Dark times had fallen over us. Mario and Luigi no longer trusted each other, and now Aeron and I thought we were the only ones who could keep going.

We were so wrong. We should have known Terra wouldn't fall to despair.

Terra traveled by herself to another galaxy, and where darkness had fallen over us before…she found the one to light things up and show where our destiny lay. The Shining Star of Light.

Terra looked out of the window of the living quarters at the infinite blue sky. She couldn't believe what happened on Yoshi's Island.

Is it really possible? Who are the Shining Stars really, if one fights to destroy the universe?

Who am I really?

Terra sighed. The answers were never obvious. She got up and walked out of bed, getting on deck.

Suddenly, her eyes widened. What was that pounding reiatsu? She released her own, and opened her spiritual eyes.

How strange…it resembled her own so much. Different energy types…but the pattern was the same. It was as if their reiatsus were songs, playing at the same time and creating a perfect harmony.

I need answers. There's only one thing to do.

Terra raced onto the deck. She grabbed the wheel and the Starship's engines burst to life.

"Terra, what are you doing?" Lubba asked. "Axel and Aeron are still on Yoshi's Island!"

"I'm sorry, Lubba," Terra said. "But I think, at that galaxy over there…it's another Shining Star!"

"Another Shining Star?" Mario asked. "You sure it isn't Luigi's freak creation?"

"I'm sure," Terra said. "It's Light reiatsu! And Shade is of Shadow, so…I have to find the one of Light!"

"I'll help!" Luigi said as Terra brought the Starship up to the Over Building Galaxy.

"No, I will!" Mario said. "You can't be trusted anymore!"

The two began a massive argument. Terra watched them, growing more and more upset. When they split, the Mario Bros. are useless. But I need both of them…who knows when Axel and Aeron will come back?

Finally, Terra couldn't take it anymore. "Both of you, stop it now!"

The Mario Bros. stopped and stared at her, shocked. She hadn't yelled at them before like that.

"If you two want to come with me, either you both come or don't come at all!" Terra shouted angrily. "I don't want to hear you two fight anymore!"

"Well if he's going, include me out!" Mario said.

"Same here!" Luigi said, stalking away.

Terra sighed. "So that's how it is. We turned away from our unity…and our duty and destiny at the same time. But the other Shining Star…I think he can undo that! Lubba, I have to go alone. Sorry."

"I see," Lubba said. "I'll tell Aeron and Axel when they come back. Good luck!"

"Thanks, Lubba."

Terra was surprised when she landed. "Nani (what)?"

All around her, massive bricks of assorted colors were pushed together to form massive blocks which surrounded smooth gray pathways. All this rested on the clounds.

"They're LEGOs…" Terra said. "Sugoi…!" She raced down the gray path.

Terra raced down alleys. Many times, trucks raced past her, but the people inside hardly seemed to notice her.

"They look like Minifigures…" Terra said. "This is amazing-nani?"

A LEGO Minifigure in a black robe jumped at her, swinging a black sword. Terra dodged it. "Who are you?" she demanded. The Minifigure responded by slashing at her. Terra jumped away and created an emerald blade, and they began fighting with the blades.

But Terra knew very little about sword combat, and the Minifigure was very skilled. Terra found herself being forced back. "No…I can't lose!" she shouted, taking another swipe.

The Minifigure sidestepped, and then his sword left his hand. Terra watched helplessly as it came towards her.

The sword landed in her side. Terra coughed blood, staggered, and then fell off the edge of the path.

Terra watched the platform fall away from her…and the infinite sky with it Her vision began to blacken.

What is a Shining Star really?

The Shining Stars, Verse 2

Stars: 11

Ray

Hey, everyone! It's me, Ray! I'm the new member of the Mario Team! Pleased to meet you!

And to add to that, I'm the Shining Star of Light! I'm not sure if I can do the things I have to, but knowing what's at stake, I'll do what I can! So you can count on me to save this universe!

Anyway, this is how I met the Mario Team. It all started when I met Terra.

I was visiting the Over Building Galaxy at the time. It's a really fun place…and imagination rules the galaxy. You can make whatever you want. Planes, buildings, animals-heck, the list is endless!

BUT ANYWAY. I was building something at the time.

"Not enough bricks…" I muttered. "Crap!" I ran over to where a crate was, and smashed it open with my fist. The crate exploded into several bricks. I took them and tossed them at what I was making.

"Finished!" I shouted. "Now my racecar is ready to go!"

I climbed into its cockpit and closed it. "Time for some awesome driving!"

The engine revved, and I blasted off across the pathways. It was incredibly fast…well, actually, way TOO fast.

"HOLY S-" I shouted, seeing a wall in front of me. Then suddenly, the steering wheel broke off. So I was going way too fast and had no way to steer away. Just perfect. "CRAP, WHERE ARE THE BRAKES?"

CRASH!

There was no way to stop in time. I smashed headlong into the wall, and although I jumped out in time, the car exploded against the wall, smashing into all its pieces.

"No!" I shouted. "My car! After all my hard work! Oh well, I'll just rebuild it."

I began to reassemble the pieces, when I saw something falling from the sky. "Wait…what's that?"

It was a girl with brown hair and green clothes, and she was falling headfirst towards the ground. Then I noticed: there was a Black Sword in her side. Blood streamed from the wound. What happened?

I ran over and caught her before she smashed headlong into the pavement. "Hey!" I shouted. "What happened to you? It's not safe to skydive headfirst with a wound like that!"

The girl didn't respond. She was unconscious. And…I could tell she was losing a lot of blood from the wound. So I decided I had to something. I pulled the sword out of her side, and decided to get bricks.

I faced the wall I crashed into, and began to release my white energy. Then I drew my fist back. "Falcon PUNCH!"

Light exploded from my fist, smashing the wall to pieces. Enough bricks for me to start building a device to heal the girl. I set to work immediately, and finished quickly. "There we go!" I said.

I put the girl inside, and a green light shone from the sides of the device. The girl was surrounded with green light, and then her wound began to heal. I looked at the sword.

"It's a Black Sword…" I murmured. "It's incredibly hard and sharp, and only the most moronic or ruthless people use it often. So this girl must have been attacked, or maybe-"

I didn't have time to contemplate anymore. Without warning, bullets whizzed by my head from behind, only one centimeter away from a headshot…and close enough to take off a hair. Now I was a target!

I whirled to see a bunch of guys with pistols. They reloaded, and began shooting again.

I quickly dodged the bullets, and then threw a brick at one of them. It knocked him out immediately. Then I grabbed the Black Sword and smashed a bullet aside, sending it zinging upwards into space.

"Enough of that," I said. "Try this!"

Before the thugs could move, I thrust my hand out. Light gathered around it, and blasted them down. They were merely bricks when it faded.

"Well, that was easy enough," I said. "Now I have some more bricks to build with."

"Ohhhh…"

I turned in surprise to see that girl regaining consciousness. But the wound still wasn't fully healed…

"Uh…where am I?" the girl wondered, looking around.

"You got hurt and then I rescued you?" I said. Perhaps I should have walked into her field of vision.

"UWAH!" the girl shouted, jumping. She immediately winced, as she landed on her wound. "Itai…"

"Um…what?" I asked. "I don't know what you just said…"

"Oh…I just speak a lot in another language," the girl said, laughing a little nervously. "Um…when did you get there?"

"I've been here for a while," I said, putting the Black Sword on my back.

The girl's eyes widened. "That sword…wasn't I stabbed by it a second ago?"

"Well, actually, no," I said. "I found you falling from the sky with it in your side. I pulled it out, and your wound is healing now. So…you might want to stay still for a while. It takes time to recover, you know."

"Oh…okay…" the girl said. She looked up towards the sky, seeming kind of sad. "I can't believe I lost so easily…"

"Hey," I said. "You probably tangled with one of the worst thugs out there. Even I'm hard pressed to fight them."

"Oh…I see…" the girl said. She seemed a bit distant. "Um…arigato. No, I mean, thank you."

"Don't mention it," I said, going back to rebuilding my car. "I'm Ray, by the way."

"I'm Terra," the girl said. "Um…Ray? What are you doing in a world of…um…LEGOs?"

I laughed. "I wouldn't say LEGOs," I said. "They're more like…giant oversized bricks. I came here to see if it would be any fun. And it is pretty fun making whatever you imagine come to life. See here-"

I pulled out a brick. "What is this exactly?"

Terra looked at it, seeming unsure. "It's, um…a brick?"

"No," I said. "I mean, yeah, it is, but…it could be metal, or a rock, or maybe even lava! Do you see? The possibilities are endless! That's what makes this place awesome!"

"Oh…I see…" Terra said. "Um, what are you doing…with the bricks?"

"Oh, I'm making a racecar!" I said. "Pretty awesome, huh?"

"Uh, right…" Terra said. "Where do you plan to race?"

"Through this place!" I said. "Don't you see all the roads around?"

"Oh, right…" Terra got up, not meeting my eyes. She must be pretty shy. "I think my wound is all better now. Thank you…" Her expression suddenly hardened. "Ray, behind you!"

"What?" I whirled to see a bunch of guys with magic wands. "The heck?" I shouted as I flipped over a spell. "Since when did they learn how to use magic?"

"We have to stop them!" Terra said. "I'll do it!" She drew her hands back, and then smashed them forward, and emeralds crystallized in the air and blasted into the magic guys. But they launched spells at the emeralds, and only five went down. Ten left.

Of course, I was pretty surprised. "Whoa…" I said. "Where'd the crystals come from?" And more importantly, in that split second before the emeralds took solid form…why'd they emit energy like the lasers I use?

I didn't have time to contemplate that, either, because I suddenly had to dodge a flaming spell. In other words, a cheap shot. "Oh that is IT!"

I pointed my finger at them. "How's this for a laser pointer?" I shouted, blasting a beam of white light and mowing down the guy who attacked me. He immediately exploded into bricks.

"Sugoi…!" Terra shouted. Suddenly, she remembered where she was, and sidestepped a football tackle. Then she kicked him into the air, raced up to another one, and smashed him hard in the gut.

BOOM!

The guy shook, and then blasted upwards hard. I stared after him. Then I raised both of my hands, and blasted light out of them. The other two went flying up. I raced after them, and raised my hand. Massive amounts of light spiraled around it.

Terra was on the other side, and green energy was filling the air around her. She had her fist clenched.

"Falcon PUNCH!" I shouted. Both our fists smashed into the guys.

KA-BOOM!

Massive emeralds exploded outwards around the area we struck. Light radiated in all directions, and the earth shook with an earthquake. But what made all this?

We landed, and Terra was staring at me, shocked. "How…did you just control Light?"

"Yeah," I said. "But…how did you create those emeralds? And more importantly…how does the energy used to create them seem similar to mine in pattern?"

"Ray," Terra said. "That light power…haven't you noticed that your energy harmonizes my own?"

"Well…yeah…" I said. "What could that mean?"

"That can only mean…" Terra took in a breath. "You're a Shining Star."

I didn't know what to say. Because I didn't know what a Shining Star was, either. "Uhh…what?"

"Haven't you heard about them?" Terra asked. I shook my head. "Oh…okay…" Terra began to explain who she thought they were. "That's what I thought…but then…there's another Shining Star. One of Shadow, and he not only gave us many problems, but he revealed his identity recently. Now my friends don't trust each other. Please, Ray…" she looked up at me. "Will you help us?"

I remembered what she said about what was at stake. "Sure," I said. "I'd be glad to! Let's go!"

"Um…how?" Terra asked. "Have you already-"

"Completed the racecar?" I asked, tossing a brick. It landed neatly in place. "Yes," I said. "Now...come on! Let's go find a way for you to get back to your friends!"

I raced down the streets at a reckless pace (though not as reckless as last time). I was having the time of my life, but Terra was gripping the seat for dear life.

"What's with you?" I asked. "Isn't this awesome?"

"It really looks like any minute we're going to crash…" Terra said, her eyes squeezed shut.

"That's what makes it fun," I said. "'Cause avoiding the crash and getting as close to it as possible is the idea."

"Yeah…whatever you say," Terra said, not convinced.

Elsewhere…

A bunch of idiots were tossing bricks at other people.

"What are they doing…?" Axel wondered, watching from some rooftop.

"Being idiots?" Aeron said. "After all, they have bricks for heads. Or should I say blocks?"

…

Everyone instantly cracked up. Then Axel recovered. "Okay, back to business. We gotta find Terra and do…something…"

"Faaaaaaaiiil," Aeron said, tossing bricks to create a bridge over to the next rooftop.

"I agree with that," Ben said, making a cameo. "GIVE ME A DIME! No, wait…I MEAN, CAMEO TIME! =D"

…

"Wait, wait, wait…you literally owe me a dime," Ben said. "You see, every time I make a cameo, I get a dime from you. And so, if you could FINALLY pay off what you owe me…then I may leave…and come back some day."

Axel took one look at Ben. "Here's a dime." He tossed it to Ben.

Ben turned it over to see a Bomb-omb decorating it. "WHAT THE FU-"

BOOM!

"WAAAAAAAH~YOU STILL OWE ME A BUNCH OF DIMES~" Ben shouted as he went flying away.

"What a moron," Aeron said. "Now let's keep going." He jumped over to the next rooftop and knocked some guy with a bazooka off the edge, where a racecar ran him over. "Come on, let's go-"

Trip.

"WAAAAAH!" Aeron shouted, falling into another alley.

"AERON?" Mario shouted after him.

Back to where we were…

"Crap, we're running low on gas," I said as the car began to slow down.

"Wait…this thing runs on gas?" Terra asked.

"I MEAN FUEL!" I shouted. "Well, actually, we have to continuously load bricks into the car to keep it running."

"Right…" Terra said. "How do you plan on getting bricks, Ray?"

"Oh, that's an easy one, I-"

*insert record scratch here*

…

"…never mind, I don't have a plan," I said lamely.

"We could try to demolish the wall," Terra said.

"Oh yeah, that would work!" I said. "That was the best plan I ever thought of!"

Terra cried a couple anime style tears before helping me smash a building to pieces with our powers.

"That was easy!" I said. "Now, come on, let's go!"

One second later…

We were going at Mach 6. I was screaming in joy. Terra was screaming in terror.

"WOOHOO!" I shouted. "THIS IS AWESOME!"

"DO YOU SEE THAT MINIFIGURE?" Terra shouted, pointing at a guy with a bazooka that was falling in front of us. I couldn't hit the brakes in time. We ran over him.

"Whoops," I said. "I hope that was a bad guy."

Suddenly, we rounded a corner, and there was a non LEGO guy in green and gold falling in front of us.

"WHAT THE HECK?" I shouted, slamming the brakes on.

"OH MY GOD, AERON!" Terra shouted.

RUNNETH OVER'D

We slammed into him and skidded about ten meters.

"AERON, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Terra shouted, jumping out of the car and running over to his side.

"Wait, you know him?" I asked.

"Yes!" Terra said. "He must have thought I was in trouble and come to help…but now we hurt him…"

"He's unconscious now," I said.

"I hope he's alright…" Terra suddenly frowned. "Wait, what's that?"

"Zzzsnore…" Aeron muttered.

"HE'S ASLEEP?" I shouted.

"He's like that a lot," we heard. We turned and saw a guy in blue and silver coming. "Aeron somehow seems to not be alright…and then it turns out he is alright."

"Ah, Axel!" Terra said. "You've arrived!"

"You ran off alone," Axel said, annoyed. "Are Shining Stars meant to be incredibly reckless?"

"Well," Terra said, blushing a little. "Sorry. I guess I just really needed to…oh! Axel! You won't believe it!"

"Won't believe what?" Axel asked. "You came here to find the Shining Star of Light…and…?"

"I found him!" Terra said excitedly. "Look! I'd like you to meet Ray."

"Hey," I said. "Not totally sure what she's talking about, but I'll do what I can to help you."

"I'm Axel Nightblazer," Axel said. "Okay, then, let's get moving. We've got a Star to find."

"Let's-a go!" Mario said. "Come on, Axel, Aeron, Terra, dork who made us get a new enemy!"

Terra sighed. "Are they still mad at each other?"

"Yeah," Axel said. "Come on, Ray, let's go."

"WHAT?" Mario shouted. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHO I AM?"

"Nope," I said. "Only that you think I live under a rock. Which I don't."

"This car is rather small…" Luigi said.

I suddenly pulled up short next to the edge. "Crap, we can't get over."

Terra pulled herself back into the car, having nearly been pitched out. "So…what should we do?"

"Do any of you have bricks?" I asked.

"We picked up a few," Axel said, handing them to me. "Do you have a plan?"

"Oh do I?" I said. "Just watch me."

I began to throw bricks together to create a rocket. "Just let your imagination go to work, and it'll do wonders!" I said.

"Ray, there are morons coming!" Luigi said. "We'll defend you! Get whatever it is you're making done!"

"Right!" I said. "There's the engine…" I grabbed another set of bricks and began to build the cockpit. "Crap, there aren't enough bricks!"

"We'll just have to get more!" Axel said. "But where can we get some?"

Luigi broke open a crate and began throwing bricks out of it. The cockpit was quickly finished, but now there were no more bricks around. The thugs had smashed open everything and taken the bricks away!

"We'll just have to follow them!" Axel said, jumping into the racecar. He sped off somewhere.

"Mario and Luigi, search in the alley to the right!" I said.

"I refuse!" Mario said. "I will not go with him!"

"Then I'll go!" I shouted. "Terra, go with Mario!" I ran down an alley with Luigi to find the thugs running away with boxes full of bricks.

Luigi ran after them and threw a Green Shell. The bandits dodged, but it crashed against a lamppost, sending bricks tumbling on top of them. I ran over and blasted a laser at the pile of bricks, eliminating them. Then I reached into the pile and grabbed the box. "Come on, let's go!" I said.

But that was easier said than done. Because a bunch of morons with Black Swords were coming our way.

"Uh oh," Luigi said. "What are we gonna do?"

"Hold the box!" I shouted, tossing it to him (and flattening him). "Time to go awesome swordsman!"

I drew the Black Sword that was on my back, and then charged forward, slashing at the bandits.

Our swords met. We hacked, slashed, stabbed, EVERYTHING someone with a sword could do against each other…and it was still an indecisive battle.

The Bandit slashed at me again. But this time, I dodged and sliced at his sword's hilt.

KLANG! Before I knew it, the sword in his hand went flying into the air to smash into another bandit.

"Oh, so you have to disarm them," I said. Then I quickly sliced and dispatched the guy I was fighting. "Next?"

The other swordsman made attacks, but every clashdown resulted the same way: their sword would go spinning out of their hands (sometimes crashing into one of their comrades) and then I could defeat them quickly.

In the end…

I stood over a heap of bricks. "Okay…now who's next?"

There was no response. "Um…Ray, there's no one left," Luigi said.

"Oh yeah," I said. "Come on, let's get back to the rocket!"

Suddenly, a massive block dropped down in front of us, trapping us.

"WHAT THE HECK?" Luigi shouted.

I sighed and dropped the sword, and walked up to the wall. "Falcon PUNCH!"

KA-BLAM!

"Okay!" I said. "There we go!"

We returned to the rocket to see Terra and Mario returning with another box.

"We got another box of bricks," Terra said. "We had to beat down some thugs to get it."

"But they couldn't stand up to me!" Mario said. "Because I am so awesome!"

"SHUT UP!" we heard.

"WHA-" Mario began.

RUNNETH OVER'D

Axel drove up in the racecar…over Mario. "Hey, I got a box of bricks," he said, holding it up.

"Great!" I said. "Now…" I dumped out the contents of all three boxes and began to build the nosecone.

Suddenly, a spear lodged itself in the ground next to me. "WAH!" I shouted. "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?"

"It's a person!" Axel said. "Obviously. That's holding a spear."

"Great," I said. "But they're too late, because I just…" I slammed the last brick into place. "Finished the rocket! Ready for blastoff!"

"Get in quickly!" Luigi said. "We can't waste time here!"

We jumped into the rocket, and it blasted off, jetting us off into the higher levels of the galaxy.

When we landed, we ended up on some big building. And it only went higher.

"Sheesh," Aeron muttered, looking up (he woke up during the ride). "Now we have to work harder."

"You're lazy?" I said. "This is gonna be AWESOME!" I jumped at the tower's wall, and then sprang off it into the air.

It was then that I noticed the guy with the bazooka above me.

"Aw man," I said. "This is just not my day."

KA-BOOM!

"Wait…what?" I shouted as many blue blasts of lightning crashed against the bazooka guy, smashing him to pieces.

Axel hopped off a ledge and landed on the area where the bazooka guy was. "You're not a solo worker, Ray. Got it?"

"Right," I said, grabbing the platform. "Well, just make sure you can keep up."

"You're flexing muscle you don't have," Axel said, grinning. "But you're on!"

I pushed upwards and threw myself towards the next platforms. Axel jumped up, and then suddenly he just faded slowly.

"Wait…that was an afterimage!" I said. "Darn it, he's too fast."

"You're too slow, Ray!" I heard Axel shout from high above.

I sighed and grabbed the next ledge and threw myself up. Then I landed on another ledge and turned to find a guy with…a banana?

"Oh, crap," I said suddenly.

Immediately, the guy tossed the banana and quickly ran for it. And monkeys piled up on me.

"Get…off…of…ME!" I shouted, throwing off light in all directions, knocking the monkeys to distant galaxies.

"Ray, are you alright?" Terra asked, jumping and landing on the ledge that I was on.

"Huh?" I said. "Yeah, just fine. I can handle anything!"

Terra smiled. "That's good," she said. "Now…shall we continue climbing?"

"Sure!" I said. "This should be easy!"

Terra looked at me in the eye. "What are the bricks underneath me made of?" she asked.

I looked down. They were brown. "Uh…I don't know?" I said. "Because I don't know what br-"

"They're Earth…if you imagine them to be," Terra said. Then suddenly I noticed-the clouds were shooting downwards. Terra was using the earth underneath us to send us flying up!

We reached the top in no time. But Axel and Aeron were standing there, frowning.

"Axel, Aeron, is something wrong?" Terra asked.

"Yes," Axel said. "Doesn't this tower seem…incomplete to you?"

We looked around. It seemed that there were pillars around, but now they were shattered. Something on the floor had had many of its bricks removed. And…what was left of the roof was full of holes, and something dangled from the roof: a golden bell.

"Whoa!" I said.

"Uruwashii…!" Terra whispered.

"Um…more of that other language?" I said, not understanding.

"Ah, yeah," Terra said. "It means 'Beautiful'. But, um…do you think we could put it back together?"

"Are you kidding?" I asked, smashing apart some pot. "What can't you do when you have bricks and imagination?"

"Then let's start building!" Aeron said, grabbing a statue and smashing it.

Slowly but surely, the ten pillars began to grow as we tossed bricks onto them. And eventually, they were standing at full height.

"Great!" Terra said. "Now…"

"Sorry it took so long," Luigi said. "I can't climb very well."

"Did you find any bricks?" Axel asked.

"Yeah," Luigi said. "I thought it might be wise to keep some on hand.

"Let's see them," Aeron said, holding his hand out. He examined the bricks. "Ah…I think this will work!"

More bricks flew, and then the roof was complete! "Is this what we accomplished together?" Terra asked, amazed.

"Yeah," Axel said. "That's what unity can do."

"Huff…hey guys, I made it!" Mario said.

"Did you bring any bricks?" Aeron said.

"No," Mario said.

Everyone sighed. "Oh well," Axel said, tossing some translucent bricks at the pillars. "Now…are we out of bricks?"

"Yep," I said. "That was our last one."

"CRAP!" Axel said. "What do we do?"

"We could-" Aeron began.

"No," Axel said.

"Huh?" Aeron said.

"No!" Axel shouted.

"What?" Aeron said.

"Why?" Axel asked.

"Huh?" Aeron said.

"Maybe!" Axel shouted.

"What?" Aeron shouted, confused.

"NO!" Axel shouted.

"Sheesh, haven't you heard of freedom of speech?" Aeron said. "Besides…" He jumped off the side and then came back up with a gold statue. "Now we have bricks."

Terra threw the bricks upward, where they finished the bell. "Now the tower is whole once more!"

Luigi grabbed something and began to ring the bell. It produced a clear tone…no, wait, it was a song altogether! And the gems began to glow…red, white, cerulean, ocean blue, emerald green, forest green, pink, silver, light green, and black. Then we noticed the design on the floor.

"It's a Star!" Terra said as the lines on it began to flash.

"Yeah, but…" Mario frowned. "What's with its eyes? One's green and gold, the other silver and blue."

"And on each angle," Luigi said. "There's a symbol. Six oval shaped emeralds in a circle, some falling rain droplets, a thundercloud, rainbow light radiating from somewhere, a shroud of black, a sakura, a green tornado, a hexagonal snowflake, two swords crossing, and a red flame…huh!"

"The emeralds: Earth. The rain: Water. The thundercloud: Thunder. The radiating rainbow: Light. The black shroud: Shadow. The sakura: Plantlife. The tornado: Wind. The snowflake: Ice. The swords: Metal. And the flame: Fire. Those…" Aeron looked at them. "Are the ten forces of nature. The Shining Stars."

"This is a lasting symbol of their power," Terra said. "And…when united, they can achieve their full potential…and their duty."

"And united," I said. "That's how they can achieve their destiny."

"Exactly," Aeron said. "You realize that as Shining Stars, you have a big job. And…the only way we can all succeed in our goals is to unite with each other."

"But does that mean-" Mario began.

"Mario," Aeron said calmly. "Everyone deserves a second chance. Luigi didn't mean to create Shade."

"So…Mario, can you forgive me?" Luigi asked.

Mario looked at his brother. "Luigi…all right. I forgive you."

The symbols flashed, and then a Star was floating in front of us.

"This is how we will achieve our destiny," Terra said. "United."

"I'll be there for you," I said. "For all of you."

"Thanks, Ray," Axel said.

WE GOT A STAR!

The Star pulled us through space to allow us to land on a strange planetoid that looked like Mario's head in SHAPE. But personally, I think it looked more like Luigi in color.

"What the-?" some big purple star-shaped creature with pants said. "Who's this?"

"I'm Ray," I said. "I'm the Shining Star of Light! I heard about what you were doing, and decided to lend a hand!"

"Lubba," Terra said. "Please let Ray ride with us. He's the one who allowed us to leave our despair behind."

"Alright," Lubba said. "A new crew member is always appreciated! Welcome to Starship Mario, Ray!"

"I hope you feel welcome here," Mario said.

"I will!" I said. "Now…what do we do now?"

"We could take you on a tour of Starship Mario," Aeron said.

"Sure!" I said. "Let's start now!"

"Alright," Aeron said, walking away. "If you'd come with me…"

(This part has only the audio for fun.)

"Corn!"

"What? Ray, what are you-"

"Corn!" Boing!

BOOOOOOOM!

"RAAAAAAAAAY!"