Now that Mario and Lincoln have rescued the first Star Spirit along with the rest of the party, it is time for them to search for the other spirits as well. But before we do that, they'll need to know where to look first.
Chapter 13: Dear Diary
Bowser sat on Princess Peach's former throne, awaiting news from his subjects. He couldn't wait to hear what they had to say. Hopefully Mario had given up in trying to save both the stars and Princess Peach and had gone home with his brother...what was his name again?
Unfortunately, his subjects had bad news.
At that very moment, Kammy came in.
"Yes, what is it now?" asked Bowser.
"We've got bad news, your highness! The Koopa Bros were defeated by Mario and Lincoln!" exclaimed Kammy. They were currently locked inside their own dungeon. It was a cruel irony.
"What?! I could have sworn that the Koopa Bros would win! They managed to impress me! ME!" shouted Bowser.
"Don't feel too bad, your highness, Mario and Lincoln still have six Star Spirits to save. They're still not nearly strong enough to attempt to rescue the princess and take back the Star Rod." explained the Magikoopa. Bowser was still safe.
"That's a relief...still, I was expecting the Koopa Bros to do a better job guarding the Star Spirit than this..." said the Koopa King.
"They did set up a fortress to keep the Star Spirit in and keep intruders out." pointed out Kammy.
"Yeah, but how were they going to defeat Mario if they couldn't even control their Bob-Ombs?" questioned Bowser. He knew that he had better control over his minions than that. Though people would think that Princess Peach and Bowser had nothing in common, they were both in fact respected leaders of their armies. That, and they both liked to play sports.
"You make a good point. Why don't you have a chat with the other Star Spirit guardians? Perhaps you can motivate them." suggested Kammy.
"I think I shall." nodded Bowser.
Immediately, he used his wand to communicate with the other guardians.
The six remaining guardians appeared.
"Yes, your highness?" asked Tutankoopa.
Curious, they noticed that Red Ninjakoopa seemed to be missing. Where exactly was he?
"I regret to inform you that jerk Mario and his stupid friends managed to obtain one of the Star Spirits!" exclaimed Bowser.
"What? That doesn't bode well for us!" shouted Tubba Blubba.
"Those poor Koopa Bros. Well, I suppose at the end of the day they are just kids." noted General Guy. He felt that way about his own troops sometimes, though he felt that his Shy Guy army was well organized.
"Curse you, Mario!" exclaimed Lava Piranha.
"You think we can still take him on?" asked Huff N Puff.
"Most likely. We're all stronger than they are...especially me. I'm the Crystal King!" exclaimed Crystal King.
"I'm pretty strong too..." pointed out the cloud monster.
"I'd advise you to improve the defenses that you have in place. I don't want this happening again!" shouted Bowser.
The Star Guardians nodded.
"Maybe I'll hide my ruins beneath the sand...that ought to surprise Mario." noted Tutankoopa.
The six remaining Star Guardians disappeared.
"I wonder what Princess Peach is up to..." said Bowser. He got the feeling that she wouldn't simply hang out in her room and wait for Mario to come rescue her. After all, when Mario tried to protect her from Bowser, Bowser clobbered him and defenestrated him from space.
She had better not trying anything funny. There had been a rumor started by his minions that there was a Star Kid flying around near her, but what help would he be? He was the one with the power over the stars, not him!
Meanwhile...
Bowser Jr threw a temper tantrum.
"What's the matter?" asked Kamek.
"Lincoln and his sisters defeated Larry!" exclaimed Bowser Jr.
"Well, he has a tendency to be the weakest of his siblings." noted Kamek. It depended on when exactly he was fought in the game, such as when he fought Mario right before Bowser in Super Mario World or when he was the first Koopaling to transform a king with their own wand.
"Yeah, I know...still, Lincoln. got his hands on the first Star Spirit!" shouted Bowser's son.
"Ah yes...I also heard that Lincoln managed to find three more of his sisters..." said the magician. Two of them were twins and one of them was a genius.
"What?!" exclaimed Bowser Jr.
"I know." nodded Kamek.
"He...doesn't know where the next star Spirit is, right?" asked the son of Bowser.
"No, I don't think so." answered the Magikoopa.
Bowser Jr sighed in relief.
Currently, Clyde was serving Bowser Jr. milk.
"Here is your beverage, sir." said Clyde.
"Mmm, delicious! You can leave now." answered Bowser Jr.
Clyde decided to go visit Princess Peach.
A short while later...
"Good news, Princess Peach! Mario and Lincoln managed to rescue the first Star Spirit!" exclaimed Twink.
"Wonderful!" shouted Princess Peach. Still, he was going to have to rescue all seven if he wanted to stand a chance to defeat Bowser.
But...where was Mario going to find the second one?
At that very moment, Clyde showed up.
"Hey, Princess Peach!" exclaimed Clyde.
"Hey Clyde. Did you hear about Mario and Lincoln managing to rescue the first Star Spirit?" asked Princess Peach.
"Yeah. I'm wondering how he'll rescue the second one." noted the boy. They were all over the Mushroom Kingdom, after all.
"Yeah. Me too." nodded the princess.
Suddenly, Princess Peach remembered something.
"I think there's a secret passage that we can use to get out of the room..." nodded the princess.
Clyde noted that he was rather lucky to be dismissed by Bowser Jr. However, he doubted that the guards would let him rescue the princess.
Princess Peach decided to look around.
Eventually, she found a secret switch.
She pressed a button and the fire in the fireplace disappeared.
"I guess this is where we need to go." noted the princess.
Since now she didn't have to worry about being burned, she decided to enter the fireplace along with Twink.
"You coming?" asked Peach.
Clyde nodded.
They both entered the fireplace, and it turned around to the other side.
"I guess the minister was right about there being a secret passage..." noted Peach. Of course, the minister was a smart person. It looked like they could use the secret passageway to get past the guards that were standing in front of the door.
Clyde nodded once again.
Curious, they noticed that someone had left a book on the desk. It had a big B on the front cover. It was also black and red and had a green bookmark.
"Huh? Who left that there?" asked the princess.
Clyde decided to open it. What kind of book was this? It didn't look anything that Princess Peach kept in her library. Those books were rather cheerful and relaxing. Not something that Bowser would read.
As it turned out, it appeared to be a diary of some kind.
Clyde decided to have a look. Who could have possibly written this? Of course, the big B was probably a hint.
"Dear Diary, today I figured out that the Star Spirits were refusing to grant my wishes. How dare they refuse to grant my wishes! I am the Koopa King! Nobody disobeys me! Except for Mario since he always seems to get away with it...darn him. I decided to head to Shooting Star Summit so that I could teach them a lesson! I took their Star Rod and I imprisoned them all in playing cards! Serves them right! Now it's time for me to make my own wishes!" read Clyde out loud.
"I think I might know who owns this diary..." said Twink.
"So do I." nodded the boy. Normally, he wouldn't read a diary (not even Lori's), but he decided that he could gather information about Bowser this way.
Besides, Bowser didn't hold the diary under lock and key like he probably should.
"Dear Diary, today I used the Star Rod to levitate Peach's Castle up in the sky! I'd like to see anyone try to rescue her now...also, I beat up Mario using the power of the stars! He thinks that he can stop me from kidnapping the princess? Big mistake! I also decided to have Kammy send the Star Spirits in different locations. Wouldn't want anyone to try to rescue them now. Now nobody can stop me! Maybe now Princess Peach will finally like me..." read Clyde out loud once again.
"This is Bowser's diary!" exclaimed Twink. To think he of all people would leave his diary around for everyone in the castle to read. What would his minions think if they decided to take a look?
"Maybe I would like him if he stopped kidnapping me." noted Princess Peach. He needs a better way to express his feelings. On the other hand, this did explain some things, such as him always kidnapping her. Personally she preferred Mario since he's willing to risk his life for her...though on the rare days in which Bowser wasn't doing anything evil she would go golfing with him.
This time, Princess Peach would read the diary.
"Dear Diary, it appears that the Star Spirits aren't as secure as I thought. Mario managed to break into the Koopa Bros. Fortress along with his friends and they took the Star Spirit from the Koopa Bros! I hate Mario! Just like Junior hates Lincoln...apparently he thinks that Lincoln is everything that he is not. He's an only child while Lincoln has eleven sisters. Speaking of his sisters, he's managed to find four of them as we speak. Lincoln and his sisters also beat up Larry. I wonder what the other Koopalings will think." read Princess Peach.
"I guess you were right, Twink. Mario and Lincoln really did recover the first Star Spirit." noted Clyde.
"He sure did. I think it was Eldstar, I believe." remarked Twink. He was the oldest out of all the Star Spirits...though perhaps not the oldest star in existence. That was the sun...who curiously enough lived in Flower Fields.
Princess Peach continued reading. There had to be something that they could use somewhere in the diary.
"Dear Diary, it seems that Mario is going to look for another Star Spirit. Too bad he doesn't know about the Star Spirit in the desert. Dry Dry Desert to be precise. It's all the way in the ruins buried underneath the sand. I'd like to see him to try to find them and rescue the Star Spirit. Did I mention that it's also guarded by the Koopa pharaoh, Tutankoopa? I'm sure he can clobber Mario and his little friends! I know that he's stronger than the Koopa Bros, anyway." read Princess Peach to Clyde and Twink.
"Hmm, I don't think we should celebrate Mario and Lincoln rescuing the first Star Spirit just yet. They seem to be increasing their security so that he can't get another Star Spirit." noted Clyde. This wasn't going to be as easy for them as before.
"It looks that way." nodded Peach. Surely Mario could rescue the Star Spirit anyway, right?
Suddenly, they heard footsteps.
"Uh-oh, someone's coming!" exclaimed Clyde.
"What should we do?" asked Peach.
"Quickly, through the fireplace!" ordered Twink.
Quickly, Peach and Clyde pressed the button on the fireplace so that they would go back to their room without Bowser spotting them. Bowser wouldn't be happy if he learned that Peach and Clyde had been causing mischief while he was sitting on the former's throne and thinking of things that he could wish for with the Star Rod.
However, they left the diary wide open.
"I know that I left my diary around here somewhere...ah-ha! There it is! But what's this? Oh no! Someone has been reading it!" exclaimed Bowser.
At that very moment, Bowser Jr. came in.
"What's the matter, dad?" asked Bowser Jr.
"Someone has been reading my diary! I think it was Princess Peach!" exclaimed Bowser.
"You sure it wasn't my new servant?" inquired Bowser's son. This hadn't happened before.
"This is so embarrassing!" shouted the Koopa King. At least she went back to her room along with Clyde.
"I wonder what page she stopped at..." questioned Bowser Jr.
"Junior, are you reading my diary?!" exclaimed Bowser.
"You hid the second Star Spirit in the desert? That seems like a good hiding spot..." noted the boy.
"Yes, I hid it in the desert, now stop reading my diary!" shouted the Koopa King.
"Dad, Princess Peach might tell Mario about this!" exclaimed Bowser Jr.
Bowser gasped.
"You're right. I have to stop Mario from reaching Tutankoopa!" bellowed the Koopa King.
"I'll go tell the Koopalings!" exclaimed Bowser Jr.
A few minutes later...
"I cannot believe that Larry lost! I thought he was stronger than that..." said Ludwig.
"Wah!" cried Wendy.
"At least there's still six of us left." noted Lemmy.
"Yeah...I wonder what happened to Larry..." questioned Morton. Something told him that it hadn't ended too well for him, though he was likely still playing the game.
"Beats me!" exclaimed Iggy.
At that very moment, Bowser came in.
"Due to recent events, I am sending another one of you to guard Tutankoopa. Mario's coming for him next, I can feel it." stated Bowser.
"Didn't Larry already guard the Koopa Bros?" asked Ludwig.
"Yes, he did. But he failed and so did they. That's why I'm sending another one of you to deal with Mario and his friends." said the Koopa King.
"Personally I think I could do a better job than Larry did. Look how muscular I am!" exclaimed Roy.
"Are you volunteering, Roy?" asked Bowser.
"Why not? I could pummel Mario any time I wanted to. Even if he all his little friends backing him up like that boy Lincoln." remarked the shaded Koopaling.
"Very well then. Head to Dry Dry Desert and make sure that Mario and Lincoln don't get that second Star Spirit!" exclaimed Bowser.
Roy nodded. He was going to have fun stopping Mario and Lincoln from succeeding in their quest.
Roy left the castle on his clown copter.
Meanwhile...
"Congratulation on saving me. Now I can start granting wishes for everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom...but since I work as a team with my fellow Star Spirits, I won't be able to grant big wishes, only small ones. At least I'll be able to do more than a Star Kid would be capable of." noted Eldstar. Though his childhood had been a long time ago, he remembered it fondly.
"We did it!" exclaimed Lincoln.
"Not to discourage you, but you haven't won yet. You have to rescue the other Star Spirits. And since Bowser knows about you rescuing me, he's likely going to make the defenses around the other Star Spirits stronger." said Eldstar.
"That makes sense." nodded Lisa. In the original Paper Mario, Bowser's minions got stronger as Mario rescued the Star Spirits. Huff N Puff in particular required smart tactics to win.
"I shall grant you some of my Star power to help you on your quest." said Eldstar.
Eldstar gave Mario, Lincoln, and the others a portion of his Star power.
"There! This should help you unlock more of your potential...you can also use Refresh to heal your HP and FP..." noted the Star Spirit.
Mario gave the thumbs up.
"Anyways, you're probably wondering how to use Star Power, aren't you? Well, it's rather simple. As you know, stars get their strength from the people that wish on them...so, if you gather an audience, they should be able to help you with that, especially if you appeal to the audience. It also helps if you focus." noted the elder Star Spirit.
At that very moment, several Toads took a seat nearby. Apparently, they were going to help the party use the power over the stars.
"Good luck Mario. I know Bowser may be stronger now, but if you can gain the power of the stars, you shall be stronger too. As for you Lincoln, good luck getting home." said Eldstar.
Mario and the others nodded.
"Let's head to Toad Town, shall we? They'll be glad to hear about our success." suggested Goombario.
"Yeah! I'd like to head back to town too..." nodded Lincoln.
"Yeah!" exclaimed Mario.
Together, the party decided to head to Toad Town.
However, they were being spied on.
"Time for me to have my revenge..." said an old foe of Mario and Lincoln.
It looks like the next Star Spirit is being held in Dry Dry Ruins. And yes, it's located in a desert. Don't expect it to be pleasant like Pleasant Path or Koopa Village. It does contain a village where you can prepare for Tutankoopa though.
In the next chapter, a familiar foe will show up...but it's not Larry. He's still being chased by an angry mob.