Luigi's Adventure

This is one I wrote quite a few years ago and I feel like sharing. This was written before I started to get the hang of how certain types of sentences should work in a story, but I hope you have fun with it regardless. Also, for anyone confused, this is a musical fic, so whenever the characters rhyme, imagine they're singing:

There have been many great stories over the years telling of great heroes fighting to save the ones they love from the clutches of evil. This is one of those stories, but it might be a little bit different than what you might expect. It all begins in a dark castle located in a gloomy location where lava and fire rule.

A princess by the name of Peach had been locked up in a cage by the evil king Bowser Koopa. Each day, she awaited a hero who would save her while saying the following to herself:

"Oh, Mario, my sweet, please come to free me soon. The only pleasant thing I ever see from here is the moon. I wish with all my might that maybe by tonight, you will be my knight to be... and free me."

Who was this Mario you might ask? Why, he was the hero of the mushroom kingdom, but not a knight in shining armour like one would expect. No, this man was a plumber from Brooklyn. But he wasn't an ordinary plumber. See, he could run at intense speeds that could match that of a cheetah, bust open stone blocks with just his fists and to top it all off, he could leap over large gaps without a hint if fear in his eyes.

At this very moment, he was standing outside of the castle, a serious look in his eyes as he knocked down the entrance, a group of turtles known as koopas and mushrooms called goombas appeared before him. However, they were no match for the plumber as he leaped atop a koopa's head, forcing it into its shell and kicking the shell toward the other minions, making quick work of them.

As he headed down the hall, he felt an eery presence as a large ghost referred to as a boo appeared behind him. When the plumber heard a maniacal laugh that all boos possessed, he let out a sigh, rolled his eyes and turned to face the spirit. The ghost immediately panicked and held his hands over his eyes, a blush forming as he turned slightly transparent, Mario folding his arms and saying, "I don't know why he hires these things."

Meanwhile, a large dragon sporting a turtle shell named Bowser entered the room Peach was locked in and fumed, saying, "Alright, Princess Peach, I will ask you again..." the princess turning and glaring before shouting, "NO!!!!! I REFUSE TO MARRY A HORRIBLE CREATURE LIKE YOU!!!!! WHEN WILL YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?!!!!"

See, Bowser was the king of all koopas and was a powerful force to be reckoned with. He often kidnapped Princess Peach for he was absolutely in love with her and wanted to be her husband. But knowing she would never fall for the forces of evil, Bowser would always use force in the hopes that he could make Peach change her mind.

The dragon covered his ears, groaning and saying, "If you don't agree to be my bride, then I will never let you out of that cage!" as the princess folded her arms retorting, "It doesn't matter. I know that Mario is coming to save me like always."

"Oh, you think so?" Bowser replied with a wicked grin, "I've pulled out all the stops to make sure he doesn't make it here."

"You mean like an army of koopas and goombas?" came a voice from behind Bowser, the dragon nodding and saying, "Yes," the voice adding, "Did you also throw a boo in there?" the king stating, "Oh yes," then recognizing the accent, his eyes widened as he slowly turned his body around, noticing the very plumber he didn't want to see standing right there.

Bowser's eye twitched as Mario shook his head, stating, "Seriously, you're just not trying anymore. This was your least elaborate attempt to stop me yet."

Bowser gritted his teeth before letting out a sigh, a smile crossing his face as he stated, "It's a good thing I happen to have a Plan B," pressing a button on the side of the wall as a big door opened up, a battle robot that resembled the king emerging.

As the robot shot a flame from its mouth, Mario easily leaped over it and kicked the robot's head clean off, Bowser's eye once again twitching. However, the king felt confident as he opened his mouth, releasing a fireball of his own.

As Mario dodged the incoming projectile, he wasn't prepared when Bowser thrust his arm forward, hitting the plumber hard in the face and sending him reeling into the wall. The king laughed wickedly, Peach placing her hands over her mouth only for the smoke to clear, Mario coughing and shaking his head before scowling, Bowser's confidence turning to fear while the plumber leaped toward him, planting his feet hard into the dragon's skull. Bowser started seeing stars as he fell hard on his back, now out cold while Mario performed a flip off of the king's face, landing in front of Peach's cage and pulling a flower out of his pocket.

This was known as the fire flower as when used, it gave the user the powers of, well, fire. As it glowed, Mario's overalls changed from red and blue to white and orange, the plumber forming a fireball in his hand before placing said hand over the lock to the cage. The fire proved more than enough to melt the lock as the door opened up, Mario bowing and pointing away from himself, Peach curtsying and saying, "Don't mind if I do," making her way out of the prison.

However, before the two could make their escape, Bowser slowly struggled to rise back up to his feet, breathing heavily and pointing at Mario groaning, "Just where do you think YOU'RE going!?"

"I'm leaving," the plumber remarked, shrugging as the king fumed, his arms, legs and head soon entering his spiked shell as he hurled himself at the two.

However, Mario and Peach narrowly managed to avoid the incoming attack as they ran outside of the room and onto a bridge hanging over a pit of lava. However, Bowser wasn't too far behind as he quickly entered the area, letting out a loud roar. But before he could advance toward the two, Mario and Peach reached the end of the bridge where Mario noticed a big axe right next to the support ropes.

Bowser's eyes went wide as Mario formed a grin, picking up the axe as the dragon shook his head, the plumber simply nodding in response as he threw the axe down, cutting the ropes while Bowser groaned, saying to himself, "Well, at least I wasn't standing on it this time."

After a few hours of travelling, the two had returned to Peach's home, a vast, beautiful land known as the Mushroom Kingdom. The specific location they were in was Toad Town, a humble place with a big castle in the middle.

The toads weren't really amphibians but rather small people who lacked noses and wore mushroom caps on their heads. Upon seeing the plumber and princess arriving, one of the Toads looked up and shouted, "Hey, guys, Mario saved the princess again!"

The toad next to him nodded and exclaimed, "Mario and the princess are back!" all of the toads repeating the same words amongst themselves as soon enough, word hit the castle as the message was spread all throughout there. The one happiest to hear this news was an old toad named Toadsworth. He was Peach's guardian and always panicked whenever something bad happened to her.

As he looked out the window to the castle and saw Mario and Peach headed toward the building, the old man sighed with relief as the toads all gathered around chanting, "It's a dark time for us all, a time for us to fear! Every day we know Bowser's henchmen might be near! But with that horrible king stealing our princess from us, there's one man, one hero who is sure to stop the fuss!"

"And his name is..." said a choir instructor as the toads came together and said amongst themselves, (Imagine this to the Mario Brothers theme song) "Mario, the plumber who came to our land one great fateful day. He came at just the right time to save the princess so we could play."

The royal guards bowed when Mario and Peach entered the castle and whispered to each other, "He is truly the greatest we have to battle the bad koopa clan. No matter what Bowser throws at him he'll thwart the plan."

"He's so manly, gracious and strong," one of the maids stated, another adding, "I've been jealous of Peach all along. She really is one lucky lady to have him."

All of the toads in the castle watched the couple climb up the steps while chanting, "Without him, we would all be lost, and we don't even want to know at what cost! Mario's what our kingdom needs, someone who's service is guaranteed."

While Mario and Peach opened the door to the princess's room, the toads all said amongst themselves, "Mario, the plumber who came to our land one great fateful day. With him here, there's no doubt that we no longer have to pray!"

Upon seeing the two enter, Toadsworth breathed a sigh of relief before walking over to Peach and hugging her saying, "Oh, Princess, you had me worried sick! I was afraid you'd been lost for good this time!"

"Toadsworth, you're being silly," Peach replied with a giggle, "You know as well as I do that Mario always saves the day," Mario grinning proudly, adding, "You have nothing to worry about with me around."

"Yes, yes, I know that," Toadsworth replied with a sigh, "It's just that I can't help worrying about you. It seems as if you're doomed to always be kidnapped by that horrible monster!"

"He seems to be running out of tricks," Mario remarked, rolling his eyes, "He wasn't even trying this time. Who knows? He may actually consider retirement now."

All the while, at a small house located a few miles from the kingdom was Mario's brother, Luigi, who was currently doing the laundry as he sighed, "I wish I could go and save a princess just like my brother. He's probably back by now."

At that very moment, a knocking came from the door as Luigi blinked, turning to face the door and made his way toward it saying sarcastically, "Gee, I wonder who it could be," opening the door and seeing a flying turtle flapping his wings there. Luigi blinked as the turtle reached into a bag, pulling out an envelope and handing it over to the plumber.

Luigi blinked saying, "It's from the castle," recognizing the crown drawn on the envelope before opening it up and reading aloud, "Dear Luigi, I just wanted you to know that I have returned and Princess Peach is once again safe. We're going to celebrate with a party in my honour later tonight and I was wondering if you'd like to attend. Sincerely, Mario."

Luigi let out a sigh, shrugging and saying, "Well, it's not like I have anything better to do today," looking at the laundry with a frown adding, "He can do his own laundry."

Now don't get the wrong idea here. Luigi loved Mario like, well, a brother, but he envied the plumber. He wished he could be the great hero that Mario was. It was his life-long dream to one day find a princess of his own who he could save vowing that if the day were to come, he wouldn't wait forever to propose like his brother did.

Meanwhile, the party was almost completely set up in the dining hall as Mario watched the servants at work, Peach entering with her fanciest dress on, the plumber blushing and saying, "Please, Princess, you don't have to go to all this trouble. It's not like I've never saved you before."

"That's true," the princess replied, "but still, you rescuing me is no small feat. Besides, dinner tonight is a fancy pasta dish with cake for dessert," Mario's eyes widening, the plumber drooling before saying, "I think I love you," Peach giggling. Mario always had a weakness to pasta since childhood hence his rather big belly.

Luigi soon arrived after being led into the dining hall by one of the servants, Mario smiling and exclaiming, "Luigi!" running over to his brother and giving him a hug, Luigi smiling and patting his brother on the back. Sure, he may have been envious, but he wasn't spiteful towards his brother. They still shared a strong brotherly connection with one-another.

"Well, congratulations on another successful rescue," Luigi said, "Not that I didn't see it coming."

"What can I say?" Mario replied with a shrug, "It's a gift."

And so dinner went swimmingly, everyone enjoying themselves. However, Luigi wasn't enjoying himself as much as the others. Sure, he ate some of the pasta he'd been given, but for some reason, he couldn't finish it. Perhaps he was just tired of Mario always having special events dedicated to him.

However, as if the party wasn't enough, Toadsworth rose up from his seat and announced, "While you all enjoy this meal, try to remember who we are dedicating it to! As such, I propose a toast to Mario, that wonderful Plumber who has saved our fair princesses so many times and asked for nothing in return!" the toads all cheering as Luigi weakly rose his glass saying, "Yay..."

Peach then kissed Mario on the nose as the plumber blushed, laughing before patting Luigi on the back saying, "You know, I wouldn't have so much confidence if it weren't for my younger brother!"

Luigi perked up at the sound of that as Mario added, "I mean, if he didn't stay at home to do the chores every time I went out, I may actually feel bad about running off to save the princess!" the toads laughing as Luigi grimaced, folding his arms as the older plumber looked over at him saying, "Oh, cheer up, Luigi, I don't mean it like that. You're a great brother."

Luigi forced a smile and said, "Of course," as Mario laughed, stating, "That's the spirit," Luigi suddenly getting up and saying, "Excuse me, I need to use the bathroom."

Mario and Peach watched the man leave, shrugging before returning to their meal. However, Mario was a tad worried. Luigi looked upset to him, but what reason would his brother have to be upset?

As Luigi walked down the halls, looking down at the ground, he let out a sigh before saying to himself, "In a kingdom that's in trouble, who's always there on the double? I can tell you it's not me. I mean, how could it be?"

Looking up at a picture of Mario on the wall, the plumber added, "I'm not quite as strong as he is, nor do I have his courage too. If I laid eyes on danger, there would be nothing I could do."

Proceeding to walk further down the hall, Luigi let out another sigh before stating, "Everybody looks up to him because he always risks life and limb while I always stay at home only dreaming I could be a hero too. But what if I was more like Mario, braver and stronger than all the rest? Maybe I could be the best of the best. Oh, who am I kidding? All I can do is sing this rhyme. Oh, tell me god, when will it be my time?"

Luigi let down a tear, wiping it right away and sniffing before pacing back and forth saying to himself, "When will it be my time? When will it be my time? When will I get my chance to be a hero?"

Then looking up with fire in his eyes, the plumber added, "When will it be my time? When will it be my time? When will I no longer be a zero?"

Then looking down, the plumber shook his head and stated, "I'm just not brave enough nor am I all that tough. I wish that I could be strong, but that way of thinking just seems wrong. Perhaps I'm doomed to live in my bro's shadow all my life destined to never even have a wife. All I can really do right now is sing this melancholy rhyme while wondering when it will be my time."

Then slowly making his way back to the dining hall, Luigi looked down sighing, "When will it be my time? When will it be my time? When will I get my chance to be a hero? When will it be my time? When can I stop singing this rhyme?"

Then letting out a deep breath, the plumber let down a tear adding, "I guess it's my destiny to be a zero."

Then wiping his tear, the plumber simply reentered the dining hall, figuring he may as well trying to enjoy himself. He needed to accept the fact that his brother was just more successful than he was.

All the while, Bowser sat on his throne with a look of anger on his face as the koopas and goombas all came to his aid, nervous smiles on their faces while they pampered the king, Bowser groaning, "Enough, this isn't helping."

The minions sighed and exited the room as Bowser slumped in his chair, groaning and asking, "What can I possibly do? No matter what I try, he always wins. That plumber is driving me insane!"

"If I may, your majesty," came a voice from behind the dragon, Bowser's eyes going wide with confusion as the voice continued, "I may have an idea."

Bowser blinked, asking, "Who's there?" a koopa dressed in a wizard robe emerging from behind the king's chair, the dragon sighing, "It's only you, Kamek. Don't sneak up on me like that. I've had a rough day."

The old koopa, better known as a magikoopa, let out a sigh, tapping his foot as Bowser stared for a while. Soon, the reason for Kamek tapping his foot became clear as the king nodded in understanding.

"Okay," he said, "What's your plan?"

Kamek pressed a button as what looked like Peach entered the room, Bowser's eyes going wide as he smiled, running over to the princess and shouting, "YOU ACTUALLY KIDNAPPED HER FOR ME!!!!!" before Kamek shouted, "DON'T HOLD HER TIGHTLY!!!!!" Bowser stopping and blinking with confusion, the magikoopa letting out a sigh and explaining, "That's not really Princess Peach. This is a robot replica I have created of her."

Bowser then looked at the robot and whistled, rather impressed by the sight of it. It really did look just like the princess in every way possible. Though he was still confused as to what this was all about.

"Let me explain," Kamek stated, positioning his glasses, "See, my plan is to fly to the castle while Peach is asleep tonight and snatch her. After doing so, I will replace her with the robot so that the members of the mushroom kingdom won't realize she's gone."

"But how will that stop Mario?" Bowser replied as Kamek narrowed his eyelids, Bowser shrugging and asking, "What?" Kamek tapping his foot as the king soon realized what he meant, slamming his fist into his own palm before saying, "That's brilliant! If they don't know Peach is gone, Mario won't come to save her!"

Kamek nodded with a wicked grin as Bowser laughed maniacally. This really was a great plan and with the robot looking so much like Peach, how could it possibly fail?

At this moment, the party had ended, but just as everyone was leaving, Peach noticed the time and asked, "Hey, Mario, how would you and Luigi like to spend the night?"

Luigi blinked and looked at Mario, realizing that he pretty much had the authority here as Mario grinned and said, "Well, I don't see why not."

And thus Luigi's jealousy had shown its ugly face again. While he was sleeping in a regular guest room, Mario was sharing a bed with Peach in her room. Granted, the two had to assure Toadsworth that they wouldn't do anything other than sleeping, but Toadsworth had caved in a little too easily, especially for him considering how paranoid he usually was.

Nevertheless, Luigi was too tired to drone on such matters as he yawned, falling asleep in seconds. It was nice sleeping in a castle even if he wasn't in the fanciest of beds.

Mario and Peach were also fast asleep as Kamek flew over to the window, waving his wand around before creating a magical hole in the glass, passing through it. Since it was so dark, he didn't seem to notice that Mario was there as he pulled out a big sack, throwing it over who he figured was the princess and pulling out another bag, pulling out the robot replica and placing it where his captive was originally sleeping. Then laughing wickedly, he flew off.

However, the next morning, Peach awoke and was still in her bed as she slowly turned to face Mario saying, "Good morning, honey."

However, he eyes went wide as she noticed a spitting image of herself in Mario's stead, the robot princess slowly getting up and looking at Peach, attempting to speak only for sparks to fly out, her head coming off and dangling from a spring. Clearly this robot had not been designed very well.

Although this hardly mattered right now. All Peach cared about at this moment was that Mario was missing as she screamed.

Toadsworth quickly opened the door, breathing heavily and clutching his heart asking, "I say, princess, what ever is the matter?"

Peach pointed to the broken robot replica of herself next to her as Toadsworth blinked before passing out on the spot. Just the sight of a beheaded Peach, real or not, was enough to give him a heart attack. But there was still one question going through Peach's mind: Where had this replica come from and where was Mario?

 

Soon enough, Luigi entered the room, a groggy look in his eyes as he asked, "What's going on? I heard screaming," before letting out a large yawn.

"It's awful," Peach said with tears in her eyes, "Mario's been kidnapped!"

Luigi was now wide awake as he looked at the bed, seeing the broken robot replica of Peach as his eyes went wide, the plumber in absolute panic. As mentioned before, Luigi did care about Mario despite his envy of the portly plumber, so naturally, seeing that he was missing was not a good sign.

After a few minutes, Toadsworth had finally recovered from his heart attack as now a meeting was being held. Peach had explained the whole situation as the toads were all in panic. However, they all came to the same conclusion: Bowser must have been behind this.

"Okay, so we're all in agreement that rapscallion Bowser Koopa is behind this," Toadsworth stated, "The question though is who's going to go rescue the poor lad? Mario is the only one in this kingdom who could ever stand up to the wicked beast head-on."

While the toads in the area started to panic even more, Luigi all the while gulped, thinking about how self-centered he'd been. Maybe this was an answer from the heavens and Luigi had unintentionally caused this to happen.

Suddenly, Peach looked at the thin plumber and said, "Wait, everyone, I have an idea!"

The toads calmed down as the princess smiled at Luigi and said, "Surely Luigi will be able to save Mario!" the plumber's eyes wide open as he retorted, "WHAT!?"

"Ah, yes," Toadsworth replied, "Capital idea if I say so myself. Quite ingenious, Princess."

"What makes you think I could possibly save him?" Luigi asked, looking down and adding, "I've never saved anyone."

"Oh, come now," Toadsworth replied as Peach explained, "Well, you're related to Mario. You must have some of his abilities."

"All I can do is run faster and jump slightly higher," Luigi remarked, "I don't have his strength. I'm sorry, but I'm not hero material."

The sad fact was that Luigi wasn't being humble right now. He really meant what he was saying. He knew that deep down inside, no matter how much he wanted to be a hero, he wasn't meant to be one. Mario was the one with power. Luigi wasn't.

Realizing this herself, Peach let out a sigh and looked down saying, "Well, I guess we could send some royal guards. It's better than nothing," Toadsworth nodding and said, "I'll be right on it," then turned to face the guards in the hall stating, "Alright, men, this will be a most difficult task but it must be done," the guards giving an army salute while Luigi got up from his seat, exiting the room with a look of shame on his face.

Meanwhile, back at Bowser's castle, the king awoke to see Kamek right in front of him, a wicked grin on his face and a bag next to him, the bag moving as if something was struggling to get out. Bowser's eyes went wide, the king grinning wickedly as he said, "Kamek, you really are something else! Now hurry up, open the bag! I wanna see my future bride's face!"

But as Kamek opened the bag, both were shocked to see not Peach but Mario fall out of it, breathing heavily and looking up, his eyes wide open. Bowser let out a gasp, backing up and pointing at the plumber shouting, "YOU'RE NOT PRINCESS PEACH!!!!!!!" Mario retorting, "No, I'm not!" rolling up his sleeves and advancing toward the king before Kamek shot a blast of magic from behind, a cage surrounding the plumber's body, chains locking him in place.

Bowser stared at this, trying to comprehend the situation while Kamek had a nervous look in his eyes. But as the magikoopa prepared himself for the yelling he figured would ensue, Bowser smiled, and it wasn't a wicked smile either. He was actually really happy right now.

"I-I did it!" the king exclaimed, rising his fist in the air shouting, "I HAVE CAPTURED MARIO AND EVEN PREVENTED ANY POSSIBLE ESCAPE!!!!!"

Kamek felt rather offended by the fact that the king was taking credit for his actions, but that didn't matter. At least Bowser was happy with these results.

"Okay, we'll get the princess later for sure," the koopa king said, "but right now, we have the next best thing. That Italian pest is behind bars and unable to stop me!"

"You know, I'm sitting right here!" Mario retorted as Bowser sighed, lifting up the cage and saying, "You have no right to backtalk me," taking the cage to the room he normally locked Peach in.

As painful as it was to admit, Bowser was right. Mario really had no way of escaping. He hadn't brought any power ups since he had been asleep and felt no need to have them on him and with his hands chained up, he couldn't really reach for them if he did have them. He had truly been beaten.

As Bowser closed the door to his prison, the dragon grinned wickedly and said, "This is truly a time for celebration, even though there was no decapitation. After all this time, the humiliation and the pain, it's finally my time to rein!"

With that, the king snapped his fingers as many of his soldiers assembled, Bowser explaining, "Everyone, I have a special announcement. I hereby decree that for the rest of the day, we party!" the minions all cheering as some pulled out instruments, playing a catchy fast-paced beat.

The koopa king rose his arms in the air in glory and exclaimed, "It's finally happened, it's finally here, the day I've been waiting for! It's much more special than marrying Peach, oh trust me, I've wanted it more! The day I thought would never come, a true moment to behold, the day that Mario was captured, something that truly deserves to be told!"

The minions stopped playing and stared, shocked by what they had just heard as Bowser glared, the creatures grinning before returning to their instruments as the king grinned, shouting, "Words cannot describe the wonderful feelings deep inside! I've been waiting for this all my life! Now with that plumber behind bars, there is nothing stopping me from making dear sweet Princess Peach my bride!"

As the dragon continued to dance in celebration, Kamek let out a sigh and said to himself, "That old fool, he thinks he did it all on his own. I was the one who did all the work and I haven't been thrown a bone. But I guess that's all right since he's happy right now, it is quite a nice sight. Surely he'll remember me, at least I'm sure he might."

Bowser continued to dance as placed his finger atop a goomba's head, spinning the mushroom into a wall as its eyes started to swirl, the fungus shaking the pain off and sighing. The koopa king then snatched a guitar from one of the koopas and started jamming on it, the minions clapping as he bowed before remembering what he was talking about before.

"Oh, Princess Peach, my dear sweet Peach, you just wait for me," he said in a soft tone, "It won't be long until the day when my bride you will be. Our wedding will be glorious even if it might be forced..." then letting out a sigh, he shrugged and exclaimed, "But I deserve everything I want, so that won't matter of course!"

"We are happy as can be you see for it's Bowser's finest day!" the minions chanted, "That is why we bring out our instruments and let our music play! After all the times and failures, things have really turned around! Now Mario is in our grasp and cannot bring us down!"

"It's finally happened, it's finally here, the day I've been waiting for!" Bowser shouted with a huge grin on his face, "It's much more special than marrying Peach, oh trust me, I've wanted it more! The day I thought would never come, a true moment to behold!"

The minions held the current note just a little bit longer before Bowser signalled them to play the final few notes as he belted, "The day that Mario was captured, something that should be told!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Back at the kingdom, Luigi had exited the castle, looking at it before letting out a sigh. As he took a step forward, the entire royal army marched out, knocking the plumber to the ground, some stepping on him while too focused on work to notice.

The plumber weakly held up one of his hands in agony, but realizing no one was coming, he sighed and pushed himself back up. It wasn't as if this was anywhere near as bad as the pain filling his heart.

Luigi slowly made his way over a bench in the town square, slumping down on it while holding his hands up against his chin. He wished that he was just dreaming this whole thing, that everything really was working out for the better.

"When will it be my time?" he sniffed, looking down into a small puddle at his reflection, "When will it be my time?"

Luigi saw his reflection being disoriented to make him look physically stronger for a brief second as he smiled, flexing one of his arms before the image went back to what was really there, the man letting out a disappointed sigh and weakly saying, "When will I get a chance to ever be a hero?"

As the man sat there in a depressed state, a toad wearing shades and a street jacket walked over to the bench and sat next to him. He simply placed his hands against his chin as well, glancing over at Luigi briefly before shrugging.

"Life got you down?" the toad asked as Luigi nodded, the mushroom man letting out a sigh and stating, "Me too. Life has not been treating me right."

"Oh yeah?" Luigi replied, "What's your problem?" the toad letting out a sigh and explaining, "All my life, I have wanted to be a true hero, make the world know my name so that Warren T. Toadwald would be loved by all!"

"Well, good luck," Luigi remarked, "I've been wanting there for years but I don't think I can do it."

Warren nodded before looking over at the plumber, looking over him and blinking. He shook his head, turning away but only lasted about 10 seconds before his eyes shot wide open, the toad facing Luigi a second time.

Luigi turned toward him asking, "Why are you staring at me?" Warren pointing at him and exclaiming, "You're Mario's brother, Luigi, aren't you!?"

Luigi blinked before nodding, the toad getting up off the bench and immediately bowing to the plumber saying, "I am truly not worthy to be having this discussion with you!" Luigi blushing and replying, "No, no, I'm not that great."

"But you have to be if you're related to the Mario!" Warren replied, Luigi shaking his head and saying, "Trust me, the only qualities I have that outdo his are running and, to a degree, jumping," as Warren placed a grip firmly on the plumber's arm retorting, "That's not exactly a bad set of traits to have! Maybe together we can become heroes! What's something hero-like we can do?"

Luigi paused for a few seconds, thinking about these very words. Maybe Peach was right. Perhaps he could save Mario's life. Maybe if he teamed up with this toad, he'd stand more of a chance.

Oh, but what was he thinking? The plumber would be more of a burden than anything, at least in his mind. He simply looked down and said, "Look, Warren, it's a nice offer and all, but I'm just not hero material," Warren shaking his head and replying, "I refuse to believe that! Come on, there's gotta be something we can do to make a name for ourselves!"

"Well, Mario has been kidnapped by Bowser," Luigi uttered, Warren's eyes going wide as he smiled saying, "Oh, that's perfect. If we save the great Mario, everyone will remember our names!"

Luigi's eyes simply went wide, his jaw dropped before he shook his head and retorted, "Are you NUTS!? The trip itself would be full of danger and I don't even want to imagine what Bowser's castle looks like!"

"Oh, come on," Warren replied with a grin, nudging the plumber and saying, "Together, we can do this. Just listen to what I have to say."

(Imagine this to the doughnut lifts theme from Yoshi's Island)

Warren leaped off the bench in front of Luigi before stating, "We've an opportunity, boy how lucky are we? I'm sure we'll make it through, just take it all from me," the plumber's eyes shifting back and forth while the toad snatched an old man's walking stick, spinning it around like a showman's cane adding, "I know it may seem hopeless, but look down deep inside and you'll see there's no reason to hide."

Luigi was about to object as the toad grabbed his hand, pulling him off the bench and saying, "I know that you can do it, just tell yourself you can. The fate of this whole kingdom rests right now in your hand," the plumber gulping and trembling, "But all that danger you'll face is nothing but a joke, just as long as you do not choke!"

"I'm sorry, Warren, you have the wrong guy, I am not a hero," Luigi replied, shaking his head, "My whole life I have been doomed to always be a zero. Maybe you should go and look elsewhere, you are not getting far," Warren smacking the man with the cane and retorting, "Just what kind of plumber do you think you are?"

He then took the man's hand and started pulling him along, twirling the walking stick around while repeating, "We've an opportunity, boy how lucky are we? I'm sure we'll make it through, just take it all from me. I know it may seem hopeless, but look down deep inside and you'll see there's no reason to hide."

"Do you really think right now that I truly have what it takes?" Luigi remarked, then placed his hand against his chin saying, "But then again, you may have a point, this could just be my big break," Warren patting him on the back and replying, "Now you have got the right idea, you will do big things soon. And don't forget I am helping you out too."

With that, the two started to tap dance through town, the toads staring at them as if they were crazy. But they decided not to ignore this as both strutted heroically toward the exit to toad town, which coincidentally led right into a forest. But this didn't bother them. They were determined to make names for themselves.

Luigi looked at the forest entrance, gulping as Warren patted him on the shoulders, the man letting out a sigh as the two advanced forward. Upon entering, a group of bugs looked at them until Luigi glared at them, the bugs taking off in an instant as the plumber smiled, Warren giving him thumbs up.

"We've an opportunity, boy how lucky are we?" both asked each other in unison, "I'm sure we'll make it through, just take it all from me. I know it may seem hopeless, but look down deep inside and you'll see there's no reason to hide!"

It wasn't long until Luigi started to regret his decision. Many horrifying sounds came from the bushes as Luigi trembled, looking back and forth, his teeth chattering. Warren gave him a glance and bit his lip before laughing nervously, giving the man thumbs up.

Luigi tried his best not to show any fear right now. After all, he'd need all the courage he could get out here. However, it was difficult now that his stomach was growling.

"I'm starving," the man sighed as Warren nodded, replying, "I wouldn't mind a bite myself," then his eyes went wide as he grinned, turning to Luigi and explaining, "I heard from a friend of a friend of the father of the cousin of an acquaintance of mine that there's a village just a few miles from here. There might be a restaurant there."

Luigi's eyes sparkled as the man started to drool, saying, "I wouldn't mind a nice bowl of rigatoni or tortellini..." Warren replying, "Pasta? Really?" Luigi remarking, "Well, what's wrong with pasta?" the toad shaking his head and saying, "I refuse to eat anything with carbs in it. It's bad for the system."

The toad then noticed a tree with fruit growing on it and pointed at it saying, "Hey, Luigi, that village may take us some time to find. How about appetizer first?" Luigi grinning and nodding his head before walking up to the tree and leaping up, snatching two fruits, Warren's eyes wide, his jaw dropped.

"Oh, that?" Luigi asked, shrugging, "It was nothing."

Warren then snapped out of his trance as he said, "Geez, I knew you were related to Mario, but I don't even think he can jump that high," Luigi sighing, "It's not much of an advantage. Now if only I had his strength..."

Unfortunately, the conversation was cut short when both heard a sound behind them, slowly turning to see a large open mouth, narrowly jumping away from it in time to avoid it, the mouth devouring their fruit, which they had subconsciously let go of during their evasion.

Soon enough, the owner of the mouth showed itself, letting out a loud roar as Luigi's eyes popped open, the plumber's knees shaking. This was a deadly plant known as a piranha plant and much like actual piranhas, these beasts had a hunger for anything with flesh.

Warren quickly dashed behind Luigi, trembling while saying, "Well, go on, do something. You're the hero, right?" Luigi retorting, "I thought you were supposed to the hero too!"

However, they couldn't think as it was soon revealed that this piranha plant wasn't embedded in the ground like most were. The plant advanced toward the two and opened its large jaws as Luigi grabbed onto Warren's hand and pulled him while fleeing for dear life. When he turned around, his eyes widened as the plant seemed extremely fast and was actually matching his speed.

If the plumber wanted to avoid being eaten at all costs, he'd need to try harder. With that in mind, he gritted his teeth and kicked into high gear, running twice as fast as before. After a few seconds, he had finally lost the piranha and was breathing heavily as Warren let out a sigh of relief saying, "Thanks. I owe you one," then turned to the plumber to see Luigi shaking in his boots whimpering, "Is it over?"

His fear soon left him when he noticed that he and Warren were in front of the village they had been heading toward. How convenient! Things were starting to look up now.

As the two entered the village, Luigi noticed it was filled with not toads but goombas, koopas, shelled beetles known as buzzy beetles, fish known as cheep-cheeps, little men with masks and robes called Shyguys and all kinds of other things. These weren't peace-loving creatures: these were the kinds of beings that would be seen serving Bowser. He and Warren both felt lucky that they hadn't been attacked the minute they entered the village.

Nevertheless, they were starving, and as such the two entered the local restaurant, ignoring the fact that all of the customers were other creatures like this. The greeter was a female koopa who actually looked quite intimidating as she said, "Welcome to the Cheep-Cheep Cafe where everything is, in fact, cheap-cheap," faking laughter and directing the two toward a table, Luigi already put off by this lacklustre greeting.

As he and Warren made their way over to a table for two, they held up their menus as Warren directed his eyes toward a snail wearing shades sitting next to them. The toad blinked and turned back to his menu, the snail shooting him a glance.

All was awkward as Luigi weakly gave his and Warren's orders, the wait even more awkward. When the food arrived, the two couldn't even really enjoyed it and seemed in a rush to get their meals over with.

"Hey, buddy!" snapped the snail, Warren and Luigi facing him as he asked, "You guys got a problem with us!?"

"Well, why shouldn't we?" Warren remarked, Luigi adding, "You guys are aspiring to be Bowser's minions, right?"

Everyone glared at the plumber as he gulped, the snail saying, "I thought you looked familiar. You're one of the Mario Brothers, the one who never does anything," Luigi gulping, trembling and letting out a weak, "Yes?" then held up his fists defensively, not sure if he could really take all of the creatures or not.

However, as the others were about to step in to aid the snail, he held out his hand, signalling them to back off while asking, "So, you think we're the king who would just gang up on some helpless innocent, do you? Well, let me tell you something, pal!"

Then performing a front flip onto the table, he pointed at Luigi while shouting, "Yes, it is true that I'm strong, I could punch your face in now! I could pick you up and snap you in half, and you won't even know how!"

Then letting out a sigh, the snail shrugged and said, "But honestly, I don't like it, I don't want to do it, not one bit," then pulling out a chef's hat from out of his shell, he placed the hat atop his head and explained with a smile, "I'd rather take my business to a hot barbecue pit!"

He then picked up his food and started blending it together while asking, "Can't you just imagine me in a home-owned restaurant giving all the happy customers exactly what they want?" presenting his blend to the plumber who sampled it, a smile on his face as the snail nodded and added, "While I have potential to be a great murderer some day, I'd rather be a chef and make a truly honest pay!"

Luigi and Warren watched as the snail slid across the table shouting, "It's what I truly want and nothing more! It's the very thing I'm yearning for! And even though it seems like a useless pipe dream now, I feel I will one day become a chef somehow!"

He then started mixing other customers' meals together, all of which were happy with the results as a large brutish-looking crab appeared behind Luigi, reaching his claw around the man's neck asking, "You see these claws of mine? They are sharp and big and red. All I have to do is open them and soon you would be dead," Luigi trembling as the crab retracted his claws stating, "But while I look like I'm more suited for a life of breaking rocks, I would much rather take some thread and begin sewing socks," pulling out a sock that was half-made, using the tip of his claw like a needle while Luigi simply stared.

"Can you imagine a quaint clothing store?" the crab asked with a childish smile, "Can you see someone like me in charge? People would all gather 'round to buy my hand-made products even though I'm scary, tough and large!"

Warren got up and started to dancing along with the crab while the crustacean continued, "It's what I truly want and nothing more! It's the very thing I'm yearning for! And even though it seems like it would never be, sewing cotton, maybe wool is just the life for me."

"Manfred's always wanted to play banjo," one of the customers said, a dinosaur-like creature known as a Clubba strumming a single note on said instrument, another customer adding, "Mary Buzzsaw excels in origami!" directing the two toward a buzzy beetle who had a pile of origami cranes surrounding her.

"Spike's a master at Croquet," one said as a turtle with a spiky shell known as a spiny knocking a ball through a small hoop, another stating, "And Volcano makes flambes," a flaming shyguy lighting a bowl of bananas on fire as all direction turned toward an elegantly-dressed goomba with a pen in his teeth while the snail explained, "And a writer is what Pablo yearns to be."

The others then looked at Luigi, the snail asking, "What's your desire in life?" the plumber gulping and pulling on his collar, the crab adding, "Come on, don't be shy. We're all friends here."

Then letting out a sigh, Luigi started up a small dance number explaining, "While I am not all that strong, there's something I've wanted all along, something that I didn't think could be. But after meeting you, I must admit I think that a hero's life is the kind of life for me."

"It's what he truly wants and nothing more!" the creatures all chanted, "It's the very thing he's yearning for! Much like ours, it seems like nothing but a pipe dream right now, but just like us he'll one day meet his goal..."

"I will?" Luigi asked as the snail nodded, all of the creatures shouting, "SOMEHOW!!!!!!!!"

Warren applauded as the koopa greeter looked at Luigi with interest, the snail patting Luigi on the back saying, "I must say, you dream big, but don't ever lose sight of it, alright? Go out and follow your destiny."

"Thanks," Luigi replied with a smile as he nodded, both he and Warren leaving as the koopa greeter watched them go, sighing as the crab patted her on the shoulder, the koopa barking, "DON'T BRING YOUR CLAWS NEAR ME!!!!! YOU KNOW THEY SCARE THE HECK OUT OF ME!!!!!"

"Sorry," the crab replied, "but I see that look in your eyes. You know that those two can help you live out your dream."

The koopa would have objected to this were it not true, the crab patting her on the shoulder and saying, "Come on, join them. I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for if you do, Emma."

The turtle was about to object when the owner of the restaurant signalled to her that it was okay, the koopa nodding and saying, "Thank you so very, very much," taking off from the restaurant. But what did she want with the plumber and the toad?

 

As Luigi and Warren continued along, they heard a voice from behind them saying, "Hey, guys, wait up!"

Both turned around as Warren blinked, asking, "Who are you?" Luigi soon realizing the answer as he stated, "Hey, you're that greeter from the Cheep-Cheep Cafe."

"The name's Emma," the koopa girl replied, holding her hand out as Luigi blinked, shaking her hand and asking, "So... what do you want? Are you giving us free food for our trip, because that would be highly appreciated."

"Actually," the Koopa replied, looking down and rubbing her arm.

All the while, Peach lay in her bed, letting out a sigh. How she wished Mario was still there. She was actually beginning to doubt the royal guards could get him back. After all, they weren't nearly as powerful as Mario was.

The princess picked up a photo of her and him sitting together for a picnic, a smile forming on her face as a tear went down the side of her cheek. Hopefully things weren't really as bad as they seemed.

Toadsworth entered at that exact moment and said, "Princess, please, you have to eat something," Peach nodding and getting up for dinner but wasn't feeling in the least bit enthusiastic about it. With her dearly beloved behind bars, she just couldn't feel truly happy.

All the while, back at Bowser's castle, the dragon had finally finished basking in the glory of capturing his worst enemy as he lay in his chair saying, "Alright, now that Mario is out of the picture, Princess Peach will be easy pickings."

"I'll capture her if you want, my liege," Kamek said, bowing as the king shook his head replying, "No, this time I want to do it. However, you and the rest of the Koopa Clan can stand guard here in case someone else tries to rescue that pesky plumber."

"Whatever you say," Kamek remarked, grumbling curses under his breath. He really did feel like a tool at times.

All the while, Mario lay in his cage as a trapdoor opened up, a mechanical hand holding a plate of food coming out and shoving a big chicken leg into the plumber's mouth. Why couldn't they have been serving pasta instead? If Mario could move his arms, he would have minded the fact that the machine forced the food down his throat even more than he currently did in which he was only mildly annoyed.

As he gulped down the meat, the plumber let out a sigh and a teardrop saying to himself, "In a time of certain doom when the people lived in gloom, it always seemed there was only one to always save the day. But now look at how things are going, they're just not looking so good. Now it seems that all I can really do is pray."

He then looked up through the open window, saying, "When I look up at the moon, I see her smile. And I know that she can see mine all the while. Oh I wish I could break out of these shackles binding me, but it seems right now I'll never again be free."

Mario then slumped down, blinking and stating, "Oh, princess, I beg you, please don't feel sad. I wish I can assure you that things will not be so bad. But it really seems that there's no hope for the kingdom's one true hero. Now I know how it feels to be a zero."

Then looking up again, fire blazing in his eyes, the plumber proceeded to shout, "But I swear if I could break free I would now return to you! You know for a fact that this is true! If I only had the strength to break these binding chains..." then letting out another sigh, Mario sniffed and added, "I would run back into your sweet arms again."

All the while, Emma had explained how she wanted to join Luigi and Warren, Luigi nodding and saying, "So that weak greeting..." Emma nodding and saying, "Trust me, when you've worked there for as long as I have, you lose most positivity."

"Well, we feel for you, we really do," Warren replied, Luigi giving the toad a glance as the mushroom boy continued, "but I'm afraid we can't take you with us."

Luigi's eyes went wide as the plumber asked, "Why not?" Warren replying, "Because she's a girl. She'll slow us down. Everybody knows girls are weak."

That was truly crossing the line. Emma glared at the toad as she snapped, "Now listen here! Girls can do whatever boys..." however, she stopped as he jaw dropped, Warren laughing and saying, "Well, look at that. You know I'm right," Luigi looking in the same direction as Warren turned, his eyes going wide as well.

All three were staring at a familiar plant with terror in their expressions. They couldn't believe it: that huge piranha plant from earlier had caught up with them.

"Good god, why can't we just lose this thing!?" Luigi groaned as Warren hid behind him saying, "Come on, use that awesome speed of yours to get away again!"

Emma stared at them with a dumbfounded look. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. These two wanted so desperately to be heroes and yet they couldn't bring themselves to face danger head-on? Sure, the plant was much bigger than most of its kind, but to Emma, this didn't mean much. Her look of horror was more 'surprised' fear as opposed to actual fear.

Seeing how the two really were terrified out of their wits, the koopa let out a sigh, figuring now was the perfect time to prove her worth. As the piranha plant opened its jaws, going in for the kill, Emma tucked herself inside of her shell and spun at the creature, ramming her shell into its chin. She then proceeded to shift around the plant, travelling up it like a mountain in a spiral formation before running her shell hard into the back of the creature's head.

Warren let down a sweat drop and shouted, "Go, Emma! You rule!" Luigi rolling his eyes as he rose his fist shouting, "Great job, Emma!"

However, the koopa had gotten a little too into the battle to notice the piranha's leaf arm coming right for her, smacking her into a tree. Warren then went back to being scared, knowing that the group was doomed if Emma didn't get up from that.

Luckily, Emma did recover as she had been tucked in her shell, but she still felt a little disoriented as she rubbed her head, the piranha headed right for her. Seeing this, Luigi panicked and charged toward the turtle, performing a graceful flip as the plant was just a mere centimetre away from the girl, the plumber kicking it hard in the side of the face. Sure, it didn't do as much as a kick from Mario would have done, but it was still enough to distract the plant, Luigi throwing Emma to the side and gulping, putting up a fighter stance while his knees trembled, the man using his hand to challenge the piranha to come at him again. All the while, he couldn't believe what he was doing.

As the piranha rushed at him, Luigi leaped to the side just in time for the plant's head to ram into the bushed behind him. Surprisingly, the collision with the bushes caused the piranha's face to go inward, its teeth falling to the ground as it used its tongue, feeling the empty spots where its fangs once were, placing its leafy hands over its mouth before running away, tears flying out of his head all the while.

Luigi blinked as Warren pointed at the bush, the group noticing that the leaves had been cleared to reveal two large stones behind the bushes. That explained how leaves and sticks could possibly knock out a giant's teeth: they couldn't.

All the while, Emma let out a sigh and said, "Thanks. Sorry to have worried you like that," Luigi laughing and saying, "Oh no, you were a great help! In fact, I'm a little surprised I was able to do anything."

Then letting out a sigh, the plumber turned toward Warren and said, "The koopa's coming with us," Warren shrugging and replying, "Well, sure, why not? I mean, it's not like I was ever against the idea," Luigi slapping his forehead and Emma laughing while the trio marched onward into the distance.

Meanwhile, back at the mushroom kingdom, Peach was once again in her room as Toadsworth poked his head in to check up on her. He was so worried now. Aside from eating, the girl hadn't done a thing today.

"Oh, Mario, my sweet," she sniffed to herself, "please come and free me soon. The only pleasant thing I see from her is the moon. I wish with all my might that maybe by tonight, you will be my knight to be..."

However, her words were cut off when a large familiar dragon riding in an upside-down helicopter with a clown's face painted on it busted in through the window, Peach screaming in terror. Toadsworth immediately rushed in, holding aloft his mighty cane as he charged at Bowser only to be knocked hard into the wall.

"Really?" the dragon asked, blinking and shrugging, "An old man? And Mario has the nerve to call me pathetic."

The dragon then scooped up the princess, taking her off on his clown copter while Toadsworth lay against the wall in pain, groaning, "Come back here with the princess, you rapscallion!" coughing a bit before breathing heavily, grunting, "Huff, I say!"

It had gotten rather late as Warren set up a camping set he had brought with him. Luigi and Emma couldn't have been happier as Luigi roasted a hot dog wiener over an open fire. This was probably the most relaxed he'd been today.

"So the great Mario had been captured," Emma said, "Gee, I just can't really imagine it happening."

"Yeah, I'm a little surprised too," Luigi replied, "He really is a great man."

Seeing the look on Luigi's face, Emma understood exactly what he was going through. If she had a sibling and that sibling got kidnapped, she'd be worried too. Though she didn't know the other side of Luigi, the side that wanted to upstage Mario.

Warren let out a sigh as he laughed, saying, "That piranha didn't know what was coming. We're living the dream," Emma wanting so much to remind the toad that she and Luigi had done all the work, but seeing Luigi's spirits brighten in response to this convinced her otherwise. Warren's ignorance still bothered her, though.

"Say, Emma," Luigi said, the koopa looking at him as he proceeded to ask, "Why were you so eager to join us?"

"Well, when I saw your confidence back in the restaurant," the female replied with a smile, "it lifted mine a bit. It made me feel that if I joined you, I'd be able to fulfil my own goal in life."

"You mean you want to be a hero too?" Warren replied, Emma blinking and looking in a few different directions before replying, "Yeah, that's it."

Of course she was lying, but the others bought what she had said. But what was her actual reason for joining them and why couldn't she say it? Either way, she was a part of the team now and that was all that mattered to her.

Meanwhile, Bowser returned to the castle with the princess in his hands, Peach struggling to free herself as he let her down, the girl slapping him in the face after being freed from his grasp. Bowser rubbed the side of his face sighing, "Princess Peach, why won't you marry me?"

"Well, let's see," the princess replied, tapping her chin before yelling, "How about the fact that you're a cruel, vicious tyrant who has no idea how to a show a girl a good time!?"

Bowser let out a sigh and placed his hands on the girl's shoulders saying, "Oh, princess, you don't seem to realize that you have no choice in the matter now," the goombas nearby humming a tune as he let out a sigh, backing away from the princess and stated, "With Mario behind bars, there's nobody who can save you! With that very fact in mind, you gotta ask yourself one thing: what can you do?"

Peach folded her arms as the dragon crept up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders adding, "All your troubles would just go away if you agreed to marry me. A future with the king of the koopas is just meant to be."

"NO!!!!" Peach retorted, slapping his hands away and backing up remarking, "I will never ever marry a horrible, monstrous beast like you. You're mean, you're ugly, you're a horrible king and you're also brutal too."

"Oh, but Princess, you've no choice," Bowser replied with a wicked grin on his face, "In this matter, you have no say. I'm afraid that Mario will be executed if things don't go my way!"

Peach's eyes went wide as she backed off, trembling in terror and holding her hands over her mouth, Bowser laughing and saying, "Oh, look at that. It seems you understand! You seem to realize that you must offer your hand! If you do not yield and give into me, then deep-fried plumber's what Mario will be!"

Peach let down tears, a look of anger in her eyes as she turned away from the dragon, saying, "Very well. I'll marry you, but you must promise to free Mario if I do."

Bowser faked a gasp and placed his hand against where his black heart was and replied, "You needn't fret, I'm a king of my word too. Besides, who needs Mario when I have you?"

Peach simply looked down, the king walking into his dressing room saying, "Guards, make Peach the perfect wedding dress. Tomorrow night will truly be one for the ages."

The next day, Luigi, Warren and Emma found themselves in a snowy plain after travelling for a couple of hours. Both the plumber and the toad were shivering like crazy, teeth chattering every second but Emma didn't seem all that fazed.

"How far do we have to go before reaching somewhere warmer?" Luigi asked as Emma replied, "It's just another three hours."

Both boys stared in absolute disappointment, Emma rolling her eyes and saying, "You'll just have to endure it, that's all."

After a few more seconds of walking, Warren finally snapped as he spat, "Okay, koopa girl, explain something to me! You're cold-blooded and yet you have no trouble at all facing the cold without a scarf of anything to cover your body!? How are you able to deal with it!?"

"That's actually a good question," Luigi stated as Emma picked up a small mound of snow saying, "Oh, that's easy."

The others looked with interest as the koopa explained, "Think of it as sand," Warren blinking while the girl repeated, "Think of it as sand, sprinkling right down the palm of your hand," demonstrating her point with the snow, the others even more confused as she added, "Pretend you're at a beach..."

"A beach?" Warren remarked, Emma nodding and saying, "Yes, a beach, with the sun blazing bright, don't get bit by a leech."

Luigi and Warren were even more confused as the girl explained, "As long as warmth is in your heart, you're taking the path that is smart. Just take my advice and imagine some sand, and the cold you will be able to stand."

"So what you're implying is that I should..." Warren stated, picking up a bit of snow and saying, "think of this as sand?" Emma nodding and repeating, "Think of it as sand."

Warren blinked and proceeded to ask, "Sprinkling right down the palm of my hand?" sprinkling the snow from his hand as Luigi nodded and explained, "We'll pretend we're at a beach, of all places, a beach, with the sun blazing bright, hey, watch out for that leech!"

"There's not much to it," Emma stated, "just use your mind and leave your coldness behind."

Then all three wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders saying together, "As long as warmth is in your heart, you're taking the path that is smart! Just take our advice and imagine some sand, and the cold you will be able to stand!"

Then laughing, Luigi's eyes went wide as he said, "Wow, it's really working. I don't feel cold at all," Warren adding, "Me neither," then smiled at Emma, soon putting on a look of shame, but replaced it with another smile when Emma turned to face him, nodding and saying, "Trust me, I know a lot more about survival than you guys might think."

However, as they carried on, a spear soon flew at Luigi, landing a mere centimetre away from him, the plumber trembling with fear as the group turned toward a nearby cliff-side, noticing a group of shyguys dressed in tribal outfits, the group letting out a war cry and charging toward the group. Emma tucked herself into her shell and flung herself toward the shyguys, but she didn't make it very far due to the snow slowing her down, the shell soon coming to a halt as Emma poked her head out, a group of shyguys surrounding her.

That wasn't the worst of it, either. Warren was easily getting his behind handed to him by a single shyguy while Luigi couldn't even muster up the courage to try fighting back. The next thing they knew, they were being taken in a village, Warren shivering and groaning, "I can't think about a beach under these conditions."

Soon enough, the group was brought before a fat shyguy who looked at them and said, "These look like good sacrifices," Luigi and Warren gulping, "S-Sacrifices?" Emma with a look of worry in her eyes.

With that, the fat shyguy, clearly the village chief, blew into a big horn as a large black creature with a beak that resembled a nose appeared, the shyguys all bowing and chanting, "Hail Raphael the Raven!"

The large creature, apparently a raven, looked down at the group as Luigi blinked, uttering, "That thing is huge..." Warren adding, "And it wants us for dinner."

However, Emma wasn't going to allow this as she tucked herself into her shell shouting, "LUIGI, KICK ME!!!!!!" the plumber out of desperation doing just that as the shell flew into Raphael's body, the raven blinking as the shell bounced off, Emma coming out with her eyes swirling, the girl asking, "Did I beat him?"

"This thing's invincible!" Luigi exclaimed, trembling for dear life, but as the raven loomed in closer, the group was surprised to not be eaten as Raphael sniffed them, shaking his head, the chief looking up and asking, "You do not like our sacrifices?"

Raphael simply shook his head again as the chief's eyes went wide, the fat shyguy saying, "Oh, I see. You detect pure thoughts in the green one," Luigi replying, "Green's not exactly my natural skin colour," but the chief ignored the plumber's words and said, "If that is what you see, then we will treat these three are guests and not as food."

Before the trio could even figure out what was going on, they were all in an igloo as Luigi said, "That's funny, I always imagined you guys living in tipis," the chief replying, "That is but a stereotype. Those living in warm climates live in big trees while we in cold areas live in igloos."

"You know, these things are a lot more cozy than I imagined them being," Emma stated, taking a bite of the fish given to her, Warren saying, "I know what you mean. You wouldn't expect something made of ice to be so warm."

"Your story fascinates me," the chief said, looking at Luigi, "Alas, we have heard great things about your brother. It is a real pity he has been kidnapped," the plumber looking down as the chief added, "But there's no reason to worry. You, his brother, can save him."

"I'm still not really sure about that," Luigi replied, rubbing the back of his neck, "See, I don't really have much experience in the field of battle and I'm not nearly as strong as my brother."

"It's not what's on the outside that's important," the chief remarked, Luigi and Warren blinking as Emma nodded and explained, "What he means is that true power comes from within. Your true potential will come to you eventually but only if you let it."

The chief let out a chuckle before saying, "You are a smart koopa. It's a shame your kind has such a negative image," Emma sighing, "Yeah, it's painful dealing with the fact that the majority of my kind serves Bower of all creatures."

Luigi simply patted the turtle on the shoulder, giving her a thumb up as he looked at Warren who quickly nodded, also giving her a thumb up. The koopa simply laughed and smiled at the two. Before she merely saw them as companions but now they were definitely her friends.

Soon enough, the group realized they had to head out soon as the shyguys all waved goodbye to them, the chief wishing them to the best of luck. Raphael even let out a supportive war cry, the trio waving back. Things were finally starting to look up. To make things even better, the group quickly found a warmer area. Perhaps Luigi could save Mario after all.

 

At Bowser's Castle, Bowser was preparing in his dressing room for the wedding. He had a fancy suit and tie on and grinned while facing a mirror. His grin turned to a look of disgust as he snapped his fingers, an armoured koopa rushing into a room with a toothbrush, Bowser pointing at his jaws as the turtle started brushing the king's teeth.

All the while, Kamek stood outside, still guarding the castle along with the others as one of the guards turned to him saying, "Okay, I know this is completely out of rank, but I can't help but notice negativity in your eyes."

"Negativity?" Kamek remarked, "What reason would I have to feel spiteful towards anyone?" the guard blinking before saying, "I didn't say anything about spite."

"Alright, you got me!" the old magikoopa snapped, breathing heavily before regaining his composure and sighing, "It's just that I've been Bowser's ever-faithful servant since he was a baby and he won't even acknowledge the fact that I was the one who captured Mario."

The guard stared with wide eyes, whistling before rubbing the back of his head, gulping. This was awkward.

"Well, there's not much you can do about that, is there?" the guard asked before letting out a light chuckle, "I mean, Bowser is rather strong."

"It's not his power that prevents me from lashing out at him," Kamek remarked before taking a deep breath and explaining, "It's just that, well, after he was born, Bowser's father gave me the so-called 'privilege' of being that big moron's guardian and servant. See, the old koopa died shortly after the young prince's birth."

"But I thought Bowser was the king," the guard replied as Kamek glared, stating, "He was the prince when he was born."

The guard blinked, his eyes shifting back and forth before he finally caught on, nodding with a dumb smile on his face. Kamek simply rolled his eyes and continued, "Despite King Bowser's ignorance, it really is a high honour to be bestowed such a task and I'd rather not let the old king down. If I don't abide by Bowser's terms, I'll be doing just that. I don't mind the work, in fact I rather enjoy it. I just wish he'd acknowledge my services more."

The guard had nothing to say to that as Kamek let out another sigh, slumping down with hopelessness in his expression. The sad fact was that everything he said was true. As much as he'd have loved to give Bowser a piece of his mind, he couldn't. It would have gone against his vow to the former king.

All the while, Peach entered the room where Mario's cage was, making sure no one spotted her. As she noticed her dearly beloved sleeping with chains around his body, she smiled and shouted, "Mario!" the plumber waking up and groaning, "Oh, is it feeding time already?"

However, his tired look soon turned to absolute shock when he saw the princess standing before him. The plumber let down tears and exclaimed, "Princess Peach!" the girl letting down a tear of joy. The plumber may have been locked up right now, but he was still a sight for soar eyes.

However, Mario's joy soon turned to alarm as he said, "Wait, if you're here then that means..." Peach nodding as the plumber looked down saying, "I'm so sorry," the princess shaking her head and replying, "It's not your fault, Mario."

Peach then told the plumber about the current situation, Mario's eyes wide with shock. As the princess explained how she had no choice but to marry Bowser, the plumber was filled with rage and sadness.

"Please, Princess, don't worry about me!" Mario pleaded, "If you marry Bowser, the entire Mushroom Kingdom will be doomed!"

"Mario, I love you too much to let you spend an eternity here," Peach stated as Mario let down tears, saying, "It's not right."

Unbeknownst to the two, though, Luigi was on his way. They had soon found themselves in a desert, all dying from the heat.

Luigi let out a sigh and groaned, "Got any songs for hot weather?" as Emma laughed nervously saying, "Sorry, I don't, actually."

"Well, I envy you," Warren remarked, "You're cold-blooded, so this isn't nearly as bad for you."

Emma laughed and let down a sweat drop. That was a very true statement, but even the koopa's cold blood didn't completely protect her from the heat. She didn't like deserts anymore than they did.

While the trio continued their trek, however, a rumbling could be heard coming from the ground. Luigi gulped, his eyes wide open as he trembled asking, "What was that?"

Before anyone else could contemplate this, they looked down and noticed they were standing atop a large, black, metal dome, or at least that's what it seemed like. It was soon revealed to be much more as a metal ball emerged from the ground, letting out a loud roar, all three with terror in their eyes. They were standing on top of a chomp, one of the deadliest creatures in existence, and this wasn't a regular-sized one either. It was huge.

The chomp growled and shook the trio off of him, Luigi flying into a cactus while wincing and letting down a small tear drop and Emma skidding across the sand. However, the one who was having it the worst was Warren who had his collar caught in one of the creature's jaws.

As the chomp glared at Luigi and Emma, not noticing Warren, the Toad gulped and shouted, "GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!!!!" the chomp blinking and lowering its eyes, noticing Warren as the toad looked up at him, waving his fingers with a nervous grin on his face, the chomp letting down drool and flinging the toad into the air.

"WARREN!!!!!" Luigi and Emma shouted in horror as Emma tucked herself into her shell, the chomp tilting his body so now he was facing upward, his mouth wide open. However, when Emma rammed her shell into its chin, it created just enough force to roll the chomp onto the top of its head, Warren landing on what could only be described as the metal creature's body.

As Emma was about to go in and get the toad off, Luigi finally prying himself from the cactus needles, both were surprised by what happened next. Warren wasn't pleading for help anymore as he started rubbing the chomp's belly, the creature now smiling with its tongue sticking out, a loud panting sound coming from the beast. Both continued to stare, Emma's eye twitching all the while as the chomp let out a playful bark, Warren leaping off of its belly as the creature rolled 180 degrees, repositioning itself upright.

"I had a baby chomp for a pet when I was little," Warren explained with a smile, rubbing the chomp's side, "They're just like puppies. All they need is a little love."

Emma's eye was still twitching as Luigi asked the exact question the koopa was thinking; "If you knew that, why were you begging for help?"

"Hey, that knowledge doesn't make one any less intimidating," Warren replied, "This guy was gonna eat me. How was I supposed to feel?"

Upon hearing this, the chomp put on a look of shame, whimpering as the toad laughed nervously, petting the creature some more and saying, "It's okay. You know that what you did was wrong. All is forgiven."

The chomp's look of shame turned to joy as it licked Warren with its gigantic tongue, Luigi laughing as Emma let out a sigh, a smile forming on her face. It was as if both Warren and Luigi were slowly getting over their fears. Maybe they did have what it took to be heroes.

The chomp then allowed Warren to climb up on his back as the toad signalled the others to hop on, Luigi and Emma looking at each other and nodding as they quickly climbed onto the chomp's back, Warren explaining to the creature where they were headed. The chomp nodded, letting out a loud, happy bark and started leaping forward.

(Again, imagine the doughnuts lifts theme with lyrics)

With that, Luigi and Warren placed a hand on each other's shoulder saying, "We've an opportunity, boy how lucky are we? I'm sure we'll make it through, just take it all from me!"

Emma stared at the two as they laughed and added, "I know it may seem hopeless, but look down deep inside and you'll see there's no reason to hide!"

"You know, when I left, I just wasn't sure if I really stood a chance," Luigi said with a look of pride, "But now look how far I've gotten, it's more than coincidence. Maybe I truly am the great hero I always yearned to be. And now things really are starting to look up for me!"

With that, all three started moving their arms in a rhythmic fashion exclaiming in unison, "We've an opportunity, boy how lucky are we? I'm sure we'll make it through, just take it all from me! I know it may seem hopeless, but look down deep inside and you'll see there's no reason to hide!"

Then letting out a laugh, Emma patted Luigi on the back saying, "You guys really are something else, you know that?" the chomp letting out a howl and panting happily, Warren petting it and adding, "It seems old Chomps here agrees."

After a few more hours of travelling, one quick stop for dinner, the group finally arrived in Bowser's kingdom. Upon seeing the dark and scary place, the chomp stopped dead in its tracks, fear in its eyes as it whimpered, Emma blinking and saying, "Uh, you're a chomp. This should mean nothing to you."

Nevertheless, the chomp continued to whimper as Warren patted it atop the head and saying, "Oh, it's okay. We're not gonna make you enter with us. Besides, you're probably too big for the door anyway."

The chomp panted happily in response to this, licking the toad as Warren let out a sigh, petting the side of the chomp and saying, "Wait right here. We'll be back, I promise."

Looking up at the big castle, Luigi's knees started trembling as Emma looked at him asking, "Are you sure you can do this?" the plumber gulping and replying, "I've made it this far. No sense turning back now."

Of course, he really was terrified. But could anyone really blame him? This entire kingdom was frightening. The sky was dark and the place was crawling with Bowser's subjects. This was probably one of the worst places they could ever be.

Meanwhile, Peach was getting suited up in a wedding dress as one of the goomba designers said, "Oh, you look absolutely lovely."

Despite the circumstance, Peach did have to admit that Bowser had at least hired some good designers for the job. The dress was gorgeous as it was white with black streaks in certain areas and a red gemstone in the middle of the chest area. However, despite this, Peach couldn't bring herself to smile.

"What's wrong?" asked another goomba as the princess shook her head saying, "It's nothing. You girls have done a fantastic job. If I was back at my own kingdom, I'd gladly hire you despite you not being toads."

The goombas blushed as one said, "Wait here, princess, we need to get you one last little accessory."

As they left the room, Peach let out a sigh and said to herself, "And so this is it, my wedding night... why am I not pleased? Why do I not feel the least bit at ease? I should be happy, but I'm wedding the wrong man. If only my true love now had a plan."

Meanwhile, Mario was in his cage, tears falling down his cheeks as he said to himself, "And right now it seems my future with the princess will not be. Why, oh why has this fate befallen me? Whether Bowser keeps his word doesn't matter, all I want is her. This marriage really shouldn't be... but she's doing it for me..."

With that, both looked up and coincidentally stated at the same time, "If only things were different, if only we were free, then we could have the true wedding that was really meant to be. All we can do now is pray that things might just go our way, but the longer that it takes, the more hopeless that it seems. We need someone to save us, I'm sure the lord knows what I mean."

Then letting down tears, Peach sniffed and said, "Why does it have to be this way?" Mario looking at the moon and seeing Peach's face adding, "Will things really be okay?" then both let out sighs, saying, "Is there a guardian angel out there watching over us?"

All the while, Bowser was truly ready for the wedding as he cleared his throat and said, "Tonight's a night for love provided by the stars above. Tonight's the night I make my dreams come true. My beloved is in my grasp and I will not let her go. I worked so hard for this day to come, it may as well be so."

Then looking in the mirror, he sighed and added, "Though I wonder why it took so long? I've been the perfect man all along. I guess it doesn't matter now that we will soon be joined. This is the greatest night of my life as Peach will be my wife. This truly is a dream come true... I can't wait for her to say 'I do'."

All the while, Luigi, Emma and Warren were outside of the castle, hiding behind a rock as Luigi gulped saying, "I don't like the look of those guards," Emma nodding and saying, "I hate to say it, but yeah, Bowser went overboard with security."

This couldn't have been more true. There were over fifty guards lined up outside while many of Bowser's subjects were being let into the castle. Despite clearly being Bowser's subjects, they still had to present ID.

Emma looked at the situation then got an idea as a grin formed on her face, Luigi blinking and asking, "What's with that look?" Emma turning to face the boys as Warren trembled, hiding behind Luigi and whimpering, "I'm scared, Luigi," the plumber nodding.

In a matter of seconds, the two found themselves handcuffed with chains holding them in place, Emma pulling on it as she whispered, "Hey, it's not like I solve every problem with violence," Luigi and Warren actually frightened despite knowing what he plan was as the guards watched her walking by them.

Kamek stood in front of the group and asked, "Excuse me, but who are you and what is with that toad and human?"

Emma smiled innocently and said, "I just moved in here. My name's Emma. I caught these two trying to break into King Bowser's castle and figured I may as well capture them."

Seeing the scared looks on Luigi and Warren's faces, Kamek nodded as the story really did seem to check out, the magikoopa directing Emma toward the entrance. However, as Emma was just about to step foot inside the castle, Kamek pulled out his wand and send a blast of magic at her, ropes appearing around the koopa's body.

"Do you think I'm some kind of idiot!?" Kamek snapped as Luigi and Warren's eyes widened, the two more terrified than before as one of the guards asked, "Kamek, sir, what are you doing?"

"Please, this traitor was trying to fool us," Kamek replied, pointing at Emma as she angrily bit his finger, the magikoopa retracting it and scowling before adding, "Okay, that's it, I'm having you executed now."

Kamek then noticed the human among the trio and grinned saying, "Well, well, well, what have we here? If it isn't the useless, weak Mario brother. What was your name again? Lumpy or something..."

"It's Luigi!" the plumber retorted as Kamek sighed, "No need to shout, Ludwig," Luigi growling at him as the magikoopa stated, "I must say, I'm impressed you came all the way here, though I doubt you would have gotten this far without the help of this traitor."

"I'll have you know that I can't be a traitor if I was never serving the king to begin with!" Emma retorted, "Besides, how did you know I was tricking you?"

"I'm not Bowser's guardian for nothing," Kamek remarked before using magic to put a zipper over the koopa's lips adding, "And don't talk back to one of my status. It's rude."

With all said and done, the magikoopa snapped his fingers as the trio was soon taken to a cell. Upon entering it, Luigi's eyes widened when he saw they were right in front of a whole row of jail cells filled with the castle guards.

"Oh, hi Luigi," the guards said, waving at him as the plumber waved nervously at them, letting out a sigh and looking down. However, Emma had not yet given up as now that she'd been freed from her ropes and the zipper was gone, she started banging her shell against the bars in the hopes of breaking at least one of them off.

Warren held his hands against his chin and looked at Luigi saying, "You've probably noticed it by now," the plumber looking at him and asking, "Noticed what?"

"Don't pretend you don't see it," Warren replied, sighing, "I'm not really hero material."

"Oh, that," the plumber replied, too depressed to object to this claim while the toad added, "Do you wanna know why I really asked you to take me along?"

Luigi shrugged, listening to what the toad had to say. It wasn't like he had anything else to do what with his current predicament.

"The truth is I wanted to be famous and known as a hero," Warren explained, "but I knew I was too much of a loser to earn it, so when I saw you, brother of the legendary Mario, looking all helpless, I figured I could use you for my own selfish benefit," Luigi letting out a sigh as the toad gave him a confused look saying, "You don't look all that mad."

"Honestly, I'm just not in the mood to get mad at you," Luigi replied, "Besides, what Kamek said was right. I don't think either of us would have made it this far without Emma's help."

Upon hearing this, Emma stopped her assault on the jail bars as she turned to face Luigi, walking over and smacking him, the plumber blinking and rubbing his face, not in the mood to question these actions. The koopa then rolled her eyes and held the plumber up the collar shouting, "Stop putting yourself down, Luigi! You two saved me a couple of times!"

The two blinked as Emma sighed, "Remember the piranha and the chomp?" Warren and Luigi soon realizing what she meant and nodding, Luigi saying, "I was rather impressive against that piranha," Warren adding, "And I solved the chomp dispute without violence."

"Do you understand?" Emma asked with a serious look in her eyes, "What you lack on the outside you make up for within! Luigi, it doesn't matter if you're not as physically strong as your brother! You have other skills to make up for it! And Warren, it took a lot of courage to stick by us even during the toughest of times! You may not think you're hero material, but the way I see it, if you didn't have a little bit of hero in you, you would have given up long ago!"

Warren nodded as he had to admit she had a point. There were times when Warren wasn't even certain Luigi could help him achieve his goal and yet he still stuck around. Not only that, but as he'd said earlier, he'd used his brains to befriend a giant chomp. That was no small feat.

Luigi also smiled with pride. The koopa was right. He was faster and a better jumper than Mario. Sure, he wasn't stronger, but he still dominated his brother in a couple of categories and that was a lot more impressive than he'd previously thought.

Emma, seeing the boost in confidence, let out a sigh and said, "You know, I never did tell you my reason for joining," the two now interested as the koopa explained, "See, when I was twelve, my younger brother, Gordon was taken from me. I figured maybe if I had two heroes helping me out, I could find and save my brother."

"Well, we may be at the end of our rope," Luigi stated with a sigh, "but we did make it this far. That's not half bad if I say so myself."

However, their conversation came to an end when a goomba clad in armour entered saying, "Alright, it's feeding time!" the toad guards all smiling as the captain exclaimed, "We've never had two dinners before!"

With that, he opened the bag that was meant to hold the food for the prisoners, but much to everyone's surprise, a crab came out of it as he said, "Hello," using his claw to open it as Luigi's eyes widened, Emma exclaiming, "Clawgrip! How did you get in here?"

"It's easy when you're friends with a goomba," the crab said, using his claw to pick the lock as the group took off, the goomba saying, "Oh, before you leave, take this with you," handing Luigi a book as the mushroom added, "It's my first novel ever published. I want you to be the first to read it!"

"I'll be sure to do so when this is all over," the plumber replied with a chuckle, tucking the book under his overalls before exiting, the crab staying behind to free the other guards.

Unfortunately, there were many of Bowser's minions in the hallway as they immediately spotted the trio, Emma and Luigi preparing for battle only for a paper-made crane to fly into the area, poking one of the guards in the eye as he cried out in pain. Soon the entire area was full of origami cranes, Warren smiling when he noticed a buzzy beetle standing atop a statue of Bowser, pulling cranes out of her shell by the dozen.

Emma quickly turned to Luigi and said, "Luigi, you find where Bowser is in the castle and put a stop to whatever it is he's planning! Warren and I will bust Mario out of prison!" Luigi about to object to this, considering how Emma was much more suited to fighting Bowser in his eyes, but then he remembered what the koopa had said earlier and nodded, a look of confidence on his face.

However, before he could move away from the group, Kamek appeared before him saying, "Oh, so the plumber and his friends escaped. Big deal."

However, this was soon interrupted when a ball smacked the magikoopa on the back of the head, the old turtle glaring at a spiny who stood there holding a croquet mallet and shrugging. When Kamek rose his wand to strike back, Luigi pounced on top of him, pinning Kamek to the floor as the old magikoopa dropped his wand.

As if that wasn't enough, a clubba entered the area, stomping on the wand and breaking it into tiny pieces, Kamek's eyes wide open as he pushed Luigi off, backing up and laughing nervously saying, "Look, let's just forgive and forget, okay?" the clubba beating him over the head with his banjo and rolling his eyes, the magikoopa's eyes spinning as Mary ran out of origami cranes.

But before the koopa guards could advance forward, all of the toad guards entered the area. With Kamek down for the count, the goombas and koopas had their hands tied as the toads wailed on them, Warren kicking one in the shin, grinning as if this one small feat was something to be proud of.

As if that wasn't enough, a snail shell also rolled into the area, taking out many as Emma smiled, a familiar snail wearing shades emerging from his shell and saying, "Hey there," Luigi grinning and saying, "Wow, all of you guys from the restaurant came here to save us! But how did you know we needed help and how did you get here so quickly?"

"We have our ways," the snail replied, shrugging and saying, "Now don't stand around here. You got a goal to fulfil," Luigi nodding as he took off, Warren and Emma headed off in their own direction as Emma helped plow through a few of the koopa and goomba guards while Volcano came in holding flambes, tossing one in a guard's face as he cried out in pain. Things were finally starting to look up.

 

This was it. It was finally time for Luigi to shine. Nothing was going to stop him now.

But he did, of course, have to be quick. Right now, the wedding ceremony was taking place. Peach was being led down the aisle with a look of depression on her face. Not only was she marrying the one man she didn't want to spend her life with, but the entire area was filled with Bowser's henchmen. And with Mario locked up, she really couldn't refuse this marriage.

Bowser was already on the stage wearing his fanciest of suits as he turned to face Peach with a grin on his face and his hair slicked back. Well, at least the koopa king had taken the time to look good for the wedding. That was at least one positive way of looking at the whole situation.

As Peach stepped up on stage, a koopa priest signalled everyone in the audience to be quiet as he stated, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join these two in holy matrimony," cringing when he realized he was using that exact term to refer to a forced marriage involving the king.

All the while, Mario sat in his cage knowing now was the time when his dearly beloved would be married to his worst enemy. It tore him up inside.

While the plumber let down tears, he sniffed, "Oh, Princess Peach, my sweet, please just say no for me. This wedding, this engagement, it's just not meant to be. I wish with all my might that maybe by tonight, I can be the one for you... and free you too."

At that moment, the door opened as the plumber saw a koopa enter, the plumber's eyes wide open as the turtle tucked herself into her shell. With that, a toad appeared behind her, picking up the shell and hurling it at the cage, breaking it open as Mario's eyes went wide.

Warren's eyes went wide open as he squealed, "I just saved the great Mario! I'm so happy!" Mario blinking and asking, "Uh... who are you?" Emma replying, "We're Luigi's friends."

"Luigi!" Mario remarked, "Is he here too!?" Emma nodding her head as the plumber let out a triumphant laugh exclaiming, "I should have known he'd come and save us! Where is he right now?"

"He should be fighting Bowser right about now," the koopa replied as Mario nodded and took off, the others following close behind. There was no way Mario was letting Luigi fight Bowser alone.

The priest's speech had finally ended as he asked Bowser, "Do you, King Bowser Koopa, take this woman, Princess Peach Toadstool, to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do," Bowser replied with a grin as the priest proceeded to ask Peach the same question.

Peach let down a tear and sighed, looking at Bowser and fighting the urge to utter the fateful words. She could only imagine what a life with the king of koopas would be like.

"Well, do you?" Bowser asked as the princess let out a sigh and uttered, "I..." but was cut off when a deep Italian voice entered the area shouting, "I OBJECT TO THIS WEDDING!!!!!!" everyone gasping and turning toward a plumber wearing green attire standing there and blushing before chuckling and asking, "How was that? Not too dramatic, I hope."

"Who are you?" Bowser asked, a confused look on his face as Peach asked, "Luigi, why are you here?"

Hearing that name, the koopa king scratched his head and said, "Luigi... Luigi... never heard that name before," Luigi retorting, "I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW I'M MARIO'S BROTHER!!!!!"

Upon hearing this, Bowser's eyes went wide. Soon his look of shock turned to anger as the wedding guests all started to get up, knowing that Bowser would want them to take care of Luigi.

"Stand down, men!" Bowser snapped, the subjects all looking at the king who proceeded to say, "I'll take care of this pest myself."

He then proceeded to shoot a fireball at Luigi who narrowly leaped high over it, clinging to a chandelier with his teeth chattering. Bowser saw this as a minor setback as he shot a flame at the rope holding up the decorations, the guests sitting under it fleeing from their seats while the Chandelier fell, Luigi groaning from the minor pain he'd taken in from falling with it.

However, the plumber refused to let this stop him for good as Bowser shot more fireballs from his mouth. Luigi gracefully leaped over each one, feeling more confident than ever before as he planted his feet hard into Bowser's face. The koopa's eyes started to swirl as the king struggled to stay upright, Luigi getting under him and sweeping his foot thus causing Bowser to trip and fall on the back of his head.

It didn't end there as the brother proceeded to leap above the dragon, flipping his body around before aiming his rear end at the monster's belly, descending hard into that very spot while Bowser cried out in pain. However, despite all of this, the koopa king rose his hand, grabbing Luigi as the plumber found himself unable to break free from the dragon's grasp, Bowser slowly climbing back to his feet and fuming with rage.

"YOU ARE JUST AS BIG OF A PEST AS MARIO!!!!!" he spat, hurling the plumber across the aisle as Luigi fell face-first into the floor, rolling a bit and taking in more pain before finally coming to a screeching halt, groaning in pain. But it didn't stop there as the dragon leaped high into the air, slamming his own rear hard into Luigi's back, the plumber's eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

But as Bowser rose his claws, ready to slice the plumber open, Peach gritted her teeth shouting, "STOP!!!!!!" all going silent as Bowser turned to face the princess, Luigi weakly giving her a confused look.

"Luigi, thank you for trying to save me, but please, I don't want to see you killed on my behalf!" Peach exclaimed, Luigi's eyes going wide as the princess sighed and continued, "Look, if I marry Bowser, you and Mario can go free. It's a sacrifice I'm more than willing to make."

Luigi couldn't believe what he was hearing while Bowser was simply thrilled to hear this, the dragon slowly making his way back to the stage. But why would the princess just give herself over to the king without a second thought? Maybe she just didn't have as much faith in the plumber.

However, Luigi would not let the princess make such a horrible decision as he slowly rose to his feet, anger in his eyes. But before he could do anything, Peach held out her hand, signalling him to stop. She saw the condition Luigi was in and didn't want him to suffer any more.

But as all seemed lost, a familiar voice entered the area shouting, "PRINCESS, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!!!!!??" Bowser turning to face the source, his eyes wide with terror as Peach gasped with shock, smiling soon afterwards.

Mario stood there tall and proud, pointing at Bowser and exclaiming, "The princess will never be your wife as long as I'm here to stop you!" the koopa king frowning as Luigi looked up at his brother groaning, "I guess in the end, it's you who will save the day as always."

"Actually," Mario replied, helping his brother up with a grin, "let's take him down together," Luigi's eyes sparkling as he nodded, turning toward the koopa king.

However, Bowser was tired of playing fair as he snapped, "SUBJECTS, ATTACK!!!!!" the wedding guests all getting up to strike only for a shell to streak by the first row, knocking over the guests like bowling pins.

Before the others could react, they soon found themselves suffering the same fate with every row being cleared out in a matter of seconds. Emma then retracted from her shell, breathing a sigh of relief and giving the plumbers a thumb up.

"Say, how did you manage to get a koopa on your side?" Mario asked with a grin as Luigi chuckled, replying, "Believe me, it wasn't as difficult as you might think."

Bowser angrily tucked himself into his shell and spun at them, Mario and Luigi nodding at one-another as Mario leaped on top of Luigi's hands, the brother propelling him up and soon latching himself to Mario's legs, the two spinning over Bowser's shell. Before Bowser could even respond, the two plumbers landed while Luigi propelled Mario off of him, Mario flipping over and planting his feet hard into the dragon's face.

That wasn't the end of it, though, as Mario flipped behind Luigi, picking the man up by his ankles and spinning him around before hurling him head-first into Bowser's belly. Bowser's eyes went wide as he cringed in pain, holding onto his gut while the two brothers gave each other a high five. They really were proving themselves to be quite the duo.

However, things soon took a turn for worse when a blast of magic came toward Luigi from behind, Mario quickly pushing his brother to the side and taking in the blast of magic, groaning in pain as he turned to face Kamek who stood tall saying, "It'll take more than a banjo to the skull to stop me," Luigi then asking, "Wait, wasn't your wand destroyed?" Kamek shrugging and replying, "I have spares."

Emma gritted her teeth and went in to attack Kamek only for another shell to spin into the area, stopping her in her tracks. Her eyes went wide when she noticed it was a blue shell. Once the owner's face emerged from the shell, Emma was even more shocked.

"Gordon?" she asked as the male koopa blinked, asking, "Is that you, Emma?"

Emma let down a tear of joy, embracing the boy as Luigi let down his own tear of joy saying, "This is such a beautiful moment, the rejoining of two siblings."

"So did you finally decide to join Bowser's army?" Gordon asked as Emma shook her head and remarked, "You know as well as I do that nobody in the village wants to work for him. I came here to rescue you."

"Oh boy," Gordon replied, rubbing the back of his head and whistling, "This is awkward."

Emma blinked with confusion before asking, "What do you mean?" Gordon sighing, "Look, you have no idea what an honour it is to work for Bowser," the female koopa's eyes going wide as she shook her head retorting, "No! You can't be..." Gordon nodding as the girl let down a tear, gritting her teeth and smacking the boy in the face.

"YOU JERK!!!!!" she spat, everyone staring as she added, "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!!!! I COME ALL THIS WAY TO SAVE YOU ONLY TO FIND YOU WORKING FOR THIS MONSTER!!!!!!??" Bowser letting down a sweat drop and laughing nervously.

"You're not my brother!" Emma shouted through tears as she tucked herself into her shell, knocking the male into the wall. But as the female retracted herself from her shell, Luigi could see the regret in her eyes. She didn't want to fight her brother right now. She was doing it because she had to.

Mario then remembered Kamek as he turned to Luigi and said, "Luigi, I'll take care of Bowser. You distract the magikoopa," but before Luigi could agree to this, Kamek sent a burst of magic at them, separating the two from one-another with a wall as Luigi was trapped on the side with Bowser, Mario on the side with Kamek. With that, neither one had a choice in the matter.

Luigi then turned to face Bowser and gulped, putting on a serious expression and saying, "Princess, I understand your concern for our well-being, but I won't let you give yourself to the wrong man! If I die in this battle, I'll die happy knowing I finally mustered up the courage to face evil on my own!"

Bowser simply applauded the man saying, "Yes, truly a great speech, but unfortunately, you annoy me, so I'll make sure this is quick and painless."

With that, the dragon released a flame as Luigi leaped over it only to find himself smacked hard into the face, flying head-first into the barrier. However, despite this, the plumber still got up, a strange power filling his body. It was if he had been blessed with the power of a star man or something because the pain he had just taken in felt like nothing to him.

Bowser continued to shoot flame after flame, Luigi gracefully dodging each one and delivering an uppercut to the king's chin. However, Bowser simply grabbed the man and punched him hard in the face, but once again, Luigi seemed to ignore all pain as he bit into the fist, Bowser releasing his hold on the plumber and grimacing in pain.

Luigi had made it all this way. He had faced many dangers to get this far. There was no way he would back down now no matter how hopeless it seemed.

Bowser shot another fireball at Luigi only for the plumber to leap high over the dragon's head, aiming his rear end at the king's head as Bowser simply shot a flame up at the man. However, when the fireball closed in, Luigi spun his body around, deflecting the projectile with his boots and spinning down hard into the king's skull, Bowser's grimacing from the pain and falling hard on his back, his shell shattering into tiny pieces as he lay there motionless.

Luigi let out a sigh of relief, then panicked, uttering, "Did I just kill him?" Peach coming over and noticing breathing from the dragon and said, "No, you just knocked him out," then let down a tear, embracing the man and saying, "Thank you, Luigi! I never should have doubted you!"

At that moment, Mario was wrestling with Kamek as he flipped backwards, kicking the magikoopa hard into the barrier, causing it to shatter upon impact, Kamek finally out for good. And with Gordon out like a light, the battle had finally ended.

At that moment, Warren ran into the room shouting, "Alright, I finally took care of those random guards in the hallway with a little help from our friends, but now I can safely say I am ready to help!" crickets chirping as the toad sighed, lowering his head and saying, "I missed all the fun, didn't I?"

As Mario patted Luigi on the back, he said, "I must say, Luigi, I'm impressed. How would you like to go on my next adventure with me?" Luigi's eyes sparkling, but before he could respond, the pain from his fight with Bowser had finally started to sink in as the plumber passed out.

Seeing the others supporting Luigi, Emma ran over to her brother and looked down at him with spite. However, her spite soon turned to sadness as she sniffed, "I wish it didn't have to be this way."

Luigi awoke hours later to find himself in the castle infirmary, the doctor smiling upon seeing the man awaken. Luigi then looked around to see Mario, Peach and Emma by the bed he was lying on.

"Maybe I'm still not cut out to be a hero," Luigi sighed as Mario shook his head and replied, "Are you kidding? You defeated Bowser despite your lack of physical strength. That's no small accomplishment."

"Hey, Emma," Luigi asked, turning to face the koopa, "Where's Warren?" Emma blinking and pondering this herself.

Meanwhile, Warren stood outside the castle and sighed, "Luigi, you deserve all the glory. I did nothing to really contribute," then turning to a large chomp behind him, he patted the creature and added, "But with you on my side, I might just earn myself hero status yet," climbing atop the beast and riding off into the distance.

Soon enough, a party was held for Luigi as everyone in the kingdom gathered into the castle for a feast. Before they could eat, Toadsworth stood tall and announced, "Everyone, we are here today to honour a great individual, one who has truly surprised us all! This one is not for our dear Mario, but for his brother, Luigi!"

Luigi simply blushed while everyone applauded him, Mario patting him on the back and saying, "You've earned it, bro," Luigi raising his fist in the air shouting, "YAHOO!!!!!!"

(Imagine the Mario 2/Doki-Doki Panic over-world theme with lyrics)

After dinner, a group of toads held up the younger plumber and exclaimed, "This is a night we thought we would never see! This is something no one here thought could be! Luigi went and defeated the evil Bowser and saved the brother and princess!"

As they marched outside of the castle, fireworks shot off while all the toads chanted, "We owe a lot to this brave and wonderful hero now! He faced all odds and made it all the way through somehow! Enemies think twice before you mess with this wonderful man! Now you know that he can beat you, yes he certainly can!"

Luigi let down tears of joy and stated, "This is a night I thought that I'd never see, this is something I never believed could be! I faced evil head-on and came up looking so strong and now I know that I can do no wrong!"

After the celebration, the guests were leaving as Emma decided to take her leave too, Peach asking, "Hey, uh, Emma, where are you going?"

The koopa let out a sigh and stated, "There's no place for me here. I'm a koopa," the princess shaking her head and saying, "I would very much like you to be the captain of the guards," the actual captain's jaw dropping as he stared at Emma with a helpless look in his eyes, sighing and shaking his head before handing his badge over to her. As much as he hated to admit it, Emma really was better for the job.

The koopa sniffed upon holding the badge and let down tears of joy, hugging the princess as Mario tapped the girl on the shoulder, Peach releasing the hug while the plumber knelt down on one knee. Peach blinked as the man held out a box and said, "Princess, these last two days, I felt like our chances of being together forever had been shot. I almost lost you to Bowser. So before anything bad happens again," opening the box and revealing a ring, Peach gasping while the plumber asked, "Princess Peach Toadstool, will you marry me?" Peach letting down a tear and shouting, "YES!!!!" embracing the plumber of her dreams.

The wedding went perfectly without a hitch, Peach and Mario's lips touching for the first time. Luigi simply sat in the audience applauding the newly-weds, letting down tears of joy and giving his brother thumbs up. Then came the moment where Peach threw the bouquet, the flowers landing on the younger plumber's lap. Luigi smiled even wider knowing what this meant.

Meanwhile, Warren had made a name for himself when he managed to chase away a group of creatures known as fuzzies from a village. His name made the mushroom kingdom news very quickly, Emma and Luigi both very proud of him.

Speaking of Emma, she had truly proven herself to be the perfect captain of the guards as the previously okay toad guards were soon shaped up into a force that could finally overpower Bowser's army were he to attack again. Bowser found out very quickly about Mario and Peach's wedding, burning the newspaper and deciding to retire from villainy now that his reason for being evil was pointless. Gordon, who was still loyal to the king, felt rather relieved by this now that he knew his sister was on the side of good. Bowser's fashion designers decided to retire from working with him and instead work for Peach. As the dragon wasn't in the mood to object, he helplessly watched them leave, figuring it really didn't matter. Perhaps one day he would find the one truly meant for him.

As for the rest, well, all of the creatures from the restaurant were more than successful back in their village. Clawgrip had opened up his own clothing store and became a big hit with the townsfolk. Mary Buzzsaw figured out how to use her origami to lure in customers to the Cheep-Cheep cafe and was immediately hired to replace the Emma as the greeter since the koopa had, after all, quit.

Manfred became a street performer playing banjo and made a descent amount of coins from it. It wasn't big money or anything, but it was still an honest pay. Spike joined the croquet league and soon became champion of the village and it wasn't long until he was invited to the world croquet championship.

Luigi had found himself really enthralled with Pablo's book and immediately sent the goomba a letter telling him what he thought. It was after this that the goomba decided to present the book to a big-time publishing company, the mushroom becoming very successful off of his book and not waiting a long time to start on his next one.

Volcano had been hired at the Cheep-Cheep cafe to make flambes for dessert. And who should be the new head chef than the snail?

As he was in the kitchen preparing the day's special, he noticed a paratroopa fly into the room and blinked. The flying turtle handed him a letter before taking off as the snail opened it up. It was a letter from Emma telling of how her life had turned around.

The snail chuckled and whistled, calling the paratroopa back over as he quickly wrote a letter of his own, the note saying the following:

"Dear Emma, congratulations on your new job. I must say, I never imagined you serving the royal family, let alone being captain of the guards. It's good to know you're doing well. And it's about time Mario finally proposed. I mean, how many years has he been waiting to pop the question? Your friends are also living out their own dreams and they miss you very much. I'll let them know about the letter you sent. Also, tell Luigi that I'm proud of him. That man really is something else. Sincerely, Winkle Van Snail."

And with all said and done, things had truly turned out for the best.

The End