The snowstorm is raging around us when we enter the realm of the highlands. There is a large area covered in mountains of varying sizes that look as though it is constantly snowing here.

It is very strange.

The winds pick up dramatically, howling louder, as we ascend higher into the atmosphere, hovering over the mountains below. Both of us close our capes around us tightly so the only thing showing through the heavy snow covered mountains are our deep purple eyes within the darkness of our hoods.

I strain my eyes to see through the howling winds blowing snow all around me far ahead of us and I see the slightest indication that the snowstorm has an end. A small mushroom stands out as blue and purple are flickering at the edge of my vision range. It looks closer than it is though, as the mountain range spreads across a long distance, surrounding a large silver lake in the center of the valley. I see the lake once we clear the tops of the mountains on the Castle side behind us and are far above the surface level now.

"I have never experienced anything like this before," I break the silence between us as we push through the howling winds.

"Yeah, the first time I came here, I felt the same," She replies to me, not turning her gaze away from ahead of us.

"Why do you know this planet so well?" She shrugs.

"It is my favorite one. I visit it often,"

She is not much for conversing right now. She must feel confused... like how I used to feel.

So, I just focus on where we are heading. I think I see her glance in my direction once or twice, though.

However, I do have to agree, I really am interested about this planet. It is so much different than the other worlds I have seen and been too. But, noting that, Terra will always have a special place in my heart, my home world. The blue and green inner planet.

As we get closer to the other side of the valley, I begin to see through the edges, between the mountains, I see mushrooms starting to appear one by one. Blues and purples start slowly emerging within the snow background, taking shapes of tall and short mushrooms.

There are so many mushrooms on this planet. They are all blue and purple.

"Almost there," She says, again not turning away from ahead of us.

That is when we make it over the other side of the mountain range, causing the snowstorm to suddenly end. I turn behind me and the edge of the snowstorm literally ends that quick. It looks as though it is confined to just the mountains and that is all.

Really, really strange.

What I see when I turn to face before me makes my eyes widen. Nestled in the many clusters of mushrooms sits my mother's large and black starship. It is round and flat like a saucer with two large engines curling upwards on the backside, one on each side. Once I approach a little more, I can see my mother standing just outside of the entrance ramp to her ship. A smile appears on my face when I see someone else standing beside her.

Ike.

He is wearing a special suit to handle space travel. Us Dark Magicians are born able to handle the low pressures, low temperatures and other conditions found in deep space with no atmosphere. However, non-magicians cannot handle these conditions.

I quickly land on my feet and run over to them, with a smile on my face as my hood falls. I feel my hair fall out as it sweeps back and forth on my back. I dart my eyes between Ike and my mother, both smiling back at me in return, as they both hold their arms out ready to embrace me. When I approach them, my mother embraces me first, then Ike embraces me with his strong but gentle touch.

"Ike! Mother! I am so glad to see you!"

"Nothing would stop us, Hun,"

"Quickly, board the ship. You must stay on the top deck and protect the ship from the attacks of the Namerans," I study my mother's face as she tells me this.

I narrow my eyes and quickly nod, "Right,"

Before we turn to board, the Dark Princess materializes next to me and grabs my arm, "Wait," She says, with a strange look in her eye, "I am helping you, Star,"

I open my mouth to answer when she cuts me off, "Please. I—I am appreciative of the help you have given me," She pauses for a moment, then speaks again while not letting me answer her yet, "Thanks for saving me back there," She finally releases me, taking a step back.

She studies my face, waiting my answer. I gave her a small smile, "Oh, of course. Come, we must hurry,"

My mother and Ike give us one last glance before boarding the ship. I fly to the top deck, followed by Star as we prepare ourselves to shield the entire ship.

I turn to her, "All we need to do is shield the ship, no need for any fighting," She nods to me and she brings out her black orbs, her eyes darkening. I turn and do the same, shoving my emotions to the back of my mind. Then the orbs encompass my hands then my eyes light up black.

Before my mother starts the engines, I hear the similar faint noises quickly approaching from all around us. Which is strange since they usually are silent.

Namerans.

"They approach, prepare yourself," I say.

They begin appearing literally seconds after I say that, with their gurgling selves, surrounding us from all sides. I dart my eyes around, watching for the first one to attack, raising my hands, ready to toss up shields. That is when the sounds of the engines whirring fill my ears. Mother is almost ready to take off and leave the atmosphere. The engine sounds intensify as the ship prepares for lift. The ship beneath my feet rumbles and starts shifting as my stomach does flips which lets me know we have lifted from the surface.

Here we go.

Once mother pilots the ship harshly aloft, the Namerans, one by one, start plunging forwards at us. I quickly toss my arms outwards, palms facing out, and a dark black magic shield flies up between it and the ship. I concentrat harder, expanding the shield around the entire ship. I feel every time one of the Namerans bangs against my shield, trying to break my concentration, as a vibration is sent through my entire body each time.

"Let me help!"

I grunt slightly, then respond with, "You will... I cannot," I pause, regaining focus, "Keep this up... much longer," I grunt again, "Unless you... enforce my shield,"

"Enforce?"

I nod as she approaches me, pointing her hands towards mine, "Send your... magic through me,"

I can tell she looks nervous as she focuses her eyes on me.

"You can... do it," I say as I send her a half smile.

She waits one more second, then she throws her hands out like I had, and I feel my shield become double as strong as it just was, relieving me, "G—Good," I smile again, slightly, "V—Very good,"

I intensify my focus, and concentrate completely onto my shield, blocking out all other distractions. I feel mother throw the engines in overdrive as the starship increases its speed, shooting through the deep empty space.

"N—Not much," A grunt escapes my lips, "L—Longer,"

I feel my emotions bubbling up to the brim. I never have had to concentrate on something this large before. It is emotionally draining me, draining all of my energy, quite quickly. For a short moment, I feel worry slip out and I almost did not catch it. I feel the shield flicker before I gained back control.

That flicker... that was not me.

I look over, and Star is struggling, "You're doing... great," I reassure her.

"I—I cannot hold!" She yells, "I—I can't!"

The Namerans are banging against the shield harder now and more frequently. I feel mother increase the speed once more, almost making me lose concentration and fall over.

"I—It's too much, Star!"

"H—Hold on!"

I feel dizzy as my vision starts blurring around the edges. It feels as though the ship is swirling downwards. The winds increase as the Namerans keep at it.

Thump. Thump. Thwack.

I feel my emotions. They are about to break. I feel them. I have to stop! There are too many of them!

"I—I can't!" I hear her scream again, slightly whimpering at the end.

A louder grunt escapes from my lips as the pressure from the shield falls onto me all at once. It feels as though a thousand tons of bricks has suddenly been forced onto my emotions, making me feel very heavy. The pressure increases constantly as I try to fight against it. I hear a thud come from beside me as my vision is completely taken over by blurriness and a soft whimper following the sound.

She collapsed... and I fear I am next.

I feel everything crash into me at once and I feel the connection to my emotion break apart. Everything stops around me as I feel myself fall to the surface beneath me. My vision blacks out and everything falls silent.

Whoa! :0

Hmm, seems as though the Dark World Princess is not very experienced.

And that was a crazy trip back. What is happening?