Hello all! Here's a one shot I've been working on (mostly in writing since I still do not have my laptop fixed yet... ah, the school library) but is pretty much finished.
The title is rough Italian for 'Never Give Up', in case anyone doesn't understand.
Okay, so I've finally gotten my hands on SPM for the Wii and let me just say, Dimentio is the craziest villain I've ever come to love in the Maro series so far! He's seriously deluded to try and 'kill' Mario and co., which inspired this little fanfiction of mine! Please enjoy, and if you haven't played it yet, get Super Paper Mario- it's worth it and the storyline is deep, saddening and just overall fun!
Enjoy! I do not own Mario or Luigi; Nintendo does.
'Non Mollare Mai'
Cold fingers, moving and with purpose, grasped at my bare legs as I struggled to keep my head above the purple, foul-smelling water. Some of it had rushed down my throat, going in my nose, choking me as I was pulled under. I wanted to let out a scream, for someone, ANYONE to save me, for my brother to help me... but that felt like such a tiresome chore with the energy I had.
It was so cold... and I felt so tired... so, so tired...
I had no idea how I ended up here. The last thing I remember was trying to fight Count Bleck... but even that seemed so distant, so far away... we had defeated him... I think so, anyway... we stopped him... everything had resumed its rightful place, and all the Pure Hearts were sealed away... me and Mario had... gone back home...
So how was I back in this horrifying place? WHY was I back here?
The next thing I knew, I was sputtering water onto a strangely colored ground. I gagged and tried to stand, but a sharp and powerful kick sent me flying into a nearby wall. I it it hard, and I felt blood coming up the back of my throat.
"Hmm... I see you have not changed one bit, man in green. Or shall I say... Mr. L?"
I stare up at him in confusion. "... Mr... L... ?" I asked. Was he talking about me?
Another kick, straight to my gut this time, quickly silenced me. I curled up tight against the wall as a sudden flurry of kicks assaulted my being, each one more painful than the last. I couldn't even defend myself.
"S-Stop... p-p-please... I whimper, shaking and coughing.
"What's wrong, Mr. L? Can't live without your precious Master Bleck?" he jeered evilly. I take a shuddering breath, confusion in my head.
Master Bleck?! The guy who tried to END all worlds?! MY Master? And who is this Mr. L person?!
"Ahh... I see..."
A hand takes my chin, tilting it upwards to a face... a masked face. It looks like a smiling jester mask... black and white with a smiling red mouth and glinting yellow eyes...
"You don't know who you are, Luigi. Well THIS should jog your memory!"
Before I can say anything, he snaps his fingers, and out of reflex, I duck. But I don't feel anything, and curiosity gets the better of me. When I look up, my eyes widen in shock and confusion.
In an instant, I'm back in that nightmarish pool, the same cold, white fingers grabbing my legs, my arms and wrapping around my throat. The jester looks at me, smiling while floating a few feet away from my face, cackling before snapping his fingers. The fingers loosen, but they still have me captive.
"What's going on? Where am I?"
Something appears in front of me... a memory?
I see a man who looks like me dressed in black garb, wearing a black mask and a green cap with a black backwards L on it. He's calling himself the 'Green Thunder'... and he's fighting...
"M-Mario?! Peach! Bowser?! Wha- gah..." The fingers tighten around my neck, and I can't breathe...
"Ah, now you remember? Yes, you were an excellent pawn for the Chaos Heart, Luigi... the perfect being with the purest, innocent mind and soul... perfect for ME."
Before I can fight my way free to ask, the jester snaps his fingers again, and the memory flashes to something else. A giant head that's... mine... it looks like me, but the colors are so far off, and it's... almost blocky...it's creepy.
But the body looks like that jester... I don't understand.
"Yes, once your little party took care of Bleck, everything else fell right into place... ah, Luigi, you seem speechless." He jeers at me as I'm watching this... thing shooting missiles at Peach, and Mario is trying to do what he can to stop it.
The fingers are long gone by now... and even if they weren't, I can't bring myself to care. I don't understand... where was I? I was supposed to be helping them fight him, wasn't I?
"So you still haven't put it together yet, Luigi?"
I stare for a few seconds longer before my eyes start to widen. But... that's not...
I can tell that freak of nature is grinning, getting some sick kick out of all this, as realization is clearing starting to dawn on me. We both watch as Mario, Peach and Bowser destroy whatever that creature was before all goes black and it's just us two once again.
"Interesting little creation, is it not? A pity it had to come to that... but together, we could have ruled all dimensions. YOU would have gotten your deepest desire... to become the number one Mario brother." His voice is like acid trailing down my skin, and I flinch.
I don't want to believe it. I can't be that... that... that abomination harming my brother and the princess and even Bowser! "No... n-no, that's not what I wanted... I would never-"
The jester snaps his fingers before I could finish. And the next thing I see... is Mario screaming in pain a man wearing black and green launches an attack similar to my thunderband move. But how would he... oh dear Stars...
"Stop... Stop it, stop it, STOP IT!" I struggle to get to that laughing freak of nature, wanting to rip him apart, but suddenly aware that I was being held back. Regardless I continued to struggle anyway.
"Let him GO!"
That jester talks again as he watches on, with a soft, almost... pitying voice. "You wanted this to happen, Luigi. You wanted your brother to pay for what he did. You wanted him to suffer like you have your whole life. Your brother wanted to leave you in the Underwhere, all alone... how cold and lonely you must have felt... how afraid you were, wanting him to save you... but never knowing that he had no such intention to do so."
His finger traces a tear I didn't even notice rolling down my cheek. I finally stop struggling.I refuse to believe that!
My only brother... he saved me... he wouldn't leave me alone... and I couldn't want him dead... would I?
"You wanted revenge... and now your brother will die... just as you've always wished."
No... no, no, no- MARIO!
A small chuckle, and just before I lose consciousness, I hear him speak once more. At last, I learn his name.
"My name is Dimentio, Luigi. You would do well to remember that. Until our next meeting, Ciao!"
"Weege?! Weege, come on, wake up!"
Luigi's eyes shot open, wet with tears, and shot up, looking around in confusion and screaming before another face came into view. He nearly jumped out of the bed to run before a familiar face was soon accompanied by a soothing voice he knew instantly.
"Shh, Weege... hey, hey, come on..." Mario coaxed him, rubbing his shoulders. "It was just a nightmare."
Luigi nodded, taking shaking breaths as he tried to collect his thoughts. 'That wasn't a nightmare. Not that... Who is Dimentio?! And why wasn't I there to help them? And that man in green and black... he looked like... m-me... but how... and WHY?!'
After a few more minutes, Mario let his hand drop and the two sat in silence for a long time. Mario kept a close eye on his brother, the latter of which kept his head down, his breathing finally under control. Something was on his mind, he could tell.
"... wanna talk about it?" Mario asked, getting ready for another story. He knew his brother had been having nightmares for days now, but refused to talk about them, saying it was something not even he could understand.
The younger Mario brother hesitated for a moment before he answered with a question of his own."Mario... when we fought against Count Bleck... what happened to me?"
Mario blinked. Okay, that was not what he was expecting to hear at all. "What do you mean? We fought him and we won."
Luigi's eyes narrowed. The rapid pace in which Mario answered coupled with the fact he had averted his eyes to actually think of the answer all added up to one thing.
Mario was lying to him. Tonight, Luigi was determined to find out why.
"Mario, please don't lie to me. I need to know what happened." Luigi said quietly.
"Bro, you should know I'd never-"
"Who is Dimentio, Mario?"
At that, Mario's expression gave away what Luigi feared. Quickly turning away, Mario stood up, clearly not in the mood to play twenty questions. "Weege, go back to bed. We can talk about this when-"
"NO."
Luigi had stood up now as well, facing his brother with a deadly glare. His tears had long since dried, but his eyes were still tinted red. Mario stared back with a look of guilt and confusion at who this person was standing his ground. "Luigi, what's gotten into you? I told you we'll talk about it later!"
"Who the heck is Dimentio? Why is it every time I try to ask you what happened to me back there you get angry with me or you keep saying you'll tell me later and expect me to just forget about it?!"
Mario had no response but stood there, guilt grossing his face yet again. 'So he realized what I was doing... Peach was right, I should've told him as soon as we got home...'
Since his brother wasn't saying anything, Luigi kept talking. "You want to know what I kept seeing in my nightmares?! Fine! This jester looking creep who kept saying that I would've gotten what I wanted with HIS power and that Chaos Heart! That I WANTED to KILL you, and that you wanted me dead since I got trapped in the Underwhere alone!"
Luigi saw Mario flinch and stagger back, his mouth agape and his eyes wide. Still he kept going, his voice quieting down as he did.
"I-I had to watch you die, Mario... the guy who killed you... he wore black and green but he looked just like me... he even knew my Thunder move, and you... you were..."
Biting his lip, the lean man shook his head and advanced forward towards Mario, who was now rooted to the spot. Grabbing his shoulders, he forced Mario to look dead in his eyes.
"Mario, I don't understand why I kept seeing him. Why that jester kept saying I wanted to be the best, that I wanted you gone for good! That's why I never told you anything. I only learned his name tonight... he said he was known as Dimentio, and that as long as I was alive, he would be back. Mario, what happened to me back there? What did I do? And why can't you tell me?"
At that point, Mario knew he couldn't keep it a secret any longer. But he hadn't meant to lash out like he did, frustrated and tired of all the questions.
"You want to know what happened?! Fine! The reason I wanted to leave you in the Underwhere- yes, I damn well admit it, I WANTED to leave you there- was because I was tired of having a brother who caused nothing but trouble for me and everyone else! You have brought me down so many times, and then you always wondered why I never wanted you with me to save Peach or stop Bowser! Sure, you didn't create the Chaos Heart, but thanks to your weakness, that... that freak of nature almost destroyed everything we knew and loved!"
Luigi's mouth fell open before he closed it, shuffling back a half step, unsure of what to say. "I... I didn't-"
Mario kept right on going, completely past caring about his brother's sensitive feelings. He needed to let it out, and unfortunately, Luigi was a victim he never intended to hurt.
"Oh, but there's more! That man in black and green- HE was YOU! That's the reason why you don't remember what happened our last battle, or any other time before that! Dimentio fused the Chaos Heart with you and his own being to create that freak! Even though we destroyed him... with you still alive, he's never going to be truly dead, and neither is that blasted Chaos Heart! As long as you're alive Luigi, nothing is safe! Maybe you should disappear! Drop dead for all I care! Who would miss something like you?!"
Silence befell the two brothers for a long, long time. Mario panted heavily as Luigi stood frozen, his head hung low in shame from what his brother told him. The younger Mario brother didn't speak, but kept his head down for a few minutes. Eventually, he gathered himself enough to say something... anything to help the pain in his chest.
"So... I did all that... and I see why you want me to die." Luigi finally muttered quietly, but loud enough for Mario to hear.
Just as quickly, Mario realized all too late what he had done, and he looked up at Luigi, horrified. "L-Luigi? Oh Stars, bro, I-I didn't mean to say all that, I..."
When Luigi finally lifted his head, Mario felt his heart wrench. Luigi's tears were completely dry, but he was shaking and his smile... it was weak and pain-filled. He had hit home a little too hard, and Mario wasn't sure he could fix what he caused.
"Weege, I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have-" Luigi took another unsteady step back. Mario didn't know what to do at that point.
"Mario... now I understand why I made you want to destroy me back then. I wish you had... if I had known who I was- no, WHAT I was, and what I did... I would've let you kill me. You could've stopped me and saved everyone... you could've stopped Dimentio for good..." he said softly, so much so that Mario almost missed it.
"No... Weege, no, no, no... I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said any of that, I... Luigi, please..." Mario pleaded. But the damage was set. Luigi shook his head and looked away, his arms hugging himself to control his crying. He didn't want to break down anymore, and it didn't take him long to see why.
He had no tears left to shed. He felt strangely... hollow inside. He now knew the cold, harsh truth. It stung- by the Stars, did it sting- but at the same time, it was a welcoming pain Luigi finally learned to accept.
He finally understood everything. And he knew what needed to be done.
'Mario's right... who would miss something like me... something that is only good for being a coward, for being weak and pathetic, a supposed 'hero' who can't fight worth a damn... why should he suffer because of me... and why should anyone else have to die because of what I've helped to create...'
"Luigi, I'm so sorry... please, I-"
Luigi shook his head weakly. "It's it's alright, Mario. I deserve all of this...all of it."
Mario approached Luigi, grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him hard. "Are you listening to yourself?! What part of YOU ARE MY BROTHER are you not understanding?! Yes, I made a mistake and left you in that hell hole, yes, I caused you to resent me and the others to a point that YOU couldn't even control it! But all of this was MY fault, you hear me?! IT WAS MY DAMN FAULT!"
The hero in red broke down at that point. His head lowered as his shoulders shook from anger and guilt, still holding on to his only little brother for all he was worth.
"I did this, Luigi... I left you for so damn long, and I didn't stop to care... I was willing to let you die all alone, and you... you didn't know..."
Luigi didn't say anything. He didn't have anything left to say. It would always sting in his chest his brother found him such dead weight that he was left to die in the Underwhere, and even while he remembered fighting Dimentio before all went black, it wasn't enough. He still failed, was still seen as a weak, skinny coward who had to rely on his brother for everything.
'Perhaps... that's where I... I belong. After all... what good have I ever been to anyone, really.'
"Mario. Can you promise me something?" Luigi suddenly asked quietly, his eyes completely dull and broken.
Mario had a feeling he didn't want to know what Luigi had to say. But he nodded as he straightened up to face his brother.
"Promise me you'll keep this kingdom safe. Keep everyone safe."
Mario grew concerned. Luigi had never looked so... content before. What was he thinking?
"... Weege...?"
"I don't want anyone hurt because of me... just... please. Keep the kingdom safe for me. And protect yourself too. O-Okay?"
Luigi walked past his brother and sat back down on the bed, leaning against the wall. "Can you... do me another favor?"
"What is it?"
Luigi looked dead into Mario's eyes and said, "I want you to end my life."
"W... what?"
Luigi tilted his head slightly and smiled at his brother before looking back out the window. "I want you to kill me. When that jester comes back, and he takes the Chaos Heart and me... I want you to end it for good. Can you do that?"
And just like that, Mario felt his whole world spinning. He couldn't be serious... could he?
"W...What? Why...?"
Smiling, Luigi rested his hand over his chest. "I want you to end my game for good. I get it now. I've always kinda known no one cared but..."
His expression changed, became more thoughtful. "I don't want anymore people hurt. I know... no one loves me. No one wants me and I just... I'm just invisible. I don't care if I die. Please... I just want everyone safe."
Mario couldn't say anything. He just stared at the brother sitting on the bed, content with ending it just like that. "L-Luigi... I-I can't... no..."
His brother curled up on his bed. "At least when I'm gone... Dimentio can't hurt you anymore. I can't hurt you anymore. It'll be over, Mario. For both of us. Please... promise me you'll do what you have to. Just protect everyone for me. That's all I ask."
Mario didn't say a word. He stared at Luigi for a long time before he finally felt the strength to walk over and hug him tightly, burring his face in the warmth of his brother's neck. He wanted to tell his brother to stop talking like that, but it wouldn't be right. Not from him.
'It's my fault you ever became like this! I pushed you away, I lied to you, I treated you like you were nothing when all you did was love and care for me, for everyone. You always did your best because you CARED! You didn't deserve this, Luigi... not you...'
Luigi wanted to push Mario away. He really felt like he didn't deserve that hug. But he was his younger brother, and no matter what he said, he still wanted him to care even a little. He leaned into his older brother's arms and allowed himself to go lax.
"Thank you, Mario. For everything." he whispered in his ear.
It didn't matter anymore. His life, his empty and broken heart, his shattered soul, nothing mattered anymore. He knew his brother would make the right choice. Mario always did.
At the end, the man in green was happy that he could make up for what he did to Princess Peach, to Daisy, to Bowser, and especially to his big brother. Even more so, Luigi felt as if he could finally let his own pain go.
His brother never did know how much it stung when he was left alone while he went to save the kingdom, how he felt when they did go together, but only Mario got the credit, and how even Mario never gave him any credit at times. He still felt the painful sting when Peach invited Mario on a vacation and he accepted it, right after he said he would spend some time playing tennis with him, and how he didn't know about anything until it was mentioned a week later. It was one of the most painful arguments they had, and Luigi had begun to question his worth ever since.
It became to a point where people never knew his name, and half the time, never knew he was the younger brother to the 'Great Mario'.
He had always felt out of place, like something about him just made others want to push him away. Mario and Peach rarely invited him to anything other than her parties, and Daisy seemed to want him to change into something he knew he wasn't.
He wondered for so long why people didn't want him around, or just plain hated him. Tonight finally showed him why.
Drifting into sleep, he thought about himself and his personality. Luigi knew he wasn't the strongest; he could hold his own in a race, and running was all he did his whole life. Or having Mario fight his battles that he was too pathetic to handle on his own.
'I was always such a coward. Ever since I was a child, Mario had to defend me, had to protect me... it's no wonder he left me in the Underwhere. He's sick of me, sick of having a sibling who can't even fend off a few Boos. I see why... I'M sick of me. I'm sick of being in the dark, of being a coward, of doing nothing but cry and cower and having Mario fight my battles! I'm sick of a lot, but I... I guess I wanted Mario to just appreciate me for who I am. I'll never be a hero, and I know that. But I didn't want to be alone... I hate it. He's my only brother, but now that I know what I put him through... what I've always been putting him through... I understand I have to leave this life. I have to or Mario will never have any peace. I guess I'm taking the coward way out, aren't I... I'm so pathetic. But Mario doesn't need someone like me here. I don't need to be alive. I wish it didn't hurt so much... but Mario knows I love him and I'd do anything for my big brother. If it means I have to die, then fine. No one would miss me, or even remember me, but at least I'll be happy, and so will he. Most of all, Dimentio can't harm him... he'll be safe and sound, and so will Peach and Daisy and everyone else in town.'
That last thought pulled the younger Mario brother into a dreamless sleep, the first one he had since the Count Bleck madness. 'I love you, Mario. I will truly miss you... but I know it'll be over fast.'
Mario felt Luigi's body relaxing, and laid him to rest on his pillows, pulling the covers over him, before he sat down at the edge of the bed. His face was soaked with tears he hadn't noticed rolling down his cheeks.
"I... I can't promise that, baby brother..." Mario choked, stroking Luigi's cheek as he slept. "I can't kill my only family... I can't..."
He smiled through the blurry vision. "I was terrible, wasn't I? What kind of big brother leaves his own sibling alone for so many years and thinks everything will be alright? I never stopped to see what I was doing, how alone you must've been, how scared you were, and how you just wanted me to be here for you. You were always there for me, always... always smiling and telling me to do my best, and yet I never stopped to listen to you, to make sure you were alright, to take you with me and make you feel wanted and loved, dammit just to give you a hug and tell you that I love my baby brother!"
Mario chuckled wetly, tracing the dried tears still visible on Luigi's cheeks, taking in a peaceful, almost calm expression that he hadn't seen on Luigi's face in weeks. It tore at Mario's heart.
"I should've noticed it... I should've noticed how upset you became whenever I left, how sad you were when I didn't want to spend a few hours with you... how broken you were when I took a vacation with Peach and left you to fend for yourself and didn't even try to invite you, how depressed you became because of me... I did this to you..."
Luigi let out a soft groan, realizing he could subconsciously hear bits and pieces of what his brother was saying. 'I don't hate you, Mario. I don't... and I can't.'
"Why... why do you care about a brother who'd rather leave you to die than protect you...? Why do you have any love for me, Luigi... I don't deserve any of it... and I don't deserve YOU as my brother..." Mario whispered to himself. Bending down, he left Luigi a light kiss on his forehead.
"I hope you can hear me, Luigi. I want you to know this. I will never promise to take you from this world or from me. I can't. And I see now what I've done. I know... I know you're so tired of trying anymore, and I'm so, so sorry I took so long to realize what I've did to you all our lives. Just... just promise me this, alright? P-Promise me you'll keep trying. I want to help your heart heal because all those scars you have, all that pain and sadness you've held onto, all your suffering and loneliness, it's because of what I'VE done. You fought alone for too long. Let me help you now, okay?"
Mario laid next to Luigi, closed his eyes and rested his head on his chest as he curled in his side. He couldn't leave him... he had so much to tell him when he woke up. He had to make this right.
"If you can hear me, baby brother... just promise me you'll keep fighting. You don't deserve what I've done to you. You never have. Please stay strong and keep fighting. I promise... I won't let you cry anymore."
'M-Mario... you... you want to stay with something like me... then I guess...'
"...I w-will..." a faint voice sounded. Mario smiled, his fingers finding Luigi's and squeezing them tight.
"Thank you..."
There was a long journey waiting for his brother, one Mario knew Luigi couldn't travel on his own any longer. He regretted how he treated him before, but after tonight, he knew Luigi could finish the journey to healing with Mario by his side.
Still, to know how strong his little brother had shown he could be... Mario couldn't be more proud.
* "Non mollare mai, Luigi. Ho intenzione di essere qui fino alla fine. Ti voglio bene, fratellino."
END
*Italian (rough) Translation: Never give up, Luigi. I'm going to be right here until the end. I love you, little brother.
And this one shot is finally complete! After nearly half a year of just... sitting around. Yeah, this one is old, but I liked how it turned out for the most part.
As usual, please leave your reviews, tips, constructive criticisms, but no flames! Thank you for reading!
Until next time!