"Mimi, what is going on?" Daisy asked as she, Mimi, and Mario left the pier.
Mimi kept her eyes in front of her, not wanting to make eye contact with either Mario or Daisy.
"It's nothing to worry about, Daisy," she said in a firm voice. "Trust me, it wasn't as bad as it looked."
"'Not as bad as it looked?'"
Glancing back to make sure they weren't followed by Dimentio, Daisy made Mimi stop walking and made her look at her in the eye.
"Mimi, that guy looked like he was trying to...well, get to you. If we haven't showed up when we did…Mimi, you could have been seriously hurt!"
Mario nodded in agreement.
Mimi looked at both them in the eyes. Taking a step back, she let out a heavy sigh.
"I know what it looked like, but trust me when I say that Count Lucifer won't harm me like that. I know that for a fact."
"And how do you know this for a fact?" Daisy questioned. "How do you know he isn't trying to deceit you into thinking that?"
Mimi was silent for a moment.
"Daisy...this isn't the best place to talk about it," she finally said. "And really, you don't know what you are talking about."
Daisy's eyes flashed with shocked.
"I don't know what I am talking about? For your information, I have known and heard of many girls who have had this type of thing happen to them! And do you know what happened, every time they ignored the signs that their 'man' were using them? They either find themselves raped, sometimes getting pregnant, or even killed! And from what I've seen-"
"And that's just it," Mimi cut her off. "It is more complicated than that."
"But I still don't-"
"And you can't. But trust me when I say that you all, especially Luigi, getting involved will ultimately make things worse."
Mimi made eye contact with Mario.
"I need you two, and somehow convince Luigi, to keep this incident a secret and not let anyone else know. I need you two to stay back and let me handle this alone, for it is the only way."
"Only way for what? Mimi, you are not making any sense!"
But while Daisy was confused and frustrated, Mario's eyes were filled with a great solemn look. Though there was a doubtful look in his eyes, he slowly nodded his head. Mimi gave him a grateful smile.
If anyone is to know about the count's true identity, it is Mario. At least he won't do anything foolish and I can count on him.
She then turned to Daisy.
"I'll see you guys later. I have to go back to the castle."
"Wait, what? Mimi, we are not done discussing this!"
But Mimi completely ignored Daisy's cry and ran down the streets. Mario watched her go, giving off a heavy sigh as he knew that things were not going to get any simpler.
But the true question he had, was it the right thing to let Mimi handle 'Count Lucifer' by herself?
"Hey, Toadsworth, do you know where Peach is?" Mimi asked as she wondered through the castle.
The old toad blinked.
"Err…I think the last time I saw her she went to Shooting Star Summit to take a walk. She had made the comment she felt a bit stressed and needed some fresh air."
"And when did she say this?" Mimi asked edginess in her voice.
Again, it took awhile for Toadsworth to respond.
"Maybe an hour ago? I don't know, the best I can tell you is to see if she is there yourself."
He smiled.
"Though if I find her while you are gone, I'll let her know you wanted to see her. But do let me know if you find her."
Mimi nodded in reply.
"Okay. Thanks, Toadsworth!"
Quickly making her way out of the castle and down the path Dimentio had shown her, Mimi made her way to Shooting Star Summit. She hoped that Peach would still be there. For she knew that whatever 'legend' Dimentio was interested in, Peach would have to know a lot about it.
For why else would Dimentio pretend to be a count?
Finally, she arrived at the top of the summit, and to her relief, Peach was still there. She was looking into the distance, her eyes having a lot of stress in them.
"Hi, Peach."
Peach jumped a bit as she turned to see Mimi approaching her. The princess forced herself to relax a bit.
"Hello, Mimi. I thought you were out with Nastasia and O'Chunks."
"I was," Mimi replied causally. "But I had to come back early. For I have…something very important to ask you, if you don't mind."
Peach blinked, though her face flashed a nervous look.
"…Okay. I'll see what I can do. What do you need?"
"Well…"
Mimi stretched out her words a bit as she tried to make up a lie that wouldn't make Peach too suspicious.
"…You see, the other day I was in the library and I found an interesting book about the Mushroom Kingdom's and its legends. I got really fascinated by them, and I was wondering if you knew any good ones. Like…"
She paused for a moment.
"…Like if there was any about Shooting Star Summit?"
Peach remained silent, her eyes looking over the horizon. Her gaze became emotionless, and Mimi began to fear if she had overdid it. But, eventually, Peach gave a heavy sigh.
"I'm sure you have noticed by now, but the people of the Mushroom Kingdom think highly on the stars. From the earliest time of our history, we have always looked up to the stars, considering them to be gods of our land. And, to a certain extent, they are. For Mario, Bowser, and I saw those star gods, the Star Spirits, ourselves."
Peach paused for a moment, closing her eyes as she went deep into her memories.
"Five years ago, Bower infiltrated the Star Spirit's home, Star Haven. There, he stole the source of the Star Spirits' power, the Star Rod. In legend, it is said to whole the power to grant whoever possess it any wish of their desire. From wealth, to power, to saving a life. You became godlike, for no one could stand against you. Except for the Star Spirits themselves, of course."
"Is there a story of someone ever misusing the Star Rod's power?" Mimi asked curiously. "Luigi had told me what Bowser did, but did anyone else stole it before?"
"Stolen, no. Bowser was the first to even attempt it," Peach answered. "Though many people have prayed to the Star Spirits for power and have misused it. Though their power must have not last it long or they haven't done anything serious to attract attention. As Luigi must have told you, Bowser really didn't do much damage. For all he really did was just kidnap me and caused a lot of trouble. He didn't murder or cause a war, no civilians were killed or seriously injured."
"But did anything like that happen, before Bowser?"
Again, there was a long silence. A small tear ran down Peach's cheek, as she made small sobs.
"...But of all the misuses, there was one that stood out. The story was of a girl who had manipulated the Star Spirits to give her unbelievable power. She was just a simple poor country girl, praying to the spirits. She was said to beautiful and persuasive, and the Star Spirits answered her plea by allowing her to use the Star Rod to make one simple wish. And so, she wished for all the power in the world to help it. But it was all a lie. The girl had an evil heart, and she used her new twisted powers, all from the Star Rod, to almost destroy the Mushroom Kingdom. She was eventually defeated, but at a great price. A whole city was destroyed and hundreds of people were killed. And it all happened because of one evil manipulation."
Peach clutched her fists.
"And it may happen again, for another dark heart is wanting that same power that the girl, the Shadow Queen wanted. For now the only way to fully get the Star Rod and make a wish like that is to steal the Star Rod yourself at Star Haven, like Bowser. And even though that place is now heavily guarded by the Star Spirits, there is always that small chance of destruction happening again, if that person was ambitious enough."
She then turned to face Mimi, looking at her straight in the eye.
"I hope you use this information that I have given you wisely," Peach said solemnly. "For I know another great evil is about to be upon us again."
With one last look, Peach walked away and headed back to the castle. Mimi watched her go, Peach's words repeating over in her head.
The Star Rod...the power to grant you any wish and make you godlike... To make you invisible.
"To create a perfect world without bloodshed."
Mimi began to make her way back to Peach's castle. For now she knew how to confront Dimentio.