Kai and the Chaos Emeralds
Chapter 1: The Mysterious Voice
Many years ago, an ancient race created seven magical gems containing ultimate power. These gems were known as the Chaos Emeralds. Eventually, they came to realize that they couldn't control the power. So they spread the emeralds all over the globe, in hopes that nobody would ever discover their unmatched power…
It's been two years since Kai first entered the magical world. He has a normal life now that everyone has stopped asking questions about his disappearance. Nothing magical ever happens in his world.
Every once in a while, Kai would walk by the arcade where he disappeared, which was now famous for his disappearance. He would also take out the things that were given to him in the magical world: his bandana, which magically appeared when he first entered the magical world; the ring with the star-shaped gem that Hazel gave to him; and the silver Warpstar, which shrank to the size of a keychain when he reappeared in his world. These objects helped him remember the many adventures that he had with Toad, Zero, and Hazel.
But now was not the time to dwell on the past. It was the first day of summer! His friends were waiting for him outside. They were going to have the best day ever. Kai put on blue jeans, a red t-shirt, and the bandana. He then put the Warpstar in his pocket and ran downstairs.
Kai ate his breakfast and ran outside. Five teens were standing outside of his house, waiting for him. Naomi, Randall, and Matthew were there, as well as two new friends. One was an average-sized girl with dark-blue hair, blue eyes, a white shirt, and a navy skirt. Her name was Luna. The other was a tall, skinny guy with blonde hair, blue eyes, a green shirt, and blue jeans. His name was Jacob.
"What took you so long, Kai?" Naomi asked. "You were supposed to be out here a half an hour ago."
"Sorry, my alarm clock broke," Kai said. "I had to rush just to get ready."
"Alright," Luna said. "What are we going to do today?"
"First we'll spend a couple of hours at the mall, next we'll go to a fast food restaurant for lunch, then we'll hit the carnival," Naomi said. "At the end of the day, we'll go to the arcade and play all of the games there."
"Why are we going to the arcade at the end of the day?" Kai asked.
"That's a secret," Naomi said.
Matthew walked up to her.
"Why are we going there?" Matthew whispered in her ear.
"I'm going to convince Kai to tell us what happened when he disappeared," Naomi whispered back. "Don't tell anyone. If Kai hears this, he'll find us something else to do just to avoid the question."
"Alright," Matthew replied.
They all then left the house and headed toward the mall. At the end of their day, they went to the arcade. They played several games, including DDR, Air Hockey, Skee-Ball, etc.
After an hour, Naomi dragged Kai to the Air Hockey table.
"Hey Kai, how about a game," she asked.
"Sure," Kai said.
They both put in some quarters, and the Air Hockey table turned on. The puck appeared on Naomi's side.
"How about we make this game interesting," Naomi said.
"Do you mean a bet?" Kai asked.
"Exactly," Naomi said. "If you win, I'll give you $10."
"What if you win?" Kai asked.
"If I win, you have to tell me about what happened 2 years ago," Naomi said.
Kai was surprised by what she just said.
"I thought that we were done with that," Kai said. "I disappeared one day. Then I reappeared a few months later."
"You'll have to tell me what happened within those few months," Naomi said.
The rest of the group surrounded them. Kai looked around at them.
"You're not going to let me say no, are you?" Kai asked.
"Of course not," Naomi said. "First to seven points wins. Let's do this!"
The game began. Naomi shot the puck toward Kai, who blasted it right back toward her. It went right into her goal.
"I've beaten you at this game ever since we were kids," Kai said boastfully. "You haven't beat me yet, and you won't beat me today."
"I have a reason to win this time," Naomi said.
Naomi scored the next point. They both continued to score points until the score was 6 to 6. They were both sweating from exhaustion.
"This is it," Kai said.
"That's right," Naomi said.
Kai began this game. The puck shot straight toward Naomi. The puck bounced back and forth between these two opponents. Everyone else's eyes were staring straight at the puck. Naomi then made one final hit toward Kai's goal, but it bounced on the corner of the table and shot straight into her goal. Kai won.
"Aw man," Naomi said.
"I told you," Kai said. "This is my game. So pay up."
Naomi began to dig into her purse for a ten-dollar bill. While she was doing this, however, the screen of the Donkey Kong game, which was behind them, was glowing with many different colors. Everyone stopped what they were doing and walked over to the game.
Kai was the closest one to the game.
"Kai…" a mysterious voice said.
Kai looked around.
"Did you hear that?!" Kai exclaimed.
"Hear what?" Jacob asked.
"The voice!" Kai exclaimed.
"What voice?" Randall asked. "We've been paying attention to the game, because it's acting weird. Maybe it's defective."
"I don't think so," Kai said.
"Kai…" the mysterious voice said again.
Once again, Kai was the only one to notice the voice.
"Both worlds are in danger," the voice said. "You must go to the magical world. Use the Warpstar."
After hearing this, Kai pulled out his Warpstar. He then walked up to the arcade and placed the Warpstar right next to the joystick. His friends were staring strangely at what was going on.
"I guess that it's time that you know what happened," Kai said. "You're about to see for yourself."
The Warpstar began to glow. It then grew to its normal size. Everyone but Kai jumped back when this happened.
"W…w…what's going on?!" Naomi shouted.
"Naomi, I need you to tell my family that I'll be gone for a while," Kai replied.
"Kai, what the hell are you talking about?!" Naomi exclaimed.
But it was too late. Kai hopped onto the silver Warpstar. The vortex that first sent Kai to the magical world appeared again.
"Bye, guys," Kai said.
Kai and the Warpstar disappeared into the portal. When he was gone, the vortex dissolved. Kai's friends were just staring there.
"HOLY CRAP!" Jacob eventually shouted. "What just happened?!"
"I don't know, but I have the strange feeling that we'll never see him again," Luna said.
Meanwhile, Kai was moving further and further into the vortex. After a few minutes, a bright light appeared at the end of the vortex. Kai burst straight through the light and appeared several miles above the ground. The Warpstar then shrank.
"This can't be good," Kai said.
He then began to plummet straight toward the ground, screaming bloody-murder all of the way down. When Kai crashed into the earth, a small crater was formed at the point of impact. He slowly and painfully crawled out of the crater.
"This was a lot easier when I passed out before hitting the ground," Kai said.
He looked around. His surroundings were just as he remembered them. The sun was shining bright above him, which was strange because he left at night. The mountains in the distance were dark-green with the many trees on them. The white, fluffy clouds floated above him.
Kai then pinched himself to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. It hurt. A huge smile appeared on his face as he ran toward the place that he knew very well. He stopped when he got there. He saw a huge castle with a glass picture of the Princess at the highest tower. A huge town surrounded the castle. He was finally at Mushroom Castle!
"Yay!" Kai exclaimed. "I'm finally here!"
Kai started to run toward the castle, but, after a few steps, he was surrounded by several Koopa-Troopas. Bowser was leading this army.
"I can't believe it," Bowser said. "If it isn't the little snot who defeated me those few years ago. I've been waiting for this chance. Prepare to taste defeat."
"No sweat," Kai said.
In reflex, he reached for his back. But his sword wasn't there.
"I forgot!" Kai thought. "I gave my sword and bomb-rocks to Toad before I left!"
The army drew closer and closer.
"Ha ha," Kai laughed weakly. "You wouldn't hurt an unarmed guy, would you?"
The Koopas got close enough to attack. Then, a bolt of lightning shot from the sky and zapped the whole army. Bowser turned around and saw Toad. He was wearing white pants, brown shoes, and a blue vest.
"Toad!" Kai exclaimed.
"Kai, I think that you need something," Toad said.
Toad threw two things: a large, light-blue sword that belonged to Kai and a bag of bomb rocks. Kai caught both of these items. He tied the bag to a belt on his waist and kept the sword drawn. Kai then turned his attention back to the Koopas, who slowly began to back off. Kai and Toad then defeated the army one-by-one.
Eventually, only Bowser was left. Kai and Toad slowly crept toward him.
"Do we have to kick your butt again, or will you save us the trouble and run away?" Kai asked.
"Damn it!" Bowser shouted.
A small helicopter-like machine appeared. Bowser jumped into it and flew away. When he was gone, Kai and Toad looked at each other. Toad then hugged Kai.
"It's been too long, Kai!" Toad exclaimed. "But you're back!"
"I know!" Kai replied. "I'm happy too!"
Kai and Toad then walked toward Toad Town. As they walked through town, the Mushroom people waved happily at Kai and welcomed him back. Kai felt happy from this warm welcome.
Kai and Toad eventually entered the castle itself. They met up with Princess Peach and Toadsworth.
"Hi, Princess!" Kai exclaimed.
"Oh, Kai!" Peach replied. "Hello!"
"Welcome, Kai," Toadsworth said. "It's good to see you, but what are you doing here?"
"Well, it goes like this…" Kai began.
Kai then told Toad, Toadsworth, and Peach about what happened in the arcade.
"That's weird," Toad said. "But it's not as strange since you are the Chosen Warrior of Light."
"But this voice said that both worlds were in danger," Toadsworth said. "This isn't something to ignore. You and Toad should look into this further."
"Alright," Kai said. "At the first sign of danger, I'll leap into action."
That night, Toad set up an extra bed for Kai in his room. Toad's room was colored navy and black. The ceiling was covered in stars.
"Your room is cool," Kai said.
"Thanks," Toad replied. "Alright. Let's hit the sack."
That night, Kai was sleeping soundly.
"Kai…" the mysterious voice said again.
The voice was within Kai's dream. Kai was in front of a strange altar that he had never seen before. At the top of the altar was a huge, green gem surrounded by seven, smaller crystals that were different colors. He walked up to the 8 gems. He looked around.
"Where am I?" Kai thought.
"The seven emeralds will reunite," the mysterious voice said.
Kai then saw the 7 smaller gems rise in the air and come together. When they were together, a huge flash of light appeared from the gems. When the light faded, Kai was surrounded by complete darkness.
"If they are to be corrupted by darkness, both worlds will fall," the mysterious voice continued.
Kai then turned around and saw two Earths. The Earths then began to fade into the darkness. Kai screamed and woke up.
He was sweating bullets in his bed. Toad woke up and rubbed his eyes.
"Kai, it's five in the morning," Toad said sleepily. "What's with the screaming?"
"It's nothing," Kai said. "I'll tell you in the morning."
"Fine," Toad said. "Nighty-night."
Toad fell back to sleep. Kai then laid down again. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.