The group walked to a dock on the shore. "Here we are!" Kylie Koopa laughed, walking to a boat tied up to the pier.
The boat was old and rickety, although it looked to be on the bigger side of the boat . . . well . . . things. "We're going on that?!" Piantette snorted. She smirked and walked up to the boat. "It's ancient, so it's prone to leaks..."
Rosalina piped up. "Prone to what?" she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Uhh . . . leaks of . . . friendship!" Piantette out her hands under her chin in a theatrical pose. "And love! Plus kindness, and a little sprinkle of care on top!"
Mario nodded. He put his arms between the two. "I'm glad to see you girls getting along for once," he laughed. He walked on board, then turned around. "Kylie," he asked. "Where are we going, exactly?"
Kylie blushed. "Oops! I forgot to explain our destination! I'm always forgetting things lately, you know. But it's not like I'm getting old---my hair isn't white, and---"
"We get it!" Luigi yelled, cuffing her mouth. Mario laughed. Funny, he thought, people were usually doing that to Luigi!
"We are going off to Treasure Island!" Kylie Koopa jumped. "Treasure Island houses the cannon which transports things to the central planet...Planet Bowser."
"That's it?" Snowden asked, as if waiting for more. "It's that simple?"
"Well, yes." Kylie straightened her hair. "Oh, yeah. My best friend lives on that island. Funny because he's a fish but for some reason he can breathe perfectly on land!" she started laughing.
Nobody else laughed.
"Stingy crowd," Mario admitted. He walked on board the ship.
Luigi followed behind him, with Rosalina carrying a tired Toad. Sprix and Starlow flew behind them, and Kylie Koopa proudly walked on board as the captain of the ship. Piantette was last, with whatever devilish plan she was thinking.
--🌎--
The boat took off for Treasure Island, with none other than Kylie Koopa at its helm. They sailed for hours and hours and hours. That night, Rosalina walked around the ship in a nightgown.
She sat down in a storage room. She sighed. It really was a lot to soak in, everything happening lately. Bowser. The Princess. Even her and Mario.
Just then, the door to the room opened and someone walked in. Rosalina stood up. "Hello?" she called out. "Mario?"
Then she heard a voice. It was soft, light female voice yet it stood firm. Rosalina shuddered. Whoever this was, she didn't want to mess with them.
"Yes, baby, it's me, Mario!" the voice called. "I'm here for you and only you! Just don't tell Princess Peach were in loooooooooveeeeee!!"
"You're not Mario," Rosalina stood tall, "And we're NOT in love, you weirdo. Who are you, anyway? Show yourself. Don't be a coward."
Piantette stepped out of the shadows.
Rosalina placed her palm on her forehead. "Of course it's you..." she rolled her eyes. "What do you have against me, anyway?"
She wasn't prepared for what happened next. Out of nowhere, Piantette lunged at Rosalina, sending them both knocked back at the shelves.
"HELP!" Rosalina screamed. But the door was shut tight. No one could hear her. No one except Piantette. "What are you doing???" she yelled.
Piantette grabbed Rosalina. "Don't mess with me," she scowled. "I know who you are. I know who you're after. Don't touch me, or Mario!"
"But you're the one touching me!!" Rosalina yelled. "What are you talking about? Why are you so...so...evil all of a sudden?"
"I've always been evil," Piantette cackled. "It's just that my potential hasn't been unlocked until recently."
Rosalina was confused.
But Piantette kept explaining, her grip staying firm. "You see, when Kamek hit me with that spell back on Planet Frostbite, it changed me. I've unlocked my true self. This is who I am."
"But it isn't," Rosalina said. "Piantette, back on Islé Delfino, I saw the real you. A kind, loving, fangirlish, sort of creepy, yet---"
Piantette cut her off. "Enough!" she yelled, and released Rosalina. She looked away. "Not a word of this to anyone," she commanded. "Now get out."
Rosalina wouldn't hesitate. She ran for her LIFE! She ran all the way up to Mario's room. "Oh my gosh!" she burst into tears.
"What's wrong?" Mario sprang up.
"I---I---" Rosalina chattered.
Suddenly Luigi appeared in the doorway. "Mario! The ---- uh, oh . . ." he noticed Rosalina in the room. "There's, there's been a leak in the boat. We're sinking fast! Come on!"
Mario and Rosalina ran to the stern of the ship to find everyone freaking out.
"Oh, what do we do, what do we do?" Starlow wailed, flying in circles.
"Why are YOU panicking?" Mario said. "You can fly, and we can't!"
Kylie walked up to Mario. "I've got a raft," she said. "Follow me."
Everyone took off after Kylie's raft and hopped on JUST as the last of the ship disappeared beneath the waves.
Mario counted the passengers. "Snowden . . . Toad . . . Piantette . . . Luigi . . . Starlow . . . Kylie . . . Rosalina . . . and Sprix. Great! Gang's all here!"
"Now what?" Mario asked.
"I can see Treasure Island from here on the horizon, thank goodness," Kylie breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's row there! Cheep's waiting!"
Mario didn't even bother to ask who Cheep was. He just picked up his oar and started rowing...thinking about why the ship had sunk.
--🌎--
About an hour later, an exhausted Mario collapsed onto a beach. A fish appeared at Mario's head. He was red, had big, white eyes, and a yellow thing atop his head. "You won't get to your princess like that, will ya?" he asked.
Mario sat up. "Who are you?" he asked.
"Name's Cheep," the fish said. "And I know all about you, Mario. Kylie's told me quite a lot over the phone lately."
"Cheep is like a brother to me," Kylie hugged him. "And it just so happens that he maneuvers the cannon found right here on Treasure Island. It'll shoot us to Planet Bowser."
"Great! Let's get going!" Mario said. He followed Kylie and Cheep to the cannon where they loaded the rest of the group in first.
When it was Kylie's turn, Cheep sighed. "Mario," he asked. "I know we just met and all, but I'd love to accompany you to Planet Bowser."
Mario looked at him. Cheep looked sincere enough, and as annoying as Kylie could get sometimes, he trusted her. Any friend of hers was a friend of his.
"Of course," Mario smiled. "That's ten members of my group!"
Cheep sent Kylie flying to the central planet. "What, you don't have a name for your group yet?" Cheep asked.
Mario shrugged.
"Well, I've got one. How about 'the Intergalactic Travelers'"? Cheep suggested.
"'The Intergalactic Travelers,'" Mario repeated. "I love it. Now shoot me!" Cheep made an odd look. "To the planet, I mean."
Mario and Cheep touched down on Planet Bowser soon after. They looked at the immense castle standing in front of them, and at the rest of the group. Together, the Intergalactic Travelers stepped forward.