Just as Diamond was about to run Mario through with her katana, something grabbed her and ripped her away from her intended victim. Mario watched in amazement as Diamond was pulled kicking and screaming to the center of the Sanctum and held paralyzed in mid-air over the crystal pedestal, suspended by some mysterious force. Then a brilliant white beam struck Diamond from behind, encasing her in a field of white light and making her scream in agony. The copy Diamond vanished instantly.
The black-haired ninja fighter screamed hysterically. "N-Nooooo! AAAGH! DIAMOND—STOP! AAAUUUUUUGGH!!!"
Another female voice rang out from behind the screaming Guardian. "No, Onyx. You are receiving your just reward, you impostor!"
Mario edged along the wall to the Sanctum door. From this point he could see a woman standing behind Diamond, or Onyx, or whoever was being punished. This newcomer was pouring her energy into the white beam that was forever tormenting the screaming victim. Her flowing hair was white as snow, and her robes were rainbow-hued except for a white band across her waist. Mario stared at the scene.
The black-haired screaming Diamond—or was it Onyx? Mario wasn't sure anymore. At any rate, he watched spellbound as she gave one last horrifying, bloodcurdling scream and disintegrated under the force of the white-haired one's beam of light. The Tanzanite Ring pinged to the floor. Shutting off her flow of energy, the white-haired woman picked up the Ring and approached Mario.
"Wh-Who are you?" Mario asked uncertainly, edging closer to the still-unconscious Princess Peach.
The woman smiled slightly. "I am Diamond, eighth Guardian of the Rainbow."
"Huh?" Mario's face betrayed puzzlement. "But I thought—wasn't she—the eighth—"
"Her name is Onyx, a trained assassin and mimic. Cyanara hired her to impersonate me and obtain the eight Rainbow Discs. Obviously she failed." The woman smiled fully. "I am the true eighth Guardian."
"Then you must be—" Mario broke off and stared again.
Leaving Mario to his staring, the true Diamond moved quietly to the unconscious Peach, knelt down, and gently plucked the shuriken from her arm. Peach stirred.
"Peach," said Diamond softly.
Peach turned over onto her back, and her eyes fluttered open. She caught her breath as she saw Diamond's face.
"M-Mom?!"
"I'm here, dear. Everything's all right."
"MOM!!" Peach sat up and flung her arms around her mother, crying tears of joy as she did. "It's you! It's really you!"
"Of course," Diamond replied tenderly. "I told you you'd see me again someday, and I keep my promises."
Leika picked herself up off the floor and flew to Mario's shoulder. "...Peach's mother?" she asked quietly, watching the reunion. Mario nodded and remained silent.
"Mom," Peach finally asked, "why did you leave me? I needed you so badly when I first took the throne. Why did you go?"
Diamond gently pushed Peach from her arms and placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "I had to, dear. My duty no longer lay with the kingdom. You had that responsibility. I returned to Rainbow Temple because my duty lay there." Her blue eyes gazed tenderly into Peach's. "You understand now."
"I..."
"Peach, look at yourself," Diamond told her. "You're a grown woman now, the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. You have your own duties now. Don't worry about mine."
"But...Mom...why didn't you come back sooner?" Another tear spilled out from the Princess's eye. "I missed you so much..."
"My explanation doesn't matter, Peach. Suffice it to say that I've been trying to stop your sister. But even my white magic has had no effect on her. She nearly killed me several times."
"Oh, Mom!" breathed Peach.
"I'm just fine, Peach. Stop your worrying. That always was your weak point, daughter." Diamond smiled as she administered the mild reprimand. "It is nearly time for me to again take my leave, Peach. But before I do," she added, rising to her feet, "there is something I must do for you. Kneel."
"M-Mom?" Peach questioned uncertainly.
"Kneel, Peach."
Still puzzled, Peach knelt before her parent. Diamond smiled down at her.
"Peach, you are the true ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. You earned that right when Cyanara was banished. And you have the gift of white magic as well." Diamond's gaze fastened on Peach's face. "You have received almost the entire legacy of your royal lineage."
"Almost?" Peach inquired. "Mom, what are you talking about?"
"My daughter," answered Diamond, "you are ready at last. It is time for you to receive the full heritage of the crown." With that, Diamond bent down and placed her hands on Peach's shoulders again.
Suddenly Peach's dress burst into blazing white light, as did Diamond's rainbow robe. Peach was startled by this unexpected move of her mother and stared down at herself as she saw her clothing changing shape. The light flowed from her clothes over her entire body. After what seemed an eternity Diamond removed her hands from Peach's shoulders, and the light faded away to reveal a startling change in both mother and daughter.
No longer did Diamond wear her rainbow robes. Neither did Peach wear her pink silken dress. Mother and daughter had switched outfits. Diamond was now dressed in pink, and Peach was clad in the robe of the eighth Guardian.
Princess Peach rose to her feet, gaping at her new attire in utter astonishment.
"Reach inside it," Diamond told her daughter.
With shaking hands Peach obeyed, reaching into the folds of "her" robe. Her fingers struck a flat circular object, and her eyes widened as the tremblingly withdrew a black, shimmering disc.
"The Twilight Disc! M-Mom—are you—a-am I—"
Diamond smiled. "Yes, my dear. You are the eighth Guardian of the Rainbow now."
Peach caught her breath and stared at her mother. "Mom—I—"
"This is my final gift to you, Peach," Diamond told her gently. "It is the last inheritance you will receive."
"B-But why me?" Peach asked, still incredulous.
"Peach," Diamond answered, "the keeping of the Twilight Disc has been passed down from generation to generation, and now it has come down to you. I was the eighth Rainbow Guardian before you, and my mother before me, and so on for hundreds of years."
"Mom, I don't want to be a Guardian!" Peach responded tremblingly. "Take it back! Take the Disc back!"
Diamond shook her head. "I can't, Peach. Neither can you give it back. This is not a matter of choice, Peach. This is your destiny. My mother did the same to me."
"Why now, though?" Peach was still seeking a way out of this unexpected thrust of fate.
"You needed the strength, Peach. There is a power inside you now that will aid you in regaining your kingdom. They are part of your Guardianship."
"What powers?"
"White magic." Diamond tried to produce a sphere of light but managed only a spark or two. "As you can see, my power is gone. It now resides in you, my daughter. You had the little you were born with already, but now you possess the full power. I entrust you with it, Peach. Use it wisely."
Peach was silent, stunned by all of the new information her mother had given her.
"Peach, the Twilight Disc is not like the other Discs. Within it is housed a power unlike any other. Guard it with your life, and it in turn will guard you. Give it your all, and it will give you all it has to give. Whether you unlock its full potential or not is up to you."
Peach finally found her voice. "B-But Mom, I can't do this! I can't be a Rainbow Guardian!"
"Yes, you can, dear; yes, you can. I must go now."
"Mom, NO! You can't leave me now! I need you!!" Peach pleaded desperately. "Why must you leave me when I need you most?!"
"To show you your true self, Peach. I leave so that you will stop depending on me and reach within yourself to find the strength you need." Diamond smiled at her daughter. "You are stronger inside than you think you are, dear. Reach deep into your soul, and you will find that I am right."
Turning, Diamond placed the Tanzanite Ring in Mario's hand. "Care for it well, Mario. The future of this kingdom rests with both you and Peach. I know I've left the Mushroom Kingdom in good hands."
"You can count on us, Diamond," Mario replied staunchly. "We'll put a stop to Cyanara somehow."
"I know you will. I have faith in you both." Diamond turned back to Peach and gave her one last tender smile. "Farewell, my daughter. We will see one another again someday. I promise." She began to fade from view.
"Mom!" Peach grasped at her mother but felt only empty air. The tears began to flow again. "MOM!!"
"You are truly strong, my daughter," Diamond said tenderly. "You must discover that for yourself." Her eyes welled with tears as she disappeared from sight, and she whispered one last thing to her beloved daughter.
"...I love you, Peach."
Rainbow Sanctum was filled with nothing but an empty silence for a long while after Diamond had faded from sight.
Leika was the first to act. She flew up in front of the rainbow-clad Peach and curtsied solemnly. "I am at your service, Eighth Guardian."
"Stop it, Leika!" cried Peach through her tears. "I am not a Guardian! I don't want to be one!"
"From what your mom said, you don't have much choice," Mario responded softly, trying to ease her tension. "I think you'd be better off just accepting what she said and living with it rather than fighting it."
"Mario," Peach answered with a twinge of sadness, "do you even know what this means for me?"
Mario slowly shook his head no.
Peach's gaze dropped to the crystal floor. "I've always been the one being protected. Protected by you, by Luigi, by the Rainbow Guardians... There's always been someone to come to my rescue. And now...all of a sudden...I'm supposed to be the protector? How can I make such a change so quickly?"
Mario laid a hand on her shoulder. "You'll get used to it eventually, I'm sure. Besides, I'm still here. That hasn't changed. And as far as I'm concerned, you're still the Princess Peach we all know and love. You're just a little stronger now, that's all."
Peach smiled somewhat regretfully. "Thanks, Mario. Let's get off this mountain and into the next dimension."
"I'm sure Toadsworth will just love this new outfit you've got," Mario remarked with a grin, gesturing at the beautifully becoming rainbow robe with the white band cutting diagonally across the waist. "Probably he'll go berserk and order you to change back into your dress."
"And won't he have a fit when he finds out I don't have it," Peach added, the smile returning to her face. She brushed her tears away. "Come on, let's get back to Luigi and Toadsworth!"
Cyanara shut the mind-control system off and smiled evilly at her helpless victim on the steel table. "Well, Athos, how does it feel to have your mind replaced?"
Athos said nothing. He lay on the table as one dead, eyes shot, breathing imperceptible. The struggle had completely exhausted him.
"Are you ready to put all of your traitorousness behind you and return to serving me?" asked the Empress deliberately.
"...I...I will...s-serve you...Master..." Athos murmured through chapped lips.
"Excellent," Cyanara answered with another smile. She rose from her seat at the computer and came up to Athos's side. "Now I want you to kill Amethyst."
Involuntarily a look of horror flitted across Athos's face. Cyanara caught it, narrowed her eyes at her erstwhile servant, and slugged him in the face. Athos cried out, blood oozing from his nose.
"I might have guessed you were lying, traitor," she spat viciously at him. "What you have coming to you now is going to be a thousand times worse than what you have already been through. No one toys with me and lives to tell about it!" With that parting threat, Cyanara left him behind in the chamber and headed back up to the fortress's ground level.
The Empress stopped before an ordinary-looking wooden door and knocked. A small voice came from within.
"C-Come in."
Cyanara opened the door. Beyond it was a small room with bed, dresser, nightstand, lamp—in short, everything a little girl might possibly need to spend the night there in comfort. There was even a teddy bear lying on the neatly-made bed. Princess Aster, with her green silk dress and auburn hair, sat on the edge of the bed, watching her visitor fearfully.
Quietly the Empress approached her young "guest" and sat down beside her. "Aster, your present is ready," she informed the little girl while stroking her hair softly.
Aster looked up at her "benefactor." "C-Can I have it now?" she inquired in a small voice.
Smiling, Cyanara nodded. "Yes, little princess. Come with me." She rose to her feet, took Aster's white-gloved hand in hers, and led her from the room.
The two wound their way through the fortress's intricate system of hallways, finally arriving at the silver double doors that proclaimed the entrance to the throne room. Cyanara pushed the doors open, and she and Aster entered the imposing chamber.
Immediately Aster saw the Shadow King and Queen not six feet from her. She gave a little scream and hid behind Cyanara's black skirt.
The King laughed. "Ah, the little one is fearful!"
"Come, Aster, there's no need to be so frightened," Cyanara told her, gently but firmly drawing the young princess out from behind her. She looked Aster in the eye. "I thought you were a brave girl," she said half-reproachfully.
"B-But—the—th-the—" Aster cast fearful eyes on the Royals again.
"They're here to give you your present, Aster. Don't be afraid." Cyanara motioned to the Queen, who slowly, gracefully approached Aster, wearing the friendliest smile she could muster. Aster shrank back against Cyanara with a small whimper.
The Queen got down on her knees and put her face at Aster's level. "Would you like your present now, young one?" she asked softly.
Aster hesitated, then nodded slowly.
The Queen's eyes glistened red. "Very well. I'll give it to you."
Without warning the Queen leaned forward and kissed Aster's lips. Princess Aster's face registered surprise, and she tried to pull away, but could not. What could not be seen during the few seconds of liplock was that something resembling a shadowy ether flowed from the Queen's mouth into Aster's.
"How do you like it, dear?" asked the Queen with a wicked smile.
Aster's face betrayed shock, and she stood stock still for several minutes. Suddenly she clutched at her chest, cried out, and fell to her knees as a purple glow issued from her eyes. Her head went back in a childish scream of horror.
"Is it done?" came a male voice from the door.
The King looked past Cyanara and the screaming, shaking Aster to see a young man standing just inside the throne room doors. He was dressed in a red tunic and gray leggings identical to the King's, and a short black cape hung from his shoulders. A blood-red crown similar to that of the Royals sat atop his raven-black hair. The King smiled in greeting and answered the query.
"Yes, my prince. She is yours."
"Princess! What on earth do you think you're wearing?!"
Peach giggled. "I knew it," she whispered to Mario, who nodded and grinned.
Toadsworth continued his insistent ranting. "Take that ridiculous...whatever-it-is off this instant and put your dress back on! I demand it!"
"You want me to change clothes right out here in the open?" Peach asked with a smile, gesturing around at the flat clifftop plateau.
"Well, er...no," Toadsworth stammered. Then he recovered himself. "And where did you get such an absurd piece of clothing?!"
"For your information, Toadsworth, my mother gave it to me." Peach's voice indicated that she would brook no further opposition. Fortunately for Toadsworth, he did not offer any.
"Your...mother?" he gasped. "The good Queen Diamond is yet alive?!"
"Yes," Peach replied calmly.
Toadsworth was stunned by this news. He worked his jaw, but no sound came out.
"Good to see you safe and sound, bro," Luigi greeted Mario. "Looks like you got the Ring!"
"The Tanzanite Ring." Mario held up his left hand and let the sun glint off the indigo gem on his fourth finger. "Now it's on to Violet Dimension. Luigi, it's your turn to do the honors." He handed his younger sibling the white DTD disk.
"B-Bro?" stammered Luigi.
Mario placed the Tanzanite Ring in Luigi's gloved hand. "Go ahead."
Luigi, still hesitant, took the Ring and fitted its gem into DT's central socket. The device whirred musically, and in seconds a beautiful violet portal shimmered before the group. Luigi handed the Ring and DTD back to Mario with a wide grin on his face.
"On to Violet Dimension," droned DT.
"Wahaa!" yelled Luigi as he leaped through the portal.
Peach stepped through the violet portal, and her feet rested on soft green grass. She gasped at what she saw before her. A large stone structure surrounded by a deep moat sat solidly on the ground in broad daylight, several hundred yards distant.
"The castle!" Peach cried. "It's my castle!"
The portal closed behind her. The others had already come through behind her by this time. Mario moved slowly forward, staring at the castle. It looked normal.
WHIZZZ...
"Peach!!" Mario tackled her and brought both her and himself skidding into the dirt.
Peach pushed him off and got to her feet. "Mario, what on earth do you think you're doing?!" she demanded.
Mario pointed to an arrow embedded in the turf not three feet behind the spot Peach had been standing on. If Mario hadn't knocked her over it would have pierced her heart. Peach hugged him tightly.
"Come on, we've got to find a place where whoever-it-is can't shoot at us," Mario said urgently. He led the way away from the castle into the surrounding forest.
No sooner had they set foot in the forest than they saw, to their surprise, Princess Daisy herself stepping out of a black portal amongst the trees. A Shy Guy in a black suit, black bowtie, and sunglasses accompanied her. The instant she laid eyes on the startled group, she stormed over to them.
"Peach! I demand to know what's going on around here!"
"Daisy, calm down," Peach responded gently, trying to cool her friend's temper. "How did you get here?"
"I know about the dimensional rifting thing, Peach. Spy Guy here told me all about that. But then my little sister gets kidnapped!"
Peach gasped. "Aster—kidnapped?!"
Daisy's eyes welled with tears. "The Great One has her. I just came from that accursed fortress, where I was trying to find a way inside. It's no use. The place is sealed more tightly than a can of tuna." She began to cry, then checked herself. "I'm sorry for the outburst. I get like this when I think about Aster..."
"Daisy," Mario told her gravely, "we know the Great One's true identity now."
Daisy's eyes widened. "You do?"
Peach nodded. "Her name is Cyanara, and...she's my older sister."
Daisy almost fell over. "Do you mean to tell me—!! I mean, I know she hates you and everything, but is this thing between you and her some kind of sibling rivalry or something?"
"I guess you could call it that," Peach conceded. "She claims she should have the throne, not me."
"Not in a million years!" exclaimed Daisy heatedly. "She'd never do half as good a job as you do!"
"That's not the point," Peach hastened to say. "Cyanara was banished and stripped of her royal rights because of her dark heart. According to law she can't have the throne—ever!"
Daisy was silent, taking all this information in.
"Daisy," Peach addressed her friend, "we need to get into my castle. Apparently the Paroidian Guard is still inside. Can you and Spy Guy help us out?"
"Spy Guy," Daisy ordered, "get into that castle and open the gates so we can get inside."
"Understood," replied the black-suited Shy Guy. He put his black sunglasses on and cautiously slipped out of the trees, heading for the castle. The others sat back to wait for him.
In less than half an hour Daisy's radio crackled. "Your Highness?"
Daisy lifted the transponder to her lips. "Come in, Spy Guy. What's up?"
"The security inside the castle is too heavy for me to do anything as blatant as opening the gates," replied the espionage expert. "I'm going to have to use the timechanger to get you guys in here."
"The timechanger?! But Spy Guy—"
"It's the only way." Spy Guy's voice was perfectly calm.
"...OK. Let me explain this to Peach and the others. Stand by."
Daisy turned to her friends. "Spy Guy's timechanger gadget can speed up or slow down time. What he's going to do is speed up time all around us. Everything except us will be affected, including Spy Guy. Once it's nighttime, the security inside the castle should be lessened, and Spy Guy should be able to let us in."
"I never quite understood all of that time travel theory stuff," Peach laughed, "but I trust you."
"Go ahead, Spy Guy," Daisy relayed over the radio.
"Ten-four."
Suddenly the world around them burst into rapid motion. Plants and even large trees shivered erratically as the effect of slight breezes over hours of time was compressed into mere seconds. The entire forest around them seemed alive as it continued its shaking, wavering motion. It was like watching a film in rapid fast-forward. Leika pointed up through the canopy of shivering leaves, and the others looked up to see the sun gliding across the sky at a rate that would place sundown at a distance of less than a minute rather than several hours. The group watched in awe as the sun dipped below the horizon, plunging them into darkness, and suddenly the time fast-forward stopped. The third quarter moon shone down on them.
Daisy clicked her two-way radio back on. "Spy Guy, give us your current time."
"Four AM," came the staticky response.
Mario quickly reset his watch to agree with the new time. "Man, over fifteen hours in just minutes!"
Spy Guy's voice came over the radio again. "Security's not as tight. I'm opening the gate now." In another minute or so the castle's massive oaken gates swung open almost noiselessly. Spy Guy had oiled every hinge well to avoid making a racket.
A Shy Guy silhouette scuttled out of the gates and onto the moonlit castle grounds. "Come on!" he called in a hoarse whisper, beckoning furtively to the group concealed in the forest tree line.
Mario dashed out to Spy Guy first and hunkered down in the grass. Peach followed closely. Leika was so small in comparison to her companions that she needed no concealment; she simply flew close to the ground and reached Spy Guy rather quickly. Luigi almost tripped and barely saved himself from a fall which more than likely would have revealed their presence to the Paroidians atop the watchtowers. At last the entire group of seven was reassembled in the grassy field, a hundred yards from the open castle gates.
"Huff! I say," Toadsworth panted, "this is rather the dangerous escapade! Are we certain about this?"
"No going back now," replied Spy Guy quietly. His black suit concealed him almost perfectly in the cold moonlight. "When I say go, we dash for the gate." The others prepared themselves for the sprint.
"Ready—GO!"
Instantly the group charged forward through the grass, seven figures against a backdrop of dim light. Toadsworth quickly fell behind, and the others rushed through the gates ahead of him.
Suddenly there were shouts from the top of the wall, and a hail of arrows rained down on Toadsworth. He yelled in pain and fell onto his face, unable to get up.
"Toadsworth!!" cried Peach and rushed back out of the gates to help her steward, not giving the slightest thought to her own safety.
Mario gasped. "No! Peach! The archers on the wall!!"
She paid no heed to the warning. Quickly but gently she knelt by her trusty steward and tried to help him up.
A horrible whizzing sound suddenly filled Peach's ears, as if her mind had just awakened to her danger. Her head shot up, and terror filled her eyes as she watched dozens of arrows lofting into the air from the wall, falling toward their target far below. She froze where she was, paralyzed, unable to move, unwilling to leave Toadsworth as her sharp-pointed executioners plummeted toward her.