CVGWJames
Thanks for the number rating.
LiamTheYoshi
Well, that's how TEC wanted to dance with Peach.
mariobroultimate
I agree. I found it weird that Peach danced with herself too. And this was a scene I was envisioning for many weeks in advance.
…
Chapter 20: An Arena in the Sky
It's now 2:20 PM. At the present time, Mario, Luigi, and Flurrie exited through the grate that once blocked the entrance to Boggly Woods. Suddenly, Mario and Luigi's phones went off, indicating they each received a text.
"This might be Princess Peach again," Luigi said as he and Mario took out their phones.
The text read, "Mario and Luigi, I'm sure you're very concerned about me, but please know I'm fine! I'm actually more worried about you. The X-Nauts who kidnapped me are searching desperately for the Crystal Stars. I'll try to learn what I can about them. I'll text again if I uncover anything, okay? You must know I miss you. Lately, I've dreamt about the Labor Day Ball and I pictured you there, Mario. You don't understand how upset I was after I woke up. Anyway, I very hope you come find me soon."
"Mercy me! Isn't it precious that a princess sent you a message?" Flurrie asked.
"Yeah. Not very many people get to talk to a princess like Princess Peach," Luigi answered.
"Luigi?" Mario asked, having thought of something. "I need to change outfits now. Like, I can't go around with a ripped sleeve."
"Good idea. I'll meet you in the Inn," Luigi replied.
Mario gave Luigi the Emerald Star and Magical Map. He then went up the green Warp Pipe to go back to Rogueport's Inn.
...
In the meantime, Luigi and Flurrie entered the room with the Thousand-Year Door and approached the Crystal Star platform.
"This is where we drop off the Crystal Stars and find out where the next one is," Luigi explained.
"So, what do we do?" Flurrie questioned.
"Watch and learn."
Luigi stepped on the platform's pedestal and held the Emerald Star in front, turning on the cyan light display. Then, the Emerald Star floated to the bottom right of the Diamond Star and the Magical Map rose out of his hands, glowing white.
Star-shaped glitter also appeared within the glow. A thin cyan circle faded in and lowered until it touched the Magical Map. The room then brightened up, causing Luigi and Flurrie to shield their eyes.
Three seconds later, a star-shaped orb exploded outward and a bang sounded across the room with a final white flash. The room darkened to its normal state and the cyan lights disappeared along with the Emerald Star. The Magical Map dropped into Luigi's hands again.
Above the Boggly Woods area was an aerial arena with rocket jets and clouds beneath it.
"Well, then! The next Crystal Star has made an entrance! My, my, my!" Flurrie exclaimed. "But... Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it up in the sky? What doesthat mean?"
"I know just the right person to talk to," Luigi said.
…
Luigi and Flurrie walked into Professor Frankly's office. Professor Frankly was busy reading some of his books.
"Hello, Professor," Luigi greeted Professor Frankly.
"Luigi! Glad to see you're back," Professor Frankly replied. "But where's Mario?"
"Mario went to run an errand and he won't be back for your advice this time."
"That's totally fine. Now, what's the update?"
"Professor Frankly, the name's Flurrie. I'm an actress from Boggly Woods," Flurrie introduced herself.
"Boggly Woods, huh? Looks like you came along while Mario and Luigi searched for the Crystal Star," Professor Frankly remarked.
"Yeah. I have a question: the next Crystal Star that appeared on the map is in the sky, but I don't know what it means."
"That means that beneath this town, the thousand-year-old ruins remain intact," Professor Frankly replied. "And that door's been sealed shut for a thousand years by the Crystal Stars. In order to open that seal, we have to muster the power of all the Crystal Stars."
"Perhaps I'm just daft, but why would they want to seal this treasure away at all? Did they fear thieves and brigands? If not, then what?" Flurrie asked.
"No, that's not…" Professor Frankly stopped mid-sentence to think.
"'That's not' what?"
"Um… I know that the treasure was sealed away around the time the town was destroyed. But the problem is no one's even sure what it was that caused the town's demise. All that's written is this, 'Darkness stole the sky and the cataclysm rained down.' I must research this more. Assuming will just make an... Well, you know the saying."
"I understand," Luigi said. "Now, what about the location of this Crystal Star that's floating on the map?" He gave the Magical Map to Professor Frankly, who looked intently at the arena.
"Hmm... Very interesting... Perhaps it's pointing to the floating town of Glitzville... There's a stunning arena there where great warriors engage in furious battles! Ostensibly, families go there on vacation to lounge and enjoy the fights, but... Behind the scenes, the richest people in the world wager on the bouts."
"A floating city, eh? Is there something we can use to fly up there?" Luigi asked.
"A special blimp flies there... It departs from Rogueport several times a day. The problem is getting a seat. The only way to get a ticket is through certain 'channels'," Professor Frankly explained.
"Oooh! That sounds exciting! A little...on the seedy side. Show us the way!" Flurrie said.
"Hrmmmmmmm... I don't know... But I guess we don't have much choice. Word on the street is, all tickets go through Don Pianta on the west side. Let me write this down." Professor Frankly took out a notepad and pen to write down a list of directions.
"Head west from Rogueport's main plaza and you'll reach the west side of town. That part of town is under control of Don Pianta, the Pianta syndicate head. Apparently, Don Pianta makes pretty regular jaunts over to Glitzville."
Professor Frankly gave the Magical Map and note to Luigi.
"It may sound easy, but he's a syndicate boss, folks. The rumors about him are scary. And Don Pianta is a recluse. Just getting an audience with him will be difficult."
"All right-y. Since we got another Crystal Star, what's that spell like?" Luigi asked.
"The Emerald Star you picked up allows you to temporarily freeze enemies in place by simply pointing your finger forward and saying, 'Tick Tock Freeze!'" Professor Frankly answered. "That Star Spell is called 'Clock Out' and uses two Star Power units."
"Sounds very simple," Luigi remarked. "I'll relay that to Mario."
"Good. I wish you the best of luck in getting to Glitzville and finding the next Crystal Star."
Luigi and Flurrie exited Professor Frankly's office and made their way to the Inn. The room they entered resembled a cheap hotel lobby with a sports bar on the right and a lounging area on the left.
Luigi saw Mario waving to him from the sports bar and led Flurrie to where Mario was sitting. Mario was wearing his trademark outfit, which was cleaned up while the group was out and about.
"I got a table for three including Toadsworth," Mario said as he sent Flurrie into his Partner Collection Band. Luigi sat next to Mario and both waited for Toadsworth to join them.
About two minutes later, Toadsworth arrived at the bar and noticed the Mario Bros.
"Master Mario and Master Luigi! Thank you for inviting me to lunch," Toadsworth said as he took his seat.
"No problem," Mario replied. A waiter came over to give the three glasses of water and take their late lunch orders.
Suddenly, Mario thought of something else and he had an anxious look on his face. "Uh, guys? I have something I need to say."
"What is it?" Luigi asked.
"Well, in case you don't know already, Toadsworth, I've had a rough day today."
"I'm sorry, Master Mario," Toadsworth apologized. "What happened?"
"Me and Luigi are getting some Crystal Stars as part of a mission to find the treasure we talked about earlier today, but there were some issues I had," Mario began. "I'm not about to say I regret my actions. It's something else. I'm saying that when I revisited myself whining about the little things such as this guy mispronouncing my name or a friend being scolded for something wrong he didn't do; I came to realize that I never learned my lessons. The only way I reacted was to tear up and walk away when I should've kept a stoic face and stood still."
"I can't react like that anymore. I can't have any emotional outbursts at all. They're not going to solve anything. The only consequence of those actions is that people are gonna stare at me and think, 'Who is this immature man-child? Is this how he lives his life?'" Mario went on. He felt a lump form in his throat and teared up a small bit.
"I basically annoyed the hell out of people I don't know. And I might not have realized that I annoyed my closest friends until now." Mario's voice began to tremble a bit. "I tell them sorry that th-they had to see me throw hissy fits or cry for n-no reason…but I've n-never proved that I can change… Even you, L-Luigi, don't want to be a part of this… You're p-probably thinking, 'How many m-more times is Mario gonna…l-lose it? And why should I...bother comforting h-him when it's the same c-cycle…again and again? I c-can't deal with this anymore!'"
"Mario, first off, that's not true. I never even thought for once that you getting emotional was irritating to me," Luigi said while Mario laid his hand on his head. "I've gotten used to how you react to stuff you don't agree on."
"But d-don't you…see I have to deal with my problems d-differently…?" Mario asked. He felt the lump in his throat ache, causing him to grab it lightly. "Ow... Maybe I sh-should…stop leeching onto y-you or anybody who h-had to put up with my temper...!"
Mario tried to hold back his tears but started crying softly.
"Don't say that, please. I know you can't deal with your issues by yourself," Luigi said. "That's why I'm here. That's why Toadsworth is in your corner too."
"He's right, Master Mario. I understand how you think you annoyed your peers and made an embarrassment out of yourself, but that doesn't mean you can't ever be upset if you feel the need to be," Toadsworth chimed in. "There are times when you can let the tears flow, but in a subdued manner. As long as you don't destroy stuff or hurt anybody, it's okay to cry."
"I'm telling you, bro, I had to cry myself when I didn't get the recognition I wanted. I didn't want to hear the voices of people calling me a duplicate version of Mario who wears different colors, so that's what I did. I erased those thoughts by crying," Luigi explained.
"But I j-just want…to be mature and m-man up…!" Mario cried.
"I know, and I'm glad you're wanting to do that. But that never means you can't get emotional. If you choose to hold it all in, you're basically building pressure in your brain, and you'll make a bigger scene once that bottle breaks. You remember me telling you about bottling it up?"
Mario nodded his head yes.
"Don't ever let that bottle break. The sooner you release your emotions the proper way, the less likely you'll explode and do something you'll regret later," Luigi said.
"Okay..."
Luigi laid his hand on Mario's shoulder. "Mario, I know you can change. Obviously, it'll take time, but I believe in you. You're not an annoying person who doesn't learn his lessons. I swear."
Mario took a sip of his water, calming himself down a bit.
"Thank you... I just want to eat before we go on..." Mario said.
"Me too. We haven't eaten since the ferry ride," Luigi agreed. "By the way, I need to tell you about where the next Crystal Star is and how we're going to find it."
For the next 25 minutes, the Mario Bros and Toadsworth ate their late lunch and Luigi explained to Mario about Glitzville and the whereabouts of Don Pianta.
"Sounds complicated," Mario remarked. "I hope we do it all correctly."
With that, Mario and Luigi said goodbye to Toadsworth and made their way to the east side of town to start getting information about the blimp tickets to Glitzville.