Vol. 2, Ch 3. - Familiar Faces.

     "Before we look into that, you need to visit her.  She misses you," said Red.

     "Alright.  Let's a-go!"

     Red chuckled.  "Wait until I tell you where you picked that phrase up."

     "Where?"

     "You'll meet him shortly.  Come on, no more stalling.  To the TARDIS."

     "It won't be a long walk.  I've always kept her nearby."

     "Well, actually, she's stayed nearby.  Come on, then."

     The Doctor hesitated.  For years he had hidden himself on this tropical island with the Yoshi's.  He'd even taken a Yoshi's form, just to get away from - no, he couldn't think of that again.  It hurt too much.  Now his life as "Yoshi" was less than a memory, a far-off experience that he couldn't keep, and he would be facing his enemy on a planet that was by no means prepared.  What of the friends he'd made?  He didn't know them anymore, and they didn't know him.

     "Still not ginger," he muttered, spotting himself in his bedroom mirror.  "Although...I am kind of cute..."

     "Doctor!  There's no time!"

     "Well, let me grab my shoes!"

     "No need.  You're a Yoshi, remember?"

     "No, I don't.  I'm a Time Lord, who happens to look like a Yoshi."

     Suddenly Red cried out and pointed behind him. The Doctor turned and there it was- a Dalek in the room.

     "YOUR ATTEMPT TO HIDE FROM US COULD NOT BE SUSTAINED, DOC-TOR!"

     He smirked.  "There was never an attempt to hide from you.  Just an attempt to hide from me.  What are you here for, eh?  There's no reason I can think of that you'd be interested in this island.  And what happened to your usual subtlety?  You've never sought me out before."

     "YOUR INTERFERENCE IN THE PAST HAS SHOWN THAT WE CAN NO LONGER TOLERATE A DELAY IN YOUR DEATH.  EX-TER-MIN-ATE!"

     "Hold on!  Aren't you going to gloat at least a little?  You, achieving the honor of exterminating the enemy of the Daleks.  That-"

     His sentence was cut short by a blast of the Dalek's ray gun.  He staggered back, and fell to the ground.

     "Doctor!  No!" Red screamed, running towards The Doctor.  The Dalek stopped him, saying  "YOU WILL FOLLOW ME!"

     "I'll do no such thing!"

     "THEN YOU WILL COME UNDER RESTRAINT!" and before Red could say another syllable, he was trapped in an egg.

     "YOUR COOPERATION IS CONVENIENT, BUT YOUR INFORMATION CAN BE GAINED WITHOUT IT!" said the Dalek, rolling away.

     It wasn't until hours after the Dalek had gone that The Doctor jolted awake.  His headache was matched only by his shock.  "Wait- this can't be happening.  I was shot by a Dalek!  Although...I have a Yoshi's form.  Could that make a difference?  If it does...ah-ha! That's brilliant!" He began clapping his hands in glee, but realizing Red was gone brought his excitement to a halt.

     "He's gone.  What have they done to him?  I've got to get to the TARDIS."

     He reached down and pulled a key from his shoe.  "Come on, old girl.  It's time."  With that he ran out the door and around to the back of the house.

     "Hi, Yoshi!" he turned and saw a Purple Yoshi approaching him.  "Beautiful day, huh?  I haven't seen such a brilliant blue in the sky since- good heavens, what's that?!?"

     "It's a long story, Yoshi- but if you want to know it, you'll have to wait."

     "You could tell me now."

     "I've gotta run."

     "I'll come with you."

     "I don't think you should."

     "Is there danger?"

     "Like you've never seen before."

     "Right.  Well, into the TARDIS, then?"

     "It won't open for- wait, what?"

     "Appearances can deceive, Doctor."

     "You know who I am?"

     "Oh, Doctor.  You didn't imagine you could come to this planet, and turn into a Yoshi, and no one would know who you were.  I remember how you did it, too.  As you said, though, there's no time."

     "How many Yoshis know who I really am?"

     "Well, there's Red, myself, White, Blue, and, um, Pink, among others.  Don't worry, they don't all know you."

     "That's not possible!  I don't remember any of you except Red!  You didn't even know what the TARDIS was a second ago!"

     "I wasn't sure you did, so I acted like I didn't know.  Red was your latest fellow traveler- the only real Yoshi in the bunch."

     "The rest of you are-"

     "Disguised like you, you clever boy."

     The Doctor sat stunned.  "That- can't...be possible," he breathed.

     "You said it yourself.  It's wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff.  Besides, it becomes easier when there's a Bad Yoshi involved, er, Bad Wolf."

     "Did you say Bad Wolf?"

     "You'll meet her soon.  Right now we've got a Dalek force to take out."

     "For once I feel like I'm the only person who has no idea what's going on."

     "Welcome to the rest of our worlds.  Well, time to go!"

     In a blink they were in the TARDIS, and then they disappeared.

(Continued next week)

Vol. 2, Ch. 2 - The Doctor Is in.

     "There's a reason I hid him away!" cried Yoshi.  "That was a life I meant to put behind me once and for all!  As far as I was concerned The Doctor was dead!"

     "Well, he's not anymore," replied Red.  "Although I admit you did an excellent job hiding him.  That show convinced everyone he was just a legend.  Well, except for me."

     "I gave you the watch with specific instructions to never let me see it again.  You saw the disaster I caused!  Never again!  NEVER AGAIN!" cried The Doctor.

     "Get a hold of yourself, Yoshi- or Doctor, since that is the name I really know you by!"

     "How can I, when I remember the-"

     "Don't remember it!"

     "But I can't forget!  That's the curse of the Time Lords!"

     "Doctor, you can't hide anymore.  They've come to the Mushroom Kingdom."

     "Who has?"

     "The Daleks," and Red drew a deep breath.  "They don't know you're here."

     "You- you were the last person who ever saw me.  Of course they don't know I'm here."

     "They do know I'M here."

     "How?"

     "How do you think?  I'm the only Yoshi in the solar system with Time Lord DNA."

     "It figures.  What I did to protect you instead brought my deadliest enemy."

     "No time to reflect on yesterday.  What you do now will define the future of this entire planet- for better or worse.  Of course, we aren't alone, because now you know where she is."

     "Yes, I know.  I haven't visited her in years."

     "Don't think she hasn't missed you.  There's a legend on the island that some sea monster is crying out in loneliness, but we both know it's her.  You left your screwdriver with her too."

     "I know.  Red, this was the one thing I asked you never to do.  Surely you don't think this planet is as weak as all that, that they can't hold their own."

     "If it wasn't for your past travels NO planet would have held its own, and you know it.  Listen, Doctor.  I know yesterday is difficult to remember, but if you don't move now, there will be no tomorrow."

      The Doctor took a deep breath.  "It was the charm of this place that made me want to settle here and end my days as a Time Lord.  To be at peace with everyone, not have any serious enemies, make long-lasting friends who I didn't fail, help where I could without any paradoxes or - I don't even know what I've been doing for these last 30 years now.  Tell me, was I a good Yoshi?"

      "You were among the best."

     "Please don't try to flatter me.  Tell me the truth."

     "Doctor- even when you weren't you, you still saved lives.  You rescued babies who became the rulers of kingdoms and rescuers of princesses.  You're friends with everyone in every kingdom but one, and are regarded as one of the kindest and most fiercely loyal Yoshi's this island has ever known.  You're even the head of our chamber of commerce, and your best friend- is human.  His name is Mario.  He doesn't talk much, but you've saved his life, and he yours, more times than anyone can count.  Doctor, I don't know that you'll ever go back to that life, but if you wish to save any piece of it, we must go right now."

     The Doctor's big eyes filled with tears.  "So...I have to leave all of that?"

     "If you don't it will be the last time the Mushroom Kingdom stands...and then it will fall."

     "Red, if ever you called me friend, never use those words in the same sentence again."

     "I'm sorry."

      "Well!" said the Doctor, jumping from his seat.  "I may be old but I feel younger than ever.  I think I'll stick with this form for a while.  It's quite limber.  Now, Red, tell me- where are the Daleks?"






Continued next week.

Vol. 2, Ch. 1 - Reawakening.

     "I can't possibly believe that people would watch such a cheesy show," complained Toad.  "The idea!  How would anyone be able to take seriously a story where some crazy fellow who's always changing his form flies around the universe in a spaceship that happens to look like a phone box?"

     "You don't have to watch it," Yoshi replied.  "You must admit, though that it's rather-"

     "EX-TER-MIN-ATE!" cried the TV, interrupting his sentence.

     "Exciting," he finished.  Only Yoshi's friends knew it, but he loved sci-fi.  His favorite was Doctor Who, and he was showing it to Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad for the first time.  Except for Toad, they all seemed to enjoy it, aside from the occasional question.

     "Those Daleks have been The Doctor's enemies for years," he said.  "You're not likely to find anything quite as deadly in the Whoniverse."

     "The what?" asked Peach.  "Oh, right, the universe of the show.  Gotcha.  They kind of look like trash cans with plungers."

     "So we aren't the only people dangerous with plumbing tools," said Luigi with a smile.

     Yoshi sat back contentedly and focused intently on the screen.  He had learned in his youth through extraordinary circumstances that he would have a lot of friends who didn't speak his native language, so he had worked to become bilingual for the first time he would meet Mario- at least, the first time Mario knew about.  It didn't always work, of course, and there were some times in the past where his grammar had failed him completely, but he was always getting better.

     "Well," he said, as the show finished, "What do you think?"

     "Needs work," replied Toad.  "I'm going to bed."

     "He's never been into sci-fi, Yoshi," said Peach.  "Don't feel bad. I enjoyed it."

     "I liked it too," said Luigi, "Though I found it a tad confusing.  He's a real adventurer, that fellow.  Always has a friend with him."

     "Almost," said Yoshi.  "Occasionally he goes alone, but never for long.  He needs to have someone with him.  He gets pretty dangerous otherwise. How about you, Mario?  What did you think?"

    "Fantastico," replied Mario with his usual verbosity.

     "I'm glad to hear it.  Well, guys, it's getting late.  We better head home."

     "Okay," said Peach.  "Next week, same time?"

     "Sounds good to me," said Luigi, and Mario nodded assent.

     "Great!" Yoshi smiled.  "In that case, I'll bring my next set.  Well, good-bye!"

     As Yoshi walked home he considered how fortunate he was to have friends who would share his interests.  That was sometimes a challenge, but it looked like he had struck gold with The Doctor.  If he was honest with himself, sometimes he wished he was The Doctor.  It would be fun to travel through time and space with friends.  Oh sure, it wasn't all rainbows and watermelons, but there was so many opportunities to help people and see new things.  Of course, it was all just a TV show.

     His reverie took him longer than he thought because when he looked up he saw the door.

     "Wow.  That was a short walk.  Am I really already home?"

     He stepped into the door, sat down on the bed, reached for his iPod, and set it to play "I Am The Doctor".

     "Time to call it a night," he remarked, laughing at his own pun.  "Who knows what tomorrow may bring?"

     "Yoshi!  Yoshi!  Wake up!  WAKE UP!"  Yoshi awoke to find his friend Red Yoshi shaking him awake.

     "For heaven's sake!" he cried.  "Time is really starting to go too fast for me.  I just fell asleep!"

     "Time?  How ironic that you would complain about something like time."

     "Ironic?  How so?"

     "My word, is the disguise so complete you can't even see through it?"

     "Slow down, Red!  What are you talking about?  Why are you rummaging through my dresser?"

     "Why do you think?  Why would a Yoshi even need a dresser?"

     "I don't know.  It's just always been there."

     Red didn't reply, but let out a cry of triumph as he produced a watch from the bottom of the dresser.

     "What's that?" asked Yoshi.

     "I can't explain.  Just open it."

     "Red, you're confusing me.  Why are you so panicked?"

     "Just...open...the...WATCH!"

    "Fine!"

     Yoshi opened the watch.  Suddenly everything around him seemed to change. He began shaking as memories long forgotten came flooding in.

     "No!  This can't be happening all over again!  Make it stop!  Red, I told you to never let me see this thing again!"

     "I'm sorry," said Red, "but I had no choice.  We need The Doctor again!"

Continued later this week.

Vol. 1, Ch. 4 - It's Good to be Back!

     "I've always believed in the power of imagination.  It can motivate a person to do almost anything, whether good or bad.  It makes heroes out of some people and villains out of others.  Kids play games with it, adults base dreams off of it....  Years ago I decided that I wanted to make my imagination my most powerful asset, so I exercised it every day.  I imagined entire worlds and people and places, so vast and beautiful that you'd never even think they were possible.  I came to the conclusion that if it could be dreamed then it could be done, so I imagined a spaceship- the one you see now, actually."

     "Wait," Peach interrupted.  "You mean to say that you imagined this ship into being?"

     "Don't be silly," Shy Guy replied, "I had to build it.  I imagined the design, though."

     "There's nothing strange about that," Luigi remarked.

     "Of course not!" the Shy Guy cried.  "Anyone can do what I did, probably even better!"

     "You haven't explained how you managed to give us all illusions, though."

     "No.  You see, I discovered that imagination could be shared.  Just like we share experiences, we can share our imaginings.  The beauty of imagination could be used to change lives if it was distributed correctly!  So I imagined and then built a machine that could capture scenes from my imagination and replay them for other people."

     At this Luigi's eyebrows arched.  "That's the worst idea I think I've ever heard.  Why in the world would you try to pull a stunt like that?"

     "Originally I had good intentions," the Shy Guy replied.  "You see, it started with the idea that sharing imaginary experiences with people would build relationships and maybe even bring joy to people - but it soon developed into a power trip.  I realized that if people responded verbally to my machine then the power of imagination would become so great that they would be fooled into believing the illusion was real.  I could convince anyone of anything, and well, the temptation became too great.  This tool should have been a major force for good, but instead it just became a way for me to take advantage of others.  I stole vast amounts of money from people all over the world by manipulating people, usually with fear, to give it to me.  For example, Luigi, the monster you imagined in your illusion was just me.  At any rate, I heard of the Mushroom Kingdom and of its vast wealth and just couldn't resist. The rest of the story is already probably complete in your minds.  To be honest, I have to thank you for destroying my machine.  If it had gone much further, I think I would have been unable to tell the difference between real and fake.  After all, everything you saw was a reflection of my imagination bounced off of yours.  I saw what you saw, although of course I could switch between illusions."

     "Sounds to me like your imagination got the best of you," Peach wryly remarked.

    Mario chuckled at Peach, but then frowned.  Another good intention corrupted by the thirst for money and power.  Philosophy wasn't his thing, but he could see a pattern further demonstrated by this Shy Guy that had remained consistent with every villain he had ever fought.

     "So what now, Bro?" asked Luigi.

     Mario looked at the Shy Guy, who had dropped his laser gun and obviously had no fight left in him.  If anything, he was the result of a broken dream.  He didn't pose any threat now.

     "Let's a-go."

     "That's it?" asked Peach

     "Yes."

     "I'm s-s-sorry," stammered the Shy Guy.  "I-I-I promise I won't e-ever do it a-again."  His voice shook as he spoke.  Mario glanced at his friends, then jumped out of the ship and onto the castle tower.  Peach followed.

    Luigi walked to the Shy Guy.  "Come on.  Time to go home."

    "Home?"

     "You certainly can't stay here."

     "No, I s-suppose I can't."

     "Did you want to?"

     "No, not r-really."

     "Good."

     "I need to get this thing off the castle.  Thankfully I have remote control.  I'll fly it into space and blow it up."

     "Cool.  See you in the castle.  I'm sure the Mushroom Kingdom could really benefit from your imagination.  At least, Mario thinks so."

     "What?  Did you read his mind?"

     "Call it a sibling thing."  With that, Luigi jumped ship.

     The Shy Guy paused for just a moment before following.  They all watched as the ship flew away into the sky, and once it was out of sight walked down to the castle drawbridge.

     On seeing the Princess' return Toadsworth came running. "Masters Mario and Luigi!  It's wonderful to have you back, and you rescued the Princess!  I knew you would!"

     Mario turned toward Luigi and smiled.  "Imagine that."

Thank you so much for to reading my story!

Vol. 1, Ch. 3 - Fool Me Once...

Then he noticed the aliens had all disappeared.  The bridge had remained unchanged, but its inhabitants had vanished.  Or had they?

     "Mama Mia!" he cried.  The bridge had suddenly changed into the castle basement!

     Luigi's reaction was only a little slower. "Bro, we- just changed locations?  How did we do that?"

     Mario shook his head.  It was beginning to make sense, and yet something still didn't sound right.  Whoever was operating the ship was giving them all an illusion- but for what purpose?  He glanced over at Luigi and Peach.  They were both standing as if in a dream. Peach was talking and giggling as if she had no idea what was going on.  Luigi, on the other hand, was standing with a terrified expression on his face.

     "Look out!" he cried, and ducked as if to avoid something.

     "What's the matter with them?" asked Yoshi, appearing suddenly.

     Mario closed his eyes.  There was absolutely no way Yoshi could have just appeared like that.  However it was happening, they were all suffering under some kind of illusion.  Peach was enjoying hers, Luigi was terrified of his, and Mario's was basically neutral.  He remembered that he had wished Yoshi was around before boarding the ship.  So that was it.  The inhabitants of the ship could throw any illusion at you they wished, but they did so individually, and they based it off of your imagination.  Peach had originally been in the courtyard, so it made sense to keep her there.  He didn't know what Luigi had been thinking, but it obviously hadn't been pleasant.

     Yoshi, or the illusion, interrupted his thoughts.  "So you've figured it out, then."

     Mario nodded.

     "You won't say anything to me?"

     "How can I," thought Mario, "When you don't exist?"

     "Ah, but that's the ticket.  I don't need you to talk when I can read your mind.  Still, a conversation would be nice, but I suppose you don't say much, do you?"

     "I'm not interested in conversing with a falsehood," thought Mario.

    Suddenly Yoshi disappeared and King Bowser took his place.  "So you won't talk to your friends", he roared.  "Perhaps your archenemy?"

     Luigi was still standing paralyzed with fear, Peach was also obviously still in her imaginary world.

     "That's the key, then," he thought.  "You can't complete the illusion unless you make somebody talk.  Luigi has been fooled, Peach as well, and they've both said something.  They might think they're alone, or with a group, doing anything, anywhere, and you can change it at will.  We're still on your ship, regardless.  So...what is it that you all want from us?"

     "A smart man," Bowser said.  "So you figured us out.  Of course, that means you'll have to leave.  We can't use people we can't fool."  He then vanished, and Mario realized he was standing on the castle drawbridge.

     "Master Mario!" called Toadsworth.  "Where are your compatriots?  What did you do, to leave them behind like that?"

     Mario didn't answer.  Toadsworth had never been so accusatory.  "What's it to you what actions I take?" he thought.

     Toadsworth paused.  "Hmmm...so that didn't work either.  What do you think will fool you?"

    Mario tried very hard to think of nothing.  A second later, he was in pitch black darkness.  Mario had never been afraid of the dark, but this...well, this was black.  He couldn't see his own hand, and for a moment he became a little nervous.  A second later, however, he almost burst out laughing, but stopped himself to avoid letting any words come out.  Of course!  Luigi had equipped him with a Fire Flower in case of necessity.  Why not light the way out?  He blasted a few balls of light and watched as they bounded across the dark floor.  As he watched he thought he vaguely saw the ship's bridge again.  This was no time for games- he was thoroughly angry as he thought of Luigi and Peach both standing in illusionary universes.  A second later, he blasted not a few balls of light, but a veritable miniature sun.  Instantly the bridge was flooded with light.  All the aliens were there, scrambling around as if to prevent something from breaking.  "Too late!" one of them cried.  Something on the west side of the bridge let out a massive display of sparks, and then, suddenly, everything became light again.

     Luigi and Peach both started, as if woken from a daydream.  "Mario?" called the Princess.  "What happened?"

     "You've ruined it!" cried a voice.   Mario turned and saw a Shy Guy approaching with what appeared to be a laser gun and an angry stride.  "How dare you?!  It was so perfect, so complete..."

     "And so wrong!" Luigi interrupted.  He stepped in front of Mario and faced the Shy Guy, lightning flashing in his eyes.  "If you know what's good for you," he said, "then you will stand where you are and not move a muscle."

     The Shy Guy stopped.  Although the mask made it difficult to read his emotion, it was obvious that he was at least hesitant to approach.

     Peach walked to the Bros.  "What...is this?  How did it happen?"

    "Illusions, Princess," Luigi said without moving his gaze from the Shy Guy.  "Someone has been playing cat-and-mouse with our imaginations."

     Suddenly Mario spin-jumped into the air and showered the console with a barrage of fire.  No way was this ship taking off anywhere.

     "Allow me to explain", said the Shy Guy.  "My name is..."

     "Irrelevant," Luigi interrupted.  "I care precious little who you are.  All we care about is why you're here and what you are doing.  Why did you try to capture us in illusions?"

     "I did not try," said the Shy Guy haughtily.  "I succeeded, except in the case of the red-hatted one."

     "You don't know his name?" asked Peach.  "I thought everyone knew him".

     Mario held up his hand.  The villain didn't need to know his name.  Under that mask he could be planning another assault- and Mario didn't know what he could do.  It suddenly dawned on him that no aliens were on the bridge.

     "You aren't a one-man crew," said Luigi, apparently thinking upon the same lines as his brother.  "Where are the others we saw?"

     "Products of illusion", replied the Shy Guy.  "They were as fake as the individual realities you were in.  Simply put, I wanted to appear formidable in power and numbers.  Now, though, you have destroyed both."  He said this in a choking, almost tearful way.

     "Scrap the waterworks," said Luigi, "And start from the beginning.  Why are you here?"

     "I will begin my tale," said Shy Guy, "Since I have been beaten."  He took a long breath and began...

Continued next week...