"Well, here we are," Goombella announced once more. They were underneath Rogueport in the area the pictures were at, but it wasn't as dark as before.
They also didn't seem as peppy as before. Timpani was back in her tunic and pants, and like most of the girls, she had dark circles under her eyes. All the guys had some sort of bandage on them, and even Goombella's steps were slower than before.
The scant amount of light was confusing. Bowser hadn't lit any more torches, and any that he had lit last night should, by all means, be out of fuel.
Goombella opened the door and the source of the light was revealed.
"A Power Star!" Peach strode forwards and collected it, putting it in her pouch.
"And a note," Blumiere noticed, picking up the aforementioned paper. It felt old, but the handwriting looked new, and it certainly wasn't there before.
"You forget these like I forget some of my items," the Count read.
"Nice guy, there. Does it say who wrote it?" Goombella rolled her eyes.
Blumiere's face twitched. "The guy in green. He also wrote 'P.S.- You'll see me soon. Not that soon, but still soon."
"…Weird," Bowser muttered. The Mario Bros. just shrugged.
"You should probably stick around for another few hours or so before you go off on your way. That wall treated you none too kindly."
Mario shook his head. "As much as I wish we could, we should probably go. We don't know where we have to go next, and if we wait a few hours, there might not be any way to get there. We've had worse injuries and with way worse medical care."
"All right then. But I don't wanna hear that your game's over, any of you, you hear me?" Goombella demanded.
"Of course," Timpani responded.
"I'll lead you out."
As Goombella was leading them to the plain outside of town, two kids came shouting.
"Hey! Hey mister! Wait up! Hey!" one panted.
"Oi, top hat!" That got the group's attention. Blumiere was the only one who wore a top hat in Rogueport, even during the Carnival of Time.
The two kids hunched over once they caught up. One was female, wearing a green shirt and a pair of jeans, while the other was male and wore a worn out hoodie with buttons overtop their own jeans. Both of them wore knit caps, though the one wearing the hoodie had more buttons on the hat as well.
"Whew! Found you!" The one without the hoodie said.
"Jeez, couldn't you guys walk slower?"
"Not really…" Timpani responded.
"Oh! Sorry, didn't mean to hold you up. Here." The male dug something out of his pocket and gave it to Blumiere. "It's a hat accessory. You were really generous at my family's stall the other day, so we wanted to give you something. Thanks!"
The two kids dashed off again.
"What is it?" Luigi inquired.
Blumiere opened his hand. Then he burst out laughing, hunching over like the kids.
The group was surprised.
"Is the medicine still affecting you Blumiere?" Timpani asked her husband, putting a hand on his back.
The Count showed what was in his hand.
It was a slice of cake made out of colorful wire. There was a loop that would let him attach it to the ribbon on his hat.
Timpani had to laugh as well, but the rest of the group still looked really confused.
"It's an inside joke," she explained through her giggles.
"So… off we march?" Luigi asked, trying to ignore the laughing couple.
"Sure. Thanks again, Goombella," Mario said.
"Not an issue, Mustachio. But come back sometime, you hear?"
"When I can."
"Bye!" the group said as they left, walking father into the plain.
A few minutes passed.
"Does anybody know where we're actually going?" Bowser asked.
"Uh…"
"Nope."
"Haven't been here before."
"No."
"Not really?"
The King of Koopas facepalmed. "Well that was a good plan!"
A familiar door popped into existence in front of them.
"That's… convenient?" Daisy tried.
Bowser just sighed and opened the door, only to reveal another void behind it.
"Great," he managed to get in right before it sucked them all in.
It wasn't a long trip, just a few seconds, but the landing really could've been better.
"Ow," Luigi grumbled.
Blumiere put a hand to his own forehead, trying to stave off the headache.
Daisy picked up the book the count had dropped and opened it.
"Hey, wizard guy!" she exclaimed as she opened it to reveal Merlon already there.
"Hello, Princess. How goes the hunt for the Power Stars?"
"We got another one. Your fancy book say anything about funky doors?"
"The Light Prognosticus? No, but it does have a new prophecy for you all.
On this island inhabited by a loyal friend,
Who will always have some aid to lend,
A hero's life they would not spare
If nature's rage weren't everywhere
Beware, Heroes, Beware…
You are now inside the monster's lair…
The magician's fault is shown
After all the vines have grown."
"That's foreboding," Peach commented.
Merlon shrugged. "It's the end of the universe, Princess Peach."
"Thanks, Merlon." Daisy shut the book after Merlon responded, sitting it heavily in her lap.
Luigi shook his head. "Let's not just sit here. We need to find more Power Stars."
"How many, Luigi? It hasn't hinted towards the amount once!" Bowser exclaimed.
"I have a feeling we'll find out soon," Mario said.
"Yoshi?"
A/N: You thought you were going to get a Mario story without Yoshi? Please, that green dinosaur is awesome and you know it!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
(Current Length: about 36.5 pages and 13,391 words in MS Word.)