Chapter 1

Mario

Mario stared around. He was in a circular room, with beams of light shining down from above. Though, there didn't seem to be a ceiling. He was stood on a triangle-shaped podium, surrounded by six smaller podiums.

"Where is this place?" Mario asked himself, and heard his voice echo.

"You are in the Chamber of Sages." A voice replied.

"Who's there?" Mario asked, looking around. He turned, and saw someone stood on one of the podiums. He looked like an old man, with long robes, and a white moustache.

"I am Rauru, the Sage of Light. And you are..." He stared at Mario. "You are not supposed to be here. Who are you?"

"I'm Mario!" Mario declared. "What's going on here?"

"How did you get here?" The old man asked. He sounded angry.

"I jumped into the warp pipe to go to Mushroom Kingdom, and ended up here." Mario explained.

"Mushroom Kingdom?" The old man, Rauru, repeated. "Where is that?"

"That's what I want to know. I need to get back because Princess Peach has been kidnapped by Bowser!"

"Princess Peach? Bowser? I don't know who you mean. But, our kingdom is in trouble, and we have need of a hero. Perhaps your coming here is no accident. Our Princess Zelda has been kidnapped by a man named Ganondorf."

"Ganondorf?"

"The Lord of Darkness. He is a very powerful enemy."

"Does he have a moustache?"

"Well... no, but he does have a rather fine beard."

"A beard? Then, maybe he is quite dangerous."

"I have a request. Will you rescue our Princess? In exchange, I promise to find a way to return you to your world."

"I don't know if you'll keep that promise. But, you're the only chance I've got." Mario sighed. "I'll rescue your princess. Where is this Ganondorf character?"

"I'm not sure. I believe he is in the Dark World."

"Right. And how would I get there?"

"You'd have to find four legendary jewels. They hold the key to opening the Dark World."

"Four jewels. Got it. How will I know which are the right ones?"

"The four legendary jewels are larger, and far brighter than regular jewels. Most likely they will be protected by magic, or monsters. It will take alot of skill to acquire them all."

"Right."

"Before I send you to the surface, take this." Rauru waved his arms, and a large sword appeared in front of him. "I do not know if you are the chosen hero or not. The only way to find out is for you to take this sword. If you can wield it, then you are indeed the chosen hero." Mario stared at the sword, and edged toward it. "The Master Sword has the power to cut down evil. However, it chooses its wielder." Mario gripped the handle, and raised the sword. For a moment, Rauru's eyes lit up. Then, the sword disappeared. "What? What happened? Where is the sword?"

"I don't know... it just disappeared." Mario looked around, hoping to see the sword nearby.

"Well, clearly, you are not the chosen hero. But, we have little say in the matter. You must track down the four jewels and rescue our princess!" A bright light shone from above, and washed over Mario. "All of Hyrule is counting on you." Then, everything turned white.

Mario was stood in the middle of a forest. The trees were truly huge. Bigger than any he'd ever seen in the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Hey!" A small voice shouted. "Who're you? Where's Link gone? Hmm?" Mario turned around, and found himself face-to-face with...

"A fairy?" He asked.

"Yeah, a fairy!" She had golden hair, and her body, despite being tiny, was long and slender. "That's Eraf to you! MISS Eraf!" She was glowering at him. "Where's Link?"

"Who's Link?"

"Don't play dumb with me! How did you manage to mess with Fairy Magic?"

"I don't know what you're talking about! All I know is-" He paused. Should he tell this fairy what Rauru had said?

"What? What do you know? I'll bet Rauru was really angry with you, wasn't he??" She smiled wickedly. "You don't want the Sages against you, you know."

"Rauru? He's the guy who told me to find four jewels!"

"Huh?" She seemed to deflate. "The great Rauru gave you a quest? You, of all people?" She stared him up and down.

"Yes, me. Why, what's wrong with me?"

"Hm... no muscles... short... weird moustache... not even a sword... you're hardly hero material." Eraf muttered, flying in circles around him.

"Hey! I've beaten Bowser loads of times!"

"I don't know who Bowser is." Eraf muttered. "These leggings are so gross. They're all... greasy."

"They're dungarees. And I was fixing a sink pipe before I came here." He looked around. "Wherever here is. I was supposed to be going to the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Mushroom Kingdom?" Eraf repeated. "Never heard of that." She crossed her legs, and hovered in the air, thinking. "You don't look like a hero. Then again, you don't look like a bad guy, either." She closed her eyes. She hovered in the air for a while, not moving a muscle. "That's it." She said eventually, and opened her eyes. "We're going to see the Great Fairy. She'll know what's going on."

"Great Fairy? Alright. Maybe she can help me get home."

"Yeah, and then you can bring Link back!" Eraf snapped.

"I didn't do anything to him! Anyway, how do we get to the Great Fairy?"

"Well..." She frowned. "I had been saving up my magic so I could take Link straight to her. But I don't feel like doing that for you. You're gonna have to walk."

"What??"

"Don't worry, I'll guide you." She sighed. "I just don't want to waste my magic on a useless lump like you."

"Look here, fairy." Mario growled, angry now. "If you knew the sort of things I've done-"

"Save the pub stories." Eraf moaned. "Just get walking." She flitted away. Mario swallowed his rage, and followed.

Link

"Who are you?!" The green-garbed man yelled. "Where's Mario?!"

"Who?" Link asked. He didn't know who this man was, or Mario, or that strange mushroom-thing that was screaming and running in circles. He didn't even know where he was. Wasn't he supposed to meet six sages, or something?

"Mario! My brother!" The man cried. "He was right behind us in the warp pipe!" He pointed at something behind Link. Link looked, and saw a large green pipe sticking out of the ground. "Then he didn't come out, and you appeared. Tell me what's going on!"

"I don't know." Link told him, trying to remain calm. "I was supposed to be meeting someone, then I ended up here. Where exactly is here, anyway?"

"That's it." The man growled. "First, you kidnap my brother, and then you pretend you don't know anything. Now, you're treating the Mushroom Kingdom like it's nothing!" The man ran at Link, fists flailing wildly. It looked almost comic. Link moved to one side, and jutted out his leg, tripping the man.

"Just calm down." Link said. "I'm not lying, and I'm not saying bad things about your kingdom. I just don't know where I am." The man, however, ignored him. He leapt to his feet, and tried to punch Link. Link dodged it, caught the arm, and threw the man to one side. He hit the ground face-first, and slid several feet.

"Luigi, stop it!" The mushroom-thing cried. "He's too strong!"

"It talks?!" Link gasped.

"Don't call Toad an it!" The man, Luigi, howled, running at Link again. One of his flailing fists landed squarely on Link's cheek, and knocked him to the ground. "Now, tell me!" He said triumphantly. "Where's Mario? And what have you done with Peach?"

"I don't know those people!" Link snapped, losing his temper. "How many times do I have to tell you?"

"For one of Bowsers' goons, you're smart. And you don't even have a moustache." Luigi said.

"Mario, Peach, Bowser, talking mushrooms, what the hell's going on?!" Link screamed at Luigi. He stood up, and thought for a moment. "I see." He said darkly. "There's danger in Hyrule. That means you." He pointed at Luigi.

"Hyrule? What're you talking about? This is the Mushroom Kingdom!"

"I'm not falling for that lie any more. You intercepted the magic, and tried to tell me I was in a different world. As soon as I get rid of you, everything'll be right again."

"Magic?" Luigi repeated. "There's no magic here! Now tell me where Mario and Peach are!"

"Enough of the lies!" Link roared, and ran at Luigi. He threw his fist at him. Luigi neatly side-stepped, and jabbed Link in the face. Link swung his other fist. Again, Luigi dodged and hit Link. Link brought his leg into the fray, and tried to kick Luigi. Luigi leapt back. He then tried to leap forward again and hit Link, but he met with Link's fist in his face, and was catapulted away. Link was about to dash after him, when a sword appeared in his hand. "What the-?" Link stared it. "Where'd this come from?"

"Luigi! He's got a sword!" The mushroom-thing cried. "We gotta run!"

"A sword?!" Luigi gasped. "We'll finish this next time!" He pointed at Link. Then, he and 'Toad' fled. They were very fast, kicking up dust clouds behind them. Link stared after them. Should he try to chase them? No, they were far too fast for him. Instead, he tried to figure out where he was.

After an hour of pointless searching, Link decided to stop and sit down for a rest. He sighed and stared at the horizon. Where was this place? Suddenly, an orange turtle, sat on what appeared to be a cloud, floated in front of him. He was holding what seemed to be a fishing rod.

"You seem a bit lost." It said to him. "You don't look like you're from around here. Who are you?"

"I'm Link." Link replied. "Who are you?"

"Me? I'm Lakitu. And I'm in a good mood." It replied jovially.

"Oh. Well, that's good."

"Yes, it is. And because I'm in such a good mood, I feel like giving you some help."

"Really?"

"Sure!" Lakitu smiled widely at him. "Here's Tip 1: You're sitting on a Yoshi egg."

"Eh?" Link looked down. The thing he was sat on was egg-shaped, and white with green spots. It suddenly began shaking. Link leapt away from the egg in surprise as the shell started cracking. A large, dinosaur-like creature emerged from the shards, and turned its massive head to Link, who was on the floor. He started to back away as the monster approached. It leered over him, and stared at his face with a small, beady eye. Then, it belched. Link coughed at the foul breath.

"A Yoshi." Lakitu told him, clearly amused at his reaction. "Friendly fellas, even if they do try to eat everything in sight." He held out his fishing rod to the Yoshi. He had tied a large apple to it. "Dinner time, big guy." The Yoshi stared at the apple for a few moments. Then, it opened its mouth to a tremendous size, and shot out its abnormally long tongue.

"What the hell?!" Link cried as it munched loudly. "Some kinda frog-dinosaur?"

"No, it's a Yoshi." Lakitu repeated. "It seems to think you're its owner. I'd use that, if were you."

"Use it? How?"

"Ride it. Sit on the saddle, and ride." Lakitu pointed its rod at the saddle attached to Yoshi's back. Was that saddle there from birth? That was unusual. "Then, go over to that castle." He pointed east, to a dot on the horizon.

"Is that the castle of Mushroom Kingdom?" Link asked.

"No, that one's over there." He pointed west.

"Then why shouldn't I go to that one?"

"Princess Toadstool of Mushroom Castle has been kidnapped by Lord Bowser. If you want hospitality, don't go there. You should head to Sarasa Castle, and talk to Princess Daisy. Maybe you should grow a moustache, too. Good luck! That was my third and final tip."

"Huh? What was the second tip?" Link asked. Lakitu stared at him like he was an idiot.

"That you should ride Yoshi." He said, then flew away.