Chapter 1: The Children (and Adult) of the Forest

The fairy hovered forward, "You're in the Lost Woods, specifically in the Sacred Forest Meadow. Normal people shouldn't be able to find their way this deep in the woods."

He stood up a bit shakily, "I-I don't…"

After he stood to his full height, the girl marveled at him with wonder, "Whoa! You're giant! Are you an adult, mister? I had only heard stories of those from the Great Deku Tree!"

"The Great Deku Tree!" The fairy exclaimed. "We can take him over to see him! Even if he can't stay, he should be able to help you find a way out."

"Great what Tree?" Luigi asked in confusion.

"The Great Deku Tree is our father," the girl explained. "He looks after us and protects us. He's really nice, too. Oh! Sorry, my name is Saria! What's yours?"

"Uh… Luigi."

Saria nodded and waved for him to follow. "Be careful of Mad Scrubs, though. That's why I have this!" She proudly held up the stick she poked Luigi with earlier and a wooden shield with a strange pattern.

Luigi couldn't help but be impressed by Saria's explorer's attitude. He still didn't think it was safe for a young girl to go through a forest with a stick as her defense, though. Saria looked ahead and pointed, "There's one now!"

Luigi looked where Saria pointed and saw a bush in a pile of grass. The bush shifted and moved before revealing a plant-like creature wearing the bush like a straw hat. Its face was wooden and its eyes glowed amber. It didn't have a conventional mouth, but it did have a tube-like protrusion where its mouth should've been. Its eyes glared and it took a breath.

"Watch this, mister Luigi! This is how you fight a Mad Scrub!" She slapped the stick on the ground, enraging the plant creature, causing it to shoot a seed at her. Then Saria raised her shield and the seed bounced off of it, returning to hit the Scrub in the face. After it was hit, it ran around in a panic, Saria chasing after it. After she thwacked it on the head with the stick, it was knocked out.

Luigi nodded, the monsters around here seemed a little more complicated to take down than the ones back at the Mushroom Kingdom. He noticed another bush right next to him that looked like the other one. He pointed it out and asked why it wasn't attacking.

The fairy chimed in, "Oh, Mad Scrubs like attacking, but they're pretty cowardly. They hide in the grass if anybody's nearby. The brush is so thick no sword can cut it."

"Hmm… If they're only vulnerable outside of their grass…" He rolled up his left sleeve and grabbed the part of the bush where the leaves bundled up. He heard the creature squeak in surprise and he started pulling. It seemed to be trying to burrow deeper, but Luigi grabbed it with his other hand and started pulling with his back too.

'C'mon, Weegie, think of it as a giant turnip!'

The bush started lifting up, and the Mad Scrub was kicking as it was pulled out of its burrow. Luigi held it over his head as it tried to squirm out of his grip. Saria was amazed, "Wow! Quick, mister, toss it over here!" She dropped the shield and held the stick like a bat. Luigi laughed and tossed the Mad Scrub, allowing Saria to hit it and send it rolling as it was knocked out.

As they continued, now in the bulk of the Lost Woods, Saria spoke up as she led Luigi, "Are all adults that strong?"

Luigi thought about it. He didn't know much about wherever he was, so he didn't want to make any promises to a kid. Thinking it through, he said, "A few are, where I come from. We have some monsters too, so they protect others."

Saria looked at him with wide eyes, "So you're a hero?"

Luigi's insecurities reared their head, "Sort of, really, it's my brother who's a hero, I just tag along to help when I can every once in a while. 'Hero' would be a bit of a stretch…"

Saria tilted her head, "But you could be a hero if you tried, couldn't you?"

Luigi smiled, "Well, I like to think so…"

The fairy flew backwards in front of him, "So where do you come from, Luigi? You're not from here, obviously, there are no adults in Kokiri Forest."

"That's a little complicated…" Luigi said. "You probably won't know where I come from; it's called the Mushroom Kingdom." At Saria's confused look, he continued, "See, I was at my home, about to head to bed, when my clock started going crazy. The last thing I remember is getting grabbed by somebody by my shoulder, and then I blacked out and woke up with Saria poking me with a stick."

"So, you don't know how you got from your home, here to the Lost Woods?" The fairy asked.

Luigi shook his head, "It's a safe bet that I don't know what world I'm in. I've never heard of 'Mad Scrubs' or 'Stalfos'."

Saria pointed at a tunnel that was similar to a hollow log, "The Great Deku Tree might be able to answer some of your questions. Here we are at Kokiri Forest."

Luigi looked around and saw a village of tree houses. Several children dressed similarly to Saria were running around, and they all had fairies following after them. Luigi noticed the fairies and asked Saria about it.

"Oh, all Kokiri have fairy guides to teach them and protect them. Well, my friend Link hasn't gotten his yet, but I'm sure he will!" Saria stated, full of hope.

Before I could ask who Link was, Saria's fairy cut in, "No time for tangents, Saria! Weren't we going to see the Great Deku Tree?"

The trio started moving through the village towards another path, but as they made their way, of course Luigi drew stares from the other kids. Luigi was almost twice the height of everybody there, after all. They weren't sure what to make of him, and most pretended to be doing something else when he glanced at them, so they wouldn't be caught staring. Luigi found it funny that, while he didn't know precisely how long these children had been children, they had the same stealth capabilities as children. He could see them staring out of the corner of his eye, and they only looked away when he started turning his head.

As they continued towards the path, Luigi noticed another child standing guard there with a fairy floating beside him. He was looking at Luigi in particular with a distrustful look. Saria didn't seem fazed and said, "Mido, I need to see the Great Deku Tree."

Mido crossed his arms, "Why do you have that with you? Why did you bring him to our village? He shouldn't be allowed to see the Great Deku Tree; he'll only bring trouble."

Saria's fairy moved forward, "Well if you want him gone safely, then the Great Deku Tree has to show him a way out. You know normal people can't navigate the forest."

"So?" Mido asked.

Luigi decided to cut in, "Look, Mido, was it? I want to get home as much as you seem to want me gone, so how about you just let me through and I'll be out of your hair, one-two-three?"

Mido seemed to think about it, but he made a "tch" sound and stepped aside. "If anything happens, I'm holding you responsible, adult."

After he let them through, Luigi asked, "Mido seems very… protective."

Saria cut in, "He just gets paranoid about anybody he doesn't know, and even with some he does know."

"I think he was trying to be extra intimidating because he's not the biggest one here, now," Saria's fairy snickered.

Up ahead, there were blue carnivorous plants that Saria identified to Luigi as Deku Baba. "Just keep out of their reach and you'll be fine," she said as she sidestepped one of them trying to bite her. Luigi kept plenty of distance between him and the plants; he doubted being bitten by them was any more pleasant than by Piranha Plants.

Soon, they reached the end of the path, and Luigi saw the most massive tree he'd ever laid eyes on. Also, this tree had a face carved into it, and quite a solemn one at that. If he ever thought he'd see a wise-looking tree, this one would be a prime example. He nearly jumped when he heard an elderly voice say, "Saria, my child, what brings you here? Have you come for a story?"

Saria shook her head, "I found Mr. Luigi right here in the Lost Woods. I think he's an adult and he seems very lost. I was wondering if you could help him."

The tree's face didn't change, but Luigi could somehow feel that his gaze was on him now. He bowed his head and tried to keep the shaking to a minimum. "I-I'm not sure where I am, or how I got into this forest, but… if you have a way for me to get home, I'd like to hear it."

Saria chimed in, "He says he's from the kingdom of Mushroom."

"Er, well, the Mushroom Kingdom…" Luigi corrected as the Great Deku Tree remained silent in apparent thought.

At length, he said, "I have never heard of such a kingdom, and your friend, Luigi, does not appear to be Hylian. I believe we may be seeing the Goddess' actions at work. As such, I believe it would be best if he stayed here in Kokiri forest with us until we receive a sign that he is needed elsewhere. I'll make sure the forest doesn't try to make him wander endlessly, so, Luigi, allow me to be the first to welcome you to stay here."

Luigi felt his hopes deflate. With all that he heard, it was a pretty safe bet that he wasn't even in the same world as the Mushroom Kingdom. It was good that he had a place to stay, but he had been hoping for a way back home. He always kept some power-ups and coins in his pockets in case he had to leave in a hurry, but the coins wouldn't be much good in a foreign world, and he figured he should save the power-ups for an emergency.

Saria tapped him on the shoulder, "Well, if you're going to stay with us, I should introduce you to everybody before we find a place for you to stay."

"I've already taken care of the location," the Great Deku Tree interjected. "All that's left is to get him situated with a bed and other things he might need."

Saria's fairy looked at Luigi, "We might want to tell the woodworker to make it extra large."

Luigi sighed at what he was sure would be a very tiring few hours.

Luigi was right. Practically every child except Mido was buzzing with questions for him since he was from outside the forest. He explained that he didn't know anything about outside Kokiri Forest, since he woke up in the Lost Woods that morning. He decided to leave out that he was from another world. He didn't think he wanted that kind of attention.

The children were a bit let down about that, and Luigi couldn't help but make a compromise. He would tell them all about where he was from, the Mushroom Kingdom, as soon as he was situated. The Kokiri were elated about that, and they pointed out where he would be living.

"The Great Deku Tree grew it just a few minutes ago!" a young boy said.

Luigi looked and saw a hollow wooden building that looked like it was made from tree roots that knitted over each other and tied at the top. It was a bit crudely made, but it would do. Most of the children left after they weren't going to hear a story, but four stayed behind. One girl who had slightly longer and lighter green hair than Saria and three identical brothers who each had almost orange-like strawberry blond hair. Saria introduced him to them, "Everyone, this is Mr. Luigi. Mr. Luigi, this is Fado, you've met Mido, and these three are the Know-it-All Brothers, if you have a question about anything around the forest, you can ask them."

As Luigi nodded, Saria looked around the village, "My friend Link isn't around. He sleeps the day away if nobody comes to wake him up. I'll bring him over tomorrow after we set up your home here."

Luigi looked around at the curious but friendly faces, and then at the root house he'd be staying at. He let out a sigh before smiling. If he was going to stay here for a while, there was no point in isolating himself. He gave a slight bow and said, "It's nice to meet you all. I hope to get along with you."

The rest of the day was spent with Luigi visiting the woodworkers asking for a bed. They said that it cost 100 "Rupees" (he guessed that was this world's currency), but they said that they'd consider it an IOU since he had the Great Deku Tree's permission to stay. They helped him move it to his home (for an extra 15 Rupees) and gave Luigi a mattress and blanket for free.

Luigi asked one of the Know-it-All Brothers about Rupees, and the young kid gave a slight laugh as he waved his hand, "Oh, Rupees are everywhere in the world. Only us kids of the forest know this, but Rupees grow naturally in wild grass and rocks. Just cut, pluck or smash in the rocks' case, and you can find some quick money. Anyway, you might want to learn the colors."

Luigi paid close attention as the Kokiri explained the color system of Rupees. Deciding that he'd start paying back that IOU tomorrow, he went back to his temporary home and plopped down on his bed. Feeling something uncomfortable in his pockets, he decided to empty them.

'Let's see…' he thought as he turned out his pockets and put each item on the ground next to his bed. This took a bit of time, as the Mario Brothers' overalls were notorious for having very deep pockets to hold items. 'About 20 gold coins in my coin bag, 2 Super Mushrooms, a Fire Flower, one Cape Feather, and…' He felt the last object in his pocket and decided to keep that one in. It was his ultimate last resort, and he would prefer to have it on him if worst came to worst.

Patting his right pocket for reassurance, he took off his shoes, curled up on his bed and pulled the blanket up.

He looked out a crack in the roots that allowed a view of the outside, and he looked at the night sky. Before he went to sleep, he wondered what Mario was up to.

Yay! First chapter in the main part of the story! It was mostly exposition-y, but that's how most chapters roll. Also, a cover for the story! It's the first time that I've drawn a cover for one of my stories, since all I have for digital drawing is MS Paint… Anyway, hope you all liked the chapter. Please leave a review with your thoughts. Peace!

-AJ 203