Author's Note (10/21/2012): First chapter of my story. At first glance it seems like a lot of reading, and this particular chapter I think I poured a whole bunch of 5 dollar words into, I realized that I don't need that many of those words though.
The mustached hero was fast asleep in his chair dreaming of vernal and more innocent days, and of the Italian food his mother used to make him. He was just a wee lad sitting at his parent's old home. A plate of hot spaghetti was placed before him to which the young Italian's face lit up with pure delectation upon this sight. It was all he would ever eat, and his mother was jovial to cook it up for him. Another plate was placed at the opposite end of the table across from Mario. It was for Luigi, who soon popped into the room and took his seat at the table.
Red tomato sauce crowned the apex of their meals from a ladle their mother was using. She brought over a pan with meatballs in them and shoveled out several to each of the boys. Luigi watched enviously as Mario's plate had gained more savory balls of beef than his own. Snatching one up from his brother's plate, Luigi quickly consumed the meatball.
"Hey! Thats-a my meat-a ball!" Mario yelled with fury laced in his voice.
"It's-a mine now." Luigi replied acerbically with a devious smile forming on his face.
Anger fumed from the smaller sibling, who released the built up emotion in a cascade of tears. He had quickly found the comfort of his mother's arms, who scolded Luigi for the theft of Mario's comestibles. Luigi was always amongst the tall shadow of his brother, it was something that haunted him even as a kid. When all was qualmed by their mother, both of them had returned to finishing off what they were given. The dream started to get fuzzy at that point, a whizzing sound of some sort was becoming louder by the second.
All turned black and stayed this way for a what seemed to be a monotonous amount of time. Twinkling sparks of stars slowly began to fill the scenery that was introducing itself. There was something, traversing the ocean of black planes. A small rock of some sort. It's true genesis could not be discerned from just a mere personable.
Tailing right behind it was a trail of light blue flames, and where ever this rock was heading for, it would surely arrive with time to spare. The destination of this object would not be hidden amongst manifolds of mystery for much longer, because the planet of the Mushroom Kingdom soon came into sight.
Acquiring new red flames that wrapped vehemently around it's shape, the rock entered the atmosphere and began to descend to the surface. With a bit of swerving and maneuvering, one could tell that this rock was on a mission. A supposition of even the most dim witted person could be proposed after the castle of a notoriously well-known villain was a mile away.
The rock unleashed fury on a lurching stone formation that happened to be hanging over the edge of a cliff it passed by. Not even a second after that booming assault against the environment, before even the cracked crag had a chance to land, this rock had made a grandiose appearance in the main hall of the castle.
"Graaaahhhhh What is this that disrupts my dinner?" Bowser roared with much contempt for this sudden intrusion of said meal time.
His dinning table lay within a heaping pile of destroyed wood. The plate of food that he had been devouring seconds ago, was now mere grub for the wrigglers. With fury about to be unleashed upon all that were in radius, the koopa king got up from his chair and decided to inspect what just ruined supper for him. A foreboding aura blanketed the diameter of the crater the rock made, and the rock itself was brimming with shadowy malice.
"He he, Well hello, what do we have here?" Bowser quickly shifted his mood once he felt the powerful aura of the object.
Without any warning a voice made itself known to Bowser. It seemed to be emanating from the stone, and echoed throughout his chamber.
"What is it that you truly desire? King Koopa." A deep and omnipotent sounding voice questioned Bowser.
What transpired next can only be defined at this point as a deviant concoction of a nefarious plot, And though the owner of this new voice that seemed to be everywhere was nowhere to be seen, one could tell from just the thick air of it that he was discord at it's purest element. A plan was set in motion, and for whom it involved and to what it's goal was, concealed itself under a shroud of shadows.
Mario's dream was cut short with quite a rude awakening just then as something smashed into the window of his home. It was a rock of some sort and it sure startled him up with a fright, because he had fallen out of his chair. After regaining composure he then yelled "Mama-mia" while rubbing his noggin. Mario then approached the strange new stone.
It's form had smoke billowing from it. He then called for Luigi, who came tumbling down the stairs. Rolling into the wall he hauled himself up to his feet, still dazed nonetheless. Luigi then looked over at the rock and took an apprehensive step back. The mustachioed plumber in red then proceeded to get closer to the stone.
He was about to seize the strange object when suddenly it began to unveil itself, drawing him and Luigi into an alternate universe. The stone returned to it's original form, and a familiar laughter of evil permeated through the area. Bowser stomped into the room, his theme following right behind him. Kamey was also with him as well.
"Gwahahahahaha, it really worked." The koopa king laughed. "Whoever this mysterious person is shall receive the highest rank in my army."
"An absolutely dreadful idea your wickedness." Kammy replied.
"Prepare the troops for tonight's raid. The princess shall be mine once and for all." Bowser bellowed with yet another evil laugh.
"Yes your Dastardliness." She replied. "I shall prepare them at once."
The whole of the world faded into blackness for Mario and Luigi. Their bodies appeared in a world with a sky void of any color other than black. In-spite of the oblivion in which they found themselves there was an ambient light illuminating the place not unlike that of his own home. It made everything glow with an astonishingly beautiful hue of purple close to that of an amethyst. Mario awoken to see his new and strange surroundings. Luigi was to the right of him, passed out cold. This prompted him to quickly rise to his feet.
"Luigi Let's-a Go!" He yelled to his mustached brother, who upon hearing Mario yell, awoke with a startle. Both males were soon standing, upon which they then began to explore the area. On their minds were thoughts of how bewildering their current situation had just become. Discerning the reason as to why the stone pulled them into this world was completely beyond them.
Just then Mario saw a familiar looking shoe on the ground. He grabbed it and revealed it to his brother. As he clamped the sides of his noggin with his hands Luigi let out a worried "aaahhhhhooooo". He knew who's shoe it was, both of them did. It was their friend Sonic's shoe of whom they had not seen since several moons ago.
"It's-a Sonic's Shoe! This is-a bad!" Mario said as his worry for the blue hedgehog peaked at it's highest point.
"Oh no What-a happened?!" Luigi gasped. Mario scanned around the area for any other clues, but the only other thing that was to be found on the ground was a ring. It glowed with a red hue and Mario could feel power emanating from it. Picking it up, he felt his instincts tell him to slip it on to his finger. Once he did so he automatically without thinking, lit up a fireball within his palm.
Luigi was surprised at the ring's power as was Mario. Their heads spun fervently around, with eyes that desired to soak in all of the scenery that was before them. In the particular spot that they landed in, there was of course dirt, but it was not soil colored in the same manner like that of the Mushroom Kingdom.
Mario's hands scooped up some it, and sifted through the grains of dirt. Each one of them was a slightly different shade of blue, and all pieces of the ground remained in the confines of a small range of blue hues. The dirt was returned to it's original place as both of their eyes caught sight of what hindered there vision from completely dancing about in the sky.
Trailing up the barks of various trees they were introduced to some query happenings. Part of the tree's wood appeared to be encased in a layer of thick crystals, of course this was later denounced and found to be a mutual part of the whole organism.
Though they were keen on staying and perhaps studying this quandary, a voice vivified them. With a pounding of their hearts they raced into the nearest bush in route of the voice. Ducking under high hanging crystallized trunks, and hopping right above low hanging stumps, the two plumbers hurried to aid whoever called out for help. A trench had almost stopped them dead in their tracks had not Mario spotted vines dangling from trees. He made a quick decision and recklessly jumped at the vine, reaching out to catch one.
The moment that he gripped one he swung his momentum full force towards the other side. Luigi was quick to follow suit and soon the two were once again on the run. At last they started to see trees becoming sparse their eyes seeing a more field heavy terrain approaching them.
When the heroes arrived on the scene they witnessed a fiend made of Ice-blue crystals with the symbol X carved on his chest having Sonic pinned to a mountain side by his throat, his left shoe was missing. This creature stood about eight feet tall, and the very crystals that comprised of his composition acted as sort of a battle armor for him. His spaulders molded around his shoulders, and also the inner-more segment of the armor resembled the shape of a crimped triangle.
This part of the shoulder armor lay to both the right and left sides of his face, not particularly grazing his crystal cheeks, but being a very aloof distance away. They offered his face a moderate amount of protection, not that he was in dire need of a defensive mechanism. His skull was pure crystal just like the rest of his body, and was carved just like a battle helmet.
His chest plate was solid all the way on through, offering a most ideal amount of protection for his core, the only thing particularly living about him. His grip on sonic cut off his airway drastically, and could easily be issued the command to kill at any second if he really wanted to.
"You won't get away with this you... block head..." The hedgehog said while gasping for breath.
"Just give me the ring and I won't have to kill you" The being said in a cold voice.
"Over my dead body, crystal breath" Sonic replied.
"Very well, It's your funeral." The crystal beast responded.
Sonic closed his eyes as the beast's arm began to squeeze even harder around his throat. He could feel his lungs beginning to struggle for air. Knowing this was to be his end, he started reliving the memories of his past. The faces of every friend he had ever met, and even the foes that he had quarreled with raced through his mind. His face contorted in emotional pain as he realized he wouldn't be able to save them.
A familiar voice then brushed past his ear. With whatever muscle control he had left he attempted to gaze over his shoulder to discern this sound. The sight he had was just enough to allow him to create a supposition as to the identity of this amicable friend.
"Yahoo" Mario said whilst he jumped out of the bushes flailing a fireball at the creatures arm and jumping into its face. The fireball crashed into it's arm and raged for mere seconds before completely melting it off. The crystal beast's face then soon met with the plumbers efficacious foot. Mario's shoe pressed into his skull with amplifying pressure and propelled the rest of his body off from this focal point. This led to Mario doing a back flip and landing in front of the thing with his fists stretched out and ready to fight more.
With Sonic now free from it's clutches, the hedgehog was at liberty to make a hasty getaway to Mario's side. Luigi came out of the bushes seconds after Mario however on his way over he face-planted. An embarrassing sigh left the lungs of Mario after he disconsolately watched. Luigi quickly got up and returned the running shoe to Sonic. The hedgehog was overfilled with gaiety upon this fated reunion.
"Oh man am I relieved to see you dudes." Sonic replied as he took back the shoe with much thanks.
"Who is-a this guy" Mario asked while his friend stopped to catch his brother.
"I don't even know how I got here, I found some ring and then this bozo attacked me." He replied. Mario heard ring and then showed Sonic the ring that he had found.
"Whoa! This guy wants 'em for some reason, I'd give him mine, but it s the only way I can use my speed in this place!" Sonic stated.
"Enough babbling, Hand over the rings now." The creature again commanded to both of them now.
"Watch out Mario, this guy is no joke." Sonic said while slipping his shoe back on. "He gives Mecha Sonic a run for his money."
"Okeydokey I will-a give it my-a best!" Mario replied.
The crystal beast opened with the statement "Die" and then he started to spin around like a top. His fists extending straight out as he spun. He was fast, really fast and Mario had but little time to react, managing to quickly jump out of the way with not a second to spare. His face nearly grazed the very air around the beast's fists.
Luigi, on the other hand, had a full frontal encounter with the spinning beast and was knocked into a nearby bush. Sonic, of course, easily evaded the spin attack of the creature. With a sudden change of momentum, the thing turned swiftly towards Mario and then pummeled the ground with his arms which shifted through the dirt, it's intended destination was the plumbers current location.
His crystal-like arms rammed out of the ground with lightning-fast speed and slammed into Mario 's frame. As he cascaded into the air, he managed to do a flip, grab on to a branch of a nearby tree, and propel himself right back at the crystal freak. He energized his fist with flames and aimed directly at his chest. The beast moved and avoided Mario 's flurry of fists, almost in such a manner that seemed to chastise Mario's very speed, or lack-of that is. To this creature Mario was moving slower than that of a turtle.
"I grow tired of your feeble abilities." The beast said. "I shall use my ring to slaughter you all."
Just as the crystal creature pulled out a ring similar to the ones the heroes had, he turned yellow and glew with a vehemently powerful and shinning aura. The very ground that Mario and company stood upon shook with the might of a thousand raging earth spirits. The cracks created upon the ground released horrible rising steam that carried with it a terrifyingly scary howl, as if the planet itself was crying in pain upon this being's abilities.
He turned to face them as his mustering of what seemed to be a quintessential energy source, came to a subtle end. When he began to speak to them again, his eyes narrowed, piercing their very cores with a cold life threatening fear of death.
"I guess since you are about to die, I can tell you my name." The creature stated. "It's Hyotai."
After introducing himself he covered the distance between him and Mario with a powerful leap. Bellowing a mighty roar he whipped his arms and attached them to the plumbers body. He easily flung him into the nearby cliff without so much as any kind of physical strain to his body. Even the little amount of physical prowess he used to toss Mario so effortlessly evoked Mario into a path heading straight through the entire cliff. This ended up causing an explosive sound to resonate from the impact site as soon as Mario collided with the stone. Luigi rushed to the aid of his brother, leaping directly into the fray of the massive crater violently made by Hyotai.
"Oh no, Mario!" sonic called out. Sonic could feel the raw strength of Hyotai's ring lingering thickly in the area around them. He knew with decisive wits, that at the rate they were heading at, they would without a doubt in his mind, be slaughtered.
"Your next, blue punk." Hyotai stated with a perdition of salient algidity.
Luigi came across the non-responsive body of Mario and tried to rouse him from his pertinacious syncope but it was of no use, he was out cold. Back in the clearing Sonic quickly devised a plan within his head. Raising his arms towards sonic, Hyotai aimed and shot crystal shards with relentless zeal that became more and more apparent with each passing moment. Nevertheless the blue hedgehog was too fast, using the power of the ring he began running around at phenomenally rapid speeds. He ran circles around the body of the crystal thug.
His speeds picking up the dirt in the surrounding area and creating a cyclone of granules. Sonic's frame reared off from the decoy and surged to the aid of his pals. He jumped into the cracks hopping from rock to rock before he finally chanced upon plumbers. His hand reached for Luigi who shouldered Mario upon his back. Once he grabbed on Sonic smiled at him and activated his ring's powers once more. Upon a glow from the ring shining brightly, The two of them made a hasty retreat, with Mario being carried away as well.
"This is utterly futile." Hyotai stated as he slammed a fist into the ground and invoked the wrath of a shock-wave that was also the focal point for a brand new crater. This also dissipated the vortex of dust that was flung up a mere minute ago. He looked around and much to his dismay he found that his prey had escaped into the wilderness.
"Running will do you no good Plumbers, Those rings belong to my master and none shall stop him in his quest. " Hyotai laughed, his aura starting to decline as he powered down.
Sonic made sure that he covered a great deal of distance from the area that they had just clashed with that hulking crystal behemoth.
"I see a cave in the distance. We can hide out in there. " Sonic announced after careful scanning their new surroundings.
Luigi struggled to hang on to the hedgehog that used his speed with such recklessness. Sonic began ascending the hills, and just as he reached the top the sky cackled and lashed out a bolt of lightning. It's sound echoed across the environment signaling it's presence to all the creatures and beings residing within it.
"Oh, perfect c. Bad weather, just what we need. " Sonic groaned.
Luigi looked around at the scenery while Sonic ran to a safe dwelling. He really found it to be strange and mysterious. Plants that were purple in hue and not just any plants, there were mushrooms with fiver like trunks. The head of the mushrooms were even more peculiar than the color of everything. It was crystallized, and had a very beautiful sparkle. On the side of the mountain were plants with stems that went up and then when it neared the main plant, it drooped.
The heads of these plants had small diamond shaped crystals hanging from it. Not only were there a lot of plants with something crystal based about them but even some of the creatures were too. Luigi could also see little flying creatures that glinted and sparkled by themselves. He found it peaceful to look at but it lasted only for a few seconds. Sonic and company soon arrived in the cave.
Luigi's hand let go of Sonic fs and they then went deeper into the cavernous place that was to be their hiding place for a while. Scattered about on the walls of the cavern and even on the ceilings were clusters of crystals that let off very bright lights. The source of such light was unknown. Sonic took a closer look at one of the crystal formations and could see right through the crystals. They were even clearer than a nicely washed window, but that was just the appetizer for Sonic's eyes. The main course was what lay inside of the crystals. There were veins and nerves.
The crystals were alive. In the center of the crystals formations was a roundish and purple colored organ, or so it seemed to look like an organ. This organ was pumping rapidly just like a heart. It was breath taking, Where ever they were it was a spectacle to behold. After inspecting the crystal they decided to travel even further to see what else they could find while also making sure to get as far away as possible from Hyotai. When they turned the corner of one pathway they started to hear the sound of drums and chanting.
Their feet took them closer and closer to this sound and when they found it they just stood there speechless. Before their eyes lay a large opening with a huge crater. Inside that crater was a large spire in the center that connected to the ceiling. All up the spire were numerous collections of crystal formations leading to a enormous gathering of many crystals in one area of the spire.
That section of the spire shined the brightest of any crystals in the entire cavern. Gathered around the spire inside of the crater were many small creatures holding spears crafted from what seemed to be crystals inside the cave system. Some were beating on drums and some were calling out chants in a weird language. Luigi and Sonic couldn't keep their eyes off from this exciting and awe-inspiring ceremonial ritual that the creatures were performing.
Please leave reviews for any errors you find, and plot reviews. If you like the story enough, tell your friends about it, spread the word. I desire input from many sources. :)