Chapter 4: Auroras in the Sky, Lunar Flowers in the Snow
At Mario's Pad, Koops discovered a note in the restroom. Noticing that the note was sent by Donkey Kong, he informed Mario. Before they traveled to DK Island, they had to install the Garnet Moonlight Flower into the door. While heading to the docks, the boat that was supposed to carry them from Toad Town was swallowed by flames. After the Toads were rescued Mario proceeded to extinguish the fire. But by then, the damage was already done. The group was forced to wait until the boat was fixed.
An hour later, pain was inflicted upon Lily via another nightmare. Shortly after, the boat was ready to leave. After arriving at DK Island, the group stumbled across a broken shack. Inside they found a note that was written by Dixie Kong. After noticing that the plants in the forest had black goo seeping from their roots, leaves, and branches, the group encountered a horde of Koopas battling DK and Diddy. When the Koopas retreated, the group of heroes headed for the temple containing the Aquamarine Moonlight Flower. Inside they faced a set of challenges, with each member given three challenges each. The group completed all the challenges and was rewarded with the Aquamarine Moonlight Flower.
What will Lily's sisters and brother
do to free their parents? If Iggy succeeds in stealing the power source,
how will he dominate the world? Is the mysterious girl an ally or enemy?
Mario's Pad...
"Three Moonlight Flowers down, five to go," Yoshi mumbled to Mario.
"Sure is," Mario replied. Without any warning, he entered his room.
"Is there something wrong with him?" Lily whispered.
"Dunno," Koops answered. "Anyway, where's the fourth Moonlight Flower?"
Lily illuminated the room with a glow, closed her eyes, and then answered, "It's in a sacred place in the northernmost reaches of the Mushroom Kingdom..."
"Hmm. Maybe we should tell Mario about this."
In Mario's room, he was trapped inside his mind with dozens of questions. "Where did the Lunar Flower people come from? Why does Iggy need their power so horribly? And if he steals it, how will he use it?"
As he stayed frozen to his bed, Luigi opened the door and mumbled, "Hey, Bro. What's wrong?"
"Nothing, Luigi. Just nothing."
"Why do you look so depressed?"
"I'm not depressed. I was just wondering how Iggy will use the power source if he ever steals it. Did Lily tell you guys where the Moonlight Flower is?"
"Yes. She answered that it is resting in the northernmost reaches of the Mushroom Kingdom."
"Let's-a head there."
"Uh, Bro? We should head to the doorway first."
"Sure, sure..."
As Mario was leaving the room, Lily summoned a portal from her hands and everyone jumped in. Mario pulled the Aquamarine Moonlight Flower from his pocket and tossed it to Lily. Lily then inserted the Flower into its slot.
"So, the next color is topaz," Mario muttered. The group exited the doorway through another portal. "Okay," he continued, "we must travel to the northernmost areas of the Mushroom Kingdom."
"How do we get there?" DK asked.
"Well... On the way to Star Sanctum, I noticed a trail next to the building. Not sure where it leads to, though... Let's hope it takes us north."
Mario started traveling first. The others followed him. As the group disappeared, a Koopa was in hiding behind Mario's Pad. "This is Grey Koopa One," the Koopa called over the radio. "I'm in hiding right now, and the group is heading to the Star Sanctum."
"Follow them," Iggy ordered.
"Yes, Prince." The Koopa activated a cloaking device and proceeded to follow the group silently.
The party entered the trail that Mario traveled on a year before. The trail held trees that darkened the area. Partway through, the group faced a puzzle containing pillars. Since the lock was already released, the group pushed around the pillars as Mario had done during the Halo of Dreams crisis. Beyond the puzzle was a frozen lake. Mario tossed a Bob-omb into the lake and shattered part of the ice. After passing through the lake, the group approached the Star Sanctum. This building had a bright glow that illuminated the whole forest. Next to the building was a trail. The trail did not have much dirt, signifying that very few people traveled the trail.
"This is the trail that I was talking about." Mario pointed over at the trail.
"We must go," Koops mumbled. "But, we must be careful. Very few people have been on the trail, and we are not sure what's up ahead."
"Took-a the words right out of my mouth. We must be careful for any traps."
The group continued on. The Koopa was still trailing them.
"Sir," the Koopa whispered, "Mario is taking a trail by the Star Sanctum."
"Do NOT let him or any of the others out of your sight," Iggy ordered, with a slight sneer in his voice. "Am I clear?"
"Roger." The Koopa continued following the group.
Back with the group, the trees held unreal numbers of leaves, so much that they blocked out the light from above. Some of the leaves were completely soaked with water, while some were absolutely dry. The water in the lake was clear, allowing the group to see Cheep Cheeps in the water. Up ahead was a tunnel. This tunnel had no sunlight at all, which would leave the group vulnerable to attack in the dark. Against the wishes of Luigi and Koops, the group entered the tunnel. It proved difficult to navigate through the tunnel for two reasons: One, the tunnel was dark, not dark as in dim light, but pitch-black dark. It was so dark that you can't tell where you are going; and two, Luigi and Koops were unable to contain their fears and tried to leave. Mario, DK, and Yoshi had to drag them back into the cave frequently before finally exiting the tunnel. Lily illuminated the forest with a dim glow, albeit barely. By the time the group was out of the forest, they were approaching a long mountain range. This range was home to mountains of different sizes, from low-lying all the way to snow-capped.
"The resting place of the Topaz Moonlight Flower is beyond the mountains. Let's-a climb up these mountains," Mario ordered.
Mario climbed up first, followed by DK and later all the others. From the starting point, the wind was warm and more moderate. Higher up, the group experienced cooler winds that were very harsh. Luigi and Koops were starting to experience fear from the heights. Lily and Yoshi were struggling to climb up due to the winds. DK had no problem climbing thanks to his strength. Mario, while faring well on the way up, was starting to feel uneasy, mainly due to the fact that the mountain range was notorious for its frequent avalanches and if a single avalanche was to start where he and the others were, they would get swallowed by the snow and most likely be killed.
At the top of the mountain, the sunlight was brighter than it was at the base. Winds started to build up as well. Luigi started to shiver.
"Looks l-l-like we are at the top, right?" Koops asked.
"Yeah," Mario responded. "We must-a get back down. Do NOT scream on the way down, whatever you do. That includes you, Luigi."
"O-O-Okay," Luigi shivered in fear. Luigi quickly remembered that he’d caused an avalanche during the Halo of Dreams incident on the way to Bowser's Castle. That sent him a reminder that he shouldn't be causing an avalanche this time.
As the group descended down the mountain, Luigi's head turned down. At that point he was about to freak out. Mario was unaware of this. Luigi tried hard to hold back his fears, but the fact that he gets frightened easily prevented him from doing so. Eventually his phobia swallowed all his courage and he screamed loudly. Mario turned on Luigi and growled, "You've-a done it again..." The terrain shook slowly and weakly, but soon built up to a faster and stronger form.
"MOVE!!!" Mario yelled. He and DK jumped down the mountain. Luigi and Koops tried to follow, but the snow dragged them down. Lily levitated into the air and Yoshi made frequent use of his flutter jump. The snow was sliding off the mountain at a rapid rate. As the group neared the bottom, they realized they had to act fast or risk getting killed. Mario forced his weight to slow himself down. DK did the same thing, but Koops and Luigi reacted too late. They were buried in snow immediately afterwards. Lily and Yoshi slowly landed on the snow. Mario pulled Luigi and Koops out of the snow.
"Again?!" Mario shouted at Luigi. "That was almost-a like last time-a!"
"Sorry..." Luigi whimpered.
"Let's-a just move..."
The group exited the mountain range and was back in the forest. The Koopa, still in hiding, was watching them.
"Sir," the Koopa whispered over the radio, "the group is back in the forest."
"Keep track of them."
"Yes, Pri- Huh?" The Koopa noticed a figure in the trees.
"What is it?" Iggy asked the Koopa.
"I don't have a clue," the Koopa answered. "It's in the trees. Wait, how did it manage to see me?"
Back at the castle, Iggy was growing concerned about the Koopa.
"How did it find me?" the Koopa shuttered. "It's tracking my every movement!"
"What is it?"
"I don't... WHAT THE- Is that a robotic hand?!" After that, a scream filled the radio. Then, static was all that was left.
"Grey Koopa, please respond," Iggy called.
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"Grey Koopa, respond."
Back to the group, the leaves on the trees were beginning to reduce slowly. The sun was starting to fall slowly. The evergreen trees were increasing in number. The moisture in the air was dropping and the temperature was falling.
"Brrr," Koops shivered, "it's almost freezing here. Where are we?"
"We are farther north," Mario answered. He looked up to see the sun's light growing dimmer and dimmer as the group headed north. He also noticed some faint colors beginning to form in the darkening sky.
"Since we're getting closer to the Arctic circle," DK muttered, "we won't be experiencing much daylight here."
"Lily," Mario asked, "why does your kind live in colder areas?"
"Lunar flowers grow the best in areas with longer nights, and those are in the areas at or close to the poles. Many of the ancient structures can be found in the colder areas. There are some exceptions though. Inside the temples, we often have glass-stained paintings of past maidens of our kind. The maidens in general are called "Las Chicas de las Flores", meaning "Girls of the Flowers". We also include the polar scenery because they represent the strongest area where lunar flowers can grow. As for the auroras, they represent a calling from the gods."
"If-a your kind lives in areas with greater nighttime, why-a are the Moonlight Flowers scattered across the globe?"
"If they left all the Moonlight Flowers in or near the poles, an evil force would snatch them all up in an instant. This is why the Moonlight Flowers are scattered all over the globe."
"I-a get it now."
"Mario!" Koops called. "Check this out!" Koops pointed at the sky. The colors in the sky were now more visible and had formed into the shapes of curtains flowing from east to west. The sun was now almost gone.
"Auroras..." Mario shivered slightly. "We're getting closer."
The trees in the area now consisted entirely of evergreens, and the snow was blocking the soil below. Mountains dotted the area and Lunar flowers were scattered across the snow-barren ground. The area's features made this place a true polar beauty, but the group rarely focused on them... Just then, a blizzard started to build up.
"Stay close!" Yoshi yelled. The group traveled through the blizzard, albeit sluggishly. Some of the group were affected by the wind more than others. Koops collapsed to the ground, having succumbed to the wind. Luigi and Yoshi dragged him off the ground. During what seemed like an endless travel through the blizzard, the group spotted a shack.
"Let's-a head inside," Mario gasped. The group pushed their way through the blizzard and entered the front of the shack. Lily sat next to Koops on a bed, while Mario grabbed some firewood from the closet and ignited it.
"We safe here... for now," Yoshi muttered.
"Tomorrow, we must head up to the sacred area, and fast," Mario sighed. He entered another room to search for anything. Meanwhile, many of the others were ready to sleep. Lily pulled out her diary and started a new entry.
Day 4
We are on the outer edges of the northern polar zone, one of the settlements of my ancestors on Plit. The polar sights are a beauty to behold, but we often turn away from those sights for we instead focus on the threat of Iggy and his Koopas. If Iggy wants the power source so horribly, how will he use it? And if he does use it, what will he do to the rest of the Lunar Flower people that survive? My mother is still nowhere to be found, and my father isn't going to hold out any longer... Nevertheless, we must collect the Moonlight Flowers before Iggy does.
Lily pulled her hair back and tied it up.
There must be a reason why Iggy wants the power so much. If he wants our power just for the pleasure of us dieing, then we would've collected the Moonlight Flowers for nothing. No matter what reason Iggy needs the power for, we must stop him.
Lily
She then fell asleep. At that point, Mario exited the closet and fell asleep as well.
Outside, the mysterious girl was present. She was now wearing a golden dress with pale orange decorations to disguise her presence. She slowly left the area where the shack was, unaware that an elite Koopa was nearby.
"This is Koopa Twelve," the Koopa called over the radio. "I have a girl in my sights."
"Is she hostile?" Iggy replied over the radio.
"I don't know. I must use my binoculars and switch them to X-ray mode." The Koopa pulled out a pair of binoculars. He switched them to X-ray mode, and the results he found were shocking.
"Oh DAD..." the Koopa gasped. "Her body..."
"She must be hostile. Attack her," Iggy ordered.
"Yes, sir." The Koopa grabbed a Bob-omb from his pack and tossed it at the girl. The Bob-omb exploded with such force that the girl was sent flying.
In the shack, Mario was awakened by the sudden explosion. He tried to get a view outside, but ice on the window prevented him from doing so. He shrugged and fell back asleep.
Meanwhile in the Lunar Flower Kingdom, Lily's siblings were approaching a castle undetected.
"We can't use the front entrance." Sol sighed.
"Why not?" Luna asked.
"The Koopas have the doors heavily guarded. We need to find a secret entrance into the castle."
"There is one problem with that. How are we supposed to know where the secret entrances are?" Estrella complained.
"There is one secret entrance that our father told me. Follow me."
The next day...
"Hm," Mario sighed. "The sacred place isn't-a far from here. We should leave this shack now."
"Okay..." Luigi yawned.
The group exited the shack. The sun was out in the sky, but its light was spread out and thus very dim. In the distance, the group noticed a grey line on the ground. On the line was a marking. The marking read is following:
66 degrees north
"We're in the Arctic circle, guys." DK shivered.
"One of the many places where the ancient Lunar Flower people settled..." Lily whispered.
"Let's move."
The lunar flowers were starting to increase in number. Auroras were also increasing in number and the temperatures were already below zero. In the distance, several sacred structures were present. There was a path that split into two.
"We should pick which path to travel," Koops mumbled.
Which path should the group take?
Left? Or right?
Left
"Let's go through there," DK decided. He opened the doorway leading to the left pathway. The hallway was made of glowing stone and the glow was bright as the auroras filling the sky. Inside the hallway, there were glass-stained drawings of the ancient Lunar Flower people. In spite of being thousands of years old, the structure was still intact. At the end of the hallway was a cylindrical room. The room contained a cold, bright light from above.
"Well," Luigi shivered, "what do-a we do now?"
"Not really much to do here," Yoshi answered.
Lily tried to make contact with her mother, but the attempt ended in failure. She tried again, and this time, she heard her mother's voice faintly. "Lily..." her mother whispered, "...you...t? Please...at...Iggy...your father...sibli...Help..."
"Mom?" Lily cried. She didn't receive further communication from her mother.
"What the?" DK gasped. "What is that?" He pointed at the ceiling. The light was partly blocked by an object. As the object neared the ground, they saw that the shape resembled that of a Koopa. Then...
SSSSSSSLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMM!!!
"ACK!" Luigi yelped. The creature in front of the group was a giant Koopa. It resembled the Koopa fought on DK Island, but this Koopa's shell was green and it had red eyes.
"Another Super Koopa?" Mario growled. "Iggy never-a learns, does he?"
"Not really," Koops whimpered.
The Koopa dealt an uppercut to Mario and pounded DK. Luigi tried to attack, but the Koopa kicked him to the wall. Yoshi tossed an egg at the Koopa, dealing only minor damage. He dodged the Koopa's attack. Mario tossed a fireball at the Koopa, burning a portion of the Koopa's shell. Lily formed a needle composed of energy and tossed it at the Koopa. When the needle penetrated the Koopa's skin, the Koopa started to experience blackouts and uncontrolled twitching. This affected the Koopa's performance, causing it to destroy everything in sight as it knocked some of the group away. Mario grabbed the Koopa and twisted its arm. The Koopa roared in horrible pain. Koopa charged at the Koopa with his shell, but the Koopa uncontrollably struck Koops in the back of the shell.
"UGH!" DK yelled as he was rammed down by the Koopa. The Koopa proceeded to mow down everyone except Luigi. Luigi electrocuted the Koopa with his Thunderhand. The Koopa grabbed Lily and Mario and started to squeeze the two together. Mario grabbed the Koopa's thumb and set it on fire. Mario broke free, but Lily wasn't so lucky. She was crushed when the Koopa toppled over. Yoshi ground pounded on the shell, dealing noticeable damage. Mario tossed an Ice Flower to Lily and pulled out a Fire Flower for himself. They used the items and transformed. Lily's hair was now a light blue and the flowers on her dress now had light blue petals. She tossed a ball of ice at the Koopa, freezing the lower half of its body. Mario grabbed the Koopa's eyes face and used his hands to burn its eyes. The Koopa shattered the ice and jumped at DK, but DK rolled out of the way and the Koopa pounced on Koops instead. Koops was sent rolling into a column. He was dazed and unable to move for a while. Lily released a freezing breath that slowed down the Koopa from attacking Koops again. Luigi ground pounded the Koopa on the feet and Yoshi smashed the Koopa's head with a heavy egg. Lily summoned an ice column that froze the Koopa, and Mario melted the interior of the column with fireballs. Once the ice was thawed, Luigi zapped the water and in turn, electrocuted the Koopa. DK grabbed a barrel filled with explosives and tossed it down in the pool. The barrel suddenly exploded, causing the pillar to collapse, the Koopa to be stunned, and the pool to flow.
"Is the Koopa down?" Mario asked DK.
"It's not going to go down THAT easily, Mario..." DK answered.
DK's hunch was correct, for the Koopa was standing back up. It roared again and entered a frenzy. It dealt Koops a large hook to the face while flattening DK with its shell. Luigi grabbed its face and electrocuted it. But the Koopa whirled around to shake Luigi off. Luigi was thrown into a pillar. Lily kicked the Koopa up into the air, but the Koopa was not affected by the punches from DK. DK was grabbed and thrown into the ground. Yoshi ate a watermelon tossed by Mario, and spat a large number of seeds at the Koopa. But even that was not enough to stop the Koopa from kicking him into the ceiling. Lily and Mario combined their powers to produce a water wave to stun the Koopa. In doing so, however, they risked drowning the other four members of the group.
"Shell Slam!" Koops charged his shell and rammed into the Koopa's face. The Koopa flipped over and sent its shell all over the room. The shell pummeled Luigi and Lily while sending DK flying. Mario dealt an uppercut to the Koopa's face and twisted its leg.
"How are you, DK?" Koops asked.
"I'm fine," DK groaned. He swirled around and whacked the Koopa a decent amount of times. But the Koopa chomped at the burly ape and buried him into the ground. Mario leapt at the Koopa, but missed.
"This Koopa is way tougher than last time..." Lily mumbled. She fired a beam of frozen energy at the Koopa, but part of the beam deflected off the Koopa's shell. This portion was directed at a column, which collapsed and almost crushed Luigi. DK charged up and pounded the Koopa's head. The Koopa was dizzy and was almost down.
"Someone has-a to finish this scum," Mario called.
Who should finish the Koopa?
Mario
Luigi
Yoshi
Koops
DK
Lily
Mario
"I'll finish it," Mario called. Mario
tossed a fireball at the Koopa, then he twisted its neck. He followed it
up with setting the Koopa's legs on fire, then striking its mouth. He ground
pounded the Koopa repeatedly and fried its eyes. Finally, he jumped up
into the air and launched a massive beam of fire upon the Koopa. When the
beam was gone, all that was left was the skeleton.
Luigi
"I'll try!" Luigi shouted. He tossed
a giant sphere of electricity, frying the Koopa whole. He dealt an uppercut
and toppled the Koopa over into the water puddle. He delivered electricity
into the water puddle and the Koopa. He punted the Koopa into the air and
knocked it back down.
Yoshi
"Yoshi go," Yoshi squeaked. He tossed
an egg at the Koopa and wrapped his tongue around its neck. He tightened
his grip while striking the Koopa in the abdomen and head. When he released
his tongue, he transformed into Super Dragon Yoshi. He blasted fireballs
at the Koopa and toppled the the Koopa with his tail. For the finishing
blow, he ground pounded the Koopa, and the Koopa's shell shattered into
pieces. The group saw a regular-sized Koopa fall down to the ground.
Koops
"I want to do it," Koops replied to
Mario's request. He jumped up and launched his shell at the Koopa, whirling
around the Koopa. This created confusion for the Koopa along with a tornado
that thrust the Koopa into the air. Koops charged his shell up with frozen
energy and struck the Koopa in different areas, freezing the Koopa's entire
body in the process. When the Koopa landed on the ground, the ice shattered,
but not without the Koopa receiving heavy damage and ultimately, facing
defeat.
DK
"Leave it to me," DK puffed. He struck
the Koopa in the head with a skull-shattering punch, and followed it up
by headbutting its legs to the ground. DK twisted its arm and ground pounded
its shell. He tossed an explosive barrel at the Koopa's face and pulled
out a pair of bongos. He played the bongos in a rhythmic manner, creating
shockwaves that battered the Koopa. When the song was over, the Koopa was
defeated.
Lily
"I'll do this," Lily whispered. She
created another needle and pierced the Koopa's skin with it, poisoning
the Koopa, Lily sang a song that knocked the Koopa into unconsciousness,
and followed it up with an ice pillar from the ground. While the Koopa
was in the air, Lily concentrated her power on the moon. Her power fully
focuses, she summoned a beam from the sky that disintegrated the Koopa…
"Well," Mario sighed, "it's-a gone. Let's-a move."
The group exited the room…
Right
"Let's head through there," Luigi mumbled. He and Koops pushed the door open. The hallway had a light blue glow to it and held glass-stained paintings of the flower maidens, from the very first to the most recent.
"It's quiet here," Koops shivered.
...
...
"Who goes there?" a Koopa yelled.
"%^#@!" Mario swore.
"ATTACK!!!" the Koopa ordered. A horde of Koopas, Goombas, and Shy Guys leapt out from the ceiling.
"We're about to get a serious pounding," Koops whimpered.
Mario bashed a Shy Guy from the rest of the group and fried him. Lily and Koopa teamed up, with Lily charging Koops's shell with her energy and Koops launching his shell across the hall. The shell stunned a few enemies. Two Koopas tripped Luigi and knocked him into the air. A Goomba was about to headbonk Lily, but DK pounded the Goomba into the ground. Lily spun around while kicking the enemies around her. A Shy Guy fired a Bullet Bill from a portable cannon, striking Mario down and injuring Yoshi. Yoshi curled up into an egg and bounced all over the enemies. Luigi jumped at a few enemies and ground pounded a Koopa. Goombas headbonked all over DK to overwhelm him. Lily charged up her hands with energy and knocked several Goombas away from her. Mario was about to help DK, but a Koopa struck him down. DK grabbed a Goomba and bashed him against the others.
"Mario, are you okay?" Lily gasped.
"I'm fine..." Mario coughed. He dropped down just as a Koopa was about to slam him, and tossed a fireball at a Shy Guy. Luigi punted a Koopa shell into a group of Shy Guys. A Goomba headbonked Luigi, only to be swallowed by Yoshi. Yoshi produced an egg and knocked the egg onto the head of a Koopa. He followed it up with a ground pound that flattened a Goomba and stunned the Shy Guys close by. DK was struck by a Koopa but pounded the Goombas trying to headbonk him. Mario grabbed the CO and performed a suplex on him, snapping the CO's neck.
"Let's-a do this," Mario called to the others. He tossed the CO at DK, who in turn pounded him into the ground. Luigi used his Thunderhand on the CO, and bashed him into the air. Koops bounced on the Koopa multiple times using his shell, and Yoshi swallowed the CO. When Yoshi spat the CO out, Lily washed the CO with a long river of water and froze him solid. Some of the army fled, but others stayed.
"Looks like these foes won't be leaving for a while," Mario groaned. Two Shy Guys grabbed heavy, spiked spheres and starting swinging them around. Mario dodged, but Koops was struck. Luigi jumped on one of the Shy Guys and tossed him out of the hallway. Lily tossed a flower petal at a Goomba, stunning him. Following that, Mario stomped on the Goomba Then, he shattered a Shy Guy's rib cage by dealing serious punches. DK summoned a barrel cannon, jumped into it, and launched himself out from it. The result was DK barreling through the horde in a straight line, splitting the army in two.
"We're getting a beating out here!" a Koopa cried. "Let's flee!" The Koopas and Goombas fled, but the Shy Guys stayed. Two Shy Guys fired Bullet Bills from portable cannons. DK and Koops dodged down in time, but the Mario Bros., Yoshi, and Lily were blasted away. While Lily and Yoshi were incapacitated, the Mario Bros. recovered and used the Thunderhand and Firebrand to eliminate the Shy Guys. Only five Shy Guys remained. Two of them fled. Mario snapped the neck of one of the remaining three, while Lily kicked the second into the air and sang a song that put him to sleep.
"Mercy, please?" the last Shy Guy pleaded.
"Sorry," Mario replied. He KO'd the Shy Guy. "Let's-a leave."
The group exited through the hallway…
At the other side of the door, there was a large room that held a glass-stained painting of the eight Moonlight Flowers. There was no roof in this room, leaving the floor covered with snow. What caught the group's eye, though, was a collapsed pillar. This pillar had black dust all over it. Underneath, it was nearly pitch black. When Mario placed his ear against the gap, he heard the sound of breathing. He dragged a portion of the pillar off to reveal the head of an adolescent female. The group dragged the girl from the rubble. She was revealed to be wearing a golden dress with pale orange decorations.
"Who is this?" Lily whispered.
"Dunno," DK uttered.
"She looks-a familiar to me..." Mario sighed.
"Mario, look at this." Koops shivered. He turned the girl to her side, and what the group saw was surprising. The girl’s dress had a burned hole into it, and underneath the burnt hole was metal. The metal also had a hole in it, revealing electronics underneath.
"Cybernetics..." Koops mumbled. "What does this mean?"
"Wait a second..." Mario muttered. "This girl... Cybernetics... I know who she is."
"You do?" DK asked.
"Yes. Her name is... $%*&. What-a is it? Oh yeah. It's Rosemary. She helped me, Luigi, Yoshi, and Koops to-a save the Princesses of Heart from Bowser a year ago."
"Hm. But, we must still find the Moonlight Flower."
"It's in this room," Lily added.
"What?"
"It's in here. It was supposed to be on a pedestal, but it's not here anymore."
"Look." Yoshi pointed at a flower on the girl's, now Rosemary's, hand. This flower had a topaz hue to it and was glowing. These two traits proved that this was the object the group was looking for. Mario yanked the Topaz Moonlight Flower from Rosemary's hand.
"Let's-a go!" Mario yelled. The group exited the sanctum with Rosemary and eventually departed the Arctic. Once at Peach's castle, they explained what happened on the way.
"Luigi screamed and all of you fled the mountain, am I right?" Peach recited.
"Exactly," DK answered.
"When you arrived at the sanctum, you had a battle and found Rosemary. You also found the Topaz Moonlight Flower, which was in her hand, right?"
"Yes."
"I also tried to contact my mother, and this time, I got faint communication from her," Lily added.
"Hmm."
The group, carrying Rosemary's unconscious form, exited the castle and entered Mario's Pad.
"Is Rose going to wake up?" DK asked Mario.
"I'm-a not sure," Mario sighed.
There was some faint moaning from Rosemary. Her eyes were starting to open. "M...M...Mario?" she yawned.
Inside an abandoned dungeon room, there was a woman laying on the floor. She resembled Lily except her hair and skin were slightly darker. She also had one golden flower on her dress and had more mature features.
"My husband..." she cried. "He's not going to stand the torture any longer. If they kill him, what they will do to me?"
She shed a tear from her eye. "Lily, Sol, Luna, Estrella..." she moaned. "Where are you?"
Chapter 4 is finished. Will Lily's siblings ever rescue their mother? If Iggy's current plan fails, how will he set his backup plan? Will Lily hear another word from her mother the rest of the journey? Stay tuned for Chapter 5.