"Are you sure about this? Speak up X-Naut!" Grodus slammed his staff against the ground and the X-Naut scientist shivered slightly before replying.
"Y-Yes, sir, quite sure. I poured over all our research on the Thousand-Year Door…and it appears the sealing power has definitely been weakening, as Beldam said." Grodus gave out a dark chuckle.
"Finally, the treasure of legend…the ancient power of darkness will soon be ours!" He pointed his staff at the X-Naut scientist, "Listen, and listen well! Keep giving the Crystal Star search top priority! Of course, that also includes the elimination of Soren! That meddling scum…and don't harm the princess when you capture her!"
"Got it sir!" With a salute, the X-Naut scientist made his way out of the command room.
"Soon…I will have the power that has slept for a millennium…so very soon! And when that glorious day dawns, I'll throw the world into the depths of terror! No one can stop me now. All will kneel before the X-Naut regime! And then I, Grodus, will build a new world! A perfect, ideal world…yes. A world made by me, about me, and for ME!" Grodus gave out a mad, cackling laugh that reverberated off the walls around him, enveloping the room in his sinister aura.
Alice
The metallic doors slid open and I stepped into the computer room. TEC had called me up and I could only guess at what he wanted me to do for him this time. If it was another disguise mission, I wasn't too averse to it; it was better than sitting around doing nothing. Dancing wasn't preferable, and if he asks me to sing this time, I'm breaking his monitor.
"What do you need?" I asked. He stayed quiet for a moment before responding.
"I…I am conflicted." I raised my eyebrow at this. Usually, he was insistent that he knew everything.
"What happened to your infinite knowledge?" I asked.
"Which is more important? Carrying out an order or protecting a critical person? I exist for the purpose of a certain person. I wish to exist for the purpose of another. I do not know what to do…really." That…that's a bit worrying.
"…Are you doing okay?"
"…Never mind…I do not know why, but it makes me feel unpleasant if I make you worry." That's…kind of sweet. "For today, I would like to have a quiz."
"…Alright." I replied. I wasn't sure what was eating at the computer, but maybe playing along with his thing would make it better for him…why am I so worried about this hunk of CPU?
"If you can answer five questions, you may use the communicator as usual."
"…Go ahead."
"First question: what will happen if you collect the seven crystal stars?" Those X-dunces said something about a door opening more than a few times if that happens…
"The Thousand-Year Door opens."
"Correct. Second question: What is the goal of Grodus, leader of the X-Nauts?" What's the goal of an enemy megalomaniac with an evil fortress?
"To conquer the world."
"Correct. Third Question: What is the legendary treasure that waits behind the Thousand-Year Door?" Was…was he trying to tell me what these guys are after.
"TEC…" Grodus is trying to conquer the world. To do that he has to open the door and get whatever is beyond it. It's a thousand-year-old door so…the only thing that could possibly be beyond it with those clues in mind…
"A demon."
"Correct, a thousand-year-old demon soul." A demon soul, not the whole thing? "Fourth question: what does Sir Grodus wish to do with this ancient demon's soul?" World domination…a demon soul…
"Bring it back to life."
"Correct. Now, the fifth question: what is required to seal the demon again." …If they sealed it the first time…
"The Crystal Stars."
"Correct. You have correctly answered all five questions. Now you may use the communicator."
"TEC…"
"Please input the message you want to send."
"…" I stepped up to the keyboard and started typing away. With everything TEC gave me, I had a lot to send to Soren about what was happening, "…I'm done. Go ahead and send it."
"…The message has been sent. That is all for now, please go back to your room." Stepping away from the keyboard, I made my way back to the door I had entered from.
"…Thanks TEC." I stepped beyond the threshold and the door closed behind me. Without another word, I made my way back to my room.
"Good night, Alice."
Lily
"YEAHHHH!" Gareth gave out aloud cheer as Rawk Hawk pummeled the Koopinator unconscious. We had decided to make out way back to Gitzville since there was some kind of secret to discover…although we quickly got side tracked by the attractions and fights. Strangely, Gareth was a savant when it came to finding out which fighters would win…although in a match with Rawk Hawk it seemed like a foregone conclusion there. Kammy Koopa was currently on Gareth's shoulders cheering as much as he was and having the time of her life. The only person absent was Bowser who had decided to take his clown copter…although he apparently never made it which had me a bit worried.
"Should we be worried Bowser hasn't shown up yet?" I asked and Gareth shrugged.
"I'm sure he's fine." He replied before going back to cheering. We had come here with the intent of finding a secret about the crystal stars but it seemed this was a glorified excuse to take a break and enjoy some leisure…which I wouldn't mind too much if I wasn't worried about our friends. I light tap on my shoulder had me turn to see a large man looking down on me. He was one of the security guards for the Glitzpit.
"Follow me. Miss Jolene would like to speak with you." I shivered before nodding and following him. I looked back at Gareth to see him and Kammy too engrossed in the match to pay attention…I can probably take care of this on my own…maybe.
I was led to the back of the arena and led to an office room where a woman sat at a long desk. She looked at me and motioned for me to sit down at a nearby couch in front of a coffee table.
"You're one of Soren's friends, right?" She asked sitting across from me and setting out a cup of tea. Hearing Soren's name made me let out a sigh of relief before taking a sip of the tea she had offered.
"Y-Yes...and you?"
"My name is Jolene. Your friend Soren and his companions assisted me in saving my brother. I recognized you and your friend, currently watching our match, when you met up with them during the incident a few days ago. Thanks to him, I was able to save my brother and stop Grubba's power siphoning scheme." She added a cube of sugar to her drink before taking a sip, "So, I wanted to help him however I could from here. I assume that's why you're here?"
"U-Um…sorry but no. Kammy said there was a secret here about the crystal star." Jolene thought for a moment before giggling.
"Sorry, but the star you're looking for was already taken by Soren." Well…that's good but also a bit disappointing. She reached under the table and pulled out a file before placing it on the table. "Although, in my research, I've come across a few other rumors about the crystal stars that might interest you." I picked up the folder and started scanning through the various reports she had collected. A few I recognized; Petalburg Meadows, Boggly Woods, and Gltizville.
"This is very detailed." I complimented looking through the report of population and flora and fauna. She had gone the extra mile.
"As a secretary and an amateur investigator, I was very thorough when it came to collecting information." She replied proudly, pushing her glasses up. This woman was amazing, "Now, I've also kept up to date on your friends' encounters. I know at this point he has taken the crystal stars at Hooktail Castle, Great Boggly Tree, Glitzpit, and most recently the Creepy Steeple." She even had pictures of the places he'd been too…wait.
"The legend said seven crystal stars…right? I only see six here." Jolene sighed as she leaned back into her chair.
"Yes. Unfortunately, the one in Rogueport had apparently already been claimed by some organization before Soren even set foot onto the area. Tracking down their location has been incredibly difficult. Regardless, I hope the information I've collected will be helpful." Closing the file and stuffing it into my bag I turned back to Jolene and nodded.
"I hope so too…we're trying to find a friend by hunting the stars down…but we haven't had much luck…b-but maybe one of these locations can lead us to her. Thank you, Miss Jolene." She gave me a sweet smile.
"Of course. I'm more than happy to help." Her look changed to one of surprise and she brought her hand to her ear, "…On the note of helping, you should know that your large turtle friend Bowser is swimming back to Rogueport…apparently his ship ran out of fuel and he fell into the ocean." Oh no.
"W-We'd better hurry then!" I gave her a short bow and rushed out of the office. He was going to be steamed if we weren't there to meet him…I wonder if he could still breath fire underwater…
We rushed towards the docks of Rogueport…all the while Kammy and Gareth carried a large amount of Rawk Hawk merchandise. They got REALLY into the Rawk Hawk before I pulled them away. As we made our way down the stairs to the docks, we knew we were on the right track given the amount of people running away in terror. At the end of the docks stood Bowser, looking tired and more than a little soggy. I hesitated to step up to him, given his haggard and tired expression.
"Sir!" Kammy said floating up to him on her broom, "Where did you go?"
"…I went swimming." He answered, trying to hold some manner of dignity.
"Glitzville was AWESOME!" Gareth blurt out.
"It was!" Kammy agreed. "The fights were SO COOL! And the hot dogs were AMAZING!" I could see the vein on his head throb as she kept talking…oh no.
"An egg on a dog. We gotta try that Lily." Gareth said looking at me. I nodded before scribbling it into my side handbook and turning back to the increasingly angry looking Koopa King.
"U-Um Gareth, didn't you save a hot dog?" I asked and he gave a look of realization.
"Oh yeah!" Reaching into his pack, he pulled out a tinfoil wrapped dog and held it out to Bowser.
"Try a bite." After a minute of staring at it, Bowser snatched up the dog and shoved it down his gullet before stomping past us.
"Let's go find those stupid stars." He grumbled as he chewed. I think we just avoided getting cooked…too close for my heart.
Soren
There was something about being a shadow person that seemed to pull at my gut, because the second I turned back, I was starving. Luckily, the Mayor was sympathetic to our earlier situation and prepared a second feast for ACTUAL me, rather than my Dooplis double.
"I can't believe it was a fake Soren all that time…so we were all fooled." The mayor said, shaking his head, "I'm so sorry. As an apology, enjoy as much as you want." I was more than happy to take him up on the offer. Despite this place being a gloomy and dim village, I couldn't get over the food being SO GOOD! Although, as much as I would have liked to have focused entirely on my stomach, the rising tension in the room between Mowz and Peach caught my side eye more than a few times. Mowz ate an apple, just smirking at Peach as she stared back, daintily cutting into and chewing down her steak.
"…This is uncomfortable." Koops said, breaking the quiet of the group.
"Koops dear, if you ever have dinner with a female friend and your girlfriend, you'll understand." Flurrie replied. Next to me was Vivian who poked at the spread but wasn't really eating anything.
"Not hungry?" I asked and she jumped slightly.
"Oh, no. I was just waiting for leftovers. That's what I usually eat." Oh, right. Mean and abusive sisters.
"Dig in. Eat as much as you want." Grabbing for a turkey leg, I handed it to Vivian who carefully took it from me and bit into it. When it finally hit her tastebuds, she started wolfing it down with a hungry fever. I chuckled and pooled up what I could on a plate before setting it in front of her and giving her hat an affectionate rub. When I looked back, I saw Peach and Mowz staring at me.
"…Truce Peachy?"
"Truce." Not sure exactly what happened but it seemed to have dissipated the tension so I'll take it.
With our bellies full and a, mostly, renewed sense of comradery, we started on our way back to Rougueport to put in the next Crystal Star. As we did, I could see Goombella and Vivian discussing her shadowy form and where her weird pocket resided. I doubt she was going to get a very satisfactory answer but knowing Goombella she was going to keep asking. Meanwhile, Ms. Mowz was walking next to me, her thin tail wrapped around my arm. On my other side was Peach who wasn't quite as attached to me but was closer than usual and keeping an eye on Mowz. Given how little room I had I was basically walking a straight line at this point.
"You two okay?" I asked, hoping the two of them would back up…they didn't.
"Very comfortable." Mowz replied as her tail tightened around my arm.
"Same." Peach replied, her body now an inch or two from me. What finally, thank God, had both of them step back was my scrolls e-mail alert. Opening it up, I found another e-mail from Alice.
"Soren,
It's a demon past that door! The x-morons want to revive it and use it to take over the world! That's why they've been collecting the crystal stars! They even know the only thing that can stop it IS the crystal stars! If they do end up reviving it, those stars are the only thing that can put it back down. So you need to find them all before that happens. Don't let them get even one!
-Alice-" Well, that's new information.
"A demon…" Vivian said with a pensive look on her face.
"Did you know something about it?" Goombella asked and Vivian held her head for a moment.
"I…don't know. It's all blurry in my head when I think about that…"
"…what about where Alice is?" I asked. It took longer than I'd like to admit for me to ask but I needed to ask now that I remembered.
"I…I'm sorry but I don't know…B-Beldam only ever had us enter the main chamber. I don't know where the base is." Damn…there goes that plan…although even then Vivian can't move her and another person over long distances; she got winded saving me from a fall.
"A demon…th-that's just a theory, right?" Koops asked growing paler.
"A demon…" Oh no, Goombella has that intrigued look in her eye.
"How thrilling." Flurrie said with a captivated look.
"Everyone calm down, we still have to collect the stars." I interjected.
"Yes, all that treasure can be thought about once we collect the keys."
"Subtle Mowz." She gave me a playful wink.
"A demon…" Worry was the only thing I could register on Peach's face as she thought about the demon behind the Thousand-Year Door. "…Why did they need me then?" Peach was the one who opened the box with the map inside…
"Maybe you're the only one who can utilize the full power of the stars?" I offered.
"But…you're the one who uses it." I shrugged.
"I'm kind of just winging it. I don't even know what my new power is. Maybe you can do them better." Reaching into my bag, I pulled out the crystal star we had been given and handed it to Peach who looked at it confusingly. She screwed her eyes shut tightly and stood there for a moment, slightly vibrating as she tried to focus with all her might.
"…Am I doing anything?"
"Nope. Just holding a star and vibrating yourself to a headache." She opened her eyes and held her temple with a pained expression.
"There goes that theory." Goombella chimed in. Peach handed the star back to me, and as I turned to put it away, I could see a gaggle of X-Naut soldiers rushing towards us.
"Take them down and capture the princess!" As they all grouped together, the star gave out a low glow, and an idea formed in my mind. Pulling out my wooden blade, I rushed forward at the hoard.
"Art Attack!" A magic power emanated from the tip of my weapon, and I made a quick circle, enveloping all the X-Naut goons in my eyesight. When I finished it, the circle rushed forward and grew to envelop the X-Nauts I had traced around, sending out an energy pulse that took the goons off their feet and knocking them out. Given that it had taken out almost ten guys, the others looked absolutely terrified before grabbing their unconscious friends and taking off down the road they came.
"RETREAT!" As they ran away, I put my weapon away and felt my head pulse for a minute. Figures something that powerful would have a drawback like that.
"See, you can use the power but I can't." Peach said with a slight pout. Then the only other reason they could still need Peach is…I have an idea of why they would need her…but I don't like it.