Chapter 5: Mushroom Interlude

The Mushroom Kingdom was not in a great state. This was being kept secret from most of Toad Town, due to the capital's tendency to launch into all-out panic at the slightest provocation, but most of the leaders throughout the country had been informed of the problem. Namely, that during a skirmish at Mushroom Castle, the Mario Bros and Bowser had both disappeared because of some hare-brained scheme of Bowser's, along with a device Bowser didn't actually know how to use.

Only the Toad Brigade, however, knew that Peach and Kamek were working together to get all three of them back, and some of the members were accompanying the duo to visit a very prevalent scientist to get some help.

Said scientist, Professor Elvin Gadd, was busy with his paranormal research, being a bit of a recluse, and trying to figure out just how a campsite had managed to travel from who-knows-where to Evershade Valley overnight, bringing with it a blue-haired human girl and her tiny penguin friend who had slept through the whole ordeal.

He'd immediately taken the opportunity to draw a bit of blood for his Gadderizing Checker-Upper Mk. 255 to analyze and report, just in case they were suffering from warp sickness, and began to give them a tour of his laboratory. They went along with it for some time, mostly quiet and bewildered, but the girl did ask occasional questions. The penguin didn't, and always let his friend do all the talking. Gadd supposed that some people were just quiet.

"Um… Mr. Professor Guy?" The girl eventually interrupted his long-winded speech about the Poltergust. "… Can you… Uh, tell me what's going on?"

"Oh my, yes," Elvin said. "You see, miss… Oh dear, I've forgotten your name…"

"Actually, you didn't ask… I'm Dawn," Dawn said. "And this is my partner!"

"Piplup!" The little penguin said.

"Yes, Dawn, Piplup. Well… Hm. I'm not too clear on that, whippersnappers." E. Gadd said. "It's very strange, to be sure. Oh! Yes, let's make sure you're in good health." He pulled a piece of paper from the Gadderizing Checker-Upper Mk. 255, and read through it.

"… Can your machine really tell if we're sick or something just from that?" Dawn asked. It seemed a bit unreal, for a machine to be able to tell much from a drop of blood.

"Well, it should. I've used it many times, worked very hard to produce the ultimate perfected diagnosis machine – No doctors out here, you see!" He continued reading the paper. "Oh my! Very interesting, hmm?" He looked at Dawn, studying her carefully, and then the same to Piplup. "Uncanny resemblance, but the data doesn't lie…"

"Piplup, are you confused, too?" Dawn asked.

"Lup, piplup!" Piplup assured her.

"Yeah… No need to worry, I guess!" The Professor did seem pretty nice, if a bit odd… and full of himself.

"Well, I wouldn't say that," E. Gadd said. "The scan suggests that you both are extraterrestrial. Quite extraordinary, really, you and him appear to have more common ancestry than you and I."

"… Wait, so… I'm on an alien planet?" Dawn asked. "… How does that work? It doesn't make any sense…"

"I have no idea," Elvin replied. "But I know someone who might. I'd better give them fellers a call."

No one picked up when he called. He didn't seem particularly worried about it, noting that the two often left the devices he used to contact with them at home while going on their grand adventures. They'd call back in a few hours, Gadd assured.

Then Dawn asked what grand adventures, and lost him. She learned about two young men – Friends to the professor, called Mario and Luigi. With those two were around, 'Anything that can happen, will happen' (He called it an 'improbability field'), which led them to adventure after adventure, constantly saving the world and helping people out.

According to the professor, they were "Real-life superheroes, real stand-up fellers."

For a time, the two traded stories – Dawn about her travels with Ash, and all the trouble they got up to, along with some basic information about where she came from. Gadd responded in turn, regaling her with grand tales of the Mario Brothers, and a few nuggets of information about this world. One of interest was that, in this world, penguins could talk, just the same as humans.

It was long into the night (which took great skill to determine in places like Evershade Valley) when a knock came at E. Gadd's door, and he opened the door to greet what Dawn could only describe as a fairy-tale princess.

She quickly found out that this was, in fact, the same princess from the professor's stories, and that there was a bit of a situation. She brought in three others, two small… People? Dawn had no idea, they looked like walking, talking, mushrooms. The third was a reptilian creature wearing a blue robe, and they began to explain what was going on.

The robed figure was Kamek, Bowser's court wizard, caretaker, and the one who did most of the actual work running the Koopa Kingdom.

"A week ago, the Koopalings and I began working on a technomagical device to send the Mario Brothers somewhere else permanently. We gave it to Bowser, but didn't tell him what it did, only that if he used it on the Mario Brothers, we would finally win."

Peach glared at Kamek.

"Yes, yes… Ah, well, Bowser transported himself, as well, and there's the crux of the issue. We didn't account for Bowser when building the device. So… Well, all three of them are gone, and we don't know where they are or how to get them back."

"I see… Interesting…" Elvin said. "… For one, you really should have thought this through, and calibrated the device to account for greater amounts of matter and magic being transported. For another, exiling people to another dimension is low, even for you."

"Desperation to please His Rowdiness can do incredible things. I'll do everything I can to get all three back. Even if I hate the plumbers," He spat the word like an insult. "None of you are going to let me do anything without getting them back."

"Well, that's good enough for me!" Gadd said. "The real question, then, is what now? I have an inkling Dawn here is probably from whatever world you sent them fellers to. That means there might be some lingering effects of your device – Makes it easier to track, but also more dangerous, yesiree."

One of the mushroom creatures, the one with glasses and a blue cap, spoke up. "I think we should first asses the dangers, and figure out where to go from there. Yellow and I can handle any adventuring that needs to be done."

"And I'll join them," Peach added. "I'm not much for the technical aspect of magic."

"… So, magic? Other worlds?" Dawn asked. "… Wow. Guess Ash rubbed off on me, huh?"

"You're taking this remarkably well," Peach said. "Has this happened before?"

"Not exactly… But stuff like it, yeah," Dawn said. "It always works out, so there's no need to worry!"

"There very well could be, youngster. I'll have to gather some data, run some tests." Gadd said. "We don't know how far down this pipe goes, too far and we could end up in the minus world, and nobody wants that."

Dawn wasn't sure how to respond to that, but Kamek didn't give her the chance, saying that he'd run some diagnostic spells to see if anything had gone wrong, and Gadd telling her and the other guests to make themselves at home while he did his own thing.

Over the next few hours, Dawn got to know Princess Peach and her two friends. The mushroom people were called Toads, and these two were (creatively) named Blue and Yellow. They had more tales to tell about the Mario Brothers, and she was starting to wonder what these two hadn't done.

Eventually Gadd returned, loudly announcing he had good news. "I can tell you where the Mario Brothers are! But first, we need to talk about parallel universe." He chuckled. "Just a bit of humor… Yes, they are, in fact, in the same dimension Dawn is from, finding them was quite the walk in the cake! Not even a smogon of a smeck of difficulty!"

It took Dawn a few seconds to realize what he'd actually said, and she was left wondering what these expressions even meant.

Peach simply ignored them and cut to the chase. "There's a catch."

"… Well, it's too dangerous to bring them back directly. The displacement of several powerful entities from both worlds has done significant damage to space-time. It'll take some time to figure out a solution, and we'll definitely need to find everything from your world, Dawn, that ended up here, before we can even think about getting them back." Gadd looked at the Toads.

"Huh… So, I'm guessing you need me to figure out who's who and what's what, huh?" Dawn asked. She smiled. "Great! A brand-new journey, though another world… Sound like fun, Piplup?"

"Pip-piplup!" Piplup agreed.

"Aren't there people worried about you?" Blue asked.

"… Well, I was on a journey through Johto by myself," Dawn said. "It's going to be a while before anyone really notices and starts worrying. Plus, this'll help you guys find your friends, right? So, count me in!"

Yellow yawned, and spoke up. "She'll get home… sooner… If she's helping, right…?"

"Youngster, you raise a good point," Gadd said. "So! All five of you, on a grand adventure through the Mushroom Kingdom! I suggest you get some rest, and I'll see if I can find out where anything from Dawn's world might be! Kamek may have some insights, too, he's still quite busy out back. I'll also get some supplies prepared for the morning, can't be too careful with these things!"

Blue laughed at that.

"I assure you, I'm always very careful, regardless of any stories Luigi may have told you, especially ones involving yard sales," Gadd said. "Why, I don't even know what a yard sale is. Now, come along, there's some spare cots around here somewhere…"

Kamek reported his concerns to Princess Peach and Professor Gadd, but refused to divulge specific information to anyone else, on the grounds that they wouldn't understand. He assured them that everything was just fine, for now. Gadd had managed to pinpoint something "incredibly interesting", and announced his plans to send everyone out to investigate. Dawn, Piplup, Princess Peach, and the Toads prepared to leave, and Gadd gave each of them a small device that reminded Dawn of her Pokédex.

"These are Dual Screams, or DS, if you prefer!" He explained. "They're a genius device, whipped together by yours truly! You can access maps, contact me, keep track of various information… All you need to run a successful adventure! Oh, and if one of you manages to get sucked into a wormhole, these work through time and dimensions, so no worries!"

"Thank you, Professor," Peach said, accepting one of the devices.

"Uh… What was that about wormholes?" Dawn asked, as she accepted her own.

"Oh, that's right! Forgot to mention last night…" Dawn looked out at the sky that somehow hadn't managed to get bright yet, even though she knew it should definitely be day by now. "Due to the damage to space-time, wormholes could randomly open up and dump you… Well, anywhere, really, in your world, somewhere in ours, in some semi-random world with the barest connection to either… Who knows? Extra safety!"

"That seems like kind of an important thing to forget…" Blue said.

"Yes, yes, very important," Gadd said. "Which is why I'm telling you now! Prepare for pixelation!"

"Hold on, what does that mean?" Dawn asked. Blue looked like he was going to answer, but he didn't get the chance.

"Bundle up!" Gadd exclaimed, laughing madly as he pulled a lever. A beam shot out of a camera on the wall, dematerializing all of them and sucking them into Gadd's computer screen.

The group rematerialized in a hilly area, with light snowfall falling in the dim morning light.

Dawn shivered – She wished she had some warm clothes, but she hadn't exactly expected to be anywhere like this anytime soon. Piplup wasn't much better, clinging to her leg for warmth. She picked him up and held him close to her.

Peach was faring a bit better, and seemed somewhat annoyed by the whole situation. Yellow had somehow managed to stay sleeping throughout the transition, and didn't seem the least bit bothered by the snow. Blue was ranting about E. Gadd.

"This is why no one wants to work for him! He's crazy, he's irresponsible, he tests dangerous inventions on people without their consent, and that's just the tip of the iceberg!"

"Where are we?" Dawn asked. "It's… Really cold."

"Oh… Right. Let's see… This looks like Frappe Snowland. It's always cold here… I've got some blankets you can use to keep warm." He pulled a blanket from nowhere, and it was very warm-looking. Dawn accepted it, and it helped a bit.

"The bridge should be a little way ahead," Peach said. "We should split up from there, and meet back later – An hour or two, I think. Dawn, are you okay with that?"

"Oh… Yeah, sure! We'll be fine, right, Piplup?"

Piplup agreed.

"Alright. Come on, it's just a few minutes' walk." Peach took the lead, and Blue took the rear, dragging the still sleeping Yellow after him.

"What's Mario like?" Dawn asked. "You're friends with him, right?"

"… Yeah," Peach said. "He's one of my best friends. His brother, too. I really hope they're okay..."

"If they can really do all those things you said, I'm sure they're fine!"

"They're the Mario Brothers," Peach said. "Anything could be happening to them right now, but I don't have the slightest idea what's going on. I know they can probably handle it, definitely handle it, but I'm still worried about them."

"I guess so… I worry about Ash, too. He's always on some crazy adventure, and I know he's always okay in the end, but I can't help but think that, one of these times, he might not be, you know?"

Peach nodded. "I know the feeling all too well."

"Is that the bridge you're talking about?" Dawn asked, pointing up ahead to a simple wooden bridge spanning a river.

"That's it alright. We used to have kart races here... Before we split up, let me tell you a little something: There's only a few landmarks around here, and the bridge is one of them. If there's something around, it shouldn't be too hard to spot, but this field is pretty big. And be careful not to go too far – We're close to the edge of this cold region, and you could run into one of the forests. The forests in the Mushroom Kingdom are usually haunted, full of incredibly toxic water, or both. They're very dangerous, but you should be safe as long as you stay in the snow."

"Okay," Dawn said. "Got it. No forests, no worries!"

"Right. Stay safe."

Frappe Snowland was very, very large. After the initial shock of the cold wore off, it was clear that it was nowhere near as cold as Snowpoint City. It was also apparent that it was very, very large, and plenty of places to hide – Dawn hadn't noticed at first, but the entire area was dotted with huge snow sculptures, depicting both people and creatures she'd never seen before, along with snowy hills as far as the eye could see.

There was no way she and Piplup would be able to search that on their own. Luckily, they weren't alone. Dawn released her other Pokémon – Buneary, Pachirisu, Mamoswine, Quilava, and Togekiss.

Dawn explained what was going on – They'd probably already heard most of it from inside their Pokéballs, and indeed they didn't seem surprised, and they split up and went their separate ways.

Pachirisu immediately ran off aimlessly, completely ignoring his teammates and probably forgetting everything Dawn had just said within twenty seconds. Mamoswine and Quilava went off on their own to search. Dawn smiled – It was always nice to see those two working together. Togekiss took to the sky, watching over everyone and for anything to happen.

Buneary and Piplup stayed with Dawn, trekking through the snow and hoping to find something.

"Sure is cold out here, huh?" Dawn asked. "Gosh… Could you imagine camping out here?"

Piplup's eyes went wide. He shook his head as fast as he could – No, he would not enjoy that, not one bit.

Buneary pointed (as best she could) to the vest that Dawn's mother had made for her.

"I think the fluff is doing more to keep you warm than your vest…" Dawn said. "Hey… Do you guys hear that?"

There was a strange sound coming from just beyond the next hill – Piplup didn't seem to hear it, but Buneary certainly did notice after Dawn pointed it out. She raced off, Dawn and Piplup close behind. As they ran, the sound grew louder and louder – Far louder than it should have been.

Buneary stopped and stared when she reached the Peak of the hill. Piplup, upon reaching the top, began freaking out a bit. When Dawn crested the hill, she saw the source of the sound, and she didn't blame her Pokémon one bit for their reactions.

Just beyond the hill was what could only be described as a hole in space, making an indescribable sound that grew louder and louder. Lightning danced around the edges of the hole, and the inside was filled with a pattern of blue lines that looked far too uniform to exist in something like this.

Something red shot out of the hole, crashing into a snowdrift. Dawn looked over in concern, but quickly looked back at the hole, and noticed something she hadn't before. Standing in front of the hole was a woman. Her hair was so pale, and her dress such a light blue, that she must've blended into the snow somehow, despite her incredible height. She raised something in her hand, and waved it around.

The hole was gone, as if it had never been there in the first place. Dawn looked to over to the woman, who remained standing there for a few moments. Then she was gone, as if she'd never been there in the first place. The blue-haired girl was left wondering if any of that had actually happened.

"Did you guys see that, too?" Dawn asked. "That lady, and the weird hole?"

Piplup nodded. "Piplup, lup?"

"You think that's one of the things the professor was talking about?" Dawn guessed. Piplup nodded. "That makes sense… I think I saw something come out of it! Buneary, go check, I'll be right behind you!"

Buneary hopped over to where the red thing had crashed quickly, and called out to Dawn and Piplup as they gave chase.

"It's a Pokémon?" Dawn guessed. Buneary responded in affirmation, and started trying to pull the Pokémon out of the snow. Dawn and Piplup came to help as quickly as they could, but the large Pokémon was proving very difficult to move.

"Ash makes this look so easy!" Dawn complained, and continued trying to pull it out. It was too covered in snow to tell what exactly it was, only that it was very large, and was covered in downy red and white feathers.

Togekiss flew down to try and help, but she wasn't really able to do much. Eventually, Dawn, Piplup, and Buneary managed to pull the Pokémon out, and Togekiss immediately wrapped her wings around the new Pokémon's neck for warmth. Dawn quickly draped the blanket Blue had given her over the rest of its body, and took her time to look the Pokémon over and make sure it wasn't too badly hurt.

Now that she could see it, Dawn could tell this wasn't a Pokémon she'd ever seen before. She'd seen one a lot like it though, and was pretty sure she knew what this one was. Just to be sure, she took out her Pokédex and pointed it at the poor thing.

"Latias, the Eon Pokémon. Latias is highly sensitive to the emotions of people. If it senses any hostility, this Pokémon ruffles the feathers all over its body and cries shrilly to intimidate the foe."

"Gosh… And she's a dragon type, too…" Dawn leaned down to Latias. "Hey, Latias… Wake up, please?"

Latias stirred, and opened her eyes to look at Dawn.

"It's alright, I'm a friend. Are you okay, Latias? Not too cold?"

Latias crooned, and nodded.

"I'm glad you're okay," Dawn said "That was some crazy stuff going on, huh? This might sound weird, but you came through a wormhole and now you're in another world."

Latias's eyes widened, and she began trying to get free of the blanket.

"Hey, hey, it's alright," Dawn said. "I met some really nice people here, there's no need to worry. We'll get home, for sure!"

Latias calmed down a bit, and said something. Now it was Piplup and Buneary who began freaking out.

"I'm really not sure what you're trying to tell me… It sounds important, and I'm really sorry I can't tell." Dawn smiled. "Once Latias is warmed up a bit more, we should go find everyone else, huh?"

Piplup sighed, and agreed with Dawn. Buneary calmed down too, and began drawing things in the snow. Togekiss had remained calm through all this, and just continued to keep Latias warm.

Watching Latias, Dawn was reminded of a story Ash had told her once, about meeting Latias and Latios in Alto Mare. It wasn't the happiest story he'd told, but Dawn wondered… Was this the same Latias? Only one way to be sure.

"Hey, Latias? Do you know someone named Ash?"

Latias jumped at the name, almost throwing Togekiss off, and made a sound Dawn took as a yes.

"Small world! Or worlds, I guess, heh… I travelled with Ash for a long time! He told me all about you and your brother! I'm really sorry about him… But, hey, a friend of a friend is a friend, right?"

Latias had a strange expression on her face that Dawn couldn't place when she mentioned her brother, but nodded in agreement to her last statement.

"Great! Hey, I think it's time to go find everyone else, alright? Wait until you meet my new friends! One of them is a real princess!" Dawn returned Togekiss, and made some quick preparations. Latias offered to let Buneary and Piplup ride her, which the two smaller Pokémon happily agreed to.

Finding most of the team wasn't too difficult. Mamoswine and Quilava had somehow managed to come into contact with Blue, and the three had decided to get into a battle for whatever reason. Blue turned out to be very quick on his feet and much tougher than he looked, and a sleeping Yellow made a surprisingly effective flail and projectile.

Dawn quickly broke up the battle, and explained to Blue that these were more of her friends, and demonstrated how the Pokéballs worked for him. He was weirded out, but eventually accepted that friendly monsters could somehow fit into metal baseballs. It was after this that Dawn returned his blanket.

Pachirisu proved much harder to find, but it eventually turned out that he'd decided that one of the giant snow sculptures must be made of ice cream, and was busy trying (and failing) to eat it. Blue took one look at the squirrel and sighed in exasperation as he set Yellow down on the ground.

Dawn started to ask Buneary to go get him, but Blue acted quickly. He turned on the spot and jumped, somersaulting towards the sculpture. He hit the wall of the giant snow dragon, somehow managing to stick to it and jump off again. He managed to turn in midair and grab the ledge at the top of the sculpture with tips of his fingers, and vaulted up to grab the electric squirrel. He quickly hopped down as though nothing had happened, and handed Pachirisu back to Dawn.

"What was that?" Dawn asked, as she returned Pachirisu.

Blue shrugged. "I've been on a couple of adventures. I got good at it, I guess."

Despite not being able to find anything, Princess Peach had not given up. She knew that people wouldn't be happy with the destruction of the snow sculptures, but she also knew that something important could be hiding anywhere. She lifted a sculpture of herself into the air and blasted it apart with magic, once more finding nothing but snow.

She wished that E. Gadd had actually given them any sort of idea or reason for what they were doing here, instead of just leaving her to guess that they were looking for something or someone from Dawn's world. So far, she'd failed to find anything unusual, and it was getting frustrating.

Peach continued walking through the snow, but for quite some time couldn't find a thing. It was only when she sat down by a snowman that she saw something glittering in the snow some ways away. With renewed determination, she lifted it over to herself with magic.

It was a small round stone, but easily one of the most interesting ones she'd ever seen. It glistened with all the colors of the rainbow, and within it was a strange symbol that looked sort of like a twisted ladder. No matter which way she turned the stone, the symbol always looked the same, which was undoubtedly unusual.

It definitely wasn't something she'd seen before, but she doubted Gadd would have sent them here just for this tiny stone. She pocketed it anyway, as she hadn't managed to find anything else. She sat in the snow a while longer, taking the time to think about the Mario Brothers.

Her dearest friends… Where were they now? What were they doing? Were they also working their hardest to get themselves home? Peach sighed. She knew them too well to believe that… As long as there was someone in need, Mario couldn't leave them; and Luigi would go far beyond the ends of the world for his brother. Even if they knew the dangers, they'd try and solve all the world's biggest problems first.

Despite what Kamek had said to everyone else, his diagnostic spells had raised cause for concern. While nothing serious had happened yet, the magic of the world was less stable than usual. Environmental magic in the other continents had already begun to collapse. Kamek didn't know when, or even if, the Mushroom Kingdom and the surrounding countries would be affected, but emphasized that if they were, the amount of magic and how tightly it was bound to the continent meant that such effects would be absolutely catastrophic and difficult to predict.

Peach snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Dawn calling to her, and looked over to see the young girl and Blue standing side by side. Blue was still dragging his sleeping brother around, and Peach could see that they were joined by someone new – Or two, actually, as Peach could see a small rabbit next to Dawn's penguin friend.

Peach, being the de-facto ruler of one of the largest countries on the planet, had extensively studied its species and races. She'd never seen this one before, though it was clearly draconic or avian.

Dawn introduced her new friends – The rabbit, Buneary, had actually been with Dawn since the beginning, in a device she called a Pokéball that seemed to be used as transport and portable living space. The dragon was named Latias, and had come through a wormhole, or what Dawn thought was one.

Like Piplup, Buneary and Latias were only able to say variations of their own names. Listening to them, Peach wondered why that was, and how it worked... Although the Yoshi language did make extensive usage of variations on the word 'Yoshi', it wasn't used quite to this extent, and the syllables were never split like this, either.

They called Gadd, and talked to him for a while. He informed them that they'd have to find their own way, he couldn't just pixelate them back (which was a definite inconvenience, no matter how weird pixelation felt). Piplup, Buneary, and Latias continued talking among themselves throughout the conversation, which continued to be a distraction to Peach even after they finished talking to the professor.

Peach, thankfully, did know how to get to Shiver City from here, and Blue was able to quickly calculate that, given the worst conditions possible, constant travelling should get them there around five in the afternoon – well before the sun set, leaving them able to reach the Toad Town Tunnels with little difficulty or danger.

It actually went going somewhat differently – Dawn couldn't keep up with Peach and Blue, so she was given a ride by Latias. The dragon had absolutely no difficulty in keeping up, and didn't even seem winded by the long trip when they stopped to rest halfway through. They did reach Shiver City well before it got too cold, and Dawn suggested they stay for lunch.

"Some warm soup would be nice," Peach agreed. "But… Most of the people here are penguins. Piplup… Please don't talk to them, they won't understand you, and that might raise some concerns. The others should probably stay quiet, too, but it's not as much of a potential problem."

"No need to worry!" Dawn said. "Right, Piplup?"

"Pi pip lu luppi!" Piplup agreed.

The lunch had been excellent – A mildly spicy soup that filled you with warmth, no matter how cold you may be. When Dawn remarked on it, Peach said it was because the soup was made from magical flowers containing the essence of fire, called Fire Flowers. Dawn also got some extra to feet her other Pokémon later.

After lunch, Peach led the way to a green pipe sticking out of the snow, a strange sight indeed, and jumped down. Blue did as well. Dawn looked to Latias and her Pokémon, who seemed just as bewildered as she was.

"Well, I guess there's only one way to find out," Dawn said. "Come on, let's go!" She got a running start, and leapt into the pipe.

The experience was difficult to describe… She couldn't tell which way was up, or down, or if she was even moving, but within seconds she'd been spat out of another pipe deep underground, somewhere far warmer than Shiver City had been.

Peach and Blue were standing in the room, waiting for her.

"Welcome to the Toad Town Tunnels," Peach said, just as Piplup and then Buneary flew out of the pipe. "As soon as everyone's here, we'll be going to the castle."

It took a bit longer, but eventually Latias came through the pipe. Dawn was a bit surprised that she'd fit, but the dragon didn't seem to have had any trouble at all… She seemed just as surprised by this as Dawn was, so she'd probably had reservations about fitting, as well.

"Alright, let's go. Blue, you know the way?"

"I've been down here plenty of times. I've got camping supplies if we need it, anyway."

"Why would we need that?" Dawn asked.

"Come on, I'll explain while we walk… We want to get out quickly."

Blue led them through several tunnels, all the while Peach was explaining about the tunnels themselves. "These tunnels are a maze. No one knows how big they really are, though – space and time don't seem to have the same meanings down here."

Dawn looked to the trash floating in the water. "A magical sewer?" she guessed.

Peach glared at the trash. "Not a sewer… People have been throwing their secrets down here for two hundred years."

"That's not very nice…" Dawn said.

"No, it's not. I've been trying to get them to stop. The tunnels, apart from being incredibly convenient, are older than the kingdom itself, and a national treasure."

"Older than the kingdom? Cool..."

"I agree," Peach said, smiling at the young girl. "I've always wondered who built them, and why. Before it was the Mushroom Kingdom, this place was just known as a cursed land of unnatural wilds. The only people crazy enough to live here were Mario and Luigi's ancestors, but even they didn't know where the tunnels came from."

"Weird…" Dawn said. A mysterious piece of history, in a parallel universe, and she was walking through it. Sure, it smelled bad, but it was still cool. "You must really like this stuff, huh?"

Peach nodded. "Yes, I do. I know I'm the Princess and I shouldn't be thinking about all this, but it's my dream to figure out all the secrets of the Mushroom Kingdom."

"That's a nice dream," Dawn said. "It's my dream to be a great Pokémon Coordinator! Showing off my Pokémon, putting on performances that show people how great they are, that make people smile… Yep, that's my dream!"

"A dream you share with others..." Peach said. She sighed. "… Yeah, I wish Toadsworth shared some of my dreams. But, no. He'd much rather be a worrywart whenever I'm in trouble, even though Mario and Luigi always get me out of it; and insist upon proper manners and a princess-y appearance whenever I'm not."

"… I'm sorry," Dawn said.

"Don't get me wrong," Peach said. "I love Toadsworth. He basically raised me, after all. I want to go on adventures and discover new things. Maybe not the same thing Mario and Luigi do, because they can do so many things that I can't, but there's other stuff I can do." Peach sighed. "And anything is better than being kidnapped again for some arbitrary reason!"

"… Well, we're sort of on an adventure now, right?" Dawn asked.

"… You're right," Peach said. "… Thank you, Dawn. For listening, and for being a friend even though you don't really know me."

"It's not a big deal," Dawn said. "If Ash taught me anything, it's that you can accomplish a lot, just by listening and doing what you can. We got into a lot of weird situations, but always managed to figure things out."

Peach laughed. "That's my entire life. I guess not much has changed, then."

"Nope!" Dawn said. "We'll figure it out, and set it right!"

Latias made a sad sound from behind. Dawn looked back, concerned. "I really wish I knew what you were trying to tell me…"

"… Professor Gadd might be able to help." Peach said. "He's made some interesting devices, so a translator shouldn't be too difficult for him."

"Devices…" Dawn said. "… That's right! Piplup can type!"

"Piiip, lup!" The penguin in question said, posing proudly.

"That'll be well and good once we find a computer," Blue said, coming to a stop and setting Yellow down on the floor. "But we've got bigger problems. We're lost."

"I thought you knew the way?" Dawn asked.

"I did, and I know exactly what room we're in," Blue said. "The problem is that this room is upside-down and not where it should be. The layout has changed."

"… It's probably a side effect of Kamek's portal," Peach guessed. "The warp magic of the tunnels is twisted… That's definitely a problem. Are there any exits that don't involve warps?"

"There's one about halfway between Mario's house and Truffle Towers," Blue said. "We're probably better off just picking pipes at random, though. We… Could be down here a while. I've got supplies, like I said, but not very much. No chance of the Professor contacting us down here, either."

"No need to worry, I've got plenty for everyone!" Dawn said. "I just restocked on stuff yesterday, there should be enough food for… I guess a week or so, if we get stuck. Only one tent, though."

"… Better hurry, anyway," Blue said. "… If you see a hole in the ceiling, let us know. Peach? Can you lift us out if we find one?"

"… Not easily, but yes, I can," Peach said.

Latias chirped.

"I think she's saying she can help," Dawn said.

"… That should all be fine, then," Peach said. "Let's get on our way."

It'd been a long climb, but he was used to it, and it'd all be worth it if his wish came true. Shooting Star Summit, Star Hill… Whatever it was called, it was the place on Earth closest to the stars. If he wished from there, it was sure to come true… Or he'd at least have some answers.

On the summit, he stared into the starry sky, and made his wish. He needed to find his friends. He needed to bring them back.

And the sky broke open. The little dragon glared down a yawning hole into nowhere. This otherworldly thing had taken them, he knew it. And he, Yoshi, was going to bring Mario and Luigi back, if was the last thing he did. He didn't hesitate for a moment.

Just after he jumped through, the wormhole closed quietly. There was no trace left that it or Yoshi had ever been on the mountain in the first place. Suddenly, Rosalina was there. She looked around, saw no wormhole to fix, and just as suddenly wasn't there anymore.

So. This chapter.

When I opened up the rough draft for editing, I realized I didn't like the chapter very much. So I scrapped it, and re-wrote it, trying to get more out of plot advancement and the characters. Dawn and Peach were always the focus of this chapter, but the original draft was more about Peach than this one. Also, less than half the length. I had no idea this chapter would end up so long, but I guess there's a lot I wanted to say and do.

That bit with Yoshi? Wasn't expecting that up until the end, either. But I decided I want Yoshi. So Yoshi.

guest 16 asks if it's going to basically be a re-run of the Kanto saga. No, not really. The time travel is there for two reasons: To give a conflict to Ash and his friends, who otherwise might not know something is wrong; and to have situations that wouldn't otherwise be possible. There's more things that will change, Ash definitely won't be competing in the league (at this point, I'm not sure he's going to get even one badge), and the story will visit other regions (at least Sinnoh).

You may ask, where did Piplup learn to type? Pikachu taught him. He does not write because he cannot hold a pen.

Rosalina's around, trying to run damage control, but she's overwhelmed and doesn't have much time to stop and talk to anyone.