#yprg

[give-me-one-good-reason]

fanart for @s-creations's Growing Pains, from the Yellow, Purple, Red, Green series

[s-creations]

Excavation - Chapter 2

Now that everything's calmed down slightly, Daisy explains why she's there. Mainly looking for the heroes' help in solving a problem that's coming from deep in one of her Kingdom's temples.

The group divides into two parts: One to solve the temple issue while the other tries to convince the Desert King to join forces against Bowser.

To everyone's surprise, it doesn't quite go according to plan.

Fandom: Super Mario & Releated Fandoms Rating: Teen and UP Audiences Relationship: Mario & Luigi & Wario & Waluigi Additional Tags: Pretty Much Everyone's Here, Named OCs - Freeform, world building, lore building, sometimes in the most painful way, Treasure Hunting, another mural to worry about, Mentions of Blood, we have a lot of people opening up in this one, cursing, heavy cursing, like I haven't used this heavy of cursing for this story for quite a while.

Special shout-out to @cantankerouscanuck for dropping a lot of DK lore and world building on me. Much appreciated!

Now, who's ready for some Waluigi angst! It is time. XD

The group traveling to the crumbling temple was larger than Mario had expected. It hadn’t just been him, Wario, Daisy, and Polterpup. There was a large entourage of bi-pedal mice, carrying supplies ranging from blankets and tents to cooking supplies to no doubt create the feast Wario was expecting. All distributed between three covered carriages that moved away from the large castle. All sitting in silence as they traveled along the golden sand. 

Once arrived, Daisy set about making sure everything was set up. Shouting orders on what needs to go where with far rougher authority compared to Peach. 

Mario and Wario, with Polterpup trotting behind, pulled away from the group to get a good look at the front entrance. Or, what remained of it. The once no doubt grand entrance was now blocked by a large pile of rubble. There was a small opening near the top. Large enough for the mice beings to fit through. For them, there would have to be some shifting, but they could get it to work. 

Wario looked over when Mario let out a slow sigh, “You doing okay over there?”

“Yeah,” Mario answered quickly, “Yeah, it’s just… Underground has some unpleasant memories.” 

“Fair. But you have a good handle on your Firebrand now. I doubt we’ll have an issue. I doubt you’ll have an issue.”

“Yeah…”

Wario frowned softly, but wasn’t able to push the issue as Daisy joined them.

“So, you two ready?” the desert princess asked. 

“Yes.” Mario answered quickly.

“I have a few more questions, if that’s okay.” Wario asked.

To which Daisy nods and replies with, “Go ahead.”

“What are we expected to see in there?”

“From what we can tell, the disturbance is coming from deep within the temple. And I mean deep . We never had any tunnels or pathways that went that far down before. Now, it’s become sort of a mining operation. Just trying to get out as much ground out and setting up a railing system to travel down quickly.”

“Has anyone in this kingdom mined before?” Mario asked. 

“Ah, no… But they did their best?” Daisy offered weakly.

Wario, however, didn’t look that impressed. “No wonder this has become such a nightmare for you. There are probably more death traps than anything else in that place.”

“You’re still going to help though, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, just wanted to know what we’re going to see inside there.” Wario shuffled the bag further onto his shoulder as he faced the entrance again. “Alright Mini-Me, let’s get in there and get this fixed.”

Mario gave a small, hopefully reassuring, smile to Daisy before following Wario. The desert princess watched on as the brothers shifted a few more rocks around, expanded the entrance, and climbed in. Polterpup only phased through once the other two made their way in. Daisy let out a tight breath when they disappeared. 

“Good luck you two…”

The entrance to the cavern was a weird feeling of cold mixed with damp, Mario unable to place how that feeling was being created. Current area they were walking through was a long hallway with compressed stone walls holding carved images and words. Some areas cracked and crumbling away. Mario’s fire seemed to cast deeper shadows over it all. Polterpup led the way, allowing their body to illuminate more on what Wario’s held light and Mario’s fire couldn’t.  

All peering around in silence as they made their way further in. The hallway eventually opened up into a large, domed room. What was normally a place for congregation and prayer had been sloppily converted into a mining operation, as Daisy warned. The altar seemed to be the only place that had been left alone, with dozens of carved holes seeming to appear at random. All disappearing into the ground so far that Mario wasn’t able to see the ending. Each holding their own set of railings that followed along the carved paths. 

“Wow, this is shitty work.” Wario commented as he gently tapped on the railing. Eyes traveling to each of the laid tracks that disappeared into the darkened areas. 

“How bad?” Mario looked back. 

“Eh, bad, not terrible? I mean, we’ll survive if that’s what you’re asking. We’ll just need to make sure we don’t hit these or else we’re going to have a rocky time… I was just expecting a path down, not this. This is way more dangerous than I previously thought.” 

“How many rails do you think they have laid down?”

“No idea. A lot, from what I’m seeing here. But if they’re being really desperate, who knows how many they’ve actually laid down. Between these quakes and this quick job, I don’t know how stable this place really is.” 

Both looked away hearing something squeak. Watching as Polterpup pushed a car forward. Pausing when they just reached the opening, sitting down to look back at the other two. Panting happily. With a shared nod, Mario and Wario joined at the cart. The fire wielder picked up the spectral pup before climbing in. Sitting near the front to allow Wario room to jump into after he pushed them forward. 

Tossing the bag and a few more tools in, Wario let out a grunt as he pushed everything forward. Leaping in at the last second, settling down as the cart tilted downwards. 

They followed along a carved out tunnel, flickering lights lining the walls. All of them flashing by, eventually smearing by as the cart picked up speed. Mario and Wario bending down into the cart as the wind rushed past them. Holding onto their respected hats to keep them from flying away.

The tunnel, far too soon, fell away, the tracks now seeming to hover open a large pit. Both risked leaning over to see if they could find the bottom. Only for everything to disappear into the darkness. If the depth of the pit wasn’t enough of a worry, they'd received their answer with how many tracks had been laid down. 

It was clear it wasn’t just the temple entrance that had the tracks. It seemed any direction that could reach this area was utilized. From every direction the tracks appear, twisting and turning together as they all descend into the depths. Even tracks that went the same direction the group was traveling along didn’t seem to be limited to where they’d come from. 

“There really was no rhyme or reason to any of this!” Wario called out in disbelief as he looked around. “They just went crazy with this.”

“I’d hate to ask, was this temple in operation before this?” Mario asked.

“I really hope not.”

“Guess we can’t focus on that for now. We’ll just have to ride this until we reach the ending. …Do we have any ideas on how we’re going to stop this thing?”

“How about we put a pin in that when we reach that problem.” Wario frowned. There was a sinking sensation in their stomachs as the cart started to dip down further. The tracks seemed to press closer together as they went along.

“They really had no idea what they were looking for,” Mario said, worriedly. “We’re not going to have that issue…are we?”

Wario gave an assured shake of his head. “No way, we have better tools for the job. Trust me, this coaster of craziness we’ll be the worse of our-”

Both tensed when Polterpup let out a low, warning growl. Focusing on the other entrances, teeth bared and their hackles raised. 

“Polterpup?” Mario carefully rested a hand on the spectral pup. “What’s wrong? What do you-”

“Avast, ye landlubbers!”

The call echoed through the carved cavern that was followed by a number of other cries and cheers. As attention was turned behind them, the duo found at least twenty if not more other carts following after them. Traveling along rails that had not been from the temple entrance. Each cart filled with two or three bi-pedal lizard being. Mario mentally commented they looked like crocodiles. Yellow eyes narrowed on Wario and Mario’s cart, mouths filled with rows of sharp teeth were pulled back into a wide smile. Waving either guns or swords in hands. Bags of Bob-ombs just barely peeking out. 

The clart closest to the duo was only carrying one creature, but was by far the largest out of them all. Body showed a number of scars that stood out against the leather tan skin. Eyes of vivid green seeming to shine out from the heavy shadow casted by the pirate hat he was wearing.

“What the-”

“Are you fucking kidding me!” Wario’s cry of disbelief drowned out Mario’s question. The other looked furious at the yellow lizard that was drawing closer. “What the hell are you doing here!?”

“If it isn’t me ol’ treasure huntin’ partner!” the lizard replied with a laugh. “Did ye really think ye’d never see Kaptain Skurvy again?”

“It was a desperate plea to Grambi, to be honest.”

“Ah, ye wound me.”

“Wait, you know him?” Mario asked. 

Wario replied back with an annoyed growl. “Unfortunately.”

“Now, now, don’t ye be sour,” Skurvy called out, almost alongside their cart. “Ye seem to be doin’ well. Even got yerself a new, wee little partner. A weird lookin’ one, ta be honest.”

Mario pouted at that. “A little rude.”

He didn’t fight back when Wario pulled him away. The older brother pulled out a familiar hammer, with a foot on the edge of the cart as he pointed it at the lizard. “What are you doing here Skurvy.”

“That be Kaptain Skurvy to ye, traitor.” Was growled out.

“Like hell I would call you that. Now what do you want!”

“Do ye think ye little dessert princess is the only one interested by whatever be lying in this sinkin’ ship? We just be on a job. Ain’t that right boys?” Skurvy waved a hand back to the rest of his crew, who replied back with a happy cheer.

“What the hell does your crazy king want with this kingdom?” Wario’s furry turned to genuine worry, causing Mario to panic further. 

Skurvy’s jovial attitude suddenly switched off at the question. “Bold of ye to assume who we’d be workin’ for.”

“What else am I supposed to say? That’s who you were working for before-”

“Enough of this!” The scaly captain pulls his own sword free. Pointing it into the air before drawing it down directly to Wario. “I ain’t here to be takin’ trips down memory lane. I’ll offer the two-”

Polterpup barked.

“Pardon, the three of ye one chance to walk away quietly. Or else my crew will have to deal with ye personally. What do ye say? Peaceful partin’?”

Wario let out a laugh before swinging his hammer back. “When have you known me to back down, you salty dog?”

“So be it. Knock them off!” 

Wario and Mario faulted when the rails suddenly rocked, the motion quickly followed by an explosion. Both turning back to find their path back crumbling away into the darkness. Those closest to the brothers preparing another Bob-ombs to be thrown over. One waiting to light while the other waited to hand an unlit one. 

Mario was up on the ledge without a second thought. A deep red fireball in hand that was launched to the cart he could reach. Aiming specifically for the pile of the unlit explosives. There was a momentary cry of panic. First directed at the fireball being tossed their way then to the lit Bob-ombs. Said lizards jumping out from the cart before it exploded. 

“Ye didn’t tell me ye new partner came with party tricks!” Skurvy called out, glaring at the larger brother. “What else ye hidin’ from me?”

“Shove off you!” Wario called back. Pulling Mario back into the cart to allow himself room for a full swing. The head of the hammer launches a lit Bob-omb back to its sender. Another cart going down. 

Letting out a growl, Skurvy leaned over the edge of his car. Foot over the lip while his sword was lowered to his hip. Clearly intended to jump into the brother’s cart. Only to be stopped when a spectral pup seemingly popped out of nowhere. Skurvy letting out a cry of surprise as he attempted to swat Polterpup away. 

“Ye annoyin’ pest!”’

“Polterpup!” Mario called out in worry. 

The cart dangerously shifted once more, but no explosion followed this time. Instead, parts of the rails started to fall away. Not just from the brother’s line, as all rails started to crumble. Those in the carts only able to watch in horror as their companions started to fall into the awaiting darkness.

“What’s going on?” Mario frantically asked. 

“The problem I said would happen if we damaged these railings!” Wario answered. “These structures were never sound and they’re not holding up to these attacks, we’re all going down!”

The stunned realization was pushed aside as their rails falling away started to catch up. Wario pulled Mario close and compressed them both into the cart as best he could. Their cart soon started to free fall down. The other was only able to watch as Polterpup looked on with worry. Skurvy’s cart followed along soon enough. The rest of the crew either cried out in worry as their captain fell away or screaming as they also headed towards the depths. 

_____________________________

In one of the many provided guest rooms, Toadsworth, Peach and Waluigi were resting on a long, plush sofa. Peach sat up while the lanky brother flopped out until he took up most of the space. The princess sitting between Waluigi and her caretaker. With Toadsworth looking unhappy with how close he was to Waluigi. Even with Peach acting as a barrier. 

All watched as Luigi nervously paced the length of the room, mumbling to himself as he stared at the ground. The younger twin eventually stopped in front of the other three. Clapping his hands together before properly facing them. 

“So…what’s the plan of attack?” Luigi asked with a nervous smile.

“You were the one who pulled us in here. I thought you were the mastermind.” Waluigi answered. 

“I was also hoping for some help.”

“Monazite will need to be the first person we talk to,” Peach started. “She’s very caring and would certainly understand our mission. She may already be on our side. But it’ll be good to know where she truly lies on all of this.”

Waluigi shifted to sit up a little more. “But, she’s also not our main concern here.”

“Toadsworth, what’s your insight as to why Olivine pulled away so long ago?” Luigi asked Peach.

The elder Toad shook his  head. “It’s the simple story of King Olivine believing that King Matsutake was not using his power and time wisely. While I understand Olivine’s position, considering Bowser’s threat was growing faster than we expected, Queen Dahlia was growing ill during the same time. Our King was more worried and focused on his wife. Olivine did not take this well and claimed that Matsutake was focusing on the wrong thing. Leaving to be out of the ‘damage zone’, if I’m recalling the words correctly. Anything further than that, we’ll need to talk to Daisy, if you wish to skirt around approaching Olivine for a few hours more.”

“Oh, I very much doubt that,” Waluigi huffed. “Daddy dearest clearly hasn’t been upfront with what’s been going on.”

Luigi sighed weaky, “Then how do we break down the wall when we don’t have the appropriate tools to do so?”

“Get more people to help out.”

The group couldn’t help but jump when the bedroom door was knocked upon. Peach calling out  ‘Come in’, with said door opening and Dew poking her head in.

“Pardon for the interruption,” Dew spoke softly. “But Queen Monazite is asking for an audience.”

Peach stood, offering a smile. “Of course. We were actually about to ask your queen for the same. Would you be kind enough to-”

“A-Apologies princess. But the queen has specifically asked for Waluigi to join her. Alone.”

The atmosphere in the room shifted to a weird feeling. Luigi sharply turned, eyes wide, as he looked bewildered at the lanky brother. Toadsworth’s eyes narrowed on Waluigi while Peach’s face turned to an overly worried expression. All clearly confused by this request. 

Even Waluigi’s eyes widened hearing his name, breaking away from his bored demeanor. Blinking a few times as it all settled into his brain before slowly standing. “Ah…are you sure you didn’t mishear? I mean, she could have mumbled something at the beginning before saying Luigi’s name. You know, one of the heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom?”

Dew gently shook her head. “No, she asked for you. No mumbling occurred.”

“...Okay, well…” Waluigi straightened his cup. “I guess, lead the way.”

“Waluigi-” Luigi faltered when the other raised his hand. 

“It’s fine, I’ll be fine. Lead the way, Dew.”

Without a look back, Waluigi left the guest room, following the bi-pedal mouse. Led away from those areas marked for guests and the citizens who asked for an audience, towards the rooms saved for the royals. Grand bedrooms, ballrooms, and dining areas, Waluigi did his best to not grumble under his breath. A bubble of bitterness expanded in his chest seeing how yet another portion of the 1% lived. 

As they turned the corner to a more private area of the castle, the plain walls changed to bursts of colors. Nothing but swirls of hues that calmed Waluigi’s silent grips to the building. 

“Beautiful, aren’t they?” Dew beamned. 

“Do they mean anything?”

The mouse shook her head, “Not that we’re aware of, especially out here anyway. The rooms that line these halls do hold murals, but we’re only able to guess what it all means. Those stories have been lost to the ages, unfortunately.”

Dew stopped before another archway. Turning to Waluigi and offering a bow. “Queen Monazite awaits you inside.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Waluigi replied back quietly. Side stepping around the mouse to walk in.

It was a small tea room. Big enough to hold two rather comfortable looking chairs with a small table situated between them. Which held a tray with tea and some interesting and tasty looking treats. Monazite stood from the chair she’d claimed to greet Waluigi, who was standing in the archway.

The lanky brother offered a short nod with a quiet, “Your highness.”

“Hello, Waluigi, I’m so glad you could join me. Would you care for a seat?”

“Suppose I will…” Waluigi walked further into the room. A flash of vibrancy appeared from the corner of his eye. Looking back to find the entire wall filled with a mosaic mural. 

What stood out first were seven yellow sprites that look like small sons. All placed around the archway and starting the wall being divided by the same number. Each section depicted a different area that Waluigi had never seen before. Framing all of it, decorating the edge of the wall, were tendrils of shadows that were encroaching in on the scenes. Uncomfortably familiar sparks of green appeared on occasion that mixed in with the shadows. 

Waluigi’s brows furrowed in worry.

“An interesting little piece, isn’t it?” Monazite casually commented as she joined him.

“Kind of creepy…and a little on the head with its depictions.” Waluigi reached out to run his hand over the sprite floating in the desert portion of said mural. “This is the Desert Kingdom. I’m pretty sure that’s the Sarasaland castle in the background.”

“That appears to be true.”

The brother looked over, “So, what does it mean?”

Monazite let out a small sigh, “We’re unsure. We can pull some information from what we can see. It’s an understanding that our kingdom holds one of these yellow sprites. But we’re unsure where it is, what it does, or where else these sprites are located. Even the tendrils of shadows are a mystery to us.”

“Joy…” Waluigi grumbled. Making a mental note of how there was another mural for them to worry over. 

He twitched nervously when a hand was placed on his shoulder. Monazite offered a warm smile as she gently pulled Waluigi away.

“Why don’t we put this away for a moment. I asked for you to join me so that we could have a polite but private discussion.”

“Oh, right, sure…” Waluigi tentatively sat down in the unclaimed chair while Monazite sat down in her previously claimed seat. 

The queen took a few minutes to pour a cup of tea for each of them. Filled with a deep red liquid, leaving a little bit of room left over for one. Said cup was handed over to Waluigi. With Monazite gesturing over the container of milk, honey, and sugar. 

“I wasn’t sure how you preferred your drink.”

“Thank, um, this is fine.” Lifting the cup up tentatively from the saucer, Waluigi took a small sip. Eyes widening in pleasant surprise of the taste that washed over his tongue. A look he quickly formed back into a neutral one when he realized Monazite was watching him.

“It’s good.”

“That’s wonderful to hear. Have as much as you want, I can always make more. No issues there.”

Waluigi raised a brow at that, “You…make it?”

“Of course, it’s a family recipe. A long standing tradition to share with new guests.”

The brother let out a low hum as he took another sip.

“You don’t seem to believe me.” The queen laughed softly. 

“I just didn’t think that those of royalties would stoop so low as to dirty their hands.” Waluigi bit his tongue when the words slipped out of his mouth. Focusing on his cup as he tried to sink into the chair. 

Monazite slowly nodded as she nursed her own cup. “That is understandable. After all, the rich do love to flaunt their possessions without much work on their end, don’t they?”

There was another round of laughter from Monazite while Waluigi could only chuckle weakly. Gently dabbing a finger to the corner of her eye, the queen continued. “But truly wealthy people know better than to rely on gold and jewels to be fulfilled. That feeling only arrives when you work for your worth in an honorable way. Getting your hands dirty just means you’ve created physical proof of what you’ve built.” 

Waluigi nodded slowly. “Yeah…sure. Um, not to cut to the chase suddenly. But why did you request a meeting with me?”

“Well, I was hoping to have a private conversation with the person who broke my daughter’s heart.”

Hot tea through the nose was not a fun feeling.

Waluigi took the offered cloth thankfully as he tried to clear his throat by coughing out the remaining liquid. Quickly wiping the sprayed tea away from his face, covering his mouth with the same cloth. Allowing himself a moment to take a few deep breaths. Only lowering his hands when he’d controlled his breathing once more.

“...I don’t know what you could be referring to…”

“Mmm, clearly.” Monazite said easily as she took her own sip.

Waluigi nervously pulled at the napkin, the silence stretching on until he blurted out, “How did you know?”

“You think I’m unaware of what goes on in my daughter’s life?”

“If you're so observant, why didn’t you know where she went before?”

“I had a hunch as to where she went.”

“And what do you mean ‘broke her heart’?”

“Well, with the way she screamed in rage after you both broke up, I assumed you two had been dating. I’m also assuming that you broke it off. Otherwise, Daisy would not have been that upset. A little bitter, sure, but not breaking things in her room upset. And would you believe me if I told you she was even further hurt upon hearing that you suddenly just disappeared in the middle of the night.” 

“Trust me, she’s made me very aware of that.” Waluigi mumbleed weakly. Rubbing his arm where a large bruise was still forming. 

“So, what caused such a shift in your life?”

“What?” He looked up in surprise. He’d been expecting harsh words, not a ‘soul-searching’ question.

Monazite placed her cup down to focus on Waluigi. “I will not sit here and say I understand your motives or what you were going through at the time to cause such a change. But to come to such a rash decision overnight. Leave everything behind without a word to anyone where you were going and why…” 

“You were clearly holding onto something that just…broke that evening. I’m also sure that you’ve never shared your reasoning as to why, close connections make it hard to be honest. Meaning you’ve been stewing on your own over all of this.”

“And what, you’re going to help me make all of this better?” Waluigi snapped. 

The previous nerves were falling away, quickly being replaced with anger. The sudden change caused a rush that got Waluigi to stand up as his face burned. The queen made no move to defend or worry over this reaction. Staying still as her hands rested gently in her lap with a neutral look on her face. Remaining as such as Waluigi continued. 

“You have the comfort of judging me while sitting in your ivory tower. I’m sorry I hurt Daisy, I am. But maybe I wasn’t as emotionally stable to deal with all of that. Maybe I was embarrassed to think over how I was supposed to keep a princess interested in me. Maybe I woke up late that night in a cold sweat realizing how I had done nothing with my life and that was killing me.”

“Maybe I’m pissed that I was poor and associated with being a troublemaker because our father was a fucking liar. That I had hoped and prayed that I would be able to stand above that as I grew older but was never given the chance. How Wario and I just wanted to fucking help so we could be seen in a better light. Only for that resulting in people not trusting us. And we were sick and tired of being belittled. Maybe that’s why we started to act out, why not! Why not play the role everyone just expected us to be!”

“But no, let’s just chalk it up to how we were raised! That has to be the problem, right? Being told grandeur lies that our father told, making us think that he was someone to look up to. All of that just amounts to him just leaving and having our mom die by a broken heart. Maybe that’s just something that runs in the family, yeah? Hurting people and just leaving without a word. At least I came back!” 

“Is it bad that I wanted to go someplace where no one knew who I was? It is fucking wrong that I wanted to try to make a name for myself that didn’t involve people glancing my way with raised brows and whispers? I wanted to make a new start, I wanted to be more than just my family name, I wanted to be more than my father. But I guess that’s just too much to ask for, isn’t it!”

Waluigi’s fast pacing stilled as he turned to glare Monazite down. Who still hadn’t moved, watching it all with calmed features.

“You know what, fuck you, let’s just turn this script around. What don’t we judge your character, yeah? For someone trying to ‘care’ about her daughter, you sure have been missing a lot from anything involving Daisy. Or even anything about your fucking kingdom! Never seen you once until I got here. Always saw the king. Stuck up king who crawls away when his feelings get a little bruised. Why don’t you go pick him apart, huh? You married him, why don’t you deal with that baggage to make him realize that maybe ignoring a friend wasn’t the best idea while his wife was dying.” 

“Why don’t you use your fucking title of ‘queen’ to actually do something!”

Breathing heavily, Waluigi felt his shoulders and ears slowly drop and it dawned on him what he’d just said. Flinching away when Monazite finally moved, the queen now stood up from her chair. The anger felt only a few seconds before now cooling into actual fear. Waluigi mentally berating himself for cursing and flinging accusations at the queen . This was not going to the plan they had. Then again, Peach or Luigi were supposed to have this talk. How were they supposed to recover the damage Waluigi had just made?

The frantic thoughts were silenced when arms were gently wrapped around him. Tencing, his own arms stuck straight at his sides as he felt slim fingers gently stroke through his hair that they could reach. 

“My people are quite literally part of the desert,” Monazite spoke softly. “My form and self only remain when I’m able to connect with the very sand that I came from. Leaving the desert could cause my demise. This is why I’ve never left my home. I do wish I could travel, but I’m fearful that it’s not possible.”

“As for my silence, my words are spoken by my husband. I’m here to offer him support and my view on situations. Do you think I’ve not berated him for how he easily left his friend’s side? Especially at such a horrible time. I know my husband hurts himself for the actions he’d done during that time. He hides his shame by staying here. Tucking himself away so no one can see him. Until he can remove himself from his indignity, Olivine will suffer in silence. Nothing I say will change that.” 

“...It’s just stupid fucking egos, yeah?” Waluigi mumbled weakly, slowly melting into the hold, his throat becoming tight. 

“I suppose so… But I do hope you lot will put my husband in his place. Grambi knows he needs someone besides myself to show him what this world is heading towards…” Monazite gently pulled Waluigi back. Tilting his chin up so they could look at each other properly. The queen silently noted, with wide eyes that held such exhaustion and ears drooped down, how young Waluigi looked at this moment. 

Not a bitter adult, but now a lost child.

“It’s unfair how the children have to suffer the mistakes of their parents. Such a weight should not be placed on their shoulders…but who else could tell adults how stupid they truly are.”

Waluigi let out a weak huff, doing his best to keep himself collected. Unhappy that his vision became blurring, deep breathing returned as he tried to look away. Jaw clenched as a final attempt to hold it all in fell away as a hand gently cupped his cheek. 

“Other’s actions have such a way to harm without knowing, don’t they?”

The only reply was a choked sob that Waluigi attempted to cover it up, a hand reaching up to rub under his nose. More than happy to sink back into the motherly warmth that he’d not felt in years. His own arms reached up to wrap around the queen and he buried into her dress. Monazite hummed softly as she placed a hand on the back of the other’s head, her other arm wrapping around Waluigi tightly.

Toadsworth stood just outside of the archway in the chilled hallway. Brow furrowed in thoughts and worry. Eventually turning away and back down the hall towards the guest bedrooms. 

[s-creations]

Me? You're blaming me? What did I do!?

*reads story*

Oh yeah, no, I'll happily take the blame. XD If it means having wonderful stories like this being created, I'm more than happy.

Beautiful piece, this was awesome to read! Thank you for creating this!

Blame @s-creations and their stunning works for me writing this:

[craacked-splatters]

It's done!! A few little scribbles for @s-creations FANTASTIC au!! Their writing style is so cool and soft. I love it so much! It's one of my favorites ever for this fandom, always microwaving in my brain when I least expect it but hey I ain't complaining.

I don't wanna spoil anything but if you're looking for a good au fic this ones really good. 10/10 will continue to recommend. It has several parts to it but you can start reading here!

[nikikeya]

More YPRG fanart Wario is so soft and squishy with Gigi, I love it.

I was really anxious about this one. After all this is babyboi I'm drawing. the angle of his head was hellashious to get everything drawn right. At one point his ear was growing on his neck XDD I got it eventually. ((Those tiny little hands tho <3))

Wario I changed up a bit. Found my old Warioware game and so had a better ref for drawing him… but ultimately stayed with the more stylized version of him, the offical art really just does try to protray him as ugly and tomnoddy as possible. So sexy dad Wario remains. This is fanart for ch 2 of https://archiveofourown.org/series/3428053 Yellow, Purple, Red, Green Series by toons_rule aka The Mentor AU

[plantbasedmaggieblog]

Perfecting the art of making #vegancheese...coconut milk base with herbs and pepper is my favourite one so far #quarantinelife #lockdowncooking https://www.instagram.com/p/B_iZt-yprGS/?igshid=1q5xhzpm4ua7c

[mikyit]

McKinsey & Company provided this article 📝 years ago but it's still very up to date. While the route to success 📈 varies by company, a sound plan usually has five characteristics: ✨ - A discovery process that helps commercial leadership across functions align on a framework and language. ✨ - Clearly linking each commercial capability with specific outputs and results. ✨ - The prioritized capabilities are perfectly aligned with long-term strategy. ✨ - Business leaders and influencers remain highly engaged to drive adoption to reach critical mass. ✨ - Capability improvements can be tracked and quantified.

[s-creations]

The Cactus Flower of Sarasaland Desert

The arrival of an old ally brings along a new adventure- Ope, nope we're playing a game, apparently.

Fandom: Super Mario & Releated Fandoms, Super Mario RPG Rating: Teen and UP Audiences Relationship: Mario & Luigi & Wario & Waluigi, Princess Peach & Princess Daisy, Princess Daisy & Waluigi Additional Tags: Toadswort, small appearance by Captain Toad, named OCs, past relationships, Daisy's here!, small lore drops, building to something bigish, I mean it will be big, but like on the ish side, does that make sense?, violence comes from playing the game, also there is cursing, just a heads up, one f bomb is dropped, more tags to be added later if needed.

It was a quiet, comfortable morning that dawned over the Mushroom Kingdom. Cafes were already open, preparing for the earlier rises as all went about caring for the kingdom they lived in. As the sun began to reach the outer wall, the guards already stationed greeted their replacements with tired smiles. 

“Good morning you two, anything to report?” The Green-Spotted Toad asked as he passed the wrapped breakfast sandwich to his co-worker. 

The Purple-Spotted Toad shook their head, “Thankfully no. I feel like we’re due a few days of calmness after all the craziness.” 

“Ha! You’re asking for a miracle with that one,” the Orange-Spotted Toad laughed.

The Blue-Capped Toad huffed weakly as he downed his sandwich quickly. “Don’t call chaos back here. If you speak it, it’ll appear.”

“You worry too much! Let’s just relax, enjoy this morning and-”

“Um, is that a dirt cloud I see on the horizon?”

All four fell quiet as their eyes turned towards that direction. Sure enough, there was a large plume of dirt that was ever growing, coming towards the kingdom. After a moment to pause, taking in what they were seeing, there was a scramble to gather their weapons again as a desperate attempt to defend the gate. 

Only for the panic to fall away when the familiar red-cap of Captain Toad crested the hill.

“Oh! It’s just the captain! See, nothing to worry about.”

“He’s running awfully fast.”

“Maybe he’s just excited to be home. Remember when he’d been gone for like, what, 6 months? Nothing could pry him from his bed once he got back!”

“Oh, yeah! What had he been looking for?” 

“Some weird gem shaped thing. A star, I think?”

“I heard it was a heart.”

“No, no, no, it was the sun!”

“That’s not-”

“Get out of the way!”

The four guards were barreled over as Captain Toad ran past them. All letting out groans, trying to sit back up as the captain’s form disappeared into the kingdom. On his part, Captain Toad was tearing his way across the wide lands. Civilians just barely getting out of the way as he rushed by. All whispering curiously as the dust cloud disappeared, wondering what new thing had possibly been discovered. It must be important if he was running that fast. 

The guards stationed at the castle’s front scrambled to get to the doors once they realized who was approaching them. Just able to open the doors a crack to allow the rushing Toad in. 

Captain Toad’s path was finally halted when, upon entering the great hall, he collided. Hard. With Luigi. The sudden hit caused both involved to end up as a heap of pain on the polished floor. Luigi let out a low groan while the captain started to sit up. 

Mario was instantly at Luigi’s side. Helping his brother in sitting up while frantically whispering, “Are you okay?”

To which Luigi nodded slowly.

“Captain Toad, what is the meaning of this unwarranted intrusion!” Toadsworth huffed out as said Toad finally got up. 

Captain Toad’s face was flushed, breathing heavily as he tried to collect himself. “...I…saw… I have to…tell…”

“Well, spit it out good Toad, what’s going on!”

“Toadsworth,” Peach said softly. Placing a hand on her caretaker’s shoulder before addressing Captain Toad. “Try to take a few deep breaths, okay? You’re safe here.”

Instead of agreeing, Captain Toad shook his head. “West border… They… I saw them….”

“Who?” Mario worriedly asked, thinking Bowser was trying a new tactic.

“Sa…Sarasaland!” 

The name meant nothing to the twins. Both even assumed for a moment that the captain had just merely sneezed. For the rest of the room, however, there was a clear shift. Not the same as when the BeanBean Kingdom’s letter was read. But there was a sudden nervous feeling in the air.

“Oh… Oh gosh, Toadsworth, did you?” Peach asked nervously.

“I’ve sent no correspondents to said kingdom, nor have they sent us anything in return.” The elder Toad said quietly.

“Okay, well, they’re apparently arriving now. That’s fine. We…can handle that. We had a good trial run with the Beanbean Kingdom, now to do it again!”

With that, Peach addressed the rest of the room, royalty mode engaged as she handed out orders. Checking on the guest rooms, having them all prepared just in case. Commanding for word to be sent to the kitchen to make a welcoming meal. Making sure all Toads had a job to do in order to get this place ready.  

“So…I’m assuming we’re greeting this kingdom and it’s not a threat?” inquired Luigi softly. 

“Ah, well, possibly,” Toadsworth replied, “I mean, no, I suppose that’s wrong. The last correspondence we have with the Sarasaland King was when our King was still alive and… Let’s just say it did not end well.”

“What happened?”

“A disagreement about how to proceed with the Bowser threat.”

“Was Bowser already attacking at that point?” Luigi asked.

“No. But we were aware of the strength the Koopa Kingdom was growing. With a few of the kingdoms already closing their borders, as a preemptive strike to all of this. The fear we felt was simmering at that point. King Olivine had practically begged King Matsutake to come up with some kind of plan. But…Queen Dahlia’s health was starting to decline at that point and his focus was not on the want for a war.” 

Toadsworth let out a small sigh, “I will admit, King Matsutake was not thinking straight. He was focused more on his wife and family than his kingdom. Which, in turn, angered King Olivine. The last words he shared were, ‘If you care so little for anything outside your bubble, then allow me to be one less burden’. And he left.”

“And…he never came back?” 

“No.”

“If the kingdom is arriving, does that mean that they’re…attempting to reconnect?” Mario proposed. 

“Possibly, but we won’t know until they arrive. Hopefully King Olivine doesn’t view this as a chance to ‘control’.”

“Would he try?”

“If he believed it would be a way to remember his fallen friend, I do believe so. We didn’t exactly prove ourselves determined to fight back. King Olivine might have determined that this would be a good time to stake a claim.”

Mario frowned softly in thought, “...Isn’t the timing weird?”

“Pardon?”

“I mean, if this king was that concerned, wouldn’t he have arrived long before this to help? Say, after the first time Peach had been taken?” 

Toadsworth tapped his cane on the ground in thought. “Interesting point you have there… There’s also the possibility of arriving for the same reason the BeanBean Kingdom reached out. You two. See how you both actually stack up and if your arrival is something he should be concerned about.”

“Like…using us to take over another kingdom?”

 “Perhaps, if King Olivine is paranoid.”

“How concerned should we be?”

“I’m not quite sure. I will remark that it’s strange that there was no correspondence about their arrival. Even if he was still heated about the previous meeting, King Olivine always sent an announcement about him coming. He was never one for surprises. Which is a shocker, given his daughter’s personality. This is strange,” Toadsworth let out a huff, “Regardless, we’ll have to push past that for now. Answers will arrive soon enough, and hopefully, they’ll be good.”

It took about an hour to get everything as ready as they possibly could. Unable to rally the troops fast enough to offer a greeting outside as they had done for the BeanBean Kingdom. All now held in the throne room, waiting nervously for their unannounced guest to finally arrive. 

Soon enough, the grand doors opened and a dusty brown bi-pidal mouse entered the large room. Dressed in light weight garbs of blue and green, they stepped to the center. Offering a bow to Peach before speaking.

“Greetings to the current ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Peach.” said the mouse, voice a little squeaky but well heard. 

“Aw, they’re so cute.” Luigi whispered softly, which Mario nodded in agreement with.

“Please pardon our unannounced arrival. However, our ruler wished to reach out for help on a rather delicate matter. Please allow me to announce-”

“Dew, you’re taking too long!”

The grand doors were opened once more. But not by the guards standing by. But with a rather violent kick that forced them apart so hard they actually bounced off the walls. A princess with deep tanned skin, wearing a brilliant yellow dress with orange accents that was hefted up to not get in the way as she practically stomped her way in. Hair a deep brown was tied up in a high ponytail with a golden crown rested on top. Brilliant green eyes narrowed, focusing on the mouse in front of her. 

The mouse named Dew looked a little panicked as she was joined by the princess. “Your highness, you were supposed to wait.”

“And I was getting bored. You know I hate stuffy introductions.” 

“You mean the royal procedures.”

“Yep.”

“Daisy?” Peach stood up from her throne, eyes wide in surprise.

“Peach!” The narrowed eyes disappeared instantly, Daisy was now beaming with wide arms outstretched towards the other. “I’ve missed you so much! It’s been so long, can you believe it? A few years feels like a few decades. Ugh, and it’s been so boring! You look great by the way, absolutely gorgeous. I’m so excited to be here I could scream!”

“Princess Daisy,” Toadsworth interrupted the princess’s ramblings, “where…is King Olivine?”

“Oh, back at the kingdom.” Daisy admitted weakly. Her emotions shifted quickly to a sheepish but clearly not caring smile. Still standing tall with her head tilted to the side.

“Back at the- Does your father even know you’re here?”

“Ah, I mean, he probably knows by now. I did take my favorite carriage and my guards. So…yeah.”

“I- You- Why would you-” Toadsworth let out a heavy sigh before muttering out, “How joyous to see you rebellious streak has remained and apparently grown over the years.”

“And I’m very happy to see you’re still a grump.” Daisy replied with a wide smirk, arms crossed. The smug look of victory quickly dropped away and shifted to amazement and curiosity as her attention shifted to Mario and Luigi. “Holy shit, no way!”

“Princess Daisy, language, please!” Dew called out pleadingly. But it fell on deaf, pointed ears. 

Daisy climbed the stairs two at a time with such speed that Mario and Luigi stepped away. Finding themselves trapped by the castle wall as Daisy leaned in closely.

“Oh, Daisy-” Peach weakly started.

“Oh, my, Grambi! Look at you two! Look at your ears, whoa, they’re so round. That’s so weird! Are you the heroes everyone’s talking about? You have to be. But you’re so…blah. No offense. But I’m just saying, you’re unassuming. Which is probably a good thing. An element of surprise kind of thing. What’s with the matching outfits? Kind of silly. But I like your hats!”

“Daisy!” Peach was able to pull away the other princess from the brothers. Looking a little exhausted but offered a soft smile back. “Not that it is not wonderful to see you again. But this is all so sudden. What… Why are you here?”

“Oh, well, a lot of reasons. Biggest one being that I heard you had the BeanBean Kingdom here before you even invited me back! I mean, major props for getting a kingdom out of self-exile. But still! Feeling a little left out.”

“To be fair, they sort of came here on their own,” Peach admitted, “We didn’t even know they were coming until we got the letter.” 

Daisy waved her hand. “Find, pull that one off the list. Still a little upset that you wouldn’t send an invite afterwards. But I had to find out through even more rumors and gossip that you have human heroes! Human. Heroes. Are you joking? Why would you keep something like this from me!” 

“It’s been a little crazy over here.” 

“Apparently.” 

“Has your father talked about rebuilding kingdom relations?”

“Peachy-Pie, do I need to remind you that he doesn’t even know I’m here?” 

“Daisy!”

“What? I told you, I just left!”

“You didn’t even leave a note telling him where you were going?”

“No! Oh…I probably should have.” 

As Peach let out an exasperated sigh, Mario decided to step forward. “Um, Daisy. Princess Daisy. Uh, your highness?”

“You are so adorable being all unsure,” Daisy laughed, “Daisy will be just fine.”

“Okay, Daisy. Clearly this is more than just a casual visit.”

“Says who?”

Mario huffed, “Oh, I don’t know. How about the fact that you left your kingdom under secrecy? Probably in the middle of the night.” 

“Maybe I just really wanted to meet the new heroes.”

“You mean the only heroes.”

“Whatever. I’m excited, this is big news.”

“But why? Couldn’t you just, I don’t know, make us aware of your arrival? This is a whole lot of sneaking around to just see two people. Especially dangerous if you didn’t even inform your father, the king, where you would be going. Which, to me, sounds like you’re doing something beyond the scope of just wanting to visit. Wouldn’t a king want to rebuild a strong partnership with other kingdoms? Shouldn’t he be on board with that idea? So why sneak a visit? Unless this is more than just a casual meet and greet.”

For just a moment, Daisy deflated. Enough for Mario to get the idea that, whatever was happening, it was something larger than he expected. 

But there wasn’t a chance given to inquire further when the left hand side doors were opened. Allowing a flood of chaos to flow into the main hall. The kitchen staff were shouting in absolute furry as they chased Wario and Waluigi. Who were covering their heads with their hands as items were thrown at them. Attempting to argue back, but were quickly silenced. 

“What in Grambi’s name is happening?” Peach called out as she approached the chaos.

“We found these two eating from the prepared meals that you'd requested!” The closest chef responded, rolling pin brandished as a sword. 

“You’re making food you haven’t touched in years! How are we supposed to keep our hands to ourselves?” Wario argued back with a huff.

“The food was for our guests, not for you!”

“We’re guests! …Technically.”

“You’re pests!”

“Wait,” Waluigi stood a little straighter as the information fully hit him, “we have guests? Since when?”

“You absolute fucking bitch!”

Before Waluigi could turn towards the new voice, he was hit hard in the head with a yellow heeled shoe. Unable to recover when Daisy launched herself at him. Both now screaming and yelling as they rolled around on the floor. Daisy clearly trying to do as much damage as she could, as quickly as she could. While Waluigi was doing his best to keep the princess at bay. 

Just as Daisy attempted to claw at Waluigi’s eyes they were finally separated. Luigi and Peach with Waluigi. While Mario, Wario, Toadsworth, and Dew were clambered around Daisy. 

“...Hello princess.” Waluigi mumbled out weakly.

“Don’t you dare!’ Daisy hissed back, “How dare you just- Where the hell did you go and when the hell did you get back!” 

“New Donk City and a while ago. Here’s your shoe, by the way.”

Snatching it back, green eyes narrowed on Waluigi further. “That’s it? That’s all I get?” 

“Good to see your sour moods are just as puckering as before.”

There was another outcry as Daisy, heel still in hand, tried to land another hit. Held back once more. 

“Okay, so, how about this?” Peach started cautiously, “How about we go our separate ways for a bit? I’ll answer any questions you have, Daisy. To the best of my ability. And we’ll take the time to just cool off.”

While the offer wasn’t given to him, Waluigi visibly relaxed at the sound of the plan. Luigi, from his angle, was able to get a clear view of the princess in yellow. More importantly, her face. And he was a little worried when Daisy’s heavy pout suddenly shifted to a nefarious gleam. Before Luigi could question it further, said princess let out a heavy, dramagic sigh. 

“Fine, I know Waluigi’s not great with handling things on his own. He does need others to pull his weight.” 

Waluigi tensed at that. Fear replaced with a small bit of defiance. “Excuse you?”

“Well, I mean, we haven't seen each other in so long. Guess your drive to be the ‘better person’ and ‘handle things on your own’ just isn’t there anymore. Did the city make you soft?”

“Like hell I am!” 

“Waluigi…” Wario said softly as if that would, in any way, defuse the situation.

Instead he and Mario were practically barreled over as Daisy stepped forwards. Now wearing a wild smile as she practically shouts, “Then why don’t you put your pride where your mouth is! If you’re so sure you’re that man you were trying to be, then how about a little game to see your perseverance? You and me, one-on-one, a game of Striker!” 

“Striker?” Mario and Luigi asked in unison, clearly confused. 

While the rest let out a collective groan of, “Oh no…”

Waluigi sneered down at Daisy, who didn’t back down. “You’re on!”

“One hour, on the field!”

“No problem!” 

They both turned a sharp 180 and stomped down a different side hallway. Dew and Peach frantically followed Daisy while Wario tried to catch up to his brother. 

Leaving the twins in the grand hall with a group of Toads who let out a collective sigh. 

“Why do I have a feeling we’ll never have a ‘normal’ first greeting with anyone here?” Luigi frowned softly. 

On Mario’s part, he turned to Toadsworth and asked, “What is Striker?”

“An accursed game that’s far too rough for my liking… But I suppose I only have an hour to get ready what I can. Follow along you two. Let’s get you acquainted.”

With a confused shrug to each other, the twins followed Toadsworth to the back of the castle. 

__________________________

“Princess Daisy, I implore you that you reconsider all of this and just talk like a-” Dew let out a small squeak as part of Daisy’s outfit was suddenly draped over her. Peach removed it with a smile before addressing her childhood friend. 

“Is this really necessary?”

Daisy’s head peeked around from the partition with a heavy frown on her face. “With how upset I am, you know this is the best way to get my aggravation out.”

“I mean… Yes, I understand. But our first time back together after so many years and you want to start it with playing a game? You came here for a reason. Whatever it is, that should be our first priority.” 

“Hey, you’re the one who didn’t invite me after ‘so many years’. I made the move to come back here on my own. The least you can do is allow for this avenue of pent up aggression! Besides, a good game can really bring us together.” 

“Even the ones where you bash everyone into the ground?”

“You know it!”

Peach let out a small sigh, “If it was over a tactics game, sure. But Strikers tends to bring out…the really competitive side of you.” 

“It’s one of my better sides.” Daisy emerged from behind the divider. Posing as she showed off the brilliant yellow-orange jersey outfit with black protective pads and helmet. 

“Glad to see it still fits.” Peach softly commented. 

“And I still make it look good. Hope Waluigi is ready to get his butt kicked!”

Daisy let out a boisterous laugh as she led the way out of the room. Peach and Dew exchanging nervous looks before following after. 

The princess dressed in sport armor led the way through the castle. The many years absence clearly did not hinder her memory of the place. As in no time, the trio were outside. Heading straight to a large field surrounded by bleachers with overgrown grass and weeds everywhere. There was a small group of Toads taking care of the foliage. Others followed along to point white lines with a few more setting up large goals on either ends of the field. 

“Wow Peach, you really let the place go.” Daisy commented. 

Peach offered a shrug with, “I haven’t really held a reason to upkeep it. But it looks like you’ll be able to play soon enough.”

“Sweet!”

Picking up the pace, Daisy made her way to the small group already waiting on the sideline. 

Waluigi was wearing a similar outfit and equipment to Daisy’s, except being purple instead of yellow. Stretching as he eyed the field, waiting tensely to finally be allowed on. Paying no attention to Daisy as she joined them. Who casually dropped an arm around the twin’s shoulders. 

“I’m assuming someone was kind enough to catch you two up to speed?” She said, giving a little shake to Mario’s shoulders. 

“We understand the basics, I suppose.” Mario answered, “Kind of like football. Just, way more intense. Like ‘I’m almost worried people are going to die if we’re not careful’ kind of situation.” 

“Nah, if you know what you’re doing, you’ll be fine. Besides, you’re just watching for today. Nothing to worry your little head over.” 

“Unless your kicks are as wildly off placed as they were when we were younger. Then we have plenty to worry over.” Waluigi replied with a monotone voice. Able to hold back a flinch as Daisy got in his face. 

“Say that again, you gangly limbed monstrosity.” 

“If you want to prove me wrong, do so with the game you so desperately want.” 

“I’m going to kick your ass so badly you’re not going to be able to sit for a month.”

“Your highness, please,” Dew whispered fearfully. 

Toadsworth took a more forceful approach. “None of that, Princess Daisy. And do keep your mouth in check as well, Waluigi. You’ll both have your chance to work out whatever this is on the field. Now, does anyone need a reminder of the rules? Namely those dealing with making sure to not purposely injure your partner.”

Beady eyes narrowed as they darted between Waluigi and Daisy. Both of whom gave an off handed reply of ‘No’, while not looking at anyone.

“Very well. Then we’ll make this a simple game. One round, the first person to reach 5 points wins.”

“Awww, come on! We’ll be over in 10 minutes with those limitations!” Daisy pouted. 

“Then you best make the most out of the situation as I’m not allowing a free for all. That is all I’m allowing.”

While she said nothing, Daisy’s crossed arms indicated that she wasn’t happy. But her silence said that she wasn’t going to argue back. 

In almost no time, the field was cleared off. Lines painted with two large field goals placed at opposite ends and a scoreboard behind both. The rest of the space was littered with large metal poles that allowed for space to move but added an interesting element to dodge. Curiously, the twins noted, there were a few power up boxes placed on the field as well. The group went to the stands while Daisy and Waluigi went to the field. Numerous Toads were dressed in referee outfits. Two of which were climbing into two strange shaped contraptions. Basically bowls with a propeller attached at the bottom. Mario and Luigi leaned forward in their seats with interest showing as the Toads were lifted up in the air. 

“How does that work?” Luigi eagerly asked. 

“You can ask them later. Now sit down you two. This is about to get a little crazy.” Wario warned as he gently pulled the two back down. 

Their question for clarification was answered when the ground let out a warning rumble. The painted lines gave way to metal beams that activated a semi-transparent screen of some kind that enclosed the field. The scoreboards that had been dark before suddenly lit to life. Each player's name flashing on with a large ‘0’ under each. The goals were latched down onto the stadium ground, lighting up as well with a hum of energy. 

“Whoa…” The twins whispered out,  eyes wide. 

One of the floating Toads moved to hover over the players. Who were unaffected by the sudden change. Attention still focused on each other. 

“Alright,” the Toad called out, “We’re going to make this a nice, clean game. Or, as best we can make it. One round, first person to reach 5 points wins. Are we clear?” 

There was a sharp nod from both. 

“Very well.” 

Same Toad dug into his vehicle and pulled out a very shiny green Koopa shell. Holding it up high for everyone to see. 

“Where did you get that?” Luigi asked, looking back to Peach and Toadsworth. 

“An heirloom for this specific game,” the elder Toad answered, “Handed down from countless generations.” 

“And it’s still going strong?”

“Koopa shells are something else.” 

A loud, shrilled tweet sounded. Pulling all attention back onto the field. Shell holding Toad game a little ‘Hup!’ as they tossed the shell in. Quickly darting back as the players dashed forward. 

In a blink of an eye, Daisy had claimed the shell. Giving it a hard kick to launch forward. Just barely avoiding Waluigi’s shoulder as it wizard by. The shell bounced off a few pillars before heading towards the goal. 

Waluigi grabbed one of the power ups, an Ice Flower, to quickly create a wall of ice that curved away from his goal. With a pillar of ice knocking the shell towards him. Once it was closer, Waluigi made sure to keep away from Daisy before sending it towards her goal. 

In retaliation, the desert princess actually pulled a pillar out of the ground and threw it to where it knocked the shell out of its path. Both players kept a close eye on it as it randomly knocked around the field. 

On the stands, Mario and Luigi were back on their feet. Trying to keep track of every movement as closely as they could. Leaning over the beams to get a closer look.

“This is so intense!” Luigi tapped his feet in excitement. Both pulled away slightly when the shell hit against the barrier. Uncomfortably close to their face. 

“It’s actually rather tame for both of them, to be honest,” Wario commented calmly, “Must be out of practice.” 

“You’re joking.” Mario replied, heavy disbelief hear in his voice. 

“There’s a force field up for a reason.” 

Another shell impact proved Wario’s point. Sudden enough to cause the twins to jump back. 

“So…do we have a guess as to who's winning?” Luigi asked. 

Peach hummed softly as her eyes easily followed the shell, “That’s kind of a hard question to answer. They play differently enough to counteract each other.” 

“Waluigi is all about strategy,” Wario started, “You two know he likes to ‘plan’ what he wants. He just executes it quickly when he’s on the field. Works well for a fast paced game like this. He’s thin, quick, and overthinks. He’s in and out before anyone can make a move. On the other hand, Daisy is-”

All fell quiet as Waluigi launched another ‘attack’ to the opposing goal. Which was halted almost immediately when Daisy, arms raised to at least block her face, used herself as a blockade. Her arms may become bruised. But at least she was allowed to claim the shell once more and knock it to the opposite side of the field. 

“Daisy is headstrong.” Peach finished sheepishly. Laughing at the twin’s open mouths of surprise that were turned towards her. “Waluigi may be the planner. But she is a walking powerhouse.” 

“Honestly, her goals come more from launching the shell as far away from her side as quickly as possible. Which will occasionally just put it in the goal.” Toadsworth added dryly.

The princess laughed softly, “How true.” 

A loud ‘ding’ sounded from the field, which was followed by Daisy’s loud cheering. 

“And that’s how it’s done!” Daisy pumped her first in the air. Turning to Waluigi with a smug, sly smirk on her face. “Someone seems to be slipping.” 

Waluigi let out a low grumble. Not looking away from Daisy as the shell was dropped into his opened hand. “We just got started, princess.”

“And it’ll be over before you know it. Especially if you keep playing like this.”

“At least I’m not reliant on luck.”

“I am not!”

One of the referees blew their whistle. “Calm down you two. Get your issues out with the game. That’s kind of the reason why we’re here.”

There was a quick huff as acknowledgement and the game picked up once more. 

It was clear to the twins as to why Toadsworth gave the limitation of one game with only 5 points as the marker. While this game was fast paced, neither Daisy or Waluigi backed down. It seemed that, when one scored, the other would do so only a few minutes later. However, getting to the point where one got the leg up on the other was where the true time was spent. Even with only playing as a team of one for each side, they were able to cover every position perfectly. 

It was a war of few words and many actions. 

The sun had started to sink below the horizon when the game reached its peak. Both players had made it to 4 points each and were fighting hard to keep the other back from scoring another. Both refused to back down. Both looked absolutely ragged. Those in the stands were watching on with worry. 

“Shouldn’t we stop this? I feel like this is getting a little out of hand.” Luigi fearfully asked. 

“Trust me when I say that will make this so much worse.” Peach whispered back. 

“Caged animals don’t do well being backed into a corner.” Wario added. 

On the field, the referee Toad nervously handed the shell over to Waluigi. Who took a second to stand back up to take it. As he held the shell between his hands, Waluigi let out a slow breath and looked up to Daisy. 

“...How about we just call this a draw.”

Daisy’s head snapped up. A look of shock on her face that slipped away as she laughed. 

“You…want to draw?” She snorted out, “Big, over-achieving Waluigi wants to call a draw for a game.” 

“This is going on way too long. I’m exhausted. I know you are too. We’ve proved our points, so-”

“We haven’t proven anything!”

The field fell quiet at that. All wide eyes on Daisy as she clenched her fists. Waluigi a little taken aback with how angry the princess was. 

“Daisy-”

“What? You think smooth words will just make all of this okay? That we can just forget about this game and move on?” 

“I don’t-”

“Yes you do!” Daisy stomped her foot, “Why are you like this? You don’t just get to determine for everyone how we’re supposed to move on. We’re not your little machines that you can reprogram to fit the narrative that you want.”

“I’m…” Waluigi faulted, eyes flickering over to Wario before focusing on the situation once more. “I didn’t. I don’t.” 

“Oh, shut up, yes you do! You don’t get to just re-enter our lives and pretend everything’s fine. Did you let anyone know you were coming back? You certainly didn’t when you fucking left!” 

Waluigi’s frown deepened. 

“See! This is what you do. The moment you don’t want to deal with something, you just push it away. Pretend it’s not there. Pull away, don’t let anyone know what’s happening and just let us panic.”

“Daisy-”

“Shut up! You don’t get to just dump me and then leave like none of it mattered!”

As if realizing what she’d just said, Daisy pulled back. Eyes wide as she stared down Waluigi. Who also looked just as stunned. Daisy quickly yanked her helmet off and turned away. Storming off the field as everything was powered down. Just as she reached the edge did Waluigi follow after. Tossing the shell and his own helmet away as he did so. Only able to catch up with Daisy when they were in the castle. 

“Wait- Daisy, wait, let’s just…” Waluigi reached out to gently grab at her arm. 

Daisy pulled away quickly. But she did stop, crossing her arms as she leaned against the wall. Both allow a few moments to catch a breath with a stretch of heavy silence hanging between them. 

“Why did you do it?” Daisy eventually whispered. 

Waluigi bit his bottom lip, “Do what?”

“Just leave? Were we such a bad thing that you had to flee the moment you could? Get away from me?”

“No! Fuck, no, it’s just… It was bad timing.”

Daisy gave a small laugh, shaking her head. “That’s an understatement. Do you know how much you hurt me? Hurt everyone? You just get up and leave in the middle of the night and expect nothing to happen?”

Stepping away slightly, Waluigi huffed before answering. “I mean, nothing has been directly said to me about it. But there have been hints of how I’ve…messed up.”

“...Answer my question. Why did you leave?”

“Because I was pissed!” Waluigi kicked the wall. “Do you know how much it sucks being the younger brother of a con artist? The youngest son of a liar? To come from a poor family with subpar education because half the time you couldn’t get there because you had no food or sleep? I felt like I was going nowhere, being stuck here. I felt like I was in a cage and if I didn’t leave, I was just…going to be here, forever.” 

“Is…that why we didn’t last? Because you’d be stuck?” Daisy asked. 

“No… Maybe?” Waluigi sighed softly. Sliding down along what cool wall until he was sitting down. Daisy shuffled over to sit down beside him. “I don’t know. I mean, it wasn’t a bad experience. And I liked being around you. But…it felt wrong. It was better when we were just friends. With that weird feeling… I won’t lie, it was the kick off for the whole crisis.” 

“What brought you back?”

“New Donk is a big city. I may have ideas, but I’m a bit too eager, I guess. Leaving without a solid plan was a bad move. So, I came back when things were not going great. I was stuck and…I just couldn't do it anymore.” 

Daisy let out a small sigh. Gently leaning against Waluigi. “You do overthink things.”

“Yeah… I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Well, I won’t lie, it was painful. I really thought I had done something wrong. It’s good to know it’s just your craziness.”

“Hey!” Waluigi huffed, but he did laugh. 

“What, you know I’m right!” Daisy argued back, “Have you…talked to Wario about this? About any of this?”

“No…I left so suddenly and came back just as random… I don’t know, it’s hard to explain what happened.”

“Didn’t you just tell me?”

Waluigi shifted, “Kind of… Sort of. Nothing that would satisfy Wario’s questions.”

“Why are you so complicated.”

“Because life is.”

“Poetic…”

“Sure…”

“So…was that the only reason why you were so upset?” Waluigi looked over to Daisy as best he could. 

“Well, kind of. I think you were just the final straw to get me really upset,” the princess sighed, “I did come here because of the stories and…another thing.”

“What?”

“Explain later. With everything that I had heard, I figured I could toss my crown into the ring. Go up against the big bag Koopa myself.”

“You do realize that we barely escaped with our lives last time, right?”

“Sure, but I also want to know that I’m doing something to help. I really did come here to help…and to get help. I guess old emotions got in the way. Acted before I thought.” 

“Old habits die hard.”

“You know it.”

“...I don’t suppose we’re okay now?” Waluigi winced when Daisy landed a hard punch on his arm. “What the hell!”

“We aren’t even close to being ‘okay’! But I’m not as upset as I was before.” 

“At least that’s something.”

“There you two are!” Peach’s voice rang out as she and the rest from the stands rushed over. “Are you both okay?”

“As well as we can be.” Waluigi replied, rubbing his arm. 

On her part, Daisy stood back up. Stretching a bit before fixing Peach with a smile. “I believe I’m owed a few stories from you?”

Peach nodded, “Of course. Do you- How about we get you showered and changed first. Yeah?”

Daisy tilted her head in thought. “Uh, I suppose that might be a good idea. Dew, were you able to get my luggage from the carriage?”

“Of course, princess.”

As the trio of females, with Toadsworth following after, departed from the rest, Waluigi watched them go. Only pulling his attention away when by the twins.

“That was awesome!” Luigi cheered.

“Uh huh. You want to play next time?”

“Absolutely not!”

“You okay?” Mario asked. 

Waluigi gave a short nod. He stumbled slightly when Wario slapped a hand onto his shoulder. 

“You sure?” The eldest brother asked. 

Waluigi paused slightly at that. Attention darting over to Daisy once more. Who had looked back, offering a small smile. No doubt trying to convey some kind of comfort. 

“For now… I guess.”

[s-creations]

GUESS WHAT'S COMING TOMORROW!!

Heeheehee. The start of Season 2's end is tomorrow. XD

[s-creations]

Hues Chapter 3: Mush-Fever

Mario forgets. Just because they're in a new place…doesn't mean old problems disappear.

Fandom: Super Mario & Releated Fandoms Rating: Teen and UP Audiences Relationship: Mario & Luigi (Nintendo), Wario & Mario (Nintendo), Waluigi & Mario (Nintendo), Mario/Princess Peach (Nintendo) Additional Tags: Mario needs help, Luigi's not feeling great, Wario and Waluigi are not overly great with the whole 'comforting' thing.

‘Top story this morning: we’ve officially entered into Mush-Fever season. A few reports are already coming in of Toad’s being checked in. Medical professionals are warning that this season’s gonna be a rough one. It’s advised that you keep an eye out for early symptoms and call your doctor immediately if you suspect someone’s sick. 

Early symptoms are: 

High Fever

Extreme Fatigue/Constantly Sleeping

Loss of Appetite

If someone starts sprouting abnormal growths, call it in immediately. Better to be safe than sorry.’

Mario let out a wide yawn as he waited for the coffee to finish brewing. Barely taking in the news report that was on the television. Really just wanting background noise while he tried to wake up. 

Normally, Luigi would be up and about before Mario. But everyone was still recovering from King Boo’s attack a few weeks prior. And if everyone else was still shaken just dealing with the Ecto-Ghosts, Mario couldn’t even begin to imagine how Luigi felt. 

So, if Luigi wanted to lie in bed, Mario was going to let his little brother sleep for as long as he needed. Left to battle through his morning slog alone

Mario perked up when the coffee announced it was finished. Pouring the wonderful caffeine into a red mug, topping it off with milk and sugar before shuffling into the living room. Nursing his drink as he watched the screen flash before him. Still not really taking in the information that was being presented.

A familiar chill fell over Mario. Giving him ample warning before Polterpup phased through the ceiling. Who let out a small whine as they sat next to Mario. 

“Hey doggie, you sleep well last night? …Do ghosts sleep?” Mario frowned softly in thought as Polterpup nudged his arm, whining again, “What’s up pup?”

The special pup jumped from the couch. Turning back to the human, letting out a bark before pointing towards the stairs. Still confused but realizing that something was wrong, Mario was up. 

“Alright, what’s going on?” Mario’s eyes followed Polterpup as they floated up the stairs. Soon close behind, finding said pup now sitting outside of Luigi’s room. Polterpup nervously tapped the ground as Mario walked closer. The hero gently knocked on said door.

“Hey, Luigi, you doing okay? Polterpup came down to get me and they seemed really upset about something. …Luigi? …I hope you’re decent, cuz I’m coming in.”

“Oh, hey, you’re still asleep? You’re sleeping the day away! Come on, how about we get started, yeah? …Luigi? You need to get up.”

“Lu?”

“Weegee?”

Even with the mask that was covering the lower half of his face, it was clear that Luigi was in pain. Skin pale, breathing harsh and shallow, eyes screwed up in pain, hand clutching desperately to the sheet covering him. Numerous Toads, masks tied around their heads to cover their mouths, were rushing around. Not just focusing on Luigi, but also the other patients resting in the beds. Occasionally, a Toad would pluck off a few green mushrooms from Luigi’s skin. The human wincing every time his skin was pulled.

Mario could only watch from the wide window. Stuck in the hallway as his eyes remained on his brother’s tense form. Hand pressed against the cold glass, feeling as if he was about to break. 

He couldn’t do this again.

Not again.

“He’ll be okay,” Peach kept her voice even, knowing how hard this was for Mario. A small smile on her face in an attempt to offer comfort. “Luigi has the best people looking after him. This is a common illness, it happens every year. There’s nothing to worry about.”

The last sentence caused more damage than help. Mario reached up to pull his cap down over his eyes. The hand pressed against the window turning into a fist. 

“Mario-”

“Common doesn’t mean non-deadly,” Mario choked out. 

“Luigi will be fine.”

“You can’t promise that. Not…Not with how he is…”

Peach bit her lip, “Why don’t we go and-”

“I can’t leave him.”

“...You can’t do anything here, this isn’t helping you or Luigi.”

“Don’t!” Mario pulled away, eyes blazing, “Don’t…say that. You don’t understand, you can’t understand… Just leave me alone.”

He marched over to the bench located on the opposite side of the hallway. Eyes going back to the window, even if he couldn’t see Luigi anymore. Remaining tight as he stared the pane of glass down. Peach remained frozen for a few moments before nodding. 

“Very well… If you need anything, I believe it would be best for you to find a Toad. They’ll be able to help you find what you need.” And with that, she turned. The clicks of her heels soon gave way to silence, leaving Mario to these thoughts.. 

As the silence settled in, so did Mario’s realization as to what he’d done. He let out a low curse before throwing his hat onto the ground in frustration. Digging his fingers into his hair. Vision blurring. Hoping the external pain would drown out the internal pain. 

It didn’t.

Letting out a heavy puff of breath, Mario sat back up. Leaning against the wall while furiously rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palms. Sitting as such before picking his hat back up, shoved it back onto his head. Uncaring that it now lay lopsided on his head.

Eyes flickering back onto the window, his heart sank further. Knowing Luigi lay just on the other side. Out of reach for him to help.

The disgusting feeling in his stomach seemed to grow. 

“Excuse me.”

A green-capped Toad jumped hearing the new voice. Peering up to see the Kingdom’s hero. Who looked a little worse for wear. “Oh, hello Mario! What can I help you with?”

“I don’t suppose you have a phone I could borrow?”

_____________________________

Wario and Waluigi barely gave notice to the passing glances sent their way as they power walked down the castle halls. Fully focused on their goal. Practically skidding to a halt upon their last turn. They cautiously peered around the corner to find Mario sitting on the bench. Staring at the ground, hat in his hand, looking wilted.

“Don’t say anything stupid,” Wario whispered to his brother. 

“You’re one to talk.”

“You threw him into the lake last time he was like this.”

“He deserved it.”

“Just…don’t, okay.”

“Whatever.”

Neutral ground decided upon, they slowly walked forward. Mario barely flinched as Wario claimed a seat next to him. Waluigi deciding to stand by the window instead, looking into the medical wing. His frown seemed to deepen upon finding the state Luigi was in. 

“You rang?” Wario teased with a smirk. Only to falter when Mario didn’t respond. “...Hey, Luigi’s tough, he’ll be fine.”

“People get this illness every year. It’s more annoying than anything,” Waluigi added, “Greenie will be sleepy for a while after this. But otherwise, he’ll be fine.”

“Weegee’s not like other people…” Mario mumbled weakly. 

The older two exchanged glances. Wario replied with, “How about we go stretch our legs, yeah? Get some fresh air. I don’t think sitting in a dingy hallway is doing you much good.”

“Get away from here for a while.” said Waluigi.

Mario wasn’t given a chance to argue back. Wario already wrapping his arm around the younger’s shoulder and leading him away. The view to the medical window blocked by Waluigi. Who gave a ‘Don’t even try it’ look when the hero turned back. Mario frowned but didn’t say anything, merely faced forward again. 

The hero winced as he was brought out into the sunlight. Hating how bright the world was compared to his dark mood.

“You’re not taking me back to the lake, are you?” Mario mumbled out.

“No…but that does beg the question of what we are going to do.” Wario answered.

Waluigi let out a heavy sigh as he took the lead. “Thank Grambi one of us has a brain.”

“Hey now-”

“Don’t even argue with me. You know I’m right.”

“Yeah, maybe. But you don’t have to be rude about it.”

“Yes I do. It’s part of my charming personality.”

“You call that charm?”

“Far better than what your skills are.”

Mario couldn’t hold back a smile as he listened to them argue. Or, he supposed, their version of brotherly banter. 

Entering the town proper, the group of three strolled through the main shopping district. Wario mainly focused on the number of food stalls, which didn’t seem to bother Waluigi all that much. Mario quietly noted that a few were pieces that he’d tried and liked before while others were very new to his rather limited palette.  

It was hard to tell what was safe for a human to eat. But there hadn’t been any scares yet.

Wario and Waluigi were eventually carrying a number of bags in each arm.. Mario was still confused as to what they were planning. But listened with interest as the brother’s conversations turned from food selection to childhood stories as each choice seemed to bring up a new memory.

Where they’d gone to school and subsequently expelled from. Where their first business was. Both legal and ‘entrepreneurial’ related. Where they would meet up with Peach when the princess would sneak out from the castle for a break.

One of those places was a familiar one. Mario mentally commented that it was the same tree they’d taken Peach to on their first outing as a full group. He watched from the truck of said tree as the other two set up their small buffet. The hero feeling a small flicker of warmth enter his chest.

“...Is this a date?” Mario smirked at his question. 

Waluigi let out a snort while Wario rolled his eyes. The oldest walked over to Mario to ruffle the hero’s hair. “As if you could afford us. Come on, you got some new things to try.”

Even with the worry weighing heavily in his stomach, Mario felt himself begin to relax. Starting to laugh more at the brother’s jokes and antics. Absolutely thrilled by the new things he was trying. Happy to have a moment when his mind wasn’t focused on the stress.

The afternoon cooled out to a calm evening. Mario and Wario leaning against the tree as they watched Waluigi, who had been pulled into a game by a group of younger Toads. All clearly enamored by the long legged creature that just towered over them and who could casually kick the ball around. It was a few minutes into their next round when Wario broke the quiet.

“So, how are you feeling?”

The uncomfortable feeling settled back into Mario’s stomach. But it wasn’t as heavy as it had been just that morning.

He shifted to pull his knees to his chest, arms crossed over them. Pausing to really think about the question and answer with, “...Better, I guess.”

“Yeah? Listen, I know this is all still new and a little…scary. You two are finding something new thrown at your feet practically every day. Even your days off don’t feel that fulfilling. But we were saying those things to make you feel better. Luigi will be fine.”

The hero let out a low hum in acknowledgement. 

Wario frowned softly. “Do you believe me?”

“I mean…” Mario let out a heavy sigh, “I get it. We’re in a place that’s aware of what the problem is and how to help because they’ve seen it before. It’s common.”

“...But.”

“But no one’s been there when Luigi was fighting for his life. I told you before…Luigi was really sick when we were younger.” 

“Oh, yeah,” Wario nodded slowly, “Bad immune system, right?”

“Yeah, bad enough to…to almost die a few times.”

“Wait, what? You said he was cared for and got better, what do you mean he almost died?”

“I said he got better, but he was always teetering on the edge,” Mario sighed softly, “There were a lot of scares growing up. I had my fill of watching Luigi through glass when we were back on Earth. You can say that this Mush-Fever is common, that everyone gets it. But Luigi’s been taken down by the cold too many times to make anything ‘common’ seem safe.”

“A cold?”

“Um…I’m not really sure how to say this… It’s just Earth’s common illness. That doesn’t mean Luigi could fight it off like anyone else.”

“But…he’s doing better now?” Wario asked slowly.

“I mean, yeah…”

“I have a feeling you’re not telling me the whole story.”

Mario frowned softly. “Our parents were really worried about Luigi growing up. Even after the doctors told them Luigi would be fine. It was just a scary start, nothing to worry about. Except every time he was sick, he found himself in the hospital. Going outside was a gamble. I felt that…if I wasn’t careful, something small could kill him.”

“I made a promise when I was younger that I would keep Luigi safe, no matter what. That I would never, ever, see him again behind a window. I thought…I thought I was doing fine and then…”

Breathing shaky, Mario rubbed his eyes furiously, attempting to hide his tears. But Wario saw right through it. Wrapping an arm around the other tightly so Mario could lean against him. 

“Just let it out, you’re okay,” Wario mumbled, “You’re okay.” 

Despite Wario’s words, Mario pulled himself together quickly. Sniffing softly as he pulled away. “I can’t let anything happen to him. I’ll do anything to keep him alive…even if I can’t be.”

“You’re not serious…” Wario whispered, swallowing weakly, insides turning to ice.

“If it means Luigi’s safe, I’d happily trade my life for his.”

Wario’s eyes looked up to Waluigi. Who was now showing off how far he could kick the balls the kid Toads were playing with. “Yeah…I get it. But still, you know you have us, right?

“I know… I still feel weird asking for it.”

There was a painful stab to the gut hearing that. Wario shifting nervously, “...Take it from me, asking for help isn't that bad of a thing. Besides, I thought you were past this? You came to me to talk about your relationship with Peach.”

“I can’t ‘fix’ myself overnight. It’s still a struggle.”

“Fair.”

Mario let out a choked gasp as he was pulled into a loose headlock, “Hey!”

Wario didn’t miss the laugh that escaped the hero. “Look, if you can come to me for help, then you can go to Peach. She’d probably be the better person to go to, honestly.”

“If she takes my apology.”

“That bad?”

“Oof, that’s unfortunate. But she’s taken mine, she’ll take yours.”

“You’re not dating her.”

“...You’d better have a good plan in place.”

“Oh, thanks! What welcoming words you’ve offered me just make me feel so happy.”

Wario couldn’t hold back his laughter as Mario rolled his eyes.

_____________________________

Peach let out a relieved sigh as she was given a thumbs up from the Toads inside the medical wing. Giving a small wave as her reply. Merely happy to see the patients inside looked far more relaxed than from that same morning.

Luigi appeared to finally be resting peacefully. A comforting red returning to his cheeks.

A cleared throat pulled her attention away from the window. Finding a sheepish looking Mario standing beside her. 

“Hey…”

“Hello. You’ll be happy to know Luigi is past the worst of it and is on the path to a good recovery.”

Mario perked up at that. Quickly stepping closer to the window. Letting out a sigh of relief seeing Luigi’s calm and sleeping form. “Thank you for looking after him…and, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you this morning.”

Peach offered a sympathetic smile. Letting out a slow breath before saying, “My mother died of an illness that no one knew the origins of when I was just barely a teen.”

She could see from the corner of her eye that Mario flinched. The human was clearly scrambling to figure out what to say next until Peach gently took his head. 

“I’m not looking for an apology. This morning was not good for you and you were not in a…good place, emotionally. My comments this morning were not well placed, and for that I apologize. I didn’t want to hear warm regards and standard pleasantries when she was on her deathbed. I’m sure you had your fair share growing up as well. It’s never fun to be the one that has to watch and wait.”

“...I’m sorry for your loss.” Mario eventually said. Flushing softly when Peach placed a gentle kiss on his temple. 

“It’s alright, you didn’t know.”

“I am still sorry for this morning. I…forget that, just because we’re someplace new, not all of our old life was left behind. Wario was right when he said Luigi was tough. He’s been through a lot over the past few months and I guess that gave me a false sense of comfort. Because…I thought something like an illness couldn’t take him down again.”

“Even with your titles and what you’ve both been able to accomplish, that doesn’t make you invincible. We’ll just be better prepared for next year to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Mario smiles softly, “Yeah…next year.”

“Now, with that all out of the way, would you like to see Luigi?” Peach laughed softly as Mario perked up in interest. 

“Really?”

“He’s not contagious anymore. There’s no issue.”  She couldn’t help but laugh again as Mario rushed in. Following in soon after, checking in on her citizens while watching as Mario pulled up a chair next to the bed. 

Mario grabbed onto Luigi’s hand and pressed it to his cheek, smiling softly. 

[s-creations]

Fire & Thunder - Chapter 1

The BeanBean Kingdom, one that has been in self-exile for centuries, has finally broken their silence. Arriving to the Mushroom Kingdom with the plan to help their heroes learn how to use their powers.

Training, unfortunately, was just one hurtle to jump over.

Fandom: Super Mario & Releated Fandoms, Super Mario RPG Rating: Teen and UP Audiences Relationship: Luigi/Prince Peasley, Mario/Princess Peach, Mario & Luigi & Wario & Waluigi Additional Tags: Needed Training, The Main Villain Makes An Appearance, Growing Relationships, Character Lore?, In My Stories?, It's More Likely Than You Think.

‘To the Current Ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom,

Fair Princess Peach.

I, Queen Bean, current ruler of the BeanBean Kingdom, wish to reach out to establish a hopefully peaceful connection. To prove my well meaning, I’m hopeful my Kingdom will be able to help you. 

Mainly with your heroes. 

Words among the leaves and breeze hold whispers that your heroes are capable of magic. I have citizens who hold the same powers, not as powerful as your heroes, but skillful enough to extend their wisdom. 

They will be arriving to your kingdom a week after this letter arrives. Accompanying them will be my son and future heir to the BeanBean Kingdom, Prince Peasley. They wish to remain with you until they feel that your heroes are well trained. 

I do hope this is the beginning of a wonderful and fruitful partnership between our two lands. 

To Your Wellness,

Regal Queen Bean’

The Toad that had been reading from the rolled parchment let out a shaky breath as they finished. Shivering as they allowed the pent up nervousness to be released. Wide eyes going to Princess Peach, who was tense upon her throne. 

The entire hall felt close to a nervous breakdown. 

Mario and Luigi being the only exception to this uncomfortable atmosphere. Worried eyes darting around the room, attempting to find an answer before landing on each other. Sharing a shrug of confusion. 

Peach, on her part, let out a slow breath before standing and offering a smile to the nervous room. “Well, this is wonderful news! We’ll be playing host to such a powerful kingdom. This is what we need in order to put up a strong defense against Bowser. Let’s prepare for them to arrive.”

As Peach continued to delegate tasks, Mario and Luigi were gently pulled towards the hallway. The other pair of brothers looked grim as they led. Toadsworth gestured them all in before closing the door, waiting nervously. 

“Is…anyone going to explain what’s going on?” Mario eventually voiced.

Toadsworth weakly waved his hand while mumbling, “We need to wait for the princess before we discuss this.”

Peach arrived a few moments later. Her warm smile quickly disappeared when the door closed once more. “Oh goodness… Is this really happening?”

“Apparently,” Wario barely whispered.

“But isn’t this what we wanted?” Toadsworth voiced.

“Yes,” Peach gave a small whine, “But I assumed it would be the Jungle or Desert Kingdom first. This plan didn’t start with the BeanBean Kingdom.”

“Would someone be so kind as to explain to us what we’re talking about?” Mario cautiously raised his voice. 

“Oh, of course, I apologize,” Peach said softly, “We’ve talked to you about the war that defeated the last Koopa ruler. But we’ve never gone into details of the kingdoms that helped with that defeat.”

“Is the BeanBean Kingdom some place to worry about?” 

“Well, yes, they are rather powerful.”

“Or they were,” Wario added, “Until it was destroyed.”

Peach quickly shook her head, “They could still have the BeanStar.”

“Don’t you think if they did, they would use it to stop all of this?”

“If the books are as accurate as they are, then you know the use of its ability before nearly destroyed everything. I would be afraid to use it!”

“So, would that really make them that powerful?”

“Guys!” Mario called out, “Still very confused.”

“Right, right, sorry,” Peach let out another sign before continuing, “We’ve told you about the origins of the war with the Koopa Kingdom. It was quite literally them versus every kingdom who had an ability to fight back. One being the BeanBean Kingdom. They hold a very powerful artifact called the BeanStar, an item that can grant the holder any wish they want.”

“I’m going to assume it was used during this war. What happened?”

“It’s unsure of what was asked of it,” Wario continued, “But the BeanStar more or less…it blew up. Knocking out a good chunk of the Koopa Army with it. But the BeanBean Kingdom was hit hard as well. They slunk back to their borders and put up powerful barriers to keep everyone away after that battle.”

Luigi frowned, “So…no one’s conversed with them…for years?”

“Try centuries,” said Toadsworth, “We have no idea what kind of monarch we’re dealing with now.”

“We could be in luck,” Mario argued, “They’re sending someone here with the intent to help us. If anything, we need someone who knows about our abilities. Training lately has become…”

“Stagnant,” Luigi concluded.

“It doesn’t help that all we’ve focused on is ‘suppressing’ instead of using.”

“But we don’t know what their motives are,” Toadsworth said quickly, “While jumping to conclusions isn’t beneficial towards the situation, there may be other motives involved here. Why would now be the time to reach out?”

“Because…of us?” Mario said while pointing towards himself and Luigi.

“Possibly hoping to take our means of protection for themselves.”

“We get that you're paranoid, old man,” Waluigi stepped in, “But you’re not making the situation better. If they’re willing to help, then we need to take it. Especially if this means we have somewhat of an advantage over Bowser.”

“We’ll just have to focus on being gracious hosts. Welcome them and try to make that much needed connection. We need them on our side.” Peach concluded.

Toadsworth turned to Mario and Luigi, “You two are going to have to represent our Kingdom as you are the heroes of this land.”

Well…wasn’t that just terrifying to hear. 

The week went by faster than anyone expected or enjoyed. Toadsworth being the physical reminder of how tense everyone was. Starting every day with double checking on every factor he could think of before running through his caution list. Which was really just a list of his creations that covered the worst case situations they could face. 

The day before, Peach offered (more like begged) that the brothers stay in the castle. 

“That way you’re just here. No worries about…traffic and what not.” She explained with a wobbly smile. 

It was a weak reason, but they understood the request. 

Even with how comfortable the bed was, Mario couldn’t sleep. Resting on his back while staring up at the dark canopy. He couldn’t hear Luigi’s snoring. 

“...You worried too?” Mario whispered into the darkness.

“...Yeah. It was scary enough when we were just heroes. Now we’re representing the kingdom? For another kingdom that’s been secretive for so long? And we’re being trained by people we know nothing of with powers we can barely use? It’s…It’s a lot.” 

“Yeah…it is…”

Cautiously reaching out, Mario gently grabbed onto Luigi’s wrist. Pulling his brother closer until Luigi was tucked under the older twin’s chin. The younger using Mario’s chest as a pillow. Arms wrapped around the other with Mario gently combing his fingers through Luigi’s hair. 

“We’ll be okay,” Mario said softly, “We stick together and it’ll all turn out fine. A new adventure, right?”

“...That meaning is so different from when we were in Brooklyn.”

“Yeah, it does. But I mean it. We’ll be fine.”

Luigi didn’t verbally reply. Instead trying to shuffle closer, tightening his grip around his brother.

“...Let’s try and get some sleep.”

They were both exhausted when morning arrived. Slowly shuffling out of bed and getting dressed, Mario tried to offer Luigi a comforting smile. But his nerves were seeping through and the comfort didn’t appear. 

Wario and Waluigi looked just as exhausted as the twins felt. However, they were far better put together. While Mario and Luigi wore their famous overalls with coordinating red and green shirts and hats. The other brothers were wearing…well…

“Are you in a suit?” Mario asked with a smile growing. This question aimed directly at Wario.

“Unfortunately.”

“Your hair l-looks nice.” Luigi attempted to give some positives to the clearly uncomfortable brother. The normally tangled locks that were hidden by a yellow cap were now brushed and slicked back. 

Waluigi, who looked far more comfortable, placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “It’s just for a few hours. You’ll be fine.”

“I’m going to suffocate.” Was the sharp reply back.

Breakfast was a quiet affair. No matter how chipper Peach attempted to be, it was clear she was as stressed, if not more, as everyone else was. So none of her words uplifted their terrified spirits. 

Once the plates were taken, the large group walked outside to the large stairs that lead up to the castle. Toadsworth rushed around, instructing as to where everyone needed to stand. The guard lining everywhere, Peach and Toadsworth at the lower set of the stairs to properly greet the visitors. The brothers were further back. Lined up so that Wario and Waluigi would be introduced first as the current mentors while Mario and Luigi would be saved for last. 

The minutes felt like hours as they waited. Mario swears his heart was beating so loudly that everyone could hear it.

Soon the sound of approaching footsteps filled the air. The first to crest the hill was a few rows of soldiers, three to each. Dressed in silver armor, a green smiling face carved into the chest plate. Carrying spears and large shields. Following the first section of soldiers was a large carriage. Vivid green and bean shaped on golden wheels with similarly colored accents. Pulling along by (as what could only be described as) flying, bean-link creatures. 

It was…strange.

The carriage, flanked from the front and back by the same looking beanish soldiers, stopped before the stairs. Right before Peach and Toadsworth. One soldier broke away from the ranks to open the opulent golden door.

First to emerge were two rather translucent beings. One red, one green, dressed similarity. Or rather held a similar appearance. It was unclear if they were dressed or if it was just ‘thicker’ skin that was a different color than their pale blue skin. Their hair appeared to be that of the Earth’s version of a jellyfish. They gave a small bow to Peach before stepping to the side.

The final traveler stepped out at this time. Vivid green skin complemented well with the fine, golden hair that framed his face. Warm brown eyes crinkled at the corners due to his smile. Fine garments of white and red with accents of gold draped over his form. A stylish rapier resting casually at his hip. 

Peach stepped forward as the new trio reached the foot of the stairway. Offering a small curtsy before announcing, “Welcome, Prince Peasley of the BeanBean Kingdom. It’s wonderful to see you here, I hope your journey went well.”

“Very much so,” Prince Peasley responded with a clear voice, "Thank you for the warm welcome, Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom. Allow me the honor of introducing Merri and Gigi, our own users of Firebrand and Thunderhand abilities.”

“Welcome to you both as well.”

Mario was pulled out of the conversation when Wario tapped his arm. “Fix your face, it’s scrunched up.”

“Is he…a bean?” Mario whispered back.

“The prince? Yeah, kind of in the name of the kingdom he hails from.”

“Peach isn’t a mushroom.”

“But the Toads are. The king was.”

“Oh… Hey Lu, what do you-” Mario faltered when, looking at his brother, he found Luigi with wide eyes. Chest puffed up with shoulders raised as if to make himself seem taller. Cheeks slowly growing a deep shade of red. Eyes practically shining.

Mario’s eyes darted between Luigi and the guests, taking a few moments to understand the situation. Getting his ultimate answer when the prince casually flipped his hair back with a warm laugh and Luigi letting out a choked gasp. 

It was Wario’s turn to have his arm hit.

“What.” He breathed out through the side of his mouth.

“Look! Look at Luigi!” Mario frantically whispered, sounding absolutely thrilled. 

Curious, Wario leaned over to get a better look at Luigi. Finding the younger twin absolutely love struck, eyes still on Peasley. Realization dawned on Wario’s quickly and a wide smile stretched across his face. 

He was less subtle with getting Waluigi’s attention. Enough so that Toadsworth flashed a warning glare at the duo before facing forward again.

“What?” Waluigi hissed out.

Wario just jerked his head towards Luigi. The other brother’s attention darted over to the younger twin. 

A smirk slowly formed on his face.

Unaware of what was transpiring, Luigi's attention was solely focused on Peasley. The moment the prince had stepped out, the younger twin felt his heart start to race. Electricity surging through him as a blush dusted over his cheeks. The only thought bouncing around the human’s brain was ‘He’s beautiful’. 

The cloud of fascination fell away hearing a few chuckles and small noises of excitement from his side. Luigi turning to find Mario and the other brothers staring right back at him. Each in a varying degree of excitement and knowing smugness.

A new type of terror settled in Luigi’s stomach.

“Mario-”

“You like him!” Mario gleefully whispered.

“Don’t, please don’t-”

“What’s your first move going to be?” Wario leaned over, using Mario as a place to rest his arm, who didn’t seem to mind. “I know a few good ones if you’re stuck.”

“He hasn’t even talked to us yet-”

“I’m taunting you relentlessly about this until you ask him out.” Waluigi stated smugly. 

Luigi frantically gripped onto the sides of his hat. “Please don’t do this. It’s nothing, really, it’s just-”

“And here we have the main four you’ll be working with.” Peach’s voice cut through the whispering argument. Louder than normal, no doubt to inform that brothers they were finally approaching. 

They quickly stood back in their original lineup. Luigi now shaking nervously as Peach introduced the other brother’s first. 

“Wario and Waluigi have been our heroes' acting mentors.” 

“Wonderful to meet you both,” Peasley beamed as he shook their hands, “I’m to assume you’re both well versed in fighting formations.”

“Not at all.” Wario replied. 

“Oh, well, what about battle strategies?”

“None.” Waluigi answered this time.

“...So…how were you two selected for this role then?”

“Opportunity.”

“Harassment.”

Toadsworth buried his face in his hand. Merri rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed, as Gigi gave a quick but covered snort. 

“Well…either way, I’m sure we’ll have much to share with each other.” Peasley said with a smile. Which faltered hearing Merri and Gigi giggling softly. They fell quiet when their prince flashed them a warning frown.

“Wonderfully said,” Peach quickly interjected and pulled the prince away, “Here are our heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom.”

Peasley’s attention was drawn to Mario fist. Who tilted his hat before shaking hands with the prince. “Mario, at your service. Thank you for arriving to help us.”

“Wonderful to meet you. You’re…human, are you not?”

“Very much so.”

“How interesting. And you are the holder of the…”

“Firebrand.”

“Excellent! I can’t wait to see your strength in action.”

“Well, if strength is what you’re interested in, then you’re going to be super impressed by what my brother can do.” Taking over the introductions, Mario wrapped his arm around Luigi’s shoulders to pull him closer.

Peasley’s regal appearance fell once more as his attention turned towards Luigi. Not of disappointment, but one of…interest. Eyes widening as they take in the sheepishly smiling hero in green. His own mouth parting slightly as a light dusting of blue appeared on his cheeks.

The stunned stupor he was in was broken when Merri gently placed a hand on his shoulder with a whisper of, “Sire?”

“Oh, u-um, yes, wonderful to meet you as well.” Peasley attempted to recover quickly. Smile returned, but not as strong as it had been before. “Uh, if I may ask…is it true that you were able to capture a Boo?”

Before Luigi could answer, Wario entered the conversation. “A Boo? A Boo? Just one? How about a whole army captured along with their big creepy king. That’s what Luigi did.”

The younger brother laughed nervously as his shoulder was shaken vigorously, “Heh, ah, well…”

“He was also able to fend off a pod of Blue Piranha Plants,” Waluigi added, “Using nothing but his Thunderhand and a hammer.”

“Blue variety? Goodness, those are extremely dangerous. We avoid them the best we can back in my kingdom.” Peasley said, sounding very impressed.

Luigi continued to laugh weakly, “Uh…I suppose so.”

“Well, I am very excited to work alongside such powerful heroes.”

The green dressed twin twitched nervously as the prince presented his hand to be shaken once more. Relaxing slightly, Luigi reached out to gently take it in his own. Only for a large bolt of electricity arched from one hand to the other. Causing both of them to let out painful cries and parting quickly.

Luigi’s wide eyes filled with fear focused on Peasley. Who seemed surprised as the sisters and a very frantic Toadsworth worried over the prince’s hand.

“...Well, what a shocking introduction that was,” Waluigi’s smirk was quickly wiped away when Wario elbowed him hard in the gut. The taller brother letting out a pained wheeze. 

_____________________________

“Luigi, please don’t suffocate yourself.” Mario sighed softly as he listened to his brother let out a long whine.

Said brother was stretched fully across one of the many cushioned couches placed in the library. Face smushed into the remaining pillow that had not been thrown off in his self pity state. “Just let me die here. I don’t want to go on.”

“So you embarrassed yourself in front of new royalties that we’re trying to impress to make a strong connection with so we can create a powerful army against Bowser and one that you’re clearly interested in as such that caused your powers to flare up and hurt them. Big deal. It could be worse.” Wario’s smile slipped when Mario and Luigi glared at him.

Waluigi, who was casually leaning on the nearest bookshelf, let out a heavy sigh before saying, “I think what my thick skulled brother’s trying to inform you is that you don’t have to be worried. Prince Peasley knows of your ability, so he shouldn't be too surprised. Besides, he seemed smitten by you.”

“Yeah, before my powers did me dirty.” Luigi groaned softly. Face going back to be buried in his pillow. 

“You didn’t really give him a chance to really say anything to you.”

“More like Toadsworth pulled the royals away before you could even look his way again.” Wario huffed. 

“I think I damaged whatever thin bridge of a connection had started to be built.” Came the muffled groan of Luigi.

Mario heavily sighed at that. Sliding off the arm of the couch to pull his brother to sit up. “Alright, enough of this. You’re just embarrassed, it happens, we’re going to move on from it. We have a job to do.”

Luigi’s brow furrowed, eyes lowering to the floor. “...Maybe I just avoided a huge mistake anyway.”

“Don’t think like that.” The red dressed hero immediately dropped his voice to a whisper. 

“You know it’s true.”

“It’s not.”

Wario and Waluigi side eyes each other. Exchanging worried looks knowing they were clearly missing something. Before Waluigi could silently tell his brother to keep his mouth shut, Wario blurted out,

“What are you two talking about?”

Luigi nervously looked over, clearly unsure of what to say. Only for another noise to pull their focus. A few furiously excited barks sounded down the hall before disappearing. 

“Was that Polterpup?” Waluigi asked.

The younger twin stood quickly, the self-defeating look replaced with one of concern. “Oh no, I haven’t worked with Polterpup on greeting guests! They were supposed to stay home. Oh, this isn’t good.”

Luigi was out of the library before anyone else could comment. 

Wario turned to Mario to ask, “Are you going to explain all of that?”

Giving a gentle shake of his head, Mario replied with, “You’ll have to ask Luigi.”

_____________________________

Cautious footsteps gently padded against the carpeted floor. Luigi slowly made his way down the long hallways. Trying to keep his cool while straining his ears to listen out for a familiar bark.

“Come on Polterpup, where are you?” he whispered fearfully, “I don’t think our guests will be appreciative of a ghost dog just running around.”

Luigi let out a small sigh, “If they weren’t thinking about pulling out before, I’m sure they will if they see you. What a nightmare this is becoming…”

There were a few eager yips coming from around the next corner. Luigi instantly recognized the sound as Polterpup’s playful back. Given a split second to hope that the spectral pup had found some of the Toad guards and not-

“You’re very friendly, aren’t you?”

Luigi halted just before turning the corner. His entire form tensing up hearing the new yet familiar voice of Peasley.

“Of course,” the human whined softly, “Of course he would find Polterpup. Why can’t I catch a break?”

He cautiously peeked around the corner. Finding Polterpup happily laying on their back, resting at the prince’s feet. Peasley smiling softly as he ran his hand over the exposed belly. Laughing at Polterpup’s excitement.

Luigi noted that said hand was wrapped in medical dressings.

Pulling back, Luigi let out a slow sigh. “Okay, he’s not panicking. That’s good…right? How do I approach this? What will he think if he knows Polterpup’s my pet? Wow, the human can’t use his abilities and has a ghost dog that’s barely trained. Ugh, I’ll have to face that reality eventually.”

“Maybe it will be better received with Peach around? If Polterpup’s brought to her, she could soften the blow of…everything. Maybe. Is it really that bad? I should-”

Luigi was broken from his musings when Polterpup phased through the floor. Jumping at the spectral pup barking happily upon finding their owner. Who immediately picked Polterpup up.

“Polterpup, what are you doing? I told you to stay home!”

“Don’t be too upset. They were just eager to make a new friend.” There was another twitch of surprise as Peasley stepped around the corner. Offering a warm smile to the panicked human.

“P-Prince Peasley, I-I was, um,” Luigi wrapped his arms tighter around Polterpup, “H-How are you feeling?”

“Just fine, nothing to worry about. I’ll be right as rain in no time.”

“Oh, well, t-that’s wonderful to hear. Do you need help getting to the Grand Hall? O-Or I’m sure Toadsworth is offering his castle tour. We c-could find them and-”

“Well,” Peasley looked sheepish suddenly, “I’m actually…trying to find the gardens.”

Luigi blinked, “Oh...I…could…take you there?”

“Would you? I would be absolutely grateful for your help.”

“S-Sure, no problem. Just…follow me.”

Polterpup wiggled out of Luigi’s hold. Happily taking the lead as the trio made their way through the wide halls. 

“So, Polterpup is your pet?” Peasley asked.

“Um, y-yeah. How’d you know?”

“I heard your comment about him needing to stay home.”

“Oh…”

“As well as your furious comments to yourself about allowing Princess Peach to inform me. A rather interesting plan.”

Whatever higher powered being was believed in here, please strike him down.

Luigi did his best not to stumble over his feet in embarrassment upon learning how much Peasley had heard. “U-Uh, so-sorry, I didn’t m-mean-”

“You’re fine. I understand your trepidation,” Peasley quickly appeased, “There’s a lot riding on this visit.”

“Suppose so… Oh, I-I need to thank you and your kingdom for your willingness to help.”

“No thanks are necessary. If it means helping you and your brother, as well as the Mushroom Kingdom, then we are more than happy to be here.”

There was a pause in the conversation as Luigi opened the double glass doors that lead to their destination. Peasley unable to hold back a gasp of excitement when he saw the gardens stretched before them. Clearly enamored by the numerous colors and flowers gently swaying in the gentle breeze.

“This is wonderful.” Peasley whispered, leaning over the stone banner as much as he could to take it all in. 

Luigi smiled softly. Heart and stomach doing interesting twists and flips as he cautiously stood next to the prince. 

“You, um, you like plants?”

“A bit more than ‘like’, to be honest. My entire kingdom is based around agriculture. We grow as many kinds of fruit and vegetation that you can think of. I, however, have further fascination with flowers.” 

“Really?”

“Mhm, I have my own garden filled with roses. I’ve been taking care of them since my father’s passing.”

“O-Oh, I’m so sorry, I-I didn’t-” Luigi felt like he almost swallowed his tongue when he stopped talking so quickly hearing Peasley let out a gentle laugh. 

“Please, don’t worry, you couldn’t have known. He’s…been gone for a while.”

“Still…I’m sorry for your loss.”

“...Thank you.”

Luigi smiled weakly, eventually clearing his throat and asking, “Would you like to take a closer look?”

“Mmm…no, I believe I should wait for the princess first before doing so. I’m fine up here…” 

He wasn’t sure if he was imagining things, but Luigi could have sworn there was more that Peasley wanted to say. But nothing else was. Instead, the quiet was comforting as they watched as Polterpup happily chased after a few birds among the foliage. 

“May I ask you something?” Peasley eventually asked, head tilted closer to Luigi with his eyes still trained on the gardens.

“Um…s-sure?”

“Well, I guess it’s more of a clarification?” 

Luigi couldn’t help but laugh softly at Peasley’s smile. “Sure, what can I clarify for you?”

“I guess…I feel so weird asking this. But can you tell me what happened? When the Boos attacked here.”

“Oh…sure.”

“I mean, only if you feel that you want to,” Peasley quickly attempted to backtrack, “I didn’t mean anything, I was just curious so-”

“No, you’re okay, I understand! I-I’ve been told this isn’t a really normal occurrence for this…place. Uh, it’s just, where do you want me to start? There’s a lot to go through.” 

“Any point, really, I don’t mind.” Peasley leaned on his hand, brown eyes now shining as their focus stayed on Luigi. 

So…Luigi talked. Starting with the first time that Mario met the Boos and what that meant. Both with the bite and gaining a mentor with Wario. How Wario and Luigi met, Waluigi’s grand entrance, and how the other pair of brother’s started watching over the twins.

First time they used their abilities.

When E. Gadd entered into their lives. 

How King Boo had captured Mario and turned the Mushroom Castle into a terrifying maze.

When Luigi used the Poltergust the first time. 

How Luigi learned that his ability was able to keep him safe. 

How King Boo called him out for a final showdown.

And finally how Luigi was able to trap King Boo.

“I just…use the Thunderhand to power up the Poltergust and the picture frame and…” Luigi rolled his hands around the other before giving a small shrug, “King Boo was sucked in and trapped in the picture frame. Still there…unless something happened to E. Gadd. I should probably call him. Uh, anyway, that’s pretty much what happened.”

He looked over to see if Peasley was still even awake at this point. Only to find the prince staring at him in absolute fascination. “Um, Prince Peasley?”

“Oh, sorry, I was just so enthralled,” Peasley laughed softly, “I had heard stories from others before arriving here. Honestly, it was nothing more than rumors. I- We’ve been fascinated with what you and your brother have been able to accomplish. With the latest being that of your triumph over King Boo. Hearing you talk about it, talk about everything, it’s so…inspiring.”

“Uh, really? I’m sure as a prince you’ve seen a few things.” Luigi replied weakly. 

Peasley’s smile turned to one of embarrassment. But he was unable to respond when another voice called out the prince’s name.

“Prince Peasley, there you are!”

Luigi tensed when Merri and Gigi came rushing out of the double doors. Toadsworth quickly followed behind with Peach casually bringing up the rear. 

“What are you doing out here? We were so worried when we couldn’t find you in the medical wing.” Merri and Gigi spoke at the same time. Each pulling the prince’s wrapped hand up gently. 

“I’m sorry, that wasn’t my intention,” Peasley attempted to calm them, “I was just-”

“Master Luigi, why would you bring our guest out in the open!” Toadsworth huffed as he stepped forward. Luigi’s already raised shoulders climbed further, ears turning a deep red. 

Peasley quickly responded with, “I was attempting to find the gardens when I left the medical wing. I asked for Luigi’s help when we came across each other in the hallway. Please don’t be upset with him.”

This caused Toadsworth to falter, a little flustered by the confession. Peach taking the chance to step into the conversation. 

“We were just concerned by your absence,” Peach said, “We’re happy to know Luigi was able to keep you company for the time.”

Luigi felt the heat move from his ears to his cheeks as Peasley offered a smile to the human, replying with, “As am I.”

The group flinched as Polterpup appeared once more. Peasley laughing as the new arrival gave a small whine as if upset they had not also received praise. 

“You were wonderful as well.”

“Now that the worries have been had, shall we get you all settled in properly?” Toadsworth gently gestured for the group to head back inside.

Peach remained back, mainly to wait for Peasley. Only to be quietly surprised as she watched said prince gently claim one of Luigi’s hands. Bowing his head to have the back of it to gently touch the prince’s forehead. 

“Thank you for staying with me. I look forward to hearing more stories and seeing your strength tomorrow.”

“I-uh- O-Of course.” Luigi replied weakly with a small smile.

Peasley released the human’s hand with a warm smile, turning to join Peach. Who was pointedly looking away as if not aware of the moment. 

However, as the doors closed behind the royalty, Peach narrowed her attention on the visiting prince. Peasley looked very pleased but flustered as well. As if not believing in his own forwardness. A content smile lay across his face. 

Quickly looking back, Peach found that Luigi had not moved. Staring at his hand in fascination. Unaware of Polterpup pawing at their human’s leg. 

It took everything for Peach to not let out a squeal of joy.

_____________________________

The next day began with the three brothers practically dragging Wario out of his bed. Who was complaining about having to, once again, wear another stupid, stuffy outfit.

“It’s about being presentable,” Waluigi argued back. 

“We’re going to be training!” Wario gruffly argued back.

“Not us! We’re going to be on the sidelines with Peach and the rest!”

“This is torture!”

“Get up you giant baby!”

It took about an hour for the four of them to arrive for breakfast. Toadsworth was not impressed by their tardiness. Their guests, however, seemed unbothered by it. Peasley actually pulled Luigi into a quiet conversation the moment the human sat down. Who was a little sheepish at first but opened up the further their conversation went on.

Waluigi, on his part, turned to the jellyfish sisters. “Don’t suppose you’d be up to telling us what this training day is going to start with?” 

“It’s the same training we were given,” Merri answered, “We mainly want to see what they’re currently capable of doing, as well to make sure they can easily call upon their abilities. We’re not going to go too crazy at this time.”

“Okay…but what exactly does that…mean?”

“It’s rather hard to explain it to a non-holder. The most we can suggest is to just watch.” Gigi replied with a soft giggle.

“Alright…”

After all had their fill, the large group that also consisted of BeanBean soldiers and Toad guards made their way to the outside training grounds. Peach, Toadswroth, and Peasley taking seats under a large umbrella type mushroom. Wario and Waluigi situated nearby with the older gently tugging at the button-up collar. Merri and Gigi lead the way to the center to the flattened ground with the twins following close behind. 

“Given how reportedly strong your powers are, we decided that outside training would be best to start,” said Merri, “We would like to begin this by stating that, while we are not trained fighters, we are gifted in using these abilities.”

Gigi continued with, “We are well versed in the knowledge of both abilities. Our current goal for you both is to have complete control of your abilities. So you may use them to their full potential. Whether that’s for everyday occurrences or for fighting.”

“These powers are meant to be an extension of you and should be treated as such.”

At this, Merri moved closer to Mario. Gently lifting the hero’s arm up. She gently had her right hand travel from the crook of Mairo’s elbow up to his wrist, increasing the pressure at that point. Mario couldn’t hold back the wince feeling the tight pressure. A deep burning felt in his chest, a familiar one.

The intense massage ended when Merri’s hand moved the pressure to Mario’s palm. Both flinched back, Merri more than Mario, when the very same hand erupted into flames. The largest stream of flames the majority of that crowd had even seen before. A few even let out ‘Oohs’ and ‘Awws’ at the sight. 

“Very, very impressive!” Merri gleefully stated, “I’ve not seen such power held in many before. Granted, I only know of three holders in recent years. But the point still stands that this is amazing!”

Mario remained quiet as Merri moved to his other hand. Listening with interest as she said, “I’m aware that you’ve used Fire Flowers before. While the Firebrand seems similar, it’s also very different. First obvious being it never runs out. As long as your fire burns, the Firebrand will remain with you.”

“If handled uncaringly, Firebrand can cause a lot of damage. Fire is wild if left unkempt, destroying whatever it can reach. You need to keep your focus. You’ll be able to change its directions, create shapes and forms.”

“Like fireballs?” Mario asked. 

Merri laughed softly and nodded, “Very much so, but even more than that. My focus for you is giving you allowance to control the fire in any form. Whether it’s still in your hands or cut away from you.” 

“You are another story,” Gigi said to Luigi, “Thunderhand is also about control. However, you have a vastly different concern. The energy you release acts like that of lightning. It bounces, arches, and dances in every way it can. Holding it close will do you no good. But releasing it will result in a burst of rampant energy that will destroy everything in its path.”

“O-Oh…o-okay, great.” Luigi’s voice shook. 

“In order to get past this, you have to learn how to use yourself as a conduit. While not every bolt will follow, you will have the maneuver needed in at least somewhat of a direction. Because…”

Just as Merri did, Gigi applied a generous amount of pressure to Luigi’s palm. If Mario’s fire was a show, Luigi’s energy was a spectacle. The area even seemed to darken as the burst illuminated the area. 

Gigi let out a cheerful cry of glee, hands clapping. “Oh, amazing! Absolutely amazing! Your strength seems to hold no limit. Truly a hidden gem.”

Luigi didn’t reply. Eyes still up at the sky where the bolt had hit its peak, swallowing weakly.

“Now, if we’re going to begin, we need to start fresh. Fully fresh,” Marri and Gigi met back up to stand directly in front of the twins, “You both need to remove your gloves.” 

That caused a good portion of the audience to tense.

“Wait, what?” Mario asked weakly.

“We need you to remove your gloves.”

“I-Is that really the smartest choice?” Luigi spoke next, “I-It’s kind of the reason we have…control over these powers.”

“Did you not defeat King Boo by removing your gloves?” Gigi commented.

“S-Sure, but I s-still had to worry of hurting someone or d-damaging something.”

“Understand, this is not to make you uncomfortable,” Merri quickly took over, “You need to get used to how the full extent of that power feels flowing through you. We’re just testing for now. The moment it becomes too much, the gloves can go back on.”

From the corner of his eye, Mario saw Wario waving his arms in the air to get his attention. The older brother, quietly, but with very wide and obvious movements, pointedly gave his ‘comment’. Gesturing to Luigi, then Mario, then grasping onto Waluigi’s hand. Who was very unhappy about being roped into Wario’s…whatever this was. 

Even with the slight confusion at the beginning, Mario eventually understood. Giving a sharp nod. 

If all else fails, Mario and Luigi could cancel each other’s powers out.

“Okay,” said Mario, “Let’s try it.”

“Just be mindful, this is just a test.” Merri attempted to comfort, “We’ll pull back the moment it becomes too much.”

The twin’s both nervously removed the gloves. Both letting out surprised gasps as their powers fully hit them. It had been awhile since they’d felt this. Mario tried to keep himself level as a few flames escaped from his mouth. Luigi unable to hold back his shaking as he felt the energy travel up and down his spine.

“Goodness…” Gigi gasped softly.

“This is much more than what we were expecting.” Merri agreed. 

“W-What-” Mario coughed softly at the smoke he tasted on his tongue, “What do we need to do now?”

“Close your eyes and slow your breathing. You need to find your core, your center, where your power is being stored.”

They did as instructed. Both falling into a contented and calm focus. It was honestly a little awkward at first. As they had no idea what they were supposed to be looking or feeling for. The back of their minds holding a small reminder that they probably looked like idiots just standing there. 

But they did eventually fall into a comfortable rhythm, slowly feeling something heavy resting between their chest and stomach. A steady pulse, not a heartbeat, but something that beats in tandem with it.

“Found it,” They responded at the same time, eyes still closed.

Wario and Waluigi mentally noticed they sounded as if they were in a trance.

“Describe it to us.” Gigi whispered her request.

“A beat…a pulse?” Luigi replied.

“It sounds like another heartbeat.” Mario stated.

“Excellent,” said Merri, “Now, Gig and I are going to step forward to help. Keep your breathing steady. Keep your focus.”

Neither flinched as Merri and Gigi moved their hands. Having them cup together just below their sternum. Keeping their own hands pressed underneath the brother’s.

“Alright, we’re going to help you on this next part,” said Gigi, “You’re going to slowly call upon your power until your hands hold a small portion of it.” 

“We’re going to help you draw it out. To keep in control and so you know what it feels like.” Merri concluded.

“Okay,” the twins calmly replied. 

It was the first time, for a while, that the twin’s neutral faces shifted. Flinching in slight pain before brows furrowed in concentration as their powers were slowly pulled out. Mario’s turning into the familiar form of a fireball. Except it was a vivid red instead of the well known orange. For Luigi, Waluigi mumbled out, “Plasma ball? Interesting.” The sphere of energy held small arches of electricity bouncing around it. If it was held instead of floating, it no doubt would have weighed a ton. 

The growth of both continued until the power formed to the size of a small ball. At that point, Merri and Gigi pulled away. Mario and Luigi finally opened their eyes. Just barely stopping themselves from falling onto their faces.

The orbs fluctuated slightly before calming once more.

“So, how are you two feeling?” Gigi asked. 

“A little strange…but okay.” Mario calmly replied. 

“It’s not as…intense as before,” Luigi added, “I think this is the most collected I’ve felt with this before.”

“That’s wonderful to hear! I will admit, your ability looks far different that what I expected,” This comment was directed towards Mario.

“Uh, yeah, I figured. It’s not like a Fire Flower.” Mario nervously chuckled, eyes on the fire he was holding.

“Well, I’m more comparing it to Bowser’s fire.”

“Wait, what?”

Merri, possibly unaware of the stressful situation, casually continued on with, “Oh, did no one tell you this? Perhaps it wasn’t known in this kingdom. The Firebrand ability comes from the Koopa lineage. Lord Bowser is the other being who holds this ability, and with strength equal to yours. Granted, he expels it through his mouth while yours is controlled by your hands. But, still, the similarities in strength is interesting.”

“I…what?”

Now Merri heard the trepidation in the hero’s voice. “Did…no one tell you of this?”

“No!” The three around Mario jumped back as the fireball erupted. Now engulfing both arms. 

As if responding in kind to Mario’s panic, Luigi’s own ability snapped. The orb of energy gave out a small pop before charging out. Merri and Gigi darting further away at the ground starting to crack and fracture, the energy breaking it apart. 

Wario and Waluigi quickly pulled Peach, Peasley, and Toadsworth back. The rest of the audience scrambled as the cracks crawled further out. 

It happened in a span of a few seconds. The dust settled to reveal the twins in a newly formed crater. Luigi having his arms wrapped around Mario in a death grip. Small bolt of energy arching around Luigi’s form. Smoke pouring out of Mario’s mouth. 

Taking a deep breath, Luigi quietly said, “M-Mario?”

Whatever stupor the red dressed hero was in broke hearing his name. Mario pulled away with a sharp jerk. Doing his best to squash the broken feeling stirring in his stomach at Luigi’s fearful look. Instead, he tugged his gloves back on as he stumbled out of the crater. 

Upon reaching the top, Mario lifted his head. Eyes scanning to find his quickest escape route. Feeling another part of his soul breaking upon seeing the Toads flinching away. 

His breathing became ragged. 

Unable to stop the smoke billowing out of his mouth.

He reached his lowest point when he saw Peach. Who was being held back by a worried looking Wario. The princess’ eyes wide and filled with…fear?

He couldn’t stay there any longer. 

Mario pulled his cap down and rushed out of the training area. Disappearing into the castle proper as Luigi finally climbed his way out. Watching until Mario was gone and then it was his turn to take in the fearful audience. Crossing his arms to hide his hands away, Luigi slowly backed away. Very aware of the eyes following him. Unable to look anywhere but ahead of him, in fear of seeing how everyone was looking at him. 

How Peasley was looking at him.

Was he impressed with the uncontrollable power now?

While he didn’t run, Luigi left as quickly as his shaky legs would carry him. Hiding himself away in the surrounding garden. 

“Go look after Mario, we got this handled,” Wario whispered to Peach. 

Peach gave a short nod and left. Head held high as she passed her citizens and followed Mario’s footsteps. 

Peasley stumbled slightly as he was nudged towards the gardens. Turning back with a raised brow to Waluigi in quiet confusion. 

“You’re not going to believe me now. But your words are going to hold better meaning than from any of us.” The tallest brother explained. 

“...Very well.” Peasley said calmly. Straightening himself out before rushing towards the gardens. 

“You two!” Wario called out. Pointing at Merri and Gigi. Who bristled at being addressed so harshly. “We four need to have a bit of a talk. Now.”

Merri sniffed, but nodded slowly. “Very well.”

“Someone…try and clean this up?” Waluigi weakly suggested. Gesturing to the damaged area as they moved away.

_____________________________

Bubbling lava always held a calming effect for him. Even if it was more often seen as a river of destruction, that’s what he liked about it. Something slow moving that people took little notice of. Until it started a fire, or burned down a forest, or cooked something alive. Then they started paying attention and began cursing for not doing so sooner. 

How they just assumed they were safe…

“Lord Bowser?” 

Fiery red eyes snapped open. Taking in the magma and lava covered land below momentarily before the hulking Koopa form turned away from the arched opening. Turning to find Kamek standing behind the King, holding his wand tightly in his hands. 

“Our spies have returned with a rather interesting report.” said Kamek, answering Bowser’s unsaid question. 

“Interesting, you say? Do tell.” Bowser said, turning his full attention to his right hand Koopa. 

“Representatives of the BeanBean Kingdom have arrived to the Mushroom Kingdom.”

“The self-exiled kingdom? They’ve finally broken their silence, something big must be happening if they’ve chosen now to poke their heads out of the ground.”

“Indeed something is,” Kamek continued with a smirk, “It appears those human heroes have acquired some…special abilities.”

Bowser frowned at that, “I’m aware of their connections to the Power-Ups.”

“Not Power-Up related. An ancient power. One that I have not seen before, only read about. Another that, well, hits rather close to home.”

“Enough of your riddles, warlock, explain.”

“The coward holds the Thunderhand. A rather destructive ability locked in such a weakling.”

“And what of Mario.” Bowser growled.

“Firebrand, my Lord.”

There was a pause.

Then Bowser began to laugh. One that built up until it began to echo loudly in the grand hall.

“Well, what a wonderful surprise! I suppose it would be ill will of me if I didn’t offer my own help. Why don’t we pay the Mushroom Kingdom a long, overdue visit? It would do us all some good, I believe.” 

[s-creations]

⚡Luigi being scared of thunder storms, and then Wario and Waluigi finding out when one day their on an adventure or something and then there is a storm and Luigi is being comforted by Mario. Or however you wanna do it. Thank you

((Hopes this satifies!))

⚡ Scared of thunderstorms (Link to Post)

It had started out with a deep rumble. Wario’s ear had twitched in recognition, but paid it no further mind. He knew there had been a warning of a storm arriving to the Kingdom. It was entering the time of the year afterall, something that the citizens were used to at this point. The storms were never really that bad, sounding far terrible than they actually were. 

So he didn’t really see a reason to inform the twins of the new situation. 

That thought quickly changed when the storm was right overhead. When the sky suddenly alighted with a huge bolt of lightning that was quickly followed by a heavy rumble of thunder. The calming conversation ended quickly when Luigi practically tumbled out of the kitchen chair. Blue eyes wide as they stared up at the ceiling. 

Wario’s ears twitched once more when he heard Mario let out a frantic ‘Shit!’ as he rushed over to his brother. Attempting to reach out to grip onto Luigi’s hand. Only to flinch back when a bolt of green energy arched off of his brother. 

“Hey, hey Luigi? I need you to take a few, deep breaths for me, okay? …Lu?” 

The only response was another clap of thunder, Luigi finally moving. Letting out what could only be described as a choked gasp as he pulled his hat quickly over his eyes. Hands also going up to press over his ears. Visibly shaking. 

Mario, dutifully ignoring the small arches of energy appearing along his brother’s form, wrapped his arms tightly around Luigi. Clearly trying to reach out to his frantic brother with soft words, but wasn’t getting through. Luigi only seemed to hear and focus on the sounds of the raging storm. 

“What…is happening?” Waluigi cautiously asked. 

“Luigi doesn’t like storms,” Mario replied back nervously, “He just-”

“We’ll ask for further information later. What do we need to do.”

“I normally get Luigi somewhere that I can block the noise out before the storm arrives. But I didn’t know it was going to storm. Now I can’t move him or else he freaks out further.”

“So he’ll just stand there until the storms over?”

“M-More or less… Lu, come on, you need to talk to me, please…” 

Wario stood and quickly walked into the living room. Already having a plan in mind as he gathered up the blankets and pillows that he could see. Even going up to the brother’s room to basically tear the twin’s beds apart to gather things quickly. 

Mario confused as he watched Wario descend the stairs. Basically hidden by the materials he’d just collected. “What are you doing?”

“Helping, just stay there. Waluigi, get your butt out here.” 

“You could say please.” Was the taller brother’s response, already heading out to the living room.

Left alone in the kitchen, Mario did his best to bring his brother back to him. Making enough progress that Luigi loosened his grip on his hat. But still trying to make himself as small as possible. Just as Mario felt his throat become sore with how much he’d been talking, Wario walked back in. 

Not waiting for Mario to get his question out as to what the plan was as Wario easily scooped Luigi off the ground. Dutifully ignoring the shocks being given to him as he walked back to the living room. Mario close behind. 

The older twin surprised to find a large blanket fort had been constructed in the center of the living room. Only the backs of the furniture being spotted as they were being used to keep everything up. Without stopping, Wario lowered himself down, Luigi still held close, easily entered into the covered area. Mario scrambled in afterwards, having paused to take the large structure in. 

The television was on, some random program playing that just offered gentle music that filled in the rather definingly quiet area. Waluigi was laying on his back, hat off and placed to the side, looking over as the other three entered.

Mario was impressed with how quiet it was. Even with the television on. He let out a startled noise as he was lifted up by Wario, how’d place the other twin down already, and moved Mario to lay down. Mario comfortably squeezed between his brother and Wario with Waluigi on the other side of Luigi. All were laying on their backs. The storm no longer heard as it was both muffled from the layers of blankets handing over them and the soft music coming from the television. 

Mario felt Luigi slowly start to relax. No doubt exhausting himself out, but also realizing that he couldn’t hear the sound that had caused him to panic. Reaching over, Mario slowly moved his brother so he could rest properly against the older twin. Neither Wario or Waluigi found the need to ask for more information about Luigi’s panic. Allowing twins the time to relax. 

The storm raging outside was ignored by them all.

[s-creations]

Excavation - Chapter 1

Now that everything's calmed down slightly, Daisy explains why she's there. Mainly looking for the heroes' help in solving a problem that's coming from deep in one of her Kingdom's temples.

The group divides into two parts: One to solve the temple issue while the other tries to convince the Desert King to join forces against Bowser.

To everyone's surprise, it doesn't quite go according to plan.

Fandom: Super Mario & Releated Fandoms Rating: Teen and UP Audiences Relationship: Mario & Luigi & Wario & Waluigi Additional Tags: Pretty Much Everyone's Here, Named OCs - Freeform, world building, lore building, sometimes in the most painful way, Treasure Hunting, another mural to worry about, Mentions of Blood, we have a lot of people opening up in this one, cursing, heavy cursing, like I haven't used this heavy of cursing for this story for quite a while.

Taking a slow, deep breath, Daisy gave a nod to encourage herself and started. 

“One of our oldest temples has started to crumble. We’re unsure as to why, but there are some warning signs pointing to something powerful currently trapped inside. And that it’s trying to get out. Quickly. Causing quakes to happen more often. While we’re worried, we also don’t have anyone who can go in to figure out what’s going on. No one’s ever been trained to ever traverse such dangerous areas, and there’s a fearful thought that we don’t have time to train them before something goes wrong.”

“My father refuses to try and reach out for help, from any kingdom. But I know that my home is in danger yet I’ve been held back from trying to figure things out. That’s why I’m here. My kingdom, my home, needs your help. If whatever is trapped inside is released, I’m terrified of what could happen.”

The room was quiet after this. Peach sharing a worried look with Mario. Who gave a short nod back with a smile that caused the princess to relax. 

“Of course we will help.” Peach offered, beaming as Daisy’s shoulders dropped in her own relief. “We’ll pack up and leave as soon as we can.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Wario waves his hands. Leaning on the table to stare the princess in yellow down. “If you’re not training anyone, then what has your father been doing? And how dangerous are we talking about?”

Daisy frowned softly at the question, “In order to figure out what’s really going on, he would need to send some citizens in to start digging down to where we think this problem is located. So we don’t really know how dangerous it is. As far as your first question…basically nothing? I mean, planning on figuring out ways to get in there. But, basically nothing.”

Slowly nodding, Wario eventually slammed his hand down onto the table. “I’ll go get my stuff.”

“What?” The room collectively called out. The eldest brother let out a small groan before continuing. “Need I remind you all that I have gone treasure hunting before.”

“Yeah, a century ago.” Waluigi added. 

Wario glared his eyes at his younger brother before continuing. “Bottom line is that I have the skills and the knowledge to get the job done!”

“I mean…I did just come here for the heroes.” said Daisy, waving a hand over to where the twins sat. 

Only for Luigi to whisper out, “I don’t want to go back underground again.”

He shrank back slightly as all eyes turned to him. 

“So, Wario and I will go,” Mario quickly answered. “With his skills and my…fire ability, we’ll be fine. Figure out the issue and either report back or solve it ourselves.”

Letting out a huff, Waluigi leaned on his hand in clear boredom. “Why do I feel like this is the blind leading the blind kind of situation.”

Peach clapped her hand as she stood up from her chair. “We’ll make the best out of this situation, shall we? While Wario and Mario handle the temple, Waluigi and Luigi will help me with rebuilding the relation between the two kingdoms. Simple solution.”

Daisy bit her bottom lip, “I don’t know if a crowd arriving at the castle would be the best idea… I just came for these two.”

“If you want the heroes, you’re dealing with all of us.” Wario argued back. To which the princess in yellow just pouted as a reply. 

“Happy that’s decided,” said Peach, “I would advise that we separate for now and prepare as we need to. We’ll leave tomorrow as early as possible.”

“Noon?”

There was a slightly silent scuffle as Wario was piled onto by the remaining three brothers in an attempt to keep him quiet. 

Peach pointedly ignored this and continued with, “6am it is! The castle will be open for anyone if they want to sleep here tonight. To save on travel time. Make it as easy as possible.” 

“Thank you, princess,” Mario replied with a smile. Which slipped away when he toppled over as Wario finally broke free. 

Being the only ones who needed to leave, the brothers shuffled out of the castle and their designated homesteads. Wario and Waluigi were practically ready in no time. The younger more than used to packing part of his life away quickly. Suitcase in hand as he watched, brows raised in disbelief, as Wario just shoved whatever he could reach into a stained duffle bag. Slinging it over his shoulder once it was jammed full and giving a confidence filled wink to his brother. Who merely rolled his eyes. 

“Really, you’re going like that?”

Wario snorted and shook his head, “Of course not! I have to get my tools also.”

“Oh, right.” Waluigi shifted back to allow Wario out of his room before following, “You sure you’re going to be okay? I wasn't joking when I said you haven’t done this in a while.”

“Eh, it’s like riding a green pipe! You never really forget how it goes.”

“One, that saying is for a bicycle. Two, being swooped from one end to the other is not even close to treasure hunting. Let alone treasure hunting abandoned temples!” 

Placing his bag down, Wario gave a pointed look to his brother. “You’re being overly weird… Feeling nervous? Or sick?” 

“Well, forgive me for realizing how bad of an idea this all was.”

“Look, this is just a part of what we do now. I guess. Daisy said no one was skilled in this sort of thing. Well, I have the knowledge and tools, while Mario is the hero.”

Waluigi gave a weak thumbs up. “What great points you make.”

“The point I’m trying to get to is that this will all be okay. Unless it literally crumbles while we’re inside it or we possibly run into someone else… But we’ll be fine! Besides, you will have the hard part. Having to please daddy and mommy dearest.”

“Meh, it’s just using colorful words to sway people. Not really the main issue of this whole story.”

“We’re just playing to our strengths. Try and keep calm, it’ll all work out.”

“Sure…calm.” Waluigi gave a small smile when Wario offered a cry of triumph as he pulled out a dusty and very old looking satchel bag. One that had clearly not seen the light of day for a long time. 

Calm was not what they walked into when arriving at the twin’s household. The first floor was left unscathed, but the upper floor looked as if a bomb went off. Mainly, a clothing bomb. Outfits and articles scattered everywhere, pouring out from the open doorways leading to the bedrooms. Wario and Waluigi took tentative steps moving forward as if waiting for something else to go flying out. Only to find the twins sitting on the floor at the end of Luigi’s bed. Both leaned against each other as they stared at the wall. Clearly showing some kind of defeat. 

Polterpup, who had been resting at Luigi’s feet, perked up as the other brother’s walked in. Letting out a happy bark as they trotted over to the other two.

“Alright then,” Waluigi muttered, “this is interesting. What exactly did we walk into?”

“We don’t know how to pack.” Mario replied back.

“...What do you mean?”

“We’ve never packed before,” Luigi answered weakly, “We’ve never had a reason to.”

“Never moved. Never went on a vacation. What do we bring? What are essentials?” Mario finished.

Letting out a low groan, Waluigi practically slammed his belongings into Wario. Who doubled over for a moment while the tallest of the brothers said, “Okay. Wario, you wait downstairs. I have my work cut out for me, apparently.”

“I could help.” Wario frowned.

“Absolutely not. Stay downstairs. Keep Polterpup entertained. You two, get up, we need to start packing. I would like to get back to the castle before nightfall.” 

_____________________________

The next day started early with a quick and sleepy breakfast while the carriages were packed up during that time. Mario bore the brunt of holding up the rest of the brothers as they slept, waiting on the sidelines for when they could finally board. Polterpup, seeming to burst with so much energy, was rushing around. Either weaving in between the empty spaces or just phased through everything. Trying to take it all in.

Eventually, after rolling Wario into their marked transport (literally), three carriages moved out from the Mushroom Kingdom before the sun even began to rise. 

It was as they passed the kingdom’s border, the sky painted a pastel pink that Mario felt Luigi shift slightly. The older twin assumed the other was starting to wake up again. He didn’t say anything as he just focused on the scenes passing the large window. Doing his best to ignore Wario and Waluigi snoring softly as they slept. 

Luigi, on his part, gave a small groan as he began to wake. Sitting up to slowly work out his sore muscles while letting out a wide yawn. Resting across his lap was Polterpup. Who had apparently worn themselves out from that excited early morning. Undisturbed as their owner stretched. Eventually, Luigi slumped against the seat and looked over to Mario. 

“‘Ello…” Luigi gumbled softly. 

“Hey,” Mario reached over to ruffle Luigi’s hair, “extra sleep help?”

“Little sore, but yeah.” There was a nervous twitch when Waluigi gave a heavy snore. “Geez, have you been listening to that this whole time?”

“Afraid so, and now you get to join me.”

“Joy.” The unwanted noise was quickly forgotten as Luigi’s attention went to the window. Mario more than happy to let the other leaned over him to get a better look, while Polterpup let out a huff. Who was now annoyed with the constant movement. Floating over to Waluigi to rest on his lap instead while the twins took in the sights. 

The large rolling meadows of the Mushroom Kingdom were replaced with mountains and heavy forests. Creatures not seen by either of the brothers scuttled along the trees or flew above the foliage. The vibrant colors of their homes were replaced with warmer ones. Arrays of reds, oranges, and yellows out weighing the brown and tan, making the twins think of autumn. 

“We should move here.” Luigi teased. 

Mario laughed softly, shuffling to lean against his brother, “Think they celebrate Halloween here?”

“Oh goodness, I hope not. They have actual ghosts here. Could you imagine what else we would have to face down that would relate to Halloween monsters?”

“Funny how you mention ghosts but not the giant, fire-breathing turtle.”

“Well, then, don’t remind me.”

They shared a chuckle at that.

“How about we just talk Peach into a vacation here? A chance to explore more.” Mario continued.

“Maybe? I’m sure she wouldn’t be against it. But I would love to make sure we went somewhere we wouldn’t face some kind of danger.”

“With how this place is built? Good luck.”

“Aww…”

“If you had to pick, where would you want to go? Beach or mountains?”

“Hotel.”

“That wasn’t even an option!”

“I’m selecting a luxury hotel and you can’t convince me otherwise.” Luigi held back a screech as he pulled away from Mario, trying to avoid the fingers digging into his side.

There was a brief but silent scuffle as Luigi tried to keep Mario at bay. Both pausing when Waluigi let out a large snort before shifting to lay across Wario. The twin letting out small snorts at the action, deciding to settled down to allow the other brother’s to sleep peacefully. Both content to just watch the strange world go by.

The autumn themed forest eventually gave way to dry, grassy plains, the rolling hills of golden sand. The carriages only able to traverse by remaining on the pathways of what appeared to be tightly compressed sand. The twins needing to lower the brims of their caps to the sun wouldn’t blind them as they tried to take in all they could see. 

Which wasn’t much, as it was just a lot of sand. But having never seen a desert on Earth, this was still a new experience. 

Waluigi began to wake at this point. Cracking his neck as he sat up, pushing away from Wario while holding Polterpup closer, quickly turning his attention to the twins. Letting out a snort seeing their squinting faces. “Enjoying yourselves?”

“Don’t mock,” Mario said, “We’re just curious.”

“So, sightseeing trumps keeping your eyes from cooking inside your skull?”

“Okay wise guy, what genius idea do you have in mind?”

Reaching forward, Wario pulled the tinted shade down over the window. Snorting when the twins looked at said item in shock.

“Oh,” Luigi said, “...To be fair, we didn’t know about that.”

“Sure, we’ll go with that.”

Mario turned to sit back down properly, focused on Waluigi as the younger twin brought down the shade for the other window. “Do you think we’re close?”

“Don’t know, it’s all just sand. No landmarks. It’s all the same to me.” Waluigi casually commented back while running a hand along Polterpup’s back.

“Haven’t you been to this kingdom before?”

“Pfft, no, what gave you that idea? New Donk was the first time out of the Mushroom Kingdom for me. All I know about this place is that it’s stupid hot. So, I hope you like the heat.”

Luigi gave a small groan in defeat, but nothing more was said.

“So, you haven’t even met the king and queen from this place?” Mario continued. 

With a small hum, Waluigi settled back into his seat a little more. “I mean, King Olivine visited the Mushroom Kingdom from time to time. Guess you could say I’ve seen him. But I’ve never met the queen. And even with Olivine, it’s always been from a distance…”

“You dated Daisy, but never visited or met her parents?” Luigi frowned.

“Do you really think any of those royal bloods would be happy to hear that their only heir to the throne was dating a commoner? Even more so, dating a well known criminal?” Waluigi grumbled, “We kept our relationship as best of a secret we could. Letters were easy to hide and cheaper than trying to find passage to and from here.”

“Has anyone in this carriage been to the Desert Kingdom before?” Mario asked. 

“Think that through again and look at the two of us. What do you think?”

“...Good point.”

“We’re all getting a first look at this kingdom. This’ll be interesting.”

The carriage jostled slightly as the pavement beneath suddenly changed. Tightly packed sand changed to rather bumpy cobblestone, Polterpup slightly annoyed to be woken up again. Those who were awake leaned over to see all they could out of the window. Just catching a glimpse of wide doors before stepping onto the large castle’s entrance grounds. A large pool of water greeted them first. One that stretched back towards the towering structure of the castle itself. Occupants inside the carriage noticed small pathways of water breaking away from the larger source. All flowing past the castle and into a tightly packed town that laid past the royal structure. 

The carriages continued their way in approaching the castle. Only stopping when they were right in front of the grand steps leading up. 

“...Anyone notice how quiet it is?” Waluigi mumbled out. 

“I was about to say the same thing.” Mario replied.

Turning away from the window, Luigi looked at the other two, “Where are the guards?”

As if waiting for that cue, there was a sudden flood of cactus-like beings dressed in silver armor and carrying spears rushing towards the carriages. All becoming surrounded very quickly as said weapons were brandished towards them. Mario instantly pulled Luigi away from the window, the younger twin letting out a small yelp from the sudden change. Polterpup’s hackles raising as they let out a low growl, moving to the floor and focusing on the carriage door.

“This is really not the welcoming I was expecting,” said Waluigi with a frown, “I mean, I wasn’t waiting for a warm reception but- Would you wake up!”

As Waluigi shoved his brother off, Wario hit the wall of the carriage. Waking with a harsh snort and grunt. Looking around frantically as he searched for his ‘attacker’. “What happened?”

“We’re here.” Waluigi replied back.

“You couldn’t have woken me up normally!”

The argument was cut off when the carriage door was forcefully opened. With numerous calls of ‘Get out!’ pointed at the brothers. Mario took the lead while having a hold of Luigi’s arm and keeping the younger twin behind him. Polterpup barked as they floated between the four brothers, doing their best to keep the guards away. The twins on edge as they were led towards the castle’s front steps. Wario and Waluigi follow at a more easy pace. Keeping an eye on everything, just in case, but trying not to get too worked up over it.

When they found Peach and Toadsworth being led further on, Luigi had to grab onto Mario’s arm to keep the other from rushing forward. Daisy soon joined them, not held at spear point, but still caged in from every side. Arms crossed with a look of clear disgust on her face. 

“Daisy! Oh, my dear Daisy.”

Attention was pulled to the grand golden steps. Where a slim woman, seeming to sparkle and shine in the sunlight, quickly descended. Long golden hair seemed to merge with her flowing veil when both billowed from behind her. Even her tan skin appeared to merge into her dusty golden gown. Her clear green eyes stood out further from her complexion, which were directed at Daisy. She waved her hands as a silent command for the guards to step away. Allowing her to pull Daisy into a tight hug.

“Mom,” Daisy let out a low groan, “stop. You’re embarrassing me.”

“Well, pardon me for being concerned about my daughter who just left us in the middle of the night! What were you thinking? You don’t even leave us a message?”

“I was on a rescue mission! Look! Look who I brought back.” Daisy pulled away to stand next to Peach. Who looked a little nervous when the desert Queen turned her focus. 

“Oh…is that Peach?” the queen breathed out, eyes wide.

Peach offered a low bow as she quietly said, “Hello, Queen Monazite. It’s been…many years.”

Toadsworth offered a small bow of his own, “Madam, it’s good to see you again.”

Letting out a small coo, Monazite lifted Peach to stand back up. “Look at you. You’ve grown into a wonderful young woman. What a horrible greeting this is! Put those weapons away, we have guests. Goodness, we know better than to act in such a way.”

All were able to relax as the spears were lowered. Monazite gave the guards a hardened glare before her face softened to greet her guests. “Even with how sudden this visit is, we happily welcome all of you. And I believe I see some new faces among the crowd.” 

The four brothers stood a little taller as the queen approached them, Polterpup hunkering down in front. Just in case. Guards parted the way quickly as their queen walked forward while Monazite offered each a warm smile.

“I welcome you all to the Desert Kingdom, and to the Sarasaland castle. Despite the rather rough opening, we are happy to have you here.”

“Mom,” Daisy stepped in, “This is Wario and Waluigi, old childhood friends.”

“I do believe those names are familiar. Your father may have had a few stories about two young rebels that interrupted some meetings. All in good fun, I would hope,” Monazite gave a small laugh, “Wonderful to finally put a face to the names. And what of-”

The smile that held strong slipped away as her attention turned to the twins. Appearing to be in stunned silence before whispering out, “Humans.”

“These are the heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom, and the main reason why I just…left. I figured they could help us! You know, with the recent issue we’ve been having?”

The surprise fell away as Monazite fixed her daughter with a pointed frown. “Daisy-”

“That temple is causing too much trouble and you know it! Dad’s being an ass for not asking for help and we can’t just keep sending random people in! So, I decided to go get the help we need. I brought the heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom here to help us.” Daisy beamed as she placed her hands on her hips. 

Monazite, however, did not seem to share this optimistic.

The queen turned to the small group once more, her smile a bit wary now. “While I’m happy to have you here and that you would willingly arrive with the intention to help… Our king will have the final say in this. Which will be hard to do at this moment.”

“Because he’s a stubborn ass.” Daisy mumbled. 

“Don’t say such things, Daisy.” 

“But-” The retort fell silent when Monazite held up her hand. 

“They will not be allowed entrance unless the king grants it. Your father has the final say.”

“We’ll talk to him,” Peach said, “I’m sure if we state our caste, we’ll be able to convince him.”

“...Very well, if you believe this. Please follow me.”

The guards followed close as Monazite led the way into the large castle. Unlike the solid walls with tall windows as found in the Mushroom Castle, this building was as open as they could be. No glass covering the wide arches to allow a breeze through, the windows decorated to distinguish against the doorways. Even with the openness, the interior was in shadows that paired well with the comforting breeze. 

Monazite waved her hand to one of the large rooms, one that held numerous maps and papers. Both hanging on the walls and littering the long, narrow table that stretched from one end of the room to the other. Opposite from where the group entered was Kind Olivine, surrounded by bi-pedal mouse creatures wearing robes of yellow and red. Small spectacles resting on their pointed noises as they peered over as many pieces of parchment they could grab onto.

Olivine’s gruff and very stressed demeanor that had been focused on the table melted away when he saw Daisy. Gently pushing past the group of scholars to pull his daughter closer. “Daisy! My darling flower, where did you go? What were you thinking disappearing on us like this? Are you hurt?”

“Dad, I’m fine.” Daisy’s voice was muffled by the king’s golden robes.

“I’m so happy to hear this… I suppose you’ll also be fine with being confined to your room for at least a week for this action.”

That got Daisy to push away, looking absolutely indignant with what had just been said, “You can’t be serious!”

“I should be saying that to you. Do you even know the panic you put us into? I had my top men shift focus from the ruins to trying to figure out where you could have gone.”

Daisy looked a little uneasy at that. “You haven’t sent anyone else in, have you?”

“No…but the situation has grown worse. I’m fearful of the weakened structure our excavating has done.”

At that, Peach stepped forward. Doing her best of royal control. “How much worse?”

Olivine faltered once more, a soft whisper of ‘Dahlia’ escaping him. Only to quickly push past that with a stern face and a sharp, “Princess Peach, I was not aware you were…”

“Clearly. Daisy arrived at my kingdom saying that you needed help. To which I’ve arrived with, um, our heroes.” She gestured a hand over to where Mario and Luigi stood.

Sharp eyes turned to the two humans, both faltering slightly under the cold gaze. The desert king seeming to fully take everything in. Instead of being impressed by the heroes or relieved that some kind of help had arrived, Olivine appeared furious. 

“While the offer is appreciated, it won’t be needed. Thank you for bringing my daughter home. I will request that you return to your home at this time.”

“What- Dad!” Pulling away from her mother’s hold, Daisy blocked Olivine’s path as he made his way back to the group of advisors. Narrowing her eyes as she started him down. “If the situation is becoming worse, then this already stupid plan is now painfully classified as a suicide mission. It was bad enough before! But now I really have to question if you really care about our people.”

Olivine puffed out his chest, clearly angry. “Daisy, I will not be talk to as-”

“Too bad! You pulled me out of Peach’s life before with a stupid reason of having me focus on our kingdom. The very one that you’re clearly tossing aside! For what reason? Pride? I think with how the world is going, it would be best to forget about all of that. Can you please start being a decent king for our people? Can you do that?”

Taking a deep breath, Olivine lowered his raised shoulders before addressing his father once more. “I…understand where your concerns arise from. However, with the target on the Mushroom Kingdom-”

Daisy let out a noise of disgust, rolling her eyes. “I’m calling on my status to allow the heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom to help us. They have my full permission to do what they need and go where they need to keep our kingdom safe.”

“Very well, if you’re so sure. I’ll allow you this overruling.”

“Oh trust me, I don’t need your ‘allowance’.”

With that, Daisy turned and made for the door. Making sure to grab Mario and Luigi’s wrists to pull them along. Peach, Wario, and Waluigi quickly followed after. Leaving Toadsworth in the room with a clearly angry Olivine and silently amused Monazite. The elder Toad tapped his cane to pull attention. 

“I’m unsure where your head is at the moment, your highness. But I would advise you remove it from where it’s lodged.” With that, Toadsworth turned to Monazite. “I don’t suppose you could find accommodations for us?”

“Of course, follow me.”

Olivine was left to feel gobsmacked, the room filled with nervous tension. The advisors flinching slightly as their king turned sharply to face them. Not a word shared as they shuffled the paperwork once more.

A few hallways away, the twins were still being dragged along by a clearly furious princess. Daisy seemed to not have a plan on where to go. Just stomping around, hissing and mumbling with heated words that the brothers couldn’t really make out. 

“Daisy, y-you’re going to pull o-our arms out.” Luigi whispered frantically as they stalked the hallways. Only to wince when Daisy practically threw their arms down. Both rubbing their shoulders once free.

“I can’t believe him!” Daisy let out a noise of rage as she began to pace. “What a stupid, stupid man-”

“You can’t worry about…all of that right now. You’re calling the shots at the moment, and it seems like we’re on borrowed time. We need to get to that temple. Now.” Mario said in a hopefully calm demeanor. 

It did calm Daisy down enough to stop pacing. Looking past the twins as the rest of the party joined them. Luigi let out a sigh of relief as Polterpup pressed against his sore shoulder. The chill giving comfort as the heavy conversation began again.

“I can’t believe you pulled something like that.” Peach hissed, looking more than a little worried.

Daisy waved her hand, “It’s been a long time coming, to be honest.”

“Well, it’s not going to make the conversation about re-establishing our kingdoms again easier.”

“You know it was never going to be easy.”

“You didn’t exactly help.” Waluigi mumbled out. 

“Pardon me for putting my foot down,” Daisy crossed her arms. “I hope you know we wouldn’t be able to have this conversation if I hadn't done anything!”

“Joy. Now this already stressful situation is 10 times worse.”

“Listen here you-”

“Okay,” Wario quickly stepped in. Actually holding onto Daisy’s arm to keep her from hitting Waluigi. “Let’s try and keep a cool head. We need a plan on how to handle each part.”

“Do you have the tools we need for this?” Mario’s question points to Wario.

“Yep.”

Luigi held out a bag with a few golden bones to his brother. “Just in case you get separated from Polterpup.”

“You sure?”

“You’ll need someone good with searching, and with going through walls.”

“That is a good bonus.” Waluigi added. 

“Then we’re about as prepared as we can be without actually being there,” Wario nodded, “What about the rest of you?”

“Queen Monazite may be our best first goal.” Peach stated with Luigi nodding.

Waluigi, however, looked unsure. “She’s not very vocal.”

“Mom’s not a fighter,” Daisy weakly agreed. “But if we can get her on our side, we might have a better time convincing dad.”

“Let me try and talk with her. Maybe I’ll be able to find some even ground.” Luigi offered.

“Do you think a queen will open up to a new commoner?” Waluigi frowned.

“Would you like to talk with her?”

“...Not really. But I’ll be nearby for emotional support.”

Peach nodded with a smile, “Same.”

“Couldn’t ask for more.” Luigi beamed. 

“And while you’re dealing with that,” Daisy faced Mario and Wario with a wide smile, “I’ll be with you two.”

“You’re not going to-” Mario’s worry was paused when Daisy shook her head.

“I’ll be waiting for you two outside. But I need to be there to grant you authority to enter these areas. Plue, it’ll also be nice to have someone to greet you once you get out.”

Wario slowly nodded, “That…sounds reasonable. I like that idea. I’m expecting some good food when we get this problem fixed.”

“You got it.”

Mario shook his head with a small laugh. Twitching slightly when Polterpup jumped onto his shoulder, a small chill fell over him. He looked over as Luigi drew closer. 

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Luigi whispered softly.

“Of course,” Mario pulled his brother close with a smile. “We’ll be back by nightfall, no doubt. You just focus on what you can while you’re here, yeah?”

“Yeah…” Luigi pulled Mario into a tight hug, who returned it. Both taking a few seconds to relax into the embrace before pulling away, their names being called. 

Mario gave a small nod with a smile, turning to join Wario and Daisy. Polterpup happily resting on his shoulder. The younger twin remained rooted to the spot as he watched the other three disappear around the corner. Only turning away when Waluigi placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“They’ll be okay.” The taller brother said easily.

“...I hope so.” Luigi replied back. 

[s-creations]

Yellow, Purple, Red, Green Season Layout

SO!!

I've gotten back into writing and, more importantly, planning out future seasons for the YPRG seasons. I will note that I won't be posting again until late June (sorry, job's been stressful/busy). But I figured I could be mean- NICE and show you what I've planned out so far.

Please note that if something has a WT next to it, it means 'Working Title' for that story.

Remainder of Season 2 (Current Season): 1. Snapshots Chapter 2 2. The Cactus Flower of Sarasaland 3. Explorers to Bandits (WT)

Season 3: 1. Build the Bonds (WT) 2. Snapshots Chapter 3 3. Hold My Hand (WT) 4. Mama Luigi 5. Snapshots Chapter 4 6. Extraction 7. Stepping Up (WT)

Season 4 (Rough Layout): 1. The Shadow Falls 2. Hues Chapter 5 - Aftermath 3. Snapshots Chapter 5 4. *TBD* 5. Snapshots Chapter 6 6. Dud-King (WT) 7. Hues Chapter 6 - The March of the Koopa (WT)

Season 5 (Rough Layout): 1. Hues Chapter 7 - Check In 2. The King's Reprise 3. Snapshot Chapter 7 4. Language Barrier 5. Green Dwarf (WT) 6. Ebb & Flow 7. Eclipse (WT)

AND I'M NOT EVEN HALF WAY DONE WITH THIS SERIES.

I'm very tired but very excited. I hope you all are as well.

[s-creations]

Fire & Thunder - Chapter 3

The BeanBean Kingdom, one that has been in self-exile for centuries, has finally broken their silence. Arriving to the Mushroom Kingdom with the plan to help their heroes learn how to use their powers.

Training, unfortunately, was just one hurtle to jump over.

Fandom: Super Mario & Releated Fandoms, Super Mario RPG Rating: Teen and UP Audiences Relationship: Luigi/Prince Peasley, Mario/Princess Peach, Mario & Luigi & Wario & Waluigi Additional Tags: Needed Training, The Main Villain Makes An Appearance, Growing Relationships, Character Lore?, In My Stories?, It’s More Likely Than You Think.

“Well, at least we didn’t need to go too far.” Wario commented with a weak laugh.

Mario’s eyes had shifted down at the abandoned Toad Town. Shivering weakly seeing a few Boos appeared on occasion, floating around. He quickly turned away to face the newly constructed fortress that just barely touched the edge of the Mushroom Kingdom’s border. 

Clearly a taunt.

Even from a distance, they could see the place crawling with soldiers. 

“Do we remember the plan?” Mario asked. The other three silently nodded. “Alright…try and get out as quickly as possible.”

At that, they separated. Mario went straight to the front of the castle. While the other three gave a wide berth in order to find another, more quiet, way in. Wario watched Mario’s progress with worried eyes.

Said hero proudly walked towards the castle entrance. Seeming uncaring as spears were pointed at him. Allowed an easy pass by and walked into the large structure without a fight. No doubt Bowser warned his minions to not even think about touching the hero.

“Mario’s in,” Waluigi mumbled weakly, “Now it’s our turn.”

Their entrance appeared in the form of a window. Or an open section of the quickly constructed stone wall that would count as a ‘window’. The area seemed wonderfully empty of soldiers. 

“Should we be worried about this? It’s so quiet for them to be expecting us to show up.” Luigi stated nervously.

“Probably,” Wario replied as Waluigi readied the grappling hook, “Let’s look on the bright side of this. If it's a trap, at least they were kind enough to present an easy way in.”

“If that’s our bright side, we’re dead before we know it.” Waluigi said dryly.

“At least you’re our ray of sunshine through all of this.”

“Shut up.”

The grappling hook was quickly launched. Said item connecting onto the window ledge with a heavy sounding ‘tink’. Once it was checked for being secure, Luigi wrapped his arms around the taller brother, Wario claiming the other side. Both clinging onto Waluigi tightly as the grappling hook easily lifted all three of them up. Feeling slightly strange as they clambered through the window as quickly as they could. It wasn’t graceful, but at least they were in.

It was a little unnerving with how quiet it was.

As Waluigi put the tool away, Luigi silently motioned for the other two to follow him close. Even if this was a newly constructed fortress, the layout was the same from what Luigi could remember. Even then, it was a slow process getting down to the lower levels of the large structure. Needing to hide away and duck into darkened corners to avoid the rather large number of soldiers. 

“There are a lot of people here,” Wario grumbled, “I was kind of hoping it’d be relatively empty.”

“We knew this wasn’t going to be easy,” Waluigi quickly replied back, “Come on, we need to keep moving.”

They’d finally reached the ground level of the castle when they heard Bowser let out a loud roar. The ground violently shook as no doubt some attack was launched. To whom from whom was unknown. 

Wario barely avoided Luigi when the younger twin had come to a harsh stop. His eyes on the doorway leading to the grand hall.

The eldest brother placed his hand on Luigi’s shoulder, trying to gently pull him away. “Mario can handle himself. We have our own job to do.”

There was still some reluctance in moving, but Luigi eventually allowed himself to be pulled away.

The Koopa Troopa was completely unaware of the trio closing in on them as they patrolled the dungeon entrance. Their squawk of surprise cut off when Luigi forced their beak closed. Being pushed back until their shell collided with the wall.

“We know you have Prince Peasley and the sisters here,” the human hissed out,” You’re going to tell us where they are. Got it?”

The Koopa nervously nodded.

“Okay, I’m going to let go of your beak. You’re going to give us the cell numbers, right?”

The Koopa’s eyes darted over to Waluigi as he leaned in with a heavy sneer on his face, “If you think about screaming, I will make you regret it. A slow and painful regret.”

Another, more frantic, nod.

“T-The sisters are on level B, cell 24,” the Koopa spat out instantly the moment they could, “The prince is level F, cell 54.”

“Why is Peasley that low?” Luigi nervously asked. 

“Because I don’t believe plant beings do so well in low light situations.” Wario mumbled.

He easily plucked the Koopa from Luigi’s hold, said “Thanks for the assist,” and headbutted them. The Koopa crumpled to the floor the next second. They were stripped of their armor and spear, which was then placed on Luigi. 

“You sure that will be enough?” Wario frowned.

“No, but it’s not like I have a lot of choices at the moment.”

“Fair.” 

“Be aware. Once we get the sisters out, they’ll ring the alarm and you’ll be a large target. Try and get out as fast as you can.” Waluigi advised as he and his brother pulled out their hammers.

Luigi merely nodded back.

Descending the stairwell, the three departed ways. All mumbling a quick ‘Good luck’ as they left. Luigi continued further down while the other two stayed on the level they arrived on. 

“21… 22… 23… 24! Over here!” Wario whispered out. Picking up the pace as he neared the target. Inside the cell, the sisters looked up with a look of relief. 

“You two took your time.” Merri said casually. Calmly leaving the cell once the door was opened. Gigi all too happy to rush over to wrap her arms around Waluigi. 

Wario raised a brow with a smirk to Merri. “Was that sarcasm?”

“Maybe.”

“As charming as this is, we need to get going, now,” said Waluigi. 

“Where are the others?” Gigi asked as they took off.

“Uh, Luigi’s getting the prince and Mario’s facing off with Bowser to get our princess out.” Wario replied calmly as he took the lead. 

Merri gasped, “You left them alone?” 

“Eh, they’ll be fine. They seem to work better under extreme pressure anyway.”

“Don’t suppose we could get a clean exit with the front door,” said Waluigi.

“We’ll see. Fastest out is our best out and, honestly, that’s just back the way we came.” 

All four tensed and looked up when the alarm sounded. Which was followed by furious yells and thunderous footsteps. 

“Joy,” Waluigi grumbled.

“Welp, time to go!”

Hefting his hammer up onto his shoulder, Wario took the lead once more. Letting out a laugh as he fell the first wave of Koopa’s who had been rushing down the narrow stairs. Grabbing a shell and, knocking it with his hammer, has it ricocheting off the walls to push those trying to make their way down. Waluigi focused on helping the sisters along while covering their backs. Allowing his brother to go as crazy as he wanted.

“He’s…really enjoying himself.” Gigi nervously commented. 

Waluigi snorted, “Wario does love his destruction…when allowed.”

To some relief, the doors to the Grand Hall were still closed. Which meant Bowser was still focusing on Mario. But that also meant the small worry of knowing that the human was still on his own. And that the small group had to face the mess on their own to get out of there. 

Waluigi snorted as the three of them entered the front entrance to find the soldiers already down. His brother cackled gleefully as he continued on.

“Is this normal?” Merri asked.

“Shockingly, yes. But it’s been awhile since he was really able to go all out.”

Letting out a grunt, Wario shouldered his hammer once more. Kicking open the large double doors to the charred and blackened land that counted as their freedom. “Come on you three! Let’s get out of here before something goes-”

Waluigi didn’t hear the end of that sentence. 

Something heavy hit him in the back, right between his shoulder blades. It wasn’t just a heavy hit as it was accompanied with a nasty shock to his system. Causing him to kneel as he tried to catch his breath. He could have sworn he heard the sisters scream his name in panic. But he was in so much pain he couldn’t really say anything back. 

When his senses did return to him, Waluigi found himself kneeling on the ground. Looking up to see the retreating backs of the sisters as they fled the structure. Feeling restored to his back informed there was something heavy, but comforting, resting on him. Turning to see Wario standing over him. Giving a death glare to something behind the taller brother.

“What…was it?” Waluigi choked out.

Wario, not looking away from whatever was above them, growled out, “We have unwelcome company.”

“You are the unwelcomed company!” A high pitched voice called out with an indignant tone.

Waluigi let out a low sigh, “Is that Kamek?”

“Yep.”

“Wonderful.” Waluigi held out a hand which Wario grabbed onto, pulling his brother back onto his feet. 

Both brandished their own hammer as they faced Kamek. The magic user hovering over the two with a look of absolute disgust written on his face.

“I knew something was up when the hero just meandered in. Even more so knowing how abrasive you two are,” Kamek’s scowl deepened, “How disgusting to know varmint like you can’t keep their nose out of where it doesn’t belong.”

“You’re making a rather large assumption about the two of us,” Wario growled back, “Especially since we’ve never met before.”

“Or are you just commenting on us because of our dear old man?” Waluigi coolly added on.

They both got a bit of satisfaction watching Kamak tighten the grip on his wand. 

“You are both just as slimy as he is.” Kamek let out a shriek as a Koopa shell was knocked his way.

“As delightful as this conversation is, it’s becoming rather stale.” said Waluigi.

Wario raised his own hammer, “So, are you going to fight us or not?” 

The warlock’s sneer turned to a sharp smirk. “Don’t suppose I should pass up the opportunity to end your bloodline. Very well then, let’s see how you handle this.”

Wario and Waluigi tensed as a heavy wave of magic fell over the area. Pressing themselves back to back as the soldiers around them suddenly started to stand once more. Fear rising as flesh and muscle began to melt away, leaving gray bone exposed to the elements. Moans of agony turned to hisses of anger as red eyes narrowed on the brothers. Both of them watched with abject horror as figures of bones and calcified shells stalked towards them. 

“Did you just kill your own men?” Wario called out, stomach rolling with fear.

“Well, not intentionally. It was supposed to be a permanent healing spell. I suppose you can’t be hurt if you can’t feel anything. Zombie soldiers work just as well as living ones!” Kamek cackled, “You two enjoy yourselves!”

And with that, Kamek left with a puff of smoke.

“This is absolutely disturbing.” Waluigi muttered.

Wario let out a grunt as he swung his hammer. Wincing as the nearest Koopa’s dropped into a pile of broken bones. “Positive side is they go down a little bit easier.”

“I’m not going to-”

“We can contemplate over how messed up this is later. Right now, we’re on a rescue mission. In and out, working on the out.” 

Waluigi grumbled weakly but didn’t argue back. Opting to put his effort in swinging his own hammer to fall another round of Koopas. It was an uncomfortable slow process they were making towards the large entrance. Feeling as if two being knocked down suddenly brought back six more.

“Is it just me,” Wario called out over the rather loud hisses, “or are there more of these minions than before?”

Waluigi didn’t reply back right away. Nervously, he looked back to where they’d just cleared. Eyes widening with absolute fear as he watched the fallen Koopas reassemble themselves.

“Shit- They’re putting themselves back together!”

“They’re what!?” Wario grunted as he kicked a Koopa away, “Well, what an uncomfortable discovery.”

“Are they going to follow us?”

“Let’s just worry about getting out first before we worry about that possible future.”

As if they didn’t have enough to worry about, their panic rose as the doors leaning to the Great Hall, where Mario had been fighting Bowser, began to slowly open. Unable to look away as their eyes were trapped on the growing darkness, even as the undead Koopa’s started to claw at their arms and legs. 

Both wondered who was going to be walking out. 

_____________________________

“Come now, Princess, aren’t you excited? We might be entering into a new chapter for our kingdoms. One final hurrah to see how powerful your little ‘hero’ is before being respectfully crushed. How shameful will it feel seeing your so-called savior fall just as quickly as he rose to power.”

Peach refused to look up from the floor of her hanging prison. Doing her best to ignore how heated the metal and air was. Sweat trickling down the back of her neck.

“Princess, haven’t you been taught that it’s rude to ignore a conversation directed to you? I would assume that Toad guardian of yours would have trained you better.”

That got Peach to glare up at the grinning Koopa. “What is your intention behind all of this? The kidnapping, the destruction, you can’t just want blood spilled. What do you want from us?”

“A Koopa can’t have their own goals?” Bowser growled out. 

“Not when said Koopa is destroying everything he touches! This world does not belong to you-”

“The universe belongs to me!” Peach flinched away as Bowser snapped at the cage, “I’m sorry that you don’t see the vision that I do. But you and I are destined for amazing things and those worms are not going to ruin it.”

“Your vision is to see the world burn.”

“Exactly.”

Peach fearfully shook her head. “You…can’t be serious.”

“This world is rightfully mine and no one will stand in my way. In our way.”

“I am not helping you!”

“You don’t have a choice.”

Gripping the nearest bars, Peach leaned forward to glare at Bowser the best she could. “Mario and Luigi will stop you.”

The Lord of the Koopas laughed at that. “You mean the lowly coward and burnt out shrimp? I’ve already planned in which order of who’s going to die. This little resistance of yours is about to turn into ash.”

Bowser only turned due to the large double doors of the Grand Hall slowly opening. Mario was shepherded by a few armed Koopas, each keeping an eye on the human. Only leaving when Bowser gave the silent orders for them to do so.

Mario’s eyes flickered up to Peach for a brief second before going back to the towering Koopa. 

“I’m both surprised and pleased to see that you’ve arrived.” said Bowser, stalking closer with a sharp toothed grin on his face. 

Mario puffed up in an attempt to appear intimidating, “You think I would just ignore this?”

“With what Kamek reported to me, it was a pretty big assumption. You were apparently underwhelming with the use of your stolen ability.”

“It’s not stolen-” Mario took a slight step back as Bowser landed a warning hit close to where he stood. The foundation cracked dangerously as the Koopa leaned closer to the hero. Smoke pouring out from Bowser’s nostrils. 

“Only the Koopa lineage can carry this power, “Bowser growled out, “There is no reason for a pitiful little human to have it.”

“Look, I don’t know how this works either! We’re all just as confused as you are! But I know I didn’t steal these powers. They’re mine and I’ll be using them to take you down.”

“Well, if you’re so bound and determined. Let’s see how well you can manage this.”

Mario darted back hearing the familiar deep crackling sound emitting from Bowser. Just barely avoiding the stream of fire, jumping behind the nearby pillar of already cracking rock. The human tried not to wince as the heat steadily grew. Said protective barrier was broken away, causing Mario to rush away once more. Where he had been standing now holding deep claw marks. 

“Where are you going, oh great hero,” Bowser called out, stalking forward as Mario clearly attempted to find some way to fight back, “I thought you were going to stop me? Show me how well you are at using ‘your’ powers.”

Mario ducked and rolled out of the way as a new flow of flames were sent his way. Unintentionally stumbling back into the empty area. Eventually turning to where Peach was being held captive. Said princess watching on fearfully. 

It was a stupid idea. Even before Mario moved he knew this was a gamble. But at that moment, he knew what his main goal was, and he had to take every opportunity to get Peach out.

So, he raced towards the hanging cage. Trying to ignore the heavy footfalls and scraping claws tearing at the ground drawing closer. 

Briefly happy in knowing he could at least still make his impressive jumps, Mario only made it to the top of the throne. Getting a momentary look at Peach once more before being knocked away. Colliding hard with the nearest wall. Mario let out a pained gasp as the air was pushed out of his lungs. Eventually collapsing onto the ground.

“How boring,” Bowser slowly moved towards Mario, who was trying to quickly get back up.

“Bowser, stop this!” Peach desperately called out.

“I had been so hopeful for one last good fight before your life ended.” The Koopa laughed as he watched Mario needing to lean against the wall to keep himself up right. “What are you doing? It would be best for you to just lay down and just accept your fate.”

“I’m…not going to do that,” Mario panted out, “If I’m breathing…I’m going to try bring you down… In any way I can.”

The hero did his best to glare at Bowser, “You don’t get to just threaten my family and my home because you think you deserve it.”

“It’s going to please me crushing you beneath my hand once your ash. I suppose I should say you were an enjoyable pest. I could. But having you out of my shell is going to be satisfying. One less thing to worry about. Be kind enough to hold still, this might be quick if you do.” 

Mario had just cleared his mind enough to push himself off the wall when the familiar crackling sound of fire sounded once more. He was unable to move fast enough when the stream of fire reached him. Only able to raise his arms in a weak attempt to defend himself. 

.

.

.

Expect…

.

.

.

The fire didn’t hit him.

Breathing slowly, Mario cracked open his eyes in worrying anticipation. Had Bowser missed? Was he already dead? What was going on?

Hand still up, Mario chanced a peek as to what was happening. Fire did surround him. It arched and curved to form a protective barrier around. Upon looking closer, Mario recognized that this fire was the deep shade of red instead of the brilliant orange. 

It was his fire. 

His fire was protecting him.

The familiar warmth spread through his body. 

It.

Felt.

Amazing.

“Alright then,” Mario whispered, “Let’s see what we can do.”

Mario was able to slowly get back onto his feet. Even with the strong barrier around him, Browser’s fire was pushed back hard. Once gaining his footing was Mario able to make his way forward.

Bowser only took notice of this when the fire bubble that was supposed to be Mario’s charred body grew closer. Cutting on his fire to try and figure out what was happening.

Resulting in Mario landing a fire full punch to the Koopa’s stomach. Bowser knocked back a few good feet. Landing hard on his back, spikes on his shell carving into the ground. 

A surprised quiet fell over the area for a few seconds. Mario eventually letting out a relieved laugh as he covers his hands in fire once more. “Well, you wanted to see how I can use these powers. Come on then!” 

Bowser let out a low growl, crawling onto his fours and launching towards the human. 

If the Koopa was annoyed by Mario’s movements before, it was far worse with the human now able to use the ability. The hero learned quickly that he could launch himself further, punch hard, move faster due to the strong pulse of air that his fire created when landing a hit. 

Even with carrying numerous signs of battle damage, Mario was still going strong. Bowser soon enough overwhelmed with the barrage of attacks landing on him. Unable to keep up as the human practically bounced around the room. 

The finishing blow arrived when Mario, perched on the actual ceiling, right above Bowser, pushed down. Both fists held out to land directly on the top of the Koopa’s head. Said being in effect being pushed down hard enough to become half buried. The rest of his body fell limp as he was knocked out. 

Mario stumbled as he attempted to keep his footing. Taking a few minutes to collect himself. Breathing slowly as the fires died down, leaving him actually smoking. 

Peach watched in quiet shock as Mario made his way to her once more.

“Are you okay?” Mario called out. Peach slowly nodded. The cage descended, touching the ground with a heavy thump.

“I’m sorry,” the hero started weakly, “This…This shouldn’t have happened. Rather poor attempt at being a hero if I can’t keep you safe… I’m just… I’m sorry I-”

Mario faltered when lips suddenly covered his. Brain slowly informing the stunned hero that he was being kissed.

Further information, Peach was kissing him.

Directly.

On his mouth.

Moving far slower than he should have Mario happily kissed back. 

Both pulling away, panting softly, with Peach pressing their foreheads together. 

“Maybe…not the best place to share our first kiss.” She said weakly.

“I think it works just fine,” Mario squeaked out, “I mean, we’re around these kinds of castles so often… We should leave now. While we still have a clear out.”

They shuffled slowly and cautiously past the fallen Koopa. Having a slight moment of panic when Mario’s legs gave out. But they were able to eventually reach the heavy doors. Opening it to the strangest thing they’d seen yet.

Wario and Waluigi trapped among a sea of undead, skeletal Koopas.

“What is happening out here!” Mario called out.

“Oh, hey you two,” Wario called back, “Welcome to Hell!”

“What is this!?”

Waluigi grunted as he swung his hammer down, replying with, “Blame Kamek, I have no idea what he did. But this is his mess.”

Peach let out a shriek as some of the Koopas had turned towards them. Even with how exhausted he was, Mario engulfed his hand in fire once more to engage the approaching enemies. 

It was more than a little unnerving when the skeletal figures let out shrieks of pain before turning to ash when Mario landed a hit. 

“Oh my goodness,” Peach whispered fearfully.

Even with how sick he felt about it, Mario knew this was the best way to get out. He kept Peach behind him while burning a path for them. Reaching the brothers with relative ease. Who were looking more than a little surprised by the sudden over the powers. 

“You absolute showoff,” Wario grumbled playfully.

“Where’s Luigi?” Mario panted out.

“Either already outside or still trying to break Peasley out.” 

“We can’t wait for him if it’s the latter,” Waluigi said quickly, “We’re surrounded and Peach needs to be our first priority.”

Mario huffed, “Right, you’re right. I’ll lead. You two just keep them away from Peach.”

Mario never thought he would be so relieved to see the ashened sky and burnt ground to better signify their escape. He called for everyone out, facing the horde of undead once more. Breathing slowly, he concentrated as he formed a sphere of fire between his hands. Having it grow to the size of his chest before launching it into the mass. Mario quickly closed the double doors before the fireball hit the ground. The human wincing as the shrieks of the fallen reached an uncomfortable pitch, the world falling quiet soon after.

Peeking back in, Mario shivered seeing the giant piles of ash that remained.

“That was horrible…” Mario slowly stepped away, wide eyes going to Peach, “Did…Did I just-”

“They were already gone before you showed up,” Waluigi stepped in quickly, “Honestly, you did them all a favor.”

“But-”

“They kept coming back. They couldn’t remain dead. You helped them. Just…hold onto that. Now, come one, we need to get away from here and find the sisters.”

Peach took Mario’s hand as the hero remained frozen. Gently leaning him away from the closed doors. They joined up with the sisters soon enough.

Merri rushed over as Mario drew closer, wrapping her arms around the hero with glee. “You did it! I saw that fireball you created! That was amazing, you have such control now!”

Letting out a small laugh, Mario hugged back, “T-Thanks Merri… Luigi and Peasley, are they here?”

“We’ve not seen them,” Gigi replied shakily, “Just you all…”

The group let out a panicked ‘No!’ as Mario attempted to go back.

“You’re exhausted, you can’t go back.” Peach said softly.

“But if they’re in there-”

“Then we’ll go,” Wario huffed, “What are you, crazy? You need to stay here.”

“What if there are more of those…things?”

“Then we’ll deal with them. Come on Waluigi-”

“Wait!” Gigi perked up, pointing towards the entrance. Where a lone figure was rushing out. “Is that Prince Peasley?”

“Oh goodness, it is. Peasley!” Peach desperately called out. All greeting the clearly distraught prince with the best comfort they could provide at that moment as he basically collapsed. 

“Sire, you’re so pale.”

“Are you hurt- oh, well, of course you are. B-But anything that needs immediate attention?”

“What happened-”

“Luigi!” Peasley choked out, pointing back towards the fortress, eyes on Mario, “I don’t know what he’s planning. But he told me to run and-”

They fell quiet when the ground violently shook. All watching on in stunned silence as the fortress began to crumble. Green bolts of energy lashing out sporadically as it all began to sink into the ground. 

“Luigi!”

_____________________________

With how much noise this suit was making, Luigi swore he was going to be found out at any moment. But it was a brief moment of relief when he reached the final level. Raising the visor of his newly acclaimed helmet to get a better look around. Trying to figure out where to go next. Made relatively easy when one side only held four empty cells. 

He raced off once more to his left. Worry steadily rising the colder it became.

‘Plant beings don’t do so well in low light situations.’

“Where are you Peasley?” Luigi frantically whispered.

The answer came in the form of a pale green arm reaching the lowest point the fortress had to offer. Said arm laying limp over the iron bar. 

“Peasley!” Luigi called out. Quickly kneeling down in front of where the prince laid. Removing the armor gloves to hold onto the hand close.

Said prince was leaning against the wall, the rest of his skin almost white with how much color he’d lost. Golden hair a withered gray and appearing stringy. Eyes opened slightly as Peasley’s head rolled over to face Luigi properly, even his eyes had become a dull brown. 

“...What are you wearing?” Peasley couldn’t help but chuckle.

Laughing back with a wobble smile, Luigi replied back with, “I thought I would dress the part. Knight in shining armor, yeah?”

Peasley laughed at that. “Don’t suppose you have keys with you?”

“Uh…no, but I do have an idea. Hold on.”

Picking the spear back up, Luigi shoved it into the hinges on the cell door and began to lift. Eventually shedding the armor in order to get better movement. Eventually letting out a cry of triumph as the door fell away. Peasley watched in awe as the chunk of cell clattered to the ground.

“How did you do that?” The prince asked as Luigi picked him up.

“Rushed jobs make for shabby work. Do you know where they took you rapier?”

“It’s not important.”

“But-”

“I promise you, it’ll be fine. I would just like to leave.”

“Okay. Let’s make this quick then.”

With Peasley moved onto his back with the spear being used for the prince to ‘sit’ on, Luigi made for the exit. They both winced when they came across a number of fallen Koopas. All knocked out cold as Luigi carefully stepped around them all. 

“What do you think happened to them?” Peasley asked. 

“If I had to take a guess…Wario.” 

Entering the large entry way, they took a pause. Now confused by the piles of ashes that littered the area. The air seemed heavy with fear and something…darker.

“This is so disturbing. Is this normal for you?”

“No…”

They both jumped hearing a low growl sounding from the Grand Hall. It was low but echoed through the empty space.

“That was Bowser.” Peasley frantically whispered out.

“I don’t hear anyone else,” Luigi whispered back, “If Mario’s fought him, my bro’s already out. As well as everyone else. Bowser may be waking up…”

“What do we do?”

Luigi looked around. Eyes falling on numerous cracks that were surrounding them. The human slowly realized that the fortress was close to breaking down. 

It just needed one more good push…

“Do you think you can walk on your own?” Luigi asked. 

“Y-Yeah… Yeah, I should be okay.”

Luigi allowed the prince back onto the ground, he offered a smile. Happy to see that Preasley was looking far greener than before. 

Another growl sounded. Followed by something heavy being scrapped along the ground.

“Do you think you can make it out on your own?”

Peasley paused, clearly thinking it through with eyes slowly widening in worry. “Luigi-”

“Can you?”

“...Yes.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to find Mario?”

“Yes, but Luigi-”

“Do you want to go on a date with me?”

Peasley sputtered weakly, feeling his cheeks heat up while Luigi looked back desperately. 

“I…would love to.”

“Good… Now go.”

“But-” Peasley stumbled slightly as Luigi gently pushed him towards the exit. 

Bowser let out an annoyed roar. 

“Go!”

Peasley tore off toward the door and the way to freedom.

On his part, Luigi turned his attention to the situation at hand. Which, more literally, was the metal spear held in his hand. Pointedly ignoring how the ground held steady vibrations, no doubt from Bowser now moving. Luigi clutched the spear tightly in both hands.

“Okay…” Slowly breathing, Luigi closed his eyes. “Okay… Just like with the hammer… Just like with the Poltergust… You can do it… Just channel it...”

Diggin deep, Luigi slowly but surely drew the familiar energy flow through him uninhibited. Granted, it wasn’t as stable as before. Luigi unable to stop himself from wincing as the random bursts of energy. Doing his best to keep it all controlled in order to release it all as one. 

Bowser let out a growl as he crawled his way out of the Great Hall. Claws digging into the ground as he moved forward. Red, burning eyes landing on the lone figure standing in his fortress.

“Only the cowardly hero remains? So be it. He’ll have to do-”

Luigi brought down the spear with enough force to pierce the ground. All the pent up energy seemed to explode out from that point. The quickly built walls falling away faster than when they were constructed. Beginning to fall away into the depths of the cold dungeons. Bowser stumbled slightly as the ground gave way beneath him. Finding himself to be pulled down with the rest of his fallen plans. 

Red eyes narrowed on Luigi as the human stumbled his way out. 

Luigi didn’t stop until the ground stopped giving way beneath his feet. Stumbling particularly over his feet as he turned back to the crumbling building. The back portion already sinking below the surface.

“...I hope they had an exit plan.” Luigi whispered as an attempt to ease his worried mind.

It was pushed further away as he heard his name being called out. Looking back just as Mario pulled him into a tight hug.

“Are you okay?” The older twin frantically asked. 

“Y-Yeah…”

“Okay… Then you need to tell me what you were thinking!”

“That fortress was a terrible rush job.”

Mario let out a low groan before pulling Luigi back in, cheeks squished together. “You’re going to give me a heart attack one of these days.”

Luigi merely laughed before hugging back. “Sorry…”

“At least you’re okay… We’re okay.”

“Yeah, we’re okay.”

As Luigi left the hug he was forcefully pulled into another one. Peasley doing his best to not choke the poor human with how tight he held Luigi.

“Are you normally this stupidly selfless?” Peasley choked out, clearly shaken. 

“Heh, yeah, it’s kind of my thing. Apparently.” Was the weak reply back.

Pulling away, Peasley gave a pointed glare to Luigi. “This date of yours better make up for making me so terrified for you.”

Luigi felt the heat rising up from his chest. Both from the nervous excitement and the embarrassment at the joyous ‘Oooo!’s coming from the brothers. 

It was a thankful sight when, as they slowly traveled down the road back to Mushroom Kingdom, Captain Toad greeted them along their journey. The Toad was traveling with a rather large covered flatbed caravan that he probably should not be driving. But they were grateful when they were given a ride back. All clamoring on and settling in before they took off once more. 

“Is it always this crazy?” Peasley jokingly whispered to Peach, both royals barely awake. 

Peach giggled softly, “Not every day. I hope this doesn’t ruin the connection between our kingdoms.”

“Absolutely not. If anything, you will now have the full support of the BeanBean Kingdom. I feel that kidnapping the prince to said kingdom is a declaration of war.” 

“Oh, probably. Maybe definitely.”

Toadsworth absolutely bawled when he saw Peach. The princess more than content with engaging in a proper hug with her caretaker. The rest of the Toads rushed the rest of the party to the medical wing to be looked over and to get some much needed rest. 

“I’ll be honest, this is the cleanest bill of health you’ve received.” The doctor jovially stated.

“So, we’ll be out soon?” Mario asked hopefully.

“You’re a funny guy.”

The buzzing afternoon turned to a quiet evening to a deadly silent night as the majority of everyone was asleep.

Majority being the key word.

Wario let out a slow sigh before sitting up. Scrubbing his face as he looked around the room. Eyes going from person to person. Peach had been sent to her own room to rest up with the jellyfish sisters being discharged as they were the least of supporting battle damage. While Luigi and Peasley held their own bed, they had their hands clasped between them. Held on just by their fingertips, but still connected.

Wario couldn’t help but laugh softly, “Well, that’s going to be an interesting conversation for the morning.”

Mario was sleeping in the bed between Luigi and Wario, his back facing the other as he was curled on his side. Wario hoped that he was getting some actual rest.

Which just left…

“Can’t sleep?”

Wario looked up as Waluigi walked closer. Two glasses of water in hand, one being passed to the older brother as he sat up. Wario took hold of said glass without a word and downed about half of it before Waluigi even sat down on the edge of the bed. 

“So, I’d say we’ve moved up from just being mentors in this whole ordeal.” Waluigi commented casually.

“Guess so…”

“Is that what’s keeping you up?”

Wario snorted, shaking his head. “Nah, I’m shockingly able to roll with it…at this point.”

“...Is it Kamek?”

“Yeah.”

They fell quiet for a few moments before Waluigi harshly whispered, “There’s no way Kamek knows dad, right? Wouldn’t that mean that he worked for-”

“Don’t,” Wario hissed, “Don’t even finish that thought. He was an ass. But there’s no way he would sink that low. Besides, dad disappeared long before Bowser rose to power.”

“But what if he left to help bring them here?”

“And then what, betrayed them? Decided that just being a deadbeat dad was enough of a negative title without adding traitor to it all? Kamek didn’t seem fond of our old man.”

“Maybe?”

Wario huffed, “I don’t want to have this conversation at 3 in the morning with what just happened. Okay? Let’s just…try and get some sleep.”

Waluigi didn’t argue. Ears drooped as he stared at his untouched glass of water, “...Do you remember dad?”

“...Barely.”

“What do you remember?”

“His laughter… His stupid itchy beard…”

“Yeah…”

“What about you?”

“Not really a whole lot. Whenever I try to picture him, I can’t. I just see his name written on those letters he sent…”

“Fair…”

“Did we keep them?”

“Don’t know, maybe? If mom didn’t throw them out or burn them during her fits, there’s a good chance they’re at home.”

“Yeah…”

“Yep…”

Without another word, Waluigi slipped away and crawled back into his own bed. Flopping down heavily, facing away from the rest of the group. Wario let out one final heavy sigh as he laid down as well. Hoping to get a little more sleep before needing to start the day. 

Mario doing his best to remain still as he heard the familiar sounds of Wario’s snoring as he stared into the calm dark.

“This place is an absolute disaster.”

Gentle footsteps sound as numerous forms scuttled quickly across the ashened rubble. Seeming unbothered by the miles of destruction that laid out before them. All occasionally giving a quick peek up from their scanners to give a sharp look around before going back down to their green screens.

“That’s kind of why we’re here, isn’t it?”

“Still, it looks like everyone fled. Not even an attempt to clean up.”

“Clean up? This ruined place? I don’t think this was supposed to be an actual station for them.” 

“Would you two hush! I want to leave as quickly as possible.” 

“What, afraid Bowser’s going to come back?”

“And you aren’t?”

“...Let’s just keep looking.”

“Oi, over here!”

The call out caused the entire team to scuttle over. All appearing in awe at the metal spear hovering, yes hovering, before them. Said items only a few inches off the ground, holding a glowing green aura with a few sparks jumping from it. 

“No way. Does it have…”

“Its own electric field? Yep. Whoever or whatever caused this used a lot of power to make this happen.”

“Whoa.”

“What do the readings say?”

“This looks like the kind of energy we’ve been looking for. But we’ll need to test it, just to be sure. Don’t want any mistakes with this.”

“Someone bring a containment pod!”

“Got it!” 

“This is amazing.”

“Sir Grodus will be so pleased by this.”

[s-creations]

Fire & Thunder - Chapter 2

The BeanBean Kingdom, one that has been in self-exile for centuries, has finally broken their silence. Arriving to the Mushroom Kingdom with the plan to help their heroes learn how to use their powers.

Training, unfortunately, was just one hurtle to jump over.

Fandom: Super Mario & Releated Fandoms, Super Mario RPG Rating: Teen and UP Audiences Relationship: Luigi/Prince Peasley, Mario/Princess Peach, Mario & Luigi & Wario & Waluigi Additional Tags: Needed Training, The Main Villain Makes An Appearance, Growing Relationships, Character Lore?, In My Stories?, It’s More Likely Than You Think.

The surrounding Toad soldiers jumped when the door was knocked open. Wario more or less stomps into the long meeting room. Pointing towards the door he’d just kicked in and shouted, “Out!”

Only for them all to be frozen in worry. The tension broke when Waluigi stuck his head in. 

“Please depart, we’re in need of this room for the moment.”

They moved at that. Casting a confused glance at the Jellyfish Sisters, who looked very upset for being there, and Wario, who was just fuming. Once the room was emptied, the group walked in. The sisters claimed chairs closest to the exit. Instead of walking around the long table to the chairs on the other side, Wario and Waluigi merely slide across the polished top. Uncaring at the scrunched up face of disgust the sisters were given them. 

“So,” Merri huffed, “you want to talk. What is it?”

“Well, first off, what the hell were you thinking?” Wario growled out.

“We informed you that we would be starting the same way we were trained.” Was the short reply.

“And what would you say your power level is?” Waluigi asked, “Compared to those two.”

That humbled the sister’s defensive glares. 

“We’re barely a Bombom while they’re a Bonzai Bill.” Gigi meekly answered.

“So, your morning assumption was that, even with their power, they could keep the same level of control as you two have? That they could just mimic what you did and be fine? That’s not how this works.” 

“Oh, then you do understand the nuances of how the Firebrand and Thunderhand are used? Because you’ve made it clear this was something that neither of you had any idea what was happening nor wanted. Just placed here because of circumstances,” Merri puffed up again, “Do you know how to draw that power out and to use it as both a tool and a weapon? If not, then you two have nothing to offer in this conversation.”

Wario stood at that, glaring down at the red jellyfish sister, “We may not have access to magic or know any battle tactics. But we know Mario and Luigi. They’re our br- our responsibility for a reason.”

There was a slight pause after Wario’s outburst. Waluigi noted how his brother’s cheeks were turning a slight pink. Dutifully ignoring it to continue his stare down with the sisters. 

“If you two want to help them, then you need to understand what they’re like. They aren’t from here, they’re barely used to this way of living.” argued Waluigi when his brother wouldn’t continue. 

“How long have they been here, in the Mushroom Kingdom?” Gigi asked.

“We’re…coming up to a year now, I believe.”

“Do we know when their birthdays are?” Wario whispered out of the side of his mouth. 

“Oh goodness, do you two know anything?” Merri snorted. 

“We know what you pulled out there was stupid!” Wario fired back, “Why would you make them take their gloves off? You saw how strong they were before they were removed.” 

“Because they can’t rely on those gloves forever. They’re limiting themselves with them on.” 

Waluigi frowned, “You just said they’re holding rather explosive powers. Why would you think allowing that kind of energy out, unchecked, would be smart?”

“Are you not listening or are you two just dense? They need to learn. Lest we forget, we’re on the verge of a war. They need to be ready. Bowser will not wait for them to just take their time. They need to learn fast.”

“You know what, that’s another thing,” Wario huffed, “Why would you even share that Mario and Bowser share a lineage power from the Koopa family? In front of everyone .”

“I had assumed someone would have already told him.” Merri tensely argued back. 

“We had no idea! Why would we? We didn’t even know what these powers really were, we just had names! Even then, you stated this wonderful point of fact at a very vulnerable moment. What did you think was going to happen?”

“You’re coddling them.” 

“By not saying he’s paired with his rival in the power department?”

“These powers are connected to their emotions. They can’t allow themselves to lose to heavy feelings. They’re heroes.”

“They’re people .” 

Waluigi placed a hand on Wario’s shoulder to pull him back. His tone caused the sisters to lean back fearfully. 

“You may know these powers,” Waluigi spoke calmly, “But we know the brothers. Yes, they’re heroes. But they are also new to these roles. Everyday, something new is thrown their way, they’re barely allowed to catch their breath. Hell, we’re born and raised in this world and still thrown off with what’s thrown our way.”

“You’re asking, and assuming, too many of them. You have to give them time. Even if you think we don’t, that doesn’t mean to rush.” Waluigi ended with his arms crossed. 

There was a shift at this. Merri looked dishearteningly sheepish while Gigi looked flustered. Neither could look the brothers in their eyes. 

Wario frowned at the deflation of confidence in the sisters, mainly in Merri. Giving his own brother a raised brow. To which Waluigi just sighed softly. 

“Is there anything you two wish to share?”

“We were told how important this meeting was,” Gigi said softly, “Not only were we looking forward to leaving the BeanBean Kingdom, but also working with the heroes we’d heard so much about. It was a thrill! But, after the excitement wore off…the weight of it all settled on us. We’re entering into a war that we aren’t feel prepared for. Yet we’re supposed to have the heroes battle ready with the powers we just use to heal?”

“It’s a lot.” Waluigi added gently. 

“We’re terrified. We didn’t know what to expect when we left the kingdom.”

“I thought, if we put on a front of determination, of indifference, of strength, it wouldn’t feel so scary.” Merri whispered softly. 

“Arrogance is not the best front.” Waluigi said, which made the sisters shrink back further. 

Wario gently elbowed Waluigi’s arm, who gave a weak shrug. 

“Look,” said Wario, “we weren’t feeling that confident about this either. We know nothing about these powers and they’re hurting our…companions. All we can do is make sure they keep themselves level headed. Which is why we don’t do, or say, anything that would upset them.”

Merri shifted nervously, “No one really knew about it?”

“Nope.”

“Is it true?” Waluigi asked.

“Yes, Firebrand is a technique that had it start with the Koopa line. It’s what determines which Koopa is supposed to be the next leader.”

“So, fire-breathing has always gone hand-in-hand with evil turtles. 

“Koopas were territorial in early years, no dictators. They were protective over their land.”

“Still.”

“I think we need to sit down and rethink about all of this,” Wario said, “You have the knowledge of their abilities. We know our heroes. Let’s actually think of a plan to help them.”

Merri and Gigi exchange side glances before nodding. 

“Great… Now, where do we start?”

_____________________________

As her heels clicked against the polished ground, Peach was painfully reminded how deserted the castle was. Once filled with so much life when she was younger. Her parents were ones who loved hosting parties, not even really needing a reason to have neighboring kingdoms filling the large halls. The air filled with music, conversations, and laughter. 

Now more than half of the castle was dark and quiet. It had been a real feat to get the three guest rooms in pristine condition. Or, at the very least, livable. 

Even as her heart longed to see more life back in her home, Peach had to remind herself why she was currently traversing the cold hallways. 

Mario hadn’t been found in the main portions of the castle. No one had seen him run in. Peach concluded he’d gone deeper into the building to avoid who he could. Resulting in her travel down the darkened, musty hallways. Eyes traveling around to catch any sign of Mario’s path. A cracked door or a moved piece of furniture. 

Her first clue however was the sound of the muffled sniffing. Ears twitched as the sound grew louder. 

Relief hit her when she found Mario sitting on the window ledge. The dusty curtains have been pulled back slightly to look out to the warm day. The afternoon light shining off his cheeks. 

He looked over upon hearing Peach approaching him. Quickly reaching up to rub his cheeks and look somewhat presentable. 

“Princess-” Mario was cut off when Peach pulled him into a tight hug. He eventually reached up to wrap to loosely wrap his own arms around her 

“Are you okay?” Peach knew it was the wrong question the moment it left her mouth. 

There was a choked laugh as Mario quickly pulled away. Looking slightly manic as he pulled his hat off to run a hand through his hair. 

“Oh, yeah, I’m great! Who wouldn’t be after learning your uncontrollable ability is shared with your enemy? No, wait, not shared. It’s a family heritage! Not my family mind you, oh no.The Koopa lineage! The hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, who has zero idea as to what he’s doing, has a horrible connection to their greatest threat.”

“If the Toads are worried about this, if they’re…fearful of me… How will other kingdoms react when they learn about this? Luigi and I are supposed to be the face of this kingdom. We’re supposed to be a comfort, to ease everyone’s worries. I’m supposed to be the one that keeps Bowser from destroying everything. Can anyone trust me when they learn about what I’ve done?”

“Enough!” Peach called out. Grabbing onto Mario’s shoulders to force him to look at her. Her furrowed brows softened in hopes to lessen Mario’s worried features.

She led him back over to the window ledge. Pulling the curtains fully back to allow them a clear view of the window before sitting back down. Mario sheepishly follows.

“What exactly have you done? Because, as far as I can tell, you’ve done everything you can,” Peach said softly, “You have an ability given to you. You didn’t choose this, but you’re dealing with this in the best situations that you can. This is not your fault.”

“It doesn’t change the fact that people will…” Mario swallowed weakly.

“I won’t say that people won’t judge you upon the first meeting. But I also know you won’t let that stop you. You’re someone who’s shown, while you care about others opinions, it won’t stop you from helping. That is what people are going to remember about you. Not about what your abilities are connected to, but how you use them.”

There was a pause. Peach saw that Mario was weighing something heavily on his mind. 

“...Do you see me…like him? Like Bowser?”

“No.” She knew she answered too quickly.

Mario looked away. “Don’t lie to me.”

“Mario…”

“I remember when these powers first emerged. I was angry, I felt so…terrible. I snapped at you. You…looked scared… The only time I’ve ever seen you that scared is when you look at Bowser.”

“You did scare me,” Peach answered honestly, “When you yelled…your eyes changed and you had smoke pouring from your mouth… But that doesn’t mean anything now!”

“Of course it does,” Mario frowned, “If you’re fearful of me, how could anyone else trust me?”

“Because I do trust you! That reaction, please don’t believe that’s how I see you. Do you really think I would love you if I was fearful of you?”

Mario’s eyes snapped up, tensing as his cheeks turned a deep red. “...You…you love me?”

Peach also turned a deep red, “...Yes, I do. Perhaps it’s too early to say those words. But I mean them. If I truly saw you as a threat, I would not be here. Your actions, your thoughts, your drive to protect everyone speaks louder than your ‘connection’. The fact you’re here, hiding away, worried about all of this, shows me you’re nothing like Bowser. You are a far better person. Your powers are going to be used to protect, not destroy.”

When Peach reached out to take Mario’s hands, he flinched back. She gave a small smile before claiming them both, giving a gentle squeeze.

“You are not Bowser. You are far better.” Peach whispered softly. Gently placing a kiss on the back of one.

The flush darkened on Mario’s cheeks, but he still looked worried. “I really wish I could believe you…”

“You will, one day. But I understand where your worries are placed. Titles can weigh heavily on your actions and thoughts. Even more so when it’s more of less pushed upon you. How about we just relax for the remainder of the day? I think some tea and a slice of cake is needed.”

“W-What about training?”

“I believe Wario and Waluigi are handling that at the moment. Plus, I don’t think you’re in the right mindset to keep going. If I need to order you to relax, I will do so.”

Standing up, Peach held out a hand for Mario to take. Which he eventually did. Sliding off the ledge and allowing himself to be led away from the darkened area of the castle. As they entered the busier section of the area, they were stopped by Toadsworth and a small group of Toad guards.

“There you are, Master Mario,” Toadsworth let out a heavy sigh of relief, “We were worried after you ran off. How are you feeling? Do you need anything?”

Mario was taken aback seeing the worried looks, about his safety and not the destruction he’d caused. “I-uh… No, I’m fine…”

Peach cleared her throat, giving him a pointed look.

“I’m just… I didn’t take the news well. Obviously.”

“I assumed as much. But I don’t blame you one bit,” Toadsworth huffed while a few of the guards nodded vigorously behind him, “Wario and Waluigi have stated that your training is done for the day. They’re currently working out a new plan with the sisters.”

“Oh…that’s good to hear… W-Where’s Luigi?” Mario's eyes flickered around nervously.

“In the gardens still, I believe. No one’s reported otherwise.”

Mario merely nodded at this before heading directly that way. Still holding Peach’s hands while she and the others follow close behind.

_____________________________

If the situation was different, Peasley would have enjoyed taking a stroll through the gardens. While his kingdom had a wide range of vegetation and his own garden was an explosion of colored roses, what was in the Mushroom Kingdom held a number of plant life he’d never seen before. He would have loved to ask Peach as many questions. But the joy of it all was muted as Peasley checked every nook and cranny to find Luigi. 

Currently, unsuccessful. 

“Come on Luigi, where are you?” Peasley whispered fearfully.

Looking around, to make sure he was alone, Peasley knelt down and placed his hand flat on the ground. Eyes closing as he steadied his breathing.

“Please my friends,” Peasley whispered softly, “would you be so kind as to find Luigi? Lead me to him.”

There was a steady pulse coming from the ground.

The wind offers a calming breeze.

Peasley heard a gentle whisper among it.

He only remained there a few seconds before he stood once more. Turning to face the hedge maze. He headed in without a second thought. The gentle wind offers the needed direction. Leading Peasley to the center of the large creation.

Luigi was sitting on a small bridge that stretched over a thin river running through the middle of the maze. His attention was on his hands, which were resting in his lap. Looking absolutely dejected. 

Peasley attempted to gather himself before stepping in. Even as the wind attempted to push him forward. 

“Don’t rush me on this.” Peasley whispered softly.

When he’d built up enough courage, he approached Luigi. Who was only aware that the prince was there when Peasley’s boots hit the wooden bridge. Even then the human kept his eyes staring at his hands. 

Peasley took a seat near Luigi. Allowing the other a chance to flee if he felt the need.

Clenching his hands into fists, Luigi tensed up, shoulders up to his ears.

It was quiet.

“How are you feeling?” Peasley asked softly.

“...I’ve been better,” Luigi laughed softly, “Guess that power isn’t that impressive anymore, huh? Kind of loses that luster when I can just…crack the foundation of solid rock. Terrifying…”

Shoulders slumped, Luigi lowered the cap to cover his eyes. “This has been a horrible show all around.”

“You do realize that we arrived here for this reason? To help you and your brother. To get you to become more comfortable with you using your abilities.”

“But you probably didn’t think it was this bad.”

“Well, I mean, I knew you had a lot of power,” Peasley frowned softly as the human wilted further, “There is no ill-will behind these words…”

“How are you not terrified of me? You saw what I’m capable of. What damage I can cause. For a supposedly ‘great hero’, I cause more damage than anything.”

Biting his lower lip, Peasley contemplated for a few moments before inching closer.

“...Can I tell you a secret?” He asks softly.

Curious, Luigi lifted his cap to look at the prince. “Um…sure.”

“I’m cursed.” Peasley couldn’t help but laugh at the human’s look of bewilderment.

“Were you informed of my kingdom’s involvement in the first war against the Koopas?”

“Um, very minimal,” Luigi confirmed, “Something was said about a BeanStar?”

“It’s an artifact that’s far older than our lands. It allows the holder one with whatever they desire. Not without consequence. When the ruling king asked for his enemies to be destroyed, it killed not only Koopas, but even Bean citizens. Those who spoke loudly against him. The BeanStar taking his words to mean anyone he’d seen as a threat to his status.”

“After the wish was fulfilled, the BeanStar broke. Apparently, the wish was too damaging to keep it intact. It’s as if it was just as horrified with what it had done and never wanted its power to be used again. The only good thing to take from this was the fact that the king’s life was taken as well. Even to this day, it remains in pieces.”

“How does this mean that you’re cursed?” Luigi asked nervously.

“Because following the demise of the king, the royal bloodline only held female rulers for centuries. Queens have ruled over the BeanBean Kingdom. Keeping the peace and our kingdom away from any conflicts. It’s as if the BeanStar’s power made it so no male could rule again and cause such destruction once more. It’s been this way for generations…”

“Until I was born.”

Luigi watched on with worry as Peasley seemed to break slightly. No longer looking confident. Instead, meek and fearful.

“No one will say it,” Peasley whispered, “But I know they’re scared of me. Of what damage I could possibly bring. It’s why I push myself to be my best. Best fighter, negotiator, problem solver. I will take on any task if it means I will be seen in a better light. To never be compared to the old king.”

Letting out a slow sight, Peasley allowed further barriers to fall away. Looking up to the sky as tears fell.

“My citizens are fearful of me because of how I was born. I know some can look past it. But others are never going to see me as nothing more than a terrible omen. They no doubt are preparing for the worse, wondering what destruction I could possibly bring.”

He couldn’t help but twitch in surprise feeling something gently brushing against his cheek. Eyes turning to see Luigi’s hands resting against the prince’s warm skin. The human looked a little surprised with how bold he was being, but he quickly pushed past it.

“I believe…if anyone thinks that about you, they’re more than a little paranoid.” Luigi mumbled softly.

Peasley laughed. Reaching up to lay his own hand across Luigi’s. “Suppose so…”

“Doesn’t mean you won’t stop trying to impress them.”

“You’re one to talk.”

They shared a laugh at that. The atmosphere becomes warm and calm.

Peasley reached up to wipe gently at his other eye before pulling Luigi’s hand away. Pressing the back of it to his forehead. 

“Thank you for listening. Though, I suppose I should apologize, I was coming here to make you feel better.”

Luigi laughed softly. Deciding to build up his bravery once more and, taking Peasley’s hand this time, placed a gentle kiss to the prince’s knuckles. “I think we both needed some kind of reassurance. If anything, it kind of feels like we’re in similar situations.”

Peasley knew his cheeks were a deep blue. His furiously beating heart rising, feeling Luigi’s thumb gently brushing along the back of his hand. “There’s…comfort in that. Do you feel well enough to go back?”

“...Don’t suppose I could convince you to stay here a little longer?”

“It won’t take much. I wouldn’t mind a few more minutes alone.”

So they remained. Both peered up at the clear sky as they enjoyed the warmth and gentle breeze. Hand still clasped together, situated between them.

It was unclear how long they remained there. Enjoying the quiet and the company before it was interrupted by Mario, Peach, and a small group of Toads entering the area. Peasley not minding as Luigi gently pulled away. The younger twin happy to be collected into Mario’s arms. The older mumbling something about ‘I didn’t mean to scare you’. Peach passed the rejoined brothers and went to Peasley, who had just walked off the bridge as well. 

“Is it always this exciting?” The prince asked. Watching as Toadsworth worried over Luigi now.

“Mmm, more or less,” Peach laughed softly, “I do hope this does not…”

“Don’t fret. I have no plans to pull back. I know this is going to be intense. This was just…very eventful.”

Peach didn’t miss the way Peasley’s eyes softened as they focused on Luigi. 

“Apparently.” Peach replied softly.

_____________________________

The following morning was met with a much different mood. 

This time starting off with Wario practically breaking down the twin’s bedroom door. Both letting out groggy moans as they woke up. 

“Up and at ‘em! We have a big day ahead of us!” Wario stated as he tossed the twin’s outfits onto the foot of the bed. 

“What has you so chipper?” Mario asked, rubbing his eyes as Luigi clung to his other arm. 

“This is what happens when he’s given attention.” Waluigi commented from the doorway. But he also looks pleased. 

“Come on,” Wario called out again, “Up, up, up! Get your butts up!”

Breakfast consisted of a quick bite before the group was led outside and separated. Merri and Mario heading towards the large lake followed by Peach and Waluigi. While Gigi and Luigi went towards the still shattered training grounds with Peasley and Wario close behind. Each twin gave the other a comforting smile before being taken away.

Mario’s apprehension over the situation grew as the shining surface of the water came better into view. Turning back to glare at Waluigi, “This was your idea, wasn’t it.”

“Just don’t give me a reason to toss you in and it’ll all be okay.”

“Come along you two!” Merri called out. Her and Peach already sitting near the edge of the lake.

Waluigi reached out to ruffle Mario’s hair before quickly making his way down. The hero letting out a disgruntled huff before following. He was situated between Merri and Waluigi with Peach sitting across. Frowning softly as his eyes flickered away from the gently rippling water and onto Merri. 

“So…what’s the plan for today? I’m not taking my gloves off again, am I?”

“No,” Merri flushed softly, “I do want to apologize for my actions yesterday. In my…eagerness to see your power, I pushed more than I meant to. I clearly crossed a line that I was unaware of, or blatantly ignored.”

“Um, well, it’s understandable-” Mario winced as Waluigi flicked his ear.

“Take the apology and stop being a people pleaser.” The taller brother said.

“The point being,” Merri said quickly, “that there’s been a change of course with how I’m handling this. So, the gloves will remain on until you’re in better control.”

Mario gave a small nod, doing his best to not flinch away as Merri gently grabbed one of his hands. Turning it over to it was palm up. The familiar pull felt as Merri’s hand traveled up Mario’s wrist. The sister pulling back as a fireball appeared in his hand once more. Mario cupped both of his hands around it. Merri following suit. 

“I would like to clear this for you. You and I are more similar in use of this ability than you and Bowser ever could be.”

Mario swallowed weakly, “But…you said…”

“In your strength, yes, you two share the same level. Far more than what’s been seen for centuries. But your handling with it is where your difference lies. Bowser spews from his mouth an eruption of flames, uncaring who or what is in his way. He doesn’t care how it spreads, what it destroys. Bowser is a display of power, nothing more.”

“But you and I, our ability comes through our hands. We build, we construct, we direct. We allow our actions to help and form a brighter path forward. In the BeanBean Kingdom, I’m a physical therapist. I heal and help beings with their recovery. My ability warms and comforts. Even with your limited control, you’ve shown that you want to know how to use your ability for good. It’s a strength, your strength, that will make this work.”

“Where our current concern lies is you feeling confident to comfortably and easily call upon your abilities. Yes, they do react when you’re feeling high emotions. But you need to be able to use them at any time that you need them. Not when you’re stressed.”

“Well, what do I need to do? I’ve already tried ‘calling’ it. But either nothing happens or it just goes crazy. This and yesterday before my…freak out, this is the first time it’s ever looked this…calm.” Mario replied. 

“Your issue lies with not treating this like an extension of yourself. This power is you, but you’re not acting like it is.”

“I…don’t understand.”

“You’re scared.” Waluigi answered.

Mario frowned softly. “That’s not really a secret. Kind of why I’m getting help now, right?”

“What Waluigi is trying to say is that you seem to be more fearful of this power,” Merri tilted her head as Mario shrunk back slightly, “You are safe here. These powers are safe.”

Mario remained quiet for a few moments. The fire flickering as if providing further proof of his internal struggles at that moment.

“It’s an understatement when I say this has all been so crazy,” Mario whispered, “Everything that Luigi and I have faced… It feels so surreal. Like an insane dream. How many people think that a random green pipe would send them to a new land? But…being a hero, fighting Bowser, living here… It’s been crazy, but manageable, in some way. Like, I could sort of associate what I was doing with what I did on Earth. It’s a job, just a little different. It’s a place to live, just a little different. It’s a bully…just a little different.” 

“A hero instead of a plumber. Power-Ups instead of a toolbox. I know it sounds like a weird mentality, but it worked.”

“What of the Firebrand?” Merri asked softly.

“...It’s the one thing I couldn’t push away. It’s not something that fits into a ‘normal’ category. It was a constant reminder that this, all of this, was something that shouldn’t be real. It never disappears. It’s just a reminder that I’m playing a role, that I’m never going to be…ready. What does this world have to offer? What other new changes do we have to face and just be okay with? The more I focus on these powers the more I realize…”

“I’m…very scared. I hate that I have this thing inside me that I can’t control that I’m supposed to just see as normal. That it’s fine. But it’s not fine. I’m realizing that nothing about this is fine . It’s a burden I don’t want and can’t get rid of.”

As if to prove his point, Mario crushed the fire between his hands. Only for small flames to peek out between his fingers. 

Merri gently pulled his hands apart, the fireball appearing once more. With the orb flickering. Shrinking and growing rapidly. 

“This power is a part of you.” She said softly.

“Humans don’t have magic.”

“I know nothing about humans or your past. But this ability cannot just be randomly given. To anyone, not just you. You’ve had this power lying dominant inside of you for a long time. Something that’s only appeared because of your arrival to our world. Regardless, this is part of you. Of your very soul. The more you fight to keep it away, the harder it will fight back to be seen.”

“So, I’m just stuck with this power that’s comparable to Bowser? The being that’s trying to destroy everything? How am I supposed to just be okay with this?”

His breathing became hard, smoke starting to flow from his mouth. Merri focused on keeping the fire contained in its sphere form. 

Peach gently reached out and wrapped around Mario. Pressing her forehead against his. Slowing her breathing, making sure Mario could feel it, smiling softly when he followed her. The fire calmed back down. 

“I thought I was doing fine,” Mario continued slowly, “I just pushed through as I always did. It’s kind of my stand by. Keep moving forward. Then the Boos attacked and I slowed down a bit. These powers showed up and I slowed down more. King Boo arrived and I just… I felt like I was pulling along a Thwomp, but I just kept moving forward. Just marking it all up to something I would get used to. Just…something that’s part of this world.” 

“Then Luigi got sick and…it shook me a lot more than I thought. I thought that…I wasn’t being as attentive as I believed I had been. I was trying to balance two different lives and I don’t know if I’m really keeping it all together. I can’t step back because I took on this role. But moving forward would mean facing something that I can’t deal with.”

“I’m afraid that if I touch something, I’m going to break it. And these powers…they make me a barely contained wildfire. I can’t protect what I could possibly destroy.”

He was broken from his daze when Waluigi plopped down on his other side. The taller brother wraps an arm easily around Mario and Peach.

“You will never cease to amaze me at how stupid you really are.”

“Do you think Bowser, or King Boo, or any of the other insane things we’ve seen the past few months are normal for any of us? We may not be heroes, but this is terrifying for all of us. That doesn’t mean we don’t reach out for help.” said Peach. 

“But it does put us in danger if our best hero is freaking out.”

Mario let out a snort as Peach slapped Waluigi’s arm. Who let out an indignant, “What?”

“The point trying to be made here is that you have a lot of people supporting you. It’s okay to be scared. But…I will say, with your stance on this, you’re a far better person than Bowser. You’re nothing like him. Not even close.”

Mario’s furrowed brows eventually softened. Shoulders relaxing as he leaned into Peach. Eyes going to the orb resting comfortably in his hands.

He shifted his shoulders so he could pull away from both Peach and Waluigi. Still focused on the fire. Merri’s hands remained cupped underneath his. Taking a deep breath, Mario carefully and slowly closed his hands once more. The fire disappeared this time. The hands opened to reveal that it was truly gone. Only for it to return once more. 

Merri beaming, “Wonderfully done.”

Peach let out a joyful laugh. 

Waluigi let out a sigh of relief. 

Mario just looked relaxed, finally seeming at ease with the fire held in his hands. “Alright, well, what do we do now?”

The question was never answered. 

The fire disappeared when the group was stilled by a heavy rumble in the distance. All turning to face where it came from. Mario quickly stood and broke away from the other three and he looked over the horizon. An uncomfortable feeling settling in his gut seeing the sky slowly turning black.

“Oh no… Not now.”

_____________________________

Luigi bit his lip as he tried to remain as still as possible. Even as the build up of nerves wanted to make him shake to release it all out somehow. Eyes following Gigi’s hand as it traveled around the human’s wrist and palm. A concerning hum sounding from the sister. 

For the time they had spent by the gardens, Luigi had been unable to call upon his powers. Despite Wario’s encouragement, Peasley’s words of comfort, and Gigi’s instruction, nothing seemed to be working. Now that even Gigi was having trouble pulling out what she’d been able to find the day prior. 

“Well…this is interesting.” Gigi mumbled softly.

“Found the problem?” Wario asked, leaning forward.

“Mmm, sort of. The Thunderhand ability is still there, it hasn’t just disappeared. That’s not possible. However, it’s faint…very faint. It’s acting as if it’s currently recharging. Or, rather, you’re recharging the energy needed to use Thunderhand. Whatever you’re able to produce relates to how ‘rested’ you are. If you’re tired, then your ability is tired as well.”

Wario crossed his arms, “Seems counterproductive with this ability… Would Mario be having the same issue as well?”

“No, Firebrand is based on another type of energy. Passion, is what it could be called. Luigi’s is more based on ‘life’ energy. The spark of life, if you will. Yesterday’s sudden strength and final output must have depleted all you had stored up.”

Luigi looked down as his hands in thought. “That…kind of checks out, actually. Every time I’ve used my ability, it’s released in a very strong way. Sort of like what happened yesterday. First time it happened, I had the hammer that worked as a conducting rod. But I hit the Piranha Plant with all I had. Same with trapping King Boo. I poured everything into getting him in there. Afterwards, I'll be asleep for hours if not until the next day.”

Gigi let out another low hum as she leaned closer. Letting out a quiet “Hold still please” before placing a hand on Luigi’s chest and forehead. Wario heard a faint but high pitched sound coming from the sister. Luigi seemed to close his eyes in response, breathing slowly.

This only lasted for a few moments, Gigi pulled away. A look of worry resting on her face. “You’re allowed to not answer this. But..have you had a brush with death?”

Luigi swallowed weakly, barely twitching as Wario gently placed a hand on his shoulder. But he did look up to Peasley as the prince gently took one of his hands. The human lets out a slow breath before nodding. 

“A few times, yeah, when I was younger.” 

Gigi hummed softly.

“Is that going to be a problem?” Wario asked. 

“Not so much a problem, but it offers an explanation as to where the issue lies. Your power feeds directly off of you. As stated, off the ‘life’ that you have. If you’ve had incidents where you were close to…passing on, those events create scarring on your soul. A sort of blockade from using your own power.” 

“Currently, the times that you’ve used it, it’s been a full release of what’s been built up. Sort of like running a marathon when you’ve not trained yourself to do so. Your body can’t handle that much loss, even more so when you’re putting such a strain on your already fragile soul. Even then, you’re not able to use what you have to its full potential.” 

“Wait, wait, wait,” Wario frowned, “You’re telling me that, even with Luigi cracking the foundation of solid stone, that’s not the strongest he could be?”

Gigi looked over and gave a solemn nod, “Thunderhand is a strong ability. But even I am a little fearful of how strong Luigi could really be.” 

“Okay, well, e-even with how strong I could be, clearly the b-bigger issue is that I still can’t control it,” Luigi quickly took over, “Going back to the original point. If what you’re saying is true, about how much energy I’m using up, I should still be out at this moment. Right?”

“I can’t provide a proper answer to that. Honestly, you’re an enigma to me. With the information you’ve provided me, you should be as limited as I am. But, that’s clearly not what’s happening… In regards to your energy level and use, my guess is that your body is becoming acclimated to the sudden loss. You’re up and I can still feel the power. It’s just not as strong as it could be to be used.”

“Okay, on the positive side, he’s building up his strength,” said Peasley, looking a little hopeful.

“It would appear so. Not enough to recover the level of power quickly. But at least he’s awake.” 

Luigi flexed his hands. He felt his chest and spine tingle, as if the ability was doing what it could to say ‘I’m here!’ to the worried human.

“Is there a way to fix this? To fix…any of this?” He asked weakly.

“Fix is not the best word for this. But, what we can do is, more or less, strength training. A way so that you don’t expel your power all at once. As well as see if there’s a way to strengthen your core. You’re very strong, but only in short blasts. When it should be a constant current. For today, we should just see if there’s a way to carefully bring it back out.” 

As Gigi moved forward once more, the group froze as the ground suddenly shook. As if something heavy had landed in front of the castle. 

Luigi was up the next second, running towards the front. Only to be greeted with Toad soldiers doing their best to hold off Bowser’s army. The castle already sustained some heavy damage. 

Luigi’s eyes scanned over the area, trying to frantically find Mario among the chaos. When he couldn’t find his brother, he focused on keeping Peasley and Gigi safe. Turning to Wario, he asked, “Do you have a Power-Up?”

“Yeah, Fire Flower.” Wario replied, handing it over.

“Good. Get Peasley and Gigi somewhere safe.”

Luigi faced the battle once more, crushing the Power-Up between his hands and…

Nothing.

The familiar rush of warmth that came with the Fire Flower was missing. Instead, Luigi jerked when he received a sharp sting to his chest. The Power-Up crumbled away to blackened ash. 

“W-What? Why didn’t-”

“Luigi! Move!” Wario called out.

He barely had time to move when something large landed behind him. Luigi slammed into the ground the next second. His head was ringing, vision slowly clearing up as he realized he was being forcefully held down by something large. 

That ‘something’ shifted and Luigi received his answer as to what it was.

Bowser, the King of the Koopa’s, leered at the clearly terrified human. Eyes glowing a dangerous red that matched the same color emitting deep from within his throat. Numerous spikes formed a natural collar around the base of the Koopa’s neck. Even with Luigi being pressed into the ground, the human could tell Bowser towered over everyone. 

“Well, well, this is the famous younger brother of Mario. Is it even possible that you’re a smaller pest than your brother? How pitiful.” 

As if to prove his point, Bowser increased the pressure around Luigi. Who let out a noise of pain in response.

“Let him go, you fiend!”

The smirk turned to a scowl as Bowser turned his attention towards Peasley and Wario. The prince calling out the Koopa, his sword drawn with Wario right by his side. Hammer in hand. Both staring the Koopa down. 

“More players. A wayward soul and a prince of a once proud kingdom. Is this really the best the Mushroom Kingdom has to offer for champions?” 

“I commanded you to let him go.” Peasley pointed his sword at Bowser. Clearly trying to intimidate. Which faltered when the Koopa stood to his full height, Luigi still held tightly in his hand. 

“Well, if you feel so strongly about this, why don’t you come over and get him?”

Heart hammering, Luigi attempted to think of a way out. He couldn’t break out with his own strength. But the Power-Ups weren’t working, so that couldn’t be useful either. All that left was…

“Please, please, please,” Luigi whispered, “I need to get out. Just a little shock. That’s all I need…”

Bowser let out a roar of pain as visibly arches of energy traveled up his arm. Causing him to throw Luigi away, the human colliding against Wario. Causing them both to collapse onto the ground.

Attempting to take advantage of Bowser’s state of pain, Peasley rushed forward. Easily climbing his way up to the Koopa’s neck via the large arm that was on the ground. Trying to quickly locate a vital area before plunging his sword into Bowser’s neck. All resulting in a more annoyed Koopa as the sword barely punctured the thick skin. 

Peasley was easily swiped off. Letting out a pained cry as he hit the ground. Thankfully able to recover fast enough to roll out of the way of Bowser’s fire. Only to land himself among numerous Koopa Troopas, who held him at spear point.

Wario was up next, swinging his hammer at the Koopa’s legs. Side stepping a swipe from Bowser’s claws. Landing another hit before being knocked back with Bowser’s tail. Wario using his tool to keep him upright and slowing himself down. 

Panting weakly, Wario looked over to Luigi. “What’s happening, where did the Power-Up go?”

“I-I don’t know, it just disintegrated.” Luigi replied in a panic.

“What about your Thunderhand?”

“I called on it to get out of Bowser’s hand. I-It just barely came out then. Nothing’s h-happening now.”

“Shit, then we need to-”

Both looked up hearing a panicked scream. Finding Gigi being pulled towards the flying fortress. Peasley doing his best to fend off Bowser’s army. But was clearly losing his fight, covered with numerous cuts and bleeding. They’d barely taken a step forward when the Koopa King blocked their path, letting out a low warning growl.

Luigi scrambled back as he and Wario avoided another attack. Bowser’s red eyes following the human. His row of sharp teeth shown in a sinister smile. 

“Are you really supposed to be the other ‘hero’? Where is your strength, your drive! You just flee and let others fight for you. How could you ever be considered as a threat, on the same level as Mario.”

Luigi felt as if his heart was in his throat. Scrambling further away as clawed hands followed close.

“Where’s your power, your strength! Where is your fight !” 

Pulling back again, Luigi attempted to land his first hit. Only problem was, without powers, it resulted in him almost breaking his hand against the thick, rough skin. Quickly bringing the trembling hand to his chest. 

“Pathetic.”

It was the last words Luigi recalled before receiving a heavy swipe to his side. The human flying back once more and landing back on the ground. Feeling his overalls becoming warm and sticky from where the hit struck. He could have sworn he’d heard Peasley desperately calling out his name.

Slowly sitting up with a hand pressed over the wound, Luigi’s eyes connected briefly with Peasley. Who was fighting back as he was also pulled towards Bowser’s keep. The human’s attention then snapping to Bowser as he stalked closer. 

“I should just put you out of your misery.” The Koopa growled out.

Bowser gave a slight pause when a familiar hammer hit his shoulder. Waving it off easily as Wario stood between him and Luigi. 

“Don’t you threaten him!” Wario glared up at the Koopa.

Bowser just laughed, “Is Mario the only one who can give me even a little bit of a challenge?”

“Lord Bowser!” A lone Winged Koopa appeared, barely casting a glance towards Wario. Less to Luigi who was still lying on the ground. “We have secured the sisters and the prince. Kamek reports he has secured Peach.”

“What!?” Wario twitched as Bowser casually looked back, a smirk playing across the Koopa’s face.

“It seems that the Mushroom Kingdom is not as prepared as I thought they would be. How shameful. Suppose we aren’t as powerful as we thought we were.”

Wario took a step forward, not really sure what he thought he was going to be able to do. After all, he knew his last hit only annoyed the large Koopa.

“Don’t waste your energy. You’ve lost.” Bowser leaned closer, Wario doing his best to glare back. “Be somewhat useful and tell that coward I’ll allow him front row seating to his brother’s death before I take his life.”

Bowser didn’t look away as he easily blocked Wario’s hammer. Who was now furious .

“You are going to regret those words.” Wario hissed out. 

“By whose hands, yours? Perhaps you’ll be the last to lose their lives, to show you how weak you truly are.”

Being pushed back, Wario faltered when he found him and Luigi suddenly surrounded by soldiers. 

“Go save your fallen failure. There’s nothing else you can do.” 

“Don’t turn your back on-” Wario fell quiet as numerous spears were pointed at his neck. 

“Get it through your thick skull. You are not a threat.”

With that, Bowser left towards his fortress with his soldiers following soon after. Wario eventually regained feeling in his legs and weakly shuffled over to Luigi. Practically collapsing next to the human. Panic rising as he finally saw the blood. 

“Shit… Shit, h-hold on Luigi, you’re gonna be fine.”

He couldn’t help how shaky his voice was. Hands trembling as he cradled the severely injured human close, eyes looking up when Toad medics rushed over. Mushrooms held out to heal both Wario and Luigi. The former feeling cold, realizing how quickly it all turned south. 

_____________________________

Mario let out a heavy grunt as he hit the ground hard. Frantically gripping onto the broken ground to slow himself quickly. Arms numb from where the magic attack had landed. 

He let out a growl as smoke poured from his mouth. Getting back up on shaky legs as Kamek floated closer. The magic Koopa smirking at the clear pain Mario was in. 

“How boring,” Kamek said casually, “Where are your powers? Not even Power-Ups? Have you decided to just…give up?”

“You weren’t so high and mighty before.” Mario hissed out.

“Not much of a threat when you can barely stand.” Kamek snorted. It turned into a cackle as Mario attempted to throw a fireball. Which appeared nothing more than a spark. “You poor thing! Firebrand takes years to master, and that’s just for Koopas. The rightful controller over this ability. It has no reason to listen to a worthless human like yourself.” 

Mario’s attention turned away for a moment hearing a heavy ‘thump’. Finding Waluigi doing his best to keep Koopa Troopa’s away, his hammer creating decent sized dents in the dirt.

“Waluigi!” The red dressed hero attempted to run over to help. Only for a beam of magic to wrap around his middle and forcefully pulled him back. 

“We aren’t done talking, child,” Kamek growled out, taking great enjoyment when Mario collided against a large chunk of rubble. The magic user casually floated down. Gleefully watching as Mario attempted to get back up. The human coughing as he tries to breathe.

“Tell me, oh hero, where did you get these abilities?” 

“...W-What?”

Mario let out a yelp as he was roughly pulled off the ground. Legs kicking desperately as magic slowly squeezed his middle, pushing the air he’d just collected out of his lungs. Feeling as if his skin was being pierced by thousands of needles. 

“WHERE did you get these ABILITIES!” Kamek screamed, clutching the front of Mario’s shirt. Pulling him closer to tower over the human, “This belongs to the Koopa lineage and a worthless, pathetic little worm like you has no right to carry it with you. So, I will ask one more time. Where did you get this ability.”

On the ground, Waluigi slammed his hammer down. Causing the Koopas to scramble back. He was about to swing once more when he heard Mario call out in pain. Wide eyes quickly scanning the area to find the human in his current predicament. 

“Shit,” Waluigi mumbled weakly. Eyes narrowing down on the nearest Koopa, who’d gone inside their shell. “Come here!”

The soldier barely had time to fully recover from the previous attack when they were knocked into the air. Hit one final time to be launched towards Kamek. 

Said warlock let out a squawk of surprise when the shell collided against his back. Causing him to drop Mario. Waluigi was thankfully able to catch the fallen human. 

“I got you. I got you, you’re okay.” The taller brother whispered frantically. Doing his best to look over Mario’s wounds while also keeping an eye on Kamek. Taking a protective stance when the warlock drew closer. 

“Your family had been quite a nuisance for us for too long,” Kamek hissed, “Is this your father’s doing? What did that insect find, what did he give to those twins?” 

Waluigi froze at that, eyes widening as he stared down the warlock. “...What? What the hell are you talking about? How do you know my dad?”

“I don’t have time for this. Tell the worthless magic user that Lord Bowser will be waiting for him. He wants to see how truly powerful that human is. I’m not impressed. But Lord Bowser wants a show. So Mario best deliver.”

Pulling away, Kamek raised his wand. Swinging it in a circle above his head with magic falling over him and the Koopas. All disappearing in a flash of light.

“Wait!” Waluigi called out. But was too late to call anyone back or make any of them stay. Eyes remain still on where Kamek just was.

“...Where’s our dad.”

_____________________________

“Oh, this is horrible! Horrible! How could it turn out this way? No other kingdom will ever put faith in us when a disaster of this magnitude falling at our feet.”

Wario was a little more than forceful than he meant to be when closing the bedroom door. He was exhausted from hearing Toadsworth’s doom rambling. It was turning the already bad mood even worse. Facing the room again, Wario’s attention went right to his brother.

“Say that one more time.”

Waluigi huffed, arms crossed tightly. “Kamek blamed our dad for these two having powers.”

“Anything about where he is?”

Waluigi shook his head.

Wario let out a low curse before shaking his head. “We’ll…worry about that later. What do we do about the current situation at hand?”

“I face Bowser and get everyone out.” Mario responded immediately. Faltering slightly when Luigi flinched at the name.

“That is a suicide mission,” Wario argued, “Power-Ups aren’t working on either of you and your abilities are no go. You’ll be facing Bowser the most human you’ve ever been.”

“You told me that Bowser’s throwing down a challenge to me. I’m not going to ignore it and just think we’ll have time to recover in some way.”

“What about getting everyone out safely, huh? You might be able to get Peach if you beat Bowser’s ass. But you’ll be facing Kamek and whoever else is with him to get the other three.” said Waluigi.

“I’ll figure something out.”

Waluigi rolled his eyes while Wario let out an exasperated grunt. MArio fully prepared for them to start yelling at him. About how stupid this ‘plan’ was and-

“I’m going with you.”

Mario sharply turned to face Luigi. Who was sliding off the bed to stand. Not looking at Mario.

“Like hell you are.” The older twin quickly argued.

Luigi didn’t back down, even facing Mario with narrowed eyes. “I’m a hero too. I’m going to get Peasley back.”

“While you two are being knights in shiny armor for your crushes, we’ll grab the sisters.” Waluigi casually added on. Wario giving a sharp nod of approval. 

“No!” Mario retaliated quickly, “No, I’m not bringing anyone else into this! Bowser has issued the challenge to me, not to any of you.”

“Fine, then we’ll divide and conquer. You focus on Bowser while we get everyone else out.” said Luigi.

“But…you can’t use Power-Ups either. If something happens you just be-”

“A sitting duck? So will you! At least with me focusing on getting Peasley will keep me far, far away from Bowser.” 

Mario swallowed weakly as his eyes flickered down to his brother’s side. Where claw marks were currently hidden. 

He was broken out of his stupor when a hand landed heavily onto his shoulder. Looking back to find Waluigi standing over him. 

“Stop being an idiot.”

Mario opened his mouth to argue back. Only for realization to hit him and he snapped it shut. Eyes going back to a confused and still determined looking Luigi. 

“...Okay,” Mario eventually said, “But I think it would be best to think of a plan first.”

“Oh, well, as long as you think it’s a good idea to plan now.” Waluigi playfully mocked, unable to keep a pleased smirk off his face.

“Shut up.”

Wario casually dropped an arm over Mario. “Alright Mini-Me, what’s the plan?”

.

.

.

“You’re not a very gracious host. Are you aware of that?”

Peasley couldn’t hold back the wince as a spear easily cut his skin. Golden sap staining another area on his white outfit. 

“Keep your mouth shut.” A Koopa grunted out.

For as much lava as he’d seen at the edge of the barren area, Peasley was freezing. The stone halls of the prison caused the area to be dark and damp. The prince only able to see a few feet in front because of the flickering torches. He was being shepard along by two large Koopa soldiers.

Peach had been taken by Bowser to remain with him in the Lord’s throne room. The sisters whisked away to a different part of the dungeon while Peasley was brought to possibly the lowest part of the darkened area. This no doubt being a deliberate move as Bean citizens don’t thrive well without sunlight. 

Peasley was pulled from his bitter thoughts when the bindings around his wrists were cut. Not mentally quick enough to recognize that he was free before being shoved into an empty cell. It seems somehow darker than the hallways.

“Hope the accommodations are to your liking, your highness.” One soldier snidely commented. Both laughing as Peasley pulled at the cell bars. 

“You don’t scare me,” Peasley growled out, “Luigi will be here soon to rescue me.”

“That coward? Ha! You wish! The only thing he’s good at is running away. Best to get yourself comfortable.” 

Peasley did his best to glare at the Koopa’s retreating backs as they continued to laugh. Only moving when he knew he was along. 

First, tugging and pulling desperately at every bar and even the door in hopes he could find a weak point. When that didn’t work, Peasley turned his attention to the stone structure that he now stood in. He knew he was underground. So, even if parts of the wall could crumble away, he would just be met with dirt. 

“One last thing.”

Kneeling onto the ground, Peasley pressed both hands flat against the large stones. Eyes closing, he took a few deep breaths to calm himself. 

“Please my friends… I need your help…”

A bubble of hope grew as Peasley felt the familiar vibration of a growth coming up from the ground. Only for that bubble to pop as quickly as it formed. Peasley opened his eyes to see a pile of ash, that was no doubt the start of the called upon sprout, now resting before him. 

“No…no, no! Friends, what happened?”

Hands going back to the ground, trying to call out once more. But all received in return were whispers of death and decay. Heart shattering further upon realizing what was happening. This land, even with how limited Bowser had been there, could not longer grow life.

Breathing becoming harsh, Peasley wrapped his arms around himself. The cold became further unbearable, like knives against his skin.

“Luigi…please find me…”