The Legend of Zelda: Shadow Realm Ch7+

*Notice*

Any and all rights relating to the Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. belong to Nintendo and its affiliates.

Any and all rights relating to Kirby belong to Nintendo, Hal Laboratory, and other affiliates.

Any and all rights relating to Sonic the Hedgehog belong to SEGA and its affiliates.

References to the plot in "Trapped in Termina" and "The Three Oracles" refer to the works of brown phantom. These two works are some of the finest pieces of fanfiction I've ever read. I highly recommend reading them since I will make some references.

Link to his profile: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1634435/brown-phantom

Link to "Trapped in Termina": http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4579411/1/Trapped-in-Termina

Link to "The Three Oracles": http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5673514/1/The-Three-Oracles

For the Prologue through Chapter 6, go to "The Legend of Zelda: Shadow Realm Pro-6" 

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Chapter 7: Stories from the Past

    Sonic got up feeling very disoriented. "Ugh, that is certainly some way to travel..."

    Midna appeared as Sonic got a hold of himself. "Ehehe...what's the matter?" she teased. "You're not used to travelling this way? How are you going to last even a day in here?"

    Sonic shot a dirty look at her. "Hahaha," he muttered sarcastically. "I suppose you're enjoying this?"

    Midna frowned. "Sorry...I didn't mean to be rude. It's just been a long time since there was someone or something that could lighten my mood."

    Sonic was lost for a moment in thought, pondering what to make of this stranger. Something about her just wasn't right. If she were a friend, why was she trying to kill him earlier? Her reasoning seemed somewhat strange. And if she were a foe, why was there something about her that made him want to trust her? He needed answers. Now.

    Sonic turned towards her. "Can I ask you a question?"

    "You just did."

    "Yeah...of course." This seemed more and more like a bad idea with every second that passed.

    "Alright, no need to be such a downer. Since when did it become so hard to have any fun?"

    Hey...that sounds like something I'd say. Sonic brushed away that thought for a moment. "Who exactly are you? I've met a lot of strange characters before, but you seem entirely different. What's your story?" Something about her is strange. I just can't put my finger on what it is.

    Midna sighed. "Don't you think we have more important things to be doing right now? It's not always a good idea to stay in the past. Though, maybe I'm a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to that..." Midna paused, recalling both memories that shamed her and those that made her happy. Sonic moved his hand in a small circle, entreating her to continue. "No. I think that is enough for now. I...these memories..."

    Seeing a pained expression, Sonic attempted to lighten her mood. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. It's just that I find things a bit suspicious around here. Call me crazy, but it seems just too convenient that there was some sort of artifact controlling you and that we get to keep a piece of it for free. What is it even?"

    Midna relaxed a bit. "That story...I think I could tell you...if you're willing to talk a bit about yourself."

    Sonic shrugged. "Hey, ladies first."

    "Alright, then. This artifact, the one I'm wearing right now, is a Fused Shadow. When all four pieces are assembled, they grant the bearer terrifyingly powerful strength. They were created by the ancestors of the Twili, the inhabitants of this domain. Our ancestors wielded this power in hopes of gaining an even more powerful artifact guarded by the Goddesses: the Triforce."

    "Hold on," Sonic interrupted. "What's so special about this Triforce? Seems to me that all the power you'd ever need could come from that...uh..."

    Midna sighed. "Such a bad listener. But, to answer your question, the Triforce is a sacred relic that grants the bearer god-like powers. With it, one person could create an era of prosperity or usher in a reign of terror. Many have waged war against each other in the vain hope of obtaining this power for themselves, and our ancestors were the same. When we were stopped short of entering its resting spot, the Sacred Realm, the Goddesses banished us to a realm hidden in the shadows and hid three of the Fused Shadows in the separate domains of Faron Woods, Death Mountain, and Lake Hylia. Most of us accepted this course, looking to the positive of a beautiful world of twilight. What you see is NOT that world. It is instead changed into a dark realm of shadows, now worse than the last time..."

    "Last time?" Sonic wanted to hear that story.

    "Hey, I told you a story. Now it's your turn to tell me something about yourself. I might consider talking some more afterward."

    Sonic thought for a moment. Obviously, this person was very careful about her information. "Alright, then. What do you want to know?"

    "How'd you get here? I thought I sealed off the last remaining link between here and the world of light."

    "I guess it started with the last attempt by a crazy guy to defeat me. He goes by the name of Dr. Eggman."

    Midna snickered. "You can't be serious. There can’t be anyone with a name like that!"

    Sonic grinned. "To this day, I still don't know why he changed his last name. It's either because he woke up one day and decided his name wasn't stupid enough or because he really let himself go. And in more ways than one. It used to be that his plans to take over the planet and defeat me were actually pretty well thought out and diabolical. But these days, I think he's gone mad and is desperately trying to do anything just to finally beat me at something. And it still doesn't work!"

    Midna laughed hysterically before controlling herself. "Alright...continue..."

    "So, his most recent attempt was to kidnap one of my friends and then bait me into a trap. Except it was a poorly made trap, and I felt kinda bad that she was being used as bait for a very pathetic plan."

    Midna raised a brow. "She?"

    "Hey! I'm not THAT into Amy! She's the one obsessed about me! I swear, it's really unhealthy..."

    "So her name's Amy?" she said in a toying manner. "She sounds pretty..."

    "Wha—well—HEY!" Now Midna was really laughing as Sonic grew more and more flustered. This stranger was just as blockheaded as her old friend. Dismayed by Midna's reaction, Sonic waited for what felt like hours until Midna finally settled down. "Anyways, I felt bad about the whole thing, so I took her out on a date. That's about the time when it felt like something was wrong with the world. Like somehow the energy in the air was gone. That's when I noticed a strange figure appear nearby with the most powerful artifacts in my world: the Chaos Emeralds. Naturally, I decided to chase after him, hoping to stop whatever he was planning to do with them. Unfortunately, I unintentionally brought Amy into danger. Before I could do anything to help her, I was sent here by the figure, not knowing if I would even be able to keep myself alive for a few more moments as a voice told me to surrender."

    Midna frowned at the last part. "So, you were taken from your home, and all that's really keeping you going right now is a girl?"

    "Well...err...I guess that is what it comes down to."

    "Alright, then. I may as well talk more about my story; it bears an uncanny resemblance to the one you just told. Though it will be abbreviated, it will still be a little lengthy, so try to keep up, okay?"

    "No problem."

    Midna smiled for a moment before collecting a more serious demeanor. "As I had said, most of my people came to accept life in this realm. However, there was one, one who was unsatisfied with the way our people lived. He was Zant, then a man who hoped to lead our people back into the light and take what our ancestors could not. He was not alone; he found someone with part of that power which our ancestors failed to take. He was Ganondorf, a man who was sentenced to death for his attempt to conquer all. His power protected him from the judgment of the Seven Sages, and they hastily sent him here, hoping to rid the light of that blight. When he was sent here, he saw Zant as a means of returning to the light and offered a share of his power in exchange for his loyalty. With the power granted to him, Zant first changed the people into his army of Shadow Beasts and proceeded to conquer the world of light, transforming it in a veil of twilight. It was my task to protect my people from him, and I failed.

    "For the first time, I didn't know what to do. I was powerless to stop him from his goals. The only thing I had was a legend, passed down from our ancestors that told of a hero who would take the form of a wolf in order to save the people of light and twilight. It was then when I saw a young man named Link taken by Zant's army into the twilight. All other light dwellers who came in contact with the twilight lost their physical forms and became lost, but he did not. A light glowed from his hand, keeping him from becoming a lost soul. When it faded, I was surprised to find him transformed into a wolf. My initial shock soon gave way to pleasure as I felt I had a tool to fight back in the form of a desperate man. I could easily tell that he was willing to go to great lengths for those he cared about, especially a certain girl named Ilia. So we made a deal. I would help him restore light to his world, changing him and the rest of the light-dwellers back to normal, and he would then help me acquire the Fused Shadows I planned to use to defeat Zant.

    "As time passed, I began to change my perception of the young man. I stopped seeing him as a tool to be used; instead, he became a dear friend, always ready to help others at any cost without self-benefit. Even when fate seemed to be against us in those convoluted dungeons where the Fused Shadows were kept, I could always count on him to triumph over whatever trials awaited. Still, I didn't know how useful he would be when it came time to face Zant. I thought that he might get in my way, but I also worried that he might have gotten hurt. It was the first time in a long time since I had cared about someone like that.

    "Things took a turn for the worse after we had recovered the final Fused Shadow. I hoped to leave Link, lest he suffer from my fight. At that point, however, Zant attacked us. I tried in vain to summon the full power of the Fused Shadows, but he easily took them away before I could. Link had tried to stop him, but Zant brushed him aside and planted a curse upon him, dooming him to stay as a wolf forever.

    "Even after that, Zant wasn't done toying with us. He manipulated the light spirit, Lanaryu, and used its power to nearly destroy me. I thought I was going to die, but Link didn't give up on me. He rushed to the only person who could help us, Princess Zelda. Not knowing his concern, I first asked how to restore him to his natural form, and she revealed the location of a sacred blade that repelled all evil: the Master Sword. In what I thought were my last breathes, I realized that it would be up to Link to make sure Zant would not win, so I asked for the location of the last entrance to the Twilight Realm: the Mirror of Twilight. Zelda had other plans though. Calling upon a power I'd never felt before, she gave of herself to save me. It was a token of generosity I haven't forgotten and never will.

    "From there, we headed for the Sacred Grove, where Link claimed the Master Sword. The curse he was under materialized in the form of a crystal. In fact…,” she stopped for a moment to take out an orange crystal that Sonic could tell was filled with an evil essence. “I still have it on me. It probably wouldn’t have any effect on you, but I’ll still keep it just in case. Anyways, we headed for the desert, where we learned the Mirror of Twilight was. When we found that it had been broken by Zant and the pieces scattered, we continued on to the Peak Province, to an ancient temple, and even to the sky to find the remaining parts. Entering Zant’s lair, Link and I took back the Fused Shadows and destroyed Zant for his treacherous acts.

    “After that, there was one more thing we had to do: defeat the true evil behind Zant. We returned to Hyrule Castle and charged up to meet the man who had managed to escape from his prison and return to plague the land of the Goddesses. That man, Ganondorf, had his own streak of madness; before engaging Link in battle, he decided to try and toy with him, taking possession of Princess Zelda’s body and using her like a puppet. I used the power of the Fused Shadows to force him out, but he then transformed into the most beastly being I had ever seen. Link defeated him, and Zelda recovered. Though it seemed like the battle was over, Ganondorf was definitely resilient, taking the form of a demonic head. Ever eager to fight, Link was beginning to charge at him. I knew, though, that even Link could not have stopped him in that form. I sent him and Zelda against their will away from the Castle, knowing that what I was about to do would destroy me and only weaken him. With the full power of the Fused Shadows, I charged at him, knowing that I would not defeat him but hoping that Link would then be able to finish him off.

    “I don’t remember anything that happened immediately after that, but I know that Link did prevail in the end. I found myself still alive, and all was well in the land. Still, I knew that, as long as the Mirror of Twilight stood, what had happened then could happen again. A few days after Ganondorf was defeated, Link, Zelda, and I went into the Mirror Chamber, though I did not tell them what I was about to do. As I bid farewell to them, I shed a tear and pushed it towards the mirror. Once I returned to the Twilight Realm, the mirror shattered, severing what I thought was the last link between light and twilight. Despite what my heart told me, I decided that doing so would prevent what had happened from happening again.”

    As Midna finished telling this story, Sonic couldn’t help but wonder at the scope of what she had faced. “That sure is some story,” was all he could manage.

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Chapter 8: Reclaiming Home

    As the Warp Star took them towards Ordon, Link couldn’t help but notice the large number of creatures infesting the fields below. He wondered if home would escape mostly unscathed from the new threat. He had considered Ordon lucky in that it hadn’t been invaded by the Twilight a year ago. Certainly, Zant had made it a point to take control of the province before locking him up in the castle dungeon rather than leave it to one of his minions. Still, he hoped that nobody had suffered from the grudge he was sure Zant had, especially not anyone in Ordon.

    “Hey, look down there!” Kirby called out. Link glanced down and saw that they were approaching his tree house, the one that had been his home ever since he became old enough to live in his own house. No one knew its history, but Link had felt a strange connection to it from the moment he had first set foot in it. As he saw it now, though, it seemed to be a sole refuge from what lurked below. At least ten Shadow Beasts had the house surrounded, all threatening to come up and attack. As they landed, Link noticed that none of them were seemed willing to climb the ladder. He had no idea why, but perhaps there was a special significance to the place.

    “Uh, Link,” Polari stuttered. “There sure are a lot of monsters around.” He looked very concerned at the large force right below. “Though, I have to wonder one thing. How come they’re not attacking us?”

    Kirby also looked unsure about what to make of the beasts below. “I’m not sure, but we have to go down eventually. We need to find out how to restore light to this area. To do that, we’ll need to find this province’s Light Spirit. Is that right, Link?”

    Link nodded. The last time, he had needed to reclaim the lost light in the form of many tears spread across each region. it had been very tedious tracking down every last bit of light, but, for the most part, it involved very little risk to him or others.

    “Well, when should we start,” Polari inquired.

    “We’re going to have to start eventually, so let’s get going now!”

    With that, Kirby jumped off and landed on one of the Shadow Beasts before bouncing off onto another one closer to the direction of the spring. Link followed, not wanting to take a chance on harming one of his friends. Dashing forward after landing on the ground, Link took one last look behind, noticing that only three of the Shadow Beasts were chasing after them. The ones that were seemed bent on securing their destruction. They gained on the party, forcing Link to stop and confront them. He lashed out at the first, quickly pounced on the second, and rapidly struck the third. The three, of course, were not completely beaten, and they seemed to laugh at him for not being able to finish the job in a few short strikes. However, this was still according to plan, since picking them off one at a time would always leave one left to revive the others. Remembering his previous encounters with them, Link baited them into a small enough area where he would be able to unleash a Spin Attack.

    When he did, all three, instead of falling in surprise of Link’s attack, held out their arms and grabbed him. Pinning him down, they each slashed at him, sapping him of his strength. Evidently, these new Shadow Beasts would be tougher to deal with. Link attempted to free himself, but they seemed to possess too much strength. How can these things be so tough? There has to be some sort of weakness! But what could it be?

    He found his answer from above. Noticing some rustling leaves, his eyes followed the pattern of motion until a large tree branch fell from above and struck one of the monsters on the head. It instinctively took its hands off Link and put them on its head, attempting to alleviate the sharp pain that the blow seemed to have dealt. Seizing his opportunity, Link flipped backwards to break free and pounced on his captors’ heads. Wasting no time, he swiftly rushed from one to another, hoping to finish them off quickly. They soon fell, leaving behind a strange mark on the ground. Presumably, it could be used to warp back here, just like the strange portals that had disappeared after the Mirror of Twilight was shattered. Link gazed up for a moment, wondering who up there had helped him earlier.

    He didn’t have much time to think about that, however, as he heard footsteps rapidly approaching. He turned his attention in the general direction and found Kirby rushing towards him along with Polari behind him. “There you are!” he said. “Where were you? We thought you were right behind us until we got to the spring and realized you weren’t there!”

    Yeah, really great timing you guys. He didn’t show anything different in his face, but Link was going to give the two a piece of his mind once he could actually talk again. He mentally added yet another thing that would have to wait a little bit, though he hoped it would not be long.

    Kirby took the silent, blank expression as a bit of spite. “What? Did something happen around here?” Link pointed towards the mark on the ground. “Oh. Uh…sorry I wasn’t there to help?”

    Link sighed and begrudgingly accepted the weak apology. He knew that it wasn’t Kirby’s fault that he had to face the monsters by himself, but he had still expected some sort of assistance from the stranger. But, if it wasn’t Kirby or Polari who came back to help, who had helped him out?
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    As they approached the spring, Link felt an especially dark presence surrounding the area. He turned to his side and caught Kirby flinching. Evidently, he also felt the presence, and, though neither knew it, both hoped for the same thing: that whatever lay ahead not be as terrible as they thought it would be. The area around seemed to have more light than the rest of the path behind them; however, this light seemed to resemble the Twilight with its veiled colors rather than unrestricted purity.

    When they stepped forward towards the center of the spring, Link noticed that there were no sounds at all anywhere. He looked around impatiently, hoping to find the spirit so they could start restoring light to Ordon. To his disappointment, the spirit did not seem to be anywhere nearby. Where could it be?

    Polari seemed to be as restless as Link. “Hey!” he called out. “Is anyone home?”

    Kirby noticed something stir in a far corner of the spring. “Hey, I think something is over there!” He hurriedly dashed towards the point where he saw the motion. When he got there, he felt some motion from somewhere beneath him. “There’s definitely something around here, but I’m not sure what it is.”

    Link turned his head towards the area, but he didn’t seem to think something had been there. Polari, too, doubted Kirby’s assertion. Hearing some rustling nearby, they started towards that direction, but Kirby inched closer to the spot in the spring. When he finally stepped on that point, he felt a lot of rumbling coming from the ground. “Guys? I’m absolutely sure there’s something here!”

    They turned around to see Kirby jump up and down, trying to get their attention. However, he was also agitating the thing beneath. A red mark appeared on the ground beneath him. “That doesn’t look good.” He tried to jump out of the way, but a mysterious force quickly took hold of him. “Guys? Link and Polari started towards Kirby, but, before they got there, he was launched away towards, Link believed, the desert. “YAAHHHHHHH!” came Kirby’s belated cry for help.

    Whatever had just launched Kirby off was awakening. The red spot on the ground grew and moved towards the center of the spring where it turned pitch black. A large, dark figure arose from the black mark. It appeared to be a deranged looking goat, as if Fado had done something to cause it to lose its mind. Its horns were illuminated in a sinister red light. It seemed to be very familiar to Link, but he didn’t get much of a chance to examine it.

    No sooner had it appeared when it charged at the Hero and the Luma. Jumping out of the way, Link tried to study how to approach this enemy. If I were back to normal, I could probably put on the Iron Boots and take it down like an ordinary goat. But I’m not normal, and the boots are in my basement.

    “Link! Look out!” The goat-monster opened its mouth and unleashed a long laser, grazing Link’s tail. He flinched for a moment, but it was long enough for the goat-monster to ram him into the rock wall at the back of the spring.

    Link grimaced in pain. If Midna were on my back, I could ask her to hold that thing down, but she’s not here. So how can I take this thing down?

    Again when in need of a way to damage his foe, some rustling appeared in some nearby trees. As Link looked in the general direction, a large branch crashed into the goat-monster’s horns. Roaring in fury, it charged into the tree, taking down the tree and a comparatively smaller figure. While it was occupied by the new guest, Link hurried up to the monster and attacked its horns, knowing that its weak point had been exposed. The monster reacted violently, doing its best to try and throw him off, but he continued to attack. It was when he looked away for a moment to see what it was that had distracted the monster that the monster was able to throw him off. Link motioned for Polari to go investigate while he continued to fight.

    “Hello?” Polari questioned as he approached the spot where the goat-monster had been. He saw a furry figure lying on the ground, apparently worn out from the goat-monster’s attack. “Hello?” he asked again, poking the figure. He noted that it felt really soft and warm, giving an almost inviting aura. At the same time, there seemed to be something highly powerful lying inside this being. “Hello?” he said one more time, this time daring to open its eyelids.

    The figure regained its consciousness and instinctively pounced on the Luma, not knowing why it was there. Polari thought the worst and frantically waved his tiny arms. “No! No! I’m not food! I’m a friend! Please don’t eat me!” The figure eased its grip on him until he was able to free himself, and he to circle around it in order to examine it. Let’s see what we’ve got here. Grey coat…furry tail…really big teeth…powerful presence…apparently feminine structure…

    Polari didn’t have time to continue his analysis because, at that moment, the goat-monster had thrown Link off onto the Luma. He quickly got up to chase his opponent again, but his eyes caught the figure standing right next to him. When Link took a look at the figure, his heart stopped for a moment. He only had to see those green eyes to know who it was.

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Chapter 9: The Fortress

    “How did I get myself into this mess?” Luigi wondered as a few Shadow Beasts slammed him into the ground of a small prison. It had all started just fine, waiting for Mario to come back up and staying safe. Until a whole bunch of those Shadow Beasts appeared. No matter how many he fought down, there seemed to be more and more ready to take him down until they finally did. As they dragged him away in a semi-conscious state, Luigi had noticed them walking right through a wall. When he saw that he was getting closer to it, he thought, with some hope, that he’d just crash into the wall while the monsters didn’t notice him gone. Unfortunately, the wall turned out to be some sort of illusion as they all passed through without a problem. Losing hope of escape, he drifted further into unconsciousness.

    Until he felt the ascent. He got up, noticing that they had passed a large gate. He looked around and saw a majestic-looking city. Or at least, it probably was, judging by the quality of the broken stones all over. This was all he could take in before they had gotten to the top. He noticed the whole on the roof of the structure. “Oh, no,” he pleaded. “PLEASE don’t throw me down there!” They looked at each other, wondering what to make of his pathetic sounding grovel. So they didn’t throw him down there.

    They SLAMMED him down there. He got up in pain and the sound of a distinct roaring at him. What are they saying? he thought to himself.

    As if to answer him, an orange Luma came out of his hat and said, “They’re saying that you’re not getting out of here!”

    “WAH!” Luigi cried as he stumbled back, surprised at the newcomer. He had never felt the Luma’s presence before, so how come it only decided just now to show itself?

    The Luma just floated closer to him in a somewhat oblivious manner. “Hi, Luigi! Surprised to see me?”

    “Ha—Hoo—How long have you just been sitting inside my hat?”

    “Mama knew that you and your brother would be needed to go and save the universe or something, so she decided that you needed a Luma partner of your own and not keep borrowing Mario’s! So, I’ve just been around waiting until I was needed!” It looked around for a moment. “And boy do you need it! You’ve just landed yourself in jail!”

    “But I didn’t even deserve it! All I was doing was lying around a cave not doing anything! Why would those monsters just snatch me and dump me here?”

    “Um…maybe because you weren’t contributing to society?” it joked.

    Luigi looked at the Luma strangely for a moment, but he decided there was a more important problem he faced. “So, do you think you could help me get out of here?”

    “Me? I can float out of here, but you need help to get out of here!”

    “And can you help me get out of here?”

    The Luma laughed. “Of course not! You’re way too heavy for me to carry! You’ll need to find a way out yourself!”

    Luigi groaned. “Great! I’m a going to have to climb this! And how am I supposed to do that?”

    “Well, it’s not just like the answer’s going to fall out of the sky, right?”

    As if on cue, the duo heard some screaming getting louder and louder until a pink mass fell from the top of the hole and landed hard on the ground. They started to get closer to it, but they soon backed off when they saw it get up and start rubbing its head.

    “My head is in SOOOOOOO much pain…” it murmured. Then, it turned around to acknowledge the two who were continuing to make sense of what had just happened. “Oh, hi! I’m Kirby! Who are you two?”

    “Luigi!” the green-clad plumber proudly offered, tipping his hat in a form of salute.

    Kirby and the Luma looked at him strangely. “Is that how you introduce yourself to everyone?” When Luigi didn’t offer a response, the Luma continued. “Oh, well. My name is…well…Mama gave me REALLY long name and it’s kind of embarrassing…even the shortened form is embarrassing, so just call me Fred!”

    Kirby didn’t know what to make of the Luma, but he soon decided that there were more important things to do. “Right! So, we’re in a prison in the middle of a desert. Well, not the middle of a desert, more like a fortress, hidden away from the rest of Hyrule for so long that practically everyone forgot about it!”

    Luigi looked at Kirby strangely, as if he were talking to some sort of alien. Well, he was, but it was still weird. “And?”

    Kirby grinned. “There’s definitely something important nearby! Right now, though, we should get out of here. I’m going to fly out. Grab onto my foot when I do.”

    “You could get me out of here?”

    “You seem light enough for me, so sure!” Kirby began puffing up and floating. Luigi grabbed on as they floated out of the prison, Fred following shortly after.
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    The Shadow Beasts were standing guard at the main entrances of the fortress. Because of that, they didn’t notice the floating figures heading towards one of the side entrances. Luigi dropped to the ground first, and Kirby came down soon after. Fred returned inside Luigi’s hat, and they stealthily entered the fortress. A few corridors pointed to some event going on in the center, so the group began to head for the center of the fortress.

    As they moved to turn left, a lone Shadow Beast suddenly appeared from the same direction. Taking cover behind a nearby crate, they waited to see if it was turning in their direction. Hearing the movement come closer and closer, Luigi started to panic. Rocking himself back and forth, Kirby stared at him for a moment before realizing why he was panicking. He readied himself, and, when the Shadow Beast finally spotted them, Kirby lashed out against it. It stumbled for a moment and signaled others to come. At that point, Fred grabbed hold of the monster and unleashed a spin. It didn’t stand a chance, and it soon fell, leaving behind a strange looking flower. Luigi’s eyes widened, and he quickly grabbed the flower. His clothes changed color from a green shirt and blue overalls to a white shirt with green overalls.

    “Oh, yeah!” he joyously exclaimed, before realizing he had just alerted two more Shadow Beasts about their presence. Part of him winced, but that part was silenced as he began to defend himself against his opponents. Summoning green fire, Luigi quickly dispatched the two monsters.

    Kirby was clearly impressed. “Cool. Mind shooting a fireball towards me?” Luigi gave a questioning look before complying with Kirby’s request. To his surprise, Kirby opened his mouth and swallowed the fireball. He then realized why Kirby asked for the fireball when a crown exuding fire appeared on his head. It was then when he noticed a final Shadow Beast creeping up behind Kirby. Before Luigi could get his attention, Kirby turned, opened his mouth, and released a great amount of fire, easily taking down the monster.

    “Right, that was probably noticeable,” Kirby stated. “We should really get going.” Luigi nodded as Fred returned to Luigi’s hat, and they rushed off to where a sign said the center was. They passed by a few more of the Shadow Beasts, and Kirby wondered why these ones seemed so easy to fend off. Probably because these ones are from this world rather than the World of Twilight. To him, it made sense based off of Princess Zelda’s explanation regarding the strength of Zant’s army. Apparently, Link had faced much stronger monsters inside the Twilight Realm largely because that was where Zant’s power was strongest.

    Sensing a large room nearby, the two hurried faster before coming to a complete stop. Before them was an immense room with an open ceiling. Markings all over the walls indicated the history of the indigenous people. The center seemed to contain a coliseum of some sort. It seemed as if this place had once held a great significance for its natural inhabitants. Tons of Shadow Beasts were there guarding what seemed to be a treasure chest containing a bright glow. The heroes stared at each other for a moment and promptly nodded, knowing what their immediate goal was.

    They headed towards the center, carefully ensuring that they didn’t attract any attention. Once they were close enough, Kirby jumped up to attract their attention. “Look at me!” he exclaimed. “I’m a target!” Most of the Shadow Beasts noticed him and chased him around the room. Luigi crept up behind the chest and remaining monsters as he waited for Kirby to get to the fight place.

    As soon as he got there, Luigi sent up two green flares. Noticing the flares, Kirby turned around and dashed straight at the monsters. When the first line came ready to grab him, he turned into a burning fireball. He burned through the first lines and spewed fire on the remaining ones. Once he made sure all of them had fallen, he sent out his own flare.

    Luigi noted the flare working as the distraction he wanted. With his foes momentarily unfocused, he jumped up and fired at the ones closest to the chest. For the remaining ones now heading towards him, Fred came out and held each monster captive before Luigi unleashed his fire. Once all the enemies were down, Kirby jumped toward the two with a smile.

    “Nice work, everybody!” he declared. Luigi nodded and approached the treasure chest. Opening it up, he found a small fragment of what appeared to him as a Grand Star.

    Fred seemed pleased. “Great! We’ve got a part of a Grand Star! We can use this to get the Starship Mario back and return to the cosmos!”

    Luigi paused for a moment. “Wait a minute…Mario’s a still in that cave! I’ve a gotta get him!”

    Kirby nodded. Not needing an explanation, he knew that Mario was important player in whatever scheme was going on. They escaped through the roof and landed outside the prison they had been in earlier. Noticing the large gate, Luigi pointed out that through there was the way out of this mysterious place.

    “Right, then,” Kirby said, “let’s get going!”

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Chapter 10: The Starship Reborn

    Mario panted as he dodged the swords of these three warriors known as Darknuts. For such a strange sounding name, these monsters packed a punch, and the plumber was running out of steam. He had no idea how long he had been down in the Cave of Ordeals searching for the pieces of the Grand Star, but it felt like an eternity to him. After the first visit with the Great Fairy, the enemies had only marginally gotten tougher, the most annoying of them being the Chu that seemed to always come back together when divided, never staying dead until a lot of effort had been used.

    He had gained four Grand Star pieces, and he knew that there was one more lying inside the cave. Knowing that he had to face these enemies to get it, he summoned his last reserves of strength to charge at these dark knights. One came to strike with its sword, but he leaped backwards before slamming into him with a ground-pound. The second one bashed its shield against Mario, knocking him off balance as it swung its sword against him. He fell backwards but quickly got back up to unleash a cosmic spin. It stumbled, but the third quickly struck Mario down as the second recovered.

    He tried to get up, but he had used up all his energy. The monsters seemed to know this and moved quickly to strike him down for good. He rolled out of the way of several strikes but soon was kicked off by one of the monsters. The Darknuts, ready to finish him, slowly walked towards him when all heard a yell coming from above.

    “Oh, yeah! Luigi time!” Mario had never felt so glad to hear the familiar voice of his brother. Green fire rained on the monsters, and the green clad plumber dropped down. “You ready to go, bro?” He took out a red mushroom with stars and tossed it towards Mario, who gladly took and ate it. Its energy flowed into him, restoring the energy the cave had taken from him. He eagerly got up, just in time to meet the attack of one of the monsters.

    “What took you so long to get here?” Mario asked as he spun, taking out his opponent’s shield.

    “I got arrested by a bunch of monsters,” he responded. “I met a guy who helped me break free and got back to you as soon as possible. When I mentioned that you’d be here, he gave me the mushroom because he thought you’d need it.” His opponent lost its shield. “Have you really been down here for three days?”

    Mario looked at him with a surprised look on his face. “I’ve been down here for THREE days?! Mama mia!” He spun around, and his opponent’s armor was all but gone. He started to feel a bit of relief, but it disappeared as it took out a second sword. “I’ve been facing enemies in all those rooms! So many rooms and enemies…”

    “That would explain why I didn’t see anyone on the way down,” Luigi replied as his opponent’s armor disappeared. “Did you find any pieces of the Grand Star?”

    “I got a piece each time I saw the Great Fairy who lives here. What about you?”

    “Yeah, I found one in a treasure chest before I started on my way back. Should we try to put the pieces together?”

    Mario paused for a moment as Luigi’s offer was very tempting. As much as he wanted to get out of the cave, he knew that there was something worth reaching the final room for. “Let’s try to reach the end of this cave first. I’ve already spent so much time here that we should finish it.” Mario’s opponent fell.

    “Alright, bro. Whatever you say.” The final Darknut fell, and the door to the next room opened. It was then when the brothers noticed the thin man nearby. He was wearing all white, had a strange red hat, and was grasping a letter. “Mario, who’s a that?”

    Mario shrugged and approached the man. “Hello?”

    The man glared at Mario, as if he were intruding on something personal. “I think you are lost,” he said. “It’s got to be somewhere around here…” The man then went about his business as if he had never been approached by the plumber.

    Mario wondered to himself for a moment, but he soon decided that this man had nothing really interesting to say. How he had gotten down here was a mystery…perhaps he had followed Luigi on the way down? Whatever the case, there was something more important to do. “Let’s a go!” he exclaimed. It was time to go into the final room, hopefully, and claim his reward.

    The two entered and found a room with a large spring and no other door in sight. Luigi walked closer to the spring when the Great Fairy appeared. His jaw dropped upon seeing the lovely looking stranger, though Mario was used to the sight by now.

    “Welcome, Mario brothers,” the Great Fairy calmly said. “You have finally come to the end of the Cave of Ordeals. Truly, you are sufficiently prepared for the trials to come. As proof of this accomplishment, please take this…”

    She raised her arms, and one more Grand Star piece appeared. As it floated towards Mario, the four pieces he had already collected floated out of his possession and slowly approached the new piece. As they connected, a bright light overtook the area. It faded away quickly, leaving behind a completed Grand Star.

    The Great Fairy gave Luigi a seductive look, extending her arm to playfully tug on his moustache. “If you ever have need of me again, you know where to find me…” With that, light filled the room again, taking the brothers up to the surface.
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    On the surface again, the brothers saw the Grand Star before them. The star floated towards what looked like a giant rock. It then started circling the rock faster and faster until it shot itself inside the rock. Once it did, the brothers felt the ground below shaking, drawing other rocks towards the giant one. Light penetrated the wall of shadow and began getting drawn into it, and the brothers were temporarily blinded.

    When Mario realized he could see again, the first sight he beheld was the familiar shape of the giant starship, ready to travel through the stars. It greatly resembled Mario’s head, fixed with grass along much of its surface. It contained a few islands suspended in the air. The strange thing, though, was that there were a few figures already on board. It neither lost all its passengers as he had expected nor contained all of them. Where the others were he could only guess, but there would be time to think about that later.

    Mario and Luigi jumped off the ground and allowed the gravity of the Starship Mario to bring them on board. They dashed towards the top of the ship where the controls were. Floating nearby the wheel was an absurdly large purple Luma. Unlike any other Luma the brothers had ever met, this one even wore a pair of blue trousers. The Luma noticed the two brothers and smiled.

    “Captain!” he said, addressing Mario. “Glad to have you back on board!”

    “Hey!” Luigi exclaimed. “What about me, Lubba?”

    Lubba’s smile grew even brighter. “Of course! Always nice to have the first mate on board!”

    “Mama mia!” Luigi complained. “Always second best in the eyes of the universe…”

    Mario shot him a look telling him to shut up and asked Lubba where everyone else was. Lubba’s smile fell at that. “Well, Captain, the fall to this planet took a lot of power out of the core. To preserve the life of everyone aboard, everyone went into a form of stasis until enough power came back to bring them back out of stasis. The power from the Grand Star was enough to re-form the planet and bring some of the crew back to life. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough power to travel through space or bring back the rest of the crew…”

    Luigi took out the piece of the Grand Star he had found earlier. “There has to be another Grand Star on this planet! We just have to find the rest of the pieces!”

    Lubba nodded. “The ship is registering strong energy signatures all over this planet. There should be pieces at each spot. The closest one seems to be somewhere inside the desert. Maybe it’s over there at that structure in the distance.”

    “Alright,” Mario said, “let’s a get going!” The sooner he could get back into space, the better. Whatever Bowser was planning had to be stopped.

    Lubba smiled again. “Alright, you two! I know that you’ve got this, so I’ll leave you to it. I don’t know how much help I can be, but I wish you the best of luck!”

    The brothers nodded and turned to hop off the ship. However, they soon realized exactly how tired they were, as their bodies quickly gave out. The Lumas on board gasped in shock and hurried to carry them into the engine room, hoping they would be able to recover quickly.
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How do you like the story so far? This work is far from complete, so, if you have anything to say to me in great detail, e-mail Kirby . Reviews are very much appreciated.