As Mario and Waluigi went off to help Shady during his time of need, the little shy guy went off to go exploring on his own. Being small and all but silent, Shady was known for getting himself into troublesome situations. During his wandering, he came across a garden. He thought it looked lovely although he thought it needed something a little more. Thus, he went out of his way to pluck and plant a new plant among the rest of the flowers and grass. The consequence of this however, was that he placed no mere flower, but a piranha plant. A much larger and aggressive plant with a mouth to compliment it. It would not be a pleasant experience for anyone to come across that garden and to tread near it, especially when it's hungry. Despite that, Shady always meant well and wanted to help make the town a better place. Similar to how what Mairo wanted with his team. It was quite a lot to ask for, but he was willing to try, at least. Perhaps this was the reason why he was fond of Mario. Regardless of his reasoning, Shady went off again and found a path that strayed from the town and lead to the forest to the north. Shady had never gone into the forest on his own before and he wasn't interested in going in today. It was strange, there was this unfamiliar yet welcoming vibes he felt by the entrance. As if the forest itself was willing to let him in if he wanted to. Mysterious yet fascinating, it would be a tempting visit, but Shady wanted to return to the town before long just in case Mario and Waluigi return with his ball. Thus the shy guy ran all the way back, leaving his curiosity for another day. The little one then went back to his home to pass the time while he waited. He decided to draw a picture since he did enjoy making art on his free time. Shady got his colored pencils and a paper and was ready to begin. Only for there to be one problem. He realized that he had no idea on what to draw. Alas, Shady hadn't thought that far ahead and found himself in a bit of a jam. Because of this, he ended up drawing a bunch of random objects, trying to find what he liked best. It did waste some time and paper but he felt happy with his art. Eventually, Shady got bored and tired of messing about and decided to wait for Star Brother team to finish helping him. He believed that they would succeed and that this would all be behind them sooner rather than later. However, the inside of his mask felt strange as if there was pressure that he felt but didn't know what caused. Nevertheless, Shady would carry one with his day in the meantime. As for the search that Mario and Waluigi were currently doing, they weren't exactly having the best of luck. They went off to the seaside, thinking Shady had been there earlier. It would be hard to find a small red ball here but at the least, the atmosphere and ocean air was refreshing.
"Wah, now this is more I like it. If only I brought my Summer clothes. Do you really think that what we're looking for is here?" Waluigi commented, taking in the sun. Mario agreed it was kind of nice but he agreed all the sand made it inconvenient to find much. Waluigi decided to take advantage of the situation and lay down by the sea while Mario did his search. It seemed like a fair enough deal in Waluigi's case. Despite it being such a small ordeal, a ball that can easily be replaced on a dime, Mario still did what he could to help Shady find his original one. Whether it was out of dedication to his responsibility or simply because he is a fool that didn't know any better, no one truly knew. All that is known is that Mario is willing to give everything he can to help a neighbor, regardless of if they will do the same to him or not. Even so, Waluigi continued to lay about refusing to help on the search. That is until a rogue wave pushed from the ocean tide came and washed him out of his own comfort.
"Well, that killed the mood. This rescuing is harder work than I thought. Are we almost done, Mario?" Waluigi asked, recovering from the sea. Mario however, stopped his search and instead began to look into the ocean seeming to be looking for something or someone.
"Wah huh? What are you doing?" Waluigi asked as he saw him do it. Mario then finished and went back to his friend.
"Let's say I was looking for an old friend of mine." He vaguely responded. Waluigi almost thought the sun was getting to Mario's head because there was clearly no one in the water. Although he did wonder why Mario looked in the water of all places. That was something that Waluigi might find out one day. Despite his wonder, Team Star Brothers came across a new bind. They hadn't found Shady's toy and they were out of leads. It was a fine mess and the answer on what to do seemed unclear. Alas, it seemed like they had no choice but to return to Shady tell him they didn't know where it is. Perhaps they could up with a compromise of some kind. Nevertheless, they must hurry.