Mario screamed at the top of his lungs, hyperventilating. His Firebrand had been activated and he jumped towards the face as it disappeared. It had gotten away and Mario was still hyperventilating, the Firebrand still active.

Goombella tried to reassure, "Mario? It's okay, that guy is gone! Seriously, what was his beef anyhow?"

But it was of no use, Mario was not listening or powering down. Luigi got Goombella behind him and walked over, using a Thunderhand shield. Luigi had gotten Mario sitting down.

Luigi stammered, "M - Malleo…?" Mario turned his head and saw his brother there, alright for the most part. He stammered, "P - please calm down fratello… Y - you are scaring us."

Mario snarled, "He cursed you, Weegie! How can I calm down?! It seems like everytime I turn around I do the wrong thing…"

Mario started to sob now, his hyperventilating getting worse. Luigi sat down with him, showing three fingers on his left hand. Luigi had placed his other hand on Mario's shoulder.

Luigi told him, "B - breathe in Mario, breathe." He took a few deep breaths in, counting up to three on his fingers. He added, "N - now breathe out." He took a few deep breaths out, counting down to three on his fingers. Mario's Firebrand deactivated and he was starting to calm down. His hyperventilating was slowing down. Luigi praised, "That's it…"

Mario stated, in Italian, "Gratzi… Ma ho sbagliato di nuovo davvero."

Luigi took Mario's hands into his, "I'd do anything for you… But this isn't just about the cursed thing, is it?"

Mario sobbed at that moment. Luigi held his brother close. They sat like that, in silence for a while. Goombella and the professor had left the boys alone for a few minutes to talk. Goombella was still pretty shaken from what happened. Mario finally stopped sobbing, holding tightly to his brother still.

Mario responded, in Italian, "Quel mostro…"

Luigi perked up and knew immediately of who Mario was talking about. King Boo. The mansion incident was still very much fresh in their minds, it had happened about a few months ago.

Luigi reassured, "Hey…King Boo is gone. He's been defeated. He won't come back."

Mario didn't really feel reassured by that but he nodded anyhow. He stated, "You really do have my back, don't ya?"

Luigi teased, "Even though it very hairy back there, yes."

Mario stuck out his tongue as Luigi held out his hand to his older brother. Mario took it and helped himself up. They hugged each other, thanking the other in Italian. They then parted out of their hug and went to find Goombella and the professor. After apologizing to Goombella, the group returned to their exploring.

The professor said, "Oh! Mario! Luigi! Goombella! Look at that!" They had found some weird looking doors. He gasped, "It's the Thousand-Year Door spoken of in the legends! I can't believe it's real! So the legends are true! There it is, big as life? Come! Let's move closer!"

Luigi stammered, "I - I don't think that's a good idea."

Mario added, "Yeah, Luigi already got cursed…"

Goombella was looking around the room, "Hey, what's with this weird pedestal, huh? What could it be, you think?"

Mario and Luigi stepped onto a small circle thing in the middle of the room. It had started to glow a blue color and it was in the shape of a star. Blue lights came out in front and around them. The floor kept glowing blue.

Goombella asked, "Professor, what's going on?"

Professor Frankly couldn't try and answer as the map came out of Mario's pocket and a bunch of silver stars seemed to go into it. The map kept going higher and higher above the brothers until a white light from the heavens descended on the map. When the brothers were able to open their eyes, they saw the map. It had a blue castle in the far right corner now. A silver star formed and the map vibrated.

Mario breathed, "Whoa!"

Luigi stammered, "I - I think it is showing us a location on where to find a Crystal Star!"

Goombella and Professor Frankly took a look and saw that Luigi was correct.

Frankly told the group, "It does indeed seem that way! We should return to my place and study the map closely!"

…

It didn't take long for the group to get back to the professor's place.

The professor had a book open as he cried out, "Hmm… Aha! I see!"

Goombella asked, "Do you understand it, Professor?"

Professor Frankly explained, "My dear, of course I do! Firstly, about that light we saw shining on Mario and Luigi… By my reckoning, Mario and Luigi can now perform what is known as a special move."

Goombella breathed, "A special move?"

Mario and Luigi were in awe. "That sounds really cool." The hero of the kingdom admitted.

"Yes, it does fratello." The ghost hunter stated.

Professor Frankly commented, "Yes, it… Well… Stuff like this is better explained by example rather than words. It's a special move named Sweet Treat. You can try it the next time you fight any enemies." The brothers nodded in agreement. The professor added, "Let's have a look at that Magical Map and see what we can learn about the…" That's when he took a look at the map, "Wow! Astounding! This map has radar-like functions! It now shows the location of a Crystal Star! It looks like the first Crystal Star is to be found in a place called the Petal Meadows."

Goombella repeated, "Petal Meadows?"

Professor Frankly stated, "Yes. The area is a vast meadow that lies to the east of Rogueport. To tell you the truth… I've always thought that place was a tad suspicious. The name Petal Meadows came up from time to time in my research."

Mario commented, "Alright, we'll head there."

Luigi asked, "Si but how?"

Professor Frankly told them, "I'm fairly certain that somewhere beneath the city is a pipe to Petal Meadows. If you find that, you'd get there instantly. Pipe travel's efficient!" He closed the book and asked, "By the way, how did you two get your hands on the Magical Map?"

Mario answered, "Princess Peach sent it to us to help her and Violet out to find the treasure."

Professor Frankly raised a brow, "Really? Her Highness sent this to you two?"

Luigi confirmed, "Yeah why?"

Professor Frankly commented, "Your princess and her friend came to see me the other day. They wanted to learn about the treasure… I had told them about the Crystal Stars and my suspicions about Petal Meadows…"

Both the brothers perked up. Mario stated, "Maybe they went out there to look."

Luigi stammered, "W - we are going to have to go and find out."

Goombella pointed out, "Y'know, Professor, there was another suspicious group asking about the same thing."

Professor Frankly thought for a moment, "Hmm… But I can't imagine those two getting involved with them." He then perked up, "Alright! It's settled! You three are headed to Petal Meadows. If your girlfriends indeed went there, your first priority must be to catch up with them. Collecting the Crystal Stars is a means to an end…and that end is Princess Peach."

Luigi groaned, "W - why do I feel like it isn't going to be that easy?"

Mario admitted, "Never is, fratello. Never is."

Professor Frankly gave Mario back the Magical Map. Mario put it back in his pocket.

...

Wishmaker1028: So my Chromebook keeps crashing on me so I'm using Tim's laptop until I can find a new laptop which is going to be a lot of fun... But chapter 5 is done! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!