A Girl of the Future

by Vanessa Krowd

-Toad Brigade Captain- (CAPTAIN) TOAD

  "DA DA DA DA!" Toad cheered, a whistle accenting his cheer. "Toad Brigade Captain Captain Toad, reporting for duty SIR!"

  "On top of defending her Majesty and routing the enemy, the Princess has given you specific orders to meet up with Link, a Hylian swordsman that is working with them."

  Toadsworth informed. "Is that clear?"

  "Defend the princess… defeat the enemy… rendezvous with the Hylian Swordsman…" Toad recalled, spinning on one foot and spreading his arms in joy. "OH YEAH! LOUD AND

  CLEAR!"

  "Tee hee, he's always like, SO noisy." Lana T. laughed, a cute smile.

  "Tsk, that's our captain for ya." Swor T. scoffed. "Am I right, Ax?"

  "Hmm…" Ax T. growled, rubbing his beard with closed eyes in thought.

  "Good! THEN GET OUT THERE AND RAISE SOME BLOODY HELL, I SAY!" Toadsworth roared, his face red and finger sharply raised. "RAISE SOME BLOODY HELL INDEED!"

  "YEAH!" The Toad Brigade roared, racing lines accenting their epic cry, weapons raised.

  "Cough, cough, wheeze…" Toadsworth wheezed, pounding his chest with a fist. "Hoo boy. I'm not as young as I used to be…"

  CORONA MOUNTAIN

  Level Two: Spring Hell -MarioSmoke

  zoomed from behind Mario's feet as he raced through the spring hell, making his way up and around the mountain -approaching Level 3 quickly and making great time.

  As he passed a stone against a rock wall littered with exotic flora, a green fuzzy peeked from behind the stone. It then proceeded to hop after him.

  "Huh?" Mario barked, his eyes darting to the left.

  An epic screech echoed through the mountain as Mario came to a halt with his heels. He turned around and got in a fighting stance, examining the strange green creature that

  bounced towards him.

  "What the hell is that thing?" Mario barked.

  "UGH!" Mario grunted, his fist extended -the fuzzy's face squashed against his gloved fist in the captured moment.

  The fuzzy made a boing as it bounced backward, falling to the dirt and disappearing with a poof. Before Mario could even turn around, another green fuzzy jumped on his back.

  "What the- EYAH!" Mario cried, as the fuzzy bit into his shoulder.

  The green Fuzzy slowly started to suck the life out of Mario, causing him to drop to one knee -one eye closed and teeth clenched.

  "The hell is this?" Mario growled, ripping the fuzzy off of him and tossing it forward.

  Before Mario could even stand again two more fuzzes jumped on his backs and sunk their teeth in.

  "EYAAAGH!" Mario cried, now lying on the dirt of the spring hell.

  The Fuzzy he thrown jumped back on his downed body, joining the other two Fuzzies that were slowly but surely sucking the life from him.

  (D-Dammit…) Mario cursed, struggling to keep his eyes open as he lied there on the dirt. (I… I feel so… damn… tired…)

  Two more Fuzzies jumped onto Mario's downed body, the nasty little critters getting in on what little energy remained in the downed hero. Mario's eyes barely opened back up

  for a quick second, slowly and gently closing as he continued to have the life sucked out of him from the Fuzzies native to Corona Mountains Spring Hell. His eyes shut close as

  his energy rapidly approached zero, the downed hero feeling his life fleeting from him as he drifted to an eternal sleep.

  One two three -cause we'reRunning

  ever faster, running ever faster,

  I know we'll catch up, -with, our, dreams -cause we'reRunning

  ever faster, running ever faster,

  I know we'll get there one, of these DAYS!

  SUPER MARIO: LEGEND OF THE CRYSTAL STARS (Corona Mountain Arc)

  Bowser has allied with General Grodus, and plans on helping him take control of the Mushroom Kingdom with the aid of an X-Missile, which is set to launch at sunset. After Mario's brave act against the X-Naut Captain Waluigi, Peach found the courage she needed to refuse to back down. Although the Mushroom Kingdom is safe from Grodus for

  awhile longer, if our heroes don't defeat Bowser and stop the X-Missile before sunset, Toad Town and much of the Mushroom Kingdom will be covered in the inner magma of

  Corona Mountain.

  Current Locations:

  Mario: Corona Mountain, Level Two

  Luigi & Link: Trans-Mushroom Highway

  Daisy: Outside Peach Castle

  Mario makes his way through Level 2, and Peach leaves the crowd of citizens to Princess Daisy.

  "FIRE BALL!" Mario cried, firing fire balls from his open palm as he ran towards the incoming enemy.

  "FIRE STOMP!" Mario cried, his flaming boot smashing the Piranha Plant's head into the earth of Level 2, the slightly blackened and squashed head sticking it's tongue out in

  defeat.

  "Great! Daisy, can I trust you to have everything under control here?" Peach continued, looking at Daisy on her right.

  "Oh yeah, I've got this!" Daisy laughed with a confident grin, thumbing to herself.

  "Alright." Peach nodded, turning towards the main doors of her castle. "Now I just need to find Rosalina and I'll be ready to go."

  While Peach searches for Rosalina, Toadsworth rallies up the Toad Brigade, the Toadstool families greatest force!

  "On top of defending her Majesty and routing the enemy, the Princess has given you specific orders to meet up with Link, a Hylian swordsman that is working with them."

  Toadsworth informed. "Is that clear?"

  "Defend the princess… defeat the enemy… rendezvous with the Hylian Swordsman…" Toad recalled, spinning on one foot and spreading his arms in joy. "OH YEAH! LOUD AND

  CLEAR!"

  "Good! THEN GET OUT THERE AND RAISE SOME BLOODY HELL, I SAY!" Toadsworth roared, his face red and finger sharply raised. "RAISE SOME BLOODY HELL INDEED!"

  "YEAH!" The Toad Brigade roared, racing lines accenting their epic cry, weapons raised.

  Things seem good back at the castle, but things have taken a dangerous turn for Mario at Corona Mountain's Spring Hell!

  "What the- EYAH!" Mario cried, as the fuzzy bit into his shoulder.

  The green Fuzzy slowly started to suck the life out of Mario, causing him to drop to one knee -one eye closed and teeth clenched.

  "The hell is this?" Mario growled, ripping the fuzzy off of him and tossing it forward.

  Before Mario could even stand again two more fuzzies jumped on his backs and sunk their teeth in.

  "EYAAAGH!" Mario cried, now lying on the dirt of the spring hell.

  The Fuzzy he thrown jumped back on his downed body, joining the other two Fuzzies that were slowly but surely sucking the life from him.

  (D-Dammit…) Mario cursed, struggling to keep his eyes open as he lied there on the dirt. (I… I feel so… damn… tired…)

  Two more Fuzzies jumped onto Mario's downed body, the nasty little critters getting in on what little energy remained in the downed hero. Mario's eyes barely opened back up

  for a quick second, slowly and gently closing as he continued to have the life sucked out of him from the Fuzzies native to Corona Mountains Spring Hell. His eyes shut close as

  his energy rapidly approached zero, the downed hero feeling his life fleeting from him as he drifted to an eternal sleep.

  Chapter 11: An Unexpected Encounter!

  CORONA MOUNTAIN

  Level 2: Spring Hell -MarioThere

  Mario lie, an arm weakly stretched before him as a group of green Fuzzies sucked what little life remained from his downed body. Mario's eyes were gently closed as he

  lied against the dirt of Corona Mountain's spring hell. Memories of earlier that day rushed back to him.

  Mario stood with his back to Peach, his eyes concealed his shadow and fists clenched down at his sides -arms relaxed. Princess Peach was standing next to her bed behind

  him, choking and sobbing as gleaming tears streamed down her face.

  "P-Promise?" Peach choked
.

  Mario's eyes suddenly harshly opened, as if his memory of something that happened earlier that day awakened and totally revitalized him.

  "FIRE TORNADO!" Mario cried, spinning around with clenched fists in a fiery whirlwind, blackened Fuzzies flying away from him in all directions.

  Time appeared to be in slow motion as Mario stood in the concluding position, blackened green Fuzzies slowly flying away from him. The beak of his hat concealed his eyes, his

  teeth clenched -flames slowly flickering on his fists. Time resumed speed and all of the fuzzes flew away, Mario continuing to sprint towards Level 3 of Corona Mountain with a

  grunt.

  "I'M COMING BOWSER!" Mario roared, smoke flying from his feet as he ran around the bend.

  -Peach Castle, 2FPrincess

  Peach knocked on the guest bedroom door, which was recently refurnished for Rosalina -Link refusing an offer for his own room.

  "Rosalina?" Peach summoned, waiting patiently for a response.

  Sometime passed, Peach losing patience quickly as they were in a bit of a rush. She placed her hand on the doorknob and knocked another time before opening it. "I'm coming

  in, Rosalina."

  Peach walked in as she opened the door. The guest room was totally refurnished for Rosalina. Hardwood flooring with warm orange walls, a rock pond with a gentle fountain,

  bonsai and azalea trees, the whole room was incredibly relaxing and very zen. There was even a beautiful painting of a cherry blossom tree with stray petals on the wall near

  the rock pond. Like the other rooms, it did feature it's own private bathroom but not an elevator that leads to the parking complex on floor B1. Relaxing room aside, Peach was

  standing in it alone.

  "She's not here…" Peach thought aloud, her hands neatly together, arms in V formation.

  Peach stepped outside of the room, closing the door gently behind her. She proceeded to walk down the halls of the second floor, making her way towards the first floor.

  "Where could she be?" Peach thought aloud, a slight frown on her face.

  -Outside Peach CastleThe

  crowd was in high spirits outside of Peach Castle. Mushroom Kingdom News still had their eyes on the scene, the massive T.V. now broadcasting the time of day, which

  read 17:03. With only three hours remaining and Peach's forces making their way to Corona Mountain, the fate of the Mushroom Kingdom was up in the air.

  "I bet Mario's halfway up the mountain already!"

  "Not only that, Peach is bringing tons of backup!"

  "Bowser doesn't stand a chance!"

  "This will be over before sunset!"

  "YEAH!"

  Daisy seemed to be zoned out, looking downward with a very somber expression.

  "What? WAH HAH HAH!" Waluigi abruptly laughed. "Daisy's your friend, is she? Well you can tell her that all her people are living in hell under his ruling! WAH HAH HAH!"

  "Her men are working their asses off in weapon factories, and her women are sold as slaves! Grodus is a powerful, wealthy man with many connections!" Waluigi explained, his

  expression angry as he yelled at Mario. "You think you can just run in here all by yourself and try to screw up his plans? Ha! Don't make me laugh!"

  "Daisy…"

  Daisy didn't respond to the call, seeming lost in her own thoughts. "Daisy!"

  "Huh?" Daisy barked, calmly snapping out of it.

  One of the nine Toad Guards standing at the end of the bridge and separating her from the crowd was looking back at her.

  "Right." Daisy acknowledged, briefly looking down with a somber expression.

  Daisy raised a fist skyward, racing lines accompanying her as she yelled to the crowd.

  "WE'VE GOT THIS EVERYBODY! BOWSER AND HIS MEN DON'T STAND A CHANCE!"

  "YEAH!" The crowd roared, racing lines accenting the powerful cheer emitting from the epic mass.

  Daisy faced the crowd with a soft smile, her fist still raised in the air. She sure knows how to put on a tough front, but what true feelings lie beyond her beautiful blue eyes?

  -Peach Castle, 1FPrincess

  Peach opened the door to the Royal Lounge, her blonde haired head taking a peek inside. The T.V was off, the couches and armchairs were empty, and the minibar

  was deserted. Not seeing Rosalina, Peach closed the door.

  "My oh my, where is she?" Peach thought aloud. "I've checked everywhere."

  Peach surveyed the first floor once again. She checked Rosalina's bedroom, she checked Peach Rink, Peach Court, the Library, the Royal Lounge, but then it hit her. She

  hadn't checked the kitchen. The blue door with the yellow star was staring her in the face as the search came back to life.

  (Could she be in the kitchen?) Peach thought, her head tilted.

  -Peach Castle, 1F KitchenThe

  kitchen of Peach Castle, although small and quaint, was five star. Only the best ingredients found their way inside here, and the bookshelf to the far right was littered with

  expensive cookbooks by Gourmet Chef's from all over the world, some of them very rare. There was a massive brick oven and a big wooden table in the centre of the kitchen. Wearing a flour stained apron with her hair tied back in a pony tail at the wooden table was Rosalina, Navi fluttering near her head as she wiped a sweat.

  "They look great, Rosalina!" Peach heard Navi cheer as she opened the door to the kitchen, gently closing the door behind her. "Aha, you think so?"

  "Here you are!" Peach exclaimed, finally finding Rosalina.

  "Oh! P-Princess!" Rosalina gasped, her eyes widening a little bit as her unexpected guest approached her. "S-Sorry, I guess I should have asked before using your kitchen…"

  "No, please, use it as much as you like!" Peach smiled.

  "Look what Rosalina made, Peach!" Navi exclaimed.

  "Oh?" Peach softly barked, directing her attention to the wooden table.

  Time seemed to be in slow motion as a pan of unique cookies glistened with perfection. By "unique", I mean each cookie was shaped like a particular person. There was a

  cookie shaped like Mario jumping, decorated with coloured icing so that it looked like his 8-bit sprite. The same situation applied for Luigi, Peach, Link, -Rosalina and Daisy

  having star and flower shaped cookies, respectively.

  "Oh! Oh my…" Peach stumbled, impressed. She was quick to act normal -a closed eyed toothless smile on her face. "S-So, I guess this is where you two have been?"

  (Wow, that looks much better than my baking! Where did she learn to do that?) Peach thought to herself, a closed eyed toothless smile on her face -comedic sweat drop

  behind her head. (I wonder what will happen if Mario tries one of these…)

  A thought cloud spawned above Peach's head, a comedic doodle of Mario and Peach present in her head holding hands. A doodle of Rosalina walked up to them with their

  respective cookies in hand.

  "Here guys, try this." Rosalina ordered, offering the cookies.

  "Oh, a cookie!" Mario exclaimed, accepting the cookie and tossing the whole thing in his mouth.

  Peach took a bite out of hers.

  "Gulp! Wow, this is so much better than Peach's baking!" Mario exclaimed, letting go of her hand. "I'll be your boyfriend instead!"

  The doodle of Peach was stunned as Mario walked away with Rosalina, the two of them holding hands and laughing.

  Peach had a frown on her face as she stood there in thought. The thought cloud dissipated as Navi proceeded to speak.

  "Don't they just look like the most delicious cookies you've ever seen?" Navi praised.

  "N-Navi, please." Rosalina eased, a blush on her face.

  "Y-Yeah, they look pretty good alright." Peach agreed, a closed eyed toothless smile on her face -a comedic tear behind her head.

  "S-Sorry I went inside, Princess." Rosalina shyly apologized, not making eye contact with her. "I umm, I don't do very well in front of cameras."

  "It's fine.
" Peach assured, with a hand. "And please, call me Peach."

  "O-Okay." Rosalina quietly mumbled, not meeting her eyes.

  "Anyway, what's up? Still sounds pretty noisy out there." Navi noted.

  "Yes, Daisy's got everything under control out there now." Peach explained. "I've got Toadsworth dealing with the Toad Brigade, so they should be heading to Corona Mountain

  soon."

  "Great! So now were heading there, right?" Navi questioned.

  "Mm-hm." Peach nodded.

  "Mario, Link, and Luigi are already there, right?" Rosalina questioned.

  "Presumably." Peach answered. "Mario made quite a scene there already."

  "You'll have to tell us about it on the way there." Navi hushed, fluttering before the clock, which read 17:33. "We've gotta go!"

  "Yeah sure, just…" Peach started, grabbing a few ingredients real quick. "Just let me whip up a quick little something…"

  "Peach!" Navi hissed.

  "Oh, it'll just take a second!" Peach silenced.

  CORONA MOUNTAIN

  Level 6: Summit -X-MissileLevel

  5:

  Level 4:

  Level 3: Summer Hell -MarioLevel

  2: Spring Hell

  Level 1: Foot

  There is a portion of the helical path that experiences the severe temperatures of summer. This is Level 3; the Summer Hell. The path is cracked and the air is dry, not a

  drop of water to be found anywhere. Podoboos hopped carelessly along the helical path of Level 3, increasing in size dramatically whenever an enemy approached. Hotheads

  crawled along the mountain path as well, the temperature of the environment being 50C (or 122F or 323.15K, if you prefer) -which is above what a normal human could

  survive. Mario however, felt no effects of the hot temperature thanks to his newfound fire powers. He continued to run through Level 3, making his way to Level 4 with little

  trouble.

  "Out of my way!" Mario growled, smashing a Podoboo with his fist and sending it flying off of the edge -an impossible feat for most.

  Mario continued to run around the bend, two X-Nauts wearing specialized grey suits that kept their body temperature low in the deadly heat spotting the incoming intruder.

  "Shit, someone made it up here already?"

  "What do we do, man?"

  "Move!" Mario growled, bringing his left fist back and right palm forward. "FIRE BALL!"