Pure Hearts Be True

Welcome to Flipside

"...Mario..."

The red clad plumber groaned as he slowly came to. Mario saw that he was in Koopa Kingdom, all alone. Mario thought, 'Where did everyone go? I hope they are all okay, except Bowser...' Mario chuckled under his breath as he saw that there was one thing that was in the room: a rainbow colored butterfly.

The butterfly said, in a female voice, "Hello Mario. My name is Tippi. I am what is known as a Pixl... A sort of fairy... Mario... I came to find you..."

Mario jumped to his feet and assumed a fighting pose as he stated, "Then you are in for a fight."

Tippi reassured, "I am no enemy... You met Count Bleck...and he captured a princess and evil king... Is this not so?"

Mario realized that Tippi was right as he nodded and responded, "Yeah, that's exactly what happened..."

Tippi mumbled, "Then that means Count Bleck is even now beginning to form the Void... We haven't much time... You must come with me... Yes, if your friends are to be saved, you must come..."

With that, Mario felt that there was a strange box around him. In an instant, Tippi and Mario was transported somewhere.

...

The next thing Mario knew, he was in a place that didn't look familiar to him at all. The stranger thing, there was a man standing there, waiting for them. He was wearing a blue cloak, had a long white beard, and a green orb. He came over to the two of them.

He commented, "Oh ho! Well, well, well... Back so soon, Tippi? And who might this be? Red shirt. Blue overalls... And a magnificent 'stache! Tippi, you truly outdone yourself..."

Tippi stated, "He matches the description of the hero in the Light Prognosticus perfectly... And his name is Mario..."

The wizard replied, "I welcome you, Mario! This is the town of Flipside. You have come far from the Mushroom Kingdom of your dimension... Of course, our fair Flipside is in no dimension at all! No! It is BETWEEN dimensions!"

Mario questioned, "Who are you, exactly?"

The wizard answered, "My name is Merlon. I am a descendant of the Ancients who created this town. I busy myself studying musty, ancient texts to forestall the end of all worlds!"

Mario stated, "Speaking of that...how is Count Bleck gonna do that? I mean, how do you destroy all worlds?"

Merlon replied, "So Tippi has not told you yet... Well then, the answer hangs above you." Mario looked up like Merlon instructed and saw something in the sky. Something that looked like a dark porthole. It looked horribly strong. He added, "Do you see the gathering darkness in the sky? It is a hole in the very dimensional fabric of space! Such a strange phenomenon... Is it near or far? None know. It may appear small now, but it will only grow."

Mario breathed, "Holy cow..."

Merlon responded, "And in the end, it will swallow all existence... All worlds, all dimensions... This void was created by our enemy, Count Bleck, who wields the Dark Prognosticus."

Tippi added, "'A fair and lovely princess... A furious monster king... The union of these two will call forth the Chaos Heart, the consumer of worlds... And the Chaos Heart will ravage the sky, and so bring forth the Void.'"

Merlon stated, "Yes... The passage Tippi just quoted is from the Light Prognosticus of my ancestors. The book also says this: "The Void will swallow all... Naught can stop it...unless the one protected by the dark power is destroyed. The hero with the power of eight Pure Hearts will rise to this task." So it is written."

Mario questioned, "A Pure Heart?"

Merlon nodded as he got out a heart shaped object that was red in color and explained, "This is one of the eight Pure Hearts. You are surely the hero spoken of in the pages of the Light Prognosticus. You are the only one who can defeat Count Bleck and save all worlds! Mario, take this and save all worlds from destruction!"

Mario responded, "I shall."

With that, Merlon bestowed upon Mario the first Pure Heart. Merlon explained to Mario that his first task was to place it in the Heart Pillar. Tippi lead Mario there as he placed the Pure Heart into the Heart Pillar, making a door appear on Flipside Tower. As Mario headed back there, he looked around the town known as Flipside. There were people that lived there and there were buildings as well. Mario was impressed as he and Tippi went back to the tower.

Merlon commented, "Ah, the two of you return! Look, a door has appeared! This "dimensional door"  was made to lead the hero to another Pure Heart. Yes, somewhere beyond this door lies one of the seven other Pure Hearts... Tippi, you must use your power to help Mario find this Pure Heart and return here."

Tippi stated, "Of course."

After Merlon gave Mario an item to return easier to Flipside, he explained about a "dimensional governor", to learn the dimensional technique. Mario was a bit surprised as he looked at Merlon.

He asked, "So he will teach me something?"

Merlon answered, "You could say that, yes. He is my friend - Bestovius - and he is the Flip Wizard."

Tippi questioned, "You ready Mario?"

Mario nodded as the two of them went through the red door and into what Mario referred to as Chapter 1.

...

Meanwhile, at Castle Bleck, Nastasia was with the Count himself and two other lackeys: O'Chunks and Dimentio. O'Chunks was a strong opposing person as Dimentio looked like a jester. And from the looks of things, Count Bleck looked quite pleased.

Count Bleck chuckled and commented, "The Void has been ripped in the dimensional fabric! Yes, Count Bleck is pleased. All has gone as foretold in the Dark Prognosticus. Now it's just a matter of time until all worlds meet their demise! Bleck!"

O'Chunks stated, "Wow, that's just super, Count! Yeah, first you'll erase all these naughty worlds... And then you're going to build a perfect world without war and all that other icky stuff!"

Dimentio added, "Yes, yes, no one likes the icky stuff... Yes... A perfect world... Sounds magical... Ah ha ha. I can hardly stand the wait."

"Sorry I'm late!"

In an instant, another O'Chunks appeared and looked at the first O'Chunks.

The second O'Chunks commented, "What in blazin' bog rats...? How'd I beat meself 'ere?! What's goin' on?!"

The first O'Chunks stated, "Mimimimimimi! Oh, O'Chunks, you big silly! Didja oversleep or something?" That's when he turned into Count Bleck and added, "I guess it's kinda hard to be on time, though, when you've got muscles instead of brains!"

O'Chunks yelled, "'EY! Yeh can't fool me wit' that crazy shape-shiftin' hooliganry! It's Mimi innit?! Show a little respect fer the count! Yeh can't go a'borrowin' 'is face, lass!"

The real Count Bleck replied, "Bleh heh heh heh! How delightful, Mimi. Almost as dapper...as Count Bleck!"

The fake Count Bleck turned into Princess Peach and responded, "Aw, golly, thanks, Count! With you around, it's nothing but big smiles all the time! Hanging out with the count! That's MY idea of a perfect world!"

Dimentio joked, "And here I thought Mimi's ideal world was a gem-filled pool with hunky lifeguards..."

The fake Princess Peach turned into Bowser and before she could say anything more, Nastasia was informing Count Bleck about Mario. O'Chunks, waiting to help the count, asked to go after Mario. Count Bleck agreed as O'Chunks headed out to stop Mario. While he was gone, the minions went to their individual rooms in the castle. And when Dimentio entered his room, there was a girl on his bed, knocking out. And that girl...was Violet...

...

Wishmaker1028: And there you have it, the end of chapter 3. Even though Mario hasn't made a scratch in chapter 1, hahaha. Oh, bad joke. Anyhow, please read and review! And always think outside of the box!