The Adventure of Mario and Link

After seeing all the crossover work on this site, I decided to do one with my two favorite video game characters of all time: Mario and Link.

I do know that they have been in the same situation, mainly in brawls, but they have never had a formal encounter before. I also wanted to see what it would be like to see this dynamic duo battle against metaphysical forces, struggling to restore order to their own universes.

Plot
I'm sure you're wondering how Mario and Link could possibly end up in an adventure together, and so did I. I knew it would have to be through some force beyond imagination, because no other idea makes poetic sense. So here's what have so far:

Mario is relaxing on Cookie Mountain (from Super Mario World), after a long year of stopping treachery by the villains of the land. However, he soon find himself out of relaxation because he hears a loud grunt of frustration from Bowser, who doesn't know the Mario is on the mountain. Mario peeks out from behind a nearby rock to see what Bowser is doing, and spies him struggling with a stone keypad in a secluded part of a side wall, which activates what is apparently a secret entrance. In his hand is a strange black crystal with golden-yellow mist effects in the center, even though it appears quite solid.

Just a moment after Mario notices the strange crystal, Bowser succeeds with the keypad and in a grunt of triumph, goes inside, with the door blending right into the wall behind him. Mario decides he might as well investigate, because nothing good has ever come from Bowser, and upon knocking the place where he saw the entrance, the same apparatus appeared in front of him. Mario did not clearly see the password Bowser entered, but he knew it was four digits. First, he tries 1-2-3-4, but that doesn't work. Next, he tries 0-1-2-3, but that fails too. Then, he tries 5-6-7-8, and the door opens.

Mario quietly enters and sees Bowser walking out of the room, with the crystal on a pedestal on the end of his throne room opposite the actual throne. He decides to investigate, and upon touching the crystal, he feels an odd, depressing sensation, almost like being in the underworld. Just then, Bowser re-enters, and when he sees Mario with the crystal, he immediately attacks. Unprepared, Mario holds the crystal horizontally in front of his face. Bowser inadvertently slashes the crystal in two, and Mario is gone.

The scene then flashes to the Faron woods, where Link is relaxing in his farm-boy clothes playing a plain ocarina (not the time one, mind you, although it is a reference). Link hears an odd blowing sound and looks to his right, to see that a part of the sky has turned black, with orange squares flowing through it. He recognizes it as part of the Twilight Realm, a place he had imagined to be dormant. He quickly dons his Hero's Clothes and grabs up an ordinary sword, but the Hylian Shield. He sees a portal in the right side of Hyrule Field and, sword in hand, sprints towards it.

The scene then returns to Mario, who was transported into the Realm after holding the broken crystal, and he has a terrified look on his face. He decides to start walking, but soon sees Shadow Beasts running toward him, with the entire Realm being awakened by the disturbance of an outsider. Mario runs toward what looks like an exit, and bursts into Hyrule Field just as Link reaches it. He bumps hard into Link, and Link immediately readies to fight, but realizes that Mario is not the threat when the area turns gray and the Shadow Beasts burst in. The two team up and defeat the beasts, and then, Mario shows Link the crystal shards. Then, a ghost-like figure emerges, with a guard of beasts which are known to dwell in the Realm. Mario is terrified and hides behind Link, and then the man acknowledges Mario as the one who he sensed as "the one I've been waiting for." He then goes on to say that when the Dark Mirror was destroyed, the Realm was sealed away, only able to return as a result of significant dark power. He then reveals that he had heard of crystals powerful enough to restore the dominance of the Twilight Realm, but that they were on some distant planet, which happened to be Mario's. After finishing his speech, the man commands Mario to return the crystal shard, as they are just as powerful broken. Link looks at Mario, and shakes his head slightly, quietly telling him not to comply. Mario sides with Link and puts the shards into the pocket of his overalls.

The man sends his minions against the two, but together they manage to force all of them back into the Twilight, after which Link whips out his ocarina and plays a sealing song to act as a temporary obstacle for the dark forces. As the man is forced back through the barrier, he consents that the heroes has won the first round, but that Xandros would soon be king of the universe. Mario seems happy about the victory, but Link looks solemn, and motions Mario in his direction.

Link brings Mario to Zelda and explains the situation. She says that although their predicament is indeed dire, there was a way to restore order. She explains that there is an ancient, unified magical power that would allow her to cast all the crystals into four corners of the universe, but that she would need the sacred gems from the mountain, forest, and water realms, as well as the rest of the crystals from the Twilight Realm.