To accommodate the endless amount of guests attending the Cooking Festival, there were just as many hotels built on neighboring islands, with highways set up to interconnect them. However, even during night, the festival transpired to feed all the hungry night owls, in which some chefs chose only to cook at night.
But as soon as the first light touched the sea, the day chefs would awaken to serve the early birds of the festival. Of course, the chefs weren't the only heroes of this event.
"Yaaaawwwn…" A young girl of 11 years woke from her bed, sensing the morning light with her arms stretched to the heavens. Her hair was cut short with a very dark-brown color, and she bore the tanned skin of an islander. Her pajamas were a blue T-shirt with a red fish design, along with orange shorts.
"Big Good Morning, Cooking Fest fans! Get ready for another day of Big Brews and Big Stews!" Big Bird's jovial announcement served to wake the slumbering visitors, but the girl paid no mind to her radio. "Yes, I know I keep reusing those words! There aren't too many 'ooze' words in this environment!" With tired eyes, she brushed her teeth at the sink, then began to change to her day clothes: a yellow Hawaiian shirt with red starfish designs, green shorts, and a tied pink headband. "Our miraculous chefs are already heating up the ovens! Meanwhile, our brave Hunters are ever vigilante on their quests for goodies!"
The girl strapped on a backpack designed like a green turtle's shell. Her eyes were fully awake, vibrant, and determined. With no need for footwear, all she needed to complete her look was a necklace of a tiny seashell. "The trio of Toriko, Coco, and Sunny have already passed the gate to New Galaxia, but will our Elite 3 return alive? All I can tell you is…"
The girl took her first steps outside the workers' quarters, greeting the day with a proud smile. "Time to go to work!"
11:35 in the morning
Clothed in her light-blue button shirt with Shine Sprite designs, blue shorts, and a white cap with Shine! written in gold, Maria's tiny sandaled feet carried her through Cooking Island with speed and vigor. "And I'll take this brownie, and this cookie, and this fruit pie…" the Hat Kid said aloud as she placed the mouth-watering sweets on her plate.
"You're eating way too many sweets, Maria." Louise said. "Aren't you supposed to mix up your menus, balanced diet and all that?"
"I've got the sweet tooth, Louise! It all looks so good!"
"Can we at least try that Russian Takoyaki? We could make it a contest to see who finds the special one~"
"Will that be a win or a loss?"
"We'll just have to find out."
"You're on!" Maria zoomed around the crowds, balancing her plate perfectly on her hand despite making constant, rapid turns. "WHOA!" It was only then Maria collided with a girl of equal height, who was carrying more items, which all flew into the air as the girl fell on her back. These items included a plate of drinks, wrapped napkins, and a stack of messy dishes.
"Oh, no!!"
"Uh-oh!" Maria quickly jumped up, stretched her right hand, and caught the drinks and her own plate on a stack. With her left hand, she caught the napkins, and she stretched her left leg to catch the messy dishes on the tip of her sandal. She balanced on one foot, wobbling unstably.
Her eyes glimmering with awe, the tan-skinned girl helped herself up and beamed in praise. "That was amazing!"
"Thank you! Balancing things on my toes is one of my boredom hobbies!" Maria yelled in panic.
"My sister can be really rude." Louise shook her head. "Also, the takoyaki stand was that way."
The girl quickly took her items back. "Well, thank you!" And she ran off in a hurry.
"Hey, wait!" Maria rushed after her. "You want me to help carry some of that?"
"It's okay! I'm working as a chore girl, I've been doing this since yesterday! Whoa!" With a large crowd about to impede her progress, the girl made a swift jump with a solid landing on the ground.
Maria performed a greater jump to keep after her. "Wow, that was a nice jump! Are you a Mushroomian?"
"No, I'm from the Mara Sea! On this planet. My name's Koa." She found a table of blobbish aliens and tossed them the pack of napkins before racing to the next destination.
"I'm Maria! Want this brownie?"
"Maria, don't distract her!" Louise shouted, hurrying after them.
"Sure, I love snacks!" Koa stopped and turned, her mouth hanging open as Maria tossed the sweet in. Koa kept running while chewing, jumping over a few more visitors.
"How come you're a chore girl?" Maria asked bluntly.
"My grandma taught me it's important to help others, like bringing them stuff!" She raced into a washing room and tossed the messy dishes into a dishwasher. As she ran out, she was stopped by a penguin in a trenchcoat with sunglasses.
"Hey, kid! You the chore girl? Do me a favor and hand this postcard to Jonathan. He's an owl in golf clothes. And be quick about it!"
"Okay!" Koa bit the card in her teeth and kept running. "Heh, even if they're mean." She said to Maria in a muffled fashion.
"Are you the only chore girl?"
"No, but it feels like it." Koa ran up to a table and placed their drinks before running off.
Maria recognized two of the girls at the table: Akko and Diana of Sector LN. They were with two other witches: a human of Latina ethnicity, wearing a purple and white T-shirt, and a long-earred, peach-skinned girl in black and purple witch's attire, with aquamarine hair in a small ponytail.
"Oh, hey Maria!" Akko greeted. "Hey, Luz, get this, we're friends with the Mushroom Kingdom princess!"
"SHE'S the Mushroom Kingdom PRINCESS?!" the Latina girl, Luz gasped in shock.
"Well, try not to embarrass us!" the long-earred witch scolded her.
"Darn it, I'm not the princess, anymore!" Maria shouted. "How many times do I have to say it?!"
"It's very difficult to reason with these two." Diana replied. "Anyway, Luz, Amity, this is Maria. Maria, this is Luz and Amity. They're from another school." (From Owl House.)
"We just awkwardly bumped into each other," Akko said, "but like, we have SO much in common, so now we're on a double date!"
"Th-This isn't a date!" Amity flushed.
"Yes, and we aren't even a couple, yet." Diana argued. "I mean, we're simply discussing and comparing magical techniques, there's nothing romantic about it!" Diana blushed.
"Hey, were you following that other girl?" Luz asked. "Did you need something from her?"
Maria looked over in Koa's direction. "…As a matter of fact, I do!" She ran off on that note.
"Is she one of those heroic princess types?"
"Yeah, pretty much." Akko answered. "Pretty trendy, huh?"
"Oh, I know!" Luz rolled her eyes. "Like, they're cool and all, but I feel like they overdo it sometimes."
"AH, HELLO!" The witches gasped when a thin crow in a trenchcoat sprung up between them. "Did I hear that you were fellow witches discussing magic? You see, I, too, am an aspiring witch. I partake in the arts of magic quite well. So, between us fellow witches, what would you say is the most pivotal ingredient in witchcraft? Bear in mind that I can only handle eight characters."
The girls exchanged confused glances. "Well, I would say you need a lot of imagination and heart!" Akko cheered.
"Creativity was the source of my magic!" Luz cheered.
"Ah, yes, I see. So, the secret ingredient is CREATIVI. Thank you, fellow witches. Your secret will be well kept, with me." And the crow scurried off.
Koa had taken a package and a bottle of soap, carrying them along with her postcard. "Hey, Koa!" She glanced back to see Maria running after her. "I wanna be a chore girl, too!"
"Why?"
"You just look like you're doing so much by yourself. Besides, I wanna make some Festival Friends like Akko's doing! You can't go to a festival without making Festival Friends!"
"I'd sure love the help, but are you sure you could do this?"
"Of course I could! Besides, one of my friends is a delivery girl, I learn a lot by watching her!"
"Then why couldn't you get her-?" Louise was about to ask.
"SHUT UP, LOUISE! So, who do I talk to to get the job?"
"I'll take you after this!" Koa beamed. "Whoops!" She dropped the postcard, but caught it between her toes before tossing it up onto the package.
After Koa finished her duties, she began a joyful run-and-jump through the crowds, leading Maria. Koa was in awe over how much higher the Mushroomian could jump, sharing a laugh with her new friend as they hopped along like frogs.
Koa brought Maria to a small office shack, where a scarlet-haired woman in sunglasses sat at a desk. "Koa, you're back early. Aren't you still on the clock?" she spoke in a refined, almost haughty voice.
"Miss Jessabelle, this girl wants to work, too. Can she help?" Koa asked with a smile.
"Ah ha ha ha! I didn't think there would be another girl who would pine for your position." Jessabelle smirked. "Why, she hasn't bothered to wipe the icing off her mouth, is she really fit to work?"
"Of course I am! I'm a master of collecting things, so delivering them should be a cinch!" Maria declared with passion.
"Very well then. You can start by throwing out that trash for me." She directed them to two black trash bags. "Afterwards, just run around the island and do whatever needs done, pick up garbage, bring customers their food, take their plates, or whatever it is they desire of you. Hop to it! And no snacking at the buffets!"
A blue blob popped out of her Pokéball. "Wooooobbuffet!" Jessabelle kicked it away on impulse. (Play "Ship Shape" from Hat in Time!)
Maria grabbed the two sacks in a stack, ran outside, and threw them in the dumpster. "Come on, let's look around!" Koa said, leading her off. They noticed some dining tables with messy, empty plates, so the girls gathered a share, raced to the washroom, and tossed them in the dishwasher. "Hey, kids, bring these utensils to Kitchen B, they need some spares." One of the workers asked them, dropping the pack of utensils onto Koa's hand.
"I'll show you where that is!" Koa said, leading her once more.
"Hey, you the chore girls?" They were approached by another worker. "Kitchen D needs a new battery for their oven, can one of you take it?" He dropped a large battery onto Maria's hand, the girl propping it up despite its mass.
"It's that way!" Koa pointed. "I'll catch up with you later!"
"'kay!" And so they went their separate ways. Maria ran in the indicated direction, jumping her way over another dining area. "Oh, more dirty plates!" She quickly grabbed the stack and decided to hurry back to the washroom to dispose of them. She resumed the previous course, but was stopped by a Rito crow, the same one as before.
"Pardon me, fellow festival girl. Could you deliver this letter to my acquaintance? It contains important documents that must reach him posthaste. He is up by that building up there." He pointed to a nearby cliff with said building.
"Mmmm…" Maria saw the sloped rode leading up there, so she decided to head that way first.
Koa made it to Kitchen B and placed the utensils on a counter. "Hey kid, since you're here, bring these to the customers real quick." A French chef named Colette requested. Koa got a bottle of wine and bowl of soup, with a plate of ratatouille stacked on it, delivering either item to three different tables.
"Hey kiddo, you busy?" Koa was summoned by Roger the Alien, wearing an afro, mustache, and purple coat. "Do me a favor and bring this spare mustache to my pal. He's lookin' to get some chicks, ya dig?" Koa stuck the mustache under her nose for safekeeping.
"Oh, and while you're doing that," she was approached by a waiter named Linguini, "could you bring this Twin Banana Peak to the Minute Platform? I'd do it myself, but I, just busy!" He dropped a plate of a mountain-shaped salad with two bananas sticking out on either side. Koa looked to a tall platform with stairs leading up it, so she-
"Hey, kid," she was approached by a medic holding a large wheel, "we got a call about a handicapped man whose wheelchair broke down. Do me a favor and bring it to him. He's up on that hill, and I, I ain't too good with hills." Koa moaned in frustration and balanced the salad onto the wheel itself. Still, knowing it was a handicapped person, she decided to hurry up the hill first.
Maria was venturing up her own hill, on which she found an overflowing trashcan and decided to pull out the bag, wrap it up, and carry it on top of the battery. She also discovered a discarded, toy shopping cart and picked it up, figuring she would find the kid who lost it. She wobbled around a bit on her journey uphill with these many items, but she maintained herself and found the crow who wanted the letter. She tossed it from her mouth to his feathers. "Ah, I see! So, the secret ingredient is CREATIVI. Thank you for this knowledge that I will not misuse."
Maria decided to keep heading uphill in search of a dumpster. "Pardon me, Miss. We seek your aid."
"What? Who said that?" Maria looked around for the source of the droll, but haunting voice, but all she saw was a pot of roses on the sidewalk.
"We are Flowers. Please, take us to a worthy vessel. The Flowers request you."
"Okay…" Sighing in dismay, Maria stacked the flowers onto her items, further increasing her physical and mental instability.
Koa was firm and balanced as she ascended the steep hill—a Chef Boyardee can was rolling down and she stepped on it. "AAAH!" She fell backwards and rolled down, but managed to jump up in time to catch the salad on one hand and wheel on the other. The can was about to catch up, so she tossed the salad onto the wheel and snatched the can. She hurried uphill once more and saw the handicapped man in question, Joe Swanson, rooted to a flat part with a broken wheel. "Here you go!"
"Thanks, kid!" Joe smiled. "Good news, Bonnie, we got a new wheel!"
"Oh, darn it." His wife mumbled.
Koa saw a little Harnitan girl walking down with her mother. She gasped, "Look, Mommy!" and seemed to notice the Boyardee can Koa was holding.
"Oh, is this yours? Here you go!" She ran up and returned the can to her.
"Hey, chore girl, good timing!" Another worker brought over a bag with a carton of milk. "This jug got ripped, do me a favor and pour it in the ocean or something. Man, my hands are sticky…" He placed the bag over Koa's fingers before going off.
"And while you're doing that," another worker came up, "bring this trashcan over to Kitchen C, they need a new one."
Koa placed the milk jug inside the can and balanced it on her left hand, the salad still in her right. "Do you need some help?" the Harnitan mother asked.
"It's okay, I can do it!" Koa began to zoom down the hill, but miraculously still kept her items balanced. Someone was riding up on a motor scooter, but Koa performed a great jump over him and landed on the hill's base with her items intact.
Maria reached another layer of the island and saw a dumpster, running to toss the trash in. "Huh?" Maria saw a little Mobian bird toddler wandering around. Figuring it must be lost, she lifted and placed it on her head.
"Oh, Maria, glad I caught you." Louise approached her, twirling a red hat on her finger. "Dad lost his hat, can you bring it to him?" She tossed the hat onto the toddler's head. Maria growled at her sister in anger, feeling even more unbalanced with these items. She searched this area for whoever could've lost this toy cart, but luckily, it seemed that a Tostarenan kid was pointing to her excitedly. Maria ran up and returned the kid their makeshift shopping cart. Afterwards, she spotted a glass water bottle abandoned on the ground and chose to pick it up and find its owner.
Koa hurried to the Minute Platform and carefully balanced up its narrow staircase. "Whoa!" She nearly stepped on a sewing needle on a step, so she grabbed it in her toes and tossed it up to grab in her teeth. Koa reached the top of the platform, "Nnnnn!" and had to halt her foot before nearly stepping on a Kateenian. She could only move on her tippy-toes to avoid the Kateenians, Minish, or Mobian mice that crowded the platform, but the act of doing so added more sprain to her soles. "Here you go!" She placed the Twin Banana Peak within a circle of Kateenians, and they would soon become lost in the salad's jungle.
"Hey, you have my sword!" a mouse girl called.
"Your sword?"
"In your teeth, spit it down!"
"Oh!" Koa spat the sewing needle for the mouse to catch.
"Haha! I missed you, Knittleton!" The mouse happily hugged the 'sword.'
Koa remembered that Kitchen C was on the cliff near this platform, so she took a shortcut and balanced across the telephone wire, reaching the ledge in no time as she hurried to the kitchen. "Wobbu-Wobba!" Koa recognized Jessabelle's Wobbuffet roaming around, so she lifted and balanced it on the trashcan.
Maria jumped her way down some buildings and returned to the lower levels. She saw a dining area set up along a dock, and it seemed that water blob aliens were gathered there; they were actually a Seccoan race called Trisolian. Some of them were half-emerged from water bottles, so Maria set her water bottle on an empty table. Afterwards, the Trisolian inside peeped out. "Thank you, Miss. I lost my way."
"The Flowers grow impatient." said the Flowers she was still carrying. Maria first decided to hurry back to Kitchen D and hand in the battery they were waiting for. She explored further and spotted a short, black Shy Guy who seemed to have the face of Jar Jar Blinks.
"Hey, kiddo, some long-earred dude swapped faces with me, can ya help me look for him?" the Shy Guy asked. Maria decided to lift him on her hand with the flowers on top. She looked atop some twin buildings and saw a Steam Gardener, a robot designed like a watering can. Figuring she should hand the Flowers to it, Maria Wall Jumped up the buildings and made it up.
"ERROR! Please dispose of Flowers!" The robot panicked, trying to evade Maria. "Please dispose of Flowers, PLEASE-" But Maria didn't listen and tossed the roses onto the robot's head. The watering can ceased as the flowers possessed it.
"The Flowers are thankful."
Koa reached Kitchen C and placed their trashcan down, but took the milk jug out of it, and was still carrying Wobbuffet. She glanced down and spotted a game case on the floor, and it was labeled Vagabondia Chronicles. Koa picked it up, then saw a strange Cloud Heart floating overhead with a string attached, so she jumped to bite the string in her teeth and pull it along. She spotted Roger the Alien, this time dressed like a dork with glasses, but since she didn't recognize him, Koa wondered if he's the one who wanted the mustache.
"Good golly, thanks!" Roger replied with a dorky voice, taking the mustache and sticking it on. "Let's see if chicks dig me now!" With that, he walked over to a pen of baby chicks. "Come and get some, ladies!" The chicks all fluttered and began nibbling his mustache. "Haha! Hey, I got some more in my truck!"
Koa saw a teenage girl with blue gem-like hair walking around and holding the hand of a kid with similar, green hair. "Oh, there it is!" the girl, Sphira hurried over to take the Cloud Heart from Koa. "Thanks for catching this for me!"
"Any time! …Ooo, up there!" Koa ran toward a building and hopped up some crates leading to the roof, and from there she balanced and jumped up some telephone wires to reach a higher ledge. ("Why don't you get shocked?!" Sphira shouted.)
Maria located her dad, apparently slumped against a building and dying to the heat while Luigi waved a fan over him. Maria tossed the hat back onto Mario and restored his stamina. Maria saw what appeared to be Jar Jar wandering around, wearing a slanted, grinning Shy Guy mask. She carried Shy Mask and tossed him onto the Gungan, and they immediately swapped faces. "Foosh, thankshee, leetle one. Me no know what side de nose on, so I-sa drew a new nose."
"WHAT THE HECK?!" cried Shy Mask, realizing he now had four nostrils. "Good Lord, I'm smelling too many things! Lord Dio Brando, save me now!" He ran off in panic.
Maria saw a yellow Mobian bird in a conductor's uniform, traveling with seven toddler birds that resembled him. Maria approached and returned the eighth child. "Lassie, is that you?"
"Oh, hi Conductor!" Maria replied quickly before running to her next task.
Koa made it atop the cliff and saw two girls talking at a table; they were Lotte Jansson (Little Witch Academia) and Marcy (from Amphibia). "Hey, does this belong to either of you?" Koa asked, holding up the game disc.
"Huuu, THERE IT IS!" Marcy quickly swiped the case and checked the contents. "Oh, Vagabondia Chronicles, I missed you so much! Lotte, let's pop it in, I gotta show this to you right now!" She was quick to stick the game into her Switch.
"Okay, but we won't play for too long, right?" Lotte asked awkwardly.
Koa hurried downhill to a railing, where she could pour the milk from the broken jug into the sea. She then located a trashcan to toss the empty jug in, then began to race back to Jessabelle's office to return Wobbuffet. However, in the process, she found a large snowball abandoned on the road and had to bring it to a freezer before it melted. An Irken named Sizz-Lorr asked Maria to bring a round hamburger to Jim the Fry Cook, but once she did, the burger exploded on the Fishman. Maria ran past Koa as they exchanged a greeting, and Jim coincidentally asked Koa to bring a Krabby Patty to Sizz-Lorr. Said patty would extend real crab claws and pinch Sizz-Lorr's antennae.
"Maria, Uncle Luigi lost his hat." Louise said, Maria growling as she took the hat. Koa found Patrick Star lazily lain on the road, and she had to bring him to an ice cream vendor to fill his gullet.
"This vessel requires sustenance." The Flowers said as Maria had to bring the de-powered Steam Gardener to a recharge station.
"Eh, excuse me? Little boy?" Koa looked over to a Rooster named Julie Bean. "Give me a cart? About 50 of them." Koa picked Julie up and located a stack of 50 shopping carts. She tossed Julie onto the stack as she grabbed a cart in her talons, flapped her wings, and ascended to the sky with all 50 carts.
"Hey, can you bring this to King?" Luz asked Maria, handing her a Burger Queen package, which Maria stacked on the Flowers' head.
"Full glory be to the Flowers."
"Hey, Chore Girl, give this to that guy dressed in black." Kokichi handed Koa a jack-in-the-box. "Nee hee, our schools are rivals~"
"I would like for you to place these trophies in these three locations." Riddler requested, stacking three of his trophies onto Maria's pile.
"I found this baby asteroid, can you bring it to its mom?" Zach Murphy asked, casually dropping a huge asteroid atop Koa's already-unstable load.
"Annnnnnnnd BREAK TIME!" (End song.)
Koa had barely made it in time to return Wobbuffet before Jessabelle made this announcement. She and Maria were gasping for breath, their arms and legs ready to give way. "I must say, the two of you would make excellent servants~. Alright then, go take five. There's plenty more work to be done around here."
Maria and Koa went to lie on the rice beach, chugging two glasses of juice that resembled hourglasses. The Rewind Juice was an excellent way to reset their stamina, but they still had breath to catch. "That was pretty crazy… and you do this every day?" Maria asked.
"Huff…kind of…" Koa smiled. "I live alone on an island… but I travel the ocean for resources… which involves doing favors… for a lot of people, huff…"
"I thought you had a grandma?"
"Well… had…"
"Oh…" Maria frowned in understanding.
"Today's spotlight goes to this little Mushroomian chore girl!" Big Bird announced as images of Maria carrying a huge stack of items were displayed on the screens. "You see, this hard worker is no ordinary girl: she is Mushroom Kingdom's Princess Maria! Ah, what a kindhearted lady! What an inspiration! I hope you other princesses out there are as stalwart as she is!"
"How's THIS for stalwart?!" Louise retorted as she kicked her father in the crotch.
"Mama Mia! My Italian meatballs!"
"NOOOO! Don't look at me!" Maria stretched her hat to cover herself.
Koa gasped. "I didn't know you were a princess!"
"I'm not a princess, anymore! And besides," she uncovered the hat, "I'm not the only one that worked hard! You deserve credit, too! HEY! TV GUYS!" Maria shouted to the masses. "THIS GIRL IS KOA! SHE'S MY FRIEND AND SHE'S AWESOME, TOO!"
"Relax, Maria!" Koa pulled her down out of embarrassment. "I don't need credit. I already did my part to help."
"But they need to appreciate you, too!"
"But all that matters is that I-"
"What's this? I've just been informed that Chef Foody is currently constructing a chocolate sculpture in Princess Maria's likeness. What better way to celebrate her kind deeds!"
Koa's eyes sparkled, drooling as she jumped to her feet. "Chocolate sculpture?! I DESERVE CREDIT, TOO!" She zoomed off for a share of the reward.
"That's exactly what I said!!" Maria zoomed after her.
"Ahh, it's nice to have a week off of deliveries." Kiki said, smiling at Maria's antics. She was accompanied by her Sector MG friends at a table.
The Flower-possessed Steam Gardener rolled nearby, sparking as it struggled for control. "Why haven't you called for heeeeelllp?"