Chapter 2: Trouble Brewing

The next morning saw Luigi up early, not because the window-like gap in the roots faced towards the east, allowing the rising sun to shine right through it. Disturbed by the light, he turned around, trying to ignore it. No, what woke him up is what happened next.

"Mr. Luigi!"

Luigi grumbled as he heard his name being called. He got up, forgetting about his shoes as he stepped onto the grass on the ground, towards the doorway. Rubbing his eyes, Luigi looked out the doorway to see about 5 Kokiri children gathered at his door, including Fado and one of the Know-it-All Brothers. She was the one who had called out to him.

One of the other Kokiri boys asked, "Can we hear a story, Mr. Luigi?"

"Yeah, I'd love to hear about your homeland and tell my brothers about it!" the Know-it-All Kokiri added.

Luigi smiled at their enthusiasm, and said, "All right, just give me a moment to get my shoes on."

After retrieving his shoes, Luigi looked around and found a reasonably open patch of grass. After he sat down, the children gathered around and sat in front of him. Right as he was about to start, another voice called out.

"Wait! Mr. Luigi!" He looked and saw that Saria was on her way with a child that Luigi hadn't seen yesterday. He had straw-colored blond hair and the same clothes as the other Kokiri. When the two of them arrived, Saria gestured with her hand towards the boy. "This is my friend, Link. I told you about him, yesterday."

Luigi nodded, "Nice to meet you, Link."

Link nodded back, and didn't say anything else. Luigi guessed that he was a boy of few words, the same as Mario was, so he didn't press the issue. Instead, he gestured towards the other Kokiri, and said, "I was about to tell a story about my home, do you two want to hear?"

Both of them nodded, and Saria said, "Sure!" They found a spot, and Luigi spent the next couple of hours talking about the Mushroom Kingdom, after a few anecdotes about his personal experiences regarding the Mushroom Kingdom itself, he got to talking about the other lands. Desert Land, Sky Land, Ice Land, and all the others. When he got to the Dark Land, he spun a little yarn about the evil King Bowser who resided there that would kidnap the fair princess who ruled the Mushroom Kingdom and the hero that would travel across eight lands to save her.

"Was this hero strong, tall and handsome?" one of the Kokiri girls asked.

Luigi laughed, "Not so much on the 'tall' part, but he's strong. But the most important thing about being a hero isn't power. Anybody can have power, good or bad. What makes a hero is the courage to do the right thing, even if it's dangerous and you're scared. Other than that, the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom isn't that different from you or me."

"Do you know the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, Mr. Luigi?" the Know-it-All Brother asked.

Luigi nodded, "He's my big brother."

There was a bit of buzz after that, but it quickly died down. Luigi chalked it up to the Kokiri not actually being from the Mushroom Kingdom, so Mario's name wouldn't have as much impact. After most of the children dispersed, Fado told him about some of the legends of Kokiri Forest and the Lost Woods.

"People who get lost in the Lost Woods become Stalfos." Then she smiled, "You were really lucky that Saria found you when she did!"

Luigi tilted his head and asked, "I've heard that word before, Stalfos, and I've been meaning to ask. What's a Stalfos?"

Fado made a face that was supposed to be scary, but only made her look cute with her child features, "A cursed skeleton doomed to wander the night, forever…"

Despite her poor attempt at a scary face, Luigi was plenty scared as he imagined being a skeleton roaming aimlessly around the Lost Woods in his tattered clothes. "Yeah…" Luigi muttered. "Sure was lucky…" At that point, Luigi decided never to go into the Lost Woods if he could help it.

Once Luigi had some time to himself, he went around the village, plucking grass and collecting the Rupees that fell out. A few hours of doing this got him about 25 Rupees. He put them in his left pocket where he used to keep his coins. After a while, his stomach growled and he realized that he hadn't eaten since he got here. He'd been so busy with everything else that he didn't notice.

Luigi took a glance around the village and saw something that looked like a market. When he went inside, they were selling something called "Kokiri Cakes" at five Rupees for a case. He paid with five green Rupees and ate them on his way to make his payment to the woodworkers.

As Luigi was walking around, he got the feeling that somebody was following him. He turned and saw one of the kids hiding in some grass a short distance away. It was a good effort, but his hat was sticking out over the short grass. He moved towards the grass, but not too close and called out lightly, "Hey, you don't have to hide. If you have something you want to ask me, I'm all ears."

The grass rustled and a blond kid came up from the grass. Unlike the other Kokiri, he didn't have a fairy with him. Luigi remembered him from earlier today. He was Link, Saria's friend.

"Link, right? Do you need something?" Luigi asked.

Link shook his head and took a step back.

Luigi waved his hand, "It's no trouble if you do. What is it?"

Link looked down and said, "I… saw you in a dream." He pulled a block of wood out of his tunic and held it out to Luigi. When Luigi looked closer, he saw an image of a castle on fire, two figures on horseback in the distance. There were two figures standing by the entrance to the castle, along with a fairy, one of the figures notably taller than the other. What was unsettling was the larger figure on horseback that loomed over the trio. Luigi gave a slight chuckle, "Uh… It's probably a coincidence. You've met me just today, how could you be having a nightmare with me in it?"

Link shook his head, "You had the same hat."

Luigi stood up straight again, "Okay, well, I'm sure that it's nothing. Some people have dreams about people they meet later."

Link could tell that Luigi was unsettled by the image, so he put it away and decided to leave it at that. He knew what he saw, though, and he didn't like it. He looked up at Luigi and said, "Please, just stay here in the forest. Don't leave."

Luigi raised an eyebrow, "Where would I go? I'm not sure if I could find another place to live. What exactly happened in this dream?"

Link just shook his head and ran off, leaving Luigi wondering what he seemed to be scared about.

That night, as everybody was sleeping, the Great Deku Tree was keeping watch over the forest when he felt a malevolent presence pushing against his defenses. As the dawn approached, his own body seized up as he felt something claw at his insides. He called out for one of the fairies.

"Navi… Navi, where are you? Come here…"

A light blue fairy flew in front of him, and the Great Deku Tree spoke to her. "I fear that the evil that has been stirring has made its way here… Do you feel it? They are readying to attack our land of Hyrule. I've ensured that this forest has remained standing as a barrier to repel evil, but this tremendous power… My power pales in comparison. It is time for Link to begin his journey… The boy without a fairy; bring him here! I do not have much time… Fly swiftly!"

Navi nodded and took off, flying toward the village with the rising sun. As she left, the Great Deku Tree pondered for a bit. Perhaps… Yes, he would call for him too. Perhaps this was the reason that the Goddesses brought him here.

"Luigi…"

Luigi stirred in his sleep for a moment, disturbed by the voice. Wait, didn't he know that voice? It called more insistently.

"Luigi…!"

Luigi sat up in his bed and looked around. Nobody was around, but he could have sworn that he had heard something.

"Luigi… It's the Great Deku Tree… I'm talking through my roots. I need you to visit me at once. Link will be there too."

Luigi was surprised, but he answered anyway, "O-okay… I'll be right over." He jumped out of his bed and put his shoes on. Right before he stepped out of the door, a bad feeling gnawed at the back of his mind. Something about the Great Deku Tree's urgent tone… Turning around, Luigi picked up his power-ups and put them into his pocket. As he jogged, he spotted Link leaving his house as well. Saria was waving at him from the bottom of the ladder to his tree house. One thing that Luigi immediately noticed was that Link had a light-blue fairy flying next to him now.

Luigi made his way towards the path to the Great Deku Tree. Mido stood guard there as usual, and Luigi sighed as he moved to stand in his way.

"Look, Mido, the Great Deku Tree asked to see me. Please let me through."

Mido sneered, "Hmph, what can you do, adult? You don't even have a shield or sword."

"I'm a fist fighter," Luigi patiently replied. "I don't need a sword or shield."

"Really?" Mido challenged. He pulled out a Deku Stick and lunged towards Luigi, "Then how about this?!"

While it was supposed to be a surprise attack, Luigi simply caught the stick and held Mido away, using his height to his advantage. Mido tried a few punches and kicks, but none of them even came close to hitting Luigi.

Luigi let out a sigh and asked again, "Can you just let me through? The Great Deku Tree said it was really important." Mido pushed away and huffed while he crossed his arms and took a step to the side.

Luigi made his way down the path, weaving around the Deku Babas. Soon, he made his way to the Great Deku Tree's meadow, and he gave a short bow. "You called for me?"

"Yes…" the wise tree replied. "I have something to tell both you and Link, as soon as he gets here as well…"

Soon enough, there was the sound of a screech, and Link came into the clearing holding three Deku Sticks in his right hand. He also had a wooden shield strapped to his back and a short sword in his left hand. The fairy called out, "Great Deku Tree! We're- Who's this?"

"Navi… you have returned… Link… Welcome…" The Great Deku Tree said with a strained voice. Luigi's eyebrows furrowed with concern. Was something wrong with the Great Deku Tree?

"Listen well, both of you… to what I am about to tell you… Link, you have been plagued with nightmares in the past few days… have you not?"

Link seemed shocked, but he nodded.

The Great Deku Tree continued, wearily, "As the servants of evil grow stronger, an evil climate is created which gives nightmares to those sensitive to it…"

Luigi felt the Great Deku Tree's gaze fall on him, "And you, Luigi… I believe… that you being brought here might've been for this purpose…"

"Both of you… The time has come to test your courage… I have been cursed… I need you two to seek the source and break it… Do you have the courage to undertake this course?"

Link nodded immediately, and Luigi nodded, even though he was scared. He owed the wise tree for welcoming him to the forest, and if he could help, he wanted to do everything that he could.

The Great Deku Tree's mouth opened, revealing an entrance large enough for them to enter. His mouth remained open and unmoving as he said, "Then enter, Link, Luigi, and Navi… Navi the fairy… You must aid these two… Link and Luigi… When Navi speaks, listen well to her words of wisdom…"

Link and Luigi both nodded, and then looked at each other. Navi flew between them, "So who exactly are you? Why is an adult in Kokiri Forest?"

As the trio moved forward, Luigi answered, "My name's Luigi. I'm not from around here, and I'd like to know why I'm here myself…"

Link couldn't fight his growing unease. He couldn't say no to a request from the Deku Tree as a Kokiri, but he really hoped that Luigi would stay behind after this trial. Link had experienced the same dream again last night.

He shook his head and tried to focus. After this, he would convince Luigi to stay here in Kokiri Forest, so that the horrible event he saw never became a reality.

Second chapter! All right! Now that we're getting into battling soon, I should explain a few things. There will be health with Link and Luigi, but the Heart Containers are pretty much null and void. The two of them will simply "grow stronger" as they go along their journey and experiences, having more endurance or "health" as they go along.

That's all I have to say on the matter for now. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a review or PM me. But for now, I think I'll be working on the next chapter of For the Mission. See you when I (metaphorically) see you!

-AJ 203