The story has already been set, in a world where all Nintendo universes are one things were pretty hectic, villains team up heroes team up fights happen people are saved. Then suddenly nothing, 2 years went by, no Ganondorf no Ridley no Bowser... You would think this would have caused peace throughout the world, and it did for most, but for the people like Mario, Link and all the other heroes we know, it was 2 years of waiting, waiting for something huge to happen, and it did. The master hand who looked after the world was attacked by his brother crazy hand, the two fought almost equal, but then every villain you could imagine appeared to take both of them down when they were at their weakest. The world was now reborn, no biased heroes winning all the time, no respawns, a blank canvas so to speak. No set rules and no false god preventing evil from rising. Now this story takes part 3 years after everything has happened, there have been deaths, there have been fall outs, and life is officially a game no more.

Chapter one – Surviving

Present day, Mad Town

hidden inside the base of a mountain not too far from the land of hyrule is a city, it's a dark, grim and all round hopeless place filled with characters we all know to be happy and believe in. However all that resides here is depression and fear, this is one of the last safe havens of this world where heroes try to survive, this place has been dubbed by its residents; mad town. A creak as a door is opened, a foot touches the ground creating a small cloud of dust that rises over a very worn out pair of brown shoes covered in holes and tears. Sigh. This man is none other than Mario, still wearing his trademark overalls which have faded in color somewhat and are in pretty bed condition just as his shoes, his hat however looked as good as ever. He sits down on a chair outside the beaten up house behind him which appeared to be more like a shed that had felt the wrath of a savage storm, he lights a cigarette then inhales deeply, when he exhales the smoke is almost invisible as the air here itself is already pretty hazy. Looking towards the ceiling of this city all he could see was rock and cracks, he sits trying to remember what the sky looks like, ah yes the baby blue sky with the giant ball of flame beaming down sunlight onto his face felt so warm and relaxing, the occasional cloud passing by, the gentle breeze that flutters by touches the skin ever so softly like the touch of a beautiful woman, then looking to his side to see the one he loves, Princess Pea.. SNAP, just like that Marios expression goes back to an empty frown. He lights another cigarette but this time he doesn't look up instead he stares blankly towards the floor trying not to remember the previous years of hell he has endured, but that's impossible as every day tortured by his broken mind he remembers in gruesome detail what happened whether.

Three years ago

The villain alliance first took down Hyrule, the Mushroom Kingdom was not too far away, during this invasion Mario could do nothing but watch as black smoke started to cover the skies in the distance due to all the explosions which could also be seen and heard. There he stood on top of the castle with Peach firmly grabbing his hand while her other hand was covering the shocked expression on her face, her tears were heavy, she couldn't speak, Mario too couldn't even mumble a single word. The flashes in the sky from a kingdom being destroyed and the sounds of people screaming, staring watching this Mario came back to his senses when he came to the grim realization that these sounds were getting closer and closer, he grabbed Peach close.

"Go inside and lock yourself away."

"What will we do... What will you do?" Peach just about uttered, her voice was crackled you could tell she was holding back breaking down.

"I don't know, just be safe and I promise I'll come back for you... I love you" Mario sternly said.

Peach bursts into tears "I love you too".

Mario runs towards town, wiping his eyes which were leaking emotion that Peach couldn't afford to see, there he meets his brother Luigi and old pal Yoshi warning them of what's to come they both ran back to the castle with Mario to make a final stand. They arrived, all three of them came to a halt and stood in silence staring towards the castle.

"So you all made it?" a familiar voice spoke confidently "took your time".

In the air riding in his koopa clown car was Bowser, looking more formidable than ever with his eyes piercing down upon Mario, he didn't even notice Yoshi and Luigi he was too fixated with watching his arch rivals face after realizing he has lost everything. Bowser unleashed his army of goombas and koopas on the trio then attempted to flee, Yoshi and Luigi rushed in to fight but Mario used his jumping skills to leap off his enemies then skywards towards Bowser, he was so close and ready to punch him straight into the ground when a deafening screech is heard, Mario quickly looks to his left mid jump to see a scaly, horrifying creature rush towards him and with its long knife like claws slash open his chest.

Mario hits the ground screaming, his brother and best friend rush to his aid only to have this creature stand in their way, towering over them it expands its huge wings and screeches again, it was Ridley, Luigi didn't pause as he leaped into the air to deliver a uppercut to the monsters jaw dealing a hefty blow making Ridleys head shake while he quickly tries to recover, Luigi lands on Yoshi who is sprinting towards Mario - BANG. Yoshi tumbles to the ground, Ridleys group of space pirates are here too tearing up the place, Luigi looks towards the floor, Yoshi lays there whimpering, one of the space pirates shot him, enraged Luigi sprints towards Mario dodging Ridleys assault and both armies attacks by the skin of his teeth. This once beautiful castle was now a grueling battleground, the once lush grounds were now stained red with blood and covered in rubble, he reached Mario whose chest was bleeding heavily. No no no NO! What do I do? WHAT DO I DO? He held his brother, screaming at the top of his lungs as a crash was heard directly in front of him, Ridley appeared from the dust cloud kicked up by the hard landing, Luigi knew the only option was to fight even if it meant certain death, grabbing his now barely conscious brother close he says "I love you bro" before rushing towards Ridley.

The fight commenced but the odds were definitely in the monsters favor as Luigis only choices were to evade until he saw an opening then attack. This increasingly horrifying scene grows more and more deadly while the smoke becomes thicker covering the battleground in darkness, however something can be seen fleeing, Yoshi was running full speed to god knows where with Mario still out cold on his back, the bullet wound was holding back the friendly dinosaur from reaching his max speed. Sometime later Mario came to. Huh, what happened? He looks around not knowing where he is although it was definitely not the mushroom kingdom, a faint whimper can be heard behind him, no, Yoshi... His oldest friend lay on the floor.

"You saved me, didn't you?"

He rests Yoshis head on his lap and strokes his head while the heavy breaths he took started to become quieter and quieter, these last breaths were almost peaceful in a way. Mario couldn't hold in his emotions any more, his brother was presumably dead while the love of his life was captured, now he sits holding his best friend who is about to die.

"Good bye old friend, keep Luigi company for me, I'll see you again someday"

Mario just about manages to get the words out while he hears one last breath, his harrowing screams let out a flood of emotion, punching the ground till his knuckles bleed, screaming till his voice ruptured, this once great hero is now a broken man.

Present day

Mario found this vile place he now calls home after six months of travelling across the world searching for Peach, after all his hope was gone he stayed here trying to live life as 'normal' as possible. The first part of his daily routine is complete, remember the horrible past while smoking a few rancid smokes outside his home, the second part was to go into the heart of the city to buy some alcohol in order to temporarily block the memories from invading his mind.

"Hey Mario, the usual?" a Toad behind the dingy store counter says.

"Yeah a bottle of whiskey please, any news from the outside?"

Toad sighs. "Nah, but fox was by earlier talking about you and some of the others leaving here."

"First I've heard of it, most of us have lost everything or just given up hope, why would we risk our own lives for nothing"

"Cause that's all we have left, nothing" A familiar voice speaks up, Fox Mcloud appears wearing an old worn jacket with camo pants yet his trademark blaster is nowhere to be seen.

"We have fuck all here Mario be realistic, you've been here for 2 and a half years I can't even imagine what the state of your mind is like. I've only been here for 14 months and I'm going crazy."

"Listen Fox I know you lost Falco on your way here but do you really think he's still out there after all this time? You may believe you have something to find out there but the chances are slim."

"Shut up! Falco is the best pilot I've ever met, when our main ship was attacked we flew away in are arwings, but Ridley and Wolfs crew were too close so Falco turned back to fight, I crash landed and found my way here, I know he survived."

"Whatever the case, you really wanna leave here? Meet me at my house tonight and tell the others to turn up too, we'll all discuss this together."

Mario felt kind of sorry for fox, not because of his loss, but because of his false hope.

Fox swallows his pride. "Thanks Mario, I'll let the others know."

He walks away leaving Mario with a lot to think about, he came here to purchase something that would help him briefly forget the past, now he was debating to himself whether to relive it or not, a strange ultimatum but what Fox said was true there is nothing to this city apart from the heavy sense of depression.

"Intense shit..."

"Shut up Toad".

Three hours earlier, somewhere across the desolate world

A gang of goomba's and koopa's patrols the area around an enemy stronghold

"You watch the fight last night?"

"Nah, it's always the same, just a bunch of toads getting eaten by –"

A massive gust of wind brushes by interrupting the conversation, the goomba turns to the koopa only to see him laid out on the floor, then something grabs him by the throat

"Know which room your commanding officer is in?"

The familiar figure holding this shocked goomba above the ground is none other than the famous blue blur himself, Sonic the hedgehog. However his happy go lucky attitude he's known for doesn't seem to be present at this moment in time, his usual cheeky grim is now a heavy frown with serious eyes staring directing into the goombas somewhat petrified eyes of his own.

"Uh-uh-umm third floor, has a star on the front, why do you -"

Sonic head-butted him without hesitation and ran at full speed through the stronghold, too fast to be detected he reached the door with a star and kicked it open. To his surprise no one was there, he rummaged through various files.

"Found you"

Sonic found information on Mario, the last time he was seen was near what used to be Death Mountain, which was now abandoned due to beliefs that it was an active volcano.

"So the rumors are true aye Mario? You've been hiding out in Mad Town this whole time, now I know how to get there… Woah what the hell?"

Alarms went off, as the whole combined group of koopas and goombas could be heard running up the stairs towards the room, Sonic dashed off as gun fire filled the hallway, running as fast as possible wasn't enough. Bouncing off goombas, trying to escape all the narrow hallways without slowing down and being shot was impossible. Sonic left the stronghold behind as an angry mess then stopped at a safe distance away. Fuck I've been shot. Patching his arm up the best he could with some old bandages he couldn't help but think about his next destination. Next stop Mad Town, operation Mario recruitment is under way! His cheeky grin was back as the blue blur raced towards his goal.