"So matey, the king tells me yer headed for Ice Land ay" sputtered Admiral Bobbery. Waluigi nodded.
"Well, yer gonna need quite alot of gear for such a deadly journey. Lucky the king picked me to take you. I've sailed well past Boo Moon Island before into the dark depths of the Sea of Gloom. I tell ye, it was a very bad part of my life indeed, and in all my years of explorin and fishin and plunderin and loottin, it was the worst experience I'd ever had. But I did manage to land the shores of Glumtown Platoon Port. The views up in the mountains from inland were the stuff of legends. Managed to loot meself quite a bit of gold there too, as ye can see by me gold tooth" said Admiral Bobbery.
"Sounds like this will be quite the trek" said Waluigi. Coincidentally Waluigi had always wanted to explore Ice Land. It was, after all, the last true frontier of the Mushroom World. Waluigi had mindblowing experiences exploring the Summits of the Seven Stars, and Papua New Guinea in the real world, as well as touring the streets of Brooklyn with his cousin Luigi.
"Ye don't say. Now belly up! We've got a long day ahead of us! Ye don't want those fish and chips to get cold do ye?" bellowed Admiral Bobbery.
Meanwhile, on Yoshi's Island
The walls were covered in grime, it reeked of shit and piss and Boshi was being kept up by the constant moans and groans of the prisoners in the dungeons of the Yoshi's Island Federal Supermax Prison of the Capital, aka The Endgame Clink or Alcatraz of the Tropics. By morning it was chow time, and all but Boshi were eating the high dish of Yoshiberry Cobbler. After all, the federal prison was usually run quite well and quite humane, in contrast to the Skykeep Penitentiary of the Skies located a few dozen kilometres from the Shy Guy Temple City of the Skies where prisoners would regularly jump to their deaths from the freezing, nothingless cells. He turned to hear some arguing going on. That being said, Boshi's special cell was hardly well-run.
"Your grace, I really don't think this is going to work" murmured a voice. Boshi recognized it to be Tropix, one of the greatest and toughest pilots in the armed forces of the island.
"Nonsense. Me and Boshi go back to the old school days" Yoshi boasted.
"At your expense my grace" Tropix eyerolled.
"Ah! That attitude isn't going to get us anywhere, is it Tropix?" scolded Yoshi. "Well well well, look who's here-the big stud!" teased Yoshi.
"You can bugger right off, because your not going to get anything out of me" growled Boshi.
"Is that so, hmm?" said Tropix who pulled a dagger out of his shirt pocket. Boshi pressed up against the window of the cell, fists clenched in anger, jaws exposed, out of an instinctive traumatic response. Long ago, before Yoshi was even ruler, Tropix, a warrior in the making, your typical tough'n'rough guy nearly killed Boshi after discovering Boshi trying to steal some gold coins from the vault containing funds that were supposed to go to rebuilding the village after great rains had flooded their home village, and it was only because of Yoshi that he didn't. Yoshi was a firm believer of peace, although he did acknowledge that war is sometimes necessary for peace, so he wasn't so quick to take the title of being a pacifist.
Yoshi stuck his hand out to block Tropix. "Leave him to me" smirked Yoshi. Yoshi opened the cage.
"So, ready to talk?" asked Yoshi.
"Fuck... you!" spat Boshi.
"I'm going to give you a choice. You can repent yourself and cooperate with me, and in return I'll give you home imprisonment with supervised releases. Or you can continue wallowing in this trench of self-pity you've dug yourself and keep barking at me and earn yourself a one-way ticket to the top of the Skykeep and never be released" said Yoshi.
"I'll never work with you!" shouted Boshi.
"I see you have made up your mind. Tropix, escort the prisoner to the Skykeep" said Yoshi.
"My pleasure" grunted Tropix.
"Before you go, I want to know. Why? Why did you do this to yourself? Why do you hate me so much? Why do you consistently show a desire to seek this supposed vengeance of yours on me?" questioned Yoshi.
"You want to know why? Where do I start? Every day since I've known you, you've always had to do your duty. Everyone loves you and I am outcasted by everyone around me. You beat me in a race and stripped my honour from me. You stole my place to become chief of the village. You betrayed me by giving Perigulus the position that you promised me as Assistant Advisor to the Ruler. You promised me that! I thought we were friends!" cried Boshi.
"I already told you" said Yoshi. "You became unfit for it and went into a downwards spiral and tried to steal sacred riches that were to go to the village repair fund. What makes you think I would promote someone who did that to Assistant Advisor to the Ruler. What makes you even think that you deserve a position such as that after doing something like that" scowled Yoshi.
"BULLSHIT" yelled Boshi. "You didn't want to give it to me because it would crush your precious little ego. You're so full of yourself! You didn't give it to me because you think your too high for that" screamed Boshi.
"If you want to keep lying to yourself, go ahead. Don't waste my time and make it my problem" said Yoshi. "Tropix, ready the chopper to escort him to "there" " said Yoshi. Tropix chuckled. "You and me are gonna have a real fun time, ain't we" smiled Tropix.
"FUCK YOU" Boshi banged on the glass walls of the cell. The trauma was beginning to get to him.
Meanwhile, in the forests of Boo Moon Island
"Tut tut tut" scolded King Boo. "I should have known that Bowser would try to steal the Emerald of Peace once he heard word of Waluigi's quest to fulfill the prophecy" said King Boo
"What are we going to do to stop him, your grace" said a young boo helper.
"The only thing we can do, little Boo" King Boo. "We send them aid. It is the official stance that us boos maintain neutrality in conflicts. They will need much of it along the way" said King Boo.
"But sir, he will surely try to kill them" said Boo.
"I know that. But we need not wage war against them. I have a much better idea. And I think I have a friend that can help out" said King Boo.
Once the boos had well and truly left, Kooper rose up from the ground, gasping for air. He had buried himself under a pile of leaves to hide himself. He desperately needed medical attention, but he didn't want to bring himself to King Boo in fear that Bowser would find out and abduct him and torture him until he reveals where the Emerald of Peace must be restored. With Parakarry dead, he had no other option but to hide out.
Back on the boat
"Argh argh argh matey! And then I said, you can tune a piano, but you can't tuna fish argh argh argh" laughed an increasingly drunk Admiral Bobbery.
"Good one Bobbery" chuckled Waluigi.
"Say, why don't we go out for some more beers and a fish" smiled Admiral Bobbery.
"Sure" said Waluigi.
"Ye new to fishin?" said Admiral Bobbery.
"No" said Waluigi with a mouthful of bread. "Me and Wario used to catch fish on a small boat back at the Shroomside Harbour in Mushroom City to eat. Occasionally the odd crab or squid. Sometimes it was all we would eat. Breakfast lunch and dinner" said Waluigi.
"Yer from Mushroom City?" asked Admiral Bobbery.
"Yeah. Rough place" said Waluigi.
"I only went there once and the place was in decay. Needs some big changes" said Admiral Bobbery.
"You said it pal" said Waluigi
"So what sort of fishing would ye like to do? Fly fishing? Netting? Speargunning? Or just a regular old line and pole" asked Admiral Bobby.
"Regular old line and pole will do" said Waluigi. The two spent the next couple of hours fishing together. By the end they had caught a dozen milkfish and a couple of tunas.
"Argh, isn't it beautiful. Southern lights out on a night like this, surrounded by the rushing waves of the waters of the ocean with nothing around you but fish in the sea" sighed Admiral Bobbery
"Yeah, it really is. You know, it's nights like this that take my mind off-" Waluigi said before being cut off by Admiral Bobbery.
"Ssh ssh ssh I hear sarmthin" warned Admiral Bobbery. There was a loud splashing in the water. Then the boat suddenly rocked violently.
"OH SHIT" shouted Waluigi.
"Wait here" said Admiral Bobbery. Admiral Bobbery took some rope and a speargun and clambered down the ladder.
"AAARRGGGHHH" cried Admiral Bobbery as he struggled about in the water.
"Bobbery! BOBBERY!" exclaimed a now panicked Waluigi. Then the struggling stopped and Admiral Bobbery sunk into the ocean.
"Oh shit oh shit oh holy fucking shit" yelled Waluigi. He eventually came to accept that his new friend was now gone.
Then
"YYYEEEAAARRRGGGHHH!" roared Admiral Bobbery.
"Bobbery?" cried Waluigi.
"AAARRRGGGHHH AAARRRGGGHHH AAARRRGGGHHH AAARRRGGGHHH AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!" roared Admiral Bobbery as he lassoed a giant sea monster.
"I've just caught meself a sea dragon meboyo" said Admiral Bobbery happily. "We're gonna be rich!". "Come, help me attach this thing to the boat". Waluigi did so, and the two were able to ride at high speeds along the coasts
"I forgot to tell ye. Sea dragons move at incredible speeds! Up to 200km/h" said Admiral Bobbery. "Woah, this thing sure is giving us a tug. She's a beast!" said Admiral Bobbery.
"I think we've got bigger problems" said Waluigi as he pointed to the sky. It had a green hue to it and the wind and rain began to pick up fast.
"Uh oh" said a now worried Admiral Bobbery. "Haven't seen a storm like this in 20 years. She's brewin sumthin nasty" said Admiral Bobbery. The boat began to rock violently as it crashed into waves, each one getting bigger and bigger each time.
"Good god!" exclaimed Admiral Bobbery. A massive waterspout appeared and began to lift the boat up.
"HOLD ON TO SUMTHIN, SHE'S GOING TO ROLL US OVER" yelled Admiral Bobbery.
Meanwhile, in the skies of Yoshi's Island
"So pal, we meet again. Never thought I'd see the day" chuckled Tropix.
"Fuck. You" spat Boshi, who was now tied up and lying in the back of a Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter.
"You know, its people like you that keep my job going. Conflict on the island has been dieing down a bit lately. With the budget quadrupled, the Island Coastal Guard is keeping pirates at bay, and the Shy Guy Civil Wars are at a stalemate under a peace treaty under Yoshi's new rule" said Tropix. "Perigulus wanted you killed, but I'm sure Yoshi will make some use out of you".
"That was my position! My position that he stole! He had no right to take that away from me!" screamed Boshi.
"Sure buddy, tell that to the villagers that you stole their hard earned money from" smirked Tropix. Tropix then suddenly felt a sharp pain in his neck. It was apparent that Boshi had managed to untie himself and attempted to stab Tropix in the neck, but his helmet managed to stop the knife from fully penetrating the armour and into the neck. Tropix easily overpowered Boshi and managed to put him in a strong chokehold with just one arm while flying the chopper with the other.
"Right, you and me are going to have a real fun time hohoho" chuckled Tropix sadistically. He maneuvored the helicopter to land on a small inlet tributary of the Great River.
"Get ready to hole up for three days, because I'm about to show you what a real warrior goes through" said Tropix with a smile. Boshi gulped, knowing what he meant. Every man on the island, though capable of it, had to complete a long and treacherous trip from the tropical beaches of Yoshiport, through the city centre of Valley of the Capital, all the way to Sunny Peak. It involved going through deadly jungles, sailing rough seas, crossing the fierce rapids of the Great River and climbing cragged, unstable mountain peaks. It was part of becoming a Yoshi, and Boshi was exempt from it as he was a fugitive on the run ever since stealing the sacred funds from the village.
"I thought I was going to the Skykeep" said Boshi.
"Oh no no no ho ho ho, I don't think you need that. I've got something better planned" laughed Tropix.
Back on Boo Moon Island.
Kooper stood up, just managing to recuperate his strength. The bullet wound in his leg howled with pain, and he was beginning to get hungry. He had to avoid getting seen, or he'd be found and tortured to death by Bowser's Koopa Troop. Just as he started to find some what looked a trail out of there, he dived into a bush after he heard talking. He peered through the bush to see a squadron of koopa troopas, fire bros and paragoombas marching around.
"I want him found by morning. Gabagoomba, Koopster, you search the town centre, me and the others will search the farm" said a koopa trooper military officer.
"But Kooppenheimer, what if we don't find him" said Gabagoomba
"We will. Don't worry about that" said Kooppenhemier.
The hairs on Kooper's neck stood up upon hearing this. After they had gone for good, Kooper heaved himself up and looked around. After about a day and a half, he reached the end of the trail. Dehydrated and starving, he noticed something rather odd.
There was a tree at the end of the trail. It a glowing white fruit, brighter and whiter than anything he had ever seen. He walked towards it, tempted to take a bite, but before he could do so, a large boo appeared in front of him.
"I'd be careful doing that if I were you" said the boo. He recognised this to be the young boo helper from earlier. He pondered in a pool of thoughts for a second.
"This. This is the Tree of Life" said Kooper. "It has healing powers".
"Yes" said Boo. "The mighty powers of the Regeneration Fruit will heal almost any wound that exists".
Kooper reached out to take a bite, but Boo slapped his hand away from it.
"However, this is not without a catch. The more fruit you consume, the more you will be anchored to the living world. If you eat too much, you could potentially be anchored permanently to the living world, doomed to exist in the land of the living forever, unable to move on to the afterlife or return here as a ghost" said Boo.
"So I could be stuck here forever" said Kooper.
"I know not, as I've never have I seen someone consume that much fruit before ever, very rarely have I even seen people make it here" said Boo. Kooper climbed up to the top of the tree, with Boo following behind. He noticed a black fruit, hissing with black fumes. Kooper grabbed it, only to feel a searing pain shoot down his arm.
"This tree. It is also the Tree of Death" Kooper concluded.
"Indeed, very well done Kooper" said Boo. "This is the Degeneration Fruit. Whilst it gives you immense powers, it eats away at your life. If you consume too much of this, you could be weakened to the point of death, unable to regenerate and ever return to life, nor return as a ghost to the land of the living, as you will be tethered to the afterlife for eternity".
Kooper stood there for a bit, trying to think of what to do, as he was already confused.
"The decision is yours Kooper" said Boo. "I can help you along the way, but not make your decisions for you".
Kooper looked at the tree, attempting to make a decision.
"You are one of the brightest and most briliant minds I have ever seen Kooper" said Boo. "I am sure you can make the right choice".
"Well, I cannot go to anyone else for help, let alone a doctor or hospital" said Kooper. "I need something to heal this grave wound. But I also need some powers to take on these horrible people" said Kooper. So he plucked two of each fruit, and ate a small piece of the Regeneration Fruit. His body shook with energy, and suddenly a white flash burst from his wound. After the white light had left, his wound had disappeared. When he took a bite from the Degeneration Fruit, his body once again throttled with energy. A red ball of flames encircled him, as he screamed in pain, and his chest ripped open, only to be filled with black energy. He fell to the ground. Testing his powers, he spun his hand and to his presumptions, a circle of blue flames appeared around him.
"Best I save two, this will be long and treacherous journey" said Kooper.
"Wise choice" Boo nodded. "Well, I guess this is goodbye then. You are welcome to come back here whenever you wish to do so".
"I thank you for your consort" said Kooper. Boo nodded his head to the right. To the right, Kooper saw a Wild Wing waiting for him. It looked as if it had just been cleaned.
"This will help you along the way. There is also some water inside to replenish your fluid levels" said Boo. Kooper got inside and started the ignition, revving the engine.
"Well, I guess I'll be off then" he said, and from there he drove off back onto the trail.
Meanwhile, on an uncharted island.
Waluigi suddenly woke up, in a deep haze.
Where... am I?
Hacking up water, he looked around to see nothing but the blue ocean for as far as the eye could see from the left, and green, sprawling jungles to the right. In the distance he could see a large volcano, but it still did not give him any idea of where he was.
"Bobbery" nudged Waluigi. "Bobbery! BOBBERY". Bobbery's eyelids slid open only for just a second, and he coughed up some water, falling back unconscious.
"BOBBERY! CAN YOU HEAR ME" yelled Walugi, grabbing him and shaking him, slapping him in the face from side to side to no avail.
"Don't die on me now Bobbery" said Waluigi, as he began CPR on him. After a few goes, Bobbery's eyes opened up a tad, as he coughed up fits of water. Waluigi lifted him a bit. Waluigi looked him on the eye, only for Bobbery to sputter water all over him.
"What in the name of Poseidon!" exclaimed Admiral Bobbery, still somewhat blinded from nearly drowning. "Where are we!".
"Well, I can only deduce that we are on some young, uncharted tropical island in the middle of the sea, judging by the volcanoes and mountian ridges.
Waluigi hoisted him up onto his shoulder, and the two walked around for a bit. Then something caugh the eye of Waluigi and Admiral Bobbery.
A crab was eating golden crested seeds using it's large, rectractable claws, from a large palm tree, taller than any other tree Waluigi had ever seen before.
"That's a Winch Crab!" exclaimed Admiral Bobbery
"And it's eating the Seeds of Success" said Waluigi.
"So we're on the Islands of Magic in the Mystery Passage of the Great North Ocean" said the two simultaneously.
"This must be the legendary Island of Luck" said Admiral Bobbery. The two turned to look at the boat. It was beyond repair, so if they were to exit the island, it would have to be by other alternative, unconventional means.
"But to escape, we need to take emeralds from each island before we can leave" said Admiral Bobbery.
"And how do we do that?" asked Waluigi.
"It is said that one must traverse the many islands of the passage to collect all of the emeralds. Each island has one emerald" said Admiral Bobbery
"What happens when an emerald is collected?" asked Waluigi.
"Well, you then take a boat along the Secret Strait. Then, there is rumoured to be a vast vault beneath the river. You go down there, and put the emeralds into their pockets on a sun dial. Each one opens up a portal to a different world, where you collect various objects required for further journey. Once you have collected all of them, it will take you directly to Ice Land" said Admiral Bobbery
"So in addition to having to find all of the magic emeralds, I must also enter different worlds to collect even more random objects that could be anywhere" said Waluigi.
"Correct" said Admiral Bobbery.
"So once I collect all of the emeralds, I just click them into the sun dials" said Waluigi. "That doesn't sound too hard".
"Aye" said Admiral Bobbery. "Don't think it isn't "too hard". As if locating the emeralds isn't bad enough, you then have to further locate the underwater vault. Even if you manage to pass those tasks, very grave danger lies ahead" said Admiral Bobbery.
"Such as...?" clued Waluigi.
"Not many people know about this, but it is rumoured that beneath the ancient vault, within the grimey interiors and filthy walls, the most disgusting and foulest monsters exist. It won't be an easy task fighting them off and killing them will be even more difficult" said Admiral Bobbery.
"What could we use to fight them" said Waluigi
"Well, the emeralds can give you great strength and power. The islands, mostly considered the stuff of legends, are said to be unexplored. However, this leaves the question as to how the emeralds became scattered around the island. There may have been others here before us, or at least a cataclysmic event that disrupted the order of the island. If the latter is true, such an event could have affected a UFO and weapons could have been dropped in the rubble" said Admiral Bobbery.
"What about that" said Waluigi, pointing to the sea monster washed up on the sandy shores of the beach.
"Oh him. A mighty beauty of a beast if you ask me. Ah, he's too maimed and wounded to go on" chuckled Admiral Bobbery. It appeared that the sea monster
"Not if I can help it" said Waluigi. He searched through the rubble and found his bag that he kept on him all the time. He pulled out a glowing, white fruit, and began slowly feeding it to the creature.
"What in the name of Poseidon is that you've got there" blared Admiral Bobbery.
"Shhh, dont tell anyone. It's a fruit from the Tree of Life" said Waluigi. "It has healing powers". It slowly began to heal the creature, as the creature yawned and moaned in pain while it's wound gleamed with bright light before disappearing.
Thank you.
"You're welcome" said Waluigi.
"Blimey!" said Admiral Bobbery. "You can do it?".
"Do what" said Waluigi.
"You can talk to sea creatures. And dragons as well!" exclaimed Admiral Bobbery
"Well yeah, I used to talk with dolphins when me and Wario would go fishing at the harbour. Can't you?" said Waluigi.
"No, I can't. It's the stuff of folk tales, I've never seen anyone do it before" said Admiral Bobbery
"I didn't even realize I was speaking a different language" said Waluigi.
"You won't hear it differently, but others will" said Admiral Bobbery. "Try talking more to the sea monster" said Admiral Bobbery.
"What is your name. Can we help you" said Waluigi
My name is Retainus, because my body retains a lot of water. Yes, I am injured and need your help
"What is he saying" said Admiral Bobbery.
"He said his name is Retainus, and that he needs help as he is injured" said Waluigi.
"But how do we help him?" asked Admiral Bobbery. "Isn't he healed now?".
"He needs rest" said Waluigi. "Rest and pain relief" said Waluigi.
"There is a lake around here somewhere with pain relieving water. It contains a mixture of Refreshroom, Opium and a Life Mushroom for healing." said Admiral Bobbery. "We use it in the medical room when sailors become injured". "I am not sure if there is enough for him. Let me take a look".
So...much...pain
"It will be alright. Admiral Bobbery is going to fetch you some medicine. Wait here" said Waluigi as he stroked Retainus's head.
After a long search, Admiral Bobbery found the lake and filled a bucket and gave it to Retainus.
I feel, much better. But my wing still hurts
"Don't worry. We will get you better" said Waluigi.
"We'd better start getting on foot soon. Time is scarce, and the longer you don't restore the Emerald of Peace to it's rightful place on the Surgut Stone, the more chaos will happen.
"But what about Retainus" said Waluigi.
"He will be on the mend within a week. For now we need to plan out what we are going to do to get those emeralds" said Admiral Bobbery.
Meanwhile, in the forests of Boo Moon Island
Kooper was on a race against time. Jacking the car into power, he flew down the roads at surprising speeds. He turned to go off the path to take a shortcut through a cave that led to a top secret airstrip with lots of old aircraft. But before he could get far, he heard engines revving behind him.
"THERE HE IS-GET HIM" shouted Koopenheimmer, who was on a Dolphin Dasher, an exceedingly rare and vintage motorbike especially for a member of the Koopa Troop. A group of fire bros were right on his tail. Kooper tried turning off onto an unslead road through the Boo Biscuit Factory Waste Facility but he felt the car slide off and lose control as a fire bro wiped out a wheel with a fire ball.
He opened the car door and tried running towards a hatch but as soon as he did so he was zapped with a goomba gun by Gabagoomba.
"Well boys, we finally caught him. Now time for some lunch" said Koopster the fire bro, as the fire bro squad tied up Kooper who was still convulsing from the electric shock.
Enjoyed this chapter? I have many ideas planned ahead. Please give the story a review if you have read it, I would much appreciate feedback. If you have any ideas DM (Direct Message) me or put it in the reviews.