"Thank you Mario, but our Princess is in another castle…"

Mario woke up, drenched in sweat, gasping for air. It's all right, he told himself, just another nightmare. He reached over to his nightstand and grabbed the glass of water he'd left there, trying to remember what he had been dreaming about. Bowser was there, as usual, but he couldn't get any details in his mind.

Deciding it was better just not to go there at all, he lay back down and closed his eyes. It wasn't the first time he'd had nightmares. When you'd seen as many things as he'd seen bad dreams were unavoidable; but recently he'd been having them every nightly, and it was beginning to be a bother.

Finally, giving up on ever getting back to sleep, he got up out of bed. He glanced over at his beautiful bride, soundly sleeping, and smiled. She was his life. His being. His princess.

Creeping out of their bedroom, he walked down the long stone hallway and into kitchen. He grabbed some stuff out of the fridge deciding to make him a sandwich. His mind kept drifting off though, thinking about his dreams, and his life, and all the burdens he was buried down with.

And there were a lot of burdens. You see, Sir Mario Francesco Mildeu Weber Maro, or as he was more commonly known Super Mario Mario, led quite an unusual life. The first 25 or so years weren't that strange. Supposedly abandoned by his parents, he grew up in an Italian orphanage along with his younger brother Luigi. When they were still young an older couple called the Maros adopted them, and soon after immigrated to Brooklyn. There he grew up, started a plumbing company with his brother, and had a long-term girlfriend who he assumed would someday marry.

However, in one single night his entire life changed, and he would soon learn he was more interesting then he even knew. It started when a giant ape appeared in New York City, grabbed his girlfriend Pauline, and took her with him to the top of a construction site. Risking his life he climbed to the top, and was able to rescue her. Just as police had tranquilized the beast, a second smaller one appeared, tore open the cage and they both disappeared. Some time later while fixing some pipes with his brother, he came across an unusually large green pipe, which sucked them into it.

And so they appeared in the Mushroom Kingdom. The pipe was no ordinary pipe. It was a warp pipe, a complicated system of underground pipes that, when you enter one will transport instantaneously to the other end of the pipe. This pipe happened to be magically connected for extra-dimensional travel.

Although it is unbeknownst to most people of Earth, there exists a near-infinite amount of alternate dimensions, Dimensions meaning a completely different universe, that occupies that exact same space as one another and separated by the very fabric of time and space itself; In laymen's terms of course. All universes have the same amount of space and planets and land on the planets, but they are all strikingly different. While Earth is one of several mediocre world's, with no knowledge of real magic or outside dimensions, it is often overlooked by more advanced worlds. Nobody knows the exact number of these worlds, and it will probably never be known.

Mario and Luigi had been transported to one of the most mysterious dimensions. The exact planet they were on was Plit, this universe's equivalent to Earth. Plit had several powerful nations, the most powerful of all being the Mushroom Kingdom. Named for its abundance in wild mushrooms, it was a gorgeous peaceful country, headed by an ancient monarchy, and governed by the mushroom retainers. There were two main races here, Mushromes, a race of short, stocky, people who in look like a cross of humans and mushroom. The other less dominant race is Homo-Fungiens, looking mostly human into appearance but still having traces of fungi in them. (Let's not even get into how evolution happened in the world…). This is where Mario and Luigi appeared, in front of the chief retainer Toadsworth, Toad for short.

I'll spare you more explanation of what happened next. But Toad told them their true origin. They had been born into the Mushroom Kingdom, and within them lay large amounts of magical essence, which could only be put to use in their home dimension. The Mushroom Kingdom had been completely invaded by the Turtle Tribe, the Koopa army of the Dark World, led by their King Bowser Koopa. The Dark World was another dimension, eternally dark and filled with suffering; it is the home of some of the most evil monsters in existence. Bowser had kidnapped the nation's leader Princess Peach Toadstool, to utilize the magic within her to reconfigure the Mushroom Kingdom to his liking. As it was Toad's sworn duty to protect the royal family, he had summoned them here.

Shortly after the Mario Bros. were been born, a prophecy had been made by Kamek, a magikoopa advisor for King Morton Sr., Bowser's father, predicting those children would bring the downfall of the Turtle Tribe. They were stolen, but due to luck were rescued, and their parents decided it better to send them away were they could be safe until grown-up. Their parents' names were Jacopo and Lisa Weber.

And so, excepting their fate, they single-handedly defeated the Koopa Army, using the magical gift bestowed upon them at birth. For whenever they were in a dimension that held a particular supernatural element, they gained extraordinary powers: Super-strength, speed, agility, fighting skill, unusual reactions to certain types of mushrooms, plants, and other items, breathing underwater, and a strange connection to Yoshis. And using their powers they rescued the Princess. And she and Mario fell and love.

And in the years following he had to rescue her many more times, and go on countless adventures, Sarasaland, Dinosaur Land, United Colonies of Mushroomia, Isle Delfino, Luna Land, Jewlery Land, Nimbus Land, and many more in other dimensions too. The King of the Koopas had a nasty habit of faking his own death when he had clearly been beaten, or just getting away at the right time. The Mario Brothers have battled various evils, but none so powerful as Bowser, a skill mage as well as a near unbeatable fighter. And as Mario kept saving Princess Peach their love grew, and eventually, after the final defeat of Bowser almost 20 years ago, they finally got married.

Mario stopped his lamenting suddenly as he heard footsteps in the hallway. Toad entered, looking surprised.

"Mario? You sure are up early today?"

"What time is it," he asked.

"Five in the morning." Mario looked up suddenly to the clock. He could have sworn it was much earlier. "What has you up at this time?"

"I could ask the same, Toad."

"I'm always up at five. You however haven't been up before ten in your life."

"Just couldn't sleep I guess," Mario said trying to shift the subject of conversation. Toad looked worried however.

"Have you been having the dreams again?"

"Yeah. You know, if this keeps up, I'm going to start thinking Wart is back to his old tricks." Toad laughed softly, looking fondly toward Mario.

"I understand how hard it must be for you."

"It's not hard, really. It's just that I thought I had this whole Bowser thing behind me. Now the monster's memory is haunting me in my sleep."

"What do you see exactly anyway," Toad asked.

"That's the weird thing, I don't even really know, I think I'm just remembering all the times I dead, that I was beaten up; Tortured." He stopped, like he'd revealed too much, and was afraid what Toad would think. But he had to continue now. "I mean, people fight in one war and end up traumatized for life. How many wars have I fought? How battles have lost? I've died more times then I can count, and…"

"What?"

"I don't know. I was just rambling there I guess."

"I won't judge Mario. I don't care."

"Thanks Toad. You're always there for me. I would have died a long time ago if it weren't for you."

"No Mario, don't say that. You've saved my life many more times. You've saved this nation, and kept it safe. You're our savior."

How many times had he been called that? A savior. He didn't feel like a savior. He didn't battle with the safety of a nation in his heart, he battled for his life and the life of those he knew and cared for. But to the public he was a Mushroomian institution. He was Super Mario, the one with the red cap and blue overalls, who saved their princess and fought for genuineness, integrity, and good; An ageless hero.

And he was in a way. He'd been in Plit for 40 years. A lot of people had grown up already knowing him, and hero-worshipping him. He never asked for it, and he never did understand why people cared so much more for him than Luigi, who had been at his side for all the same amount of battles. And to the people, he seemed immortal. Because the same magic that dwelled inside him also affected his aging process, cutting it in half. So in the 40 years he'd been there, he had only really aged 20 years and while he was pushing 65 he hardly looked a day over 35 himself. It wasn't just him though, anybody who had large quantities of magical essence like him aged half the time we do. Luigi, of course, as well Peach as all members of the Royal Family have since they were born under the Power Star. Queen Daisy of Sarasaland, wife of Luigi, also aged the same way, as did Green Yoshi, the leader of the Yoshi Islands and personal friend. And, as he would come to learn, so did King Bowser.

But yet despite the fact of his seemingly perpetual youth, he couldn't stand getting older. He didn't care that he probably had another good 70 years to look forward to; he just couldn't help feeling like he was getting to damn old.

"Well, I guess there's no point in going back to sleep now," Mario said trying to push these thoughts out of his mind.

"For the best really. We've got a long day ahead of us."

"I know. I can't wait until they get here."