Quest for the Wanderer

Peach had been quiet during the entire trip to the ruins of Toad Town. Daisy had dropped her and Zelda off at the outpost outside Mushroom City. Luigi was the one who escorted them all the way to the castle grounds. There was minor resistance from a few normal Goombas and the occasional Koopa Troopa, but Luigi made short work of them. Geno had not come along, seeing as his presence was needed at a battle on Yoshi's Island. Daisy had made it her first priority to fire every single government official in Easton, so she was unavailable.

Peach surveyed the snowy ruins of her town distantly. She was too distracted to be affected very much by the devastating scenery. Most of the buildings were smashed in. The ground had various holes from blasts and Piranha Plants. There was even a pair of trails engraved into the ground from the Chain Chomps that had come through. Zelda and Luigi looked much more sullen about the scenery, but remained relatively quiet for Peach's sake.

Once they reached the castle grounds, they saw the giant hole where the front door had been. The fountain that had been nearby was shattered. The stained glass window with Peach's image had been smashed. There were blackened areas from fire and explosions all about the outer walls. Even though it was winter, it was easy to see that nearly all the trees were dead. Many had been uprooted, knocked over, or even shattered. The birds had left this place long ago as well. It was a somber, quiet place indeed. Despite this, Peach continued forward.

After they entered, they could see that the interior was in a similar condition. The floor was dirtied with mud. The walls had been covered in graffiti. A wall had been blown open where there had been a door leading to the courtyard and basement. After going through, they found that the formerly blocked passage had been cleared somewhat. Wooden supports had been placed to keep the upper floor from crumbling down, allowing the trio to walk through and pass into the courtyard. It was in the same sad state as before, only covered in a small layer of snow. The star statue was in the middle of the fountain as usual, seemingly the only thing untouched by any form of damage.

Peach stood before the statue, simply staring at it with a melancholy look. She revealed the miniature Star Piece that Drow had given to her. "Now what?" she asked dully.

"Does anyone have any idea what that inscription says?" Luigi asked.

"It's a memorial," Zelda said. "It says 'In memory of the Dread King Morton and the Witch Queen Maggie.' Does that mean anything to anyone?"

"Peach?" Luigi said, having no idea.

"Those were Bowser's parents…" Peach spoke simply. "They were said to be the most evil Koopas to have ever lived."

"Why would there be a memorial for them here?" Zelda asked.

"Common decency, I guess," Luigi shrugged. "But what does that have to do with the Wanderer?"

"She's the one who killed them," Peach said bitterly.

"Oh…" Luigi said, getting nervous.

"You say it as if it's a bad thing," Zelda said. "You should be happy that she slew such evil creatures."

"No one has the right to take the life of another," Peach said, actually sneering at her. "No matter how bad..."

"You know well enough that death is sometimes the only viable solution," Zelda said sternly.

Peach walked away. "I don't know why we bothered coming here…" She tossed the Star Piece over her shoulder. It landed in the pool of water, causing a peculiar sound to go off. Peach glanced back and saw the pool fading through various colors of the rainbow. The panel on the statue with inscription popped open, revealing that it was actually a hinged door of a safe of sorts.

Zelda reached inside and pulled out a scroll.

"What does it say?" Luigi asked, unable to read the text. "Can you read it?"

"The language is a bit archaic, but I can manage. It says, 'If to reach the Fallen One is what thou dost desire, seek the monuments of her legacy. If this riddle be too thickly spun, seek the help of a Faceless One.' I…think I understand. Assuming the Fallen One is the Wanderer, we have to find the other monuments of the Wanderer. And if we have trouble we can ask one of the Shamans."

"You mean like Merlon and his family?" Luigi said. "That wouldn't be so easy. They cleared out of here a long time ago. So many Shamans joined Bowser's army, they wouldn't be safe in the Mushroom Kingdom anymore. They'd be hated by nearly everyone just for being Shamans. Some of them are supposed to be in Rogueport, last I heard."

"Some of them?" Zelda asked.

"Well…Merle and his son Merlowe are supposed to be in Starborn Valley," Luigi said. "It's not really a place you can get to on foot from here…not after Toad Town Tunnels was destroyed."

"That shouldn't matter much," Zelda said. "I know where at least one other monument is."

"Where?"

"In Dinosaur Land," Zelda said, picking up the Star Piece. The panel closed and the water returned to normal. "Peach and I came across a statue of the Wanderer just outside a haunted house in a forest."

"Oh…that place…" Luigi said, shivering. "I remember that place… I hate ghost houses."

"That's where we're heading next," Zelda said, turning back to the castle.

"Uh…I think have some work to do back in Mushroom City," Luigi said.

"Suit yourself," Zelda said with a small smirk. "Peach?"

"…Coming."

"You want to what!" Syrup exclaimed over the videophone in the hidden outpost of Mushroom City.

"We just want to go back to Dinosaur Land," Zelda said. "It's our only lead right now as to the Wanderer's whereabouts."

"It's great that you're trying to help out, kid, but do you realize there's heavy combat going on right now on Yoshi's Island?"

"All the more reason to go now," Zelda said, looking at a map. "According to this, the battle going on should draw away enough attention for us to get through relatively unnoticed. The area I want to go to is only a few kilometers away from a stronghold. If we wait until the battle is over security will be too high for us to get through."

"What makes you think the battle hasn't madethem heighten their security?" Syrup asked. "In case you haven't noticed, Bowser's been wising up. He doesn't just leave holes in his plan like he used to. He's covered his tail pretty well…" She suddenly seemed distracted and talked to someone off screen. "…Really? How did he know? Check all lines of communication! I want every single one of them secured!"

"What's the matter?"

"Our informant just sent us a message. He says he'll get the security lightened in the area. This is looking just a tad too fishy, though…"

"We'll take it," Zelda said. "Could we have a little back-up though?"

"The most I can give you is a transport," Syrup said. "Everybody else is busy. Daisy's making sure none of the politicians in Easton ever find work again. Geno's fighting on Yoshi's Island. Wario and Waluigi are investigating DK Isle. Jinx is keeping the Koopas out of Rogueport. The Master is keeping watch over Mushroom City. And that coward Luigi is about to check out Jewel Land."

"I see," Zelda said. "We'll take what we can get."

Zelda and Peach beamed down on the eastern edge of the Forest of Illusion. They had just been teleported from a flying saucer. They weren't able to get any closer to their destination for fear of being spotted on the radar. The princesses would have to make their way through the forest on their own and get to the Ghost House. For the purposes of the mission, they were not in dresses as usual. Zelda was using a green camouflage variant of her Sheikah outfit. Peach was wearing standard-issue fatigues from the Sarasaland army. She had a small utility belt instead of a backpack. Her gloves were black and less elegant. She tied her hair into a ponytail. When it was suggested that she wear a cap instead of a crown, she vehemently refused.

They began their journey northwestward. Every so often, they had to duck behind trees or bushes to avoid being sighted by various patrols of Koopatrols who, mercifully, were not mutants. Wigglers paid them no mind and the Goombas around the area were too inept to notice them. It quickly became evident that there were no mutants of any kind in the forest. All the enemies were orthodox. Apparently, the mutants were off fighting on Yoshi's Island. Faint sounds of the battle could occasionally be heard.

Despite the absence of mutants, the area was still well fortified. As Zelda and Peach moved deeper into the forest, they found larger presences of enemies. Wary Bob-ombs marched back and forth in given areas, forcing the princesses to move around them. They had to keep a considerable distance from occasional Chain Chomps because of the monsters' keen sense of smell. It became more difficult to bypass such threats when their patrol areas were beginning to become more crowded with each other. Peach brought the trek to a halt when she began seeing Bullet Bill Blasters. She new the cannons would shoot at any intruder within their relatively impressive sight. They were all so well placed that progressing further would only draw fire, thus alerting the entire area.

"There's no way we can get by without being spotted," Peach whispered, as they spied on a clearing full of Blasters.

"There must be some way of getting by," Zelda said. "We just have to think how. Are you sure there isn't a way?"

"The only place you can be for one not to fire is on top of it," Peach said. "…Or directly in front of it. But even if we did that, the others would fire anyway, even if the shot was nowhere near us. Zelda…let's just go back."

"Hmm…" Zelda thought. "I might be able to do something, but…I'm not sure."

"What is it?" Peach asked.

"I'm the Sage of Time," Zelda explained. "If all the sages have become more powerful, my abilities should be enhanced. What I'm saying is I might be able to freeze time long enough for us to get through."

"If you can do it, why didn't you use it before? You could have defeated Drow and Morel a long time ago."

"It's untested," Zelda said. "Add that to the fact that such feats usually require the Ocarina of Time. The last time I checked, though, Link had it… I suppose it's worth a try though. Hold onto me or you might be stuck with everything else." Peach held onto her as Zelda concentrated. She began to give off a blue glow.

"Nothing's happening," Peach said, looking around.

"Come on…" Zelda whispered, clenching her fist. Her Triforce piece began to glow.

"Still nothing," Peach said.

"Blast it all…" Zelda muttered. She slowly materialized her lyre and played the Song of Time. Her aura flared and she collapsed as it was extinguished like a smothered flame.

"Zelda!" Peach gasped. She noticed that her voice seemed hollow, as if it were echoing within her. She lifted Zelda up and looked into the clearing. There was a Koopatrol standing with its eyes closed. A Para Koopatrol was frozen in midair, not moving at all. Peach turned to her side and saw that the lyre Zelda had dropped was still floating in the air, frozen mid-fall.

Peach grabbed the lyre and hurriedly carried Zelda through the clearing. As she jogged along, she was horrified that there were more and more forms of security as she ran along. There was a clearing full of Bob-ombs. All the trees had at least one Blaster attached to them. She also began to notice Super Koopas in mid-flight. These rare shell-less Koopas had acquired the Cape power-up, presumably from using the Feathers that could be found in Dinosaur Land.

In a few moments, Peach began to notice the effects of the time freeze wearing off. Some enemies were beginning to blink, if to a extremely slow degree. At the moment, Peach would be nothing more than a barely visible blur to them. However, as time began to return to its normal flow, she noticed that she was leaving a slowly building dust trail behind her. In the sense of normal time, she was going blindingly fast and leaving a trail. With tiring arms and legs, as well as seemingly no end to the security forces, she would be caught when the effect wore off.

She spotted a Super Koopa that was apparently teasing a Chain Chomp. She gave the Super Koopa a light tap in the direction of the Chomp. It reverted to a normal, though still shell-less, Koopa, wearing nothing more than an undershirt and shorts. Its cape had reverted into a Feather, which she quickly grabbed. Though the effect would normally happen in a flash, time was still moving slow enough for it to appear gradually. She ran with as much speed as she could muster, despite her aching limbs, so that she would be able to lift off as soon as she had her cape.

She would need it, for there was a large gorge before her that was completely absent of the usual floating platforms. She could tell that the Ghost House would be on the other side because there were no forms of security in sight over there. She jumped as soon as she reached the edge. With her cape not quite ready yet, she used her floating ability to move forward without falling. In seconds, though, she was plummeting downward with Zelda. Darkness began to overtake them as they fell further from the sunlight.

However, the trademark sound of the cape being fully formed let her know that she was able to fly. She put all her energy into rising back upwards. If she fell too far, the cape would give out before she reached the opposing ledge. Inconveniently enough, Zelda began to stir.

"…Blasted Sage powers…Huh?" she said, coming to her senses. "Peach, wha…? Aaaah!" she screamed in realization. "What's going on?"

Peach ignored her, instead focusing on getting back up and to the other side. Eventually, she reached the altitude of the ledge, but only as her flight began to weaken. "Zelda, hold onto me!"

"How are you flying!" Zelda exclaimed, clinging to her and looking down into the dark abyss. As Peach nearly dropped the lyre, Zelda grabbed it and put it away.

With her hands freed, Peach grabbed the back of her cape and billowed it so that they floated up slightly. She repeated this over and over again, so that they would stay aloft while moving towards the ledge. Unfortunately, her speed had decreased to the point that she was just floating up and down in the same spot.

"Zelda, use your telekinesis to push us forward!" Peach said in a strained voice. "I can't keep this up!"

"It doesn't quite work that way, Peach," Zelda said, still clinging to her somewhat fearfully. "I can't push myself, and we're too close to one another."

"Then, push off of something," Peach said, feeling her arms burn.

Zelda turned back and saw a shell-less Koopa struggling to escape the hungry jaws of a Chain Chomp far in the distance. Time was at it's normal flow once again. She focused and stretched her telekinesis outward.

"Hurry, Zelda!" Peach yelled, beginning to sink.

Slowly, as the poor Koopa was being pushed further into the Chomp's mouth, Zelda and Peach began move forward. Eventually, even the Chomp was being pushed back. The Koopa's cries for help echoed through the forest until it was finally consumed. The Chain Chomp was still being pushed so hard, though, that the peg pinning its chain down came out of the ground. The unchained Chomp hopped back toward other possible meals, leaving Zelda to change tactics. With no proper leverage to push off the ledge behind them, she instead attempted to pull at the increasingly close ledge in front of them. It was a much more unfamiliar, and thus difficult task.

"Shining Star! Give me strength!" Peach shouted. She was filled with a temporary boost of energy and quickly began to make up for lost altitude. Just before she reached the ledge, however, she fainted.

"Peach!" Zelda cried. They fell a short distance before Zelda drove her dagger into the ledge wall. She held Peach precariously by the back of her collar. Zelda strained to pull Peach up, but only succeeded in loosening her grip on her. "Peach wake up! Wake up, blast you!" When she finally lost her grip, she tightly caught Peach between the soles of her feet. She winced at how she was pinning Peach by her chest and back, but tightened her two-footed embrace.

"Mmph…" Peach grunted slightly from the uncomfortable position. Zelda knew that if she had not acted sooner, she might have pinned Peach by her neck or head. There was only one way out of this situation.

"With the flow, not against it," Zelda sighed. She outstretched her free hand and telekinetically tugged at Peach. Realizing that she was trying too hard, she instead tried to simply hold her. She envisioned dipping her hands into a stream and cupping the water. Once Peach, the water, was secure, she slowly lifted her upward to her face. Peach was floating before her, lying flat. Now was the hard part: lifting the water above herself.

As she began to lift, the imagined water began to trickle down her arm. Likewise, Peach began to quickly slide back downward. Zelda panicked and used one imagined hand to catch the falling water. Peach fell further, no longer being supported by the raised hand.

Zelda quickly changed tactics, imagining holding a bug by its leg, Peach's leg, while keeping an open palm below just in case it fell. Too careful to not drop the bug, she heard a slight cracking noise. Peach's leg was now broken and she lost her cape. Fortunately, her unconscious state allowed her to make little more than a grunt. Zelda lifted the bug higher over herself, until it was laid on a shelf above her. Peach was safely on the ledge now.

Zelda, herself, produced the Gilded Sword she had held onto from her first fight with Drow. She used it along with her dagger to climb the ledge until she laid herself exhaustedly alongside Peach. She stared into the blue, sunny, but somewhat obscured sky.

"Well…that wasn't so bad," Zelda panted. Peach gave another grunt of pain. "She'll just heal it when she wakes up," Zelda said to herself. After taking a moment to rest and look to a compass, she gently took Peach over her shoulder and continued the trek to the Ghost House. The hard part was over.

"Zelda?" Peach murmured, waking up. "We made it?"

"Yes, thankfully," Zelda said.

"Why does my leg really hurt?" Peach asked somewhat accusingly.

"That was an accident," Zelda said. "I…broke your leg."

"You used your telekinesis on me, didn't you?"

"Yes," Zelda said humbly. "But…I'm sure it won't be anything you can't heal."

"I spent all my energy flying across that ledge," Peach said.

"Oh…"

"Don't worry too much," Peach said, patting her back as a signal to stop. Zelda gently sat her down. Peach reached into a compartment on her belt and pulled out two Maple Syrups. She drank both bottles and healed herself. She was quickly on her feet and walking alongside Zelda.

"Sorry," Zelda apologized.

"Don't worry about it," Peach said, retrieving another bottle. "Want one? You fainted from that time freeze trick."

"Sure," Zelda said, drinking it. "How do you fit these inside those small compartments? There shouldn't even be enough room for one."

"I don't know," Peach shrugged. "They just do. How do you make things poof out of nowhere?"

"An infinite space pocket," Zelda said matter-of-factly. "It's an old Sheikah secret. Most people in Hyrule just use expanded space pockets on their person. It's similar to what you apparently use."

"Okay…" Peach said.

"Peach, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

"No, go ahead."

"Why do you hate your mother?" There was a silence, and Zelda was not sure if Peach had heard her. "Peach?"

"There's the Ghost House," Peach said, making her way through a patch of berry bushes.

"Hmm."

As they walked into the clearing, they saw the statue of the Wanderer. Zelda glanced at Peach to see her expression. Peach caught her and remained straight-faced. She took out the Star Piece and held it out for Zelda.

"Here," she said. "If it's in Hylian, you should know what you're doing more than I will."

Zelda frowned, but took the Star Piece. She took a step toward the crying statue but stopped. "Peach…"

"You're the best for it, Zelda," Peach said. She took a step forward, but a shuriken was tossed into the ground before her. "Huh?" She looked around and saw nothing. She heard several whooshing sounds.

"How long have you been there?" Zelda asked, still facing the statue.

"Zelda, who are you talking to?" Peach asked, growing worried.

"Show yourselves," Zelda said. Black figures leapt out of the shadows, despite the fact that it was still early in the afternoon. Soon enough, a circle of Ninji surrounded Peach and Zelda. They were all unusually fierce-looking. Their eyes were extremely narrow and devoid of pupils. They had no rosy red cheeks. They didn't even have fangs poking out of their mouths.

"I knew you'd come back sooner or later," a female voice said. A red blur came out of the sky and landed in front of the statue. It was a red Bandit. "Remember me?"

"No," Zelda said.

"Not at all," Peach said.

The Bandit fell over in shock, but quickly came back to her feet. "I'm Bandita! You know, the Bandit that stopped you two from getting away with the Yoshis. Remember?"

"That was Bolt the Zeus Guy," Peach frowned.

"Bolt came later!" Bandita yelled angrily. She regained her composure. "Now, then Queen Peach Koopa." Peach seemed as if she had just been hit and stepped back. "Oh, I see. Conveniently forgot all those bad memories, huh? Guess what? No one else did. Anywho, it's time to die."

"Why?" Peach asked.

"If she's your Queen," Zelda began, "why would you want to kill her."

"She's not our queen," Bandita growled. "She's a murderer and the daughter of her," she said pointing to the statue. "Like mother, like daughter." Peach looked hurt.

"If Bowser hears about this…" Zelda began.

"Bowser can go fly a kite!" Bandita retorted. "Our leader came back and his first order is that the Wanderer's daughter be annihilated. It's just convenient that Bowser wants her dead anyway. Now Ninji, strike!"