-> Jazz Solo <- By Emily Kelley "Hey you there!" shouted the black-shelled, black-helmeted turtle guarding the barricade. "You can't go through here, 'cause Kamek said! Or I'll have to make you sorry!" "But I really have to get through!" protested Jazz. "Oh, yeah, why?" Jazz faltered. "Uh, well, see, uh, well," she said intelligently. The turtle snorted. "I'll bet! I think I'll have to turn you in!" He picked up a sharp, pointed hammer. "Are you gonna come quietly or what?" "What," answered Jazz, taking a fighting stance. In an instant Toad was at her side, ready to hurl Toadstools and other spells at the Hammer Brother. Tabby popped out of Jazz's backpack, eager to help in whatever way he could. "Three against one? That's unfair!" complained the Hammer Brother. "How about I even it up? Boomerang and Fire!" Two more similar turtles, one red- skinned and one green, jumped out of the treetops. "Ready, sir!" they shouted, saluting. "Attack mode! Delta assembly! Weapons ready! Targets are one human, one mushroom, and one renegade Koopa Troopa! Go!" Boomerang and Fire jumped to their places flanking Hammer so that the three formed a triangle. Boomerang drew two boomerangs, Hammer spun his hammers, and Fire breathed a stream of red flame. Jazz thought to herself. Mega Man and all related characters are copyright Capcom. Mario, Star Fox, Kirby, Pikachu, and all related characters are copyright Nintendo. Mega Man: The Series is copyright Mandi Paugh. Jazz is copyright Emily Kelley (me). All previously copyrighted characters, stories, etc. remain in the possession of their owners. *Whew!* Now that that's over, have fun reading, but keep in mind that all stories are in unfinished format and may, however unlikely, contain spelling and other errors. Jazz was bored and goofing off, and she knew it. She hurled her helmet as hard as she could at a computer across the lab, and just before it hit she pressed the recall button on her belt. Her purple helmet disappeared and reappeared safely on her head where it started. "I wish you'd stop that," Dr. Light told her. "I know it's tedious, but you agree to let me run some tests on you." "Yeah, but you didn't say it'd take the whole day," Jazz complained with a hint of whine in her voice. After all, she was only thirteen and a bit hyper to boot. Sitting all day in Dr. Light's lab while Mega Man thwarted the evil schemes of Dr. Wily was her idea of a great way to spend the day. She would much rather have been helping to save MegaLand, but Dr. Light wouldn't hear of it. "This will only take a little longer," he assured Jazz, checking some results. "I can't figure this out, though..." "Figure what out?" Jazz asked, hoping for something to relieve her boredom. Anything was better than sitting on a table for hours on end. "Well, it's obvious that you became a living machine, or bioroid, when you passed through the force field. Same way it happened to Break Man. But, what I wonder is, both he and Mega Man retained their external forms and powers when they became alive. You, on the other hand, gained a lot of abilities. I'm trying to figure how that's possible." Jazz thought that over too, coming up with an idea that seemed absolutely crazy and unrelated. "What if my personal wishes had something to do with it?" she thought out loud. Dr. Light looked up from a printout. "Come again?" he asked. "I always entertained this dream of being a hero like Mega Man. I guess that's typical, but maybe it influenced my transformation. Do you think that's possible?" "Anything that isn't strictly forbidden is bound to happen," Dr. Light said, "and I've never seen it written anywhere that that's impossible. Stranger things have happened. I'll think that over, but for now I'm done with the tests." "Whew," whistled Jazz, sliding off the table. "So, what's there to do around here other than sit on tables?" Dr. Light gave that one some consideration. "You could... play with Tango, or... go to the Palace of Power, or you could..." "Find Mega Man and help him defeat Dr. Wily?" Jazz suggested hopefully, not expecting miracles and not getting any. "I don't think you should," Dr. Light said. "You don't have any experience with that sort of thing, and you could get seriously hurt." Jazz was nonplussed. "There's something I hear from everyone all the time," she remarked, starting to lose her temper. "It's always like 'you'll get hurt' or 'you'll get killed,' but if you ask me it's really more like 'you'll get in my way.' Yeah, so I'll mess it up, but if I never get any I'll never get any I'm going somewhere where they need me, because nobody does here! Don't come looking for me, you won't find me unless I want you to!" She snagged an energy shield and stormed out of the lab, determined to find some way to prove to everybody and herself that she was every bit as competent as Mega Man. It was going to be quite a job, considering she really didn't have any experience and Mega Man had a huge head start, but Jazz was certain that she was up to it. Dr. Light watched her leave, not trying to stop her because he couldn't have done it anyway. He figured that it would blow over soon, like her tantrums always did, and went back to analyzing his test results. Jazz stormed outside, through the one-way force field that protected the complex -- the very same force field that had accidentally turned her into a living machine a few weeks ago. It had been having trouble at the time, and was considerably weakened. That was before Jazz had taken her new name, back when she was still plain Katie Lilleth the human. She had been chased by Dr. Wily's robots, and, not seeing the force dome, had run right through it. Normally that was impossible for a human, but the field had been at a fraction of its usual power. Jazz made a stop at Mega Man's house, which he never lived in so she had moved into temporarily. It was out of the protection of the force field, not very far from the lab and near a pleasant patch of woods. It had been remodeled recently, and was in good shape. She slammed the door behind her, angrily digging through clothes until she found something to wear. Jazz changed into her new outfit, throwing a change of clothes into a backpack. She found an energy tank to take along, so she tossed them in with the clothes. Jazz found some shoes that fit well enough over her robot feet, brushed her hair and pulled it into a ponytail, put on a light jacket, and found a few dollars to stuff into the pockets. Jazz had talked about going off by herself to fight, but of course no one had taken her seriously. As an afterthought, she packed a hairbrush and a bar of soap just in case. Jazz shouldered her backpack and stood at the door, ready to leave, when a meow from another room caught her attention. Tango, the green robotic attack cat built by Dr. Light for Mega Man, came into the living room and rubbed against Jazz's leg. Dr. Light had identified Jazz as a friend and master of the cat, and let Jazz keep him at 'her' house. Tango gave her a questioning look. She bent down and petted Tango. "I'm leaving for a while," she explained. "It might be dangerous, and I'd take you along, but I need to go alone. It's a personal thing, I guess." The robot cat didn't understand much if anything at all of what she said, but it made Jazz feel a little better to tell someone. "Go find Dr. Light," she told Tango. He understood that much, and took off out the door as soon as Jazz opened it. Jazz followed him outside, wondering where she would go and what she would do. MegaLand didn't seem to need her help, but what of the other zones? Surely there was one that was in trouble somewhere. All that Jazz would have to do would be to find it, and the best place to go to anywhere from was the Palace of Power with its numerous warps. Jazz's teleporter was set to there, so she teleported off-- --and appeared in the throne room as usual. The Palace was empty, due to the N-Team being out on a long mission in KongoLand, so she could come and go through here without being questioned. Jazz found her way to the warp room and picked a lesser-used warp at random. She pulled the round metal door covering it open, and jumped through. She arrived in an unfamiliar, but not unpleasant, place. The ground was flat, dotted by berry-bearing bushes and -- pipes? The next thing that caught Jazz's eye was a yellow block with a ? mark floating a few feet in the air. What kind of weird land was this? Jazz didn't get any time to think that over, though. A red turtle leading a bunch of big black beetles marched up to her. "Who are you?" he demanded. "I'm Jazz," she answered, not wanting to start anything. The turtle had other ideas. "You're trespassing on royal property," he said. "You know the punishment for that?" Jazz shook her head no. "Buzzy Beetles, attack!" the turtle ordered. The black bugs started crawling toward her. She wondered if this was some sort of joke. The Buzzy Beetles were slow, and hardly dangerous-looking. Jazz jumped up and stomped one, succeeding only in making it pull up into its shell. Meanwhile, another Buzzy bit her. "Ow!" Jazz protested, not expecting a beetle to be able to hurt a living machine. She kicked the first Buzzy away, sending it crashing into a few other beetles. She stomped two more Buzzies, kicking one and making it hit the other. All in all, this was awfully easy. "Oh, that's it!" said the turtle, sitting down and starting to cry. "Look what you did to all my Beetles! You know what the punishment for making a Koopa Troopa cry is?! Boo hoo, boo hoo..." Jazz picked the Troopa up two-handedly by the edges of his red shell. He immediately pulled inside like the Buzzy Beetles had done. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make anyone cry," apologized Jazz. The Koopa Troopa poked his head out a bit. "R-really?" he sniffled, losing the tough Troopa act. "It's okay, I overreacted. I was more or less worried about my job... yeah, Kamek's gonna turn me into a block for sure now..." The Koopa Troopa pulled back into his shell and cried some more. "Who's gonna do what again?" Jazz asked. "You must be new around here," the Troopa said through his tears. "This's the Mushroom Kingdom. Usually Princess Toadstool runs it, and Bowser, King of the Koopas, kidnaps her. Then Mario and Luigi always come and kick his behind. That's the way it's been since, oh, sometime in the mid '80s." "Uh, I still don't get it," admitted Jazz. "Let me try again," said the Koopa Troopa as Jazz put him down. "Mario and Luigi are brothers. They're plumbers from some place they call 'Brooklyn.' King Bowser always tries to kidnap Princess Toadstool. Mario and Luigi always rescue her. Right now, though, all three are on vacation on Dinosaur Island. Bowser and his kids -- Iggy, Morton, Lemmy, Ludwig, Roy, Wendy, and Larry -- all went to kidnap the Princess again and terrorize Dinosaur Island. King Bowser left his royal Magikoopa, Kamek, in charge. Without Mario around, he's been taking over the Mushroom Kingdom." Jazz nodded. "I think I've got it now, but why are you telling me all this? Aren't you supposed to be on Bowser's side?" The Koopa Troopa shrugged. "Yeah, but I don't like him anyway. Or Kamek, I really have it out for him... oh my gosh! Please don't snitch on me for saying that!" "I wasn't going to," said Jazz. "So, the Mushroom Kingdom really needs help?" The turtle nodded empathetically. "Oh yeah! It's an awful mess!" Jazz snapped her fingers. "Then I think this is exactly where I need to be!" she decided. This stumped the Troopa. "Do what?" he asked. "Oh, my turn to explain," said Jazz. "I'm from another world, called MegaLand. You've probably never heard of it. Anyway, there's this mad scientist named Dr. Wily there, always trying to take over. Mega Man, a living machine, always stops him. You know, it sounds somewhat like it is here. But the thing is, I think I could do just as good a job as Mega Man fighting Dr. Wily and his robots, but nobody lets me help. So I decided to prove to everyone that I can handle myself. I went looking for someone to help, and here I am." The Koopa Troopa scratched his head with a claw. "And you're Jazz, right? I'm Tabby." He stuck out his hand and Jazz shook it. "If you plan on trouncing Kamek, can I help? I know my way around here, and I could help you a lot." "I was thinking of doing it alone," said Jazz. "But you don't know anything about the Mushroom Kingdom, and I couldn't do much in a fight anyway. After all, I just a turtle." Jazz couldn't disagree with that. "What if I just gave you advice when you ask for it and let you figure out the rest on your own?" suggested Tabby. "I could ride in your backpack." "Wellll... I suppose you can come. Here, just a moment." Jazz took off her backpack and unzipped it. She moved the energy shield and energy tank to another part of the pack so they wouldn't be damaged and set Tabby in the main pouch. She zipped it back up enough so that he couldn't fall out. "Hey, this is comfy," he remarked. Jazz put her backpack on again. "So, where should we go first?" she asked. Tabby pondered a moment. "I don't know," he answered. "Bowser's Keep is pretty far away. It could take awhile to get there on foot. I've got a hunch that we should stop at the Mushroom Castle first. It's a lot closer, just a few miles down this road. Oh, and look up there." Tabby pointed out the ? block. "You should hit that." Jazz walked under the block. She reached up, but couldn't touch it. "No, I meant jump up and punch it from underneath," Tabby clarified. Jazz gave that a try, and a gold coin popped out. She caught it and stashed it away in a pocket. "See how it still has the ? on it? That means hit it again. You just keep hitting until it turns blank, then it's empty." Jazz hit it a couple more times, getting a coin each time. "That's all there is to it, huh?" she asked. "Not so bad." Jazz started down the road towards the Mushroom Castle with Tabby in her backpack. They made pretty good progress, picking up an occasional coin or three. Jazz punched one ? block, and a red mushroom popped out. It slid on its own power off the block, and probably would've kept going had Jazz not caught it. Her energy had been down slightly from the Buzzy Beetle encounter, which didn't seem to make sense, and the mushroom bumped it back up to full, which didn't seem to make sense either. "What gives with that?" she asked Tabby. "Well, usually when Mario gets hurt, he goes back to his small size, but when he picks up another mushroom, he becomes Super Mario again," explained Tabby. "It's sort of the same thing as your energy, I think. You get hurt, it goes down, you nab a 'shroom, it goes up, natch." "Yeah, I got it now," Jazz said. "Kind of weird, but if it works I won't complain." They continued on until they reached a wide, fast river with the bridge out. Not only was it out, it was almost nonexistant. "Can you swim?" asked Tabby. "I can't, 'cause I'm a land turtle." "Don't know," admitted Jazz. She waded in up to her chin and tried to float. Being a robot, though, she was too dense to float. So, she headed back to the shore. Tabby was already thinking. "It's bottomless, so going across the bottom wouldn't work. You probably can't jump it, and I know I can't. Maybe we should try to find another way across." "Any other bridges?" Jazz asked. Tabby shook his turtle head. "Nope," he answered. "This was the only one, and it's trashed now." Jazz spotted a tree growing on the bank. It was just tall enough to reach across, and it didn't seem rooted very well. She walked over to it, placed both hands on the trunk, and gave it a push. The tree tipped, falling down and spanning the river perfectly. Feeling pleased with herself, Jazz hopped up and dashed to the opposite side. "Hey, you're pretty strong," noted Tabby. Jazz didn't bother to tell him why. They collected a few more gold coins. These floated in the air. Something about free-floating coins made Jazz's logical side balk. After all, she had liver her whole life in MegaLand, science and logic capital of the different zones. This place stepped on the laws of physics and tossed them out the window without a second thought. A mile or so down the road, Jazz and Tabby were stopped by a trio of tortoise terrors. "Halt!" the blue one exclaimed. "Cease!" demanded the yellow Troopa. "Desist!" the green turtle agreed, flapping his wings. The blue-shelled Koopa Troopa stepped forward. "This is Kamek's road! So don't walk on it, 'cause you'll get it dirty!" thought Jazz to herself. Luckily, Tabby came to the rescue. "Hey, she's my prisoner," he said, popping out of the backpack. "But you're in her backpack!" objected Yellow. Blue hit him. "That's what I was gonna say! Ahem. But you're in her backpack! We're gonna have to check that out." Tabby clarified, "It's in the Rule Book. Chapter 5784, Section 5-3, Level Eight, three minutes on the clock and counting. 'Hereforth all captives shall hereforth carry their captors in their backpacks hereforth on the occasion that they may hereforth carry one hereforth. Also hereforth that the backpack shall be exempt of all searches hereforth, and all monies hereforth in the possession of any guards hereforth objecting to abovesaid stated statement shall hereforth become the property of the abovesaid captor, who shall hereforth be sole proprietor of all abovesaid monies hereforth.' Or did you forget? You read the Rule Book, right?" All three Troopas quickly nodded. "Oh, yeah, of course, yeah, I read it, sure, yeah," they agreed. "Then fork over the dough hereforth," Tabby said. The three turtles handed him their gold coins and let them pass. "That was pretty slick hereforth!" Jazz said admiringly. Tabby shrugged. "If you wanna be a hero, hereforth use your head before your firepower. That's what I go by." "Sounds like good advice," Jazz nodded. She shielded her eyes with one hand and squinted ahead. "Hey Tab, what's that?" Tabby climbed onto Jazz's head by way of her ponytail. "That's the Mushroom Kingdom," he answered. "We're almost there." They arrived at the gates in about fifteen minutes. They were tall and metal, shaped into various mushrooms and flowers. A wall surrounded the city. Each corner was topped by a white mushroom cap with red spots. Jazz had never imagined she'd see a place as weird as this one, but here she was. Someone had left the gates open, so Jazz and Tabby let themselves in. The houses, their architectural style influenced heavily by mushrooms, were closed and locked. The store seemed open, so Jazz went there first. "The shopkeeper probably wouldn't appreciate my being here, so I'll hide for the moment," said Tabby, ducking down into Jazz's backpack and zipping it. She went inside and looked around. "Can I help you?" the shopkeeper asked. He was a short mushroom person in pants and a vest. "I'm just browsing," said Jazz. She scanned one of the shelves. It held red Mushrooms, bottles of Maple Syrup, cans of soda, a pair of gloves made for punching, and a little pie made of crickets. This land seemed to have a thing for mushrooms. Jazz counted her coins. She had about fifty. "What are all these things for, anyway?" she wondered, pointing to the objects for sale. The shopkeeper scoffed. "You been living under a rock? Some people do. Anyhow, the Mushrooms restore your HP, those would be your Hit Points, the Pick-Me-Up revives one person, the Maple Syrup restores your FP, you know, Flower Points, and the Cricket Pie's not for sale. But you can buy the doll if you want." Jazz peered around a stack of drinks marked 'Pick-Me-Up' and spotted a small doll in a blue hat and cape. A tag tied around his wrist said 'Geno doll - 35 coins.' The robot reached back and got it off the shelf. She thought for a moment, and dropped 'Geno' onto the counter. "I'll get him, I guess," she said. The mushroom shopkeeper took thirty-five of Jazz's coins. "Better not point that at anyone, okay?" he warned. "Oh, this is your first time here, right? You get a bonus gift. Here, a free Honey Syrup! Restores ten of your Flower Points!" "So what's a Flower Point?" "Well, it's... You use them to... I mean... Hmm, they're things you cast spells with, I suppose. Oh, you don't have any FP, do you? Here, take this. I wasn't using it for anything anyway." The shopkeeper handed Jazz a wooden box painted with flowers and stars. She opened the Flower Box, and it disappeared. "There, now you have ten Flower Points," the shopkeeper explained. "Flower Tabs give you one, Flower Jars give you three, and Flower Boxes give you ten. That's all there is to it!" "Thanks a lot," nodded Jazz. The truth was, she wasn't so sure about this magic Flower Point business, and she didn't feel any different for having ten. How could the shopkeeper know she hadn't had any before? She put Geno in with the rest of her stuff in her pocket. Setting out toward the Mushroom Castle, she realized that finally things were going her way. The orphaned short-for-her-age once-human track star at MegaLand Junior High was going to make a difference in the world. Nobody would be able to make her stay behind while Mega Man fought Dr. Wily and Mother Brain. Inside the castle, the Chancellor was pacing back and forth nervously. He was a mushroom too, short like everybody else and dressed in a royal robe. He mumbled to himself as he walked. "Oh dear, oh dear," he worried. "What's going to happen with Mario, Luigi, and the Princess gone, and Kamek taking over? There's nobody left to save the Mushroom Kingdom, except me and I'm not going out there... Who're you?" He stopped pacing and looked up at Jazz. "I'm Jazz," she answered. The Chancellor looked her over, and sighed. "Well, I don't mean to impose, but can you help us? Mario's gone, or else I'd have him do it, that is, dethrone Kamek, but he's rescuing Princess Toadstool just now. Could you help a bit?" Jazz nodded. "Sure thing," she said cheerfully. The Chancellor snapped his fingers. "Toad, would you accompany Jazz? You're the expert on Flower Power, and Jazz doesn't know any spells yet." How could people tell that she was a newbie to this Flower Point idea? A little mushroom guy hopped down the stairs to Jazz. He had a white cap spotted with red, a blue vest, white pants, and red shoes. "Hi Jazz! I'm Toad, mushroom retainer to Princess Toadstool. Nice to meet you." He shook hands with Jazz. "Sorry to seem like I'm pushing this job on you, but thanks a lot," said the Chancellor. "If you need anything, feel free to come back. Good luck," he said, resuming his nervous pacing. "So you don't know any Flower techniques? Here, follow me and I'll show you a beginner's spell." Toad led the way outside and behind the castle. "Now watch." He made a motion with one hand. A flash of red 'shroom-shaped light glowed around him for a moment, and a poison toadstool appeared in his hand. He threw it at a rock, splitting it down the middle. "Level one attack," explained Toad. "Different for everyone, but the basics are the same. You even get to name them yourself. I call that a Toadstool. You try." Jazz let her instinct take over. She drew a triangle in the air, getting a triangle halo of purple light, and morphed her right hand into an arm cannon. She fired at a floating block, shooting a purple plasma bolt that shattered it. "Like that?" she asked, mentally naming her first magic spell a Plasmabolt. Toad nodded approvingly. "You've got it. Only eight FP's left now, so watch it. My FP max is fifty, and I know a lot of spells, but I'm an awful fighter. You can cover that, I'm sure. Should we get this show on the road?" Jazz unshouldered her backpack. "First, you'd better meet my other friend," she said, unzipping the backpack. Tabby jumped out. "Tabby, this is Toad. Toad, meet Tabby. Will you two be able to get along all right?" The mushroom and the turtle appraised each other warily. Finally they shook hands. "If you're her friend, then I'm your friend," Toad concluded. "Don't sweat it, we're on the same side," replied Tabby. "So, where to next?" "Kamek's place, I guess," answered Jazz. "Where is it, anyway?" "Bowser's Keep," the turtle and mushroom said at the same time. "It's this way, I think," said Toad, pointing. "Hello, what's this?" He bent down and picked something up. "Oh, that's interesting, how'd this get here? You'd better carry it." He handed Jazz a large white feather with a black and yellow tip. Jazz looked at it. "A feather? What's so special about this?" "It gives you a magic cape that you can fly with," answered Tabby. "But the cape disappears if you get hit. I never used one myself." Jazz ran it through her fingers and handed it to Tabby. He put it in her backpack. "Shall we get going now? Remember, if Mario or Bowser get back before you kick Kamek off Bowser's throne, they'll probably do it for you," said Tabby. Jazz nodded. "Yeah, let's go," she decided. High-spirited and full of energy, Jazz led the way as they started out in the direction Toad pointed. The motley group followed the road south out of the Mushroom Kingdom. The land sloped downward, leading to a huge dropoff. Hundreds of feet below, waves crashed against the cliff. Falling from here would be a bad idea. "Now where do we go?" asked Jazz. Toad stared off into the distance. "I can see the other side from here, but just barely," he said. "It's pretty far." "Hey, how about I use the feather?" suggested Jazz. "Tabby, could you please get it?" The red-shelled Koopa Troopa fished out the feather and handed it to Jazz. She held it high above her head. It glimmered once and disappeared. A yellow cape appeared around Jazz's neck and over her backback. "Hey! I can't see a thing!" complained Tabby. Jazz took off her backpack. "Better put that on backwards so it won't get in the way of your cape," the turtle said. Jazz did. "Scoot over," Toad told Tabby, jumping and squeezing into the backpack. Luckily, they were both small, so they just barely fit. Jazz tightened the straps and tied the ends around behind her back. "Now just how do I do this?" she asked. "Take a running start, and jump, and don't lean forward or you'll drop so fast you won't know what hit you when you smack into the waves," explained Toad patiently. "Ready?... Start running!" He zipped the backpack closed. Jazz started down the slope at full throttle, gaining speed as she ran. Just before she fell off the cliff, she pushed up and out with her legs so hard that the ground she had been on crumbled just as she jumped. Suddenly afraid of falling, a wave of panic paralyzed her. Somehow, she kept soaring up into the sky. Realizing she was going up and not down, Jazz put her arms out to the sides for balance. The sea pulled even further away that it already was. Sunlight glinted off its surface. A sense of exhilaration swept through Jazz, followed by wonder and then the feeling of absolute freedom. A quiet voice in the back of Jazz's being whispered, "Pay attention!" snapped Toad, jarring her thoughts back to reality. "You're about to overshoot the shore!" Jazz looked down, and her initial fear of heights solidified into a rock that settled in her gut. She waited until she was right over the flat sandy shore, then tossed her head back so that she faced forward. Her torso and then her legs followed, and she floated gracefully to the ground. "What a rush," Jazz whistled. "Where are we now?" Tabby produced a map from inside his shell. "Just through these woods should be the Teacup Town," he said. "It's your quest, so lead on. And please get out of the backpack! We're on land, and I'm practically suffocating!" The red-shelled Troopa was talking to Toad now. "Well just pop a vein why don't you," huffed the mushroom. He jumped to the ground, mumbling. "Why do you get the backpack, anyway?" "I was here first!" shot back Tabby. "I'm just here to give Jazz some advice, anyway!" "So am I!" "Would you two cut that out?!" exclaimed Jazz. They did, eyeing each other darkly. "That's better. Now look, I'll figure this out for you right now. Tabby manages the items from now on, so he can stay in the backpack. Toad, you handle the magic stuff if we get into a battle along the way, and I'll take care of attacking. All settled?" Toad and Tabby nodded. "Good, now let's get this show on the road." Jazz led the way into the woods. The trees were very old-looking, and they all seemed to have a smiley face on. thought Jazz. Jazz was so deep in thought that she didn't even notice the giant yellow caterpillar in her way until she stepped on it. It had been nibbling a leaf in the middle of the road, minding its own business, and paying just as much attention to Jazz as she had been to it. That is, none at all. Its eyes bugged and filled with angry red. The flower it had on its head fell off. The entire caterpillar turned bright crimson, and spun around. It hopped back, squinched itself shorter, and sprung outwards, ramming Jazz in the chest with its head. Her cape poofed out of existance. "Oww!" she said, stumbling backward. "A Wiggler!" exclaimed Toad. The Wiggler shook its head. Apparently hitting its head on a robot hurt at least a little. Jazz almost hit her recall button, but had a second thought. Wouldn't it be even better to save the Mushroom Kingdom without the added protection of her fighting uniform? She reached into her backpack instead, closing her fingers around the handle of her hairbrush. Wielding it as a weapon, she ran around behind the Wiggler, smacking it soundly on its backside. The Wiggler squeaked in surprise, its eyes bugging out, and suddenly all the red drained out of it. The giant worm ran off into the forest, forgetting all notions of trying to stay and duke it out with Jazz. "That was kinda funny," giggled Toad. "Well, I didn't want to kill it," shrugged Jazz. "After all, stepped on so it was my fault it attacked, and anyway I know just how the Wiggler must feel about now." After Jazz switched around her backpack and they continued on for awhile. The trees crowded around the road, or at least it seemed like they did. Jazz fell back into her own thoughts again. She thought along those lines, quiet for the time being. "Hey Jazz," said Tabby, looking at his map, "there's a checkpoint somewhere along this road. Better keep an eye out, okay?" "Yeah, I'll do that," she said. The mix-and-match group rounded a sharp bend in the road, nearly tripping over the aforementioned checkpoint. Tabby, knowing exactly when to make himself scarce, pulled into the backpack and zipped it. "Hey you there!" shouted the black-shelled, black-helmeted turtle guarding the barricade. "You can't go through here, 'cause Kamek said! Or I'll have to make you sorry!" "But I really have to get through!" protested Jazz. "Oh, yeah, why?" Jazz faltered. "Uh, well, see, uh, well," she said intelligently. The turtle snorted. "I'll bet! I think I'll have to turn you in!" He picked up a sharp, pointed hammer. "Are you gonna come quietly or what?" "What," answered Jazz, taking a fighting stance. In an instant Toad was at her side, ready to hurl Toadstools and other spells at the Hammer Brother. Tabby popped out of Jazz's backpack, eager to help in whatever way he could. "Three against one? That's unfair!" complained the Hammer Brother. "How about I even it up? Boomerang and Fire!" Two more similar turtles, one red- skinned and one green, jumped out of the treetops. "Ready, sir!" they shouted, saluting. "Attack mode! Delta assembly! Weapons ready! Targets are one human, one mushroom, and one renegade Koopa Troopa! Go!" Boomerang and Fire jumped to their places flanking Hammer so that the three formed a triangle. Boomerang drew two boomerangs, Hammer spun his hammers, and Fire breathed a stream of red flame. Jazz thought to herself. She put up her fists, determined not to let on that she was more than a super-strong human girl. The fight was on. Hammer attacked first, leaping into Jazz's group and whacking Toad over the head. He reeled, and the familiar red mushroom-shaped light flashed as he countered with a Toadstool attack. Hammer turned a poisoned shade of green all over, drooping a little. Tabby jumped out of Jazz's backpack, jumping on Fire's head and covering his eyes. As Fire tried to pull Tabby off, Jazz punched him, sending Fire spinning backwards. Boomerang tossed both boomerangs in rapid succession at Jazz. She jumped one, but the other hit her on the way down. It disintegrated on contact. The second boomerang hooked back, catching Jazz on the back of her head. She stumbled forward, disoriented, and threw a blind punch. It hit Hammer, still dizzy from the effects of Toad's poison attack, and he fell and landed sitting down. Fire took a deep breath and let loose with a torrent of flames, scorching Tabby and himself. Tabby jumped away with a startled yelp. He got back on his feet soon enough to launch himself at Fire again, this time pulling inside his shell and using it as a weapon. Fire whipped around, toasting Tabby with an entire lungful of fire. Tabby's shell deflected most of it, but he still couldn't take the heat very well. Jazz jumped to his defense, cutting off Fire's next attack with a fist in his mouth. He breathed his own fire back in accidentally, getting an indescribable look on his face. Hammer and Boomerang both converged on Jazz in the same instant, Boomerang knocking her to the ground and Hammer flinging his hammers at her. She rolled out of the way just in time, jumping to her feet again and catching them both with a quick wide swing. Toad cast another spell, this one a level two one that dropped a giant mushroom on Boomerang. He poofed out of existance in a spray of coins. Hammer threw a hammer at Toad. He ducked under his cap just in time for it to bounce harmlessly off. The little mushroom then threw another Toadstool at Hammer. It hit, and Hammer disappeared too. Toad scooped up the coins on the battlefield and joined Jazz and Tabby in fighting Fire. Fire was taking another deep breath when an inspiration hit Jazz. "Fight Fire with Fire!" she exclaimed, clamping his beak shut just as he tried to exhale. The pressure inside Fire's shell was too great. In a rain of flames and red-hot coins, Fire exploded. "That takes care of that," Jazz said with a relieved sigh. "Everybody in one piece?" "Yeah," Toad and Tabby nodded. "I'm a little toasty, but it's nothing a little rest won't take care of," added Tabby. "Teacup Town should be just ahead." The red-shelled turtle was right. Five minutes' more walking brought them to the edge of town, marked by a low wall made of marbles the size of basketballs. Inside, the entire town was built out of what seemed to be a giant tea party set. Tired and ready to call it a day, Jazz led her small group to the inn, which was actually a giant sugar bowl turned upside-down with rooms on the inside. "In check to like you would?" asked the innkeeper. "Pardon?" Jazz asked in return. "'In check to like you would,' said I," answered the little blue mushroom. "Irritating it's, backward talking stop please," he added. "Backward talking? You're talking backward," said Jazz. "Not I'm no," objected the innkeeper. "Are you." "Wait a second," Toad interrupted. "Jazz, he's talking backward, but he thinks you are. You try talking backward." Jazz thought a moment, lining up the words in her newly-computerized mind. "Room a like would we. You like talk here everybody does?" "Yeah. Something or us on spell a put Kamek." "Spell a? Here been he has?" "Yeah. Ago days two." "Hmm," said Jazz, thinking. "Kamek stop to trying we're." "Really? Great that's! Us understand can nobody 'cause downhill going is business our. You charge won't I so, favor huge a us doing you're. Sense make doesn't that it mention you that now but, spell a had else everyone maybe figured we so, backward talking was else everyone like us to sounded it." "Out it straighten we'll," Jazz assured him. "Night good," said the innkeeper. Tabby and Toad had no problems falling asleep, but Jazz just couldn't do it. She knew she was doing the right thing, but was it for the right reasons? She was only saving the Mushroom Kingdom to prove herself. Knowing that made her feel selfish and self-centered. But the problem of Teacup Town, no matter how silly it seemed, was affecting the quality of life of its citizens, and she was trying to prove to herself and everyone that she could do something about it. Whether it was Teacup Town or MegaLand was beside the point. With her new powers, Jazz felt she had to help. Mega Man and the others trying to keep her safe by not letting her contribute was frusterating. Hopelessly awake, she decided to go for a walk. Carefully, so as not to disturb Toad and Tabby, Jazz tiptoed down the stairs and out the door. The night air was cool and breezy. The moon, bearing a striking resemblance to a cheese, was up and full. Moonlight (cheeselight?) illuminated the china village. Jazz headed to the edge of town, sitting on the marble wall and looking out over the plains to the west. The grass, blue-green under the silver-blue light, rippled in the breeze like the waves of the sea. Looking up at the stars, Jazz realized they hardly looked different from the stars over MegaLand. She was suddenly stricken with an overwhelming sense of smallness, of homesickness, of total and complete insignificance. A single tear tried to form in the corner of her eye, but she had lost the power to shed tears when she became a living machine. The next realization hurt something deep inside her--she couldn't cry. She was alone, no parents, her friends far away, in another universe, and she had no way to vent her feelings. Something caught her eye. A streak of glittering light zoomed across the sky. Jazz wondered. In this land of mushrooms and magic, could a wish made on a shooting star come true? It was worth a try. thought Jazz, saying it without knowing. The star sparked once, seeming to wink at her, and disappeared. That simple act, of a tiny meteor in the atmosphere flashing once, eased Jazz's mind. It was nothing but a piece of space junk burning in the sky, but somehow it comforted Jazz and filled her with new hope for the future. She managed a smile as sleepiness set in and walked back to the inn with a new spring in her step. The next morning, they met outside the inn. "Think we'd better stock up on items while we're here?" suggested Tabby. "Sounds good," agreed Jazz. The item shop was a teacup turned upside down. A large crack running up one side served as the door. "Buy to want you do what?" asked the shopkeeper. "Mushrooms three and, Syrups Maple two, Ups-Me-Pick five," said Jazz. She had a lot of gold coins from the fight with Hammer, Boomerang, and Fire. "Go you here," said the little green mushroom, handing Jazz her purchases. She waited until they were out of town to give them to Tabby, who filed them away. "So Kamek cast a spell on Teacup Town? That's terrible," commented Toad. "Think he's done similar things to the rest of the kingdom?" "Maybe," nodded Tabby. "Looks like the next place on our way is Blue Beach, this really big ocean resort. I'll bet Kamek's got some sort of spell over that place too. Should we check it out?" "Yeah," said Jazz. Anyway, it sounded like a good chance to hang around the beach. "What's between that and us?" Tabby checked his map. "The Windy Plains," he said. "It says on this map there's a gang of pirates sailing there." "Sailing on the grass?" asked Jazz incredulously. "Heck, why not!" exclaimed Toad. "I don't suppose either of you thought to bring a boat?!" "Uh, no, I don't recall bringing a boat with me," shrugged Jazz with a grin. "I knew I was forgetting something." "Better get going, I guess," Toad said, disappointed. "And here I thought we came prepared." It occurred to Jazz that maybe he was serious about bringing a boat. Boat or not, they set out across the plains. The grass came all the way up to Jazz's shoulders, so Toad had to ride in her backpack with Tabby again. Of course, that started another argument. "Move over! You're hogging all the room!" snapped Toad. "I'm over as far as I can be! I've got a shell, remember?" Tabby countered. "Yeah, I know, you're crushing me with it!" "Well you just keep your stupid cap out of my beak!" "I can't do anything about that!" "See, it's the same thing as my shell!" "Except that I really do anything about it!" Jazz turned her head. "Would you two quit? Sorry I didn't get a bigger backpack, but you're going to have to share that unless one of you wants to walk through the grass." Neither of them were very hot on that idea, so they stopped arguing. Although it soon got taller than Jazz herself, she had no problem wading through the waving grass. They made good time, stopping once when Jazz punched a huge ? block and a Hammer Bros. suit popped out. Jazz caught it, and it instantly appreared over her body. "What's this thing?" she asked, trying to turn around and see her black shell. She pulled off her fireproof black helmet, studying it more closely. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were that Hammer guy," Tabby said. "It's not many times you find a brand-new Hammer Bros. outfit just lying around like that." Jazz put her hands in her pockets, and pulled out two hammers. "This is pretty cool, but I don't think I'll need it just now," she said. The shell and helmet disappeared into Jazz's backpack, and Tabby did his best to find room for it in the cramped space. Luckily it shrank to half its size. "I wonder if the pirate ship's out today," said Jazz to herself, jumping on top of the ? block to take a look. She looked back the way they had come. Nothing there. She slowly turned around, scanning the horizon. The truth was, Jazz still had a problem believing a pirate ship would sail around in the grass. That was why she nearly fell off the ? block when she came face to face with the pirate captain and his ship. "Arrrrr!" he exclaimed. "Yyyyeeeiiii!" Jazz shrieked. "Ahoy!" said the captain. He was a short guy all dressed in red with a white mask. He had a huge, black, feathered hat on, and carried a sword bigger than he was. In fact, all of his pirate crew were dressed similarly. "Don't scare me like that!" said Jazz, more or less throwing manners out. "I can if I wants! You're walkin' in me seas!" shot back the captain. "This is a field of grass! Who are you, anyway?" asked Jazz. The captain took off his hat with a sweeping motion and bowed. "Captain Shyguy at your service, milady," he said. "This here's me ship, the S. S. Ship. I'll bet that's the best name you've ever heard, eh?" "Oh, yeah, really creative," Jazz nodded, humoring Capt. Shyguy. One of the crew members had other thoughts on that subject. "I don't think so," he said. "I still think you should've called it something good, like the Barnacle or the Sea Storm or something!" The captain angrily shouted, "Arrrrrrr! Swab the deck, ye scurvy sea dog!" "I can't," shrugged the crew member. "Arrrr! Why not?" demanded the captain. "We've enough swabs to swab the deck five or six times!" "There's no soap," admitted the crew member, a little meekly. This made Capt. Shyguy furious. " I thought I told ye to pick up some soap whilst we were shoppin'! Swab the deck, ye idiot!" "I can't! There's no soap! I just said that!" Captain Shyguy drew his huge sword. "Arrr, then ye'll walk the plank! A light inside Jazz's head went on. "Hey, wait! I have some soap!" The captain and his entire crew turned to look at her. "Arrrrr?" asked Captain Shyguy. "Yeah! It's nice new shiny soap!" Jazz reached back to Tabby. He handed her the bar of soap. Jazz then gave it to the captain. "Arrr, this is the nicest, freshest, cleanest-smelling soap anyone's ever given us! Now we can swab the deck!" "Arrrrrr!" chorused the pirate crew. "Oh, great," mumbled the unfortunate crew member stuck with the deck- swabbing. He trudged off to get a bucket of water and a box of cotton swabs. "So what's yer name, milady?" "It's Jazz," answered Jazz. "How can we ever repay ye, Jazz?" Captain Shyguy asked. "Well, we're trying to cross the Windy Plains, so if you could give us a lift, that'd be great," suggested Jazz. "I would, milady, but for the rule we have," sighed Captain Shyguy. "Only me crew and I can go anywhere on the S. S. Ship. Anything else I can do for ye?" "Hey, how do I join your crew?" asked Jazz. Captain Shyguy reached under his hat and scratched his head. "Well, ye gotta prove ye can loot an' pillage an' say 'Arrr!' really loud," he said. "How about you let me join your crew as repayment?" "Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..." hummed the captain, thinking. "Okay, under one condition," he finally said. "Ye gotta prove ye can say 'Arrr!' real loud and pirate-like. Ye just take a deep breath and say 'Arrr!' That's all there is to it!" "No problem," said Jazz. She hopped onto the Ship and took a deep breath. "Arrrrr!" she shouted with all her might. "Nay, 'tis all wrong!" exclaimed the captain, waving his sword. "It's more like this. " "Arrr!" the crew repeated. "What's the difference?" asked Jazz, puzzled. "Here, let me show ye," said Captain Shyguy, pushing a barrel in front of Jazz and standing on it. Now he came up to her shoulders. "Chin up," he poked her chin up, "shoulders back," he pushed her shoulders back, "feet out," he arranged Jazz's feet with the tip of his sword, "take a deep breath..." Jazz did. "And say " "" shouted Jazz, feeling more than a little embarassed. "" the crew replied. "There ye go! That made me ol' ears tingle! Here ye go, it's yer Official Piratin' Uniform!" He plopped a wide-brimmed red hat on Jazz's head. A sparkly red light drifted down from it. Jazz's clothes shimmered, and reformed into black knee-high boots, red velvet pantaloons, a crimson jacket trimmed in gold, and a black satin scarf. A silver rapier appeared at Jazz's side. "Hey, what's all this 'Arrr'ing about?" asked Toad as he and Tabby stuck their heads out of Jazz's backpack. "Arrrr!" the crew of the S. S. Ship shouted. "What have we here?" demanded Captain Shyguy. "Stowaways?" Jazz had momentarily forgotten all about the mushroom and turtle. "No, they're, umm, captives!" she explained, borrowing from Tabby's story about her being his captive. "Yeah, that's righ--I mean, arrr!" "Arr, that reminds me," said the captain. "Shyster! Did ye tell them to build the prison when we were in town?!" The pirate swabbing the deck jumped. "I knew I forgot something! Can't we just make them walk the plank? That's more fun." "Arrr!" agreed Captain Shyguy. "Sounds good to me! Where's the plank?" Shyster sheepishly squeaked, "I think I forgot to have them build one." "WHAT??!!" raged Captain Shyguy. "ARRR! Swab the deck, ye landlubber!" "Uh, I was swabbing the deck," Shyster reminded him meekly. That only made Captain Shyguy more angry. "" he stormed. "" "I think maybe this wasn't such a good idea," said Jazz to herself. "Oh, you think?" grumbled Toad. "Well, think us out of this!" Jazz set her superfast mind in motion and came up with a plan that was risky at best, but just might work. "I have an idea! Let's make them fight me! If they win, we drop them off at the Blue Beach, and if they lose, we throw them overboard." "Arrr!" agreed Capt. Shyguy. "That's brilliant! Everybody clear the deck before I clear it for you!" He pulled out his sword and waved it all around. His crew immediately ran for higher ground. Some watched from the bow, two of them climbed into the crow's nest, some hung from the rigging, a few sat on the cabin roof, most watched from the wheel, and one either brave or panicked crewman hung on for dear life on the mast. It was quite a spectacle. "So it's Jazz against the two captives," announced Captain Shyguy. "Everybody ready?" Jazz took her place across from Toad and Tabby and tossed her backpack to them. "Ready, go!" thought Jazz. She risked a wink at Toad and Tabby to assure them that she was still with them. Toad started with his Toadstool spell. The little poison mushroom he threw bonked Jazz over the head. The poison sank in instantly, not caring whether its target was organic or not. Jazz stumbled back, surprised. Her energy instantly began to drain. Dizzily, she threw a punch at Toad. It wasn't even that hard, but Toad was thrown back anyway. Jazz noticed that he had actually timed a jump so that it looked like he was knocked over. she thought. "Arrrr!" cheered the pirates. Tabby pulled into his shell. Toad picked him up and kicked him at Jazz. Tabby hit her, and she scooped him up and drop-kicked him back. Toad got out of the way, letting Tabby ricochet off the side of the deck and zoom back to hit her again. This time she faked a kick. Toad dodged nothing, and wasn't fast enough to dodge again when Jazz actually threw Tabby. "Arrrr!" the pirates cheered again. Tabby himself wasn't taking this constant throwing and hitting so well. He poked his head, arms, and feet out of his shell, and tried to stand. He was so dizzy he fell down and couldn't get up again. This put him out of the fight. Three pirates pulled him to the sidelines and sat him down. This time the "Arrr!" was more enthusiastic. Toad cast his level two spell, Shroom, again, squishing Jazz with the giant fungus. He looked questioningly at Jazz. he seemed to be asking. Jazz nodded. As soon as Jazz was on her feet, Toad followed up with his third-level Flower technique, Mushroom Kick. He leapt at Jazz, putting both feet into his super kick. The force of Toad's attack threw her back-first against the cabin door. She slid down, landing sitting with her legs straight out. A little hesitantly, Toad did another Mushroom Kick, hitting Jazz squarely in her gut. She doubled over in pain, wrapping both arms around her midsection. Then she raised one hand. "That's the match!" announced Captain Shyguy. "And the winners are the turtle and the mushroom!" "" roared the pirates. Captain Shyguy drew his sword and flailed it around threateningly. "Arrr yeselves! We may be pirates but we aren't unsportsmanlike! Now let's weigh anchor and be headin' to Blue Beach. Or does anyone wanna argue with me?" Not surprisingly, nobody did. "Arrr," he arrred, as if he had just proved a point. "Now let's see about some rest for our free captives and new crew member." He went into his cabin, dragging his sword behind him. Jazz dizzily got to her feet. Toad ran over to her as fast as his short legs would carry him. "I'm sorry! Did I overdo it? I didn't mean to kick you that hard. Are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine," said Jazz. she wondered. The only explanation she could come up with was that Toad's Mushroom Kick was no simple kick. A quick poke to her middle reassured her that she was indeed metal. "Hey, those new clothes really become you," joked Tabby, wobbling as he walked. "Don't ever toss me around like that again. I almost threw up inside my shell. You have no idea how hard that is to clean." The cabin door shoved open, pushing Jazz out of the way. "Hey turtle and fungus! Captain Shyguy wants to see you," said the pirate who opened the door. He walked out of the cabin, across the deck, and fell into an open grating with a startled squeak. Toad and Tabby cautiously entered Capt. Shyguy's cabin. The captain sat behind his desk, leaning dangerously far back in his chair. "Ahoy, mateys!" he greeted them. "Looks like you won Jazz's contest, so we'll drop you off at Blue Beach first thiiiiiiiiiiiiiii--!" His chair tipped over backwards. Captain Shyguy soon had it back on all four legs. "First thing in the mornin'. 'Til then you have free run of the Ship. That were some pretty impressive fighting. Arrrrrr--!" he arrred, as his chair tipped him out again. "Well you go on and have a look around. 'Bye now." As they left, they heard him shout "Arrrrrrr--!" again, then there was a 'thud' like a chair hitting a wooden floor. "So what'd he say?" asked Jazz. "We get to go anywhere on the Ship we want," answered Tabby. "I'm gonna take a look around. What about you guys?" "Sounds like fun," nodded Jazz. "Let's split up and we'll meet back here in a half-hour. See you then." Tabby, Toad, and Jazz went their different ways. Jazz wandered below deck, where three pirates were having a spirited tea-party. Four more sat around a barrel with a board on top, playing bridge. One watched the Home Shopping Channel on a small TV. A small group of pirates were involved in a heated battle--with action figures. The phrase 'Arrrrr!' floated freely around the room. thought Jazz. She walked into the next room. It was the galley. The cook and galley boy were in an argument. "It's peanut butter and jelly!" insisted the cook. "It's jelly and peanut butter!" the galley boy returned. "PB and J!" "J and PB!" They turned to Jazz for help. "You settle it!" exclaimed the cook. "Which is it, peanut butter and jelly, or jelly and peanut butter?" "I always thought it depended on how much of what you put in it," said Jazz. "If there's more peanut butter, then that's first, and vice versa." "That's it!" the galley boy said, his eyes lighting. "We can call it vice versa instead!" finished the cook. "I don't know, I think versa vice sounds better," said the galley boy. "Not hardly!" countered the cook. Jazz left before she accidently made their argument even stupider. She wandered even deeper into the S. S. Ship. Finally Jazz arrived in the lowest deck. It was dark and little-used, filled with boxes and crates stacked high. Jazz opened one. It was filled with old tax audits and docking tickets. Upon fishing out a docking ticket and reading it, Jazz decided that they were like parking tickets for ships. All of them were unpaid. Another box had nothing but green buttons in it. Most of the boxes seemed pretty useless. One of them seemed fairly new. The 'This Side Up' arrow was upside-down, but Jazz almost expected that. She pulled open the top/bottom and dug through the foam popcorn packing whatever was inside. It seemed like that was all that the box held, but just as Jazz started to pull her hand out, it bumped into something. Jazz felt around a bit. Her hand closed around some sort of rod, and she pulled it out of the box. As soon as she did, a tingle ran up her arm. The thing she had found was about two feet long, slightly tapered toward the handle, and blue. It had a green rounded ring around the handle end, and its very bottom was gold. On the other end there was a red ring, then a larger green ring, then an even larger purple ring, and finally a large, sparkling, fire-red gem. The gem was rounded, and glowed with an inner light. Jazz carefully touched it. Another tingle ran up her arm. She waved it through the air once, carefully, and a trail of purple sparkles fell from the gem. wondered Jazz, fascinated. She twirled it again, marveling at the glowing trail of sparkles. She reached out and caught a handful. They were warm, and felt like fine sand. The tingling sensation spread throughout her whole hand in gentle waves. She let them slip through her fingers, watching as they fell to the Ship's floor and became dark. Jazz thought. She pointed it at one of the unlit torches lining the wall. The red gem in the wand glittered, and a stream of fire poured out of it. That same exhilarating tingle coursed through her again. The torch lit, and so did the wall behind it. "No, don't do that!" exclaimed Jazz out loud, pointing the wand again. This time a cyclonic column of wind spiraled out of the end, putting out both the torch and the wall. "This could take some practice," Jazz said to herself. She didn't know how long she spent in the hold, struggling to light only the torch. She discovered that the harder she concentrated, the more readily the wand responded to her commands. As Jazz used the magic wand, she got better at controlling its effects. Soon she could encase things in ice by pointing. The wand shot a stream of freezing water and ice, which Jazz soon learned to control in size and temperature. Fire was by far the easiest. Wind was more challenging, having a habit of getting out of control and knocking things around the room. Hours flew by like minutes. Just holding the wand was intoxicating, much less actually using it. Finally, Jazz decided she had had enough practice. She wondered if she should leave the wand here, but a part of her bristled at the thought. she thought intensely. Jazz was surprised at her own thoughts. She had never been inclined to steal anything, much less something of this power and worth. she thought, trying to convince herself it was all right. Jazz hid the magic wand in her right boot, and tidied up the hold. She went back upstairs. Toad, Tabby, and Captain Shyguy were on the top deck. "Where were you all night?!" Toad asked, his voice somewhere near the top of the audible range of sound. "All night? What do you mean, all night?" Jazz was confused. Had she been fooling around with that magic wand for the whole night? "Arrr, ye've been missin' for hours," explained Captain Shyguy. "Well, we've landed at Blue Beach, so yer turtle and mushroom can go free now." Jazz looked over the edge of the boat. The waving grass was too short for the S. S. Ship to get any closer. A road cut through the greenery, leading to Blue Beach. It was still in the distance, but it was a lot closer than it was. From here Jazz could see palm trees, beach umbrellas, and the resort itself. Blue Beach Resort was a long, low building, made of sandstone and built in a Carribbean style. "So this is where we get off, huh?" asked Tabby, standing beside Jazz. "But aren't you part of the crew now? Can you leave?" Jazz shrugged. "I'm doing it anyway. These guys are too weird." Tabby nodded. "Yeah, I saw. Here's your backpack." He gave it to Jazz. "Where were you, anyway?" Although Tabby was her friend, she felt strangely reluctant to tell him about the magic wand. She was almost even angry that he asked. "I guess I fell asleep," she lied lamely. The wand in her boot was getting warm on its own, as if reflecting Jazz's emotions. Jazz put on her backpack, and Tabby jumped in. Toad said good-bye to the captain and climbed in beside Tabby. "Arrrr, wait just a second Jazz!" exclaimed Captain Shyguy. "Are you jumpin' ship this soon after joinin'?" "You could say that," said Jazz, stepping onto the rail. " Nobody just leaves Shyguy's Ship! Either ye kills me an' me crew or ye dies, and there's ne'er been an occasion on which me an' me crew's been killed! You right sure you want to leave?" "Absolutely," said Jazz. She jumped from the rail to the ground, landing in the grass on her hands and knees. "" Captain Shyguy raged, pulling out an old pistol and firing aimlessly at Jazz. She quickly took off her backpack and shielded it and its occupants with her own body as she ran. Jazz ran blindly through the grass, stumbling on rocks and lumps hidden in the grass. The tall stalks lashed her hands as she clutched the backpack. She lost her hat in the wind. If she could just make it to the road... No such luck. One of Captain Shyguy's shots hit her right between the shoulders. Something in her back snapped, and her legs went completely numb. "Aaaaagh!" she cried, falling and landing on her stomach. She got the backpack out of the way and tried to stand up again. Her legs didn't even move. The numbness spread up to her waist while her entire upper body ached. Her gunshot wound felt like someone had stabbed her in the back and twisted the knife. Pain rippled burningly out from it, distorting Jazz's vision. She struggled to check her energy level. One bar left. It flickered, as if ready to go out. The thought ran through her mind unbidden. Jazz watched, her vision darkening and wavering, as Toad and Tabby pulled themselves out from her backpack. "Jazz! Say something!" Toad urged. The words were distant and disconnected in her mind. She managed a slight moan. An odd peace settled over her. The pain and numbness seemed so far away... "Listen to me, okay? You're going to be just fine." Toad's tone of voice sounded like one someone would use talking to a small child. thought Jazz. She tried to speak. "Sorr... So..." she mumbled. Tabby leaned in closer. "Take your time," he said. Jazz stopped, took a painful breath, and whispered, "Sorry..." The world darkened gradually until only peaceful blackness was left. A sensation prodded at the back of Jazz's mind. She couldn't feel what kind of sensation it was, it just A spark of energy traced a path through her electronic brain. The tiny spark was just enough to enable her to think a single thought: She lapsed back into her robotic coma. How long she had been out she didn't know, and didn't especially care to. The darkness and silence were comforting in that she didn't have to think, or move, or do anything at all. She could rest, uninterrupted, for as long as she needed. The truth was, her coma was her body's last chance of healing itself. It needed time to rebuild and recharge. The process could take weeks, depending on how severely Jazz was injured. Meanwhile, she would instinctively stay under until she could operate again. Not thinking, not moving, not even breathing, Jazz continued to sleep. Tabby sat on the blue-sanded beach. The doctor hadn't given him any kind of report as to what condition Jazz was in. It had been three days now. Was Jazz dead? He didn't know, and hoped she wasn't. But how could anybody survive being shot like that? He felt sorry for the people at the Blue Beach Resort. For apparently no reason, they were all afraid of everything. It was one of Kamek's spells, but that didn't make anyone there stop running from their shadows. Bored and worried, Tabby walked back to the hotel clinic. On the way, Toad nearly ran over him. "I--got some--news," he panted. Tabby brightened. "And?" "She's in a coma," reported Toad as if that was a good thing. "Why are you so happy about it?" asked Tabby. "She's healing herself," explained Toad. "She's not dead, see?" "Oh, that's great," nodded Tabby. "Any idea how long it'll be until she's up again?" Toad shrugged. "No." "So will the doc let us in or what?" "Nope. He said for nobody to go in Jazz's room. Don't ask me why, 'cause I don't know, but that's what he said. This has gotta be the most boring thing I've ever done!" Three more days passed. Jazz spent the entire time in one of the hotel rooms, in a deep, unbreakable sleep, healing. The sensation tugged at her subconscious. She tried to pinpoint what it was exactly, but couldn't. An hour passed before she got the energy to try again. It was familiar, like something that happened so often she hardly paid attention to it until it wasn't there. Jazz made the connection. It was sunlight shining through her eyelids. She struggled to open her eyes. They wouldn't respond. She waited for another two hours, patiently building up the slight amount of extra energy needed. Finally Jazz tried again. She managed to open her eyes just enough to see an unfocused blur of color and light. The unaccustomed light almost made her close her eyes again, but she knew if she did it might be hours before she could open them again. Instead she waited for her eyes to adjust. As they did, Jazz turned her attention to her energy level. It was rising a little faster now. Did that mean she was healed? It took a lot of energy to rebuild, almost as much as she could produce. The extra energy might mean that she wasn't draining it off as fast. Or maybe she produced more when she was conscious. Either way, there was a definite increase. Jazz's eyes darted around the room and fell on her backpack, resting on the nightstand. Wouldn't the energy shield have protected her? Why didn't it? Maybe it protected the backpack, since that was what it was in. That did a lot of good. Or maybe it had been protecting Toad and Tabby, since they were closest. Wait, didn't she have an energy tank in her backpack? Just the thought of refilling her energy seemed to start a sort of hunger in her circuits. She tried to move, to reach out, but she couldn't. The effort drained her energy dangerously low. She waited for it to refill, unable to track time. When she thought she had enough to move a little, Jazz reached out and pulled her backpack onto the bed. Fueled by determination, Jazz reached into her backpack. She felt around until she found the energy tank. Using the last of her strength, she broke the solid-energy container and relaxed as the energy flowed into her. Most of it was immediately drained, but she had enough to carefully sit up. She was stiff all over due to her long period of motionlessness. Her energy meter registered three fully-lit bars now. It was an improvement over one flickering one. Sleepy but awake, Jazz looked around the room. It was the most expensive hotel room she had ever seen, decorated in seashell and wave designs. A wicker chair with an overstuffed cushion sat in one corner next to a wood table carved out of rough palm wood. A big-screen TV filled another corner. The bed was a canopy waterbed, complete with wave-patterned blue sheets and blankets. The canopy itself was designed to look like the night sky over Blue Beach. The carpet was thick and soft, patterned with shells and sandy blue. Jazz thought. She was surprised to find that aside from a slight tingling in her legs, she was as good as new. She looked at her energy meter again. She noticed something else, too: a weapon meter. It must've been there all along, but Jazz had never thought to look for it. Right now it was empty. she mused, pulling the Honey Syrup out from her backpack. She wondered how to use it. Well, there was one obvious way. Jazz thought, popping the cork on the little bottle and drinking it. It seemed to disappear as she swallowed it. Normally all it would do would be to make her circuit boards sticky, but as she drank her weapon meter refilled. she guessed. Jazz decided to keep a few as souveniers. Another idea crossed her mind. The Mushrooms could refill her energy too! She grabbed two, and all it took to use these was to hold one and think of using it. Jazz immediately felt strong enough to throw back the covers and stand up, although she was still a little shaky. She glanced at herself in the mirror. Her upper torso was completely bandaged, she wore a pair of blue shorts, and her hair was a mess. Except for a sleepy look in her eyes, her clothes were the only difference between before her coma and after. She ran her fingers through her hair, found a thick white bath robe in the bathroom to throw on, and stepped out of her room. Nobody was there. Jazz walked down the hall and into the lobby. The hotel seemed completely deserted. She decided to take a quick look around, but just as she turned a corner, she ran into a mushroom person. "You're awake now?" he asked, stepping back and adjusting his glasses. He was a little taller than Toad, with green rings around his cap instead of spots. He wore a white lab coat and red pants. "Yeah, it looks that way," answered Jazz. "Do I know you?" "No, although I've always been nearby for the past week or so," he answered. "I'm Dr. Shroom. I watched over you the whole time you were in that coma. I've hardly had any sleep, but you slept all the time. I think maybe I'll go into a coma myself." Dr. Shroom chuckled. "Thanks," said Jazz. "It was nothing, just my job," Dr. Shroom said, waving it off. "All I really did was take out the bullet, bandage you up, and try to keep you comfortable. May I ask what you are exactly?" "I'm a living machine," said Jazz simply. "Even I don't know all the details that come with the name. Neither does anyone else from my world. But don't tell Toad or Tabby, okay? I'm trying to keep it a secret." "'Your world'? You mean you're from another planet?" "Universe, actually," nodded Jazz. "Probably nobody around here's ever heard of the multiverse, but everyone everywhere's a part of it. Loosely put, the multiverse is a collective name for every thing on every world in every solar system in every galaxy in every universe that exists. I'm from MegaLand. Does this universe have a specific name?" "Well, no," admitted Dr. Shroom. "This is so interesting! I've never heard of anything like it. Living machines and multiple universes! I'll have to think about this for a while. I guess you could coin a name, if you want." Jazz was surprised. "You think so? Hmmm..." The name popped right into her head with hardly a thought. "How about the Mushroom World? There are a lot of mushrooms here, you know." "I like that," said Dr. Shroom. "Of course, I am a physician, but I like to dabble in heavy science. This is amazing! Now that I think of it, Mario and Luigi claim to be from another universe too. Said they fell down a pipe or something like that. I don't think they were from your MegaLand, but the idea sounds similar. A living machine, though! Were you built, or what?" Jazz related the abridged version of her story to him, filling in details as Dr. Shroom asked. "Hmm," he said, scratching his cap thoughtfully. "I never would've thought it was possible. But here you are talking to me! So being shot actually hurt?" "You bet it did!" Jazz could still remember how it felt. "Just 'cause I'm metal doesn't mean I don't feel pain! In fact, I seem to have more opportunities to get hurt than ever before. Hey, have you seen my magic wand?" Dr. Shroom nodded. "I kept it for you," he said, handing it to her. "Kamek has one just like yours. He put a spell on this place. Everyone here's afraid of everything now, but I got here after the fact, so I'm fine. Your turtle friend said you were going after Kamek. That's pretty brave of all of you. Good luck. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone what you are. If it wasn't for your feet, you could pass as a human." Jazz looked down at her metal feet. "Oh my gosh, you're right! I forgot to put on shoes! I don't really need them, but I use them to keep my feet from being seen. I suppose I could just leave off the shoes. Besides, if you don't look very closely you can't tell I'm not wearing them. I'd better change into some regular clothes. Thanks again, Dr. Shroom," said Jazz, waving as she went back to her room. Somewhat to her surprise, Jazz found that her pirate hat was shrunken and neatly packed away in her backpack. She found her extra t-shirt and jeans and changed into those. The jeans were baggy, so she tied one end of a string she found in her backpack to her magic wand and tied the other to one of her belt loops. That way she could keep it in one jeans leg where nobody could find it. The same feeling that kept her from telling Tabby that she was a living machine kept her from talking about her magic wand. She didn't quite trust the red Koopa Troopa yet. Jazz packed everything into her backpack, put it on, and met Toad and Tabby just outside the hotel. "Hey, I'm up," she greeted them. "We'd better get going, don't you think so?" "Hey, yeah," agreed Toad. "That's the last time I'm going on a pirate ship! Next time we bring our own boat." Tabby inspected his map. "Looks like from here we go north," he said, looking north. "But that's across the sea. Does this mean we still need a boat? 'Cause sometimes I get seasick, and that's not good." "Looks like it," shrugged Jazz. "But I guess we keep going north. Let's see if we can't find some kind of boat." They split up and wandered around. Tabby found the docks, where several speedboats and jetskis were lined up. "How about these?" he called. Jazz and Toad walked to the dock. "Yeah, one of these'll be great," said Toad. "All we have to do is find one with a lot of gas and the keys." "Like this?" Jazz asked, untying and hopping onto a purple and magenta jetski. If she had been wearing her battle uniform, they would've matched perfectly. The keys were in, and the gas gauge read full. Jazz thought. "Yeah, like that," said Toad. He and Tabby crowded into her backpack, this time stifling their complaints about lack of space. Jazz turned the key and backed the jetski away from the dock. She slowly puttered out past the buoys, and gave it the gas as soon as she was clear of the shallow water. "You know how to do this, right?" asked Toad. "Of course," said Jazz. Actually she had no idea what she was doing, having never driven anything other than a bicycle before. If she had ever been a robot before becoming a living machine, she would probably know how to drive most things, but as a thirteen-year-old girl she didn't. A jetski couldn't be too much harder than a bicycle, though, could it? It turned out rather easy. All Jazz had to do was make sure to cut diagonally across the larger waves and stay headed north. The sky was clear and blue, there was little wind, and the water was fairly calm. What could possibly go wrong? A lot of things could, and one did. Jazz forgot to watch the fuel. The jetski was running on empty before she even thought to look, and by then there was nothing that could be done about it. The jetski sputtered to a stop, bobbing gently up and down. "Oh, great," grumbled Jazz. "This is a really great place to run out of gas, yessiree! Couldn't have picked a better place myself!" "We're out?" Toad and Tabby asked simultaneously. "Yes, we're out," Jazz said. "No gas whatsoever! We're stuck! No, this could be a while, so you'd better make yourselves really comfortable, because it looks like we'll be here for a few days. Well we sure needed this, didn't we?!" Jazz was concentrating on her tirade and hardly noticed the waves picking up. She didn't even see the giant squid shove its huge head above the surface of the water. "" shrieked Toad, pointing and jumping out of the pack. "" added Tabby equally loudly, following Toad. "What?" demanded Jazz, turning around. She looked the Blooper straight in its face and said, "Go away! Can't you see I'm trying to be angry about something here and you're distracting me?! Now " The squid didn't move. "I told you to go away!" Jazz shouted at it. The squid didn't move. "Yiiiiiii!" cried Jazz, kicking it hard on its beak. The squid scowled, an awful thing to see. "Now scram!" ordered Jazz, pointing at the horizon. The Blooper instead picked Jazz up by her outstretched hand and made a remarkably evil face at her. She immediately lost any traces of anger, grinned nervously, patted it on the beak, and laughed weakly. It didn't help, though. The giant white squid wrapped another tentacle around Jazz's body and squeezed. She gasped for air and struggled, kicking her feet uselessly. In a flash of red mushroom-shaped light, Toad raised his hands, formed a Flameball, and hurled it at the Blooper. It exploded, and the giant squid dropped Jazz into the waves. She sank with a cry, unable to swim. Tabby jumped in after her, knowing full well he couldn't swim and just might drown. Above the water, Toad was left to deal with the upset Blooper alone. He launched another Flameball, narrowly ducked a flailing tentacle, and fired his level four attack, Firestorm. It enveloped the Blooper in a blazing dome of heat. The squid squawked in protest, and splashed a huge wave of salty water over the cause of its pain. The wave swept Toad off the jetski, but he pulled himself back on and cast Firestorm again. Down below the waves, Jazz sank even further into the dark depths of the ocean. No matter how hard she tried to swim, she was too dense to make any progress. If she kept sinking, eventually the water pressure would crush her. this