The bubbling inferno below seemed to charge the air all at once with a hot intensity that Mario hadn't felt before. A second of silence passed, in which one could nearly see the steam rising, holding it in suspense.

   This could not be what he thought it was.

   Staring stupidly across the giant mushroom caps at the indignant pianta, he finally managed a word.

   "...What did you say??"

   Mayor Russo crossed his arms and nodded once. "That's right, you heard me! I'm the one who turned you in. Indirectly, of course."

For a moment Fludd perceived that Mario had forgotten how to use his mouth. "B—wha—what??" The human looked at the pianta with a deepening gaze of horror. "You— that's—" He stopped, clearly getting nowhere. And then, for a few seconds that seemed very out of place to the water pump, he merely stood there, his blood pressure notably rising.

Mayor Russo took his silence as a grant to keep talking. "It was nothing personal — I just reported you. It was kind of an accident, really. I happened to be on the airstrip the other day, and all the sudden, there was that face I'd been seeing on posters all over town! So I did the responsible thing." Glaring at the boy again, he added, "And I can see they've made a terrible mistake and now I'M paying for it!"

Mario was still frozen, as if the disbelief had seized his joints; but now Fludd could feel him begin tensing up beneath him. Something could go very wrong here—

   "Mario, try taking a deep breath," he spoke up.

Too late.

   "Fludd! That's him!" Mario nearly cut him off with a hiss. "He ratted on me!"

   Beneath them, the giant mushrooms swayed slightly like trees in a thickening swamp. "Yes, Mario, but that's not—

   "Yes, it is, Fludd!" the human replied shortly. "They put me on trial! ...I went to prison!!" he cried as if only just now realizing it.

   "It was only one night," the machine pointed out.

   By now the mayor was staring across at them as if convinced that he was looking at a lunatic.

   Mario wasn't giving up that easily. "It wasn't fair! It was a waste of time. If I hadn't lost a whole day Peach might've never been kidnapped." Here he paused briefly, seeming to lower his guard; Fludd pushed again.

   "But Mario, now is not the time for this!"

   Finally, a breakthrough. As if somewhat awakened to the present ordeal by these words, Mario straightened up and seemed to notice again the goopy inferno, steaming up like soup from below. Wiping an arm across his perspiring forehead, he slowly nodded. "...You're right. We have to clean this place up."

Across from him, Mayor Russo waved an arm as if trying to flag down a schooner. "Hey, you! Convict! We've got another problem over here," he informed. "How are we going to get down in the first place? You've got us locked in a rather fine mess here!"

With the energy of a wild chain chomp, Mario turned back on him in a flash. "This is not my mess," he said in a voice that wasn't playing. "And who said anything about helping you?"

Fludd was startled by these words. "Mario, you just said so! We came to help him!" he exclaimed.

"That was before he ruined everything," Mario replied stubbornly, eyeing the man with a gaze like flint.

"No it wasn't," Fludd said pointedly.

Mario did not look happy. "He'll be fine once I clean the village," he said sulkily. "Why don't we just do our job?"

Fludd was not afraid to stand up this time. "Mario, forgive me if my data is wrong, but that does not sound like you."

Mayor Russo stared with a look bordering on fright at the man talking to his water pump. For a moment the human held perfectly still, eyes fixed brazenly on his shoes. Then, ever-so-slowly, he began to uncurl his left hand which was tightened into a fist.

There was a small interim of uncomfortable silence, during which the pianta began questioning his life choices.

Then, when Mario lifted his head again to meet the mayor's eyes, his voice had the force of a shout. "Well, come on! Stay behind me, and don't fall in the goop. I've seen enough nasty accidents already."

Without another word, the young man turned and began to hop down to the slightly lower platforms from which he'd come, pausing at the edge of a rooftop to switch his jetpack into a single nozzle. The mayor watched, slightly apprehensive, as he began to shoot an intense spray of water straight downwards at the ground below. After a moment he crept forward.

"Wh-What is that thing??" he asked. "Are you—?

"Well what does it look like? I'm washing it up! Somebody has to do it!" The boy didn't look up.

Biting back his question, Mayor Russo hesitated a moment on the edge of the yellow mushroom which had been his unhappy perch for close to half an hour. Clutching his hat to his head, he cautiously leapt to the neighboring mushroom after the human.

From where he stood, Mario was able to cover quite a bit of area, washing the bright orange grass on the ground below to create a safe walking space. From there, he figured he could just forge himself a path straight to the bridge where the rest of the village was waiting.

After all, he needed to get away from this guy as soon as possible.

It felt good and empowering to have Fludd in his hands again — he found that his night's rest had actually been a good one, leaving him ready to take on whatever challenges the new day would present. Mario usually did sleep well — and usually woke to plunge headlong into tasks that were unpleasant — but this time he had to put his foot down.

However happy he was to see Fludd safe, he knew that if he stayed around that pianta any longer than necessary then he might, as his mother used to call it, 'hurt an innocent bully'.

Mario's face scrunched up at the thought. He'd never really liked the saying — it implied that someone clearly deserving to be taught a lesson was somehow innocent. He understood what she was getting at, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

And now, literally leading his accuser from a flaming disaster, he began to realize how hard it would be to restrain himself.

It HAD to be him. Out of all the people the mayor could have been, it had to be the one who called the cops on me. Jumping down to the now-drenched grass, Mario wrenched his hands around Fludd's handles and straightened, trying to keep from appearing too mad. He knew he reeked with aggressive vibes, but he couldn't help it.

What are the chances of this? One in five million?? He was aware that it must be a terrible coincidence that he should even meet the rat at all, much less in a situation such as this. Why did he always end up with the difficult people?

Given the outcome of things and the time he'd had to cool off, Mario wouldn't have expected to be so sore over the whole ordeal — but here he was. He was even slightly surprised at himself for getting so worked up; but at the same time, he was proud of how he was containing it. Mostly.

I can't believe it's him. That whole ridiculous night in jail... and don't even get me started on the trial and the bossy—

His internal rant was cut off by a sudden eruption of goop, exploding as it were in a small bubbling of steam just in front of him. Jerking to a halt, Mario forced himself to return to the present.

"Ahh! You have to be careful!! That stuff is like... probably over a hundred degrees!" Mayor Russo practically wailed in his ear, scurrying over to a stop behind him. Hovering almost directly over the boy's head, he seemed to be clinging to his shadow as to a lifeguard.

Mario was rigid, turning halfway back to the man before thinking better of it and observing the small geyser in the goo. "It's two hundred," he stated blankly. "Most things don't boil that low."

He could practically hear the mayor leap in surprise at his bold reply. Go ahead, the young man thought nonchalantly, turning back to wash the path ahead.

His disinterest evaporated on the steamy air when the mayor suddenly seized his arm. "Excuse me, Mr. Dangerous! What exactly is your plan here??"

It took every muscle in Mario's body not to throw his grip off. Turning slowly to speak over his shoulder, he replied, "Getting you to safety! I'd think you'd recognize a rescue when you experienced one."

Mayor Russo unhanded him now and pointed. "With that little squirt gun?? You've got to be kidding me! I think you're actually insane."

The boy stared ahead. "Fludd is not a little squirt gun," he said, almost as a grouch.

The mayor wasn't listening. "And why should I even believe you? Am I supposed to believe that they sent the convict who caused this mess to save me?? I'd just as soon melt in that ooze!"

To Mario, his complaint might as well have been the sound of a gong.

In a flash he whirled on him like he'd just insulted his mother. Then, in a movement that felt strangely antagonistic to Fludd, Mario stood up about as tall as he could (which still wasn't quite enough to equal the pianta, but it came close), and thrust his face in the mayor's.

"Look," he said in a voice that was low and nearly raw. "You can do a lot of things — you can make fun of my mustache, you can throw fireballs at me, I don't care. But when you turned me in for a crime I didn't even have time to do, you made me give a care. Nobody messes with my vacation."

There was a brief pause, and the human rocked back on his heels, allowing himself to fall to a slightly lower level. In that second the startled Mayor Russo thought he was done — which couldn't have been further from the truth.

"My friends — one of whom happens to be the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom — had been planning this vacation for weeks as our first relaxing getaway in a long time. All I wanted was to sit back on a beach somewhere far away and drink smoothies for two weeks. But instead our airplane is nearly crashed the instant we land because of toxic goop all over the airstrip. When I help to clean it up, I get arrested for vandalizing an island I hadn't even seen yet — and this is before a very biased court overturns my princess' objection," he went on, voice getting heated now as he pointed back towards the crowd a distance away. "You'd be lucky if she didn't press some sort of charges and start a war. Of course she won't," he added, crossing his arms, "because she's better than that. And now she's been kidnapped by the real perpetrator of this mess, and there's this unexpected kid, and I'm traveling the entire island trying to fix it while trying to track them down and nobody will believe me and it's been going on for two days nonstop now and I just want to see her and..."

All at once, as if he had finally realized he was out of breath, the indignant human stopped talking and merely stood, panting for a second as if he was confronted with a sudden truth. Slowly letting his shoulders drop, Mario turned away and back toward the fiery goop around them.

He realized he sounded like a whiny teenager. But once again — he didn't want to help it. He'd been through a lot, and regardless of that he felt like he had a certain right to complain. But at the same time he hated acting that way. Mario didn't believe in feeling sorry for yourself.

Taking a deep breath, he lowered his head. "I'm sorry," he said to the ground.

Mayor Russo, standing a couple paces behind him in stricken surprise, stood rooted to the spot, staring at his back. At first he maintained the silence reverently, but then:

"Well," he said. "Well. Let me see if I can get this straight. You're saying it wasn't you and you're trying to save a kidnapped princess and you've got an unexpected kid to raise. Is that about it?"

Mario paused, frowning in confusion. "Wha— no!" Turning quickly, he exclaimed, "No, it's not my kid!! It's my... rival, King Bowser... maybe you've heard of him?" As the mayor shook his head, Mario sighed and stepped closer. "Nevermind, it doesn't matter. Let's just... get you out of here."

Now Mayor Russo was frowning. "Now, wait a minute. Now I'm confused. If it wasn't supposed to be you who did anything, why were you on the posters?"

"Because the kid was disguised to look like me, now let's go," Mario said impatiently, grabbing the pianta's wrist. "I don't wanna talk about it anymore."

"But if this is a legitimate thing, it could be investigated!" the mayor said, allowing himself to be pulled along. "I never heard of—

"I said I don't care, and I definitely don't need to talk about it right now," the boy replied flatly, not releasing his grip on the man as he gunned Fludd to clear the way ahead of them.

"I'm sensing that you feel the opposite," the mayor said.

"What gave it away??" Mario asked in mock surprise. "It's not like I should care who turned me in."

"See, you're doing it again," the mayor replied.

"Just forget about it!" the young man snapped, yanking him forward as he made his way toward the edge of the village borders. Ahead, a safe distance behind the fence that encircled the village, the remaining townspeople stood waiting in collective anxiety. A cheer erupted when the two of them appeared, parting the seemingly endless graffiti to emerge unscathed from the inferno.

   At once a small group of piantas flocked their leader. "Mr. Mayor! Are you alright??"

   "Do you know what's happening?!"

   Breaking away from his rather small and moody rescuer, Mayor Russo allowed himself to be pulled in by the townspeople. "Yes yes, I'm fine... I think," he said, clutching his hat. Then all at once he seemed to erupt. "But no! Oh no! What in the world's happening? I think I may just start crying," he said, whirling to stare at the fire sea he had just traversed to reach them.

   At his sudden outburst, a pianta woman asked, "What's the matter, Mr. Mayor?"

   He turned back to stare at them all with wide gaping eyes. "I just went away for a bit and now look... I can't believe it! Another fine mess! And it's a doozy!"

   At this, Mario, who had been standing back watching uncomfortably, spoke up. "What do you mean another mess?"

   Mayor Russo turned back to meet his eyes, and Mario found him wild with fear. "Some of the villagers are trapped in that burning ooze! I saw them not long ago from up on my mushroom," he reported breathlessly. "There were a few villagers that didn't escape in time, I swear. And I had just finished evacuating everyone a little while back! ...And that includes my wife!" Suddenly trembling as if only now remembering, the mayor seized the boy's shoulders and shook him more violently than Mario would have deemed him capable of.

   "My wife!!" he exclaimed, as if they didn't understand. "She never left the village! She's trapped in there!!"

   There arose a general murmur from the crowd around them as Mario tried to detach the man's hands from his shoulders. "I'm sorry, sir," he said as calmly as he could. "I really think she'll be okay though—

   "Oh, really? She'll be okay beneath that flaming liquid??" Mayor Russo tightened his grip, causing Mario to freeze momentarily in surprise. "Tell me, did you really cause this or not? Are you telling the truth??"

   Mario tried to pull back, didn't meet much success, and then fixed the mayor with a sincere eye. "I would swear in the name of Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom that I did not cause this mess," he replied solemnly.

   Behind them, Animal Lady suddenly spoke up in surprise. "Mario?? Why, surely you're kidding! He wouldn't have done this! Just last night he caught my little darlings who were burning with fever!"

   "You mean he saved us from them," Angela corrected.

   "I'd second that," the mustache pianta put in. "And besides that, he seemed genuinely surprised to find the mess this morning! He even went in to save you!"

   "He's even got a yoshi!" Gramps added with a chuckle from where he sat, stroking Buddy at the base of an overhanging tree. "Can you believe it?"

   At seeing all the unexpected support, Mario slowly spread a smile. Well, it was about time!

   Taken aback by this barrage of information, Mayor Russo loosened his grip on the boy and now turned back intently to the others. "Mario?" he asked. "...Did you just say Mario?" Glancing back at the human, he blinked twice, as if seeing something different. "You're Mario??"

   When the human nodded, the pianta slapped a hand to his forehead. "Oh, no! Oh, that's not what I was expecting..." At the boy's visible confusion, Mayor Russo explained. "You see, just this morning I received a parcel in a strange name; from Delfino Plaza. It wasn't standard post — it looked like someone just sent the package up here to reach someone named 'Mario'. However it came, it naturally arrived at my house. There was a note with it too—

   Mario stepped forward. "Who was it from?"

   "I can't remember," Mayor Russo replied. "All I know is that it was for Mario. It said something about a helpful tool or something and to be careful and I instantly assumed it was for someone important."

   Mario's gaze turned firm. He took another step forward. "Do you have it?"

   "What? No. It would be in my house, which is currently..." He trailed his eyes across the goop-covered path back towards the village.  He paused, then let out a sigh. "Look... Mario, son, if I may call you that..."

   The disapproving sidelong glance from the human indicated that he may not.

   He coughed. "Uh, listen. I know how you may feel about... you know... a couple days ago... but I'm willing to give you a shot here. Perhaps, uh, I pegged you all wrong. We'll see. Anyway, um, I'm sorry to hear about the trouble you're going through with this... kidnapping and stuff," he said, awkwardly aware of all the surrounding piantas watching. "Um, and I'm sorry to trouble you more, but please... could you find the time to help us again? Save my villagers with that washing machine of yours? Oh, and don't forget my wife! If you can do that, I'll get you that package. Promise!"

   Mario, feigning skepticism in a pleasurable moment of being needed, tilted his head. "How do I know you aren't going to call the cops?"

   "The cops??" Animal Lady gawked.

   Mayor Russo looked uncomfortable. "Okay okay, I get it! Maybe I acted rashly before. But this isn't about me! Please, it's for my villagers... and my wife! Just help them, please!"

   As soon as he said those words, Buddy, who was basking in the attention Gramps had been giving him, sprang up to his feet with a small coo. Instantly looking at Mario, he stared in anticipation as if to say, Let's go!

   Mario's eyes flickered to the yoshi and for a moment he struggled to hold back a grin. Then he cleared his throat and grabbed Fludd's belt. "Sorry, Bud, but I don't think I can take you into that ooze," he said regretfully. "You'll have to stay here a bit longer."

   Buddy dropped his head, but only a little — as if he understood. Mario turned back to the piantas now, who were hanging on his every breath.

   "So you'll do it then?" Mayor Russo asked hopefully.

   In visible irritation, the young man looked at him again. "I'm not doing this for you," he said, grouchily as a wronged teenager. "I'm doing it because there are people in need," he said, pointing indignantly, "and someone has to do something." Then, with a sudden quick motion, he adjusted the belt around his waist with what he hoped was a disapproving look. In reality he had realized that he had put it on a notch too tight earlier.

   Without another word, and with the piantas seemingly satisfied to let his answer hang on the air, Mario turned and promptly walked away back towards the flaming village.

Several long moments after, with the boy well out of earshot, Animal Lady turned on him again. "Why, Mr. Mayor! What did you do to him?"

~

The latest handiwork of Shadow Mario — or the flaming inferno, as everyone was affectionately calling it — was little to boast of when put up against Fludd's power tank. In a matter of moments, Mario had ventured deep enough into the heart of the village, and consequently into the hot disaster, to find that it was not really anything special that his water machine couldn't handle.

Walking still somewhat indignantly into the Plaza of Palms, clearing a path along the road as he went, Mario kicked the ground and muttered to himself. "Can you believe the nerve of that guy?"

"He seemed rather apologetic to me," Fludd observed. "He was worried, Mario. It seems natural to overreact."

   "That's not what I meant," Mario replied insistently. "He... I just can't believe that all of the trouble we've been through over the past couple days is all because of that scatterbrained guy! He didn't even try to figure out what was going on!"

   "Mario, that is irrational—

   "Oh, really? Is it irrational to think we've been treated unfairly? You can't tell me it's irrational to say that if it wasn't for that man, the princess might still be here," the human went on stubbornly.

   Fludd didn't even pause to think. "Yes, that might be true. I know you are concerned with getting her back. But this isn't just about the princess," he responded, lapsing into an explanatory tone. "It's about everyone on the island — the small businesses, the families. The shine sprites are our mission — for the good of all on this island."

   Mario, at hearing this, tightened his face up with sigh. It wasn't fair that he wasn't allowed to argue. At least, it felt that way. Why shouldn't he? He was the one who had been chasing the shines all over creation like a man running from the law.

All at once, he halted in place, right in the middle of a still half-splashed path by a row of houses. He knew he was acting like a child. But he didn't care; wasn't it only fair that he should get to enjoy his vacation? Everybody else was.

As if reading his mind, Fludd continued talking, almost beginning to lecture. "The mayor was only trying to help his people," he said. "He saw a person who posed a threat to his home and he took his chance to protect it. Mayor Russo did what anyone could have done — not a criminal or an ill-meaning simpleton. He tried merely to do the right thing — which is not, if I'm correct, very different from what you would do."

Mario inhaled, causing his chest to expand; but then he never seemed to let it out. He had caught sight of something — a bubbling puddle not far away — and now seemed to pretend that it was much more interesting.

Fludd was right, of course. He knew Fludd was right, and he knew he was only spitting back Mario's own words at him. But still... But still! he wanted to whine.

"Mario," Fludd said again. "I thought that now was not the time?"

Finally Mario exhaled, and it had the force of a hurricane. "It's not," he said, fidgeting with his belt. "I know. People are in danger."

"And they would likely be in danger even if you had not been arrested," Fludd went on, finishing his thought. "And so would everyone else you have helped. Even if you had prevented the princess from being taken, who is to say your vacation would proceed as planned? Not in this shine sprite catastrophe. The island is in need — anyone could have made that phone call. And there is also Bowser! Do you expect someone to call the Delfino Police on him?"

Mario, standing amidst the rising steam beneath this incessant rain of sense, placed his hands around Fludd's handles. Man, Fludd is making a bunch of really good points, he groaned to himself. But at the same time, he had to agree. There was no one better suited to this job than himself. He had always said that, especially once Bowser became involved.

This was a war that could not have been prevented — and it was for Mario to fight alone.

Well... not ENTIRELY alone, he thought now, grinning slightly to himself as he grabbed his weapon and trudged forward again to meet the fire. I've got Fludd to watch my back.

~

"Mama mia, how did he do all this," Mario muttered, pulling his weight over a small ledge to stand and survey his work. Several minutes and a fair amount of cleanup later, they had managed to wash most of the streets out of the village, including the front yards of most of the houses. Now, aside from the last of the goop surrounding the rear of the village, the disaster was reduced to nothing but steaming puddles here and there in the grass.

Mayor Russo had been right about the lost villagers. Mario had stumbled upon a shocking eight of them drowning in the deepest pockets that formed in the goop, flailing and spluttering for air but, as he'd predicted, ultimately unscathed. Some of them had been extensively grateful before running off to safety, but others were less thrilled to see the face of their rescuer.

"Are you alright?" he'd asked a struggling pianta woman as he pulled her out by the arm. At first she slapped his hand away and glared. "You! This is all your fault!" Wobbling, she barely managed to keep from falling back into the orange pool. "I saw you making this mess earlier! Don't even try to deny it," she panted. "Just... stop running around and getting in my way!" she barked, just before losing her balance and toppling over in the sludge.

"Easy!" Mario exclaimed, grabbing her arm in the nick of time. Grunting at the exertion — the woman suddenly seemed content to cling to him and let him drag her to safety — he took Fludd's nozzle and tried to hose her off.

"Hey, you!! What are you—

"Calm down," Mario retorted. "It's just water!"

"Your water!"

Mario froze up for a moment, trying desperately to contain his aggressive reply. "You seem to be fine," he observed.

"No thanks to you," she muttered, breaking herself away at last to shake her head tree dry.

"Was it painful under there?" Mario wanted to know, hoping for a serious answer.

"Not really," she said. "It was — I don't know, you tell me! — like a pocket? But that doesn't matter! Even if you're just joking, that hot ooze is dangerous! So quit!"

Slapping her saturated skirt dangerously close to his head, the pianta turned and began to stamp towards the outskirts with the others. "How do we always get stuck with the crazy people?..."

Watching her go, Mario wiped an arm across his damp face and took a breath, reminding himself of his purpose. He wasn't here for praise. Neither was he here, he told himself, to enjoy himself. He was here to help people in need.

And that's all that matters, isn't it?

Now, with the drama mostly past, the hot spring he now surveyed sat empty and inviting in the corner of the village, just below him where he stood by the fruit tree from last night. Unlike last night, however, he was interested to see that it was now full, with clear, steaming water pouring from the giant pianta statue's nose into the rounded basin.

For a minute Mario was tempted to take a dip, but quickly curbed himself. The sooner he got everyone back into the village, the sooner he could get back to shine hunting. And maybe even get out of here. And get his package!

Remembering that, Mario turned and hastened his legs towards the rope bridge at the other end of town.

~

"There he is!"

   Almost as one voice, the anxious crowd of villagers waiting at the entrance of town welcomed their hero back with a small uproar of chatter and applause. As soon as he appeared, albeit holding back a little smug smile, Mario made a beeline for the mayor, who came rushing forward.

   "Oh! Mario! You actually did it! I can't believe... You're the savior of Pianta Village!" Pausing to look around cluelessly as if someone would prompt him, he seemed momentarily at a loss. "I... I don't understand..."

   "The wanted posters? I know," the human replied. "It seems you weren't the only one who was fooled."

  "A few of these people here said that they saw you spreading the goop," Mayor Russo said, shaking his head. "And I thought you were the criminal the police wanted. But now after all I'm not sure what to believe anymore."

   Mario furrowed his eyebrows and took a step forward, seeing this as his chance. "Sir... I can't pretend I wasn't angry with you for ratting on me. And I also can't easily deny that I have the same face as the one who did all this. But I know that you were only doing... what you thought was right," he forced himself to go on, even though he didn't like it. "And if you'll be kind enough to consider," he spread his arms out, "do I honestly look like I could have just covered this entire island with toxic chemicals?"

   Mayor Russo was hesitant. "See, that's what I was also wondering," he said at length. "I just—

   Mario cut him off, getting more excited now. "I haven't even been here long enough to do some of this — in fact, if you check the airport records, I can probably prove that I wasn't on the island at the time of a lot of the incidents last week!"

   "Then why wasn't this brought up in court?" Mayor Russo asked in confusion.

   "Exactly!" Mario responded. "I didn't even have a real lawyer — they didn't care because they had all seen someone who looked like me doing this," his voice became rapid. "But I'm telling you, he was wearing a disguise! It was the son of King Bowser—

   "Whoa, you're gonna have to slow down there," the mayor broke in. "I don't really follow all the details. But what I'm getting is that they let you go?"

   Mario stopped, biting his lip to keep from launching into the story, and nodded. "It's... technically community service," he said reservedly. "...But I'm not doing it for the police! I'm doing it for my friends and my vacation and — the island," he said at last, voice becoming relaxed all at once. "Because you all need help."

   For a moment Mayor Russo stood and merely tilted his head, appraising the boy. Then, slowly, he began to step forward until he had reached out and grabbed his shoulders.

   "Well, Mario — I can't say I can understand or believe everything you're saying," he said at last. "But I can believe what I see now. And the way you've served me and this community is not something you see everyday." Taking a deep breath, he glanced back at the villagers and said, "We're in your debt."

   Mario felt something heavy rise from his shoulders along with the mayor's hands. "Thank you," he said quietly.

   "And you know... if it makes you feel better, I didn't get any reward for turning you in," Mayor Russo added. "But I would like to give you something as a reward. Wait here!" Without another word, he turned and scurried off towards his house near the yellow mushroom, which they could see from there.

   Watching him go, Mario fell silent and thoughtful for a moment. Perhaps he had overreacted. Perhaps they both had. But this — something about this made him feel right inside.

   With the mayor's departure, the remaining villagers seemed to focus all their attention on Mario.

   "What was that about?"

   "What's going on?"

   "Did you cause this??"

   Mario, long accustomed to filtering out the unanswerable questions, tried to address them generally. "Okay everybody, you can now go back to your homes," he announced. "Everything's mostly good to go. You might watch your step, but it's nothing serious."

   There was another small round of applause, but a few people still gave him skeptical looks.

   With the crowd starting to abate, Mario walked up to Gramps and Angela, who had been with Buddy. Glad to see his friend, the yoshi ran eagerly up to him.

   "Hey, Buddy! Been behaving?" he asked, patting his head.

   "He's the sweetest," Angela told him. "It's so nice to have a yoshi around; it's been so long since they were on the island!"

   "That's what I heard," Mario replied. "This guy has been following me around since he hatched."

   Pausing, Mario was pensive. He knew that yoshis had seemingly gone extinct on the island — yet here was this one now, as if it had been waiting for him to find it. Buddy had been a great companion already, and Mario wouldn't deny that. But now he'd got to thinking... he couldn't really drag the yoshi all over the island on his dangerous escapades, could he? Buddy didn't seem to know how to swim, either...

   Before he could come to a conclusion on that, Mayor Russo returned, carrying a small box. "Here you are, as promised," he said, handing over the parcel. "That note came with it."

   Taking it in interest, Mario looked to the piece of paper attached to the top. It was a small handwritten note:

   Master Mario,

This was delivered to the airstrip for you this morning — I believe it came from Professor Gadd. I didn't open it but I trust it will prove useful to you. All is quiet over here. Be careful, and please, find the princess — I wish you the best of luck.

Toadsworth

   Raising his eyebrows, Mario turned now to the box with even more zeal. Professor Gadd? He's sending me—

   "Mario!" Fludd broke into his thoughts even before he had fully got the package open. "This is one of my nozzles, the Gadd Science, Inc., rocket nozzle!"

   "Rocket nozzle?" Mario repeated, staring inside. Within the small parcel, tucked among liberal bubble wrap, rested a strange little machine — or so it looked at first glance. Staring at its shiny yellow and chrome finish, Mario was instantly reminded of Fludd himself.

   "It's for you?" he asked.

   "Yes! That is one of my extra attachments," Fludd explained. "It was designed to be swapped out as my secondary nozzle — in this case, you could replace it with the hover nozzle. I can only equip two at a time."

   "So what exactly is it?" Mario asked, reaching in and picking it up with one hand. Examining it closely, he found it almost looked like some sort of weird medallion, triangularly-shaped with three metallic spikes protruding from its round yellow head. On one edge it appeared to have a hollow for screwing it into something, alongside a familiar-looking silver nozzle.

   "It attaches with the nozzle downwards to propel you up," Fludd explained. "As the name implies, it builds up a high amount of concentrated pressure in the tank before releasing a certain amount of water, pushing you away from the ground like a rocket. It can reach heights over thirty feet."

   Mario paused. "Thirty feet?? Mama mia, where has this thing been?"

   "I suppose Professor Gadd sent it shortly after I arrived."

   "So it's basically a jet pack," the human figured, turning it over in his hands. "Nice! We should try it out!"

   "If you attach it now, we could try it on that big tree in the center," Fludd suggested, turning back towards town.

   Just when it looked like the two were going to run off to do just that, Mayor Russo stepped forward and cleared his throat. "Um, excuse me, Mr. Mario... I don't want to get in your way, but... I do have something else for you as well," he said hesitantly. "Well, you see, you said you were cleaning the island, and I found one of these the other day and I thought it was strange to find it so far out here, but I thought it might help you," he rambled, digging into his pocket. "And so, I wanted to give you this. As a reward, please take it." With a surprising amount of humility, Mayor Russo held out a glowing shine sprite.

   Mario stared a bit more. "You... had one?" he questioned.

   "Do you want it? Please, I just figured..."

   "Yes yes, I want it! I'll get it back to the plaza, don't you worry," Mario assured, taking it in his arms protectively. Score!!

   Mayor Russo cleared his throat again. "Excellent. We won't forget our debt to you. Probably..."

   Putting the shine sprite away, Mario tried to prevent rolling his eyes. "Thanks, mayor. And thanks for... giving me a chance. Not many people have around here."

   With a halfhearted smile, Mayor Russo shrugged. "Oh, don't worry about it. I can be quite a pigheaded chain chomp myself sometimes. I'm just happy that everyone's safe and sound."

   Mario looked at him curiously. "What about your wife, did you find her? I was wondering—

   "Oh, that! Yes, it turns out she was at home still — she was inside the house. It was fine. No worries," the mayor replied.

   Well, so much for all that panicking, the boy thought. But before he could say anything, another voice called out behind them, demanding attention.

   "Halt! You there! Mario!"

   It sounded familiar... Frowning, Mario halted as requested as he searched his brain to match the voice. Il Piantissimo??

   Turning, he was greeted by the surprise appearance of none other than the human tourist he had met the day before on Gelato Beach. "Oh... it's you," he said as nicely as he could. "What are you doing here?"

   Walking straight up to him, the tanned man put his big costume hands on his hips and addressed Mario as if he were the only one in the vicinity.

   "Yes, mustache man, it's me, Il Piantissimo! I have been looking for you! When I heard this morning that there was a commotion here in the village, I thought perhaps it might lead me to the man who tamed the Sand Bird," he proclaimed triumphantly. "And so I was right! Ha, ha!"

   Adjusting the brim of his hat, Mario tried to humor him. "Hehe, I don't know what gave you that idea," he offered. "You were looking for me?"

   Il Piantissimo didn't bat an eye. "Oh, yes. We must race again, this time, on a different terrain!"

   Mario raised his eyebrows, as if he could pretend to be surprised. "Oh?"

   At this Mayor Russo stepped forward, butting in between them. "Oh, please! He doesn't owe you anything," he said indignantly. Then, skeptically peering at Mario, he added, "Do you?"

   At this Mario shook his head with a chuckle. "No no, he just wants a bit of... ah..."

   "Friendly competition!" Il Piantissimo chirped. "And now, listen! See that flag over there?" He pointed off in the direction of the hot spring, which was now at the opposite end of the village.

   Mayor Russo was puzzled. "You mean the one atop the observation deck?"

   "Yes, the same! Now," the excited man turned back to a bemused Mario, "you and I shall race to get there the fastest! Yes! My personal record across the village is thirty seconds," he informed. "Impressive, eh?"

   Mario nodded quickly, then glanced at the mayor with a helpless shrug. "Well, I'd like to race, but you know I'm still—

   "On a hero's mission, yes," Il Piantissimo finished. "Don't fear! I would never have sought you out without fair reason!" And, holding it up like a treat for an eager dog, he produced a shine sprite from his swim trunks.

   "And furthermore," he continued, holding up a hand, "if you should win, I will tell you where you might find more of them! Perhaps you have time now, eh?"

   Mario looked at the man before him incredulously for a moment. Beside him, the mayor crossed his arms and stared at the outsider skeptically, shaking his head.

   It sounded too good to be true — and yet, Mario found himself believing the man. Still, he couldn't let on that he was at anyone's mercy.

   Then the boy with the water pump raised his eyebrows knowingly. "Well, I guess I can spare twenty-nine seconds."