Author's note : I based this upon a post I saw on 9gag. This is also my first attempt at a drama fic, so please appreciate it. Reviews, comments and crictism will be accepted. Flames will be used to warm my house. Europe is getting cold lately.
It had been two years since I came back from Mushroom Kingdom. We, Daisy and I, started to live together in my old apartment, a cramped 40 m2 house in the middle of Brooklyn. My wife is pregnant. Business is bad, but I lived by. Though not by much. A knock at the door. I knew them. I'm mentally prepared.
"Hello again gentlemen."
Wordlessly they shove the paper in my face.
"My brother is missing, not dead. I'll tell you when he returns. Now, unless you have a warrant, I can't help you."
Wordlessly as they came, they walked away. I closed the door. Apparently you still have to pay tax when you went missing for a year to save a princess from different dimension.
"They are gone now." I said as I opened the closet. They had been hiding for a few months now. My brother and his Princess. Mushroom Kingdom huh ? I barely remembered anything of that. I thought it was all a dream.
"Thank you Luigi." Peach told me. She hasn't shed herself of her old pink dress. Mario still wore his old red hat. "We are greatly indebted to you. Here." She gave me an envelope. "I have enclosed a jewel that helps protect you."
"Thanks, I guess. You are family." I said. "Gotta go. I have an appointment."
When I returned to Brooklyn, the other world washed off me. I can't remember anything, let alone anything good. The only good thing that came with me was Daisy, the love of my life. Guess love was harder to erase than memory.
Meanwhile, my brother seems to be playing a game with completely different rules. He told me stories, some over the top, about me, how we traveled across the Kingdom searching for our Princesses. Stories I can't even connect myself with. Not even with my wife as the living proof. Each night she often told me, how I stormed the castle to save her, how we eloped and married. I can't remember, none of it. She kept smiling and told me I would be alright. I tried, but I can't. I feel…empty.
Maybe I have. Maybe I miss it. And the Princess. My princess.
A scream reached my ears. People running. People screaming. Drivers tried to steer away, tried to avoid hitting people and getting hit. I casted a glance at the source. Oh shit. I ran. Shit shit shit. Looked like loan sharks and tax agency weren't the only ones looking for Mario.
Old instincts kicked in. I ran. Shit, they noticed me. I jumped over a wall, the hammer flew my, missing me by a hair margin. But the second one didn't miss. I hit the ground hard. Should have remember they worked in pair. But again, I can't remember. Damn. The pain. The fear. So familiar. They towered over me. I opened the envelope and smiled. My old friend. Nostalgia. Green flames erupted from my fingers. Power coursed through my veins. The rest is history. I walked home, completely forgetting the appointment, leaving only scorched ground and two lifeless green shells behind me.
"Honey I'm home." I called out as I opened the door.
"Oh my god Luigi what happened ?" Daisy was already busying herself with the bandages. I was bleeding from the hammer attack. I didn't care. Mario and Peach were in the kitchen as well. I need to warn them.
"Hammer Brothers." I said. Daisy and Peach paled at that. "I took care of them. We are safe here for a while, I think."
"Oh Luigi." Both Daisy and Peach planted a kiss on my cheeks. Again nostalgia. So familiar in a way I can't understand. One more piece of memory came back to my mind. It was an unwritten rule. You saved the Princess, you get a kiss.
"You saved me twice today." Peach told me. "I'm going to make you a cake." Or you get a cake.
Mario was at the door. Wordlessly he had packed up his bag again.
"Where to brother ?"
"To tie up the loose end." He said and closed the door behind him. I understood. Nothing else needed to be said. He too had his own Princess to protect.
It had been a week since Mario had left. I remembered everything now. I was fed up with all the fighting and running. It was fun, exciting at first. But I got tired of it. Al though it was rewarding to save Daisy at the end. But Mario wasn't content with just that. He started to run loose. I guess all that flowers messed up your head. I dragged him back. The only way I could have something left for myself. I guess rejecting that reality also erased my memory.
That night I was awoken at the sound of something crashing in the kitchen. Daisy was asleep next to me. I think I know what it is. Slowly I walked out of the room, carefully not to wake Daisy up. She needed her sleep. Junior was due in a few months.
The lamp in the kitchen was on. And even if it wasn't I still figured out who it was. I was all too familiar with him.
"It drives me insane being away from you." He growled to the girl in pink dress in his lap, oblivious that I was behind him. "I'd wage genocides, destroy galaxies to get you."
"Hey Bowser." I greeted him. It was a cold greeting, the kind you greet something that is your worst nemesis. All the more appropriate.
"You !" He growled.
"Luigi I can explain." Peach said hastily.
"I understand Peach." I told her. "It's been obvious for a while. I won't tell Mario, but you need to leave. The rules are different here, and I don't think my brother will survive living by your rules."
"Thank you so much Luigi. You have been so good to us." Peach said. "It's been nice seeing you again."
"It's been good to see you again." I nodded. "Be safe."
They both left, the sewer line was opened. Peach gave me a last wave before disappearing in a hole.
Save the princess, get a kiss. Nostalgia.
Next morning, Mario came home. I heard him coming through the door. I'm already accustomed to his footsteps. I didn't come out to greet him. Nor saying goodbye. It's useless. There was nothing to say. I already knew what he was going to do. He didn't belong here in the first place. He had his role to play.
When the sun came up he was gone. The memories are fading. He left me one last piece of gift, last piece of memory behind for me. A note was taped to it.
"Couldn't stay. Princess in another castle. Hope this helps." His words were written hastily. His game. His rules. And in the back of my mind, I question if he knew the truth. I never knew the answer. I broke the block of brick with my bare hands. It was habit. A large solid piece of gold the size of my hand fell out.
"Luigi." Daisy stood behind me. "Do you think that'd be enough ?"
"I don't know." I sighed. "But I think we will be alright."
Author's note : A quite sad and a bit darker story than most story of mine. I am not sure why I wrote this. Perhaps a way to show a darker side of life to you. Hate it if you want I don't really care. But to those who like this, some reviews would be kind. And perhaps I will write more of this macabre story if you want.