Chapter 1: Unfortunately
Just like every other day in the Mushroom Kingdom, today was a beautiful day. Although it was, indeed, a beautiful day, Toad had an eerie feeling. He, Toadsworth, and Princess Peach were out in Mushroom Village Central enjoying the bright sun. It had been a long shopping day for the three, so they were tired. The highlighted day of Luigi and Princess Daisy's marriage was drawing nearer, and Peach wanted everything perfect for her best friend.
"Good golly, Princess!" Toadsworth jumped to his feet.
The princess looked over to the troubled Toadsworth, "Toadsworth? What's the matter?"
"I knew something has been missing. It seems you've left your parasol by the fruit stand," he said. "Please allow me to fetch it for you, Miss."
"Oh. Right," said Peach. "I had the odd feeling I had forgotten something..."
While all of this on going commotion, Toad was daydreaming. He was lieing back and did not hear a word coming from either Princess Peach or Toadworth's mouths.
"I'm sure Master Toad will watch over you while I'm gone." Toadsworth waited for the slightest reply from Toad. "Ahem."
Toad snapped out of his daydream, looking a bit dazed. "Yeah, sure," he assured him.
"Jolly good, then. Tallyho!" Toadsworth
spun around, and with that, strolled off out of sight…
It had seemed quiet for a while. This made Toad very drowsy. Eventually, he dozed off, until he was rudely awoken by a tap on the shoulder. It was a woman Toad. Her mushroom-like head was red with white spots. She had two neatly done buns of purple hair, a red kimono, and an over-sized tray of fortune cookies. "Fortune cookie? They're the finest around these parts," the woman said in an Asian accent. She seemed very polite.
Toad blinked curiously, and noticed his stomach was grumbling. He had not eaten since breakfast. With that, he smiled, "Mm-hm!" Toad happily took the fortune cookie, "Thank you, er-"
"Kyoko. Kyoko Hatashi," she replied.
"Ah. Thank you, Kyoko-san." Toad bowed his head, and took himself a fortune cookie.
Kyoko giggled, and bowed as well. She turned and walked off in the same way Toadsworth had gone before her.
Toad turned his attention to the fortune cookie in his hand. He slowly cracked it open it to reveal a neatly folded piece of paper, but before he could catch even a glance at what it said, a gust of wind took it away. Toad stumbled to his feet and took off running toward his fortune. By then he had completely forgotten about Princess Peach, who was sleeping under an oak tree next to a garden of newly blooming Fire Flowers.
As Toad continued to chase the fortune, he had the strangest feeling that the wind would follow him at every turn he would take.
He was so busy looking up at the soaring fortune, he did not notice the fruit stand directly in front of him. Crash! Toad ran directly into the fruit stand. Dozens of Toads and Koopas all turned to see a fallen Toad covered in smashed fruit. After Toad noticed all of the Mushroom Kingdom citizens staring at him, he also noticed the wind had stopped. Of the residents, Toadette ran out of the crowd to Toad. "Toad! Are you al right?"
Sort of embarrassed from Toadette seeing him in this condition, Toad blushed and replied, "Wow, that fruit stand just jumped out in front of me!"
"Sure it did," Toadette replied sarcastically, "Are you sure you didn't gain a concussion along with that fall of yours?"
"Er- Of course not," said Toad. When he gestured with his hand when making this statement, the fortune fell right into it. He unfolded the tiny slip of paper, and read it aloud, "Unfortunately, today will not be your day. You will lose someone dear, and you will have an accident involving a fruit stand, “he finished. "Gee... Kind of late, don't you think?"
"Hey, there's something written on the back, too," Toadette pointed out, flipping the paper in his hands.
"But the road ahead is looking bright," he read the rest.
"Bonjour! Master Toad! Miss Toadette!" Toadsworth jumped out of the princess' royal helicopter, which was parked on the landing pad on the other side of the street. "I chased you all of the way here! You seemed urgent to get somewhere."
"That explains the wind..." Toad mumbled to himself.
"Anyway, this is really uncunning, Master Toad. I am very disappointed in you," Toadsworth continued.
"Wha- What did I do?" Toad asked, clearly confused.
"The princess has vanished! Master Toad, I specifically told you to keep an eye on her!" Toadsworth seemed panicked.
"Now now, calm down, Toadsworth. I'm sure she is okay!" Toadette assured him. "Maybe she went to the castle to look for the two of you."
"Yes, she's right. And I'm sorry, Toadsworth. I just got carried away with this fortune." Toad ripped the fortune in half and let it fall to the ground.
"I'm sorry as well, my dear boy, but this time sorry is just not going to cut it!" Toadsworth yelled so loudly that a few Toads and Koopas turned to see what was going on. "Now, let us make haste and get back to the castle."
Toadsworth, Toad, and Toadette all hopped into the helicopter. Its engine started as the propellers started to spin rapidly in circles, lifting the helicopter into the air.
Meanwhile, at the Mushroom Kingdom Royal Castle...
The courtyard was beautiful. The flowers were finally blooming, indicating that the long, cold winter was now behind them and melting into spring. It was all thanks to Toadette, who kept the garden up very well.
A warp pipe appeared at the doorway. Out hopped an Italian plumber dressed in overalls with a red shirt and a red cap with an "M" in the center. Why, it was none other than our hero Mario himself. Mario looked around at the flowers, and picked a beautiful purple one that seemed to stand out from them all. He then turned back around, and knocked on the door a few times. No answer.
"Eh?" Mario scratched his head. "No one seems to be home."
He shrugged as the helicopter carrying the three Toads landed behind him. Toadsworth was the first to jump out. He scurried across the flowerbed, ruining many of the flowers. Toadette sighed, "All that hard work..."
"Master Mario! It has never been more of a pleasure to see you!" Toadsworth shouted frantically.
"Er- Nice to see you, too," Mario replied.
"Listen. There has great misfortune, Master Mario!" Toadsworth continued to shout. "The princess has gone missing!"
"That was oddly expected..." Mario mumbled. "Well, she isn't home, either. I can tell you that now."
"Aw!" Toadsworth shouted in frustration, " I must inform the residents! Master Mario, I would like you to set a search party! You, Master Toad, and Miss Toadette need to set sail and search for her!"
"Set sail? Is that even necessary?" Toadette asked.
"Indeed it is, Miss Toadette! And I expect you to go with Masters Mario and Toad!" Toadsworth shot back at her. "I can assure you the princess isn't in the Mushroom Kingdom! I searched in the helicopter while Master Toad, here, carelessly left the princess alone!"
"Let's do it," Toad said. "I got you two into this mess, and I plan to get you out of it."
Mario and Toadette nodded.
Chapter 2: Misfortune in Sarasaland
Toadsworth had already hopped into the royal helicopter and flown into the distance, yet Mario, Toad, and Toadette remained in place.
"So what are we going to do?" Toadette asked Mario.
"Why are you asking me?" Mario questioned her.
"Well, you're the one who always goes to rescue the princess in situations like this..." Toadette replied.
"Good point," Mario answered. "In that case, I know exactly where to go. Isle de Koopa."
"Bowser's Castle? Again?" Toad asked. "I thought you took care of him over fifteen times."
"Good point as well, but who else has attempted to kidnap Peach?" Mario asked Toad.
"Well, Wart, Donkey Kong, er-" Toadette ran out of ideas.
"Well, Toadette, we haven't seen the slightest glimpse of Wart in over ten years, and in case you haven't noticed, Donkey Kong is a good guy now," Toad informed her.
"Very true," Toadette stated. "Okay, Toadsworth told us to set sail, right? Well, let’s set sail now, and stop at any island we come across. It is the only way we will find her. Eventually we'll get to Kooptropolis Island, right?"
"Yeah, if it's the only way," Toad replied. "But we don't know who or what we're up against, so we may need a few add-ons."
"Toad, you're just being superstitious after you read that fortune of yours," Toadette muttered.
"Am not!" Toad debated.
"Cool it!" Mario shouted. "I'm sure I can get at least two with us. Luigi and Yoshi will be more than happy to come. Possibly Princess Daisy too."
"Okay, then," Toad blurted. "What are we waiting for?"
"A ship..." Toadette told him.
"We can just use Peach's private cruiser!" Toad shouted.
"We can't do that!" Toadette shouted back. "The princess is out there somewhere suffering miserably while we're in her luxurious cruiser searching f-" Toadette stopped once she realized Mario and Toad had already disappeared. "Great."
Peach's private cruiser was in the back of the castle parked alongside the waterfall. It was not the biggest cruiser ever because of the fact it was "private", but it was big enough for them. Complete with five bedrooms and bathrooms, a pool and hot tub on the front deck, and a tennis court and a minigolf course on the back deck, there was an arcade, a kitchen, a huge dining room, and just about anything else you could think of.
Mario, Toad and Toadette boarded the cruiser and Toad pulled up the anchor. Mario steered the ship out of the moat and into the Starman Ocean, which bordered the whole Mushroom Kingdom.
"Well, I have to admit, Toad, this is a very good plan of yours," Toadette commented.
"I knew you'd agree," Toad replied with a wide grin.
Toad and Toadette were living the life of luxury. Toadette was sunbathing and Toad was swimming laps in the heart-shaped pool. Mario had set the ship on autopilot, heading directly for Sarasaland, while he himself practiced a few tennis shots against a holographic Wario and Waluigi while partnered with a holographic Luigi. He was using a holographic ball, and a special racquet allowing Mario to hit the non-existent sphere.
It was getting late. The sky was fading to a cold black, but its beauty remained with the stars. Toad had finally gotten out of the pool and earned the high score on Mario Kart: Double Dash in time trials playing as himself and Toadette on DK Mountain. The day brought him to exhaustion, so he met with Toadette and Mario in the dining room.
"Seems like you've finally made it," Mario told him. "Where've you been?"
"Arcade," Toad replied. "Where's Toadette?"
"In the kitchen making supper. She volunteered to cook tonight," Mario added.
"Ah, I see," Toad replied. His eyes were bloodshot from staring at the videogame screen for four hours straight.
Toadette finally walked out of the kitchen with a cart of food. There was ham, chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, everything!
"Wow, Toadette! All of this for three people?" Toad asked her.
"Well, I was really hungry, and I got carried away with all the food in the pantry that you need a map to find your way around..." Toadette told him sheepishly.
"Who cares? Let's eat!" Mario shouted, digging into his food like a pig.
After their delicious meal, they were off to bathe and get ready for bed. Before they split into their bedrooms, they stopped to go over the plan for the following day.
"Okay, so tomorrow we should be landing in Sarasaland," Toadette stated.
"Right," Mario answered. "There, we'll get Luigi and Princess Daisy to come along with us."
"Right," Toad finished the conversation. "Well, I'm ready to hit the hay."
The trio parted to their bedrooms, and fell into a deep sleep.
The next day...
Toad sat up in his king-sized bed and stretched his arms. After yawning deeply, he stepped into his bathroom, and began to brush his teeth. Looking over at the clock hanging on the wall in his room through the mirror, Toad quickly spat out his toothpaste, and shouted, "11:07?!"
Toad dashed into his closet, got dressed, and stormed into Toadette's room. It was empty, as was Mario's. "They must be in the dining room eating brunch."
Toad scurried to the dining room. No one. However, out the window was not water. Instead, it was fields of early-blooming daisies. "We're in Sarasaland already?!"
Toad dashed out of the dining room, onto the front deck, and jumped overboard, luckily landing on the castle cruiser deck five feet below him. He ran down the stairs and tripped, evidently falling right on top of Mario.
"Oh, I see the late riser is finally awake," Mario stated.
"Don't worry, Toad, we've just arrived," Toadette added.
"Okay, well, let's go." Toad walked ahead.
The fields of daisies seemed like it stretched on for miles and miles, until they finally got a clear sight of the Sarasaland castle. Much like the Mushroom Kingdom Castle, a mosaic of Princess Daisy, instead of Princess Peach, was beautifully framed over the front door. Mario gave the door a quick knock. No answer.
"I have the feeling of déjà vu here." Mario sighed.
"Yeah, this is crazy," Toad commented.
"Yoo-Hoo!" a voice shouted from behind them. "Mario!"
The three spun around to find Luigi running frantically towards them.
"Luigi! What's the matter?" Mario asked his brother.
"It's Daisy. I can't find a single trace of her!" Luigi cried.
"Daisy too?" Toadette asked discouragingly. "That's a first- Well, a second..."
"Well, where did you see her last, Luigi?" Mario asked.
"Yesterday," Luigi continued. "I was relaxing with the princess in Sarasaland Central, when I was given a fortune cookie. And then-"
"Let me guess: wind took the fortune, you chased it, boom, Princess Daisy is gone," Toad finished unenthusiastically.
"Um... Yeah," Luigi answered with the same puzzled look that Mario had on his face at the same time. "Then I ripped the fortune in half because I crashed into a fruit stand."
"Freaky," Toadette blurted.
"Well, you see, Luigi, Princess Peach is missing also," Mario told him. "That's why we're here."
"Have you seen her anywhere in Sarasaland?" Toadette asked him.
"Whether you are talking about Peach or Daisy, the answer is no," Luigi replied.
"Well then," Toad started, "how about you come with us? We are using Princess Peach's cruiser to sail the Starman Ocean in search of her. You can come with us to look for Princess Daisy as well."
"Did I hear the word ‘cruiser’?" Luigi's eyes twinkled. "I'm in."
Toadette sighed.
"Okay!" Toad shouted for joy. "All we need is Yoshi, and we're on the road- er- water!"
"Well, I need to pack my stuff, so feel free to go into Sarasaland Central and ask the residents questions," Luigi told his friends. "They might have seen where Daisy went off to."
"Let's do it," Toadette said.
Luigi turned his heel and went through
the castle doors to get ready for his big voyage, as Mario, Toad, and Toadette
set out for Sarasaland Central. When they had finally arrived, they were
all dazzled by the sight. The city was filled with daisies and smelled
of freshly cut spring flowers. The place seemed so much more peaceful here
than it did in the Mushroom Kingdom. The trio wandered the streets wondering
what bit of information they could find here.
Chapter 3: One Truth, One Soothsayer
Toad, Toadette, and Mario wander the streets of Sarasaland, looking for the whereabouts of Princess Daisy or Princess Peach. That small piece of information seemed to be nowhere to be found. At least it was not here in Sarassaland.
"This is hopeless," Toad pouted. "There is no one left to ask. No one knows where they are!"
"He's right..." Toadette pouted as well, slouching against a wall.
"Come on, you two! Be a little optimistic..." Mario told them. Neither was listening.
"It is the princesses of which you seek?" sounded an old, raspy voice from behind Toadette, making her jump a little.
"Your destiny is not as you wish, my dear boy," said the old man to Mario.
"You mean we'll never find the princesses?" Mario asked the old man.
"I never said that," he told him.
"Why should we listen to you?" Toad asked him suspiciously. "What are you, some sort of fortuneteller?"
"Indeed, I am a soothsayer." he told them. Toad and Toadette both raised one eyebrow in disbelief.
"How do we know you're not some kind of phony trying to take our money?" Toad asked him.
"I do not wish to be paid for my services," the soothsayer continued. "I can prove this to you all."
Toadette looked a little more convinced than Toad's now.
"All right, then. How about it?" Toad tried to sound as if he were challenging him.
"You were yesterday hit by a fruit stand," he told Toad, then looked over to Toadette. "You are a gardener at Princess Peach's Castle. Yesterday, your flowers were trampled over by a man older than I am." Then he looked over to Mario. "You are an Italian plumber who rescues women and collects money."
Toad busted into laughter.
"But, it is the truth," the soothsayer said over Toad's ballistic laughing. Mario glared at the soothsayer with hate in his eyes.
"Okay, so you got all of that stuff right, but it's still hard to believe..." Toadette said with a careful look.
"No matter," said the soothsayer. "Don't believe me. You'll regret it."
As he began to turn, Toad immediately stopped laughing, and then shouted, "WAIT!" Toadette rolled her eyes once more at Toad being so superstitious.
"Can you tell me about my fortune?" Toad asked him, digging in his pocket for the fortune the Asian Toad, Kyoko, had given him, "Oh drat!" he shouted. "I forgot that I ripped it and tossed it away yesterday!"
"No matter for that either, I believe I have exactly what you're looking for. Please, step into my room."
None of them had noticed this, but they were standing next to a doorway that was filled by beads instead of a door. The soothsayer walked through the beads, followed by Mario, Toad, and Toadette. Mario still looked angry about the old man's insult, but still said nothing.
The room was draped with dark purple curtains that seemed to engulf the room with a creepy feeling. In the center was a round, wooden table with four wooden chairs assembled around it.
They took each a seat, and looked around at each other until the old man took a seat as well, opening his hand and revealing a slip of paper ripped in half. "I believe this is the fortune you are talking about?"
Toad took the pieces and put them together, reading the words aloud. “‘Unfortunately, today will not be your day. You will lose someone dear, and have an accident involving a fruit stand.' Yes, I think this is it," Toad said.
"Wait, read the back!" Mario shouted.
Toad flipped the parchment over, reading it aloud. “‘You’re doomed.' I don't think this is mine..."
"Toad... I think that's Luigi's fortune..." Toadette said cautiously.
"Please, Toadette. Fortune cookies are a joke," Mario told her. "This is a waste of time. “You’re doomed"? What kind of fortune says that?"
"You're right, let's get out of here," Toadette replied, standing up after Mario. "You coming, Toad?"
"You guys go ahead. I'll meet you at the castle," he replied.
The soothsayer waited until Mario and Toadette exited the room to mutter, "Fools..." he quickly turned back to Toad. "They don't know anything about the future, but you, my friend, will."
Toad looked upwards. Floating above them was a little creature. It was about the size of a golf ball, and had a grayish tint. It was huge, but cute blue eyes beamed down at Toad.
"This is Yera, my time-traveling friend," the old man said.
Toad remained silent as the small ball floated around the soothsayer's head, illuminating blue sparkles as it danced.
"Yera is now seeing the present, seeing as its eyes are blue, but when they are red, they see the future, and when green, they see the past." the soothsayer explained, as Yera began to dance around Toad's head. "Only those whose destiny is dark can speak to him. I cannot."
Yera floated towards Toad's ear. It sound like a chipmunk was laughing in his ear. "Apparently neither can I," Toad finally said.
"That is a good thing," the old man said almost immediately, "Anyway, Yera's eyes can project your memory, so let's see that fortune."
Yera's eyes glowed green, as did the sparkles floating behind him. Along the table, a picture began to form. It looked like a reflection in rippling water. The picture was of the slip of paper Toad chased into a fruit stand.
"It says the same thing as this fortune," the soothsayer said, until the slip flipped over. “‘But the road ahead is looking bright.’ Okay, so it's not a duplicate."
Toad raised his eyebrow.
"Well, the whole thing is quite obvious." the old man went on. "Your accident, the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom..."
"And my future is bright?" Toad looked suddenly uninterested.
"Exactly."
"I'm outta here." Toad glared at the man and stood up, walking out the room.
"Come again soon!" he shouted through the beads.
"Whatever..." Toad muttered, heading back to the castle.
Back at Sarasaland Castle...
"I think that's everything..." Luigi had one suitcase full of his green "L" caps, his overalls, and his green shirts. In the other suitcase were Super Mushrooms, Starmen, Fire Flowers, Feathers, and anything else he could fit in it.
"Aren't you forgetting someone?" a tiny voice asked as a small ball illuminating blue sparkles floated in through the window and hovered by Luigi.
"No, Yera, you can't come. The guy told me not to let you be seen by anyone," Luigi replied. Luigi did not quite understand why the soothsayer had told him to keep Yera out of sight. Besides, what harm would it do if someone did see Yera? Well, better safe than sorry, he always thought when that question came to mind.
Yera gave a slight "Hmph" and zoomed out of the room.
Luigi silently picked up his green suitcases, and headed down the spiral staircase. "That thing isn't as cute as it appears to be."
"Talking to yourself, Luigi?" Toadette and Mario were at the bottom of the stairs.
"Er- Sorry. Where's Toad?" he asked the other two.
"Talking to some loony soothsayer..." Mario replied, crossing his arms.
Luigi's eyes widened as he saw Yera floating into the room with a whistle floating next to him.
"Uh, why don't you two go back to the ship while I finish packing?" Luigi said, looking slightly panicked. He had just lied to his friends, seeing as he obviously had just packed and was holding his suitcases. Mario and Toadette did not seem to think of it though.
"Sure... I'll-a get it running." Mario and Toadette walked out the door, as Yera dropped the whistle to the floor.
"Let's get one thing straight, Luigi," Yera said coldly. "Either I go with you, or I expose myself to your friends."
Luigi sighed. "Fine, you can come. Just don't get me in any trouble."
Yera smiled triumphantly, and disappeared into Luigi's pocket.
Luigi exited the Sarasaland Castle, walking along the path of bright daisies dancing in the playful wind. Eventually he ran into Toad, who had just about the same expression as he did.
"I'm ready to get out of here," said Toad.
"You have no idea..." Luigi replied.
Ahead of them, Princess Peach's private
cruiser grew clearly into view.
Chapter 4: In Silence of Yera
Toad and Luigi stepped foot on the front deck. Being it was Luigi's first time on Princess Peach cruiser, he was awestruck by the magnificence of the front deck itself. Toad led Luigi through the only door on the front deck, going down a very long hallway where the bedrooms were located. They seemed to have been walking forever, but finally Toad stopped at one of the last doors and faced Luigi. "This is your room."
Luigi smiled, nodded, and entered the room, shutting the door behind him. Toad turned his heal, and continued down the hallway.
Luigi opened his suitcases on top of the queen-sized bed. Yera floated boredly out of his overall pocket, but lightened up at the sight of the room. "Not a bad place to stay. I'm glad I talked you into taking me on this little scavenger hunt," he said, levitating over the two suitcases.
"Shut up, you," Luigi said coldly, giving Yera a nasty look. He swatted at him in annoyance. Yera floated out of Luigi's reach, lifted a small pillow from the bed, and darted his eyes to the side table in the corner of the room. The pillow floated slowly over to the side table and set itself down gently. Yera lay himself on the pillow and closed his eyes. Luigi sighed, finished unpacking his things, and headed out of the room.
Toadette sat on her bed in the dark, starring at her laptop. She seemed a little suspicious of that crazy soothsayer that she and the others had encountered earlier that day, so she decided to do a little research on a website that had all of the information on what was going on in Sarasaland and who lived there. 'Soothsayer Merlon' is the only thing Toadette could find with information on him. It didn't tell her much. She just learned his name: Tak-Tek; his age: sixty-nine; his obsession with mythical creatures called "Zytes"; and that he had a daughter, two granddaughters, and a grandson, but their names were not specified.
The only other thing that caught Toadette's eye was the hyperlink "Zytes". The link brought her to a site that called them rare, mystical creatures that each had a different quality. The legend recorded on this site said there were only six of them, so anyone who claimed to have seen them was either proven crazy or mental, and sometimes both... Toadette tried to scroll down more, but she realized that her laptop was frozen. "Darn. The site must have a bug."
Toad was outside on the front deck. The sun was slowly setting, as were his eyes. The day Toad went through in Sarasaland seemed long and exhausting. Sticking his hand in his pocket, he realized that he still had the other fortune that Toadette claimed could possibly be Luigi's. "You're doomed. Ha. What a bunch of bologna. It doesn't even sound like it came from a fortune cookie!" He crumbled the slips of paper together, and tossed them into the Starman Ocean. They floated for a moment, but finally sunk into the water.
Aside from that, Toad couldn't help but wonder about that strange creature, Yera. Of course, he'd seen things far more strange than Yera, like Magikoopas and Paragoombas, but what blew his mind was that Yera actually projected his memory; memories that seemed unclear to him at the moment. It didn't hit him until just then. Realizing he was letting his mind stretch and wander too much, Toad shook his head back to reality. Yera wasn't real. It was just a figment of his imagination... he thought. He couldn't decide whether or not Yera was real or not, but it really didn't matter anymore to him.
He turned his attention to the darkening sky just as the stars began to twinkle into view. The only sound came from the bubbles swimming around in the Jacuzzi. It was rather peaceful, actually, until he heard the door swing open.
"Is something the matter?" Toadette asked him.
Toad swung around. "No, nothing," he told her, and then asked, "Are you really going swimming this late?"
Toadette was in her pink and red one-piece bathing suit, and had a towel around her neck. "Of course not! It's far too cold right now. My laptop crashed, so I decided to relax for a short while," she said, touching the water in the Jacuzzi with her toe to check the temperature before getting in.
Toad starred into space for a second, and realized something, "I'm supposed to be helping Mario in the kitchen!" he shouted in a panicked way. Toad burst into a run and dashed through the door.
The kitchen was destroyed. Eggs were splattered on the ceiling, and spaghetti sauce was all over the floor and countertops. Mario stood as the centerpiece of the mess, holding a whisk in one hand and a spatula in the other, with a confused look on his face. Toad busted through the swinging doors and jaw-dropped at the sight. "This may take a while."
"Mamamia..."
About two hours later...
Toadette and Luigi were both sitting at the dining room table, starring at the swinging doors hungrily. "Jeez, I was faster than them, and all they're cooking is spaghetti!" Toadette whelped.
"Is it really necessary for two people to make spaghetti?" Luigi asked rhetorically.
"With Mario's way of cooking, yes," Toadette said boredly. "What's on your mind, Luigi? You and Toad have been looking quite worried since you got back."
Luigi hesitated. He couldn't tell Toadette about Yera. He couldn't think up an excuse. Luckily, Mario and Toad came through the doors, which swung back and forth.
"It's about time!" Toadette shouted, standing up in her chair. "You nearly starved us!"
"Well, we nearly blew up in the kitchen, but at least supper's ready!" Toad said in a shaky voice, passing out dishes and forks as Mario went around behind him serving the spaghetti.
Toadette and Mario seemed to be the only talkative ones during supper. Luigi left early, barely touching his food. Toad ate most of his, but left early as well. The other two didn't seem to care or even notice.
Back in Luigi’s room, he lay on his bed looking up at the ceiling. Yera was sleeping on that same pillow he had levitated to the side table. No sound was made or heard except for the roaring waters outside. The rain began to pick up, and soon there was a loud, thundering noise. Luigi jumped up, thinking lightning had struck the cruiser, but it was merely someone knocking on the door. Luigi got out of bed, half asleep, and opened the door to find Toad, who looked tired as well.
“Hey, Luigi,” he said. “I was wondering if you could tell me something.”
Luigi, still looking sleepy, gave a sign of surprise. “Of course… Come in.”
Toad entered the room and looked around, “Wow, lucky. Your room is a lot b-” Toad stopped in the middle of his sentence.
“What?” Luigi asked, but he realized what Toad was staring at. Toad’s eyes were fixed on Yera, who was still sleeping on the pillow.
“You… have Yera?” Toad asked Luigi, a shocked look on his face.
“How do you know about Yera?” Luigi asked him, but before Toad could answer, Yera’s eyes opened, and he gave a slight yawn. Seeing the sight of Toad, he jumped up and began to float around his head, and began shouting “You found me, Toad!” But all Toad could hear was a chipmunk’s laugh.
“I wonder what he’s trying to say...” Toad wondered out loud.
“You can’t hear him? He’s saying ‘You found me, Toad, you found me!’ over and over again…” Luigi replied, but then was taken aback by the look on Toad’s face. “What?”
“You can understand him?” Toad asked him. “You know what that means?”
“Um… No…” Luigi replied, looking utterly confused.
“This means, that you’re going to have a dark, doomed future…” Toad flatly told him.
“What makes you so sure?” Luigi asked. He looked unbelieving.
“That’s what a soothsayer told us the day we were in Sarasaland,” Toad told him.
“Oh, you mean Merlon?” Luigi asked him. “Oh, he’s just crazy. His whole family is full of lunatics.”
“Well, I believe this Merlon guy. Yera projected my memories. It seems unbelievable, but it happened,” Toad replied.
“Well, just don’t mention Yera to Mario or Toadette. Maybe you should get some sleep. Don’t let all of this get to your head. We don’t need a second Merlon in the world, that’s for sure.”
Toad nodded and left the room, and shut the door behind him.
“What was that all about?” Yera asked him, but Luigi did not reply. Instead, Luigi got into bed and fell asleep, as did Yera.
By this time, Mario and Toadette had finally left the dining room and settled in their bedrooms. Toadette’s laptop seemed to be working again, so she began to search up more on Merlon. She knew that Zytes couldn’t exist, so what was the point of researching them?
Toadette typed “Soothsayer Merlon” in the navigation bar on but didn’t have many results to look through. In fact, there were only two. One led to a site called "SSM Online", probably standing for "Soothsayer Merlon Online". The site seemed to be made by the soothsayer himself. It was mainly an advertisement for his so-called “business”, but there was an “about me” hyperlink on the sidebar.
‘My name is Soothsayer Merlon…’
As Toadette continued to read, she discovered that his son’s name was Merle, and he lived in some place called “Starborn Valley” and watched over small “Star Kids”. It was sort of amusing how stupid these people were and how they believed in such things. Merle’s son’s name was Merlow, and Merlow's older sister was Merluvlee. They lived in Mushroom Kingdom after having moved away from their father to live in peace under the kind rule of Princess Peach. They had a small hut and were always doing voodoo and witchcraft magic in the locked up, dark place.
Then it dawned on Toadette: Merlow and Merluvlee were the two creepy fortunetellers everyone was spreading rumors about. People said that they captured young Toads and forced them to join their quest for something untold. Although these rumors seemed extremely weird and out of the ordinary, there had been missing Toad children in Mushroom Kingdom.
Toadette added the page to her favorites,
closed the laptop, and fell asleep.
Chapter 5: The Reflection Wish
CRASH!
Mario stormed into Toadette’s room. “Toadette! Wake up! Our ship has-a crashed into an Island!” Toadette was already wide awake from the crash, and she could hear Toad and Luigi’s footsteps coming from down the hall. It was raining still, and it was still dark. Looking over at the clock, Toadette realized that is was 2 in the morning.
“Well, maybe we should get it back into the water,” Toadette said in a tired manner.
“We can’t! The ship is completely on land!” Mario exclaimed, clearly horrified. “Plus the rain is pouring and the wind is picking up dramatically!”
Toadette got out of bed. She was still in her nightgown as she ran down the hallway with Mario, passing Toad and Luigi, who were also discussing what happened. Mario and Toadette made it out onto the front deck and looked over the side to see nothing but wet sand. They were drenched and their pajamas were sticking to their bodies. It was cold and wind was swirling dangerously around them.
“Maybe we should go back inside…” Toadette said, unable to speak loudly enough over the roaring winds: Mario had not heard her.
Luigi and Toad came flying through the door. They were yelling something but Toadette and Mario didn’t notice their presence over the wind until the two reached the Italian and the female Shroom.
“MARIO! HAIL THE SIZE OF BASKETBALLS JUST SLAMMED THROUGH TOADETTE’S CEILING!” Toad yelled over the loud thunder.
“WHAT?” Toadette exclaimed in terror.
“WE CAN’T STAY HERE! WE HAVE TO FIND BETTER SHELTER FROM THE HAIL!” Toad shouted back.
One by one, they all jumped overboard Princess Peach’s Royal Cruiser, leaving it to be destroyed by Mother Nature. Not thinking, they all scattered along the beach, trying to escape the now downpouring hail. They entered the dark woods, but they could hardly see anything at all. The gloomy vast of trees and plants grew denser and denser as they walked through. Not a one of the said a word, until Luigi broke the silence. “Um... This place seems… familiar…”
“It does?” Toadette asked. “Yeah, it does. It reminds me of when I close my eyes!” she added sarcastically.
“No, I have a feeling that I’ve been here before… Alone…” Luigi replied hastily to Toadette.
“Well, that explains me not remembering a thing,” Toad said under his breath, and then he whispered to Luigi, “Do you have Yera? Or did you leave him on the cruiser?”
“Unfortunately, yes, I have him,” Luigi whispered back to him.
Toad did not reply, and Mario hadn’t said a word since they had gotten off the ship. Then, along the dark, green-lit sky, a figure that seemed to be a castle grew into view. Its windows glowed a faint orange, and the bricks were black. The door had a strange structure to it. It had to small windows, and designs of swirls going around the door numerous times. On each side was an imprint of a Boo. They seemed to blink, but then they vanished.
“This…” Luigi began. “This is the mansion. My mansion.”
Mario’s silence was understood now. This was the mansion where he had been captured and locked away. Luigi had had to rescue him with the help of a brave, smart old man, Professor E. Gadd.
They slowly etched their way toward the front door. Toadette held out her hand to knock, but Luigi pushed the door open. “I’m pretty sure no one is home.”
“Right…” Toadette said. She took Toad’s trembling hand, and the four of them entered the spooky mansion. The door closed by itself with a loud SLAM! Mario, Toad, and Toadette jumped, but Luigi was used to the strange mishaps that go on in this mansion.
“D-d-do we have to stay here?” Toad asked Luigi, as his hand trembled in Toadette’s.
“Would you rather stay in the hail?” Luigi asked, not eyeing Toad at all. Toad did not reply.
As they walked down the main hall, they looked left and right at old, dusty pictures that looked like they were from the early 1900s. One was of an old Toad man holding hands with a Human woman. She showed striking resemblance to Princess Peach except with darker, reddish-brown hair. It took a few moments, but Toadette shouted, “It’s King and Queen Toadstool!” She pointed at the picture. The other three spun around to see what she was talking about.
“Let’s-a keep going,” Mario said after
a long silence. They obeyed. As they reached the end of the hallway, they
could see themselves walking closer to… themselves. But at the end they
realized it was a mirror across the room in between two small staircases.
Luigi examined himself in it. Toad, Toadette and Mario were already heading
up the stairs. As he groomed his mustache, he could’ve have sworn he saw
something. It was small and blue, about the size of a golf ball. It seemed
to be hovering over his right shoulder. He turned around, but he saw nothing
but a hallway that seemed to disappear into darkness. When he turned back
around, in the mirror, standing next to him, was none other than Princess
Daisy.
“… Daisy?” Luigi asked the reflection.
Daisy smiled. There was something different about her. He could see it
in her eyes… In fact, it was her eyes. Instead of being bright blue, they
were pale purple. She looked almost dead. Her skin was faded and her smile
looked hurt. Luigi turned around again, but, again, there was no one with
him. He looked back at the mirror expecting to see Daisy’s face once more,
but instead, all he saw was his own face in the reflection.
“Are you coming, Luigi?” Toad asked.
“Yeah,” Luigi replied, giving the mirror one last, hopeful glance, but there was no sign of Princess Daisy. He felt in his pocket, but it was empty. Wasn’t something supposed to be there?
“Yera!” Luigi shouted loudly.
“What’s a Yera?” Mario asked his brother.
“Um… Nothing… forget I said anything.”
Mario shrugged and continued to walk, but Toad waited behind for Luigi, letting go of Toadette’s hand. “Luigi, what’s wrong? What happened with Yera?”
“He’s missing,” Luigi whispered loudly.
“Great. Something else to worry about in this spooky place,” Toad said, sounding half scared, half exhausted.
“WOAH! LOOK AT THIS, YOU GUYS!” Toadette shouted, making the other three jump sky-high. She indicated a painting of an old man in a lab coat. He was petit and wore very large glasses. He was mostly bald, and the little hair he did have came up in a funny-looking swirl on top of his head.
“Now, it’s about time someone has shown up!” said the man in the painting. The four stepped back from the painting in panic. “Come now. You’ve never seen a talking painting before?”
“Professor… E. Gadd?” Luigi asked. “Is that you?”
“Yes, laddie, it is I,” said the professor. “I was trapped here by some strange thing.”
“A strange thing?” Toad asked. “Care to give a little more detail?”
“Yes, yes,” E. Gadd went in. “I was in my office when I heard something strange outside my door. It was very high-pitched and it sounded menacing. When I came outside, I blacked out. I don’t remember a single thing. When I woke up, here I was, trapped in four walls of picture frame.”
“That’s weird…” said Mario, who seemed to be concentrating really hard trying to think of what could have happened.
“Yes, well, a few weeks later, I had a visitor,” E. Gadd continued. “Yoshi had accidentally found this mansion. I don’t know his story, but I sent him to find help.”
“Yoshi?” Mario seemed a little more cheery now. “He was here?”
“Oh, yes. But he has not come back. I’m worried about him.” The professor frowned.
“We can help you,” Luigi ensured him, “we just need to know how.”
“Here!” Toadette shouted, pointing at the picture frame. It had writing on it in a very fancy print. “’Team together, find your wit, if it is the Professor which you wish to get. Find me first, the zyte of the mirror, and then zyte that made your future clearer. Answer my riddle with your very best, and my other will hopefully take care of the rest.’ We have to find the Zyte of Reflection and the Zyte of Time!”
“Zyte?” Toad asked. “Is that some sort of breakfast cereal?”
“No. I read about them. The soothsayer we saw, Merlon, is obsessed with these creatures.” After Toadette said this, Luigi looked dumbfounded. Toad looked at him cautiously. Yera was missing, and even if he wasn’t, his presence was supposed to be unknown.
“What do we do now?” Mario asked no one in particular.
“Well, we have to find these ‘Zytes’,” Toadette responded. “We might as well search for Yoshi while we’re at it.”
“Well, as far as I know,” E. Gadd interrupted, “Yoshi has not left this mansion. I didn’t hear the door slam itself like it usually does.”
“Which makes things a whole lot easier.” said Toad, relieved that Yoshi was nearby, but shaky that he had to stay in the creepy mansion.
“Not necessarily…” Luigi told the Mushroom boy. “This place is bigger than it looks… Not to mention… it’s full of ghosts.”
Toadette and Toad both linked hands again, but Mario did not look surprised.
“Well, good luck, and hurry!” E. Gadd told them encouragingly. “I am tired of standing here and looking at this boring room… Make haste! What are you waiting for?”
With that, Toad, Toadette, Mario, and
Luigi turned around and headed off in search of Yoshi and the so called
“Zytes”.
Chapter 6: Turn the Pages of the World
Luigi instinctively turned around and headed toward the door they came in from. Toad, Toadette and Mario didn't expect this, as they thought Yoshi was in the mansion.
"Where are you going, Luigi?" Toadette asked him. "We need to find the Zytes!" Toadette couldn't believe she was saying this. Just yesterday she didn't even believe they existed. Now she was convinced because of something she’d read on a picture frame.
"We aren't prepared to go through this mansion alone," Luigi told her.
"What do you mean?" Toad blurted. "There are four of us. We aren't alone!"
"Shut up." Mario covered Toad's mouth. "Luigi knows what he is doing."
"Thank you, Mario. Now, we need to get to the professor's workshop and get four Poltergust 3000s," Luigi explained, feeling awkward for being over Mario in this situation. "These are inventions created by E. Gadd himself to absorb any spirits so they don't get in our way."
"Oh, okay," Toad said, ripping Mario's hand from his face. "So the Poltergust is that thing that acts as a vacuum, right?"
"Precisely," E. Gadd confirmed through the painting. "But Luigi, I'm afraid the Poltergust isn't in my office."
"Then where are they?" Mario asked impatiently. He didn't seem comfortable in the mansion, at least without having a Poltergust on his back.
"You mean "Where is it?" I'm sorry, Luigi, but the Poltergust you used is the only one I've ever made," E. Gadd went on. "Though, I do have many other inventions. There's one that you'll recognize, Mario."
"F.L.U.D.D.!" Mario said with excitement.
"How would a water gun help catch ghosts?" Toadette asked, crossing her arms.
"F.L.U.D.D. has many uses," E. Gadd told Toadette, fixing his glasses, "Mario, when you get a hold of F.L.U.D.D, set it to reverse and see what it does."
"Will do, Professor," Mario said happily.
"So where exactly are your inventions?" Luigi finally asked.
"Oh, in the study," the old professor told Luigi. "I may as well tell you the whole story."
Mario, Luigi, Toadette, and Toad all gathered closely to hear what Professor E. Gadd had to say.
"One night, I decided to test my inventions here in the mansion," he told the four. "So, I brought the inventions that needed testing into the study. There are many books there, obviously, so I figured I'd work there just in case I need a little instruction." The professor removed his glasses and began to clean them on his jacket. "I found a bug in one of my inventions, so I reached for my wrench, but I remembered that I had accidentally left it in my office." E. Gadd replaced his glasses on his nose. "Well, when I went back to my office, I couldn't quite remember where I put my wrench, so I wandered around, aimlessly looking for it. I began to hear this loud, shrill noise coming from outside. I opened my office door to see what it was, then I blacked out, and ended up sealed in this picture frame."
"So where is the study?" Toad asked him.
"Second floor," Luigi said quickly. "Let's go before a ghost catches us."
Luigi grabbed Toad and Toadette's hands and dragged them along behind him. Mario merely followed.
"Hurry back!" E. Gadd shouted out to them. Luigi was going so fast that none of them were able to reply. They busted through a door that led them into a long hallway.
Luigi stopped, looked left and right, and nodded, turning to the right and then stopping at another fork.
“Jeez, there are so many hallways in this place…” Toad complained, still being held at the wrist by Luigi.
Toadette peered over to Mario, who was looking around cautiously. “You okay, Mario?” she asked him out of concern. Mario didn’t reply. He just continued to look around. “Mario? ... Mario.”
He still showed no sign of comprehension. “OW!”
Toadette spun to see Toad pulling at his arm, trying to break free from Luigi’s grasp. She realized that she was also feeling great pain in her wrist. “Ow! Loosen up, Luigi, that hurts!” she said, pulling her arm out of Luigi’s hand. She looked up. This was not Luigi. His eyes were solid black.
“Oh my God! Toad, Mario, run!” Toadette and Toad began to run away, but Mario stayed in place. It wasn’t until Toadette stopped and looked back that she saw Mario’s eyes were also pitch black.
“What’s going on?” Toad asked frantically, shivering in place.
“I think Mario and Luigi are possessed!” Toadette replied in horror. “Just run!”
Toad and Toadette turned back around, heading down the left hallway. It was long and dark. Toad stumbled over a loose board and fell. “Toad!” Toadette shouted. She turned around and helped him up. “Are you okay?”
“I think so. That board is sticking pretty high up off the ground,” he told her.
“Wait!” Toadette picked up the board. “It’s a secret room. Get down there! We need to hide.” Toad and Toadette quickly climbed into the hole in the ground. Toad replaced the board on top and made sure to pull it all the way in so it would not stick out.
The room below was strangely lit. There was a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling with a pull switch. There was nothing in the room but cobwebs and an old box. “I guess we should stay here until we can think of a better plan to get us out of this situation,” Toadette told Toad, who had immediately run to the box, curious to see its contents.
“Hey! A book!” Toad said, pulling it out. “It looks like an old children’s story.”
Toadette strolled over to Toad to examine it. “Hmm… It has no title.“
“Yeah, but it’s colorful!” Toad exclaimed, drooling over the pretty colors.
Toadette took the book from Toad’s hands and opened it.
“Hey!” he complained. “I was reading that!”
“No, you were drooling over the colors on the cover. Now, if you don’t mind, I—“
A bright light flashed. Neither Toad nor Toadette could see each other. Toadette closed her eyes. She had never been so frightened. After standing there for a few seconds, she realized that she wasn’t holding the book anymore. She popped her eyes open to see a not-so-colorful world around her. A 2D, not-so-colorful world. They were on what appeared to be an old, beat up dock on the side of the ocean.
“Ack!” Toad exclaimed. “We’re two-dimensional!”
Toadette looked at her friend. “We look like we’re made of… paper? What in the world is going on?”
“Welcome to Rogueport!” shouted a happy little Goomba running in their direction. “I’m Goombella, nice to meet you.”
“Uh…”
“Hi,” Toadette said half bored, half scared. “I’m Toadette.”