Super Mario Sunshine

Chapter 21 - The Good Egg

   The commotion had pretty much died down by the time Mario and his water pump arrived again on shore.

   Splashing through the knee-deep crystalline water near the boardwalk, he didn't find it obvious at first that anything had happened. Thirsty beach goers had begun to fill the Surf Cabana in his absence, blue cataquacks spread out across the sand, and happy voices mixed with the cries of lazy gulls. With the latest shine sprite and a refilled Fludd at hand, Mario took a deep breath of the fresh air and laughed.

   "Well, looks like paradise again on Gelato Beach!"

   "Another shine off the list," Fludd agreed. "With our success rate, it shouldn't take long to finish up and move on!"

   Mario pondered for a second as he waded out of the water. Fludd was probably right; he wasn't sure if there were even any shine sprites left here to find following their catch in the reef. With the crazy wildlife taken care of and the beach's mysteries mostly solved, it was probably about time for them to get moving elsewhere.

   For a moment Mario sighed and paused, glancing briefly across the sunny sparkling view. He didn't entirely want to leave, of course; Gelato Beach was exactly what he'd pictured when he'd imagined his perfect beach vacation. But this was still no time to be relaxing.

   "Yeah," he said at last, looking up to see Billy coming toward him. "I guess you're right."

   "Hey!" the brown pianta called, looking a little less than pleased when he spotted them. "You!"

   Mario raised his eyebrows and came forward, tossing water from his head. Huh? Is something wrong?

   "Hey, thanks for the tip!" he said, coming up to the watchman. "I found that shine sprite."

   He hadn't imagined the man's peeved expression. Now Billy paused, looking the shorter man over in confusion. "Wait, what? What's going on here, is this some kind of joke?" he demanded.

   Mario tilted his head with a quizzical expression. "What do you mean? I just came back from the reef like you told me," he replied, pointing. "You know? Where you saw the shine sprite?"

   Billy frowned. "Wait a minute. Then who was just threatening me? That wasn't you?"

   Mario stared. "Why would I threaten you? Like I said, I've been out in —

   Uh oh. He cut himself off, a realization hitting him in a heartbeat. "What did this guy threaten you with?" Mario demanded suddenly.

   Billy shrugged. "I don't know, he just came up and threatened me with some big staff he was carrying if I didn't back off and tell him where to find the shine sprites here. I didn't know what else to tell him, though," he said. "He looked a lot like you — I almost thought you had snapped from the heat or something."

   Oh, sure. Mario shook his head, eyes wide in urgency. "No that wasn't me, it was Shadow Mario! He was here —

   He didn't bother finishing his thought for Billy. Bolting in the direction of the Sand Cabana, he left the clueless watchman standing by the water.

   "...So should I be offended, or not?" he asked.

"Thanks for your help!" the human shouted after him, speeding away.

The dip in the ocean had done a splendid job cooling him down, but Mario didn't feel the sun at all anymore as he ran now across the dazzling sand, eyes on alert for anything particularly wrong: signs of disorder, disasters — maybe magic paint. Suddenly his mind was running as fast as his feet; it was that rotten koopa again! The same one who had made all the mess in the first place... and stolen Peach... and sent him to jail. At that thought, his heart began to race as well.