Chapter 1

Starting Point

I find it funny where I can end up sometimes. Like there was one time, in second grade, I ended up face to face with the school's biggest bully. His name was Hugo, and he was a fifth grader that practically had a moustache. There was even a rumor that he had two kids already with some girl up at my city's high school. That day, Hugo beat the crap out of me. Why, you might ask yourself? It was all because I decided to play The Hero and stand up for my friend.

Then there was one time at the zoo. These parents weren't watching their child, who was about to dive into the monkey pit like it was the public pool. I ended up grabbing the kid and pushing him away. I ended up in the pit, somehow. Not only did I have poo thrown at my face, I ended up with a life time ban at the Columbus Zoo while that kid got off scot-free!

I have always ended up in the most bizarre, painful situations. Of course, I didn't mind it. Bizarre and painful situations always had good stories and sweet battle scars. I definitely wasn't your average twelve year old.

However, this story I am about to tell you, reader, puts me in a situation that I never thought I would be in.

And it all starts out with a man who had a big nose, a moustache, overalls, and a funny red hat…

I was on this marble floor. Don't ask me how I got there, but all I could remember was my name. It was Ashley, but I liked to be called Ash. Ash was shorter, easier to write, and since every friggin' girl in elementary school was named Ashley, I had to find an alternative to my name.

I stood up slowly. I wasn't hurt or anything, but I was entirely confused. I looked around for a second and then saw this man with a clipboard. He was a short, chubby man. He had a big, bushy moustache and these huge blue eyes. This hat he had on his head was red and had a big M in the middle. I recognized him, but I was so disoriented that I couldn't recall who he was.

"Excuse me, sir," I said.

I got his attention, but he just looked at me and said, "Ah, yes, youra Ashley. Ashley Brandt, right?" He had this thick accent. I knew I had heard it before, but where?

"Um, yeah, actually I am," I said. "My head hurts so much, though."

"That's expected," the man said. "Switching dimensions and all is quite a doozy."

"Switching dimensions?"

"Why yes. Youra from an entirely different place, ya know."

I began to think and tried to figure out who I was. Then it hit me. I suddenly remembered my home in Ohio, my family and, well, everything. However my reader, I didn't understand what was happening. But what I didn't know was that stuff-my family and what not-would no longer matter.

"Where am I now?" I asked after a long pause.

"Well, youra technically in the Mushroom Kingdom, but you won't be here for long."

I nodded and looked at the ground. Then it hit me, again. "Wait! Where am I?" I shouted.

"The Mushroom Kingdom," this guy repeated. "I thought you would've at least recognized me enough to guess where you are."

"Who are you?" I asked and I began to back up. I eventually found myself against a stone wall with nowhere to go.

"It'sa me, Mario, from the Super Mario Brothers video game you might've played," he said. "I'm quite popular in your dimension for some reason."

"Mario," I said with perplexity. "Why am I here?"

"Well, we're short of heroes here in what is called the Ninten Dimension. Youra dimension, called the Second Dimension, had some great candidates and, due to your name being drawn out of my hat, you are the chosen hero. Congrats!"

"Are you kidding me?" I said with my arms flailing. "Most heroes are 'chosen' by some divine coincidence, but my name was drawn out of a damn hat? Are you mad?"

"Hey, don't blame-a me, Ash," Mario said, pointing at me with a pencil. "All the candidates from your dimension were chosen by a special board of individuals."

"But I'm only twelve, and I definitely didn't sign up for something like this!" I thundered. I was pissed beyond belief. How was I expected to become a hero without some sort of memo?

"Trust me; there were others much younger than you whose names were in my hat. Some of those names were one year old babies. You should be thankful."

"I should be thankful that I'll get myself killed?"

"Momma mia! You don't even know what you were chosen to do. Maybe you were chosen to be the hero of cakes!"

"I have a feeling I wasn't chosen for that, you son of a-"

"Please, I'll have none of that nonsense fighting in my castle," a gentle, but stern voice called out. It came from the balcony, so I looked up.

At the top of the staircase was a beautiful woman in a huge pink dress. Her blonde hair went a little below her shoulders and her blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight that seeped through an opening on the ceiling.

"Now, will you give me the pleasure to tell you my name, Ms. Ashley, or would you like to keep arguing with Mario here?"

I crossed my arms and said, "Go ahead, say what you want."

"My name is Princess Toadstool, but you can call me Peach," she said. "I was on the committee that chose whose names would be placed in the hat from your dimension. I personally nominated you."

"But why would you nominate me?" I asked. "I'm young."

"Ashley, we need a young, ambitious person to save this dimension," Princess Peach said. "Though you have no special training, you are young. Generally, the younger you are, the quicker you learn. You were the perfect choice, in my opinion."

"What am I supposed to do, though? What about my family and my education and my friends?"
"In your world, unfortunately, you are considered dead," Mario said. "I would advise you to forget about all of that."

I was extremely upset and wanted to cry, but at the same time, I was happy to be gone. I was usually the black sheep in my family and in school. I always felt out of place and it was hard to keep up socially. I began to feel like this would be a new beginning.

"Are you okay, Ashley?" Princess Peach asked after she gave me a moment.

"Yes," I said, and snapped out of it. As Mario said, I didn't need to dwell on my past any longer. "What needs to be done?"

"Your first destination is not too far off," Princess Peach said. "It's in a neighboring kingdom, the kingdom of Hyrule. You will be working with a boy of the same age as you. His name is Link."

"Interesting," I said. "How will I get there?"

"Even though it is neighboring, Hyrule is across an ocean," Mario said. "Our very own James McCloud of the Star Fox team is volunteering to give you a ride there in his Arwing."

"Arwing?" I asked.

"It's a space ship," Princess Peach said. "James McCloud is part of the Star Fox team, a group of space mercenaries from a distant planet. He's a talented pilot and has offered to take you straight to Hyrule."

"Okay, well, where is this Link kid?"

"Unfortunately, all we know is that he is living in Kokiri Forest," Princess Peach said. "He is being mistaken for a child of the Kokiri race. These children never grow up and are not allowed to leave the forest due to a fear that they will die. This is not true, but this is for their safety. We recommend that you don't tell them this rumor is false."

"Understood," I said. "What will I be doing in Kokiri Forest?"

"From what the King has told me, you will get help from a couple of people," Princess Peach said. "I wasn't given all the details, but the forest guardian, The Great Deku Tree, will get you and Link started."

Peach must have been aware of my worried expression and added, "And please don't worry. Link has absolutely no clue what he is doing either. It will be a learning experience for the both of you."

Then, out of the blue, a small, but boisterous voice announced, "Princess Peach, Mr. James McCloud is here upon your special request."

"Oh yes, Toad, please let him in," Princess Peach said.

I turned around to see two tiny men with mushroom caps on their heads. They were really short and stout. If it wasn't for their mushroom caps, they wouldn't have even been three feet. They immediately waddled to the door to let the James McCloud guy in. One jumped on the round cap of the other and opened the bigger door.

Thus, the doors opened to reveal James McCloud. I expected a gruff middle aged man with an eye patch or scars but, to my surprise, he was a fox. Oddly enough however, he stood up like a human and his body was shaped like a human, too, besides his hair and his muzzle. Out of respect, he took off his round helmet and his ears flopped right out. They stuck straight up in the air and I imagined that they hurt being cramped in that small helmet. He didn't remove his sunglasses, however.

"Good evening Princess," James said and gave her a short bow. "Long time, no see, eh?"

"Hello James," Princess Peach said with a warm smile. "Thank you so much for helping transport Ms. Ashley Brandt to Hyrule."

"No problem," James said, bringing his sunglasses down a bit so he could look at me. "She seems…very young to be this dimension's hero."

"That was intended, James," Peach said, speaking to him like I wasn't even in the room. "She may seem young and innocent now, but I think she will do a fine job once she gets the hang of things."

"Yes, well, I hope you're right," James said. "C'mon, Ms. Brandt, we have a long flight under our tails." And with that, James turned on his heel and began to walk out the door, his fuzzy tail swishing back and forth with each step.

I nodded and followed James. It was very peculiar walking behind a talking fox, but I wasn't sure how to react. Seeing as I was 'dead' in my dimension, I decided to make the best of it. It wasn't every day that you got to ride in a spacecraft after all.

"Oh, Ashley," Princess Peach called out right before we left. "Have you ever had any experience with a sword before?"

"Uh, no," I said and I turned to face her.

"Good. Neither has Link. You two will grow together, I do suppose." Then she winked and smiled.

Great, I thought and I followed James outside. I wasn't really sure if I wanted to make friends on this so called 'mission.' It was terrifying, to say the least. Even if they were a stranger, working with someone would definitely help me adjust.

The bright, yellow sun of the Mushroom Kingdom practically blinded me when we walked out. I shielded my eyes with my hand to keep the sun from stinging them. What I could see was a beautiful blue sky above us. It seemed calming in the kingdom, with tons of greenery and butterflies. Maybe this dimension wasn't so bad after all?

"My Arwing is in the back," James said. "It's a bit weird to get into at first, but I'll help you. Do you get motion sickness?"

"No," I said, "at least not in cars, anyway."

"I'm afraid this isn't anything like a car," James said.

We walked all the way to the back of the castle and I was amazed at his Arwing. It was a fighter jet and reminded me of something from the movie Star Wars, a huge hit back at home. The sun glistened on the exterior of the jet and helped display the sleek and pointy body of The Arwing. Right on the side was a red symbol. It looked like the silhouette of a fox with wings.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" he asked me. I met his gaze for the first time. Seeing his whiskers and wet nose up close really hit me: I was talking to a fox.

"Yeah," I said and quickly glanced to the side.

"When I retire from the Star Fox team, I plan on giving it to my son, Fox," James said. "You'd like him. He's an ambitious, confident young pup, but I hope he chooses a different career path than mine." I noticed him look at his feet and I saw his gross legs that were really slender at the ankles. "My life is dangerous."

"I'm sorry," I said after a bit of a pause. "Hopefully, you and I can make things better here."

James laughed a bit and then pulled out a small remote. He pressed a button and the Arwing's wings spread out and the cock pit was revealed underneath a moving windshield.

James suddenly picked me up and put me on the outstretched wing. "Let's hope so," he said to me as he climbed up and helped me in the cabin. Behind the pilot's seat was a smaller seat. It was a tight fit, but it seemed nice and cozy. The seats were even made of soft leather, so the ride there would be nice and relaxing.

I got comfortable as James started up the Arwing with a key. I felt the movement of different machinery and the noises that accompanied it, which caused everything to rumble under my feet. The windshield came down as James pressed multiple buttons and flipped different switches.

"I'll make this an easy ride for you, Ashley," James said. He put on the helmet he had been holding and then handed me one.

"You can call me Ash, if you want to," I said right before I put on a helmet. I had never worn one before and was surprised by its weight. It was a little loose to my head, but it soon began to conform and shrink down to the proper size. Just as I started to feel claustrophobic, the helmet stopped shrinking and a small mic popped out from the side.

"Alright Ash," I heard him say through small speakers in the helmet.

We started to hover in the air a bit. I looked out the window to try and see below, but the ship had already taken off. I don't know how fast we were going, but I was thrown right back in my seat.

"So Ash, are you nervous?" James asked.

"Well, yes, a little," I said.

"It's okay to be nervous. I know I was the first time I stepped into this thing. I thought I was going to die on my first day. I remember screaming my head off and just firing the lasers. I was part of the Cornerian Army, but there wasn't much fighting back then. I flew with my best friend, Peppy Hare, and another friend of mine named Pepper. Pepper's actually a general now."

"Why did you quit flying for the army?" I asked.

"Well, I just got tired of it, you know? I was basically told where to go, what to do, and to come straight back home afterwards. The army was great and all, but I've always wanted to do my thing and go on my own adventures."

"What happened after you left?"

"I started my own group of mercenaries. My friend, Peppy, came along as my co-pilot and we hired on another old military flier named Pigma. I took out this giant loan-it's gonna to take 80 years to pay off-and bought this giant vessel called the Great Fox to house four Arwings and give my crew a place to sleep while we explore the galaxy. We've been doing this now for a couple of years. The money isn't great, but it's really the adventure that keeps me going."

"So, do you know anything about this Hyrule place?" I asked after a moment of silence. "I just wanted to get some information before I get there and all."

"Sorry Ash, but I've never been there," James said. "I usually stay up in space, but the Princess called me and asked if I would take you to Hyrule. If you would've gone by boat, it would have taken about a month, so Peach thought this was a better idea. I heard it's a real nice place, though. It's ruled by this guy named Daphnes. I would never name my kid that. The king sounds like a chick, doesn't he?"
"Yeah," I said and smiled a bit. I really liked this guy.

I suddenly heard a beeping noise coming from my headset in the helmet. I watched as James pressed down a switch. He must've heard it too.

"James McCloud of the Star Fox team here," James said.

"James, this is General Pepper," said a voice from the PA system. "There's been some trouble in the Lylat System. Are you done there in the Mushroom kingdom?"

"Not yet, sir. I'm almost to Hyrule to transport Ms. Ashley Brandt, but I will be done right after that. Do you need something?"

"Well, we've been told of some strange activity at the planet Venom," General Pepper said. "We have conflicting reports, but we believe the trouble is being caused by Andross."

"That's the army scientist that was banished, right?" James said.

"That it is."

"Once I'm done here, I will gather the Star Fox team and we will investigate for you."

"By any chance, James, are you bringing that Falco guy with you?" General Pepper asked.

"Alright, we're counting on you McCloud! Pepper out."

"Sorry about that," James said after he turned off the messaging system. "There's been a lot going on the last couple of months."

"Who's Andross?"

James gave out a long sigh. "It's tragic, really," he said and it was a good while before he spoke again. "Andross was a genius, to say the least. He was a scientist for the army and many of his experiments benefited all of animal kind. Hell, he even created most of the technology that you see around you. He was awarded a lot of money and was given state of the art facilities to continue his research.

"Eventually, he went mad and began conducting experiments that were well out of Corneria's safety protocol. General Pepper soon found out about these experiments and ordered that Andross had all government funds pulled and to have his experiments ceased. The government didn't listen, and it wasn't until Andross caused a large explosion to erupt from his lab that they decided to intervene. Hundreds died that day."

"What happened next, if you don't mind me asking?"

"He was exiled to the planet Venom. I told Pepper it was a bad idea; he should've been killed! I knew he was going to cause more trouble!" James hit the dashboard with so much force that I swore the jet dipped down a bit.

I waited for a minute or so to pass because he was visibly angry. Then I said: "If you need my help, let me know! I bet I could fly one of these things!"

"I like you, kiddo," James said. "I'll tell you what, you save this whole Hyrule place and then I'll let you fly with my team a bit. You'd be a great part to the team, ya know?"

I smiled as we began to land. "We're there already?" I said.

"Why yes we are," James said and he started to press more buttons. I heard a lot of air being let out of some places, which probably helped us land safer.

We landed on a hill that over looked the forest. Luckily, no one noticed. I jumped out of the cockpit when I was given the chance and turned to James.

"Thanks," I said and I tossed up my helmet to him.

"No problem," James said, shifting his glasses down. "Don't forget to call once all this mess is done."

"I will," I shouted as James prepared to leave.

"Oh, and Ash," he said. "Never give up! Trust your instincts!" He gave me thumbs up as he Arwing's windshield went down. James fired up the jets and soared up into space.

I turned around to face the little village that was enclosed in this forest. It smelled of trees, grass, and I could hear a small waterfall to my left. I decided to walk down the hill and get a better look at things. My attention was quickly drawn to all of these kids dressed in ugly, green tunics.

This was going to be a nasty adventure; I could already tell.