We're almost reaching my favorite part of the game!
Enjoy! ;)
Chapter 15: Journey to the stars
"AAAAAAAAAHHH!" the heroes screamed, as they were getting closer to the ground. Luckily, they all bounced off a Shroob-like mushroom planted in the ground that softened their landings.
"That mushroom really saved us!" Sonic exclaimed.
"Yeah, but… Where are we?" Young Sonic asked as they looked around.
"I think… I think this is Toad Town." Veronica said.
However, due to the Shroobs' takeover, Toad Town has suffered a dramatic change: Shroob Mushrooms were growing everywhere like fungi, destroyed Toad houses, there were Toads turned into Shroob Mushrooms, and the whole place was completely deserted, except for Shroids patrolling this devastated area. The heroes' eyes widened by their sights.
"Is this Toad Town? Oh no…" Tails whimpered.
"The Shroobs… How could they?!" Mario growled under his breath.
"And now they're probably going after the Mushroom Kingdom of the present, I fear." Veronica lamented.
"Well, since the real Princess Peach is locked in the castle, I think we'll have to focus on gathering the Cobalt Shards now." Sonic stated.
"Are you sure about that?" Veronica hesitated.
"Of course! Didn't you say that the castle in this time is under guard by the Shroobs? So we have no other option."
"You sure you're feeling okay, Veronica? At the whole time in this adventure, you've been acting quite hesitant when talking about collecting Cobalt Shards." Mario suspected. "Are you hiding something from us?"
"No. I'm fine." Veronica responded. "And I can prove this because I'm getting another energy from the Cobalt Star nearby."
"You do? Where is the next one located?" Luigi asked.
"It's in the Star Shrine, located at the very top of Star Hill." Veronica answered. "Remember back at the Mother Ship where I created that cloud to try and save you and Baby Luigi from the hard landing? That cloud is made of Star Dust, and we, fairies of Hollijolli Village, are born with Star Dust from Star Hill."
"Really? So you're made of Star Dust?" Tails asked.
"That's correct. Now, the only way to access Star Hill is to use a certain key. And luckily, because of our connection to this hill, we fairies hold the key with us." She then pulled out a pretty and delicate red rose. "The key is this rose, which comes in all colors for each fairy. They receive their own colored roses during their birth. These roses are a gift from the ruler of the stars."
"Ruler of the stars?" Young Tails questioned.
"Yes, the Star Shrine is actually this princess' castle. This princess has immortality and she watches over the balance of the stars in the sky. She gets fascinated with the most powerful stars, the ones she call the seven magical stars. I actually don't know much about that, maybe she can tell you more once we get there. Now all we have to do is to head southeast from here to access Star Hill with my rose."
The heroes nodded and wandered around the destroyed town looking at the destruction around them. Tears began to escape from Baby Luigi's eyes as he watches this whole scenery.
"Hey, it'll be okay, bro." Baby Mario said softly as he hugged him. Baby Luigi smiled back and they continued walking.
"Say, back when I told you to stay calm, did you guys actually refer me as a mother?" Veronica asked with a smile.
"Oh, yeah! You kinda acted like a mother to both of us. Maybe it's because of the way you spoke to us and took care of us too." Baby Mario replied.
"Oh! That's so kind of you!" Veronica smiled.
A while later…
They finally reached the southeast corner of the town, where a large yellow star was printed on the ground.
"Now, everyone stay on that yellow star while I'll stay at the middle and use my rose and we'll be taken to Star Hill in no time." Veronica instructed.
The boys then stood on each of the star's five points while Veronica flew to the middle. She rose her red rose into the sky, and eventually, the rose emitted a light blue glow, and that glow surrounded everyone. The heroes then disintegrated in small particles of white light taking to the skies.
The group reassembled at the very edge of Star Hill; a magical and mystical hill usually lauded for its beautiful and romantic view, and seen as the place where wishes come true. It's usually located north of Peach's Castle, but Veronica used the shortcut that only is able to use with the magic rose. The blue road is all made of glittering stars with large light-blue fallen stars decorating it and the main hill under the road is made of green crystals.
"Well, here we are. This is Star Hill, the entrance of the Star Realm." Veronica said.
All of the boys looked around and were amazed at how beautiful Star Hill is. They couldn't help but smile at this place.
"Wow… This place is so pretty!" Young Tails awed.
"And sparkly!" Baby Luigi added.
"The energy from the Cobalt Star is getting stronger in here... I can feel it." Veronica told.
"So all we have to do is to reach the top?" Sonic guessed.
"That's right."
They then made their way to the top. As they were walking, they were admiring the view.
"Man, this place is gorgeous!" Tails exclaimed.
"Wow, imagine seeing meteor showers while at the top." Luigi smiled. "That'd be pretty sweet and romantic."
"Funny you should say that, because Star Hill is mostly spoken by how romantic it looks." Veronica explained. "I've heard that many Toads already came here for a date so that they could watch the falling stars."
"Is that so? Hmm, in that case, maybe I should take Peach on a date here after our adventure!" Mario thought out loud.
"That sounds like a great idea! I think I'll do the same with Princess Daisy!" Luigi beamed.
"Heh, the brothers are already thinking about their girlfriends, huh?" Sonic thought while smirking.
Once they were almost at the top, they came upon a magenta Shroob facing away from our heroes.
"Oh great…" Sonic muttered. "We have to deal with another freak."
The Shroob heard him and turned around, flinching upon seeing the heroes. He then called upon lots of Shroobs that fell down from who knows where, and a Shroob Saucer flew by and dropped…a HUGE Shroobfied Bob-omb!
"You gotta be kidding me! A Shroobfied Bob-omb?!" Young Sonic yelled in shock.
The three Shroobs that remained struggled to hold the Shroob-omb, making Tails think of something.
"Let's see what happens when we take one of them out." He said as he equips his arm cannon.
"I think we need to take down two of them, so I'll join in too!" Young Tails threw in and equipped his arm cannon as well.
Both Tailses shot blasts from their arm cannons at two Shroobs holding the Shroob-omb. Once both Shroobs were defeat, the Shroob-omb became way too heavy for one Shroob to hold it that it squished him and the bomb rolled to the Commander Shroob, blowing him up and sending him next to the heroes.
"Got you now." Sonic smirked as he Spin Dashes at the Commander Shroob.
Commander Shroob then called four Shroobs and he kicked them to Mario, Luigi, Sonic and Tails.
The baby Mario Bros smashed the two Shroobs with their hammers, Young Sonic Spin Jumped on another, and Young Tails smacked the remaining one away with his tails.
"Heh, you gotta do better than that." Young Sonic teased.
Enraged, Commander Shroob fired a laser at the kids, but they dodged it.
"Come on! Let's use the Ice Flower!" Mario said as he pulled out the Ice Flower from his pocket.
"Oh yeah!" Luigi grinned as the adult and baby brothers absorbed the Ice Flower, transforming them into their ice forms.
They shot many ice balls at Commander Shroob, until he faced defeat and the Ice Flower's effect wore off. But he wasn't done yet; he commanded three more Shroobs to bring in another Shroob-omb and throw it at the heroes as a last resort.
"I don't think so." Veronica smirked as she froze the Shroob-omb in midair with her magic. "Mario Brothers, use your Fire Flower! Now!"
"Okey Dokey!" Mario nodded. "Fire Flower!"
Once both versions of the brothers transformed into their Fire Flower forms, they all combined their fireballs to create a large one and sent it at the Shroob-omb's fuse…and the huge bomb blew up, taking the three Shroobs and Commander Shroob with it.
"Well, that's one way to end a battle." Sonic remarked. "But now, this Shroob is out of our way, so let's keep going."
They all nodded and moved on, until they finally reached the very top of the hill. The top had a star-shaped platform surrounded by star columns. The heroes stepped on the star platform as it started to glow.
"This is it, everyone. This is the very top of Star Hill." Veronica said.
Suddenly, the incomplete Cobalt Star flew out of Stuffwell and floated in front of them before taking off into the starry skies, where it changed into a spiritual version of the complete Cobalt Star.
"Whoa…" Sonic's eyes widened as the spirit began to speak:
"I am the Star Sprite that lives within the Cobalt Star. I have tapped into the sacred power of this hill so that I might speak with you. I think you may have already figured this out, but I hold the power to defeat the Shroobs."
A silhouette of Princess Shroob and the Cobalt Star being shattered appeared in the skies.
"However, Princess Shroob also knew this truth. She broke me while battling a beautiful woman that I can't recall… Mario, Luigi, Sonic, Tails, Veronica… Young kids… You are the last remaining hope to save this kingdom. But please, you must hurry… My pieces must all be brought together once more."
Next, a silhouette of one of the Cobalt Star shards, which was an upside down neon green star, showed up alongside a double door of some sort.
"If you collect the middle shard of the three ones that still remain… You'll be able to use it to pierce the Shroob barrier that guards Princess Peach's castle. And then, when you collect the last shard… You will become the heroes of this land. Now hurry! Collect my remaining shards…"
The spirit then sends out a twisting blue star, creating the Star Road; a road made of Star Dust connecting Star Hill with the Star Shrine.
"Yay! A road made of stars!" Baby Mario cheered.
A silhouette of the gateway leading to the Star Shrine showed up in the sky.
"I believe the princess of the Star Realm has a shard sleeping within the Star Shrine ahead…"
Just then, Baby Luigi started to cry at the sight of the spirit.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Baby Luigi wailed out loud.
"Shh… Why are you crying, Luigi?" Young Tails asked as he rubs Baby Luigi's head gently.
But Baby Luigi couldn't explain, as he kept crying.
"Hmm… That's really weird. He just started crying all of a sudden." Tails pondered.
Luigi then tried to calm down his younger self by attempting to toss him into the air as always, but Baby Luigi wasn't interested and turned away from his older self.
"Golly! What's with younger me? He even rejected my air tossing! I'm starting to get worried…" Luigi spoke in a worried tone.
"Yeah, that's seriously not normal for him to refuse your air tossing. I wonder what's wrong?" Young Tails wondered.
"For now, this is all the aid I may offer you. We will speak again, of that I am sure." The spirit finished talking and vanished. The incomplete Cobalt Star flew back into Stuffwell.
"So, as we surmised, it was the foul Princess Shroob who shattered the Cobalt Star." Stuffwell said.
"Yes. I'm surprised that the spirit doesn't remember the one who was battling Princess Shroob… That leaves one last piece of the puzzle remaining." Mario pondered.
"I know, but we must hurry to gather the remaining shards! We must!" Stuffwell then noticed the crying Baby Luigi. "By the way, why is Baby Luigi crying?"
Everyone eyed at Baby Luigi, who was still wailing even with the spirit gone.
"We don't know! We tried everything we could to calm him down, but he wouldn't stop crying…" Tails told.
"Hmm, I think I know why he's crying like that." Veronica said as she flies to Baby Luigi. "He seems to be afraid of the spirit who just spoke with us."
"Perhaps he felt something emanate from it that we did not?" Stuffwell guessed. "Is it possible?"
"I don't know. That spirit seemed normal to me." Sonic shrugged. Then, the wailing becomes louder and Sonic couldn't take it: "Argh! Could someone here try to shut him up already?! It's driving me crazy!"
"Let me do it." Veronica said as she picks up Baby Luigi in her arms. "But I need to speak with him in person. That means you all wait here while I calm him down without you around." She instructed as she flew with Baby Luigi to the Star Road, and the rest of the group waits for her, but they all had confused looks on their faces.
"What did she mean by that?" Young Sonic asked.
"I have no idea." Sonic answered as he shook his head.
"You know, I'm pretty sure Veronica is hiding something from us." Mario confirmed. "The question is: what?"
With Veronica…
She arrived at the Star Shrine's Gateway while carrying the crying Baby Luigi in her arms. She then gently pets Baby Luigi's head as she speaks in a motherly tone:
"There… You don't need to cry. I'm here." She then wipes off Baby Luigi's tears. "Your self-proclaimed mother." She smiled at the last sentence.
"*sniff* V-Veronica… I-I-I'm scared…" Baby Luigi sniffled, still sobbing.
"What are you scared about? Tell me, what did you see in that spirit that left you frightened?" Veronica asked once again in a motherly tone as she wipes off more of Baby Luigi's tears.
"I-I saw…something…evil… *sniff*" Baby Luigi answered.
"Hmm… So he knows that too… I think it's best for me to tell him." Veronica thought. "You see, Baby Luigi, I know exactly what is in that spirit."
This left Baby Luigi so surprised that he immediately stopped sobbing.
"You… You know?" he asked with his eyebrows raised.
"Yes." Veronica replied as she placed Baby Luigi down. She then kneeled down to his level and requested "Listen, I'm going to tell you the real secret of the Cobalt Star. But you have to promise me that you won't tell it to anybody, including your adult self. Promise?"
"Yes, I promise." Baby Luigi smiled while nodding. "No telling anybody, neither older me."
"That's the spirit. It'll be our little secret." Veronica said. "Now, let me explain…"
A while later…
Back at Star Hill, the group was waiting impatiently for the return of Veronica and Baby Luigi. Soon enough, they spotted the pair descending from the Star Road, with Veronica holding Baby Luigi's hand.
"Took you long enough!" Sonic exclaimed. "And wow! You actually managed to calm down Baby Luigi by your own, Veronica! I'm impressed!"
"You're welcome, Sonic." Veronica replied. "Now, you guys definitely want to meet the princess of this realm, right?"
"For sure! And that's also because the spirit said that she's has a Cobalt Shard with her." Mario nodded.
"All right, I'll guide you all to her. But you better be prepared; there's a Star Gate who guards the entrance to the princess's castle who can read the hearts of anyone. Only the ones with such pure kindness in their hearts are allowed to enter her castle."
"Really? There's that, too? Wow, this realm is filled with rules!" Tails said surprised.
"Indeed. Well, shall we move on?"
"Sure!" the rest said in unison.
Veronica then placed Baby Luigi on Luigi's back so that he could carry him in piggyback like normal. But before flying to lead the group, she gave a small wink to Baby Luigi and whispered:
"No telling anybody, okay?"
"I won't!" Baby Luigi whispered back, which caught Luigi's attention.
"Did you say something?" he asked as he turned his head to his infant self.
"Huh? Oh, nothing, older me!" Baby Luigi faked out, hiding the secret between him and Veronica.
Luigi just shrugged it off and followed the group to cross the Star Road.
To be continued…
What secrets await our heroes in the Star Shrine? Will we ever find out what the real truth behind the Cobalt Star is? Please review.