Super Mario Sunshine

Chapter 5 - Messy Road to the Big Windmill

   A robust breeze picked up over the hill, accompanied by a moment's morning peace. It seemed to carry with it a fresh taste of the sea, usually unheard of in these parts. The welcome smells from far below wafted over the stone wall like a pleasant river.

Looking up, the dawn sky was not extremely bright; but then, in some places the sun still managed to shine through, casting a yellowish light upon the grass. It was as lovely a morning as one could currently hope for in Bianco Hills.

With a tired sigh, the blue pianta reclined by the path against the palm tree as he had been doing before. Sure, there were things in the village to worry about, problems that needed solving; but it wasn't like he could do anything about it. Better to just ignore it all, and try to get a moment of repose.

   He had just closed his eyes when yet another sound came to his ears. A strange, slippery splash just like before, followed by a gurgling sound, as of something bubbling. The pianta knew without even looking what it was: that rainbow paint again.

   I knew it was too good to be true, he thought, getting up yet again from his attempted rest and staring at the start of the path. What is it now?

Sure enough, he was right: the mysterious colorful marking on the far wall was swirling once again, giving forth that strange light. He watched expectantly as the paint globules appeared to gather from its wavering surface and coalesced in air, forming yet another shape. Then, the young human materialized and tumbled to the ground with a rather sickening thud.

With a sigh, the pianta rose and headed forward to question him, hoping to maybe have better luck this time. Here we go again.

Picking himself up quickly, the young man glanced around with lively blue eyes, panting a little as he took in his surroundings within just a few seconds. He briefly adjusted his red hat, then turned to the big water tank strapped to his back.

"Where'd he go?"

"My scanners indicate that he is somewhere up ahead," the machine responded mechanically. "There is nowhere far he can escape to out here, so I believe he may hide. There are also some readings of shine sprites in the vicinity, so we should keep an eye out."

"And...uh, where exactly are we?"

"We appear to have landed in the outermost edges of Bianco Hills, deep in the hills of Isle Delfino. It is located in the near center of the island, to the northwest of Delfino Plaza. We are approximately one thousand feet above sea level. Up ahead is Windmill Village, residence of the countryside piantas. It appears our perpetrator can conjure up portals for transportation."

"That would explain how he gets around so quickly," the human realized aloud, glancing at the shimmering portal from which he'd just come.

Staring at the strangers as if they had multiple heads, the pianta frowned and cautiously approached. First there was the slime, then the odd portal, and then the strange man who kept running around and seemed to appear from nowhere. Things just seemed to get weirder and weirder.

"Hey, um... can I help you?" he called. "You seemed like you were in such a hurry last time." Raising his eyebrows, he looked the man over, hoping for an explanation for all this.

The young man turned, seemingly noticing him for the first time, and frowned. "Last time?" he asked curiously.

The pianta nodded. "Yeah, you know, when you went running through here a second ago," he clarified. "And that strange portal there on the wall – is that yours? Because –

"Oh no, I didn't create that," the man interrupted, glancing back at the other-worldly shape on the wall behind him. "And I've never – "

He broke off abruptly and stared at him, his face stricken with alarm. Then the man with the water pump widened his eyes and shifted his gaze beyond him, up the path.