The Great Candied Adventure, Part 9: Humming Ghost

Chapter 9: Humming Ghost

Sunny Day

"CHRIIIIIS!" Sheila screamed from the keel, her face more ecstatic than ever. "What's that NOOOOIIISE?"

The Uno was banging a Rock Candy crystal against a cannon. "Borrowed one of Haylee's Rock Candies, I wanna see what this thing's made of."

"Haylee's not gonna LIKE THAAAAAT!"

"Well, that concludes this morning's 4kids filler." Dillon said. "So where're we going?"

"Wherever the wind takes us, Mate!" Sheila responded. "It's feelin' really promising today! I feel chilly in me toes just thinking about it!"

After yesterday's events, Mason's never been more happy to hear her excited voice. Her joyous spirit made this sunny day complete.

"I can't think of any more Sugary Wonders." Haylee said. "I remember the ones my mom told me about, but any after that, I just can't."

Maybe we can ask a MERMAID! Kirie beamed, fishing on the port side. I just KNOW we'll catch one today! They like sunny days, you know.

"Kirie, for the last time," Chris said, fishing at the starboard, "no mermaid would be stupid enough to let a random pirate ship see them, let alone fall for something like a-" At that moment, a force began pulling his lure around. "Whoa! I got something!"

"Hope it's not another Great Marlin." Haylee said.

Chris stood firm on the railing and pulled hard on the pole. The lure moved around and around, then finally swam to the ship. The force shot from the water and tackled Chris. "Ohh!!" Everyone gaped in awe.

A beautiful mermaid with pink hair, pink eyes, pink tailfin, tannish skin, and a white tank-top, angrily pulled the hook from her hair. "Geez, watch where you're aiming that thing!" She stuck it in Chris's hair.

AIEEEEEEEEEEEE! Kirie signed louder than she ever gestured. I KNEW IT!! I KNEW we would find a mermaid!!

"Ack." Chris pulled the hook out, still pinned under the 10-year-old mermaid. "Well, it's not like I can see beneath the ocean! What're you doing getting caught in it?"

"I'm on a mission for the Ocean Kids Next Door to recruit fish to carry our cargo. I mean, you humans use hamsters and the Minish use those little colorful things. (Not the ones the GKND use.) And we mermen have aquatic telepathy that lets us speak to fish, so it's easy."

"Well, can you use that telepathy to summon some fish to our oven, 'cause Chris isn't doing a good job." Haylee said.

Chris shot her a glare. "Caught this brat, didn't I? Speaking of which, can you get off of me?"

"Awww, but don't male humans fantasize this type of occurrence?" She brushed her pink hair in a pretty fashion.

"You look like my ugly cousin, THAT'S why!!"

With a grumpy look, she smacked him with her tail and hopped off. She sat on the deck. "Anyway, I've seen you guys somewhere. You fought in the Viridi War."

"Yeah, we were Sector V." Aurora said.

"But NOW we're Raccoon Pirates." Sheila confirmed.

"Oh yeah, that old pirate crew?" she asked. "I heard about them. Are you Gold-Fist Marine?"

"Sunny-Fist Sheila." she said proudly. "And pretty soon, Big Mum will see it up close."

"'Big Mum'? …You mean the Big Mom Pirates?!"

"You know them?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, info gets around. You know the story of how Davy Jones destroyed Oceana, right?" They nodded. "The truth is, after Jones was beaten, the mermen needed help rebuilding, so Big Mom sent some of her subordinates to help them. Kyogre also agreed to let their crew offer protection from other opposing forces. But every month, they wanted a shipment of candies from our Candy Factory, candies only available in Oceana. And if we break the deal, Big Mom will have Oceana destroyed again. Kyogre doesn't wanna take that chance; both Jones and Big Mom were Pirate Emperors, after all."

"Why doesn't Kyogre just fight them off?" Aurora asked.

"After giving birth to two kids, he's not as strong as he used to be. Especially since one's a Firstborn. But that's why candy supplies run low in Oceana, and as Kids Next Door, we're against that. But we'd be risking our kingdom by trying to fight them, so what can ya do. Honestly, I don't see why they don't bother the Skypians. I mean, THEY have a whole region made of cotton candy."

"Come again?" Haylee perked.

"There's a series of Island Clouds in Skypia made of cotton candy. They call 'em the Cotton Clouds. I heard the only way up there for humans is to climb a Magic Jellybeanstalk, grown with Magic Jellybeans."

"Where can we get these jellybeans?" Haylee asked.

"They're actually kind of close. It's only rumors, but they apparently exist in a cavern island within a fog. Legend says, a group of pirates found the beans a hundred years ago, but never could find out what they were for. They passed away, and their ship wandered off into the fog. It's said to be inside the cavern, but the entrance it took got closed."

"Then let's sail off and get it!" Mason perked. "Right, Sheila? …Sheila?" Their raccoon captain looked a little nervous.

"Err, by any chance… this ship ain't haunted, is it?"

"No one knows." The mermaid shrugged. "But some mermen claim to hear the eerie moaning coming from the cavern depths."

"Er- M-Maybe we find the beans some othuh place, aye?" Sheila shuddered.

"Sheila, are you afraid of ghosts?" Aurora chuckled.

"N-No, of course not, who would be afraid o' something like that?" She sweated.

"Your mom was." Chris reminded.

"Ahhh, she's old time, I'M the captain now, and I ain't afraid o' NOTHIN'!"

"Well, if you wanna see it, I'll show the way. My name's Sara, so things don't get complicated." Sara said. "Anyway, let's go. But no forking me with hooks!" She jumped in the sea and swam ahead of the vessel.

A few miles later…

The seas soon became misty and bleak, and the sun blocked. The crewmates kept an eye out for any monsters, and a close eye on Sara's shadow as she guided them from under the water. Mason looked at Sheila, standing in place and shuddering frantically, glancing both ways. "Heh, you don't think any ghosts'll come out, huh?" he asked.

"Naaah, of course not, Mate. I mean, ghosts are 'bout as real as-"

"HEY!" Sara shot from the water.

"AAAAH!" Sheila shot up like a bullet, gripping tight to the sail's top.

"You might wanna stop the ship now, plenty of reefs coming. The entrance to the cave is completely blocked, but there's a cavern beneath here that eventually leads in."

"Will you go with us?" Haruka asked.

"You crazy, I'm not going in there. WAY too many ghosts."

"EEEK!" Sheila held the sail tighter. "Uhhhhh m-m-maybe you blokes go ahead, aye? Scout the area an' let me know when it's safe."

"Okay, we will, Sheila." Mason chuckled. "But if we see any ripper things, we'll come back and tell you all about-"

Sheila immediately dropped and rushed to the railing. "I'M SEEING THOSE THINGS FIRST!" She dove into the water.

"Well-p, that settles it." Mason grabbed Haruka's hand. "I'll help you swim this time."

"Hm hm!" She smiled and nodded.

"WILL YOU help me swim TOO, Mason?" Carol beamed, taking his arm.

He pushed her away. "Let Chris help you. He likes ladies." He and Haruka dove in. Carol huffed while Chris looked with disbelief. (Play "Deep Dark Galaxy" from Mario Galaxy.)

Stage 11: Haunted Cove

Mission: Find the Magic Jellybeans.

The underwater tunnel went fairly deep, but the mist didn't reach this low. Glowing sea anemones lit their path, as did jellyfish which brimmed an eerie blue. The kids soon resurfaced inside an underground cave where Boos roamed around. Sheila punched at them with Light Spheres, but they merely poofed for a brief moment before coming back. They bypassed the Boos and approached a tunnel at the end of the room, but it was sealed by boulders. Sheila spun her fist and attempted to punch the rubble, but it barely budged. They investigated the cavern and found a black Boo in the farther left corner. Chris grabbed him by the tongue and swung him around, careful not to smash him against any of the surrounding jagged rocks. He made it to the tunnel and smashed the Bomb Boo against the rubble, blowing it open.

They trekked the snaky tunnel and came to an area with a chasm, and small bubbles blowing from the other side. Sheila ate a nearby Shrink Sweet and used her miniaturized height to hop the bubbles. On the other side, she ate a Growth Gum, then found a mysterious mushroom sticking from the wall. She punched the shroom and caused the cave to shake, making the glowing anemones in the walls retract. The cave became dark, and before their eyes, skinny Ghost Ropes appeared over the chasm. The others swung the ropes to get across, before the anemones returned and made the ghosts vanish.

They entered a wider cave that went up a few stories, and Circle Boos floating around a few areas. Close to the center of the room was a wide, ghostly ladder, and when Sheila grabbed it, it began to stretch upward, with a bottom end following it. Sheila kept climbing up and away from the bottom, but the ladder began to shift left, down, and generally change direction around the room. On the way, some of the Circle Boos phased through the ladder, so Sheila had to navigate around. Eventually, the ladder led her to an enclosing on a higher wall, where she punched a Quake Shroom. The entire room became dark as Ghost Ropes made a path to a tunnel connecting to the ceiling.

Sheila jumped down as the crew began to swing the ropes around the room, but they disappeared every few seconds at random times, causing the group to fall back down. They eventually made it to the cave up top, finding the rest of the tunnel was underwater. The tunnel was nearly pitch-black, and they had to use anglerghosts to find their way through. They reached a surface and saw a Ghost Rope hovering close to the wall. They had to Wall Jump off, grab the ghost, and wait for a higher ghost to appear before swinging to and kicking off the wall to grab it. Of course, since there was only one set of ghosts, they had to take turns.

They eventually swung to a tunnel, which led upward and into a misty cave. There were a couple long boats parked at the shore, so they got in and calmly rowed across. (End song.)

The seemingly endless mist put a chill down their spines. A monster could easily ambush them from the depths, and they'd never see it coming. They almost thought this was the Underworld, and they were rowing across Sanzu to their doom.

But then, a mysterious tune reached their ears: an eerie, but cheery echo of a violin. The way the notes strummed, Sheila's ears perked, her eyes wide. She recognized this tune. And it was her favorite. They sailed a little closer, and through the mist, they could make out a ship: a ship with a keel designed like a sun with a smiling lion's face. It was dusty, but looked to be in very nice shape. Barely any scratches, it made them wonder how it could sail in here, no one piloting. …Or was there.

"Yohohohoooo yo ho ho hoooo, yohohohoooo, yooo ho ho hoooo. Yohohohoooo yo ho ho hoooo, yohohohoooo, yooo ho ho hoooo." A majestic, male's voice echoed throughout the caverns. Sheila smiled and nodded her head to the song.

Gather up all the crew!

Time to ship out Bink's-a brew

Sea wind blows to where, who knows?

The waves will be our guuuuide!

O'er across the ocean's tide

The sunset is goin' wild

See the sky! The birds singing in cirrrcles passing by!

Yohohohoooo yo ho ho hoooo

Yohohohoooo, yooo ho ho hoooo

Yohohohoooo yo ho ho hoooo

Yohohohoooo, yooo ho ho hoooo

The kids climbed on the deck, and standing across was a slim, shadowed man playing a violin. They faced his back, and saw he wore a black tux and a black afro. It was too dark to see, but it looked as though his hands were… bones?

Finally, the man stopped, lowering his arms. In just seconds, he whipped around, revealing his boney face. "VISITOOOORRRS!"

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" Their hair stood straight, and their color faded. (Play "Village Harbor (the second part)" from One Piece!)

"Yooo hohohoooo! I haven't had visitors in so LONG! WELCOME, children! Let me whip up some nice cups of tea, yohohoHOOOO!" He went inside, and came out with a wide plate of 11 cups of tea. "Here you go." He lowered it to the kids.

They stared frightfully, but sipped the tea anyway. "Uhhh… thanks, Mister-" Aurora began.

"Please, call me Brook. I see you are terrified, but don't be. Oh, but… I have no eyes. Yohohohoooo!"

"Blimey, this guy's a riot!" Sheila perked. "I say we add him to our crew!"

"Really? Well, okay." Brook said.

"YOU CAN'T JOIN!!" they all screamed.

"He has to be like, eighty-hundred years old!" Aurora said.

"Yohohoho! 190, actually. It was just 100 years… the most unbelievable cataclysm sent us flying to this world! None of us survived! Zoro-san… Jimbei-san… Sanji-san… why even-" Brook whimpered, "Miss Nami-chan! OHHHH THOSE BEAUTIFUL PANTIIIEEES."

"YOU'RE A PERVERT!!" the girls screamed.

"Yes, well… I would ask to see yours, but… I have no eyes. Also, you're too young, yo hohohoho!"

The girls furrowed their shut eyes. "You're ridiculous." Haruka said. "But how come YOU'RE still alive?"

"Ahh, you see, I ate a magic fruit that allowed me to come back to life. As bones. Only my hair resides, and I've been clinging to it ever since. But my crewmates passed, all of them. Except… the captain. Monkey D. Luffy." (End song.) Brook looked up in remembrance. "He was a real legend. A true King of the Pirates. Even though his moment of stardom didn't last long. He risked it all to save our world… saved everyone from the cataclysm. He told us not to come, but… we chose to die with him. We didn't know what would happen, but the force blew us to this world. But Luffy, who was in the very center… went somewhere else. We have no idea. But… we have this one trinket, to keep our memory of him: his straw hat…" He indicated the withered hat on the helm.

"That story sounds familiar." Aurora said. "A similar thing happened to Negatar Gnaa…"

"Hmmm, I don't know him." Brook said. "Nevertheless, knowing we couldn't join Luffy makes me weep. Even though… I have no tear ducts. But after my crew's passing, I sailed the ship around for a good place to let it rest. On my journeys, I found a pair of strange, colorful beans. I had no idea what to do with them… so I kept them as a memento of our last adventure."

"BLIMEY, Brook, them's the beans we're LOOKIN' for!" Sheila beamed.

"Oh?"

"Yeah!" Aurora perked. "We're on an adventure too, and we need those!"

"Hmmm… then perhaps… my destiny has been to one day give them to you. Very well…" He pulled his pants down, and the beans fell from his boney butt. "There you go."

"WE DON'T WANT 'EM NOW."

Sheila picked up the beans and slid them in her pocket. "Young raccoon child… what is your name?" Brook asked.

She smirked. "Ah'm Sunny-Fist Sheila!"

"Sheila… that spirit in your soul… it's a bright one. I can sense it. Even though… my body's lost any will to sense, yo hohohoho. Perhaps… Luffy's soul now resides in you. A reincarnation… if you will. If you could do me a favor… take Luffy's straw hat with you. You don't have to wear it, but… show it to people… and let them know… Luffy was a great man… who had great adventures."

Sheila touched her fist to her chest. "Ah will, Mate."

Sheila walked up to the helm and put on the straw hat. In Brook's eyes… it made her look more spirited than before. Of course… he had no eyes. "Anyway… you all probably don't want to make your way through that cavern. I sealed this cave with my ice powers. I'll remove the barrier for you."

"Are you an icebender?" Aurora asked.

"I don't know what that is. But my visit to the Underworld has allowed me to channel its cold chi. By doing so… I can create ice."

"Hmmm…" This reminded Aurora of something.

"I wish you luck with your quest. And… when you get older… would you girls show me your panties?"

"NO!!"

"Yoooohohoooo!"

Sunny Day

The crew sailed away from the fog and under sunny skies, Sheila twirling the straw hat around her finger. "You know, Ah'm not much of a hat person. But it makes a nice memento."

"Well, we have the Magic Jellybeans." Haylee said. "Where do we plant the beanstalk?"

"I heard the only place that has the right soil is the Flower Field on Dressrosa, in the Pacific Ocean." Sara explained. "The Flower Field's in the northernmost part of the island, and where the Cotton Clouds are located above."

"Alright, then to Pacific we go."

"Specifically, where in the Pacific? Hm hm hm!" Artie joked.

"You know where Dressrosa is, it's around the south." Haylee said, disbelieved.

"Also, you have to water it with soda, since it's candy-related." Sara said.

"Just soda? No blood?"

"Uhhh… no."

"Then I'm okay."

"Well, if you are, then I need to get back to my mission. Good luck on yours." Sara waved and sunk beneath the water.

Bye-byyyeeee! Kirie waved.

"Hey Sheila, that song the skeleton was singing… it's the same song you always sing on missions!" Mason remembered. "What's it called, again?"

"Oi, it's called Binks' Sake! It's 'n old tune pirates used to sing in days of old! No wonder old Bones knows it. That song captures the spirit of what pirates should be about!" She pumped both fists. "That THRILL of adventure, that EXCITEMENT of what's gonna happen next on this unpredictable sea! Sure, everyone THINKS they know the sea now, but I KNOW there's new things left to discover! And I'm gonna SEE them all! I'm SUNNY-FIST SHEILA!!"

At this point, she was expressing too much spirit for Mason to handle. It just made him so… happy. "Yeah, um… can I… tell you something, Sheila?" He scratched his head with a sheepish smile.

"Sure, Mate! These ears ain't for show!"

"…" He walked a little closer. "Sheila… I just wanna say… I don't know where I'd be without you. I mean… you've opened my eyes to… what life is really about. And… I don't think I can be away from you for very long. Because… you're just so fun. And you could probably make anyone happy." Sheila noticed the blush on his cheeks. "That's why… I'm really glad you're on our team. It's also why… well… I kind of… um… love-"

Sheila touched a finger to his lips. "Ya don't have to say it, Mate. It's plain as day."

"…He." He blushed.

"But I ain't lookin' for that stuff, Mate. Our parents may be as loco, but not I. Relationships just lead to problems, and it's somethin' only adults should deal with. But me: I'm happy with good old-fashioned friendships." Sheila smiled. "Those are WICKED better. Besides… just look at Legend of Korra. Blimey, that was awful."

"Heh heh, hyeah! That Mako/Korra thing was just ridiculous! At least they broke up."

"Yeh, but it's too late to appreciate 'em. Still, a series would be better without that stuff, that's what I'm sayin'."

"Yeah, you're right… Heh heh heh! The Teens can wipe their selves out like that!"

"So going to Dressrosa might take a couple days." Haylee informed. "I propose we just enter the island from the north and avoid chatting with Sector DR."

"Then ANOTHUH few days of sailing awaits!" Sheila cheered. "Let's CELEBRATE WITH A SONG! YOHOHOHOOOO, YO ho ho HOOOO, YOHOHOHOOOO, yo hoho hooooo." She joyously stomped her feet to the song, and Mason shook his hips. The others wore looks of disbelief, but Kirie danced as well, and Chris couldn't help but follow along. The cruise to Dressrosa became a lively one, at least until nightfall.

Cotton Clouds

"WaaaaaAAAHHH!" Sir Knightly collided with a large lollipop on a fluffy white cloud, headfirst. "Ohhhh…" He fell unconscious.

For hours and hours, he lay there. Just a lump of dead pots and pans bunched into a dummy. Night came, and he still lay there. The sky was bright with sunlight again as a bird flapped over and pecked Knightly's unconscious body. "Nnnnn…" Knightly awoke, scaring the bird away. "Ehn?" He looked around. Although the pan covered his face, he was probably pretty confused. But he looked as dense as the pans he was covered in. He got to his feet and stood for a few seconds. "Blap… blap… BUULAP. Blap. Blap. BULUGAP.

"NUU-U-U-U-U. NUU-U-U-U-U." He shook and made the sound-effect of a machinegun. "PFFFFB-B-B-B. NEEEIIIGH. NEEEIGH." He started galloping about like a horse. "NEEEEEI-I-I-I-I-GH-GH-GH. Meeeeh?" He looked at a group of birds perched along the side of a cloud. "…Br-r-r-r-r. Br-r-r-r-r. Brrr! Brrr!" He crouched and started flapping. "BRRRP!" He jumped off his cloud, hovered a few seconds, then fell. "WAAAAH- ooh- ahh, ow!" He bounced down another cloud slope, laying face-flat on the bottom.

"Owwww…" He stood up, rubbing his helmet. "Well, that was fun… hmm, where am I? Candy…" He looked at all the giant candies. "Candy candy… hmmmmm… Aren't there those things we're lookin' for? I wonder what those were. Somethin' to do with candy. Hmmmm…" He rubbed his finger against his pan, where his chin would be. He stood thinking and thinking… night soon came, and he still stood thinking. The sun came up again. "Aha! John-senpai is lookiiing… FOR LOLLIPOPS! AHHHH HA HA-" His legs whirled, and he ran against a large lollipop. "Awwwww." He fell on his back as birds circled above his face. "Or maybe something else. …Hoh?"

He peeked over the edge, seeing a small pirate ship in the distance. "OIIII! It's Raccoon-senpaaaaais! But- awwwww… I'm not FRIENDS with theeeeem. Oh well. Lap lap!" He stood and looked both ways. "Nnnnn!" He hurried off.

Approaching Dressrosa

"Okay, Dressrosa's coming into view." Haylee said.

"Looks kind of bland from here." Artie observed.

"Well, most of the island is surrounded by rocky cliffs. Anyway, let's sail around to the north end and climb up to the Flower Field."

"OIIIII! HELLOOO, DRESSROSAAAA-" Harry snapped Sheila's mouth shut.

"We ain't supposed to let 'em know we're here."

"Awwww, but I wanna go on an adventuh in there!"

"Heh heh, I do too, Sheila, but one of the Corporate Presidents lives there, and he's a creep." Mason said. "Besides, Sky Islands are way prettier."

They docked the boat by the northern cliffside and made the arduous climb up the cliff. "Nnnnn!" Chris grunted as he was forced to carry Carol on his shoulders (huh, so that's why she's named that).

"Come on, Chris, aren't you stronger than that? How else am I expected to get up this cliff."

"So… heavy…"

"Chris, don't you have rocket shoes?" Aurora asked.

"No, we can't bring 4x4, remember. …But I have rocket FEET!"

"WhoooOOAAA!" Carol held tight as Chris flew up with Rocket Boost. They landed at the edge of the Flower Field where Sheila already waited.

"WHOOOOAA!" The raccoon's eyes lit up at the colorful field of flowers. She ran forward and plopped on her back, making a flower angel. "Ha ha ha ha! This place is so PRETTYYYY! Oi, I feel the colors rubbing off on me! Mates, grab a bundle o' these and-"

"AIIEEEEEEEE!" A light screaming reached Sheila's ears. She turned and vaguely saw the tiny angry Minish in the forest of flowers. "YOU DESTROYED OUR HOUSES!!"

"Whoops. Hehe! Sorry 'bout that!" Sheila grinned. She got up and brushed all the flowers off her back and rear.

"Yeah, that helps." Harry said, disbelieved.

"Ummm… maybe you blokes can help us." Sheila said, half-embarrassed. "Know any place we can plant Jellybeanstalk Seeds?"

"Sigh, there's a barren patch of land further down that way." a Minish replied with annoyance. "We can't ever grow any plants there, and the legends say it's meant for candy plants. Which we don't have."

"Well, prepare ta have some!" Sheila beamed, tossing the jellybeans in her hand. "Thanks for the point, Mate!" She walked ahead.

"And, sorry about the flowers!" Haylee said with a sheepish grin. "We'll plant new ones later if you want."

They found the empty patch of ground as Sheila buried the jellybeans underneath. "So how long do these Jellybeanstalks usually take?" she asked.

"My mom once said they take about 2 weeks to grow." Haylee replied.

"TWO WEEKS? Ahhhhh, I can't wait ta have an adventure THAT long."

"Well, we can always see what Silver Flurp does." Mason said, pulling out the soda. "We need soda to water it either way." He cracked it open and poured it onto the patch.

"WHOOOA!" The earth quaked as the beanstalk sprouted fast as that. They stared agape as the beanstalk grew and grew all the way to the cloudy heavens. The Minish were taken by surprise as well, seeing a plant of impossible size towering over their forest. A lot of branches appeared from the stalk, sprouting jellybeans and other candy plants.

"Silver Flurp, what will you do next!" Haylee beamed.

"Golden Flurp." Mason remarked.

"Ah'll have a sip o' that!" Sheila decided. "Now le's get CLIMBING!" She was quick to climb the tasty stalk, and the others joined her.

"CARRY ME, Chrissie!" Carol hopped on Chris's shoulders.

"Siiiigh." He begrudgingly climbed with her riding. (Play "Cloudy Climb" from Paper Mario.)

The crew finally climbed to the top of the beanstalk and set foot on the clouds. It was the most magical place they've ever seen: giant candies on a sea of endless, colorful clouds. Giant donuts with the shiniest glaze, ice cream that looked as if one lick would send you in an eternal dream… this was the very image of Candy Heaven itself.

"It's so beautiful…" Haylee spoke with dreamy eyes.

Sheila slipped off her sandals and wiggled her toes on the soft cloud. "Oi, me feet's nevuh felt so relaxed… this is my ideal paradise, Mate."

Haylee picked a piece of cloud off and ate it. "Mine, too. These clouds are made of cotton candy!"

Sheila ripped a piece off with her toes and ate. "STREWTH, Mate! A land where you can eat the ground, you'll NEVER go hungry!"

"To think all the people that live here don't have a clue what toothpaste is." Harry said.

"Right then, enough gawkin'! Let's see all the sugary wonder this wonderland has ta offer! And may the sun always be above our heads!"

Stage 12: Cotton Clouds

Mission: Find the Sugary Wonder.

The crew walked forward and hopped down a stairway of floating clouds; but first Kirie hopped on a nearby cloud that floated upward, bringing her to a higher cloud with a Gold Wonka Bar. The stairway brought them to a larger cloud where some Dark Puffs emerged from the cloud and lunged at them. Chris evaded and tossed fireballs at the puffs, easily evaporating the clouds. More Dark Puffs kept appearing, and as they searched around the cloud, they found no way to go. Three Dark Puffs appeared before Mason, so he shook a soda to spray it at them, causing the Puffs to swell up, looking dizzy. "Hey, guys, grab on!" he yelled when the Puffs drifted upward. They all climbed onto the Puffs as they floated to a higher Island Cloud.

They hopped off before the Dark Puffs shrunk, landing on a cloud where Cotton Candy Sheep of many colors roamed. They looked peaceful and harmless, and Kirie couldn't resist going up to one and petting it lovingly. There were several fenced areas of the respective colors, and it looked as though a tiny being was holding a normal-size rake. They walked over and looked down at it with wonder.

"Wooow! Big people! Hello, Big People!" She joyously waved. She was an adorable, humanoid creature with big brown eyes, white hair, and red dress. She looked no bigger than two inches.

"Awwww! It's a Cotton Fairy!" Haylee beamed.

"I am, I am! Could you help me, Big People? All my sheep got away from their pens. They're so big, it's hard to catch them. If you bring them back to their colored pens, I'll share with you my Bounce Gum."

"Awww, who could ignore a tiny face like thaaaat?" Haylee cooed.

"You think they make good eatin'?" Sheila asked.

"Eeeeep! Please don't eat me, Big Person! I'll never be able to protect myself. I'm just too teeny!"

Sheila wept and sniffled, "It's so freakin' adorable."

With that, they went around to gather all the sheep. Chris tried to pull a pink one, but it wouldn't budge. So instead, he burned its butt with a flame and made it hop back to its fence. Kirie lightly patted a yellow sheep and spoke with it telepathically. It obediently followed her to its fence and went inside. Mason startled a green sheep to going to its fence by making it sniff his gas. Carol lured green sheep to their pen by, as always, wiggling her money at them. And as Sheila stared mindlessly at a white sheep, she sent it flying to its pen with a single punch.

They kept this up for the rest of them until they were all in. They returned to the fairy for their reward. "Gee, thank you Big People! That was nice. Here's my Bounce Gum!" She opened the roof of her tiny, doll-size barn nearby as a Growth Gum puffed out.

"Awwww you're all just too adorable I can't stand it!" Haylee shook giddily.

They each grabbed a Bounce Gum and saw a stairway of cloud platforms with candycane spikes. The gum allowed them to bounce up the platforms to a new cloud. A tall, blue Bubble Plant was sprouted and letting bubbles flow to another distant cloud. The bubbles were of reasonable height to let the crew bounce across them. The new cloud they reached was rather small, but had a small fountain of orange soda (and guess who loves Orange Soda).

"Hey, it's Fizzy Lifting Soda!" Haylee beamed. "It makes you float like a Fudgepuffsicle, but you don't puff, and you can float freely. Well, until it wears off, so make sure you aren't over a pit."

"Ooooh, let me try!" Carol excitedly sipped a drink of the soda. "Whoooaa!" They stared as she floated up lightly, as if there were no gravity. "Hehehehe! WOW, this is GREAT! I never felt so FREEEE!" She soared away from the cloud.

The others took a drink and began to fly around with zero weight. It soon became their favorite Candy Power. Swimming on air as if it were water, with fluffy clouds under a warm sunny sky. It truly felt like Heaven, and their souls were free from the bonds that were their body.

"Hahahaha! I feel like a fairy!" Carol smiled gleefully. "I could just float up here all… BUUUURP! Whooooaa!" She flipped her parasol open to keep from falling.

"Orrr… for a few minutes." Mason remarked. "Let's get more."

They drank more soda before flying to the nearest higher cloud within range. It was a yellow cloud, where Ruff Puffs roamed. These yellow clouds charged and zapped lightning at the crew, very painfully as Artie could tell you when he got shocked. They saw another Cotton Fairy, this time in a yellow dress, standing by a large container.

"Oooooh! It's big people! Hello, Big People! Did you fly here like birdies?"

"We mo-st certa-inly did, yo-u cut-ie." Haylee cooed.

"Maybe you can help me! My power generator's run out of energy, and it needs Ruff Puffs. If you get them for me, you can use the Rock Candy to ride my platform."

"No offense guys, but they aren't really THAT cute." Haruka noted.

"Ooooh! You have a pretty rose, Big Person! I wanna take a nap in it, and CUDDLE around 'til I'm NICE and cozy!"

"You c-an use i-t when-ev-er you wa-nt, lit-tle one." Haruka blushed giddily.

Mason shook some soda and sprayed it on the Ruff Puffs, but instead of inflating, their electricity sparkled furiously and released a deadly shock at the boy. Chris had an idea and approached a group of Puffs, letting them shoot lightning and catching it on his fingertips. He sent the lightning back at a Puff, straight into the mouth and making the creature, well, puff. He fell softly to the ground as a round cloud ball, which Chris kicked over into the capsule. He nodded with Aurora as the two used Lightning Redirection to catch lightning and fill the Puffs with it, then kicking them to the capsule. Once it was totally stuffed with cloud, the machine sparked with its electric, and the treadmill platform was activated.

"Yay! Now my generator's up and running! You can roll on the platform to make it go uppy. Thank you, Big People!"

"No problem. And may I just say, you are just too cu-u-u-ute!" Haylee shook.

"Teeheeheehee! Thank you! My cuteness works on suckers every time."

"Eeeeee- Excuse me?"

"Teeheeheehee! I'm only TEASING!"

"AWWWWW!" They all cooed. Her high-pitch voice was irresistible.

They each took a Rock Candy and took turns rolling on the platform to make it float upward, and disabled the candy when it reached the cloud. From there, they just had to jump a series of large, spinning lollipop platforms. The platforms brought them to a trio of giant, chocolate-glazed donut rings, floating horizontally. There was an outer one, a center one, and a middle one between the two. But before they could set foot, something fell from the sky. (Pause song.)

"YaaaaaAAAAH!" Sir Knightly landed forcefully on the middle donut.

"YOU again??"

"Waheeeeey! It's my amigo-senpaaaaais!"

"YOUR LANGUAGES ARE ALL MIXED UP."

"Humaaaa kāṭā ēkaṭi birati haaatē." he moaned. "I just wanted to go down the sled with you."

"That's Jar Jar, isn't it." Haruka said with disbelief.

"My vote's on Toiletnator." Chris replied.

"You have to go poopie?"

"NO WE DO NOT!"

"Oolaaaah. What'm I doing up here? Let's see, haaaah… o-oh!! I have to stop you senpaaaaiiis!"

"DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT SENPAI MEANS?"

"La-. Laaaaa. I only started saying that recently. But more importantly: fight meeeee!"

"Uuuuh." Sheila sighed. "Just stand back, mates. I'll 'ave this bozo whooped out easy." (Play the "Deadly Six" theme from Sonic Lost World.)

"SO IT BE! Then a GONG YIIII TANPAI!" He leaped onto the outer donut as Sheila joined him.

Sub-boss: Sir Knightly

Sir Knightly shook frantically and flailed his arms while running at Sheila, and the raccoon easily countered with a punch. Sir Knightly leapt to the other ring, then behind Sheila as he punched her away. Sheila ran at him in attempt to punch, but Knightly jumped behind again and punched her away. She decided to run from the knight and Ground Pound the Starburst switches, causing a similar-colored lollipop top to emerge somewhere on the rings' path. Already feeling like this was a cliché platform game boss, Sheila ran from Knightly to look for the green lolli. It was on the center ring, so she lured Knightly there and fired a sideways Light Sphere, knocking him dizzy for a few seconds.

She jumped to the green switch, and when Knightly recovered and turned to run at her, she hit the switch and made Knightly trip on the lolli, making him fall face-flat. She jumped back and proceeded to jump on the knight, and a light jump was all it took. His body squished shorter for a brief moment before popping back and stomping with anger. He then jumped through the center hole and grabbed its insides with both hands and feet. The donuts all flipped vertically, making Sheila quickly get on the outer donut's interior.

The donuts began spinning as Knightly made his center donut bounce around, bumping the inside of the middle donut and making sharp Lollidarts pop out the other side. Sheila evaded the lollies and used her Mobian speed to run up and around her outer donut. She looked at where the lollies stuck out of the middle donut, and when those areas rolled to the top, she could Ground Pound them and send the lollies inside, hitting and breaking parts of Knightly's donut. When his donut was completely destroyed, he began running on the middle donut's ring, stomping Lollidarts wherever they were in attempt to strike Sheila. She countered by Ground Pounding Lollidarts opposite to him, and one strike was enough to deal damage.

The donuts returned horizontal as Sir Knightly shook with anger. He leaped to the opposite end of the outer donut from Sheila and Ground Pounded, and Sheila quickly jumped to the middle one before the outer tilted back and forth furiously. Knightly repeated this process for the middle one, so Sheila jumped back to the outer, and Knightly kept trying to fling her this way. Seeing his obvious weakness, Sheila got him to Ground Pound the middle one again, and when it slowed to a stable, she Ground Pounded the opposite end from Knightly, causing him to fling and land on the outer one. Knocked out, Sheila leapt over to jump on him one last time. (End song.)

"Neeeeeaaaarr hee-, huhuhuhuhuhuhuhu." He shuddered in midair for a bit before falling on his back. A trio of watermelons from Donkey Kong 64 popped out as his body faded.

"…I'll never understand that." Haylee said.

"Let's keep goin'." Harry said. (Resume "Cloudy Climb".)

Across the donut rings was a small cloud with Fudgepuffsicles, which they used to drift up to a light-blue cloud. This cloud was actually cold with snow, and Ice Puffs emerging. Sheila ran forward to punch one, but it blew ice breath and froze her solid. A river ran through the island, coming from a higher cloud via parallel waterfalls. The crew lured the Ice Puffs to the falls and made them blow on them, freezing both falls solid so the crew could Wall Jump.

They made it onto another snow cloud where a tiny blue-dressed Cotton Fairy was shoveling snow with a tiny shovel. "Ooooh! Humans! Hello, humans. You're so BIIIIG!"

"Yes, and you're so ibby-bibby-CUTiiiiee!" Haylee cooed.

"Do you think you can help me? My house is buried, and there's far too much snow for my tiny shovel to dig. If you could dig it for me, I'll show you my fountain."

"If you think that cute voice is gonna work-" Chris said.

"Oooohh! You look ESPECIALLY strong! I bet you have muscles, Mr. Big Strong Guy!"

"We-e-e-ell since you asked-" Chris tossed a light flame and melted the snow off her dollhouse.

"Geeee! Thank you, Big Human! Now I'll be warm and cozy! Use my fountain as BIIIG thanks!" She pushed a button, opening a secret hatch with a Fizzy Lift Fountain. "Just over there is our teeny town! They'll point you to Cotton Hill, where lies our deLICIOUS Rainbow Lolli!"

"We wi-ll never for-get your kind-ne-ss." Haylee squeed.

They drank the orange soda and floated to a larger Island Cloud, with a tiny, expansive village of tiny Cotton Fairies. It didn't take long for the citizens to notice a band of giants enter their village. "Hey! Big people! Look, everyone! Big people are here!"

"HAAAAAIIIIIII!"

"AAAAHH I just can't stand all this cuteness!" Haylee shook.

Haruka bent down with a friendly smile, "Hello, little guys! We're here for something called a, um… Rainbow Lolli, I guess. Can you show us?"

"Of course we can! We're happy, too! And may we say, your raccoon friend has the FLUFFIEST tail! We'd like to snuggle in it during the cooold, cooold winters!"

"Well, mah tail IS pretty fluffy…" Sheila spoke sheepishly.

"Hey Fairy People, whaddo you think of my dress?" Carol asked, dancing lightly and waving her dress.

"It's very pretty! You must be a princess, and own a BIIIG castle!"

"Well, people HAVE always told me that-"

"Yokay, that's enough." Haylee stated. "Just show us the lolli."

"Right this way! But be warned. There's a BIG mean Puffy guarding it."

A Cotton Fairy guided them around some city streets, leading them to a small hill with a huge, colorful glowing lollipop at the top. "Couldn't we've seen that from there?" Harry asked.

"That's our delicious Rainbow Lolli! It's made of all the colors of the rainbow. And nega-rainbow! When it's sunny, colors are bright! When it's dark, colors are saaaad. I'll let you try it yourself! But be careful, like I saaaaid." She skipped away.

"I might just kidnap one of these things." Carol said.

"You got enough pets." Mason replied.

They stepped up the hill and grabbed the Rainbow Lolli's hilt, trying to pull it out. "Heeeey. What're you all doing on my cloud?" (End song.)

The cotton ground beneath them shook, and a big gray cloud with pale-orange eyes emerged. "You better not be tryin' to take my Rainbow Lolli. For I am Huff N. Puff."

"Been a while since we had a Paper Mario boss." Harry commented.

"See, this Rainbow Lolli is MINE. 'Cause I'm old and cranky. And I want nice things. So I'm keeping it!"

"And just what diabolical plan would you have for keeping it?" Artie asked quizzically.

"Because I'm a mean, unhappy cloud. It makes people happy, so I'm keeping it. So they can't be happy!"

"This story officially got too babyish." Artie sighed.

"I dunno why you kids want this, but if it'll make you happy, you're not getting it! Get readyyyy for a whoopin'." He shook furiously and destroyed the ground beneath them, then flew ahead of them down a straight, cloudy shaft. (Play Huff N. Puff's Theme from Paper Mario.)

Boss fight: Huff N. Puff (and Slytherin ;) Nah, just kidding)

The pirates plummeted down the shaft of clouds as Huff N. Puff threw beams of lightning up at them. They navigated around the lightning and took land on a cloud-made foothold. Huff N. Puff inhaled and shook the ground, summoning a group of Dark Puffs. Sheila saw a Fizzy Lift Fountain and drank the orange soda, flying above the mean cloud and attempting a Ground Pound, only for Huff N. Puff to dodge. The huffing cloud inhaled some of the Dark Puffs and sent them at the raccoon, Sheila dodging a few of the hits, but got pelted by the last one. Mason noticed how Huff puffed when he inhaled those Puffs, so he tossed a Gas Bomb that bumped Huff's head, making him face the boy angrily.

Mason sprayed soda on some of the Dark Puffs so they'd increase, and when Huff N. Puff huffed them up, he became a little too buff (oi, Nintendo, you picked that name on purpose). He rolled around as a large ball, allowing Sheila to float above him with the Fizzy Lift, then deal a Ground Pound that made him pop like a balloon. He shook with anger and became a dark-yellow cloud, destroying the ground again and dropping them down another shaft. He threw bigger jolts of lightning and created electric barriers, forcing them to carefully navigate through the holes in the barriers.

They took land once more on a yellow ground, where Ruff Puffs emerged. Chris and Aurora knew what they had to do, but Huff N. Puff intervened by sending shock currents along the ground. Sheila distracted him by making him dodge Light Spheres, and Mason's Gas Bombs. Chris and Aurora redirected lightning back into the Ruff Puffs to puff them, then let Huff N. Puff suck them in to become his chubby self. Sheila drank the Lifting Drink from the fountain and was about to Ground Pound him, but noticed Huff N. Puff's body was electrified. However, there was a platform with Rock Candy, which Sheila ate to encase herself in a sphere. She charged momentum, then launched at Huff N. Puff with enough force to shove him against the wall and pop him.

Huff N. Puff shook and turned blue, destroying the ground again. During their descent, the cloud boss blew ice beams that froze Artie, Kirie, and Aurora solid. Aurora broke herself free of the ice; but didn't emit any fire. She raised a brow. They took land on a blue ground, where Huff N. Puff summoned Ice Puffs. "Sheesh, now we can easily melt him." Chris said to Aurora, who nodded. With that, both siblings launched fire at the Puff, shrinking him to cotton candy size.

"Huuuuff. Hey! What did you runts do! Ooooh I'm gonna puff you like you never been puffed-" Sheila came at him from behind and swallowed him whole. (End song.)

She licked any discarded pieces off her lips and shuddered from the cold. "S-S-S-S-Strewth! This beast was totally i-i-i-ice cream-flavored! Why didn't we just eat 'im earlier?"

"AAAAND the day is saved by Sheilaaaa!" Chris exclaimed with mock enthusiasm.

"Agaaaaiiin!" Aurora followed.

"Hey, where'd Carol go?" Mason asked.

Everybody looked up, seeing Carol was slowly drifting down with her parasol. "He he he! Kind of acted on instinct!"

"OI, you COWARD!" Sheila shouted. "Float down faster and FIGHT with us next time!"

"…" Carol's bright mood vanished.

With the boss defeated, they all used Fizzy Lifting Drinks to hover back to the Sugary Wonder. "So why's this special, anyway?" Aurora asked.

"I dunno." Haylee replied. "This Wonder's totally new to me. The whole reactions to different light are magic, but I wonder what it tastes like?"

"Probably yucky if the weather's bleak, and delicious when the weather's bright." Harry figured.

"Well, let's take it with us, I guess. Gonna take a lot of room on the ship 'cause of its size."

Chris and Sheila both hoisted the lolli from its perch and began to carry it back. "You know, I think I saw Aisa from Water 7 on a cloud earlier." Haruka mentioned.

"Man, what would they be doing up here…" Harry questioned.