Mario moved uncomfortably on his, makeshift chair, of four tomato crates stacked on top of one another. He was too big to sit in the chairs at Mayor Phil A Buster's dinning room table. Mushroom People, or Toads, are relatively small. Where as Humans are relatively...not.

"I'm quite sorry about the seating arrangement m'boy...it was all we could find for you to sit on." Mayor Buster said noticing Mario's obvious discomfort.

"It's ok; thank you for your hospitality, the meal was delicious." It had been quite a meal indeed. A fine stew with all the fixins. Carrots, potatoes, celery, onions, complete with a delightful blend of herbs and spices. The meal was delicious! And goats' milk, it turns out, tastes just like cows' milk.

"Think nothing of it. After all it was the least I could do after you saved me from that awful Kemak Koopa!" Mario frowned at the mention of Kemak's name.

"What did he want with you anyway?" Mario questioned

"They wanted this..." Mayor Buster reached beneath his, finely made silk buttoned down, vest. He pulled up a purple diamond shaped jewel dangling from a gold beaded chain.

Mario eyed the piece questioningly.

"That's what they were after you for? Why would they want that awful...uh...awful-ly nice gem?"

"They want it because it holds great magical powers..." The mayor replied

"Come on, stop puling my leg, I wasn't born yesterday!" Mario said in a good-natured tone.

"I'm dead serious; there are seven other jewels just like this one each holding a different color and power. This..." Mayor Buster gestured to the jewel around his neck. "Is one such jewel. It has been the privilege of my family for many generations to guard this jewel from those who would use its powers with; shall we say, less than good intentions?" Mario looked somewhat intrigued.

"What does it do?" Mario asked

"To be quite honest I don't know what power the purple jewel posses... I only know the legend of how they came to be. Would you like to hear it?" Mario nodded his head.

Long, long, ago there was a Magikoopa; and he lived in a cave on what is now called "Tall Tall Mountain." There he and his apprentice practiced the art of magic. It is what Magikoopas' do after all. The Magikoopa was very skilled, the best in fact. No other Magikoopa at the time or maybe even now could rival this ones skill and ability. Although it was rumored that his apprentice could... It was very lucky indeed that this Magikoopa was kind hearted. Because if he had not been who knows what terrible thing he could have done. But he was a kind soul and wanted nothing less than to use his gift to help all the creatures of the Mushroom world. So all of his magical creations were made to benefit the creatures of the world. He created many useful things such as the warp pipes, which we use for transportation. Many don't know this but every word of it is true. One day the Magikoopa created eight jewels all containing a little bit of power on their own, but immense power when they were combined. But such powerful items could be used for evil purposes. So in order to keep this from happening the Magikoopa decided to cast a spell on the jewels that couldn't be reversed. Not even by himself. The spell made it so that only one with a pure heart could use the jewels' power...

"Then what would Kemak want with your jewel? It's not like he could do anything with it. If what you're saying is true...he's far to black hearted to use the thing." Mario seriously doubted that Kemak had a pure enough heart to use the jewels' power.

"Ah...but magic is lot like anything else... there's always a loophole if you look hard enough." What in heavens name did that mean? Mario wondered.

The mayor continued his story

A pure heart is needed to use the jewels' power. But pure hearted people are just like every one else... they can be forced to do things against their will. This is what happened. Though the Magikoopa was kind, his apprentice was not. The apprentice stole the jewels from his mentor, and sought out a pure hearted person and used the jewels powers to bring destruction all over the Mushroom world. Upon learning what his apprentice had done the Magikoopa was outraged and saddened that one of his creations had caused so much pain. The Magikoopa battled his apprentice and banished him from the Mushroom Kingdom. They say that the apprentice sought refuge in Dark Land, but I don't know if that's true...The Magikoopa was so ashamed of what had happened that he used his magic to spread the jewels across the land, so that they would never be used for evil again. The Magikoopa no longer being able to stand the shame his student had brought upon him disappeared never to be seen or heard from again.

"So how did you get the purple one?" Mario asked

"My Great Grandfather many generations removed, an adventurer found it, while exploring a dense jungle. Knowing what it was, he took it upon himself to guard it. Before he died he passed it on to his son, who guarded it also. It has been guarded and passed for over seven generations now. But I have not done a very good job of guarding it..." The mayor sighed.

"If it hadn't been for you...Kemak and Lukitu would have gotten it." Mayor Buster looked sadly over at Mario, who was too lost in his own thoughts to notice.

~A pure heart is needed to use the jewels' power, so then how would Bowser... The Princess!!~

"Mayor, thank very much for everything; but I have to go!" Mario scrambled from his tomato crate seat.

"Wait a minute...you could guard it!" Mayor Buster, blurted out.

"What? Me? Why me?"

"You've already proven yourself to be very brave and kindhearted...I know you'll do a better job of keeping this jewel from badies than I would have." The mayor slipped the chain around Mario's neck.

"And besides I have no children to pass this onto anyway. So I might as well let you have it." Mario looked down at the jewel hanging around his neck. And couldn't help but feel that it would be a lot more trouble than it was worth.

But he really didn't have time to worry about that now. He had enough on his plate as it was.

Mario left the mayor's house with a full belly, and a full pocket. He had been greatly rewarded for his, unintentional heroic, deed. He set off from Toad Town with a few supplies that he'd bought from the local merchant. Mario's life was getting more complicated by the minute.

He had to rescue Princess Peach, find Luigi, keep his newly obtained item out of Kemak's clutches, and find a way home when this whole mess was done. This was an awful lot for the gods to dump on a, poor, plumber from Brooklyn.

To be continued...

Next chapter: Untitled: Luigi gets out of the ghost house... Really I swear, no seriously!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr :Jes bangs her head on the keyboard: I can't decide how to get Weege out of there! I know I said that Luigi would be in this chapter; and I know I said that Bowser would be would be in the one before that. My schedule this past week has been so screwed this week it's not even funny! I'm surprised I got this part of the chapter up.

I'd just like to say sorry for the inconvenience.

And special Thanks to: DeNerd and Koji for your insight

And regular thanks to anyone who's read this even if you didn't leave a review! -Jes :(