Chapter 1:

Through a Dark Forest

––

Fleet Field

6:00 am

Mario had barely even taken a step out of the Warp Pipe before he tripped and fell over in surprise.

Something was very different about this place.

"Hey, Goomblaine," he said uneasily, "wasn't it just noon a second ago?"

"Yeah?" the hotheaded Goomba muttered as he walked up behind him.

"Well… it's not anymore."

He pointed up at the sky.

Rather than being the bright blue of midday, it was now a pale pinkish orange, still clinging to the last traces of nighttime darkness. The air around them was cool and mild, and the grass was laden with dew. The sun was no longer at its zenith, but was now resting just over the horizon, as though it were just beginning to rise.

"All right, that's messed up. I'll give ya that," Goomblaine conceded.

Mario shook his head in astonishment. "This is crazy," he muttered.

"Well, it's not that hard to figure out," Goomblaine said impatiently. "It's always noon in Soluna Town, right? So it must be, like, always dawn out here."

"Where is here?"

Goomblaine rolled his eyes in exasperation. "We're in Fleet Field, genius. We just follow the path south and it'll lead us to Fleetmont in a little while. And there ain't anything dangerous out here, so don't be whining about that."

Now that he had recovered from the shock a little, Mario stood up and looked around. Fleet Field looked like a really nice, even beautiful place. There was grass on all sides of the little path they were standing on, dotted with little white flowers. The ground periodically dipped and rose in gentle hills, and the path stretched off and vanished in the distance.

"All right, Goomblaine," he sighed, dusting himself off. "You obviously know your way around here, so why don't you lead the way."

"Great idea," Goomblaine muttered sarcastically. Without waiting another moment, he set off down the path, and Mario followed after him, still a little shaken by this revelation.

"This whole Day and Night thing is going to drive me crazy," he muttered.

Mario and Goomblaine walked along in silence for most of the way. There wasn't much else to see, besides the occasional tree or creek that they had to wade across. Mario couldn't help but notice, though, that no matter how long or how far they walked, the sun wasn't moving at all. Time, it seemed, was frozen here as well as in Soluna Town.

As it turned out, Fleet Field was populated largely by Goombas, as well as their relatives, Spiky Goombas and Paragoombas. He didn't bother having Goomblaine Tattle on them, since he knew these enemies forward and backward. All they really did was cause a nuisance. The high point of the trip was definitely finding a Close Call Badge.

"Hey Goomblaine," Mario ventured after he'd finished off yet another Spiky Goomba who'd tried to get in his way, "you know how much farther it is? I think we need to stock up on supplies pretty soon."

"No, I don't know," Goomblaine snapped back at him. "Now just do me a favor and stop talking until we get there, all right?"

"Sorry. I just – "

"Yeah, I don't care what you just."

Mario frowned and watched after him as he kept walking. Rather than following after him, he sighed and sank to a sitting position in the grass, looking around dejectedly.

Not a lot of things frightened him anymore. He could face down almost any manner of monster or disaster without breaking a sweat. He'd even helped to prevent the destruction of every world in existence.

But this was a step beyond even that. He was in a world where time was split in half. And that just shouldn't be possible.

If he'd had someone there with him, someone dependable he could confide in, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe he wouldn't be feeling so vulnerable right now.

This was certainly not the first time he'd been alone in an unfamiliar place, with only a Goomba to guide him. It felt similar to those old times… but at the same time, it felt completely different.

Back then, he'd at least been traveling with a friend. Now…?

"This is hopeless," Mario sighed to himself. "How can I trust him if he doesn't even like me?"

Aw, don't be sad, Mario.

Mario nearly jumped out of his skin. A very familiar voice had just echoed in the back of his mind. He hadn't heard it in ages, but he recognized it instantly. It too belonged to a Goomba – a much different one, one he knew very well. Whenever he had looked at Mario, it had never been in scorn; only friendliness.

Not everybody in the whole world is gonna like you, you know, said the voice. I thought you would be used to that by now.

"I am," Mario assured it. "It's just… I've never had to work with somebody who hated me so much. Even when Bowser and I have had to work together, I think we had a little respect for each other. This guy… he just wants to get rid of me."

Well, what does he know? came a second voice, and Mario was surprised all over again. This one was female, and spunkier and sassier, but no less kind.

"Easy for you to say. You don't have to deal with him," Mario reminded it.

Mario, are you the famous hero we know, or aren't you? the second voice persisted. C'mon, who cares what this one guy thinks of you? But if it's really bugging you that much, maybe you should just get to know each other, don't'cha think?

Yeah. You just keep showing him what a great guy you are, and he'll warm up to you eventually, the first voice agreed.

"It's hard to be nice to him when he won't even cut me any slack. He doesn't even try to understand me."

Have you tried to understand him? asked the second voice.

Mario was caught off guard by the question. He blinked furiously.

No… I haven't, really.

There had to be a reason Goomblaine acted the way he did. There was always a reason.

Not all of his old friends had liked him right away. But he'd always done something – showing them kindness, giving them a glimmer of hope… or just doing what they wanted of him and proving his worth.

"This won't be like those times," he said to the voices, although he could tell they weren't there anymore.

"Who are you talking to?!" came another voice, one much more real and tangible. Mario looked down and saw Goomblaine staring up at him.

"I… uh…"

Goomblaine shook his head. "Freak," he muttered. "Come on. I'm sick of this place already."

He set off briskly, not even waiting for Mario. Very reluctantly, the plumber started wandering along behind him, now feeling more than ever what he had lost.

This won't be like those times at all.

––

Fleetmont

6:00 am

By Mario's estimation, it took them a little under an hour to travel from Soluna Town to Fleetmont. Of course, it was seeming completely obsolete to measure time like that anymore, because it was the exact same time now than it had been when they had first started out.

In any case, though, he had an hour's worth of fatigue built up in him, and so was happy when they finally approached the front gate leading into Fleetmont.

"Do you know who lives in Fleetmont?" he cautiously asked Goomblaine.

"Bunch of Koopas and Hammer Bros, I think," his partner replied callously. "Probably some other guys too. I don't really care."

As they passed through, Mario looked around at the town. It was much smaller and more residential than Soluna Town, reminding him quite a bit of a few certain towns he'd been to in the past. There were a few houses lined up, along with a shop and a Hotel. The ground was all grass, except for the very center of town where a few dirt paths led up to a fountain.

Just as Goomblaine had said, there were a few Koopas standing around, although they were outnumbered at least five to one by Hammer Bros. Mario thought that was pretty strange, especially since a lot of them were pacing back and forth in a very militaristic fashion. Some of them also seemed to be stationed outside of the buildings.

"Weird looking place," he decided. "What do they need all these guys standing around for?"

"Hello there! You two are travelers, aren't you?"

Mario and Goomblaine turned to see an older-looking Hammer Bro come marching up to them. He looked a little hardened from years of duty, but cheerful nonetheless.

"Uh, yeah, we are," Mario replied, still glancing around at all the other Hammer Bros.

"Well, welcome to Fleetmont," said their greeter, grinning broadly. "We're a humble little place, but we always enjoy receiving visitors. What may I do for you?"

"Well actually – " Mario began, but Goomblaine cut him off.

"Hey, man, what's the deal with all these Hammer Bros standing around, huh? You look like you're fighting off some kind of invasion."

"Oh, no, nothing like that. These Hammer Bros are the elite police force of Fleetmont. They're the pride of the town," the Hammer Bro assured them. "As a matter of fact, I'm the chief of police here. My name is Sergeant Sledge."

"Uh, nice to meet you, sir," said Mario. "But actually, we weren't planning on staying in town for too long."

Sergeant Sledge looked disappointed. "Oh, won't you? I'd be happy to show you around. You know, the flowers this time of year are – "

"He said no," Goomblaine snapped. "We're just here because we're looking for something called a Sun Soul. Heard of it?"

Sledge blinked. "Uh, well, I'm afraid not. What does it look like?"

Mario opened his mouth to answer that question, when he realized he had absolutely no idea.

"I… don't really know," he admitted. Goomblaine squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head in embarrassment.

"Well, there's not much I can do for you then," said Sledge, raising an eyebrow. "Now, is there anything else you need as long as you're staying here?"

"Well…" Mario was about to say no, when he thought of something. If he was going to have to deal with time being messed up like this, he'd better figure out exactly how it worked.

"Actually, there is," he replied. "It's always the same time here in Fleetmont, right?"

Sledge gave him a strange look. "Of course. It's always six here. You didn't know?"

"I'm new around here," Mario apologized. "As a matter of fact, I'm not sure how the whole time thing works here in Chronoside at all."

"Ah, well, it's easy enough," Sledge assured him. "In Soluna Town it's always noon, naturally, because it's at the center of things. Everywhere else, time is relative to its location. Take Fleetmont. We're furthest south, so it's six here, just like on the clock."

"Ohhhhhh," Mario said with a comprehending smile. "So, if we were to go, say, clockwise from Fleetmont, would time pass as we went? Until it was seven and eight, like that?"

"You got it. In fact, the Fleet Forest is northwest of here, so it's between seven and eight most of the way through. Normally I'd recommend going to see for yourself, but right now that's not the best idea."

"Why not?" asked Goomblaine.

Sledge suddenly began to look much less cheery.

"You must not have heard," he began, "but there's something strange going on in that forest. People having been vanishing in there, and they haven't been coming back. Even some of the most elite members of my Hammer Force have gone."

Mario's eyes widened. "Really? And you don't know why?"

"Whoever said that? We know it has something to do with the monsters."

Goomblaine rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Oh, monsters! Is that all!"

"What kind of monsters?" Mario asked cautiously.

"They actually showed up here a while ago," said Sledge. "From what we've seen of them, they're some kind of strange-looking birds."

Now Mario was getting skeptical. "How dangerous can a bunch of birds be?"

"Oh, these things are birds of prey, I assure you that," Sledge replied, his voice turning serious. "Anyway, they were never much of a problem before now. But just recently, people have been claiming to have seen something strange appear in that forest that seems to have sent the birds stir-crazy. And now, they're attacking anyone who goes in. Oh, it's a bad state, I tell you."

"Hmm…" Mario felt like he'd just made a breakthrough. "What was that strange thing that appeared? Do people know what it looked like?"

"You think it's that Sun Soul of yours, do you?" Sledge asked him. "Well, it's possible. All people seem to know, though, is that it's big and glowing. Really does sound like a sun, when you put it that way."

"Yeah! That's gotta be it!" Mario cheered, and started striding off without another thought. At least he tried to, but Sledge had grabbed him by his overalls before he'd gone three steps.

"What are you doing?" the Hammer Bro demanded of him. "You're not honestly thinking of going in there, are you?"

"We don't have a choice," Mario said shortly, pulling himself out of Sledge's grip. "You probably wouldn't understand, but we need to get that Sun Soul. And if you want, we can take care of those birds in there while we're at it."

"Since when?! They're not our problem!" Goomblaine shot at him, but Mario motioned him to be quiet.

"Hmm…" Sledge folded his arms. "I'd really rather you didn't risk it. I don't want to have any more disappearances. The town's pretty broken up as it is."

When he saw the pleading look from Mario and the exasperated look from Goomblaine, however, he relented. "…But if it's really that important to you," he said, "I could let you go with a few members of the force as escorts."

"That won't be necessary," Mario assured him.

"Well, you have to have some means of defending yourself in there! You can't honestly expect to walk in there unarmed and – "

"Excuse me, sir," Mario interrupted, pulling out his hammer and holding it out for Sledge to see. "Not to brag, but I'm a bit of a Hammer Bro myself."

Sledge lifted his helmet up slightly, getting a good look at Mario's hammer. "Erm… do you have a lot of experience using that thing?" he asked skeptically.

"Trust me. I have plenty."

Sledge shook his head. "You must be either very brave or very foolish if you still want to go. Well, I can't stop you, I suppose. But at least stock up on supplies before you go. You might be stuck in there for a long time."

––

The Fleetmont Shop, Mario soon found, sold entirely standard wares; Mushrooms, Honey Syrups, POW Blocks, and the like. He didn't know why, but it comforted him to see such familiar things. They reminded him of home.

"What can I do you for, gentlemen?" asked the green-shelled Koopa who ran the shop.

"Well, my friend and I are going on an expedition to Fleet Forest," Mario replied. "What would you recommend?"

The Koopa quickly blanched. "I'd recommend you get your head examined," he said frankly. "Haven't you heard about the monsters?"

"We're headed over there to investigate," Mario assured him, but all he got in response was a worried shake of the head.

"You fellas are crazy. If you're really set on going in there, I'd say empty your pockets while you can. But lemme tell you, we don't sell Life Shrooms here."

"I doubt we'll be needing them," said Mario, trying to sound confident, although at this point he was starting to worry. Was there really something truly dangerous hiding out there in the forest?

Trying to dismiss the thought, he walked up to the counter and casually grabbed a few Mushrooms and Syrups. Pausing to count his money and think a little longer, he also snatched up a Fire Flower and, just to be on the safe side, a Tasty Tonic.

"Is there anything poisonous in Fleet Forest?" Goomblaine asked skeptically as he saw Mario reach for the Tonic.

"You can't be too careful," was his response.

"You sure I can't convince you guys not to go?" asked the Koopa as Mario laid his coins down on the counter. "I'm tellin' ya, people are whispering conspiracy about this."

"Don't worry about us," said Mario, giving the Koopa a wave as he and Goomblaine walked out the door with their items in hand. "It's nothing we can't handle."

Now, though, he was no longer sure that was true.

––

Mario got directions toward the forest from a still-worried Sledge, and after he'd checked and made sure all their preparations were done, he and Goomblaine were off. As they passed through the town, though, he was quick to notice all the other Hammer Bros muttering to each other and glancing at them.

"You guys are really going into the forest?" one of them piped up.

"Yeah. And it's none of your business, so just shut up," Goomblaine shot back.

"Man, you guys are nuts," said a second one. "Even we can't handle it in there, and we're the best guys for the job. Well, most of us are, anyway." Several others began snickering at his last remark.

"We'll be fine," said Mario, starting to lose his patience. "And if we can help it, we're getting rid of those birds too. Now I'll see you guys later."

The Hammer Bros just shook their heads some more and let the two of them pass.

"I never wanna see another Hammer Bro again," Goomblaine hissed as they walked past the outskirts of town, heading down the long path that would lead them to the forest entrance.

"I feel that," Mario sighed. "…Hey, Goomblaine… look."

As they had been walking, Mario had suddenly glanced up at the sky. Now that he was looking at it, he was sure that the sun was all of a sudden starting to rise. Ever so slowly, the sky was growing brighter.

Mario stopped and laughed. "Look at that," he said. "Finally, the thing starts moving again."

"Like that dude said. We're goin' clockwise, so time is goin' too," Goomblaine reminded him.

Mario smiled. It felt encouraging to see the sun rising like it was supposed to, even though it seemed to be going much faster than normal. He and Goomblaine hadn't been walking for more than twenty minutes before they reached the entrance to the forest, and the sun was much higher than before.

Fleet Forest Outskirts

7:00 am

"I think we're here," Mario remarked after a while. Several minutes ago, the trees they had been walking past had started to grow closer and closer together until their branches covered up the sky. They were definitely within what you would call a forest now.

"Well, you know what we do now," Mario said to his partner. "Kill the monsters, get the magic relic of power, save the town. Standard fare."

Goomblaine shook his head. "You really think we're just gonna waltz into Fleet Forest and nab that thing? You think it's easy as all that?"

"Well, it's the only lead we've got. We're just lucky we haven't run into any setbacks so far."

"You shouldn't have said that."

"Why not?"

"Look up ahead."

Mario did, and he groaned. Up ahead of them was a locked metal gate, and he could see Fleet Forest continuing on behind it, the grass growing taller and the trees growing thicker. Just a metal gate wouldn't have been much of a problem, but there was someone leaning on it, guarding the way.

It was another Hammer Bro, although it was a pretty unusual one. For one, this one didn't even have a hammer with them, and was just leaning against the gate, legs crossed and empty arms folded.

For another, this one was a girl.

She had two long, brunette braids tied together with red ribbons coming out of her matching red helmet, and she was wearing a white T-shirt with red sleeves and a pink heart in the middle. She was looking fairly bored as she stood at her post, but the instant she saw Mario and Goomblaine, her eyes widened and she snapped to attention.

"Uh… I'm sorry, but nobody's allowed to pass through here," she said quickly.

Mario frowned. "What? Why not?"

"Sorry… it's kind of a new rule. People have been saying there's monsters that have taken over Fleet Forest. So, I'm kind of guarding the way."

"Dude, what are you talking about? We just talked to your boss, and he said we could go in," Goomblaine said with his usual lack of patience.

The girl didn't seem to acknowledge Goomblaine, however, as she was now closely studying Mario. All of a sudden, her eyes lit up.

"Hey, wait a sec – I know you!" she exclaimed. "I dunno why I didn't see it right away! That hat, that mustache – you're that famous guy from the Mushroom Kingdom, right? You're Mario!"

Mario was taken aback; he hadn't expected anyone from Chronoside to know who he was. All he could do was smile sheepishly and say "Yeah, that's me."

"I'm Hanner. As you can see, I'm a Hammer Bro," she introduced herself. "Or… well, I'm a girl, so would that technically make me a Hammer Sis? It's confusing."

"This girl is a real genius," Goomblaine muttered under his breath. Mario shot him a glare.

"Well, actually, to be honest, I'm not really a Hammer anything right now," Hanner sighed, rubbing her arm. "Y'see, I kinda lost my hammer a little while back."

"You lost it?" Mario raised an eyebrow. "I thought hammers were the most important things to you guys. How'd you lose it?"

"I don't know! It's like one minute I had it, the next it was gone! It wasn't my fault, I swear."

"Yep. A real bright bulb," Goomblaine smirked.

"I can hear you, you know!" Hanner shouted at him. "Look, Mister Mario – I'm really sorry, but it's my job to guard this gate. Even if I don't have my hammer, I have to do my job. You understand, right?"

Mario sighed. "Sure, I guess," he said. "Don't worry about it."

Hanner looked relieved. She clearly didn't want to be on Mario's bad side. "Thank you. Believe me, if they want Fleet Forest closed off, it's for everybody's own good."

Mario just waved her off, turning around and going back with Goomblaine closely at his heels.

"Well, now what?" the Goomba fumed.

"Don't worry. I have a plan," Mario said with a smile. He quickly withdrew the Aeon Hourglass.

Goomblaine didn't look impressed. "How's that gonna help?"

"This is how we got past the guard in Soluna Town, remember? Maybe the Hanner in Nightside isn't at the gate."

Goomblaine raised an eyebrow. "'Nightside'?"

"Oh… yeah," said Mario, looking embarrassed. "Well, I figured since there's not really a Chronoside anymore, there's just the two halves, we should call them something so we can tell them apart. So, they're Dayside and Nightside. Get it?"

Goomblaine gave him an incredulous look. "You are such a freak."

Mario just shook his head at him. "All we have to do is get past the gate in Nightside, then warp back to Dayside and we'll be good to go. Simple as that."

"Fine. Whatever. Not like we have any better ideas."

Mario turned the hourglass over, watching as the shimmering sand fell hypnotically through the glass, and then felt himself enveloped by the familiar flash.

––––

A/N: If you guys have ever read the Abarat book series, you probably recognized the gimmick of every location being a different time of day. Yes, I have no originality. -_-