A Hero's Journal

Chapter 2: A Hero in Training

"Okay…" I said as I sat down on a concrete bench in the courtyard, "lets see… Since I can't teleport, maybe I can use the transformation power?"

"Are-a you ready to try?" Mario asked.

"I guess so… what does the book say?"

"To unlock the power of transformation, you must first be aware of what you are becoming and of the powers that it may have. You must also have a perfect mental image of it."

"Sounds pretty easy to me."

"Most importantly, you MUST be in complete control over your form. If you lose control of a powerful morph, you may never regain self-consciousness".

For a moment, I simply stared at the words. Despite my fears, I read on.

"If you are still determined to learn, we will start with something simple: a Pikachu."

"Huh? A Pikachu?" I looked by the text. A picture of a yellow mouse-like creature with red cheeks and a lightning bolt- shaped tail looked back at me.

"That's a Pikachu, alright. Well, here goes nothing…"

After following the instructions in the book, I looked down at myself. I'm not quite sure what I expected, but I hadn't changed at all. I flipped back through the pages, but nothing came up. I looked up at Mario and said, "I guess I cant do that, either." Mario just shrugged.

Suddenly, I felt something pulling on my tailbone. I turned my head and couldn't believe what I saw. A long, yellow, lightning-shaped tail was sprouting from my rear!

'What?!? What's happening to me?' I suddenly felt warmer and itchy all over. When I l looked at my hands, there was yellow fur all over them and down my arms! I felt over the sides of my head and found that my ears had moved to the top of my head and were long and came to a point at the tips. I was becoming a Pikachu!

I tried to imagine what I looked like at that moment: a human sized Pikachu with a t-shirt and jean shorts. Just then, a strange falling sensation came over me as I realized that I was shrinking!

I dashed over to the water fountain and looked at my reflection. I had completely become a Pikachu!

'It worked!! I…I'm a Pikachu,' is what I tried to say, but all that came out was, "Pi pika! Pi pikachu!" My voice had changed too, all that I could say was 'pikachu'. Obviously Mario… or anyone for that matter… wouldn't be able to understand me.

"Eric?!? Are-a you alright?" I nodded, probably the only thing he would be able to understand. "Well… I guess that-a worked," he continued, "Hopefully the book tells-a how you change-a back…"

I looked back over to the book. "In order to become yourself again, you must do the same as before, only this time focusing on your original state"

'Seems simple enough,' I thought as I began to change again.

Suddenly, Toadsworth bursted into the courtyard, just as I finished changing back into my human self.

"MARIO! MARIO! The princess! She's…" Toadsworth was suddenly cut off by a loud explosion.

"That sounded like it came from the throne room!" I exclaimed.

"Mama mia! The Princess!" Mario yelled as he ran off to the throne room.

"Hey! Wait!" I started after him, but another explosion sealed off the exit. "Oh, man! We're trapped!"

"Guhahahaha! Well, that might be bad for you, but I think it's just the opposite for me!"

"Oh dear…" Toadsworth mumbled, "Not him again!"

"Huh? Who…" I looked around everywhere until I saw the silhouette of a strange-looking pod blocking the sun. "No way…" I watched as the pod descended from the sky, and as the giant, turtle-like monster leaped out.

It was Bowser!

Hoooo, boy… this doesn't look good for Eric! What can they do about Bowser without Mario there to stop him?!? Find out in Chapter 3!