Wishful Thinking, Realistic Nightmares
Note: I am not typing the Italian accent into my writing; I personally find that doing such can get quite tiresome to type and read. So please do not comment how they do not sound as they would probably and speak. This fanfic is also set in a more mature setting than usual Mario games.
Luigi raced through the hallways, it had been seconds since he heard the blood-chilling screams from Princess Peach fill the hallways and suddenly there were no Toads to be found either. That thought shook his courage when he realized that he was alone in the castle, dashing down the spiral stairs.
The face of Bowser made Luigi jump as he stumbled back and crashed onto the stairs again, his body paralyzed in fear for a moment; the sound of his chattering teeth filled the air for a moment. He wanted to stand, but his shaken legs prevented him from doing so. Bowser's glaring eyes stared a whole right through him for though him before his nerves calmed down enough for him to realize that what was staring at him was just a painting of the Koopa King.
Standing up slowly, Luigi picked up his hat and dusted it off carefully; his shaking hands made it very difficult for him to place the hat perfectly on his head. Swallowing hard he tip-toed passed the frightening painting and opened the door so he could escape those frozen pupils.
Luigi suddenly became acutely aware to how deathly silent the castle was, there were no screams and not even the sound of chaos could be heard. It had been weeks since Bowser had been active and now everything that was happening now only made Luigi timid at what was happening now. When he looked around, the door that he walked out of fell closed and made the green plumber jump out of his skin as he jumped slightly in the air and he staggered to the side and grasped the wall for support; looking behind him, Luigi came to the realization that it was just the closing door. The damage was already done however, the shaken nerves from the door slamming shut would linger.
With frightened eyes, the one with the green hat walked through the castle carefully. If there was even the sound of chaos and conflict in the distance than he knew he would be able to at least feel any adrenaline and rush to the sight if he knew that Mario was fighting somewhere close by. When he managed to get to the castle greeting hall, the sight that waited him actually made him freeze in his socks at that single moment…blood and it was spilled over the already bright red carpets and hard, smooth floors. Slowly, Luigi walked down the stairs and looked down at the blood at his feet; reaching out with the tip of his foot he touched the edge of the red puddle lightly before pulling back like his toe got seared with flame.
The blood trail led from the middle of the room and made a dragged trail to one of the rooms off to the side; whoever's body was dragged, led to one of the conference rooms. Luigi looked to the front door and back to the conference room door; contemplating which action he should take—fight or flight. His shaking knees, tense jaw, timid eyes and near frozen body told him to run out of the castle and get to safety…but one part of him, the piece of hero that was deep inside him told him to force himself to confront what sights could await him.
Luigi breathed out slowly before turning to his side and starting his walk towards the door from which the blood trail disappeared behind. He knew he would regret this choice but there was no going back now. Walking up to the door, Luigi looked down at the blood trail and then looked to the blood-smeared doorknob. Luigi's mind panicked at what could be behind this door, with a trembling hand he took the door knob and tried to give it a twist, only to have his hand slip from the golden surface; looking to his hand, he almost felt ill as the red substance soaked into his white gloves. That moment he actually wanted to run out of the castle screaming and yet somehow, be it through fear or courage, he kept his feet planted.
Off like a band-aid, that is how Luigi was going to do it. He would just get it over it, open the door and just step right in. The only flaw about that was that he was thinking about it too much now, he just had to do it with little thought. Breathing out, Luigi shivered once and then stared forward and grabbed the doorknob and just twisted the doorknob aggressively, pushing the door open he stepped right in.
Nothing would prepare him for the thing waiting for him in the otherwise dark room. The only thing to lit up the darkness was flaming embers that erupted from the razor-sharp teeth that this creature had, glowing beating, ruby-red eyes burned through a hole into Luigi's soul as he felt his knees buckle and he crashed with a loud thump onto the ground, his feet desperately kicked back so he could escape the same fate that fell upon those in the kingdom. The feeling of cold, solid wall greeted his back, his fear caused him to miss the door as he now found himself cornered…helpless.
He could not help but find tears clouding his eyes, realizing this was how it was going to end. His fear stricken mind was making him insane and he knew it, because all he could hear was the cheerful laughter from his brother Mario, Peach, Daisy and even the Toads. Such pleasant memories would be the last thing he could embrace along with his fears that brought the tears to drop down his cheek.
The lights turned on suddenly, making Luigi shut his eyes tight as the laughter continued; when he managed to open his eyes he saw everyone in the room and they were all laughing, the creature which he saw was headless, Mario held onto a cord that allowed the thing to breath fire.
It was a joke…a prank.
Shivering still, Luigi battled the remaining trauma from his fear as he watched Mario walk over, grabbing him by his arm and slapping him over the shoulder. The remaining fear however, was slowly stirring into an irritation that the people around him would pull such a cruel prank on him and then laugh at him to top it off.
This moment seemed so surreal to him, maybe he would wake up any moment now and not have to endure this joke at his expense. He closed his eyes and turned around to try and walk out but Mario pulled him back and he could swear that he heard Mario protest to him leaving as his elder brother pulled him back. It was at that moment that Luigi realized that this moment was really happening.
-Later that day-
Luigi did manage to calm down and now he was sitting on the edge of the roof, overlooking the courtyard, hugging his knees to his chest. He could not believe that they would pull such an awful prank on him. Sure it was hilarious for them but it was far from amusing for him and he could not control how cowardly he had become. He also wished he could remember what made him so afraid to begin with; that part of his memory actually blanked out of his mind and was forever concealed in shadows…leaving him a qui9vering mass in the end, timid and fearful of almost everything around him.
Mario and the group was understanding and accepting of his growing fears and that gave him a slight form of comfort; however, that acceptance seemed to diminish over the recent couple of months and he became an open target to criticism and even blame for not standing up for himself when he should have or being there when Mario needed him. Now it would seem that blame has now turned into becoming the palace joke and that was not sitting well with Luigi at all.
"Luigi? What are you doing up there?" Daisy yelled from the courtyard.
Luigi pressed his forehead against his knees, like he did not hear her. Daisy was one of the people in the room laughing at him after all; Luigi had a hard time facing those that laughed at his incident.
"Luigi!" Daisy screamed in a semi-scolding manner. "Get down here!"
Luigi responded by shaking his head, not that she could see it from down there.
"I swear to god, Luigi…if you make me come up there." She threatened, knowing that Luigi responded best to a commanding tone.
"Fine…fine…" Luigi muttered to himself as he stood up and stepped off the edge of the roof, dragging his foot and fingertips along the stone wall of the castle, he slide down to land to a kneel on the ground, knowing that a clean drop down would prove to be quite harmful. Slowly standing to his feet, he kept his head down so the visor of his green hand hid as much of his face as possible.
"What's the matter with you?" Daisy wondered as she walked over, placing her hands on her hips. Daisy always proved to be the more feisty of the princess' due to being more tomboyish then Princess Peach; however, not all instances did that help her case, her sympathy and tender side was weakened cause of it.
"Doesn't matter," Luigi shrugged slightly.
"Don't make me get it out of you…you know I can." Daisy sighed out lightly. "It wasn't about that little bit of joking is it?" she asked when Luigi did not respond to her; the slight twitch she noted from his form was all the answer she needed. "Oh it is, isn't it?" Daisy exclaimed.
A light thump was heard as Daisy lightly hit Luigi on the arm when she asked her last question; it was not enough to hurt Luigi that was something that she did often so he was used to it by now.
"Come on Luigi, don't let it get to you…it was innocent teasing." Daisy expressed causally.
"I don't enjoy being this way, Daisy." Luigi confessed, folding his arms as he looked off to the side, he still had problems looking Daisy in the face right now. "That was in front of everybody."
"You were adorable," Daisy laughed very lightly, remembering the incident as she rubbed Luigi's arm in an attempt to comfort him.
"I was nothing but a coward." Luigi snapped, but his weak tone took away the threatening snap that he had originally intended.
"Aw, Luigi…don't get so upset." Daisy whispered; stepping forward to close the distance, she pulled him close for an embrace. "Baby, don't worry…you'll always be my little coward."
That did not exactly add any form of comfort to him whatsoever. Closing his eyes tight, he felt his body tense up while being held by Daisy. Shaking his head slightly once, Luigi looked towards the sky and let out a shaken breath.
'I don't want to be a coward anymore…' Luigi thought to himself, secretly hoping that some force out there heard him.
Little did he know, someone was listening to his thoughts that day and that someone would respond with haste.
