"Ladida - er, Petey Plains?" Perry asked, giving Peach a bewildered look.  

She shrugged. Petey Plains, Ladida Plains, what did it matter? Now that she was actually on land instead of inside of a sea cave, she was sure that she was closer to finding any survivors of the plane crash - and she was getting closer to Mario. 

"Come, the name doesn't matter," she said, grabbing Perry's handle. "Let's head out there. Maybe there's a town nearby where we can get some food and some information on Bowser's location." 

They began walking. The sun was high in the sky, beaming down on them and causing Peach to sweat. Almost forgetting that she had an umbrella, Peach popped open Perry and shielded herself from the heat.  

They traversed hills and meadows and even a small stream where they stopped for water without seeing anyone. The Plains were deserted except for a few weeds blowing in the slight breeze. Hours passed. Peach began to feel wiped and she was still ravenous. 

"Maybe we should rest," Perry suggested after a while. "Princess, you look bushed." 

Peach shook her head. "Not until we reach a town." 

"Do you even think there're any towns out here?" 

"Of course there are. Why wouldn't there be?" 

"I dunno, it just seems so..." Perry paused for a moment, searching for the right word. "Wild." 

Wild. Wilderness, that's what Perry meant. He thought this was more wilderness than civilized nature. Peach frowned, suddenly unsure. What if he was right? What if this island was...primal? What if there were just wild people running around in groups out here, no actual...towns? 

The thought gave her pause. She was a princess. What did a princess know about surviving out in the wild? 

"We keep going," Peach determined. 

"I won't argue with you. Just take a break if you feel you're going to keel over, will you?" 

They continued onward, trekking over slopes and hillocks. Peach was getting thirstier and thirstier with every step. The stream they'd stopped to drink by didn't curve this far inland. She desperately hoped that there was some other source of water ahead. 

She was cresting another hill when she spotted something at the foot of the slope below them. There was a small fire blazing in the middle of a circle of...Goombas! Peach felt weak with relief. Maybe they'd have some food. Or some water. She really needed both of them. She started down the hill. 

"Princess," Perry whispered, sounding slightly worried. He narrowed his eyes at the bonfire-Goombas. "Be careful. I smell danger up ahead." 

"Relax. We'll be okay. Don't you want to see if they have any hardtack?" Peach dashed the rest of the way down the hill, approaching the Goombas huddled around the campfire.  

The Goombas were sitting on log benches, each with an army hat on. The biggest one was looking at several physical maps, making a mark here or there with a pencil. Another Goomba was steady throwing logs into the fire to keep it ablaze. The others were singing campfire songs and a fourth was boiling a pot of hot water. Peach guessed that it was for soup. At the moment, she didn't care. 

"Er, excuse me," she said, and the whole group of Goombas fell silent. They slowly turned to face her as she said, "We're travelers. We've been stranded here for a while, and we're hungry and thirsty. Do any of you have any food to spare?" 

"And water," Perry added. 

All at once, the Goomba group leapt up from their sitting positions, armed with spears and bows and arrows. The Goomba at the soup cauldron even jumped up, ladle in hand. 

"Who are you?" the Goomba captain - the biggest one - demanded. 

Peach, shocked, raised her hands in surrender. "Er, the p-princess of the Mushroom Kingdom," she said shakily. Why were they aiming their weapons at her? Didn't they recognize her? 

After her rough night, perhaps not. 

"A princess?" the captain said. "Ha! What a lie! I've never seen a princess as raggedy as you!" 

"We've been stranded here a while!" Perry snapped as Peach's face burned. 

"Wha?" The captain stumbled backwards in shock. "What the...a talkin' umbrella! Get a gander at that! Who the heck are you?" He barked at Peach. "You ain't a princess! Nah, you is a WITCH!!" 

"Witch, witch!" the other Goombas cried. 

"I'm not a witch," Peach said as calmly as she could. "I'm the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom! I'm Princess Peach!" 

"Witch, witch!" the captain accused. "Who else on earth would have a talkin' umbrella, eh? Only a witch would! Yer an abomination! Men!" He nodded towards Peach. "Attack!" 

Peach shrieked and turned tail and ran as the group of Goombas charged towards her, their weapons raised high. She dashed back the way she'd come, back up the hill, hoping that they'd stop chasing her once they saw she was fleeing, but they kept running after her, right on her tail. A couple of them actually leapt and tried to grab at her, but Perry jerked forward in her hand, swatting the Goombas aside like flies and acting like a sword. 

"Hurry it up!" the captain yelled from down the hill. "Capture her and gag 'er! We'll burn her like they do real witches!" 

"Witch, witch!" the Goombas screamed. 

"I'm not a witch!" Peach yelled over her shoulder as she leapt out of the way of the crazy mob. They chased her around and around the hill until Peach's legs were burning and her lungs were fit to burst. Who knew that Goombas could have such stamina? They were steady on her tail, waiting for her to collapse from exhaustion. 

"Perry!" she gasped as she circled around the hill again - the Goombas were right on her heels. "What do I do? They won't stop until I slow down!" She could hardly get the words out she was so tired. 

"Use your Necklace!" Perry shouted. "The red one!" 

"The Rage Stone?" Peach gasped. Her legs finally gave out, and she crumpled onto the slope of the hill, rolling through the grass until she hit even ground. She lay there for half a second, struggling to get her breath, and heard the Goomba mob rushing down towards her. 

"Hiyyyaaahhh!" Perry flew into the air and batted the Goombas aside as Peach struggled into a sitting position. He closed up and acted like a sword again, swiping to and fro and dealing violent blows to the head. It was hopeless though. Where one Goomba was down, two more took his place. Eventually, one of them grabbed Perry and dug his head into the ground so that he was pointing erect out of the dirt like a shovel.  

"Princess!" he called helplessly. "Hurry!" 

Peach grabbed the red stone from her necklace and, still panting, clenched it between her fingers and bid it to awaken. 

As the stone began to glow, the Goombas skidded to a halt about two feet in front of her, surprised by the light. The Stone grew warm, and Peach felt a sudden sensation in her chest - red-hot anger. It engulfed her from head to toe, making her body shake with fury and her teeth grind with outrage. How dare these idiot Goombas make her look weak and helpless! She'd show them! 

She snapped her head up and glared at the Goombas.  

A blast of fire came out of nowhere and hit the front of the group of Goombas, barreling them over like pinballs in a bowling alley. The remaining Goombas looked terrified as Peach stood up and, feeling strong for the first time in a while, marched towards them. Where she stepped, the grass caught on fire, creating a ring of flame that grew up and around the Goombas, trapping them in a heated circle with her. 

Perry's eyes widened from where he was stuck in the ground. "Peach!" he cried in a amazement. "You're on fire! I mean...really! You are!" 

Peach's anger kept her from looking downward. She was going to deal with these pesky Goombas first. 

The Goombas were now starting to look worried - they were backing up into a huddled little group, clutching one another. One of them actually had the courage to notch an arrow into his bow and shoot it, but an inch from Peach's face, the arrow was burned to a crisp. Somewhere in Peach's mind, she was sure that she was on fire - how else could she have burned that arrow? But she was too angry to let it bother her now. 

"How dare you mistake me for a witch!" Peach fumed, her fists clenched. "I'm make sure that you regret crossing my path!" 

"What's takin' so long?" the Goomba captain asked from behind the ranks. As he pushed his way to the front, he stopped in his tracks when he found Peach. "Holy - ! Wouldn't you know it! She really is a witch!! She's usin' some kinda voodoo right now!" 

"Witch, witch!" the Goombas squeaked. 

"I'm not a witch!!" Peach thrust both of her hands forward, palms out, like she was pushing something, and flames fanned out around her, barreling over the Goombas onto their backs and inflicting some with serious burns. Perry popped out of the ground and leapt out of the way just as the wall of flame barraged past him, leaving singed grass and charred dirt in its wake. 

The Goomba captain, who was lying on his stomach, a serious burn marring his back, leapt up. "R-r-retreat!" he shouted to the others. "This girl...she's too powerful! Call reinforcements!" 

The other Goombas jumped up and rushed off back towards the camp, where Peach was sure there was a radio waiting for them to call in for more troops. "Oh no you don't!" she yelled, bringing a foot down hard on the ground. The earth shook as it would during an quake, and Goombas cried out and fell to the ground. They tried to scramble to their feet, but Peach stomped again, making them topple and fall. She pointed a finger at another group of Goombas that'd managed to escape her stomping attacks and blasted them with a ball of fire that left the whole area smelling like smoke. 

Suddenly, her knees began to shake, and she crumbled to the ground, feeling totally wiped and exhausted. 

"Peach!" Perry cried as he floated over. Around them, Goombas were beginning to recover from Peach's violent attack, and they were scrambling to their feet and dashing away. "Princess! Are you all right?" 

"I'm...so tired," Peach gasped, feeling sweat running down her face. It was a wonder she could even breathe! Exhaustion radiated throughout her, and her lungs were burning as though thoroughly sanded.  

"Cancel the stone's magic!" Perry said urgently. "It's sucking all of your energy away! Quickly!" 

Peach slowly reached up to her brooch and placed her hand around the stone. At her unspoken command, its warmth began to ebb, and it fell dormant on her necklace; she felt her burning anger fade away, to be replaced by a heavy blanket of exhaustion. The fire simmered away.  

"Princess!" Perry said, spinning nervously. "Get up! We've got to go. They're bringing reinforcements!" 

"But I'm so...tired," Peach breathed, lying her head on the ground. She just wanted to rest a little bit. Maybe if she could sleep for a second, she would find the energy to get up and run... 

The green heart on her necklace began to glow brightly. Half-opening her eyes, Peach gasped as she saw the green light spread across her body, engulfing her in a bright, green bubble. It was warm and soft, like a hot bath, and she felt energy and adrenaline flush into body like liquid, filling her with energy and strength. 

"The Calm Stone," Perry gasped as Peach scrambled to her feet. "It's healed you." 

Peach looked over her shoulder to see a huge group of Goombas running over the rise of the hill, dashing over the charred landscape, right towards her. Each was holding either a torch or a pitchfork and was glaring at Peach and Perry angrily. 

"Let's move it, Perry!" Peach cried, grabbing his handle and dashing away. The Calm Stone continued to strengthen her, and she didn't lose a drop of energy as she hurtled over the crest of the hill. The Goombas followed, some throwing their pitchforks and torches. One of the torches landed in a flower patch directly to Peach's left, setting it aflame and creating a barrier of fire behind them. 

"That'll slow them down!" Perry said as they continued over the landscape. "Hurry Peach, don't stop!" 

But they were forced to halt as the land suddenly sloped down between two steep cliffs that rose up hundreds of feet above them. At the foot of the cliffs, a shelf dropped down into the surging Atlantic Ocean, the edge hidden slightly by a few young saplings growing at the foot of the cliffs. 

"What now?" Peach asked. She could hear yelling coming from the distance. "We're stuck!" 

"We have to use a Stone," Perry said. He nodded down towards the ground. "Look at that! There're a few tree saplings here." 

"Yeah, so?" Peach looked nervously over her shoulder, where she could see two, three, five, ten, twenty Goombas appearing over the top of the hill, spotting Peach, and running down towards her. 

"Use your blue stone!!" Perry replied. "If we create enough water, we can make the trees grow!" 

"What? That's impossible, Perry, a tree isn't going to grow that fast!" 

"With magic, it will! Now hurry up before we get speared!" 

Frowning, Peach grabbed the Gloom Stone, closed her eyes, and squeezed it in her hand. She could hear the Goombas coming closer and closer, but the sound soon became insignificant. She felt a sad, cold feeling spreading through her chest like ice, and her eyes soon saw the world in a melancholy view... 

Suddenly, she began to weep. 

Hard, shaky sobs racked her chest, making her fall to her knees over by the saplings, tears spilling out of her eyes - more tears than she'd ever released in her life. The water fell out of her eyes and onto the saplings like a waterfall, and before she knew it, there was a slight rumbling, and a beanstalk burst forth out of the ground, rocketing into the air until it curled all the way to the top of the cliff. 

"Great job, Princess!" Perry said as he gazed up at the beanstalk. "Now all we have to do is climb it! Peach! Cancel that stone!" 

It was so hard. The tears wouldn't stop coming. Peach began to feel weaker and weaker, but she managed to raise a shaky arm and grab the Gloom Stone, canceling its magic with her touch. The tears stopped, and her former Calm Stone-induced strength returned. She hurriedly wiped her eyes and turned to the beanstalk. The thought of climbing something so tall made her stomach wrench. But she wasn't going to be speared by those pesky Goombas! 

Speaking of which, the Goomba group was almost right on top of them, the closest one hurling a pitchfork in Peach's direction. Using all of her strength, Peach leapt upward, grabbing onto a huge leaf growing out of the beanstalk and narrowly missing a spearing by the thrown pitchfork. 

"Quickly!" Perry cried from where he was tucked under Peach's arm. Peach wrenched a leg up onto the next leaf and struggled to pull herself onto it. She then gripped a foothold between the stalk's trunk and another leaf and climbed up. 

"Darn it!" the Goomba captain said from below. "The witch is gettin' away!" 

"Not for long!" another Goomba said. Stepping forward, he put his torch towards the beanstalk's trunk and it instantly set on fire. 

Peach gasped in alarm, losing her footing and almost slipping off. 

"Concentrate!" Perry urged. "Don't focus on them!" 

"Haha!" the Goomba captain yelled triumphantly up to them. "Trump that, witch!" 

Grunting, Peach struggled up towards the next branch. Already, she could hear the flames crackling directly below them, extremely close to where she was climbing. "Perry!" she cried out. "What do we do?" The beanstalk began to wobble, and Peach had to hang on tight to keep from slipping off. 

The fire licked closer to them, incinerating leaves and weakening the stalk further. 

"Listen up!" the captain cried to his men. "When she falls, we shoot her up with arrows! Got it?" 

"Goo-rah!" the Goombas cried. "Shoot her up, shoot her up!" 

"Perry!" Peach shouted. 

Perry bit his lip. The fire was almost upon them now, a tongue licking up against Peach's leg. She quickly pulled it up. 

"Okay, I know!" Perry said. "Princess! Use the Joyful Stone! We'll fly the rest of the way to the top!" 

"Oh! Good idea!" The flames were getting ever closer. Peach pulled herself atop one last enormous leaf before grabbing the golden Joyful Stone from her necklace. 

"Here she comes!" the Goomba captain said impatiently. 

As the fire reached them, Peach leapt into the air. Mid-leap, she activated the Joyful Stone, and wind whipped around her, catching her in the air and levitating her in the middle of a powerful cyclone. The fire incinerated the rest of the beanstalk and reduced it to ashes, which rained to the ground. The Goombas stared up at Peach in awe. 

"Dang it!" the captain cried. "What's she pullin' now?" 

"She ain't a witch!" one Goomba squeaked. "That lady's a goddess!"  

Peach ignored them and commanded the cyclone to carry her higher, higher, higher into the air... 

They reached the top of the cliff. As Peach touched down onto the grass, she canceled the stone's magic, and the wind ceased. Perry popped out from under her arm. 

"Good work!" he exclaimed. "I thought we were done. What now, Princ-" He stopped mid-sentence as he turned to the north. Peach turned and froze too. 

The cliff was a wide, grassy area dotted with wildflowers and a couple of trees. Sitting around the very corner of the cliff area was a group of toads!!! There were about fifteen of them, and all of them were tied up and gagged like hostages. Their weapons sat in a nearby pile beside a pile of half-ruined backpacks and a suitcase. 

Peach, excited with another accidental discovery, almost ran to go and help them. But, of course, she found it hard to go directly to them when there was a huge piranha plant standing in the way.