A Note from the
Author: This story is a prequel for the plotline of Mario and Yoshi: The
Ten Gems. For those of you who haven't yet read that story, it is encouraged
that you go ahead and do so before reading this one. Otherwise, this here
will make no sense, and you'll be all like "... What is this supposed to
be?!". All right, enough of my yakkin'. On with it.
I. Darkness Arrives – 1,000 Years Prior
Turmoil, destruction, and overall, complete and utter chaos wreaked across the land. Nearly every person in the valley were running and shrieking in terror, and those not doing so were either hiding in cover or laying flat on the ground in the open, with no signs of breathing whatsoever. To think this had been such a peaceful valley. And now, something horrifying had arrived on the scene… something big… something destructive… something dangerous… something… dark…
On the hill, one tiny person in white clothing and a mask, a Shy Guy, versus his opponent, one freakishly huge person, in dark purple robes, a Magikoopa, both pitted against each other, both fighting for their own good reasons. For the Shy Guy: to guard a powerful object, the source of life to the valley. For the Magikoopa: capturing that same object… for the purpose of gaining control of the valley.
And the object, floating in the air, just above its altar, shining brightly in white, a large white Gemstone, holding much, much power within itself.
The two opponents stared at each other, the Shy Guy eyeing the Magikoopa furiously, with the Magikoopa staring right back with a devilish smirk.
The Magikoopa could only laugh at his challenger’s rather small size. “Ahahaha! You’re supposed to be this so-called guardian?! Am I really supposed to be afraid of one tiny little pebble like you?!”
The Shy Guy was not at all intimidated by the Magikoopa’s commentary. He simply stood his ground, not flinching, not cringing, but standing up to the greatly-oversized sorcerer. “Laugh all you want, but I won’t let you corrupt this valley!”
The Magikoopa laughed even more. “Bold you are! But I tell you, if you value your life, you’ll step aside!”
“I’d rather throw myself into a pit of jagged rocks than surrender to the likes of you!”
The Magikoopa grunted. He simply pointed his huge claw directly at the Shy Guy. A dark, deadly orb of energy slowly began to form. “… All right then. If you wish to do this the hard way, so be it! Prepare to fight!” The Magikoopa launched his orb at the Shy Guy, who swiftly ducked out of the way as the orb exploded on the ground one second later. The Magikoopa went on shooting at the Shy Guy from his fingers, while the Shy Guy ran around, ducking and dodging. As he did so, he formed his own orb of energy in his hands. He continued to dodge the nonstop blasts from the Magikoopa, who finally stopped after several misses. “You’re pretty fast… for a pebble!”
“More than that!” the Shy Guy yelled back. He aimed upward at the Magikoopa’s face, then released his orb swiftly up at his opponent.
The Magikoopa was caught by surprise, and hit square in the face. The giant sorcerer yelled loudly in pain. As he recovered, he stared down at the Shy Guy. “Hm… You’re not as weak as I thought.”
“Then you obviously don’t know me very well!” the Shy Guy retorted.
“ENOUGH with this bickering! No longer am I going to go easy on you!” Closing his hands together, he began to create a larger, seemingly more devastating orb. The Shy Guy too began to form a very powerful orb.
Taking aim at each other, the two blasted simultaneously. The light and dark beams hit and forced against each other. The Shy Guy struggled to force his beam closer to his opponent, while the Magikoopa did likewise, but with a bit more success. The Shy Guy strained and fought hard, but the dark beam inched closer and closer.
The Magikoopa laughed again. “I take back what I said. You are weak!”
The Shy Guy tried harder and harder. “No… I… will… not… give… up!” He strained even harder, but the dark beam was practically in his lap. Finally the dark beam reached him and knocked him far back. The Shy Guy struggled to get back up, but to no avail.
The Magikoopa laughed maniacally. “This was just too easy! You know, if you had just stepped aside instead of trying to play hero, it would’ve just been over, but then I would’ve killed you anyway!” After savoring his victory, the Magikoopa turned his attention to the floating Gemstone. “And now… this mystical jewel… this… Grand Gem… is mine!” He proceeded to grab hold of the Gem. Upon touching it, the Gemstone slowly began to turn from bright white to dark purple.
As soon as the Magikoopa had made contact with the Gem, darkness began to spread across the valley. The people of the valley were horrified as they watched it unfold. As the darkness spread, green grass changed to rocky ground, leafy trees changed to leafless, lifeless trees, and overall, nearly half the valley had changed from a paradise full of life into a dark and barren wasteland.
The Magikoopa failed to take notice of what happened next. On the altar were more Gems, ten smaller, colored ones, sitting in small holes. They began to glow, and slowly began to float upward in a circle and towards the near-defeated Shy Guy.
The Magikoopa let out another laugh as the darkness began to engulf the hill. “Yes! In only a matter of moments, this entire valley will be— UNGH!” He was interrupted as the Shy Guy suddenly flew upward and rammed him hard in the face. The impact caused the Magikoopa to let go of the large Gemstone, which was now left only half darkened and still half light. One side of the hill and the half of the valley beyond that was covered in darkness, while the other half remained in the light.
The Magikoopa, after recovering from the hit, looked at the now fully-powered Shy Guy sharply. He launched a dark beam directly at him, but the attack was easily blocked, as the Shy Guy formed a shield. The Magikoopa was shocked. “… What is this?!”
The Shy Guy, with the ten Gems revolving around him, said nothing, and simply stared back at the Magikoopa with a very serious look. He looked across the valley to see that half of it was in darkness. “… What… What have you done?!”
“Due to your interference,” replied the Magikoopa, “only half of the valley is in my darkness. No matter, I shall rule over this half, but mark my words! One day, I shall be back to claim the rest if it! Until we battle again, farewell!” With that, the Magikoopa vanished.
The Shy Guy floated back down to the altar. He gazed at the large Gem, half of it glowing in light, the other half in an evil-ish dark. He thought for a moment. If the dark sorcerer could change the Gem to dark by simply touching it, maybe he could reverse the effect the same way. He decided to try it. He reached up and touched the Gem, but abruptly drew his hand back after feeling a painful shock.
Clutching his hand, the Shy Guy stared at the Gem, confused. … The Grand Gem is… stuck like this… he thought. Now that it’s neither fully light nor fully dark, there’s no way to change it. It’s like… it can’t decide or something. Or… no… maybe it’s… Oh… The sorcerer was the last to touch it before it became like this. Only he can… Oh no… I can’t let him come into contact with it again.
The Shy Guy focused on the Gems, which then slowly began to float over and above the altar. On the altar itself, a large panel began to open. The large light/dark Gem floated down into the pit in the altar, and the panel closed. The ten Gems floated into their slots.
Now… he can’t get to it… It’s sealed. The only way he can unlock it… is through the Power Gems.
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II. Shine Guy – 17 Years Prior
The Shy Guy cradled his son in his arms as the people watched all around, awing at the sight of the baby.
The baby, being very timid and somewhat jumpy, hid his eyes as a few people came for a closer look. One person, a white Yoshi kid, stepped closer than everyone else. The baby uncovered his eyes, then stared back at the Yoshi. The two simply stared at each other, neither of them blinking.
The baby’s father spoke. “My friends, when my time comes, my son will take my place as guardian of the valley.”
Needless to say that this baby was very special indeed.
The Yoshi kid looked up at the Shy Guy. “What you call him, Glowy Guy?” she managed to say, although being a baby, her grammar needed a bit of work.
“Glowy Guy” chuckled at the Yoshi’s question. “… I’m going to call him… Shine Guy.”
---
14 Years Prior:
It was a beautiful, sunny day. Shine Guy, now three years of age, was playing out in a flowery meadow. He trotted through the tall wildflowers. He began to run faster and faster. Having so much fun, he forgot to watch where he was going.
WHAM!
Shine Guy fell back and rubbed his head. He had run into something amongst the flowers. But what was it?
Then, he heard crying coming from the other side of the flowers. Shine Guy wondered who it was, then slowly pushed through the flowers. There, sitting on the ground, was a Yoshi girl, about his age. She was in tears, with her hands on the front of her nose, which was bruised just below the nostrils.
Shine Guy was shocked. He had run into… her. He had injured her. The last thing Shine Guy ever wanted to do was hurt somebody. He walked up to the Yoshi and sat beside her, putting his hand on her back. “I… I am very sorry,” he said. “Did… did I hurt you?”
The Yoshi turned to look at Shine Guy. “… It’s all right…” she answered. “I know you didn’t mean to…” She began rubbing her bruise again, when she suddenly looked at Shine Guy again. “… Wait… Aren’t you Glow Guy’s son?”
“Why… yes.”
“What’re you doing way over here?”
“I just thought I might take a walk. This meadow is very beautiful.”
“Yeah, it is. Oh, thank you for making me feel better… uh… Shine Guy, right? My name is Sparkle Yoshi.”
“Sparkle… What a beautiful name.”
Sparkle blushed. “Say, you want to just sit right here and look at the pretty flowers?” she asked as a butterfly landed on her nose.
“Sure,” Shine Guy answered, also looking at the butterfly. He stretched out his finger. The butterfly slowly crawled off Sparkle’s nose and onto Shine Guy’s finger, and they watched as it flexed its gorgeous wings, then flew off to a sunflower in front of them and began sipping nectar.
What a day. Shine Guy had literally bumped into his first friend, and what a friend she turned out to be.
***
Shine Guy learned and grew up fast. However, there was still much for him to learn before taking his fathers place.
Shine Guy sat on the altar with his father, both staring at the sunset. Shine Guy turned to his father. “Father,” he asked. “I am wondering… will I ever receive powers like you?”
His father chucked. “Only when you’re truly ready,” he answered.
“When will I be ready?”
“That I cannot tell you, but when the time comes, you’ll know.”
Shine Guy sighed, still staring out at the sunset. When exactly would he be ready? Now? Tomorrow? When? He supposed all he could do was wait, and before it happened, learn as much from his father as he could.
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III. Dark Paratroopa – 5 Years Prior
A Koopa Troopa was walking home at midnight. The Koopa had not gotten any sleep. In fact, he could’ve slept, but had decided to walk around the village. The village was eerily quiet at night, and a full moon shown in the sky to light up the village in the night.
Suddenly, the moonlight disappeared, as if it had simply been switched off. The Koopa froze, then looked upward. There he was!
“… You!”
the Koopa cried.
On the altar, Shine Guy suddenly jumped, as did his father, as they had heard the yell. They both looked off in the distance to see a huge, dark figure blocking out the moonlight. “… No!” Glow Guy cried. “Why is he here, and why is he attacking the village?!”
“Are you going to stop him, father?” Shine Guy asked.
“Of course,” Glow Guy answered. “You wait here.”
“But—”
“I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“… Okay…”
Glow Guy rushed
away, while Shine Guy just sat there. He knew his father didn’t want him
hurt, but he was so curious and worried of what might happen to his father.
He quickly followed.
The Magikoopa pointed his finger at the Koopa, forming an orb at the end of his finger. The Koopa began to back up. “What is it?! What do you want from me?!”
The Magikoopa wasn’t listening, but released his orb directly on the Koopa. After an explosion, all that was left of the Koopa was a pile of Dry Bones.
Glow Guy arrived just in time to see everything. “Dark Master!” he yelled. “What is this all about?! Why are you killing innocent people?!”
The dark master turned to look at him and cackled. “While I look to rid myself of you and gain control of this valley,” he said, “I’ll need someone to take care of your beloved boy!”
“What?! Shine Guy?!”
Shine Guy had just arrived on the scene and hid behind a house, horrified. He had seen the Koopa being struck down. He had heard everything. Someone to take care of him? What was he talking about?
“Why my son?!”
“It’s better that I get rid of you both! You just get the most of tonight, because tomorrow will be your worst nightmare!” With that, he teleported away, taking the Koopa’s skeleton with him.
Glow Guy was angry. A murder, and he had let Dark Master get away with it. Suddenly, he heard whimpering. He turned to a house and walked around it. There was Shine Guy, in tears after witnessing a murder. Glow Guy chose not to scold him. “Come, Shine Guy. Let’s go…”
The two walked back in the direction of the hill. Shine Guy was terrified. What was to happen the next day?
***
“And a touch of this,” Dark Master said, as he stirred up a magical mixture in his (rather large) cauldron. With these ingredients, he was going to create Shine Guy’s worst nightmare. He added the final ingredient, the skeleton of the Koopa. Dropping the bones into the mixture, he began to stir again. After above thirty seconds of stirring, he stopped.
“And now,” he said. “arise!” The mixture glowed. Seconds later, a winged creature floated up out of the cauldron. It was a Koopa, wings attached to his dark purple shell, with a spike protruding from the shell between the wings, and wearing a spiked collar, spiked wristbands, shoes of the same color as his shell with small spikes protruding from their soles, and a pair of large sunglasses. Through his sunglasses, his red eyes glowed.
The Paratroopa, after floating, began hovering on his own. He looked at his hands, flexing his fingers. He then looked up at the immensely-sized sorcerer that stood before him.
Dark Master spoke to him. “I am your master. You shall answer to me, and only me… Dark Paratroopa.”
The Paratroopa looked at him for a moment, then answered. “I am at your command… Master.” Still hovering, he bowed.
***
The next day was a near disaster.
Shine Guy and Sparkle (now both twelve) were cornered in a crevice of rocks as the Paratroopa hovered nearer and nearer to them, holding large, painful orbs of lightning in his hands. The little Shyster and Yo’ster were terrified, hugging each other in fear.
“You… You leave us alone!” Sparkle cried. “Go away!”
“What do you want from us?!” Shine Guy yelled.
The Paratroopa made no reply immediately, and stretched his hands out toward them, preparing to launch his orbs directly at them for a very painful jolt. He then spoke. “I want you dead.”
“FATHER!” Shine Guy cried tearfully. Sparkle too was in tears.
The Paratroopa was just about to release his lightning upon them, when he was suddenly blasted from behind by a very powerful beam of light. The Paratroopa fell to his hands and knees, dazed and surprised. As he recovered, he looked back, and there was a very furious Glow Guy, a light orb in each hand. He spoke threateningly to the Paratroopa. “If you… ever… try to lay one finger on my son again… you’re going to pay!”
The Paratroopa got to his feet, then turned to face Glow Guy, who was still angry, but also somewhat surprised. He had never seen this Paratroopa before. Where did he come from… unless… He thought back to Dark Master’s words the previous night. I’ll need someone to take care of your beloved boy! Then, he remembered the extremely unlucky Koopa Troopa. Then, he realized. “… Who… are… you…?” he managed to say.
The Paratroopa, still a bit injured, spoke coldly. “I am Dark Paratroopa, and I have a mission that I intend to complete. Your son must die, and he will!” After that, Dark Paratroopa teleported.
Shine Guy and Sparkle were relieved, but Shine Guy was a bit concerned. This Paratroopa was out to get him.
Glow Guy was also concerned. He would have to keep a close watch on Shine Guy while this Dark Paratroopa was loose. “… Let’s go, you two…” he said to the kids, and they left the mound of rocks.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IV. Sparkle’s Kidnapping – 3 Years Prior
“What I need now,” Dark Master spoke to Dark Paratroopa, “is a body for my monster.”
“… Monster?” Dark Paratroopa said.
“Yes. So here’s your assignment. I want you to take a few Troops to the Light World, and…”
***
The moon shown over the Light half of the valley. Everyone was asleep in their homes (and no one was up and outside as a vulnerable target).
In her house, in her bed, Sparkle (now fourteen) slept comfortably. Unfortunately, she had no idea of the danger coming her way.
BLAM!
Sparkle jumped up, startled by the explosion. He looked ahead. The wall was gone; there was a huge hole, and standing in the entrance of the hole were a very familiar Paratroopa and two Troops (Hammer Brothers). Sparkle shrieked.
“Grab her!” Dark Paratroopa ordered, as the two Hammer Brothers advanced towards her with ropes.
***
Sparkle was tossed in a dungeon cell. She immediately sprang up to try to run back out, but the cell door was shut. Dark Paratroopa laughed. “No getting out of there!”
“What’s going on, here?!” Sparkle demanded to know. “What are you going to do with me?!”
Dark Paratroopa said nothing. He simply smiled sinisterly and walked away, leaving Sparkle confused and frightened.
***
The next day, the village was awake to find that they were one less- Sparkle. They had been looking all around the Light valley half, but had no luck in finding her.
Glow Guy and Shine Guy had also joined the search. “Oh… Oh dear oh dear…” Shine Guy had repeated that same worrying phrase at least a hundred times. “Where could she be? What happened to her?”
Glow Guy didn’t answer. He had a pretty good idea what could’ve happened and who was responsible, but didn’t want to say it aloud, especially in front of Shine Guy.
***
Sparkle had been stuck in Dark Master’s dungeon for days, with seemingly no hope of escaping. Worse still, she had no idea why she was even here. What in the world was going on here?
She would soon find the answer to that question, as she heard a door slam. Footsteps followed, then two guards (a Koopa Troopa and a Boomerang Brother) came up in front of the bars. They unlocked the cell, and Sparkle, nerves building up again, backed up until she hit the back cell wall.
“Dark Master would
like to see you now!” the Boomerang Brother snarled as he and the Koopa
advanced towards Sparkle.
The guards dragged her before Dark Master, who cackled as he glanced down at the Yoshi, with Dark Paratroopa hovering next to his head. “Well well well…” Dark Master said. “Who do we have here?”
“Shine Guy’s friend,” Dark Paratroopa said snidely.
“Hm… well… I bet he must be worried sick about you!”
Sparkle was both angry and scared. She responded snappily. “What’s going on?! Why don’t you just let me go?!”
Dark Master laughed at this. “Let you go?! Of course not! You belong to me now!” Sparkle shivered. Dark Master then made a fake attempt to reassure her. “But don’t worry. I’ll take good care of you.”
“But… what do you really want with me?”
“This is why…” Dark Master replied as a haze began to appear around him.
The frightened white Yoshi slowly backed up as the dark, ominous haze came closer and closer to her. She was so scared, she began to cry. What was about the happen to her? “Please… Go away… Leave me alone!” she said tearfully.
The monstrous-sized Magikoopa let out a sinister laugh. Hovering next to his head, the Paratroopa also laughed, enjoying the show. “Haha! I LOVE watching people quake in fear!”
The Yoshi was now completely surrounded by the haze. She suddenly had a strange feeling inside her. He felt herself begin to change. “Wha… What’s happening to me?” Through the haze, he looked at her hand, and much to her horror, her skin slowly changed from white to purple!
“There’s nowhere to run now!” he said coldly. “You’re mine… Ultraviolet!”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
V. Glow Guy’s Last Stand – 1 Day Prior
The Light world was under attack! People ran and screamed in terror as Dark Troops raided the village.
Shine Guy was under attack from Dark Paratroopa. The Shyster ran around frantically as the winged Troopa continuously blasted lightning from his hands, attempting to send ten-thousand volts into Shine Guy’s body. “Heh heh! Watching you suffer like this is so amusing!”
Shine Guy backed up as Dark Paratroopa prepared to blast at him again. As he backed up, he ran into something. He whipped around to see the humongous shoe of a 70-foot purple Yoshi! The giant Yoshi looked down at him, blowing steam from her nostrils. Shine Guy was trapped!
“Someone, please help me!!!” he cried as Dark Paratroopa prepared to shoot a lightning bolt and the giant Yoshi prepared to launch a huge fireball from her mouth.
Dark Paratroopa was suddenly blasted from behind with a light blast. The Paratroopa fell forward, unconscious, and as the giant Yoshi was just about to release her fireball, a huge rock behind her began to lift up, floating all the way up above the Yoshi’s head, until it suddenly stopped floating and dropped hard onto her head. The Yoshi roared in pain, then, dizzy, fell forward. Shine Guy ran to the side to avoid being crushed, and the Yoshi landed with a loud BOOM!
Shine Guy turned to see Glow Guy, who had sneak-attacked Dark Paratroopa and dropped the boulder on the Yoshi’s head with psychic control. “Are you all right?” Glow Guy asked him.
“Yes,” Shine Guy replied. “Thank you, Fa—” He trailed off when he noticed something. “… HE’S GOING AFTER THE GRAND GEM!!!” he suddenly cried. Glow Guy whipped around, looking at the hill ahead to see Dark Master preparing to open the panel through the Power Gems. Glow Guy gasped and rushed off to do his job.
Dark Master was just opening the panel, with the Gems glowing in the dark evil-ish color. “Yes…” he said. “I’ve— AAAUGH!” He was suddenly blasted in the face from below. The Gems immediately stopped glowing, and the panel slid back shut. Dark Master covered his eyes, then looked down to see Glow Guy, furious and ready to take down his enemy.
“This is it, Dark Master!” Glow Guy yelled. “It seems it all comes down to who can overpower who!”
“… So it does…” Dark Master replied. “Well then… all I can say to you is… prepare to die!”
“If you’re so confident that you can defeat me, then fight me!”
Dark Master immediately blasted a long, steady beam from his finger, moving it around, attempting to disintegrate Glow Guy. However, Glow Guy was too fast, and easily avoided the moving beam. Glow Guy then blasted an orb swiftly up at Dark Master’s finger, making him abruptly stop his beam. Dark Master then made a ball with his hands and began to form a huge orb of dark energy. He quickly released it, and Glow Guy jumped aside, narrowly escaping an explosion. Glow Guy quickly blasted upward again, but missed. Dark Master swiftly blasted a straight, piercing beam downward. Glow Guy avoided it by a margin of about five feet and blasted upwards again, this time hitting Dark Master in the face again.
At the bottom of the hill, Shine Guy looked on, holding his breath and pulling for his father to win this duel to the death.
Glow Guy lay another good hit on Dark Master’s face. Dark Master was now fed up. “That’s the limit!” he roared. “This is where you die!” He then began repeatedly blasting downward at Glow Guy, who simply kept dodging and dodging, missing the attacks with ease.
Dark Master began to lose patience (or had already). Then, he thought. It was time to play dirty. Seeing Shine Guy at the bottom of the hill, Dark Master suddenly took aim at him!
Shine Guy shrieked as he gazed up at Dark Master’s finger pointed directly at him. He shut his eyes, shaking, too cold to move. Glow Guy gasped upon seeing this. Dark Master fired his beam.
…
There was a loud cry of pain. Shine Guy opened his eyes, only to see Glow Guy lying flat on the ground, greatly injured, nearly dead! Shine Guy cried. “FATHER!!! NO!!!” He charged up the hill to where his father lay.
Glow Guy struggled to stand back up, but was too injured to do so. Now there was only one way to keep Dark Master from getting to the Grand Gem.
Dark Master cackled with triumph. “Yes! And now I can watch as you die, and now, this valley belongs to me!” He proceeded to open the panel, when he noticed the Power Gems glowing, in a bright color. He then noticed Glow Guy, still on the ground, but with his hand stretched toward the altar. He was controlling the Gems with his psychic abilities. The Gems floated upward, then, as Glow Guy flipped his hand upward, they flew out in into the sky in several directions, spreading far and wide and flying over the horizon.
Dark Master roared. “NO!!! WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!”
Glow Guy spoke weakly. “… I… sent the… Power Gems… to random locations… Without them… you can’t… harm this valley!”
Dark Master nearly lost his head. Extremely furious, he blasted Glow Guy one last time. Glow Guy cried loudly in pain. Shine Guy shrieked, nearly fainting.
“Fool!” Dark Master yelled. “You have only delayed my plans! Those Power Gems will be mine! Dark Paratroopa! Ultraviolet! Return!” He teleported, as did the recovering Dark Paratroopa and giant Yoshi.
Shine Guy knelt beside his father, who barely clung onto life. “Father…” Shine Guy said tearfully, grabbing his father’s hand. “Please… Don’t leave me now… Please…”
Glow Guy slowly turned his head to look at him. “… My son…” he spoke softly. “You must… go now. Find… the Power Gems… before Dark Master does…”
“But how will I know where they are?!”
“Follow your senses, my son… Follow your… senses…” Shine Guy felt his father’s grip slip away. Shine Guy stared, then began to weep… and weep… and weep.
Then he recollected his father’s last words. Follow your senses. Shine Guy thought for a moment, then sat down. He closed his eyes and concentrated hard on his senses. Then, he found himself able to sense sources of power over long distances. More importantly, he was able to locate the first Gem… the White Gem. He then looked once more at his father’s body.
“… I will not fail you Father!” he said. And with that, he ran off in search of the first Gem.
And so, the adventure begins...
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