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Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the story idea.

Chapter 4:
The Meeting

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On top of a white pillar, in an unknown location, Mario reappeared with the pixl Tippi in tow. Mario looked around at the sudden change of scenery as a blue-hooded old man with a very long mustache approach them.

"Oh ho! Well, well, well... Back so soon, Tippi?" said the long mustache man. "And who might this be? Red shirt, blue overalls, and a magnificent 'stache! Tippi, you have truly outdone yourself..."

"He matches the description of the hero in the Light Prognosticus perfectly..." said Tippi."And his name is Mario..."

Mario blinked in confusion, where they talking about him?

"I welcome you, Mario! This is the town of Flipside. You have come far from the Mushroom Kingdom of your dimension..." said the blue-hooded man. "Of course, our fair Flipside is in no dimension at all! No! It is BETWEEN dimensions!"

"Between dimensions?" said a confuse Mario. "Ok, back up a minute, who are you again?"

"My name? Merlon! I am a descendant of the Ancients who created this town. I busy myself studying musty, ancient texts to forestall the end of all worlds!"

"Okay, what's that?"

"Ahh... You want to know about the end of all worlds? What's happening, you ask? So Tippi has not yet told you, I gather... Well then Mario, the answer just hangs above you."

Mario blinked in confusion before looking up to the sky. Everything seems normal except for that the small purple-black thing.

"Do you see the gathering darkness in the sky?"

"Yeah, what is that?"

"It is a hole in the very dimensional fabric of space! Such a strange phenomenon..." explain Melron. "Is it near or far? None knows. It may appear small now, but it will only grow. And in the end, it will swallow all existence... All worlds, all dimensions... This void was created by our enemy, Count Bleck, who wields the Dark Prognosticus."

""A fair and lovely princess...A furious monster king... The union of these two will call forth the Chaos Heart, the consumer of worlds...And the Chaos Heart will ravage the sky, and so bring forth The Void."" quoted Tippi.

"Yes...The passage Tippi just quoted is from the Light Prognosticus of my ancestors." said Melron. "The book also says this: "The Void will swallow all...Naught can stop it...unless the one protected by the dark power is destroyed. The hero with the power of the eight Pure Hearts will rise to this task."...So it is written."

Merlon dug through this robe and pull out a glowing heart object. Mario jumped at the sight of it.

"This is one of the eight Pure Hearts" said Melron. "You are surely the hero spoken of in the pages of the Light Prognosticus. You are the only one who can defeat Count Bleck and save all worlds! Mario!"

He turns to the red-hated hero and offers the Pure Heart to him. "Take this and save all worlds from destruction!"

Mario took a deep breath and said, "I will!"

"Excellent!" cried Merlon. "You truly are the hero of the book of legend! My eyes never deceive! So (ahem)... Mario, our brave hero! Take... THIS!"

Merlon gave - or in Mario's case, thrust - the Pure Heart into Mario's possession, making him that much closing to saving all worlds.

"Now, great hero Mario... Your first task awaits. You must take this Pure Heart...You must place it in the Heart Pillar in this town." said Melron. "Tippi will lead you there. Return to me when you are through with this task!"

"This way..." said Tippi, as she started to lead the way.

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Flipside; a not so normal city where not so normal people spend their not so busy lives. Flipside was definitely an odd town; irregular compared to most places. It had a whole new style of its own and, most importantly, it was peaceful.

"Have a gooooood day!" said Howzit, Flipside's local shopkeeper.

"Thanks again." said Luigi as he exits Howzit's store.

Luigi doesn't usually do his shopping in Flipside. He usually goes to its mirrored counterpart, Flopside, since it was closer to the Castle. However, there were some things that he just couldn't found in Flopside that he had to go down to Flipside instead.

Stopping in front of the store, Luigi set his bags on the floor and took a glance at the time. The meeting with Count Bleck will be starting soon, but Luigi wasn't worry. Usually, these types of meetings involved the Count and his minions. Unless the situation involve everybody in the castle, then it'll be called a 'family meeting' instead.

Now, that doesn't mean that Luigi wasn't a minion, which he was. It was just that he wasn't an 'official' minion; meaning that he wasn't on the same level as the others. The others were more skillful and experience than he was, that you might just call them the "Elites" with Luigi, the minion-in-training, as the "Rookie". As great of a fighter he was, he still needed some experience under his belt before the Count could even think about sending him out on such dangerous missions.

Unlike the rest of minions, Luigi didn't have any special abilities or powers he could use to defend himself. He did see his mechanical talents to be some sort of gift, but not something he could use in a real fight. Other than that, he couldn't see anything else that could be useful, making him - in his point of view - the weakest member on the team.

Luigi sighs. He shouldn't be thinking about how low his minion status was. He should be preparing for whatever the Count might have in store for him. Which was why he needs to go to the store in the first place; to buy some such needed supplies for a project he had worked on for a while now.

"Besides," he said, taking his bags in his hands and continue walking. "It's been such a nice day today, there's hardly a cloud in the sky."

Looking up, Luigi's statement was proven correct. There were no sign of any clouds in the sky, never did and never will be. But there was a small, black hole in the middle of it.

"Huh?" went Luigi when he first saw it. He didn't notice it at first. But now that he did, a few thoughts went through his head.

'What was that?... When did it appeared?... Was that The Void? The thing that Count Bleck was talking about? The one that will devour worlds?'

As scary as that thought was, Luigi force himself not to worry so much. The Void was still small and didn't seem to be doing much of anything now. He sure was glad he decided to do some shopping now. He didn't want to get caught in that thing when the world starts to disappear. And besides, even if it does start getting bigger, he was sure the Count would save him from getting sucked in.

A ping of sadness filled his heart. It's too bad he couldn't say the same thing about Flipside. What a shame. The town seemed peaceful but it doesn't look like it was peaceful enough to be spare. After all, The Void was only going to devoid worlds that are impure, tainted with evil.

'At least, that's what the Count told me.' he thought. 'Ah well, maybe later I could stop by that Sweet Smiles Café on the first floor. I could go for a drink... And maybe something to eat, too.'

Luigi was so absorbed in his thoughts of food that he didn't notice that a certain man with a certain red cap had step out of the white elevator and into his path of walk. He didn't notice until he had practically collided into him. The man he bumped into was still standing while Luigi, being the klutz that he was, had stumble over himself and fallen back on his bottom. Even his favorite green hat had fallen off his head. He let out a frustrated sigh at the sound of his bags hitting the floor and falling out of the bag. His only hope was that nothing was broken.

"Opps, sorry,"

Luigi shook his head. "No, it's my fault. I should have watched were I... was..."

When Luigi looked up he completely pause. The man looked down at Luigi when he stopped mid-way, his face showing confusion and concern.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

However, Luigi didn't answer. His mind had completely frozen over. He couldn't believe it. This couldn't be real. This has to be another dream. Yes, of course! That must be it, a dream! He must have fallen over, bump his head on something real hard, and now he was dreaming. That was the only logical explanation.

Unfortunately for Luigi, it was not likely. It was real and it was looking right at him with the same blue eyes he was remembered looking through. Standing over him was no dream, but the man in red.

Luigi continues to stare, a terrified look on his face. All thoughts of food he had moments ago were gone and was replaced by the feeling of nausea. There, right in front of him, was the plumber man he was always looking through in his dreams. The same dream plumber that would always rescue the same dream woman from the same giant fire-breathing dream koopa. Only this time, it was real. Luigi felt himself shaking, either from fear or excitement, he didn't know. It could be both.

"Hey, buddy, are you okay?" the man asked, taking full note of Luigi's expression.

Luigi was getting a lot of mix feelings about this. He had two different instincts for this situation; stay and talk or run and get as far away from that man as possible. Luigi was best known for the latter one. Quickly, he stumbles to his knees and gather his things on the floor, not even caring if they were broken or not.

"I-I-I'm fine." Luigi replies. "I-I-I just...have to go."

"Oh... Well then, do you need any help?"

The man knee down to help, but Luigi refuses his offer.

"N-no, no, I got it." Just as Luigi got the rest of his things, he stumble back on feet, place his hat back on top of his head and quickly flee the area.

"Sorry for bothering you!"

"Wait, I-"

But before the man can get a sentence in, Luigi was already on gone.

~XXX~

Mario couldn't really place it, but he felt like he knew the green guy that bump into him. The poor guy looked so scared and sick; he shouldn't have just completely rushed himself to get out of there. As he watch the rather tall, familiar-looking man ran off, he couldn't help feel a bit sadden. Perhaps the man was running because of him? But why? He hardly knew him or this town.

Setting the thought aside, Mario turns around and continues to follow Tippi to the Heart Pillar.

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Luigi was taking some deep breaths as he lean against the side wall of a building. He was still a bit shaken, but other than that he was okay. He couldn't explain it, why was he so scared of that man? What did he do to terrify him so much? Before now, the only time he ever saw him was in his dreams.

After collecting his bearings, he took a glance around the corner of the building he was hiding behind. The man didn't bother to run after him and continue his way through Flipside. As he watched him leave, a decision formed in his mind. He could either A) follow the strange man and see what he's up to. Or B) wait for Dimentio to pick him and forget he even saw him.

"Mamma Mia, che cosa mi sto cacciando?" he mumbled to himself. (Translation: Mamma Mia, what am I getting myself into?")

Surprisingly, and against his better judgment, he had chosen the former answer. Swallowing the lump he didn't know he had in his throat, Luigi made sure his cap was firmly on top of his head and begin to follow the plumber man.

He made sure he remained unseen by him and that strange rainbow butterfly he was following until he went up in the elevator. Once they were gone, Luigi went up and pressed the up for the elevator, knowing the man would have already been up on the 3rd floor.

Once he got to the 3rd floor, he search for where the man could have gone. He found him standing next to that white pillar with the heart shape curst inside. Luigi had seen that pillar before and always wondered if something was supposed to go inside it.

Getting as close as he can without getting seen by anybody, Luigi hid behind a bush, extremely thankful he was wearing green so he could blend in more. He listens careful as he faintly hears what the butterfly had to say.

"This is the Heart Pillar..." she said. "Now, get close and place the Pure Heart..."

Luigi watches as the man step forward towards the 'Heart Pillar'. His eyes widen when he saw a colorful red heart came from the man into the heart-shaped crest in the pillar. As soon as the heart was inside, some red gears appeared, working like they were opening a door or something before vanishing.

"Well done..." said the Butterfly."Now, let's return to Merlon..."

The man nodded and headed back to where he came from. Luigi quickly duck down into the bush as the man and butterfly unknowingly ran pass him. As soon as they disappeared down the elevator, Luigi slowly came out from his hiding spot.

"W-what...just happened?" he said, reviewing everything he just saw and heard. "That man...he had some kind of gem...What did that butterfly called it? A Pure Heart?"

A frown appeared on Luigi's face as he thought more of it. "Maybe I'm just overreacting, but... this guy could mean trouble for the Count." Deciding on what he should do, Luigi shook his head. "Yes, it will best if I report this to the Count and see what he thinks of it. It's better to be safe than sorry after all."

"Talking to yourself again, Luigi? And they call me crazy?"

Luigi jumped from the sudden voice behind him. He turned to see the chuckling jester he was going to looking for.

"Dimentio, how many times are you going to keep doing that today?"

"Oh, but it's so much fun...to see you jump up in the air like a kangaroo trying to catch his balloon."

Luigi took a second to think about that before shaking it off. "What are you doing here? I thought you would be in the meeting?"

"Ah yes, but I thought I'll came to see if my dear friend wanted to come home early."

Luigi smiled. "Well, actually I did. You see, I have come across some news to share with the Count and I wanted to know his opinion on it."

"I see. Then in at case, I better get us both back so you may have time to speak with him."

Luigi nodded and took hold of his shopping bags. As soon as he was ready, Dimentio use his power of teleportation to teleport him and Luigi back to the Castle.

~XXX~

"Ah, the two of you return!" Merlon greeted. "Look! A door has appeared! This 'dimensional door' was made to lead the hero to another Pure Heart. Yes, somewhere beyond this door lies one of the seven other Pure Hearts..."

"...Tippi. You must use your power to help Mario find this Pure Heart and return here."

"Of course..." said Tippi.

"And Mario...The Light Prognosticus foretells that the hero will meet a 'dimension governor.' And from him, the hero will learn the dimensional technique...I am almost certain this refers to my friend, the Flip Wizard, Bestovius. So go now through this door and seek out Bestovius."

Mario nodded and turns to his new companion, Tippi. "Well, let's get going..." she said.

Mario nodded again and enters the big red door, thus starts the beginning of his new adventure.

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