Chapter 10: The Sweet Taste of Victory
A soft breeze whistled through the air as the calm, cool waters of the Midas River sparkled in the sunlight. The river current was strong today, but flowed gracefully. Yoshi could clearly see the reflection of his face as he lapped up the cool, crisp water with his long tongue. It was late afternoon now and the temperature had risen significantly since lunchtime.
Yoshi and Mario had been walking for hours, having departed Princess Peach's castle shortly after lunch. They were following a dirt road leading south from Toad Town, along the Midas River. The heat made the trek all that more tiring, so it was nice to pause for a few minutes and have a quick rest. Yoshi took a few more long gulps of the refreshing water, and then turned to Mario.
"How much longer Mario?" Yoshi asked him.
Mario sat cross-legged under the shade of a big tree. He had a map laid out on the ground before him, examining it as he fanned himself with his red hat. He paused and regarded Yoshi.
"Well, according to the map, we should be in the general area. If memory serves, there should be a warp pipe around here somewhere."
Yoshi scratched his large green nose and gave Mario a nod. He had never met Frogfucious before and had never even heard of Tadpole Pond until Mario had mentioned it. Apparently, there was a warp pipe that lead to an underground temple of some kind, which eventually lead straight to Tadpole Pond. According to Mario, this Frogfucious fellow was very knowledgeable about the world and received news quicker than anyone else. Yoshi hoped he would be able to tell them what was happening with the Star Road and even more importantly to him, The Super Happy Tree.
Yoshi felt an emptiness in his heart at the thought of the Super Happy Tree's demise. He had loved and worshipped the great tree every day for as long as he could remember, and in a matter of minutes, the tree was gone forever.
Don't think like that. He thought to himself. It can't be gone forever. You have to do everything you can to save it, and our clan. Just try to stay positive.
Perhaps at that moment, Yoshi's thoughts had betrayed him, for Mario quickly spoke up.
"You okay, buddy?" Mario asked him gently. "Don't worry; I will do everything in my power to save the Super Happy Tree. We are certainly in a bit of a mess at the moment, but things will get better, I promise."
Mario smiled at him wearing a look of determination that quickly washed away his doubts. Yoshi soon found himself smiling as he nodded back to Mario in response. Yoshi understood how dire the situation was, but he also knew that Mario would never give up and would give his all to help Yoshi and his clan. It always amazed him how strong Mario was in both body and sheer will. He seemed to face every challenge, no matter how great, head on without any doubts or fear.
Mario's vigor was something Yoshi had always admired about him. Although the two of them were completely different in many ways, Yoshi always found that their friendship was very much built on the same values, trust, loyalty and friendship. Yoshi would do anything for his friend, and there was no doubt in his mind that Mario would do the same for him.
As Mario continued to immerse himself in the map he was reading, Yoshi took a moment to look around. He was quite hungry, and decided to look for a fruit tree of some kind. His stomach growled loudly as the thought of food crept into his mind.
"Hungry already?" Mario asked looking up from the map.
"I am just going to walk around a little bit and see if I can find a fruit tree or some berries." He said. "It's been almost ten minutes since I have eaten, I'm starving!"
Mario laughed at that, and Yoshi frowned.
"What?" He asked. "I still don't understand how humans can only eat three meals a day. How do you not starve?!"
Mario laughed even harder then, and Yoshi gave him a confused look. He had shared many laughs with his friend, but sometimes he just didn't understand the humor of humans.
"
I'll be back in a few minutes." He said. "Meet you back here?"
Mario nodded to him in response.
"If you find a fruit tree, could you bring me back a piece?" He asked. "I am still trying to figure out exactly where this warp pipe is. Hopefully we can head out when you get back."
"Only one?" Yoshi asked, perplexed. Mario started to giggle again. "Erm… I'll be right back."
Yoshi headed towards a small forest about one hundred yards away, gingerly strolling and admiring the beautiful scenery around him. There were beautiful flowers of all colors and full, thick bushes that appeared to line a pathway towards the forest's entrance. As Yoshi entered the forest proper, he noticed a few small mammals scurrying about collecting nuts and quickly retreating to their homes-small holes in the trunks of the many oak trees-and he could see a lone Goomba asleep on a stump. Beautiful butterflies of all colors flew past him, and seemed to dance between the tiny rays of light peaking through the trees. The forest was peaceful and serene, and Yoshi found himself gazing upon it in awe.
The forests of the Mushroom Kingdom sure are beautiful. He thought. Not quite as beautiful as Yoshi's Island, but still wonderful.
The thought of his home made Yoshi sad again, but he soon stomped his feeling of despair out. It was quickly replaced with a feeling of desire as his stomach rumbled loudly again.
"Where are you, fruit trees?" He said aloud.
Yoshi paused for a moment and surveyed the area, looking for something, anything to eat. He could not care less what kind of food it was, let alone fruit. He contemplated the Goomba sleeping on the log, but quickly dismissed the idea. Yoshi would only eat an enemy that was attacking him. Not all Goombas, Koopas or even Shy Guys were bad and Yoshi could not in good conscience just eat the poor creature while it was sleeping. He sighed and continued to walk deeper into the forest, still finding nothing.
After a few more minutes on the path, Yoshi decided to wander away from it and look elsewhere. He was an excellent navigator, and didn't worry about having to retrace his steps. His nose could find anything, aside from food at the moment. Ahead of him was a small hill, and he quickly scaled up it, hoping for a small vantage point from which he could get a better look. As he crested the top of the hill, a small breeze gently kissed his large, green nose. Almost instantaneously, he smiled.
"Oranges!" He exclaimed happily.
Yoshi quickly followed the direction the wind was blowing from-south-and after a few moments, gazed in awe as his nose led him right in the middle of a huge grove of orange trees. He chuckled aloud at the sight, and could smell the full, ripe oranges on the trees, the heavy scent of citrus filling the air. He went to work immediately, lashing out his long, sticky tongue at the nearest tree. The tree was easily fifteen feet tall, but Yoshi's tongue could reach even the highest branch with ease as he plucked orange after orange in an almost rapid-fire motion. In less than two minutes, the entire tree was completely bare.
So ripe… Yoshi thought, licking his lips. So delicious!
Yoshi made his way to the next tree and started eating. He continued to do so, and tree after tree became completely fruitless in minutes. Yoshi lashed out his tongue at the last orange on his fourth tree, and gave a small, satisfied burp. He once again smiled and licked his lips.
"Well, I had better get back to Mario." He said to himself. "He's probably wondering where I am."
As Yoshi turned back towards the direction he had come from, something caught his glance out of the corner of his eye. He quickly turned his head to see the biggest lemon tree he had ever seen. It was about fifty yards away past a small hill, and appeared to glisten in the sunlight.
"Lemons!" He exclaimed, laughing.
Without a moment's hesitation, Yoshi quickly ran up the hill. In his excitement, he did not notice the small stone at the top, and completely lost his footing. He let out a small yelp as he started tumbling down the hill towards a large bush. He tried to stop his descent to no avail and crashed into the bush. He grunted as he hit a hard, solid object belly first. He fell back into the bush as he tried to catch the breath that was knocked out of him.
"Ughhh…" He mumbled after a moment. "I shouldn't have gotten so excited."
Yoshi stared up at the clear, blue sky for a moment. The branches of the tall trees were like fingers reaching up to touch the heavens. He took a deep breath as he slowly sat up and saw a large warp pipe before him. He shook his head and blinked as he read the words engraved on its surface.
"To Tadpole Pond" it read, and right below the words, a small, red arrow pointed towards the ground. Yoshi couldn't help but laugh at his dumb luck.
I guess I'll have to start falling down hills more often... He thought.
He quickly stood up, ate a few dozen lemons from the big lemon tree, and retraced his steps back down the path leading out of the forest.
Mario remained sitting under the tree where Yoshi had left him; his gaze affixed on the map sprawled out before him. He didn't even notice Yoshi by the time he reached him.
"Hey Mario." Yoshi said.
Mario looked up from the map and acknowledged him.
"Oh, hey." Mario said. "Back already? Did you find any food?"
"Oh, yes!" Yoshi exclaimed happily. "And the warp pipe we are looking for."
Mario raised an eyebrow at that.
"In the forest?" He said, slightly perplexed. "I don't remember it being in a forest, but I'll take your word. I guess you forgot my piece of fruit?"
Yoshi gave a quick burp in response, and a whole lemon covered in slobber flew out of his mouth, hitting the ground right at Mario's feet. Mario stared at the lemon, eyes wide. He started to laugh again, and Yoshi blushed.
"Sorry Mario," He said, embarrassed. "Maybe I got too carried away."
Mario stood up and patted Yoshi on the head.
"No worries, good buddy!" He exclaimed, smiling. "Let's head to that warp pipe. Lead the way."
Yoshi nodded in response, gesturing Mario to follow him. Mario quickly rolled up the map, putting it in his back pocket and followed Yoshi back down the path. As the pair entered the forest, Yoshi spoke up.
"Do you think Bowser is serious about a truce?" He asked Mario suddenly.
Mario gave him very serious look and sighed.
"I don't know," He said. "All I can say is that I hope so. Trust me; I signed his peace treaty with no small amount of reservation."
"I don't trust it, Mario," Yoshi replied, frowning. "He's always working on some kind of plot to kidnap Peach. It must be some kind of trick."
"We just need to keep our eyes open, buddy." Mario said. "Unfortunately, there are other much more pressing issues at hand for us to worry about what Bowser is doing. If we don't figure out what happened to the Star Road and the Super Happy Tree, I fear far more is at stake than just the Mushroom Kingdom."
Yoshi frowned again at that, and lead Mario off the pathway towards the grove of fruit trees. The thought of Bowser certainly worried him, especially with the other issues at hand coming into fruition. He had this awful feeling that whatever Bowser was planning, it would come to light at the worst possible time; when everyone was already enveloped in the other crises threatening them.
"Mario, I think someone should keep an eye on what Bowser is doing." He said suddenly. "When we get back to the Mushroom Kingdom, we should send someone to spy on him."
Mario stopped in his tracks and gave Yoshi a very serious look.
"That's risky." Mario said. "I'm not so sure I want to send someone into the lion's den just on a suspicion. As you know, Bowser's fortress is very heavily guarded, and if the spy is discovered it won't just compromise the truce, but then Bowser will have a hostage."
"Yes, I know it's risky." Yoshi said. "But we can't just leave Bowser unattended. We know he has to be planning something. Mario, if this crisis with the Star Road comes to a head and Bowser strikes while we are distracted and vulnerable, all will be lost! And if the Star Road is truly gone forever, we may lose the Mushroom Kingdom and Peach for good!"
Mario paused for a long moment and stroked his thick, bushy mustache. He appeared lost in thought, as if weighing the possibilities in his head. After a few minutes, he nodded to Yoshi with a determined look.
"Okay buddy"." He said. "You make a good point. When we get back to the Castle, we will have a meeting with everyone and discuss it with Peach. She will know who to send."
Yoshi nodded back to Mario and turned to walk towards the big lemon tree again.
"Come on, Mario." He said, "The warp pipe is just ahead."
As the pair continued walking towards the warp pipe, Yoshi picked off a few dozen more oranges from some of the trees. They reached the bush that he had tumbled into before, and Yoshi pushed aside a few of the long, leafy branches. Mario quickly knelt down to read the inscription on the front of the warp pipe. He nodded and smiled.
"Good work, Yoshi!" He exclaimed. "How on earth did you find this with all of the brush covering it?"
"Er… Let's just say I happened to bump right into it." He said.
Mario gave him a confused look, shrugged and then turned back to the warp pipe.
"It's pretty dangerous down there," He said. "Well, at least it was ten years ago. Be on your toes, I'm sure we'll encounter some hostility."
Yoshi shook his head as Mario jumped high into the air, landing into the warp pipe. He quickly did the same, and after a few seconds of blackness, emerged standing on the other end of the warp pipe. As he jumped down onto the hard, gray stone floor of the temple, Yoshi took in his new surroundings.
He stood upon a large, stone pillar overlooking a big pool of water. The temple was dark, and had more of a dungeon feel to it rather than an actual temple. The walls were the same stone gray brick patterns as the floor, and Yoshi could see about fifty yards away across the pool another warp pipe. Torches on the walls dimly lit it, and he noticed a few brick blocks suspended in the air, just like the ones above ground spread throughout the Mushroom Kingdom.
Yoshi felt a small chill go up his spine. He hated dungeons, and in general being underground for that matter. Many of his previous adventures with Mario had required him to take underground tunnels, temples and dungeons, but they always creeped him out. Yoshi's Island was such a warm, sunny, and happy place alive with music and merriment. Underground was always so cold, lonely and ominous to him.
Yoshi shivered and regarded Mario, who was standing before a large, wooden sign.
"Where are we, Mario?" He asked.
As Mario stepped away from the sign, Yoshi read the words, "Kero Sewers" carved into the wood.
"Let's go quickly, Mario." Yoshi said. "These underground dungeons always creep me out."
Mario nodded, grabbing his nap sack. He rifled through it for a moment, and pulled out a large, wooden hammer. It had an enormous head and a place on the bottom of the handle to grip. Mario swung it around in the air quickly; gripping it with both hands, and shook his head.
"Now we can go," He said. "Don't worry; we'll try to make this as quick of a trip as possible. Besides, the sooner we get through this temple, the sooner we can see Frogfucious and figure out what is going on."
Mario walked to the edge of the platform, and looked down into the pool of water. He turned to Yoshi and frowned.
"We need to take that warp pipe across the water." He said pointing to the warp pipe Yoshi had spotted before. "Only one way to get there."
Mario suddenly jumped into the water and started swimming across towards the shore. Yoshi quickly followed, the cold water chilling him to the bone as he hit the surface. He let out a small yelp, but quickly swam across it. Yoshi was an excellent swimmer, like all of the Yoshis on Yoshi's Island. When he reached the other end of the pool emerging from the water, he quickly shook the water off of himself. He followed Mario down the other warp pipe, and soon found himself in a vast underground room.
He and Mario stood upon a tall pillar overlooking a large maze. The floors and walls of the maze were all of that same hard, stone brick pattern as the room before. There were deep canals and pools all throughout the maze that lead to other platforms, and Yoshi could see various tunnels and passageways leading to other rooms. Many brick blocks hung suspended in the air, and there were long, stone staircases that lead to warp pipes high atop other tall, stone pillars. He could see various creatures wandering through them, Koopa Troopas, Goombas, Spineys-small, Koopa-like creatures with spikes on their shells-and the fish-like Cheep Cheeps swimming in water. The maze was enormous, and Yoshi had absolutely no idea where to start.
"It's huge!" He exclaimed. "Mario, where do we go from here?"
Mario shrugged and gave Yoshi a puzzled look.
"Well, if memory serves, there is a warp pipe around here somewhere that should lead to the Midas Falls. From there, Tadpole Pond is literally a hop, skip and jump away."
Yoshi again looked around the maze. He could see many warp pipes scattered throughout the large dungeon, and he was sure many of the passageways and tunnels led to even more warp pipes. There were even a few he spotted deep under the water, at the bottom of the pools.
"Which one?" He asked.
"Umm… Well…." Mario said, scratching the back of his head. "I know that there are a few that need to be taken first that lead to the actual warp pipe that we want, but I am not exactly sure which ones they are.
Yoshi sighed and shook his head. They were going to have to be very careful not to get lost in this maze; otherwise, they might just be stuck here forever. They couldn't afford to lose more time, not with everything that was going on. Yoshi nodded to Mario and gave him a determined look.
"Well, you figured it out before, Mario." Yoshi said. "At least now you have the experience of having been here before. We can figure it out together!"
Mario smiled and nodded in agreement.
"What can you remember?" Yoshi asked him. "Are there any landmarks we should watch out for?"
Mario once again stroked his mustache, thinking for a moment. He nodded and walked to the edge of the pillar they were standing on, looking down at another one right below them.
"This one," Mario said. "That warp pipe there is definitely it. I recall the first one being very close to the entrance."
"Let's go!" Yoshi exclaimed happily.
The two jumped down into the warp pipe, and found themselves in a completely different room than the one they had been in before. It looked just the same as the rest of the maze, only this one had a staircase directly in front of the warp pipe they had come out of. Mario looked around the room, appearing to look for something that would jog his memory.
"I remember now," Mario said. "There was a switch of some kind that I pushed that drained a pool of water. When the water was gone, I took a warp pipe at the bottom of the pool, and it lead me to the entrance of the falls…"
Mario paused for a moment, his expression becoming more serious, and his body more alert. Yoshi knew that look all too well; it meant danger.
"What is it, Mario?" He asked.
"Belome," Mario said.
"Belome?" Yoshi repeated, rather confused.
"When I first journeyed through here, I encountered this strange creature named Belome." He said. "I defeated him, but be on guard either way. It has been ten years after all."
Yoshi nodded in response.
"Well, if you defeated him once, I am sure you can again if he's stupid enough to give us trouble." He said. "Where to now, Mario?"
"This way," Mario said waving him forward.
The two ascended the staircase taking another warp pipe leading back to the main room. They appeared on the complete opposite side of where they had entered the dungeon initially, and ended up swimming down one of the canals to another platform. Taking another warp pipe, they ended up in another completely different room. They continued taking various other pipes, passageways, and swimming across other pools for what seemed like hours to Yoshi. They came across a few creatures along the way, many ignoring them, but a few did attack. After a while, Yoshi actually was grateful for the hostility, since it not only broke up the monotony of meandering through the maze, but he could also fill his belly a little bit with Goombas, Koopas and Cheep Cheeps. After what seemed like hours, the two stopped and sat down on one of the staircases.
"Mario, at this rate I think we'll get there by next year." Yoshi said despairingly. "I am sure we have gone in circles about ten times by now."
"Don't worry, we will find our way out of here," Mario said, "We just need to keep our eyes open for that switch."
Yoshi stood up and walked over to the edge of the pillar they were on, looking down upon the main room again. They had been through all of these passages already with no sign of the switch. He leaned over a bit further to get a better view of the area when all of a sudden he lost his balance. Before he could even shout, he was falling from a very high platform down towards the hard ground below. He kicked his feet in the air vigorously using his flutter jump and managed to gain a little elevation, but could not reach the platform. He continued kicking furiously until he reached another platform to the side of the platform that he had been on, finding another warp pipe.
"Yoshi!" He heard Mario shout. "Are you okay?!"
Yoshi looked up, waving to Mario from the platform.
"Over here, Mario!" He shouted. "I found a warp pipe we haven't been down yet!"
Mario looked at him and nodded. He quickly pulled out a feather from his pocket and ate it. Instantaneously, he was wearing a yellow cape that fell down to his worn, brown boots. The cape would give Mario the ability to fly to the platform Yoshi was on.
"I'll be right down!" Mario shouted.
Mario jumped off the platform, flying through the air gracefully towards Yoshi as his cape flapped behind him. In just a few moments, he was standing right atop the warp pipe in front of Yoshi.
"Good find, buddy!" Mario exclaimed, smiling.
Mario jumped down the warp pipe and Yoshi followed behind quickly. It lead to a small room with a single pool of water. Yoshi could see a warp pipe at the bottom of the pool, and on top of the pillar above it, a large, circular green switch with a white question mark in the center. Mario quickly jumped up to the platform and stomped on the switch. Immediately, the water in the pool started to drain, revealing the warp pipe at the bottom of it.
"This is it!" Mario said happily. "Just beyond this pipe lies the entrance to the falls. We must be careful, but we are almost home free!"
Yoshi smiled at that and nodded. He was now just grateful that they would be free of this horrible maze. Yoshi could not wait to feel the bright, warm sun on his face, and the clear, blue skies above. Most importantly however, he could not wait to find a fruit tree of some kind. His belly rumbled with hunger as the thought of food once again crept in.
"Let's go Mario," He said. "I'm starving."
Mario laughed as he jumped down the warp pipe. Yoshi quickly followed him, the warp pipe leading them to a vast corridor. He could see a bright light far down the south end of the tunnel-the exit-and about ten feet in front of them, an enormous, steel door was shut tightly. Yoshi curiously walked over to the door and pressed his hand against the cold, hard steel.
"Mario, what does this door lead to?" He asked, his voice echoing down the tunnel.
"You don't want to open that door." Mario said with a serious look. "If you do it…."
"AH HAHAHAHAHA!" A thunderous voice suddenly bellowed.
Yoshi jumped at the sound, looking up towards the direction it had come from. On the top of a platform, about thirty feet above them, an enormous, yellow creature stood laughing. The creature had an extra set of eyes right above its lightly colored blue eyes, and four large horns on its head. Its skin was almost completely bright yellow, with strange little red designs all over its body that Yoshi had never seen before. It had the face of a feline of some kind, and a long, red tongue hung out of its mouth between two large fangs.
"Belome!" Mario shouted.
The creature quickly jumped down from the pillar it was standing on and landed right directly in front of them. Yoshi took a few steps backward, his back hitting the large, steel door behind him. He gave Mario a look of bewilderment, and Mario took a few steps towards the creature.
"Just let us through!" Mario suddenly shouted at the creature. "We don't want any trouble here, but as you well know, I am not afraid to defend myself."
The creature through its head back and gave another thunderous laugh in response, licking its lips.
"Ahhhh… Mario!" It boomed in a deep voice. "The snack that got away. Oh, and what is this? A lizard of some kind? Looks tasty!"
Yoshi jumped at that, but stood his ground.
"I'm a Yoshi!" He exclaimed. "And I am the one who does the snacking!"
Yoshi lashed out his tongue at Belome, licking him on the face. He brought it back quickly as the horrible taste touched his taste buds. He squinted at the bitterness.
"Blech!" He shouted. "Tastes awful!"
"Step aside, Belome." Mario said, "This doesn't have to get messy."
The creature laughed thunderously again as it quickly lashed its long tongue out at Mario. It licked him from boots to hat, and smacked its lips together.
"I never did forget your taste!" It exclaimed. "For it is a taste I have been longing for for nearly a decade now!"
Mario jumped at that, and gave him a dark look.
"If you think you're going to eat us, you're sadly mistaken!" He shouted as he pulled a fire flower from his pocket.
"Ah ha!" Belome exclaimed. "It is not food that I crave little plumber, but a dish much more sweeter. Revenge!"
Belome reached its long tongue out at Mario again, but Mario, anticipating the attack, jumped backward quickly. He ate the fire flower in a gulp, his shirt and hat instantaneously changing colors from red to white, and his overalls from blue to red. The mysterious power of the fire flower always had strange side effects, but its power had been integral to the success of Mario's previous adventures. Yoshi ran to Mario's side quickly, positioning himself into a fighting stance.
Belome laughed again as he charged down Yoshi. Yoshi quickly jumped to the side, kicking Belome right in the stomach as he dodged. Belome turned to attack him, just in time to receive a blow to the head from behind as Mario's hammer quickly stuck him. He rounded on Mario, throwing his weight against him at full force, charging at the stonewall. Yoshi lashed out his tongue quickly at him before Belome's enormous weight could crush Mario against the wall. His tongue wrapped around Belome's left foot, causing him to trip and fall on his face. Belome looked up and gave Yoshi a death stare, grabbing Yoshi's tongue with a clawed hand.
"Only one of us can be the snack!" Belome shouted. "And I am afraid it's you!"
Yoshi's eyes went wide as Belome pulled his tongue forward hard, causing Yoshi to fly towards him. Belome opened his mouth as Yoshi flew towards him. Not wanting to be eaten, Yoshi balled his hand into a fist just as he was about to fly into Belome's mouth. He punched him with all of his might in the nose as Mario fired a barrage of fireballs from his hands at him. Belome stumbled backward, letting go of Yoshi's tongue as Mario's fireballs singed his fur. Yoshi quickly lashed his tongue back into his mouth and ran back to Mario's side.
"You alright, Yoshi?" Mario asked, concerned.
"Fine, Mario." He replied. "Let's just beat this guy and get out of here!"
Mario nodded to him and shot more fireballs at Belome. By this time, Belome had recovered, dodging them. He once again threw his head back.
"Stick for a body, head full of straw. Give me a scarecrow, Rah RAH RAH!" He chanted.
Suddenly, a blast of magic dust blew out of Belome's mouth that completely covered the area. Yoshi sneezed in response, and felt his eyes start to water.
"Mario!" He exclaimed, turning to him. "What is this…?"
Yoshi's eyes went wide as he turned to his friend. Mario did not respond, and in fact was no longer himself. He had a body of straw, sticks for limbs, and wore a straw hat.
"M… Mario?!" Yoshi shouted.
He grabbed his friend by the shoulder and tried to shake him, but found that he was completely unresponsive. Lifeless, like his spirit had been sucked out of him. Yoshi felt despair hit him at the sight of his friend. Was he dead? Yoshi rounded on Belome quickly, tears welling up in his eyes.
"What did you DO to him!?" He shouted angrily. "Turn him back, NOW!"
Belome laughed thunderously in response, his large belly shaking as he stomped his feet.
"And what is a tasty little morsel like you going to do about it?" He said, laughing.
Yoshi's anger flared then, and he charged at Belome full force, punching and kicking him with all of his might. His adrenaline ran wild as he felt his anger become more and more intense. Belome grabbed him by the belly, but Yoshi quickly wiggled free from his grasp. He grabbed Belome's arm, and swung him with all of his might against the steel door. A loud clanking sound rang through the corridor as Belome slammed into the large door. The creature was easily three times Yoshi's size, but Yoshi's anger had made it feel like Belome was light as a feather. Yoshi jumped up high then, kicking his feet for another flutter jump. He did a quick flip in the air, which increased the velocity of his jump. He stomped down hard on Belome's stomach, knocking the wind out of him.
After a few seconds, Belome slowly started to get back up, and gave Yoshi a curious look.
"So, the little morsel has some bite to him, this is most interesting." Belome said, smiling.
"Change him back now!" Yoshi shouted at him. "Or you won't leave this place alive!"
"If you want to break the spell, there's only one way." Belome chanted. "Defeat me here and now, for a moment, we'll play!
Yoshi paused for a moment and looked around. He had to help Mario quickly, before this creature tried to pull some other trick on them. Yoshi's attacks were not doing much damage to this creature, and he feared that if he didn't finish this quickly, all might be lost. He once again gazed upon the large, steel door behind Belome, and could see a few barrels off to the side in the corner. One of them was open slightly, and he could see the shiny, red skin of an apple. As if the sight of them had suddenly hit a switch inside of it, the sweet scent of apples filled his nose. He smiled as he regarded Belome.
"You want to play?" Yoshi said determinedly, "How about a little contest?"
Belome raised an eyebrow at that, and tilted his head.
"A contest?" Belome asked curiously.
"See those apples over there?" Yoshi said, pointing to the barrels. "First one to eat a whole barrel wins. If I win, you turn Mario back to normal and let us go. If you win, you can do whatever you want."
Belome started at this, but smiled a widely. His tongue moved wildly in response, and he started to laugh again.
"You think you can out eat me?"He laughed. "You have a wager, little morsel. If I win though, you and my little scarecrow there shall be dessert!"
Yoshi nodded in response, and walked over to the barrels. He pushed one to Belome, and grabbed another for himself. The wager was a risky one, but if there was one thing that Yoshi was sure of, it was that he could win. Nobody had ever bested him in an eating competition, and he was hungry. Yoshi looked at the scarecrow standing lifelessly where Mario had been, and gave Belome a determined look.
"On three we eat!" Yoshi exclaimed. Belome nodded in response. "One, two…"
Belome quickly picked up the entire barrel and started to empty them into his mouth. Yoshi started at this, and quickly lashed out his tongue. Like a crack of a whip, he quickly ate the apples one by one. In less than a minute, the entire barrel was completely empty. He kicked the empty barrel to the side as Belome continued to empty the apples into his mouth. Belome's eyes went wide as Yoshi crossed his arms, giving him a satisfied look. Obviously defeated, he put the barrel down and all but gaped at Yoshi.
"How can this be?!" Belome exclaimed. "Bested by a mere morsel like you!"
"Change him back, now!" Yoshi exclaimed. "I won, fair and square!"
Belome seemed conflicted about what to do next, but after a moment's pause nodded and chanted another spell. That shiny, magic powder filled the air once again, and soon the scarecrow transformed back into Mario. Mario shook his head, as if shaking off a dazed trance, and looked around. Yoshi ran up to him, and licked him on the cheek.
"Mario!" He exclaimed happily. "You're okay!"
"Wh… What happened?" Mario replied, still dazed.
"You were turned into a scarecrow by Belome." He said.
As Yoshi turned to point at the area Belome had been, he was surprised to find that the creature had vanished.
"Belome?" Mario said. "Where did he go?"
Yoshi looked around the corridor, but did not see any trace of the strange creature.
"He was just here a moment ago." Yoshi said.
"No matter, let's just get out of here." Mario said. "We have wasted too much time already."
The pair turned to walk down the tunnel towards the exit, when suddenly they heard a loud creaking sound behind them. They stopped in their tracks, looking back and noticed that the large, steel door was slowly starting to open. Water started to flow out as the door opened higher and higher.
"No!" Mario shouted. "The door! Run for it!"
Mario started to run towards the exit, Yoshi quickly following on his heels. He could hear the sound of the water gushing getting louder and louder. He looked back again, and saw an enormous wave coming at them at blinding speed. Yoshi's eyes went wide as he ran as fast as he could, catching up to Mario.
"We're not going to make it Mario!" He shouted.
Yoshi took a deep breath and held it in as the huge torrent of water engulfed the pair. As the strong current overtook them, he thought he could hear the sound of Belome's thunderous laugh echoing through the corridor.