaning against the docks. She had to be at least thirty feet tall, and was about waist-deep in the ocean water that surrounded the pier. "What am I going to do now?" she asked herself.

"Uh… excuse me," Mario spoke up. "I don't mean to intrude but… is something wrong?"

"Oh, sorry! It's nothing, really!" The woman lifted her head and blushed brightly. "I was just bemoaning some trouble I recently came into. You see… there's been something that's just been upsetting my stomach lately."

"Upset stomach?" asked Nita. "Go down a pint of ice cream, you'll be better in the morning."

"Nita! I have a feeling that she's feeling bad because of something she ate!" countered Goommaria. "She probably just needs some rest."

"Actually, I think some calming tea would probably be best," said Koopie.

"Sorry, but… I don't think any of those will help my stomach," the whale woman whined. "You see, it wasn't anything I ate or did, it's just… I can't help but feel queasy around awkward social situations."

"Huh?" Bombette arched a blonde eyebrow. "Okay, you lost me. Could you start things over from the beginning?"

"Well, you see… I have this friend who's a Fuzzipede, and normally we get along great, but… she recently went through some pretty tough emotional turmoil and she came to my apartment to vent," the whale women explained. "But, the things is… I don't know how to deal with other people's issues! Heck, I barely even know how to deal with my own! But there's no way I can tell my friend that, so now she's just at my place all the time constantly complaining. I haven't been able to eat for days! What do I do!?"

"Hmm… say, you're used to swimming for long distances, right?" Kolorado asked. "Have you ever been to the southern sea?"

"Huh? Yeah, of course - that's where all the best krill is. I used to go there every day - back when I could eat, that is," the whale answered. "Why do you ask."

"Well… perhaps we could help each other out," Koopie suggested. "You see, we need to get to the southern sea ourselves. Do you think you could take us there if we help you get your friend out of your apartment?"

"Really? You'd do that for me?" The whale woman smiled and stopped leaning against the dock. "Why, if you helped my friend out, I'd be willing to give you a million rides! You have no idea how happy that'd make me!"

"Well then, I guess it's settled," said Mario. "Point us to your apartment, and we'll take care of things!"

"Wait, hold on! We're not really going to help someone with their petty emotional problems, are we?" Bow asked. "Don't we have anything better to do? Perhaps building a boat to the south with toothpicks?"

"Oh, come now; you of all people should know that even small emotional problems can snowball into something serious," Koopie pointed out.

"Okay!" A loud splash echoed across the ocean water as the whale woman jumped for joy and turned around. "Jump on my back, everyone, and I'll take you straight to my place! Be careful not to let go, though; I'm not great with CPR if you start drowning."

"Hmph! Fine!" Bow huffed as they all hopped onto the whale's back and gripped her shirt. "But she better have some real problems, I swear to Omniboo…"

---

"Alright, here we are" the whale woman announced as they arrived at a giant, partially-submerged apartment complex. "My room is number 1B, and don't worry; it should be unlocked."

"Thanks! We'll do our best!" Goommaria waved the whale woman goodbye as they entered the building, the walls and doors all towering stories above their heads.

"Woah, this place is giant!" Koopie said with amazement as they wandered the halls. "This is like Tubba Blubba's fortress, only even bigger! It's like we're bugs or something."

"Eh, it's not that impressive. I've seen people with bigger vacation homes back in the Toy Box," Nita commented. "Though, I guess 'big' might have been a relative term there."

"I think it might be a relative term here too, actually," said Goommaria. "I mean, this place looks massive to us, but looking at these apartments… I bet they only have one, maybe two rooms for each whale girl."

"Really? Aww… maybe our new friend can get solace bigger?" Koopie suggested.

"No, no, we're not going to be her real estate broker too," Bow interjected. "Let's just get in, get out, and go save the next Star Spirit! Ah, here it is!"

Bow flew up to the door of apartment 1B and slapped it open with one powerful swipe of her hand. Inside, the apartment was cloaked in a thick layer of darkness.

"Oh, I like her decoration style," Bow said as she floated inside. "Gloomy, messy, derelict… this whale is a woman after my own heart!"

"Hello? Is anyone in here?" Mario called out as he followed Bow.

"Go away!" an angry female voice shouted back through the darkness. "I'm not up for meeting new people right now!"

"But we're here to help!" Bombette shouted. "Your friend told you that you were feeling down, and we're here to help talk you through it!'

"I said I don't want to talk!" the Fuzzipede shouted back through the dark.

"Hmm… I can't see anything in this darkness. Bow, do you think you could find a lightswitch for us to help us look?" said Goommaria.

"Fine, but only because I don't want to bother helping you avoid tripping over things." Bow disappeared and a moment later a clicking noise filled the room. "Huh, it's not working."

"Beli forgot to pay her electric bill for the month," the Fuzzipede replied in the dark. "That's fine, though; this suits me, since I'm all alone."

"Brrr…" Nita shivered in fright as she peered into the room from the doorway. "Okay, that's enough dark for now! Let's bring out the light!" Nita pulled out a large red flashlight from her hoodie and shined it around the room. "There! That's better! Now, where is this Fuzzi… ah!"

Nita gasped as her light landed upon a large orange couch chair. There, a woman with bushy black hair, a yellow shirt with a blue fish hook logo, and a black miniskirt with black spats underneath. She was lying back in the oversized chair with a bowl of candy Shiver Fish underneath her arm and a depressed look on her face.

"Ah! Turn out that light!" The Fuzzipede covered her eyes. "Don't you guys know how to take a hint?"

"Wow, you look, hrm-" Kolorado cut herself off before she said something she regretted. "What I mean is, it looks like you've been through a lot. Would you mind telling us what made you wind up like this?"

"I… it's kind of silly." The Fuzzipede blushed and looked away. "You'll probably just laugh at me."

"No, we won't! We promise!" Koopie replied. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it's no laughing matter!"

"Well… have you ever heard of the phrase, 'always the bridesmaid, never the bride'?" The Fuzzipede asked bitterly. "Well, that sums up my life in a nutshell pretty well! Girls are always using me to help them get with guys! Every other month, one of my friends will hear about what a great 'wingwoman' I am and ask me to help them get a boyfriend… and the second that they get one, they leave me behind in the dust like we never even met!"

"Wow… that's so sad," Koopie said sympathetically as she pulled herself up onto the chair. "You must feel so used."

"Yeah… like a piece of bait," the dark-haired girl replied. "Everyone is always saying 'don't give up, there's lots of fish in the sea', but do any of them ever consider that I might want a nibble too? No!"

"Bark bark!" Chompy leapt up onto the chair and snuggled onto the woman's lap to comfort her.

"Yeah! You shouldn't let what those girls did to you tie you down like this!" Bombette called out encouragingly. "If they were just using you like that, then they weren't really your friends to begin with! You should forget about them!"

"B-but…" The Fuzzipede wiped her nose with her arm. "Then… I wouldn't have any friends at all."

"No friends? Are you serious?" Bow scoffed. "What about the one who's letting you crash at her apartment?"

"Beli? Yeah, I guess… I guess she always has treated me better than everyone else," Fuzzipede admitted. "But even she abandoned me in my time of need…"

"That's not true at all!" said Mario. "She was worried sick about you! So sick, that she couldn't stand to see you like this! That's why she brought us here; to try and help you."

"She… she really did that for me?" The Fuzzipede began to sit up her seat. "Wow… I had no idea that she cared about me that much."

"Hey, that's friendship for you!" Koopie smiled. "And if you ask me, that's better than romance any day of the week!"

"Yeah… I… I think I'd like to see her again." The Fuzzipede began slowly shuffling off the seat. "Though, I'm not gonna lie… I still wish I had a boyfriend too."

"Hey, don't worry about it! You got so many people boyfriends, that I'm sure you'll get one yourself in no time if you start trying" Mario assured her as she helped the tired Mono stand. "In fact, I think you're pretty cute myself!"

"Y-you mean that?" The Fuzzipede blushed wildly. "The famous Mario thinks I'm cute… This can't be real!"

Mario leaned over and kissed the girl on the cheek.

"Do you believe it now?" he asked.

"Y-yes, I do…" The Fuzzipede blushed as red as Mario's cap. "Come one, let's get out of here already; it smells like candy and sadness in here."

"Yeah - way too much like high school," Nita said as they all headed to the exit of the building.

"There you are!" Beli said as the group reached the water-logged entrance of the apartment. "How did things go?"

"See for yourself!" Goommaria stepped to the side and showed the Fuzzipede standing behind her.

"Hey, Beli. It's good to see you again," she greeted, a small smile on her face. "Sorry if I was kind of mooching off you, but… I'm feeling a little better now."

"Oh, Luretta! Don't say that!" The massive whale girl picked the Fuzzipede up and hugged her against her chest. "You weren't a burden at all! I'm just sorry I couldn't comfort you myself."

"Don't worry… you did more than enough," Luretta replied, smiling up at her friend.

"Thank you all so much! I don't know exactly what you did, but I can't even begin to say how much this means to me!" Beli said as she put Luretta back down on the ground. "If there is anything at all I can do to make it up to you, don't hesitate to ask!"

"Well, you could start by fulfilling your promise that you made earlier," Bow said, floating upwards. "You know, the one where you take my friends and I to our destination in the southern sea."

"Oh! Right, of course!" The whale girl turned around and knelt down into the sea water. "Hop on, and I'll take you right there!" Mario hopped onto Beli's back and his friends followed closely behind, including Luretta. "So, you just want me to take you to the general area, or did you have a specific spot in mind?"

"Lavalava Island, if you please," Koopie asked politely.

"Wait… you guys seriously want to go there?" Beli looked over her shoulder and blinked at the group in surprise. "Okay, it's your funeral I guess."

With that, the whale girl kicked herself away from the apartment complex and began swimming gently through the water, a thin mist of saltwater filling the air as she cut through the waves.

"Finally; we're back on track!" Goommaria cheered. "Now all we have to do is sit back and relax until we get there!"

"Yeah! This will be like… a fun cruise!" said Bombette. "I've always wanted to go on one of those; a great way to catch some sun rays without drying your powder too much." Bombette then lied down and began to relax like she was a tourist on a beach.

"So many discoveries, waiting to be found!" Kolirado said, a glimmer of intrigue shining in her eyes.

"Well, that still doesn't change the fact that there won't be much to do on the way," Luretta pointed out. "But, if you want… I could help you pass the time, Mario." No sooner than she said that however, she looked away and began laughing. "Er, sorry! That joke was in poor taste! I know you wouldn't want to- mmph!"

The Fuzzipede was cut off by Mario's lips softly colliding with hers.

"Don't worry - I wouldn't mind a little distraction," Mario assaulted her. "And I don't think my friends would mind either."

"Yeah, go right ahead!" said Koopie. "Just be careful not to fall off; rescuing you would be pretty hard."

"Thanks, Mario…" Luretta said as she looked up into Mario's eyes. "You really know how to make me feel like a real catch again~"

---

AN: So if you've gotten to this point, you're probably wondering why the Fuzzipede segment is different. In vanilla, a whale is supposed to have stomach problem caused by some weird grub thing inside her stomach, so Mario and pals have to go inside it in order to make it leave. But once I got to that point in this story, I realized something; if I translated this directly to monster girls, it wouldn't make sense. Other than the vorish implications (nothing wrong with the kink, it's just not my thing), there's the fact that the Fuzzipede is used as actual bait, meaning that Luretta would try to escape being used as a food item so that fisherwomen would have a better chance at catching fish (or fish Mono like Cheep Cheeps). That seemed like to bizarre of an issue to broach even in this fanfiction, so I just decided to make this into more of a domestic issue, with Beli's apartment serving as the whale's stomach, and Luretta's concern with being used as a wingwoman instead of getting used as bait.

Hope no one gets too off-put by the change, but that's my reasoning for making it. Anyways, see you all in Under Tail.