Chapter One: Luigi

I gasped as the monster that grabbed me flung me off the edge.

Okay, maybe not the best way to begin. But I didn't die. Years of fighting things like that train you to develop quick reflexes. My hands shot out and caught the glass platform's edge.

"Look down. Look terrified at the height."

The voice whispering in my ear wasn't madness. It was the director, trying to play up my fears. Fears I was desperately trying to get rid of, and I may have lied about conquering most of them.

But I still glanced down.

I didn't have to act terrified at the blue-purple darkness spiraling down beneath me—I was terrified. I took a deep breath, reminding myself that there was a net down below. I just couldn't see it.

This led to me wondering if they hadn't forgotten to put the net out.

I shook my head, swallowing my fear, and pulled myself back up onto the glass platform… just in time to be slammed by a monster that had been sent flying by King Dedede's hammer.

Luckily, the force of this blow was strong enough to send me soaring onto the next platform. I quickly pushed the monster off the edge.

"Luigi!" Ness leapt towards me as I stood up. "Are you okay? I didn't realize you were still there! When you didn't flip back up—"

I knew what he meant. He'd thought I'd fallen, and believing we'd have to do another take, hadn't fought as hard. This led to King Dedede smashing the monster, which smashed me.

"Bad grip."

I leapt upon the director's suggestion gratefully. "I had a bad grip. It took me a minute to get myself back up."

The platform shook as King Dedede's heavy form landed on it. "Will we continue now?"

"Right," I said, leading the way. That was the downside of not choreographing the fights. They were much more realistic, but you had to remember afterwards that you were being filmed and move on.

"Slowly move back. Let Dedede take the lead."

I obeyed, pausing a moment as if nervous, and letting the huge… was he a man?... move in front of me.

The next door we moved through led to a lot of shouting between the king and someone in the distance. I had to squint to recognize Bowser.

Then I stepped backwards. The tyrannical monster "king" scared me… as did practically everything else.

I needed to get out of the hero business.

Sadly, I stepped on Ness's foot, causing the ten-year-old psychic to yelp and nearly tumble off the edge. I caught him in time.

"Good job! Now act nervous during the fight!"

Fight? Uh oh.

By the time Ness was steadied, Bowser and Dedede were going at it.

I was so intent on getting away from them, I tripped off the edge myself. Luckily, I caught myself again. Ness, engrossed in the fight, didn't notice. Or was he receiving orders to act like he didn't? Either way, it was realistic.

"Struggle for a moment."

I obeyed, acting as if it were difficult to pull myself back onto the platform. When they said I could, I climbed back up gratefully.

"Follow them up the staircase."

Stairs! I could do stairs!

I ran to catch up to the others, already several steps ahead of me.

"And… cut."

I immediately yanked the earpiece out. It was nice that it told you what to do, but it was starting to get annoying.

The glowing lines on the floor faded, and the eerie lights went out as normal light came up. The huge stairway sunk down into the floor.

The doors to the stage flew open as the director, a tall man with black hair and dark eyes, came in.

"What was that?" he cried.

Ness lowered his head. Were we going to have to redo the shot? It had taken an hour to do, hunting down all the trophies. Of course, it usually did take longer. Often they were shooting scenes in five or ten minute increments.

I had done everything they wanted to do. What went wrong?

Then the director's face split into a wide smile. "Because that was the best bit of acting I've ever seen! That, ladies and gents, is a wrap!"

My mouth fell open. It was the first full length segment I'd ever shot with Brawl. And I'd done it perfectly.

Ness was just as surprised. "But…"

"We got everything we wanted, and more!"

Ness was still in shock. "But it's only four in the afternoon…"

"A new record," the director agreed. "Now, you guys have some free time. Spend it wisely." He turned to the rest of the onstage crew. "And someone get Kirby in here so we can start filming the next part."

Ness, still unable to move, simply stared at me until I took his hand and gently towed him to the changing rooms.

Dedede followed us, but stepped into the non human changing rooms. When Brawl had first started, there had been a big issue about separating the female and male non humans until someone bright pointed out there weren't any female non humans. Then someone asked if they weren't female why Kirby and Jigglypuff were pink, and that led to several honor related brawls that eventually resulted in four broken arms, three sprained wrists, six sprained legs, fourteen dislocated shoulders, and many, many various cuts and bruises.

It was around then that the staff decided it would make life easier if people wore modern clothing outside the arena and stage. When the non humans pointed out that they would have difficulty doing that, the rule was made optional.

However, it was a rule everyone followed after the incident with Marth's cape and a refrigerator motor.

But I won't get into that.

Ness seemed to wake up once we left the stage.

"One take?" he whispered.

"Yep," I answered, unlocking my locker. They hadn't originally had locks, but there had been an issue with someone (Link, we were sure) filling lockers with mud and other disgusting things.

"But it usually takes a million…"

"Yep."

Ness seemed to realize something. "That was your first full length shot!"

"Yep."

"But you did it perfectly! Not even Mario—"

I stiffened, though Ness didn't notice, instead finally moving to his locker. Of course he would compare me to Mario. Of course he would compare me to my brother.

I decided to take a cold shower. I needed to calm down.

No sooner had I thought this then a shout echoed from the shower room. Marth, dripping wet and clad in nothing but a towel came storming from the showers. He glanced at us. "Don't use the far left shower."

Ness and I nodded, trying and failing to not grin at the sight of the angry prince.

The sixteen-year-old scowled and ran for the door, shouting Link's name at the top of his lungs. It must have been a good prank. Probably something with the water temperature or pressure.

"Don't let the fan girls catch you like that!" came Ike's smooth voice from behind us. We hadn't noticed that the seventeen-year-old was in the room.

The first person to finally laugh was Pit, the twelve-year-old angel standing next to Ike. I hadn't noticed him either.

Then I couldn't contain it and started laughing, then Ness, and finally Ike as he started for the showers, Pit tailing behind him.

I knew Pit thought Ike was the coolest, and followed him in awe. The only thing cooler was hanging out with the sixteen-year-olds, Marth, Link, Zelda or Sheik (whoever she was being at the time), Samus, and Ash.

I didn't hang out with them. Mario did occasionally, he and Peach. Peach was nineteen, Mario twenty. I was twenty too—the younger of us, though, but no one had ever pointed out that I was the younger brother, and, frankly, more suited for a nineteen-year-old princess.

The thought made me sigh. I would always be in my brother's shadow.

Two shouts came from the showers, and Ike and Pit ran out, wet and, like Marth, wearing nothing but towels. "Link!" Ike roared as he sprinted out the door, Pit right behind him.

Ness grinned. "The fan girls will riot."

I noticed a small bug crawling out of the shower room and decided I really didn't need to take a shower. "No kidding. Whatever Link did, it must have been bad. Five bucks says there'll be a three on one brawl later." Brawls usually took place in the morning, but when someone got mad about something, they could challenge someone to a retaliation brawl. They were always the most interesting to watch.

Ness's grin widened. "You're right!" He pulled on another t-shirt and tossed his hat in the locker. "Dinner entertainment!" He slammed his locker shut and sprinted out of the room at top speed.

I laughed and pulled on a green t-shirt and jeans. I'd already shoved my clothes, hat, and gloves into the locker. Now I added my boots, replaced them with tennis shoes, shut the locker, and walked out the door.

"Luigi!"

I glanced over to see Princess Peach running over. She looked amazing: she was wearing a tight light pink short sleeved shirt and tight jeans. She, like Zelda, usually wore her crown.

I was struck speechless. She was smiling at me.

Right, I had to respond. "Hi."

She held out a clipboard. "Are you going to sign up?"

I blinked, trying to make sense of the words. "For what?"

She laughed. It made me feel good. I had made her laugh! "For the charity thing. There's this auction going on, and Brawl staff suggested that we all sign up for a day. People can bid for the chance to follow us around for a day."

I hardly heard the words. "Um… okay."

She thrust the clipboard at me again. "Are you going to take it?"

I took the clipboard, scanned it, and signed my name on the appropriate space. "There," I said, handing the clipboard back to her.

"Thanks!" she sang, skipping off. I watched her go and sighed. She was so beautiful…

"Excuse me?"

I turned around to see a short man with gray hair in a blue jumpsuit. "I got a call about bugs."

I pointed to the changing rooms. "In the showers."

He nodded, starting to open the door.

"They may be of a Hylian origin," I suggested, walking away. "Just so you know."

He frowned at me as I walked away. "What?"

"You're in Brawl!" I called. "Those bugs may have come from Hyrule!"

He shrugged, like I was crazy and walked in. I continued my path to my room, pausing only to smile when I heard the guy's shout. He was obviously new to Brawl.

I reached my room, smiling at the small plaque on the door the read, in small letters, Luigi Mario.

"MARIO! IF YOU DON'T SIGN THIS THING IN THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES I AM OFFICIALLY DUMPING YOU!"

I jumped and covered my ears. I hadn't noticed Peach was at the next door: my brother's. I sighed, knowing the threat was empty. I also knew that, when Mario stumbled out of the room half asleep and cursing in Italian, there would be no temporary break up, and that the only reason he hadn't signed it was that he'd been napping.

Pity. It was almost for certain that Peach would come to me for a jealousy date.

And I would have said yes.

I sighed again, pushing into my room.

The walls of my room, like almost everyone's room, were covered in posters of the best games I'd been in. My "finest moments". There were several of them, but if anyone thought I had a lot, they hadn't seen Mario's room.

My brother seems to have done everything! He's got posters of him as a doctor, doing sports, as a plumber… He even has a picture of him refereeing a boxing match somewhere.

Yeah… He's the famous Mario.

And I'm the overlooked Luigi. Unnoticed, always in his shadow. I jump higher, run faster… what can he do that I can't?

Besides doctor.

Maybe he is a bit braver. And quieter. But I'm quiet too!

Not that anyone notices.

I flopped onto my bed, wondering what he was doing now. Probably signing the charity thing Peach wanted him to.

My thoughts drifted to the shooting we'd done. It was the first, and only perfect shot we'd done. The director had said that my acting was excellent. That we'd done the best he'd ever seen.

Another thing I'd never be noticed for.