Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

[Luigi]

Along the path onward, there were a few additional changes to the atmosphere. Clouds shifted colors further as we carried on with our path, with a number of cyans, blues, and indigos joining the mix of violets and purples. More clouds flowed around us as well, with that making the terrain easier to navigate, but visibility dropped, not allowing us to see much further out like when we had first started.

More notably, though, the temperature dropped as we continued. Exhaling out would allow us to see our breaths, and even though the Propeller Mushroom suits were a bit warmer for Toad, Toadette, and I, the air and wind would send shivers all across us. Yoshi and Birdo seemed to do a strong job of toughing out the temperature drop, though I caught both shuddering at various points.

"Do we have anything that could help us deal with this blasted cold?" Toad folded his arms and frowned. "This feels like it's colder here than in icier areas, like the Glaciers."

"Maybe we should use a Fire Flower to help out?" Toadette tugged on a braid and eyed Toad, hoping for him to withdraw the Item Bag. "Now might be a great time for it."

"Hold on," I intervened. "We can't burn through all of our Power-Ups that quickly. We've already used the Propeller Mushroom, and that could still be useful."

"But we usually switch between powers on the go all of the time," contested Toadette. "Why not do that here?"

"Do we have the option to restock our supply now?" I raised an eyebrow to her, while she lowered her head. "If we run out of the Propeller Mushroom power, then that's fine. But we shouldn't use everything that we have before we encounter the fortress itself."

"It does make more sense to conserve the powers that we have, instead of using them up right away," agreed Yoshi. "Plus we can't rely on finding Question Mark Blocks, since I'm sure Bowser's army thought ahead about those."

"They've gotten aggravatingly smarter about them," muttered Birdo.

"Ok, so we hang on to the Fire Flower for now, but it'll be our go-to if we lose the Propeller Mushroom powers," determined Toad. "Sounds fair enough."

"Plus, the arena for the next key can't be too far away," reasoned Yoshi. "We finish up there, and we're all set to journey back."

"Go back…to the beginning, by the fortress?"

"How long is that going to take, exactly?" Birdo placed a hand on her hip. "Because I'm already exhausted just thinking about that."

"Let's cross that bridge when we get to it," I suggested. "Otherwise, we'll demoralize ourselves."

"Too late."

"Aw, come on, Birdo."

"Wait…" Toadette squinted as she gazed through the mist ahead of us. "Is something…moving this way?"

Everyone else followed her attention, and sure enough, two figures were soaring through the misty air. Two Lakitu formed from those shadow shapes, and each one held up a Spiny Egg, ready to attack us.

"Figures they'd be up here," murmured Toad.

"We'd better attack them, or we'll have Spiny troops to deal with," I alerted the others.

It was just a bit too behind for the warning though, as the Lakitu dropped their Spiny Eggs straight down. Unrolling from their balled forms, Spiny soldiers readied into position to battle us.

"Great."

"Nah, that's no problem." Yoshi smiled with a wink. "Watch."

Rearing his head back, Yoshi extended his long tongue, wrapping it around the first Spiny and dragging it back to his mouth. Sucking in quick, Yoshi aimed for the second Spiny, and spat the first out.

Spinning across the dark cloud, the first Spiny collided with the second, smacking both away and flopping out, knocked out from the collision.

"Easy." Yoshi giggled and waved to us. "The main trick is just getting those Lakitu."

"Not a problem there either." I tapped on my propeller. "We're already prepared."

Spiraling around, I launched myself into the air, chasing after the Lakitu. One of them waited as I approached, but drifted back as I neared him.

Twisting around, I tried to realign myself for an attack, but I had already used the maximum force from my jump to go after the Lakitu, and began to drop down.

Smirking, the Lakitu pulled out another Spiny Egg, confidently aiming at me.

"Uh-oh."

Tossing it out at my head, I flailed around. An egg smacked into the Spiny Egg, knocking it away from me.

Glancing down, I spotted Birdo glaring up at the Lakitu. She spat another egg out that smacked away the next attack against me.

"Luigi, get back down here already!"

Spiraling into my descent, I corkscrewed my way back to the clouds, as the other Lakitu dropped two more Spinies by me. Fumbling back as the Spiny soldiers emerged, they marched at me, looking to connect an attack.

"Ugly things."

Spitting out two more eggs, Birdo blasted both Spiny soldiers away, knocking them aside across the clouds.

Toad and Toadette hurried over, readying to jump, but hesitated as they looked to me. It wasn't the best option, we each realized.

Yoshi whipped out his tongue again, knocking away two more Spinies. He frowned as he glared up to the two Lakitu, who held up more Spiny Eggs.

"Ok, this is getting annoying," he muttered.

"Agreed, darling." Birdo moved between us. "So, let's settle this."

She spat her eggs into the air, shooting for the Lakitu, but they both evaded her eggs easily, drifting away from where she launched her barrage. Nothing could land if she couldn't predict where they were going to show next.

"Toad, Toadette, head to the outside of those two," I instructed. "Launch yourselves up after I go."

"But we'll be easy targets," pointed out Toadette. "What then?"

"We're supposed to be the targets for them," I divulged. "That way, they're looking at us."

"Oh, I gotcha." Toad nodded and winked to Birdo. "We'll line them up nice for you!"

"You usually do such a nice job with that," joked Birdo.

Dashing ahead, I jumped up and soared into the air once again. Both Lakitu stopped dropping their Spiny Eggs, and then aimed for me.

Quickly following up on my efforts came Toad and Toadette, launching themselves up along the outside ends of each Lakitu. Both paused as they tugged out second Spiny Eggs, shifting their eyes to aim for each of us.

Two eggs collided into them in rapid succession, knocking both Lakitu from their clouds and having them drop down to the darker cloud below.

As we descended and the Lakitu attempted to stand, Birdo spat more eggs at them, making sure they were knocked out for the count.

Clearing the last of the Spinies by spitting them away from our area, Yoshi watched as we came back down to him and Birdo.

"Much better." He hummed and rubbed his cheeks. "Those guys aren't the best to bring in, but thankfully, they didn't get a chance to do any major damage to us."

"Not in the slightest." Birdo winked as she adjusted her bow. "Thanks to our combined egg-tacular efforts."

"You two definitely made that one easily," complimented Toadette. "Nice job!"

"Luigi helped with a great trick against them too," brought up Toad. "We all did great."

"Yeah, and now let's keep it going."

Leading everyone onward, I ventured forward across the blue and purple clouds. Pillars pointed us for the right direction, similar to what we had seen from the last location. These, however, featured symbols of snowflakes, ice shards, water droplets, and waves. As we carried onward, ice froze over some of the pillars, and the temperature dropped further.

"Ok, this sucks even more than before," complained Toadette, holding herself together. "I wasn't expecting it to get somehow worse!"

"She's right, and how are we supposed to handle this?" Toad tucked his hands under his arms. "We're definitely going to end up numb by the time we get to the arena to battle Bowser's forces."

"…Maybe we will need those Fire Flower powers," I relented a bit. "But, let's at least get to the arena first."

Approaching the alabaster staircase, I gazed up the path ahead. The bottom of the stairwell here was different, as there were two blue basins of water on either side of the base. Past the sides of the stairs were streams of water pouring down, curving on paths around the trees barren of any leaves at all. Or, at least some of the trees were; in between some that were empty save for piled up snow, some pine trees stood between, adding some green where there otherwise would have been none. The steps themselves were coated by snow and ice as well, adding a little precariousness to our climb.

"Winter is definitely coming," mumbled Yoshi.

"Joy, I can hardly wait," deadpanned Birdo.

"Might as well begin our climb up." I lifted my foot onto the first step, slipping a bit as I touched down. "Oh boy…"

"Yep, this will be loads of fun."

Slowly, we began to scale up the stairs, trying to avoid slipping more than we wanted. Toad had hurried on past me, though I don't think he was aiming for that so much as he wanted to avoid falling. Which…he didn't avoid anyway, being the first of us to fully wipe out. His feet shot out from under him, and he crashed down onto his back.

"Ow."

"Toad, you really need to learn your own strength and speed," lectured Toadette. "That wouldn't happen if you controlled yourself better."

She clambered past me as well, and then slipped on the very next step, flopping down against the stairs. Toad lifted his head and pointed out at her.

"Ha! So what's your excuse then?"

"Oh, shut up," came Toadette's muffled retort.

"Come on, less bickering, more climbing," I insisted.

As we continued ahead, a soft snowfall started, or at least came into view. Exhaling, I stared at my breath drift away in the air, while snowflakes cascaded down before my eyes. Watching that, and gazing to the trees lining the sides, with the flowing water running down past them, I stared at the scene before me.

Yoshi had been right from before: there was something magical about watching a fresh and gentle snowfall in the winter scenery. He climbed up beside me, staring at the scene before us as well, smiling in spite of his flushed cheeks.

"Doesn't it look nice?"

"It does," I admitted. My nose twitched, and I crossed my eyes to find it turning pink. "If it weren't so cold out, I might enjoy it even more." He chuckled and nodded.

"That is fair, and I think most agree."

"Keep it moving, boys," interrupted Birdo, patting at us. "Don't need you two slowing down enough for the frostbite to set in."

She had a point, and I carried on after her, as we followed the Toads up the stairs. A few steps up though, I slipped and lost my balance. Yoshi grabbed at me, holding me up for just a moment, as our eyes met. They blended nicely with the view around us.

Unfortunately, that ended quickly, as my body crashed into his, and we fell to the ground, sliding down a couple of steps. We groaned as I pushed up a bit from the stair, and I stared at him beneath me. His hands touched at the ground, but he slowed as he lifted his head to look at me. A heavy red blush formed past his nose and across his cheeks.

"Stars above, do I have to carry you two?" Birdo threw her arms up and dropped them down. "Hang on, let me help you up."

Sadly for her, Birdo slipped as well, and tumbled down to us. Yoshi scooped me up, and hopped into the air, kicking his feet. He dropped down, barely keeping balance, and nudged Birdo up over his back, resting her on his saddle.

"Ugh…that could not have been more embarrassing," moaned Birdo.

"Sure it could have!"

"Yeah, you could be like us!"

We looked up to Toad and Toadette, both who had fallen over once again, stopped only by snow banks that piled enough to keep the two in place. They pushed themselves up, teeth chattering, as they shuddered off the snow from their bodies. Yoshi climbed to them, but they seemed fine enough to continue on their own.

Reaching the top of the stairs, easier to climb this high up, as the snow came down heavier, and we stood on the top landing. Another ruined structure awaited us, with the blue symbols from the pillars before decorated around the walls. Clouds decorated the top, showing the carved snowflakes and rain pouring down, and oceanic waves were portrayed crashing over sharper icicles, stalactites, and shards. Touching it felt like ice, and parts of it were even frozen over.

"This feels somehow more threatening than the first one had," murmured Birdo, as she sank off of Yoshi's back.

"Beat me to it," I agree, climbing out from Yoshi's arms.

"Hopefully it's not as bad inside," suggested Yoshi, trying to alleviate the rising concerns.

Entering through the archway tunnel, we wandered for the colosseum arena inside. A steel bridge waited immediately ahead of us, standing over a wide pool of water that encircled the outer rim of the battlefield. Within that stood an icy center, snow mounds decorating the edge of that, but nothing else acting as a barrier for the water that swept along the outside and likely waiting just below the ice as well. The upper areas of the colosseum did have some ice rafters, but they didn't complete a full circle and looked easy to shatter. Waiting in the middle of the arena stood two parallel rows of ice blocks, with soldiers that wore cyan armor standing atop them.

"Those look like Ice Bros. up ahead," I squinted as I observed. "They don't have weapons, but they can fire out ice balls that will freeze us."

"So, they've got the same set-up as before, which means that we've got more enemies than what we can see to deal with," assessed Birdo. "Probably a Magikoopa lurking around waiting for us to crawl inside."

"Should we repeat the same strategy, and just send Luigi in first?" Toad folded his arms and scratched the side of his head. "That doesn't seem the most ideal option, in case they were somehow told about us from the others."

"We could both go with him this time," offered Toadette. "That way, it'll look like more of us are entering, but Yoshi and Birdo can still be the surprises at the end."

"Given that Birdo and I just made a rather visible assault against the guards before this area, I think we'd need to enter in, and then you two could be the surprise," redirected Yoshi. "Even if all five of us were involved, I think we ended up being more noticeable, and Luigi is impossible to hide. You two could be more so."

"Last time, I might have had a chance at talking things out with the previous soldiers, but I walked in prepared for combat," I brought up. "Maybe now is the time for the Fire Flower, and then I could downplay that as offensive utility."

"Yeah, I don't think they'll fall for that," contested Birdo, lowering her eyes. "If we walk in with anything fire related ready, they won't care and immediately consider it for battle."

"Honestly, I don't even think they'll assume we're there peacefully if we challenged the last set of the army and won," piled on Toadette with a shrug. "It may just be better for us to walk in together this time."

"But then we might all fall into a trap and then none of us could bail the others out from it," countered Toad. "If only some of us go in, the others can be prepared to help out."

"Or, uh, they may just not give us any options and force us forward," interrupted Yoshi.

We turned around to him, only to find a group of stocky penguins in shades brushing off snow and advancing toward us from the entrance. Cooligans. They're not the friendly sort like the other Penguins we've met, and they're apparently cooperating with Bowser's forces here. Worse still, they outnumbered us six to five, and if we tried jumping past them, they'd dive into a slide to tackle us.

"One of you caused issues for us in the Glaciers," brought up one of the Cooligans. "We had a nicer and icier land before you lot showed up."

"Bowser's forces offered us a nice deal if we helped them stop you here," added another. "So, let's get to that then."

Not allowing us any other options, they forced us into the colosseum and across the metal bridge. A large and dark ball of something moved below the surface of the water, which must have been something else that would attack us. The Cooligan crowd pressed us inward and closer for the Ice Bros. that waited along the parallel ice blocks. Further on and across the water, I spotted two gray clad Magikoopas. Within the water, a dark shadow swept beneath them, and I had a sinking feeling that was going to join our battle soon.

"Well, well, look who decided to finally show up," taunted one of the Ice Bros. that stood on the blocks above us.

"Seems like they were trying to get the drop on us, but we had that taken care of," reported one of the Cooligans.

"Nice work." The other Ice Bro. nodded in approval. "They got cocky trying to take us on."

"Considering that we didn't immediately come rushing in like it would be no issue, I feel like that's wrong," I piped up, earning glares from the enemies.

"He's right," chimed in Yoshi. He smirked to me, but a heavy stomp rang out.

"Shut up!" The first Ice Bro. glared down at us and summoned an ice ball in his hand. Snow seemed to pick up from the sky as well. "The fact remains that this is as far as you go."

"Ha, I remember those famous last words." Birdo chuckled and shrugged. "You're definitely not going to win now."

"You are an arrogant bunch, considering that you haven't even seen what awaits you," called out one of the gray robed Magikoopa.

"Besides the obvious fight?" Toadette folded her hands behind her back and swayed slightly. "Feel free to enlighten us, then."

"As you wish."

Snapping his fingers, the Gray Magikoopa smirked, with a small dust of cyan magic sparks flying from his hand. On that cue, a giant purple and white fish burst from the water below on our left. The broad pink lips were opened wide, and a large bucktooth chomped down as it crashed beneath the moat.

"They brought a Cheep Chomp, how fun," managed Toad, holding himself together.

"Now do you see the folly from your efforts?" The other Ice Bro. placed a hand on his hip and snickered. "This truly is as far as you go."

"Reheating my nachos for sure," complained Birdo, eying me while I nodded. "I think my last stand was in an ice area and everything too, once upon a time…"

"Are you still on about that?"

"Of course." Birdo winked as I crouched down. "Someone had to distract you."

"Wait, what?"

Launching myself into the air, I twisted around under the falling snow and howling wind, realigning myself to move over the Ice Bros. They reared back to lob out ice balls, while Yoshi jumped up, kicked off from two Cooligans, and launched himself at them as well.

Spiraling down, I aimed to drill upon one of the Ice Bros. as Yoshi whipped his tongue out for the other. My target jumped aside, while his target batted his tongue away.

Birdo spat eggs at the remaining Cooligans, blasting them away, and backed to help us. Hex spells were launched at each of us, and I could only focus on dodging them myself.

My footing, however, wasn't able to catch well with the ice. Dropping from the frozen blocks, I touched down on the base of the arena.

Ice balls were quick to pelt me, and encased me in an icy block, freezing me in place. A flash came with it, and my Propeller Mushroom suit disappeared, leaving me trapped and defenseless.

My eyes darted around to take in whatever I could see. Frozen sheets blocked my vision for the most part, but I could still make out some of the battle past that and the snowfall.

Cooligans attempted to advance on me, but Yoshi jumped down, wrapping the nearest in his tongue and tossing for another Cooligan, knocking both penguins out completely.

Toad twisted around and flew into the air next. He guided himself closer for the Magikoopa, as they blasted hexes at him.

Unlike us, Toadette ran, crouched, and vaulted herself across with a Long Jump. Bouncing off the wall of the colosseum, she slipped and flopped down, but shot herself upright.

As she moved to stomp down on a Magikoopa, one disappeared, and the other whipped his wand back, a flicker of white dust shining from it.

Spinning in the air, Toadette propelled upward, but connected with a spell barrage, zapping her powers away. Still, she aimed herself to jump off of the remaining Magikoopa, only to hit an ice block that materialized just over him, likely from the invisible second one.

Cracks formed in my line of sight, and I knew the ice was ready to break. Forcing my limbs outward, I broke the ice entirely. Dropping to the ground, I slid away from where I had been, and kicked my feet about.

Normally having bad traction was one thing, but ice always made it worse, and I slid away from my original position.

Gazing up from below, I watched as Birdo bombarded the Ice Bros. with her eggs, blasting one right off of the frozen floating blocks.

Skidding sounded from near me, and I watched as Yoshi slipped across the ice. His traction wasn't great for this either, and he bounced off of another Cooligan, who was undeterred from the collision.

Instead, the penguin dove belly first across the ice, tackling for me. My feet fumbled beneath me, and I slammed down onto the ground.

Thankfully, I had just enough force to evade his line of attack, but I still couldn't control my movements well.

Another flash lit across the sky, and Toad spun around across from me, flailing around as he failed to steady his speed. He vaulted over a penguin, knocking the Cooligan's shades loose.

This one slowed enough for Yoshi to grab and knock into the one that attacked me, taking both of them out as well.

"Yike!"

Rolling around across the ground, I spotted Toadette as she was blasted away from the Magikoopas with a blast of ice as well. She froze and dropped for the water.

"Toad, Fire Flower!"

"But what about Toadette—?"

"It'll be for her too!" I fumbled about as her ice block splashed below. "Come on!"

"Oh, Stars above…"

Scrambling over the ice, fully lacking grace, I dove for the moat and into the water. Freezing was an understatement, but that didn't matter, as I paddled past the bubbles flying around me.

The massive Cheep Chomp was coming along my right, continuing its cycle around the water and aiming to chow down on not just me, but the frozen Toadette too.

Something else pushed through the water, and I spotted Toad swimming quicker than I had been, kicking rapidly with a glowing Fire Flower in hand.

Reaching out, I touched at Toadette's icy prison, and held my hand for Toad to grab. He paddled as the Cheep Chomp neared him.

His fingers and part of his palm touched mine, and I pulled him over as Toad raised the Fire Flower, enveloping us in a bright glow.

Our outfits transformed to match our new Power-Up form, with my shirt and hat becoming white while my overalls turned green. Toad's outfit flashed to a darker red, matching Toadette's vest turning the same color, as their mushroom heads flipped to blue with red spots and red with pink spots respectively.

Bombarding the Cheep Chomp with powered fireballs that resisted the watery surroundings, we forced the fish to clamp its mouth shut and swim away.

Resurfacing from the water, we tugged ourselves up at the edge of the battlefield. After my hands slipped off the first attempt, I was able to get up easily enough after. Reaching out, I pulled Toadette up first, and then helped Toad out as well.

Rainfall mixed in with the snow, and bits of hail pelted my head, as I tightened my damp hat over my hair.

An egg smacked across the field, hitting one of the Gray Magikoopa, but not yet defeating him. Birdo came closer to us, making sure that we were upright.

"My feet are freaking freezing right now," she hissed. "We've been at this for too long!"

Another finger snap, and I watched one of the Magikoopa materialized into sight. He waved his wand and cast it out to vanish his ally.

Bursting up from the water came the Cheep Chomp, which had changed swimming directions. Coming from the left now, it would be approaching us once again, faster this time.

Yoshi slipped over to us, holding two Yoshi Eggs between his arms and his body. He tripped and slumped down onto his rear, sliding to a halt just beside the rest of us.

"Did anyone hit the oversized Cheep Cheep yet?" I nodded as Toad and Toadette raised their hands. "Good." He glared past us for the water. "Leave that to me."

Hopping up, he slipped down into the ice again. I reached out, but he pushed himself up, and jumped higher into the air.

Kicking his feet, Yoshi ascended up with his Flutter Jump, and raised his eggs. Hex shaped spells floated at him, but they connected with eggs that Birdo spat out, breaking the spells apart.

Rocketing up from the water, mouth unhinging open, the Cheep Chomp lunged for the airborne Yoshi.

He tossed one egg for the fish's throat, getting it to gag and and sputter as its jaw closed and its lips clamped up.

Throwing his second egg with even more force, Yoshi smashed it into the Cheep Chomp's forehead, sending the massive fish back below the water and fading from our sight.

Though Yoshi lined himself as he dropped down for the land, an ice ball connected into him, and froze him in his free fall.

"Damn it!"

Birdo took the words right from me, and we turned to find the remaining Ice Bro. still above us. He hurled out more ice balls, as we scattered away from one another.

Forcing my legs upright and jumping, I leapt for the floating ice blocks. Skidding against their dampened surface, I struggled to regain my balance. Lifting my arms out, I steadied myself to a halt.

Both Magikoopa warped into sight before me, and casted out blasts of ice and snow. Raising my arms, fireballs formed and I lobbed them out.

Jumping into the air on either side of me, Toad and Toadette twisted around as they launched fireballs out with me. Enough of our scattered shots connected, burning one Magikoopa enough that he dove for the water to extinguish himself.

His ally took too many hits, and plummeted down below, fainting from the damage.

All that stood across from me was one remaining Ice Bro., as he lifted up an ice ball, while I raised my hand for a fireball to form.

"There's…there's no way you'll get away with this!" His cyan armor glistened from the rain and hail bounced off of it.

"Sorry." I shook my head. "This is over." Smirking, I raised my eyebrows. "In fact, it was over once you stole my friend's former catchphrase."

"Bah!"

He tossed his ice ball, while I threw my fireball. They connected and fizzled up before our eyes. The Ice Bro. scrambled to ready another, but I just watched him.

Or, rather, I enjoyed the sight of Birdo raising an egg overhead and slamming it down hard over the Ice Bro., knocking him down and out for the count. She winked to me as he collapsed, and I lifted a thumb up to her.

Ice shattered below, and another egg smashed out, as the final gray cloaked Magikoopa flopped against the ice bank he started on. Across from him, Yoshi snorted and twisted away, walking for us.

Slipping out, he slammed against the icy ground as well. I surveyed below, as Toad and Toadette zipped and slid across the ice, unable to fully control themselves.

After another moment of struggling, they skidded as they lined up with one another, collided, and crashed down to the ground.

"This place sucks!" Toadette yelled out and smacked her arms into the ice, tufts of snow billowing up.

Toad, meanwhile, just slid across it, staring straight up into the sky, before sinking into a snow bank and stopping as it crunched and caved in over his head.

"All I can do is accept this fate…" He sighed and remained down against the ground. Peeking over to the side past us, though, Toad then pointed out. "Oh, hey, cue the victory theme."

A soft blue glow lit up from the upper area of the arena's top stage. Something clinked and a steel bridge rolled out as a gate opened across from us.

Taking the bridge and climbing up the frozen stadium's broken remains, we scaled for the top platform. Similar to the key from the last location, another floated in a magical blue glow. It was embedded in cracking ice that was melting away into water that seeped below us, pouring down into the moat below.

Lifting my hands, I took the key from its light and the ice, which dissipated as I pulled it to me. Another sparkling golden key in my hands, this one with a blue head featuring snowflakes and waves.

"That makes two and gives us half of what we need," announced Yoshi.

"Great, and that means we can make our way back for Princess Peach and the others," realized Toadette, clapping and bouncing a bit.

"Ugh, don't tell me we have to traverse all that way back." Birdo gripped her head, and then threw her hands down as she dropped it. "I'm totally exhausted now, and freshly frozen too!"

"Actually, weren't you and I the only ones that didn't end up freezing?" Toad tilted his head and smiled a bit. "Though, you also avoided the water, so you should be the least cold."

"Darling, do you see shoes on these feet?" Birdo lifted her foot in front of Toad's face. "No, no you don't."

"How do you walk around like that on a daily basis…?"

"Huh, wait a second…" I studied the key, as something blue shimmered across its head. "Hang on, Toad, do you have the bag…?"

Toad lifted the Item Bag up, as a red light sparkled from it as well. He peered inside of it, digging for the red key that we collected earlier.

Turning, I gazed outside of the colosseum, and to its exit. While the clouds seemed to end at this point, a circular spot lit up, and a lighter blue aura rippled from it.

"Maybe that could be useful…?"

Leading the others from the arena and outside to the cloud's glowing zone, I approached it slowly. Toad hurried over, carrying the Item Bag, and opening it before me. Dropping the other key within, I watched as he closed up the bag and nodded to me. Everyone else gathered and we placed out hands on the Item Bag.

Together, we entered into the pooling light, which pulsed out around us. A blue light flashed and overcame the rest of our surroundings, as the cold air vanished.

Or perhaps we did.

[Peach]

Our journey ahead proved to have new twists to handle as we continued onward.

Even though there were still clouds to scour across the Skyline for us, they seemed to spread out further, making our travel a bit more challenging. Rosalina had little issue floating across the sky, taking Pauline along with her easily, though I worried she might be exhausting more magical output than she should be, or at least more than I would have liked for her. Daisy and I were doing no better, floating across the sky where we could, and touching down on solid clouds to rest and regain energy, which we would expunge soon after.

Making matters worse is that the surroundings seemed ever brighter, with the cream, orange, and yellow colors of the clouds doing us no favors whatsoever. Sunlight reflected off from each angle, and made it progressively harder to cross the gaps of the sky to our next destination. Daisy and I nearly plummeted from the sky, spending too much magic floating at two different points. Rosalina floated in the wrong direction, which Pauline alerted her to after a moment of moving too far away from the light.

Stopping at another solid cloud, we regrouped and paused our travel for a moment. Released from a protective bubble, Pauline tugged out her bag and dug around one of her pockets for a moment. She plucked out various sunglasses, with rims colored red, pink, yellow, and cyan. Passing them out to each of us, Pauline smiled as she placed hers over her eyes.

"Since I had a brief update about going to the Sky before we left, I added these just in case we'd deal with harsh sunlight," she revealed. Pulling out a green pair of sunglasses, she frowned a bit. "I just hope Luigi and the others won't need theirs. I should have thought ahead."

"You did for us at least, which I hadn't even considered," I admitted. "Thank you, Pauline."

"This lady knows how to accessorize," complimented Daisy, putting her sunglasses on. "Hell yeah, now we're talking!"

"Normally, I am used to powerful lighting from stars all around space," brought up Rosalina. "Is it possible the sunlight here is being amplified by magic?"

"That's a good point." I lifted my sunglasses over my eyes and tapped on them, considering her thought. "It makes the most sense, considering the magical concentration in this area. None of us struggled like this previously during our space travels in the past."

"Space travels, she casually adds, like that's a commonplace practice." Pauline placed a hand on her hip. "Even for royalty, that's literally out of this world."

"Ha, touché."

Stepping forward, I glanced down from the clouds above. Even with the sunglasses, though, I couldn't see down from the sky above. Part of me wondered where above the Mushroom Kingdom we were.

Wonders were left on hold, however, as two Lakitu floated up from below, lifting Spiny Eggs to launch at us.

"Ladies, we have company," I called, lifting my Royal Scepter.

"This should be easy," claimed Daisy, smacking her fists together.

One Lakitu floated aside as I casted a spell at him, throwing a Spiny Egg at me in response. Daisy smacked it away with a solid punch, though it failed to return to sender as the Lakitu drifted away from it.

Sparkling blue magic flew out past us, as Rosalina aimed for the other Lakitu. One Spiny Egg landed just near Pauline, and Rosalina swept it from the cloud with a magic charged kick.

She nodded to me, and we teamed up with a barrage of spells. Rosalina and I were casting attacks out, but these two Lakitu merely floated away from everything that we threw out.

When they couldn't escape an attack, they tossed a Spiny Egg to take the blast instead, and still managed to evade us.

"They should not be this much of a challenge," assessed Rosalina, tapping her wand on her palm.

"My guess is that they're merely here to block our way forward," I pointed out. "If we try crossing now, they'll have an easy time to pick us off right out of the sky."

"That's annoyingly clever." Pauline folded her arms. "How do we stop them then?"

"Do they really think just flying in the sky from us will keep them safe?" Daisy smirked. "Not likely. Watch this!"

Running out, Daisy jumped into the sky and floated out. It was a sizable gap to cross from this cloud to the next, and both Lakitu were in the way.

Floating over to them, the Lakitu attempted to barrage Daisy with Spiny Eggs. She twirled in the air, smacking them away, and then lifted a fist.

Slamming it down over the first Lakitu, she punched the Koopa relation from his cloud and knocked him from the sky. She hopped around, manning the floating cloud he was on previously.

His companion, however, didn't take the time to face Daisy any longer, and floated down after his plummeting ally.

"Ha, easy!" Daisy placed her hands on her hips and grinned. "See girls? Not a problem!"

"Um. Without the magic of the Lakitu, do those clouds not disappear?" Rosalina tilted her head, as Daisy dropped her arms. "How long will that one last?"

"…Uh…"

Guiding the cloud around, Daisy hurriedly moved it toward the solid cloud behind her. The Lakitu's Cloud vanished from beneath her quickly, dissipating in the air. Floating as it left, Daisy made her way to our next destination, and touched down just at the edge. Jogging from there, she spun around and waved at us.

"Made it! Whoo!"

"I've got to hand it to her, she really did make it look easy," complimented Pauline. "Seems like she runs on pure adrenaline too."

"Yes, though that can be both good and bad at times." I sighed as I shook my head, but chuckled some too. "Shall we join her?"

Rosalina and Pauline nodded, and we made our way across the sky to Daisy. She beamed as we landed, tapping on her sunglasses in a rhythmic delight.

Stepping past her, however, I gazed ahead across this yellow and orange cloud space, and spotted pillars with yellow symbols of sun and flames, knowing that the second staircase would be just a little way beyond.

"It looks like we're reaching the second key's location already," I pointed out. "Shall we carry on, everyone?"

My troupe of ladies joined me as we stepped onward, passing the pillars and reaching the alabaster staircase soon after. Empty amber basins were at the bottom of the stairs, with sand filling up the bottom of them. Some of that slowly poured in from the sides of the stairs, as I gazed up the stairwell to see palm trees between other trees in full green bloom. The steps ahead seemed to almost sizzle, and sand coated along either side of them as well. Even with the sunglasses, the light seemed to be even brighter, and I brushed some sweat away from my head.

"Really not enjoying this much heat," complained Pauline, fanning herself as best as she could.

"It's not too bad, and I've got some hot and arid places back home in Sarasaland too," insisted Daisy, grinning. Beads of sweat betrayed how she was really feeling to me.

"To be honest, I do prefer colder locations," admitted Rosalina, "but we do not have the choice here."

"Unfortunately yes, we don't." I took my first step upward. "So, let's keep going and be done with this as quickly as we can."

In spite of urging some speed for us to follow through with, our ascent was anything but. Each step felt heavier than the last, and that added up easily. The more steps we climbed, the more exhausted we were becoming; even an attempt to keep a quicker pace was out of the question. Our feet crunched the sand beneath us, scraping it from the staircase as we continued our ascent.

Turning, I spotted the others slowing their pace to a halt, and though I did want to press on, I couldn't deny them, or myself, a momentary rest.

"Why is it so hot here?" Pauline brushed at her forehead, deflating as she fanned herself. "I don't get it. We've all been in hotter locations than this. So why does this feel worse?"

"They must be using magic to amplify the heat here," assessed Rosalina. She brushed through her hair as well, adjusting her sunglasses. "I cannot fathom another possibility."

"Yeah, it does suck," relented Daisy, leaning against the railing. "Like, this place might be more enjoyable without the extra heat."

Its scenery did have potential, considering the palm trees and greenness of the plants, combined with the sand. Overall, it gave off an island vibe, and that fit the preferred delight of summer vacation goers everywhere. However, the lack of water and the heat itself were disrupting what would have been an otherwise enjoyable and scenic climb.

"All we can do is continue." I lifted my foot up to the next step, digging into the sand to brace myself and ascend higher. "Come. We'll manage."

Though I'm certain they wished to complain a bit more, only burning silence remained among us, as we carried ourselves onward. Climbing further, we slowed to a stop once again, taking another break. Pauline dug out a bottle of sunscreen, applying it to herself before passing it around to the rest of us. While Rosalina applied herself, Pauline also plucked out a red water bottle with a New Donk City logo on it.

"Now I wish I brought more for each of us," she mumbled, taking a good swig of it. "But then it would've been too heavy for me to fly, and it's heavy enough as is."

"You do need your toy Mario to aid us," reminded Rosalina.

"Yeah, but I wanted to be practical for this too." She passed Rosalina her bottle. "This will go out quick, and then we're going to be parched the whole while."

"Beats nothing at all, and that's on the rest of us for not considering the same," admitted Daisy. "Though, I would've prepared better for a desert rather than the sky."

"Even with a magical amplification, this is unusual," I agreed.

After Daisy took a sip, a bit smaller than Rosalina and Pauline had, she passed the bottle to me. There was a colorful mix of lipstick on it now, and I took my sip next. Swishing the water around my mouth, giving it a little bit of a cooldown, I swallowed and nodded, passing the bottle back to Pauline.

"That was a great help, Pauline, thank you."

"Gotta pull my weight somehow."

"You do that and more, girl!"

"Agreed."

With a little more rejuvenation from this break, we carried ourselves ahead once more, and finished our climb to the very top. It had become much hotter the further up we had gone, and we took a moment to duck into whatever shade we could find from the next arena.

Gazing up at the decorative carvings, I studied the designs in this next area. Yellow depictions of the sun were above wisps of smoke and bursts of flames and fire below, leaving little to the imagination for what could be featured here. Summer was the basis for the season, but the classical element was clearly Fire. Perhaps worse than the steps we climbed, the stone for this area was hot to the very touch; even from just holding my hand near it was hot enough.

"How very charming," deadpanned Pauline.

"Yeah, this one feels scarier than the last one was," chimed in Daisy.

"It will most likely present a higher challenge than the last one did," cautioned Rosalina.

"Definitely, but we don't have any different options to take than we did before." I tapped my Royal Scepter against my palm. "So, same as before, let's march in and take them by storm!"

"Whoo, we're bringing the real fire, baby!" Daisy pumped a fist into the air. "Let's do this!"

Together, we entered the colosseum arena waiting for us. Inside appeared to be a moat, but where there would have been water was only sand within. A wooden bridge connected our entryway to the center of the arena itself, which appeared akin to a tropical island, sans the refreshing water. Torches were lit closer to the edges of the battlegrounds, and palm trees with coconuts were lining the edges. There were no additional levels here, so no aerial spots for potential tactical redirections.

A bonfire waited in the middle, with mounds of sand piled up for the red armored Fire Bros. to stand upon. Just near the fire floated a single ball-shaped enemy with a sharp eyes and a fanged mouth that spat out fire for their flaming pit, which would be a Flame Chomp. The fireballs that trailed behind it were the amount it would use before exploding. Beyond that was a rotating wooden wheel platform set that seemed to hold triceratops creatures known as Reznors. Red robed Magikoopas were stationed just before them, wands raised to attack.

Nowhere to hide this time; they were ready for us, set for an all-out brawl, just the same as we were.

"No element of surprise, then." I shrugged and stepped across the wooden bridge ahead of us. "Guess that means no need to play coy in any way."

"Huh, they weren't kidding about you being a lot rougher these days." One of the Fire Bros. eyed me with…contempt? Seriously? "Kind of seems like you're compensating to match King Bowser's usual, natural ferocity." …He has to be joking.

"We don't need ferociousness to deal with punks like you," snapped Daisy. "Our raw power and skill will do plenty."

"Sounds like these princesses came to play," taunted one of the Red Magikoopa from the distance. "Are we just going to let them run their mouths all day?"

"No, but then, perhaps you should be the ones running." There was an eerie air hearing that coming from Rosalina, especially with such an evenness to her tone.

"Seriously, that's a lot of big talk from a bunch of flunkies that are set to be swept aside," chimed in Pauline as I raised my wand.

"Think you're doing a severe job of underestimating us," warned the second Fire Bro. as he lifted a fireball in his hand. "Time we taught you where you true place should be."

"Funny, I was thinking of doing the same to all of you."

He threw his fireball forward as I thrust out my scepter, sending a pink fireball to meet his red one. They both connected and blasted in the air.

Daisy pounded her fists together and rushed forward. The Fire Chomp floated into her path, pulling back and spitting out a fireball.

Lifting her encased arm, her crystalized gauntlet from her Regal Rings blocked the burst of the flame. Grinning, she charged ahead and punched at the Flame Chomp, spiking it into the ground.

Two more fireballs launched at her, as she lifted her arms to block the barrage. Both Fire Bros. moved to the edge of their sand mounds, glaring ahead at her.

Magical stars were summoned around them, and the duo whipped their heads about. Rosalina floated into the air before them, waving her Celestial Wand as she cast her spell.

Four more fireballs soared out at her, along with multi-shaped hexes. All four Reznors and both Magikoopas had attacked Rosalina; this group knew where the power was.

But they were forgetting about the rest of it.

Casting a bubbled shield before her, I blocked each of the attacks against her. Everything collided into a variety of bursts against my defense.

But a fireball still blasted into Rosalina, hitting her from behind and breaking her concentration for her spell.

Twisting around, I spotted that…the Flame Chomp had recovered? It held a wicked grin and then chomped its teeth.

"Ah…that hurts more in this heat," managed Rosalina. A cool mist emitted from her wand, and she placed it over her back. "I had not considered that…"

"Wait, but I thought you took that thing out, Daisy," called Pauline.

"Yeah, I did!" She looked over to where she had slammed the Chomp down, but saw nothing. "That…shouldn't have recovered so quickly…"

"Don't sweat it," I insisted.

"Seriously?"

"Well, it was fitting." A smile curled onto my face, much to Daisy's ire.

Teleporting across the field and before me, one of the Red Magikoopa swung his wand at me. The goal was perhaps to catch me off guard, I suspect.

Big mistake.

Lifting my Royal Scepter, I blocked the first strike, and as he swung for a second, I jumped aside, kicking up sand at him as I leapt.

Thrusting the wand out, I jabbed at him, knocking him back, and then followed up with a spinning smack, fully sending him flying off. He disappeared and retreated from us after that.

"Wow, what even was that?" Pauline cupped a hand over her mouth.

"Not a clue, but a poor tactic on his part." I shrugged.

"Actually, I meant what you did."

"Oh, that?" I smiled. "This is far from my first time using a weapon close quarters. You've seen it by now, haven't you?"

"But those moves were like…I don't know, they seemed like what a sword fighter would do."

"Exactly what I was going for."

"Huh…that's cool." Pauline smiled to me. "Makes me feel even more at ease with a princess that knows how to fight like a pro duelist."

"Maybe not quite at that level." My cheeks flushed a little more past the heat that was already getting to me.

Another barrage of fireballs launched out, six total this time. Rosalina returned to our side and lifted a bubbled shield of hers, blocking the blasts.

"Rock it, Rosalina!" Daisy grinned and threw up a fist.

"Their fire is not enough to extinguish my own," touted Rosalina, joining my jokes, and more importantly, annoying Daisy.

"Ugh…I'm hanging out with cornballs." A groan escaped Daisy as she rolled her eyes.

"It could always be worse," offered Pauline.

As if on cue, the Flame Chomp flew into sight and blasted at her. Rosalina was quick to block the fire and protect Pauline, but they skidded back on the sand, just below a palm tree.

A coconut then dropped down and clonked Pauline straight in the head, sending her to the ground.

"Pauline!"

Whipping the Flame Chomp away in a summoned whirlwind, I rushed across for Pauline and Rosalina. Daisy had joined me as well, but then smashed a fist into the ground, raising a crystalized spike set to block fireballs and hex spells.

As we reached the others, however, the coconut shuddered in the sand and then lifted up, wearing a fanged grin on its face.

"What the—another Flame Chomp?!" Daisy reared her fist back, but held herself as Rosalina gave a forceful cosmic blast to send the Chomp soaring off. "Then…there are more of those things flying around!"

"So it would seem." Rosalina touched down to the ground and rested a hand against Pauline's head. "That was a nasty blow to her head…"

"Step aside please." I lifted my scepter as a soft pink glow emitted from its heart shaped head. "It's been a bit too long since I last healed…"

Touching the wand to her head, a pink light flickered over Pauline's face. Kneeling down beside her, I placed my hand over the exposed bruise and gently pressed the light against the spot.

With a gasp, Pauline shot up, sand whipping from her hair and splattering into our faces. She blinked as each of us brushed it off, wincing her eyes shut quickly. Rosalina reached forward, picking up her sunglasses and placing them back on Pauline's face.

"There, that is better."

"Oh…" Pauline smiled to Rosalina, cheeks a bit pinker than before. "Thank you…" I cleared my throat. "Ah, both of you, of course!" She grinned sheepishly to me. "Your magic is beyond incredible, Peach."

"Flattery gets you everywhere, naturally."

"That was a rough blow, Pauline," reminded Daisy. She cupped her hands together, and formed a ball of ice. "Here." Pauline took it; though it was rapidly melting, that was still something cool to place on her.

"It did really smart, but this helps too." Pauline sighed. "Sorry if I'm getting in the way."

"Not at all, they used a cheap and dirty tactic," I insisted. "Just rest a moment, and get your bearings. This heat isn't helping with any injuries."

"Yeah…" She winced and lifted the dripping ice away, touching lightly at her head. "My head definitely took a sharp blow. It feels like something is…drumming…?"

"Rest, as Peach suggested," offered Rosalina, raising the ice closer to Pauline's head. "She has healed you, and the pain will pass." Floating up higher as we stood up, she nodded to us. "Just leave the rest of this battle to us."

Twirling her wand around, Rosalina make a quick upward flick while the star-shaped head flashed. One of the Flame Chomps lifted into the air, and was followed by another, and then two more. Another tree across from us had held two more that we hadn't even discovered yet. Disrupting their gravity control was marvelous, especially since they normally floated through the air.

Rotating her wand for the spell, Rosalina had a trail of cosmic light swirling around. Fireballs and hex blasts were breaking through Daisy's barrier, but not fast enough.

Rosalina floated into the air and gathered the Flame Chomps into one spot. They shuddered and if I wasn't mistaken, they were frowning for the first time since we started the battle.

Crossing her arms and pointing her wand at them, Rosalina remained still as a cool mist emitted from her wand. While she dealt with them, I cast a shield barrier to block incoming hexes and fireballs from our opponents.

Fires dissipated from behind the Flame Chomps, and each flickered before bursting one by one, until all six were sizzling. Rosalina dropped the bunch to the ground, thudding against the sand. Each was immobilized and unconscious, perhaps the only time one would see the Flame Chomps look somehow less menacing.

Returning to us below, Rosalina exhaled and lowered her arms, folding them in front of her. Daisy and Pauline gawked while I smirked.

"Excellent work, Rosalina," I complimented. "That certainly makes up for their attack."

"What a total knockout," murmured Pauline, but I had a sneaking suspicion that wasn't about the downed Chomps.

"Irresistible pun, but Rosalina is absolutely the coolest," touted Daisy with a grin.

"Thank you all," mumbled Rosalina, giggling as she lifted a hand before her mouth, perhaps trying to downplay a forming blush.

Crystal shattered beside us, and we twisted about to find Daisy's wall had finally been broken down by the combined efforts of the enemy forces.

Each of the Magikoopas lifted their wands, with a red mist slipping from them. It encircled the Fire Bros. and the Reznors, and a red aura shimmered around them.

A slew of six fireballs poured out from the powered opponents, larger and faster than they had been before. They were enhanced by the Magikoopas, no doubt.

Unlikely to counter easily, Daisy and I jumped aside to evade the blasts, as Rosalina swept Pauline off with her in the opposite direction.

With the fire crashing down against the sand, more heat rose across the battlegrounds, and I brushed my hair aside. Part of me was tempted to tie it back, but I wasn't quite sure if I had brought a ribbon for it.

"This heat is really starting to get to be too much, even for me," brought up Daisy, and I turned as she wiped sweat away from her forehead with her hand.

"Uh, girls?" We looked across as Pauline held onto Rosalina. "I think it's starting to hit Rosalina the hardest?"

"She's exhausted from that last attack as well," I determined. "We need to finish this, or we'll drop from the heat and magical exhaustion."

"All right, let me at them!"

Daisy punched her fist into her palm, and strode forward to the enemies. She twirled aside from one set of fireballs, and jumped away from the second.

"Careful, Daisy!" I lifted my wand and followed after her. "A headlong rush for them may not end very well."

"Then I'm counting on you to finish it!"

"Quit being melodramatic, and let's do this properly."

"Don't worry, I've got this."

She cupped her hands together and rubbed the base of her palms. First opening her fingers, she swept her hands apart slowly, as orange dust spilled from between them.

Eight fireballs were launched at her, and she moved aside as some came firing out. I cast shielding magic, but it was ripped apart by the powered up flames.

"Daisy, I can't defend you like this!"

"That's ok."

"Will you quit being so stubborn?"

"Hey!"

Whipping my head around, I whirled around to find Rosalina resting against one of the trees. Closer to us, Pauline was waving her hands around, but for the enemies, not us.

"What is she…?"

"Ta ta la tu-tuuu!"

Was she…singing? With that loud of a voice, she was near impossible to ignore.

Pauline spread her arms around, swaying about as she sauntered forward.

"Vey-nol, gillas tood,

Voldas deeny wollas toom.

Graw, grawl, worda deeny zeena gro-dillaaa!"

Something besides the heat made my blood boil, yet chills danced across my body. It was as though I had a sort of second wind breathed straight into my core, and as though a surge of power welled up inside.

…Can Pauline do that?

…Why was I imagining rock music sounding?

Beating her chest a bit, she lifted her hands up higher, highlighting herself as she beckoned for attention.

"Day-nol villas tood,

Gori-gos frody willas toom.

Graw, grawl, worda deeny veenaa gro-we-ar!"

There was no way that—wait, every enemy turned to face her? Are they insane? Is she?

Fireballs were launched out, but Pauline smirked and rushed away from each one blazing after her. I had raised my scepter to defend her, but she didn't need that at all. When she's ready, she's much faster than one might expect.

Fingers snapped, and I twisted around as Daisy flicked her index fingers up. There was a trail of orange light sparkling across the sand, trailing to the end of the arena.

Beneath the blocks that the Reznors stood atop, the ground rumbled. They glanced down as glowing orange daisies erupted from the ground, slamming at the platforms they stood on.

Knocking the each Reznor off-balance was one thing, as it sent them falling. But light also pulsed from each of the flowers, blasting the triceratops-like creatures further out, and slamming down to the ground.

The quakes from the heavier enemies hitting the ground through the Magikoopas off as well, and they fumbled their wands as they struggled to remain upright.

My turn then. Twirling my Royal Scepter around in scooping motions, I summoned a stream of water from it, and whipped at the Magikoopas.

Rotating it quickly, I wrapped the water whip around them, squeezed them in tightly together, and dragged them down to the sand. Pulling back on the wand with a flick, the water mixed with the sand and dragged both Koopa wizards deeper into the ground.

No getting out of that any time soon, and no more spells from them. That left only the two Fire Bros., and both were gritting their teeth as I approached the pair, wand tightly in my grip.

They paled as I came closer, but summoned fireballs to attack. Their eyes, however, were looking behind me, so I checked over my shoulder.

Rosalina had recovered and joined me with our approach. My lips curved into a smile and I returned my attention forward.

"How has all of this been for compensating?" I chuckled as their arms trembled. "Hopefully you understand just what your place is now."

"You won't win," retorted one of Fire Bros. "That's the thing about Bowser: no matter how many times it takes, he'll never give up."

"Plus, he's got a new partner these days," shot the second with a smirk. "Does that burn you up?"

"That is a matter for us to bring up with Mario in the future," intervened Rosalina. "But it is one that you will have to wait to learn about the outcome."

"Right, because you're definitely not seeing it any time soon."

Guess they didn't like the implication of not seeing much after today. They launched their fireballs, as we lifted our wands and spread icy mists, canceling their attack.

Before either one could prepare another fireball, Rosalina and I rushed forward.

Twirling my rod about, I jabbed forward, thrusting at the Fire Bro. before me. Once, twice, thrice, no need to count more as I struck him repeatedly, and then slammed the rod down over the back of his head to finish.

Rosalina swept her leg around, knocking the other Fire Bro. from his feet with bursts of galactic energy. She hopped up and emitted a small planetary ring from her wand, juggling the soldier.

Reaching out, she held her hand up as the Fire Bro. froze in the air before her. Whirling him around, free from gravity, she launched him in a toss behind her, and smashed him into my dazed Fire Bro., ensuring both were totally knocked out before they even collapsed in the sand.

"Phenomenal work, as always," I gushed to Rosalina, who giggled and waved to me.

"We can be quite the powerhouse pair when we want to be, Peach," she shared the compliment.

Daisy and Pauline joined us as we turned to face them. Pauline smiled but then gasped as Daisy grabbed her back and pulled her in close.

"Pauline, what the heck was that singing bit? That was awesome!"

"Oh, I…I don't really know," sheepishly admitted Pauline. "Just wanted to keep them from attacking while you were casting your spell."

"But that song, what was it?" Rosalina tilted her head. "It was oddly invigorating for us as much as it was distracting for the enemy. Even the lyrics, I did not identify them."

"Just gibberish or something," divulged Pauline. She rubbed behind her head. "To be honest, I…can't really remember the precise details with that." Lowering her head, Pauline touched where she had been hit. "It…reminds me of something from when I was younger, but the details are somewhat fuzzy. But I remember singing odd songs that helped…and they helped me gain confidence with singing…"

"Whatever that was, it was very helpful today." I patted her shoulder as Daisy released her. "Thank you for that. Hopefully you might have more songs to share with everyone?"

"Some come to mind."

"Perfect." I nodded and then looked to Daisy. "You were a bit risky for these past few moments, but a lot of your efforts paid off too! That deserved recognition."

"What? Me?" Daisy laughed as she blushed and waved me off. "Please, I'm just trying to make sure that I'm pulling my weight with you outstanding ladies too! Not a big deal, but the praise is great, ha…uh…oh hey!" She pointed behind me. "Check it out!"

Following her attention redirect, we turned to find a glowing yellow light toward the arena exit. Making our way for the glowing light, we found another key shining in the sparkling yellow glow, stuck in place on the ceiling of the exit, creating more light where there would have been less.

Grabbing at it and tugging it free, I gazed down at the bright key, spotting the designs for the sun and flames on it. Summer, fire, quite fitting for everything that we dealt with. The other keys must likely relate.

Something flickered with the key, and I squinted at it, trying to see what it may have been.

"Um, Peach?"

Turning around, I spotted Pauline holding the other key we had collected, which started to glow in its green light from earlier.

"Wait, over there…"

Rosalina pointed outside of the arena, where a light blue glow sparkled. Nodding to my party, I led the way outside, and over to the source of the glow.

There was a circular spot within the clouds where the light blue aura rippled from. It seemed cooler than the rest of this area had been, almost as if we could feel the air once again at last.

"Guess that should help us with whatever comes next," determined Daisy. "Feels refreshing too!"

"Yes…come, let's see…"

Together, we stepped into the pooling light, as it pulsed across the area. The blue light flashed and bathed our sight until we could see nothing else, heat vanishing outright.

It reminded me of a warp zone.