Hearts.....

The royal magician, Donald Duck was on his way to see the king. He walked through the grand walls of the palace. They were richly decorated, showing how prosperous the kingdom was. Times were good and Donald was humming to himself. He opened the throne room doors and entered.

"Good morning, you majesty," he said in a scratchy voice. "It's nice to see you this morning..... What!" Donald did a double check. The throne was empty. He looked around. He appeared to be the only one in the throne room.

Then, the royal dog, Pluto, slipped shyly out from behind the throne. In his mouth was an envelope. Donald stepped forward and took the envelope. He opened it and started reading. His eyes got really wide and he raced out of the throne room, screaming gibberish as he went.

Donald raced through the palace, searching for the royal knight, who was the only one who could handle this kind of knowledge. He found Goofy in lounging in the gardens. Donald tore outside, disturbing the peace.

"Wake up, Goofy!" yelled Donald. "This is serious!" He began to shake the sleepy knight. Goofy didn't stir. Donald growled, then raised his wand. He cast a thunder spell, which sent Goofy a few feet into the air.

"Hey there, Donald," said Goofy with a yawn. "G'morning."

"We've got a problem, Goofy!" yelled Donald, trying to convey the importance of the situation. "But don't tell anyone....."

"Queen Minnie?" asked Goofy as he stretched.

"Not even the queen," insisted Donald in a low voice.

"Daisy?"

"No, it's top secret!"

At that moment Queen Minnie and her lady-in-waiting Daisy appeared in the garden, taking an early morning stroll. Goofy looked over Donald's shoulder and saw them approaching.

"G'morning Ladies," said Goofy with a wave.

"What?!" gasped Donald Duck as he spun around.

The two ladies walked over. Donald chuckled, embarrassed. He knew he was sunk.

**************************************************************************** ****

Diamonds.......

AN/ Sorry if this may seem childish, but I had to put the Muppets © in here. I grew up on the Muppets. I love the Muppets. Some of my favorite movies are A Muppets Christmas Carol, The Great Muppet Caper, and Muppets Treasure Island. ^_^

"Hello, Lady Piggy," greeted knight Kermit as he walked into the royal library.

"I bid thee welcome, my noble knight," replied Miss Piggy. She sighed.

"Is there something wrong, Piggy?" asked Kermit.

"It is just a feeling, a feeling like something bad is coming," she answered with another sigh.

"I am sure it can't be that bad," comforted Kermit. "Maybe we should head to the kitchen and have a chocolate sundae."

"No, chocolate cannot solve this problem," she said.

"Ah, there you are, Lady Piggy," said royal scholar Fozzie as he entered from one of the upper floors of the library. "I have news to report to you."

"What is it?" asked Miss Piggy, perking up.

"Well,, I was doing some observations in the telescope," Fozzie answered. "I was watching the stars."

"And what did you see?" asked Kermit.

"The stars are disappearing," he answered.

"What?!" exclaimed Miss Piggy. "But that is impossible! That would mean......"

"Everything is in danger," said Kermit in a low, shocked tone.

"It appears your concerns were right, Lady Piggy," said Fozzie. "Something bad is happening."

"Royal Knight Kermit!" snapped Miss Piggy, instantly going into action. "Take your choice of companion. I send you as my knight and messenger to see to this crisis!"

"What?" asked Kermit, then he saw the look in her eyes. "I mean, yes, Lady Piggy!" he bowed and raced out of the room.

"Is this for the best?" asked Fozzie.

"It is all we can do. This situation is out of our hands," she sighed.

"A companion, who would that be?" asked Kermit as he slowed down to walk through the palace. He found himself in the royal kitchen, so he walked in.

The Swedish Chef was busy cooking and sing to himself in a language no one could understand. Animal was sitting nearby, pounding the silverware against the table with some semblance of a beat.

"Hi, Animal, do you.....?" started to asked Kermit.

"Animal hungry!" yelled Animal as he looked over at the Swedish Chef.

"Never mind....." muttered Kermit as he slowly backed out of the room.

He once again entered the royal halls and continued his search.

BOOM! An explosion rocked the castle.

"What was that?" asked Kermit. But he was forced to duck as Beaker went flying over his head.

"Well, we know that was too much gun powder," said the other royal inventor from the next floor up.

(AN/ This scene is in Muppets Treasure Island. I happen to have forgotten the green Muppet's name, so if anyone remembers, please tell me.)

Beaker pulled himself out of the wall. "Me-me-bbe-ee-bbemmee-beeeppee."

"Keep up the good works, guys," said Kermit, visibly shaking as he walked away from them.

"Heads up!" yelled the royal Captain Gonzo. He had suspended himself from a chandelier and was slowly burning his support rope. He fell to the ground. Luckily Rizzo the Rat happened to be walking along at the time.

"Yee-haw!" cheered Gonzo. "That was fun."

"I am in so much pain," whined a pancake Rizzo.

"Gonzo!" exclaimed Kermit. "Lady Piggy had entrusted me with an important task and I need you help to carry it out!"

"What?" asked Gonzo. "It sounds like fun."

"Help....." moaned Rizzo as the two walked off, leaving him embedded in the floor.

**************************************************************************** ****

Spades......

Link sat outside of the royal palace looking in. It was a peaceful night. The stars were shining brightly and not a cloud blocked them. Link settled in more in the tree outside of Zelda's bedchamber.

Because he was not royalty he knew he had no shot at winning her hand. But still, he wanted to protect her more than anything. That was why he was here. No, he wasn't being a peeping Tom. He may be a stalker, but he wasn't a peeping Tom.

Then, a strange breeze blew through the night. It was cold and unexpected. Link pulled his forest green cloak tighter, trying to ward it off. But the wind wasn't what chilled him, it was the feeling that it carried.

"Something is not right....." he muttered. He took one last look at the princess's window before jumping out of the tree and investigating.

He walked along the castle walls, staying in the shadows and out of sight of the guards. Nothing moved, nothing seemed out of place. That puzzled Link, because he was sure there was something dangerously wrong.

He continued his search, being careful not to be seen. But then he paused. There were no eyes to hide from. Link double-checked. Not a single guard was visible on the castle walls.

"Something is very wrong!" he said as he sprang into action. He pulled out his Hook-Shot, snagged a crag in the castle walls, and pulled himself up.

From there he was able to see the guards. They were all scattered along the walls in various stages of unconsciousness. Link tried to rouse one, but they were all to far gone, so he set out alone.

Link raced down from the walls and into the inner court. There the problem greeted him. Strange imp-like creatures were everywhere, causing chaos.

"Heartless, here?!" gasped Link as he pulled out his sword. He began to cut his way through. "This is awful!"

Wave after wave of Heartless seemed to cover every corner of the castle. Not all were interested in Link, though.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!" a girl's scream echoed through the night.

"Zelda!" gasped Link. He cursed himself for leaving her alone.

Link began to fight with renewed vigor. He had to get to her. He had to save her. He fought his way into the palace, trying to reach her chamber.

"Help!" he heard her echo through the halls.

"I'm coming!" he yelled, trying to give her hope. He threw a Heartless aside and raced down the halls, dodging challenges instead of meeting them.

He found Zelda. A rather large Heartless had her in its grips and was carrying her away. She was struggling, but it didn't seem to have much effect on the Heartless.

"Link!" she half cried, half begged.

"Zelda!" he called back. He pulled out his boomerang and let it fly.

The Heartless batted it away with ease. Zelda gasped, reclaimed his weapon, and brandished his sword.

"Leave her alone!" he demanded. The Heartless seemed to laugh.

Link lunged for an attack. But the large Heartless simply waved a mutated hand. Instantly the halls were filled with smaller Heartless, all fight, jabbing, and clawing Link. The Heartless with Zelda began to drag her away.

"Help! Link!" she begged.

"Zelda!" he cried. But the smaller Heartless kept holding him back. Link began to slash at them blindly, but more appeared to take their place. And Zelda was being taken further and further from him.

"Link!" she called out. But it was faint, she was so far away.

"Zelda!" he cried, once again striking the Heartless.

He fought valiantly. After seeing so many of their comrades fall, the rest of the Heartless backed off. It didn't matter now, there work was done. They retreated, leaving Link alone.

"Zelda," he half sobbed. "I.....I.... I failed you."

**************************************************************************** ****

Clubs......

"You summoned us, Princess Peach?" asked Mario with a low bow. His brother, Luigi, was next to him in a similar position.

"Yes, my royal guards," she replied with a smile. "Rise." They both stood up. "I am proud of your courage and valor that you have showed my countless times. It may be time for you to show that courage again."

"What is it?" asked Luigi.

"Come with me," gestured Peach. She led them out of the throne room, down the hall, up the largest staircase, to the roof where a telescope had been set up. Her tomboy sister, Princess Plum, was looking into it.

"Your worse fears are confirmed," said Plum. "I'm sad to say."

"What fears?" asked Mario. "What is going on?"

"The stars," replied Princess Peach, gesturing up. They all looked up.

"They do look pretty," said Luigi.

"That is not what I meant," sighed Peach. "The stars are fading."

"What?" asked Mario and Luigi.

"Slowly the stars are disappearing," explained Plum. "While each star is not in itself a world, it represents one."

"And if a star disappears...." muttered Luigi.

"A world disappears as well," finished Peach.

"This is in deed a grave situation," muttered Mario.

"So what can we do about it?" asked Luigi.

"There is very little," sighed Peach.

"So much has had to have gone wrong for this to have happened," added Plum. "The door's been opened, the seal broken, the path lost......"

"But we will not give into fear," said Peach, perking up. "We will do what we can do. That is why I need the two of you."

"Us?" asked Luigi.

"Whatever it is, we will do it," said Mario.

"I need you to be my escorts," said Peach. "Plum will stay here and make sure our world remains safe."

"Where are you going?" asked Luigi.

"We have to find the core of this...... evil and stop it," she answered. "That is where I must go. But to find the core we must find the path."

"And the path has been lost," sighed Plum.

"So how are we going to find it?" asked Luigi.

"There is one who will find the path. We must find that one and stay with him or her," answered Peach. "Come, we shouldn't waste much more time."

"You don't have much time left," said Plum, sadly.

"Then we'll keep our good-byes short," said Mario.

"Follow me, the carriage has been readied," said Peach as she gestured to the stairs. Mario and Luigi followed.