By the time that Mario had lined up shoulder-to-shoulder with Il Piantissimo, most of Pianta Village had been restored to its natural order. Some of the citizens returned immediately to their homes, while a few others volunteered to wait at the finish line to see the outcome of their little competition.

Mario didn't mind the attention that came with it, so long as he won — a shine sprite was at stake here, and so was his reputation, as Mayor Russo kept reminding him from where he stood in agitation by their chosen starting line.

"Who in the world is this 'Il Piantissimo'?" he kept asking. "A rogue, that's who!"

A man standing beside him, seemingly also watching for kicks, put in, "The pianta people are just NOT that thin! I mean, seriously!"

"Let it be said that the pianta people have no connection with him!" Mayor Russo declared, loud enough for them to hear. "That troublemaker is giving us a bad name!"

Mario, trying not to snort out loud at their brash comments, glanced over at his competitor for a reaction, but he got none. Whatever the outsider thought of the public opinion, he didn't make it apparent. He's kind of asking for it parading everywhere in that outfit, he thought, eyeing the man's purple pianta getup he'd sported yesterday. Maybe he's just bad at socializing!

"Are you at the ready?" the masked man asked now, turning to glance at his chosen opponent.

Mario returned it with a brief competitive glint in his eyes. "Are you?" he challenged.

Il Piantissimo took his attitude as a warrant to start. "Then get set! And GOOO!!" With this shriek of unsuppressed eagerness, the costumed man took off in the direction of the hot spring as if he'd been released from a trap.

   Grinning in spite of himself, Mario sprang after him, though not as quickly — instead, he held back a moment to trail behind, gauging where exactly he was going. He wasn't worried about losing in the slightest; after cleaning up the entire village (and the previous night as well), he would have bet he could traverse the streets with his eyes closed.

This race, unlike that they'd had in Gelato Beach the day before, was much less of a climb. After all, they were merely trying to get from one corner of the village to the other — although it still wasn't a clean foot race.

More like a giant obstacle course, Mario realized now, swerving around the corner of a fenced-off mushroom that was growing beside a cluster of houses near the central plaza. Not that he minded at all. In fact, as they quickly entered and began to pass through the heart of the small village, Mario felt a thrill of an old excitement. The joys of competition!

As the buildings and the giant tree began to tower overhead, Fludd soon called out from his shoulders. "Mario, the goal is there! On the trunk of that large tree!"

Breathing too hard to answer, his owner glanced ahead past the fruit tree they were approaching and for the first time eyed the finish line: it was a small, wooden observation deck or balcony of some sort, built about halfway up the slender trunk of a heavily-inclined tree. Growing at an angle by the hot spring in the very corner of the landmass, its leaves stretched out over the sinkhole beyond, as if to further tease the precariousness of the place.

And sure enough, there atop the same deck, a large red flag fluttered in the breeze, high over the village — and most of the rest of the island far below. He could already see a handful of piantas camped up there, seemingly unconcerned that there was no solid ground beneath them.

Talk about living on edge all the time, the boy thought to himself. Nevertheless, he didn't care at the moment. Just then he noticed Il Piantissimo veer into the path not a few feet away from him, close at his heels. The man had a determined energy in his gait, arms pumping and big, clumsy-looking costume feet somehow making excellent ground.

Well that can't be allowed to fly, Mario thought smugly. By now they had reached the hot spring, and in passing they leapt over a short wall and crossed the short expanse of stone ground surrounding the pool. Seeing the water shining on the concrete, Mario suddenly got an idea.

Without faltering a step, and without looking back to see what the masked man would do, he abruptly dove forward, throwing himself like a football player to the wet pavement. For a split second he was afraid he had misjudged, and there wasn't enough water there; but he was soon happily proven to be wrong. As soon as his stomach connected with the ground, the liquid gave way and he slid, gliding across the pavement like in a most perfectly placed slip-and-slide. He could only imagine the disbelieving look on Il Piantissimo's face behind him, since his maneuver put him well enough ahead to ensure a victory by a few paces.

By the time he felt his momentum slow and he had picked himself up, Mario had arrived at the base of the slanted tree. From there it was just a short (albeit tricky) climb up the trunk to where the flagpole awaited — as well as his promise of a shine sprite. Invigorated by the prospect of it all, he quickened his pace.

   The ascent was not quite so bad as it initially seemed. The slanted tree, while not the safest thing he'd ever seen, proved to be surprisingly strong and smooth-barked, easy to walk along; and although it was a little narrow, he had no trouble keeping his balance as he half-tiptoed, half-climbed up its surface. To his great pleasure, he arrived at the lookout platform shortly after, as it was built only about halfway up the tree. There, a small gathering of piantas cheered at his arrival.

On reaching out to grab the flagpole, he smiled at them breathlessly. For a brief moment, he had to suppress the urge to climb it and lower the flag down — something he'd gotten quite used to doing in foiling some of Bowser's schemes.

Ignoring for a moment the people's attention, he turned back to see Il Piantissimo's progress, expecting the man to be right on his heels. Instead, he got a sight much more entertaining: Buddy, who had seemingly not approved of Mario's running off without him, had apparently followed his friend all the way across the village and now clambered, somewhat ungracefully, up the tree after him, slipping and nearly falling to an unknown fate a couple of times. On seeing the yoshi practically shove Il Piantissimo out of the way on his way up, Mario had to hide a laugh.

"Careful, Buddy!" he called, rushing forward to meet him. When the yoshi had finally reached his friend at the flagpole, Mario was ready to pull him to safety.

"Yoshi!" he replied enthusiastically.

The surrounding piantas chuckled at this display. Slipping an arm around Buddy's neck, Mario turned back to them now to bask in his victory a bit. To his mild surprise, the Doot-Doot Sisters were also there, swaying to some invisible musician's tune that lilted on the air.

"Nice job! Wow!" The purple one, Louise, addressed him politely. "You must be tired!"

Mario allowed a half smile. "Thanks! Not really," he shrugged, looking again at Buddy. "Where's your guitarist?"

"Tommy's down below," she replied, jerking towards the hot spring below them. "They have free food down there, so it's no big surprise."

"Food??" As if his stomach had learned the language, a large growwl issued through the area. Slightly startled, Mario chuckled to himself. "Doesn't sound like a bad idea."

"Well I'd say you earned it. Congratulations!" one pianta man told him. "You sure are energetic!"

"And your yoshi is so cute!" another lady put in. "He followed you the whole way!"

"Grrr," another voice responded. "Yes, GRRR! I'm quite sure that should be called interference!" With a moody stomp, a disapproving Il Piantissimo made his way over to them. "Your little beast pushed me out of the way and I lost several precious seconds!"

"No one was timing," Mario said with an innocent shrug. "And I was already well ahead of you."

His sore opponent inspected him sharply for another moment behind the cut eyeholes, then seemed to relent, as if bored of the topic. "That is true... That was not so bad! You are quick! Yes!"

Mario crossed his arms and grinned, allowing him to go on.

"I suppose, maybe I underestimated you a small bit. Perhaps. We will try again after you have practiced more. Until then..." Here he produced again the sparkling prize. "There you are, greedy gallivanter!" He lobbed the shine sprite slightly upwards, sending it cascading into the boy's arms.

Mario accepted it with a critical look. "I told you how important these things are!"

"Yes, yes. Of course. And that is why I suppose you shall be wanting a vital piece of information I have acquired!"

   Now Mario turned to him closely. "Tell me," he said.

   Il Piantissimo leaned forward eagerly, as if he were about to disclose a fact of utmost importance. "Yes! The secret lies within the Deep Sea of Mare. The location of your yet-missing sprites... is Noki Bay!"

   Mario narrowed his eyes. "Sea of Mare? What's that?"

   "Oho, you have never heard? I am not surprised. It is a deep, deep cavern that hides beneath the sea. The shy island people live there, in Noki Bay."

   "Noki Bay?" Mario had never even heard of that place, that he recalled. "Where's that?"

   The other man nodded. "Noki Bay, on the north side of the island behind the great dorsal fin! Tucked away in a silent cove, I have heard of many a sprite still lurking."

   Now Mario tilted his head. "Noki Bay..." Turning back now to glance at the piantas around him, he asked, "Do any of you know what's happening there?"

   One lady looked at him critically. "Depends. You need something? I have NO interest in silly games."

   Mario frowned. "No, this is very serious! I think shine sprites might be lost there!"

   "Well, I can't say I've heard anything in the last few days," another man offered. "But we usually don't hear much from over there. The nokis primarily keep to themselves."

   Mario paused a moment, stress-thinking. He didn't know anything about the situation there... but regardless, if there were shines, he needed to be there eventually. Quickly deciding, he clenched a fist.

   "Alright... can I catch an express there?"

   Here Il Piantissimo stepped forward hurriedly. "Oh no, Mr. Hero," he said. "You can't take a steel beast there. They do not run to the bay! You must go on foot!"

"What?" Mario turned back to him. "Are you sure?"

"Quite sure! But do not fear, Mario — I will take you myself! A guided tour!"

At this, Mario raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You? Lead me there?"

"Yes, of course! I promised to show you sprites, and so I shall. Fortunately it is only a few miles to the cliffs from here. We shall leave immediately; travel light!"

The boy stared at him. Is he really serious? Slowly, as if to give the man a chance to back down, he nodded. "Alright," he said at last. "As long as you know what you're doing..."

"Oh yes! I have been around the island a time or two!" As if that made everything valid, Il Piantissimo rubbed his giant fake hands together and turned to strut away back down the tree. "Come on then!"

Watching him go a moment, Mario and the surrounding piantas just stood there, baffled. When the foreigner seemed out of earshot, Mario turned back to the group.

"Do any of you know him that well? ...Who is he?"

"We thought you could tell us," the lady from before stated unhelpfully.

"Weren't you racing him yesterday at the beach?" Louise asked.

"I was, but I just met him myself," Mario replied.

"Well, I can't say I can vouch for him or anything, but he is telling the truth about the express," the pianta man offered. "It doesn't run to the bay. Use your own discretion when going off with strangers, though. All I know is that he came from some faraway place recently and I heard that he's a bit... eccentric."

"I heard that he was disturbing peaceful villagers by running around like a maniac in their yards," the first woman added.

"Il Piantissimo's a creep!" a young pianta boy suddenly spoke up. "He wears pianta parts like he's some sort of clown! ...Or a spy! Do you think he's a spy??"

The woman, who appeared to be his mother, shushed him. "I certainly don't know, and I don't want to know," she said, and that was that.

Doubtful, Mario was left with their two cents to take as he would. Still, no matter what they'd said he had every intention already of going. With the village finally at a seeming standstill and the underside explored, Mario had plenty of daylight to burn hunting down shine sprites — and now there was a new lead for a new locale. It seemed like as good a time as any to head out.

Heading semi-carefully back down to the ground with Buddy scampering at his heels, Mario took it up with Fludd.

"So what do you think? Should we go?"

"To Noki Bay? It seems wise to me," Fludd responded. "Of course, knowing you, there are a number of ways it could be catastrophically dangerous, but does that ever stop you?"

Grinning at the machine's intact sense of humor, Mario defended himself. "What? I'm just trying to find the shine sprites like you said!"

"Leave it to you, Mario," Fludd said, and then let it go as if he were shaking his head at him.

They found another small but lively gathering at the hot spring, where Mario had done a full belly-slide moments earlier. Beyond the soaked little courtyard, which a janitor was scrubbing now with a wide broom, a table with what smelled like seafood was attracting a small crowd. The spring itself, which was now running with crystalline, steamy water splashing against the sides, was currently unoccupied, although a few children lingered dangerously close to the edges. Planted in the grass at the edge was a wooden sign, which Mario saw briefly now boasted a paper that read

Pianta Hot Spring
—OPEN—
Refresh body and spirit with a dip!

"Hey, now! No horsing around here!" the janitor called to the kids nearby. "It's a bit dangerous, you see?"

Mario wanted to internally snort, given that it was the least dangerous thing he'd seen all day. Nevertheless, he walked up to the man a moment later.

"Excuse me, sir... have you seen a man in costume around here? He's supposed to take me somewhere and he just walked off."

"Oh, Il Piantissimo? Yeah, he's over there," the pianta nodded. "I wish that guy would be a bit more considerate!"

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Well, I guess it's not really a big deal, but he's just been kind of all over the place this past week. Nobody really gets what his deal is. Anyway, come on in, sir. Were you expecting it to be a bit busier?"

Mario shrugged. "Kinda hard to say. It's been a strange morning."

"I agree wholeheartedly. I'm just glad we're running again! The point of a hot spring is to relieve your stress, so we kind of make a hotspot on the island here, since that's kind of our schtick. It's quite mysterious, but this hot spring will relax your soul."

Mario made an amused face which the pianta didn't seem to notice.

"Now, keep this between you and me, but the water for the hot spring... It pours out of that big plant over there, right?" he said.

Mario could not deny that he had seen the design worked into the pianta statue's nose.

"And it looks... well, let's just say it looks bad, and it gave us a bad rep. It's just as pure as the spring water, and it's good for you," the janitor went on, scrubbing the ground vigorously. "Well, it goes to show the importance of appearances, I guess."

Mario wanted to laugh, but something odd held him back. Appearances... like disguises? News reports and wanted posters?

Like criminal records?

Before he could risk getting upset over that all over again, the janitor had kept talking. "Anyway, feel free to hop in. I take it you're the shy type, so you can keep your cap on."

Huh? Surprised at this, Mario started to object but then just as quickly lost the nerve. He didn't think of himself as shy. He just really liked to wear his hat all the time; was that so weird?

It wasn't just any cap either; it was his special hat, that he'd been given when he was still just a tiny infant. He had never been long without it.

Was he really shy?

Finally he just smiled to the man briefly and said, "Thanks, but I should be going." Moving on only slightly more self-consciously to find his self-proclaimed guide, Mario passed a few children who were seemingly drawn to his unusual appearance.

"Hey mister! Why do you slide around on your tummy?" one boy abruptly asked him.

Pausing, Mario looked to him and drew a blank. Oh, he means earlier. "Uh... because I was trying to win a race," he said politely.

"You were going really fast," he observed. "Don't you know that's dangerous? Why don't you just swim in the hot spring like other people?"

Mario tried not to laugh. "Well, I don't really have time for that right now," he explained. "I'm traveling all over the island."

"Did you see the volcano?" a little girl piped up now. "It's really big... it's even taller than the mayor's house. Even my mom won't go there. She says it's super dangerous."

"Well, she's probably right." Hence, I'm trying to get there.

"I swear I saw a really big bird flying around yesterday, too," she went on. "Did you see it?"

Now Mario did chuckle. "I did!"

"Sweetie, don't bother the man," a pianta lady appeared at their side now, herding her daughter back. "He probably has no idea what you're talking about."

"No, it's fine!" Mario told her. "They saw me racing."

"Aren't you the one who cleaned up the village?" she asked now, turning to him with more interest.

"Yep," he said. "I'm the one looking for shine sprites. They're needed badly in Delfino Plaza."

"I heard about that," she said. "Fortunately we're quite remote up here and we don't rely so heavily on big power, so we haven't felt as much of the effects. It's a beautiful day today, too!"

Mario had to agree: he didn't perceive any especial loss of sunlight out here. He wondered if it was only closer to the plaza that it was bad, or if it depended on the shines he had already returned.

"My cousin lives in Delfino Plaza," another guy spoke up then, whom Mario recognized as the mushroom guy with the backpack. "I hope she's happy there..."

"I wonder if this little one will ever want to leave the village," the woman mused, stroking her daughter's head, who had long stopped paying attention.

"Well," Mario said by way of departure, "I hope that soon enough all of the trouble on the island will be over."

Finally making his way to the anticipated food table, Mario soon spotted Il Piantissimo talking to Angela. Making sure that Buddy was tagging along, he came over.

"Hey, are you ready to go?" he asked the masked man.

"Haha! I think the question is, are you ready? I was just speaking to this woman about your yoshi!"

Mario paused to glance at Buddy. "What about him?"

"Well, I thought I might mention that the Deep Sea of Mare is full of water. And yoshis do not thrive there," he explained.

Mario's gaze flitted to Angela and back. "So..." His zeal deflated a little, knowing what this meant.

Angela stepped forward. "I would be pleased to watch over Buddy here until you can return, Mario," she said.

Mario raised his eyebrows and glanced back down at Buddy, who nudged his side. A part of him wanted to refuse, say that was unnecessary, of course Buddy was coming!

But the other part, the one that had been gaining headway in his mind, was the one that knew that his current lifestyle was not suited for the newborn yoshi. And if he was honest neither would it be after he returned home; or anytime in the foreseeable future. The life of Super Mario was not one to take on lightly.

They were right, and he knew it. Buddy needed a secure place to stay — a place in nature, with fruit, with community.

Hesitating just a moment, Mario turned again to Angela. "Would you really keep an eye on him? Just until... I don't know. I'll come back and we'll figure it out later."

"Don't worry about it," she replied. "He won't be any trouble! Will you, Buddy?" she asked, motioning to him.

For a moment that almost hurt Mario inside, he saw the dinosaur pause in confusion, looking to the pianta as if uncertain. Patting his shoulder, Mario nodded.

"Go on, Buddy," he encouraged. "You'll like it here. There's lots of fruit. And open space!"

With one last pat of assurance, he stepped back, as if to tell him that it was okay. Hesitating, Buddy watched him a moment longer; then carefully crept forward toward Angela's outstretched arm.

   "Yes, good," Il Piantissimo said briskly. "It is only for the best. I suppose we can go now, Mario!"

   Frowning, Mario glanced back at him with a narrowed eye. "You better not just be trying to get rid of him because he pushed you!"

   "What? Oh, nonsense! Mr. Hero, I assure you that is no place for a yoshi!" he answered in his most honest tone. It was kind of hard to tell, given that his face was mostly hidden.

   "Well, then wait for me one second," Mario said, turning back to the spring. "I've gotta get some of that free food!"

   "Free—? Mario, my time is slightly precious, don't you know?" Il Piantissimo informed.

   "Yeah, so is mine," the boy replied, "and I haven't eaten today! Really quick!" He ignored him in a bid to grab as much shrimp as he could gather in one hand.

   "Okay Hero, can we go now? You eat on the way!"

   "Yeah yeah, just a bit more!" Mario objected, scooping a bunch of fresh fruit along with it.

   "Mario, you just exceeded your day's sugar intake," Fludd told him.

   "I'm on vacation, Fludd!"

   Fludd, clearly not understanding why that made a difference, decided not to argue with him.

   "Okay, had enough, Master Chef?" Il Piantissimo asked in amusement as he finally made his way back over, loaded down and gorging his face on a cocktail shrimp.

   "Mmhm," Mario said in answer, looking happier than he had all morning. "See ya later, Buddy! Don't forget me!"

   The yoshi let out another confused coo as he and the masked man began to walk off towards the village, leaving him standing slightly sadly beside Angela. She patted his back placatingly.

   "Would you like some food too, Buddy?"

   Heading back towards the rope bridge at the other edge of town, Mario had to swiften his pace to keep up with his guide, who had adopted a pace like a man on a mission. Which Mario would have been too, if he wasn't trying to do it while devouring his meager meal.

   "Where are we going?" he asked between bites.

   "To Noki Bay, of course!"

   Mario resisted rolling his eyes. "But which way?"

   "Oh, you will see," Il Piantissimo assured. "Outside the village and over the hills. We will have to descend the cliffs."

   Cliffs? Mario's interest was piqued, but he was too hungry to say anything for a moment.

   "So your magic machine talks, I overheard," his guide observed now, never turning back to look if he was following. "It is a most unusual creation!"

   "I was designed as a multipurpose water tank with AI capabilities," Fludd responded himself. "I am Fludd. Nice to meet you."

   "Aha! So I was not mistaken!" Now the man did turn, as if to ensure that he had not imagined it. "The creations of man are truly a marvel, yes? Or might I attribute this to magic?"

   "No, Fludd's not magic," Mario laughed, lifting his head up to nudge the machine. "He's just... a friend."

   "So I see," Il Piantissimo replied, in a voice that didn't sound quite convinced. "Well, he is most interesting. I have never seen anything of the sort in my country."

   Mario was just about to jump on the chance to ask about 'his country' when they passed a taller house by the Plaza of Palms. What grabbed his attention, however, was how it was nonchalantly sporting a large red M on one wall, complete with the little extra marks on top that he had almost come to detest himself. Stopping in his tracks, Mario juggled his food and grabbed for Fludd's handle. The little sneak had to rub my face in it.

   A second later, when Il Piantissimo realized he had stopped, he said, "Sorry, just let me take care of this real quick."

   "I presume this is your handiwork?"

   "Ha! It looks that way, huh?" Mario asked sourly, beginning to happily spray it off the siding.

   "No? Then it is not?"

   "I was—" Abruptly Mario stopped, unsure how much to say. Then Il Piantissimo knew nothing of his plight, or the vandalism or any of it, did he? Shaking his head, Mario finally backed away to survey his work. Satisfied, he turned away from the dripping wall.

   "Well," he began, "it's a bit of a pickle, but the basic story is that I'm chasing this vandal, and I... think he's mocking me." Falling into step beside the other man, Mario shrugged and turned back to his eating.

   "Indeed, the life of a hero is full of complications!" Il Piantissimo agreed.

   Now Mario inspected him a bit more closely. "Why do you say that? Do you know who I am?"

   "Yes! And no. You are a hero, Mario! Are you not?" He was confidant.

   "Well, yes... but how do you know?"

   "I could see it in your eyes. Many people never reach the vigor I found there from the moment I saw you!"

   Mario was impressed and slightly alarmed by these words. Only a little weird... "You figured that out yourself?"

   "Well, I knew when I saw you tame the Sand Bird. And the noki woman on the beach sort of told me."

   Mario snickered at this. "Well, appearances can be deceiving..."

   "No, no! Not for me. I have seen you hero types before!" he reminded stubbornly.

   By now they had once again reached the outskirts of the village where they had started their race. This time they found the place quiet and empty by the bridge, with the villagers all returned to safety.

   Mario hardly noticed that anymore, though. Instead he was more interested in what his companion was saying. What is this guy's fascination with heroes?

   But just as he was about to ask, a loud, alarming THUMP seemed to shake the very earth behind them, as if a giant bolder had been dropped. Then, amidst a sudden cacophony of villagers screaming, they heard a low, grating rumble, as if said bolder were being dragged and ground into the streets somewhere at their backs.

    Instinctively, Mario stopped. "What—?"

   As if to provide an explanation, a shrill, high voice, panicked but discernible, echoed through the nearby buildings. "Chain chomp! Bad boy!!" Animal Lady.

   "GET HIM TO THE HOT SPRING!!" someone distinctly hollered.

   Immediately seized by a sense of duty, Mario turned back to gaze at the village behind them. He couldn't see any uproar from here, but it was apparent by the sounds coming from beyond the buildings that something big was going down in the streets. Again.

"Oh! I should go help," he said guiltily, as if it were somehow his fault. "It sounds like a chain chomp problem."

Il Piantissimo didn't subscribe to the idea. "No no, Mario! The people here know how to handle it. Believe me, they do it all the time!"

A brief, shrill scream echoed over the mushroom tops. "AGAIN?? What is wrong with you?!"

"Sorry!"

Mario was hesitant. "Yeah, but..."

"None of that hero stuff now! We have to get a move on... Don't you think they can learn to manage without you?"

Finally Mario dropped his shoulders. "I guess," he allowed. He couldn't help a small snort. "Those people are a breed of their own."

"Oh! Get that creature under control, woman!"

"Yes, Mayor!"

Il Piantissimo seemed to approve — Mario couldn't exactly see his smile — as he at last moved forward to join him onto the hanging bridge that would lead them from the land of piantas. Unfortunately, he had only made it a few steps before he stopped again.

   "Hey, I never got to try my rocket nozzle!" he remembered now, feeling the odd device in his pocket.

   Il Piantissimo paused, uninformed but convinced. Ushering Mario forward with one oversized pianta hand, he observed, "Never fear. I get the feeling you will have a chance where we are going!"

~

   The sun was lighting as best it could over the green hills late that morning, climbing steadily higher into the cloudy Delfino sky. Eyeing it briefly on its ascent, Mario trudged up a small incline after Il Piantissimo, for the first time wishing Fludd was slightly lighter.

   They had soon exited the village with the sounds of shouting piantas and wild chain chomps ringing through the wild mushrooms behind them. Even after they had crossed the bridge and set foot once again on solid ground, an occasional tremor or stray yell still carried over the chasm.

   "You did not say goodbye to the mayor," Fludd observed as they set out.

   Mario pondered it for a half moment, then shrugged. "Nah."

   And he was fine with that decision, minus Fludd's judgmental silence.

True to his word, Il Piantissimo had no intention of taking the express. As soon as they left Pianta Village's outskirts, he made a straight beeline into the seemingly uninhabited hills beyond. Toting his mechanical friend, Mario was left with nothing to do but to follow.

If this was supposed to be 'the wild' part of Isle Delfino, Mario found that it was definitely something he could get into. It almost seemed to be endless: although Il Piantissimo had assured him it was only a distance of a few miles to the bay, Mario had seen enough wide open space in the first few minutes to convince him that the place wasn't entirely commercialized. The plains dipped and swooped across the dolphin's back, as if the island itself was swimming along a wavy ocean surface. Verdant grass rippled in every direction as they scaled and descended the hilly terrain in silence for a few minutes, Il Piantissimo keeping a surprising pace as Mario chugged along after him.

   It was warmer up here; he could feel the sun's warmth penetrate his skin more closely as it beat down through broken clouds. Soon they had passed beyond view of the village behind them entirely, leaving them for a time in an open sea of green with only Corona Mountain's faintly smoking tip towering at their backs. No graffiti here, he thought smugly. No people, no rules.

   Trotting ahead to catch up with his leader, Mario now attempted another conversation. "So you've been to Noki Bay before, I take it? How much further?"

   "Not far," Il Piantissimo replied. "Of course I have been there! It is a place unlike any other."

   Well I've heard that before. Instead of voicing his immediate thoughts, Mario said, "So you travel a lot."

   "Yes, yes. Many experiences make a man whole. And I know you do as well!" the man said, allowing himself to fall into step just ahead of him.

   "What kind of places have you been?"

   "Oh, here and there," Il Piantissimo shrugged. "I have raced many people across my own homeland. Then I decided that if one is to improve, one must encounter others who are not like himself! And so I am here."

   Mario squinted, wondering at how he seemed to answer everything without giving an answer. "Where is your homeland?" he asked.

   "Far away, across the sea," the man replied, as if to prove his point. "You would not have been there, I don't think. It is... how would you say... not as advanced as this one. But this is very nice! Ha ha. I do like it here."

   "Do people race there?" the boy wanted to know.

   "Well not all of them," Il Piantissimo said. "But they do when I am around!"

   Mario gave a half smile at this. "How many times have you won?"

   "Oh, more than I can count! Aha, you took me for a pushover, didn't you?"

   Mario shook his head defensively, but the man was already convinced. "Indeed I may not look so mighty as some of them," he went on, "but I am no spring chicken! I have a very shiny record! In fact... before I raced you, I had only ever been defeated by one other person. That is a very high honor, as you can see! So don't forget that!"

   Mario was intrigued. "Who was that?"

   "The one who beat me? Oh, he was just a local boy I happened to meet once. I doubt that you would know him."

   Mario snorted. "But why'd you lose to him?"

   "Well that is a very great question, isn't it?" Il Piantissimo laughed. "Now in the hindsight, I have often thought that perhaps he cheated. Our race was supposed to be on foot, you know, and I was suspicious that he might have been riding horseback instead. But he took a different route, and I found him at the finish in record time, so I could only assume he had beaten me. It always soured me to think of it — that perhaps he truly was not the faster. But now you have put an end to that!"

   Mario grinned nonchalantly. "You're the one who wanted to race!"

   "And naturally! How else is one to improve?" The masked man kept talking. "But that boy seemed an easy target too. I think it was something else that drew me to him; a certain look in his eye. It is the one I have only recognized elsewhere in you."

   Now Mario was puzzled again. "A look?"

   Il Piantissimo nodded. "Yes, that hero look! This boy had it too, though in a different way. I saw the gumption in his eyes. It is a rare thing to encounter!"

   Raising his eyebrows, Mario tried to humor what the man was telling him. "Well... maybe he had his own mission to do," he offered at last.

   "Oh yes. He had much ambition. I think he was trying to find and restore our lost princess."

   At this Mario turned full on him. "Really?"

   "I believe so. Why?"

   Shaking his head, Mario said, "Because that's what I'm trying to do."

   Now Il Piantissimo eyed him with a sidelong glance. "Well, that is interesting, indeed! I didn't take you for it, almost!"

Mario looked at him quizzically. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing at all! I only meant that you did not look to me like a princess' aide, is all!"

Mario opened his mouth, perhaps to object, and then suddenly faltered. What was he supposed to say? It was probably true.

For a moment the air fell silent once again between the two travelers, Mario allowing himself to fall a little behind as he watched his feet climb a rather steep hill. This was that subject he hated to have brought up. He didn't think about it usually, and thankfully it rarely came up. But sometimes he was reminded of the ugly, unfair truth he had faced since day one: he was no Prince Charming.

Not that Mario cared about that at the end of the day. He liked being an ordinary working man. What was more, he had come to be esteemed by all in the Mushroom Kingdom for his deeds, even by Toadsworth and the princess herself (though sometimes he worried about the former). It was only when some uneducated foreigner suggested that he was unfit to mingle with royalty that his anger flared up.

And why shouldn't he? He'd proven himself plenty. Besides, weren't royalty people too? Weren't they allowed to have friends?

It had seemed so to Mario. The Mushroom Kingdom was full of commoners who were well-acquainted with their ruler. It was only in his most insecure moments that he ever worried that a simple plumber had no business holding the hand of a princess.

Kicking at the grass, Mario frowned a little. By now he had come up with his whole argument, and it seemed a logical one: she was a lady, and had to be respected; she was a person, and had to be regarded so; she was Peach, and had to be loved.

He thought he could do that. How could any prince do better?

He was so lost in these indignant thoughts for a minute that he almost missed it when Il Piantissimo stopped at the top of a small ridge just ahead. Perching his fake hands on his hips, he puffed himself with pride.

"And there she is! I present to you Noki Bay!"

Finally! Eagerly, Mario jumped and hurried to his side. Standing where they were at the peak of the small hill, a fresh wind that must have blown in from below rose up to meet his face, carrying with it the scent of the ocean. Following its source, he inhaled and gazed downwards — straight over a sheer drop-off into a darkened blue.

"Whoa!"

   "Quite impressive, yes?" Il Piantissimo commented.

   Slowly, Mario nodded, although his attention was fixated on something less than pleasant. "But... what's wrong with the water?" he asked.

   "That is a good question. Perhaps we shall go see!"

   The rolling hills of the elevated island region they had just traversed dropped away in an instant before his feet. With it also seemed to disappear the warmth of the sun: the lights and sounds of the rest of the island felt like a distant memory here.

   From where they were standing, the bay wasn't really all that much to look at. It was a straight vertical drop of a few hundred feet — Mario couldn't quite tell — to an almost nonexistent ground. There appeared to be a shallow coastal area to his right up against the cliff wall, but other than that it was a straight plummet into dark water.

   The bay itself really was dark: from here the water looked strange and stagnant, as if someone had poured an unnatural substance into it. It almost appeared a sickly purplish color, like there had been an awful, giant spill of toxic waste or food coloring. Surely that couldn't be natural...?

   Nevertheless, here and there across the funky water's surface floated a boat or buoy or some sort of platform, sitting still and silent in the shade. That was perhaps the primary reason it was so peaceful: the entire bay was in shadow, blocked from the sun's eye by the towering walls of the cliffs they stood on. Cut into the rock walls like a jagged cove, the bay boasted almost no solid ground on which to stand except for the small ledges and narrow platforms he could see cut into the white-washed cliff faces across from him. And — perhaps he was only imagining it — he thought he could see pink and yellow too; graffiti scattered across its surface. Junior??

   As far as the rest of the bay, the only things to look at from here were the three enormous, slender towers, almost as tall as the cliff they stood on. They were each a needle-like pillar of stone rising up out of the water, slightly varying heights with a kind of chamber, shaped like a shell, at its top. The one with the red shell reached the highest, followed by the green spiraling one that appeared carved around its base like a slide. The last was a smaller one with something like a giant purple conch at its top. Mario wondered what they were used for.

It was certainly different from any place he had seen on Isle Delfino before. Definitely for vertical virtuosos only, he thought. Just above their heads, white and gray seagulls squeaked at each other before swooping downwards into the bay, as if calling to say that something was not right.

   "What do you think, Fludd?" Mario asked at last.

   "Noki Bay, located by itself on the backside of the dolphin," the pump narrated as if reading a flyer. "Steep cliffs and sea beds are what the nokis call home. The huge waterfall and three soaring towers resonate with mystic history. This ancestral home of the nokis is located more underwater than above. My data indicates that the bay and caverns extend over two hundred feet deep below the surface. The water and caverns below are referred to by the sea people as the Deep Sea of Mare. I'm not close enough to get a reading on the water, however. Readings do suggest the presence of shine sprites in the area... That cliff to your right is Erto Rock, the highest point of Noki Bay. According to my information, the cliff walls below are filled with labyrinths and inner tunnels. Nokis have been rumored to be residing here for hundreds of years."

"Speaking of that, where do you think they are?" Mario asked, squinting at the water below. "I don't see or hear anybody!"

   "They are here, no question," Il Piantissimo assured. "Probably hiding! Their homes are underwater you know. Or perhaps they have gone into the cliffs."

   Mario scanned the bay once more before finally turning back to his companions. "Well, shall we find a way down?"

   "Certainly! Come, I will show you the path. It is slightly precarious, so watch your step!" Il Piantissimo said cheerfully, venturing forward. Meandering a moment along the edge, he began to make his way towards the land's end on their right, overlooking the sea beyond.

   "Down the rock slide! Come on, Mr. Hero!"

   Rock what? Pausing for only a moment to grab one of Fludd's handles, Mario proceeded after him, still casting an uncertain eye into the violet waters below. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling — as he often did — that it wasn't going to be as simple as his companion made it out to be.