Power Berry

Banna was tending to her garden one day in Berry Borough when Kiwiki startled her by jumping up from behind the bushes.

"Gah!" Banna exclaimed as she dropped her basket of freshly picked strawberries.

Kiwiki giggled, "I got you good! You should've seen the look on your face."

Banna groaned, "What did I tell you about spooking me? Just look at the mess you made!" She scooped up some of the fallen berries and tossed them into the garden.

Kiwiki shrugged, "Hey, I'm just trying to lighten the mood a bit. You do know what day it is, right?"

"Well, it's not Fool's Day." Banna got to her feet, "What holiday is it?" She crossed her arms over her blue suspenders and thought for a second. "Oh!" She exclaimed, "It's Pumpkin Day eve!"

Kiwiki nodded, "That's right! The time for tricks and treats. I gave you a trick and now you must give me a treat!"

Banna sighed, "Fine." She marched over to Kiwiki and kissed her on the cheek, "There you go."

Kiwiki blushed and pulled down her black beanie hat to block her face, "Gah! That's not the treat I was expecting..."

Banna giggled, "Well, you did ruin my strawberries."

Kiwiki turned away, "Um... well... I'll see you later!" She ran off into town.

"That girl." Banna mumbled as she went back to picking strawberries.

"Hey!" A familiar voice called from behind her. 

Banna turned to face the red-headed girl, "Cheri!" She ran to hug her, "What brings you to my little garden?"

Cherri was wearing a large white sunhat, big red boots, and a red striped dress.

Cheri giggled, "I saw you and Kiwiki fight."

Banna blushed, "Oh! Um..."

"But that's not why I'm here." Cheri winked, "There's a mystery unfolding in Berry Borough!"

Banna's sapphire eyes sparkled, "Really!?"

Cheri nodded, "Yup! Blu was just minding her own business when a large blueberry landed in her hands!"

"That's... strange. Blueberries don't usually grow that big." Banna frowned.

"It gets weirder!" Cheri explained, "The berry started to glow and then Blu started to glow! There was this strange blue energy all around her and then she sneezed."

"Really!?" Banna was excited to hear more.

Cheri nodded, "She sneezed and a whole tree got knocked over!"

"Berries with magical powers?" Banna mumbled, "I think that Gran told me something about that once."

The voice of Gran seemed to echo inside Banna's head, "This land has many secrets. One of which is magical berries." Gran's rocking chair creaked, "The berries themselves aren't magic, but they are instead awakened by the touch of a chosen few. The pick of the bunch so-to-speak!" Gran's laughter faded from Banna's mind.

"The pick of the bunch?" Banna mumbled.

Cheri had a confused look in her emerald eyes, "Huh?"

"We have to get to the bottom of this!" Banna ran off into the forest.

"Wait for me!" Cheri rushed after her.

...

The two of them made it to the forest. It was a quiet and beautiful part of Berry Borough where Banna and her friends would usually go on picnics. However, now was no time for a picnic.

Cheri nearly tripped over a tree root, "Whoah! That was close."

Banna hushed her. She was holding binoculars that she had borrowed from Lemoly, "There's gotta be more of those berries somewhere." She gazed up and noticed a large yellow fruit hanging from a branch, "It's a banana!" She handed the binoculars to Cheri.

Cheri nodded, "That's a pretty big banana!"

Banna got to her feet and started jumping at the fruit, "Ugh! Gah!" She managed to grab onto it. It glowed for a few seconds but then she lost her grip and stumbled onto her back.

Cheri ran over to her to make sure she was okay, "We're going to need a ladder or something." Cheri frowned.

Suddenly, Kiwiki rushed towards them on her green tricycle. "Coming through!" She shouted as the others dodged out of the way. In a split second, Kiwiki jumped off of her tricycle and attached herself to the banana. "Help!" Kiwiki panicked as she clung onto the fruit. She swayed left and right, back and forth. Eventually, the banana snapped off of the tree. It and Kiwiki stumbled down.

Banna acted quickly, "Gotcha!" She exclaimed as she caught Kiwiki in her arms.

Kiwiki blushed, "Okay. Okay. You got me! Now let me go." Banna let her go and she brushed the dirt off of her black hoodie and rode away before Banna could say anything more.

Banna looked around, "Is the banana okay?"

Cheri held it up proudly, "Ugh. Yup! It's super heavy though."

"That's good." Banna smiled, "Um, but why did Kiwiki..."

Cheri shrugged, "I guess she followed us. She must really like you!"

Banna blushed, "There's no way! But at least we've got the banana." She grabbed the large banana and it started to glow. The bright yellow light was nearly blinding, "Gah!" Banna exclaimed as she felt a strong energy growing inside of her. She collapsed to the forest floor.

"Banna! Are you okay?" Cheri held her carefully in her arms. Banna groaned but couldn't give a clear answer. "I'm going to rush you to the hospital." Cheri replied as she lifted Banna over her shoulders and made her way back into town.

...

Banna awoke in a hospital bed. The room smelled clean and her white sheets were quite cozy. The room had two beds in it. There was a small table with a single glass of water nearby just in case she had gotten thirsty.

"Where am I?" Banna said groggily.

A familiar face rushed to her aid. Banna could barely tell who it was with her blurry vision. It was Kiwiki and she looked extremely worried.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Kiwiki whimpered. Her emerald eyes were shaking and tears streamed down her tanned cheeks.

"Kiwiki? What happened?" Banna struggled to sit upright.

Kiwiki smiled, "The energy inside that banana was too much for you to handle. Cheri lifted you all the way here before she told me what happened. I rushed over here as fast as I possibly could because I-"

Suddenly, the doctor entered the room. They were the older sister of Cheri and the resemblance was uncanny.

"It's great to see that you're doing better now." The doctor marched over to Banna, "Everyone is worried sick about you! Cheri told me that you were looking for some rare fruits when this happened?" The doctor frowned.

"Yes, Dr. Pie." Banna nodded, "Cheri told me that Blu had found a large wild blueberry in the forest, so I went to find a giant fruit too!"

"Giant fruits?" Dr. Pie was surprised, "I've never seen any giant fruits in the forest before."

Banna frowned, "My Gran told me that these giant fruits unlock magical powers." Banna explained, "I'm not sure if it worked for me. I kinda just passed out."

Dr. Pie nodded, "I'm sure it's just a tall tale that your Gran told you for fun."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Banna sighed.

Kiwiki shook her head, "There's no way it's just a story!" She pointed at Banna, "I'm going to find a giant kiwi and show you my own awesome powers! I promise!"

Banna giggled, "Is this your way of showing how much you care about me?"

Kiwiki blushed and looked away. She place her hands in her hoodie pockets, "Nuh-uh! I- I'm just not going to let you unlock your magical powers before I do!"

Banna smiled, "Well, okay then. Just be careful out there."

Kiwiki winked, "I'm always careful!"