MUSIC FOR NEXT PART

https://youtu.be/rzdx8jV6GaY

After greeting Mario, I looked around and immediately recognized the place I was in- Toad Town, from Paper Mario 64. I saw Merlon's star dome house, the door to Flower Fields, and the mail building, where I saw Parakarry exiting through it's double doors. There was no doubt about it: I was actually in the world of Mario! In the middle of the town, though, was something that wasn't in Paper Mario 64: A big, purple portal.

I had so many questions, but I was sure Mario would be able to answer them all. Heck, he probably knows every single place here and its secrets like the back of his hand.

"What is your a-name?"

"James," I answered. "James Smith."

"You can come to my a-house, James, and meet my a-brother, Luigi, and a-Yoshi!"

"Thanks for your offer," I respond as politely as I can, "I am quite grateful. I'm just not sure... exactly what's going on."

"Yes, of a-course! We will a-talk on the way there."

As strange as it sounds, I knew the way to the house. I had played through Paper Mario 64 many times, and now I was actually inside of it. Mario and I walked side by side, and he must have known that I was eager for answers, because he started to explain everything immediately.

"Once every a-year, one special person is a-chosen to be brought to my a-Mario World! Let me a-guess, you saw a planet in the sky coming a-closer and a-closer to you?"

I nodded. "Yep. That's exactly what happened."

"No one a-knows why this strange thing a-happens, but..."

"But, what?" I sounded rude, rather than intrigued. Mario gave me a frown, as if he was disapproving, but later the frown proved to be a sad one.

"But none of our a-visitors never survive more than a month."

My heart sank. "So basically, I'm doomed to die?" Mario sighed. "Not unless you are a-different than the others that have a-visited. You must show skills in a-battle, in throwing fireballs, and in kart a-racing."

"Kart racing?" My heart sank even deeper. "That's the one thing I'm horrible at."

We arrived at the pipe near the entrance of Toad Town that would warp us to the property of the Mario Brothers. "Now, you have a-never traveled through a pipe before. Let me a-show you how it is a-done."

Mario jumped up onto it, and I was completely bewildered by how high he went up. He must have went a whole 4 feet in the air! He must have seen the look on my face, so he held out a gloved hand and gestured for me to climb up.

"It's just like in the a-games... push on the sides of the a-pipe to thrust yourself down. Don't a-be afraid, there isn't any a-sewage down in here..."

Mario pushed himself into the pipe and it made a swirling sound, much like the kind it made in the video games. I followed after him. Easy enough, I thought silently in my head.

MUSIC FOR NEXT PART

https://youtu.be/epMGcIfVBKg

It was a dark and long journey, but eventually we turned up in the front yard of Mario's house. He was waiting for me at the doorstep as I pulled myself out from the pipe.

"Come over a-here! I didn't expect you to be very fast your a-first time, but you a-did very well!"

I walked towards the doorway, and Mario opened the door for me. When I walked inside, the first thing I saw was a coffee table, at which Luigi was sitting and reading a newspaper that was titled the Toadstool Times. He looked up and saw me.

"So you a-brought him? Great!" Said Luigi to Mario, and then he turned his head and looked at me. "You must be the a-newcomer."

"Yes, that's me. My name is James," I replied carefully, hoping to make a good impression. "It's nice to meet you in person, Luigi."

Before he could respond, though, a cry of rage came from the next room. I heard a game over sound, and the stomping of feet. The next thing I knew, Yoshi had made his way into the kitchen, as red as a tomato. "Who made Mega Man so hard?" he yelled, throwing his NES controller to the ground, but then he saw me and turned blue as the sky.

"Oops." he murmured, obviously embarrassed by his actions. "You must be this year's visitor! Welcome to Mario World!"

Yoshi picked up the NES controller and put it on the counter. "Have you two told him about the Koopaling's disastrous plans?" He asked Mario and Luigi.

"I haven't a-said anything about that," stated Luigi, folding his newspaper and laying it on the counter next to the table. "In a-fact, I just met James."

"He just a-got here," cried Mario. "Does he really need to a-know the secret?"

I perked up at the mention of a secret. "You can tell me, I won't tell anyone."

Mario sighed, and looked me in the eye. "Well... we might all be in a-danger. In lots and lots of a-danger."