Hey guys.. Just an update. I haven't forgotten about the story, I've just been incredibly busy with my life over the past very long time lol. I went back and did some heavy reviewing to the story thus far, as well as working on new chapters and content (which you can expect out soon, although some updates might take quite some time as I'm still pretty busy with things.) Anyways, I hope you enjoy the new updated content! :)

Also, I've added in a fun new little feature, I've put music in places where it should be playing in accordance with what's happening in the story. So I encourage all my readers to use it if you like, if not that's fine too! Just take the address and plug it into youtube (type youtube dot com into the address bar and then copypaste after that and it will bring up the music)

Thanks again!

Fog... looming...
Looming over a garden of innocence...
A garden not of fruit nor flowers
But a garden of time.
A dream... shared...
Shared by the two chosen of Destiny
Brings forewarning of a secret evil;
An ancient, well known evil,
Capable of such sinister disguise
That only two pure souls
Lost to one another by time and space
May hope to vanquish.
Only can the power of True Love conquer such evil.

So it is written.

[ Music Engaged: watch?v=bOafSb2_yUI ]

Mario awoke to the brisk morning air, a slight disturbance making its way down his spine due to the looming fear that haunted him through the night. He was not feeling himself today.

Nevertheless, the mustachioed Mario awoke as he joined his brother for breakfast.

"Morning Bro! How'd you sleep?"

"Good… I guess."

"Better than I can say for myself… I spent the whole night tossing and turning."

Mario was struck with curiosity. "Why?" he inquired.

"I dunno.. I just felt somehow uncomfortable all night. I think I was having a bad dream or somethin'."

Could Luigi's have been having the same nightmare? The possibility piqued Mario's interest, but before he could even have time to think or say anything, a loud bell chimed from outside the door.

"MAIL CALL!" Parakarry shouted from the other side. "You have an important letter here from the Princess, Mario! Better read it."

Mario walked outside onto the patio and, in a quick moment, embraced the freshness of the lovely summer day. The aroma of freshly baked Koopa Buns from Lady Koops' Bakery floated on the air, and the enchanting scents of Bub-ulb flowers tickled his nose.

Mario received the letter and thanked Parakarry, and the mail koopa nodded and waved as he flew off. The envelope was richly decorated, which was nothing unusual for Princess Peach. Even her stationary could be used as a symbol for her status.

Dear Mario,
I would be delighted if you would come to my castle today to join me for lunch and tea, as well as some discussion over this wacky dream I had last night! I'm not sure why, but I feel my discussing it with you will hold some special significance. Strange, right!? Anyways, come over ASAP! And bring Luigi too! See you soon!

~Princess Peach

"Why does Peach always expect us to show up within 5 minutes of reading her letters?" he wondered to himself aloud.

"Dunno! …but usually when the princess has something to say, it's either A, really important governing stuff, or B, something that's about to get us in a whole lot of trouble and end up having to save the world." Luigi mused.

"Which one do you think it is today?"

"Knowing the Princess? Probably B. C'mon, we'd better hurry before the princess gets impatient!"

And with that Mario and Luigi headed off to the palace.

[ Music Engaged: watch?v=1NSLbnH19Q0 ]

Upon their arrival, the Mario Bros. were greeted as per usual by the guard toads, and were thusly escorted through the many floors and corridors of the castle to the princess's room, which resided in the tallest tower.

Standing before a large door with a massive star emblazoned upon it, Mario reached out for a knock. But the doors burst open before he could get the chance, and the princess, in all her pink beauty, stood before the two plumbers.

"Mario! Luigi! You've come! And you're only …3 minutes late! What took you so long?"

"Sorry princess, traffic!" exclaimed Luigi.

"Let us adjourn to the tea room for some discussion."

Peach lead the two through several more corridors of the palace. Mario and Luigi couldn't help but observe the awe-inspiring spectacle of the halls. Despite the many times they had been here, it was always captivating compared to what they had at home.

"The tea room is just around here."

Mario and Luigi followed the princess into the banquet room, which housed an unusually large table blanketed with a lacey white tablecloth. Looking up, you could see a cathedral-style ceiling with stained glass depictions of the night sky, complete with stars, and a large balcony with two equally large glass doors leading out ot it. The doors were open, which gave way for the warm summer breezes to sporadically flow into the room, each gust rustling the rich pink curtains as well as creating a scattered grain across the fluffy white carpet.

They took a seat, and before even a moment could pass, several servant toads were already bringing in cups of tea, small sandwiches, and little sweet biscuits by the boat-loads.

"So about that dream…" started the Princess, not giving the heroes a chance to indulge in the spread. "It was really bizarre! I remember, it was very dark… and there was a mysterious - almost discomforting – fog that just loomed over what I think was a garden. I felt rather uneasy the entire time, but what really got me was when right before I woke up, I saw an eerie shadow emerging from the fog!"

Silence.

"...well what do you think?!"

Mario and Luigi sat with their mouths agape, pieces of crumpet falling from their extended jaws.

"Boys! It's not polite to chew with your mouths open!"

"Sorry princess!" quipped Luigi, shaking off his shock. "It's just that.. well, I had the exact same dream last night!"

"As did I!" added Mario.

"What!? You're telling me we all had the same dream? This is odd… very odd! Well this sort of thing isn't normal! That doesn't just happen out of coincidence! I think we need to pursue this matter further." exclaimed the Princess.

Mario could already tell where this was going… they were about to end up on some crazy adventure again.

"We should tell somebody important about this… Somebody wise, and all knowing!" she further added.

[ Music Pause ]

And with that suggestion, all of a sudden, the gentle summer breezes rapidly transformed into a violent slipstream that blew in through the veranda. The harsh winds began shaking the fancy pictures on the walls and overturned several plates of food. Everything went dim and a powerful energy gathered at the center of the room above the banquet table. The energy continued to amass into a brightly glowing ball, and in a flash, a flickering transparent image of Merlon appeared!

"MARIO! LUIGI! PEACH!" Merlon's ethereal voice boomed through the entire castle. "I have urgent news for you! Please, make your way to Flipside as soon as possible as this is quite important! I apologize for appearing in such a reckless fashion; it would seem I've rather destroyed your little tasty looking sandwiches. But this was the only way I could contact you! I won't have very long to make this broadcast, so please, as soon as you get this message, come to my house! MERLON OUT!"

[ Music Resume ]

And just as quickly as the image appeared, it was gone in another flash of light, leaving the violent winds to dissipate.

Peach brushed her long windswept hair out of her face.

"So... Merlon needs our help now? OOOH this is bizarre! First we all have the SAME dream, and now Merlon is beckoning us back to Flipside!" Peach clapped giddily.

"No no no… Princess, you're staying here. Luigi and I will go to Flipside and meet Merlon to see what this is all about."

Peach laughed. "Oh Mario, you MUST be joking! He clearly stated he needed ALL of us there! And I had the same dream as you guys! Clearly we are all in this together!"

"But… Peach, I…"

"Silence! I am going and that is final. I'll give you both a half hour to pack. Meet me back here at half-past-noon and we will depart to Flipside! We can use the Curious Cabinet to do so."

The doors to the banquet room burst open and several toads flooded in.

"PRINCESS! Are you alright? Everything got all dark, and then there was this shaking, and we heard an ominous voice coming from this room!"

"I'm quite alright, boys! Prepare the Curious Cabinet for my friends and I please; we will be departing to Flipside within the hour!"

"Oh boy… The princess is going on another one of her hairbrained adventures…" muttered one servant toad to another while the other snickered.

"Right then! We shall prepare the Curious Cabinet for you, your Peachiness!"

"Thank you!" Princess Peach called out with a bright smile. "Go on! You guys better get packed with anything important!" and with that, she procceded to shoo Mario and Luigi out the door.

[ Music Engaged: watch?v=6gcgyTJIYfE ]

The Mario Bros. were on their way back to the castle, having finished packing. However, considering they had only been given thirty minutes to pack, they didn't end up bringing very much at all. That was okay though, as they were rather used to traveling light and without amenities.

"The princess can just be so stubborn sometimes…" Mario sniped as they walked.

"Whad'ya mean, bro?"

"I mean, why does she constantly have to insist on putting herself in the way of danger?"

"Hey, we don't even know if there even is any real danger. Maybe Merlon just wants to say 'Hey, how's it going?'"

"Well… the way of possible danger, then. I mean she's a princess for crying out loud. If something happens to her, then the entire Mushroom Kingdom is in trouble. She doesn't seem to get that."

"Well you know how she is. She's never really been one to shy away from danger, or a good adventure either. I guess it must get pretty boring being a princess, y'know? Just sitting on your royal rumpus all day..."

"Either way, it's irresponsible and reckless!"

"Come on bro, the princess has always been wise despite her recklessness. She's never really done anything to get herself in the way of any real life threatening harm. Well, besides that time she tried to save Mimi, but anyone with a heart woulda done the same."

"I suppose..." Mario reluctantly concluded.

They arrived at the palace at just a minute past 12:30. As they did, the palace doors opened abruptly and an eager (albeit impatient) Peach stood before them.

"What took you guys so long! Its 12:31! You're a minute late!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry princess, I couldn't find my toothbrush!" Mario gave Luigi a subtle look of approval, grateful for his attempts to mellow the princess's temper by means of his trivial excuses.

"Come! Come! The Curious Cabinet has been prepared! We're ready to set off for Flipside."

[ Music Stopped ]

The princess took the goomba-stomping duo through a countless number of castle corridors, leading them down some dark, unfamiliar hallways made of stone. Two Guard Toads escorted the three of them, using torches they had borrowed from the corridor's walls. Eventually, they came to a very large wooden door that, by the state of it, looked as if it must have been there for ages. Mario and Luigi could tell they were in the palace cellars, or "dungeons" as they may have been called back when they were built. They traversed more of the dank stone hallways, illuminated only by the faint and flickering light of the wall torches. They came to a door that looked even older than the one before and entered. The room they were now in was deceptively large, at least for the part of the castle it was in. The room was full of mysterious ancient trinkets, all of which appeared to have some unique or otherwise mystical property.

"Welcome to the Room of Ages, gentlemen! This is where I keep all of the magical items that a century's worth of Mushroom Kingdom's explorers have donated to the state. Most of the things in here are actually quite useless, but others have proven to be rather useful over the years, such as the Curious Cabinet here!" the princess explained.

"This room is incredible!" exclaimed Luigi, who was fluttering from relic to relic like a kid in a candy shop.

Among the various items around, none stood out more than an extremely large wooden curio, which stood in the very center of the room. Underneath it, a massive mosaic was engrained into the floor, depicting the Stars and Heavens. A vent in the ceiling allowed a single beam of light to shine in right on the cabinet, revealing the multitude of dust that was floating through the air. Observing the cabinet, the heroes noticed it had been painted purple, although not tactfully, with several ancient symbols and stars on it. A single servant toad was standing by the door of the cabinet.

"How long have you been standing there?" Luigi turned to the toad and asked.

"Too long." the toad replied with a straight face. "All set then, princesss?"

"Mhm! Come fellas!" Peach beckoned Mario and Luigi over.

The servant toad struggled to push the door open and did so carefully, as it looked like the door to the thing might break off any second. The cabinet creaked exceptionally loudly, causing Mario and Luigi both to cover their ears.

When the cabinet was fully open, Mario was surprised by the deceiving amount of space that lay within it. It was clearly large enough to fit the three of them, and Mario imagined that more could likely fit just as easily. As they all stepped in, Mario and Luigi attmpted to curb their enthusiasm although that enthusiasm was laced with a certain level of concern, as well. The servant toad waited for the princess's word.

"Alright boys… close your eyes… go to your happy place… you must feel completely relaxed." the princess explained, her tone becoming more soft.

Mario and Luigi did just that.

"When toad closes the door, I want you to think about one thing, and one thing only: Flipside. Got it?"

"Got it." The brothers replied in unison.

They all stood with their eyes closed. Peach peeked over to make sure they were focusing.

"YOU'RE NOT DOING IT RIGHT!" she shouted, clearly dissatisfied with the brothers' concentration. The anticipation of the entire moment had been shattered, causing Luigi to shutter and fall on his face.

"I was doing it!" he exclaimed, picking himself up and dusting off his knees.

"NO YOU WEREN'T! You need to FOCUS!"

"I WAS FOCUSING UNTIL YOU SHOUTED AND RUINED THE WHOLE THING."

Peach glared at him.

"Do you understand how powerful of a relic this is? Do you understand the possible DANGER involved in using it if you do not use it correctly?! You need to CLEAR YOUR MIND! Clear it of all things! Forget about your worldly concerns, or whatever petty worries you may have. Give yourself completely over to the stars. When you reach that point, the ONLY thing you should be thinking about is Flipside!"

"Ok ok… Let's go again."

And so, with another try, silence once again took hold of the room. Peach peeked over at the plumbers again. Satisfied, she looked to the servant toad and gave a brief nod before closing her eyes as well. A large creaking sound filled the ears of the wincing plumbers as the door slowly inched shut.

From outside the cabinet, a bright flash of light emanated through the cracks and holes and a loud, mystical sound - which could be described like the sound of windchimes - bellowed forth from the cabinet, nearly blinding and deafening the poor servant toad.

To Mario, the blackness beyond his closed eyes became engulfed in white. Then, within mere seconds, the light had consumed everything.

TO BE CONTINUED...