Chapter Text
I’ve always wanted to just write drabbles of Sheila running around and having fun in my favorite worlds. And you know what? I’m doin’ it! These will probably not be relevant to the main story in any way, I purely write these for fun and to make smiles. And we’re starting off from one of my favorite worlds from childhood, Mario Sunshine’s Isle Delfino!
https://www.mariowiki.com/images/0/06/Isle_Delfino_MAP.jpg
Adventure 1: Isle Delfino!
One of Mushroom World’s most popular vacation spots was Delfino, named for its dolphin shape. As their plane was nearing the airport island, the first landmark the KND acknowledged was the volcano, a cloud of steam rising from it. There were a few beaches, a town on the dolphin’s nose, and a smaller island by the main land’s tail.
The plane docked at Sunshine Airport. As the KND were lining up to collect their belongings, Sheila Frantic was joyfully racing across the runway. “Oi, that bloomin’ took forever! Hurry up, Mason!”
“At least give me time to get our drinks, Sheila!” Mason shouted, hurrying after his Faunus friend. “Huff, man, it’s hot out here! I miss the plane already…”
“’ey, look at these people!” Sheila acknowledged the workers at the airport: they were chubby, colorful creatures with plants on their heads, grass skirts, and stubby hands and feet. “What’re all them plant thingies? Are they being mind-controlled?”
“That’s just how they look, Sheila.” Mason replied after catching up. “Those are Piantas. They’re native to this island. Anyway, let’s find a boat to take us to the island.”
The two walked to the airport dock and approached a Pianta captain beside a long red boat with a straw roof and several seats. “Ahoy there, folks! You kids traveling alone or is there a party with you?”
“Yeah, we have others with us.” Mason replied. “They’ll be here soon.”
“Oi, Mason, look!” Sheila pointed out to sea, seeing some people zooming around with propellers on their backs. “Blimey, they’re swimming so fast!”
“Oh, they’re wearing Turbo Packs.” The captain explained. “They’re popular toys, and some like using them more than boats. I have some right here if you like.” He pointed to a box of yellow propeller devices with water pumps.
No later did Sheila grab one and put her arms through the straps. “So, how does this-” She pressed her thumb to a button, and the turbo charged before blasting Sheila out to the sea. “Blu-u-u-u-u-r-r-r-rh!” She was submerged for a moment, but as she kept holding the button, the human-raccoon began bobbing up and down in the water, zooming with the speed of a motorboat. “Hah hah! THIS IS SO COOOOOOOOL!” Attaining control, Sheila swerved in snaky fashions, leaving a trail of waves. The joy in her voice echoed across the air.
“I’m gonna have to charge you for that.” The captain said to Mason.
“Awwwww.” Mason dreaded owing more to Carol.
The operatives’ first destination was Delfino Plaza, the main town of the island. The buildings resembled an Italian style, and canals ran through it. “Sheila! Where are you?” Mason called as he walked by a huge Pianta statue. As he approached a beach, he noticed a chubby raccoon woman and her child looking over something: it was Sheila, laying exhausted on her back.
“Look, Mama! This raccoon doesn’t have fur!”
“Oh, this is probably a human, Tani. She must’ve eaten a Raccoon Leaf and gotten a Power-Up. I guess she tried using it with a Turbo Pack to swim faster.”
“Strewth, Oi know a Tani!” Sheila suddenly jumped up, startling the family. “Oh blimey.” She fell over, her dry throat gasping.
“Sheila, there you are!” Mason rushed up. “Heh, did you ingest too much salt water?”
They were approached by April Goldenweek, who casually munched on a cracker as she looked over the captain. “Uh-oh. Her Juice Meter is extremely low.” April analyzed.
“Then I’d better fill her up.” Mason pulled out some Sunny D and poured it into Sheila’s mouth. A heart-shaped meter appeared as it filled up with yellow, flashing bright and pumping once it was full.
“Orright!” Sheila sprung back up again. “Let’s stop layin’ around and look around!”
Grabbing Mason’s hand, Sheila raced around the populace city of Piantas. There were some kids playing basketball with a pineapple and others playing kickball with a durian. They made their way to the center of town, a canal flowing through and some kids throwing water balloons in the sprinklers on the pavement. “Whoa, what’re all those things?!” Sheila was pointing at a towering gate, the signature landmark of the plaza. There was a golden, 8-point star with eyes at the top center of the gate, and many smaller “stars” gravitating around it.
Landmark: SHINE GATE
“I thought you’d come here first, Sheila.” Haruka said, her dress soaking in the sprinklers as she approached her brother and captain. “Those are the Shine Sprites. They’re the primary power source of the island. They’re abundant with Light Chi and are what give this island an eternal summer. The Shine Gate absorbs light from the sun and makes a light that attracts the smaller sprites.”
“Oi, have you been here before, Haruka?!”
“No, I… read the brochure?” Haruka held up said brochure.
“Those smaller Sprites actually came from the Delfinians themselves.” April explained, joining the group. “The Piantas can absorb the light into their head buds and then mold the light into glass containers shaped like the Sprites, giving the light a solid form. Their Shine Sprites are a symbol of their good will, and that goodness helps the Shine Gate flourish.”
April tipped her hat down, shadowing her eyes in a sinister fashion. “But if they don’t offer their Sprite, they’re considered to have no good will, and so their bodies wilt and die.”
The three shuddered at this dark revelation. “Wouldn’t that make a cool story?” April asked more lightly.
“You just made all that up?!” Mason asked.
“Well, the first part is true, but it’s not required by everyone, so there’s no curse.”
“If they’re made with people’s good will, I bet I can make that baby even brighter!” Sheila ran partway back through town, then began to race toward the center with building momentum. Dodging around all the Piantas, she leapt off the edge of the canal and used her tail to glide up the gate. Unfortunately, she fell short just before the top. Luckily, the inner borders of the right side were close enough for Sheila to Wall Jump, and she could set foot on the platform around the Shine Sprite.
“Hey, Haruka, is this a good idea?” Mason asked.
“Why not?” Haruka shrugged simply.
“Huuuuuuurrrrr!” Sheila pressed her hands to the Sprite, sapping its chi into her very veins. “Blimey, this Light Chi is insane! Hehe, I feel like me veins are about to explode!” She released and began to spin her arms like lightspeed wheels. Some of the smaller Shines floated toward her. “Hah, now they like me now! Try to catch me, Shinies!”
Sheila leapt off the tower and back on the street, keeping her fists sunny as she ran from the pursuing Shines. “Hey, what’re the Shine Sprites doing?” a man asked.
“Is she taking the Shine Sprites?” a woman asked.
“Hey, kid, what do you think you’re doing?!” a police Pianta shouted. “You can’t take Sprites from the gate!”
“Sheila, I think you should give them back!” Mason yelled.
“Ah, fine!” Sheila slid to a halt, arms still spinning as the Shines flew around her like comets, bashing the cops and knocking them over in the process. “I call this the Fist of the Delfino Sun!” When her massive Light Fists flew for the gate, the Sprites following, there was a fantastic explosion of light. From afar, one could see it took the shape of an enormous Shine Sprite, enveloping the town.
However, all the people around the Shine Gate were dizzied by the sunny explosion. Mason and Haru snuck Sheila away. “Well, if that isn’t a way to greet the island.” Mason said.
“Come on, Mason, let’s ditch this town and find another place!” Sheila yelled, grabbing her friend’s arm.
“But we haven’t even explored all of this town!”
“I wanna get me lay of the land first! We gotta look at them all ’fore I decide which one I like!” With her other hand, she pressed the button on her Turbo Pack. “So, let’s GOOOOO!”
“WAAAAA—gloop, glurg, guoff-guo-gueh!” Mason was flailing helplessly from Sheila’s grasp, flapping and being dragged against the seawater.
Sheila sped them to a harbor town, located on Delfino’s fin. A barrier of yellow ribbons blocked most of the coast, requiring Sheila to land them at the dock on the far side. She dropped Mason on the ground, the boy panting for breath.
Ricco Harbor was most defined by its construction site over the sea. The town and road were built against the cliffs, and there were sewer gates in the water to catch oil from the boats. “’ey, what is it they’re building there?” Sheila asked a Pianta.
“You see that giant bottle in the center?” The Pianta indicated the large, bottle-shaped structure, which was black with yellow rims. “That’s our Juice Cannon. We chuck fruits up into the top, they get minced up inside, and then it erupts like a volcano!” Looking closely, the kids saw several small objects flying up into the top from the town, likely the fruits in question, though some were missing.
“Okay, but what else are they building?” Mason asked. “The construction is still up.”
“Well, while it was still going on, a lot of kids started climbing and playing on it, so we left it as a playground.”
“WHAT KIND OF LOGIC IS THAT?!” Mason shouted in utter disbelief.
“Well, I wasn’t the carpenter! Anyway, the cannon’s about to go off, so you’ll be able to get a taste if you head into town.”
“That ain’t our style, mate! We’re goin’ all in!” Sheila rushed up a flight of stairs, and there was a hook moving to and fro between the top and a walkway of the “playground.” Sheila grabbed on and swung onto the scaffolding, with Mason hurrying after her. He noticed inflated, bouncy platforms floating in the water to catch people who fell. “Yahoo! Yahoo!” There were also trampolines for people to bounce to upper layers of the scaffolding, which Sheila was happily taking advantage of.
Landmark: JUICE CANNON
There was a trampoline ring that went around the upper middle of the cannon and was a fair distance away from it. Kids would be able to catch the juicy rain from here, but Sheila had other plans. She bounced the trampoline to get as high as possible, charging a Light Fist. She punched it directly down as the fist bounced against the trampoline, back up against her, and knocked herself up into the cannon’s hole. “Sheila, don’t go in there, you’ll get mulched!!” Mason cried.
“Oi, get in here, Mason! It’s safe!”
“Safe?” Mason bounced higher and flew up with a Gas Rocket. He dropped into the cannon and landed on a grated floor beside his friend.
“This grate thingy closed as soon as I fell in.” Sheila said, her voice reverberating within the enclosed shaft. “Must be a security mechanism.”
“Thank goodness. Anyone as crazy as you could fall in. Ow!” A pineapple hit his head. “Hey, they’re still throwing fruit!”
“When’s the cannon supposed to go off? Ow!” A pear hit Sheila.
But her question was answered when the structure began rumbling. A colorful geyser erupted up from below, blasting up through the grate and sending the friends to the sky. “AAAAAAAAAHHHH!” They fell toward the town, soaked in juice, but a large basket of fish served to break their fall. “Hee hee! It was nice of them to set up all these fishies!”
“Those weren’t meant for you!” the fisherman yelled. “I was waiting for the juice rain to give them flavor!”
“Mmm, they’re sure juicy, all right!” Sheila beamed as she casually munched the head off a fish.
“Can I have mine cooked?” Mason asked meekly.
“GET OFF MY FISH!” The Pianta grasped the teens and chucked them to the sky.
“WAAAAAAHHH!” His superb strength sent them even higher than the cannon. They flew far above Ricco’s cliff and the hills above it. “UUH!” And they crashed atop some sort of brick pavement. “Ow! I wonder if butt-busting is still popular, ’cause that one really hurt.” Mason said, rubbing the soreness.
Sheila was up again quickly, running to the fence of this structure. “Oi, what’s the harbor doing all the way down there?” When Mason joined her, they realized they were atop a tall, white wall situated on the steep hillside. They could see Ricco Harbor at the foot of the hill, Delfino Plaza to the left, and the sub-island amusement park in the distance. This white wall seemed to stretch along the hill to either side.
Sheila began to walk along the top of the wall, unphased by any fear of heights the steep hill could present. With Mason to join her, they could see a peaceful windmill village with white buildings, rivers flowing through it. The largest windmill tower was built at the highest, furthest point of the village. “The brochure says this is Bianco Hills.” Mason read. “Built in the safe seclusion of the island’s mountains, it has the least tourist attractions, making it one of the more peaceful areas on Delfino—aaaah!” When the wall curved, Mason nearly stepped off the edge, but caught himself in time. “Except walking up here is probably unsafe. …That windmill looks nice, huh Sheila? Let’s climb it, I bet we’d get a great view.”
“Nah, it’s just a windmill, mate.” Sheila said, scratching her nose.
“WHAT?! You’ve been climbing everything else since we got here!”
“I ’ave to carefully evaluate what things look cool to climb. So, does this town have anything cool or should we just slide down the hill?”
“According to the map, there’s a path to the west that leads down to Gelato Beach, as well as a northern path that cuts through the mountains to Pianta Village. What’s your pick, Sheila?”
“Hehe, you know I’m a beach raccoon!”
“You were certainly a beached raccoon earlier. Alright, let’s head there!”
The friends jumped off the wall and walked through the village. There were Piantas happily going about their business, and some were watering budded flowers. When the flowers bloomed, they sang a little melody. “Whoa!” When Mason and Sheila approached a flower, it puffed into a Pokey and tried to fall on them. “Back off!” Sheila scattered the spiky creature with a swift punch. “Heh, peaceful village my arse.”
The duo found a road between the cliffs, sloping downward as it led to one of the island’s shores. The path let out on a paved ground, and the first thing in their sights was a globe-like device mounted on the tip of a small tower.
Landmark: SAND BIRD TOWER
When the kids stepped around the tower, they could clearly see Gelato Beach, the sand white and crisp in the sunlight. There were blue, round creatures with duck mouths waddling around the beach, several small plants, and surfers out at sea.
“This is the beach alright.” Mason read. The map had it marked on the stomach of the dolphin. “And that’s the Sand Bird Tower. Like the Shine Gate, it catches sunlight using that device at the top in order to warm the Sand Bird egg.” There was a glass display near the base of the tower with a large, sand-colored egg inside. “The Sand Bird is a sacred creature that hovers the skies of Delfino. Every year, it hatches, takes flight, rains fresh sand onto the beaches, and in the process lays another egg before it scatters away completely.”
“A bird made of sand? Crikey!”
“Yeah, and you see those mirrors?” Mason indicated the three giant mirrors built around the tower and tilting up at it. “They help direct the sunlight onto the globe. They keep them super clean every day, so we probably shouldn’t-”
“Whoa-ho!” Sheila had already slid down the hill and landed on one of the mirrors. “Heehee, I can get me one heck of a tan on this!” Sheila lay flat against the mirror, absorbing the full blast of sunlight. “Sun on me back, sun on me front!”
“Sheila, get off of that!” Mason yelled, sliding down to jump onto it as well.
“Haha, try to make me, Mason!” She excitedly began running around the large mirror. Mason tried to chase her, the mirror tilting in the direction of their weight. “Whoooaa!” Sheila lost balance a few times from the constant shaking. “Haha, this is a heck of a place to play tag on!”
“Whoooa!” Mason tumbled off the mirror and hit the grass-covered sand. “Oof!” Sheila landed on him.
“Fine, then let’s check out the beach!” She ran off. Mason straightened his stomach and paced after.
The duo found Melody Jackson standing over a small plant between some palm trees. “’ey, Melody!” Sheila cheered, dropping from the cliff. “’ow’d you get here so quickly?”
“I just swam around the island like you did.” Melody replied with a smile.
“Well, we took the long way.” Mason informed. “What’s this little tree?”
“Check it out.” Melody bent water from her bottles and watered the bud, which swelled up into a faced plant before becoming skinny and tall.
BOOM! Their area suddenly sunk into a foot-shaped crater. “WHOA! Did we shrink?!” Sheila exclaimed.
“No, we’re still normal sized!” Mason noticed. “But it looks like a giant just stepped on us!”
“Where is it?! I don’t see a giant!”
“There’s no giant.” Melody laughed. “These Dune Buds are around the beach. If you water them, the sand bursts into different shapes.”
“Cool!” Mason beamed. “Can you show us the other ones?!”
“Sure!” Melody led them around the beach and watered different buds. One burst into a turtle, propelling the friends into the air. One became a pyramid, another was a star, an igloo, and swirly mount, propelling them up at different angles.
“Haha, this is wicked!” Sheila cheered. “And what’re these weird things, anyway?” Sheila approached one of the round, duck-mouthed creatures. The creature waddled up, stuck its bill under her feet, and- “WAAAAH!” sprung her to the air as well.
“Those would be Cataquacks.” Melody confirmed. “They’re sensitive to anyone approaching and send them flying.”
“It feels hard to relax on this beach.” Mason inferred.
“You weren’t gonna relax hanging with her, anyway.”
“Case and point. Sheila, wait for me!” Mason ran to a Cataquack and allowed it to fling him up! “Wheeee! Wheeee!” He and Sheila allowed the quacks to fling them as they pleased.
“Look, a swing!” Sheila’s attention had quickly diverged to something else, so she landed and ran to the coast. There was a small island off shore with a swing hanging from a leaning palmtree. Sheila trudged the shallow water, reached the island, and balanced up the leaning tree in order to drop to the swing. “Mason, hurry up!” Rather than go up the tree, Mason went along the water, but the swing was too high to reach. Sheila had to hang down and pull him up; the swing was wide enough for both.
“Haha, no matter how old you get, you can’t get tired of swinging!” Mason said, grabbing his rope and Sheila’s hand.
“Let’s get as high as we can and launch off!” Sheila cheered. The two began to kick their legs front and back, the plank following their motion as it grew higher with each swing. Their conjoined kicks allowed them to go higher than the tree, their joy growing as wind brushed against their heads. “Ya ready, Mason?! We’re launching all the way to that park!” She pointed at the amusement park island.
“But we’re not even in trajectory of it.”
“Then we need a boost!” At the height of their back swing, Sheila pressed the pump of her Turbo Pack. Water blasted out, blew the swing forward, and launched her off with great momentum. Mason, still in her grasp, flew with her, the friends splashing in the sea as they were zooming toward the park. Bobbing like merpeople who didn’t know how to swim, they swerved around to the entrance of the island and made it on shore. The island was shaped like the tailfin of the dolphin, even though it only connected to the greater island underwater.
“Huff…huff…” Sheila gasped. “I’m outta juice again.” Mason opened a Sunny D and pumped her up. “Phew! WHOA, check those out!” Already, she rushed to the first attraction.
Landmark: SUNFLOWER GARDEN
There was a garden of sunflowers by the coast, but the most notable ones were the giant sunflowers with cute eyes and bright faces. Those sunflowers were a little taller than the teens, while there was an even bigger flower in the center, its face dark-brown. Furthermore, they recognized a familiar purple-skinned alien talking to a sunflower. “Hi, Mason, hi, Sheila.” Arianna greeted. “I thought I saw you two wash ashore.”
“Blimey, did you make all these flowers, Ari?”
“Yo, we’re the Sunflower Kids!” one of the flowers rapped cutely. “We like it in the sunlight, ya dig?”
“Yo, I like the sunlight, too!” Sheila cheered.
“The sunshine is very lovely today, isn’t it?” asked the Great Sunflower in a motherly tone. “Make sure to absorb lots of sunlight to grow big and healthy, children~”
“Here, I’ll help with that!” Sheila conjured a large Light Sphere and raised it above the sunflowers. The kids gazed at the miniature sun like an idol. Sheila grinned and swirled the ball around, droplets of light flying out like a sprinkler. The kids relished as the droplets seemed to tickle them, filling them with love and life.
“Say, where’s Vweeb?” Mason asked, wondering if he was hidden under the grass.
“He ran ahead to scout the park.” Arianna answered.
“We better not let him get ahead!” Sheila grabbed Mason and raced to the park’s gate.
Pinna Park was a colorful establishment with large boat swings, a merry-go-round, a roller coaster, and a big purple Ferris wheel. The two first approached the Yoshi-Go-Round, as all the seats resembled Yoshis. There were Noki children riding them; they were humanoid creatures with conchshell bodies. They noticed a pink Noki staring at a tiny blue thing on her Yoshi’s head: it was Vweeb.
“And after I took down the caveman giant,” Vweeb boasted, “the Amazons were so in love with me that they decided to exempt me from the ‘no men’ rule~. Of course, I had already won the heart of their empress before that~”
“If you’re that strong, does that mean you can pick up this Yoshi-Go-Round?”
“I sure can, kiddo!”
“Man, who’s he trying to impress?” Mason retorted. “…Sheila?!” His friend was now climbing a pink poll, up to some kind of rail.
“Oi, what’s this thing? It goes all around the park.”
“SHEILA, THAT’S THE-!”
The single car of the roller coaster was zooming up, the Pianta rider screaming at seeing Sheila. “WHOA!” The coaster rammed Sheila, but she clung to the front. “’ey, watch where you’re going, mate!”
“YOU’RE TELLING ME?!” the man yelled.
“What’s this little rocket thingy?” She acknowledged a red and white rocket in an attached cannon.
“This is for shooting the Bowser Balloons!” At this, Sheila noticed all the large, pink balloons floating around.
“Oh, cool! I wanna play!”
“GET OFF!” The Pianta blasted the water rocket at Sheila, sending her flying up to a high spire of the park.
“Sheila!” Mason ran past a Clam Cups attraction and followed a path up a hill. The road forked, one way leading to the Ferris wheel and another up a bridge. The bridge led to the roller coaster, where some Nokis were looking over Sheila’s drenched, crashed form.
“Young lady, are you okay?” a brown, elderly Noki asked. “How did you get stuck on that water rocket?”
“Sheila, you could’ve been hurt!” Mason ran past the Nokis and helped his friend up.
“Man, I survived worse than that, Mason. Hey, let’s climb that Ferris wheel!”
“Seriously?! That’s not much different from a windmill!”
“I’ll race ya!” Sheila giddily ran down the bridge and up the Ferris’s path. Ignoring the line to the wheel, Sheila ran up front and leapt on the roof of one of the carriages.
“Young lady, get off of there right now!” yelled the Noki woman managing it.
“I’ll get her!” Mason ran past and climbed on another roof. “Sheila, can’t you give me some time to catch up?!”
“Hee hee, why aren’t you drinking your Flurp, Mason?!” Sheila beamed from her higher position, sitting on her carriage roof with legs kicking.
“Huff, ’cause I’m trying to keep up…” Mason cracked open a soda can and drunk.
“Hm hm, thither is never a dull moment with thou~” Mason and Sheila looked as a redheaded angel fluttered up to them.
“Oh, hey, Fybi.” Mason greeted. “Yep, Sheila really knows how not to waste time.”
“Mason, look at that turtle-looking thing!” Sheila pointed in the center of the Ferris wheel’s building, seeing a large, sleeping turtle with an electric shell.
“I am told that is the wheel’s power source.” Fybi explained. “It emits a gentle electrical wave to keep the wheel in motion.”
“Hey, you’re a lightningbender, too, right? Fybi, I wanna go faster!”
“Art thou certain?”
“No, she is not certain!” Mason yelled. “Don’t listen to her, Fybi!”
“Just do it, Fybi, it’ll be fun!”
“If thou sayest so, Captain~” Fybi flew behind the wheel and above the Electro-Koopa. She molded her airbending to generate electricity, spreading it onto the Ferris. The wheel was suddenly building in speed, Mason and Sheila clinging tight to their roofs.
“WHOOOOOAAA!” Sheila couldn’t close her smile from the speed. “This is how you ride in style!”
“And how you throw up!” Mason cried.
The wheel was spinning faster and faster, beginning to shake. “Uh-oh! Mayhaps that is enough!” Fybi figured, stopping her bending.
Unfortunately, this didn’t stop the motion. The Ferris wheel grew a monstrous face and detached, staying afloat in the air. “YUSH! Now I’m finally free! See ya later, suckers!” The Ferris faced up at the sky and flew away. The riders were being flung off into the ocean, but Mason and Sheila still held on as it flew across the island.
“SHEILA! I’M GOING DOWN!” Mason let go.
“MASOOOON!” Sheila fell after him.
They splashed in the ocean somewhere close to the island’s back, resurfacing as their hair hung over their eyes. “Haha, best Ferris ride ever!” Sheila cheered, uncovering her eyes. “Whoa, look where we are!”
The friends landed close to Noki Bay, a towering cliffside with ruins along it and towers with shell tops. A waterfall was pouring from the cliff, pouring directly over an underwater, cone-shaped spire with an open top. “Mason? Sheila?” Melody swam up to them. “Did you two just fall from the sky?”
“How’d you get all the way over here?!” Sheila asked.
“I’m a really fast swimmer.” Melody replied simply. “There’s supposed to be an underwater city, so I wanted to check it out.”
“Whoa, where’s that?”
“It’s right under where the waterfall pours into. Let’s go see.”
“’ey, we’re doing this the right way! Let’s climb to the top and dive in!” Sheila climbed onto one of the platforms, skipping across the others. She hopped up the stairs going around a shell tower and set foot on the cliff from there. “Hm?” Sheila discovered a square stone with a swirly symbol in the wall. “An ancient relic?”
After Mason and Melody caught up, the former studied the brochure. “Oh, these are special seals that hide paths in the cliffs. The Noki spray water on them so they open.”
“How about light instead?!” Sheila spun her fist and PUNCHED the square powerfully! “…OW!” Her fist left no dent, but pain coursed through her. “What’s this thing made of?!”
“Magic protection spells?” Melody smiled knowingly. “Better let me handle it.” She splashed water over the tablet. The cliffs shook as part of them seemed to recede, making a Wall Jumpable path.
“Good on ya, Melody!” Sheila kicked up the path and reached the upper cliff. She continued along- “AAAAH!” A green cuckoo bird suddenly sprung out of the wall and nearly pushed her off, but she grabbed onto the edge.
“And that would be a Hatopop.” Melody read as Mason helped his captain up. “They’re traps that are set around the cliff. The Noki are really set on protecting their ancestral home from invaders, so you can imagine why not many tourists come here.”
“Well, no cheap bird traps are gonna stop me!” Sheila marched forward determinedly. “AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!” A punching glove shot out of the ground and blasted Sheila out to the sea.
“There’s also gloved variants.” Melody informed.
The two waited for Sheila to climb her way back up, and from there were more careful in climbing the cliffs. They were finally at the top of the cliff near the waterfall, and there was a part jutting out, likely meant for diving.
Landmark: NOKI FALLS
“Well, Mason,” Sheila began, leaving her sandals on the ground, “in times like these, we have to call upon the ancient tradition of, GERONIMOOOOOO!” Sheila dove into the waterfall with no regrets!
“You heard her, Mason. GERONIMOOOOO!” Melody dove in excitedly.
With a laugh, Mason left his shoes and dove after the girls. The waterfall pushed them into the spire: darkness engulfed them for a moment, but not long before hundreds of glowing lights gave life to the undersea civilization. Nokis were blissfully going about their business, some riding jellyfish to get around. “Welcome to Noki Temple, I guess!” Melody announced, using her bending to give her friends air bubbles. “Not many tourists can tolerate the air down here, so you’re lucky to have a waterbender handy.”
“You’re not wrong there.” Mason replied. “But at least these people wouldn’t have to worry about-”
“WHAT IS THAT?!” Sheila reacted to a huge fish of golden scales, though some of them were red.
“The legendary Coin Fish.” Melody was quick to read. “The treasure of the Noki people, its scales can be picked and used for currency. However, the catch is that-”
But Sheila had already swum to catch up to the coin-coated fish. She yanked off one of its gold scales, and all the scales immediately burst off and scattered around the temple. The Coin Fish retreated into a cave. “Sheila!” Melody yelled. “I was going to say you had to pick off the red scales first, or all the scales would scatter everywhere!”
“I was only going to take one!”
“Hey, that beaver lady scared the Coin Fish!” a Noki kid yelled.
“Darned tourists, stay on the surface!” a man shouted.
“Okay, time to go.” Mason ushered. “This ‘air’ is getting heavy, in more ways than one.”
The teens returned to the bay, embracing the fresh air. “Wait, we left our shoes all the way up there!” Mason realized.
“And I keep my sandals in my Infi-Cube.” Melody remarked. “Not my problem.”
“Well, we need you to get us up there!”
“Fine…”
“Don’t worry, Mason, I was wanting to explore up on the mountain, anyway!”
After returning to the cliff and reclaiming their shoes, Melody bent some of the water from the falls over. She shaped it into a stairway and froze it, allowing the duo to step up. “Be safe up there!”
“We’ll try!” Mason cheered.
He and Sheila trekked up the steep, grassy mountain. They could see the island’s volcano in the distance, but as the hill began curving more stably, the enormous leaves of a towering tree began to show. “Whoa!” Sheila nearly fell off a cliff. “Whoa, what’s that place?!”
That tree was growing from the center of a village built over a gaping chasm. In fact, the tree was growing from the cliffside within the chasm, and it seemed to be the only thing holding up the village’s island. There were smaller, but still large trees leaning over the corners of the island. The houses were all huts, there were large mushrooms growing, and Piantas were the inhabitants. “Ah, then this is Pianta Village!” Mason deduced. “Heh, we took quite the detour to get here! See, the map says we were supposed to come from Bianco Hills, that way.” Mason pointed rightward: there was a bridge leading across the chasm and toward a path going into the cliff. “Let’s go over there and cross safely.”
“Wow, there’s even clouds up here!” Sheila leapt off the cliff and onto a fluffy cloud. There were two other clouds.
“SHEILA!”
“Relax, Mason, they’re Island Clouds!” Sheila lied down and rolled around the fluff. “Didn’t expect them to be this low.”
“Darn it, how’re you going to get back up?! There’s not enough room to build speed and the village is too far to float to!”
“Then get down here and fly me up yourself!”
“I’m afraid my gas will conk out before we make it!”
“Heeeeeeeeeey! Masoooooooon! Sheilaaaaaaa!”
They could faintly hear a voice calling across the chasm. Sheila leapt up to the highest cloud and viewed across, squinting her eyes. She could make out a figure waving to them from the village’s edge. “OOOOOIIIIII! MAKAYLA!” Sheila bellowed for the timebender.
“What?! MaKayla’s here?!” Mason asked.
“Ha ha!” MaKayla laughed. “I saw you guys at Gelato Beach before heading up to Bianco Hills! I came here afterwards, but I didn’t expect to see you over there!”
“That’s the beauty of adventures!” Sheila cheered. “Hey, can you Rewind me back onto the cliff or something?!”
“Wait, I have another idea!” MaKayla drew out the Chrono Staff and stuck it in the ground before her. “Get ready for an early Fluff Festival!” A bubble of Time Chi enveloped the whole village and chasm as MaKayla willed the very date to change. Before everyone’s eyes, giant dandelion spores drifted about the village. Some of the fluffy spores flew over to Sheila’s clouds. She grabbed onto one, and a gust of wind carried it over to the village.
Mason, meanwhile, ran along the cliff to reach the bridge leading to the village. He joined up with Sheila and Kayla. “Wow, Kayla! How’d you make all these dandelions appear?!”
“April 24 is when Pianta Village holds the Fluff Festival.” MaKayla explained. “Dandelions grow throughout the year before becoming giant fluffs and floating across the town on that day. I used my bending to change it to that date.”
“I didn’t know you could do that!” Mason exclaimed.
“I can change the time of day or year over any area, but it’ll fix itself back to normal. I can keep it this way for now, if you want.”
“Heck yeah!” Sheila cheered. “Hehe, it might as well look beautiful while we’re exploring!”
Landmark: THE PIANTA TREE
While the locals were questioning why the fluffs were suddenly in bloom, Mason and Sheila were climbing the purple trunk of the central tree. There were thankfully footholds situated around the tree to help them rest. The highest platform had another swing hanging from one of the large leaves. Mason and Sheila exchanged a look and grinned!
Both friends sat their selves on the swing and begun kicking to and fro. A rush of adrenaline coursed through as they were swinging far higher than the swing at Gelato. Once they were level with the tree’s great leaves, they leapt off and grabbed the slope of one. They brushed their hands frantically to attain a good grip, but only Sheila managed to do so, grabbing Mason and helping pull him onto the spine of the leaf. “Blimey, this thing’s frickin’ hard!” Sheila stomped her foot. “This leaf feels like floor!”
“Man, this must be the highest point of the island, except for that volcano. How old is this tree, anyway?”
“Mason, let’s go slide down this one!” Sheila ran up the leaf, sat down, and slid along the spine. “Wheeeeee!”
“Wheeeee!” Mason slid after. Sheila went off the edge and used her tail to soften the fall, Mason doing the same with a Gas Rocket. They landed near the hot spring, the water flowing from the nose of a Pianta statue. “Hey, look, it’s Carol!”
“Hm?” The puffy-haired girl glanced over, only her head visible above the spring. “Ah, Maseyfairy! I was hoping I’d get to share this tub with you~”
“Count me in!” Sheila leapt and splashed in the tub.
“Well, my clothes are already wet, anyway.” Mason shrugged, climbing in as well.
It was probably the most relaxed they’ve felt since they got here. It felt odd to Mason to see Sheila quiet and composed, as if she had finally worn herself down. Sheila was always the most excited on sunny days; even as a lightbender, she adapted to sunlight more excitably than anyone, like she were a solar-powered machine. And in a sunny environment abundant with Light Chi as this, Sheila was happier than ever.
“Heh, you all tuckered out, Sheila?” Mason asked.
“You kidding? There’s still plenty of day to go!”
“I hope you haven’t broken anything.” Carol said.
“About that… we may need to borrow some money.” Mason blushed.
“Oh, Maseyfairy, so irresponsible.” The rich girl shook her head. “Very well, I’ll take my shoulder massage in advance.” She floated over with her back to Mason. “Go on~”
“Oh, gee.”
“Everyone, watch out! A Red Chomp got into the village!”
Hearing commotion, the kids climbed out, peeping over the spring’s fence. There was a large, red Chain Chomp, boiling with heat. “I heard those things come from the volcano and wander over here.” Carol said. “This could be bad.”
“We’d better cool that baby down!” Sheila was already rushing to the scene. The Chomp was dragging a chain along, and the very end of it seemed the least heated. “Got ya!” She grabbed the chain and began dragging the beast through the village with her amazing strength. Heading straight for the spring, Sheila mustered the power to haul the Chomp overhead via the chain, and splashed it into the spring. The Chomp cooled down, steam emitting off its form as it turned a solid gold. “There! The town is rescued!”
“GAAAAH!” The spring owner screamed. “Darn it, kid, we have hoses to stop these things! You ruined my sauna!”
“I wasn’t done enjoying it! Dry me off, Mason!” Carol demanded.
After Mason fulfilled her demand, Mason and Sheila explored the village further. “’ey, what’s that big mushroom?” Sheila climbed up some wood steps to reach a large gold mushroom, which stood out from the rest.
“The brochure says this mushroom produces gold dust at night, which the Piantas collect for food.”
“Strewth! I want some o’ that! Hey, Kayla!”
“Yeah, Sheila?” Kayla called up.
“Use your bending to make it night!”
“Whatever you say, Captain!” MaKayla mustered her power again: the Fluff Festival disappeared as night covered the village. The gold shroom began raining gold dust.
Sheila leapt up onto the mushroom and Mason joined. “Whoa, this feels so soft and weird!” Sheila brushed her feet around the dust, scooped some in her hands, and threw it above them.
“Heheh, it looks like Pixie Dust!” Mason joked. “Cough!”
Sheila licked some off her hands. “Aye, that’s sweet alright. Can we find some food to put it on?”
“There’s a fruit tree over there.” Kayla pointed.
The duo went to a shroom-shaped tree with different fruits on it. They sprinkled the dust on some bananas and took a bite. “MMMMMM! Sho goooood!”
They decided to fill their selves with fruits, rejuvenating their selves before resuming the exploration. “What’s down here?” Sheila leapt into a hole, landing on a wood grate. After Mason joined her, Sheila Ground Pounded the grate’s panel, flipping it over.
Landmark: VILLAGE UNDERSIDE
“AAAAH!” Mason cried as they were suddenly hanging for their lives over the vast chasm. It seemed a path of wooden grates were hanging all around the underside of the village. A chilling wind tickled their skin.
“Whoa, what’s all this for?!” Sheila asked, happily climbing along.
“Sheila, we need to get back up!” Mason yelled fearfully, trying to push up against the panel. “Grr, I can’t! HEEEEEELP! MaKayla, somebody, help uuuuus!”
“There’s another swing, Mason!” Sheila pointed. “Come on!” She dropped from the grate and landed on the swing suspended over the chasm.
“What’s the point of this area?!” Mason cried. With a fearful moan, he clambered above the swing and dropped. “Guff, w-wh-waaaah!” He nearly fell off, but Sheila caught him.
“Look, we can swing to those mushrooms!” Sheila pointed to the giant mushrooms growing from the trunk of the Pianta Tree. Holding hands, the two began to swing once more, though Mason didn’t feel nearly as excited at this awful altitude. Sheila, meanwhile, seemed to feel way more excited. “Yahooooo!”
“Whoooa!” They flew forth and landed on a shroom cap. Sheila ran ahead, leaping the trail of mushrooms. There was a green mushroom sat on the end shroom. “YOOOOO!” Sheila went flying as the mushroom bounced her like a trampoline, and Mason bounced after. The two landed on the cliff, from which the bridge connected to the village.
“Man, that was close.” Mason sighed. MaKayla’s bending wore off as the night returned to day. “So, you wanna head back in or you wanna go back to Bianco?”
“I wanna go up here!” Sheila once again climbed up the cliff and onto the mountaintop.
“Way to stay off the beaten path.” Mason said, following her.
The two crossed along the mountain, following a route back to Delfino Plaza. On the way, Sheila found a wide gap in the ground: inside that gap was a lush garden of tall grass and palm trees, as well as orange, block-shaped ruins.
Secret Landmark: PARADISE GARDEN
“Wow, Sheila! I think we discovered a secret place!”
“Mason, Sheila! Fancy seeing you again!” Arianna waved from the garden.
“DARN IT, ARI!” Sheila yelled. “We were about to find this place first!”
“I’m… sorry?”
“So, whatcha doing here?” Mason asked as they dropped into the garden.
“I heard from a researcher that this secluded garden is home to the Red Bird of Happiness. Hu, there it is!” Arianna pointed to a red bird soaring around the garden.
“What’s so special about a li’l red bird?” Sheila asked.
“Because it lives happily in this peaceful garden, undisturbed by man for decades! It’s a symbol of bliss that this garden-”
“Snipe!” A laser shot the red bird from the grass, the animal crashing down. “Haha! No bird is safe from these tiny eyes!” Vweeb boasted.
“VWEEB!” Arianna yelled in rage. “You just shot the Red Bird of Happiness!”
“Relax, I used the Stun feature. I’m a good sport!”
“Ugh.” Ari bent one of the grass blades to grab Vweeb and squeeze him in place. She hurried up and lifted the bird in her hands. “Oh, its wing is bruised. How could you?”
“Yeah, Vweeb, you can’t just shoot whatever you want when we’re exploring.” Sheila scolded.
“YOU’RE ONE TO TALK!” Mason shouted in aggravation.
“By the way, I don’t suppose you two have been to the hotel, yet?” Arianna asked.
“Huh? Oh, we haven’t, actually.” Mason checked the map. “On Sirena Beach, right?” Said beach was adjacent to Gelato Beach on the west.
“Yes.” Ari replied. “I thought you might’ve seen it from Pinna Park.”
“We’ll check it out in a bit!” Sheila strapped the Turbo Pack and grabbed Mason’s hand. “Time for another swim, Mason!”
“Awww…”
After zooming along the sea once again, the duo arrived at Sirena Beach, defined by the hotel at the back of it. There was a pavilion where Nokis and Piantas were relaxing on recliner chairs. With twilight curtaining the sky, the beach was covered in a pleasant atmosphere. “Yaaaaawwwwwn.” Sheila moaned.
“You really are tuckered out, aren’t ya?” Mason laughed. “And we still have another day here.”
“Yawn, I just wanna lie down for a minute…”
“Sure ya do, Captain. Come on, let’s check in.”
Landmark: HOTEL DELFINO
Hotel Delfino possessed soft lighting, and they could feel relaxed in the very air of this building. “Oh, April!” Mason beamed as the artist came out of the girls’ restroom. “I see you made it okay.”
“Well, I did use a boat like normal people.” she replied tonelessly. “I’ve been investigating this hotel. There’s a lot of hidden passages.”
“Hidden passages?” Sheila asked.
“Come in and see.” April led Sheila into the restroom, indicating the water dripping from the ceiling in the back. Sheila stepped on the toilet and leapt up through the water.
“Wot?!” Her head emerged above a tub in someone’s bathroom.
From outside, Mason watched as Sheila’s whole body was sucked up through the ceiling. He rushed in and jumped up as well. “Whoa, how did we get here?!”
“Oi, you can’t expect privacy in this place.” Sheila said, stepping through a painting of a beach. Mason climbed after, ending up in another room.
“YAAA!” yelled the Noki woman inside. “Where did you come from?!”
“Your wall.” Mason answered.
“GET OUT!” She kicked them out the door.
April was already there to meet them. “According to rumors, every so often, a portal to the Ghost Zone appears at the top of this totem.” She indicated the pole in the center of the hotel, stretching up from the first to the 3rd floor. A circular, pointed light covered the ceiling directly above the pole. “I hope to be around when it opens.”
“Yaaaawn, let us know how that goes.” Mason yawned. “Sheila, our room should be up here.”
They went up to the 3rd floor and unlocked their designated room. Sheila fell out of her sandals and onto the comfy, cozy, two-person bed. “Aaaaaahh. An adventurer’s bones are the most frail thing, mate~”
“Heh, I doubt that. Sheila, you’re still wet, take a bath first.”
“I’d just get wet again, mate.”
“Good point.” Mason changed out of his soggy clothes and fell in beside her.
“Hehe!” Sheila laughed at the little bounce he made. “Well, Oi still have a bit of energy!” She got up and began jumping on the bed. “Haha! C’mon, Mason, get up here!”
“Sheila, I’m tiiirrrred…” He moaned between the bounces.
“I’m gonna jump on you if you don’t jump!”
“Uh-oh.” Not wanting his bones to break under her feet, Mason got up. “Hahaha! Hahaha!” The friends bounced in circles around the bed, messing up their blanket. “And touchdown!” Mason landed firmly on the floor- “WHOOA!” The panel flipped and dropped him into the lower room.
“YOU AGAIN?! GET OUT!” The Noki kicked him out again.
Mason dragged himself back up to their room in pain. “This place needs repairs.”
Sheila lied back down as Mason joined her. They got under the blanket, growing even sleepier under its warmth. Their muscles becoming relaxed and still, Sheila put an arm over Mason. “Ahhhhh…thanks for havin’ this adventure with me, Mason.”
“Any time, Captain. And to think, this is only the first island of Mushroom World.”
“Oi can’t wait for the rest~”
“Me neither…”
Pleasant dreams welcomed the sleeping pair. While a day with Sheila was always a crazy one in Mason’s life, the end of it was just as rewarding: a comfy, cozy bed with the best friend of his life. But as soon as the sun was peeking over the horizon, Sheila would be the first to know. And Mason would find himself being shaken awake for the next adventure.