First Impressions

The sun was streaming through the curtains of Pipe House, Mario opened his eyes and smiled at the prospect of the picnic he and Peach had planned for that afternoon. He jumped out of bed and, having had a quick shower, changed into his overalls and wandered into the kitchen. Luigi had left his breakfast on the table along with a large wicker hamper. Mario was just about to have a peek inside when…

It was another ordinary day on Mobius. Sonic was having his morning run around his house in Green Hill Zone, enjoying the warm sun on his spines and the cool breeze on his face- as well as making sure to wave at Tails every thirty laps or so, so that the young double tailed fox would be able to look up from the book he was reading and wave back at him through he window.

"Don't you DARE touch that picnic hamper!" Luigi's voice seemed to come from nowhere, making Mario jump guiltily, "I've just spent an HOUR fitting in all that stuff neatly!"

Mario finally figured out that Luigi was talking to him, from outside, through the kitchen window. "What are you doing up so early anyway?" Mario asked once he had opened the kitchen curtains, "Why don't you just enjoy the nice day and relax?"

"One-nine-nine… Two Hundred!" Sonic said loudly as he screeched to a halt just outside the window.

"You were going a bit slow today." Tails said, "That took you half an hour!"

"Ah well, I thought I'd go a bit slower and enjoy the nice weather we've got." Sonic said, "Anyway at least I WAS 'going'. You're just sat reading your book! Come out and we'll have a race!"

 "For your information it's half past ten, and I'm weeding the mushrooms I planted here." Luigi told him. "Plus me and Daisy are gonna have a game of tennis while you're out with Peach."

"Sounds fun." Mario said, "Thanks for the picnic hamper and breakfast."

"No problem!" Luigi answered. "Better than Peach getting food poisoning." He smirked.

"For your information this book is about the best ways to shape high speed aircraft." Tails told him, "I'm thinking about trying to make the Tornado go at Super Sonic speeds, but trying to minimise the 'Sonic Boom' effect."

Sonic blinked, "Say what now?"

Tails sighed, "I want the Tornado to go faster than the speed of sound without making lots of noise." He told Sonic.

"Well you should have said that!" Sonic snapped, "Why you have to make everything so flipping complicated…"

"Well," Tails sniffed, "It's not my fault that 'English for morons' isn't my mother tongue!"

"Hey! My cooking's not that bad!" Mario said defensively.

"'Not that bad'? You couldn't even get YOSHI to eat that 'lasagne' you made!" Luigi snorted, "And I've seen Yoshi eat…"

Mario didn't get to find out what Luigi had seen Yoshi eat, because Luigi disappeared and was replaced by a view of a racetrack in the middle of the countryside.

"…A total idiot!" Said a young boy's voice from behind him, "Hey! Who are YOU?"

Mario turned around; sat behind him- at a table he had never bought in a room he had never seen- was what a fox would look like if you crossed it with a five-year-old boy. "Where am I?" He asked it.

"You're in our house." The boy said, "How did you suddenly appear here? And… hey! Where'd Sonic go?" The young fox got up from his chair and rushed to the door that led outside of the house, calling "Sonic So…" He was cut off as he disappeared once he ran through the door,

"Yaah!" Mario jumped, and went to look at the door more closely. It looked perfectly normal. Gingerly, he took of one of his glove and poked one of the fingers through the door. It came back undamaged.

"Oh well, maybe I'll be able to find out what going on here!" He thought and jumped through the door.

"Hey!" Sonic whined, "That's not fair! Just because I don't have a genius IQ doesn't make me stupid!"

"I suppose so." Tails grinned sheepishly, "I just couldn't resist the chance to make fun of you!" Tails thought for a bit, "Anyway, Eggman HAS got a genius IQ and he's…"

"…Limestone!" Came a male voice from behind him suddenly.

Sonic span around quickly and looked towards the place that the voice was coming from. Standing behind him was a tall, well built young human who looked in his mid-twenties. He was wearing green overalls and had a lot of gardening equipment.

"I don't know who you are or how you did that." The man said, "But could you get off the mushroom patch please?"

"What mush…" Sonic started, only to realise that the solid concrete racetrack had been replaced by a patch of very large and freaky mushrooms, and his house had been replaced by a small shack with a sign saying 'Pipe House' on it. "What the heck is going on? Where's the Green Hill Zone gone?" He said, before a worse thought occurred to him, "Where's TAILS?" He said looking back at the 'house'.

His question was answered by Tails appearing near the door at that exact moment, "..nic! So… Woah!" Tails cried, looking around in amazement, "What just happened.

"And how are you two DOING that?" The human asked.

Sonic looked at Tails, who just shrugged, "Sorry buddy. But we don't know either!" He said. This answer didn't seem to satisfy the human.

"One moment we were at our own house, the next we were here!" Tails said, "Although there is a man looks like you, only shor… OWW! MY TAILS!!"

The reason for Tails' outburst was that another human, dressed in red, had just appeared a couple of feet above Tails' tails, with obvious results.

Some time later…

"Well why the heck did you JUMP through the door! Why not just WALK through it like SANE people?" Sonic snapped at Mario.

"Well EXCUUUSE MEEE if I happen to have to take a run up before going through a door that had just made someone else DISAPPEAR!" Mario said sarcastically.

Luigi sighed, "Is he always this argumentative or is it just Mario bringing it out of him?"

"I think it might be people in red." Tails said, "He doesn't get on that well with Knuckles either."

"Ah." Luigi said.

They listened to the argument again, Sonic was accusing Mario of doing it on purpose for the tenth time.

"I'd offer you a cup of tea, but I don't know where the kettle in your house is." Luigi said.

"Me and Sonic usually drink Sodas anyway." Tails said.

"Really?" Luigi asked, "Hey Mario! Do you still have any of those 'Super Sodas' you got from Tayce T?" He shouted, stopping the argument for a bit.

"Sure, here you go." Mario said, tossing Luigi a Soda, "Speaking of her, do you think the Mushroom Kingdom is OK?" Mario asked.

Luigi looked worried, "I hadn't though of that! Peach could be in trouble too!"

"Who?" Sonic asked.

"She's the princess of the Kingdom nearby." Mario told him, "She gets kidnapped a lot and I have to save her."
"Sorta what Amy used to be like." Sonic muttered.

"Hey! Amy could be in trouble too!" Tails cried, "Maybe we should go try and find her."

"Nah! She can take care of herself!" Sonic said, "Let's help these guys!".

"Great! I'll just get my equipment!" Mario said, "Which was in … our house." He realised.

"Maybe we can still go in the shed. I've got some junk in there." Luigi said.

The four of them looked in the shed, Lets see… I've got… a pair of padded gloves… five mushrooms… that hat with the metal reinforcements you wore that time Bowser messed up all the castle paintings… a bunch of coins… a koopa trooper shell? And… Hey my baton! I can use this!"

"A BATON?" Sonic exclaimed. "What are you, a cheerleader?"

"Why not? It's basically a big stick made of solid oak, I can use it as a weapon, can't I?"

"He's got a point though Luigi." Mario said, "I mean, it's PINK! PEACH would like using it!"

Luigi looked at his brother in annoyance, and then threw the baton at him, hard. It bounced of his head and flew back to Luigi, who caught it easily.

"OWCH! THAT HURT!" Mario snapped, "Where'd you learn to do that so well anyway?" Mario asked, rubbing his head.

"Daisy taught me. Plus I have more time than you to practise sports." Luigi said, "You gonna use anything?"

"I'll have the shell, I can kick it at things." Mario muttered. "And my hat back please."

"Sure, Do you two want anything?" Luigi asked Sonic and Tails.

"No thanks, I have everything I need right here." Sonic said, pointing to his feet.

"Could I borrow those gloves?" Tails asked.

"Sure, go ahead." Mario said.

"Cool!" Tails said, trying them on. "Hey! They fit to!"

*Mario equipped Reinforced Hat!*

*Mario equipped Koopa shell!*

*Luigi equipped Pink Baton!*

*Tails equipped Padded Gloves!*

"Now lets go! To Mushroom way!" Mario said.

As usual, Mushroom way was filled with lots of Goombas and red Paratroopas.

"Are they dangerous?" Tails asked cautiously.

"What? Oh no, these things are pathetic! One hit and they go down!" Luigi said. "Usually they're more time consuming than dangerous."

"Well, I think I can solve that problem!" Sonic said, smugly, before running forwards, making sure that he bounced from creature to creature as he went. 30 seconds later he was 30 meters in front of the others and had not left a single one of Bowser's flunkies standing.

"WOAH!" Luigi cried, "That was amazing!"

Sonic just smiled and bowed.

*Mario reaches level 1: Mario learns Jump!*

*Luigi reaches level 1: Luigi learns Karate Kick!*

*Sonic reaches level 1: Sonic learns Spin Attack!*

*Tails reaches level 1: Tails learns Tail Spin!*

"Now are you guys coming or not?" Sonic yelled over to them.

"Sure thing Sonic!" Tails shouted back, and started to fly over to him. Mario and Luigi ran along behind them, stopping occasionally to hit the blocks that were floating around. By the time they reached Sonic, Mario was carrying 30 more coins, and Luigi was tucking into a bottle of maple syrup he had found. Sonic and Tails were looking at them in curious bewilderment.

"Oh, sorry! Did you want some?" Luigi asked Sonic.

Sonic blinked a couple of times, "OK. I'm just gonna ignore the fact that you are EATING a jar of syrup and ask WHERE THE HECK DID THAT STUFF COME FROM?!?"

"The boxes, didn't you see?" Mario said.

"You mean to say that you keep you're stuff in floating boxes on a path where ANYONE could get it?" Sonic asked, sceptically.

"No, it's not OUR stuff. It's just there!" Mario said. "They're just magical boxes that float around carrying stuff."

"And you don't think that's in the least bit strange?" Sonic queried.

"No, why should it be?" Mario asked, "Now are you coming or not?" Mario said, starting to walk off.

"Yeah sure." Sonic said before quietly muttering to Tails "I think we're hanging around with a loony."