Archive of Our Own

Work Text

I wish to tell the story of a hero: a hero who did not deserve his fate but continues to play and have fun with his friends undeterred, despite his condition. I wish to tell the story of someone who may seem dead on the outside but couldn’t be more alive. I wish to tell the story of Kaleb the Yoshi, a dinosaur who suffered from a cruel incident but lives on.
The day began as any other. Yoshi’s Island was looking vibrant and beautiful as ever, and the sun was shining down happily on the land. In a certain hut, a purple Yoshi, a semi-rare one of its kind, was fast asleep, dreaming about happily trotting down the hills with his friends. He dreamed of sharing fruit with his peers, having a nice picnic before playing some hide-and-seek and leap-Yoshi.
As he dozed on, he was suddenly jolted awake from his slumber when he heard a knock on the door.
“Kaleb! Are you in there? Get up, sleepyhead! We’ve got so much to do today!” he heard a voice call out.
As soon as he heard those words, he instantly remembered: today, they were going for a picnic before going into the forest to find some fruit for themselves and the rest of the inhabitants for their Fruit Fest, an event that lasted three entire days with nonstop nutrition from all the vitamins that fruit could possibly give, not to mention the fun games that would take place!
Excitedly hopping out of bed, he rushed out of the door to meet his friends, Yoshi the green Yoshi, Mikey the red Yoshi, and Tom the yellow Yoshi. They were all excited to see him.
“So… Are you ready for today?” Yoshi asked.
“We’re going to net so much fruit, that we’ll have enough for a FOURTH day of Fruit Fest!” Mikey joked.
“Fruit FEST!” Tom cheered.
“Of course I’m ready!” Kaleb beamed. “I’ve been excited this entire last week for this!” he said jumping up and down.
“Well, what are we waiting for?!” Yoshi asked. “Let’s GO!”
And with that, the four friends were on their way to the hillside, their first stop, where they would have some invigorating melons before moving on to the forest, where they would be gathering countless numbers of fruits for their three-day occasion.
As they ate, they talked happily with one another, recalling funny times, proposing plans for the Fruit Fest, and overall having a good time. After eating, they continued onward to their destination, where they wasted no time in beginning their fruit hunt.
“Let’s see how much each of us can get in half an hour, and then we’ll meet up!” Yoshi informed.
Agreeing, the other Yoshis split off and began their search. Their finds didn’t disappoint. Yoshi found around 50 melons and 25 bananas, Mikey found 77 berries and 22 apples, Tom found 97 batches of grapes and 203 blueberries, while Kaleb had found 25 peaches and 85 watermelons. Kaleb, however, had felt guilty for not finding a variety of fruits, despite the fact that the Yoshis were going to be more than prepared for Fruit Fest. He felt that he needed to find stuff for the black, white and purple Yoshis out there as well, rare ones such as himself, and he was starting to become hysterical when he found no such fruit. He kept looking, but he found nothing like durians, peppers or plums, all of which would delight the rare Yoshis.
30 minutes had passed, and the Yoshis regrouped with one another. As they shared their findings and began to head off, they noticed that Kaleb had looked a little downtrodden.
“Kaleb? What’s wrong?” Yoshi asked.
“Are you all right?” Tom questioned.
“I-I’m fine…” Kaleb answered, clearly NOT fine.
“Did something happen back in the forest?” Mikey pondered.
“No… I- I just…” he began before breaking into tears.
“I COULDN’T FIND ANYTHING FOR OUR BLACK, WHITE OR PURPLE KIN!” he shouted. “I’M SUCH A FAILURE!”
Shocked, the others rushed over to him and comforted him in any way they could.
“Hey! It’s all right. No one’s going to hate you for that,” Mikey consoled him with a pat on the back.
“Don’t undersell yourself for something you couldn’t control,” Tom said while wiping his tears away.
“C’mon! No sad face!” Yoshi cheered. “They’re all waiting for us back at the main plaza. I’m sure they’ll be very proud of you!” he reassured the sobbing purple dinosaur as he took his hand and helped him up.
Brightening up in almost an instant, Kaleb happily got up to his feet and began to carry his basket of fruit along with the rest. They trotted down the forest path, happily chatting again about their plans for Fruit Fest, and eventually reached the point of the forest where they could see the sunlight in its full shining might again. They were about to leave, when suddenly, Kaleb spotted something.
It was a fruit! Not only that, but it was a plum as well!
“Guys! Look!” he exclaimed excitedly. He picked up the delicacy and dropped it into his basket.
“Nice!” Mikey replied. “Looks like you’ve found your lucky fruit!” he said. “Well, let’s go back,” he began to walk towards the exit before Kaleb stopped him.
“Wait!” he cried out while sniffing. “D-Do you smell that?” he asked. “There’s… more fruit beyond that tree!” he said pointing to his left. “Durians and plums included!” he cheered.
“…Mmm… Smells good…” Yoshi cooed. However, he snapped out of it. “But we don’t have time for that! The others are waiting!” he notified him. They all began to walk towards the light when Kaleb got an idea.
“You guys can go ahead! I’ll get some more for just 10 more minutes, and then I’ll catch up! It’ll be the most delectable batch of fruits ever!” he promised them.
“Are you sure?” Mikey asked worriedly.
“We don’t want to leave you here,” Tom said.
“C’mon! Pleeeeease?!” Kaleb pleaded.
“All right,” Yoshi relented. “But please come soon! Don’t get lost!”
“It’s okay! I’ll be fine!” Kaleb assured them.
As he took off into the forest, the others left, somewhat reluctantly, and made their way back to the main plaza to prepare for another happy celebration.
In the depths of the forest though…

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

A dark, hidden figure prowled through the quiet of the forest, making barely any sounds as it snuck through the bushes and trees. He made it clear that he did not want to be seen, as he was dodging any traces of light that shone on him. One beam was cast down on him, and as it revealed his appearance, one could see that it was of a face that was… honestly average looking. The person had green eyes, had black hair, and was fairly mid-sized. What was not-so average looking was his expression: it was hatred; pure malice if one ever saw any expression like it. This looked like the kind of heartless monster that would go on a rampage, caring not who was hurt or killed, and liking every SECOND of it. For any who would forego to such a conclusion, they would be a thousand times correct. At a close look, this mindless soul possessed multiple vials of POISON, and it would only take SECONDS to figure out what he intended to do with it. He had heard of the place called Yoshi’s Island, a land of nothing but happiness. How he HATED its existence the moment he heard of it. He wanted nothing MORE than to erase all traces of even the smallest of annoyances. He had been that way since he was 6, and even THEN, it was said that he possessed a lot of dark humor in earlier days. This dark humor had now manifested itself into an antagonist to anyone who had a mind and a heart. That someone, as of right now, was none other than the Yoshi Clan, and he had a GOAL to make them extinct. He didn’t want ANYONE happy to have their way. As the intruder stomped through the forest, he caught sound of someone else. On instinct, he dove into the bushes and peeked out sneakily, almost frothing at the mouth of who was nearby. Yes… WHO would be his next victim? Looking a few feet ahead of him, he saw a purple Yoshi walking along, looking for fruits as he went along his way. He was clearly unaware of his presence, and thus in his eyes, a prime target. He had the perfect chance… Unfortunately, he did not waste his opportunity. He waited a few moments until the Yoshi was in range, and without delay, took hold of him and held tight with an iron grip. The poor creature struggled, trying to escape, but to no avail. “S-Stop! PLEASE!” the Yoshi begged. “Oh, don’t worry,” the sinister child falsely reassured him. “I’ll let you go… after a bit of TREATMENT.” Before the frightened dinosaur could even GUESS what was going to happen, he found his mouth being pried wide open as he saw the malevolent boy dig out a type of bottle with a liquid in it. He tried to close his mouth, but the vile fiend wouldn’t have any of it. He watched in emotional agony as he was forced to swallow the contents of the vial, not knowing what any of it was. He had hoped that perhaps this was something good, something that would even amplify his being by any slight chance. It was not, sadly. He almost immediately felt himself going numb before being overcome with insurmountable pain. He tried to resist and move, but he was too weak to even try. He felt the boy pick his body up before carrying it a short distance and throwing him cruelly into the leaves. He then proceeded to bury him, chuckling evilly as he was doing so. “And no one will ever find you,” he threatened. “Don’t worry, though. Your friends will soon join you. ALL of them.” “N-No…” the Yoshi feebly cried, turning pale. He held a hand out as to try and brave the poison, but the kid, without a second thought, stomped on it, causing the poor thing to withdraw into the leaf pile. The child gave one last menacing glare to the Yoshi’s apparent grave before trotting off while laughing to himself, pleased with what he had done. Was this the end of this unfortunate soul? This was supposed to be one of the best days of his life, not his last! The Yoshi felt the poison consume him, all while he tried calling out for help. He did his very best not to give in, but time was running out, and no one had arrived. “Please…” he begged. “Someone… help… me…” he tearfully spoke.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Not long after that tragic incident, another person could be seen walking by the forest. This person was rather tall, taller than the last one. He had brownish-green eyes and had brown hair. He had come here in hopes of finding Yoshis, for he was gathering berries among other fruits to analyze for his latest project. Yes: this young child was an aspiring scientist, carrying the wish to help mankind wherever and whenever he could. There was more to this visit than just that, however. This person wanted to explore Yoshi’s Island in an effort to meet the inhabitants, not only so that he could be given some directions, but so that he could make some new friends as well. He was an avid Yoshi fan, so much that he would talk about them all of the time without cease, much to the ire of his peers. They would, at times, laugh at him for this, insulting his liking for the creatures, but he never let up from all of this prattle. He would continue to marvel at how happy the Yoshis always were, no matter what the problem. He wanted to see how they did it, and NOTHING would stop him, which is why he ventured out here to find some friends in the form of these dinos. He took two entire days to arrive, and he was NOT going to back down now. He had entered the forest at around 11:30 in the morning and had been there for an hour or so. He tried denying it earlier, but at this point, he admitted to himself that he was lost. With no map either, he ended up traversing the forest in circles, much to his annoyance and slight fear. He wanted to cry out for help, but he was afraid that the first thing that would find him if he did so would be a ravenous creature, waiting to eat him alive. As he hopelessly circled around the area, he suddenly felt hungry. Deciding that he was getting nowhere, he looked for some food, anything that looked edible enough to sate him for the moment. He looked for about ten minutes or so before finding a plum. As he happily ran over to it and picked it up, he was about to eat it, when he noticed that something was… off about the fruit. It was discolored in some areas and looked rotten. He examined it for a while or so, wondering what could have happened to it, when all of a sudden, he heard something. “Heeellllp…” he heard. “Anyone… Please…” he noticed a weak voice cry out. Jumping into action, he tossed the fruit inside, renewed with a sense of emergency, and looked to find who needed assistance. He wasted no time in trying to pinpoint the call, becoming increasingly worried as to why this poor soul need a hand. He was approaching a pile of leaves, when he suddenly realized that he was listening to the voice of a Yoshi… “Oh no!” he gasped. “A Yoshi? Where are you?” he asked desperately. “I-In the leaves…” he heard a reply. Frantically digging his way through the pile, what he found next struck him with so much shock and horror… Before him lied a purple Yoshi that was pale-looking, trembling in fear and clinging on to life. Looking closely, the boy could see that this Yoshi was drooling some sort of yellow sickly substance, something he saw in the fruit he found. Putting two and two together, he deduced that this unfortunate dinosaur had consumed this poisonous fruit, but why would he have eaten it? Unless… maybe that fruit wasn’t poisonous initially. Maybe there was… an outsider. Without a second thought, he lifted up the Yoshi into his arms, cradling him while begging him to hold on before scooping up the fruit he tossed aside earlier for analysis purposes. “No more games…” he thought. “Now, I HAVE to find my way out of here! This creature’s life rests in my hands now!” He tried rushing to his left, only to find that there was a dead end. He tried going south, only to find that the path looped back to the center. He tried numerous routes, but none had any progress associated with them. He started to cry in fear that he might never be able to save this soul, when, much to his surprise, he found his very patient pointing in a direction with all the strength he had left. Instantly heeding his advice, he ran the way the Yoshi pointed, switching directions whenever he would point in another way. With all the speed he could rush with, he kept moving in the direction that the Yoshi pointed. He continued making his way out of the forest, until he saw a bright light ahead of him. It was the exit! With hope, he bolted out of the woods with the Yoshi in tow, frantically looking for the direction his lab was in. As he recalled it and ran towards it, he looked down at the Yoshi, who looked all the worse for wear, having become paler as well as motionless. Seeing this, he tried shaking him. “Hey, hey!” he cried. “Don’t go on me now! We’re going to my lab where we’re gonna get you fixed up! Please! Don’t go!” The Yoshi looked at him with weary eyes, giving him a weak but loving smile. He knew that he would be all right under this boy’s care. Yoshis may not have had omnipotence, but they knew who had a heart of dirt and a heart of gold. This person… he clearly had a heart made of platinum. He had absolute trust in this person. He couldn’t go now! His friends were certainly worried for him!

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

After a few minutes, they finally arrived at the boy’s house. Upon busting in the door, the boy’s family jumped up from their activities in shock. “Olly!” the boy’s mother gasped. “Why the break-in?” his father asked in confusion. “There’s no time!” Olly panted. “I need to get to my lab immediately!” “What’s going on?” his mother questioned. “Did you forget something?” “No! What IS going on is this!” their son replied in distress while holding up a poisoned Yoshi in his hands. His mother subsequently shrieked in horror and stepped back in fright, and his father quickly ran over to him. “WHAT?!” he shouted. “HOW did this HAPPEN?!” “There was probably a person who poisoned this poor soul,” Olly lamented. “I didn’t see the guy, but I saw that he left this creature for dead!” “Then we need to FIND this boy and confront him for his actions,” his father angrily replied. “A crime against a harmless animal like this deserves as much as IMPRISONMENT!” “Oh, the poor THING!” his mother wept. “We need to get it to the hospital!” “No!” Olly protested. “We can’t do that! He’ll be dead by the time he’s there!” He then told them his conclusion that shocked them. “I have to save him!” Olly spoke. “Oh, son…” his father tried to reason. “Don’t be rash. Your skills are not fully developed. You are NOT a full-fledged doctor.” “PLEASE, dad!” Olly began in tears. “I went to Yoshi’s Island to see the Yoshis, and I found this one on the verge of death!” “B-But- What if you can’t save him?” his mother said impulsively, regretting her words within an instant. Hurt by her words for a moment, Olly countered her argument with this: “I have to TRY!” he pleaded. “If I don’t, who WILL?! PLEASE?!” Looking at each other for a moment, his parents decided that it really WAS for the best to let their son try to save a life. He had found his very favorite animal in poor condition, and he had taken it upon himself to try and save it. They were afraid as he was on the inside that he might fail, but to not even attempt to save this Yoshi would to be to resign to failure instantly. “Please, Mom… Please, Dad…” he choked out. “Go, son…” his father implored. “I am sorry about what I said,” his mother apologized. “It’s my job to believe in you… It’s OUR job to believe in you. Forgive us…” “You don’t need to ask me of that,” Olly cooed. “Now… I’ve got a life to save,” he stated proudly, assured of himself. And with that, he rushed downstairs with the Yoshi in his arms, glistening with the appearance of a hero. Although he didn’t notice it, the Yoshi gave a small wave to his parents as they made their way to Olly’s lab. “Y-You’re f-family is v-v-very nice,” the Yoshi coughed out. “That’s very sweet of you…” Olly started. “But what from I heard, no one is as nice as you guys, which is EXACTLY why I’m gonna save you! You’re gonna be okay!” Feeling like this person deserved to know his name no matter what would happen next, the Yoshi decided that now was the time. “M-My n-ame- i-is- Kaleb,” he spoke in a broken sentence. “Kaleb! What a nice name for an innocent spirit like you!” Olly cheered. “Well, tell you what: if you promise me that you can hold out for just a little longer, I’ll give you an entire BANQUET of fruit! C’mon, please just stay with us!” he called out to his patient. This person was becoming more and more liked by Kaleb by every word he said. First he tried saving him, but now he knew that he wanted to meet his kind! He would have to bring him to his home sometime, perhaps soon. He DEFINITELY had to hang on to life, now for his new friend. As they entered the lab, Olly set Kaleb on a table with a cloth on it before donning his jacket with all due speed and acquiring some sort of square-shaped X-Ray. “Here,” he said. “This thing should be able to detect what exactly is inside of you.” As the X-Ray scanned the patient, it eventually reported results of poison in 75% of the Yoshi’s body. Trying not to become disheartened by such news, Olly knew that it was time for his secret weapon that he had been developing to counteract problems like this. “Not to worry,” he tried to assure Kaleb. “I’ve been working on my OWN medicinal product that should be able to counteract this deadly liquid.” He typed on a number pad nearby before it opened up with a tank of bright yellow liquid. Unlike the poison seen earlier, this product did not have a sickly texture to it, and looked almost like a fruit drink. Nodding to himself, Olly took a cup and scooped out some of the antidote before carefully rushing back to Kaleb’s side. “Here,” he offered. “Drink this. This problem should be as good as over shortly after you do.” Without hesitating, Kaleb gulped down the entirety of the contents in less than a second. As they waited and hoped for the cure to take effect, Kaleb wanted to thank his kind new friend again for saving him. “H-Hey,” he said. “T-Thank you for d-doing this. Even if it doesn’t wor-” “No no no no no!” Olly stammered, not wanting to give in to such a thought. “Don’t think like that! Please! You’re gonna live, okay?” he tried comforting the dinosaur while hugging him. “You know…” Kaleb began. “You are a lot like a Yoshi. You care about those who you love to the point where you would do anything for them.” “Oh,” Olly blushed. “I certainly wouldn’t go THAT far…” he spoke before noticing something. “I-It’s working…” he pointed out as Kaleb’s original color began returning to him. Kaleb looked at himself, and noticed too that he was losing his pale color. “I-I feel… better!” he spoke clearly. “I feel like I can run for MILES! I feel MUCH BETTER than BEFORE this happened!” he beamed. “I… I can’t believe it,” Olly spoke, relieved that everything went well. “Oh, OLLY!” Kaleb cheered as he went to hug him. “You saved my life… Thank you!” “Y-You’re welcome,” Olly replied, still shocked that he actually did it. After the long embrace, they began heading upstairs. “Well, first thing’s first,” Olly said. “We need to get you back home AND warn the other Yoshis.” “Right!” Kaleb said. “But… how do we do that? What if it’s too… l-l-” he tried to speak. “What if it’s too late? Then I better take my stuff with me!” Olly concluded. “Good idea!” However, as Olly rushed downstairs and gathered his belongings, he suddenly heard a series of repeated crashes. “What was that?” he asked, worried. As he rushed over to where it happened, he saw a sight that he wish he could have prevented… Before him, Kaleb was lying in a paralyzed state, apparently having returned to the verge of death.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“NO!” Olly shouted as he picked up the dying Yoshi. “No no no! This can’t be happening!” How did this occur? Was his antidote not complete?! He didn’t have any explanation for why this happened, but he didn’t have time to think about that. He quickly put Kaleb back on the table and frantically began searching for something… anything that could save him. “No no no no no! Please don’t go! PLEASE STAY!” he bawled. He tried finding something else that could rescue this pour soul from departing, but had no luck. As he hesitatingly turned to Kaleb, he saw that his eyes were closing, likely for the final time. “NOOOOOO! DON’T LEAVE!” he cried as he fell onto the table in defeat. As he sobbed, he felt a hand tap his shoulder. Looking up, he saw that it was Kaleb with that weak but loving smile that he had when he first met him. “I-It’s… okay,” he choked out. “I don’t want- you- to think that y-you’re a f-f-ailure for this. Y-You w-w-were brave enough to t-try…” he soothed his doctor before his hand went limp. “NO! NO you’re gonna be just FINE! HOLD ON KALEB! HOLD ON KALEB!” he coughed out as he knew the inevitable was happening. As he watched this tragic occurrence, he saw Kaleb changing… His arms and legs were turning green, his shoes were becoming white with green soles, and the three red scales on the back of his head were turning black. Parts of his nose and stomach were also becoming green as his tail also adapted the same color. A jack-o-lantern smile appeared on the stomach as well, though Olly thought this to be of a mere coincidental side effect of his failed treatment. The worst part though… was the eyes. As Olly lifted one of Kaleb’s eyelids up, he saw that the eye itself was completely black with no pupil. With that, the horrendous transformation of his hollow shell was complete. He had failed. He had actually failed to save this wonderous life that had so many years left ahead of him! “I- I- It- IT’S NOT FAIR!” he wailed as he banged his fists on the table. “I COULDN’T SAVE YOU, KALEB! I’M SO SORRY!” He cried right there for several minutes, which felt like days to him. His family, who had heard his loud sobbing from above, also wept at the lost of such an innocent being. They knew that their son had done his best. To fail in such a way… They HAD to at least TRY to comfort him. But HOW?! “Oh, son…” Olly’s mother lamented. As the family grieved for the next few minutes, they were interrupted when they heard banging on their door. Trying to calm down from the recent hysteria, Olly’s father went up to the door to open it, only to find the sight of an angry family standing before him. “Um… H-Hello. What is your business here?” he asked, trying not to cry in front of them. “SAVE YOUR TEARS, YOU SENTIMENTAL FREAK!” the boy shouted, much to his shock. “WE’VE CAUGHT YOU RED-HANDED!” “Excuse me?” Olly’s father replied in shock. Stepping in front of the bratty child, HIS father approached Olly’s face to face. “We have heard that you have been using dangerous chemicals to try and resurrect something that is dead,” he coldly accused. “What?” Olly’s father gasped. “Yes,” the brat’s mother began. “Such ritual action is ILLEGAL! You HEAR ME?!” “Things that are dead should STAY dead!” the brat’s brother added. “No! You don’t understand! My SON… he’s been trying to save-” Olly’s dad tried to speak. “Save it for court!” the brat’s father replied. “We have come to arrest you and take the body. Now please… STEP ASIDE.” With a renewed sense of energy, Olly’s father suddenly blocked their path and spoke up. “I DON’T THINK SO!” he stated. “YOUR FAMILY IS STOPPING SOMETHING MIRACULOUS FROM HAPPENING!” Noticing the argument, Olly’s mother stepped in as well. “OUR SON… HE WAS TRYING TO SAVE A LIFE, AND FAILED! HOW COULD YOU SPEAK SO HEARTLESSLY?! WHERE DID YOU EVEN COME FROM?!” she asked, bringing the sudden and questionable appearance of this family into light, which they CLEARLY did not approve of. “HEY!” the brat’s father shouted. “You have no BUSINESS to discuss about our appearance here! NOW MOVE SO THAT WE CAN TALK WITH YOUR SON!” he demanded. “NEVER!” both of Olly’s parents countered. As they fought back against the shady family, Olly, who was still sobbing over Kaleb’s death, heard the fight going on upstairs. Sensing danger, he rushed up to his parents aid without a second thought, not wanting to lose them as well. As he made his way up however, something was happening with Kaleb. His body began to twitch. He began to stir. He began to toss and turn about in bed for a few seconds or so before stopping. If one looked closely after that, they could see that he was breathing again. He was moving! HE WAS ALIVE! ALIIIIIIIVE! MWAHAHAHAHA! *Ahem* Excuse me. As he slowly regained consciousness, he opened his eyes for the first time in his new state as the pupils began to show themselves; they were a pure white color, but of course, Kaleb didn’t know this, as he had not even looked at himself. Instead, he heard a noise upstairs that sounded of shouting and pounding. Quickly getting up, he rushed upstairs to see what the commotion was, paying no mind to his new appearance, the only thing mattering being Olly’s well-being. Unfortunately, when made it to the top, he found a sight he hoped he would never see again. Before him, Olly was standing protectively in front of his parents, trying to defend them from an angry family. He hid behind the door, peering out to see the verbal confrontation going on. As he looked at everyone involved, he saw HIM. He saw the boy who had poisoned and nearly killed him, and it was then that he pieced together what was happening: they were here for HIM, and were but willing to harm anyone that got in the way of the boy’s operation. Kaleb wanted to step in and help his protectors, but he knew that it would only cause more trouble if he tried. Besides, they were likely armed with poison, the toxic substance surely locked away somewhere nearby. He stayed behind the door and continued listening. “Maybe YOU’RE the omnicidal maniacs that want to see something die!” Olly accused them, putting them on the defensive. “NO! YOU’RE the enemy here!” the brat spoke up. “YOU’RE NOT FOOLING ANYONE!” he said. “YOU UNDISCIPLINED SCOUNDRELS!” the brat’s father fumed. “WE WILL HAVE NO MORE OF THIS! MOVE ASIDE AT ONCE!” he said as his family knocked Olly’s aside, which gave Kaleb the cue to run away to a new hiding spot. As they rushed past Olly, however, he caught sight of something on the boy’s utility belt. Without a second thought, he leapt up and snatched one of the contents of it, revealing it to be a vial of poison. “AHA!” Olly triumphed. “YOU THINK YOU’RE THE INNOCENT PARTY! THINK AGAIN! WE’VE CAUGHT YOU RED-HANDED, YOU MONSTERS!” Making an inaudible noise, the brat attempted to snatch the poison back, only for Olly to punch him and tuck it away in his pocket. “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU!” he raged. “HOW COULD YOU EVEN DO SUCH A THING?!” he cried. Finally showing his true colors, the other boy replied with: “Simple. I love committing heinous crimes for FUN, and right now, causing the extinction of the Yoshis is at the top of my list!” Looking at the brat’s family in pure hatred, Olly’s family stood together united, ready to put an end to this. “So it would seem that YOU’RE under arrest for what YOU’VE done,” Olly’s father replied. Stunned for only a moment, the brat’s mother laughed evilly. “I don’t think so. Our cover’s been blown, so… YOU’RE COMING WITH US!” she hissed as the family of brats suddenly pummeled Olly’s entire family without warning, all while Kaleb, who was watching from the shadows, gasped in horror and began to cry. How was this happening? His savior… The one who had taken the time to give him more life… He was being abducted right before his eyes, and there was nothing that he could do to stop it! “NO!” he thought. “I CAN’T LET THEM GET AWAY!” As he stepped out of hiding though, he met eyes with Olly, who had given him a saddened look, almost as if he had failed him. As he tried to come closer, Olly gave him a look; a look that told him that he should not try to save him lest he be captured as well. Kaleb, protesting, raised a hand to Olly, who just shook his head in defeat and motioned him to leave before he could meet the same fate as him. As Kaleb watched the families leave (with the brat’s family thankfully not noticing him), he looked down and began to cry. If he looked at a reflection right then, he could see that his eyes were of a bright blue color, reflecting the angst he felt in losing his friend and hero. He watched the villains throw Olly’s family into their car, and, without delay, speeding off into the horizon, never to be seen again. With this, Kaleb sat down in the now-deserted house and continued crying over his friend’s sudden disappearance. He bawled for an hour or so, wondering what to do, wondering if he would be lonely for the rest of his life. Late into his mourning, though, he knew he couldn’t just sob forever. He knew that with this, there was only one thing left to do, and that was to try and find his friends. In his understanding, the lab wasn’t too far off from his home, so, getting up with a determined glare with red eyes, he began marching towards his destination in hopes of finding his friends. Perhaps they could even help him find his rescuer. As this thought crossed his mind, he began running with all due speed, dashing past tree after tree, leaping over log after log, and getting up any time he stumbled into a fall. If only he was aware of what would happen as he approached the forest that he had been poisoned in… Meanwhile, with the other Yoshis, they had become a living wreck without Kaleb. They knew something was wrong when Kaleb hadn’t returned shortly after Yoshi, Mikey and Tom did. They had hoped that he was merely late, but as the seconds became minutes, and the minutes became hours (it had been 5 hours since Kaleb was last seen), it was clear that something had happened to him. “KALEB!” Yoshi cried out. “ARE YOU OUT THERE ANYWHERE?!” he asked. “Yoshi,” Mikey stated. “If he heard us, then he’d be here by now. Please, stop trying to deny that something has happened.” “MIKEY!” Tom wailed. “DON’T YOU DARE GIVE UP ON HIM! I DON’T KNOW HOW I’D BE ABLE TO LIVE WITH MYSELF IF I FOUND OUT THAT HE’S… HE’S… AAAAAAAHH!” “Listen,” a black Yoshi spoke. His name was Parker. “I feel just as awful as you guys right now, but crying like this won’t do us any good,” he sniffled. “Well… What can be d-done?” an orange Yoshi named Cameron sobbed. “We can’t just STAND here!” Xavier the blue Yoshi choked out. “We have to take ACTION!” “He WAS last seen in the forest…” Ken the cyan Yoshi mused. As they continued lamenting Kaleb’s disappearance, they voiced their feelings of regret and sadness, when suddenly, Dave the pink Yoshi got an idea; an idea that they all wished they had come up with before. “Guys!” he stood up. “What are we standing HERE for?! Maybe it’s not too late! He could still be alive for all we know!” “Y-You know…” Ralph the white Yoshi started, “I never thought about it that way! We should have faith in our friend! He’s been on adventures as much as we have! He surely wouldn’t go THAT easily!” he cheered up. “You know what?” Yoshi began. “You’re RIGHT! WE CAN’T LOSE HOPE IN OUR FRIEND! WE’VE GOTTA FIND HIM!” he concluded while going to the center of the Yoshi’s place. “Yoshis…” he began speaking. “I am going back to the forest to find our friend, Kaleb! If you want to come with me, you are welcome to do so! Until then, please put preparations for Fruit Fest on hold for him! We cannot lose hope for him!” he announced. As he finished his speech, he saw eight other Yoshis come up to him. “Kaleb’s a friend of ALL of us!” Mikey voiced. “I’m helping!” “We are too!” Tom, Parker, Cameron, Xavier, Ken, Dave and Ralph joined in. “We will NOT leave any of our friends behind!” Xavier triumphed. “I don’t know how I could enjoy another Fruit Fest without him!” Dave broke out in tears. Looking sweetly at them, Yoshi marched off to the forest before his friends followed. They were determined to find their missing part of their family, and NOTHING would stop them. Back with Kaleb, he was a few minutes away from home as he made his way through the forest. For some strange reason, it was brighter than he remembered, and the colors looked a tad different. He did think about this for a moment, but shrugged off the thought as he continued running past the trees and bushes. He rushed through the darkness, this new lighting of the forest giving him an advantage in navigating. He eventually saw the light and dashed through the exit, finding himself at the place where he and his friends entered to find some fruit. Tears in his eyes, he continued onward to his goal, hoping that his friends were there. As he approached a riverside however, he encountered a couple of Shy Guys and three Koopas. Noticing them, he attempted to sneak away from them, only to get caught a few feet away. “HEY! Would you look at who it is?” a Koopa mocked. “Yeah! It’s a wee little Yoshi, just waiting for a fight!” another one said. “Trying to sneak away won’t do you any good!” a Shy Guy jeered. As he tried running away, Kaleb was chased by the three Koopas who had attempted to ram into him via shell-dashing. They eventually caught up, and it was only because of a last-second jump that Kaleb dodged. However, the three bullies stopped him by appearing in front of him. Kaleb tripped to a halt. “You think you can just LEAVE?!” one of them spoke. “We’re gonna rough you up!” another said. Trying to get up and turn around, he was met with two Shy Guys closing in on him. He was doomed. Or was he? What happened next would change his demeanor in short time. As he looked to the Shy Guys, they saw white eyes staring back at them. They suddenly stopped, trembling with fear as they slowly began to back away. “A-A-A ZOMBIE?!” one of them stammered. “W-W-WHAT IS THI-IS?!” another gasped in panic. “Huh?” Kaleb asked in confusion, oblivious as to what they were talking about. He turned to the three Koopas who cornered him and netted the same reactions from them as well. “AAAAAAHH!” they screamed. “WHAT KIND OF UNDEAD YOSHI ARE YOU?!” “M-M-MONSTEEERRR!” they all yelled. “RETREAT!” Kaleb only watched in even more confusion as the minions that were eager to fight him moments ago all fled as if he was a hostile giant. He stood there for a few more seconds with green eyes, when he suddenly was struck with the realization of something: he remembered after the treatment when he fell unconscious again… Did… Did something HAPPEN to him while he was out? Rushing over to the riverside, he was afraid of what he might see. What he looked upon next would terrify him for what felt like forever. Before him, a reflection of a Yoshi with green and purple colors mixed in stared back. He could see a jack-o-lantern smile on his stomach, which wasn’t even the frosting on the cake. What frightened him the most… were his eyes… his eyes that were now black with blank-white pupils. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not hallucinating and tried looking again, only to find himself gazing upon the same reflection again. It was at that moment that any hope he had for finding his friends was lost. He wasn’t necessarily uncertain that he would find them… but what would happen if they saw each other again? He could already see the scene of rejection… “AIIIIIEEE!” Yoshi screamed in his vision. “IT’S A ZOMBIE!” “THAT’S NOT KALEB ANYMORE!” Xavier spoke. “WHAT KIND OF MONSTER HAVE YOU BECOME?!” Ken asked in fear of being eaten. His friends then took off in separate directions, not wanting to become his meal. Kaleb, in reality AND in his vision, then broke down in tears and began to wail. “T-THEY WON’T WANT TO SEE ME ANYMORE! NOT LIKE THIS!” he bawled. “I’VE BECOME… AN ALIEN,” he surmised. “I can’t go back now.” “Who would want a ZOMBIE for their friend?” he asked himself as something began to happen. He began to glow bright blue as his eyes took on the same color. A gust of wind suddenly appeared and lifted him into the air, swirling him about in some sort of tornado, only increasing in power as he cried more. Kaleb was up in the air for a good minute or so before finally slamming back down onto the ground, still sobbing uncontrollably. “Great,” he mused. “I have deadly powers TOO. I can’t be SEEN by anyone like this,” he choked out while looking towards the forest he had just exited. Maybe in there, he could find some creatures to live amongst. He certainly didn’t fit in with his friends anymore. How could he hope to? Why did this have to happen? He supposed that this was his fate. Who knew that cruelty from an animal abuser and a failed attempt to save his life would have led to this? Little did he know, however, that his loud hysteria was heard by a certain group of Yoshis just a few yards away. Was all hope lost for him?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Kaleb made his way into the forest, still unable to believe what had happened to him as of recently. This was really happening: he knew that Olly had done his best to try to save him, but what was he now as a result? He was a freak. He still remembered that burned-in memory of those koopas and shy guys that ran off from him the first time they saw his new face, and then… when he found that puddle of water and looked down onto its surface… It was not him, he told himself. What looked back at him… was the face of a monster. He stopped on the spot and dropped on the ground before bawling in tears. Who was he kidding? His friends wouldn’t want him back. On what grounds would they accept a beast like him? He held his green hands to his head in agony, struck with painful feelings of rejection and loneliness. He surmised that this was the end of him. He buried his “hideous” face in them, feeling shut off from society, when suddenly, he heard a familiar voice.
“Guys! Look!” he noticed.
“Is that…” he heard another voice chime in.
“Kaleb?” he heard a third voice.
“Kaleb, is that you?!” he heard as the voices were becoming louder.
He didn’t dare turn around, for he knew who it was, and what they would think of him. He wanted to hide right then. He wished he could disappear from what was about to happen. As his friends approached him, he found himself on the run, into the forest, in an effort to lose his trackers.
“Wait!” he heard Parker cry out.
“Where are you going?!” Ralph asked.
Ignoring everyone’s pleading to come back, Kaleb retreated deeper into the forest.
“Um… guys? Something’s not right,” Xavier noted. “Kaleb NEVER runs away from US!”
“I know!” Yoshi concluded. “D-Did something HAPPEN to him while he was gone?” he worried.
“I don’t know… Maybe…” Cameron replied.
“Well… I don’t CARE! He’s our friend, and it’s our job to help a friend when they need it, and NOW is that time! Come on, guys!” Ken cheered.
“Yeah!” everyone else shouted. Kaleb was one of their own, so to not even try to find him would be shameful. In seconds, they too delved deeper into the forest with the intent of bringing back their beloved friend. They continued running down the path until they saw that it divided into a fork.
Thinking fast, Yoshi divided the group into two, with him, Mikey, Tom, and Parker on one team, and Cameron, Xavier, Ken, Dave and Ralph on another. They spread their search out as far as possible, calling Kaleb’s name in hopes that he would come running to them. They went as far as splitting their teams into separate teams, and splitting those teams into individual Yoshis to scout for Kaleb. Ralph and Parker’s voices were starting to become coarse with all the yelling that they were doing, but no one relented in their search for their friend. All of the Yoshis pleaded for Kaleb to come back with all of their being, some even in tears.
“Please, Kaleb!” Cameron cried.
“Why are you hiding?” Mikey asked.
“Please come back!” Tom pleaded.
Everyone desperately searched for him for nearly an hour, when Yoshi heard something in some bushes near him. Hoping against all odds (given the danger that this forest presented) that it was Kaleb, he cautiously peered inside to see if it was their lost friend. Much to his joy, it was indeed him, but his joy soon turned to concern when he saw him crying.
“Kaleb?” Yoshi asked. “It’s okay. We’re here,” he assured the sobbing dinosaur.
“No! No! You should leave while you have the chance!” Kaleb replied, trying to shoo his friend away. “You don’t want to be near me!”
“What?” Yoshi exclaimed in shock. “Kaleb, we-”
“Just GO!” Kaleb shouted, unknowingly attracting the attention of the others. “I just want to be alone! You’ll run away ANYWAYS!”
“No I WON’T!” Yoshi said, trying to come closer to Kaleb, who was cornered against a rock at this point.
“DON’T COME ANY CLOSER!” Kaleb warned his friend. “I-I’m not who you think I am!”
“No! You ARE my friend! You’re OUR friend! And we want you to come home with us!” Yoshi told him.
“No. You don’t understand,” Kaleb argued back. “I’ve… changed.”
“Changed?” Yoshi asked, perplexed. “How?”
“You don’t want to see me,” Kaleb informed. “Go now while you can.”
“No. I’m not leaving without you!” Yoshi stated.
“Just do it,” Kaleb replied curtly. “You’ll wish you left sooner.”
“For the last time, I will NOT leave you!” Yoshi cried out.
“I-I-AAAAAAAAGH!” Kaleb cried out, bawling in tears again, burying his face in the ground.
“Kaleb…” Yoshi called out. “Please… We want to help you. Please… tell us what’s wrong… Please…” Yoshi begged in tears.
“If I show you my face, what do you think you’ll see?” Kaleb asked, trying to hold his tears back.
“What do I THINK I’ll see?” Yoshi asked back. “I KNOW I’ll see the face of my dear friend! The friend I had ever since we were little toddlers!”
Hesitating at first, and trembling with fear, Kaleb slowly turned his head around before meeting Yoshi’s face with his own. Blue eyes stared directly back at white ones. Yoshi gave a small gasp of shock, which was enough to make Kaleb turn around and let loose with his tears.
“See?” he retorted. “I told you that you would regret this. I am an outsider now; a monster,” he finished as he began choking on his tears.
“K-Kaleb- I-” Yoshi tried to speak.
“ENOUGH!” Kaleb yelled in anger, his eyes flashing red. “I’M THROUGH WITH YOUR COMFORTING ME, TELLING ME THAT THIS CAN BE FIXED, WHEN IN TRUTH, I’M GOING TO BE A BEAST FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!” he shouted as a fiery red aura surrounded him. He was going to say more, but he saw what he was doing, and, remorseful for frightening his friend despite what he had said, he calmed down, and his eyes turned a bright blue. He surrendered to more crying, kneeling down and burying his face in his hands. What he did not expect to happen was looking up to find not only Yoshi, but all of his friends kneeling down at him in total sympathy, all of their eyes covered in tears.
“Y-You… You d-didn’t run away like all the others?” he asked in awe. “Anyone in the right mind would run away from ME.”
“No,” Mikey replied. “NO ONE in their right mind would run away from YOU.”
“You are a kind and loving soul who cares for his friends and family,” Tom assured him.
“You are part of our clan!” Parker informed him.
“You’re amazing to be with!” Cameron cheered.
“You make Yoshi’s Island a better place to live in!” Xavier told him.
“You care about everyone’s needs before yours!” Dave proudly stated.
“Most of all… you’re our friend and brother,” Ralph stated with compassion.
Stunned with their love at first, Kaleb managed to finally say something after a minute or so.
“Y-You were not scared of my unnatural outbreak at all?” he asked. Yoshi walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Kaleb, the scariest thing possible… would be losing you forever,” he replied. “We thought you were really gone, and now? This is the happiest day of our lives!” he cheered.
“Y-You really mean that?” Kaleb asked, starting to brighten up a little.
“Yes, Kaleb,” Yoshi assured him. “Regardless of what’s happened to you, you are still one of us. You are still a Yoshi.”
Without speaking or hesitating, Kaleb instantly hugged the green dinosaur before everyone else joined in on the now group hug, holding each other tight for a long time before letting go.
When everyone let out with the last of their tears, they all sat down with the intention of discussing something: that something was obviously how this became of Kaleb.
“How did this happen?” Yoshi asked.
“W-Well… I- You see…” he tried speaking before his eyes turned a dark purple and he buried his hands in his face again, sobbing while trying to speak.
“It’s okay, Kaleb,” Mikey exclaimed while patting his friend on the head.
“Take your time,” Cameron soothed.
After some calming down on the Yoshis’ part, Kaleb began to tell his entire story, leaving nothing out. He told about how when he was searching for more fruit for their celebration that he was ambushed and force-fed poison, how he was left for dead, and how someone found him on the brink of leaving the world before taking him back to his lab where he tried to save him when the treatment went awry. He explained that this boy, unlike the other, meant no harm, and how he had tried to find him for that reason, only to find the sight of him and his family being taken hostage by the same family of the boy who tried to murder him. He finally told the others of how he saw the only choice left to be trying to return home, but how when he encountered those koopas and shy guys that were terrified of him, and when he saw his new face for the first time, how he doubted that his return would be welcomed.
By the end of his story, all of the Yoshis were either crying uncontrollably, enraged at the marauder, or both.
“I-I can’t believe it,” said Yoshi.
“That’s… so AWFUL!” Mikey bawled.
“That jerk is HEARTLESS!” Tom raged.
“W-Why would he want to do that to one of our most loving kin ever?” Cameron asked in tears.
Suddenly, before Kaleb, all of the Yoshis kneeled before him with tears in their eyes, remorseful that they had let this unfortunate event happen to him.
“I-I’m sorry!” Yoshi stammered.
Kaleb, not one to see his friend like this, embraced him in a hug and held him there, not wanting to let him feel at fault for any of this.
“It’s all right,” Kaleb assured. “I’m here. Right? Was that not all that mattered?” he asked with shining yellow eyes.
“Y-Yes, but… To think we couldn’t save you…” Yoshi spoke remorsefully.
“No… Don’t EVER think that,” Kaleb informed him. “You saved me from becoming someone else, because no matter how I might change on the outside, you reminded me that on the inside, I am a happy and cheerful Yoshi who won’t let even death keep him down!”
“H-HE’S BACK!” Ralph stated proudly.
“Oh, how we MISSED you!” Xavier bawled in tears of joy.
“We’ve gotta get Fruit Fest started back up again! We stopped it from happening just for you!”
“Y-You did that? For me?” Kaleb teared up. “Oh, guys!” he beamed as he reached in to hug his friends for the umpteenth time. There was nothing but heartfelt joy in that moment. Unfortunately… that moment would not last long before Kaleb had an epiphany. He suddenly gasped and drew back from everyone else.
“Wait! Guys…” he started. “I just realized something: we’re not safe. Not yet.”
“Huh?” the others questioned.
“Do you remember how I said that the first boy had poisoned me?” he asked.
Nodding, the others waited for an explanation.
“What if he isn’t just after me, but all of you, and the entire island as well?!” he noted. “This person could be an eviler Kamek,” he finished.
Stunned, everyone stood silent for a moment before Parker spoke.
“I agree,” he affirmed. “He might be a greater threat than we thought he was.
“He’s probably poisoning all of the fruit as we speak!” Xavier guessed.
“Then we HAVE to stop him!” Kaleb confirmed. “This is no longer just my problem.”
He looked off into the distance, when he saw a hand touch his shoulder. It was Yoshi.
“It never WAS your problem in the first place,” Yoshi told him. If anyone threatens one of us, they threaten ALL of us.” In a triumphant pose, Yoshi cried out, “For KALEB!”
“For KALEB!” the others spoke.
“Don’t worry, buddy,” Mikey spoke. “We’re gonna find that guy and win this battle. For you.”
Smiling, Kaleb and the other Yoshis marched off into the forest in hopes of finding this intruder, and bringing his operation to a halt.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Without wasting any more time, the Yoshis delved deeper into the labyrinth of greens, scanning the area for any trace of the dangerous boy with the poison. They kept their eyes peeled for any sign of an ambush, and Kaleb, having dealt with the poison before, was confident in his ability to sniff out any trace of poison he left behind. Thanks to his new nocturnal vision, he was able to lead the way as well, using his new shining eyes as practical headlights to help him guide his team. He led them through every right and left turn with ease, knowing where to turn and where to keep going straight. Having gone through the forest so many times, it was only reasonable that Kaleb (as well as the others) knew the way through. With this new power now, the maze was a cakewalk. Perhaps not all of this recent transformation was as bad as Kaleb brought it up to be. A part of him was just as awestruck as his friends, who were currently cheering as he showed them the way. “WOW! YOU’RE LIKE A MASTER AT THIS FOREST NOW!” Tom beamed in excitement. “YEAH! YOU’RE SUPER AMAZING!” Cameron encouraged Kaleb. “Aww… Thanks, guys!” Kaleb blushed, his eyes turning magenta. “This is actually kind of useful… And here I thought that I was a useless undead being!” “Oh, Kaleb,” Yoshi started. “You DEFINITELY have more use to the team than you think, WITH or WITHOUT your powers.” “T-Thank you…” Kaleb stammered. “You- Your words mean a lot to me, and I’m so HAPPY we’re together again! Thanks, pal!” “Don’t mention it!” Yoshi replied. “That’s what we’re here for! We’re just glad you’re back!” As they continued walking down the path, they decided it would be best to distract themselves from the crisis by talking about good times for Kaleb’s sake, as he was still understandably upset about what had happened to him. They would find this person, Yoshi thought, and confront him for nearly killing their friend in cold blood. The plan of distraction actually worked for a while to the point where Kaleb had forgotten all of his heartfelt angst that was still healing. The plan almost worked TOO well, for the Yoshis had almost forgotten their objective at hand. They would have were it not for Ken suddenly perking up. “Hey, guys!” he alerted. “I’ve got a scent!” Jumping up at attention, the others stopped in their tracks. “What is it?” Yoshi asked. “It… It’s like… a plum…” Ken started. “But it smells like… something ROTTEN has gotten into it.” “We’ve found our evidence!” Mikey said. As the team drew closer to the nasty-smelling fruit, they eventually found a sickly looking plum. They all circled around it, looking down on the soiled visage that was once the delectable delicacy. “THIS is what used to be the PLUM?!” Xavier asked in total shock. “Looks like this kid’s been putting the hours in,” Tom shook his head. “Well we can’t linger around here!” Kaleb announced. “Our lives are at stake here! We have to do this, especially for the rest of us! Come on!” he cried out with red eyes of determination. “YEAH! We can’t let them do what they did to Kaleb to someone ELSE!” Parker agreed. “Let’s keep going!” Yoshi pointed out. “Follow Kaleb!” The gathered group continued to trek through the forest at full speed, their determination unwavering. As they entered new parts of the woods, they looked around suspiciously, prepared for anything that might happen suddenly. They peered around every corner, and even looked back to make sure that they weren’t being watched. Unfortunately for them, what was about to happen next would threaten and test the bonds of their friendship. As they walked, a blast from the sky suddenly fell down near Mikey. “What?!” he gasped. “What was that?” Dave asked uneasily. They looked up at the sky, wondering if any more of the projectiles were up there. Suddenly, a magic blast came from behind Cameron. “LOOK OUT!” Yoshi screamed, tackling him and getting them both out of the way just in the nick of time. “What IS this?!” Ralph asked in fear. Before anyone could guess, tons of the blasts came from every direction, causing all of the Yoshis to panic and run around in horror as they barely dodged whatever came at them. Eventually, Yoshi told everyone to hide, at which everyone jumped into the bushes while the storm of spells passed by. They hid for a minute before the onslaught stopped. Peering out of the bushes, the dinosaurs all hopped out of their hiding spots, still at a loss for what had happened. As they continued to discuss this strange and frightening occurrence, Kaleb suddenly began to have a flashback… It was when he had first looked at himself at that riverside, and when he began crying how he… flew into the air so SUDDENLY. He didn’t use wings for that. He just… was carried in an updraft with no rhyme or reason. He then suddenly remembered… “Great… I have deadly powers too…” he sobbed.” Suddenly he knew why this happened. His stress in regards to the situation must have caused another outburst of magic that was directed at his friends. Why them? Why did THEY have to be targets of his new terrible powers? Surmising that he was indeed a monster, he said this next to them: “G-Guys? I t-think I know w-what’s wrong,” he sobbed, his eyes a dark shade of purple. “Eh?” Mikey questioned. “What is it?” Hesitating for a moment, Kaleb worked up the courage to speak. “I-It’s m-m-me…” “What?” Ken exclaimed in shock. “But you-” “No! You don’t UNDERSTAND!!!” Kaleb bawled. “I’ll never go back to being normal, a-and because of that, m-my powers and I are a THREAT to you guys! I should’ve listened to myself when I said that I was a VILLAIN! I DON’T WANT TO HURT YOU, B-BUT I GUESS I JUST TRIED TO SO- SO- GOODBYE!” he wept as he suddenly bolted off from his friends. “KALEB! WAIT!” Parker cried out. “IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT!” he tried assuring the fleeing dino. “IT’S TOO LATE! GOODBYE I SAID!” Kaleb rang out with a final call. The remaining Yoshis looked on in distress as their friend who had felt responsible took off in tears. Suddenly looking down in defeat, they began to cry. “Oh, Kaleb!” Yoshi sobbed. “We just got you BACK!” Tom wept. “Why… just WHY?!” Xavier shouted. “WE MISS YOU, OUR FRIEND!” As they continued mourning the apparent loss of their brother, they suddenly heard a voice… a voice that sounded all too familiar to them. “Well, well, well…” it spoke sinisterly. “Looks like our little prehistoric losers have lost one of their own.” “Indeed… What a shame…” the other said. “We were having a fun time watching him suffer too…” “Oh well… Guess it’s time to end the fun and games…” the other threatened. “HEY! I KNOW THOSE VOICES! SHOW YOURSELVES… KAMEK AND BOWSER!!!” Yoshi ordered. “Oh… we will…” they “assured” the frightened group of dinos. As they looked left and right as to where this ambush was about to occur, they suddenly heard, “JUMP ‘EM!” Without warning, a group of red masked Shy Guys sprang from nowhere and pounced the Yoshis. As they squealed in pain, they suddenly felt themselves being tied up. “I should’ve KNOWN you had a part in this!” Yoshi angrily fumed. “Oh… WE didn’t POISON the forest so to speak…” the evil wizard began. “But we’ve heard of your terrible plight. We’d be willing to spare you from death if you just let us take you in…” “NO!” Yoshi broke out. “We’re not givin’ up THAT easily!” “Oh, really?” Bowser the Koopa Prince spoke nonchalantly. “You ALL just let yourselves get caught in our trap!” he laughed. “And now… YOU’RE OURS!!!” “You forgot one thing!” Yoshi countered as some Shy guys were coming with some duct tape to keep him quiet with. “Kaleb’s still out there! You haven’t won yet! You hear me?! You haven’t mfmmmmfmm!” he tried speaking when his mouth was suddenly sealed shut. Soon, all of them were tied up and gagged, desperately trying to scream for help in tears. “Oh, I’m sorry, little Yoshis!” Kamek mocked. “He’s not comin’ back for YOU! He’s a MONSTER, remember?!” he cackled. Little did he know that an egg was flying through the night sky towards his face…

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The egg flew towards Kamek, who did not see nor hear the projectile incoming. As it approached him, one could see that it was covered in some purple liquid. It scored a direct hit on the villain, who fell forward from the impact. As he got up and touched his hat, he felt that it was drenched with the same purple substance that he was hit by. Seeing this picture before, he was ready to warn Bowser of what was about to happen next, but it was too late, for he too soon felt a giant weight on his head as the result of another purple egg falling onto his head. “OW!” he cried out, recoiling from the hit. “I… see purple.” “Urgh… This scene right now reminds me of a certain time when we tried kidnapping the Yoshis some time ago…” Kamek noted. “In fact…” he started before thinking fast and raising his defenses with a shield. As he expected, a ton of eggs came raining down on him and Bowser. The infant king also noticed this sudden storm, and without a second thought, retreated into his shell to hide from the onslaught of debris. A minute passed, and unfortunately for the Yoshis, none of the Koopa Troop was harmed. As Kamek and Bowser lowered their defenses, they looked around for a moment before laughing evilly. “Mwahahaha! Do you think we’d let ourselves go that easily a SECOND time?!” Kamek asked the hidden figure out there. “We’ll take you in too!” Bowser threatened. They tried peering into the bushes and trees in an effort to find whoever was trying to hit them, but they had no such luck in doing so. They searched for minutes, which was, quite frankly, a waste of time: time that could have been used to abscond with their hostages. They decided to return to the Yoshis, when they suddenly heard a deep voice. “HALT!” it called. “Eh?” Bowser said. “Who IS that?!” Kamek called out. “You should KNOW!” the low voice chastised them. “I’m the so called ‘monster’ you koopas all FEAR!” “A-And that is?” Kamek asked, confused as the rest of the army of captors. They waited for an answer, but got no reply of any sort, which made Kamek and Bowser wonder if they had been duped by some trap meant to stall them. They… were not entirely wrong, for the user of the voice was about to reveal a surprise for them that he had set up, and not the good kind. Without warning, a ghostly image of a Yoshi with red pupils and black sclera appeared before Bowser and Kamek, screeching with such volume and intensity that it made those who heard it cover their ears. That was, of course, if those who saw and heard this frightening visual weren’t in the process of trying to snap out of their trance of being frozen with fear, and there were VERY few of those soldiers. Even the two leaders were trapped in a stance, knees shaking and teeth chattering. No matter how much they tried to move, they felt to numb to even try. “W-H-A-T-?-!” Kamek stammered, trying to speak as if his vocal chords were made of cement. “AAAAAA-AA-AH!” Bowser cried in hysteria, losing breath. “You WILL NOT HARM them!” the voice literally hissed, managing to actually turn the garb on some of the shy guys pure WHITE and causing them to flee. Kamek took notice, and was not amused. “H-Hey!” he called in anger veiled by fear. “Back to your stations, men! T-This is j-just a Yoshi here! H-Hold your g-g-g-ground!” he cried out in vain. The dark silhouette took notice of the shy guys’ departure, and spoke again to the rest of the army. “You should follow,” it growled. “You will NOT like what is about to happen next if you choose to stay,” it warned. “D-Do your worst,” Bowser foolishly challenged the Yoshi apparition. “Very well, then,” the image remarked in disgust, suddenly pulling itself into the ground. “RUN!” several shy guys screamed. Suddenly, nearly all of the koopa army was running amok, scattering like little gnats, having lost all sense of direction. Those that retained their sanity tried to calm the ranks down, but to no avail. Soldiers even bumped into each other in their frantic rush, knocking each other out. Not helping was the deep laughter coming out of nowhere. “SHY GUYS!” Kamek shouted. “Your performance is DESPICABLE! All of your training, and now you run in circles like scared little CHILDREN?! UNACCEPTABLE!!!” As if those words were like a spell, all of the shy guys that were flailing about came to an abrupt halt and had lined up in front of Kamek and Bowser. “Hmph,” Kamek smirked. “That’s better. Now, before you lose your HEADS, let us take these Yoshis to the castle. There will be no more happiness for THEM,” he demanded. The shy guys, with their bravery returned to them, began to walk towards the Yoshis, when all of a sudden, dark puddles appeared from beneath their feet, and before they could even notice, nearly all of them were swallowed alive. A few lucky souls had noticed the trap, and jumped out of the way just in time, but at what cost? They got to witness the next few seconds of something they would not be able to unsee… Before them, their kin fell into the deep dark abyss that they stepped into before the holes that had eaten them closed up. A loud rumble was suddenly felt by everyone, including the Yoshis. After what seemed like minutes of an earthquake, the holes opened up again. With a sense of false hope, the shy guys, Kamek and Bowser peered into the holes, hoping that at least some of the men who fell in there were all right. They soon wished that they hadn’t looked, for out of the gaps popped out a multitude of shy guy masks, all of them now without an owner. As they clattered onto the ground, everyone looked at them in disbelief. More than half of their squad had been wiped clean in one fell swoop! “How could a Yoshi of all living creatures have such power?” Kamek thought in silence. “Oh? LIKE THIS?” the voice asked, sensing Kamek’s thoughts. Suddenly, another rush of dark-colored poison eggs flew into the air, raining down on the Koopa Troop. Shy guys were caught in the blasts, being INSTANTLY defeated the moment each egg came into contact with them, disappearing in a puff of purple smoke. At this, they resumed their panicking, with even the ones who had remained calm earlier now dashing in circles. Kamek, remembering his own strength, attempted to raise his shield again. It worked like before… only for a few seconds. “I SEE,” the deep voice replied. Without warning, a purple creature flashed into the view of Kamek and the others, giving them a clear view of its owner. It was indeed who Kamek surmised it to be: Kaleb. To say that he was upset was an understatement. He had a deep crimson glare in his pupils, and a red aura glowed around him. Everyone that saw him, sans the Yoshis, jolted in shock of his appearance at the very least. They certainly never thought that Yoshis could look that terrifying, but there was a first for everything. Kaleb, wasting no time in taking advantage of the situation, began to use super speed to dash over to his friends, where he untied them in record time. “Thank you, Kaleb!” Mikey cried in tears of joy. Nodding to him and the others, Kaleb then turned his gaze to the Koopa Troop, still needing to be dealt with. “No WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!” Kamek yelled in disbelief. He wanted to be enraged that the entirety of their work had literally been undone so quickly, but his fear was starting to take over, slowly but surely. Assuming his original voice, Kaleb turned to his brothers. “All right, guys! Are you ready to end this?” he asked. “Yes, Kaleb!” Tom cried out. “Let’s do this thing!” Yoshi cheered. The Yoshis charged into battle, their strength renewed due to their numbers. Kamek rallied the Shy Guys into battle, hoping to end this with ALL of the Yoshis tied up and begging for mercy. Yoshi leapt into the air and ground pounded a Shy Guy before doing the same to another. Cameron lassoed a Shy Guy before spinning him around and flinging him into more of them. Xavier scuttled on a few of them with all the speed he possessed. Ralph and Parker joined Yoshi’s game of trampoline with the Shy Guys. Tom and Ken whipped them with their tails. Mikey and Dave ate some and used them as ammo against others. Kaleb, meanwhile, was focusing his power in a large attack, or trap rather. As he continued gathering energy, Kamek noticed and attempted to stop Kaleb from completing whatever spell he was going to cast, but Tom saw this and went for his wand. Of course, Kamek still had his shield from earlier, but Tom was hoping to at least buy some time. What happened next, though, was unexpected. As Tom ground-pounded the shield, Kamek turned his attention to him, and, angry for chipping his defenses, attempted to cast a spell on him. Suddenly, the ground rumbled again, which made everyone stop in their tracks. Kamek dropped his wand, and everyone looked up at what was happening. Much to the Yoshi’s awe and the Koopa Troop’s horror, Kaleb was telekinetically summoning a mass of rocks, making them rise into the air. Kaleb gave them a sly glare before hurling them into the sky. “RUUUUUUUN!” a Shy Guy spoke. As the panicking army attempted to flee the impending crash site, they saw the boulders coming down right for them. Kaleb directed the projectiles’ fall, and scored a direct blow on 10 men, burying them. “AGH!” Kamek grunted in shock. He picked up his wand and attempted to stop the storm, but his efforts were in vain. This Yoshi’s magic was far too strong to outmatch when he was fighting for his friends. He could only watch helplessly as more of his fleeing army was crushed under the large debris, feeling a twinge of guilt for putting them in a dangerous situation like this. As he was quietly and secretly lamenting this however, more boulders fell, directed at him! One had smashed him directly, obliterating his shield, and even causing his wand to crack at the orb a tad. Quickly dodging the rest of the rubble, he, Bowser, and the remaining soldiers kept running in order to not become pancaked. It had worked, but they saw too late that they had ran right into a trap. As the squad caught their breath, they noticed boulders in front of them. Turning to the side, they saw even more of them. There were even a lot of them behind them as well. They were closed in! “Let that be a lesson to you!” he heard Kaleb inform him. “Surrender now, and we’ll let you go!” he said. “N-no!” Kamek protested. “This isn’t over until you’re ours! (Or until we’re defeated.)” “I think you know how this is going to turn out,” Kaleb replied, reading his thoughts again. “Stop doing that!” Kamek yelled, annoyed. “How about YOU stop kidnapping my friends!” Kaleb angrily informed. “C’mon, Kamek!” Bowser whined. “We’re not gonna back down now!” “No! We’re NOT!” Kamek triumphed. He would soon regret saying that in the next few minutes, for what happened then was beyond terrifying for him and Bowser. First, Kaleb began to levitate the boulders near each other in a plan to constrict the villains. Just when it seemed that they were about to crush the life out of everyone ensnared however, Kaleb took it a step further and stacked every boulder on top of one another before leaping on top of the stack. He then waved his arms up and down, causing the stack of rocks to jump in accordance to his motions. He practically turned it into a pogo stick of doom, leaping up and down, crushing any unfortunate Shy Guy in his path, whose now paper-thin bodies floated away into the wind. As Kamek and Bowser looked hopelessly at the ever-decreasing ranks, they were beginning to contemplate whether to retreat. Well… Kamek was at least. Bowser still wanted to have his revenge on the Yoshis, and nothing would stop him. Or so he thought… As the Koopa Troop was distracted with the boulder show, they didn’t notice that Kaleb had disappeared. They tensed up and started looking everywhere for him, worried that he might jump scare them again. They certainly were not disappointed. All of a sudden, Kaleb, with crimson red pupils, hands and jack-o-lantern smile, leapt up from the shrubs, screeching with the highest-pitched scream possible, stunning everyone yet again. He then took it up a level and multiplied himself while surrounding the frightened army. To Kamek’s disbelief and horror, any remaining Shy Guy turned pale and dropped, unable to continue. What frightened him even more was that even BOWSER shriveled up in fear before also fainting. The Prince of the Koopas, unconscious just like that! Kamek lifted him onto his back, pointing his wand to Kaleb in a wishfully threatening way, but the undead dino wasn’t fazed in the slightest. “Guys, step back!” Kaleb told his friends, who complied with his request. His deep voice then returned when speaking to Kamek. “Mwahahahaha!” he laughed whole-heartedly. “You think that YOUR magic scares me NOW?!” he asked, fully unmasking Kamek’s now uncontrollable fear. “You have gone much too far in capturing my friends, so I will capture you…” he began while suddenly floating. Kamek was already about to panic at this occurrence, but what Kaleb began doing now to end this skirmish was too much for him… Before everyone, the “zombified” dinosaur slowly began to focus his energy on the very fabric of space and time. Ripple after ripple, waves in the dimensions increased as a wind blew across where the Yoshi was. The waves continued to rumble and rupture… until they tore open a BLACK HOLE. “IN THE VOID!” Kaleb finished with a thundering tone. It wasted no time in trying to pull in Kamek’s forces, reeling them in with great strength. One after one, each Shy Guy was drawn into the vortex of doom, swirling around in it until they were too far inside to see. Kamek attempted to pull his wand out and stop this catastrophe, only to lose his grip on it and watch as it broke from hitting the ground before its pieces were inevitably pulled into the dimension of no hope. Struck with horror, Kamek saw that the only thing to even TRY doing was running with all due speed away from the monstrosity that was the black hole. As he tried outrunning the vortex, he grew exhausted and accidentally dropped Bowser, whose unconscious form flew headfirst into the void. His exhaustion at its maximum level, Kamek attempted to keep running away from his impossible fate, only to trip and collapse before getting drawn in himself. “NOOOOOOOOOO! I’M GONNA DIE!” he cried out in horror as he swirled round and round in the portal of death. It was over. Kamek and his forces had all been erased from the picture, and Kaleb’s friends were saved. With this in mind, the aforementioned Yoshi floated back down and slowly closed the black hole. As he gave a glance to where it once was, he heard cheering behind him. “KALEB!” Dave spoke. “THAT WAS AMAZING!” “WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!” Cameron asked in perplexment. “I-I-I don’t know…” Kaleb replied, clearly shocked at the prospect of having such powers. “Y-You just sent them ALL to another WORLD or something!” Yoshi squealed in awe. Everyone continued to compliment the shocked magical dinosaur, all while he was lost in his thoughts at what had transpired. He finally snapped back into reality when they started calling his name. “Kaleb?” Tom asked. “Hello? Buddy?” Mikey tried to signal him back. With a couple of blinks, one could see that his eyes glowed white for a couple of seconds as he worked up the courage to speak up. “G-Guys?” he stammered nervously as his eyes turned dark purple. “Do you know what this means?” he asked. “That you’re an awesome dude with amazing powers who just saved us?! YES!” Xavier jumped to the conclusion. “T-That’s not necessarily what I meant,” Kaleb replied sadly, his eyes glimmering blue. “I think this means that I need to leave you guys.” “YE- wait, WHAT?!” Xavier questioned in shock. “WHY?!” “Y-You don’t u-understand,” Kaleb tried to voice. “I-I’m a danger to you guys. Did you SEE the powers I used back there? D-Did you see what I almost did to YOU before you were taken hostage?” he asked them, remembering those moments where he almost accidentally hurt his friends with his powers. “Kaleb…” Yoshi exclaimed. “P-Please…” he pleaded. “I don’t want to cause any harm to you guys!” he stated as he got up to try and leave. “KALEB! PLEASE!” Ken cried out. “Don’t go for good!” “I’m sorry… but… I-I can’t be near you guys,” Kaleb teared up. “I-I know it’s tough, but this is how it has to be,” he finished. “Kaleb! Please don’t go!” Ralph begged. Kaleb started to depart from his friends, but as he heard them break into loud sobbing, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He began to recall memories; memories that were of him and his friends. He recalled the time where they played tag together before eating a banquet of fruit. He recalled the time where Poochy went missing and the Yoshis became distraught, and how he managed to cheer ALL of his friends up. He recalled how all of his friends had stopped Fruit Fest and put it on hold JUST FOR HIM… He certainly couldn’t leave now. With bright blue eyes filled with tears, Kaleb turned around and headed right for the people he cared for the most. As his friends heard approaching footsteps, they looked up from the ground and saw him rushing towards them like a lost child. Still crying, but with tears of joy now, they held out their arms while he practically fell into a heartfelt hug. “F-Forgive m-me,” Kaleb sobbed. “I-I-I’m not brave enough to leave you guys.” “No...” Parker started. “You are brave enough to STAY with us.” “Please…” Yoshi pleaded. “Understand that you ARE no danger to us. You ARE one of us. You would NEVER hurt us,” he confirmed. “B-But my powers…” Kaleb tried to convince the others (and himself). “Are an extension of how you feel… towards us, your friends, and your enemies,” Mikey finished. “But… what about my outbursts of anger? What about while we were walking through the forest?” Kaleb asked, still doubting himself. “Hmm… I’ve GOT IT!” Tom brightened up. “Huh?” Kaleb sadly questioned. “Kaleb, when you went angry on us, it wasn’t out of pure rage that you used your powers, but it was out of GRIEF and FEAR! You know… You were afraid of hurting us! That’s why your powers went dormant almost instantly after you began using them! You KNOW deep down that you’d never hurt your friends!” he cheered. “And as for the forest incident…” he began while Kaleb and the others looked intently at him as he came to a conclusion. “That magic that almost hit us… That couldn’t have been yours,” he shockingly spoke. “But… I’m sure I-I-” Kaleb tried to finish, but couldn’t. “Kaleb, PLEASE stop blaming yourself!” Tom begged of him. “Back to the forest… It couldn’t have been your magic, because not only was it trying to get us… It was nowhere NEARLY as powerful as what YOURS could have been.” “Then… Then that means…” Kaleb started as his eyes glowed green. “Yes… KAMEK must have sensed your magic inside of you, and attempted to make you believe that you were some sort of monster by using HIS magic to make you think that you were using your OWN, which is what drove you off. But you figured out the truth! You saved us! KAMEK wouldn’t have done that!” he finished, hoping that Kaleb would finally understand that he LOVED them. “It-It definitely SOUNDS like that’s what happened,” Kaleb nodded. “Kaleb, please…” Ralph teared up. “We want our FRIEND back… We MISS our optimistic and kind soul.” Kaleb began to bawl with bright blue eyes before wrapping his friends in a tight hug. He knew that he couldn’t just abandon his friends. They cared too much about him, and he cared too much about them. “Oh, guys…” he choked out. “I promise… I promise that I won’t leave you anymore. I can’t let what’s happened to me separate me from you. I PROMISE this time that I’m still your jolly little Kaleb,” he told them. “YES!” Cameron cried out in joy. “Don’t worry, buddy. We’ll help you recover from this experience… every step of the way.” “T-THANK YOU, GUYS!” Kaleb beamed out in joy. “YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST FRIENDS I COULD EVER HAVE!!!” he exclaimed as he danced in circles with everyone. “Let’s go home,” Yoshi spoke in complete happiness. Their dear friend was saved. Maybe he was changed physically from this tragic incident, but he was still their Kaleb. He was still a part of their family. As they began walking however, Kaleb suddenly began to glow. His hands, eyes, and Jack-O-Lantern smile all began to shine pink. Before he knew it, he rose a good seven feet into the air as the sound of a gust of wind resonated. “What’s happening?!” Kaleb asked in slight fright, afraid that he was a danger to his friends after all. “I don’t know,” Mikey replied, perplexed rather than terrified. The gathered group looked up at their friend as they all wondered what he was doing now. They continued watching in curiosity when something caught Cameron’s eye. “Look!” he pointed out. Around everyone, yellow and purple drops of liquid were rising up from the trees and bushes. They floated into the air and began to levitate above Kaleb. As even Kaleb looked up in awe of this occurrence, the rate of the fluid rising suddenly increased, and the yellow and purple liquid flew up in streams. They all merged into a giant ball of liquid that, despite its size, maintained its structure as more and more liquid was added to it. It was THEN that everyone deduced what was happening. “He’s cleansing all the fruits!” Tom cheered. “He’s leeching the poison away!” Dave cried out in joy. As Kaleb was purifying the fruits, something else was going on far off in the forest… A few yards away from the Yoshis, one could see the boy who had poisoned Kaleb and kidnapped Olly’s family earlier. It seemed that he was still hard at work on fulfilling his twisted goal, and he showed no signs of stopping. He snickered evilly as he injected poison into the fruits, already imagining the extinction of their kind. He jumped from fruit to fruit, filling more with his sickening poison as he did so. He had just got to a plum, and was currently injecting some poison in as something unexpected began to happen. The poison he had driven into the fruit had suddenly drifted back into the vial he had used. Confused (and frustrated), he tried again, only for the same result to happen. Now reveling in anger, he forcefully pierced the plum with the needle and pushed down on the button with all of his might. However, his vial then spontaneously broke into pieces. That was not all, for the pieces had quickly disintegrated into nothing but ash, all while the poison that was in it had leaked onto his hand. As he felt a burning feeling on it, he began to see some vials he had on his utility belt violently trembling before suffering the same fate as the first one did. The damage was done: the poison spewed onto his pants and bled into them, reaching his skin. As he desperately tried ridding himself of the corrosive liquid, he was overcome with overwhelming pain as boils developed on him. He (much to his foolishness) then started to writhe on the ground in agony, gasping for breath before he let out a loud scream; a scream that was drowned out by a loud and gusty noise. As he gave himself more pain from his rolling, he noticed that the poison that had broken out of the vials he had earlier was rising into the air, flying out of his possession, destroying what little hope there was in his plan against the Yoshis. As he cried out in disbelief and pain, he saw that it was not only the poison that he had stored away that was floating upwards. He took notice that the poison from all of the other fruits was drifting away from where he once implanted it. His visage right there had shock and anger. His plan… His perfect plan to ruin all happiness… It was all taken from him in mere SECONDS! “NOOOOOOOOOO! I- HOOOOOOOOWWW?!” he yelled as his work was disappearing before his eyes. His pupils suddenly shrank when he saw that the poison was gathering together in the sky, forming a giant orb of mass destruction. At least that’s what he imagined it to be. “N-NO! IT’S NOT ENDING LIKE THIS! NOT FOR ME!” he cried out to the gathered poison that was once his. Getting up from the soil, he began to limp off away from the forest, grunting in pain as he left. “I-I don’t know w-who you a-are…” he began, “But you WILL PAY for what you’ve done to ME!” he vowed as he staggered away from his fate, all while the boils on his body increased in number and gave him unimaginable (in his standards, I don’t know) pain. Meanwhile, back with the Yoshis, Kaleb was concluding the sapping of the poison. He had taken the last of it from everything, and all he had left now was a giant sphere of poison liquid. Pondering what to do with it for a second, he decided what he had to do right there. Focusing his power, he levitated the poison closer to him before withdrawing what there was from it. As it flowed into him, he did not feel harmed by it in the slightest. In fact, this felt like it was powering up his magic. So this was it! He knew at that moment not only what powered up his magic, but something else as well. That something else was the fact that he knew that he WOULD never use his newfound energy against his friends, and, if anything, would use it to DEFEND them from anyone who would dare try to cause them any pain. This sudden use of magic that drained the forest of this alien poison… This act that basically saved not only his dearest friends but also the entire POPULATION of Yoshis… It was only possible because of the combination of Olly’s rescuing him… and his LOVE and CARE for his friends and family. He no longer felt afraid of himself at that moment. As he gently touched ground again, he was applauded by his entourage of friends, clapping and with tears in their eyes. “You… You SAVED US! YOU SAVED US ALL!” Ken beamed. “Don’t you see? You’re powers just RESCUED US!” Parker told the now elated dinosaur. “T-That was… I don’t have WORDS!” Yoshi said excitedly. “You SEE now?!” Ralph cheered. “You might have suffered this condition, but you’ve only used it AGAINST enemies! If that doesn’t say that you’re a loving soul to you, NOTHING will!” “No,” Kaleb replied with a smile that the others had missed seeing. “It wouldn't! I’m ready, guys! I KNOW that everything will be okay!” he shouted as his eyes beamed a loving and ecstatic bright pink. “Welcome home, Kaleb,” Yoshi spoke with tears of joy in his eyes. “Now then…” he began. “With the poison gone… You wanna start Fruit Fest?” he asked with the happy tone of voice that the others so longed to hear again. “YES!” everyone shouted in glee. And with that, Kaleb and his friends headed off to the other Yoshis, who would no doubt be overjoyed to see their friend again. As they walked and talked happily with each other just like old times, Mikey brought up a curious question. “Hey, Kaleb? Where exactly did you send them all when you drew them into that black hole?” he asked. “Oh!” Kaleb giggled. “Well…” Somewhere in another dimension, Kamek, Bowser, and some Shy Guys could be seen flying at high speeds in an endless sea of blue and black. “AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!” Kamek screamed as if he was falling down an infinite water slide. “HOW DID THIS HAPPEEEEEEENNNNNNN?” he asked himself as they drifted through the void. As they continued to fall, they feared that this would be the end of the Koopa Troop, when suddenly they saw something at the other end of the tunnel; something that wasn’t more void for once. As they fell closer to it, Kamek saw that it was the interior of their castle! “Finally!” he thought. As they exited the vortex at long last, they all fell onto the floor of the throne room, landing with a smack on the ground. Kamek and the Shy Guys looked around to assess the situation, searching for anything strange that might have been in the castle. They did find something strange… Yet it also brought relieving news to them. Before them stood a bunch of Shy Guys, but without their masks, their faces… Oh, come on! Did you think I’d ACTUALLY tell you the secret of how they look like? This could only mean one thing though! Kaleb, instead of destroying them, brought them back to where they came from, and did the same to Kamek and Bowser! He had only scared them witless in an effort to make them THINK that this was their time. He tried teaching them a lesson, and let them LIVE! Shocked at discovering this, Kamek ordered the Shy Guys to get new masks before taking Bowser to his bedroom and tucking him in, hoping he wouldn’t have any nightmares tonight. The thought of Kaleb humiliating but sparing them gave him conflicted feelings. He wanted to feel pure RAGE that he had been duped. However, a small part of him thanked Kaleb for sparing his men. He knew that he would still cause the Yoshis trouble, for it was in his blood. Or was it? Maybe he could actually learn himself what it meant to be spared. After all, Bowser was never one to spare him from “punishment” when he was angered. Maybe this was why he was so harsh with everyone? As he lied down, he hoped that he too would be safe from being terrorized by a zombie-looking Yoshi in his dreams.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The Yoshis made their way out of the forest and kept skipping along the path back to the plaza, chatting nonstop as they did so. They were so elated that they had FINALLY brought their friend back, never mind how he looked now. He may have taken on a different visage from this awful event, but every time they looked in his eyes of changing color, they saw HIM inside every time. They saw no TRACE of anything close to a monster every time they saw his face. All they saw… was someone who had cared about them to no end… to the point that he would risk his life for theirs. It was at that moment that they felt truly blessed and privileged to have a Yoshi like Kaleb in their lives. Nearly losing him those three times… those three RECENT times… It made them feel as if they had certainly been taking his presence for granted. But he was too good a friend to just let him go… They remembered how when he went missing for hours… how they feared that they would never see him again. They remembered how that fear returned when Kaleb wanted to isolate himself from the others due to his appearance. They remembered how they feared Kaleb’s permanent departure once more when he felt responsible for the magic that wasn’t even his. Yoshis were definitely pure creatures, but this one… he was so kind that he was afraid of hurting his friends and family! It was then that they understood how Kaleb must have been feeling. All of that doubt… It was now understandable that he had been terrified. Granted, he was able to cleanse the forest because of it, but Kaleb was still likely hurting inside as a result of his transformation. He probably missed seeing himself as a normal purple Yoshi with plain blue eyes. In a way, he had sacrificed normalcy to save his friends, his family and his kin. They couldn’t thank him enough. They HAD to find some way to repay his love and kindness. “Kaleb, we can’t thank you ENOUGH for saving us!” Mikey cheered, ignoring any signs of repetition from the text that I just put in. “Hey,” Kaleb began with yellow eyes. “Losing you is what scares me the most, and because you’ve taught me that, I can’t thank YOU enough. If it wasn’t for you, I would have withdrawn into the forest where I would spend all of my time believing myself to be an enemy. But now, I can rest easy knowing that I know who I am, and that’s who I always WAS.” “Thank you for saving us, Kaleb,” Tom cooed. “You got us out of a bind.” “You are welcome,” Kaleb replied. “You even sent them ALL back to their castle? You’re just too nice!” Parker teased. “Well, hey,” Kaleb began. “I figured that sparing is caring, and that letting the enemy live gives them a chance to reflect.” As they continued talking, they eventually found themselves back at the main plaza, where the rest of the Yoshis were pacing nervously, some even sweating profusely, awaiting their friends’ return. As they looked out into the horizon, they saw a few multicolored dots. “Hey, guys!” one of them alerted. “Look!” “Is- is that?” another asked. “It IS!” a third one realized. “THEY’RE BACK!” they all began to cheer. As the approaching group drew closer, they could hear the rest of the Yoshis cheering their names, some asking if Kaleb was found. “WE’RE BACK!” Yoshi shouted in joy. “KALEB HAS BEEN FOUND!” As the idle group heard this, they too cheered aloud and ran over to meet the other group halfway. Kaleb was admittedly a tad nervous as they met, but all of the anxiety vanished within an instant. They greeted him as they would greet anyone else that had a good heart: as a friend and brother. “We were so WORRIED for you Kaleb!” a Yoshi spoke. “Oh, how we MISSED you!!!” another one said. As the group continued to hug the relieved dinosaur, Kaleb silently let loose with a stream of tears, glad that his fears had been wrong. They DID still love him. After what felt like an eternity of a heartfelt embrace, Kaleb thanked them for accepting him back. “I-I’m just so HAPPY that you guys still want me!” he choked out. “Oh, Kaleb,” one of them started. “We ALWAYS wanted you to come back. The moment you went missing, we felt so… alone without you!!!” he cried himself. The Yoshis continued comforting their tearfully excited friend, all the while Kaleb himself began to feel acceptance again. It was funny, though, for he had never LOST it in the first place. Eventually, he worked up the courage to tell everyone about what happened, and the audiences’ reactions were exactly the same as his closest friends’: they felt all the more need to comfort HIM, never mind that their ENTIRE species had almost suffered a dastardly proportion of casualties. “But Kaleb FOILED that dude’s plans!” Mikey stated proudly. “He’s got these super cool magic powers now that can even drain POISON from FRUIT!!! And he USED them to WIPE OUT the boy’s work!!!” “No WAY!” one of the crowd members said. “He REALLY DID THAT?!” “Yup!” Parker confirmed. “He also did this after saving us from KAMEK!!!” “K-Kaleb! Y-You-” another Yoshi spoke as he gathered his thoughts. “It’s like you suffered something AWFUL and all you did as a result was SAVE US ALL!!!” he teared up as he went to hug him again. “Hey!” Kaleb said. “I don’t want you to be sad because of what’s happened! The others told me this: that everything’s going to be okay,” he soothed his upset friend. “Y- You really mean that?” his friend asked. “I do,” Kaleb spoke. “I know it’ll be a lot to take in, but if this is how it was meant to be, then I will not complain. I’ll use my abilities to serve and protect; to protect you guys!” “Oh, KALEB!!! WE MISSED YOU!!!” they bawled while circling around him. Cheering that he was back in both body and spirit, they all closed in on him and lifted him up before joyously tossing him into the air over and over. “MULTIPLE CHEERS FOR KALEB! HIP HIP! HOORAY!!! HIP HIP! HOORAY!!! HIP HIP! HOORAY!!! HIP HIP…” they continued. They celebrated his return for about ten minutes, when Kaleb finally spoke up. “Hey, guys!!!” he began with yellow-turning pink eyes. “HOW ABOUT STARTING FRUIT FEST?!” “YEAH!” everyone shouted into the night. And with that, the preparations that were put on hold earlier continued. Thanks to Kaleb’s new powers, not only was their annual event saved, but getting ready for it took much less time than last year, as the undead dinosaur used his levitation powers to help set everything up in record time. “WOW! YOU’RE SO COOL!!!” Cameron beamed. With Kaleb’s help, Fruit Fest was eventually ready to begin! The only thing that was left to do was for someone to give the introduction speech for the year’s festival, and then they could begin. It was clear who was going to give it this time. Kaleb made his way to the center of the group and began to speak. “W-Well,” he stammered nervously. “First of all, I just want to throw it out there that my friends collected a LOT of fruit! So much… that we probably do INDEED have enough fruit for a FOURTH day of Fruit Fest!” He announced. Everyone joyously jumped up and down and yelled in happiness. “Second of all, I w-wanted to t-thank m-m-my friends!!! I w-want to thank you a-all for saving me… Saving me from leaving the family. If it w-wasn’t for y-you guys… I-I d-d-definitely wouldn’t b-b-be here! You have MY deepest thanks for b-bringing me back!” he teared up. At this, everyone said things like, “You’re welcome,” or, “Don’t mention it!” “Finally,” he began to sniffle. “I-I want to thank my- no OUR new friend, OLLY!!! I don’t know where you are, friend, and quite frankly, I’m scared for you. I g-guess that it-it’s because you SAVED MY LIFE, AND I COULDN’T DO ANYTHING TO REPAY YOU!!!” he bawled, breaking into hysterics. “I’M SO SORRY!!!” he cried. Shocked, everyone went to console him, remembering that Kaleb had lost him as well. As they comforted him with all the love they had, eventually, Kaleb continued his speech. “I-I’m sorry, Olly! I shouldn’t cry like that thinking you’ve- (It’s too awful to even THINK about!) Oh, Olly, it was only because of YOU that not only I still live on, but ALL OF THE YOSHIS AS WELL! THANK YOU! Even if it was only for a few minutes that we talked, you were instantly the best human that I have ever been with! You were so selfless, and it was because of that that we can celebrate here for these next few days!” At this, the crowd shouted out a message of eternal gratitude and thanks to their human savior, who they hoped against all ODDS that he was out there somewhere… alive. After the heartfelt praise, Kaleb began to conclude his speech. “A-And speaking of Fruit Fest…” he brightened up. “Let’s get it STARTED, shall we?!” he asked with glowing yellow eyes. Before anyone could say anything close to “Yes,” suddenly, an unexpected voice was heard. “WAIT!” the Yoshis heard. Turning around, they were met with the faces of Shy Guys garbed in white suits, the leader holding a flag of surrender. “HEY!” Mikey angrily noticed. “IT’S THE SHY GUYS FROM EARLIER!!!” As the Yoshis began to growl at them, Kaleb stepped forward in front of the crowd and approached the leader. As he did so, the group of masked enemies slowly began to back off in fear of being scared witless again. “P-Please d-d-d-d-d-don’t hurt or s-s-s-s-scare us!” the leader begged. “W-W-We’re n-not here f-f-f-f-f-for that anym-m-more!!!” “W-We’re s-s-s-sorry for what w-we’ve done!!!” another stammered as Kaleb drew even closer, eyes slowly turning red. “O-OKAY!” the leader shouted. “WE GET IT!!! WHAT WE DID IS WRONG!!! What we’re here to say is…” he began as the Yoshis stared them down more. “WE DON’T WANT TO FIGHT YOU IF IT MEANS GETTING PUMMLED AND FRIGHTENED TO NO END!!! PLEASE!!! LET US JOIN YOU!!!” he pleaded. “Hmm, I’ve heard THAT one before!!!” Kaleb said with his deep voice. “W-W-WE’RE HONEST!!!” the leader cried.“Sure…” Kaleb mused. “C-Come ON!!! IF WE WE’RE LYING, WOULD WE HAVE BROUGHT ROPES WITH US?!” the Shy Guy reasoned. “True…” Kaleb acknowledged, his normal voice returning. “But what if you’re just trying to… EARN OUR TRUST FOR YOUR PLANS!!!” he suddenly shouted as the green on him turned red and his eyes turned crimson again. “AAAAAAIIIIIEEEEE!” the Shy Guys shrieked in frozen fear. “WE PROMISE!!!” they all confirmed. “Good!” Kaleb stated, his angry demeanor vanishing within an instant as he returned to normal. “Welcome to the team then!” “Eh?” one of the Shy Guys spoke. “Oh, come ON!” Kaleb started. “Do you REALLY think that I’d trap you guys in the void a SECOND time after what you told me with your honest hearts? Of course not! Consider that an initiation… A test if you will… I could sense the fear and willingness to change within your hearts, so I decided to make sure it was genuine. And I’m happy to say that you guys ARE willing to change!” As Kaleb welcomed the pale-garbed Shy Guys onto the team, the others, suspicious earlier, had calmed down and had begun to do the same. As Yoshis, they seemed to have some sort of sixth sense (as mentioned earlier) of being able to tell who was their friend. However, Kaleb’s brief test of heart had erased ANY doubts that not even this sense could calm down. As they allowed what would later be deemed their new rescue unit access, the Shy Guys proposed that they would hunt for fruits in an act of an apologetic peace offering to the Yoshis, something they gladly accepted. Upon their return, the Yoshis excitedly sorted out the rest of the fruit with their help before all crowding around Kaleb. “Huh?” Kaleb questioned. “Oh, right! Everyone! Let the Fruit Fest… BEGIN!!!” he beamed happily with glowing pink eyes as he jumped. As he finished his sentence, a plume of pink light jumped from his body. Everyone watched as it went up into the night sky before exploding in streaks of shining white and pink. Seeing this Yoshi-made fireworks display, the others clapped as Kaleb sent off a total of 50 into the sky. “LET’S EAT, EVERYONE!” he cheered. Without a second thought, both the Yoshis and the newly reformed Shy Guys ate all the fruit they could, enjoying the comfortable and relaxing atmosphere as they talked with one another. As Kaleb brought a bundle of fruit to his friends, he took the time to thank them again. “I just wanted to give you my deepest thanks again,” he said. “You helped me rediscover who I really am.” “Hey! No problem! That’s what friends are for! Please… Never forget that,” Tom told him. “Thank YOU too, Kaleb, for saving US as well,” Yoshi said. “You’re welcome. I realized that not seeing you again is scarier than what’s happened to me,” Kaleb replied. As the Yoshis and Shy Guys started what would no doubt be a memorable four-day occasion, a certain duo was waking up in Bowser’s Castle. They, much to Kamek’s prediction, we’re tired with bloodshot eyes from the lack of sleep they got last night, courtesy of Kaleb. Kamek was still rather infuriated that he and his troops were humiliated like that, but was too tired to even yell in frustration. Deciding, to check on the Shy Guys, he trudged into their quarters… only to find thin air resting in the beds. No one was sleeping in the room, anyone who should have been inside missing. Shocked, Kamek rushed to the dining hall where he found no trace of them there either. Starting to wake up in panic, he dashed all around the castle, hoping to find at least one of them, but alas, none were in the building anymore. He called for them, shouting through the castle halls, hoping that they would come to attention, but there was no such luck. Wondering what could have happened to them, he suddenly recalled last night’s events. Yes… When all of the Shy Guys… “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Kamek angrily yelled. He had correctly guessed that last night was too much for their training and sanity, so they must have gone on strike and took off! Those scoundrels! HOW could a simple YOSHI make them leave the ARMY?! Kaleb would PAY for what he did, and so would the SHY GUYS once he found them! Immediately, he began concocting a search plan to find the insubordinates, thinking fast on how he would get them back. However, he wouldn’t even be able to think halfway through this master plan before he felt something pound him on the head. He had been flattened into a pancake as a result of the impact. Looking up, he saw that it was none other than his prince, Bowser, and he did NOT look happy! He was woken up by Kamek’s rampaging, and it seemed that it was his turn now to do the same. “(Oh boy. Here we go…)” Kamek sarcastically sighed. “KAMEK! WHY DID YOU WAKE ME UP?! I ONLY GOT ABOUT 3 GOOD HOURS OF SLEEP LAST NIGHT BECAUSE OF THAT ZOMBIE YOSHI IN MY NIGHTMARES! I EVEN CALLED YOU 10 TIMES LAST NIGHT, BUT DID YOU COME RUNNING TO HELP ME?! NOOOOO!!! YOU JUST HAD TO SLEEP THROUGH IT ALL! HEY ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?! I CAN’T EVEN…” he rambled on. Kamek listened to his tantrum as he went on and on, and by the end of the 30 minute rage episode, he passed out again, tired of hearing this nigh earsplitting babbling. If only he knew that another vision of Kaleb awaited him in his sleep…

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It had been days since the end of the current year’s Fruit Fest. The Yoshis were socializing with each other and the good Shy Guys, already discussing plans for next year’s Fruit Fest. Kaleb was among the group, and he was doing just fine: he didn’t feel the need to withdraw into himself, he didn’t have a twinge of depression, and overall… his expression looked EXACTLY the same as it did before he was transformed, only with yellow or pink eyes to show how elated he felt. Hanging out with his friends was MORE than a blast now. With his new powers, he had loads of fun with them, playing leap Yoshi in the SKY and sliding in the AIR! Kaleb had but entirely dissed the fear of being looked at as an outsider, and was back to his usual jolly self as he said earlier. This time though, it seemed as if he was… happier. He was grateful for being brought back by Olly, and this was how he was going to celebrate his work: by living his life to the fullest. The Yoshis had finished talking about Fruit Fest and began to play a game of interdimensional hide-and-seek. Mikey was it, and Kaleb had opened up some portals to some unoccupied random dimensions. “Everyone ready?” Mikey asked. “Yeah!” his friends cheered. “All right, then!” he turned around and began to count. “1…2…3…” As he began counting, his friends scurried off to whatever tunnel they could find, leaping in without hesitation. As Mikey finished up counting, he decided to jump into the portal that Yoshi entered first. As he leaped in, he was oblivious as everyone else was of what was to come of this decision that he and their green friend had made. Looking down, Mikey saw that there was absolutely NO ground, only clouds. Panicking, he attempted to flutter jump to the other side of the portal to escape, only to tire out when he was just a foot away and go falling through the sky. As he barreled down hoping for the best, he suddenly felt something… fluffy. It felt as if… As if he was being wrapped in a soft blanket, except that he could still move (as much as one could move in a freefall, that is). As he continued falling in comfort, the clouds he descended through eventually gave way to clear skies. Curious of what happened to him while he was in the fluff, he gave himself a look, only to find himself staring at the hands and feet of a knit-wool plushie. “WHAT?!” Mikey shouted as he fell down further, the ground approaching him at an alarming rate. As he continued panicking with the distance between him and the ground closing, he noticed that the ground too had the same texture as his new body: yarn. As a confused red Yoshi closed his eyes and braced for impact, he suddenly felt himself bounce into the air, almost as if a trampoline had saved him or something. Upon landing with much less impact than he thought he would, he slowly opened his eyes, finding himself sitting down next to a egg-like structure with some sort of nest surrounding it. “W-Where AM I?!” he asked in shock. He looked around the place, and what he saw was unlike anything he had seen before. The grass looked like a soft woolly blanket, the ocean looked like a giant piece of fabric draped over the landscape, and the sky looked like a rotating curtain, complete with strung-on clouds and felt blue. Even the nest that broke his fall looked like a donut made of a bundle of yarn! As he looked around the place, his eyes eventually met with an unconscious Yoshi. Quickly rushing over to him, he saw that he didn’t quite look the same… In fact, he looked just like the landscape! His shoes, his face, everything! Remembering when he was falling out of the sky, he looked at his own hands again, and saw that they were now woolly little nubs. Panicking, Mikey tried shaking Yoshi in an effort to wake him up! “Y-Y-Yoshi?” he begged. “Please get up! I don’t know WHAT kind of world we’re in this time, but we HAVE to tell Kaleb and the others about this! Come on! Wake up!” Within a few seconds of being rattled, Yoshi jolted awake, jumping onto his feet as he looked around. “Ah! I had the most BIZZARE dream!” he started. Observing the place, he was going to say more when he got an eyeful of the scenery. His eyes eventually fell to Mikey. “Uh… Mikey? Why do you look like a stuffed animal?” he asked. “Um… not to freak you out… but I could ask you the same thing,” Mikey replied. Jumping up in shock, Yoshi slowly turned his head down to his hands which he lifted up, and saw that like Mikey’s now, they too were nothing but nubs without even a trace of a finger. “AAAHHH!” Yoshi screamed. “WHAT’S HAPPENED TO US?! WHY WAS MY DREAM TRUE?! WHAT KIND OF WORLD IS THIS?!” he started to panic. “I-I’m not sure myself,” Mikey replied, trying to keep his cool. “L-Listen though… D-Don’t freak out!” he tried assuring his friend. “I k-know that this is a-a lot to take in… b-but the last thing we need right now is to resign ourselves to this… this…” Suddenly, Mikey had an epiphany. “Hey. Uh… Yoshi?” he asked. “Y-Yeah?” Yoshi trembled. “I don’t think there’s any cause for us to worry about this,” Mikey plainly stated. “Huh?” Yoshi questioned in shock. “Why?” “Yoshi! Take a look around you!” his red friend implored of him. “Besides the fact that this is the first time we’ve transformed inside a new dimension, I don’t think there’s anything that even APPEARS to be hostile here. Everything looks so… peaceful… it looks just like HOME!” “I never thought of it like that,” Yoshi mused. “You know what? It kind of DOES look like home now that you say it.” “Yeah. And I don’t think that this transformation’s dangerous to us at ALL!” Mikey added. “I don’t see any absolutely adverse effects.” “True,” Yoshi agreed. “Heh… I guess we kind of overreacted there, huh?” he chuckled. “By far,” Mikey calmed down. “As a matter of fact, we should EXPLORE this place!” he cheered. “Yes!” Yoshi complied, eager to see what secrets this new world held. The two started to head off before Mikey suddenly stopped. “Wait!” he exclaimed. “We can’t do that yet! We were playing hide-and-seek!” “Oof!” Yoshi facepalmed (not sure how that’s possible with his new hands). “How could we FORGET?!” he asked in shock. “The others might be wondering what’s taking you so long!” “Exactly,” Mikey began. “But we have a problem,” he pointed up to the portal high in the sky. “Ugh…” Yoshi drooped in defeat. “How are we going to get back there?” he asked Mikey, who at the moment was trying to flutter jump to the gateway. “What are you doing?” he questioned his friend. “What… does… it look… like?” he stated obviously. “I’m… gonna… make my way… up… to… the portal!” he panted as he tried rising up. Giggling, Yoshi attempted to coax his friend out of his gusto decision. “You’re not gonna make it,” he chuckled. “Come on. Let’s find another way that we can do this.” “Hey! I… am… DEFINITELY… going to… make it!” he countered. “I’ll… have… you know… that I… have… practiced… flutter jumping… for DAYS… since… three… weeks… ago,” he explained as he began becoming light-headed. “Okay. Come on,” Yoshi said. “I can already see you flagging.” “Urrrrrgh…” Mikey gasped for breath before finally giving in and falling back down. As he hit the ground with a soft landing, he swooned over and fell down. As he did so, his feet suddenly unraveled, showing how tired he was. Yoshi, suddenly panicking again at the occurrence of this, rushed over to his exhausted friend. “EEK! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?!” he asked in fear. “Huh?” Mikey questioned, oblivious to the state of his feet. “What… What do you mean?” Trying to get up, he saw that his feet were completely out of place, lying in flat strings on the ground. Joining in on the panicking, Mikey began to wail. “Aaaahahaha! WHAT’S GOING ON?!” he sobbed. “YOSHI! GET SOME HELP! DO SOMETHING!” “I-I-” Yoshi tried to find words but couldn’t. He certainly felt helpless alongside Mikey right now. As they began shouting for help and crying in despair, Yoshi tried coming up with ideas for how to fix it, though he was struggling due to the hysteria. After ten minutes though, he suddenly came up with an idea. He remembered how when Mikey’s feet fell apart, he tired out from flutter jumping at the same time. “Mikey!” he began. “Y-Yeah?!” Mikey choked out. “I think I might know how to fix this!” Yoshi beamed. “R-Really?” “Yeah! I’m not sure it’ll work, but it’s worth a try!” Yoshi explained to him his plan, which consisted of Mikey trying to ravel himself back together using willpower. It was because of his exhaustion that he literally fell flat, so perhaps if he could snap out of it, his feet would come back together. Complying with Yoshi’s plan, Mikey began to try and fix his feet. Focusing on trying to become normal again, nothing happened at first. But Mikey did not give up. As a couple of minutes passed, he and Yoshi suddenly saw the blue strands of yarn where his feet once were begin to circle around and around. They looped around, wove themselves through each other, and eventually returned to their rightful place on Mikey. “IT WORKED!” Mikey cheered. “Whew!” Yoshi cooed in relief. “That was certainly a fright! Well… at least we know what to do if that happens again. Happy ending!” Getting up, Mikey replied with a “Not yet.” Remembering that they still had to reveal this strange new place to everyone else, Yoshi began trying to think of ways to get out of the woolly world. Mikey also began to ponder over some ideas alongside him. In short time, Yoshi, inspired by the recent feet panic incident, came up with something. “I’VE GOT IT!” he brightened up. “Really?” Mikey asked intrigued. “What is it this time?” “You remember how your feet came undone and you fixed them, right?” Yoshi recalled. “Yes,” Mikey replied, oblivious as to what Yoshi’s plan was. “Well, what if it isn’t just our feet that we can change…” Yoshi began as he began concentrating and unraveling. As he became a puddle of yarn, he suddenly began to compose himself again, but not quite into the shape that he once was. As Mikey watched curiously, he saw that Yoshi had eventually compacted himself into the shape of a ball. “But our entire BODIES?!” he finished. “WOW!” Mikey exclaimed, taken aback by Yoshi’s astounding idea. Yoshi then bounced into Mikey’s hands, not even needing to tell him what to do next. Nodding, Mikey prepared to give him the fastest toss ever. As he winded up his throw, Yoshi suddenly slipped out of his hand. “Whoops!” Mikey said. “Sorry, Yoshi. I’m not used to these new hands!” he giggled. “It’s okay,” Yoshi assured, bouncing back into his hands. “Neither of us are used to this new world.” Trying again, Mikey prepared for another pitch. He was able to throw him this time, but due to having no fingers to grip his sphere-shaped friend with, his accuracy was… something to be desired so to speak. He ended up throwing his friend straight forward instead of upwards. As Yoshi flew away from Mikey, he suddenly collided into a nearby crochet-roll. As he spun around and around on it as a thin strand of yarn, he suddenly felt himself reform before propelling forward with breakneck speed, his feet acting as some sort of advanced propeller. As he rocketed to who knows where, he yelled in confusion as to what just happened. Mikey, startled by this development, ran over to the roll and called out to Yoshi. “ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?!” he cried out to him. Not getting a reply at first, he resolved to go follow him using the same means, only to hear the sound of a long cry increasing in volume. “aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAHHH!” he heard as it got closer. Looking up, he saw his friend falling towards him at breakneck speed. Trying to get out of the way, he found himself tackled head-on by Yoshi as they both rolled along the ground in a bundle of yarn and wool. Waking up from the daze, they were quite shocked to find each other entangled within one another. “Oh my!” said Mikey. “Well THIS is a fine mess!” “Yep!” Yoshi agreed. “Sorry.” “No problem,” Mikey assured his friend. “But we need to get out of this.” “Yeah… But how?” Yoshi asked as he struggled to free himself. “We’re REALLY stuck here!” As the pair struggled to untie from one another, they suddenly heard a voice that gave them relief. “Seems like you’ve tied yourself into a corner, huh?” Looking to their side, they saw a certain Yoshi with white eyes, only he too looked like a plushie now. “KALEB!” they cheered. “And US too!” the rest of their friends revealed themselves from behind Kaleb. “We got worried when Mikey hadn’t found any of us for the past twenty minutes,” Ken informed the pair. “And THIS is why!” Cameron finished. “No wonder!” “Are you two okay?” Dave asked. “Oh… We’re… fine…” Yoshi attempted to assure the others while looking at the predicament he and Mikey were literally caught up in. “You certainly LOOK as if your first trip here could’ve gone better,” Tom pointed out. “In any case…” Kaleb started. “Allow me to try and help you.” Raising his stubs up, he attempted to levitate the ensnared duo, hoping that despite his new condition, that he could separate them via magic. As he concentrated his power, he eventually found the start of the problem where there feet were, and began to untangle his trapped friends from there. As he unwove the knots that held his friends together, he became closer and closer to his goal, until finally, they were mere strands of yarn. He was about to knit them back together again when they suddenly began doing so on their own accord. Stepping back in shock, Kaleb and the others wondered how much time Yoshi and Mikey had to discover their new powers, amazed that they were able to do that on their own. As they finished with the last of their reforming, the green and red Yoshis were awarded by very soft arm-stub clapping. “WOW!” Parker cheered. “HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!” “NO WAY! CAN WE DO THAT TOO?!” Xavier asked in awe. As they regained balance, Yoshi replied with: “Yes, actually! Look around you! This WORLD is handcrafted! WE’RE handcrafted! It was an accident, but we found out that we can take on so MANY new shapes here!” Shocked at the reply, Tom had attempted to unravel himself, only to tie himself up instead. Panicking a little, he eventually found his way out and tried again. This time, he changed his shape little by little until he eventually became a blanket with a Yoshi face on it. “COOL! You were right!” he cheered. “AWESOME! LET US TRY!” Ralph beamed as he and the others started seeing what new shapes they could shift into. Cameron turned his feet into a propeller, which would later be discovered as an improved flutter jumping technique. Xavier turned his feet into wheels, which itself would be discovered as a new running technique that saved energy and stamina. Dave took it a step further and reshaped his body into that of a mallet, which would become the Yoshis’ new ground pound. The Yoshis had all sorts of fun with their new abilities, and the Shy Guys even joined in to see what they could do. They played around for a little while before Mikey thought of something. “Hey, guys! Let’s show this new world to the others!” he requested. Struck with the benefits of the idea, the others agreed and decided that it would be best as well. Kaleb lowered the portal from the sky before everyone stepped in it single file. Returning to the real world, even though they had not even spent an hour in the woolly one, felt strange. It felt weird to have hands with digits again, not to mention, being stuck in one shape once more. Being taller again also felt odd. Shaking the feeling aside, the ten Yoshis made their way to the rest of their family and Shy Guy defectors and told them of their recent discovery. Astounded, they didn’t even believe it at first, until Kaleb lead them back through the portal. Upon entering, the Yoshis and Shy Guys felt themselves change. As they looked at themselves in surprise, they soon noticed that they were becoming plushified. Even after it was over, they were still bewildered at this development, having seen nothing like this even from KAMEK. “Wow…” one of them cooed. “W-Where ARE we?” another one asked in perplexment. “That’s something WE’D like to know as well,” Kaleb spoke out. “This accident has led us to a world where everything in it, including us, are handmade. I don’t know HOW it is possible, nor have any of us seen ANYTHING like it, but all we can do if we want to know more about this phenomenon is what we Yoshis love doing:” At once, all of them, including the Shy Guys, chanted the same thing: “EXPLORE!” With that, they all dispersed outward, adventuring to new areas, discovering new skills as they went on. They found more grasslands, a desert, a land made of toys and sweets, a jungle, a snow-covered land, and even a land of darkness that housed a forest that was not unlike the one back at Yoshi’s Island. Of course, upon finding the latter place, Kaleb volunteered to go, given how he possessed the advantages of being nocturnal and scaring off enemies. They spent the entire rest of day exploring what would eventually become known as their second home before finally grouping back together. As they rejoined however, they saw that one of them had brought back something peculiar. “Hey, Kaleb! What ya’ got there?” Ken asked. Holding up his stub to the others, he showed them something that looked so familiar, yet so different. It was an apple. While Kaleb was wandering around in the forest, he had happened to stumble upon it, and picked it up to share and eat later. What he noticed, though, was that unlike any other apple his kind had seen, it seemed… synthetic. It appeared to have the texture of plastic and a touch of wood, looking like it was part of a play set. It was that reason that Kaleb was intrigued by this anomaly. “Looks like we’re not the ONLY change in this new world!” he said. “Even the FRUITS look like they’re from a toy store!” As they all gathered around their friend in curiosity, they examined it for a moment or so before a Shy Guy spoke up. “Hmm… Is it edible?” he asked in anticipation. “What do you mean?” another spoke. “It’s made of wood and plastic!” Looking at the odd fruit for a while longer, Dave suddenly spoke up. “Wait! WE’RE made of craft material now TOO,” he remembered. “Huh?” the others questioned before understanding what he meant by that statement. “Oh!” Yoshi exclaimed. “You mean that… since the fruit AND we have changed in this new world…” “Uh huh!” Dave concluded. “Eating this apple should be no different from eating an apple back on our world!” “But how do we know?” asked Tom suspiciously. “What if it turns out to be bad for us?” he worried. Stepping up to the plate, Kaleb proposed that he be the one to test it. “You guys are practically standing in front of your new cupbearer!” he joked. “If it turns out to be inedible, I won’t be affected by it at least. And I can tell too!” Agreeing, the others let him try a bite of his find, something which he did immediately. As he tasted and swallowed the food, he suddenly froze up while his eyes went pink. Everyone else immediately became concerned. “Kaleb?” Ralph waved for him. “Are you- Is… it good? Bad?” Cameron asked. As Kaleb continued standing frozen, the group became increasingly worried as to what this fruit did to him… That was until Yoshi noticed something. “Wait… Are your eyes… pink?” he asked. As everyone else took notice of this, their fear for Kaleb’s well-being faded quickly, and they started laughing. “Okay,” Ken chuckled. “You got us.” “Ha ha ha ha ha!” a Shy Guy rolled on the ground in complete hysterics. “Okay! That was FUNNY! It tastes good and is good to eat, isn’t it?” “I-I-It-” Kaleb began. As he continued stammering, he eventually yelled, “IT’S THE SWEETEST APPLE I’VE EVER TASTED! IT’S MORE THAN OKAY TO EAT!” As the Yoshis and Shy Guys cheered, they set out to find more fruits like the apple, and, trusting Kaleb, ate them without a second thought. He was right: they were not only healthy, they were so much more DELECTABLE than the one’s on their island. Not even caring that it was night, they continued their fruit hunt unhindered, practically turning the day into the finale of Fruit Fest. As they all gathered around the central plaza of where they first entered the world, they happily talked with each other before going to bed, their first night in this new fluffy dimension. As they dozed off, they thanked Kaleb for finding this place, and by next morning when everyone arose, it was a unanimous decision that this home would be their second. “It shall be called Craft Island, a wonderful many acres of land that lies on the Handmade Ocean!” the leader of the Shy Guys announced. “YEAH! CRAFT ISLAND!” a Yoshi spoke. At this, everyone began to chant the name of their new home, rejoicing that they had a new place to visit and live in. “MORE CHEERS FOR KALEB! HIP HIP! HOORAY! HIP HIP! HOORAY! HIP HIP! HOORAY!” they all cheered while throwing Kaleb into the air again and again. A week from claiming their new residence, the Yoshis and Shy Guys were busy playing with each other, using their new shapeshifting powers to play advanced versions of the games they already enjoyed playing. Combined with Kaleb’s new powers, this place was a blast to be in! All of the friends had spread out to the furthest reaches of the island, and were having a grand time. Kaleb and his nine friends were hanging out by the plaza, where they were constructing a tent. They were working on a project that would house a new attraction, the Scrapbook Theater. This was where they would house all of their finds that this mysterious new world would present them. Of course, given that it was a theater, they were also going to set up plays here too to entertain each other once they finished with construction. They could barely wait for the moment of completion, which gave them all the more incentive to keep building. They had found multiple sources of loose yarn packed into spheres in local crochet baskets that they had found on their first full day on the island. It was especially interesting how they functioned like egg blocks, providing them with the needed materials until they had too much to carry, and then providing them more when they returned empty handed. It did not take long for them to come up with the idea to use these items as ammunition if need be, as well as construction materials. They even came up with the idea to use them for both purposes, which would later serve them well on a certain adventure. Kaleb was telekinetically stitching some blue cloth together, humming happily as he did so. As he focused his power, he closed the gap between two sides of the fabric.“Aaaaaaaand DONE!” he mused. “The sides of the tent are complete!” As his friends cheered, he stepped back and looked at their progress. It was beautiful. It may not have been work meant for royalty, but this would certainly be enough for the other Yoshis and Shy Guys. “Looks great!” Yoshi encouraged.“Very neat detail!” Mikey congratulated.“I love the striped patterns!” Tom applauded. Everyone present continued to announce their support for the tent’s progress in the making, the only thing left to do now being to create the top of it. “This looks like a nice checkpoint, eh?” Kaleb asked his friends.“Agreed!” Ralph chimed in. “How about a snack?!”“Yeah!” the others jumped for joy. The gathered group began to head off, when they heard a voice cry out from behind them.“Hey! Guys!” they noticed. “Do you think you could help explain this?!” Turning around, they saw it to be another Yoshi. They had expected him to be commenting about the tent, but what they had turned around to was quite… surprising. Before them stood a red Yoshi, but there was something different to his appearance. He had little black spots all over himself, and the white part of him was missing. What caught their attention though was the lower half of this Yoshi. It looked like he was wearing striped green pants, pants that had a look that was all too familiar to them. “Huh?” Parker exclaimed. “What happened?”“I don’t know!” the Yoshi explained. “I was by the seaside, and I found some watermelons. I start eating them, and then I get to one that tastes especially good. I gorge on the thing, and the next thing I know, little watermelon seed patterns start appearing on me! Then it looks like I’m wearing watermelon pants! I freaked out at first, but then I remembered… you… Kaleb. How you have changed. How you stayed calm. I just wanted to first say… thank you… for providing an example… and… two… I want to discover what this change in me means. If you’re new powers came to you to save us… then this can only mean that I too now have a role to fulfill. I-I want to be like you, Kaleb…” he started tearing up.Hugging him, Kaleb promised him that they would find an explanation for this strange occurrence, and would find the meaning behind his transformation. They spent the rest of the day investigating for answers before returning to the plaza for the evening. “Sorry,” Xavier apologized. “We couldn’t find what changed you,” he drooped in defeat. The watermelon-colored Yoshi was about to forgive this lack of infringement when all of a sudden, they heard a Shy Guy voice from above. “HEY! YOSHIS! YOU MIGHT WANT TO SEE THIS!” Rushing over to where they thought they heard the voice, they looked around, finding nothing for a moment before the voice asked them to look above. They did so, and what they saw astounded them as much as the earlier discovery. Before their eyes, a Shy Guy was using a plastic propeller to fly, except it was on his waist, pulling him into the sky with some effort. That wasn’t the thing that was eye-catching though. What WAS attention-worthy was the fact that he was holding a Yoshi… A Yoshi that looked normal at first glance, but was hiding something from afar. As the Shy Guy and Yoshi came down, everyone circled around the landing site, looking curiously at what they saw. This Yoshi now had a fully brown coloration, some parts lighter than others, but still brown nonetheless. The Shy Guy set down the Yoshi, who proceeded to explain his story.“I was collecting some cacao seeds from the forest to make some chocolate, and as I was coming back here, I encountered a Pyro Guy! I ate him, but as I was carrying the seeds back, they suddenly melted onto me! I’m not sure HOW this happened, but perhaps it has a similar meaning to your transformation, Kaleb. Maybe we could discover if this has a deeper meaning?”As he finished saying this, his glance suddenly turned to the watermelon-patterned Yoshi.“You too?” he asked in surprise.“Yeah. I got turned into this for a similar reason,” Watermelon Yoshi replied. “I’m not sure for what rhyme or reason this happened, but surely we can’t be the last examples of this phenomenon.” As if on cue, another Yoshi arrived onto the plaza. This one had the colors of bright blue, pink, and yellow all over it. “Guys! I-” he stopped when he saw two of the Yoshis he was talking to in a similar state as he was in. “What?”“Yep!” the cocoa-patterned Yoshi began. “We’d like to know why too! What happened to you?”“I found some sweet cotton candy in the sky literally over the rainbow and ate it, only to end up looking like THIS after a few minutes,” the multicolored Yoshi explained.“I-In the SKY?!” Cameron asked in shock. “Yeah! You could walk on the clouds, and even on top of the RAINBOWS!” Cotton Candy Yoshi spoke in amazement. “It’s on the section of the island with all the toys and treats!” “Wow…” everyone else cooed. As soon as they figured this mystery out, they HAD to explore more of this wonderful world of wool. Perhaps both mysteries were connected to one another and this world could give ANYONE new powers and appearances. Seems that there was much more to do. As the days passed, more and more Yoshis had, much to their predictions, changed in appearance. One had become what would be known as Nighttime Yoshi, adopting a shadowy look with purple shoes and yellow cheeks. This was due to the moon shining on him at a certain angle, such that it looked like his transformation happened under a spotlight. Another Yoshi adopted a blue and purple striped pattern after playing with some bouncy balls, and came to be known as Circus Yoshi. One even attained a Poochy-colored scheme after well… playing with Poochy one time. More days went by, and more Yoshis changed, some even claiming patterns that matched each other, when one day, the first Nighttime Yoshi made a discovery.As night approached, the Yoshis and Shy Guys sat by a campfire, which itself looked like a connected thread constantly flowing, and began to tell stories. All were having a wonderful time, when suddenly, the fire went out.“Aww…” a Shy Guy complained. “That wood was PERFECT too.”“Shall we set off again?” the leader of them asked.“No,” Kaleb replied. “I’LL go. I’m nocturnal anyways.”“Fair point,” the first Nighttime Yoshi began. “I’d like to come with you!”“All right!” Kaleb agreed. “Come on!”As they began running off however, the Nighttime Yoshi tripped and landed near the pile of wood that was used. The moment he hit the ground, his cheeks lit up, and something else happened.A second or so after he began shining, a faint whitish yellow light began emanating from the charred wood. Everyone took notice and gathered around it. As they did so, the light continued to become brighter and brighter, glowing with the strength of multiple fireflies. They continued to watch in more curiosity until the light eventually encompassed where the flames once were, serving as an effective replacement. As the Yoshi who caused this occurrence got up, he looked on in surprise, shocked, yet elated, at what he had just done. This was what Nighttime Yoshis could do! He found the answer! “WOW!” Mikey cheered. “You gave us light without making a FIRE!” “I… I DID,” the Nighttime Yoshi reveled in awe, looking at his stubby hands. “I-I think that you’ve discovered YOUR power now!” Kaleb noted. As he continued looking at himself in surprise, the Nighttime Yoshi replied.“So I… I can illuminate stuff?” he questioned.He kept wondering about what he just did, when he suddenly got an idea. He remembered when Kaleb sent up that firework display on the first night of Fruit Fest. Focusing all of his power, he tried calling upon the light inside of him in order to accomplish the same feat. Slowly but surely, he began to glow a bright yellow before his entire body was shining. As he summoned more light, he suddenly released a pillar of it into the sky. As everyone looked up, they saw that the glowing tower was beginning to expel any clouds in its path. They dispersed from the light, running away like little children from a stranger. The Nighttime Yoshi continued to use this light to drive off the clouds for a minute longer until he could no longer sustain his state of power-giving. As the light faded away, everyone continued to look up, and instead of clouds, they saw a sky FULL of stars. They were completely taken aback by this. First Kaleb, and now many more following in his footsteps. These powers that they had witnessed in the past few days were only the beginning of a new journey it seemed. Everyone congratulated the Nighttime Yoshi in amazement, applauding his new discovery with the softest of clapping. Several other Nighttime Yoshis went up to him and asked him if they could teach them how to do that. Other transformed Yoshis also aspired to find out what they could do right then and there. Kaleb himself, the first to ever be transformed (and not even in this fluffy new world), looked on in interest as this happened. Tears began to run down his eyes, but they turned pink instead of blue. He was happy; happy that he started a movement that made evolved Yoshis comfortable with what happened to them. He remembered the first Watermelon Yoshi’s words to him that day… Those words that said that Kaleb was an example to those who faced sudden change. It made him feel like his true self once again. And so, as the days passed again, the Yoshis that had transformed had indeed discovered their special abilities. Yoshis that were food themed could detect their food better, and had the power to add the effect of their food to their yarn projectiles. For example, Watermelon Yoshis could throw yarn balls that split into watermelon seeds upon impact while Hot Cocoa Yoshis could throw heated projectiles. New Skeleton Yoshis, while not able to take that much of a beating, could revive in a fashion not dissimilar to Dry Bones, pulling themselves from unconsciousness whenever need be. Some Yoshis even took on the forms of their ENEMIES too, effectively adopting traits similar to if not parallel to theirs, becoming very effective in both fighting and in chores. Whatever the case was, it was all thanks to Kaleb in the end that the Yoshis had not only found a new world that granted them new capabilities, but that they also easily adapted to it as well. By finding change, even if it was by tragic accident, Kaleb inspired his friends and family to do the same. No one would have traded it for anything else.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

5 Months Later… How was this happening? Things went from normal one day to chaotic the next. Just yesterday, the Yoshis were all playing games and having fun! Now… Now the worst was occurring… It seemed that Kamek had eventually caught word of the Yoshis’ discovery of their new home, and, being the nasty he always is, decided to settle in as well, bringing his army in tow. This alone made the Yoshis suspicious, and the White Shy Guys even took warning of his appearance. It only got worse from there… Baby Bowser, the greedy jerk, wanted to enlarge the size of his castle and would whine for days about it. Kamek, wanting to appease and please him, set out to do so, when suddenly, a dark thought crossed his head… Everything and everyone here was made of yarn… including the Yoshi Clan. As he thought about this, a sinister grimace slowly began to form on him. Yes… YES! He would ambush the Yoshis, split them up into pieces, and carry them over to the castle, where he would use THEM as construction material! YES! A PERFECT plan all around! Already screeching in delight over such a prospect, he quickly began to make his way to any Yoshi he could find, when he remembered that they too had magical powers now. This in mind, he instead flew to the top of the castle, and, focusing his power to the max, began casting a spell. This spell that he was working strenuously on would lock the YOSHIS’ magic away, making them defenseless. As he continued draining their powers from them, they certainly felt the effects. A Nighttime Yoshi was currently illuminating the way for himself and some other Yoshis, when suddenly, he went out! “Huh?” he asked in bewilderment. “What happened?” Trying to brighten up again, all he got was a flicker before shorting out. “EEK!” a Circus Yoshi squealed. “WHAT’S HAPPENING?! I just felt something… leave me!” “Yeah. I feel like something isn’t right either!” a Shy Guy Yoshi spoke. Luckily, Kaleb was with the group at the time, and he, quick to action, tried using his powers to analyze what was happening, but he too felt the same magic drain effect on him too. However, before his powers were completely gone, he felt a presence… the presence of someone all too familiar… Eyes glowing red for only a moment before they were sapped of their magic as well, he announced to the group right away what the meaning of this was. “KAMEK!” he cried out. The others instantly understood from just that one word. Bracing themselves for a battle, they got together, back-to-back, ready to defend themselves. They kept waiting for what felt like hours, when suddenly, the Nighttime Yoshi began glowing. “Eh?!” he exclaimed in shock. “W-What is this?!” Suddenly, they heard a cackle come down upon them. “MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” it spoke. “I FOUND you, little YOSHIS!” Looking up, they all saw the very archnemesis that tormented them again and again. “KAMEK!” the Nighttime Yoshi raged. “Yes… It is I…” he began. “Bringer of dark magic… Master of Prince Baby Bowser… DESTROYER OF YOSHIS!!!” he chanted eerily. “Won’t you ever see that you won’t win?” Kaleb asked, ready to attack him. “Ah… But this time… I’ve GOT you!” Kamek sneered. “You see… Usually it’s the usual kidnapping I do… But this time…” he began while suddenly, he began to focus his magic on the trapped Nighttime Yoshi. As he did so, the Yoshi was overcome with unbearable pain. It almost felt like he was being… being… “AAAAAAHHHH!” the others screamed at what was happening. At a quick pace, their friend was being unraveled, panicking as this was happening. As the unravelling reached his head, he could but only say one word. “Run!” he cried out before the last of him was gone. With that, Kamek took the remains of what was once the Nighttime Yoshi before banding five pieces of him in this certain magical paper. He tried imprinting a Bowser logo on them, but all that came out was a smiley face, strangely. “Heh… Guess the Yoshis are so happy that they even affect my magic in DEATH,” Kamek mused. Shocked at the prospect of hearing this, the others, energized by anger, rushed towards him in an effort to get their friend back. “You know, you really shouldn’t be DOING that,” Kamek mocked as he approached the Circus Yoshi before casting the same spell on him too. In no time flat, he was also five bundles of inanimate yarn as well. Horrified, but not deterred, they continued battling. Unfortunately, it wasn’t even a contest. The Yoshis’ population dropped one by one as they fought, Kamek easily subduing and transforming them into plain yarn bundles. It continued until only Kaleb and the Shy Guy Yoshi were left… Kamek easily cornered the Shy Guy Yoshi, who was frightened and whimpering. He was about to strike him, when suddenly, he heard a voice cry out. “NO!” he heard. As the magic began to flow from his wand over to the helpless Yoshi, he suddenly saw Kaleb jump in front of him and take the blast instead. “NOOOOOOOO!” the Shy Guy Yoshi wailed. “I-It’s okay!” Kaleb assured him (or tried to anyway). As he said this, his feet began to unravel. Looking at Kamek with an angry glare, he could only watch as he was meeting his apparent fate. “Aww… How touching…” Kamek jeered. “Who’s afraid of WHO’S magic NOW? And… You know…” he started. “This guy AND you were eventually gonna meet your ends here. You’re merely STALLING his time…” As much as Kaleb hated to admit it, he was right. He would be done away with, and then his friend would follow suit. His sacrifice WAS for nothing… But then… he remembered… “Hmph! T-T-This isn’t o-o-over!” Kaleb spoke triumphantly. “Yoshi… He’s… still out there… HE can stop you…” “Oh no…” Kamek replied. “I’ll make sure to get HIM too… NO ONE will stop us! The Yoshis will finally go extinct! The Koopa Troop will RULE! Oh… and speaking of…” he said as he pointed to his left. Kaleb turned his head with all the strength he had left, he saw Shy Guys… White Shy Guys… They approached from behind Kamek, revealing with them more captured Yoshis. Kaleb couldn’t believe it… How could they? As he looked in disbelief, he shook his head, which itself was starting to unravel at this point. “No… No! We won’t be finished… Not by this! You haven’t won yet! Yoshi… or anyone else for that matter… WILL find us! They will…” he was suddenly cut off from being completely unraveled. Was this it? Was all hope lost, not only for him, but for Yoshikind as they knew it? Kaleb’s last thoughts were filled with fear… but also hope… They weren’t going to lose… he could FEEL it. Five days had passed since the Yoshi heist. The place… despite what Kamek had done, certainly didn’t LOOK deserted. Somehow, despite Kamek’s capturing of the Yoshis, most of them were actually alive and well. How was this so? Many, including himself, thought for sure that the Yoshis were all transformed into lifeless yarn! So how did they survive this attack? Well… It all began when Kamek unleashed the big attack on the plaza of Craft Island. He used a spell so large that he clearly should have been able to wipe out every Yoshi there… But then came the blunder: Yoshi and Mikey were able to escape via taking cover in the central nest, and hence, were the only TWO Yoshis that survived Kamek’s ultimate attack on Craft Island. Not only that, but as he was making his way across the island’s sections, he dropped the bundles of wool that were their friends in a hurry. What was strange, though, was that all five bundles that belonged to a specific Yoshi were dropped in one particular location each. Perhaps they weren’t entirely gone… Whatever the case, Yoshi and Mikey, without hesitation, set off to find and revive their friends. Their efforts were quick and to the point as well. Day after day, they cleared each section of the island, bringing back more friends from Kamek’s spell than he anticipated they could. As the Yoshis themselves were freed, they found their magic returned to them, a total reversal of Kamek’s spell. To thank their rescuers, they joined in on the effort to bring back the entire Yoshi population, freeing the others like it was nobody’s business, before recruiting them back into the team as well. It was only 5 days before they had finally made it to the final area: the haunted lands. They barged in without a second thought, and continued freeing the last of those who were trapped. As the group continued pressing onward, Yoshi and Mikey eventually entered a haunted house. As they ventured through it, they found five bundles of wool as expected, though who they were saving this time was certain to give them loads of joy. They enjoyed seeing their rescued friends again, but this friend of theirs had been missed for those past five days. As they exited the haunted house, Mikey and Yoshi raised up their arms to summon the wool they collected. As they circled around in the air, they eventually closed in on each other before knitting themselves back into a single being. That being… was a certain Yoshi with white eyes and a jack-o-lantern smile on its stomach. “KALEB!” Yoshi and Mikey yelled in joy. “YOSHI? MIKEY? YOU’RE ALL RIGHT!” Kaleb cheered as he went in to hug them. “Oh Kaleb, we MISSED you!” Mikey cried. “Thank goodness we found you!” Yoshi spoke. “Listen, we HAVE been under attack… that much you probably already know.” “Yeah…” Kaleb somberly started. “That Kamek… I want to help you guys put an END to his plans RIGHT NOW! LET ME AT ‘EM!” he said in a request to join the army-sized party. “No problem!” Yoshi exclaimed. “We’re ALL joining this movement! You’re help will be much welcomed!” “Thanks, guys,” Kaleb began. “For everything. I knew that you would save us… I never lost hope…” “So… We’re you… alive?” Mikey asked in awe. “Like… You weren’t… You know… Gone when he turned you into five pieces?” “Nope!” Kaleb revealed. “My body was split five ways, but I was still very much conscious through it all. But you guys fixed it, and I’m going to help you tie up the loose ends! How many did you save before me?” he asked. “Like at LEAST more than half of us,” Mikey informed him. “Good to hear, but Kamek… GAH! HE’S GONE LOW BEFORE, BUT THIS IS TOO FAR!” “Yeah! He even hypnotized the White Shy Guys against us!” Yoshi fumed. “Huh?” Kaleb questioned. He remembered that in the moments before he was unraveled, he saw those Shy Guys on KAMEK’S side. He originally thought that they had turned back on their own accord, but this was news to him. “Really?” “Yeah!” Yoshi confirmed. “We didn’t know why they suddenly turned on us when Kamek got us a few days ago, but it only took one defeated White Shy Guy for him to join us again! Although… we’re seeing less of them in this journey than before… I think Kamek may have them in the castle… You know… so they can’t be of any harm to him…” “Well, what are we standing around here for?” Kaleb asked. “We need to free the rest of our kind, AND the Shy Guys!” he triumphed as he took the lead. “All right! LET’S GOOOOOOO!” Yoshi cheered as they continued their journey that was nigh over. Eventually, Kaleb and Yoshi reached a passing in the sky that was the Yoshis’ final step in reaching Bowser’s Castle. Little did they know that a certain SOMEONE was waiting for them, and he WAS NOT PLEASED with their progress… As they carefully made their way across the platforms, Yoshi and Kaleb suddenly saw a blast of magic in the sky. Remembering this scene from before, they looked up to the sky, and sure enough, it was him… “KAMEK!” Yoshi and Kaleb angrily called out. “YOU GIVE US BACK OUR FRIENDS!” Kaleb raged in some tears. “Hmm… How do I put this nicely…?” Kamek began. “NEVER! You impudent little lizards have gotten in the way of our plans yet again. While we still have enough for our little plan, I’m afraid that I’ll have to add YOU to it as well!” he said while lifting his wand up in a threatening manner. Knowing what he was about to do, the two heroes thought that they were doomed, until Kaleb began to flash light-blue. As all three stopped and looked at Kaleb in surprise, they saw that a light blue aura was beginning to surround him. As it grew, it turned a dark red as Kaleb’s eyes and jack-o-lantern smile began to also glow that color. As the magic collected itself, it suddenly lunged at Kamek’s wand, gripping it like an iron fist. The wand began to lose its red color, all while some of its magic began flowing into Kaleb. As this sapping happened, Kamek tried to undo it, but just like in the forest that one time back on Yoshi’s Island, his opponent’s magic was far too strong to counter. As he watched helplessly, he suddenly remembered what he used to gain the upper hand during the beginning of this situation. Trying to focus his power, he concentrated an attack that would negate Kaleb’s magic once again so that he could win. It was starting to form, when it suddenly got vacuumed up into Kaleb’s magic. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Kamek shouted in fury. As Kaleb’s magic began forming into a full spell, he quickly used what power he called upon. He sent out waves that rang throughout the entirety of Craft Island, resounding with loud clashing noises as they drifted outward. As Kaleb reverted to normal, he gave a smirk at Kamek. The both of them knew what he had just done. Looking at the pair of dinosaurs for a moment, Kamek then decided to speak. “Fine. I see… I don’t need to finish you off like that, then! I’LL JUST HAVE TO FINISH YOU BY FORCE!!!” he finished as he quickly moved in to ram the two. Yoshi, thinking quickly, tackled Kaleb and got them both out of the way… at the cost of throwing them both from the platform that they were on… As they fell to what seemed to be their end, Kamek looked down and snickered evilly, mocking Yoshi for doing such a thing. He began to head off, when suddenly, he heard flapping from behind him. Turning around, he saw that his two adversaries had taken flight with newly grown wings. As they floated up to him, his snicker turned into a scowl. “You just don’t know when to quit, don’t you?” he breathed. “No. We do,” Kaleb began. “When we have all our FRIENDS BACK!!!” he cried out as he suddenly pounded Kamek and caused him to start falling out of the sky. As he fell Kaleb said a few more words to him. “Maybe I SHOULDN’T have been so kind to you that night!” he yelled in fury before Yoshi tapped his shoulder. “I appreciate the bravado, but he’s not gonna be down there for long. Let’s fly! He’ll be back any moment now!” “Right!” Kaleb complied. And so, it went. The two Yoshis took off and began their hunt for wool, all while avoiding Kamek’s attacks. Yoshi was thankful that Kaleb had been able to rob Kamek of his ability to rob the Yoshis of their magic and true forms. That would definitely make things a lot easier. Eventually, they reached they end of the area and had reknitted a Kamek Yoshi back together, a Yoshi whose magic could easily match Kaleb’s and surpass even the REAL Kamek’s! As they reconciled following this, all of the Yoshis found themselves at the doorstep of Bowser’s Castle. Yoshi and Mikey decided to volunteer to fight off Kamek and Bowser for what they hoped to be once and for all. As they entered, the entire crowd wished them good luck. As they went through the cheering army, they passed Kaleb. “Hey, I just want to thank you for saving me… for saving ALL of us… I was honestly so scared back there… but I knew that you would come for us…” he said with shining bluish-pink eyes. “Hey,” Yoshi exclaimed. “We owed you for saving the entire population as well. It was the least we could do.” “Yeah! But we’re not done YET!” Mikey noted. “Right! So you go in there and get the rest of us BACK!” Kaleb encouraged the two. “WE WON’T LET YOU DOWN!” the green and red Yoshis said in unison as they entered. Minutes later… All of the Yoshis were looking up at the castle, worried for their two friends. They knew that the place was likely a maze of trials, but… what if they got trapped? What if they didn’t make it? What if they were suffering at the hands of those two right now? As they began whimpering in despair for their friends, they suddenly felt a loud rumble that threw some of them to the ground. As they regained balance, they looked up at a sight that they recalled all too well… Above them, Baby Bowser, in all of his rage, stood atop the castle, towering over the establishment. He was so large now that the castle was nearly dwarfed compared to him. That wasn’t all… Surrounding him were bundles of wool… bundles of wool that had Bowser’s logo on them. Kaleb, wondering what they were for a second, suddenly guessed the truth in horror. “NO! HE’S USING THEM AS POWER SOURCE!!!” he shouted. Gasping, the other Yoshis stood in silence, wondering what to do, when they saw two small dots on top of the castle’s edge. They instantly knew who those were as well. “YOSHI! MIKEY!” they called in fear. Though Baby Bowser had been transformed into a giant before, this time, it was from the strength of their own unwilling friends! Kamek had gone beyond low this time! They could only watch at what would happen next. Minutes later…The battle wasn’t looking so great. Yoshi and Mikey, despite landing hits on Bowser, were doing no damage whatsoever! Meanwhile, Bowser himself was doing some serious damage to the pair, slamming them with his hands or scorching them with fire. Despite their best efforts, the two were slowly beginning to lose all strength and hope for victory. “URRRRRRRGH!!!” Yoshi panted. “This… This could be it!” he drooped.“C-Come on!” Mikey stammered. “We c-c-can’t give up now!”As he finished encouraging his green brother, he suddenly dropped, unable to continue.“D’AWWWWW!” Bowser mocked as Yoshi went over to help Mikey. “GIVING UP NOW?! IT’S TIME…” he said as he stomped over to Yoshi, who angrily looked up at him.“SAY GOODBYE, PREHISTORIC LOSERS!” he triumphed as he began to ready his hand for the final blow. As his hand came down however, it suddenly froze mid swipe. “HUH?!” he asked in shock. Looking up, Yoshi found the others, wings on their backs, holding Bowser’s hand up with all of their might.“GUYS?!” he asked surprised.“AGH! YEAH!” Kaleb managed to say.“WE’VE- WE’VE GOT YOUR BACKS!” a Circus Yoshi assured them.“C-COME ON! WE’RE NOT GIVIN’ UP THAT EASILY!” a Shy Guy Yoshi shouted. Yoshi, encouraged by this, felt that rush of joy that he thought his kind would never see again. He felt so empowered, that he felt his strength returning to him. Not only that, but he started to feel something from the back of him. Wings began to stretch themselves from the back of him, unfurling themselves in the most graceful manner possible. Yoshi looked at himself for a moment before his attention was turned to Mikey.As his eyes slowly opened, he saw what was happening, and his wounds began to vanish. As he too felt the joy of support, he slowly got up and began to slip out of Yoshi’s hands before unveiling his own wings. As he flew alongside Yoshi, the two looked at each other before turning their glare to Bowser. “WOOOOOOOO!” Kaleb cheered. “GO MIKEY! GO YOSHI!” he chanted before the others did the same. Feeling empowered by this teamwork, Yoshi and Mikey resumed action.“IT’S NOT OVER YET!” Yoshi stated boldly. “WE’RE STILL IN IT!” Mikey added.“GRRRR! I’LL CRUSH ALL OF YOU!” Bowser roared as he tried to flatten the Yoshis holding his hand up, only for them all to disperse and make him trip. “HA!” the Circus Yoshi laughed. “Now, Yoshi! Mikey! Our chance has come!”“Yeah, but how?” Yoshi asked. “Nothing seems to work against him!” “Hmm…” Kaleb thought. “Maybe not against HIM, but what about the wool! If you throw yarn balls at it, it might just mess up the integrity of their structure, therefore causing it to turn back into our friends!”“That might actually WORK!” Mikey beamed. Trying to find some stray yarn, Yoshi and Mikey slurped it up before turning it into ammo. Nodding to each other, they each fired their shots at a bundle.The plan was a success! As the balls of yarn made contact, the wool they collided with began to unravel. As it did so, smaller bundles of wool, the familiar ones with happy faces, flew off into the distance.“YES!” Yoshi exclaimed. They found their goal! “AAAAGH!” Bowser winced in pain. “MY POWER SOURCE! YOU SCAMPS WON’T TAKE IT FROM ME!” he yelled.“YES, WE WILL!” the two Yoshis shot back. “YOU’RE DAYS OF FRIEND-STEALING ARE OVER!”With that, the three charged into battle again, the Yoshis backed by full support of their kind. The battle was arduous. Baby Bowser did anything he could to ensure that he would lose no more wool, but because it was rather difficult to move in such little space, the Yoshis had a fair shot at his power source. Yoshi dodged some fire he sent out and tossed a yarn ball, freeing some more wool from Kamek’s spell. Mikey called Yoshi over to a spinning wheel that took them to his backside, where they flanked a couple of more shots off him there. Down to only three bundles, Bowser roared in disgust, angry that the Yoshis had gotten this far. “NO NO NO NO NO!” he whined. “YOU WON’T WIN! I WON’T LOSE!”As he said this, he breathed a stream of fire that grazed the two dinos, slightly hurting them. Undeterred, the Yoshis continued their attack, leaping profoundly and taking any opportunity to press on the offense. They scored a couple of more shots on him.“This is it,” Yoshi concluded. “This is the final shot.” “Come on, guys!” Mikey implored. “WE’RE ALMOST THERE!!!”Bowser, unrelenting, slammed his hand down. Mikey dodged in the nick of time, but the blow through him off balance. Seizing the moment, Bowser let loose with a full fire blast, toasting the red Yoshi. Angered, Yoshi leapt up and attempted to toss a yarn ball over to the yarn bundle, only to miss and have Bowser sear him by sending a fiery wave over in his direction. Trying to get up, the two Yoshis were nearly swiped by the young brat, only to evade damage at the last moment. Bowser tried to breathe fire on them again, but this also failed to do anything, the two dinosaurs flying out of the way. He sent out attack after attack on them, but each missed. Eventually, as he stopped his onslaught, he noticed that Yoshi and Mikey were missing. He had seen this moment before, when he and Kamek were ambushed by Kaleb that one night. Trying to jump and turn around, he suddenly felt a surge of pain, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw small bundles of wool floating away. “AGH! NOOOO-!” he choked out before feeling woozy. As he tossed and turned, he eventually fell flat on the floor.“We… We DID IT!” Yoshi cheered. As the other Yoshis saw their accomplishment, they too cried aloud in joy and floated towards their two exhausted but excited friends. As they hugged each other, they began to see Baby Bowser glowing.As they watched in relief, they saw that he was losing all of the extra yarn he had, shrinking down back to normal size. As they all jumped down from the tower’s edge, they all ran towards their enemy with the intent of confronting him, when something else stopped them in their tracks. Before them, bundles of wool with smiley faces descended upon them, circling around them as they all formed groups of five. After doing this, they drew closer to one another, knitting themselves into the shapes of more of their friends. They were orange, purple, blue, cyan, pink, black and white Yoshis!“GUYS!!!” Yoshi shouted in joy. “YOU’RE OKAY!!!” As the newly reformed Yoshis looked around for a moment, their eyes met with the rest of their friends. “We’re… back?” Parker asked. “You… You saved us!” Dave cheered.“I-I’m so sorry that I let myself be used to ATTACK you guys!” Ken apologized in tears, running to Kaleb and hugging him. “It’s all right…” Kaleb assured his friend. “It wasn’t your fault.” Turning his head to the defeated Bowser, he began walking to him with Ken in tow before the others all began to do the same. Eventually, the brat was surrounded and cornered. Kamek then flew in, distressed that the Yoshis had beaten him to a pulp. “HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO YOUNG MASTER!” he cried to them. Seeing as he was outmatched, both in numbers and in magic, he saw that there was nothing left to do but flee.Picking up his fainted prince, he slowly began to take off, but not before he vowed revenge. “YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS ONE DAY!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!”As he left, the Yoshis rejoiced, jumping up and down. Another victory against the Koopa Troop under their belt, and this time, they prevailed against the threat of extinction! They were overjoyed that they could be whole again after all of the trials of this adventure. As they began to walk downstairs from the tower that the fight had taken place in, they suddenly heard some noises. Turning their heads to see what it was, it was a group of Shy Guys, and they were behind bars! As they approached their entranced friends, they saw that it was indeed the ones who used to be their friends. “Hey!” the Watermelon Yoshi exclaimed in anger. “I remember when those guys held me down while Kamek split me into five pieces! I thought they were our friends!” he spoke in a betrayed tone. As he approached the cage to look angrily at the Shy Guys, Kaleb halted him.“Wait!” he spoke. “Yoshi. You said that these guys were brainwashed by Kamek?”“Yes,” his green friend replied. “Some of us encountered some of them in our adventure, and we found ourselves with no choice but to defeat them… But the thing is that when we did, they were back on our side again!”“Really?” the Watermelon Yoshi questioned. “I-I don’t know… I still feel uneasy about it. Besides, do we really want to BEAT the curse out of them ALL?” Thinking for a moment, Kaleb was struck with an idea. He remembered how he proved the Shy Guys’ loyalty before when Fruit Fest was starting that one night. He didn’t want to do it again, but perhaps it could break the spell Kamek put on them.Stepping to the front of the crowd, he told them his plan, and they agreed to it. Then, he turned to the Shy Guys that were trapped and closed his eyes. Concentrating with all of his might, he tried to bring forth the startling, red-faced visual that he was somewhat notorious for. He focused for about ten seconds or so, when he suddenly let forth a loud screech with red eyes, limbs and a jack-o-lantern smile. The effect was immediate: the Shy Guys covered their faces in horror, some even collapsing on the ground. They scrambled about, all while, much to Kaleb’s hope, whiteish-blue beams of magic began to flow out of them. The magic faded away as soon as it came out as the Shy Guys slowly regained their composure. As they stopped hyperventilating, they looked around in confusion for a moment, wondering where they were, when they met eyes with Kaleb. Realizing what had happened, they drooped their heads down in shame and fear.“Oh… Oh no…” the leader spoke. “What- What did we do? What happened?”Looking nervously at each other, the Yoshis didn’t know what to say before Tom decided to break the news to them. “You… Well… uh…” he tried softening his words. “You were kind of hypnotized by Kamek and became a part of his army again…”As they heard this news, the Shy Guys became more disheartened at what they were told, beginning to recall what exactly they did. “Oh…” the leader spoke. “I… I remember now… Kamek got us… then he ordered us to seize you… all while he… he…” He couldn’t finish his sentence before bursting into tears and approaching Kaleb.“OH! WE’RE SO SORRY! HOW COULD WE LET OURSELVES BE SWAYED OVER LIKE THAT?” The others kneeled before the dinos and did the same. “Hey! It’s all right!” Yoshi said. “You had no CONTROL over your actions. We’re just glad you’re free now. Although… I’m guessing you’re behind bars because Kamek STILL couldn’t trust you, huh?”“Yep!” the leader choked. “He knew that there was still good in us, so he decided to lock us up! What’s worse, some of us were released, but only because he cast his strongest magic on them!” At hearing this, the Yoshis became angry. “THAT’S SO ROTTEN!” Dave growled. “THAT’S SO MUCH DISRESPECT!” As the others agreed, Kaleb began focusing his power on the cell that the Shy Guys were in. In short time, he unraveled the bars, giving them free passage. “Well, it matters not,” he said. “You’re free NOW, and we’ll make it our GOAL to find the rest of you guys! We can save them!” “T-Thank you!” the Shy Guys sobbed in unison. “Thank you for saving us! Now we HAVE to repay you in any way we can!”“Well, first things first!” Yoshi started. “Let’s get everyone rescued returned home. Then… Then we can begin our search party for the remaining Yoshis and Shy Guys that are still out there.”Cheerfully complying, the others began to march behind him out of the castle, through the dark land, and back to their home, where day had already begun to rise. When they got to their destination, they all cheered and hugged each other, glad that Kamek was driven off again, and that happiness would define their lives again soon enough. A week later…The Yoshis and Shy Guys had been hard at work in finding the remainder of their friends. They checked every nook and cranny, and sure enough, their lost friends were there, waiting to be found. It was an absolutely joyful reunion. More and more Yoshis and White Shy Guys came back to the central plaza, joining in on the effort to revive Craft Island. They had checked everywhere at every part of the island, and no one was unaccounted for. The Shy Guys, holding true to their promise to try and redeem themselves, invented special Power Badges that mirrored some of the Yoshis’ powers, and, at the cost of some beads that the Yoshis found throughout their adventure, gave them these powers that lasted for a limited time. This worked wonders in helping them throughout the end of their adventure. As the team of friends was concluding their work, they eventually got to the end of the final sub-area of the dark lands. As Kaleb and Ralph reached the end of the lava-filled platforming, they were greeted by the rest of their kind, who had begun cheering as they approached.“We found the last Yoshi AND Shy Guy!” the two said in unison. Indeed, they could see a White Shy Guy riding on Parker’s back and five bundles of wool being held by Kaleb. As the Yoshis and Shy Guys all exited the heated place, Kaleb summoned the wool from himself before watching the pieces draw into each other, forming the last missing NES Yoshi, a Yoshi type that could digitally teleport and create virtual illusions (8-bit in this type’s case) thanks to contact with some blocky enemies. The moment he was back, they all cheered and headed back to the plaza. “WE DID IT!!!” Mikey cheered as the Yoshis celebrated. “ALL OF THE YOSHIS AND WHITE SHY GUYS HAVE BEEN FOUND!!!”“YAY!” everyone shouted. “But this couldn’t have been started without our two friends, Yoshi and Mikey!” Kaleb pointed out. “Let’s hear it for them!” They all thanked the two Yoshis that began the movement to rescue them all, dancing with them in total happiness. As the celebration died down, they were about to use the rest of the day to relax, when they suddenly saw some strands of yarn fall near them. They were light purple, dark purple and red in color, all of them floating down near them before beginning to connect with the ground near them.“What’s going on?” Parker asked.“Another trap?” Xavier tensed up.As they wondered if this was the case, suddenly, from behind them, the nest in the center of the plaza began glowing and summoning more yarn as well. As they looked back and forth between the two forming creations, they saw that the first one was forming a circular shape that had some ripples in it. The nest, meanwhile, had white yarn falling down onto its egg, all the while said egg began to collect the wool and increase in size. The growing purple cylinder had continued to manifest, until it began closing up at the top. It was the shape of a tent, just like the ones the Yoshis had built. The only difference was that while the other ones had a more inviting atmosphere, this one had the visage of two dark evil eyes that almost looked like they were glaring down on the Yoshis and Shy Guys. Some even backed away for fear that it was alive. As they looked at the completed tent, their attention was turned to the egg in the center yet again as it too finished taking on its new form. There was nothing really new about it, just that it was bigger. As the confused islanders started investigating these odd occurrences, they jumped back suddenly when they heard a voice come seemingly from nowhere. “Yoshis… Shy Guys…” a faint soothing voice spoke.“AAHH! WHAT WAS THAT?!” Cameron asked in bewilderment. “Who IS that?!” a Shy Guy questioned. The group continued to listen for more noise, and looked around everywhere, when they heard it again. “Yoshis… Shy Guys…” it said again.“WHO IS THIS?!” Yoshi yelled into the air.“Look… Look down upon the egg in the center…” they were told.Doing so, everyone was awestruck to find that it was glowing. Approaching it by the masses, they all waited for what it had to say, too surprised to even respond at this point. “You… You have done well… You have all done well to reunite your kind together AND protect Craft Island from Kamek and Bowser,” the egg commended. “You truly are the greatest creatures alive…” After a few seconds of stunned silence, Kaleb asked the egg what it really was… if it, you know, had a backstory. “Hm hm!” the egg chuckled at this blunt question. “I think you’ll be interested to know… that I was the beginning of this land’s creation.”At this, the Yoshis were taken aback. Of course, this was to be expected, but it was very neat to meet a sentient egg that had been the start of a beautiful world. “No WAY!” Dave cooed. “Yes…” the egg responded. “I, along with the rest of this world, was actually created by a race you all know as the Stars. You see… In the same vein that people like to practice their craft with simple drawings, they also like to do more complex feats, such as knitting. One day, a group of them created this land… Of course… they were no ordinary stars… They were… The Star Spirits!”At this, the crowd gasped. They certainly didn’t expect their new discovery to be created by them.“The reason that THEY would decide to take this up, you see… Is because they wanted to thank you!” At this revelation, the Yoshis became confused.“Huh?” Tom asked. “Why? What did we do?”“You see… much of your past is shrouded in history, something I would like to address in the future… but the Star Spirits… they remember you well the day you came into this world… They watched your every action, and with every breath you took, it gave them all the more reason to put all of their belief in your kind… They had faith that you could even turn the corrupted to the light… so much… that one day… to thank you for your eternal kindness… they decided to make you a new world… yes… THIS world…”The Yoshis were in shock when they heard this. They certainly didn’t expect to be noticed in such a way. “They voiced no regrets in its creation, and they KNEW that by the love in your hearts, you would find this place one day… They created me to relay this message to you… That it was to be YOUR world where you could experience nothing but happiness and comfort, where you could live your lives to the fullest with no adversity… But of course… Kamek and Bowser eventually discovered this place… and matters went downhill… You have our apologies. This was supposed to be a place for YOU… not EVIL… I wasn’t even awake to warn you… I am sorry… I was in dormancy, and I… I did not even notice your initial arrival…”As the egg voiced its regret, the Yoshis (and Shy Guys), without a second thought, went to comfort their new friend, telling it not to worry about what had happened in the past few days. “Thank you…” it cheered up. “I… I wish that I could have prevented it… so for my lack of action…” it began while it began to release a breeze of wind that traveled to the newly created tent. Without delay, the flaps that led to the entrance opened up, allowing everyone passage. “I will allow you to revisit previous battles that you encountered in your adventure. This tent will become known as the Boss Tent. Those that are brave enough to try their strength against it may do so, and should you fail, there will be no penalty. You have been through much already. Of course, should you succeed, you may find yourselves with something you’d be rather happy to see…”The Yoshis and Shy Guys stood in perplexment again, wondering what such a reward could be. They all volunteered to each fight a rematch of an encounter that they had and began to rush in to see who could make it first, when the egg stopped them in their tracks.“Oh… and, another thing…” it announced. “I have also created something else from within myself… a summarization of your grand adventure if you will… Something I like to call, the Wonderful World of Wool… Those of you who find all of the secrets within it will also find something valuable to them!” This put the Yoshis and Shy Guys to a standstill for a while. They wondered what to do for a moment, when Mikey got an idea. “Guys! Let’s split up!” he implored. “Half of us can go to this final area while the other half can fight all the battles again!” Agreeing, the team divided itself such that an ample amount of Yoshis and even Shy Guys were taking care of each task. Kaleb took up the bold task of taking on Knot-Wing Koopa’s third fight along with a Nighttime Yoshi, the first one who ever came into being. As they entered the recreated arena, they gave a nod to each other before stepping into combat.The battle was certainly not as either of them expected it to be. Their opponent was moving so fast that he had but completely overwhelmed the pair at first, nearly crushing them and sniping them with Bullet Bills. They knew that they just needed a shot to the cannon strapped to his back, but the turtle was ironically too fast to even give them a good hit. They started tiring out, when they knew that to surrender would be unacceptable. Their friends were counting on them to uncover whatever secret the Egg had in store for them. Thinking outside of the box, they decided to use a tactic that they would use when they were scarce on ammo: using each other. With one Yoshi throwing the other, the one thrown could guide his own flight and have an easier chance in landing a blow on the cannon, putting it out of commission and giving them the upper hand. Kaleb volunteered to be the ball, so the Nighttime Yoshi prepped his arm and took aim. It was a graceful toss. The throw was already smooth enough to hit home, but Kaleb’s homing ensured a bullseye. The cannon was incapacitated, allowing the Yoshis to whale on the boss. Knot-Wing didn’t give up easily, but the two dinos were prepared for this. They changed their tactics from offense to defense whenever the time called for it, and pretty soon had the battle wrapped up. The Nighttime Yoshi scored a direct hit on the cannon with his ball of yarn, putting him in a stunned state for what would be the final blow. Kaleb, without hesitation, pounded Knot-Wing’s stomach, effectively ending the quick-paced battle. They WON! As the two celebrated their triumph, they stopped when they saw a couple of familiar items float by them. They were bundles of wool, but they were gold-colored. “I’ve never seen any Yoshi with THIS color before!” the Nighttime Yoshi mused.“I know! This must be the secret the Egg must be talking about!” Kaleb noted.Collecting the two bundles of wool, they brought them back out of the Boss Tent, where all of the other Yoshis and Shy Guys that had gone in had also come back out, each of them with shining bundles of wool in their hands.“Look what we found!” a Shy Guy beamed. Nodding, Kaleb and the Nighttime Yoshi approached the others, and were about to unite them into Yoshis, when suddenly, they heard some popping noises. Turning their attention to the Egg, they saw that it was the other half of the team that had ventured into the Wonderful World of Wool. They looked extremely excited, and, looking closer, they too possessed shiny wool.“THAT WAS… well… WONDERFUL!!!” Yoshi cheered. “IT WAS LIKE OUR ADVENTURE IN A NUTSHELL!” As he explained his party’s escapades in the area that they explored, he noticed that the others had what they came out with as well.“You too?” he asked.“Yes,” Kaleb began. “We’ve never even SEEN Yoshis that could sparkle like this, so this is BOUND to be interesting!”“Whatever!” Mikey spoke. “Whatever they’re like, we’ve just got some new additions to our family!”“This… This was really the secret?” Kaleb asked as he turned to the Egg.“Yes… You creatures started with little during your first adventure in this world, and now… I want to make sure you end up with a lot…” the Egg replied. “My debt to you…”Speechless, the crowd stood silent for a minute or two before deciding to delay the big moment no longer. As they held up and summoned the wool for a final time, they watched as each bundle found its counterpart, circling and dancing around each other before finally merging. This time though, a bright light shined as the yarn took its form, causing the group to shield their eyes.The light died down in only a few seconds, and when it did, they were met with a heartwarming sight. Before them, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum Yoshis laid on the ground, covered in blankets, the only thing visible being their heads. They were newborns!As they approached their new friends and brothers, the Egg spoke to them.“Meet your new kin: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum Yoshi! They are the only one of their kind, much like your spooky friend… at least for now… Treasure them.”As they looked at them lovingly, they held them up and cradled them with all the love they had. With tears in their eyes, it took all their effort to choke out a “Thank You!!!” as well as a promise to hold them dear. They never would have thought that they would be thanked with the blessing of more of them. This was truly the happiest day of their lives!“You are more than welcome!” the Egg responded. “After all, it is WE that should be thanking YOU! Thanks to your kind, the world is a better place, and that only becomes truer the more of you there are… Please… No matter how dark the skies might get… No matter how awful things may look sometimes… Never lose your hope and happiness!” it implored the group as it shot a firework into the sky, concluding the Yoshis’ cuddly adventure. After it did this, it began losing its glow, implying that it was falling asleep again.“Thank you, Egg,” the Yoshis and Shy Guys teared up. They would definitely hold onto the promise to cherish their friends and family, and, especially for the Yoshis, they would NEVER let anything keep them down, no matter how dark times would get… They knew that they would always have each other.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

2 Months Later… The amigurumi sun was rising on Craft Island as dawn approached. Light slowly began to cover the land, eventually reaching the center of it all. As it did so, it revealed a bunch of resting plush Yoshis and Shy Guys on the ground. As the shining beams of the sun touched down, each inhabitant began to stir about and slowly wake up. Well… most of them… a few dozed on, indifferent to the solar alarm clock. Among those who continued sleeping was a certain undead dinosaur with white eyes and jack-o-lantern smile on his stomach. He looked just as adorable as the others while snoozing away though, his nose sniffing the air while resting, his breathing occurring in soft noises. Clearly, he was at peace. What was he dreaming about? He was having a vision about something familiar… he was dreaming of playing fun games with his friends, talking about good times, and enjoying some fruit. It was just like his dream that time months ago… Before… Before… Suddenly, his friends vanished without any reason, and he found himself by a river. As he called for his friends, he suddenly saw the body of water… He remembered what happened back then… It was by this riverside that he looked at himself… He found himself walking slowly to the river, preparing to look down, afraid of what he would see again… Oh, what he wouldn’t give to forget this memory! But when he looked down onto the surface, he was met with an unexpected sight. Before him stood a normal purple Yoshi with dark blue eyes staring back at him, looking back at him in the exact same worried expression that he wore. As his frightened attitude turned into a surprised one, so did the reflection’s. He lifted his green hand over the water to see if the reflection would follow, and sure enough, a purple hand reached out as well. What he did, the mirrored image would do in return. He kept making movements, and no matter what action he took, so did the reflection. As he tried to find the reason for this, eventually, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw that it was his green friend’s. “Kaleb? Are you all right?” he asked. “I-I’m FI-” he began before he found himself unable to continue. He suddenly broke into a bunch of tears as he dropped onto his knees. He just wanted to be alone, away from his friends, for he was… he was… Drawing him back into reality, he felt his friend wrap his arms around him. He wanted to free himself from this embrace at that moment, for he felt unworthy of it. He wasn’t in a position to be hugged. At least… that’s what he thought… Yoshi began comforting him by patting his head and rocking him slowly back and forth. “Kaleb… It’s okay… YOU’RE okay…” he soothed the blue-eyed dinosaur. “Please… lose your doubts… Please… forget your fears… they aren’t true…” What he said next… Kaleb remembered all too well. “Please…” Yoshi pleaded. “Understand that you ARE no danger to us. You ARE one of us. You would NEVER hurt us,” he confirmed. Yoshi did not let go of his friend, intending to stay by his side until he was calmed down. “Kaleb, if I had just stayed behind…” he started to choke on his tears. “If I knew what was going to happen, then you could have COUNTED on me defending you from that boy! I- I feel so SORRY that we weren’t there! You… You SACRIFICED yourself to save US!” he remembered. “KALEB! WE LOVE YOU!” he said wholeheartedly to his friend. The moment after he told this to him, all of the other Yoshis, and even Shy Guys, soon appeared and began circling around him, telling him encouraging messages before approaching closer and lifting him into their circle. “HIP HIP! HOORAY! HIP HIP! HOORAY! HIP HIP! HOORAY!” they all cheered for their friend. As they did so, Kaleb himself slowly stopped crying, and his eyes slowly became pink. He thanked his friends as they thanked him back for saving them in return. As they continued tossing him into the air, they chanted: “Kaleb! KALEB! KALEB!” Without warning, he jolted awake from the dream when he heard: “KALEB! KALEB! KALEB!” Looking around, he saw his closest friends trying to stir him awake, relieved that they had finally done so. As he met eyes with Yoshi and the others, he suddenly leaped upwards and gave them a hug. His eyes were bluish-pink as he sobbed into their shoulders. His family instantly got the message. “Kaleb? Are you all right?” Yoshi asked. “I-I wasn’t…” Kaleb replied. “Not at first… I… I had a dream…” he explained. He told everyone of how he felt loneliness again in his vision, but how… how THEY were there to comfort him… He thanked them for being there where he thought he wasn’t safe… He said to them how he thought he was going to wake up horrified, but how his brothers were there to ease his pain in a place where he thought no one could do so. His friends felt relieved upon hearing this, overjoyed that he hadn’t forgotten what Tom had told him on the first night of Fruit Fest months ago. They were happy that he remembered who he could fall back on should this have happened. They all knew that soon enough, he would relive this terrible memory again… It certainly wouldn’t be the last time it happened, but they were relieved to know that Kaleb could handle this… and in the event that it became to much for him… THEY would be there in PERSON to heal any emotional wound. They made sure to tell him that as soon as he finished telling them his plight. “Y-You guys are amazing…” he coughed. “I-I don’t know what I would’ve done without your support…” “There there…” Mikey soothed him. Everyone present cradled their brother, and even Yoshis that saw this event unfold joined in on making him feel better. They kept hugging and patting him until they knew for CERTAIN that he was better. It was then that Ralph guessed why he was overcome with this feeling so suddenly, other than by random occurrence. “Kaleb?” he asked. “Pardon my conclusion, but… and I only say this to try and help you…” he began. “Did you have that nightmare last night because of what’s going to happen today?” Still for a moment, Kaleb eventually nodded, his eyes turning blue in despair again. “That is completely understandable,” Ralph replied. “I understand that this is something that isn’t easy to do after the way it’s happened all those other years… We ALL understand…” He was talking about the fact that today was the very first day that they were going to let the human children see their new world for the first time. It was a tradition of the Yoshis to let them visit their island numerous times, but this was the first time that they would let them look upon their new discovery. Kaleb wasn’t worried that they wouldn’t like it at all. He knew they would absolutely adore the landscape there. He knew that they would enjoy seeing a brand new perspective. He wasn’t worried about their impending reactions to the place… What he was worried about… and understandably so… was their impending reactions to HIM. This was the first time that they would look upon his new face. What would they think of HIM? Would they still accept him? Or would they be too scared to even try to approach him? Ever since the day they began their plans to share their world with the children, Kaleb felt a twinge of fear for the moment that was to come today. It made him a nervous wreck. His friends, with this information revealed to them, began to hug him even more, understanding that he was afraid of being rejected again. They remembered that feeling emanating from him when they first found him after he went missing. It must have been a very frightening feeling to always hold. To know that you could be rejected for your appearance… Thank GOODNESS that the lot of them had transformed… In a way, Kaleb had brought the meaning of diversity to a whole new level, and for that, they couldn’t thank him enough. Even then, they could still understand how Kaleb alone might be left alone from the others… Now, they absolutely had to convey that message to the other people of the world, the message that you can’t judge a book, or a Yoshi in this case, by its cover. “Hey! Kaleb!” Tom began. “We’re gonna make them realize that it’s still YOU, and that it was ALWAYS you! If they so much as even THINK you’re a monster, we’ll do everything in our hearts to make them see otherwise. We’re gonna help you feel comfortable… not only in front of us… but in front of THEM as well!” Knowing his friends were telling the truth as always, Kaleb hugged them even tighter before thanking them for staying behind him in all of this. As he calmed down, he helped the others get ready for the occasion. Everyone put up signs that welcomed the newcomers to their second home, using inviting aesthetics in their creations. They were ready in less than an hour and had begun waiting for their guests to arrive. As they did so, they talked with one another, telling each other what fun they would have with the children, Kaleb even showing some signs of his usual ecstatic self when chatting, forgetting his fears for the time being. As they continued socializing, eventually, a Cotton Candy Yoshi caught sight of the children far off in the distance. “Look!” he said. “Here they come!” Cheering, the Yoshis directed them over to their location as the children took heed and rushed over to them, excited for seeing their prehistoric friends yet again. They brought them so much happiness, even in the roughest of times, which is why they kept returning to them as the months passed. As they approached, Kaleb shuffled nervously in place, still worried about what might happen. The others took notice of this and patted him on the back, sending him comforting looks. The kids eventually arrived, and the moment they did, everyone shouted aloud in joy, glad that they were seeing each other again. The children gladly said hello to the dinosaurs, which they did in return, welcoming them to the island. The young people congratulated their friends on their discovery the first chance they got, stating how it was like a group of giants created this land. The Yoshis laughed at this simile while telling them the origins of the place without hesitation. Of course, it wasn’t long before the children noticed that there was another change in this world: the Yoshis themselves. “WOW!” one kid noticed. “I’ve never seen a Yoshi like THIS before!” he said as he went up to a Yoshi that had the pattern of a chocolate cookie. “What happened to you?” he asked, intrigued at what the Yoshi’s reply might be. Excited to explain, the aforementioned Yoshi told him and the others surrounding him that he was once a normal yellow Yoshi until one day, he was pancaked by a giant Yoshi cookie! He thought he was done for, but when the dust cleared, he found himself a Cookie Yoshi, a Yoshi that could morph into different shapes as if he was some sort of cookie cutter. He could also detect the scent of cookies much better than the others. Of course, he demonstrated this to the other kids as well, and they weren’t disappointed. He definitely earned their applause. They whistled and cheered in delight, completely blown away by what became of this already amazing creature. Wondering if the others had any tricks up their sleeves, they were about to ask, when, as if the dinos had read their minds, began perfecting their new abilities as well. It was an uproar of cheering. ALL of the Yoshis managed to impress their human peers, who wanted multiple encores for minutes on end. As this continued happening however, there was actually ONE unique Yoshi who wasn’t doing anything… Kaleb was staying hidden in the crowd of his friends, not wanting to show his face to the others. He had still doubted that his appearance would be welcomed, so he saw it fit to lurk in the shadows. Of course, his friends knew that this wasn’t healthy, and sure enough, as the commotion ebbed and flowed, his friends began to take notice of his secrecy, and some pulled him over for another pep talk. “Kaleb?” a Poochy Yoshi started. “It’s okay… You don’t have to hide…” “I-I’m sorry…” Kaleb whispered. “I-I still don’t f-feel like I’ll be a-a-a-accepted!” As he cried onto his friend’s shoulder, the Poochy Yoshi, understanding his predicament, tried to soothe his friend some more. “Hey… It’s all right… I know how they might react too… But remember… WE’RE with you… WE know who you are… And we’ll let THEM know TOO.” Kaleb was still hesitant after hearing this. The Poochy Yoshi thus extended his hand to Kaleb in an effort to let him realize that they were there for support. “Kaleb… You’re not going to feel any better hiding in fear. Besides, those kids are eventually going to start wondering where their jolly little Kaleb went some time or another. They need to see their super eccentric Yoshi, and I KNOW you can show them that he still lives!” Thinking for a moment, Kaleb took his friend’s hand and shook it, reassured in himself. “Thank you! I know I can be a bother with my moping sometimes, but I-I guess I really DO miss the old days!” he wept softly. “Oh… No problem. And don’t EVER think that you have no right to cry!” his friend said in a serious but sweet manner. “What happened to you that day…” he began to tear up. “Kaleb… We’re so sorry we let it happen! Once again, we owe you so much for keeping us safe that one time…” Kaleb, now remembering that he had his friends and family to fall back on, boldly stepped up and began walking forward over to the crowd of children, afraid still, but believing in himself. He approached the kids, confident that they would know who he really was. He stepped in front of the last Yoshi that was obscuring their view of him, prepared for any reaction that he might get from them. He… certainly expected what came… As one of the kids’ eyes met with his, everyone suddenly heard a high-pitched yelp. Stopping what they were doing, they turned to the kid before the other humans saw what he was looking at. As they glanced over Kaleb’s way, they too gave out screams of horror. “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!” they squealed. “W-W-What happened t-t-t-to THIS Yoshi?” one asked in fear. “I-I-I-It’s like it-it-it’s a z-z-z-z-z-ZOMBIE!” another jumped to a conclusion. Everyone else (in terms of the humans of course) more or less agreed with the two kids who said those harsh statements, even stating out loud that they didn’t want to go any closer to the undead Yoshi. This obviously put the Yoshis on the defensive, making all of them step in to defend their friend, who, despite the kids’ claims, was in no way a danger to any of them. “Hey!” Mikey exclaimed. “This is our friend!” “We WON’T have you jump to such a thought!” Ralph countered. The Yoshis continued to advocate for their Kaleb, who was withdrawn into himself at this point. He was brave enough to try interacting with the people, but he had suffered as a result of only a few words directed at him. His eyes turned blue and he began to sob, only choking on more and more tears as the argument continued. Those words the kids said… They reminded him too much of his nightmares of what he thought his closest friends would think of him back when he was only recently transformed. It was… too much for him. He continued to cry as his friends stood up for him, trying to convince their human friends that he wasn’t a monster. “B-But LOOK AT HIM!” a child said. “HIS EYES… THEY’RE CHANGING COLORS!” “Only according to how he FEELS!” Tom informed them. “His eyes are blue right now, so he feels HURT! Hurt that you guys would dare to pick him out from the rest of us! He IS one of us! How DARE you hurt our friend’s feelings! You’d feel ESPECIALLY sorry if you found out who you were scared of!” It only took those words to make the kids stop pointing accusations at the sobbing dinosaur and to make the aforementioned creature slowly stop crying. The kids stood there in silence, shocked that the Yoshis apparently knew this one so well, before one of them worked up the courage to ask who this mysterious Yoshi was. What they heard next filled them with loads of regret. “This… This is KALEB!” Parker revealed. “You know! He was that purple Yoshi that would always be one of the first to greet you every time you came to us! Yes! THIS Yoshi… the one you mistook for a creature of darkness… is our dear FRIEND KALEB!!! I’m sorry that we have to be like this to you guys… but you HURT one of our own, and we do NOT take kindly to those who hurt our friends!” Slowly turning from the black Yoshi to the Spooky Yoshi, they saw him, still with blue eyes, wiping his tears away. One boy, stammering with his speech, asked if it was indeed him. Kaleb could have done anything to prove it was him. There was a particular foot to foot dance he always did when the children came by that he could have done for example. However, all he did… was say “Yes.” The familiarity of that voice was all it took to win them over to his side again. All they needed was to hear that soft and light voice that stood out from the rest of his friends in order to recognize him. Stunned for a full minute, the children soon began to start tearing up as well, ashamed that they had let their judgement get the better of them. Approaching Kaleb, with a little bit of hesitation due to his appearance still, they began to apologize one by one. “Kaleb?” a girl began. “Oh… We’re… We’re so SORRY!” “T-That was AWFUL of us to do that!” another one chimed in. “W-We s-shouldn’t have thought that y-you were gonna e-eat us or something!” a boy admitted. Everyone pitched in with their woeful apologies that they had mistaken Kaleb for an enemy, all while Kaleb’s eyes began to lose their blue color. He would definitely thank his friends and family for telling the children who he was. He didn’t know what he would be like without them. He gave a loving glance to Yoshi, who in turn gave him one in return. Everything was going to be okay. In an hour, all of the children were willing to be with Kaleb again, many enjoying rides on his back like old times. As the minutes went on, Kaleb’s sorrows slowly passed on, replaced by happiness and joy. He definitely knew that today was going to be more than grand now. He could thank his friends and family for that. He and the other Yoshis continued to play fun games with the children, Kaleb having so much fun that he forgot to show them his magical powers. Not that he would regret forgetting about that though. He was already experiencing enough of an awesome time with his friends as it was. They continued to play across the fields, playing all of the games that Kaleb envisioned them playing in his dreams. It was beautiful… This felt almost as wonderful as when he cleansed the forest of the poison that time months ago. Unfortunately, this excellent time would not last either… As Kaleb and the other children continued to play around, they decided to take a snack break. As the Yoshis and children gathered around and prepared to eat, one of the children noticed something alarming. “WAIT!!! WHERE’S MY FRIEND?!” he broke out, suddenly realizing that someone had disappeared. The Yoshis and other children also jumped up, startled that someone had gone missing unnoticed. Everyone put the meal on hold while jumping into immediate action in an effort to find the lost person. “What’s their name?” Yoshi asked. “D-Dan,” the child replied in increasing fear. With this in mind, everyone began shouting his name, Dan’s closest friends calling it out ever so desperately. They kept yelling out into the distance, hoping that this little boy would turn up somewhere, but he never turned up. They had begun to lose hope, when Dave got an idea. “When did you last see him?” he asked Dan’s closest friend. “W-Well… I remember seeing him when… when we got here… Then… we didn’t separate when we were meeting with the transformed Yoshis… it… it… *GASP!* I-I think I know when he went missing…” “Really?” Ken asked. “When?” “It… was when we first saw… Kaleb…” he concluded. At this, Kaleb winced a little, ashamed that his appearance would apparently go that far into scaring someone. His eyes turned bright blue again, and he drooped down. Noticing this, the kid apologized and explained what probably happened. “He’s easily scared, so he probably took off as far as he could the moment he saw you…” he noted. “I’m very sorry that we reacted like that, by the way… I-I just wish we could find him… S-So that he c-c-can see who you REALLY are!” the kid sniffled. “HE WOULDN’T HAVE TAKEN OFF IF WE ACTED MORE RESPONSIBLE!” he bawled out. As he and everyone else began regretting their earlier treatment of Kaleb, the Spooky Yoshi himself lost his blue feelings and his white eyes returned to him. He went up to the weeping boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay…” he consoled his human friend. “We’re here for you. We’ll FIND your buddy! We WON’T rest until we do!” Deep down, he knew that this boy felt lost and lonely without his friend, something no one deserved to feel. He should have known, because he knew that his own friends had that feeling when he disappeared. It was what kept him from leaving… Knowing that Kaleb and the others wouldn’t let him down, the boy hugged them, thanking them for their plan to find Dan, who was probably even more scared out of his mind at this moment. After the embrace, the Yoshis devised a plan: some would stay and watch after the children, while the others would venture out and find Dan, wherever he might be. They knew that he had without a doubt made his way to one of the six areas of the island. It all came down to finding which one he went to and where he was in that section. Kaleb’s nine closest friends and himself obviously volunteered to go, splitting up along with other Yoshis and departing to the six areas of Craft Island. For the most part, they randomly branched out to the areas, but when it came to the Haunted Lands, it was only the Nighttime Yoshis, Skeleton Yoshis, and of course, Kaleb himself who dared to go there. It was the safest course of action really: Yoshis that could either see through the darkness, light up the path, regenerate vitality overtime, or ward off evil with magic were the best suited to travel through unpredictable places such as this. Within an hour, the Yoshis had scanned nearly the entirety of the island. As impressive as this was, no one had found any trace of the missing boy. The Yoshis in the first five areas had absolutely no luck in finding Dan, becoming increasingly worried as to his whereabouts. No matter how many times they called for him, he never made an appearance. They had looked everywhere with a search that was very spread out. It looked like it was up to the Yoshis in the Haunted Lands to find him… They certainly didn’t want Dan to have wandered there, but it seemed like it was the only place left that he could have gone to. They hoped that the ones at the Haunted Lands could do the job. Meanwhile, at said Haunted Lands, the Halloween-themed Yoshis were continuing to search for the lost boy. They lit up every corner, crossed every treacherous obstacle, and yet they still had no luck in finding him. They were starting to become worried as well, because as easy as it was to become lost in this area… it was even EASIER to become prey to the enemies that resided there. They certainly hoped that such a terrible event did not already happen. How would they forgive themselves if Dan was truly gone? They couldn’t. They kept searching on, unafraid to call his name out despite the looming threats in the darkness. They were Yoshis, and not just normal ones. They had the power to scare off HORDES of enemies, Kaleb having proved that months ago. If danger got to them, they’d be fine. It was Dan that wouldn’t be so fortunate. The search party in the area, like all the others, split itself down to individuals and continued trying to find their missing friend. No one was finding even a trace of Dan, when all of a sudden, when Kaleb cried his name out for the umpteenth time, he heard a faint cry reply to him. Perking up, Kaleb called his name out again, hoping that he would hear another response. He did, and without hesitation, ran at full super speed in its direction. Unbeknownst to him, his friends noticed that he had caught the call, and a Skeleton Yoshi attempted to follow, only for an arm stub that belonged to a Nighttime Yoshi to stop him from doing so. “Hold on,” he said. “Let him go alone…” “What?!” the Skeleton Yoshi exclaimed in shock. “Are you CRAZY?! We need to HELP him!!!” “You’re missing the point,” the Nighttime Yoshi began to explain. “Dan is most likely in danger, as his cry for help was very weak. What has happened to him, we don’t know, but if you remember his friend’s story, he ran off BECAUSE of Kaleb. If he sees Kaleb and Kaleb alone come to his rescue…” “Then he’ll have no REASON to believe that he’s a monster!” the Skeleton Yoshi caught on. “Exactly…” the Nighttime Yoshi said. “KALEB can have the honors of saving this child, because this will help him conquer his fear of him.” After he said this, he looked in the direction where Kaleb ran off: to the forest. “Good luck… our friend,” the Yoshis spoke. Kaleb barged into the forest, allowing nothing to stop him in finding Dan. As he ran, he kept calling his name over and over to make sure he was headed in the right direction. He kept hearing replies much to his relief, though he wondered why he could hear them, quiet as they were. Did he have superb hearing now as well? Was this kid putting in enough energy into his words so that the closest one at the time could hear him? Perhaps it was both. There was no time to think about this however, and Kaleb kept progressing deeper and deeper into the forest undeterred. He charged forward with all due super speed, when suddenly, he heard another voice. One that he CERTAINLY hoped he wouldn’t hear today. “You little brat!” it spoke in a sinister manner. “Don’t you even- OW! OKAY! THAT’S IT! SHY GUYS! TIE THIS FOOL UP EVEN MORE, SO HE CAN’T EVEN MOVE AN INCH!” Kaleb peeked through some trees just in time to see the sight of Dan being held hostage, complete with being gagged and tied up from head to toe. As if this wasn’t enough, he could see some red Shy Guys coming with even more tape and other gagging items, probably to make SURE no one could hear the boy cry out in despair. “No! Help! HELPMPH!” he heard the boy as his cries were snuffed out. “MMMMPFH!” he screamed. Turning his head to the right, he saw the very villain that he KNEW was behind this: Kamek. Of course HE would kidnap an innocent child. If nearly causing the Yoshis extinction was a delight to him, who was to say that kidnapping a single defenseless young human boy wasn’t? Kaleb seethed at this sight, his eyes beginning to glow red. He guessed it was THAT time again. “Stay still, you babbling loon!” Kamek commanded the child. “I mean- Yes… Stand still… Soon enough… You’ll be one of us…” So this was his plan. Now he went from turning the Yoshis into bundles of wool to enslaving little children that just wanted to see the Yoshis. Kaleb had enough of this! He got into position, ready to frighten his foes into next week. At hearing this, the child screamed in horror, not wanting to become a member of the bad guys! He kept screaming, though he thought it was in vain. It certainly wasn’t… As the Koopa Troop prepared to leave, they suddenly heard a voice that sounded all too familiar to THEM. “WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING?!” they heard a deep voice ring out. They didn’t even have to look to know who it was. Kamek, readying his defenses, spoke first to the deep voice. “Ah, well if it isn’t KALEB, the MONSTER that the Yoshis accepted into their clan despite his deadly powers,” he taunted. “Well if it isn’t KAMEK, the MONSTER that keeps harassing my friends and is now targeting little human CHILDREN!” Kaleb fired back. “You know, you have a lot of nerve interrupting our fun times on a day like THIS!” “Doesn’t matter!” Kamek coldly replied. “This child will become a new servant of ours, and one way or another, he will help us bring you to your KNEES!” “As IF!” Kaleb retorted before suddenly firing a poison blast at Kamek. Of course, the evil wizard teleported out of the range of attack, dodging it. “Oh Kaleb,” he began in a condescending manner. “That won’t work on ME anymore.” But Kaleb did not listen, and began raining a bunch of poison-filled eggs down onto the army. Kamek raised his shield over his forces, and as such, no one was harmed. “Seriously,” Kamek jeered. “You’re going to waste all of your magic like this…” But Kaleb pressed on the attack, unfazed that he wasn’t doing anything. He even went as far as creating a giant whirlwind of a poison tornado. Despite this, the shield STILL remained intact. “I think you’re failing to understand that I have grown MUCH stronger in my magic!” Kamek informed the undead dinosaur. Looking at his apparent lack of work, Kaleb replied with: “And I think YOU’RE failing to realize that my poison is leaking into your shield!” “HUH?!” Kamek gasped in shock before turning his head upward to the top of the protective dome. Sure enough, purple drops of liquid were seeping through the defenses, slowly beginning to rain down on the army of intruders. As the squad watched in growing fright, one of the drops landed on a Shy Guy. As it did so, it formed a swirl of purple air around him as he began to feel lightheaded and dizzy. “UUUUOOOOOGH!” he spoke in a daze. “W-Whaaaaaaaaaaaa…” he trailed off before he could even finish his sentence. The rest of the battalion watched in confusion and growing horror before they saw that he was beginning to lose his red color and turn pale. Kamek, remembering this, attempted to stop the attack from affecting his soldier, and with some effort, restored him to normal. However, he was unprepared for a purple splotch of poison rising from his body and splashing onto two more Shy Guys. “WHAT?!” Kamek asked in fear. “Oh, I forgot to mention…” Kaleb began in a sly manner. “If you free one guy, two MORE get affected!” he beamed. “YOU’RE not the ONLY one whose magic has improved!” Kamek only grunted in frustration as he snarled at Kaleb, who had once again gained the upper hand. Too bad he wasn’t paying attention to what was happening behind him… As the two Shy Guys finished turning pale, a purple aura began to surround them. As the other Shy Guys looked uneasily at this development, suddenly, the purple aura began to fan out around the entirety of the forcefield that Kamek had created. As the Shy Guys began to cough on the aura-turned gas, they too began to feel faint before also turning pale. “AAAAGH!” Kamek shouted, not believing how quickly this plan was turning against him. “Oh, and another thing…” Kaleb mused. “If the Shy Guys are left for too long like that, it’ll spread to any others that are nearby!” he said with pinkish-red eyes. “Consider your plans foiled ONCE AGAIN!” Kamek, now on the definite defensive, lowered his shield and attempted to bring back the Shy Guys from their sudden turn. However, they, in an act of rebellion, suddenly swarmed him and lifted him up as their CAPTIVE. “HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! PUT ME DOWN!” he demanded. As he approached the young boy that had been held hostage and began to untie him, he explained the situation to Kamek. “I’m sorry to inform you that their FEAR has taken over them.” Indeed, Kaleb had the power to draw FEELING out of those he fought, something that would make even the most trained of enemies contemplate their life decisions. Here was yet another example of that power. Kamek struggled to get out of their grasp, but to no avail. Eventually, Kaleb approached him too and, without warning, took his wand and swallowed it. “HEY! NO FAIR!” Kamek whined. “Oh, I’m sure you can just get ANOTHER one, RIGHT?! I mean, if we Yoshis are as expendable as tools to you, what does that make your wands?” “GRRRRR!” Kamek growled in anger. He really struck a nerve with him on that one, but there was nothing he could do to retaliate. “All right, Kamek!” Kaleb concluded. “I’ll see you later!” he finished as they had just finished playing together. And with that, he spat a spell that he generated from Kamek’s wand onto Kamek himself, who was instantly vaporized the moment he was hit by the attack… Just kidding… Just like last time, Kaleb had decided to spare him yet again (for he was kind enough to do so), though he did give him another trip back to the castle through the void. Thus, the brief skirmish was concluded. Dan was saved, and as a bonus, more Shy Guys were turned to the Yoshis’ side. The former minions and the Spooky Yoshi made their way over to the trembling boy, who still didn’t feel much better. “Hey. It’s okay,” Kaleb soothed him. “You’re safe… You’re going to be all right.” Not believing him, Dan shuffled away from him a bit, but then he suddenly remembered what Kamek had called him back there when he was captured. “W-Wait… That wizard guy… Kamek…” he began. “He said your name’s… K-Kaleb…” he stammered. “I-Is that true?” Kaleb nodded his head. “Yes,” he confirmed. “I know I look a little different than when we last saw each other, but yeah… it’s me.” To prove it right there, he did his little dance that he did every time he welcomed the humans to Yoshi’s Island. That sold it. Without a doubt now, Dan instantly hugged the multicolored dino while beginning to cry in regret and relief. “Oh… Kaleb… I’m so SORRY! I thought you were some kind of MONSTER, and I-I- OH, THE OTHERS MUST BE SO WORRIED FOR ME!!! I DIDN’T MEAN FOR THIS TO HAPPEN!!! CURSE MY FEARS!!! I RAN OFF!!! I-I-” he tried speaking before Kaleb calmed him down. “Shh… Shh… It’s fine… You’re okay now… We’re gonna get you back to your friends… And don’t worry about me… I forgive you…” he assured him as he lifted him onto his back. “T-THANK YOU, KALEB!!! I ALWAYS REMEMBERED YOU AS THE KIND AND LOVING SOUL THAT WAS ALWAYS ONE OF THE FIRST TO GREET US EVERY TIME! I-I’M SO GLAD YOU STILL TREAT US THE SAME WAY, EVEN AFTER WHAT WE DID TO YOU!!!” Dan bawled. “It’s no problem…” Kaleb replied. “To be honest, I was afraid of MYSELF when I first turned into this!” he recalled. “Really?” the kid asked. “It must have been really SCARY for you then! What DID happen? Knowing that the others back at the central plaza would want to hear the same story eventually, Kaleb promised him that when they got back to safety, that he would share his story of how he became Spooky Yoshi with everyone. Finally feeling more at ease, Dan was ready to go when he had one more question for Kaleb. “Um… Should we be letting those Shy Guys follow us?” he asked. “Oh,” Kaleb started. “They’re on OUR side now! Don’t need to mind them anymore! They’re our FRIENDS now!” Dan watched in interest as Kaleb led them out of the forest, the Shy Guys following him like the most loyal of soldiers, even more loyal than when they had been with Kamek. Eventually, they came out of the exit, where, much to everyone’s surprise, ALL of the other Yoshis, Shy Guys and human children had been waiting for them. “YOU DID IT!” Yoshi cheered. “DAN IS SAVED!” Tom mused. “WE KNEW YOU COULD SAVE THE DAY!” one of the Shy Guys applauded. As Kaleb, Dan, and their entourage of Shy Guys ran up to them, Dan got off of Kaleb’s back and ran towards his friends. “DAN! YOU’RE SAFE!” one of the girls shouted in tearful joy. “WE WERE SO WORRIED!” a boy sobbed. “I was too… Dan spoke. “But thanks to our FRIEND KALEB… I’m here safe and sound. I was taken by Kamek the evil wizard and his army, but Kaleb used his awesome magical powers to turn his guys against him and *POOF!* make Kamek disappear!” “No WAY!” a girl cooed in awe. “REALLY?!” “Yeah!” Dan revealed. “He’s got so many cool moves!” As the crowd approached Kaleb, they all swarmed him with an assortment of encouraging words, congratulating and thanking him for his selfless act of kindness. At this, Kaleb’s eyes turned magenta as he blushed. As he was being applauded for his efforts, some of the Yoshis that had gone to the haunted lands came up to him with something to say. “Nice job!” a Skeleton Yoshi told him. “We knew you could do it!” Shuffling his foot around for a moment, he then said, “I’d like to apologize for not helping…” Everyone else did the same. “Eh?” Kaleb questioned in confusion. “What’s there to apologize for? If anything, I should be the one to apologize! I didn’t inform you guys that I heard him cry out for help!” “Well, the thing is…” the Skeleton Yoshi began. “We saw you dashing into the forest, but we thought that if Dan should be rescued by anyone, it should be by someone he has the least trust in… you know… so he can learn to actually trust you… We’re sorry… We could have helped…” “Hey! No biggie!” Kaleb cheered his friends up. “Your plan WORKED!” “Glad to hear,” the Skeleton Yoshi spoke in relief. “Now… let’s go back to safety.” Agreeing, everyone started to head back home, when Kaleb remembered that he made a promise to Dan. Sure, they weren’t there yet, but why wait? He announced his plan to tell them, though Xavier warned them that they should prepare to cry, for this wasn’t the most uplifting story that the Yoshis experienced. Kaleb told them the entire thing, from the morning of that one fateful day to the start of the unforgettable Fruit Fest. He even decided to add in the time when they found Craft Island, and of course, their little adventure that they had, courtesy of Kamek. By the end of it all, everyone was back at the central plaza, sitting down in a circle by the sunset. Xavier’s warning held true, because every child, and even some of the Yoshis and Shy Guys, were crying a river of tears, the kids unaware that Kaleb had gone through so much. “I don’t want you guys to feel sad for me though…” Kaleb began. “Because of one of your own compassionate people, I was saved. I won’t care that I was brought back different anymore. I know that I am loved… Come on, guys! No tears! LET’S PLAY SOME MORE GAMES!” he cheered. As if those words were like the cure to sadness itself, everyone jumped up and cheered alongside him before starting the fun back up again. The Yoshis, Shy Guys, and humans resumed their activities from earlier, now without worries since everyone was safe. The playmates took their enjoyment to new heights, the Yoshis and Shy Guys teaching the kids that they could transform into new shapes, which added new twists to hide-and-seek and tag for sure. As if that didn’t add enough fun, Kaleb, unafraid to show off HIS special powers, added a magical flare to the games. Two noteworthy moments were when he was juggling his friends like circus balls and helping them fly in the sky via levitation. Of course, this made him so happy, that the power central to all Yoshis activated from within him: he grew wings, as all Yoshis do when their emotions reach a high level. He flew around his friends, even offering them rides. It was absolutely amazing: Kaleb flew the children around like some brave and playful dragon from the How to Train Your Dragon Series (I mean, what?), and they squealed in laughter and enjoyment. It was the best night for all of them. They continued with this for around 3 hours, the other Yoshis and Shy Guys pleased that Kaleb felt included once again (they were always worried about him since the transformation no matter how he felt at the time), until they all felt too tired to continue. A few minutes later, everyone was getting ready to go to bed, no one needing any blankets or anything as the ground and air itself provided enough warmth. Everyone had just said good night to each other and was beginning to lie down and rest for the morning, when Dan saw someone in the distance just as he was about to close his eyes. It was Kaleb, and he was just… sitting near the knitting wheel that went to the Grasslands. Dan, wondering why he was still awake, got up and slowly crept over to him. Kaleb’s wings had retracted, and he sat there, nearly motionless, looking out to the island. His eyes were bright blue. Trying not to startle him, Dan patted him on the back. Thankfully, Kaleb didn’t react so loudly that he would wake anyone up. “Oh! Dan! I didn’t see you there!” he chuckled. “What’s the matter?” “Um… Not to be rude…” Dan started. “But I could ask you the same thing…” he said, noting his eyes’ color. “Oh… Uh… Well… It’s just… It’s just that…” he stammered on his words as he tried to hold his tears in. Obviously, this only worked for so long. “Heh… I’m- I’m crying, aren’t I?” he asked sheepishly before letting the rest of his tears flow freely. “There there…” Dan soothed him. “What’s wrong? Are you still hurt? I’m so SORRY for how we reacted earlier today!” “N-No… It’s not that…” the Spooky Yoshi began. “Y-You remember my story I told you, right?” “How could I forget?” the little boy replied in anger and sadness. “That sounded so AWFUL! I JUST WANT TO… TO BEAT THAT GUY UP!” “W-Well…” Kaleb tried to stop sobbing. “It’s not that… Y-You remember the OTHER boy I talked about? Olly?” “Yeah…” Dan recalled. It was then that he guessed why Kaleb was beside himself. “You… You miss him, don’t you?” Nodding in tears, Kaleb hugged Dan tight. “I-If I had known that I could have DONE something…” he tried to tell himself. “If I knew what I was capable of right there, he would be safe and sound… This wouldn’t have happened… Oh, Dan… He could be GONE for all we know!” he wailed, not paying attention to the gathering crowd behind Dan. “I’M SO SORRY THAT I DIDN’T SAVE HIM!” Calming down a bit, Kaleb said this next. “When I was having fun with you guys tonight, at the end of it I just… I just began to think of him again… I just… I want to see him again… He was such a good friend… He didn’t deserve to be kidnapped like that…” Before Dan could comfort him alone, another hand touched his shoulder. It was Yoshi’s. “No. He didn’t deserve it.” Yoshi spoke somberly. “But know this… You said he was very SMART, right? Somehow, I can FEEL that his family is fighting against the bad guys! We can’t give up in them! Just as we knew that YOU would return, we have to BELIEVE IN THEM TOO!” “Y-Yeah…” Kaleb smiled, his eyes still bright blue but no longer crying as many tears. “We’ll find him… We’ll return him the favor for saving us… WE’LL SEE HIM AGAIN!!!” he triumphed. Everyone helped in consoling their friend before going back to bed, Kaleb joining them this time. The days passed, and the others were able to help Kaleb’s wounds heal. When the time came for the children to leave, they promised Kaleb that they would try to find Olly in the safest way possible. After their departure, the Yoshis and Shy Guys promised the same. As for Kaleb himself… he decided that day after day, hour after hour, for every minute that he could, he would check all of the darkest corners of Yoshi’s Island and Craft Island as well as further reaches, not only so that he could drive off evil that resided there, but so that he could maybe one day find his friend… He knew that he was out there somewhere… He wouldn’t give up…

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

8 Months Later… It had been more than a year since Kaleb’s transformation. He had gotten used to his new appearance, not minding that it sometimes scared off newcomers. He DID still have flashbacks to that jarring memory as if it took place yesterday, but with his friends at the ready for any time it would happen, he was brought out of the nightmarish event successfully every single moment. If only he could just forget that moment… All of the Yoshis and Shy Guys thought about such a notion, but it seemed impossible. Perhaps, the only one who could ease his pain permanently was… “Well, no time for that!” thought Kaleb. Today had something special going on. Today… was the day he and his friends were going to help some new human friends with something… Apparently, during the morning of the previous day, two human people were transformed into their own kind, courtesy of a mishap by the narrator of this story (and that one too). While one of them absolutely enjoyed being a cute little dinosaur, the other one was… snooty about it to say the least. Of course, there was much more to the second person than what anyone could judge him by… It turned out that he wanted to actually become a Yoshi as well! The only problem though, was that he was afraid of being made fun of and mocked for being turned into one. The only thing he could do was to pretend to despise it. Of course, this only made him feel worse. As a last resort, the two brothers and their three brothers came to Yoshi’s Island in an effort to try to reveal this poor child’s true nature (the other boy having reverted to normal earlier due to having enough happiness)… THAT even failed as well… but only until night fell… He and the others eventually learned that the five that had traveled to their island were all part of a hero called Link, a legendary hero of this place called Hyrule. Perhaps this provided a hint on how the mysterious Link YOSHIS in their world came to be… Anyways, a mystical sword had split this hero’s soul five ways, and now they were quintriplets, each with a separate personality. The one that came to them in suffering… he was known for having a short fuse, and Yoshi had proposed a plan with the other four brothers in an effort to bring him joy. It appeared to have backfired, and all had been lost, when at that night, he and some other Yoshis overheard him reveal his true colors from inside… that he really DID have love inside of him, and that he was afraid of being bullied. Of course, being Yoshis, their natural instinct was to comfort him to let him know that he wasn’t alone in all of this… He went to bed that night, hoping that this hero, apparently named Blue after the color of his hat, would be able to find happiness. He dozed off with these hopes, drifting to sleep almost immediately. The next morning, he was sleeping ever so soundly, experiencing better dreams than he had months ago on occasion, when he suddenly jolted awake upon realizing something in his sleep: Blue and the others were leaving in their brief journey to find happiness! He had to say goodbye! Leaping out of bed, he rushed outside with all the speed that he possessed (which was a lot if you remember), and headed towards the central plaza, hoping that he hadn’t overslept too much. Unfortunately, as he approached the crowd of Yoshis, he saw that they were all waving farewell to their new friends. He heard them shout their goodbyes and messages of encouragement to some multicolored specks that were off in the horizon. He was too late… Upon reaching the group, they all noticed him looking disappointed in himself for not being there to bid farewell. “Kaleb!” Yoshi spoke. “Didn’t think you’d wake up so early!” “I HAD to!” Kaleb claimed. “I was going to say goodbye! But… it looks like I’m too late… I’m sorry…” “Don’t be,” Mikey consoled him. “We know you’re REALLY worn out from your job. You NEED some rest.” “Nonsense,” Kaleb started. “I am completely A-OK!” Yes, Kaleb had held true to his promise that he had made months ago, and was beginning to patrol through the forests of Craft Island and Yoshi’s Island, looking for bullying threats that needed to be chased out and, more importantly, his friend… Since upholding his word, he had risen from bed very early and gone to sleep very late, something that showed commitment… Maybe a bit too much though… At least to his friends… They would sometimes try to talk him into letting someone else do it while he get some rest, but he wouldn’t have any of it. Day after day, nearly EVERY day, he would relentlessly watch over the forests, switching from forest to forest by hour, searching no matter how tired he became. This had of course taken its toll on him, because he slept now in the same way that a fish needs water. He wouldn’t give up, of course, but his friends decided that he needed a break every now and then. Now was definitely one of those times. They let him sleep in to help him recover some lost time, even if they knew that he was all but opposed to such an idea. “Kaleb, we HAD to let you get some rest. At this rate, you’ll be too sleepy to do ANYTHING!” Tom told him. “I’m all right,” Kaleb assured them. “Kaleb…” Parker began. “You shouldn’t feel like you need to run yourself into the ground every day. We’re sorry that we didn’t wake you up, but you need to get some energy! In fact, we’ll send some others to do your shift today! You should go and rest! If the heroes come back, we’ll wake you up for SURE! So… will you please get some sleep?” “I’m sorry…” Kaleb said. “But the forest needs MY HELP TOO!” The Yoshis were touched by this devotion, but also worried. “Kaleb? Could we make a deal?” Xavier asked him. “If we let you guard the woods for today, could you please just take a one week rest after? Then, you can protect all you want! Come on! Please! We just want you to cool down for a while,” Thinking about it for a few seconds, Kaleb responded with “Deal!” before suddenly realizing that he was late for his shift in the forest. “YIKES! I better get going!” he exclaimed. “Don’t worry,” Yoshi said. “No rush needed.” Kaleb took off into the nearest forest, which was the one that he had been poisoned in. A few memories came back to him as he approached, but he brushed them off. He would make sure that no one else would suffer the same fate as he did, and he would find Olly… Somehow, he knew that he would venture out into the woods again… And he would be there to see him… A few hours later… Kaleb had kept an eagle’s eye on the forest that he was in. He knew that he was probably overdoing it, but it felt like the safest course of action to him. He did, of course, think about the words his brothers told him earlier, considering the fact that they were right, but overall keeping to his goal. Although, another thing he wanted to do right now was to see the five Links again. He felt guilty for missing their departure, and he knew that THEY would also come back in the near future. He would be delighted to know that this future was near. As he pondered over these thoughts, he snapped back into reality that he saw that he nearly missed seeing a few Shy Guys pass right by him. They didn’t even notice each other until then, but Kaleb saw the red-robed associates carrying ropes with them. He didn’t even need to guess what they were going to do with them. While the times that Kaleb would have to become scary were considerably not so often, this was one of those times. Kaleb, getting up, snuck closely behind the enemies, swiftly but quietly following them as they failed to notice. It seemed that they were in quite a rush to capture whoever was going to be their victim this time. Kaleb looked from beyond them, prepared to defend whoever it was that needed help. What he saw shocked him and drove his goal of defense further. It was a certain pair of Yoshis, one blue and one red. Both were wearing long, floppy and pointy hats, hats that he remembered seeing the previous night. They were BLUE and RED! They came back! But… why was Blue still a Yoshi? More so, why was RED a Yoshi again? Maybe they wanted to be Yoshis for a longer time? Such questions would have to wait as he found himself snapping out of his trance yet again. They needed him! Without delay, he made his presence known to everyone else through his deep voice. “HALT, SHY GUYS!” he began.“Oh no,” one of them said, suddenly knowing that a certain adversary of theirs was in the room. “Not this AGAIN,” another complained in increasing fear.“Why does it have to be NOW?!” a third one questioned while tensing up and looking left and right..“WHY?!” Kaleb answered. “YOU HERE ARE THREATENING MY FRIENDS! MY KIN! GO NOW, AND YOU WILL BE SPARED FROM MY WRATH!” It was true that Kaleb had not properly met any of the brothers yet, but he, in his kind nature, had already considered them friends.They drew closer to each other, one of the Shy Guys barely managing to speak.“R-Remember Kamek’s teachings. D-Don’t r-run a-away.”“DON’T RUN AWAY?!” he acted surprised. “WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO STAY IN THE FACE OF… oh… I don’t know…THIS?!” he yelled out as he summoned a translucent image of himself that leapt out in front of the Shy Guys, freezing them in their place. He hoped that the Shy Guys would be won over to the Yoshis’ side, but while they did indeed tremble in fear, they instead ran away. “Serves them right,” Kaleb thought. “That’s what they get for threatening innocent children!” The red and blue capped Yoshis were still there, but Kaleb had failed to notice that they were also affected by the jumpscare. “HAHAHAHAHAHA!” he laughed without heeding their current emotions. “THOSE PUNY ANTS STILL HAVE A LOT TO LEARN ABOUT MESSING WITH MY FRIENDS! ISN’T THAT RIGHT, GUYS?!” he asked the two Yoshis, who at this point had lost it.They attempted to flee, only to run into each other. They thought that the end for them was right then. Kaleb didn’t blame them. They HAD never seen such a thing from a YOSHI before.“Ow!” Blue cried.“AAHH!” Red screamed. “PLEASE DON’T EAT OUR SOULS!” In an effort to calm the two down, Kaleb spoke calmly to them. “Ok, first of all, it’s brains,” he pointed out, knowing a thing or two about zombie movies.“And second of all…” he started while he noticed that he was still using his deep voice. He spoke normally while saying this.“I only like FRUIT. Well… that and all the other stuff that ISN’T BRAINS for the record.” He stepped out of the darkness so that Red and Blue could see him alone in person. They were certainly taken aback by his appearance, but they had not run away. Kaleb was thankful for that.Red spoke first? “W-Who are you?”“Me?” the Spooky Yoshi introduced himself. “I’m just a guardian of this forest who drives out anyone who isn’t nice!” he simply stated.“Y-You’re… what now?” Blue asked in disbelief.“I’m a… special sort of Yoshi that’s more than meets the EYE…” he told the pair while one of his eyes turned pink when it winked. “I-not to shock you-am an undead variety of Yoshi.” “Whoa…” the two brothers said.“Oh… don’t worry,” Kaleb began. “This isn’t my actual home. I live and hang out with the other Yoshis too! This is just more of a… job… so to speak.”“WOW! THAT’S… AMAZING!” Blue congratulated. “YOU MUST BE LIKE SOME SORT OF HERO TO THE OTHERS OR SOMETHING!” Red complimented him. He felt pleased to be told such an uplifting thing. “Aww, shucks…” Kaleb blushed, his eyes and cheeks becoming a magenta color.“Your eyes make you look so cute too!” Red squealed. Okay, these guys were gonna be WONDERFUL friends! They thought his eyes looked COOL?! THAT was their first impression?! He felt overjoyed.“Really? Thank you!” he cheered. “I’m usually afraid that first-timers will run at the first sight of these things!”“Well… friend, once you’re done with this… job, how about we all get some fruit or something?” Blue proposed.“I’D LOVE TOO!” the undead dino accepted the invitation. “Oh! Here’s something to get you started!” he mused as he decided to show some more magic to his two new buddies. He walked over to a nearby tree and struck his fist into the ground, causing a little mini-quake while shaking a nearby tree. The force was strong enough to net some fruits. He also struck a nearby rock, carving it into a bowl! The two other dinos were in shock for a moment before jumping for joy.“WOOOO!” Blue cheered him on. “THAT WAS AWESOME!”“First you saved us, and now you’re giving us a parting gift?” Red asked. “You’re a wonderful friend!”“No problem!” the paranormal Yoshi replied. “Now, do you need any help getting out of here too?” he asked, knowing that this forest was a challenge to navigate through.“Nah… we…” Blue began before stopping. “Actually… we could use a guide,” he admitted. “Don’t worry,” Kaleb started. “It takes a long time to figure this forest out.” And so, after escorting them out, he parted ways with his new friends, and, during the evening, joined them and their brothers for dinner. He met his brothers, who seemed less than amused that they were also Yoshis. Red and Blue told him the entire story by the camp fire, a story full of laughs, tears, and a more than happy epilogue. Of course, the story was so long that Kaleb didn’t have time to explain his story to the others before they all went to bed. He didn’t worry about it, though. He had a week to tell them after all (for he was going to have some fun for a change starting tomorrow)! Maybe even more time, for what adventure both parties were about to be a part of next was by no means expected by any of them. But that’s… another story… Until then… Farewell… Just know… that should you ever feel alone… Should something ever happen to you… Your friends and family will always be there for you…

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

A Friend in the Undead: Tv Tropes: Nightmare FuelOh, look! A Yoshi fanfiction! Aww… And it’s even referencing Yoshi’s Woolly Wo- Huh? This one talks about… Spooky Yoshi? The one with the strange eyes?... There… can’t be any nightmarish moments in this at least, right? Oh…Chapter 1: • As is per typical Halloween-style story, nothing really scary happens at the beginning. All we’re shown here is the typical happy celebrating of the Yoshis to include our protagonist, Kaleb, as they get ready for a party called Fruit Fest. However, Kaleb stays behind since he feels like he hasn’t collected enough fruits for the Yoshis to eat. Even the others feel uneasy about leaving him behind, even though he insists that they do so. This case of Adult Fear is a situation that’s all too real in this world as much as in the story. Kaleb is basically staying behind in a dangerous place where monsters of any kind could harm him. o Which leads us to…Chapter 2:• The first shot of this chapter depicts a boy- no- a delinquent of the HIGHEST ORDER. The story describes his appearance as average, but when it gets to what’s INSIDE… Oh, goodness…o He is basically a brat who hates all things that people of blind hatred assume to be “sunshine and rainbows.” In his terms, this means the Yoshis. Ever since he’s heard of their existence, he’s despised them. Whether it’s because of jealousy or just because “he loves to ruin people’s days” is yet unknown, but it’s already highly unsettling.o Apparently, his aggressive mind was left unchecked at an age of 5 YEARS OLD. WHAT HAPPENED?!• So, what does he plan to do? He wants the Yoshis to go EXTINCT. Which begs the question, how does he plan to make this a REALITY? • He’s wearing a belt laced with vials of POISON. This (probably) 11-year old child, a person that should be innocent at such an age, is walking around with KILLING LIQUID. • Remember how Kaleb opted to stay behind to collect more fruit in the forest? HE’S STILL THERE AS THE BOY IS PROWLING THROUGH LIKE A PREDATOR as the story itself would describe it. He’s unlucky enough to be the boy’s first (and thankfully last) victim, as what happens next shows us JUST how heartless the little scum is.• The assault scene, FULL STOP. The brat pins down the poor dino, and without hesitation, force-feeds him one of the vials of his poison. Kaleb then suffers the effects almost instantly, turning pale and feeling pain all over, and WHAT does the guy do in return?! He chucks Kaleb into a pile of leaves which he buries him in, making sure that he can’t be found, even stomping Kaleb’s hand when he attempts to get out of the foliage. The last words in this chapter are Kaleb’s pleas for help…Chapter 3• The fact that Kaleb’s hero Olly is in a race against time to save him before it’s too late. It’s a situation that is again all too real in this world where many victims of physical attack are raced to hospitals. Olly’s parents emphasizing the matter in the next chapter only adds more fuel to the fire.Chapter 4• When Olly’s scanners detect how much poison is in Kaleb’s body, the majority of it has been tainted. How many times does the author want to remind us how little time there is to save Kaleb? That’s not even the worst part of this chapter…• When Olly gives Kaleb the antidote to the poison, Kaleb returns to normal and all seems to be well. Then, they start to head back upstairs so that they can formulate a plan to save the other Yoshis, knowing well that the villain is still out there somewhere. However, Olly’s feelings of triumph and hope are immediately quashed when he hears the sound of crashing at the bottom of the stairs. He turns around, and he sees that Kaleb is back to the brink of death…Chapter 5• Kaleb’s transformation, or rather, the fact that Olly was forced to watch it occur. No one at any point has seen a Yoshi suddenly turn green or anything of the like in some areas after death. He can only assume that Kaleb’s body is now just a decaying shell. His suspicions are especially driven after Kaleb’s eyes are revealed to be a blank-colored black. o The last fact mentioned also implies that for a moment or so, Kaleb WAS actually and fully dead by technical means.• The raid on Olly’s house. It seems as if the unnamed villain’s family has been told where Kaleb was taken to, and any thoughts that the parents and their other son are innocent are struck down upon their introduction sequence. They just barge in and demand answers from Olly’s parents like they’re the police or something. Then, when Olly comes upstairs and defends his family, he exposes them all for the frauds they are by revealing the poison. At that moment, Kaleb, who has woken up in his new state, gets upstairs just in time to see what’s going on. Frightened, and rightfully so, he hides behind the door, yet as he does so, the enemy family abducts Olly’s family and takes them away. Kaleb had to watch all of this unfold.• From the other Yoshis’ perspective, Kaleb’s disappearance. He’s gone, and like the true family they are, they think it’s their fault. They’re basically experiencing the most excruciating phases of the adult fear that something terrible has happened to their friend and brother after trying to believe that he is okay. • From Kaleb’s perspective, seeing what he has become after death. Heck, even finding out that he is undead. In a matter of a few hours, he’s gone from a very eccentric Yoshi to a very depressed and panicking Yoshi who doesn’t know what to do now that he’s a “freak.” His entire world is crumbling away, and his personality and demeanor are changing for the worse. Thank GOODNESS the others found him in time. o Even after the events of the main story, he still has to relive this horrible moment over and over again.Chapter 6• Kaleb’s outburst on Yoshi certainly counts. If you think about it, the undead dinosaur basically looks like he’s about to attack Yoshi for trying to cheer him up, and it won’t be pretty. What would have happened if Kaleb wasn’t a Yoshi and his heart wasn’t as pure as his friend’s? o The reason that Yoshi is terrified in this scene? It is because of the reason listed in chapter five, mainly that his friend has changed in personality. He could care less that his looks have changed, as he is still Kaleb to the rest of them. However, this too appears to be a fading possibility, as the Kaleb that he knows is still in there seems to also be dying as a traumatic effect of the transformation.o Oh, yeah… Since Kaleb has emotionally color-coded eyes too now, they’re blazing red right at this moment.Chapter 7• As the Yoshis trek through the dark forest, there’s just that loom of suspense throughout the entire chapter, none of them nor the audience knowing who will strike and when. o On a side note, when the magical blasts that come out of nowhere nearly hit them, Kaleb again takes responsibility and runs off. Once again, we’re treated to the realism of being afraid of oneself. • When the Yoshis are captured by Kamek and Bowser, it REALLY looks like this is it for them this time. The author has noted sometimes that this takes place after the German Yoshi’s Story comic, the one where the black Yoshi (named Parker in this story) comes to save them. Since he too is captured this time and Kaleb has run off, it really looks like the end for them. Chapter 8• Though this and essentially every other instance of Kaleb’s display of power are a crowning moment of awesome, Kaleb basically shows the Koopa Troop and its leaders what happens if you threaten his friends. They are all swallowed by darkness, scared straight to the point that they faint, vaporized by poison, crushed by rocks, and as a grand finale, banished into a black hole dimension where they are ALL, Bowser and Kamek included, seemingly killed off. Kaleb decided to spare them and respawn them all at their castle, well… because he’s a Yoshi. But imagine that… That he had the power to just END them all in less than a few minutes… It’s a good thing such powers fell into the hands of him, huh? And if you somehow end up on the receiving end of this… Let’s just say you’re in trouble…o In the following chapter, Kaleb looks like he’s about to punish some Shy Guys in the same manner again, and they look horrified. Who cares if he’ll let them live? Surely, the process must’ve been a nightmare in itself. Chapter 11• Kamek’s attack on Craft Island, especially through Kaleb’s eyes. Suddenly, his and the other Yoshi’s special powers are nullified without apparent rhyme or reason, though Kaleb is able to detect Kamek’s presence using the last bit of energy he has. Then, he’s forced to watch as all of his friends, one by one, are unraveled into pieces before he himself joins them. o Though he was going to be hit by the magic anyways, the way that it went down was that he took the blow for another Yoshi nearby. This only bought the latter a few seconds. Kamek even notes this. o When Kaleb is saved, he reveals that despite being split into pieces, he and the other victims were still ALIVE throughout it all. Keep in mind that Kamek’s original purpose was to use their bodies to construct a new castle for Bowser… Yeah.o The fact that Kamek was basically finishing what the unnamed antagonist started. If he had gotten Yoshi and Mikey, the Yoshis really WOULD have gone extinct.Chapter 12• Also tying in with tearjerker, Kaleb’s inner fears get to be seen by the audience. Imagine being afraid of being rejected for your appearance… Oh, wait. That feeling exists in this world…• Whatever happened to Olly and his family? Are they still alive? Or did the other family…?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

A Friend in the Undead: Tv Tropes: Tearjerker Given how this is a fanfiction about how a Yoshi that loses his own life, I think at least ONE tearjerker moment is a given. It's okay, Kaleb. We know you didn't deserve this, and we still love you. Chapter 1• Before the main tragedy even starts, we get our first tearjerker moment in the form of Kaleb becoming distraught over not collecting enough fruits. He is quick to berate himself for his “shortcoming” as the others rush to comfort their sobbing friend. It really sets an early picture of how much he cares about his brothers, doesn’t it? o What’s worse is that Kaleb’s decision to stay behind and find more out of guilt is what sets the tragedy to follow in motion. Chapter 2• Crossing with nightmare fuel, the assault scene where the new unnamed antagonist pins down Kaleb and forces poison into him. Kaleb is seen begging for mercy and trying to get out, only to watch as he is overwhelmed by the toxic substance, turning pale and becoming motionless. The villain then takes it a step further, and throws the poor thing into some leaves to cover up the evidence. Kaleb tries to get out, but the brat coldheartedly stomps his hand at that moment, forcing Kaleb to withdraw into the leaves and hope that help will come. His last words in that chapter?“Please… Someone… Help me…” Chapter 3• From Olly’s perspective definitely, seeing Kaleb’s dying state as soon as he’s uncovered. Up until this point, Olly has never seen a Yoshi in person, so imagine the shock of seeing your favorite creature on the brink of death. • Olly struggling to find his way out of the forest with Kaleb in tow. He knows that he’s against the clock here, yet he’s stuck in an endless loop in the place. He’s starting to fear that he might not even be able to get Kaleb to his house before he passes on, until Kaleb himself shows him the way with what little strength he has left. By the time Olly makes it out of the forest, Kaleb has gone limp, to which he begs his patient not to leave so soon and to hold out just a little longer. This chapter ends with Kaleb looking at him with a weak but loving smile.Chapter 4• Olly showing his parents what has become of Kaleb can count, to include the parents’ reaction. The author is REALLY trying to escalate the tension. • Olly and his parents’ brief yet strong debate. Olly knows that they can’t get Kaleb to an official hospital in time, so he proposes that he use his knowledge and skills to save him. His parents object, his father saying that his skills aren’t developed, and his mother blurting out on impulse that he might fail. Following this, Olly counters with the fact that he was searching for the Yoshis to find some friends, and that now it is time to be one to one of them in need. He is afraid of failure to, but as he says it, if not him, then who else will do it? His parents finally relent upon hearing this, and his mother even apologizes. As he takes Kaleb to his little makeshift lab, Kaleb gives a small wave to his parents. That right there… *sniff* Is a family…• So, Olly has just administered the antidote to Kaleb, and following a brief conversation between the two, Kaleb seems to be returning to normal. As even Olly goes into shock that it worked, Kaleb gets up and profusely thanks his new friend, hugging him and reverting to his jolly old self. Nothing could possibly go wrong here, right? As Olly and Kaleb start heading upstairs to save the other Yoshis from the villain however, Olly hears some crashing noises from behind him. Turning around, it’s Kaleb, and he’s lying down on the brink of death again. Chapter 5• When Olly tries to find something else that can save his friend, his panic increases as he realizes that nothing more can be done. He himself breaks into bawling hysterics as the prospect of Kaleb’s death dawns upon him. Like any good doctor that has failed, he begins breaking into tears… as Kaleb himself puts a hand on him with some final words…o “I-It’s… okay… I don’t want- you- to think that y-you’re a f-failure for this. Y-You w-w-were brave enough to t-try..”o Olly then shouts in despair as Kaleb seemingly leaves the living. He then gets a front-row seat to his subsequent transformation. He watches in horror as he adopts the green and purple color scheme along with the jack-o-lantern smile that Spooky Yoshi is known for. He opens an eyelid, and sees nothing but a blank expanse of black. For what he knows, Kaleb’s body is already decaying! He won’t even get to bury him at this rate!  (Of course, this is just a transformation sequence, not Kaleb’s absolute departure, so thankfully there isn’t any decaying.) HOWEVER, for the entirety of the time that Kaleb’s eyes are blank, he is actually dead. o Olly’s family hears his crying, and they can’t help but do the same. To have to jump into action at such an early age, only to fail to save a life… To say that their son is scarred is an understatement.• Then comes the scene where the villain’s family barges in. They show absolutely no pity or sympathy that Kaleb has perished, fully revealing that all of them are pure evil. While Olly’s family doesn’t know that they’re the ones yet, they certainly pick up on the hints that they’re here for Kaleb’s body, and not for a good reason. As Olly himself hears the argument from below and rushes upstairs, not wanting to lose them as well, he ends up exposing the criminals for who they are as soon as he finds the poison attached to the boy responsible. Meanwhile, Kaleb has woken up in his new form, and instead of wondering what’s happened to himself, goes upstairs and finds Olly defending his family from the boy he hoped he would never see again. Scared, he hides behind the door, only to regret doing so when he sees Olly’s family being taken hostage by the other. Even as he musters up his courage to try and save his friend, Olly himself, as he’s being walked out the door, sees what Kaleb has now become. The look of sheer horror on his face sells it to the viewers that he now feels guilty to the highest extreme. Then, as Kaleb looks like he wants to go after them, Olly just gives him a sad headshake, not wanting Kaleb to be captured as well as undead. It’s almost like he’s saying that he deserves his fate since he couldn’t give Kaleb a better one himself. Kaleb then watches in tears as his family is driven off to who-knows-where, feeling guilty for cowering in fear. He feels like he failed to repay a life debt to his friend that saved him. He then spends the next few minutes sulking in the empty house before resolving to find his friends so that they can save Olly and stop the brat. • Speaking of the other Yoshis, THEY feel guilt too for what’s happened to their friend. Well, to be fair, they don’t know yet, but they know that something’s gone horribly wrong since he hasn’t come back for the last FIVE hours. They’re experiencing the most excruciating moment of adult fear where they must come to terms that something awful has happened to their loved one. o In a good and heartwarming way, but the fact that Yoshi and his friends would go as far as go back into the forest to find their friend, despite the danger the forest might present them, especially as night approaches. • Then of course… comes the big reveal for Kaleb. As he’s going through the forest, he takes note of how it seems unusually brighter. He doesn’t let this distract him from heading back to his friends, but what happens next does more than that. He encounters some of Bowser’s minions who attempt to corner and pummel or capture him. Only… when they see his new face, they turn around and run about like headless chickens, hinting to Kaleb that something is very wrong. He’s left in innocent confusion for a few seconds before he suddenly realizes that he fell unconscious during the treatment. Scared out of his mind as to what could have happened to him in that timeframe, he goes to a nearby river, and within an instant, his entire demeanor changes… Poor Kaleb…o Poor Kaleb is an understatement really. His new appearance terrifies him not only because of how it looks to him, but also because it practically SCREAMS to him one message. He didn’t just fall unconscious. He died. He knows in that moment that he’s undead, and the revelation HURTS. He just breaks down on the ground, crying as visions of rejection start to enter his mind.  What’s worse is that he honestly wouldn’t blame his friends if they ran away from him. The author notes in a couple of conversations with others that he bases this story as a sequel to the German Yoshi’s Story comic, in where the other Yoshis thought the black Yoshi that was introduced in that (named Parker in this story) was some sort of foreign being (which was of course before he saved them from Kamek). However, this is an entirely new case, as Kaleb, even though he might be the same in spirit (thankfully), is now the very first undead Yoshi of his kind. His fear of being rejected is justified, because he’s become new AND supernatural at the same time. Oh, and in case we didn’t make this clear, it’s against his will. o Then comes another revelation along with the first one shortly after it. As Kaleb begins bawling endlessly, he suddenly creates a whirlwind that lifts him into the air. As he crashes back down, he takes note that he has new powers that Yoshis aren’t normally known for. Rather than be amazed or interested even that he has them now, he’s so innocent that he leads himself to believe that his new abilities give him all the more reason to run away into the forest and into isolation. Kind of takes one back to when Elsa from Frozen felt like she needed to be shut off society for the safety of those she loved.  Even more so, this moment as a whole is reminiscent of the scene in Frankenweenie when Sparky sees that he’s undead and breaks down. • What would have happened if Kaleb had gone into the forest forever? Not only would things haven’t gone so well for his friends in the future (due to future events that would have never happened), but Kaleb himself would have found himself in an eternally depressing life consisting of nothing but interacting with creatures the Yoshis consider enemies. While Kaleb himself would certainly never join them, one can only imagine the scenario of the poor thing being mocked endlessly by the neighboring monsters and crying rivers of tears, all while his uncontrollable powers cause him even more grief. It’s a really good thing that the others found him when they did. Chapter 6• The opening of this chapter as Kaleb reviewing what has just happened in the last few hours, and it is depressing. He basically started the day out as a joyous normal Yoshi unable to contain his excitement for the upcoming Fruit Fest. Presently, he has been a victim of animal abuse, and as if that weren’t traumatizing enough, he has basically lost his life (in the undead way of course). Who WOULDN’T want to break into waterworks upon such a discovery? Just makes you want to give poor Kaleb a hug. o And think about this: throughout the story, it’s implied that out of all of his friends, Kaleb is considered the youngest. He lost his life at such an early age when he still had so much ahead of him. • Then, his friends come along and find him with his back turned, on the ground, sobbing. All the times before when he heard his name being called out by them (Take the beginning of the story, for example.), he would joyously rush over to his friends, unable to wait for what fun times he would experience next with them. This time? He bolts off in the other direction without hesitation, unable to imagine their possible reactions to his new appearance. o The others know that something’s not right when Kaleb does this. They’re all left wondering what could have happened to their friend and brother back in the forest. As they give chase to him, they don’t relent in their search for him, but they do start crying in desperation when they can’t find him after a long time.  “Please, Kaleb!” “Why are you hiding?” “Please come back!”• Yoshi finds him after what feels like forever, but he only gets to feel the joy of finding a lost friend for a moment before he sees that Kaleb has become so withdrawn into himself that he won’t let his friend come near him. He doesn’t understand why Kaleb is suddenly a recluse, and it worries him. Not helping is that Kaleb outright tells him that he’s not the same person he once knew before. Kaleb feels like his personality is dying, and that he can’t be saved by anyone, not even his friends. He keeps trying to shoo him away, telling him that he would just run away anyways if he saw his face. Yoshi does not relent in the slightest however, which causes Kaleb to scream in grief and frustration, giving up on any hope of making his friend go. o Kaleb wants Yoshi to leave, not only for the latter’s safety, but so that he can still remember Kaleb as the friend he was instead of the “abomination” that he’s become. o This scene is all to relatable to people who have been overcome with depression. To both them and their loved ones, it’s like they HAVE become a completely different person compared to the bright and cheery soul they once probably were.• Seeing how Yoshi won’t back down from trying to help him, Kaleb gives him one last chance to go in the form of a warning; a warning that takes a line straight from Ben Solo/Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.o “If I show you my face, what do you think you’ll see?”• Naturally, Yoshi responds with, “What do I THINK I’ll see? I KNOW I’ll see the face of my dear friend! The friend I had ever since we were little toddlers!”• Kaleb then turns around and shows him what happened while he was gone, which causes Yoshi to gasp in shock. Kaleb, taking this as a sign of repulsion, turns back around and continues sobbing, telling Yoshi that he would regret this.o Yoshi didn’t gasp because of Kaleb’s appearance. He went into shock, because he basically got to see a visual of how he failed to protect his friend from harm. As if this didn’t make him feel like a bad enough friend…• As Yoshi tries to comfort his friend, he’s met with a thundering “ENOUGH!” as Kaleb turns around, and his eyes are glowing red. Yoshi instantly gets the message through his friend’s emotionally color-coded eyes that he’s angry at him, but what he says next makes him wonder if Kaleb will ever come back.o Basically, Kaleb is shouting in grief that contrary to what Yoshi might believe, he’s stuck as an undead “freak” forever, and nothing can help fix that. He’s absolutely done with feeling sunshine and rainbows now that he’s an outcast to the Yoshis. He knows the gravity of the situation, and he’s trying to make this point clear as day to his friend. All while this happens, Yoshi is trembling in teary fear.  The reason for his fear? He could care less if his friend’s appearance has changed now. Except, his friend might be dying in the inside, and he may never come back to give the other Yoshis the joy that he brought them before countless times. Kaleb’s trauma and immediate self-assumption that he’s a monster now are robbing the green dino of his friend, and he’s frightened that he may never see that loving heart he knew for so long again. He’s holding the strong belief that he was a terrible friend to Kaleb. Not helping is that since the Yoshis have learned their lesson on diversity from the Yoshi’s Story comic, Yoshi is certainly dealing with the guilt of treating new-colored Yoshis as foreign in his past. • Following the outburst, Kaleb drops down again with blue eyes and continues crying, this time because he fears that he’s lost his last vestige of his former self, which is his friends. He thinks that in frightening his friend, he has slewed off the last of himself, and that now, he is a lonely creature of darkness. Imagine his surprise when he sees all of his friends gathered around him, looking down at him in total sympathy with tears in their eyes as well. • As a result of this heartwarming development, Kaleb is left in shock and awe of why they would love and stay by a “monster like him.” As the other Yoshis are telling him otherwise, you can see the desperation to bring him back in their encouraging words to him. They know that they’re in danger of losing their beloved friend, and they’re doing all they can to keep him. o Kaleb thankfully listens to these words of encouragement, and after Yoshi tells him that he’s still one of them, he practically glomps his friend in tearful happiness. He feels that this moment is the start of his healing. Unfortunately, he finds out in the next chapter that the trials won’t be easy. • When asked about how this happened, Kaleb is absolutely horrified to speak (evidenced by his dark purple eyes). He’s reliving the terrible memory of the last five hours of his life, and it’s a trauma trigger. • When he finally finishes his story, the other Yoshis THEMSELVES are crying. They basically got to hear the story of how they failed to save their Kaleb from death itself, and now THEIR spirits have dropped. In their grief, they all feel like the worst friends ever… until Kaleb comforts him. • For the first time in his new state, Kaleb’s eyes glow a happy yellow when he realizes that they really do think of him as a friend despite his change. With his happiness back, he tells the others that it’s not their fault, and the next words that he says are a mantra that’s absolutely heartmelting. o "You saved me from becoming someone else, because no matter how I might change on the outside, you reminded me that on the inside, I am a happy and cheerful Yoshi who won't let even death keep him down!" To this day, it’s a mantra he lives by. • When Kaleb says that the situation isn’t just his problem anymore, it can be kind of a shock to the readers (and the other Yoshis as well) that he would feel like that this is his problem. Yoshi states that it never was his problem, and he’s 100% right. Looks like the scars of the event are still there unsurprisingly.Chapter 7• Kaleb calling himself a “useless undead being.” The Yoshis and readers alike are left in complete shock of how Kaleb would just call himself that, and Yoshi himself is quick to try and patch up his friend’s feelings by telling him that he is in fact useful. They’re beginning to understand what exactly their brother went through, and for the sake of him, they try to talk about the better times of the past. The Yoshis of course are then motivated even more to find this marauder who hurt and nearly took their friend away from them for good. In a way, they ARE avenging Kaleb’s death. • So, the Yoshis are looking for the villainous boy with the poison, when all of a sudden, a rain of magical blasts comes out of nowhere. No one gets hit thankfully, but what happens next is nothing short of heart-wrenching.o Kaleb, remembering that moment when his own emotions caused a miniature tornado to form around him, is quick to blame himself for what just happened. The other Yoshis go into shock and try to tell him that it isn’t his fault, but Kaleb won’t have any of it. He goes as far as abandoning his mantra and stating that he should have stuck with the belief that he’s nothing but a monster, all while his friends are desperately trying to say otherwise. It’s too late, though, and their beloved friend disappears off into the forest, most likely forever. They’re then left to sob over how they failed to save him, voicing out loud that they just want him to come back to them. Unfortunately, things only get worse from here.• Kamek and (Baby) Bowser then taunt them from the shadows before leaping out and abducting them, Parker included, a second time. Yoshi tries to play it brave and tell Kamek that he hasn’t won yet, but by the end of his interrupted line, all of the Yoshis are tied up and muffled, screaming for help in tears. Luckily, this attracted the attention of a certain someone…Chapter 8• In a happy way, but the fact that Kaleb would put his friends before him and do all he could to save them (which turned out to be more than enough), despite his fears of himself and depression. That’s a true hero AND a true friend right there. • So, Kaleb just saved his nine friends and has banished the Koopa Troop to who-knows-where. You would think that after the battle that he would be amazed with what he can do now, or at the very least, less afraid of himself. The exact opposite is sadly the case, as when the others are congratulating him for basically soloing an army, he’s left in his own fearful thoughts of what just happened and how these newfound powers might cause harm to his friends. As such, his fears feel justified to him now. (After all, what Yoshi can create a black hole out of thin air?!) Kaleb eventually works up the courage to tell his friends that they need to split for good this time, which leaves them at a depressed loss of words. They resume begging for him to come back, all while Kaleb, in tears, tells them that he needs to retreat into the forest for their own good. While Kaleb is trying to give them his reasoning, you can tell that he too doesn’t want to go on with this, but if it will protect his friends, then he will do it without hesitation.o Think about it. Kaleb basically has the body of a deity now, but the mind and heart of a Yoshi who’s just past the age of a toddler (if the implications are anything to go by). He has every right to be scared. • Only, as he begins to leave, the others absolutely lose it in tears, causing Kaleb to undergo some flashbacks. He remembers all the fun and laughs he had with his closest friends, which tells HIM one thing: he can’t leave them, especially not after they put Fruit Fest on hold just for him. Blue eyes and everything, he runs back to his sobbing friends, who themselves start crying in tears of joy, knowing that he’s staying for good this time. o Kaleb’s reason for staying? “F-Forgive m-me," Kaleb sobbed. "I-I-I'm not brave enough to leave you guys." Basically, he’s not even considering his worth to them. Rather, he’s admitting up front that they’re the only source of comfort he’s ever felt no matter what the trial, and that to leave them would be an eternity of tears and loneliness. In other words, losing his friends is scarier than death. o At this, the others try to resume their encouraging and comforting him, telling him that it couldn’t have possibly been his magic that targeted them in the forest, all while Kaleb himself is trying to tell them that it couldn’t have happened any other way but from him. It’s amazingly dark how much of an inferiority complex and self-depreciative this Yoshi is. • When they finally start to convince him that his magic has only been used for good, and it looks like Kaleb’s leaning towards the side of finally coming home with them, this line from Ralph sells the ENTIRETY of what the Yoshis have been feeling towards their friend and brother. o “Kaleb, please… We want our FRIEND back… We MISS our optimistic and kind soul.” o It’s at that moment that Kaleb begins to understand what worth he has to his friends. Even though this might be the most tragic day of his life, at the same time, it’s also his happiest. Even in death, he means the world to them.o His following response? "Oh, guys…" "I promise… I promise that I won't leave you anymore. I can't let what's happened to me separate me from you. I PROMISE this time that I'm still your jolly little Kaleb."o And it’s at that moment that the others know that they have their friend back. It took a lot of tears, as well as a battle, but they know then that Kaleb is saved. He may have been changed into Spooky Yoshi, but to them, he’s still their own. • However, as they leave for home, Kaleb’s powers are set off again, causing the supernatural Yoshi to panic again. Give the poor thing a break, Pikmin-Volt! Let him experience some happiness! But wait…• As Kaleb begins floating in the air and glowing pink for the first time, everyone begins to see that he’s using his powers, this time to leech all the poison away that has thus far been implanted in the forest. And he’s doing this how? Through the unconditional love that he feels for his friends that is reciprocated. Kaleb’s happiness, friendship and love are cleansing the forest. • When Kaleb finishes up with the purifying, even he is finally convinced that he’s a pure-hearted soul who cares for those he loves. The chapter ends with him finally returning to his upbeat and cheerful personality as him and his friends walk out of the forest, hand and hand. o Mikey, at one point, asks him where he sent the Koopa Troop when he drew them into the black hole. Kaleb, with a giggle, tells them that out of kindness and respect, he spared all of them, and sent them back to their castle. Chapter 9: • The other Yoshis beginning to fully understand their friend’s feelings on the inside, and how terrified he must be. He was able to save the entire population as a result of his transformation, but he had to sacrifice himself for it. Indeed, they really can’t thank him enough for his love and bravery. • Kaleb’s return to the other Yoshis. He’s tearfully proven wrong that he would be a freak to them as they welcome him back, telling him how they were so worried for him. He cries a river of joyous tears, glad that they still think of him as their friend. o When they too hear the story of how Kaleb became Spooky Yoshi, they also understand his sacrifice for them and how as a result of becoming undead, he did nothing but save them. Kaleb is then tossed in the air in celebration before Fruit Fest is to begin. • When Kaleb tearfully thanks his friends for saving him, he’s basically recounting the mixed tragedy and beauty of the day that changed everything for him. • Then comes his memory of Olly. The others share his pain and grief of losing his new human friend to the heartless kid, and they hope against all odds that he’s okay wherever he is. Chapter 10• Starting from the near end of the chapter, other Yoshis begin to change in appearance similar to Kaleb, and they too obtain more abilities. They are a little afraid at first, but who do they come to when this happens? You guessed it. As more and more Yoshis change, it becomes evident that Kaleb has basically started a movement on diversity and change, and he has become the living icon for it in their circle. Kaleb himself couldn’t feel more included at that time. Chapter 11• Kamek’s plan to basically cause the extinction of the Yoshis and build a castle out of their bodies is already tearjerker and nightmare fuel enough, but as the attack occurs on Kaleb’s side…o Basically, he and some friends are drained of their powers before they’re treated to the sights of themselves being split into bundles of yarn, one after another. As Kaleb sees Kamek taking aim at a Shy Guy Yoshi, he jumps in front of the attack in an effort to save him. As Kamek sadistically points out, this only buys his friend a few more seconds before he too meets the same fate. His last moments are hoping that there will be survivors that can save them all. • And save them all they do, Yoshi and Mikey so to speak. Through evading capture, they manage to start the rebuilding of Craft Island and the population of Yoshis, and as they get to the haunted lands, they manage to find all five bundles of yarn belonging to a very special friend of theirs. The reunion is this and heartwarming at the same time. • Later, Yoshi and Kaleb make the final push towards the castle when Kamek attacks them personally again. He’s about to restart the process of extinction again before Kaleb’s powers come to the rescue and nullify Kamek’s magic so that he can’t do so anymore. Kamek then tries to ram Kaleb off the platform that he and Yoshi are standing on, which prompts Yoshi to tackle his friend out of the way and into the abyss anyways… Well… until they both grow wings and start flying. • The reunion between the ten main friends shown in this story is nothing short of this and heartwarming, following Baby Bowser’s defeat. • Learning the fate of the Shy Guys that were turned against the Yoshis by Kamek’s magic certainly counts as this, as they were basically used as puppets and discarded into jail whenever deemed useless.• When the Yoshis and Shy Guys have finally found every last one of themselves, they get one more revelation from a strange telepathic talking egg. Said egg reveals that the Star Spirits created this world for the Yoshis to commend them for being such jolly little dinos, and how this was supposed to be their gift. It then apologizes for letting evil come into this world, to which the Yoshis and Shy Guys forgive it for. To make up for this, the egg then presents them with a few final challenges which they complete. Their reward? The egg generates four new Yoshis (bronze, silver, gold and platinum), and the Yoshis are tearfully thankful. A nice end to this part of the epilogue indeed. Chapter 12• This chapter opens up on Kaleb having a nightmare (turned dream). It starts all cheery, what with him playing with his friends, but then he’s brought back to the time where he first gazed upon his new form via reflection by a pond. He prepares to be horrified and saddened just like the last time, but instead, he sees how he looked before he transformed. As he wonders why this is happening, Yoshi comes up from behind him and begins comforting the sobbing dinosaur, not wanting for him to feel any angst, and voicing his own regrets of how he wasn’t there for him when he needed it. Everyone, Yoshis and Shy Guys included, then comes up to him and starts lift him into their circle again and cheer his name.o Then Kaleb wakes up as soon as he realizes that his friends are calling for him outside the dream as well, and the first thing he does is hug them. They immediately get the message, and ask if he’s okay. o He responds by telling them that it started out as a nightmare, but then they appeared in his own dream to help them. The revelation moves them to tears and warms their hearts. They’re glad that he knows that he can fall back on them. • Then, Ralph correctly guesses why Kaleb had that dream. The Yoshis have always let little children visit their home for a few days. Now that they’ve discovered Craft Island, they’ve chosen today to show it and the new forms that the majority of them have taken to the kids. They immediately come to understand that Kaleb is worried about how they’ll react to him after how it’s been different all those other years. They spend the next few hours comforting him.o When the time comes, the children arrive, and are amazed by the place and by what the Yoshis have become. Only, Kaleb is hiding in the crowd of his friends, still afraid of what will happen next. Some friends take him to the side to try and give him some courage, which eventually works…• Only, when Kaleb tries introducing himself to the others, they practically panic in fear, which causes the undead dino to curl up and begin crying as his friends angrily defend him from their accusations. Things get really tense after they reveal that this “monster” is in fact Kaleb, the one who was kind enough to be one of the first to greet them all during the previous years. At this, the kids start to cry in remorse and beg for Kaleb’s forgiveness. Kaleb, realizing that he really does have his friends to fall back on, thanks them and forgives the children, and within an hour, they’re good friends again, Kaleb giving them rides and everything. However…• Then, it’s discovered that someone named Dan has gone missing. It’s deduced that this must’ve happened when Kaleb first showed his face to them all. Notice how said Spooky Yoshi droops down in sadness and guilt when this is said. But right afterwards, he’s the first to assure the children that this boy will be found and returned to them safely.o And when Dan is saved, he too feels the guilt of mistaking Kaleb for a monster, which Kaleb, being a good boy, forgives. • Following the ordeal and some tragic storytelling, Kaleb decides not to dwell on the sad moments too much, and announces play time during the night at the plaza for everyone. At that moment, he becomes so happy that not only do his eyes turn pink again, but he also grows wings, a power central to all Yoshis, whether in times of crisis or complete joy. The Yoshis and Shy Guys that see this are themselves overjoyed that Kaleb is ecstatic and feels included again, as they have constantly been worrying over him starting from that one fateful day. • After that, and when everyone’s falling asleep, Dan is about to, when he sees Kaleb sitting down, staring into the sky. Upon closer approach, he sees that his eyes are glowing blue. When he notices him, Kaleb, at first subtly, but eventually in hysterics, voices his regrets to him about not being able to save Olly that day months ago. He feels like it’s his fault for not discovering his powers soon enough, and that if he used them, Olly would be okay. Dan, and eventually everyone else too, comfort him and assure him that Olly is surely still out there somewhere… alive. And ever since the talk with Dan, Kaleb has become a forest guardian, not only to scare off threats, but so that one day, he can find Olly again… Kaleb’s friends note in the next chapter onward of how finding Olly might be the one thing that can permanently stop Kaleb’s flashes of fear and depression. Chapter 13• Kaleb blaming himself for not waking early enough to say goodbye to the Heroes of the Four Sword, despite having run himself into the ground every single day and night in guarding the forest. His friends reveal that they’re getting worried over the amount of commitment that he’s putting in, and that they let him rest to get some strength back. o Mitigated in that Kaleb gets to see the heroes later in the day. • In a happy sort of way, but the fact that Red Link and Blue Link immediately take a shine to Kaleb following a skirmish with some enemy Shy Guys. This is the first time that humans (albeit those that have transformed into Yoshis themselves) have warmed up to him so quickly.• The story as a whole is a very big tearjerker. Basically, Kaleb, the youngest of his friends, gets mercilessly killed off by a maniac, before someone attempts to save him but seemingly and accidentally turns him into Spooky Yoshi. Kaleb then finds out that that day was his last day alive as he is now undead, tries and fails to adopt a new personality because he feels like he’s forced to, is saved by his friends, and in return, saves the entire population of Yoshis. He may be a hero, but he died an undeserved death.  • If you ever get the chance to say it, PLEASE let Kaleb know that his sacrifice was NOT in vain. If you ever see him feeling down, tell him that he is loved, and that he means so much to his friends. • And if you ever run into anyone who considers themselves a freak, inside or out, you let them know that they have a place in this world, and a place in the hearts of many, especially yours.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

A Friend in the Undead: Tv Tropes: Heartwarming This is a story about a Yoshi that encounters death, but even so, that doesn’t stop the Yoshis from spreading their contagious happiness across the pages. Even a Spooky Yoshi story can have its cheerful moments, and a lot of ‘em. He might be undead now, but he’s still a happy Yoshi. Chapter 1:• The start of the story as a whole. We get to see Kaleb’s character, who is nothing short of what a Yoshi is: cheerful, loving and full of energy. The story opens with him having happy dreams about what he’s going to do with his friends when Fruit Fest starts during the night, and even the preparations before then. As soon as Yoshi and his friends knock on his door, he’s up and at ‘em, ready to go! The first part of the day is nothing but another adventure with three of his best friends!o Of course, this sets the story up for its more tearjerker parts later on, starting with chapter 2. • When Kaleb starts to get down on himself about how he didn’t collect enough fruits, the others are quick to try and cheer him up. This of course sets the stage to show in this moment as well as the near future how much they care for him. Since he is the youngest of his ten friends, it only makes since that they treat him like a precious little brother.o That fact in itself drives in more tearjerker and heartwarming moments later on in the story.Chapter 3• Kaleb is on the brink of death, and it seems that no one will find him in time. However, a hero comes to him in the form of someone named Olly, a developing scientist who absolutely adores Yoshis. The story already describes him as an innocent young child who’s occasionally made fun of for his love of the dinos, but when he sees Kaleb in his poisoned state, he immediately jumps into action, making a beeline for the forest exit, all while begging Kaleb not to leave. When it becomes apparent that he can’t seem to find the way out, Kaleb, knowing full well his good intentions, uses all the strength he has left to point the way out for him. By the time they’re out of there, Kaleb absolutely knows that he can trust his knew human friend and hero. Chapter 4• When Olly takes Kaleb to his home, he tells his parents that he needs to save Kaleb before it’s too late. Following an argument in which they tell him that he might not be ready for this, they retract their statements in an apology and announce their full faith in their son. Olly then heroically walks his patient into the lab.o Kaleb gives his parents a little wave as they go downstairs. • Ever since the previous chapter, Kaleb has grown to like Olly more and more. At this point, he wants to hold onto life, so that he can introduce him to his friends! And this is after Olly promised him a lot of fruit too. D ’aww…• As Kaleb is waiting for the medicine to take effect, he begins to tell Olly of how much like a Yoshi he is. Olly himself blushes at this, being rather humble in not thinking that he’s that close to one. • When the antidote appears to heal Kaleb fully, he’s back to his happy and eccentric self, and hugs his doctor as a sign of thanks. Olly is beside himself in disbelief that he actually did it.o Sadly, it only seems to work for a moment or so before Kaleb falls back down to a state near death.Chapter 5• As Olly frantically searches for a cure to rescue his dying new friend, he comes to the cruel realization that it’s too late. As he begins to sob in defeat, Kaleb has a few final words for his doctor that double as this and tearjerker. o "I-It's… okay. I don't want- you- to think that y-you're a f-f-ailure for this. Y-You w-w-were brave enough to t-try…"o Kaleb is certainly afraid of dying, especially at an age so young, but for the sake of his friend, he’ll go out with a smile, forgiving his friend and telling him not to feel guilty for seemingly failing. • Kaleb’s immediate plan of action to rescue Olly from the villain’s clutches. He could care less of what he looks like at the moment. To him, Olly is the most important. • The Yoshis’ plan to not only save their friend despite the danger, but also to stop Fruit Fest preparations for his sake. They’re not afraid to jump into peril, and they’re not afraid of harm coming to them. They’re more concerned and worried for Kaleb.  Chapter 6• So, Kaleb has just seen his new appearance (as well as used one of his many new powers for the first time), and is hence planning to live out the rest of his undead existence in the forest, alone and without friends. But said friends won’t have ANY of that. They find him as he stops by the entrance, causing him to run off in fear that they won’t love him anymore. Wondering why their friend has run away from them instead, they try to track him down, not intending to leave him behind despite their growing exhaustion through the search. The story outright says that they know that it would be shameful to just leave him behind. • When Yoshi finally finds their lost friend, Kaleb is desperately begging Yoshi to leave before he sees his new face. Yoshi, however, won’t, stating that Kaleb is his friend no matter what. When Kaleb gives up and gives his friend one last chance to leave, asking him what he thinks he’ll see if he looks at his face (a line straight from Kylo Ren/Ben Solo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Yoshi replies with an equivalent of Han Solo’s line. o "I KNOW I'll see the face of my dear friend! The friend I had ever since we were little toddlers!" • When Kaleb has a magical outburst on Yoshi for trying to comfort him, he expects to look up from the ground and see no one, as he thought to have scared his friends off forever. Instead, he finds them all circling around him, ready for him to cry into their shoulders. He’s absolutely stunned that they’re still here, wondering why they would be friends with a freak like him. They all voice their encouraging words to him.o "You are a kind and loving soul who cares for his friends and family," Tom assured him."You are part of our clan!" Parker informed him."You're amazing to be with!" Cameron cheered."You make Yoshi's Island a better place to live in!" Xavier told him."You care about everyone's needs before yours!" Dave proudly stated."Most of all… you're our friend and brother," Ralph stated with compassion.o Yoshi sums it up by saying a point mentioned earlier in this page; that the scariest thing possible would be losing Kaleb forever, and that since he’s still here, this is the happiest day of their lives. The group then hugs for a long while.o The author notes a couple times that this story takes place a few months after the German Yoshi’s Story comic, which touched on diversity. Seems like the Yoshis have improved a lot, seeing the good heart that Kaleb has, and not paying any mind to his appearance.• Following Kaleb telling his tragedy to everyone, they all feel like they failed at being good friends for him. Kaleb, however, doesn’t want them to feel at fault for this, repeating to them as they first told him that he’s still alive and with them all. He then speaks a mantra that he goes by to this day.o “No matter how I might change on the outside, you reminded me that on the inside, I am a happy and cheerful Yoshi who won't let even death keep him down!" How sweet… It really shows signs of returning.o His eyes have turned yellow in happiness too for the first time. It’s not that easy though, as seen in the next chapter.• When Kaleb recalls that the villain is still out there in the woods, poisoning the forest, the others are quick to join his cause, Yoshi saying that this ordeal never was his problem in the first place. Kaleb smiles, knowing that he has his friends to fall back on. Chapter 7• The Yoshis cheering Kaleb on as he leads the way. As if that wasn’t enough, when Kaleb starts slipping back into self-deprecation again, they’re quick to reassure him that no matter what powers he may have or what he looks like, he is a friend and brother to them. o Kaleb starting to take a position of leadership in general can qualify. Even after what’s happened, he’s still willing to contribute to the adventure. Chapter 8• You can already tell by the familiar egg scene referenced from the Yoshi’s Story comic that Kaleb is coming back to help his friends. He might be frightened out of his mind right now, what with having transformed and all, but to him, losing his friends would hurt more than even death. • Kaleb’s curb stomping the Koopa Troop. In the moment, he looks like he’s having a BLAST defending his friends. He’s even playing fair and giving the enemies multiple chances to back out. o Kaleb saving his friends gets a tearful thank you from them all. Kaleb gives a confident nod before leading them into the rest of the battle. • Following the battle, Kaleb is left in complete shock at his new capabilities, all while his friends are busy congratulating him. He might not see it, but his friends do: He’s not a freak. He’s AMAZING! • The true reunion scene. Enough said. Kaleb finds the belief that he’s a monster valid now. As he tells his friends that he must go, he begins to depart until they break down in tears. Kaleb then begins to remember some good times with them. Realizing that he cannot leave them even if he wanted to, he rushes back to them in tears, telling them that he’s, “not brave enough to leave them.” They instead tell him of how he’s brave enough to stay with them, and that his powers are a reflection of himself. Still doubting, Kaleb listens to Tom concluding that the spell that drove him off earlier was from Kamek instead, which he eventually comes to agree with. Ralph then begs their wonderful friend to come back.o “Kaleb, please… We want our FRIEND back... We MISS our optimistic and kind soul.” • The line above sells it to Kaleb that regardless of the tragedy that changed his appearance, he has worth to them as a friend and brother. They care about him. o Kaleb then dances happily with everyone before they all start to head home. • But then, Kaleb begins to turn a new color: pink. As he rises up into the air, afraid of what might happen, everyone begins to notice liquid rising up into the air along with their friend. They know what this means: Pink is the color that Kaleb projects when he’s absolutely happy, and that he’s using said happiness and love to cleanse the forest. • And when Kaleb touches back down? Even he finally sees who he truly is: a hero and a friend. o “I’m ready, guys! I KNOW that everything will be okay!”  This is said while his eyes are still glowing pink. • As everyone begins walking back home to start Fruit Fest, Mikey asks Kaleb where he sent the Koopa Troop when he pulled them into the void. Kaleb, with a childish giggle, tells them all that he spared them all out of kindness. The act of a Yoshi indeed. Chapter 9• As Kaleb’s friends begin to fully understand how terrified their friend must be feeling, even if he managed to save the forest like this, they begin profusely thanking him. Kaleb’s answer? o "Losing you is what scares me the most, and because you've taught me that, I can't thank YOU enough. If it wasn't for you, I would have withdrawn into the forest where I would spend all of my time believing myself to be an enemy. But now, I can rest easy knowing that I know who I am, and that's who I always WAS."• Kaleb’s reunion with the rest of the Yoshis. He’s understandably nervous of how they too will react at first, but those fears are immediately extinguished when they, just like his nine closest friends, bawl in tears that they’re just glad he’s back. They even acknowledge themselves that Kaleb sacrificed himself for all of them. Kaleb then gets the cheerful tossing treatment before Fruit Fest begins. • Kaleb gives a tearful and heartfelt message of thanks to the Yoshis for bringing him back as his Fruit Fest speech. Of course, he doesn’t forget the other hero out there who helped him stay alive: Olly. He voices his fear that Olly might be in danger, and they all hope with all their hearts that he’s okay. • Just when it looks like the festivities are about to begin, though, a band of white-cloaked Shy Guys appears. Turns out, they’re the same ones who abducted Kaleb’s friends earlier. Only now (and after Kaleb teases them a bit through some spooking), they reveal that thanks to Kaleb scaring them witless, they’ve turned over a new leaf, ala Octolings in the Splatoon series. To prove it, they go find more fruit for their new friends before the celebration begins and everyone enjoys themselves for the next few days. A nice start of the epilogue indeed. Chapter 10• This chapter opens up with the narrator telling everyone that Kaleb has been doing better than well in the past few days. It’s been nothing but the sunshine and rainbows that Yoshis are known for. Kaleb still lives, inside and out. From here to the end of the story and beyond, we get to see his adorably playful side pop in often.• The Yoshis’ and Shy Guys’ discovery of Craft Island is a nice moment of accomplishment for them. They’re absolutely elated with the prospect of having found a new land that just… represents them in such a beautiful way.• Then comes the time when more Yoshis start to change in a manner similar to Kaleb. Of course, this means that they now look to him to guide them in discovering their new abilities, and Kaleb couldn’t feel more included and happy. It brings tears of joy to his eyes when he starts helping them discover said new abilities. Chapter 11• Though things look bleak in Kamek’s plan to cause the extinction of the Yoshis, Kaleb, in his last moments before being turned into five bundles of wool, is confident that his friends will save him.• And save him and the others that were captured they do. Yoshi and Mikey get the honor of bringing back Kaleb personally, and the three of them couldn’t be more overjoyed. Following this, Kaleb joins the team, and even helps Yoshi through the final push towards Bowser’s castle. • During said trek, Kamek attempts to impede their progress and turn them both into yarn bundles. This time however, Kaleb saves the day again by taking Kamek’s ability to turn them into yarn bundles away. Kamek, enraged by this, attempts to ram Kaleb off the edge of the platform he and Yoshi are standing on, only for Yoshi to dive and get him out of the way, but at the cost of them falling off anyways. However, they grow wings since this is a time of crisis for them before Kaleb angrily ground pounds Kamek. • During the final battle, when it looks like Yoshi and Mikey might lose against a giant Baby Bowser, Kaleb and the other saved Yoshis all grow wings and fly up to help and encourage their two friends by distracting the final boss and cheering them on. This gives them the strength they need to heal back up to full (as well as grow wings themselves) and finish off Baby Bowser. • The reunion between Kaleb, Yoshi, Mikey and the other seven friends is this. The others are regretful for being used as tools for Baby Bowser, to which Kaleb assures them that it wasn’t their fault. • They then go on to save some Shy Guys imprisoned in the castle. After some apologies and more forgiveness, they then go on to save the rest of their kinds. No one is left behind, and within a week, everyone is saved. • Just as it looks like the adventure’s over and done with though, they all get one last surprise. The nest in the middle of the central plaza? It’s been housing a sentient egg that has a message for them. It tells them that Craft Island was a world made by the Star Spirits out of their thanks for their countless kind acts throughout the years since their creation. Following an apology of allowing the evil of Kamek and Bowser to enter this world, it decides to make it up to the Yoshis and Shy Guys through one final trek through the Wonderful World of Wool as well as a Boss Rush. Following the completion of these, the Yoshis and Shy Guys are rewarded four more Yoshis, each of a new type. They are Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum Yoshis, newborns that the Yoshis couldn’t be happier to have in their family.Chapter 12• Kaleb starts off this chapter with a dream-turned nightmare flashback which depicts him looking down onto the river’s reflection to see his new appearance, except he sees how he used to look.o The symbolism behind this? He’s afraid of seeing a monster on the other side, but instead, he sees what he truly is: a loving, playful and caring Yoshi. • Yoshi then appears behind him, and when it becomes clear to the green dino that his friend’s in distress again, he doesn’t hesitate to remind him that he is a wonderful brother to all of them, and that he was there at the tragic scene of the poisoning that day, that he wouldn’t have hesitated to defend him from what became his sacrifice for the Yoshi population. Everyone else, Yoshis and Shy Guys alike, then comes along and begins cheering Kaleb’s name over and over while lifting him into a circle again. • And when Kaleb wakes up, the first thing he does is hug his worried friends. He thanks them for being in his dreams, where he thought he wouldn’t be safe from the nightmares. The others are, in turn, touched to know that he is following their words of assurance in case he needs them. • When it’s discovered that Kaleb had that dream last night because of an annual event that’s going to happen today (in where some children are coming to visit Craft Island for the first time as they have done with Yoshi’s Island every time before), his friends assure him that if they think of him as a monster, then they will do everything they can to show them otherwise. o As the children are welcomed to the island and begin to marvel at it and the new Yoshis, Kaleb has withdrawn into the center of the crowd, still worried over what might happen. Some friends pull him over and give him some encouragement that he CAN show them that Kaleb is still alive.• Of course, as it happens, Kaleb’s new appearance ends up scaring the children, but his friends, true to their words, are quick to defend him from any prejudice and accusations, revealing to them that this is indeed Kaleb, the one who would always be one of the first Yoshis to greet them every time they came. After some more tears, they’re good friends with the Spooky Yoshi again.• When it’s discovered that someone named Dan has gone missing, Kaleb, despite knowing that it was because of his appearance that he did so, doesn’t hesitate to start a search for the missing boy. Even after all of the hurtful words directed at him, all he’s going to do next is save one of their own. Now THAT’S a hero. • When Kaleb detects the missing child, one of the Yoshis wants to go help him save Dan, but another Yoshi stops him, telling him that if Kaleb saves the boy alone, then he’ll have no reason to believe that he’s a monster. The Yoshis in the haunted lands watch proudly as one of their own goes to singlehandedly save a human child from danger. They know that Kaleb can do it. • As you would guess, the rescue is a complete success, and as a bonus, even more Shy Guys are turned from their evil ways. As Kaleb approaches Dan, the child backs off in fear until realizing and having it confirmed to him that Kaleb is the one who saved him. Kaleb gladly forgives him for running away and carries him back to safety, where everyone else is waiting for them. • As soon as they reach their friends, everyone’s cheering for Kaleb’s victory and Dan’s return. Dan doesn’t hesitate to tout Kaleb’s amazing powers, which causes the latter to blush with magenta eyes. They all walk home happy that night.• Following a tragic story relived by Kaleb, the undead dinosaur tells them that they shouldn’t dwell on the past, that he’s thankful to still be alive, and that it’s time to have fun. As he’s giving the children rides, he becomes so happy that he grows wings and his eyes turn pink. This is indeed Kaleb at his brightest. He’s just so playful and joyous, even after what’s happened to him. o The other Yoshis and Shy Guys are even happy for him too, considering how he has sometimes fallen into fear and depression. To them, it’s like watching a little sibling happily playing.• After that, and when everyone’s going to bed, Dan spots Kaleb looking off into the sky. Kaleb, in tears, tells him that he misses Olly and blames himself for not saving him. Of course, this is met with the comforting from not only Dan, but all of his friends as they voice their beliefs that Olly is surely alive out there wherever he is. Following this gathering, Kaleb vows to protect the forest, not only to drive out evil, but so he can find his friend one day. He knows that he’ll come to the forest to find him. And when he does, Kaleb will be ready with open arms.Chapter 13• Kaleb, since the end of the last chapter, has kept to his promise of being a forest guardian, and has woken up early and stayed up late to watch over the forest and search for Olly. No matter how tired he may get, he has been dedicated in his goals.• When he wakes up later than he would have liked on one particular day, he’s distraught to find out that he missed the goodbye to some new friends of the Yoshis, the Heroes of the Four Sword in particular. His friends point out that they let him sleep in because they’re worried about the lack of sleep he’s been getting. o And even after they try to convince him to let someone else take over that day, Kaleb refuses and elects to guard the forest anyways… at the price of letting the others do it for the next week for his sake.• A few hours into the job that day, he finds some enemy Shy Guys harassing Red Link and Blue Link, two Heroes of the Four Sword. Leaping into action, he scares the enemies off (and the heroes by accident for a moment). Once the two (Yoshified) brothers calm down, Kaleb introduces himself to them, amazing them with his appearance, powers and kindness. Within less than a few minutes, Kaleb has already made a couple of friends in the form of two human-turned-Yoshis, who are absolutely blown away by what he can do. Kaleb must feel honored to have saved and befriended two legendary heroes. • Oh, right. He gets to meet their three brothers, who are themselves Yoshis at the time. The rest of the evening is spent with laughs and a bunch of storytelling.• This fanfiction as a whole is not only heartwarming, but it teaches its readers not to judge anyone by how they look. Basically, a few months after Yoshis have begun accepting diversity more, they’re put to the test when the youngest of them is killed and turned into a sentient zombie. Instead of shunning him, they accept him, knowing full well that he is their Kaleb, and in a returning act of kindness, Kaleb saves them all. To this day, they still play games and have fun with each other, none excluding Kaleb because he’s different now. If anything, they are AMAZED by what he can do now. o It’s heartwarming on Kaleb’s side too. He was lucky enough to meet a human who cared so much for him, and did all he could to save him, which he did. Said human ended up saving the entire population of Yoshis through Kaleb too. What a dynamic duo. To this day, Kaleb is bent on returning the favor to try and find his new best human friend so that they can finally have all the fun envisioned by them. o More so on Kaleb’s side, it must have been a beautiful tearjerker to find out how much you meant to your friends, even in an undead state. To him, his friends ARE his power.• So, if you happen to see the hero, how about you add on to this page of heartwarming moments, and tell him that he is such a lovable creature of happiness who saves those he loves. Accept him for who he is, inside and out, and I’m sure one day, he’ll return the favor.• And accept others into your life. They might be different on the outside, but look at who they are on the inside. They might be just like you…

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Yoshi PSAThis… is a hero... This... is a creature of pure joy... Happiness... This is an animal that can bring people up from the toughest of times... This little fellow might look different from what you all are used to seeing, but he is still one of the creatures that are... admittedly too good for this world... You are indeed looking at a Yoshi... Now... This innocent creature did not always look like this... He was... once a normal purple-colored Yoshi... But at an age so young, he was forced to see how cruel humanity can be, especially to animals. Yoshis celebrate an annual holiday called Fruit Fest, a joyous occasion where their kind goes out to find fruit in the forest before celebrating for three days or so nonstop with lots of games. It's usually supposed to be a time full of joy. But... it wasn't all that for this poor soul. During preparations for one Fruit Fest in particular, this little guy stayed BEHIND in the forest, ALL BECAUSE he didn't feel like he contributed enough fruits for the occasion! He kept searching long after telling his friends to go, and that he'd be fine... That was... sadly not the case... While this fellow was still looking for food, a boy... No... A CRIMINAL... had entered the forest, intent on poisoning the entire RACE of Yoshis into extinction. Can you believe such a thing?! The purple Yoshi was still in the forest while the boy was there, and as it was... he was targeted... and ATTACKED... THIS YOSHI... was POISONED and LEFT TO DIE by this CRIMINAL, and for WHAT? All the poor dinosaur wanted to do was find more fruit so that he could feel like he contributed to Fruit Fest, and he was unjustly punished by a creature of man.This poor Yoshi, crying for help, was luckily found by a genius child who was FAR nicer, and had the heart of a Yoshi himself. He took him to his lab... He earned the Yoshi's trust straightaway... He was a good friend to this favorite creature of his, who he vowed to heal...But the Yoshi did not come back as he woke up that morning...Somehow, the treatment went awry... and the Yoshi had seemingly perished... The child who tried to help him was DEVASTATED, as was his family... To think that at the beginning of the day... This young creature... who had so much energy and happiness inside of him... DIED. But thankfully, it seemed that the Yoshi would have more time in this world, for he rose again, though differently. He had a Jack-O-Lantern smile on his belly, a mix of purple and green colors all around him, and black eyes with white pupils that could now change color... He was undead...This Yoshi... lost his normal life at an age so young, when he had so much to look forward too... And let me tell you this... He was SELFLESS as any other Yoshi out there... He didn't CARE about what he looked like when he first awoke... Instead... he cared for his savior, who he witnessed being ABDUCTED by the same boy who had poisoned him... And then, he later DID see how he looked like now... He fell into DEPRESSION. He would have left his friends out of fear of rejection FOREVER if they didn't find them in time. And around the time that they did, he discovered that he had magical powers too. While us greedy humans would think nothing less than to use them for our own whims, this HERO... was so selfless, that he was AFRAID of what harm he might cause... He didn't want them... That says a lot about this poor fellow, as well as his friends... He just wanted to spend a happy day of Fruit Fest with his friends... He didn't ASK for ANY of this... But... thanks to his friends, he learned to accept who he was now, and that acceptance... activated his true potential... With his new powers, he CLEANSED the forest of the poison that the criminal was going to use to kill the Yoshis... He... the Yoshi who was traumatized by his recent change... SAVED his friends... He saved the Yoshis... How he transformed into a Spooky Yoshi instead of dying is shrouded in mystery, but only to us feeble-minded humans... You see... Yoshis... while they are easily frightened like us, know when to show bravery... They know when to stick up for each other... That time... is always... What we as a whole lack in unconditional love, they have it... Because the child who saved the Yoshi, Olly is his name, gave the creature love and nourishment with a Yoshi heart of his own, and combined with the Yoshi's own will to save his friends out of love... Spooky Yoshi was born... A scourge to his enemies... but a true friend to his family, who he laid down his life for... We as humans may not be perfect, but we certainly have no excuse to continue down our flawed path... What have we done? Instead of looking up to creatures such as the Yoshis as an example, we cast them aside or even KILL them... As a human myself, I am ashamed... And I am glad that I got to meet this Spooky Yoshi myself... I am glad that I got to meet Kaleb... and his new brother... Olly... who is now himself the second Spooky Yoshi... If you want to know how this came to be, how about you get to know the Yoshis better first... THEN... we'll talk... This has been Pikmin-Volt with a message to save the Yoshis... Now, how about we do just that...