Chapter 5 - Familiar Grounds
The next morning, Major Sharpe was at the portal with Anthony, making the final plans for the
return to Gardenia. Anthony was strapping his sword to his side and putting on a backpack that
had some spare clothing in it.
"Hopefully, Mr. Bault, you will find what you need in the Mushroom Kingdom. Will you need any
backup?"
"No, I don't think so. King Arbolet probably is going to have several escorts already assigned
to me, so I think I'll be well protected en route. Did you want me to bring any message to
either the king or the Mushroom Kingdom?"
"Just inform him of the military involvement on this end to protect the portal. Also, I should
probably tell you one other thing before you go."
"What's that?"
"We actually do have two other stations in London and Tokyo besides the one in Area 51 where we
have been monitoring odd anomalies similar to this portal, but unopened. They are probably the
portals to the other worlds that were mentioned. Once you are done in Gardenia, I'll arrange
for you to see those other portals."
"Good. Wish me luck, Major!"
"Good luck, Mr. Bault!
Anthony then turned and jumped into the portal.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
King Arbolet was waiting for Anthony on the other end. He and several of his guards were
mounted on creatures called Ostros, a black ostrich-like creature, and they were holding on to
the reins of another unmounted Ostro.
"Ah, Anthony!" yelled Arbolet. "We've been waiting! Mount up and we'll head for the Mushroom
Kingdom."
"You sure those things are safe?" Anthony asked. "Ostriches from my world tend to peck at
unsuspecting visitors!"
"They're well tamed, and this one were holding for you is one of our best mounts."
Anthony climbed on the back of the Ostro, sensing its thoughts in the process and trying to
calm it telepathically as he mounted it. Soon, the entire group started off for the Mushroom
Kingdom at top speed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So, Anthony," stated Arbolet as they were nearing the Mushroom Palace near a city he called
Cappen, "are you nervous?"
"Nervous, your majesty?"
"Well, you ARE going to meet individuals who before now you thought were just game characters.
In fact, I don't know if you realize this, but you've been telepathically saying 'This is going
to be SO cool!' for the last five minutes."
"Ah crap..." Anthony said nervously. "I guess I haven't fully controlled my powers yet. I
guess I am a little nervous, mostly because I'm hoping to see Mario there."
"He should be there. From what my niece has been telling me in her letters, it sounds like
those two are very close. I'm actually surprised Mario hasn't proposed yet!"
"Well having to save the Mushroom Kingdom every day from Koopa tends to make making wedding
plans next to impossible. How do you think she'll react to me?"
"When she hears you're Sir Eric's descendant? No idea, but I'm sure there'll be a big to do
once the word gets out. There's the front gate of the castle now!"
As they arrived, a small group of elite guards called the Mushroom Retainers went up to greet
them. Anthony saw them and was sure he knew who their commander was.
"King Arbolet!" the leader called out. "This is a surprise, we weren't expecting you to visit.
Surprise visit for your niece?"
"No, this is more official than that, Toad," Arbolet said, causing Anthony to realize he was
right. "I've brought an individual here to see the princess about important matters. He hails
from Earth."
Toad was taken aback. "You mean...the Gamemaster's world?!?"
"The same"
"I'll tell Princess Toadstool right away! The guards will see to your mounts and escort you to
the throne room."
After dismounting, Anthony and the king's party were lead to the throne room amidst a massive
fanfare. The chancellor came out and introduced Princess Toadstool as she walked out into the
throne room. Things then got less formal from there...
"Uncle Arbo!" she yelled, as she ran up to hug King Arbolet. "What are you doing here? I
wasn't expecting a visit, and Toad was in hysterics when he told me you were here and said
something about Earth!"
"Well, Peach, that's where my companion comes in. Allow me to introduce you to Anthony Bault,
descendant of Sir Eric of the Larson Clan."
"Your highness," said Anthony, as he bowed in the direction of the princess.
Princess Toadstool was stunned. So much so, that she couldn't even speak. When the chancellor
heard the introduction, he asked everyone to leave the room so the three of them could speak
privately.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So the portal is finally open," the princess started, eyeing Anthony with great interest.
"So, Anthony, are you to become the new Gamemaster then?"
"Huh? What, exactly does that mean? I'm just here to find out all I can about this world!"
Anthony then looked at King Arbolet. "What is she talking about, your majesty?"
"I should've told you this earlier, Anthony. It was hoped that the next person in Sir Eric's
line would essentially take the title of Gamemaster as well and become kind of Arcadia's
representative of Earth. Of course, it would also mean representing Earth as it's 'hero' of
sorts the way Sir Eric was..."
"Well you definitely should've told me THAT! Good grief!"
"It's alright, Anthony," the princess interjected, hoping to calm Anthony down. "I know all
this is new to you and you probably aren't up to accepting the title. So you don't have to
worry about having to become anything. Let's talk about why you are here now."
"Well, for some reason, according to King Arbolet, I should be able to use something called the
'Descendancy Powers'. Unfortunately, they seem to not want to work for me. We were hoping you
might know."
Princess Toadstool thought for a moment, then said, "Well...all I know is something in our
ancient texts which said 'all doors must open before it becomes whole', and then it mentions
the Descendancy powers. I'm not exactly sure what it means, but it seems to hint at the fact
that the portals must all be open before those powers become active again."
"Hmmm..." Anthony said. "Looks like I'll have to have Major Sharpe prepare for my arrival
sooner than I thought."
Both the king and princess looked confused. "Who?"
"Major Sharpe is with my country's military," Anthony explained. "The military already found
the portals a while ago, not realizing what they were, and have been studying them for a while
now. They managed to open the portal to Mobius, but for some reason anyone who tries to enter
it, and then comes back, crystallizes upon return."
"Did they use something other than magic or psionics?" asked Arbolet.
"Well, seeing as they don't know how to use either, my guess is they used some type of
technology to open it. You think that might have something to do with it?"
"Indeed," said Toadstool. "The portals were considered to be a naturally occurring phenomenon
that only opened through the use of magic, and using a method that isn't natural like magic or
psionics might cause the portals to cause strange things to occur."
"Much like that psionic blast you used to blast Koopa," Arbolet continued. "Since my children
used weak magic to open the portal, it probably interfered with your body's chemistry and
accelerated your natural psychic talent."
"Gave me a HELL of a headache too..."
Toadstool giggled. "No doubt! Well, since the other portals need to be open for us to find
your lost abilities, and ours in the process..."
Anthony looked at the princess. "What do you mean?"
"The loss of Sir Eric's medallion caused the others to disappear," said Arbolet. "In order to
restore our Descendancy Powers, your bloodline's must be restored first."
"I see... Boy that REALLY makes me feel a lot better about this situation," said Anthony,
sarcastically.
"Well, let's take you to where another portal is," said Toadstool. "If you would follow me..."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Princess Toadstool lead the two to a basement level of the castle, where Anthony spied a stone
arch similar to the one in Floren. He also spied...
"Is that Mario and Luigi?!?"
"Yes," said Toadstool. "In fact, I was going to have them join you when you went in."
"Sweet!" Anthony thought to himself, making sure not to telepathically say it.
"Hey, Peach!" Mario cried out as the trio approached. Then he saw Anthony and said, "Whosa
this guy, and why does he look like an accountant?"
"An accountant?!?" Anthony thought to himself, taken aback.
"His name is Anthony, Mario," said the princess, "and he is Sir Eric's descendant."
Both Mario and Luigi looked surprised. "Really?" "Momma mia!"
"Really," said Anthony as he went over to shake their hands in greeting, "and I can't tell you
what a thrill it is to meet you guys! I've played most of the video games you guys starred in,
beat most of them too!"
"Well, itsa really great to meet a fan...even though we have no idea what you are talking
about," said Luigi.
Anthony explained at length what he was talking about, describing many of the games from Donkey
Kong to Paper Mario. Mario and Luigi were impressed.
"Wow, I didn't a know we were a THAT popular!" exclaimed Mario.
"Please! Your games practically MADE Nintendo! You're even considered their mascot, Mario!"
Luigi nudged Anthony and whispered to him, "You probably shouldn't have told him that. His
ego's a gonna burst as a result."
"Don't worry, Luigi. When he hears about Pokémon, he'll calm down."
"Well, Anthony," the princess said. "Let's open the portal up now."
They walked over to the stone arch and made plenty of room for Anthony to work. Anthony
concentrated as hard as he could and sent a wave of psionic energy towards the arch, causing a
shimmering blue portal to appear.
"Good work, Anthony!" said the princess. "Mario, Luigi, I want you to accompany him to where
this portal leads..."
"Princess, what about Koopa?" asked Anthony. "Don't you need them to protect you?"
"After his encounter with you, Anthony," explained the princess, "he hid in his keep and never
came out. I think he's scared of you."
"Cripes, and I'm just a rookie!" said Anthony, then looking towards Mario. "Accountant, huh?"
"Hmmm...I guess a looks can be deceiving. Well, what are we waiting a for?" said Mario.
"Let's a go!"
Mario, Luigi, and Anthony then entered the shimmering portal.
The next morning, Major Sharpe was at the portal with Anthony, making the final plans for the
return to Gardenia. Anthony was strapping his sword to his side and putting on a backpack that
had some spare clothing in it.
"Hopefully, Mr. Bault, you will find what you need in the Mushroom Kingdom. Will you need any
backup?"
"No, I don't think so. King Arbolet probably is going to have several escorts already assigned
to me, so I think I'll be well protected en route. Did you want me to bring any message to
either the king or the Mushroom Kingdom?"
"Just inform him of the military involvement on this end to protect the portal. Also, I should
probably tell you one other thing before you go."
"What's that?"
"We actually do have two other stations in London and Tokyo besides the one in Area 51 where we
have been monitoring odd anomalies similar to this portal, but unopened. They are probably the
portals to the other worlds that were mentioned. Once you are done in Gardenia, I'll arrange
for you to see those other portals."
"Good. Wish me luck, Major!"
"Good luck, Mr. Bault!
Anthony then turned and jumped into the portal.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
King Arbolet was waiting for Anthony on the other end. He and several of his guards were
mounted on creatures called Ostros, a black ostrich-like creature, and they were holding on to
the reins of another unmounted Ostro.
"Ah, Anthony!" yelled Arbolet. "We've been waiting! Mount up and we'll head for the Mushroom
Kingdom."
"You sure those things are safe?" Anthony asked. "Ostriches from my world tend to peck at
unsuspecting visitors!"
"They're well tamed, and this one were holding for you is one of our best mounts."
Anthony climbed on the back of the Ostro, sensing its thoughts in the process and trying to
calm it telepathically as he mounted it. Soon, the entire group started off for the Mushroom
Kingdom at top speed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So, Anthony," stated Arbolet as they were nearing the Mushroom Palace near a city he called
Cappen, "are you nervous?"
"Nervous, your majesty?"
"Well, you ARE going to meet individuals who before now you thought were just game characters.
In fact, I don't know if you realize this, but you've been telepathically saying 'This is going
to be SO cool!' for the last five minutes."
"Ah crap..." Anthony said nervously. "I guess I haven't fully controlled my powers yet. I
guess I am a little nervous, mostly because I'm hoping to see Mario there."
"He should be there. From what my niece has been telling me in her letters, it sounds like
those two are very close. I'm actually surprised Mario hasn't proposed yet!"
"Well having to save the Mushroom Kingdom every day from Koopa tends to make making wedding
plans next to impossible. How do you think she'll react to me?"
"When she hears you're Sir Eric's descendant? No idea, but I'm sure there'll be a big to do
once the word gets out. There's the front gate of the castle now!"
As they arrived, a small group of elite guards called the Mushroom Retainers went up to greet
them. Anthony saw them and was sure he knew who their commander was.
"King Arbolet!" the leader called out. "This is a surprise, we weren't expecting you to visit.
Surprise visit for your niece?"
"No, this is more official than that, Toad," Arbolet said, causing Anthony to realize he was
right. "I've brought an individual here to see the princess about important matters. He hails
from Earth."
Toad was taken aback. "You mean...the Gamemaster's world?!?"
"The same"
"I'll tell Princess Toadstool right away! The guards will see to your mounts and escort you to
the throne room."
After dismounting, Anthony and the king's party were lead to the throne room amidst a massive
fanfare. The chancellor came out and introduced Princess Toadstool as she walked out into the
throne room. Things then got less formal from there...
"Uncle Arbo!" she yelled, as she ran up to hug King Arbolet. "What are you doing here? I
wasn't expecting a visit, and Toad was in hysterics when he told me you were here and said
something about Earth!"
"Well, Peach, that's where my companion comes in. Allow me to introduce you to Anthony Bault,
descendant of Sir Eric of the Larson Clan."
"Your highness," said Anthony, as he bowed in the direction of the princess.
Princess Toadstool was stunned. So much so, that she couldn't even speak. When the chancellor
heard the introduction, he asked everyone to leave the room so the three of them could speak
privately.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So the portal is finally open," the princess started, eyeing Anthony with great interest.
"So, Anthony, are you to become the new Gamemaster then?"
"Huh? What, exactly does that mean? I'm just here to find out all I can about this world!"
Anthony then looked at King Arbolet. "What is she talking about, your majesty?"
"I should've told you this earlier, Anthony. It was hoped that the next person in Sir Eric's
line would essentially take the title of Gamemaster as well and become kind of Arcadia's
representative of Earth. Of course, it would also mean representing Earth as it's 'hero' of
sorts the way Sir Eric was..."
"Well you definitely should've told me THAT! Good grief!"
"It's alright, Anthony," the princess interjected, hoping to calm Anthony down. "I know all
this is new to you and you probably aren't up to accepting the title. So you don't have to
worry about having to become anything. Let's talk about why you are here now."
"Well, for some reason, according to King Arbolet, I should be able to use something called the
'Descendancy Powers'. Unfortunately, they seem to not want to work for me. We were hoping you
might know."
Princess Toadstool thought for a moment, then said, "Well...all I know is something in our
ancient texts which said 'all doors must open before it becomes whole', and then it mentions
the Descendancy powers. I'm not exactly sure what it means, but it seems to hint at the fact
that the portals must all be open before those powers become active again."
"Hmmm..." Anthony said. "Looks like I'll have to have Major Sharpe prepare for my arrival
sooner than I thought."
Both the king and princess looked confused. "Who?"
"Major Sharpe is with my country's military," Anthony explained. "The military already found
the portals a while ago, not realizing what they were, and have been studying them for a while
now. They managed to open the portal to Mobius, but for some reason anyone who tries to enter
it, and then comes back, crystallizes upon return."
"Did they use something other than magic or psionics?" asked Arbolet.
"Well, seeing as they don't know how to use either, my guess is they used some type of
technology to open it. You think that might have something to do with it?"
"Indeed," said Toadstool. "The portals were considered to be a naturally occurring phenomenon
that only opened through the use of magic, and using a method that isn't natural like magic or
psionics might cause the portals to cause strange things to occur."
"Much like that psionic blast you used to blast Koopa," Arbolet continued. "Since my children
used weak magic to open the portal, it probably interfered with your body's chemistry and
accelerated your natural psychic talent."
"Gave me a HELL of a headache too..."
Toadstool giggled. "No doubt! Well, since the other portals need to be open for us to find
your lost abilities, and ours in the process..."
Anthony looked at the princess. "What do you mean?"
"The loss of Sir Eric's medallion caused the others to disappear," said Arbolet. "In order to
restore our Descendancy Powers, your bloodline's must be restored first."
"I see... Boy that REALLY makes me feel a lot better about this situation," said Anthony,
sarcastically.
"Well, let's take you to where another portal is," said Toadstool. "If you would follow me..."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Princess Toadstool lead the two to a basement level of the castle, where Anthony spied a stone
arch similar to the one in Floren. He also spied...
"Is that Mario and Luigi?!?"
"Yes," said Toadstool. "In fact, I was going to have them join you when you went in."
"Sweet!" Anthony thought to himself, making sure not to telepathically say it.
"Hey, Peach!" Mario cried out as the trio approached. Then he saw Anthony and said, "Whosa
this guy, and why does he look like an accountant?"
"An accountant?!?" Anthony thought to himself, taken aback.
"His name is Anthony, Mario," said the princess, "and he is Sir Eric's descendant."
Both Mario and Luigi looked surprised. "Really?" "Momma mia!"
"Really," said Anthony as he went over to shake their hands in greeting, "and I can't tell you
what a thrill it is to meet you guys! I've played most of the video games you guys starred in,
beat most of them too!"
"Well, itsa really great to meet a fan...even though we have no idea what you are talking
about," said Luigi.
Anthony explained at length what he was talking about, describing many of the games from Donkey
Kong to Paper Mario. Mario and Luigi were impressed.
"Wow, I didn't a know we were a THAT popular!" exclaimed Mario.
"Please! Your games practically MADE Nintendo! You're even considered their mascot, Mario!"
Luigi nudged Anthony and whispered to him, "You probably shouldn't have told him that. His
ego's a gonna burst as a result."
"Don't worry, Luigi. When he hears about Pokémon, he'll calm down."
"Well, Anthony," the princess said. "Let's open the portal up now."
They walked over to the stone arch and made plenty of room for Anthony to work. Anthony
concentrated as hard as he could and sent a wave of psionic energy towards the arch, causing a
shimmering blue portal to appear.
"Good work, Anthony!" said the princess. "Mario, Luigi, I want you to accompany him to where
this portal leads..."
"Princess, what about Koopa?" asked Anthony. "Don't you need them to protect you?"
"After his encounter with you, Anthony," explained the princess, "he hid in his keep and never
came out. I think he's scared of you."
"Cripes, and I'm just a rookie!" said Anthony, then looking towards Mario. "Accountant, huh?"
"Hmmm...I guess a looks can be deceiving. Well, what are we waiting a for?" said Mario.
"Let's a go!"
Mario, Luigi, and Anthony then entered the shimmering portal.