"Hey guys!" Peach called from outside, her voice muffled by the castle doors. "Come outside you're not going to believe this!"
"Huh?" Multiple members of the gang barked, facing the brown double doors. They exchanged glances and shrugged, making their way outside.
Princess Peach was standing outside on the stone bridge before her castle with a big smile on her face, the morning sun causing her blue eyes to sparkle as she looked
skyward.
"What is it?" Mario questioned, approaching her -the rest of the crew following behind.
"Aha! Look up there!" Peach laughed, pointing at the red roof of her castle.
"Hm?" Mario barked, directing his attention upward -the rest of the gang doing so as well.
Astonishingly, sitting atop the red roof of Peach Castle was a pink glimmering star.
"Oh, wow! It looks like another one of those stars!" Daisy awed.
"It's a Goddess Star alright." Rosalina laughed, looking skyward while levitating six inches above the stone bridge.
"Has it really been up there this whole time?" Luigi pondered, scratching his head in thought.
"Hm-hm, apparently so." Peach giggled. "I just happened to notice it up while I was out for my morning walk."
"Well, since you found it I guess that means you get it." Mario reasoned.
"Oh yeah? Sure you're not gonna trip her for it?" Daisy sniped, her teeth clenched and expression angry.
"Pbttth." Mario taunted, blowing raspberry with folded arms.
"It's so pretty and pink!" Peach awed, her hands together beneath her chin.
"Stay away from it, I say!" Toadsworth declined. "Who knows what awful things might happen if you touch that thing!"
"Oh, you worry too much. Something that cute and pink couldn't possibly be harmless!" Peach smiled, patting Toadsworth head.
"Before she can touch it she has to get it down." Luigi reminded. "Just how do you plan on doing that?"
"Oh yeah…" Peach frowned, looking back up at the pink star out of reach.
"I think I have just the tool for this." Link comforted, digging into his pockets and revealing a fairly large white winged boomerang.
"What's this?" Peach questioned, leaning slightly forward to examine the offered white boomerang -the rest of the gang taking a peek as well.
"It's called the Gale Boomerang." Link answered. "Go on, give it a shot."
"Are you sure it's safe?" Peach questioned, a hand curled over her sapphire brooch.
"AH HAH HAH!" Link abruptly laughed. "Oh, it's far from safe. But it'll do the trick."
"Umm… okay…" Peach nervously acknowledged, cautiously accepting the Gale Boomerang.
"It may be wise to give her some space…" Link calmly warned, stepping away from her.
Link, Navi, Rosalina, Daisy, Luigi, Toadsworth, and Mario made their way off of the stone bridge, standing on the dirt path before it. Peach was standing on the stone bridge all
by her lonesome, examining the Gale Boomerang in her gloved hands.
"Be careful with that thing, I say!" Toadsworth warned from afar.
Peach seemed nervous, looking at the big boomerang in her hands.
"You can do it Peach!" Daisy cheered.
"Yeah, come on!" Luigi encouraged.
"Piece of cake!" Mario added.
Peach's eyebrows narrowed in determination, the princess giving a calm nod in confidence. She held the bottom of the winged boomerang in her right hand and brought it
behind her head. Her eyes narrowed as she locked onto her pink glimmering target on her castle rooftop.
"Eyah!" Peach cried, tossing the Gale Boomerang -a vicious cyclone accompanying it as it twirled towards the pink star.
"Whoa, what a badass boomerang!" Luigi praised, his fists clenched in excitement.
"AH HAH HAH!" Link laughed. "Indeed, I've got quite a few tricks up my sleeve."
The Gale Boomerang swept into the pink star, catching and carrying the glimmering power source in it's vicious gale.
"It caught it!" Peach cheered, her eyes widened in excitement.
"Good, now let it come to you! Don't be afraid!" Link warned.
Peach watched with clenched teeth and a sweaty forehead as the vicious cyclone raced back towards her, surely seeming like it was going to sweep her right off her feet and
send her flying into the air.
"Y-You sure about this?" Mario questioned, seeming worried as well.
Link didn't answer, watching Peach carefully. The bottom left triangle of the Triforce was glowing on his left hand. He had a vision of Peach running away from the boomerang
and getting swept up in the cyclone. When he opened his eyes, sure enough he saw her feet move.
"DON'T MOVE!" Link barked, stopping her in her tracks. "Let the boomerang come to you!"
Peach stood still, frozen with trembling eyes. Sure enough, the boomerang gently snapped back into her right hand -the cyclone dying down just in time for her to be
unaffected by the powerful gale. Everyone gave a cheer and a clap, Peach more focused on the pink star that was in her left hand. Then, a burst of pink energy raced from
the Goddess Star and into Peach's mind.
"Ungh…" Peach moaned, her eyes closed and teeth clenched as the pink energy source zoomed into her head.
"Princess!" Toadsworth cried, stepping forward in worry.
"It's alright, relax." Rosalina assured, blocking his path with an arm.
Everyone watched in suspense as Peach fell to her knees, the pink energy from the star still racing into her mind. Eventually it exhausted itself, all of it's energy now in the mind of the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. Peach broke the silence by falling onto the stone bridge.
"Peach!" Mario cried, running towards her -Luigi, Toadsworth, and Daisy doing the same.
With a soft moan and a little help from her friends Peach got back to her feet, seeming a little spacey as she shot glances between the palms of her hands. There was a short
silence, all eyes on Peach.
"W-Well?" Mario summoned. "How do you feel?"
"I feel… strong…" Peach answered.
"S-Strong? Did you say you feel strong?" Mario snickered, a hand over his mouth to hold back his laugh. "Bahaha! That's hilarious!"
"Ha-CHA!" Peach countered, thrusting her hip into Mario, hearts exploding on impact.
"Oomph!" Mario cried, flying through the air and smashing into the castle -smoke accompanying the impact.
Peach's red heels clicked as she landed back onto the stone bridge. She watched as purple hearts followed her left arm as she waved it before her. She then blew Mario a kiss,
a big pink heart flying towards him.
"Ungh… Hey, that kind hurt you know!" Mario whined, sitting up from the damage and rubbing his aching head. "Huh?"
"GAAAAAH!" Mario cried, his eyes bulging out of his head as the big pink heart flew towards him.
"NOOO!" Mario whined, covering his eyes with one hand and sticking his arm out with the other as the heart collided with him, the man in red seeming scared of the attack.
As the heart struck his body, it popped and little pink dust glimmered all over his presence. The classical Mario growing sound played as his health recovered.
"Oh… I feel great!" Mario laughed, standing back to his feet with a smile.
"It would appear that Princess Peach has harnessed the power of the Heart Star." Rosalina informed, levitating above the dirt path before Peach Castle.
"The Heart Star?" Daisy inquired.
"Oh, what a cute little power!" Peach cooed, hugging herself with a gleeful smile -the background purple with flowing pink hearts. "I couldn't have asked for a more perfect
star!"
"Well that's good that you like it, because you're stuck with it." Rosalina informed.
"Hm-hm, fine by me." Peach giggled, seeming more than content.
"We should head for the Shrine of Stars as soon as possible." Navi suggested.
&nbs
p; "The Shrine of Stars? That's that place where the Door of Stars is, right?" Daisy recalled.
"Exactly." Navi confirmed.
"Well how do we find it?" Mario questioned, Peach creating purple hearts around her hands and giggling in the background.
"According to this book, the portal that leads to the Shrine of Stars lies where the Princess of the Galaxies crashed onto our world." Navi answered.
"That's just right over that way on Shooting Star Summit, then." Mario thought aloud, looking down the path due east from the castles northern front.
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Daisy laughed, seeming enthusiastic.
"AH HAH HAH!" Link abruptly laughed. "Well said, ginger!"
"Stop calling me that!"
Link, Navi, Rosalina, Daisy, and Luigi proceeded to make their way towards Shooting Star Summit on this beautiful morning. Mario proceeded to follow them, stopping as he saw
Peach and Toadsworth were remaining on the stone bridge.
"Go on ahead." Peach smiled. "I'll be just a sec."
Mario gave a toothless smile, following behind the group as they crossed a white bridge that lead to Shooting Star Summit.
"There's not really scary powerful monsters in the Shrine of Stars, is there?"
"GET A GRIP!"
"So I guess your adventure begins now…" Toadsworth sighed, not meeting the Princesses eyes.
"Aww, don't be sad Toadsworth." Peach cooed, tilting her head with a closed eyed toothless smile. "As long as I'm with Mario, I'll be okay."
"I don't like you venturing out into danger, is all!" Toadsworth barked. "It's foolhardy."
"I understand Toadsworth." Peach somberly replied. "But these are dangerous times."
Toadsworth had a somber expression as Peach continued to speak: "We're the ones that have to go and put a stop to all this danger, it seems. But we're strong, so we'll be
fine."
There was a short pause.
"So don't worry, okay?" Peach smiled, her head tilted.
Toadsworth gave a very weak half smile, looking into her eyes now. Peach turned around and gave a wave while walking towards Shooting Star Summit.
"I'll be around lots, so turn that frown upside down, okay?" Peach laughed, waving with a big smile as she walked towards Shooting Star Summit.
Toadsworth said nothing back, smiling a little more as he waved back to her. Eventually, as she left his sight, he lowered his hand, staring in the direction she went -the morning sun shining on the elderly Toad's face.
-Shooting Star SummitGathered
around Rosalina's crash site atop the purple summit was Mario, Daisy, Luigi, Link, Navi, Peach, and the Princess of the Galaxies herself. Little orbs of light danced
around Rosalina's crash spot.
"Such pretty light…" Peach awed, examining the phenomena in wonder.
"Hand me the book, if you would." Rosalina requested, levitating above the purple earth as she extended her hand.
"Of course." Link accepted, digging in his pockets and revealing the old red text with a yellow star on it's front -passing it to the Princess of the Galaxies.
Rosalina accepted the Legend of the Crystal Stars, and hovered closer to the sunken crater she had created -little orbs of light dancing around it. She opened the book and
flipped through the first few pages, her cyan eyes skimming over the text as she quickly read the Luma language. After finding a particular phrase of interest -she pointed at
the sentence with a finger, her nail polish purple. She began to utter the language that was impossible to write out in english characters. Almost instantly afterward the little
orbs of light raced into the ground and created a blue column of light only four feet in height.
"Wow…" Peach awed.
"Step inside there and you shall be taken to the Shrine of Stars." Rosalina informed.
"Cool -me first!" Daisy quickly awed, charging for the portal.
"H-Hey!" Mario barked, following behind.
Daisy ran into the portal, her presence breaking up into little orbs of orange light which then zoomed into the sky -staying within the diameter of the portal's column of light.
The same thing happened to Mario as he charged into the portal shortly after, only his orbs of light were red.
"T-THEY EXPLODED? IS THIS THING EVEN SAFE?" Luigi panicked, his eyes bulging and teeth sharp.
"AH HAH HAH!" Link laughed, walking towards the portal. "Guess there's only one way to find out!"
Link walked into the portal as well, his presence breaking up into little orbs of green light which then zoomed into the sky -staying within the diameter of the portal's column of
light.
"Hm-hm, guess I'm next!" Peach giggled, walking towards the portal -the same phenomenon happening only with pink orbs of light.
Luigi was shivering nervously, Rosalina hovering nearby with the Legend of the Crystal Stars down at her side.
"Well come on." Rosalina rushed, with a slight smile. "What are you waiting for?"
"Gah?" Luigi barked, Rosalina snapping him out of it. "R-Right…"
Luigi stared at the column of light, which was only about four feet in height. He gulped, some sweat drops present on his forehead. "Here goes…"
"GWAAAAH!" Luigi cried, running into the portal of light with his arms stretched skyward -that pose breaking into multiple light green orbs of light as he entered the column -
rising skyward shortly afterward with great velocity and staying within the diameter of the column.
Everyone else gone, Rosalina then hovered into the portal of light, the same phenomenon repeating for her only with blue orbs of light.
-The Shrine Of StarsThe
Shrine of Stars was incredible. It was essentially just a large column of light with a large diameter. It's walls looked just like a starry night, which slowly moved around
peacefully. The flooring was pure black, making it feel as though you were falling through it. The ceiling looked the same, giving the spectator the sense that this place was
endless in height, which in fact it was. The most important feature of the Shrine of Stars though, was the stationary Door of Stars against the wall, that was littered with all
sorts of Luma lore, the most key feature of this star symbolism the seven major star outlines that went around the shape of the door; three on either side and one on the top.
Another key feature lied in the middle of the shrine, the Pedestal of Stars. It was a simple flat stone star that was raised above the black flooring by a small flat stone circle.
On the opposite side of the Door of Stars was the same column of light that Rosalina had created back at Shooting Star Summit. Orbs of orange, red, green, pink, light green,
and blue light flew from the portal and created their respective people a few feet from the column. The six of them examined the Shrine of Stars in speechless wonder, Rosalina
and Link a little more calm about it then the others.
"Beautiful place." Link noted, with a calm smile.
"Indeed." Rosalina calmly agreed.
"Beautiful? It's absolutely gorgeous!" Daisy insisted, much more enthusiastic.
"This is freakin' cool!" Luigi laughed, his fists clenched in excitement. "WAH! WE'RE FALLING!"
"WE'RE NOT FALLING IDIOT!" Daisy scolded, her teeth sharp.
"This is so pretty!" Peach awed, her blue eyes sparkling in wonder. "Aww, kiss me Mario!"
Luigi, Daisy, Rosalina, and Link featured comedic sweat drops behind their heads, Peach trying to give the blushing Mario a kiss in the background, who was trying to his best
to lean away from her lips. "H-Hey, what's the big idea! Cut it out already!"
A glimmering sound accompanied Navi as she flew from Link's hat.
"This must be the place." Navi informed. "We've made it to the Shrine of Stars."
"So that's the Door of Stars, then?" Daisy noted, looking at the amazing door across the shrine.
"
IT'S FREAKIN' HUGE!" Luigi awed, his eyes bulging from his head and teeth sharp.
"Yup." Link laughed. "Sealed tight, too. The only thing that'll open that is the seven Crystal Stars."
"Well why are we here, then?" Mario questioned. "We don't even have a single Crystal Star!"
"By holding this book up high on the Pedestal of Stars here, the location of the first Crystal Star we'll be shown to us." Rosalina explained, hovering ahead of the group and
towards the central Pedestal of Stars. "According to this book, anyway."
"Oh, I see." Peach acknowledged. "So we'll learn about the Crystal Star, find it, come back here with it, and learn about the next one?"
"That's the idea." Link answered. "Rinse and repeat until you've got all seven."
"Ugh, what a pain." Mario grumbled, his arms folded. "Just how long is that suppose to take anyway?"
"Beats me. Could be days, weeks… Years even." Link answered.
"No way am I waiting until we gather all of these things to go and take down Grodus!" Mario barked from behind, his fist clenched in anger.
"AH HAH HAH!" Link abruptly laughed, his arms folded and back facing Mario. "Rest assured, we will be taking down Grodus long before that happens."
Mario said nothing, lowering his fist with slightly clenched teeth. Rosalina was now hovering before the Pedestal, all eyes on her. She made her way onto it, and without a word
she held the Legend of the Crystal Stars up high above her.
"Oh!" Peach calmly barked, her eyes widening as the red text with a yellow star on it's front started to shine with divine light.
Everyone else watched the phenomenon in awe, again, some more calm than others. Eventually the divine light faded from the book. Rosalina opened it, and proceeded to
inspect the new page.
"It's a picture." Rosalina informed.
"A picture?" Luigi barked, his arms folded.
The gang gathered around, all looking at the book opened in Rosalina's hands. On the new page that was created was a picture of a massive volcano. Atop this volcano was a
diamond coloured Crystal Star.
"According to this book the first Crystal Star lies somewhere in this volcano…" Rosalina informed.
"Hmm…" Link pondered, a hand on chin in thought.
"Hey, isn't that Corona Mountain?" Mario recognized, examining the picture.
A Girl of the Future Page 34
