My sicerest apologies to KingdomKey23, whose line I stole from his Kingdom Hearts: the Nintendo Version story. I have taken out the line and replaced it.

Welcome to the Flipside

As you can probably imagine, a world between worlds is a hard place to find, let alone get in to. The only way to get in was to loose one’s world, or to “Flip Out”, as the odd spell is called. Luigi, being the mechanical genius that he was, figured out how to get a whole ship to Flip Out in to this irregular place.

Luigi and Peach walked on Flipside’s top floor while the night sky shone through. Another abnormality to mention about this place is that, unlike most towns, this place was built with floors. That is to say, there were levels on which the buildings were placed, and in order to get from your house to the store, you would probably have to take an elevator. That’s right. An elevator.

“Look, Peach!” called Luigi as he pointed at the sky. Peach looked up and gasped. Near the Void, a star was being pulled into its black center. “A star is being pulled in!” continued Luigi.

Peach was distraught and her heart ached. On her face you could see her worry for whatever denizens may have lived on that star.

Peach’s face quickly changed from worry to determined. “All the more reason to hurry, Luigi” said Peach as she continued walking towards the great wizard’s house to find where the great Leon was. “Come” she said commandingly yet sweetly.

Luigi started to follow, but was stopped. His own heart could feel something. He turned around. The streets… well not really streets, but whatever, the streets were empty. Luigi could have sworn he had felt his brother’s sense of justice that resonated off of him… but it must have been his imagination,

“Wait up!” called Luigi as he ran to catch up to Peach.

On the third floor of Flipside (on the other side of the third floor if you’re going to be picky… thank goodness I have access to a map of Flipside) a young boy slept with his back leaned against the cold fence. As he slept a smile was on his lips, lost in his own little dreamland, while the Keyblade was held tight in his hand. From a nearby pipe flew a most beautiful butterfly, its wings pointy and see through and shimmering like a most wondrous rainbow. The butterfly came to the boy and started fluttering around him, taking in every detail for future reference. Then, when the butterfly saw the Keyblade, it shimmered and flew around sporadically. The butterfly started tapping the boy’s face and gently called his name.

“Sokka” the butterfly said in a voice that was wonderful to hear, yet so monotone it sounded as if she had no heart.

“Sokka” the butterfly said again while tapping even harder.

Sokka stirred slightly and chuckled. “Alright, May, I’m waking up, I’m waking up…” Sokka opened his eyes, but frowned when he saw the butterfly hovering in front of his face. “Hey… you’re not May…” he said in a sleepy fog.

“No… I’m not…”

Sokka suddenly jumped up and frantically looked around. “That wasn’t a dream…” ha said to himself under his breath. “May! Zukko! Are you here!?”

“I am sorry… you are the only one who made it here, Key wielder.”

Sokka’s brain suddenly jumpstarted and he turned to look at the butterfly. His pupils shrank and his mouth dropped to the floor. Seriously, Sokka must have been drain bamaged to not have noticed the talking butterfly.

“I understand that you must be terribly confused” said the butterfly, who was oblivious to Sokka’s awe over a talking butterfly. “My name is Tippi, assistant to the great wizard, Merlon. I am here to escort you to him where you shall learn what is going on.” Tippi flew over to the pipe. “Please, follow me…”

Sokka, still to awestruck to reply, did as was asked of him. The butterfly flew into the pipe. Sokka jumped up and stood on the pipe’s edge and stared into the inky blackness.

“Are you sure this is safe?” called Sokka down the pipe. “I mean, it could be dirty and I might bang my head and-” before he could finish, Sokka began to turn into chunks and the chunks were getting sucked down the pipe. Sokka began to scream his head off as he disappeared down the pipe. The screaming didn’t stop until his mouth dissimilated down the pipe.

On the second floor of Flipside on the other side of the locked gate, Sokka assimilated on the other side of the pipe. When he finished assimilating, he continued his screaming fest while keeping his eyes shut tight. After about five seconds of solid screaming, Sokka’s yell died down as he opened an eye and noticed he was all right. He turned to Tippi, smiled stupidly, blushed, and put his free hand behind his head.

“Uh… We can forget that just happened, right?” Sokka said sheepishly.

Tippi turned and started flying over to the nearby gate and made no comment. Sokka followed suit and stopped with Tippi in front of a large lock.

Sokka began tapping his oversized shoe. “Well…?” Sokka asked.

Tippi turned to him. “Well what?”

Sokka raised an eyebrow and motioned at the door with the Keyblade. “Aren’t you going to open it for me?”

“Me?” asked Tippi almost sarcastically. “I’m no bigger than your fist, and you’re the one with the giant key…”

Sokka stared at the thing in his hands. He then looked at the lock and shrugged stupidly. “Heh heh… guess that should have been obvious.” Sokka took the Keyblade and shoved it into the lock. He gave it a fierce turn and the lock fell from its resting point and clanged on the ground. Sokka pushed the gate open and stared around this strange new place. The area was lit with street lamps, revealing many houses and what looked like the base (or perhaps part of) a very thick and perhaps very large tower. Two buildings in particular stood out to Sokka. One was covered in vines, making it look older than all the other buildings. Another was completely dark blue and decorated with stars here and there.

Tippi started to fly to the dark blue house. “Hold on!” cried Sokka to the quick butterfly. Tippi stopped and spun around. Sokka crossed his arms and put on an irritated face. “I’m not coming with you unless you tell me what’s going on here.” Sokka’s face changed so suddenly, you would have thought he had just changed masks. He now wore a face that was on the verge of tears. He held his hands together, the Keyblade between them, and got on his knees. “Where am I? What happened to my island? What happened to my friends?”

For a moment they both were still. Something about Sokka’s innocent face in such a sad expression was almost as bad as puppy dog eyes, except nowhere near as annoying. Tippi was lost in her mind for a moment. Something about this seemed familiar.

“Hey, little boy” came a voice from right behind him. Sokka turned around and felt his face falter at the beauty this woman resonated. “Are you lost?” she asked in a way that was obviously not very caring. The woman caressed Sokka’s face with her long painted nails.

Sokka, who was not this stupid, tried his best to say ‘get away from me!’ but all that came out was “N-n-n-no…” Sokka was too baffled to make any coherent words.

“No thank you” said Tippi as she fluttered between the woman’s and Sokka’s faces. “I am guiding him to where he needs to go.”

The woman put on a scowl. Before she could do anything else, a strange creature wearing a black outfit with many pockets and wearing a goofy helmet jumped from the darkness and pushed the woman down. Before anyone could do anything, the creature forced its hand into a dark portal that appeared on the woman’s chest and pulled out a shining heart shaped object. Sokka gripped his Keyblade and ran for the creature, with nothing but the purest intensions on his mind. Sokka swung at the creature, but missed as it leaped away. The woman lying on the ground vanished before Sokka’s eyes causing him to gasp in fear. Sokka looked around for the creature and saw it standing on the nearby inn. The creature lifted the heart thing into the air and crushed it in its mighty grasp.

From nowhere came about twenty shadows, just like the ones on his island, and surrounded Sokka and Tippi. Sokka, losing all of the courage he had a moment before, grabbed Tippi and started running from the shadows, this time not screaming, while looking for a place to hide. He ran up to the dark blue home Tippi was leading him to originally and banged on the door with his sword.

“Help! Help! Help!” yelled Sokka in sync with his banging. No answer came. Forgetting that idea he ran to the next building, which happened to be a store of sorts, and ran inside shutting the door behind him.

“Hey” called a man from behind the counter as he looked up from his magazine. “Welcome to Cid’s- oh, it’s just a kid. Well, buy something and get out… or just get out, whatever suits you.” The man was well toned and had spiky yellow hair that stood straight up. He wore black pants with a large striped waistband and had thick socks, and on his forehead was a pair of goggles.

From the door Sokka was blocking came a rapping, a very annoying and loud tapping (sorry, I like Edgar A. Poe). The man tossed his magazine aside. “Great, it’s them again. Darn Heartless” Then man pulled something out from under the counter. “Move over, I’ll handle this.”

The man shoved Sokka aside. “Wait!” said Sokka, “If you open the door, they’ll-” The next thing Sokka knew, there was a very large stream of fire being shot from a tiny old fashioned camera. Sokka did like any anime character would do and let his eyes bug out.

“You’re bad far business, creeps!” the man yelled as the creatures became vaporized.

“There” said the man. He turned his head to Sokka. “Hey kid, you new around here?”

Sokka grunted slightly and raised an eyebrow in an irritated way. “Hey, I’m not a kid! And the name’s Sokka.” Sokka felt something in his hand. He frowned sheepishly as he released Tippi from his grasp.

“You saved me…” said Tippi while coming to rest on his shoulder.

“Yeah, isn’t that what I should have done?” asked Sokka with a confused yet happy look at her statement.

“Some might have left me there. You saved me.”

“Hey, Tippi” the man with said a smile as he walked back behind the counter. “What’s the crazy old coot want now?”

“I’m not here for spell ingredients today” said Tippi. “I’m taking this one to Merlon. He may be the one we’re searching for.”

The man raised a brow and looked Sokka over. When he came back to his face, Sokka was on the verge of tears again. “Hey gramps… is this another world?”

The man’s eyes dilated for a moment with shock and terror written on his features. “The name’s Cid… and yes… this is another world…”

“This is a place where people who have lost their worlds come” said Tippi from Sokka’s shoulder. “You’re world was taken by the Heartless.”

Sokka gasped. “Taken!? You mean, like, gone!?”

Cid shook his head. “Not ‘like’ gone. Gone, taken away to the darkness by those evil things.”

“The Heartless” muttered Sokka to himself. “What are they?” he asked aloud.

“Darkness itself. They eat people’s hearts. It’s the darkness in hearts that attracts them” Cid said as he wiggled his fingers to emphasize. “They haven’t been to this part of town for a while. Must have found something tasty.”

Sokka looked down at the floor. “So my island and my friends are gone…” he said as tears welled up.

“Hey, cheer up, kid. Your friends probably made it here too. Go look around for them. And I’d go see the old coot, Merlon. He could probably help in that regard more than I can. He lives next door.”

“We were just there” said Tippi. “He’s not home.”

“Well, he’s gone to see Leon, then. The crazy wiz doesn’t leave his home for anything else unless it’s an emergency.” Cid frowned and looked serious. “But, hey, if you ever need anything, come to me. I’ll give you a hand. And here’s a freebie.” Cid threw a box to Sokka. Sokka caught it and was surprised to find that despite its size, it was very light. Sokka opened it to see many different and bizarre objects, ranging from pills to flowers that looked… clocks?

“What is this stuff?” queried Sokka with a baffled expression.

“This is my patented ‘Cid’s get out of almost any situation’ box. If you need a pick me up, drink from one of the cans. If you’re ever in trouble, just take a bite out something in there, unless it’s a pill, then just swallow it whole. If its got a scary face, then throw it on the ground. If it looks like a shooting star or a lightning bolt, throw it into the sky.”

Sokka shrugged and started pulling things out and stuffing them by type and color into his pockets. Cid scratched his head as Sokka managed to get everything in that big box into the tiny pockets of his fishing vest.

“Well” said Sokka as he zipped the last pocket shut, “I’ll be seeing ya, Cid.” Sokka gave a friendly smile and waved goodbye as he walked out of the store.

Cid frowned. “There’s something weird about that kid… he just made me give away five-hundred coins worth of stuff for free!”

Tippi flew over to a black square with an arrow pointing down painted on the nearby fence… or at least, it looked painted.

“Press this” said Tippi. Sokka did as Tippi asked, and from the ground up, lines appeared as if they were being drawn. Now, ‘drawn’ into the scene was an elevator.

“Wow” was all Sokka could say before he walked in with Tippi and started heading down.

As it just so happens, on the other side of the second floor, another elevator was rising up, and its passengers just happened to miss the one they were looking for. Peach and Luigi walked out and started heading to the nearby inn.

Luigi scowled. “You’d think that finding a guy with a gun shaped sword would be easy to find, and a guy in a bright robe with a four foot long mustache would be easier, but I haven’t seen hide nor hare of anyone fitting those descriptions.”

“Don’t fret” said Peach. “We’ll find them eventually.”

“I’m not afraid of not finding them. I’m afraid of not finding the key guy. Without him, I’m willing to bet we’re vulnerable against those Heartless we’ve been hearing about.” Someone then tapped Luigi on his shoulder, causing our less than brave guy in green to scream at a decibel few believe possible for human vocal chords.

Luigi jumped into Peach’s arms and shivered. When Peach saw it was merely a kind looking woman, Peach dropped Luigi with a thud.

“Forgive me, I did not mean to scare you” the woman said kindly.

Luigi jumped up and brushed himself off. “Me? Scared?” He asked with a prideful grin. “The great Luigi isn’t scared that easily.”

Peach chuckled, “Is that why you jumped in my arms like a child?” Luigi groaned and slumped forward comically.

“My name is Aerith” said Aerith. “Please, come with me, and I might be able to help you.”

On the first floor of Flipside (I dare you to say that ten times fast) Sokka walked out of the elevator he had taken with Tippi flying right behind him. The first floor wasn’t too different from the second floor save for the wall that was in place of a fence and the different buildings.

“So, if Merlon went to see this Leon guy, where can we find Leon?” asked Sokka to Tippi as he stepped into the center of the plaza.

Tippi suddenly stopped and shimmered slightly. “You won’t have to look too far. He’s right behind you.” Sokka turned around just in time to block a sword swing that was aimed at his face.

“Jeez” cried Sokka. “Way to sneak up on a guy!” This new character, dressed in what some might call a dressy motorcyclist’s outfit, leaped back and pointed the sword he carried at Sokka, the sword in question had the handle of a gun. Sokka noticed a scar in between his eyes.

“Excuse me” said this new person coolly. “I’m going to have to ask you to take a little nap.” The man, who Sokka figured was Leon, charged again at Sokka. The Keyblade seemed to act on its own accord, as Sokka did not strain any muscles to knock the gun sword away and hit Leon’s arm. The next thing Sokka knew, Leon had jumped over him and slashed him in the back. Sokka fell forward and the Keyblade was knocked away from him. Sokka knew he could never reach it in time.

“They’ll keep coming at you” said Leon as he walked up to Sokka. “And they won’t stop as long as you wield the Keyblade. But why would it choose a kid like you…?” Sokka gasped in fear as he neared.

“Call it to you!” Tippi called into Sokka’s ear. Leon was walking up to where Sokka was laying and getting ready to deal the final blow. Sokka reached out his hand toward the Keyblade and called to it with his heart, feeling that calling with anything else wouldn’t work. The Keyblade, in a flash of light, poofed from where it lay and appeared in his hand, just it time to block that gun sword and counter with a triple combo slash at Leon’s chest. Leon quickly leapt back and held his gun sword like a… gun. From its tip, great balls of fire were being shot out and hitting Sokka, who was surprised to find that he did not catch on fire, yet still felt like he was burning.

Sokka panted heavily as he ran and weaved his way past the fireballs that were being shot at him. Tippi suddenly yelled in Sokka’s ear, “Leon’s incredibly fast and agile. His only weak point is his eyes. No one can train one’s eye! Use something that Cid gave you!” Sokka quickly unzipped a pocket while he was running and pulled out a red flower with a top that looked like a clock. Sokka took a bite out of it and swallowed. Sokka’s eyes started spinning wildly and his person started to glow with a red aura. His speed increased tremendously and he started running all over the place while laughing like a lunatic. “I’mSokkatheguywithegiantkeyandIlikeicecream!” he cried at one point. Leon started to sweat as Sokka ran circles around him and hitting with lightning fast strikes. Sokka was coming in for a final hit with his tongue sticking out, and, wouldn’t you know it, the flower power ran out of power and Sokka felt the likes of a sugar meltdown times three. Sokka walked super slow and finally fell face forward knocked out cold.

Leon was breathing heavily, waiting for Sokka to get up. Tippi hovered around Sokka and inspected him. “It’s alright Leon, he has passed out” Tippi said after a minute.

“Aww, you’re slipping Squall. He almost had you” came someone from behind Leon.

Leon stopped panting and rested his gunblade on his shoulder. “I went easy on him. And my name is Leon, Yuffie.”

A girl in a really small green outfit walked next to Leon. “So, this is the guy we’ve been waiting for, uh?”

Leon nodded, more so to himself. “Yeah this is him. Things are worse than we feared. A lot worse.”

“I wouldn’t say so, Leon” said another voice. A short man with a four foot long white mustache and wearing a tan robe with blue striped decorations and a blue hood that his face, but not his eyes, walked next to Leon. Tippi came fluttering up to him and rested on his outstretched gloved finger. “He worked very well with Tippi. And as said in the Light Prognosticus, the hero shan’t work alone.”

Leon ‘hmmed’ to himself. “That might be true, Merlon, but he still needs to be better. For now, let’s just hide him. The Heartless will be here soon.”

--

Sokka heard her. She was calling him. Her voice was so nice…

“Sokka, wake up you lazy bum.” Ah yes, nothing sounded greater to Sokka right now. “Are you okay?”

Sokka opened his eyes and rubbed the back of his head. “I… think so…” Sokka took a good look at the person in front of him. He didn’t care where he was or what had happened, he was just glad to see a familiar face.

“Those creatures that attacked you” said May seriously, “are after the Keyblade. But it’s your heart they really want, because you wield the Keyblade.”

Sokka smiled his goofy smile. “I’m so happy to see you’re okay, May.”

May folded her arms. “May? Who’re you talking about? I’m the great ninja, Yuffie.”

Sokka blinked and rubbed his eyes. A second look at May revealed that May was someone completely different. Sokka gasped loudly and fell off the bed he was sitting on.

Yuffie placed her arms on her hips and stared at Sokka with a disdainful half-frown. “I think you over did it, Squall.”

“For the last time, my name is Leon.” Sokka got up and looked over at the person that had attacked him earlier. Leon was leaning on the wall in the corner.

“You said that the last time” said an elderly hooded man with a four foot long Mustache who was at a desk sipping tea. Tippi rested on the desk, flapping her wings slowly to indicate she was still alive.

“What’s going on here!?” Sokka asked frantically as he jumped from the bed. He then pointed accusingly at Leon. “Weren’t you trying to kill me!?”

Leon brushed some hair from in front of his eyes and walked over to Sokka. “I had to get you to sleep. It was the only way to conceal your heart from the Heartless.”

“Why do they want me?”

Leon put a hand to his forehead and sighed. “You’re not very bright are you?” Leon held the Keyblade up. “This is why. The Heartless-”

Merlon stood up and sat his tea down. “Now, Leon, leave the legendary introductions to me.” Leon sighed. Suddenly the Keyblade poofed from Leon’s grasp and appeared in Sokka’s hands.

“My name is Merlon” said Merlon. “I am the current holder of the Light Prognosticus, the fore teller of your coming.”

“Huh… the light what?”

Merlon seemed to smile behind his mustache. “It is a book of prophecies, written to counteract the darkness of the Dark Prognosticus, the fore teller of the end of all worlds.”

Sokka frowned and put his free hand on his chin. “The end of all worlds… is that what that hole in the sky is doing?”

Merlon nodded. “Exactly, and you’re the one to stop it.”

Sokka freaked out slightly. “Me? Stop the end of the worlds? Why me?”

Yuffie put a hand on his shoulder and pointed at the Keyblade. “That’s why. The Keyblade picked you to do it. It thinks there’s something special about you.”

Leon shook his head. “Why would it choose a kid like you, though? Does the Light Prognosticus give any reasoning?”

“Hey!” Sokka said irritably at the kid comment.

“The Light Prognosticus does not give any detailed description. All it says is a hero with the ideal heart. But, we’re getting off topic. You, Sokka is it? You, Sokka, are the hero fore told of. Now, long ago, the Light Prognosticus was written to counteract the Dark Prognosticus. You see, my ancestors had found The Dark Prognosticus and in it was many… but they could not have fore seen… the man with the mask of a spiked heart came… and then the Two who are One made from the stars… my great uncle was a spectacular ventriloquist…” As Merlon kept talking, Sokka, and everyone else listening to Merlon, began to phase in and out while nodding off.

“Excuse me, but did you all fall asleep?” asked Merlon when he started to hear snoring. Leon, Yuffie, Sokka, and Tippi suddenly jolted awake from there standing/sitting positions. Merlon grunted and shook his head. “Of forget it, I’ll just tell the really important details. Recently, someone brought forth from the darkness a heart that was filled with nothing. It is basically a whole in the fabric of reality. The only way to counteract this heart is with the Keyblade and the eight Pure Hearts.”

“And where do I get those?” asked Sokka. It was strange, but Sokka no longer felt scared as he talked with this old man.

“They are scattered across the universe, hidden in the hearts of worlds themselves. But, as it just so happens, I have the first one.” From his robe Merlon pulled out a glistening red heart. The heart gleamed with a beautiful light and gave Sokka warmth as he looked at it.

“So I have to find those things all by myself? No pressure then.” Sokka slumped forward.

Merlon seemingly smiled again. “No you will not. According to the Light Prognosticus, ‘The hero shall receive help from a Queen of the Purest Heart, a mighty Warrior in the Grandest of Green, a Prince of the Clouds, a powerful Warrior from beyond the Stars wearing the clothes of a child, and a ferocious Beast with the Powers of Darkness.’ You will not meet these people all at the same time, but they help will prove most invaluable to you.”

Sokka looked worried. “That last one didn’t sound too friendly.”

“So, will you take this heart and save the worlds from certain doom?” asked Merlon as he held the Pure Heart out to Sokka. Sokka smiled and took the heart and pumped it into the air. “I already made my promise. I’ll save the world!… s”

“Excellent!” said Merlon as he clapped his hands together, his mustache bouncing with joy. “We have little time, as my concealment charm will where off soon.”

“We’d probably have more time if you didn’t tell such long stories…” said Leon under his breath.

“We must prepare” continued Merlon, ignoring Leon. “There are many secrets hidden with the Keyblade, but there are some things you should be told now. First, the Keyblade can lock or unlock any lock in the universe. Nothing is safe from you, but don’t do anything stupid.” Sokka smiled sheepishly. “Second, the Keyblade has the power to unlock a person’s truest power hidden within their heart. And third, as you might have noticed, the Keyblade can destroy Heartless better than other weapons. When the Keyblade defeats them, the hearts that they hold captive are set free. They have great fear of it, but that makes you their number one target. Be very cautious when fighting them.”

Suddenly, the windows of Merlon’s were smashed open and two turtles in green shells wearing sunglasses, spike collars and wristbands jumped in. “Hail Bleck!” both turtles cried.

“It’s Bleck’s minions! Run Sokka!” Leon cried as he charged. Sokka ran outside, followed closely by Tippi, only to be confronted by ten more turtles, as well as a bunch of shadows and Heartless thieves.

The shadows faded into the ground and were moving like… shadows (god, I’m getting sick of doing that, how about you?). Sokka, with no other option, began to slash at the creatures around him. Sokka sliced and diced the Heartless with ease, and it seemed courage kept filling him as the Keyblade released hearts from their captors. When he tried to hit the turtles however, they curled up in their shells and were protected.

Tippi suddenly called out to Sokka, “Shove their shells! They can’t outrun an attack like that!” Sokka grinned at the idea. Performing a back flip he had no idea he could do, he dodged a claw that jumped from the ground. During his flip, he grabbed a turtle that was in its shell and tossed it at the others. Like pins at a bowling alley, the turtles were knocked onto their backs, except for a red shelled turtle who managed to dodge the attack.

Sokka lifted the Keyblade up triumphantly. “Yeah, is that all you got?” Sokka was suddenly tripped as the shell he tossed came back and hit his ankles (come on, you all know that’s happened to you at least once).

Meanwhile, on top of the inn, Luigi and Peach were surrounded by Heartless and Koopas, as they knew they were called. Luigi waved his shield around, just daring them to come any closer. “C’mon” Luigi said bravely. “Give me your best shot, do your worst.” Luigi regretted saying that, as from the crowd of enemies a bob-omb walked up to them and made its funny noise.

“Uh-oh”

A very large explosion followed and sent Peach and Luigi flying off of the inn. Sokka got up from his fall just in time to get smooshed by two people falling on top of him. All of their eyes were spinning from the impact. When they got their bearings, Peach and Luigi noticed something weird about the thing the person they landed on held.

“The Key!” Luigi and Peach shouted when they realized the peculiar shape of the thing the boy they were on top of held.

“My spine!” cried Sokka when he realized he had just been tackled really hard by two adults.

“Jeez, this kid knows what’s he’s doin’. Better call in Big Bro.” said the red Koopa that didn’t get knocked over. He pulled out a hammer shaped whistle and gave it a blow.

A 20 by 20 foot box suddenly rose out of the ground and trapped our heroes in a little space. Sokka, Luigi, and Peach looked up at the walls that had risen. Then, from a portal of darkness that appeared before them, came a huge thundering stomp, stomp, stomp. From the dark portal came a huge Koopa, wearing a helmet to accompany his sun shades, and carrying a large iron hammer. Sokka, Luigi, and peach took a step back and stared at the imposing figure.

“Big Bro. is here to crush you!” bellowed the giant turtle. “I’ll now crush you like… uh… like…”

“Pancakes?” questioned Sokka.

“Bugs?” queered Luigi.

“You can’t crush a pancake” stated Peach. “You can only flip them.”

(Play ‘Super Mario RPG boss rush remix’, made by shadowmario123 on youtube)

Big Bro. growled. “Dah, forget it! I’ll just crush you!” Big Bro. lifted his mallet up and brought it down. Sokka, Luigi and Peach jumped away and barely dodged the earth shattering BOOM. Luigi leaped back and crouched down.

“What are you doing!?” yelled Sokka. “Don’t just cower there!”

“Who’s cowering?” grinned Luigi. Leaving behind a trail of smoke, Luigi shot forward like a missile and head butted Big Bro. square in the gut. Sokka face faulted at the scientifically impossible move. It didn’t do much good, for Big Bro.’s bigness made him hard to topple, and Big Bro. snatched Luigi and hurled him away. Peach pulled out her parasol and, using it like a wand, shot lightning bolts at Big Bro. from ten feet away, and since Big Bro. was weighed down by his huge bulk, he could not stop Peach. Sokka stood back, to scared to do anything.

“Sokka! Remember what I told you! Aim for his eye!” Tippi yelled to Sokka. Sokka still didn’t move. Then Tippi had an idea. “Sokka, if you don’t do something, they will destroy the town, and many innocent lives will be lost in the process!”

And as fast as it had come, Sokka lost all fear and darted forward. Big Bro. swung his hammer in a vertical motion, and Sokka bent his back farther than he knew it could go. Using his built up inertia, Sokka leapt forward and clung to the Koopa’s neck and started hitting Big Bro.’s head with his Keyblade. Peach quickly used a spell to revive Luigi and continued firing lightning bolts at Big Bro. Big Bro. started grabbing at his head with one hand and used the other to swing his hammer. Luigi jumped over the hammer and used his shield in the same manner someone might a sword and slashed at Big Bro.’s feet. Big Bro. yelled out and grabbed Sokka at last and chucked him forward.

“Kid!” Luigi yelled, and super jumped into the air and caught Sokka. When they landed, Sokka smiled up to Luigi. “Thanks, pops.”

Luigi grinned back. “No problem, kid.” Suddenly, the Keyblade started to glow with a rainbow aura. The Keyblade shot itself forward and into Luigi’s heart. Sokka and Peach gasped at what had just happened. Sokka had no control! He couldn’t stop!

The glow that had accompanied the Keyblade suddenly transferred to Luigi, and Luigi glowed with the rainbow aura, and his eyes were glowing as well. Luigi shoved Sokka away and began to do a strange and bizarre dance. Before anyone could wonder what was happening, the area they were trapped in was engulfed in a green light that made everything look like the negatives of a picture. Big Bro. swayed to and fro and dropped his mighty mallet. Sokka, not really caring what just happened, ran up to Big Bro. and pelted him with multiple blows. Sokka leaped back as Luigi, still glowing, ran up to Big Bro. and performed an uppercut jump punch. The uppercut set Big Bro. on fire and impaled him into the ceiling.

(end ‘Super Mario RPG boss rush remix’)

The green light faded away and Luigi gaped up at the turtle stuck in the ceiling. He then turned to Peach and pointed at himself. “Did I do that?” he asked, his shock prominent on his face. Brig Bro. slowly creaked from his crack and fell with a heavy thud on his back. As he lay there, darkness slowly came and took Big Bro. away. The four walls that surrounded them slowly fell.

--

“So, you guys were looking for me?” asked Sokka to Luigi and Peach.

“They too have been searching for the Key” said Leon. “You’re the most important person in the universe now.”

Peach crossed her arms and stared questioningly at Sokka. “Are you certain we haven’t met before?” she asked.

Sokka put his hand to his chin. “I’m pretty sure. But you do seem familiar… like someone you only met in a dream…”

“Well, we got orders from our King to find you, and now that we have, you’re coming with us” said Luigi as he crossed his arms.

Sokka looked down at the ground. “But… I’m looking for my friends too” he said. “Zukko… May…”

“If they aren’t here” said Merlon, “then they could somewhere else in the worlds. Go with them, as they are obviously two of the heroes mentioned in the Light Prognosticus, and search for you friends on your quest.” Merlon closed his eyes. “I have one more favor to ask… take Tippi with you.”

Tippi fluttered faster. “Merlon…” she said almost sadly.

“Tippi, you’ve been good to me all these years, but I think it’s time you saw the other things out there. And besides, you have been a tremendous help to Sokka in the little time you’ve known him.”

Sokka grinned and scratched the back of his head. “That’s true. I wouldn’t have made it this far without you, Tippi.”

Tippi stayed silent for a moment. “I’ll come back to you, Merlon. I promise.” Tippi fluttered over to Sokka.

Merlon smiled. “Don’t try to hard to keep you promise.”

“So, I guess this makes us a team” said Sokka with an incredibly huge grin. “By the way, what are your names?”

Luigi put his hand in front of him. “I’m Luigi” said Luigi.

Peach put her hand on top of Luigi’s. “I’m Peach” said Peach.

Sokka put his hand in as well. “And I’m Sokka” said Sokka.

“All for one and one for all!” they cried together.

--

Little known to our heroes, deep within the confines of the Void, our heroes were being watched by beings of dark power in a dark room through a dark window on a dark table.

“Well, I’ll be” said a dark being in dark armor who looked down right evil. “The little squirt took down the large turtle. I’m slightly impressed.

“Bah! The power comes from the Keyblade; the child’s strength is not his own” said someone in a language foreign to you and I.

And those two that helped him are the king personal fools, thought someone, though his thoughts could be heard by everyone in the room.

“Bah! They don’t look to intelligent to me. Why, you should see the spiky blue thing I have to deal with, now that’s a challenge” said someone who sounded extremely intellectually empowered.

“I have the answer, I can solve this quick, let’s turn him into, a Heartless” rhymed someone who new a thing or two about magic.

A demon like hiss escaped someone’s maw. We can’t do that, you old witch, we need him whole so we can take the Keyblade, thought someone else with telekinetic abilities.

“Calm down, said Count Bleck” said Count Bleck. “This hero is of little importance. Why, I bet even O’Chunks could take on this hero and knock him all over the place, remarked Count Bleck.”

“You’d better hope so, Bleck” said the evil man. “Your minions seem little less than Heartless to me.”

“Count Bleck assures you that this hero will be destroyed.” And with that, the dark ones let loose their evil laughs.

--

Hi, we're back!

Okay, we're moving on with the drama of the story.

We have a little contest for you all. As you might have noticed, Merlon mention five other heroes, two of which were not in Super Paper Mario. If you can guess who the other two are, you will be rewarded with a scene, line, funny moment, or scenario of your choice.

You might have also noticed That Ansem from Kingdom Hearts was not mentioned in this chapter. That is because we are not using him. However, the secret villian was mentioned in this chapter. If anyone can guess who the secret villian is, we will either a)give you the outline of the story or b) let you put an OC of your choice in the story or c) make your own Heartless boss for the story. Plaese PM us the answer. Good luck.

God bless

The Writer Bros.