Chapter 4: The Princess of the Galaxies

Back on Castle Road, everyone in the group had been transformed into some sort of creature. Luigi, after being struck by the magic attack during his descent after his heroic attempt, had also been transformed. He safely landed on the dirt path as an orange cat, dressed in blue overalls and a green shirt. The cat of course, also had Luigi's green cap on its head. The cap was a tad large for its head, but it stayed on regardless. Its yellow eyes blinked twice as it stood in place on all fours.

"Meow?"

"NYEAH HEH HEH!" Kammy Koopa howled, still hovering up above. "Enjoy your new form, Luigi!"

Snail Toadsworth, Cat Luigi, and Frog Daisy all had expressions of despair upon their defeated faces. Bunny Peach and Snake Pauline also looked hopeless, locked in separate cages beneath Kammy Koopas cloak.

"Hey, at least I showed some mercy and transformed you into something cute." Kammy Koopa mocked. "You should be thanking me! Bwee hee hee hee!"

Cat Luigi grit his teeth, preparing to hiss at the mocking Magikoopa up above. Her purple cloak waved in the night breeze as she prepared to take off.

"Well, I'm off!" Kammy Koopa waved, preparing to leave. "Toodle-oo!"

Before Kammy Koopa could leave, something bothered her. A sudden thought was clouding her mind. It was very intrusive. It felt eerie.

"Hm?" Kammy Koopa barked, directing her attention to the dirt path.

It was the unconscious woman. Lying there, her turned head against the dirt of Castle Road. Despite this, she looked rather graceful.

"Hmm... I feel the sudden need to cast a spell at this one, too. Just to be safe." Kammy Koopa thought aloud, a single sweat drop present on her forehead.

Kammy Koopa then revealed her golden wand, ruby on its tip gleaming once in the moonlight. By now, everyone was quite familiar with the magical shapes that orbited the gemstone as she charged the attack. Kammy Koopas silver hair whipped as she launched her attack, and everyone was forced to helplessly watch as the magical shapes twirled towards the defenseless unconscious woman.

Much to everyones surprise, a clear, bright blue barrier had formed around the girl with a heavenly hum. This not only protected her, but also sent the magic attack flying back towards its point of origin at twice its initial velocity.

"EEEEP!" Kammy Koopa squeaked, her hands up high and jaw dropped. She was trembling with shock as she saw her attack coming right back at her. Her purple witch hat hovered above her head, stiff with fear.

She no longer had the time to dodge. She was struck with her own attack, her form irradiated.

"EYAAAAH!" Kammy Koopa cried, her entire presence glowing just like the others had.

The two cages containing Snake Pauline and Bunny Peach had crashed to the ground, opening as they landed. The two of them escaped with gleeful expressions. Shortly afterward, everyone proceeded to glisten with magical purple light. As Kammy Koopa transformed, Peach, Toadsworth, Daisy, Luigi, and Pauline had all proceeded to transform as well. Perhaps, since the magician who had cast a spell on them has now transformed, her spell no longer held its effect. But who could say for sure? At any rate, one by one, each of them returned to their normal state of existence.

"Oh, how splendid!" Peach cheered, fists clenched beneath her chin with glee. "I am back to my usual self!"

Daisy also had returned to her usual self, her face puckered in disgust. "Oh, GROSS! UGH, that was absolutely disgusting!"

Toadsworth transformed back as well, cane not yet in hand. He adjusted his vest with glee. "I say, how positively splendid! Good to be back in my own skin indeed!"

Pauline was also back, her expression pure disgust. "Oh my GOD, talk about nasty! Why, you all should have just put me out of my misery the moment you saw me like that!"

"THAT'S TOO DRAMATIC!" Daisy scolded, her teeth sharp.

Luigi had also transformed back to his usual self, calmly examining his gloved hands. He was somber.

"Luigi!" Peach cheered, giving a big smile. "I am so glad that you are back with us."

"A-heh." Luigi softly laughed, gripping the brim of his hat. "Same with you."

Kammy Koopa had landed on the dirt path, but not as herself. Everyone looked over to see that she had been transformed into a red eyed, purple furred raccoon with gnarly orange teeth. It was beyond ugly, and its hair all matted too. The raccoon stood there in surprise, baring its crooked orange teeth.

"Oh, my god. Gross." Pauline shunned, with an expression of disgust.

"WOW, that's ugly!" Daisy dismissed, turning her cheek with a hand. "Hurts to look at!"

"Truly a terrible sight!" Toadsworth agreed. "Yes, quite horrid indeed."

"Now everyone." Peach softly hushed. "Do not be so cruel. That is a living, breathing, creature with a heart and soul. It has feelings."

"Oh brother." Pauline groaned, rolling her eyes with folded arms.

The purple racoon remained there, frozen in place with its big widened red eyes. It still bore its crooked orange teeth. Peach was about to step forward to comfort it, a heart warming smile cast upon her soft face. She had her arms spread, welcoming the animal.

"Come here, it is-"

As soon as Peach moved towards it, it scurried backward while still facing forward with that same expression. It was lightning quick, escaping into the dark bush before anyone could even react. It was gone. The night wind sudden felt brisk and chilly.

"Oh my!" Peach gasped, blue eyes widened in surprise.

"What a strange creature that witch managed to transform herself into." Toadsworth thought aloud. "Yes, quite unusual indeed."

"That creature wasn't natural. I mean, the rest of us were normal animals or insects or whatever, right?" Daisy questioned, raising an interesting point.

"Well, everyone except for you." Pauline sniped, looking up from her nails with a smirk.

"SO NOW YOU'RE FINE WITH YOURS?" Daisy scolded, her teeth sharp.

"You are right, Daisy." Peach agreed, finger on her cheek in thought. "It is odd that Kammy transformed into something so strange and unnatural."

"Hey, what happened to it being a precious living thing with feelings?" Pauline smirked, head slightly tilted.

"Maybe it has something to do with how it struck that barrier that formed around her." Luigi hypothesized, hands in his pockets.

Everyone was facing him. He looked away, scratching his head. "Like, I don't know, maybe the magic was changed in some strange way after striking the barrier."

"Wow, Luigi!" Peach praised, her hands flat and together against her tilted head. Her eyes were replaced by stars, a smile of awe upon her face. "That is really clever! I bet this girls magic barrier totally messed with Kammy's spell!"

"Brilliant deduction, I say!" Toadsworth agreed, cane back in hand.

"I mean, it's just an idea... I can't say for sure." Luigi dismissed with a blush, not making eye contact. It was very difficult to not be flattered by praise from a princess, no matter its accuracy.

"I mean, is that really the biggest mystery here?" Pauline intervened.

Everyone faced Pauline with soft barks of surprise.

"Whatever do you mean?" Peach asked, placing her crown back upon her head.

"What I'm saying is, just who is this girl?" Pauline questioned. Things felt ominous now, even the night wind possessed an eerie feel. Everyone listened, feeling strangely on edge. Pauline had captivated them.

"She falls from like, what, the sky? You saw how fast she came in, right?" Pauline reminded.

Memories rushed back to them:

{Everyone who was on the stage began to scatter with mixed expressions of surprise and panic, eager to avoid being struck by the incoming woman from above. Many from the surrounding crowd began to flee far from the stage, fearing for their safety. Even Bowser and Kammy Koopa were apparently keeping their distance. Quite suddenly, the woman soared into near center stage with a loud:

SMASH!

The entire area rocked vigorously as the woman crashed into the stage at a tremendous velocity, smashing into the red carpet and crushing in a large section of the steel stage beneath it.}

"Any normal person would have been squashed like a tomato from something like that." Pauline reminded, one hand on her hip, the other pointing a finger. "But here she is, passed out. Not a scratch."

"That's true, how on earth did she survive something like that?" Daisy questioned, hand on chin in thought. "Let alone come out from it unharmed."

"Maybe it had something to do with the energy that was surrounding her when she was coming down?" Luigi proposed.

Memories rushed back to them:

{"What's this now?" Toadsworth barked, facing skyward, one hand behind his back and one hand on his cane. "Another star? My, and it's a big one! Yes, quite large indeed!"

"No, it's…" Luigi started, his eyes squinting.

"IT'S A WOMAN!" Daisy cried with a pointed finger, interrupting Luigi.

"A woman?" Pauline gawked, her and the band facing up as well with question marks over their heads.

"Nyeah?" Kammy Koopa growled in confusion.

This had caused the crowd to buzz once more. Bowser and Kammy Koopa examined the curious crowd.

"What? A woman?"

"Did she just say there is a woman falling from the sky?"

"Oh my god it is a woman!"

"IT'S A WOMAN!"

"Hey, you idiots! What are you blabbing on about?" Bowser growled, his expression angered. "Don't lose track! I'm the main act here, remember?"

Falling from the sky like a comet was a woman incased in glowing white energy. It was an unbelievable sight.

"M-Mario, look! I-It's just like the legend said!" Luigi gasped, his fists clenched with excitement.}

"You know, like the old legend says." Luigi added.

"Hm..." Daisy thought, her expression pensive.

"And then there's all that magic crap!" Pauline rambled. "The weird barriers... they even show up when she's passed out like this and protect her from the koopas magic thing."

"Hey, everyone." Daisy summoned, her tone curious. She had everyones attention. She had a hand on her chin in thought. "Don't you find it odd that she crashed where she did?"

"What do you mean?" Toadsworth piped, his interest piqued. "Speak up, I say!"

"Crashed where she did?" Luigi pondered, gloved hand on chin in thought.

"You mean the stage, correct?" Peach questioned with a tilted head, her hands together, arms in a V formation.

"Yeah... I mean, the legend says she's been soaring through space for like, what, a thousand years? You'd cover a large amount of distance in that time." Daisy continued. She paused, her eyes narrowing. "So don't you think it's kinda weird that she happened to crash right where all of us happened to be gathered, of all places?"

Peach felt a shiver down her spine. It had not occurred to her how odd that was. She remained silent as Daisy continued to speak.

"The shooting stars were falling all over the place, miles and miles away. You all saw it for yourselves." Daisy reminded. "But she happened to fall right where all of us were gathered. The world is far too big for that to be simply a coincidence, wouldn't you agree?"

Luigi met her eyes, a single sweat drop sliding down his forehead. "So what you're saying is-"

"Perhaps it was intentional." Daisy concluded, her blue eyes serious.

Luigi gulped. It was an eerie thought, that this soaring enigma, this woman from an ancient legend, may had intentionally crashed where they all were. "I mean, that's just a theory..."

"No. I think Daisy is right." Peach agreed, softly silencing Luigi. She was alight, speaking with conviction. "There is something that I have neglected to tell you all."

"Princess?" Toadsworth barked, everyone facing her with their full attention.

"Earlier today, I was asleep. You all remember, it is why I was late for the Star Festival. However, try and recall that I had said that I did not remember going to bed." Peach explained.

{After several minutes of waiting, Peach had finally opened the bedroom door. She looked like her usual self, dressed in a pink dress with a crown delicately placed atop her blonde haired head. She looked apologetic as she reunited with everyone, who all seemed relieved to see her.

"My sincerest apologies, everyone. I-I was asleep." Peach informed, quite embarrassed.

"ASLEEP?" Daisy, Luigi, Mario, and Toadsworth gawked in near unison.

"But how could you possibly be asleep on a night like tonight!" Luigi cried, nearly slapping his own face with his hands.

"It is strange... I do not remember going to bed. I do not even remember feeling tired, in fact." Peach softly explained, looking downward and to the right with a somber expression upon her face. "Not too mention, I had the strangest nightmare. It was... horrible."}

"That's right, I remember now." Daisy recalled. "You mentioned something about having a strange nightmare. I guess I ignored it at the time, since we were in a hurry."

"Right, Daisy." Peach confirmed with a single nod. Her expression grew somber. "While I was asleep, I had a dream... She was in it."

Now, everyone was clinging to every word Peach had said with expressions of upmost interest. Peach continued to speak. "I saw her. It was definitely her, soaring through the night sky. Just like how we saw her at the Star Festival."

"Are you serious?" Daisy gawked, her expression stone cold serious. Everyone was in utter disbelief.

"W-Wait, so are you telling us that you had some sort of... prophetic dream?" Luigi asked, growing nervous.

"Yes." Peach assured, her eyes closed. She opened her eyes, her expression darkened. "But given the circumstances, I wonder if she forced me to have it."

Everyone gasped. Luigi felt a chill down his spine. He directed his attention to the unconscious girl lying on the dirt path. Her eyes and lips were softly closed. The more Luigi stared at her and thought about everything, the more ominous she became. Was she truly orchestrating all of this? Or was it just a coincidence? What was her motive?

"Seriously, who the hell is she!" Pauline cried, getting more and more weirded out by the minute.

"I say, to force the princess into such a nightmare... Just who in bloody hell does she think she is!" Toadsworth huffed, his face flustered. "I deem her as most unsafe indeed!"

"What was so nightmarish about this... vision, anyway?" Pauline ventured to ask.

"Well..." Peach started, admittedly somewhat embarrassed. "I know it sounds crazy, but Kammy Koopa and Bowser were in my dream, too. They told me that..."

Peach stopped herself. She wondered if it would be a good idea to tell them what exactly her dream had said about this woman. If they decided to believe her. they wouldn't bring this woman into the castle, that's for sure. Mario definitely wanted to see the woman brought to safety. She decided to hold her tongue.

"Nevermind." Peach decided. "I can't explain it very clearly."

"M-Maybe we shouldn't bring her back to the Castle." Daisy suggested, trying to hide the fact that she was growing nervous. "I mean, just in cause."

"I couldn't agree more, Princess Daisy!" Toadsworth added vigorously.

"Now hang on just a moment." Peach silenced, with a hand. "I do not think she is dangerous. In fact, it is likely the opposite!"

"What makes you so sure?" Daisy challenged, arms folded.

"Well... she just got us out of this bind, right? Thanks to her, we are alright." Peach reminded.

"Well hold on, that's not necessarily true." Luigi challenged, with a hand. "Kammy just so happened to attack her, which just so happened to backfire. I think we just got lucky."

"Do you think so?" Peach asked, her head tilted with a pink question mark over her head.

"Y-Yeah." Luigi confirmed, admiringly less certain now.

"Well, I would have to kindly disagree." Peach declined, with a hand.

"What? Why?" Daisy asked, seeming to agree with Luigi.

"Do you all remember hearing Kammy Koopa say that she had "felt the sudden need" to attack her?" Peach reminded, finger on chin as she looked to the stars above while in thought. "Just as she was about to leave, mind you."

"Nope, I didn't hear a damn thing." Pauline countered, with a grin. "I was just a deaf snake."

"SNAKES AREN'T DEAF!" Daisy scolded, her teeth sharp.

"I think she may have encouraged Kammy Koopa to attack her somehow." Peach explained, her expression now pensive and her arms crossed. "Just like she may have encouraged me to have that dream."

"Gee, maybe that's right." Daisy admitted, somewhat dumbstruck.

"If that were the case, then she would definitely be our ally..." Luigi thought aloud, scratching his head.

"By golly, which is it, I say! Friend? Or foe?" Toadsworth cried, perplexed. "Quite the mystery indeed!"

"I believe she is an ally." Peach decided. "If she is not, that is fine. Just like Mario, I wish to help her. Let us take her back to the Castle with us."

"Very well, Princess. I trust your judgement." Toadsworth reluctantly accepted. He murmured under his breath. "Although I don't suspect that this night will pass without a glass of brandy..."

"I want to believe in her, too. So let's do it." Daisy agreed, with a soft smile.

"Hm." Luigi nodded. "Count me in!"

"Everyone." Peach smiled, her blue eyes glistening with joy. "Thank-"

"Aww, what's with this mushy crap!" Pauline interrupted, with an expression of annoyance. She pointed a finger at Peach, hand on her hip. "Everything you said is just a bunch of theories based on some coincidences. Where's the evidence?"

"Well. I suppose we will not know for certain until she wakes." Peach agreed, fist softly clenched over her sapphire brooch in determination. She had grown rather irritated by Pauline at this point. "But you're right, I do not have any evidence. So I suppose I have decided to act out of faith. You, however, may sit here all you like and look at all of the puzzle pieces, and build a villain out of her. I'm sure you'll make a great case for it, too. I, however, have decided to trust her."

"I say, well said Princess!" Toadsworth praised, with a hearty fist.

"Psh. Well, I want nothing to do with it." Pauline declined, turning towards Mushroom City. "I'm going to go back to my apartment, put on a face mask, and listen to some smooth jazz."

"P-Pauline!" Daisy called, extending a hand to signal her to stop from behind. "Come back! It's too dangerous to go back into the city, with Mario and Bowser still fighting!"

"I'll be fine." Pauline declined, dismissing her with a wave.

"But-"

"Just let her be." Peach softly advised. "If she doesn't want to come, we can't force her."

"I guess you're right..." Daisy reluctantly agreed, seeming somber. Pauline was arrogant and a bit unkind, but Daisy, or any of them for that matter, would never wish for something bad to happen to her.

"M-Master Luigi!" Toadsworth barked, his eyes widened in surprise.

That caught Daisy and Peach's attention as well. They noticed Luigi was lifting the unconscious woman all by himself.

"A-Are you sure that's a good idea?" Toadsworth questioned, eyebrow raised in concern.

"Luigi, we can help." Peach reminded.

"Yeah, no need to show off or anything." Daisy added. "I can help carry her. too. I don't mind."

"No, it's okay. I got her." Luigi sighed, the unconscious woman slung over his shoulder, her arms hanging. "Besides, I'm not much of an escort, apparently. This is the least I can do."

(Luigi...) Peach frowned, sadness in her blue eyes.

/

Back in Mushroom City, Mario was stepping backward with clenched teeth and one eye closed. He was blocking the furry of finger stabs Bowser was attacking him with, deflecting the blows with his arms. Eventually, he had slipped up and Bowser managed to stab a single pointed claw into his arm.

"AAAGH!" Mario cried, holding onto his arm. Blood had been drawn.

With an expression of determination, Mario performed a roundhouse to the side of Bowser, his arm dead and unusable at the moment. Bowser blocked the attack with his left arm, fist clenched. Bowser didn't even struggle to overcome Mario's kick.

"You're losing your strength!" Bowser grinned, still blocking the kick. "I can feel you getting weaker!"

"Same goes for you." Mario countered, his teeth clenched, one eye weakly closed.

"Bwa ha ha ha..." Bowser laughed, whipping his tail.

Mario exited the kick too slowly and let out a painful grunt as he was struck in the side by Bowsers vicious tail whip. Time appeared to be in slow motion as his brown booted feet lifted off of the city streets. He slowly flew through the air, eventually hitting the deserted street and sliding to a halt. His eyes were concealed in shadow, street lights shining down on his defeat.

"Ha... Ha..." Bowser breathed, growing tired. He examined the downed Mario up ahead for a moment. "I've... finally defeated you."

Mario said nothing, lying there on the street. People were watching with expressions of despair and sadness within the safety of the surrounding buildings. Many were eager to see him get back up. Some turned off the lights, not able to watch any longer. The ground shook with each step from the approaching Bowser. Mario's eyes remained closed.

/

Princess Peach's Castle was truly a sight to behold. Its surrounding moat glimmered in the moonlight as it splashed against the castles stone walls. The rooftop was red in colour, with four pointed towers on each of the corners of the rectangular structure. There was also a tall tower rising from the rooftops center, which also came to a point and featured a magnificent glass mural of Princess Peach looking skyward. On each of the five tower points was a triangular red and white flag.

The group of them had gathered at the end of the Castle Road, which stopped before the stone bridge that crossed the moat surrounding Peach Castle. This stone bridge lead to the castles main entrance, which were double brown doors with golden knobs. It was late in the night, and Peach had an expression of worry upon her face.

"Mario still hasn't returned." Peach fret, her hands together.

"Mario doesn't usually have this much trouble with Bowser, does he?" Daisy worried, growing concerned as well.

"Do not fret, Princess!" Toadsworth eased, with a fist of good cheer. "Master Mario is one fine old chap indeed! Surely he'll defeat Bowser soon!"

"Yeah, Mario will be okay." Daisy assured, regaining her confidence. She shot Peach a big grin. "He always pulls through, doesn't he?"

"You are right..." Peach softly agreed. She looked back towards Mushroom City, which was bright in the distance. (Mario...)

"U-Umm, guys?" Luigi called, his expression filled with anxiety.

Question marks appeared over Peach, Daisy, and Toadsworth as they turned towards Luigi. They gasped as they saw what was happening.

"S-She's waking up!" Luigi informed, his eyes widened as he held the waking woman from the legend in his arms.

/

Bowser was laughing under his breath as he stomped closer and closer to the downed Mario, his evil thoughts and feelings of victory making it impossible for him to not grin. Then, to his surprise, Mario proceeded to glow with a red aura. Startled, Bowser stopped in place. Mario's eyes were once again filled with life.

"Huh?" Mario barked, bringing himself to a stand.

Once standing, Mario was examining the red aura that was glowing all over his body.

"Hey, this is the same thing that happened when I got hit by that star at the Star Festival!" Mario thought aloud, recalling the incident.

{Mario looked skyward in awe, a gleaming red star present in the reflection of his big blue eyes. He backed up a step as he realized that the red star was heading directly for him.

"Don't forget you're the super star! (You're the super star)"

The red star crashed into Mario and it was aggressively absorbed into his form. He rose slightly above the ground with clenched fists, his entire body arced back and eyes closed as he levitated for a moment. A glowing red aura surrounded him completely.}

"Yeah, that's right!" Mario confirmed, absolutely sure of it now. His eyes were full of curiosity. "But why is it back now?"

"Bwahaha..." Bowser laughed, taking another stomp closer to snap him out of it. "I'm surprised you can stand again."

(This power...) Mario awed, his eyes trembling as he looked at his gloved hands. (I feel incredible!)

The glowing red aura remained around his body. He knew that this time, the power would last. The feeling was not fleeting.

"Not that it matters." Bowser dismissed, his fists clenched. "I'll burn ya too a crisp, right here, right now!"

Mario softly barked, turning his head to Bowser. He just now realized the Koopa King was standing there. He stood in place as Bowser charged up a massive fire breath, his face glowing red hot. Mario's eyebrows were narrowed in determination as he stood there, a glowing fist clenched from when he was examining it. Bowser released a devastating fire blast, which was impossible for Mario to dodge. Mario stood there, completely consumed by the fire blast.