Zzzz... Huh? Whazzat? Oh, hello! What's that? You want to hear about the legendary Hourglasses? And the legend of how they came to be? Hmm...
Well, a long time ago, the gods of Jueol Isle had decided to entrust seven mortals as leaders of the seven provinces of Jueol Isle. However, although the people they chose were strong, morally upright, and courageous, the common people didn't obey their rules, for the seven leaders had no powers.

And so, the gods created the seven Hourglasses. Filled with supernatural sand, these hourglasses, for the amount of time they were overturned, would endow the one who over turned them a special power. For a while, the seven leaders put these to good use, and no problems were had. But then trouble came.

"Hehehehehe..." A rich baritone laugh echoed from the mouth of a shadowy figure. The voice was smooth, and charming. So charming, that when he spoke, the seven leaders were befuddled. And the seven hourglasses were stolen. (A dark, shadowy figure runs off down a night-lit path, with an hourglass in his hand. The Toad following him finally catches up to him, and tackles him. In the scrum, the hourglass is lost from sight)

And all seven hourglasses were lost in this manner or a similar one. And until this very day, many people have been hunting for them, for many reasons...

Welcome to Paper Mario: Sands of Time! Press start to play!

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Prologue: A Criminal's Welcome

It was a beautiful day in Huzzville, as usual. The town itself may have been less-than-beautiful, but the day was very nice. The town itself was large, with large, ramshackle houses and buildings, lining a single street through the town, along with many smaller streets that connected with each other, and small alleyways with many exits, making the place a Bandit's dream.

At the front side of the town was the pier. A once-beautiful pier was now a shadow of its former self. But the pier was still busy, with ships and merchants and cargo everywhere. On one of the ships coming in was a figure everyone knew in the Mushroom Kingdom. His overalls were his usual red and blue, and his red cap with the white 'M' emblazoned on it was on his head. He was preparing to switch ships, to make his way to Lavalava Island for a well deserved vacation.

"Sir? We are arriving at our destination a bit ahead of schedule." A Goomba crew member informed him. Mario sighed, and grabbing his bags, proceeded to walk to the deck of the ship, and as soon as it was lowered, the exit ramp. He then stepped off the boat, and walked down the pier.

Huzzville

"Nasty place... Almost like Rougeport." He shuddered, remembering the awful town. He didn't plan on staying here long though, as his boat was scheduled to leave in one hour. However, that schedule was about to be disturbed.

"Ehehehehe!" Mario heard an evil laugh coming from where his boat was, and spinning around, gasped. For in front of him, was an evil looking Koopa. Straight from his black shell with red flames going up it, to his black 'emo' hair with red running through it, to his spiky wristbands and his dark glasses. But the most odd thing about him was the symbol of a black heart with two swords sticking out of it emblazoned on his red shirt. This Koopa was flying through the air, with small black wings. He held a wand in his hand, and was shooting blasts off at people standing around, who certainly weren't just standing around, but were now fleeing.

"Stop!" Mario ran forward, with a determined expression on his face. "I won't allow you to do this!" The Koopa stopped for a second, and giving Mario a strange grin, merely said "The great Plunger-Man is here, eh? Boss would be interested in that!" Mario clenched his fists, and prepared for a fight. The Koopa had no intentions of fighting however.

"I have no time for you, my good sir! However, I have heard of you, and you like to monkey-wrench people's plans! And so, I ain't letting you go anywhere"The Koopa then, turning to the ocean and cocking his wand back, unleashed a huge blast of magic that, upon striking the water, turned into a massive barricade that prevented ships from entering or leaving Huzzville. The Koopa grinned again.

"See ya Mario! I know how much you love being stuck here, in this awesome town!" Mario, utterly confused as to what the Koopa had just done and why, watched him soar into the sky, and disappear. Mario then moaned "My vacation, man! My vacation!" Sighing, he made his way towards the town, in order to find an inn to stay at until they could get rid of the barricade. He was still confused as to why the Koopa had done what he did, but he didn't really care. This was his vacation after all. He strode into the local bar, and ordering a Chuckacola, sat down.

"Excuse me, sir... Are you, perchance, Mario?" Mario turned his head to see who had addressed him, and saw a Vewter standing in front of him. Vewter's are Goomba-like creatures, except they have small arms, small wings that allow them to float and not much else, and are shaped more like a bean than a Goomba. This particular Vewter was a dull yellow color, with a set of green headphones on his head, green shoes, a green backpack, green framed glasses with swirly insides, and to top it off, green eyes and green hair. The Vewter watched as he nodded his head, and then began to speak again.

"My name is Vedolora. I saw what happened at the dock. That is not the first time I have seen that Koopa." Mario, now interested, motioned for him to continue.

"All over our Isle, we have been having problems. Our Isle has always been peaceful, but recently, a gang of criminals has stepped out of the shadows and began causing problems to our wonderful Isle. All of them have that same heart symbol on their chest. They are known as the Azira's. They have been terrorizing our citizens, looking for the Hourglasses."

"The Hourglasses?"

"Yes, the Hourglasses. Long ago, the gods of Jueol Isle got together, and realized the need for seven leaders, to govern the seven provinces of Jueol. There was nothing wrong with the current leaders per-say, but they had no command, because they had nothing to distinguish them from all the other people. Putting their powers together, the gods created seven Hourglasses, each, that when flipped over, would endow the 'flipper', you might say, with a special power until the sand ran out. Although the Hourglasses could only be used once per Battle, the effect was the same. People would respect them for the powers they could wield, and all was well in the Isle. That is until Jojio, the original founder and leader of the Azira's, stole the Hourglasses. They all were lost from us, never being found. Until recently. I read a journal entry of a gatekeeper of the town of Treenytown from a long time ago. The entry said that he had stopped Jojio, and that while fighting him, he had lost sight of the Hourglass that Jojio had stole. He never could find it. He prevented Jojio from ever finding it, however, and left hints as to where he thought it was. That is why I came up to you, Mario. I would like your help in finding this Hourglass, so that I can give it back to the leader of Treenytown. Would you help me?"

Mario thought for a moment. It didn't seem like much of a problem to help him out, at least until the barricade in the harbor was removed. He turned to the Vewter and nodded.

Vedolora joined your party! This smart Vewter can tell you many things about the places you go, and is helpful in battle with his Body-Smash, to damage enemies, and his Tattle, to tell you all about the enemy you are fighting!

"We must hurry, Mario. The Azira's will be looking for the Hourglass as well. The pipe to Treenytown is on the west side of town," Vedolora espoused.
Mario nodded, got his bearings, and, leaving the bar, walked towards the west side of town. As they walked, Vedolora informed him about the town, and the Isle in general. Mario was a bit overwhelmed by the strange creature's knowledge.

"Slow down! What was that about the Yoshi turning into a-" Mario was then cut off by a voice.

"Hey you! Where do you think you're going?" A second and third voice joined in.

"Yeah, where ya goin', Mustache man?"

"Where's our toll money, bro?" Mario sighed, and turning around, saw three Koopa sailors, obviously inebriated, pointing at him and making threatening gestures.

"Please, go away. I don't have time to fight you. Plus, you're drunk." Mario could tell this would end badly for the three, and tried to talk them out of attacking. Foolishly not listening, the Koopa's charged at Mario, only to have their leader be Headbonked in the water by Vedolora, and then the other two be Hammered and Jumped the other two into the same water. The Koopa's angrily yelled at Mario's back as he walked away, "We'll be back! Don't forget that!" "Yeah, don't forget!" "What they said!" Snorting, Mario jumped into the pipe, and began yet another adventure...