Chapter 7*Pure and Impure*

"Well, we have some bad news." ,said Rick as him and Qase held their heads down in front of the group. "What is it, spit it out!" ,Peach demanded. "Well, it appears that yesterday evening a pure heart was found, and it was taken…by the enemy…" ,Qase replied as the group began to talk amongst themselves.

Dimentio and Nastasia walked down the hall as they conversed with each other. All of a sudden they heard a noise, it sounded like talking. They then began to see glowing come from one of the rooms down near the end of the hallway as they ran toward it. They got as close as they could, being as quiet as possible trying to listen to the talker. "Darkness, sweet darkness…soon this world will be submitted into complete darkness. The creator of all has commanded me to complete such a glorious mission. No one, not even that foolish child Bleck, will be able to stop the inevitable, bring on the darkness, all will be silenced under the power of the King of Death!" ,whispered the Elder as he watched in his orb at the world he was so anxious to destroy. Suddenly Dimentio and Nastasia ran as fast as they could to tell the count. They made it into the count's chamber, barging through the door as the count looked up to see them. "My count, we have disturbing news!" ,said Dimentio. "What is it?" ,Count Bleck asked. "It appears that the Elder is planning on betraying you, he doesn't want to take over this world, he wants to destroy it and everyone, including us!" ,Nastasia said. "Nastasia, I will hear no more of this, leave me, both of you!" ,Count Bleck said as he pointed towards the door.

Jewels appeared in front of yet another pure heart inside an abandoned mine. This one was light blue, and glowed in a beautiful aura. "Yes, this is too easy!" ,she giggled as she stepped out of the way while Titan jumped down to strike her with his blades. Titan then stepped back with the pure heart as Fax and Peach joined him. "Did you honestly think I would fall for something like that?" ,Jewels laughed as she tried to think of a plan. Suddenly the Elder appeared behind a large rock. "I will use my powers to help." ,he whispered without anyone noticing his presence. He then let out a blast of energy that hit Jewels. Jewels then closed and opened her eyes, they were solid black for she had been possessed by the Elder. "What's going on?" ,Peach asked in fear as the team walked backwards. Jewels walked up to Titan in high speed and grabbed him by the neck. He took both of his daggers as he was struggling to breathe and he slashed threw her body, but it failed for the blades went like through her as if she was smoke. She then threw him aside and walked slowly towards the girls. "Take this freak!" ,Peach shouted as she through out an energy blast which Jewels dodged without any problem. Peach continued to fire energy blasts as her and Fax continued to back up, but Jewels was not affected. "Fax, go help Titan, I'll handle her!" ,Peach said as she formed wings and took off out of the mine. Fax ran over to Titan who struggled to get up. "Take the pure heart and take it to Rosalina, I'll help Peach!" ,he said without letting Fax say anything, she then took the heart and warped out as Titan got up and ran towards the fight outside. Peach flew around the area trying to get away from Jewels, but she could fly almost as fast as Peach. They flew across a large lake, under many archways made of stone, threw many trees, but every time Peach could not shake her off. It was then that the Elder realized that the heart was gone, so he let off his grip of Jewels and left. Titan managed to see them flying as Jewels suddenly stopped, gaining consciousness enough that she tried to go after Peach again, Titan charged up one of his blades as he tried to lock onto her. Jewels let out of force of energy that struck Peach. Jewels now had control of her movement as she made Peach fall to the ground. After Peach had plummeted and blasted into the hard rock, Jewels landed softly and levitated Peach over to the lake. Peach tried to struggle but she could not pull away. She was merely seconds away from being dropped in the very deep lake, when Titan got aim enough to throw one of his swords. It flew towards Jewels but she dodged it, letting go of Peach who landed right on the bank of the lake. Jewels then ran towards Titan carrying his blade. "I clearly did not think that through!" ,he said as he took his other blade and prepared himself. They engaged in combat, Titan swung as Jewels swung, Titan ducked as Jewels ducked. Jewels punched Titan in the stomach, knocking him down to the ground. Jewels was about to deliver the finishing blow when Rosalina drop kicked Jewels, knocking her over. "Don't ever try that again" ,she said as she went to slam her fist into Jewels face. Jewels rolled over enough that Rosalina ended up slamming her fist into the rock hard ground, but Jewels knew that even though she was still alive, she had lost. So she took a few steps back, looking each way that she was cornered. "It's too late, you've lost!" ,Rosalina said as her, Titan, and Peach walked closer to Jewels. She then warped away in anger and fear.

"Well, now we have two!" ,Peach said as her and Titan stood there watching the lake. "Yeah, and I have a feeling things are gonna get a lot harder!" ,Titan replied as they both warped back home. When they arrived at home, they found that everyone was standing outside. "What's going on!" ,Titan asked as him and Peach rushed over to the group. In the center of the group, was Rosalina who was sitting on the ground with Bowser, cradling a baby in her arms. "What!" ,Peach shouted. "I found her, laying here in the grass, how could someone do such a thing!" ,Rosalina said as she began to tear up. Bowser held on to both as he began to tear up as well. "Well, we can take care of her together!" ,he said in a soft tone as he rubbed her cheek with his hand. "We will." ,Rosalina stated as she rocked the sleeping baby. "We all will!" ,Peach piped up as she stood forward, everyone in agreement.

Rosalina awoke in a brightly lit room, the floor and the walls were as white as snow. There was nothing in the room other than herself until a figure walked up to her. "Rosalina! My beautiful daughter!" ,said her mom, who welcomed her with open arms. "Mommy!" ,Rosalina said in some what of a childish tone as she grew weak in the knees, and her eyes began to flood with tears. Her mom came closer but would not touch her, for she was only a figment of Rosalina's thoughts and dreams. "Mom…I don't understand…how…why!" ,Rosalina asked all at once, being choked on her words and her tears. "Be still my daughter, I have come to tell you not to be worried about your friends or this child that you now have. They will all be safe, but the day will come when you have to leave them behind…" ,Lucinda looked down at the white floor as she stopped talking. "But…why do I have to leave them behind?" ,Rosalina said as she tried to come closer. "It is your destiny, the one you have been fighting all this time will show their face to you soon, do not be afraid, I am with you always!" ,Lucinda said as she began to disappear. Rosalina screamed for her, even trying to grab onto her, but suddenly she woke up from her sleep. Rosalina then sat up in her bed, watching Fax who was over in her bed, fast asleep. "What is happening to me?" ,she whispered to herself. She then laid back down, covered herself, and closed her eyes, hoping not to have another dream.

"Bowser…Bowser no, don't go over there!" ,Titan yelled as he tried to restrain his friend from going over to the body that lay at the front of the room. "No…" ,he mumbled as he realized who it was. He quickly pushed his bloody, injured friend aside as he ran towards the victim. There she lay, Rosalina, her eyes glazed and vacant. Her body pale and fragile, her hair lacking that glow that it had alive. Bowser tried to pick her up, but he was too weak to even stand back up himself after falling to her side. "Nooooo!" ,he wailed in pain and anger as Titan, Peach, Fax, Allister, and the others watched in tears, blood, and sweat, staring at their fallen princess, and their devastated prince. Count Bleck stood there in front of Rosalina and Bowser, disgusted in expression as if he felt pain for what had happened, he began to remember Timpani and what happened between them, as he began to tear up. He then turned his back and walked down the steps to the ending corridor. Bowser then woke up from his sleep as Rosalina did before, except he did not go back to sleep, he knew that for some reason Rosalina was headed for trouble, but he didn't know why or how to stop it, he stared at one of the photos he had of her for hours, until he cried himself back to sleep.

"Jewels, come to me at once!" ,Count Bleck demanded as she entered the room. Her and Nastasia traded death glances at each other as she humbly bowed in front of her master. "You called, my count?" ,she asked with a large grin on her face. "Congratulations on being so observant, but enough, I trust you know we can not succeed without the pure hearts, yes?" ,Count Bleck asked in sarcasm. "Um, yes your highness, and I think I have perhaps found another." ,she said as she regained her confidence. "Good, but you will do well to know that if I were you I would not lose another pure heart, we have already lost two which you will have to retrieve later!" ,Count Bleck stated. "Yes, my count, I regret it terribly, I will not fail you!" ,Jewels said as she looked at Nastasia one more time and warped off. "My count, it looks as if you have become quite a celebrity!" ,said Dimentio as he walked in with O'Chunks. "Why is that Dimentio?" ,Count Bleck asked as he sat down in his chair, his top hat shadowing his face. "Because, everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom has heard of you by now, and those star idiots talked to someone named Timpani, who says she knew you!" ,Dimentio said noticing Count Bleck's expression, he knew he had tugged his ears. Nastasia looked up at the count in shock as he showed no sign of any movement. "Away with you…" ,he said to Dimentio in disgust. "Oh yes, but by the way, does the name Blumiere ring a bell?" ,he said as he waited for a reply in excitement. The count smiled for a moment, as he pondered what to say. "The man Blumiere…died long ago…" ,he said as Dimentio warped out.

"Hmmm…" ,mumbled Nastasia as she looked down at the floor. "Something bothers you Nastasia…what is it?" ,the count asked as his servant looked up at him. "It's just, there is still time, if that really is her that Dimentio spoke of, we could stop this now." ,Nastasia said, hoping she did not upset her master. "That is enough, she is gone…from this world, never to return again…besides the prophecy cannot be stopped, it is far too late for that now…but you needn't stay by my side, I will let you depart with my blessing…" ,the count said as he continued to hide his face in the shadows. "Oh, I won't be doing that!" ,Nastasia replied. "Very well then, leave me now!" ,Count Bleck said as he motioned her away. She departed as Count Bleck stood up and looked out the window to see nothing but a dark wasteland. "Yes, she is gone, and nothing…nothing will stop me from destroying this world and all others…just as nothing can ease the pain of my heart.

"Blumiere, where have you been?" ,said Lord Hylaight as his son climbed back in his bedroom window, caught in the act. "Father…I…just went for a stroll in the moonlight." ,Blumiere replied as he grew extremely nervous. "You're lying to me, now I will ask one more time, where have you been?" ,this time Blumiere's father was angered terribly. "Father…I…" ,Blumiere held his head low, watching his legs tremble. "You were with that girl again, weren't you?" ,Blumiere looked up at his father in fear that he knew the situation. "Son, what have I told you about talking to those from the tribe of light? She is not our kind, she is a human, and I will not have my son with one of those vile creatures again!" ,Blumiere kept his head hung as his father ranted and raved. "If I ever catch you with her again, I swear…she will be killed, by my hands!" ,said Lord Hylaight as his face grew so red it almost matched the color of the hair on his head. Blumiere clenched his fists in anger behind his back, but would not say anything. His father left the room, slamming the door shut, as Blumiere collapsed on the floor in tears, holding his mouth shut so his father would not hear him. He then packed up some of his belongings and leaped out his bedroom window once more, leaving the tribe of darkness behind.

"Oh, Timpani, come on in!" ,Fax said as she opened the door. "I am sorry for being here unannounced, but I just felt I needed to talk with Rosalina and Bowser. "Sure, I'll call them in for you." ,Fax said as she shut the door behind them. Timpani, Bowser, and Rosalina sat on the couch, Rosalina and Bowser seemed to be in good moods, but Timpani had a look on her face as if she had seen death recently. "What is it you would like to speak to us about?" ,Rosalina asked as she poured some tea into a cup. "I wish I was bringing good news, but unfortunately…let's just get to it…you both had nightmares last night, didn't you?" ,Timpani asked as both of them agreed. "They were about each other dying weren't they?" ,She also asked as they both agreed a second time. "Well…I having the power of foresight, have been able to see that, these events will both take place, but not in the way you think…" ,she said hesitantly as Rosalina and Bowser's eyes widened in fear, seeing these flash backs play over and over in their heads. Timpani would not dare say more, for she knew it would upset the creator.

Count Bleck spent most of his time now, sitting in his chair watching Rosalina, feeling somewhat of a mixed emotion about her. He would not move, he could barely think, he was lost in an eternal gaze of nothing. Jewels then walked in the room quietly, the count although he did not appear to notice her, knew of her presence. "Why did you come…I did not summon you…" ,the count said as his servant bowed before him with the dark blue pure heart. "My count, this is for you!" ,she said with a grin as he glanced down at it. "Good, now take it away with the other two…" ,he said as he looked back up at the image of Rosalina. Jewels then walked away, angry, for he was not pleased with her in the way she wanted.

The Shadow Queen looked up at her long battling foe, striking her with everything she had, as Rosalina did the same. The two of them were locked in combat, struggling for dear life. The Shadow Queen was choking Rosalina with the power of the shadows as Rosalina was slashing The Shadow Queen with sword. Finally the moment came and Rosalina drove the sword right into Arabella's chest. Rosalina was then let go, rolling backward onto the ground, as Arabella looked down at her chest, blood as scarlet as her eyes, until her body began to turn gray and her eyes began to blacken. Her body began to melt into black smoke as it flew off into the air, leaving nothing behind. Rosalina stood up with what strength she had, as she watched the smoke vanish into thing air. Rosalina woke up from her nap, setting herself back up on the couch, thinking about the dream, and how it seemed like only a day ago that she was actually living that moment. It seemed like everything would finally be peaceful after that, she thought, until now.

"My count, only two more to go, along with the other two those fools took from us, and we will have ultimate power!" ,the Elder said as he stroked his orb. "Yes, soon, but I do not feel like talking about it…" ,said the count as he looked away. "My count, I can sense your emotion is still strong for Timpa…" "Don't say that name, she's dead!" ,Count Bleck interrupted in anger. "Well, it seems you are blinded, both by love and anger, beware those emotions, they will lead you to doom!" ,the Elder said as he warped away. Count Bleck closed his eyes, as he thought about whether or not the girl everyone was talking about was really his love, Timpani.

The next day, everyone was outside hanging out. The some of the girls were out in the yard talking, some of them in the pool laying out, and all of the guys except for Bowser were in the pool. Bowser took on the job of grilling the hamburgers and hot dogs, so that he would have an excuse not to be in the water. Rosalina walked over from the girls up to him in curiosity. "Say Bowser, why aren't you hanging out with the other guys?" ,she asked as Bowser tried to pretend he didn't notice her speaking. "Listen mister!" ,she shouted as she grabbed on to one of his horns and turned his head to look at her. "I…I…I'm afraid of water…" ,he said ashamed of his phobia. "What are you talking about, you have to have water to take a shower…you do shower don't you?" ,she asked reluctantly. "Yes, of course I do, I just don't like water…you know…in pools and stuff…" ,he mumbled as he turned to continue grilling. Rosalina then walked over to the pool and hollered for Titan. Titan then left the group that was playing games to join her. "I got a mission for ya!" ,Rosalina said as she got close to him and whispered. Titan grinned in delight of what she wanted as he rushed back over to the other guys. "What was all that about?" ,Fax asked as Rosalina walked back over to her and Peach. "You're about to find out girls, you're about to find out." ,she giggled. Titan, Allister, Rick and Qase, walked over to Bowser, acting like nothing was wrong. "Guys, the food isn't ready yet!" ,Bowser said as he motioned for them to leave him alone. Titan and Allister then quickly swept him off his feet and carried him to the pool. "Guys, I swear, if you do it!" ,Bowser threatened, but the guys didn't seem to care. The girls all watched, Crystal and Daisy, who were in the pool, watched in fear of the massive waves that were about to hit them, Fax, Rosalina, and Peach, watched in laughter. Titan and Allister used all of their strength as they flung their rather bulky friend into the pool, a huge splash accompanying the screams of him. "I am going to hurt you two!" ,Bowser screamed as he tried to gain his balance. Things seemed to be happy that day, until Qase got a call from the commander. "Qase, alert the team, another pure heart has been spotted!" ,she said as Qase nodded and hollered for the group to come close. Everyone rushed over to here what the young pup had to say. "The next pure heart has been found, and it is still unclaimed!" ,he said as everyone debated on who would be going to get it. "I'll go!" ,said Crystal as Rosalina also stepped forward in agreement. "Ok then, Rosalina and Crystal, do your stuff!" ,Qase said, watching the two girls prepare for battle. Within an instant they were off, but then they soon returned, for they had no idea where the heart was!

"Jewels, you do realize that those fools are headed this way don't you?" ,Dimentio said as he closed the doors to the building. "Yes, I do, and that's exactly why I planted this little trap for them, you see, this building has a dimension detonator." ,she said as she looked carefully for any signs of the heart. "A what?" ,Dimentio asked as he too searched. "A dimension detonator! It's a device that when triggered, will suck everything in this building into a rift of space and time. So we will get the heart and leave, and when they get here the trap will be triggered, trapping them forever!" ,Jewels giggled as she walked over to the door to the next room, she pulled and pushed, but the door wouldn't budge. Finally she had to kick down the door, causing loud noise, and tons of dust to ruffle up. "You idiot, do you want to attract attention to yourself?" ,Dimentio whispered. "Please, who on earth could possibly notice that, everyone that was in this place is dead now." ,Jewels said as she walked around the old room, that apparently had been empty for years and years. "We heard it!" ,said a person who was standing right behind them. "This time you've failed, so tell your pal Bleck that he can kiss it!" ,Crystal said as she leaped in and kicked Jewels, square in the mouth. "Don't think so girls, Showstopper!" ,shouted Dimentio as he used his powers to freeze the girls. "Hurry jewels, my magic is powerful, but it won't hold them for long!" ,Dimentio said as he struggled to hold them. "Got it!" ,Jewels shouted as she held up the purple pure heart. "Well, well, well, I guess that makes that makes five for us now, doesn't it! You guys are really slipping!" ,Jewels laughed before warping out along with Dimentio. The girls were then released from their imprisonment. "This isn't good…" ,Rosalina said. "So we have red and orange?" ,asked Crystal. "Yeah, we just need yellow, green, light blue, dark blue, purple, and white. So far, I hate to say it, but we're not doin so hot!" ,said Rosalina.

"My count, here as promised, the purple pure heart!" ,Jewels said with confidence as she tossed him the heart. He looked at it carefully and then handed it to Nastasia. "Excellent, so I am assuming that you have made preparations to find the next one and to retrieve the other two?" ,he asked. "Yes, your highness!" ,Jewels said as she warped away. Jewels walked into the lounge, flopping herself down on the couch. "Well, well, why are you hanging about when there is work to be done, hmm?" ,Dimentio asked in his usual tone of amusement. "Because, I only have three to go and I need thinking time…" ,she said as she closed her eyes and leaned back. Dimentio walked off chuckling at her laziness.

Rosalina was fast asleep, she was in a dream but this time, it was peaceful, slightly. She was suspended in air, the room was nothing but bright light. "Rosalina…" ,whispered a voice not far off from where Rosalina was floating. "Rosalina…open your eyes…" ,the voice continued as Rosalina began to open her eyes. As her eyes slowly began to open, she could see a somewhat blurry figure, until the person was clearly visible to be, Bow, her best friend from her childhood. "Rosalina, it's so good to see you again!" ,Bow said as she smiled big at Rosalina. "Bow? But how is this possible, you…you died years ago!" ,Rosalina stuttered as she began to cry. "Yes, but I was given the opportunity to see you again, after much waiting, and much asking, he let me see you." ,she said as she walked closer and wiped her friends tears away. "He?" ,Rosalina asked. "Yes, in time he will show himself to you, but now I am here to deliver a message of hope. Do not give up, soon you must face the choice between, life or death…this will not be simple, and though I wish I could tell you, I can not show which path to take…" ,Bow paused to allow Rosalina to speak. "But, how will I know which is the right choice?" ,she asked. "When the choice presents itself to you, that is when you will know, we must all die at some point in time, it was just unfortunate that my time with you was cut short…but do not linger on this thought…rest…close your eyes…" ,said Bow as she made Rosalina close her eyes. With her eyes closed, Rosalina proceeded to ask one more question. "Will…I ever see you again?" "Perhaps you will…my friend…do not linger…." ,Bow said as she disappeared and Rosalina continued her rest.

"Father, where is she!" ,Blumiere shouted as he barged into his father's study. His father hesitated to speak for a moment as he stood by the fireplace. "She…is no longer in our world" ,he replied as he looked at the dark prognosticus sitting on his desk. "What? What do you mean?" ,Blumiere asked in the hopes that he was wrong in his conclusion. "I told you son, our kinds must never mix, I warned you!" ,his father shouted as he looked quickly at Blumiere and slapped him, knocking him to the ground. Blumiere quickly rose to his feet and ran out of the room. He ran down, first, to the dungeons, thinking that his father might have placed her there, but she was not there. Then he searched the place they had usually went to on the beach, but nothing. He even snuck over to the tribe of light grounds, searching for her, but he then saw a group of people and a crying woman, doing the same thing he was doing. Finally he decided to search one more place, he did not want to go there but he had no choice but to go to the punishment grounds, a place where the people of the tribe of darkness go to torture someone and finally kill them. He traveled a great distance but finally made it to a large mountain, he scaled up it, trying to hope that somehow she was not hurt. As he got closer, his fears got stronger, every step caused him pain. Finally he made it up to the top and looked around to a small corner and saw her, lying on her back, sprawled across the rock. He fell to his knees, as he turned pale in sickness, he touched her chest, hoping to feel a heart beat. "Just one…" ,he thought as he waited, holding his hand on her breast, but nothing. He was covered in tears as he fell on her in pain, for he couldn't even keep himself up. A cloaked man walked up the mountain and stood behind the devastated young man. He bent down beside him, removed the hood of his cloak from his head, and spoke to him softly. "She isn't dead…not yet" ,he said as Blumiere looked up at him, confused and sad. "What?" ,he asked as the man removed his hand. "I can help her…but it will mean, that you might never see her again." ,the man said, waiting for Blumiere to respond. "It…is…the only way…" ,Blumiere said in agreement as he watched the man pick her up to take her away. "One more thing, this must happen…or else the destiny of your two futures will not come to pass…" ,the man said as he raised his hand. "What must ha…" ,Blumiere was stopped as the man sprinkled him with a powder. This powder made Blumiere forget about the man and about Timpani still living, all he knew was that Timpani was dead and he was angry.

"Look my lovely shining star…do not forget your destiny, in darkness and in light…I will be with you always, no matter what may come your way, I will help you…you are beautiful, brave, strong, and loved…we are always together…" ,Rosalina remembered her mother saying this to her when she was just seven years of age, just before she passed on. She remembered that whole night as if it was only yesterday, that was ten years ago, but the pain was still fresh in her mind. She knew she had a destiny to fulfill, for her family, friends, and for the world. These thought plagued her mind as she rolled over to return to sleep, hoping she might see Bow again…