Several things hit Mario's ears when he emerged once again into the busy plaza of the Pinna Island Amusement Park. The same old regular hum of business; the screams of delighted children, the buzz of talking guests as they milled about beneath whirling rides; but almost right away Mario knew that there was something else.

   Something else wrong.

"Ah, Mr. Hero! Good!" Mr. Peppers' breathless voice greeted him almost instantly as Mario stepped from beneath the awning, this time with a slight urgency which was surprising. Had something actually, really gone wrong, then?

   "I hoped you were still here," the older noki panted, sliding to a stop beside the young man. "I've got a bit of a predicament I thought you might just be able to solve with that water pack of yours... I mean Jet," he added quickly.

   Mario crossed his arms and tried not to smile. "I'm listening..."

   "You don't have the girl anymore?" Mr. Peppers asked, glancing around for the pianta. "I do hope you left her safe. You see... there's a couple of electrokoopas just outside the park." He lowered his voice at the end, as if he didn't want anyone else hearing.

   "On the beach?" Mario asked, glancing over to the front gates only a stone's throw away.

   "Oh no, on the back perimeter," the noki corrected. "Behind the wall. And, you see, there's a small area near the wave pool that has only a small gate separating it off from the ocean. I fear the koopas might come in that way."

Mario nodded, briefly scanning the far edge as he indicated. "How many?"

"I only saw a couple lingering back there," the park director replied. "Guests aren't allowed behind the fence, but I hoped you might scare them off before they think they own the place."

Guests aren't allowed behind the fence, Mario thought, almost grinning at the words as he remembered his successful break over the wall. Good thing I was never really a guest. "Alright, I'll go take a look," he said, wondering what Fludd might say. He'd have to be seriously careful about getting stung again.

"Wonderful, I knew you would, Mr. Hero!" Mr. Peppers exclaimed. "And say, when you're done, how would you like to try the Southern Star, the Ferris wheel? It's a delightful romp," he offered, all cheer and confidence once again. Even Mario found his vibe a little hard to match.

   The human furrowed an eyebrow and glanced up behind them at the structure now in question, falling silent for a moment in thought. Huh. Was it just his imagination, or...

   "Mr. Peppers, isn't it going awfully fast?"

   The two paused and stared up now at the spinning ride far above, from which numerous screams could be heard tossing in the wind. Blue blades, like the petals of a giant pinwheel, whirled through the air at a somewhat eye-catching rate. At least, Mario didn't think Ferris wheels were supposed to do that. The old noki looked thoughtful.

   "Hm, well, yes, it does seem to be spinning rather excessively. Perhaps you should talk to the ride operator while you're back by the entrance."

   Mario nodded skeptically, giving one last questioning glance over the ride. It just didn't seem quite right... but then, everything was a bit different on Isle Delfino. He supposed that extended to Pinna Park as well.

~

"Well, I suppose I'll keep a watch on your back," Fludd spoke up as soon as they had ventured closer to the park perimeter. Coming away from the loudest part of the hustle and bustle, back near the small wave pool where the big showdown had occurred, Mario nodded.

"Please," he agreed. "And let's not let anyone else know about the electrokoopas if we can help it."

"Right."

Slowing to a stop behind the shallow pool, the two looked up at the promised fence. The high stone wall rose in both directions around them, probably more than enough for keeping predators out; but the director's concerns were justified in the small chain link portion of the fence that was scarcely up to Mario's head. As usual, there was no one around to be seen.

"Guess this is the back door," Mario commented to his machine, grabbing the gate with one hand and peering through. "I don't see any -

"SCRAAAACK!!"

With a jolt of surprise, Mario jumped backwards and nearly landed in the pool, just avoiding having his fingers taken off by an angry koopa. Glaring at him as any caged animal might, the creature took a step back and watched him warningly through the fence with slitted reptilian eyes.

" - koopas," Mario finished. "Well hello there." Shaking his head, he turned to Fludd. "Let's blast this guy before it attracts attention."

"Much obliged," the pump agreed.

Although electrokoopas were a bit bigger than regular ones, with bigger beaks and seemingly more aggressive personalities, this one proved no different than the one they had previously encountered. It offered little resistance once assaulted with a barrage of water through the fence, and soon retreated, still shrieking its disdain, into the water beyond.

"Kinda weird, those guys," Mario commented when it had gone. "I haven't seen many wild koopas before. They have those weird electric blue and pink shells."

"We had better check behind the wall for any more," Fludd advised. "He wanted us to chase them all off for good if possible."

Mario was just about to agree when suddenly a huge, lumbering something appeared from nowhere on the opposite side of the fence, nearly slamming into the gate and startling them both.

"Oh thank goodness! Someone's come at last!!"

Blinking in surprise, Mario stared at the new predator in bewilderment. It was none other than a pianta; and a rather flustered one at that, looking a bit exhausted, worried, and a whole slew of other things. Even stranger, his arms were full of substantial containers of - gelato!

"You there!" The blue pianta called, pressing his face to the fence eagerly. Glancing Mario over for a second in interest, he exclaimed, "You must be from the hotel!"

If Mario had been less surprised, he might have sworn that Fludd was laughing silently at him. First a little girl; and now the odd guy behind the fence! At least there couldn't be much doubt now. Well, who would've guessed?

Stepping forward, Mario looked him over. "You're... Nico's father, right?"

The pianta widened his eyes. "Yes! Yes, that's me," he said excitedly.

How on earth...? Mario came closer and tried to be patient. "What exactly... are you doing back there?" he asked.

"Avoiding death by these monsters," the pianta replied dramatically, as if he'd just run across the world. "I was being chased by these crazy creatures, so I climbed that palm tree back there to hide for a minute... and then somehow the gate got closed and I'm stuck back here. I hoped that someone might notice at some point."

Well Nico certainly wasn't exaggerating. "Oh, we noticed," Mario replied, trying to keep from laughing. "Nico sent me. I just didn't expect... well..."

"Oh, so you met my family, then," the pianta said in relief. "I imagine they're all cursing my fate by now while they wait, safe as can be... and then you have me. Just look at me, standing here in distress with both hands full of ice cream, unable to open the gate and being attacked by these heartless monsters. My daughter begged me, Please, Daddy!, so that's how I ended up in this position. Anyway, hate to trouble you, but won't you please open this door for me?"

"Uhh... yeah, hang on..." Trying to process everything as quickly as the man said it, Mario turned his attention towards the gate. So in a way, this really was all Nico's fault -

   "Um, do try to let me in quickly," her father begged, glancing around uncomfortably. "Like, now!"

   "I'm trying," the human grunted, taking firm hold of the metal lock. It was a rather old and rusty latch that could've used a little grease, not to mention a lot of muscle power. How did they even do this?

   "Please hurry," Nico's father urged. "They're starting to come this way!!"

   "Koopas?" Mario asked between breaths, gripping the latch and pushing harder. It inched a tiny bit under his exertion, but not nearly enough. Panting, Mario flexed his arms and tried again, forcing until his face began to redden.

   "Almost... there... Got it!" he breathed, stepping back in relief as the lock finally gave way and the gate began to swing open. But he was just a second too late.

   "WAAAHH!!" With the most awkward scream that Mario had ever heard a grown man make, the pianta darted away, closely followed by two large electrokoopas. The sound of the opening gate momentarily attracted their attention, and at the last second Mario realized what a mistake it was.

   CRASH!! The nearest koopa rammed his head into the metal fence just milliseconds after Mario slammed it closed, somehow forcing the lock back into place in the nick of time. Snapping at the gate a couple of more times, it backed away, presumably to resume chasing Nico's father.

   "Oi, you there! I asked you to open the gate, I didn't tell you to shut it!" he cried, running by in a panic. Somehow he had managed to avoid getting shocked for the time being.

   "Mario, over the wall!" Fludd suggested quickly. "Use my hover nozzle; do you think you can climb it?"

   Mario nodded. "Got it." Darting a ways away to get a good running start, he paused by the wave pool and took hold of Fludd's handles.

   Meanwhile Nico's father had begun to go off on a tangent. "Oh, it's no use... The ice cream will surely melt, at this rate. And my daughter's out there waiting for me! ...Could it be? Is this it? Is this the end?! Have... Have I finally gotten stranded?! WILL I BE EATEN BY ELECTRIC TURTLES?!"

   "Oh, you'll be fine," an Italian voice replied nonchalantly.

   With a start, the pianta turned to find the cocky human standing right behind him. "What - how did you get here??"

   "He jumped over the wall," Fludd replied simply. "Now stand back!"

   Leaving the pianta nearly speechless, the intelligent water squirter and his owner turned to the oppressing monsters like long-time experts at the sport. Sure enough, before he knew it they had dealt with them in no time flat, leaving the koopas screeching for the water.

   "Quick and easy... no pain," Mario breathed, wiping his forehead in satisfaction. He almost got the urge to high-five Fludd... if it had been at all possible.

   "You... it... what?" the pianta man finally said, staring at the peaceful ocean in surprise. He whirled again on Mario. "It talks?"

   Mario turned back toward the gate and hid a lopsided grin. Maybe he could get used to people asking that.

   "Whoa, whoa, hold up, acrobat boy!" He called, running over to his side. "I guess I owe you a thank you. So, thank you. That was pretty great what you did there."

   Mario chuckled. "No problem. Now wouldn't you like to get back to your daughter?" he asked pointedly, hoping to get this episode over with. "She's somewhat impatient, you know."

   "Oh, Nico! I almost forgot! ... Except, I still can't open the door."

   Mario shook his head. "Well it actually does open from this side, if you maneuver it right," he observed.

   The pianta wasn't fazed. "Very well, go on and show me how a professional would handle this door," he implored.

   Unable to keep from grinning, Mario pushed his sleeves up even more and carefully began the lock maneuver. Not surprisingly, it came quite easily this time.

   "Sir," Mario stepped aside politely, pushing the gate open. It was only then as he made the action that he realized how right Nico had been.

   Mama mia, I really do hold doors a lot, he thought in exasperation.

   For a second, he paused as a funny memory came back to him, something he'd completely forgotten for quite a while; he actually had worked, albeit briefly, as a bellhop once. It was that nice hotel back near home where he'd managed to rack up some debt —

   "Ah, freedom!" the pianta man exclaimed, bursting into the park like one unchained. Meanwhile, Nico's father had meandered out among the people, arms full of gelato and scanning the plaza beyond in mild interest. By some miracle he had managed to keep a hold on all of the frozen dessert.

   Well, I guess everyone's good at something, Mario thought. Then he shook his head in amusement.

   Suddenly the pianta turned back to him. "Excuse me, bellboy? Do you think you could help me find my daughter?"

~

For the second time that day, when Mario entered the Pinna Park Train Station, there was a small scene upon his arrival.

After a surprisingly uneventful trip to the station (and another door holding by Mario), Nico's father was reunited with his family at last. Mumsy and her daughter were still waiting in the lobby, good as their word; although they didn't look particularly happy to see him at first.

"Oh, Nico... there you are! Guess what Daddy brought?" Her father called enticingly, bursting into the lobby with arms still dangerously full.

"... Honey?" Mumsy asked in something like disbelief.

"Oh, there you are, dad," Nico said casually. "Welcome back."

Her father nearly jumped in surprise. "N-Nico, stop that at once! Please, you simply must call me Daddy... Like you usually do!"

Mario stepped aside, wondering how these awkward moments always seemed to happen.

Mumsy seemed determined to make it an even bigger one. Standing up, she demanded, "Daddy, where on earth have you been? Abandoning us here!"

"Uh... well, I got a little sidetracked is all," her husband replied sheepishly. "But I made it alright with help from Mister... uh..." Pausing, the pianta realized he didn't know the human's name.

"Bellboy," Nico supplied quickly. Mario shot her a dirty little look.

"Dear!" Mumsy exclaimed, looking her husband over in shock. "Just how many times do you need to get ice cream before you're satisfied?! You don't need to be embarrassed," she added, preventing him from answering. "Next time you plan on getting stranded, at least say something to me beforehand!!"

Mario was positive that the few people sitting around in the lobby were trying hard not to laugh - himself included. After all, what kind of life did you have to lead to say something like that?

Daddy took it all with a grain of salt. "Oh! Mumsy!" he exclaimed affectionately. Drawing closer, he offered her a large cup of gelato. "My beloved Mumsy! I bought some ice cream for you, too. Here you are, eat up!"

As expected, Mumsy wasn't that easy to please. "Hmph! But it's all melted!" she argued.

Daddy didn't give up. "Yes, by the heat of my love for you..."

Behind their backs, Nico glanced at Mario and stuck out her tongue in disgust. He shrugged a shoulder in reply.

   "Well, I don't want it!" Mumsy was saying stubbornly.

   Finally Daddy sighed and turned back to Mario. "Oh well. This is what you'd call my family, I guess. Thank you very much, Mister," he said gratefully. Glancing around for a second awkwardly, he suddenly remembered. "Oh, right! Your tip. I didn't forget, really!"

   Tip? Mario thought in pleasant surprise. He was going to get more?

   Twisting around strangely, trying to reach his pocket with hands still full, Daddy chuckled. "Just give me a second..."

   "Here, let me take some of that ice cream, dad," Nico offered, picking the biggest one. Mario sighed and shook his head at her. Still a piece of work.

   "Oh, Nico, sweetie!" Mumsy said. "Why don't you give him that shiny thing you found on the beach instead?"

   Mario's attention was drawn. Shiny thing?

   Nico looked up from her new dessert. "Aw, to that guy? But I wanted to keep it!"

   "Yes, but Daddy's having wallet issues and I think it would be a nice reward to give this man for all his trouble," Mumsy encouraged. "After all, what would you ever do with it?"

   "I don't know... put it in my room!" Nico replied, but she dug into her pocket anyway. Turning slightly begrudgingly to Mario, she handed him none other than - a shine sprite! Nearly jumping in surprise, Mario stared at the familiar golden glow. What on earth was she doing with one?

   "Enjoy," Nico said blandly. "Well, you sure came out lucky. I found that treasure on the beach, so take good care of it, whatever it is!"

   "Oh, I will," Mario promised, unable to keep from genuinely smiling as he took it eagerly from her. "Thanks!" Maybe this hadn't all been such a waste after all. Who'd have thought?

   "Don't know what on earth you'll do with it either. Anyway... are you coming with us to the hotel, or have you had enough of my dad?" she questioned with a knowing grin.

   Mario gave a half-hearted chuckle. "Ah, well, I've got more work to do here," he said, "and I don't really - "

   "Oh, so you won't accompany us to the hotel?" Mumsy broke in. "Well, that's a shame. We could really keep using your help, you know... What do they even pay you to do if not escort us?"

   "Ma'am, I'm not sure of any hotel that sends escorts like that," Mario replied respectfully.

   "I'm sure we'll survive, mom," Nico said. "I think Mr. Bellboy is tired of taking orders." She shot him a triumphant grin.

   "Actually, princess, I think you were my biggest order," Mario replied cockily. "And now it's time to ship you off."

   As if on cue, the intercom suddenly went off overhead. "Train number twelve to Sirena Beach is departing in five minutes," a female voice announced.

   Gathering up the suitcases, Mumsy and Daddy prepared to go. Nico lingered for a moment.

   "Well, then I guess this is goodbye, Mr. Bellboy," she said, a bit awkwardly. "It's been... interesting."

   Mario chuckled, hoping that his relief didn't show too much. "Oh, yeah."

   "Thanks, I guess. For all that. So uh... see you around?" she asked.

   Thoughtfully, Mario crossed his arms and nodded. "Yeah," he said pleasantly. "See you around, princess."

   "Indeed," Fludd added quietly. "Hopefully not too soon!"

   Rolling her eyes, Nico started to turn after her parents, who were already heading towards the boarding platform. Just when it seemed that it might be over, she stopped and whirled back.

   "Okay, do you want some of this gelato or what?" she demanded.

   Raising his eyebrows, Mario stared at her. "Huh?"

   "Oh, I know you've been staring at it for the past five minutes," Nico replied. "And maybe my dad DID get a little much." Marching back up to him, she thrust the cup into his hand.

   "You don't mind if it's a little melted, do you?"

   Blinking in surprise, Mario looked at it. There wasn't much - only the remains after Nico had had her fancy - but it wasn't too badly melted. And it was a sweet-smelling vanilla; and already he was starting to feel hungry looking at it.

   Glancing back up at her, Mario shook his head in surprise. "Gelato, huh?" he asked with a grin. "Miss Nico, you are something difficult."

   Raising an eyebrow, the girl couldn't help a cocky grin. "Yeah, well, I try my best."

   The young man was too busy devouring gelato to hear.

~

   "Our next stop is the Ferris wheel," Fludd announced from his perch on Mario's back. Making his way across the park plaza towards their destination, Mario hardly heard his tour guide's comment.

   "What?" he asked, busily licking some remaining gelato from his arm.

   "The Ferris wheel," his machine repeated. "To talk to the operator?"

   "Oh! Yeah."

   A few minutes after leaving Nico in the train station at last, Mario and Fludd were finally back on task - or at least Fludd was. His owner was still slightly distracted under the spell of vanilla gelato.

As they came past the clam cups near to the entrance of the pirate ship ride, Fludd raised his head and seemed to take charge. "The entrance is up there," he said, doing his best to indicate the small distant boarding platform on the Ferris wheel's primary brick support. A few people could be seen clustered there to get on the ride - or perhaps they were just gawking at the strangely quick pace it had set.

Instead of going through the main center of the park, which had lately seemed to become quite busy, Mario and Fludd took the 'back way', which was a small and relatively quiet path on the east edge of the park. Leading around the other side of the pirate ships and the shallow lake beneath them, this path led up a small grassy hill to the Ferris wheel without all the hustle and bustle. Growing proud and tall there on the hillside, as if watching over the park, an immensely fat tree stood in the shape of a pianta's head.

"Would you look at that," Fludd admired as they passed. "He is like... The Great Pianta Tree!"

"That's a little redundant," Mario chuckled, tilting his head at it. "You know pianta means plant, you know."

"Indeed? That is curious," Fludd mused. "I suppose it is because of the plants piantas grow on their heads as relief from the sun."

Mario nodded absentmindedly as they neared the Ferris wheel's base. From there the path sloped upwards, first to the right, then to the left where the gondolas were loaded; and beyond that was a small hanging bridge which stretched across the gap to the entrance of the roller coaster. From this closer proximity, it was easy to see that the wheel was going entirely too fast for comfort.

"Hey, dad! Check it out!" a little boy squealed nearby. "I like the Ferris wheel even better at high speed! Please, can we ride it? PLEASE?"

Glancing over in surprise, Mario was only slightly alarmed to find it was the same pianta boy and his father that they had been seeing seemingly everywhere. As expected, the father was not thrilled with his son's idea.

"Uh, it looks a bit dangerous," he said skeptically. "Why don't we try the carousel instead?"

The boy crossed his arms. "Aw, but this looks so awesome!"

Mario, gazing up at it in a like manner, was tempted to share his sentiments, but another glance made him think better. Hearing the faint mingled screams above, there could almost be no doubt - people were on that thing!

"Fludd, I think it's broken!" Mario exclaimed, watching it spin like an enormous blue pinwheel. A thought came to him that he didn't hesitate to blurt out. "Do you think it was Shadow Mario?"

"I don't know," the machine replied quickly. "Down behind the pillar - that is where the ride controls should be. We should hurry!"

Mario didn't waste any time in darting off for the base of the tower.

~

"This is bad, this is bad, this is bad," the pianta muttered to himself, looking over the slew of buttons on the control panel in front of him. "I just don't get it."

Operating the Ferris wheel in Pinna Park had seemed like a relatively simple job for the past two weeks he had held it; there were only so many things a Ferris wheel could do, after all. And yet here he was.

Inexplicably, the thing had just abruptly begun to move at an alarming rate - while passengers were aboard, of course - and now it was, quite literally, spinning out of control. He had been unsuccessfully trying to get the ride to stop for what felt like an hour - though in reality it had only been about twenty minutes - and Mr. Peppers hadn't sent anyone to help. The old coot had probably no idea of what even happened.

"Why did I ever get this job," he sighed to himself, hitting the panel in frustration. "Why won't you just-?!"

"Hey!" A voice called out abruptly, breaking him from his train of despairing thoughts. "Are you the operator??"

And here it comes. Trying to gather all his initiative, the pianta turned. "Yes, I know what's going on but I can't stop it," he gushed. "This thing is just going on its own, I have no idea why!"

Pausing for half a second to look over the bearer of his bad news, the operator stopped. This guy didn't look like an employee. In fact, he had never seen the guy in his life. He was a human - a rather odd looking one at that, with a weird machine on his back and a strangely urgent expression. Still, he had to be here about the Ferris wheel; guests weren't allowed back behind the tower. Mr. Peppers must have sent him to fire me.

The human only raised his eyebrows upwards in alarm. "You can't get it to stop?" he questioned.

The pianta shook his head vigorously. "No! I cut all power, everything. I can't explain why it's still moving!"

The human looked up at the wheel thoughtfully, determination written all over his face. "Is this the only control panel?"

   "Well, no... technically, there's another power generator up there, but I turned it off too! I swear," the pianta said. "It's almost like it was sabotaged or... no," he trailed off.

   "What?" The human urged.

   "Well, I remember earlier seeing this weird turtle back here, but it took off as soon as it saw me. I doubt it had anything to do with this, though. It just looked like a dumb animal."

   The human looked grim. "Never discredit a crazy possibility," he said, already heading past him. "How do I get to the top of the tower?"

   "You?" The operator blinked, but only for a moment. If someone else was going to fix it, that was fine by him.

   "Uh, well... it's not really designed so you can get up there," he explained. "I mean, it's not like there's a lift or anything. If you want up then you have to climb."

   It was instantly obvious what he meant. The backside of the Ferris wheel extended upwards in a labyrinth of catwalks; a playground for the ambitious child. Behind the precarious wall of metal platforms was a wall of flowing water, the remnant of an old attraction that used to be on that side of the brick.

"It's maybe fifty feet to the generator," the operator spoke up. "No ladders, but, y'know... we don't really need to climb up there usually."

The human just shrugged, undeterred. "That's good - it could be much worse!"

~

   Staring upwards at his new goal, Mario reached for the mesh platform above his head and pulled himself up with a grunt. Once he was safely atop the small shelf - or safe enough for his standards - he carefully rose to his feet and took an instant's collection for the next move. It would be an interesting maneuver; he would have to climb a small vertical piece of the fence to the adjoining platform above. Still, a couple of minutes in and he was pleased enough with his progress.

Despite the slightly arduous climb, Mario wasn't about to complain. The entire side of the pillar that he was scaling was in shadow, making it quite cool; and besides, he was used to hoisting his own weight anyway. It was nice to just get back to the physical jobs sometimes - those were always the easiest.

The Ferris wheel operator hadn't been kidding about the path to the top. The backside of the wheel's tower was a real mess; thin metal grates that had clearly not been used in a while stacked upwards in front of a seemingly pointless water fountain that scaled the entire pillar's backside. And of course, the conditions couldn't have been more perfect for klambers to congregate.

Wiping an arm across his forehead, Mario sighed and glanced upwards. It wasn't far now; he thought he could hear the generator's hum coming from somewhere above. Which means it's definitely running.

   "Mario, watch those spiders," Fludd's voice warned, bringing him to the alert. "You don't want them to make you fall!"

   "It'll be fine," his owner replied, although the precarious position he was in did not help to strengthen his statement. Backing up a bit, Mario held on to the fence tightly with one hand and used the other to blast a close-approaching black and yellow klamber, trying to weave its way towards him. With a strange garbled cry, it backed away across the netting.

   "They're lucky," Fludd observed as Mario turned back to his climbing. "They have limbs suited to this kind of jungle gym."

   "As long as they don't get in my way," the human replied busily, edging towards the overhanging shelf. "There's not a whole lot of room up here."

   "Indeed," Fludd agreed. Observing the lengthening drop behind them from Mario's back, he said, "Don't look down."

   Mario gave a half-hearted snort of amusement. "Right." Reaching up for the next to last platform, he gripped the floor through the bars and pulled himself through the square opening, putting all his strength into his arms. Sitting on the edge for a moment, he gazed up and nearly fell backwards at what he saw.

   The generator was there, all right - at the top of the tower as promised. But that wasn't all he found: the large whirring machine sat atop the last metal platform above his head; and lying atop it like a monster in his den, a huge green-shelled electrokoopa snored contentedly.

   ...Oh. For a moment Mario fell still and didn't make a sound at all as he stared.

   He couldn't be sure from the underside, but it looked almost twice as large as the other koopas he'd seen. Plus, it wasn't clear at first that it was truly asleep; rising carefully to his feet, never taking his eyes off the beast just inches above his head, Mario slowly reached a hand up. Then, in a rather risky test, he snapped his fingers.

  Nothing. The koopa kept on snoozing peacefully, seemingly unaware of the screaming guests whirling by on the giant wheel just beyond the ledge. So that explains it, Mario thought.

   The koopa's shell, even when it was sleeping, gave off a very high electric charge; there could be no doubt as to why the Ferris wheel had gone into overdrive. The electrokoopa had fallen asleep, and it must have been causing a power surge of sorts directly from the source, making the generator shake beneath him like a fruit smoothie.

   Mario wasn't sure if Fludd perceived the problem yet, but he wasn't going to wait to find out. Without warning, he abruptly grabbed his handles and attacked, shooting a high-powered spray upwards.

   "Graaack!!" It was a narrow hit, but a bullseye nevertheless. Springing to life with a screech, the electrokoopa whirled around, jumping down from the generator in an instant's fury. Unfortunately, it soon spotted its attacker.

   "Whoa!" Mario shrank backwards as the koopa immediately went on the offensive, stabbing its beak downwards through the caging. It reached so low that it forced Mario on to his back, holding his breath just to avoid getting hit.

   "Mario! It's vulnerable on the underside!" Fludd exclaimed through the excitement.

   "Okay... if only you were thinner!" Mario grunted, trying to use Fludd's jet without exposing himself to the koopa's pecking. Lying on Fludd was tricky; it was like trying to stay atop one of those giant exercise balls, only Fludd was hard and filled with water. Luckily, he was able to get a shot in, startling the creature away and showering water droplets everywhere.

   Seizing the chance, Mario rolled over and crawled to the end of the platform, where he'd spotted the access topside. This time it wasn't just an opening in the cage: it was a revolving hatch. Saying a millisecond's prayer that it wasn't locked, he punched one end upwards and scrambled out in relief.

   Facing the green electrokoopa, who was recovering from his wet assault, Mario stepped forward confidently. With Fludd around, there was always more where that came from.

   The terrified people aboard the Ferris wheel couldn't have seen what was happening even if they had wanted to; the speed didn't slow even as Mario battled the monster towards the edge of the tower and eventually sent it, shrieking and plummeting, to the ocean's blue below.

   Standing by the edge, staring down into the water far below, Mario and Fludd didn't find it difficult to rectify. "It'll be fine," Mario breathed, watching the enormous ripples fade away. Shaking his head, he added, "Koopas always bounce back - but they go down pretty easy." With a small chuckle in spite of himself, Mario shrugged. "Like always." Turning back again to the generator, he frowned. "Now why...?"

   "I suppose it did a more lasting damage than we thought," Fludd said as he looked over Mario's shoulder. "The Ferris wheel still is not slowing down!"

   Coming closer to investigate, Mario tugged his gloves on tighter and prepared for the worst. "Do you think this was all part of a plan - "

   He abruptly stopped. Suddenly it seemed quite likely indeed; likely, and evil!

   For there, atop the vibrating coils like a prisoner of its own power, was a sparkling little shine sprite. Pausing for a moment in hushed silence, Mario shook his head in bewilderment.

   "A shine sprite was causing the problem?" Carefully, he reached a hand in and scooped the tinkling thing up, bringing it safely out; and as he did so, Fludd raised his nozzle to the blazing Ferris wheel beside them.

   "Mario, look!"

   Sure enough, it was true: already the wheel was beginning to slow out its pace. Soon it had evened out entirely, and the wild ride of before rotated peacefully once again overlooking the park. It appeared as nothing short of a calm, enjoyable gondola ride.

   The overjoyed passengers, breathing easy at last, were not at a loss to notice him. Within moments seemingly dozens of relieved riders were leaning over the sides of their buggies, waving and shouting ecstatically to the man on the top of the tower. Their grateful cheers blew about in the gentle wind.

   With a small laugh, Mario pocketed his golden find and gave the passing gondolas a small salute with his cap. He could only imagine what they had been going through for a while. He almost felt a little bad that he had taken so long.

   "So it appears that shine sprites can be used for vile purposes as well," Fludd commented as they watched the happy riders pass by. "It is a terrible thing."

   "It must have been guarding it," Mario said, still waving to cheering passengers absentmindedly. "Rotten koopa."

   "Well, I suppose we must find a way back down," Fludd observed, rotating his nozzle in all directions. "There are some more metal catwalks in front of the Ferris wheel - I believe they are used for work on the pirate ships - but I do not advise going through the rotating blades, even at this slower speed."

   Mario gave a half grin. "No? Well, that's okay. I never got to ride the Ferris wheel anyway!"

   "Mario are you -"

   He didn't finish as Mario suddenly launched himself forward, running straight for the edge of the tower like a man on a mission; and without a moment's hesitation he leaped over a sickening plummet for a low-passing gondola that had no passengers. At first Fludd couldn't be sure if Mario had planned it that way or not - a second later he landed with a precarious thud on the moving gondola's roof.

   "That was very reckless!" Fludd scolded the instant his feet had landed.

   Mario, laughing with breathlessness, shifted over so he sat crosslegged on the relatively flat top. Unconcerned, he said, "From here we'll just ride down - fun!"

   "I hardly think you should take any such risks again," his machine advised. "At least use my hover nozzle. You very easily could have died!"

   Mario chuckled, raising his head to the wind as the wheel slowly climbed higher. "You almost sound like Professor Gadd."

   "Well, he had special instructions," Fludd replied. "'Don't let anything happen to Mario.' That is what he was doing."

   Mario tilted his head, hardly listening. Surely no one would mind if he hitched a free ride on the Ferris wheel; he could only be welcomed as a hero when they landed. It would be smooth sailing from there.

And besides, he had always wanted to gain some altitude over the park. Now here was a view: the entire mainland Isle Delfino was opening up behind him, spread out like a green, mountainous mass. From here he could see even better the different hotspots: Gelato Beach with its big Shine Tower; Ricco Harbor's catwalks hanging over the port; the whitewashed walls of Windmill Village up in Bianco Hills; and the messy bustle of Delfino Plaza far away. Rising above it, almost seeming on height with the Ferris Wheel from here, was the enormous Corona Mountain.

"Mama mia, would you look at that," Mario breathed, nodding towards it all. "You know, the big windmill was nice, but this... oh, magnifico!"

"They do say the view from this Ferris wheel is the best for miles around," Fludd agreed. "As long as it is slow enough for you to enjoy it!"

Mario nodded, reveling in the fresh ocean breeze blowing in from up ahead. He couldn't have agreed more: the air was so wide, so open, so blue, that he almost feared he would get lost in it all.

As the wheel neared its peak, he caught sight of another small land mass a ways off, on the horizon. Squinting, Mario pointed.

"What's that island over there?" he asked curiously.

Fludd, looking at what he indicated, was careful in his answer. "That is Gunkanjima. The locals sometimes call it 'Warship Island'."

Staring off at its gray, distant figure, Mario's interest was aroused. Still... "What do they have there?"

"Oh... no one inhabits it now."

Mario fell silent for a moment in careful thought. "It wouldn't be the first place," he said at last.

"I can see nothing bothers you, Mario. It is an old war site. It once housed hundreds of soldiers and prisoners before being turned into a weaponry arsenal. It was famous - and it still is - for its great battleships. The remains are still there, above water and otherwise."

Mario was still as the picture enveloped his mind. "How long has it been abandoned?"

"Over a hundred years now, since before the proper colonization of many of these tropic islands," Fludd answered knowledgeably. "You might have guessed: the old sea cannons on the waterfronts of Isle Delfino are there for a reason older than catapulting tourists."

As the long-forgotten Ferris wheel began to pass it tallest height, Mario fell quiet in thought. Warship Island... why did it seem like it should be familiar? For a moment his curiosity demanded that he go there, explore this old mystery; but quickly it was replaced with an eerie sorrow. What kind of naval battles might these very waters have seen?

Sitting in solemn observation as the Ferris wheel started to slow, another question followed it: what kind of battles might this island see in the coming days?