- SUPER MARIO -
BOOK I - The Princess of the Galaxies
goldenwhackabump
/ Cover art by sakimichan /
Chapter 1 - The Star Festival
The Mushroom Kingdom is a great wide wacky world filled with colourful hills, strange creatures, bright golden coins, and memorable characters. Princess Peach Toadstool is the royal ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. She and her friends live in Peach Castle near the kingdoms capital city, Mushroom City, which is a sprawling metropolis that possesses a very modern feel. Tonight, Mushroom City is especially bustling. That's because tonight is a once in a lifetime event: the Star Festival.
According to legend, there is a magical woman who sleeps for a thousand years. During this long period of slumber, she continuously drifts throughout space like a comet, encompassed by the energy of the Goddess herself. This enigmatic woman is referred to as the Princess of the Galaxies. Legend has it, that once she returns to our world, the energy of the Goddess around her will rain down onto the world in the form of colourful Goddess Stars. These Goddess Stars are believed by some to grant amazing powers to those who obtain them.
Remarkably, based on that very legend, tonight marks the thousandth year. People from all over the world eagerly face the skies tonight, anticipating the descent of brightly coloured stars. This, is the Star Festival.
Our story begins in Mushroom City, on the eve of the Star Festival. A fabulous stage was set up in the main square of central Mushroom City. Big lights were directed onto the red velvet stage, which was the set for tonights concert. The drum kit shells were deep scarlet, in order to match the suits that each of the performing band members wore. Tonights performers were currently tuning their instruments in preparation for "the big show" which was how Pauline, the band leader, had been referring to it. The band members were five Toads with red spots, all wearing sunglasses.
The band leader Pauline, who also happened to be the Mayor of Mushroom City, was now standing before the stage with the famous Mario brothers. Mario was rubbing his chin in thought and Luigi was scratching his head as the worrisome brown haired woman wearing a scarlet dress and matching sunhat was tapping her black heel in angst.
"Where exactly is the Princess?" Pauline sighed, purple eye shadow on her closed eyes. "At this rate, she's going to miss the festival."
"I mean, not that I care, really." Pauline continued with a rather relaxed shrug. Pauline was a very busy woman indeed, and reserved little sympathy for those who weren't punctual.
"But can the show really start without Peach?" Luigi ventured to ask, hand on chin in thought.
"I suppose it can't." Pauline sighed. "How rude of her to be so late on such an occasion."
"I'm sure there's a good reason for this." Mario assured, with a hand.
"Time is running out, though..." Luigi admitted, raising a fair point. "What do you think, Mario? How about we go back to the castle and check things out?"
"Oh yeah!" Mario agreed, his posture full of life as he gave a nod.
"Oh, great idea, Luigi." Pauline agreed. "You guys go and get her. I'll take care of things here."
"You got it, Miss Mayor!" Luigi agreed, giving a salute. "We're off!"
"Please hurry!" Pauline called, Mario and Luigi already running away with a skip in their steps.
Mario simply threw a wave in acknowledgement, not turning back to face the Mayor in scarlet as he ran ahead with his brother. Together, the Mario brothers ran through the bustling city. Several Toads turned and cheered in excitement as they passed.
"Hey Mario!"
"Mario you rock!"
"Luigi! Give us a jump!"
"Mario! My man!"
Mario and Luigi smiled and waved at the various cheers from the admiring civilians they were passing. Eventually they arrived at the northern gate, which was the interphase between cobblestone road and dirt path. The golden barred gate with a star emblem was wide open, which separated Mushroom City and the dirt road which led to Peach Castle. This road was known as Castle Road. Starting to get tuckered out, Mario and Luigi slowed to a side by side walk as they travelled down Castle Road. The lovely Peach Castle rested on the dimly lit horizon.
"The Star Festival, huh?" Luigi started, rubbing his chin imaginatively. "What do you think, Mario? About the woman, I mean. The one who has supposedly been sleeping for the last thousand years. Think the stories are true?"
"Hmm... I don't know, Luigi." Mario replied, also rubbing his chin in thought. He gave a smile. "But I'll bet it's true!"
"Really?" Luigi laughed. "You're so gullible, Mario. You'll believe any old legend. I mean, one thousand years of soaring through space? How would you even survive that? I know that I would be one hungry guy."
"Hmm... I'm not sure." Mario admitted, perplexed.
"Well, if it is true, do you think she's pretty?" Luigi wondered, seeming lost in romantic thought. "I mean, the girls from legends like that are always elegant and beautiful, right?"
Mario smiled with his brother, the two of them continuing their walk and talk as they made their way towards Peach Castle.
"Still, it's unlike the Princess to be late for anything, let alone something as once-in-a-lifetimey as this." Luigi recalled, seeming anxious. "You... don't suppose something happened while we were out helping Pauline set up, do you?"
"Hmm..." Mario pondered, looking downward in closed eyed thought. He looked back at his brother with a smile. "I'm sure she's okay. The Toad Brigade is with her, after all."
"Yeah, I'm sure you're right." Luigi agreed, the two of them approaching the cobblestone bridge that crosses the moat and leads to the main entrance of Peach Castle. "I don't think even Bowser is heartless enough to try and disrupt the Star Festival."
/
The ominous room was dark and damp. The pink dress of a downed blonde haired woman provided contrast in the darkness. With a moan, she lifted her drowsy head, using her hands as she raised her chest off of the ground. Atop her head was a golden crown embedded with rubies and sapphires, which almost sparkled, even in the darkness.
"Ooh, what happened?" Peach questioned, turning her head to survey her darkened surroundings. "So dark… I can not see a single thing."
She raised a rather petite and delicate hand before her face, the white of her opera glove scarcely visible in the darkness.
"Just where exactly am I, anyway?" Peach asked herself, examining the reverse side of her hand briefly before lowering it.
A rat scurried past abruptly within the darkness.
"KYAAAAAH!" Peach squealed, lunging to a stand in fear.
BONK! CRASH!
"Owww..." Peach groaned, harshly sitting back down with her gloved hands clasping the top of her head. Three squiggly red lines radiated from the top of her head, to symbolize the throbbing pain she felt. Her crown was now resting upon the ground after causing a deafening crash.
"Ooh, what on earth is the meaning of this!" Peach whined, feeling all around her in the darkness, sensing thin iron bars. "What is this? Am I... in a cage?"
Suddenly, a massive stone double door roared open. Dense rays of light shun upon the imprisoned Princess, which caused her to shield her eyes with a frail arm. She was locked up in a large cage which rested upon cold stone tile. The light revealed some wooden crates and green barrels that were positioned behind the cage. The barrels featured a spiked steel ring around the top and bottom and a Bowser logo painted in red on its front. Peach featured slightly clenched teeth as she shielded her squinting eyes from the light with her petite arm. She eventually adjusted to it, recognizing the two silhouettes that stood at the doorway.
A booming voice happily disturbed the silence. "Hey, hey! Guess who!"
"Ugh, I should have known." Peach growled, turning and facing in the other direction. Her back now faced her unwelcome guests. "Go away, please."
"Hey, don't be like that!" Bowser sang, the massive spiky shelled koopa featuring a cocky grin. "How 'bout a smile?"
"NYEAH HYEH HYEH!" Kammy Koopa cackled, the old magikoopa dressed in purple robes standing at Bowser's side. "To ask the princess for a smile! How hilarious, your Heartlessness!"
"I'll "smile" once Mario comes along and kicks your butt for the umpteenth time!" Princess Peach countered, her arms folded and back facing her captors. "Goodness, when will you ever learn that Mario always wins?"
"Mario, Mario, Mario... Mario this, Mario that." Bowser thought aloud, his arms folded as he looked downward in closed eyed thought. "Is that guy all you ever blab on about?"
"Say whatever you want, but you will be defeated. As always!" Peach countered, on her knees and facing them now with her gloved hands clasped around the bars. "Mario will come and save me! In fact, he is already on his way, as we speak!"
"Oh?" Bowser sang, with a big grin. "Mario will come and save you, you say?"
"Mm." Peach confidently confirmed, with a nod.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that…" Bowser declined, turning his back to the princess with folded arms.
"What ever do you mean?" Peach questioned, her hands still clasped around the bars imprisoning her.
Bowser turned his head towards Kammy beside him with a grin, his arms still folded and back facing the princess. "Kammy!"
"Yes, your Awfulness." Kammy Koopa acknowledged, walking towards Princess Peach with a gnarly grin.
Peach grew uneasy. Her blue eyes were glistening slightly as she nervously backed away from the bars, eventually backing up into the other side of the cage as Kammy Koopa drew nearer.
"W-What are you doing? Hey, d-do not come any closer!" Peach warned, helplessly backed against the cage. "I mean it! I will scream, r-really! I will even curse, if I must!"
Kammy Koopa stopped in place, but not because Peach told her too. Close to Peach's cage, she revealed a crystal ball and held its underside with a gnarly hand. With her other hand, she did some strange finger wavy movements above it, causing the ball to fill up with fog.
"Silence, now... Crystal ball, crystal ball… What will bring destruction to us all?" Kammy Koopa chanted, working her magic.
"What?" Peach gasped, not seeming very pleased. "Just what is this, anyway?"
Bowser laughed evilly under his breath, now looking into the crystal ball as well.
Peach looked at the manic Bowser with a slightly nervous expression, facing the glowing crystal ball before her again afterward. Eventually, the vision of a platinum blonde haired woman in a blue dress with closed eyes was revealed within the parting fog of the crystal ball. She looked as though she was moving at a high velocity. Peach tilted her head slightly in wonder, curious of who this mysterious woman was.
"NYEAH HEH HEH!" Kammy Koopa cackled, swiping an arm to hide her face behind a robed sleeve, concluding the fortune in the process. "Can't you see Princess? You are your kingdom are doomed! You will all be destroyed in a swift and cruel end!"
"What?" Peach declined, clenching her fists in anger. "Impossible! This is nonsense!"
"Bwahahaha..." Bowser laughed slowly, his voice almost devoid of life. Peach shrieked as his head was upside down but still attached, eyes pulsing with an unsettling purple glow. "It'S oVeR... No OnE cAn SaVe YoU nOw..."
Peach was sweating nervously, kicking backward in a panic until she was against the back of the cage again. Bowser was rushing as fast as he could to open up the cage, because he was starting to melt. Kammy Koopa was cackling boisterously, as she herself was melting too. Peach was breathing heavily in a panic. Her entire world was spinning. She shielded herself and gave a helpless cry:
"Kyeeeaaaaaah!"
/
An exclamation mark appeared over the heads of Mario, Luigi, Toadsworth, and Daisy, who were all standing outside of Peach's bedroom door. Daisy was wearing her classic orange dress, but there was no crown upon her ginger brown hair.
"Did you hear that?" Luigi gasped, his eyes widened. "She just cried out!"
"Of course we heard that, dummy!" Daisy barked, hands on her hips. "We're all standing right here!"
"Great galloping Goombas, so she IS in there!" Toadsworth cried with a leap, walking up to the door and knocking on it once again. "Princess! Princess, open the door!"
"O-Oh?" Princess Peach gasped, sitting up in her pink canopy bed.
White blankets were covering her legs, pink pyjamas donned. Her hair was a little messy, her eyes a little teary from what appeared to be an awful nightmare. The room was dimly lit, full of pink and white decor as well as a few plants. It was very clean and spacious. A pink exclamation mark appeared over her head as she heard muffled voices calling out to her from beyond her bedroom door.
"I say, unlock this door this instant! What on earth is going on?"
Toadsworth knocked again, and the next voice was Daisy.
"Peach, are you okay? What's going on in there?"
(I was asleep?) Peach thought, her eyes rather intense. She had no memory of falling asleep, or going to bed. Why was she asleep? The persistent knocking snapped her out of her thoughts.
"J-Just a moment, please!" Peach called out, racing out of bed.
The gang waited patiently outside, three dots repeatedly forming (one two three one two three) above their heads as they stood in patient stances. After several minutes, Peach had finally opened the bedroom door. She looked like her usual self, dressed in a pink dress with a crown delicately placed atop her blonde haired head. She looked apologetic as she reunited with everyone, who all seemed relieved to see that she was doing fine.
"My sincerest apologies, everyone. I-I was asleep." Peach informed, quite embarrassed.
"ASLEEP?!" Daisy, Luigi, Mario, and Toadsworth gawked in near unison.
"But how could you possibly be asleep on a night like tonight!" Luigi cried, slouched heavily in astonished disbelief.
"It is strange... I do not remember going to bed. I do not even remember feeling tired, in fact." Peach softly explained, looking downward and to the right with a somber expression upon her face. "Not too mention, I had the strangest nightmare. It was... horrible."
"That is strange, Princess. Quite strange indeed." Toadsworth agreed, hand on chin in thought. Mario and Luigi were doing the same, also in thought. "I say, I certainly hope you are not suffering from some sort of rare, incurable disease!"
"Aint that just a bit dramatic?" Daisy dismissed, with folded arms. She pointed a finger of reason, hand on her hip. "Besides, can't we all talk about this later? Right now we gotta go! The Star Festival is going to begin very soon!"
"Oh my gosh!" Peach gasped, a pink exclamation mark appearing over her head, hands on her cheeks in surprise. "The Star Festival! I completely forgot!"
"Pauline is waiting for us at central square." Mario explained, waving a hand.
"We might still make it, if we hurry." Luigi added, with eager hands.
"Well then, we shall not waste another second!" Peach declared. "To Mushroom City!"
With that, everyone rushed towards the castle entrance.
/
Back at the central square, Mayor Pauline was anxiously tapping her foot as she stood with folded arms. Her patience was wearing thin. An eager crowd of all ages were gathered all around the stage, anxiously awaiting for the performance that was expected to accompany the rapidly approaching highlight of the Star Festival - the apparent raining down of colourful stars. The buzzing of the crowd conversation caused her anxiety to worsen with each passing minute.
"Just where on earth are they?" Pauline growled under her breath, the band behind her remaining silent with their instruments at the ready.
Then, a news van labelled MK News (Mushroom Kingdom News) pulled up to the scene. The news crew quickly proceeded to unload broadcasting equipment as a popular news reporter exited the vehicle. She was a pink spotted Toad with a bit of blonde hair who wore thin glasses. Her name was Jolene. Her red heels clicked as she stepped onto the cobblestone. She adjusted her glasses upon exiting the vehicle.
"Oh perfect, the media is here and those guys are a no show." Pauline sighed, resting the back of her hand on her forehead. She stood with positivity quickly after. "Oh well. Everyone! We'll just have to start without-"
"WAIT!"
Pauline and the band faced to their right, the woman in scarlet shaking her head as she saw Peach and the others running towards the stage.
"You took your sweet time, hun." Pauline stabbed, apparently unafraid to be passive aggressive even with royalty.
"My sincerest apologies. I take full responsibility." Peach admitted, hand over her heart with closed eyes. She surveyed the scene afterwards. The crowd was cheering, and the broadcasters had their sights set on the stage. "Looks like we are all set?"
"Mm-hm." Pauline assured, stepping away from the mic at center stage. "We can kick things off whenever you are ready."
"Okay." Peach smiled, taking a deep breath.
"It's getting dark, Princess." Toadsworth reminded. "The stars could fall at any moment now. You should proceed with the greeting, I say!"
"Yes." Peach agreed, with a nod. Mario and Daisy gave her a smile, Luigi adding a thumbs up. She smiled back.
The news broadcast was focused on center stage, the popular reporter Jolene standing to the left within the shot. LIVE in red was positioned in the bottom left corner of a viewers TV screen.
"Good evening. I'm Jolene, and you're watching MK News. We're here at Central Square in Mushroom City, awaiting the beginning of the fabled Star Festival. It appears that Princess Peach is about to kick things off for us."
Princess Peach placed a white gloved hand on the microphone and spoke into it, her blue eyes bright.
"Good evening, everyone!"
The crowd broke out into a epic cheer. They were happy to see the princess, and they were happy to be out here tonight to witness what was expected to be a spectacular show. The anticipation was at a maximum. Peach gave some time for the excitement to die down before speaking again.
"It truly is quite remarkable that we are all here, together, to witness the night of the thousandth year, is it not? We are all so fortunate to be alive now, so that together we may witness this incredible moment in history: The Star Festival!"
The crowd roared to life once more, clapping and cheering. Peach wasn't clapping, but her friends behind her were. The band members each gave a soft clap, working around the instruments. Peach proceeded to speak again after a few moments.
"Here to start things off for us tonight is our very own Mayor, Miss Pauline! Everyone! Please give her a very warm welcome!"
Everyone clapped and cheered yet again, Peach walking away from the mic and exchanging smiles with Pauline, who approached the microphone and grabbed it with excitement.
"Hello everyone! Are you ready to celebrate?!"
The crowd roared to life, as the band assembled into position. Pauline watched them do so, and upon seeing that they were all set, she faced the crowd again. By this time, the crowd had died down to a manageable level. She timed the band into play:
"One two-"
The band roared to life, and the music captivated the audience almost instantly. Everyone was tapping their foot to the music, and Pauline began to sing.
"Here we go, off the rails-
Don't you know it's time to raise our sails?"
"It's freedom like you never knew."
Luigi snapped his fingers, nodding to the music.
"Don't need bags, or a pass-
Say the word, I'll be there in a flash,
You could say my hat is off to you."
Pauline gently lifted her sunhat a bit, spinning once and grabbing the mic again. The crowd erupted into cheer.
"Oh we can zoom all the way to the moon, from,
this, great wide wacky world!
Jump with me, grab coins with me, oh yeah!"
Then, it happened. Shooting stars began to fall across the sky. Each and everyone one of them had a different colour. Some were purple, some were blue, red, green; any and every colour you could think of was falling from the sky at once. The crowd was looking skyward in awe, but the band didn't miss a beat.
"It's time to jump up in the air! (Jump up in the air)
Jump up, don't be scared! (Jump up don't be scared)
Jump up and your cares will soar away!"
"Wow, it's so pretty!" Peach awed, colours reflecting in her eyes as she stared skyward with her hands clasped together beneath her chin.
"And if the dark clouds start to swirl, (Dark clouds start to swirl)
Don't fear don't shed a tear cause,
I'll be your 1-Up girl!"
"Oh my gosh cool!" Daisy cheered, a big smile on her face as she watched the miracle plummeting from above.
"Simply unbelievable, I say!" Toadsworth cried, watching the various shooting stars of different colour fall over different parts of the world. "Quite miraculous indeed!"
"So let's all jump up super high, (Jump up super high)
High up in the sky, (High up in the sky)
There's no power-up like dancing!"
Mario looked skyward in awe, a gleaming red star present in the reflection of his big blue eyes. He backed up a step as he realized that the twirling red star was heading directly for him.
"Don't forget you're the super star! (You're the super star)"
The red star crashed into Mario and it was aggressively absorbed into his form. He rose slightly above the ground with clenched fists, his entire body arced back and eyes closed as he levitated for a moment. A glowing red aura surrounded him completely.
"No one else can make it this far!"
Peach and the others gasped as they noticed Mario was struck, rushing to his side as he dropped to a single knee, cap concealing his eyes.
"Put a comb through that stache'"
Peach dropped to a knee before him with a fist nervously clenched beneath her chin. The band continued to play. Mario continued to look downward, red aura still surrounding him. He held a hand over his heart.
"Mario!" Peach called, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Mario, say something!"
"Now you've got panache, oh,
Let's do, the-"
Peach cried out:
"STOP!"
And the music came to an abrupt halt shortly after.
"Hm?" Pauline barked, looking over at the commotion. Her eyes widened as she saw Mario was dropped to a knee, encased in a glowing red aura. She had not noticed this until now. Most of the crowd had not either, although some had already been watching with concern. "M-Mario!"
The sound of the mic dropping rang through the central plaza as Pauline ran over to Mario. Without a word, Mario lifted his head up and looked straight through Peach with a blank expression.
"Mario?" Peach nervously questioned, very unsettled. "Mario, are you alright?"
Mario continued to a stand in silence, causing Peach great concern as she tried to help. Mario was examining his clenched fist without a word. Peach, Daisy, Luigi, Pauline and Toadsworth watched him with anxious uncertainty. There was a short silence, the raining stars having mostly stopped by now. Daisy broke the silence.
"Hey... are you alright?" Daisy asked, an eyebrow raised in concern. "S-Say something already!"
"I… I feel incredible…" Mario answered, examining his clenched fists. "Like... Like I just got some amazing power."
"Amazing power?" Luigi gawked. "What? Really?"
That caused the others to gasp in uncertainty as well. What exactly was going on here?
"Well, this is certainly an interesting turn of events." Jolene reported to the stunned audience. The camera was focused on Mario, who was standing on stage while examining his clenched fist, surrounded by his friends. "It looks as though Mario was struck by one of the falling stars during the performance!"
"MARIO!"
Then, the situation rapidly took a turn for the worse. Exclamation marks appeared over everyones heads. Their attention was brought to the skies, where they noticed a familiar evil duo approaching the stage from up above. Riding in his white and green "clown copter" was none other than Bowser, King of the Koopas and leader of the Koopa Troop. His loyal Magikoopa assistant, Kammy Koopa, was flying near his side on a magical broomstick.
Mario and Luigi entered fighting stances as they stood on the red velvet stage. Peach, Daisy, Pauline, and the band all featuring expressions of shock. Toadsworth was cowering behind Daisy, trembling uncontrollably.
"HEY! Don't you be hiding behind me!" Daisy scolded, hands on her hips.
"C-Come now, r-r-respect your e-elders!" Toadsworth pleaded, Bowser jumping out of his clown copter.
THUD!
Bowser had landed on the stage directly before Mario and Luigi, which sent everyone but Mario up into the air, including the band and the instruments. Peach and Luigi landed on their feet, but the everyone else needed to stand themselves back up. Mario remained in a fighting stance, ready to protect his friends. The clown copter flew off, with a big orange lipped smile on its face. The crowd was buzzing with nervousness, others with excitement.
"It's Bowser!"
"Oh my god, it's Bowser!"
"Bowser is here! I can't believe it!"
"What are you doing, RUN!"
"Mario is gonna get him good!"
"GO MARIO!"
"Bowser! And to think I actually gave you the benefit of the doubt that you WOULDN'T ruin the Star Festival!" Luigi complained. "How stupid of me!"
"BWAHAHAHA!" Bowser laughed, with his arms spread wide and a happy grin on his face. "Stupid is right! You thought for a second that yours truly would even DARE to pass up a once in a lifetime opportunity like this? Get real!"
"And it appears that just when things were getting interesting, the terrifying, evil King Bowser himself has decided to show up and crash the Star Festival!" Jolene reported, the camera focused on Bowser, who was still standing on the stage with a closed eyed grin, arms spread. "This is certainly an unwelcome twist!"
"Opportunity?" Pauline questioned, hand on her hip with a tilted head.
"Yup, that's right!" Bowser replied, erroneously pointing at the wrong news camera with a finger and sly smile. Kammy Koopa gently lowered to his side on her magical broom, hovering in place. "An opportunity to trounce Mario and kidnap the Princess in front of the entire world! Heh, maybe I'll even kidnap you too Miss Mayor, while I'm at it! Yeah baby! I'm so cool!"
"Ugh, as if I'm going away with you two!" Pauline dismissed, with an expression of disgust. "You're even worse than that smelly ape who used to kidnap me some time ago."
"Smelly ape?" Bowser gawked, confused by her recoil. "Well, I may be smelly, but I'm no ape! That's for sure!"
"This has gotten so weird." Peach sighed, shaking her head disapprovingly.
"You could say that again." Daisy concurred, with an unimpressed expression cast upon her face.
"I-Is it over yet, I say?" Toadsworth added, still cowering behind them.
And just when they thought the situation couldn't get anymore confusing, something else seemed to be falling from the sky towards the stage where everyone was gathered around. But this time it wasn't a star.
"What's this now?" Toadsworth barked, facing skyward, one hand behind his back and one hand on his cane. "Another star? My, and it's a big one! Yes, quite large indeed!"
"No, it's…" Luigi started, his eyes squinting.
"IT'S A WOMAN!" Daisy declared with a pointed finger, interrupting Luigi.
"A woman?" Pauline gawked, her and the band facing up as well with question marks over their heads.
"Nyeah?" Kammy Koopa growled in confusion.
This had caused the crowd to buzz once more. Bowser and Kammy Koopa examined the curious crowd.
"What? A woman?"
"Did she just say there is a woman falling from the sky?"
"Oh my god it is a woman!"
"IT'S A WOMAN!"
"Hey, you idiots! What are you blabbing on about?" Bowser growled, his expression angered. "Don't lose track! I'm the main act here, remember?"
But it was true. Falling from the sky like a comet was a woman incased in glowing white energy. It was an unbelievable, impossible sight.
"M-Mario, look! I-It's just like the legend said!" Luigi gasped, his fists clenched with excitement.
"Hmm?" Mario calmly barked, looking up to the sky. The red aura around him had faded by now. He saw that there was indeed a woman incased in white energy falling from the sky.
"This just in, it appears that there is actually a woman falling from the sky!" Jolene exclaimed, the news camera focusing on the descending woman.
The camera was able to get sufficient detail of the woman, and Peach brought her attention to a nearby monitor that was displaying the broadcast. She saw it all - the platinum blonde hair, the blue dress, the same closed eyes. She gasped as she recalled her nightmare.
"A-Ah!" Peach gasped, her blue eyes widening. The reflection of the incoming girl was present in her pensive blue eyes. (Could it really be... her?)