Meeting Baloo and Kit Cloudkicker/Peach, Daisy, Mario, and Luigi Get to Know Each Other

*(Elsewhere in the deeper part of the forest, Clara’s group continued on until they looked around cautiously)*

Clara: I got a bad feeling about this part of the forest.

Fritz: It’s dark and creepy.

Phillip: Not to mention strange.

Crash: I may not know it, but it’ll get darker than lighter here.

Louise: I suppose.

Rockruff: Do you think we’ll encounter wild animals?

Metalhead: Probably.

Crash: Animals that eat meat?

Aku-Aku: Some.

Metalhead: ut mostly lions, tigers, and bears.

Rockruff and kids: Lions?

Crash: Tigers?

Aku-Aku and Metalhead: And bears.

Clara: Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!

*(Suddenly, she got an idea)*

Clara: I got an idea!

Rockruff and Crash: What?

Clara: This part of the forest is creepy, right?

*(The group nods)*

Clara: So, we can just calm ourselves and move along, chanting “Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my.”

Fritz: (Realizing) That way, we can get out of here.

Rockruff: Take it away, Clara!

Metalhead: Ladies first.

*(Clara clears her throat and started)*

Clara: Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!

*(Then the group began to chant slowly and then quickly as they hurry along the Yellow Brick Road)*

Clara’s group: Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my! Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my! Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my! Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!

*(Suddenly, something gray lunged out at Metalhead, knocking him down, much to the group’s shock)*

Crash: What the…?!

*(The figure revealed himself to be an anthro sloth bear with gray fur, a light gray muzzle and belly, a crimson nose, white claws on his toes, and is wearing a red pilot’s cap with a black visor and a yellow long-sleeved collared button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up above his elbows. He growls at Metalhead, and then noticing Clara’s group, he lunged at them, making them run out of the way as Metalhead recovered and ran back to them in concern. The bear panted savagely and then got tough)*

Bear: Put them up, put them up!

*(He shadowboxes, much to the group’s fear now turning to confusion)*

Bear: I, the brave sloth bear, Baloo, won’t let any of you pull any tricks on me! I got the claws of a cat!

*(Realizing while acting tough)*

Baloo: What am I saying? I'm a sloth bear.

*(The group got confused)*

Clara’s group: Uh…?

(Then Rockruff, realizing something, shouted a scare at Baloo)

Rockruff: Boo!

*(Rockruff briefly startling Baloo upon saying that, but he got tough towards him)*

Baloo: You dare try to frighten me?

Rockruff: Try to frighten? (Scoffs) You're nothing but a....

*(Clara, having noticed Baloo getting briefly scared, despite trying to act tough, about to get ready to pounce on Rockruff)*

Baloo: Watch it! *(Growls)* Try that again you, and you are ga-lue!

*(He pounces at Rockruff, but he ran back to Clara. Seeing Baloo walking up to her tough-like, Clara held Rockruff protectively)*

Clara: I see that my Pokemon here actually scared you.

Baloo: (Scoffs) I’m not scared. Just reacted.

Rockruff: (Sarcastically) Right. And I'm Old Yeller's descendant.

*(Baloo grabs Rockruff’s face up to him)*

Baloo: Oh, yeah?!

*(Clara got angry)*

Clara: Don’t touch him!

*(She smacks Baloo across the face, making him release Rockruff and then to the group’s surprise, except an angry Clara, Baloo started to cry softly)*

Clara: Shame on you!

Baloo: (Crying) Why did you do that for? I didn’t hurt that Pokemon!

Louise: Well, you tried to hurt him.

Clara: It’s bad enough you lunged at Metalhead here, but grabbing my little Pokemon here…!

Baloo: (Crying) But you didn’t have to go and hit me!

*(He takes his hat off and wiped his tears away with it as he continued crying)*

Baloo: (Crying) Is my nose bleeding?

Clara: No!

*(Suddenly, a male bear cub came out and went up between Baloo and Clara’s group)*

Bear cub: Wait!

*(The group noticed him and got confused while Baloo stopped crying and recognized him casually. The bear cub has light brown fur, a black nose, white claws on his toes, and is wearing a blue baseball cap with a red bill and a white shirt short-sleeved shirt underneath his green long-sleeved sweater)*

Baloo: Hey, Kit.

Clara’s group: Kit?

Rockruff: What’s going on here?

*(Kit spoke up on Baloo’s behalf)*

Kit: I ask of you to forgive my papa bear, Baloo. He was just trying to prove that he’s not a coward by picking a fight.

Baloo: (Sadly) It’s true. I am a coward. I have no courage at all. I mean, look at the circles under my eyes! I haven’t slept in weeks sometimes unless Kit slept with me!

Metalhead: Why not count sheep?

Aku-Aku: That usually helps.

Baloo: (Sadly) That’s no good. I’m afraid of them.

*(He cries in his hat again as Clara’s group suddenly felt guilty and sympathetic towards him as he calmed his crying down)*

Clara: We all had no idea.

Kit: Baloo and I are partners and I wish to become the best partner ever to help him out in battles against evil enemies. Ask Papa Bear.

Phillip: (To Baloo) Is that true? Especially with you being called Papa Bear?

*(A short pause as Baloo stopped crying slowly and puts his hat back on)*

Baloo: (Sniffles, then nods) Yes, Kit calls me Papa Bear sometimes. And the whole "Fighting in battles against evil enemies," that’s Kit’s dream, like my dream is to become brave and have courage.

*(Clara turned to the group)*

Clara: Huddle.

*(They huddled and talked quietly while Baloo and Kit waited patiently)*

Clara: (Whispering) I feel sorry for him already.

Rockruff: (Whispering) Me too.

*(The group agreed quietly as well)*

Clara: (Whispering) And if we’d known, I wouldn’t have hit him.

Rockruff: (Whispering) And I wouldn't have taken advantage of his fears.

Metalhead: (Whispering) So, why don’t we let them tag along with us?

Crash: (Whispering) They got dreams like us.

Aku-Aku: (Whispering) My sentiments exactly.

Louise: (Whispering) I don’t see why not.

Phillip: (Whispering) I agree.

Fritz: (Whispering) Here, here.

Clara and Rockruff: (Whispering) Agreed.

*(They turned to Kit and Baloo and spoke normally)*

Clara: We were talking, as you both saw, right?

Clara’s group: Yeah, right?

Baloo and Kit: Yes.

Louise: Why not come with us to Emerald City to see the Wizard of Oz himself?

Phillip: We’re going there with dreams of our own as well.

Fritz: Mine, Clara, Louise, Rockruff, and Phillip’s dream is to get back home to Kansas.

Rockruff: Topeka, Kansas.

Crash: And I’m asking for a brain.

Aku-Aku: And me to become the best conscience ever.

Metalhead: And I’m asking for a heart.

Clara: So we’re sure the Wizard will give you courage and make you the best partner ever.

Kit: (In a hopeful happy voice) Really?

*(The group nods)*

Baloo: (Getting happy) That’s very nice of you. No one ever wanted to help me, except Kit.

Kit: That’s right. All the animals would do is pick on him for being a scaredy-cat.

Phillip: Then, we’ll make you brave like both a lion and a dog instead.

Rockruff: For a bear.

Baloo: Thank you. And if I had courage, well….

*(He begins singing)*

Baloo: **Yes, life is sad, believe me, missy**

**When you’re born to be a sissy**

**Without the vim and verve**

Kit: (Agreeing) That’s unfortunately true.

Baloo: **But I could change my habits**

**Nevermore be scared of rabbits**

**If I only had the nerve**

**I’m afraid there’s no denyin’**

**I’m just a dandelion**

**A fate I don’t deserve**

**But I could show my prowess**

**Be like a lion, not a mow-wess**

**If I only had the Nerve**

*(Kit giggles)*

Kit: (Giggles a bit) A Mow-wess.

Baloo: **Oh, I’d be in my stride**

**A king down to the core**

**I would roar the way I never roared before**

**And then I’d rrrr and roar some more**

*(On “Rrrr,” he playfully growled briefly, making Kit and the group giggle, and Baloo smiled with them)*

Bear: **I would show the dinosaurus**

**Who’s king around the fores’**

**A king he’d better serve**

**Why with my regal breezer**

**I could be another Caeser**

**If I only had the nerve**

**I’d be brave as a blizzard**

*(Then the others joined in)*

Metalhead: **I’d be gentle as a lizard**

Crash: **I’d be clever as a gizzard**

Rockruff and kids: **If the Wizard is a Wizard**

**Who would serve?**

Crash: **Then I’m sure to get a brain**

Aku-Aku: (On “A brain") **A brain**

Metalhead: **A heart**

Rockruff and kids: **A home**

Baloo and Kit: **The nerve**

*(They then march along down the Yellow Brick Road together)*

Clara’s group: **We’re off to see the Wizard**

**The Wonderful Wizard of Oz**

**We’ll find he is a whiz of a wiz**

**If ever a wiz there was**

**If ever, oh ever, a wiz there was**

**The Wizard of Oz is one**

**Because, because, because, because**

**Because, because**

**Because of the wonderful things**

**He does**

**We’re off to see the Wizard**

**The Wonderful Wizard of Oz**

*(Elsewhere in the same forest, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Mario, and Luigi continued their trek down the Yellow Brick Road talking with each other, apparently getting to know each other)*

Peach: So, you dream of becoming mechanics and ace plumbers besides finding the lost princesses?

Mario and Luigi: Yes.

Mario: Especially on flying things.

Daisy: Like planes?

Mario and Luigi: Yes.

Luigi: And of course, magic flying broomsticks.

*(Seeing their broomsticks, Peach and Daisy smiled and nods)*

Daisy: I sure hope you’ll accomplish your dream with the Wizard’s help.

Peach: As well as with King Charming and Queen Cinderella’s help.

Daisy: My sentiments exactly.

*(Even Yoshi nods happily with a chirp)*

Mario and Luigi: Thanks.

Mario: And I sure hope you’ll both find your real past you told me and Luigi you don’t know about.

Luigi: Yeah.

Peach: True, Daisy and I only vaguely saw as babies two mysterious people staring down at us with gentle smiles.

Daisy: And then the next thing we knew growing up, is living with our mother in the tower.

Mario and Luigi: (Nods in an understanding way) Hmm….

*(Suddenly, they heard footsteps approaching them from behind)*

Luigi: What’s that?

Peach: I don’t know.

Daisy: But that can’t be good.

Mario: Stay behind Luigi and me.

(Yoshi stands his guard bravely)

Luigi: You'll stand by Mario and me?

(Yoshi nods)

Luigi: Okay.

Mario: You're very brave for a dinosaur.

*(Peach and Daisy then goes behind Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi for protection as they stood their ground, ready to protect Peach and Daisy as the footsteps got closer)*

***Coming up: Clara and Peach’s groups finally meet and learning of the same goal they’re after, decide to team up and then meet up with a certain group of Mobians looking shifty towards them.***