2

The sun was already below the horizon line as the airship continued soaring over the landscape. The landscape below was mountainous and covered with bright white snow that glowed orange under the light of the evening sky. Twilight was fast approaching as the airship started to near the North Circle and a cold wind started to strengthen and rock the ship as a snowstorm started rolling in. Mario had just taken over the wheel and Luigi ended his shift by simply watching his brother steer, since he had already caught up on his sleep and had nothing else better to do. He had been thinking about the spirits of him and his brother's parents and the advice that they had given them. It seemed as though he could hear their voices inside his head, but he was not sure if it was just a figment of his imagination. But after everything that he and Mario have been through so far, it seems very possible for anything to happen.

"Boy, what a contrast from earlier!" Luigi said as he starred out the window. "So the third star is hidden somewhere in this region?"

"Yep." Mario said. "I've checked the navigation and it looks like were headed in the right direction and to the right coordinates. We should be there in about an hour if the weather permits it."

"I sure hope it does!" Luigi said. "We need all the spare time we can get!"

"Hey, Luigi. Could you go into the Koopa Quarters and see if there are any winter coats that might fit us?" Mario asked. "I'm looking at this onboard thermometer and it doesn't look too forgiving."

"What's the temperature outside?" Luigi asked.

"With the wind chill, it's about negative twenty degrees Fahrenheit." Mario said. "It's only going to get colder as the night rolls in."

"That's a little colder than what I was hoping for." Luigi said. "I almost wish we were still in Sarasaland!"

"I'm glad that we're not there anymore!" Mario replied. "If we were there longer, we probably would've been hunted down by Bowser. I'm glad that he's not that much of a threat now."

"Don't say that yet." Luigi said. "We still have a long way to go."

"Right." Mario said. "Just go find some winter gear already! It's starting to get really cold inside the ship!"

Luigi ran down to the one of the Koopas' sleeping rooms and opened a closet door. Sure enough there were a few military uniforms hanging inside as well as a few winter coasts of various sizes. Surprisingly, most of the uniforms inside the closet were large enough to accommodate for Mario's as well as Luigi's physical characteristics. Luigi looked closer and saw that the uniforms were actually the remaining memories of human soldiers that once fought for the Mushroom Kingdom as indicated by the large mushroom-shaped emblem badge on each of the jackets. The Koopa Troop that lived in the room more than likely kept them as trophies.

Luigi was looking for a uniform to suit him when the airship suddenly started to shake uncontrollably. He rushed back to the control room and looked out the window. The visibility was extremely low and a flurry of snow was rushing at the ship like a swarm of angry insects. Mario found it difficult to control the wheel as the ship continued to sway out of control.

"What's going on?" Luigi asked.

"We're going to have to land." Mario said. "This storm is too much."

"Does that mean we're going to have to walk the rest of the way?" Luigi asked.

"Are you crazy?! I don't want to walk through this freezing storm!" Mario replied. "There's no way we could survive overnight through this crappy weather!"

"Our time is limited, Mario!" Luigi said.

"I realize that." Mario said. "Hold on! This is going to be one bumpy ride!"

Mario suddenly jerked the ship downward by pressing a button and the brothers started sliding towards the front of the room as the angle of the ship changed. Both of them had butterflies in their stomachs as the ground started coming at them fast.

"How are we going to land this thing?!" Luigi asked. "Are we crash-landing?"

"I'm working on it!" Mario shouted as the ship got ever closer to the snowy ground below. Luigi held his breath as the ground became just under a hundred feet away. Finally, Mario was able to regain control of the ship and fix the angle of the ship to ensure a safe landing. The landing that followed was enough to the brothers off their feet. Mario got up and killed the engine and everything soon became quiet except for the whistling wind outside.

"Well, we're here." Mario said. "Let's grab our stuff and get out of here. Did you find anything warm?"

"I found some old uniforms that were worn by soldiers in the Mushroom Kingdom's army." Luigi said. "I don't know how they got here, but I'm certain that the Koopas took them as trophies during previous battles."

"That's terrible." Mario said. "Everything that Bowser has done is terrible."

He paused for a moment.

"Let's get ourselves suited up. It's going to get very cold."

Mario and Luigi dressed themselves in full military uniforms and winter gear and then stepped out of the airship to examine their surroundings. It was dark, but not completely dark, as the twilight still crept through the heavy clouds above, which let out a relentless torrent of snow and ice. The wind blasted the snow into their faces to the point where they felt as though they were being pelted by sand. To make matters worse, the snow made it very hard to see long distances. However, Mario and Luigi were both able to make out the silhouette of a mountain ridge in the distance facing northwest.

"W...which w...way do we go f...from here?" Luigi shivered as he struggled to keep warm in the bitter cold.

"We need to go that way, over that mountain ridge." Mario said. "I'm not sure how long it will take us, but we need to get to our destination as soon as possible! Night is about to roll in, we should probably find someplace warm."

"N...not to m...mention something th...that we can eat." Luigi said. "We haven't really eaten anything for almost t...two days!"

"You're right." Mario said. "Until then, we need to take it easy through the snow. The cold can really take a toll on our bodies, since it causes us to use more energy just to keep ourselves warm."

"Mario." Luigi said. "Something tells me we're going to be in danger very soon. We should start moving out right now."

"Do you have everything you need?" Mario asked.

"Yes." Luigi said. "Do you have everything else, including the two Crystals Stars?"

"Yep. We're all set." Mario said. "Here, you're going to need these."

Mario pulled out one of the pairs of gloves that he had been saving since they were purchased back in Rogueport and handed it to Luigi. Once their hands were well-insulated they were ready to start the next segment of their journey.

Mario and Luigi stepped away from the airship and started walking through the thick cold snow and towards the mountain. Night was approaching very fast and the Mario brothers could feel the temperature drop with every passing minute, especially in their feet were the icy cold started to freeze their toes. There was no time to waste.

Mario and Luigi have just arrived in the cold and unforgiving northern Snowy territory above the northernmost extent of the Mushroom Kingdom. The bad weather has cause for a major delay in their time schedule for obtaining the third star, so now the brothers are forced to walk the rest of the journey by foot. If you recall from the previous installment, Kamek was warped to the Snowy region after Pauline waved the wand at him. There is a good chance that Kamek will encounter the Mario brothers, but the brothers don't realize this...Will their longing for cooler temperatures after their trek in Sarasaland have dire consequences? We'll just have to wait and see :)

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