As Amy walked in the park, she couldn't help but feel conflicted. She still had feelings for Sonic, but she was beginning to think that he would never be hers. As the cool autumn breeze kissed her flushed cheeks, she looked up at the sky. The world above dazzled with streaks of purple energy set against the pitch darkness of the void, a sight that was only visible in this location. She was currently attending the annual pan-universal hero's conference for the first time, usually she ignored events like this, but considering her current mood, she felt like going just for a change of pace.
Her current location was a park inside of the small city which was a connecting point between the many universes in existence. Tails had explained this place as a "nexus in the fold of reality in which all worlds connect at a central point". Whatever that meant, few people ever understood his high level techno jargon. Regardless, the city was a pleasant enough place, and whatever Tails was talking about meant that it was much larger than any real city ever could be, leading to lots of opportunities for alone time, which Amy was very interested in.
Casting her gaze back to the terrain in front of her, Amy noticed a lone figure sitting on a bench in front of her. As she moved closer, she saw that he was a rather short human wearing a red cap and shirt with blue overalls. He was looking down at his lap with a sad expression on his face.
When Amy reached him, she couldn't help but ask, "Hello there, is everything okay?"
The man looked up at her and replied, "Oh yes, I'm just… thinking about some things."
"Me too, there's this boy I like but I don't think he'll ever go for me…" Amy paused before blushing and saying, "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to go on about myself! It's just that I…"
The man gave a light chuckle and said, "It's all right. Actually I'm having a similar problem with a princess where I come from, it's nice to hear that I'm not alone here."
"If you don't mind me asking, what's your name?"
"Mario, and you?"
"My name is Amy Rose, It's nice to meet you Mario!"
As the two continued to talk, Amy couldn't help but feel as though she had heard of this Mario before, maybe Sonic met him at previous conference or something. As time went on, she felt something else, something much more intangible. She found that Mario was funny, kind, and very charming. She began to think that she may have been developing feelings for him despite being human and from another universe. Suddenly, everything was ground to a halt as a stumpy creature with a mushroom for a head ran towards them.
The creature spoke with a shrill, earsplitting voice, shouting, "Mario! Mario! Something terrible happened!"
"What? What is it Toad?" Mario responded.
The Toad stopped to catch its breath before continuing, "Luigi has been kidnapped by Bowser! You have to go back home to save him!"
"What?! Luigi?! Alright, I'm coming, lead the way Toad!" Mario turned to face the pink hedgehog beside him, "Sorry Amy I gotta go. Luigi's my brother and I have to save him!"
Right as he turned around to leave, Amy grabbed his wrist and said, "Wait, I'll go with you!'
"Amy… Alright, follow Toad!"
With that the two of them set off until they eventually reached a small shed with a single green pipe inside. Toad immediately jumped into an open section that poked up from the ground and was rapidly whisked away.
Mario turned to Amy and asked, "Have you ever used a Warp Pipe before?"
"What's a Warp Pipe?"
"It's like a portal, it can take you to other places quickly. This one leads to my world, just jump in and hold on tight!"
After saying that, Mario jumped into the pipe and was sent away just like Toad. After a moment of apprehension, Amy gathered her courage and leaped into the tube.