Chapter One

Luigi sat sadly on a bench in the family mausoleum. Generations of the Mario family laid entombed here, resting. Despite what some thought, Luigi had never resented the family name. He'd felt worse for Mario than himself. Mario Mario was just a poor name. It had made sense once. Luigi was the first case of a second child born that the family records showed. Up until then it had always been one child, Mario, son of Mario. He shook his head and sighed. He always did this when he was sad. He let his mind wander, focus on the trivial and nonsensical rather than what was in front of him and hurting.

Mario, his brother, his friend, lay in the center tomb of the mausoleum, the greatest of the long Mario family. And the youngest to die, killed in battle by Admiral Kizaru while Mario had been focused on fighting Admiral Akoji. Luigi sighed once more. Such a pointless battle too. The Mushroom Kingdom and its closest allies, Sarasaland and the Kong Country, had always been independent of the World Government. Allies yes, but separate. So when members of the World Government's CP7 team had been found within their capital, Queen Peach had ordered that they be detained. They hadn't even been thrown in the dungeon, simply locked away in a secluded wing of the castle. The Queen wasn't so naïve that she thought that the World Government wouldn't spy on them, but she wasn't about to let spying go unpunished when she caught them at it. The World Government had responded with violence, though Akoji had at least seemed uneasy and unhappy with the situation, though he hadn't held back in battle with Mario. Sengoku had arrived days later to apologize for the escalation of events and had paid for reparations with Marine funds.

But at the end of the day, Mario was still dead. And Luigi was the last of his family, their parents having died of old age years ago. Would the family surname have to be changed to Luigi now? Luigi didn't want that. It felt disrespectful. He shook his head and put his head in his hands. He was doing it again.

"Excuse me young fellow." A kind voice said from behind him. Luigi looked up and turned to see Toadsworth standing there, waiting for him. "The Queen would like to speak to you." Luigi nodded and stood up. Getting away from his thoughts might be good for him.

Fifteen Minutes Later-Toadstool Castle

Luigi followed Toadsworth into the castle library. Peach looked up from a thick text and smiled softly. "Luigi." She said, standing. Luigi took his hat off in respect, holding it in front of him with both hands.

"You don't need to stand for me your majesty."

"Nonsense. I owe you and your brother a great debt." The queen said, shaking her head with a slightly larger smile than before. "Which is one of the reasons why I wanted to show you this." She led Luigi up the stairs to the text she'd been reading, a history of the Mushroom Kingdom. Luigi put his hat back on and leaned down to read. After a minute, he stared up at Peach in shock.

"Is…is this real?" He asked, hardly daring to dream that it was. She nodded eagerly.

"I believe that it is. I read my father's journals recently, and it corroborates this story. Fifty-one years ago my father gifted his friend Gold Roger with the great 1-Up Mushroom. Toadsworth and I have searched all through the newspapers and histories of the time, and nowhere do they say anything that would imply that he ever used it." Luigi stared at the text almost reverentially. The 1-Up Mushroom was a legendary artifact, a magical mushroom said to be capable of bringing the dead back to life. Which meant…

"But if Gold Roger never used it…"

"Then it's probably with the One Piece!" Peach finished excitedly. "And if it is…"

"We can bring my brother back!" Luigi cried, hugging Peach. The queen grinned widely.

"Exactly. E. Gadd's been working on a few things that could make it so that you could go looking for it, if you wanted." Luigi stepped back and grinned up at her.

"What do you think?"

Five minutes later- E. Gadd's laboratory

Professor E. Gadd's laboratory was located underneath the castle, in a secluded inlet that opened onto the ocean…when E. Gadd opened the doors that is. Luigi blinked as he stared at the small harbor and the green, red, and white caravel waiting for them. "Beautiful isn't she?" Peach said with a smile. "Mario had it commissioned from the Professor so that he could visit Sarasaland or the Kongs whenever he wanted. That was his official reason at least. Personally, I think he just wanted an easier way to challenge Bowser whenever he wanted." She said this last with a chuckle that Luigi copied.

"Given that he had me make it fire proof and able to practically sail itself, I'd say that that was most definitely his motive." E. Gadd said as he walked up to them.

"What's she named?" Luigi asked, unable to take his eyes off of the ship.

"Mario insisted that she be named the Yoshi. He even had me paint it to resemble the main one that helped you two." Luigi's eyes widened. That's why the color scheme seemed so familiar. "He also asked me to make these for you." The professor continued, holding out a pair of flame gloves. Luigi stared at them silently for a long moment.

"I'm fine with the ones I have now." He finally said, not meeting anybody's eyes. They were simple in appearance, just plain white gloves, but they were signature weapons of the Mario family, and had been for generations. The gloves could make balls of fire, which the wearer could direct and manipulate, though not the flames caused by said balls. His were old, and had seen many battles, but they were the ones he'd always worn when adventuring with his brother.

"Mario had me make these for you." E. Gadd repeated, holding out the gloves insistently. Luigi looked at him, then shook his head and removed the gloves, pocketing them and taking the new ones.

"You won't be able to talk me into everything using that line." He said as he put them on, prompting small smiles from his two friends.

"Perhaps not, but if it'll help you make smart choices I won't stop using it." E. Gadd said cheekily. "Try them out." Luigi raised an eyebrow, but held out his left hand, palm up, and activated the new glove. Instantly a ball of green fire appeared in his hand. Luigi stared at it in surprise. "Mario said he got too much credit for your actions." The professor said softly. "He wanted to make sure everybody would always know when it was you charging to the rescue." Luigi swallowed a lump in his throat and extinguished the flame. The professor quickly wiped his eyes and got back to business. "These flames are special, in that they'll shoot out in straight lines rather than bouncing like the normal ones used to. However, they are slower, so you'll have to adjust. There's a special training room in the Yoshi down in the brig so that you can practice with them without having to worry about setting your whole ship on fire." Luigi nodded. Practice was important.

"She's fully stocked and ready to go." E. Gadd continued. "With enough food and pure fresh water to get you all the way to the Grand Line. And yes, there are a literal metric tons of bananas." Luigi blinked at this last.

"…Why would I need that many bananas?" He asked. E. Gadd smirked.

"I wasn't talking to you." He said, nodding at someone behind Luigi. Luigi turned around to see Donkey Kong walking towards them, a rucksack over his shoulder with the grip of his coconut gun protruding from the opening.

"What, you didn't think I'd let you go on a quest to bring back Mario without you, did you?" The large gorilla asked with a grin. "He might not have been my brother, but he was my friend." Luigi looked at him, realized that there would be no dissuading him (not that he wanted too. DK was a stubborn pain at times, but he was a friend) and nodded.

"Thank you." He said sincerely. There was a moment's pause.

"There's also plenty of flower boxes." E. Gadd added. That baffled both DK and Luigi. "If I was younger I'd even say too many."

"Why would…" Luigi started to ask before hearing running and the swishing of fabric. "Oh." DK looked at him in confusion, but Luigi just shook his head in fond exasperation.

"I'm coming too!" Daisy yelled, running up with a suitcase in each hand. The princess of Sarasaland was one of Luigi's best friends, and if he'd known he was about to leave he would have expected her to come. Technically Daisy was in the Mushroom Kingdom on a diplomatic 'practice mission', but Luigi had not noticed her doing anything related to diplomacy once. Ever. Mostly she just worked in the gardens, played games with the Toads, and sparred with him and Mario (before the attack obviously). DK raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. After watching her create a crater during a soccer match by merely punching the metal ball, the king of the jungle had gained a certain respect for the flower princess.

"Of course you are." Luigi said with a smile. Daisy just stuck her tongue out at him in response, like the mature diplomat she was.

"So, that's the Yoshi then?" Daisy asked, looking at the ship appreciatively.

"Cozy." DK said with a smile. E. Gadd bristled.

"You try making an automated ship bigger than a caravel young fellow!" He said indignantly, whacking DK on the knee.

"I was just messing around." DK said defensively, taking a step back. That whack hadn't remotely hurt, but it was the principle of the thing.

"When do we leave?" Daisy asked, looking at Luigi. He didn't even hesitate.

"Immediately."