A week…A FULL WEEK, stuck on this island. Day in and day out just trying to carve our way through this island and find our friends with almost no luck. Most of the group is too scared to go deep into the jungle to find people or even food. Most of the crew is setting up housing…and a shop for some reason on the beach edge. So, that leaves most of the hard work to me and the others to get done…oh, and Mario.
Turns out he's been on the island for months. He had made his way here with Alice and got caught in the same trap she did, only they decided to throw him somewhere no one would find him; hence the deserted and cursed island. So finding him in the state we did, as a wild Tarzan trying to find his next meal, was somehow the best-case scenario of finding him. Luckily, Mowz carried a small pocket knife he could shave with because the disconnect between his brown beard and black mustache was just weird to look at.
Beyond that, most of our days consisted of going deeper into the jungle to find other crewmembers and setting up a small home base near the beach we had washed up on. Occasionally, we would have someone on watch near the coast for anything in the distance. We hoped for a passing ship but that was wishful thinking considering our current circumstance with this place as our destination. But it didn't stop them from having me take coastal watch today.
"See anything?" Mowz asked as she stared out at the endless water next to me.
"Unless you're hallucinating, there is nothing out there."
"I'd take a hallucination over this boredom." She gave out a sigh and flopped back to stare at the clear blue sky. That was another odd thing about this island, there wasn't a cloud to be found anywhere within our field of vision. That alone should make this placed cursed…and possibly is a result of that. On top of that, it even kept the island in dessert levels; hot and humid in the morning, and chilly through the night…that did beg the question of Mowz's jumpsuit.
"How are you not sweating to death in that?" She sighed and turned to me with a mischevoius smirk.
"I packed more appropriate attire but it sank with the ship…unless you want me to strip down this is the best I can do…so?" I gave a sigh and turned back to the sea as she giggled and went back to lying down; too hot to even be flustered over her teasing. A few minutes later, I could clearly hear footsteps approaching us from behind. Turning around I watched as Peach and Vivian were rushing towards us.
"We need some help." Vivian said glancing back towards where the beach coast was with a worried look.
"Pa-Patch is about to finally deal with Flavio." Peach explained and I shot up. I'd gotten to know Pa-Patch well enough this past week to know that meant Flavio wouldn't walk away with less than a broken bone or three.
"Come on girls!" I yelled rushing ahead of them. I could hear Mowz giggle behind me.
"Finally, some excitement!"
The first thing I saw as soon as I got back to the coast was Pa-Patch and Flavio in each other's faces as a crowd of the remaining crew formed around them…and a few seemed to be taking bets.
"And what about YOU squinty?" Flavio said, poking Pa-Patch. "You turned to jelly when you saw all those ghosts!"
"What are you talkin' 'bout?! You were the one quakin' in 'is boots, fancy pants!" Pa-Patch spat back bumping his chest forward and making Flavio stumble slightly.
"How dare you call me, the great Flavio, fancy pants!"
"Well, I did, fancy pants! Fancy Pants! Fancy Pants! Fancy Pants! Fancy Pants!"
"Why, you brutish CYCLOPS! Flavio demands satisfaction! You! Me! Hammers! At dawn!"
"Fine by me! I can't wait to put a few dents in those fancy threads!" At this point I moved between the two before they could even grab the appropriate weaponry.
"Break it up you two!" I shouted. "We don't need to be needlessly injuring each other." I considered is a blessing that either this world didn't have, or hadn't invented, practical firearms or this could have been uglier.
"He insulted my honor!" Flavio yelled.
"And 'e called me a coward!" Pa-Patch responded.
"You've been relaxing on the beach all week. Your honor washed away with the tide." Flavio gave an insulted gasp, "And EVERYONE was abandoning ship as soon as the ghosts showed up. We all lost the bravery contest." Pa-Patch grumbled in response. "Now, we can either fight over this until we all grow old, or we can prove our honor and bravery by finding the rest of the crew and getting off this island."
"I'll have you know I have honor to spare!" Flavio yelled indignantly. "And I shall prove it!" He rushed off towards the jungle as fast as he could.
"I'll show you bravery!" Pa-Patch yelled as he bum-rushed past me and towards the jungle behind Flavio.
"Are they going to be okay?" One of the toad crewmen asked.
"They'll be back soon." I replied. Before I could even count to three, both suddenly burst out of the thickets and towards us, "See?"
"THEY'RE HEEEEEEERE!" The foliage they came from seem to burn away as ghostly wisps floated towards us. I quickly scanned the area for any kind of bucket before landing on Flavio's glass of juice. Snatching it up, I threw the contents of the cup at the ghosts and watched as it splashed against their ghostly form but otherwise did nothing.
"My drink!"
"Well, it was worth a shot." I said dropping the glass and pulling out my wooden sword. I swung at the wisp, colliding with it and smacking it backwards before it floated away. Before I could move to strike the other, Mario rushed past me with a hammer and slammed down on the wisp, making it smack against the ground before bouncing into the air and floating away.
"I thought they would be less solid." Mario contemplated.
"Same. But the splash proved otherwise." The girls finally caught up to me, "Alright, the ghosts found us before we found them. That's both a good and bad sign."
"How is it good?" Vivian asked.
"Because if they're looking for us this long into our stay, it means they came across others hopefully. Maybe even close by."
"Does that mean we're going to check out the rest of the island?" Peach asked with a hopeful expression.
"Yep, we're taking that big step into the harsh jungle to find our friends and the treasure!"
"Finally!" Peach cheered.
"Calm yourself princess." Mario warned before she rocketed off to the nearby supply area.
"B-But what about the plant life?" Vivian asked.
"Got that covered." I said looking around for Flurrie before finding her sitting back near the beach edge, sporting a bikini and soaking up the rays of the sun. "Hey Flurrie! Time for us to clear a path." At the sound of her name, she sat up and gave a long stretch before becoming completely concealed in a purple cloud that eventually dissipated and had her back in her dress.
"Time for us to take the spotlight darling?" She asked and I nodded.
"Alright, let's go!" Peach said coming back with two backpacks stuffed with various supplies.
"Hey, you must pay for those!" Flavio shouted. "I am not running a charity."
"Do you want to get off this island?" I asked and he thought for a moment.
"…Very well, I will add it to your tab." That I will never pay back.
Clearing out a path into the jungle became much easier by using Flurrie's wind to sharpen my swings and chop through the foliage, and even catching a few bold piranha plants in the process. It was only on this extended expedition that I realized we had barely gotten anywhere with this island, hitting my most recent trail marker after only two hours. Mario gave out a small chuckle.
"I made it farther than this."
"Yeah, and lost your mind before we found you." Mowz gave a small giggle at my retort. With another wind cut, a beam of light poured through the opening blinding us. When our eyes readjusted, we were looking at a strange bridge between a gap in the island. There wasn't even any overgrown grass or piranha plant stems along the ground. The area around the bridge seemed to be the only well-kept area so far. Even past the bridge was just more dense island jungle. Although that became less important as what came bursting out of it and towards the bridge center. Three of the crew came rushing towards us, my eyes instantly recognizing Bobbery who was being followed by a toad shipmate and the bigger guy I didn't get a chance to talk to on the ship. They stopped in the center as a ghostly wisp popped up in front of them, another rushing from where they came from to pinch them on the bridge.
"Blast it! We're surrounded!" Bobbery yelled as they all came to a stop. I immediately rushed forward, stopping just short of them as me and Bobbery made eye contact.
"Kid! Good to see you alive! You showed up in the nick of time! Get these two out of here, now!"
"But Admiral…" The toad said with worry.
"No buts! Get out of here! I'll deal with these ghosts myself." With an unbelievable level of strength for someone his age, Bobbery grabbed the small toad and large man and tossed them over the specter to us. Mario was quick to catch the toad as the large man crashed into me, sending us both toppling to the ground. Before I could even get back up, the large sailor was already on his feet and grabbed me by my shirt collar, rushing backwards into the thickets, leaving Bobbery to face the ghosts alone.
We ran for a while before the big guy became winded and dropped me to the forest floor so he could catch his breath. After getting back up, I was glad to see everyone had followed behind…except Bobbery.
"We have to go back." I said.
"No way." The large sailor replied defiantly. "Bobbery told us to run away, so we have to run."
"Half of the reason we're out here is to find the rest of the crew. We're not leaving him behind." I shot back.
"He's right." The Toad agreed. "We can't leave Bobbery alone back there…b-but we also can't fight ghosts." Well we can, but I don't think you guys are well versed in combat like this…and sending you back alone just seems like a bad move.
"…We'll save Bobbery. Vivian, Mowz, can you two make sure they get back safely?"
"I-I'll keep them out danger." Vivian replied as she psyched herself up.
"Leave it to me Swiss cheese." Mowz said with a wink…Swiss cheese? With a small wave, Vivian took the lead, making their way back towards the beach shore base.
"Swiss cheese?" Peach asked and I shrugged.
We rushed back to the bridge, running as fast as we could to help Bobbery. When we finally came to it, I was shocked to find nobody was on there; not Bobbery or the ghosts that had him cornered. On the other end was a hole into more dense forests, odds are Bobbery must have blown himself backwards to lose the ghosts.
"Come on, he needs our help!" Rushing through the Bobbery made path, we eventually came to a palm tree being circled by two ghostly wisps, "Flurrie." She snapped her fingers and a wind whipped up around me, growing with intensity. Readying my blade, I swung forward and sent a razor-sharp line of wind that passed through the two wisps and dissolved them into nothing.
"How pitiful." Flurrie said with a smug voice. Stepping up to the tree, I looked up to see Bobbery gripping onto the branch and shivering slightly.
"How do we get him down?" I asked. With a casual whistle, Mario stepped forward, spinning his hammer before winding back like a baseball pitcher and slamming it into the tree. It vibrated wildly for a moment and hearing a grunt of surprise, I looked up to see Bobbery crashing down towards-
"Oof!" …me…ow, "Bloody hell! Almost took out my back!"
"Glad I could prevent that." I choked out before pushing the admiral off me. He gave off a few hangered coughs as he sat down against the tree he fell from. Seems the old bomb wasn't exactly in the best shape after letting us get away.
"Take it easy Bobbery." I said placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Heh…do me a favor boy. I brought a bottle of Chuckola Cola with me. It was me and Scarlette's favorite…I was going to celebrate with a drink in her honor…now, I think it'll make a fitting final drink." No.
"No, it won't be your last drink. You're going to have even more. I'm not letting you go down before we can share a drink at sea." It was the only sailor thing I could grasp at but I meant it. He let out a chuckle.
"Yer a stubborn one alright…I saw one in the flotsam that drifted to shore…do this old bob-omb a favor."
"…Alright…as long as you promise to keep your fuse alive." He let out a half-hearted laugh, "…Mario, Peach, you stay with Bobbery. Flurrie, how fast can you get me back to the coast?" She giggled and held out her hand for me to take. As soon as I took her hand, a feeling of the wind being shot like a bullet around me left me disoriented for about three seconds before I was suddenly back at the coast entrance…and seconds away from losing my rations from this morning…wind spirits are dangerous…and I think she's waiting for applause.
"I've never been late for an audition." She bragged. Feeling something roll into the back of my foot, I saw a coconut had come with us.
"…You might want to work on the back wind problem…odds are you might have given Peach a blow dry perm."
"Oh, there's no, if, about it Darling."
Stepping onto the coast base, I was glad to see Vivian and Mowz had gotten back safely. Guess the path doesn't take too long to get through when it's already made.
"Ah, Soren!" Vivian rushed up to me, prompting everyone else to gather around us.
"Is Bobbery okay?" The toad from earlier asked.
"He's…he's okay. But he wants a bottle of Chuckola Cola. Anyone find that in the wreckage?" Everyone murmured the same question to each other, the only one not in attendance was Flavio who sat reclined on his makeshift lounge chair…please no. Passing by everyone, I made my way to the flounce.
"AH! You have returned. I thought some jungle beast was snacking on you…well, everyone is accounted for…"
"What about Bobbery?" I rhetorically asked.
"Ah, yes. Our dear navigator."
"Well, he's alive."
"How fortuitous!"
"Yeah, on a related note. You wouldn't happen to have found a bottle of Chuckola Cola have you."
"Ah…well…in order to sate Flavio's curiosity…what would you need it for?"
"It's…Bobbery's last request."
"…Well, if it is for that…then I suppose I could yield the beverage…as long as you have something to replace it for." Are you kidding me!?
"…Flavio…I have to ask…did you see this whole trip as a luxury cruise you could easily get rich on?"
"Of course not! I, Flavio, am a man of adventure! Sworn to the life of romance that is the blank page!"
"You haven't proven it in any way." He let out a dramatic gasp.
"How dare you!"
"We've been here for a full week and all you've done is hang around this beach and be a nuisance to the entire crew…you started up a shop…WHILE WE'RE TRYING TO SURVIVE! If you had any guts as an explorer, you'd be at the front of the group, ready to plunge into the dangers we've been collectively fighting against to hopefully get us off this island. As far as I can tell, you're nothing but a selfish glory chasing coward." For the first time since being here, I watched his gentlemanly façade break away to reveal a truly angry and insulted man. Wow, wish Alice had been around to see that tirade. She might have even been a little proud of it.
"HOW…HOW DARE YOU TROUNCE ON FLAVIO'S GOOD NAME WITH SUCH FILTHY LYING WORDS! FLAVIO IS A DARING ADVENTURER! YOU KNOW NOTHING OF FLAVIO'S HEROISM!"
"Then prove it." I shot back.
"…Very well, Flavio shall show you what a true pioneer of fortune looks like…let us go meet Bobbery and send him off with a vision of the treasure Flavio shall find. His final moments will be spent basking at Flavio's golden hoard and you will renounce your filthy words of ill-repute as you kiss Flavio's feet." Getting up from his seat, Flavio stomped with purpose towards the jungle path we had carved.
"Was it a good idea to rile 'im up?" P-Patch asked.
"You want him hanging around here?" I asked.
"…Let us know if you find anything."
With the path clear, I let Flurrie stay back at camp as I headed back with Mowz, Vivian and Flavio. I don't think I could take another wind tunnel even if I wanted to. Luckily it didn't take us nearly as long to reach Bobbery and the others. Even more comforting was Bobbery was still kicking. Grabbing the soda from Flavio, I rushed over to Bobbery and gently shook his shoulder. He looked up at me and eyed behind me.
"Managed to get the fancy pants to take a trip this far? You're a wild one boy." Uncorking the bottle, I handed it to him and he took it from me with a sad smile. He titled it back, and gave it a few solemn chugs before handing it to me…and despite what it meant, I took a swig of it myself…flatter than ground level…but worth it, "Glad to share a drink with you old boy…thanks…make sure to share a drink with the ones you care about when you get the chance."
"…I will." With a soft smile, he put his weight against the tree, leaning into it before closing his eyes.
"…Is…Is he…" Vivian couldn't finish, and I just gave her a nod as I stepped back and placed the remaining half of the bottle into my bag. Despite what we were looking at, the peaceful look on his face told me he was happy. Happy to have one last adventure, and now happy to be reunited with his loving wife Scarlet…
"Farwell admiral, say hello to-"
"*SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE*" …
"…" Peach took a few steps forward and looked at Bobbery before sighing. With a quick swing, she smacked her Parasol against Bobbery's head, startling him awake and onto his feet.
"AH, PIRATES! Let me at them!"
"…I think I'm done with this island." I said as the idea of spending another day on this island filled me with the kind of anger and dread that I didn't expect to feel at the beginning of this trip…and yet here we are.
"You look like you're about to cry." Mowz said giving me a quizzical look.
"Trying not to."