16
Mario and Luigi continued scaling the cave walls, climbing higher and higher as they went. With Luigi still ahead of Mario, and the platforms getting harder to tread on, the pressure of staying alive was rising exponentially. They were both approximately seventy feet from the ground below and the top of the giant rock 'pillar' was now clearly visible. The Crystal Star displayed the same luminous effect as the surrounding diamond structures that covered the walls of the giant cave, but with ten times more luminosity. Nonetheless, it was truly a sight to behold, but it came with a deadly consequence for those not careful enough to avoid falling back down into the dark abyss.
Mario followed behind Luigi cautiously as they both walked across an extremely narrow rock ledge that linked itself to the last diamond outcrop. It became so narrow, that both brothers had to hug the wall in order to save themselves from falling to their death.
"Don't look down!" Mario said.
"I've got it." Luigi said.
"That's what I like to hear!" Mario said. "You're almost there!"
Luigi lead the way and was finally able to reach the final platform after slipping a couple of times. His heart was beating fast as he started to examine the dead plant roots hanging from the rocky ceiling. Mario inched his way across the narrow path, but suddenly ran into massive trouble. He did exactly what he told his brother not to do: look down. Mario started to lose his balance as he began suffering from sudden, intense vertigo.
"LUIGI! HELP ME!" Mario cried as he started slipping from the ledge. The rock beneath him quickly broke apart and Mario fell, but Luigi was quick to catch him by the hand before it was too late. He pulled Mario up onto the ledge with much of his strength and helped him back on his feet.
"Thank you, Luigi!" Mario said, breathing heavily. "That was too close for comfort!"
"I know what you mean." Luigi said. "We still have to swing over to the star on that giant plant root."
"Are you going to go first?" Mario asked.
"Well…I don't know." Luigi said. "I've never been good at swinging on ropes."
"Come on, Luigi!" Mario said. "I think you're good enough to get the star. All it takes is one swing!"
"But we're almost a hundred feet above the cave floor!" Luigi said. "Besides, I need to regain some of my energy."
"Would a red mushroom help?" Mario asked.
"Maybe." Luigi said. "How many are there in the rucksack?"
"Oh, there's plenty of them in here!" Mario said. "Here, take one!"
"Will do." Luigi said.
Luigi took the mushroom and swallowed it whole and felt the energy surge through him once again. He was ready to do anything now.
"I think this mushroom is also a real confidence booster!" Luigi said.
"It probably is." Mario said. "For them to make us 'stronger', it probably means both physically and mentally, I would assume."
"Well, here goes nothing!" Luigi said.
After taking a few steps back, Luigi sprinted towards the edge of the platform and jumped towards the 'rope' and managed to grab it. As he held on for dear life, Luigi started to swing to gain more momentum to reach for the Crystal Star.
"Almost there!" Luigi said under his own breath.
"You can do it, Luigi!" Mario shouted.
Luigi made the rope travel back and forth a few more times before he readied himself for a huge jump to the central landing. Finally, when the timing was just right, Luigi jumped gracefully through the air and landed near the Crystal Star. He had made it.
"Your turn, Mario!" Luigi called out.
"Don't touch the star yet!" Mario said. "Let me get over there first!"
Mario pulled out another red mushroom and took a few bites out of it. He felt stronger once again and started backing away from the edge of the diamond platform. He sprinted and performed a long jump and grabbed the plant root and started to swing to regain momentum that was lost from his weight pulling against it.
"HURRY, MARIO!" Luigi shouted. "IT'S GOING TO SNAP!"
Mario looked up and saw that the plant root was starting to tear away from the ceiling. He had to hurry.
"Oh, shit!" Mario said. "I'm too god damned heavy!"
"Just hurry and jump, bro!" Luigi said. "There's no time to complain about your weight!"
With one final swing, Mario let go of the rope and flew towards the central platform where Luigi was standing and made a smooth landing just when the rope broke free from the ceiling and fell into the dark where the brothers entered. Mario's chest was pounding uncontrollably making it hard for him to breath. But he was slowly able to calm himself down and join Luigi next to the large pedestal where the Crystal Star glowed luminously in the rays of sunshine that made their way into the cavern. Mario looked at closely and saw that it was not made of crystal, but rather out of clear white diamond. Both him and Luigi stared at it in awe, much like when they were little children staring into the window of a candy shop.
"Look at it, Luigi." Mario said. "It's so beautiful."
"It's over a thousand years old." Luigi said. "In all that time, no one was able to recover it again. We're the first to see it since it was buried here."
"That's amazing!" Mario said. "Words can't even describe how I feel right now."
"Hang on." Luigi said. "What's this on the back of it?"
Mario looked and saw what Luigi saw. It was a strange, yet familiar looking symbol. It consisted of a small cross that was connected to a circle just above it.
"It looks like the symbol for females and womanhood." Mario said. "That's very odd."
"Why would they put that on there?" Luigi asked.
"I'm not sure." Mario asked. "I can't remember, but does this symbol possibly mean anything else?"
"Well, the only thing that comes to my mind is the planetary symbol for Venus." Luigi said. "But I don't understand why the makers of this artifact would put that there. It seems rather strange."
"I'm sure that whatever the reason is," Mario said, "they put it on there for some purpose we don't understand…at least not at the moment."
The two brothers glanced at each other and smiled.
"One down, six to go!" Luigi said. "Are you going to grab it, Mario?"
"Don't mind if I do!" Mario said, as he reached out and took the star from its pedestal and stored it inside the rucksack. Their first objective had been completed. Now it was time to find a way out.