Yet another chapter is here, and it's the longest one yet. But I am very proud of what I've written for it. Unlike the previous three, the third person narration will show some of Belle's perspective as I think some things in this chapter are easier to describe from someone who's actually native to the surface, but Pearl still gets her moments. Please enjoy!
Chapter 4: Black and Yellow Paradise
Belle landed feet first on the field in front of Peach's Castle and released Pearl from her grasp. She quickly ushered Pearl to follow her and they both approached the castle gates.
"Why are we going in here?" asked Pearl.
"Usually, I'd take an easy pipe back home," explained Belle. "But we're so far from it at this point, that it'd be dark by the time we got back, so this should be faster. I just hope it'll be easy…"
At the doorway leading inside, a note was left pinned to the wall
"If whoever reads this is anyone associated with the Koopa Troop, welcome. No one's home! Now scram– and don't come back! If you're not, I'm currently in another castle discussing political matters in the Flower Kingdom, but you're free to explore my castle if needed. Just don't try to steal or break anything. I have surveilance cameras and hidden Bullet Bills ready to strike if you do. And please don't enter my bedroom either. I have some… private things in there. You are however free to take some leftover cake slices in the kitchen fridge if they haven't been taken already. Hope you enjoy your visit! 3
Yours truly, Princess Toadstool
PEACH"
Belle heaved a sigh of relief and wiped some sweat off her forehead. "Well, I guess this'll be easier than I thought. And who can say no to cake?"
"What's cake?" asked Pearl. Belle deadpanned in response.
"I've got a lot of amazing foods to introduce you to, don't I?"
Pearl giggled. "I guess so."
Belle led her Underworlder friend into the castle walls. The both of them stopped and took a moment to appreciate the interior. The room was double layered with a red velvet carpet spreading from the entrance to the three staircases ascending up to the mezzanine with several doors to go through. The rest of the floor was a marble-textured checkerboard pattern with a sun-like pattern in the center of the room. The walls even had a lovely sky-with-clouds pattern showering the castle with a warm and sunny atmosphere, even when it was nighttime or rainy outside. Pearl and Belle had only stepped foot into this castle for a few seconds, but already, the two felt safe and cozy. They could probably take a nap in here for a short while if they wanted to; it's been a long day after all. Though the thought of Belle introducing Pearl to her friends back at home was energizing enough to keep them in an adventurous mood.
"Wow… does Princess Peach really live here?" asked Pearl as she looked around.
"She sure does," replied Belle. "Y'know, walking in here makes me feel like I'm in Mario's shoes. He comes here a lot, and so do a lot of his friends. Life as a celebrity must be pretty sweet! Do you have any celebrities back where you live, Pearl?"
Pearl stopped to think. Would she count herself and her mother? After all, everyone knew them for ruling the kingdom. Then again, telling Belle that would spill the beans that she's a princess. She couldn't just give up her chance at being treated equally yet. She just couldn't! And no one else seemed to come to mind, so she shrugged.
"I don't think so… I mean, my mom did tell me about some famous people that shaped our kingdom's culture, but I don't think they're around anymore."
Belle just nodded. "That's all good. I guess you don't have to be jealous of anyone down there then."
Well, that wasn't exactly true. Pearl did envy non-royalty her age who could easily make friends and not be subject to having the very ground they walked on worshiped. But with Belle in her life now, it's not like she had reason to hold onto these feelings anymore, so she smiled in agreement.
Belle took the girl upstairs and into the central double doors. This took them to another staircase which brought them to another huge room which looked identical to the last one. Though it had one major difference in that the middle staircase was gone, replaced by another door which a green-spotted Toad with a spear was sleeping in front of.
"Shh…" Belle directed Pearl as they both snuck over to the door at the southeast corner.
Surely enough, it was a kitchen. Looked better than her mom's kitchen if Pearl said so herself. A stove to the left, a long table against the wall with various ingredients, a fridge to the right, and a cozy yellow brick wall to really give that home cooking feel. (1) Belle immediately bolted to the fridge and took out a platter with four slices of cake with light pink frosting.
"Aw yeah! Just enough for the four of us! Have a taste, Pearl."
Pearl took her finger and dipped it into the frosting. When she tasted the frosting, it felt like the ice cream all over again, albeit really good in a different way. It wasn't quite as cold, but it was just as soft and had a taste that she could only describe as a party in her mouth.
"Mmmmmmmmmm!" exclaimed Pearl as Belle boxed the rest up.
"Only the best from this kingdom's princess! Now let's go! I think our path to my kingdom should be downstairs."
Belle took Pearl back to the downstairs lobby and they entered a door to the right on the mezzanine. Inside was a smaller round room with five double doors and two glass stain windows depicting Princess Peach much like the window at the front of the castle. The doors were a bit interesting. The one in the center was nothing special, but the other four had unique designs. From left to right, a green door with an "L" above, a red door with an "M" above, a yellow door with a "W" above, and a white door with no logo above. (2)
Belle got close to where Pearl's ear would be and whispered. "I heard rumors that there's a hidden entrance in this room for a secret slide."
"Woah, really?!" Pearl gasped in awe. "That sounds like so much fun!"
"We can look for it some other time. For now, in here."
Belle took Pearl through the center door. The room behind it was just as colorful, if not even more so than the toy store! They stood on a white polka dotted floor with various colors, and the pink walled room was filled with various toys, knick knacks, board games, star decorations and colorful shelves. Pearl even looked to the left to see a setup with a strange purple cube she didn't recognize. The top of it read "Nintendo GameCube", and there were various cases next to it with various titles such as "Luigi's Mansion", "Animal Crossing", "Pikmin", "Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut", "Super Monkey Ball", "Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door", "Metroid Prime", "Mario Party 7", "Kirby Air Ride", "Mario Kart: Double Dash", and "Super Mario Sunshine". (3) Pearl didn't know what any of these meant, but something about them looked fun.
"And this is the Rec Room! Princess Peach and her friends play games here all the time. I guess these are the kind of perks you get when you're royalty," said Belle.
"It looks awesome!" Pearl admired. "I have a room like this back at home where I keep my toys! Though there seems to be a lot in here that I don't even have. Including the paintings. What's up with those?"
Attention shifted towards the two paintings in the room. On the west end, there was a painting depicting an archipelago of islets against a backdrop island behind them with waterfalls, all underneath a sunny sky. (4) On the east end of the wall was another painting depicting an underwater dome surrounding a greek-like castle with a transparent image of a giant dress.
"They look so pretty! It looks like I could step right into them!" Pearl said as she admired the paintings. Her Honeyhiver friend gave her a smug look.
"What if I told you… you can?" Belle suggested.
Pearl went wide eyed. "Are you… serious…?"
Belle said nothing and kept her smug face as she pressed her finger against the painting to the right. The finger went straight through the painting like it was nothing, and ripples started appearing as if she was touching the surface of water. All Pearl could think about at this point was how many more times this strange new world could possibly catch her off guard.
"And luckily for you, this is our path to my kingdom. So let's jump on in! Juronimo!" Belle dived into the painting as if it were a pool.
Pearl shook out of her shocked trace and followed hastily. "H-Hey! Wait up!" She jumped in as well.
Lake Lamode
A Lakitu was just fishing in the deep end of the pool when he felt something tug on his rod.
"Hoho! Finally! A big one!" He starts to reel it in, only to hear strange winces of pain. And it was pulling back hard! The Lakitu reeled with all his might, and when he finally got it out, it was… not a fish, but rather an angry beelike girl holding a girl with crystal on her head. His rod was caught on the former's antenna.
"Watch the antenna, you son of a-!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUGGHHHHHH!" The Lakitu flew off screaming, leaving his rod behind. Belle took the rod off her antenna and she and Pearl looked around.
The grass below their feet was a fainter green than back in the Mushroom Kingdom, but they were also surrounded by walls that shone in colors that naturally transitioned between each other and overlooked a huge lake where Dorries were seen swimming to their heart's content.
"This kingdom is beautiful…" Pearl admired. "You live here?"
"No. This is the Lake Kingdom." Belle corrected. "We're just here because I know of a path through some paintings we can take that can lead us straight to the Honeyhive Kingdom."
"Oh, okay. But I'm definitely coming back here at some point to go for a swim," Pearl affirmed.
"I'd be down for that! But for now, let's look for that painting."
Belle took flight with Pearl in her arms scouting the area for paintings. One advantage the Underworlder certainly had with her intense curiosity was that she'd instantly notice when something felt unusual or different. And that's when a pattern on the wall caught her eye.
"Is that a… zipper?" she asked.
"Oh yeah… The people of this kingdom like fashion, and they have giant zippers on their walls for some reason," Belle explained. "But you can do cool things like this!"
Belle grabbed the zipper and unzipped the whole thing. Behind that zipper was another painting depicting a Chinese-esque village.
"Booyah! Into the painting we go!" exclaimed Belle.
"Yippee!" cheered Pearl as they entered.
Chai Kingdom
Both Pearl and Belle appeared on the rooftop of what appeared to be a ninja dojo, judging by a sign nearby saying "Ninja Manor". The aesthetic of this kingdom took on a very eastern aesthetic with growing bamboo and pipes that had multiple layers to them. Pearl looked around to take in the new sights around here, but Belle didn't care and flew them to the backside of a pipe with another painting depicting pipe-like rocks.
Pipe-Rock Plateau
Their next destination was a flat plain in the mountains with rocks that resembled pipes, spawning right next to a water fountain. This kingdom didn't appear to be far from the Mushroom Kingdom, as it was sunset again and the two could see those same hills and mushrooms they were just walking upon a few hours ago.
Belle sighed. "I guess we could've just flown here from the castle, but whaddaya gonna do?"
"You would've gotten tired from flying so much while carrying me. Besides, new places are fun to see!" Pearl replied with a sunny grin.
Well, Belle couldn't argue with that. But for now, she began scouting out a painting while Belle took in yet more new sights..
"Hiiiiii!" shouted an unfamiliar male voice. Both girls stopped in their tracks.
"Who said that?" said them both simultaneously.
The voice chuckled. "Down here!" Both girls looked down to their feet to see what appeared to be the source of the voice. And it was… a flower? Yeah, a tiny yellow flower with small black eyes and a head resembling a trumpet… was talking to them. "You two seem new around here, so allow me to personally welcome you to the Flower Kingdom! Hope you don't mind our 'general weirdness' as others would say."
Both stared blankly at the flower as if it were a person with five heads and nine tails.
"Did that flower just-?" Belle was interrupted when Pearl squeed at the plant.
"Awwwww! Aren't you just the cutest thing?! I'm Pearl, and this is my new friend Belle! What's your name, little fella?"
"Oh, me? I'm just your average talking flower. No true 'name' or anything." The Talking Flower put its arm-like leaf to its chin (or where it would be anyways) in a thought process. "Though some tourists tend to call us 'Steve' for some reason. I guess it's because we sound like a Steve? So go with that if you wish."
Belle felt a lump in her throat. Something about talking to the very thing her species pollinates gave her a rather awkward feeling that she couldn't describe. Alas, she just wanted to get to her kingdom already before the sun set. What did she have to lose here?
"Well Steve, we're just here looking for a painting of a beehive. Have you seen it?"
"Oh yeah. I've seen that painting flying around. It sure does get around a lot," said Steve as if that were somehow a normal thing to say. "Last I saw it, it flew to the back of that Poplin house over there."
The flower turned towards a house at the end of the road which resembled a Toad House, but taller with the resemblance of a seed.
"Thank you, Mr. Talking Flower!" said Pearl.
"You're welcome, my friends! Just don't run into A WONDER FLOWER!" Steve suddenly screamed and the girls looked behind them. They didn't have time to react to the blue object coming up behind them as it touched them. A horrific headache followed, and everything around them sprouted wings and flew into the air like a flock of birds, including Steve who didn't seem to control himself.
"WOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAH! WHYYYYYYYYY MEEEEEEEEEEEE?!"
A pipe the girls were standing on sprouted wings and took flight as well, leading them both into a massive sea of flying houses, ? blocks, brick blocks, coins, and more.
"What is going on?!" Pearl screamed in panic. A lot of crazy things had happened to her today so far, but this seemed like just too much.
"I don't know, and we're not sticking around to see more of this! Grab on!" Belle grabbed Pearl and took flight again, bumping her head on various flying debris that got in her face and even being whacked in the stomach by a wing.
"Belle! Are you okay?!" worried Pearl.
Belle grunted. "I'm fine…" She seemed to mutter something under her breath, but a glimmer of hope caught her eye. A painting depicting a beehive was seen flying in the debris with wings as well. That was their target! "AFTER THAT PAINTING!"
Belle flew faster as she chased the painting, though it was quite persistent in getting away from the girls. Belle tried to grab it many times with one of her free hands, though it proved fruitless. Just then, Pearl grabbed a corner of the painting with little effort, earning the two a smile at each other before jumping in.
Honeycomb Heights
Belle and Pearl exited a painting next to the sign saying "Welcome to Honeycomb Heights!" Both of them slowly got up to grab their bearings. Although it was a little hard since the ground was sticky.
"That was quite a trip, wasn't it?" mumbled Belle.
"Yeah… But it was pretty fun too!" giggled Pearl.
Belle grinned teasingly. "You'll find fun out of anything, won't you?" she chaffed.
"You know it!"
"Well anyways… WE'RE HERE! Welcome to the Honeyhive Kingdom, Pearl!" Belle looked up and Pearl followed suit.
The Honeyhive Kingdom was yet another sight to behold for Pearl, and home sweet home for Belle. The kingdom was shrouded under a yellow sky and looked to be perpetually in autumn with tall trees that were colored with red, yellow, orange, and brown leaves. These trees were tall and sturdy enough to have giant hives hanging from their branches housing homes, schools, restaurants, hospitals and other buildings. The Honeyhiver residents of the kingdom were seen buzzing their wings transporting from hive to hive. There were working crossing guard systems, school groups flying in single or double file, honeycomb signs directing to various buildings, and elevators on the various trees seemingly operated for injured or disabled Honeyhivers. There were also various large honeycomb structures, which some honeyhivers could be seen resting or playing on. (5)
"Wow… Your home is so cool, Belle!" exclaimed Pearl.
"And you know what's the best part? I don't have to carry you while flying anymore, because we've got a little something just for outsiders like you!" Belle flew over to a nearby ? Block and punched it with her fist. It instantly turned into a plain brown block and a peculiar looking mushroom popped out of it. It looked somewhat like a normal mushroom, but it was yellow with black stripes, much like Belle's dress.
Pearl grabbed and examined the strange mushroom. "Um… what do I do with this?"
"You eat it," replied Belle.
She narrowed her eyes. This mushroom didn't exactly strike her as edible like the ice cream or cake did, but if she said so… Pearl closed her eyes and chewed into the mushroom. It felt quite soft and fuzzy rolling through her mouth and down her throat, and the taste was quite intense. Stingingly so!
When the taste settled and Pearl opened her eyes, Belle was looking… giddy. Her eyes were looking straight at Pearl sparkling with a wonder like joy and was slightly hopping like a toddler in a candy shop. Pearl was… more than a little confused.
"Belle, are you alright?"
"Oh, I am PUMPED! Where can I find a mirror?!" Belle scoured around and grabbed a hexagonal mirror. "Have a look at yourself!"
Pearl grabbed the mirror, and staring right back at her was a completely different Underworlder. Her eyes and mouth glowed a dandelion yellow rather than pink, and her red hair was a deep yellow color resembling amber, along with two sharp crystallized antennas sticking out. The jewel on her dress also changed to the same dandelion color, and the dress itself was now yellow with black stripes instead of red. As if this wasn't enough, she had WINGS on her back just like Belle's. (6)
"Is this… me?" Pearl looked down at her dress. It was indeed the same color as the girl in the mirror. The girl was no stranger to magic-rock magic was a common practice back in the Underworld-but magic that changes one's whole appearance?! That was new!
"Aw yeah! Just look at you! You're an honorary Honeyhiver!" Belle patted the now Bee Pearl on the back. "Our dresses match! We're twinning!"
Pearl smiled again at the comment. The feeling of bee wings on her back was kind of awkward, though. "So… do these actually wor-?" Pearl's new wings started fluttering with a loud buzzing noise. "Wow! I-I'm flying! I'm- W-Woah!" Pearl tried to keep her balance and not fly off in random directions.
"It takes a little getting used to, but you'll get the hang of it," encouraged Belle. "Just follow my lead!"
Belle slowly lifted herself into the air and Pearl followed. The latter's body wobbled and swayed trying to keep her balance. Didn't help having a large stinger sticking out of her back that put a little weight on her.
"W-Woah! Uh… How do you all do this?"
"Point of advice: Try not to think about it too hard," suggested Belle.
"Okay. I-I'll try…" Pearl swallowed a lump and just focused on following Belle around. The new crowd flying in this kingdom made Belle stand out a little less, so she tried not to keep her eyes off of her. From what she did see, the hives in the trees all had mailboxes attached to them by sticks, and logos for particular restaurants and stores. She noticed one of them was labeled "Crazy Cap", which was a logo she's seen a few times throughout the kingdom's they've been to. She wondered if perhaps one could be opened in the Underworld. Perhaps she'd check them out later to see what the hype was. It seemed popular. For now, the girl continued following Belle.
Before long, they left the large traffic and flew towards a tree where Belle attached herself to the Honeycomb on its base. Pearl just did what her friend did and stuck right to it. This yellow substance was sticky, but it did give her a chance to catch her breath. Belle was right; flying was tiring. Though one drop of the stuff made contact with her tongue and she was instantly in heaven.
"Mmmm!" Pearl gushed as she licked more of it.
"Like that? It's honey!" said Belle. "Our honey is the most popular in all of the Mushroom World. You'll see it in stores everywhere. I can get you a jar for home if you'd like."
"Yes, PLEASE!" said Pearl eagerly. Once she had her fill, she followed Belle climbing up the tree's base, going past various hive homes hanging from the branches. "So, your friends live here?"
"Well, we all have our separate homes, but we like to meet up at our clubhive at the top of this tree," explained Belle. "It's been just the three of us for the longest time, but we'd be down for a new member." Belle winked and nudged at Pearl playfully and she giggled in response.
The two reached the very top of the tree where a hive that was smaller than the rest rested. Pearl and Belle crawled onto the deck where they gathered their bearings. After which, Pearl looked around from the railing to see just how far they've come. They sure were high up! Pearl couldn't tell if the view back in the Mushroom Kingdom or this view was better.
"You have an amazing view up here." The Underworlder scouted the horizons more. In the distance, she spotted a more green-looking area from the distance with what looked to be operating machinery not too different from the mining facilities back in the Underworld. "What's going on over there?"
"Oh, that's our neighbors, the Wooded Kingdom," Belle replied dismissively. "They're kinda boring; just a bunch of robots running a run-of-the-mill forest. But they do come by every now and again to keep our trees stable, so who am I to complain?"
Pearl shrugged and looked down at her still black and yellow dress. She liked being able to fly, but was already starting to miss her standard red dress. "So, how do I take this off?"
Without warning, Belle took out a bottle of water and splashed it in Pearl's face. Her dress, eyes, mouth, and hair turned back to their standard colors, and the wings, antennas, and stinger disappeared.
"Problem solved!"
"Uh… thanks…" Pearl shook the water off of her quickly. "Let's go meet your friends!"
Pearl was about to dash through the curtain-covered entrance, but Belle tugged her by the dress. "Actually, I was thinking I should go in first. You wait out here for just a second and come in when I call you. Okay?"
"Oh! Okay!" Pearl thumbed up as Belle went in.
Meanwhile…
Inside the clubhive, two Honeyhiver girls were sitting at a table working on some homework. Much like Belle, they had bright yellow skin, brown hair with antennas sticking out, wore glasses over their eyes, had four brown arms, brown shoes, and large bee wings on their back.
The taller girl of the two wore a pair of blue overalls resembling those of Mario and Luigi, but with visible white stitching at the waist and a large black stripe at each knee. Underneath these overalls, she wore a white T-shirt with black stripes and a turtleneck collar. Her glasses were oval-shaped with sky blue rims, and her dark brown hair was tied up into a rope twist by a sky blue scrunchie. A pencil was also in the left side of her hair, held there with her glasses.
The shorter girl wore a tomato-red dress with a black line at the bottom and smaller black stripes above it that ended in points. This pattern was also present on her sleeves, which drooped down a bit, being too big for her arms. The dress also featured a yellow diamond at the center, a white turtleneck collar, and white frills at the bottom. Her glasses were rectangular with coral red rims, and her maroon hair was tied up into pigtails by two coral red scrunchies. Her antennas were slightly different. While Belle and the taller girl had bulges sticking straight out, this girl's bulges curved down and inward.
The shorter girl sat down and listened to her taller friend with her long and drawn out explanation. Her wings would slightly twitch along with some wiggling of her arms and a fidgeting of her pencil from time to time, but otherwise paid close attention.
"-and when we reflect a geometric figure to the other side of our axis, we analyze the distance between one point, and the axis. This dot is three units to the left of the x-axis, so from the axis, we go to the right and count one, two, three, and place our dot there. Does this make sense to you, Brittany?"
The shorter girl named Brittany did what her friend said and it seemed to click in for her, but despite this, she was still a little nerve wracked. "Yeah, I guess it does… but I'm still worried I'll mess up."
"How so?" asked the taller girl.
"Well… I'm… not the best with explaining this, but… whenever I'm supposed to count while measuring something, I'll sometimes mess up. I might accidentally skip a line, or mess up my counting in my head, and I get the question wrong because of it. I just… I…" Brittany teared up a bit. "I'm afraid I'll fail our next test because of this…"
The taller girl got up and rubbed Brittany's tears behind her glasses. "Brittany… It's okay to make mistakes. Everyone makes them, even someone like me. My best advice to combat this issue is to take your time and double check your answers. You get that extra hour in the testing room for a reason. You're quite a lucky bee for that!"
Brittany sniffed the remaining of her tears and hugged her friend. "Thank you, Brooke. What would I ever do without you?"
Brooke hugged back and adjusted her glasses. "Just doing what I do best so that you succeed, my friend."
As they let go, Belle came through the curtained entrance in a stylish pose. "Heyo!"
"Heyo!" Brooke and Brittany waved back as Belle stepped in.
"Back from your karate practice in the Mushroom Kingdom, I see?" said Brooke.
"You know it! I'm getting better and better everyday!" the tough girl flexed her muscles "At this point, I think I've totally mastered my BEEDOKEN!"
"Cool!" admired Brittany.
"Very fascinating, sis. I've just been helping Brittany with her homework. I think she's going to ace our next test with her newly acquired comprehension," praised Brooke.
Belle rolled her eyes playfully. "Oh gee! Before I know it, I'm gonna be surrounded by two nerds!"
Brooke smirked back. "Well Belle, being a 'nerd' has more long term career benefits than punching and kicking everything that ticks off even the most microscopic hair on your head."
All three of them laughed amongst themselves before Brooke brought up another topic.
"Come to think of it, you were out a lot longer than usual. Were you that engrossed in your training, or was something else holding you?"
"Well… two things, actually. For one, Brittany…" Belle held out the box that she got at Toad's Toy Store. "SURPRISE!"
Brittany gasped and took the box, inside it was just what she dreamed of. A real Propeller Mushroom popped out of the box, floating in the air with the help of the propeller on top. "NO WAY! How did you get one?! They're super expensive!"
"You wouldn't believe how much cheaper they are in the Mushroom Kingdom. And even there, I had to save so much allowance from my mom to get it."
Brittany hugged Belle more intensely than she did Brooke. "You are the BEST, Belle! I'm putting this in my collection ASAP!"
"So, you said there was one more thing, correct?" asked Brooke.
Belle stopped and scratched her back with both her right arms. How exactly would she go about explaining this? Pearl was something else in more ways than one after all. Her friends were the most trustworthy people she knew. They wouldn't think she's crazy, right?
"Well, you see… I… um… I… made a new friend."
That was enough to really catch the attention of them both.
"New friend?" Brittany asked dumbfounded.
"Well, well, well!" Brooke teased. "You never struck me as the social type, Belle. You hardly ever talk to people besides us and your family."
Belle groaned. "I know. I know. I normally wouldn't bother others, and they wouldn't bother me. But this girl… she's different. Very different. A little weird, actually. Still, she was really nice and… we clicked almost instantly."
"So, when do we get to meet this friend of yours?" asked Brooke.
"Oh, right now! But… try not to freak out…"
Brittany began to sweat. "Um… why would you say that?"
"You'll see. COME ON IN, PEARL!"
Pearl burst through the curtains and waved enthusiastically. "Hiiiiiiiiiiii!"
Brooke and Brittany went wide eyed and froze in place, staring at the strange creature, er… girl before them. Belle could sense the awkwardness starting to fill the room, especially since she was just in the shoes of her pals earlier that day, so she just cut straight to the chase.
"Brooke, Brittany, meet Pearl. I met her out in the field during my training. I… I know she's not anything you've seen before, but trust me when I say you'll love her."
Brooke and Brittany eyed each other and back at Pearl multiple times as if to make sure they were both seeing the same thing.
"Excuse us for just a second," Brooke said as she and Brittany ducked behind the table.
"Brooke… wh-wh-what is that…?" Brittany already had mixed feelings. On one hand, her voice and stature seemed friendly, but those glowing eyes and sharp 'hair' had her more than a little concerned.
Brooke kept her composure as tightly as possible despite her own confusion and comforted the smaller bee. "I don't know, but it-" Brooke slapped herself for saying that. "She looks harmless. And if what Belle said is anything to go by, I'm sure you have nothing to fear. Just sit back and let me talk to her. You can come up when you're ready."
Brittany nodded, albeit still shaken. Brooke got up and approached Pearl with a smile. "Sorry about that. We're just very familiar with the residents around here and can tell when someone's new. My name is Brooklyn, but my friends just call me Brooke. Welcome to our clubhive!"
Brooke extended one of her hands and Pearl shook it. "It's nice to meet you, Brooke! Belle told me you were a close friend of hers."
"Well…" Brooke chuckled. "I think 'close friend' might be understating it."
"You know it!" Belle butted in and put her arms over Brooke's waist. "Brooke and I go waaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy back… to the nursery hive. We were sleeping in opposite beds! We've been besties ever since we were larvae in diapers."
"TMI, Belle," whispered Brooke.
"Brooke is the resident know-it-all of Honeycomb Heights. She knows pretty much everything you could think of. Math, Science, History, English, all that YAWN stuff, she's the master of!" Belle explained. "Heck, her grades are so good that she once got an invitation to Honeyhive University! Again, how could you reject that?! How?!"
Brooke scoffed. "Need I remind you, Belle, that I've saved your stinger from getting an F multiple times because you forgot to study? And you'd miss me if I left, and vice versa! Besides… I'd like to take things slow. I may be a genius, but I'm still a kid like you and Brittany." She turned back to Pearl. "To put it simply, I'm a walking encyclopedia. If you ever need a tutor for your homework or just want info on anything in general, just give me a call."
Pearl's eyes sparkled. Belle already taught her so much about this new world. She could only imagine how much Brooke could possibly teach her. The possibilities were only limited by her imagination.
"Wow… do you really know everything?" asked Pearl.
"You'd be surprised. But even I am prone to learning new things once in a while. Like YOU, for instance." Brooke examined every inch of Pearl, almost getting too close for Pearl's own personal comfort. "What sort of being… are you, exactly? Where did you come from?"
"I'm an Underworlder, from the Underworld!" Pearl answered happily.
"Underworld? Underworld… Underworld…" Brooke kept muttering the name as she looked through the shelves and took out her latest atlas of the Mushroom World. She examined every inch and foot of the map, looking through the recognizable kingdoms and smaller islands. Pearl would take a peak of the atlas as well, wondering what it meant. Eventually, Brooke came to halt. "It… It's not anywhere on my atlas…"
Brooke took out her phone and googled 'Underworld'. It simply answered "Did you mean Underwhere?"
"Nothing online, either…" She turned to the neutral-faced Pearl with a look of slight uncertainty. "Say Pearl, you wouldn't happen to be an… alien, would you?"
Pearl tilted her head. "What's that?"
"You know… a being from another world?" Brooke answered.
"I…" Pearl shrugged. "I guess…"
Belle snickered and whispered to Pearl. "So much for a 'walking encyclopedia'."
"I heard that! Even Wikipedia is gaining new articles!" Brooke yelled before calming herself.
"She said she came through some red tube that looked like her hair to get here. I don't suppose you've at least heard of that?" said Belle.
"Hmm… It's in the back of my mind…"
Pearl noticed Brittany's dress peeking out from behind the table. "Hey, is your other friend okay?"
"Oh, Brittany?" Brooke suddenly remembered her. "Don't worry. She's just a little uncomfortable around things she isn't familiar with and needs a minute or two to adjust. So don't take it personally. Just try not to frighten her and she'll grow fond of you."
Brooke walked back over to the hiding Brittany. "It's okay, Brit. She doesn't bite."
Brittany just nodded and slowly came out of hiding. It wasn't easy to see under her dress, but her legs were trembling with every step she made towards the otherworldly girl standing before her. Pearl just smiled brightly, trying to look as pleasing and not at all frightful as possible.
Upon reaching a close enough distance, Brittany looked back at her two more familiar companions who gave her thumbs up. She then turned to Pearl again. "Um… I… Er… H-H-Hi…?"
"Hi, Brittany," greeted Pearl. She did it more calm than her usual greeting for the little bee girl's sake. "My name is Pearl. It's really nice to meet you."
Brittany's heavy breathing got quieter and slowed down a bit, though she was still visibly trembling.
"Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to be your friend. I want to be everyone's friend," assured Pearl. "Do you like hugs?" Pearl spread out her arms as if to invite her in.
Brittany looked down to the floor as if to think about it. Though eventually, her trembling stopped. "I… could use one, actually." Brittany accepted the hug and crawled in. Pearl felt hard as a rock, but had a tender touch that brought a smile to Brittany's face.
The sight warmed both Belle and Brooke's little hearts. Belle pulled up her glasses and wiped her eyes a bit.
"I saw that," Brooke teased in a whispered tone.
"Oh c'mon," Belle whispered back harshly. "Your eyes are practically waterfalls now!"
After they let go of the hug, Brittany didn't feel scared anymore. All of a sudden, Pearl felt more natural to be here with the rest of her friends, as if somehow she were always there.
"Well, now that we're all here and introduced, how about we talk more over some…" Belle took out the leftover cake slices. "CAKE FROM PRINCESS PEACH!"
The others were down for it and grabbed a plate and fork each. Pearl sat down with her slice of cake in hand. Three new friends, new places visited, new favorite foods! Could this day get any better?
And that's all the chapters I got to finish prior to getting the greenlight to upload this story. So expect a longer wait for Chapter 5. Anyways, meet two more of PhDedede's characters (and the last two we'll be meeting for now) Brooke and Brittany, Belle's two best friends before meeting Pearl. And as you can see, Pearl's joining that little group as well.
Trivia:
(1) Room from Paper Mario
(2) Doors from Super Mario 64 DS
(3) If you recognize all of these titles, you deserve a superstar!
(4) If you played 64 DS, you know this is the painting for Sunshine Isles, but I added the extra background details from its appearance in the Super Mario Sunshine mod, Super Mario Eclipse.
(5) PhDedede helped me with the physical description of this kingdom for the most part. One thing I personally added to it was the elevators on each tree. Though they're not just for disabled Honeyhivers. They're also for visitors who can't/don't want to use the Bee Mushroom, and for everyone whenever it's raining.
(6) PhDedede has drawn quite a few powerup forms for Pearl, but not the Bee Mushroom. So I challenged myself to make a design myself inspired by her existing forms, and I'm quite proud of it.
Edit: He's officially drawn my design for Bee Pearl, and it looks great!
See you next chapter!