It's been five years, seven months, three weeks, and 16 days since the Chaos Heart incident. Luigi truly believed that everything was resolved. But when was anything that simple for him?


Luigi...

Wake up...

"Nnngh..."

Luigi groaned quietly into the darkness, squirming beneath his duvet until his eyes opened. Squinting, he noted that he couldn't see much of his room, besides what was illuminated by the faint glow of the waning moon. Seems like it was at least 3 in the morning. This was decidedly odd, since Luigi was a heavy sleeper, and always refused to stay awake past midnight. He never woke up this late; his sleeping schedule was as tight as a bowstring.

So... Why was he awake again? Didn't he hear someone?

Was it Mario?

Luigi...

He flinched. "Wh—who's there?" Luigi called, his voice wavering. He instinctively reached beside his bed for his Poltergust and grasped the nozzle tightly. Pulling on the lamp string to light the room, the man rose to stand, dragging the vacuum by the hose along the carpet. "I'm warning you! Come out! O—or... Or I'll..."

His speech trailed off, falling silent as he peered down the stairs. The Poltergust nozzle slipped from his hand, clattering onto the ground.

Lying on the floor at the bottom of the staircase was a large book. It bore a pitch black binding with velvet border lines. Along the four corners were white beads, and a large blue gem was emblazoned into the centre of the front cover. An eerie glow ruminated from the central gemstone, holding Luigi's gaze captive. Blinking rapidly, the young man peered over the bedroom railing and scanned the kitchen below, hoping to spot whoever left the book there. Or perhaps he'd find the person who was whispering to him. But the hallway's silenced echoed through the house, deafening him. Looks like whoever put the book there was already gone.

Luigi shook his head in disbelief as he carefully lumbered down the stairs in the direction of the tome. "I... think I should..."

He should... what? Call Mario, and ask him to come back? The elder brother wasn't home that night, due to a plumbing call from the castle they received earlier that evening. Mario simply decided to stay over in the guest room, so he wouldn't have to make the trip home in the middle of the night. Peach was off the list too, being at the castle with Mario. As urgent as this predicament was, he didn't have the stomach to intrude on royalty at 3 in the morning.

Perhaps he should call Nastasia. She knew more about this book than most other people (despite never having read it herself). But then Luigi remembered something crucial: she lived in another dimension. There was no feasible way to contact her, since Luigi himself wasn't able to manipulate dimensional space like his brother could. He had no way to get to her.

Luigi sighed, still unsure of what to do. He knelt down, tentatively slipping his fingers beneath the leather binding. A shiver ran down his spine; the navy gem flashed lowly in reply. Frowning, Luigi decided upon a course of action—or rather, a course of inaction. In a bout of desperation, Luigi hustled upstairs, hoisted the mattress off his bed, and slipped the book beneath it. The mattress fell onto the book with a thump, concealing it effectively.

"There," he breathed, wiping his brow. He only just noticed that he was sweating profusely. "This should do for now. Mario will know what to do." With a yawn and a stretch, he rolled onto his bed again, only to jump back off with a grunt of pain. The lump that the book formed under the mattress poked angrily at his backside, preventing him from laying on it. Luigi, getting frustrated, tiredly stumbled to the other end of the room and collapsed onto his brother's bed. He didn't even have time to pull up the blankets before he dozed off into a troublesome sleep.


"Luigi, wake up..."

Oh great. Not again...

Luigi rubbed tiredly at his eyes, carefully propping himself up on his elbows. The house was now thoroughly lit by the sunlight leaking from his window. Birds could be heard chirping from the tree by the northern wall; they usually start singing in the afternoon. Man, he REALLY slept in today. He squinted a bit, peering at a crimson figure standing above him.

"Luigi, why are you in my bed?" Mario asked, a single eyebrow propped up in suspicion. Luigi noted that his brother was donning his work clothes, which were decidedly filthy with oil, dirt and grease. Looks like he finished up his work a bit late.

Luigi shuffled awkwardly, slipping off the bed. "Sorry, bro," he chuckled, rubbing his neck. "Guess I was a bit tired last night."

"Hmm." Mario hummed, then promptly crossed his arms. "We both know you're not a very good liar."

Dang it. Luigi cursed himself inwardly, and tried to compose himself. "W—well, I..." Pausing, he took a deep breath, looking down tentatively. "Bro, I... I've gotta show you something important."

Mario blinked, taken aback, and stared intently as Luigi made his way over to his bed and lifted the mattress. As Luigi pulled the book out and placed it on the floor, Mario's hand crept up to his face, preventing himself from spewing an obscenity. "That's...!"

"The Dark Prognosticus," Luigi finished darkly. "Yeah."

"But I thought it was gone! No one's seen it for two years now! And... why is it here?"

Luigi looked up at Mario, who was staring down at him with a mixture of dread and shock. Realizing what his brother was thinking, Luigi quickly shot his hands in front of him. "What?! No!" he cried defensively, shaking his head. "I didn't take it! It just... showed up here last night. It was just lying at the bottom of the stairs. I'm not sure who left it there."

The elder brother frowned, clearly unconvinced, but didn't pursue any further. "We need to get rid of it," he announced, reaching for the book. "Let's get a fire set up and get this over with."

Luigi smiled faintly in relief, standing up. "I'll go get some firewood." Leaving Mario to handle the book, the younger brother briskly exited the room, heading down the stairs and out the front door. A pile of firewood was stacked against the side of the house, ready for the cold season. Luigi plucked two off the top, grunting at their weight. Looks like they weren't quite dry yet. Hopefully they would still burn alright...

"Mario!" Luigi called, going towards the fire pit at the front of the building. "Do we have any tinder? This wood is pretty wet!" He plopped the wood in the circle of bricks, jumping away as one almost landed on his foot.

Mario's voice came from inside. "Yeah. I'll, uh... I'll be right there."

Luigi cocked his head for a moment, then shrugged dismissively. He began adjusting the logs parallel to each other, leaving room between them to place the book in. Nodding at his handiwork, Luigi hurried back up the porch and flung the door open. "Okay, Mario," he began, scurrying up the stairs. "We're good to put the book in. Are you ready to... uh..."

Luigi blinked. Mario was crouching close to the ground, trembling. Incoherent whispers and groans came from his direction. The green plumber went silent, and began to inch forward, his hand outstretched. "Um... Bro? Mario?"

At that moment, Mario's head snapped back with a sickening crackle. His eyes were wide with fury, glowing violet for a split second. Luigi flinched, backing away and grasping the railing behind him. "M—Mario!" he sputtered, quivering. "I... What are you...?!"

The elder brother quickly stood, his violent lavender gaze still affixed to Luigi. He began stumbling toward his sibling, but froze mid-stride. The glow in his eyes faded, allowing them to regain their natural blue colour. Mario gasped, staring at a stunned Luigi.

It was then that the younger brother noticed that the book was lying right behind Mario, where he was crouching. It had been opened to the title page, and threatened to spill its contents to anyone who took a glance.

"Mario!" Luigi shrieked, grasping his brother by the shoulders and shaking him roughly. "You... You can't read that! You know how dangerous that is! My stars, what in Jaydes name is wrong with you?!"

"I..." Mario breathed heavily and hesitated. "I'm so sorry... I don't know what came over me." He rubbed his arm, hunching his shoulders and peering warily at the book behind him. "Luigi... I think... I think that book can talk. It was talking to me."

Luigi frowned, reaching for Mario's hands and holding them tightly. "What did it say?"

The two endured a grueling minute of silence before Mario replied. "...It said that I could have whatever I wanted," he began slowly. "It promised me money, and happiness." He paused, glancing at the ground guiltily. "It promised me true love. I... I couldn't resist it. I had to open it."

The younger brother bore his intense stare into the other's eyes, but remained where he was, still holding both of Mario's hands. "That's why we have to get rid of it. Right now."

Mario nodded solemnly. He tentatively plucked the book off the floor and made his way outside. Luigi followed closely, ensuring that he wouldn't try to read the book again. When they arrived at the fire pit, Mario entry placed the book between the two logs. Focusing his energy, Mario summoned a swirling orb of fire from his hand, and tossed it right onto the binding of the book. The tome, as well as the two logs, were completely engulfed in flames. A piercing screech suddenly echoed from within the pages, causing the brothers to flinch and stumble backwards.

YOUR DESTINY!

DO NOT FORSAKE YOUR DESTINY!

The two brothers stood by silently for a few minutes, holding each other closely as the unholy screams died away. The only sounds left were the heaving breaths of the twins, and the soothing crackle of burning wood.

"...Peach asked us to come over for cake," Mario said slowly after a long while. "Would you like to come with me?" Luigi averted his eyes, nodded absently, and tightened his grip on Mario's hand. They made their way back inside together, leaving the fire to eventually burn itself out.

Luigi...

Your fate awaits you...


"Master... You were right all along. It's still alive."

"...Of course I was right. I can smell it from here. The darkness... it's dormant, yes. But it's still pulsing."

"What's the plan, then?"

"We have to take it. Kill whomever is necessary. But I must have it for myself. It's the only way I can be freed."

"I'll gather my forces. We'll take the surface dwellers by storm!"

"No."

"...No? But ya just said—"

"I know what I said. But our kind being on the surface would draw too much attention."

"Sooooo... what should we do, then?"

"Be on the ready. Rest assured, you'll have many throats to slit once I'm free. But for now, you must wait, and prepare."

"Gotcha. But who in hell are ya gonna send to the surface?"

"Hmm... I have an idea. I'll reach out to an old friend of mine. I'm sure he would be more than willing to oblige our cause."


A/N: Hate to say that this won't make much sense if you haven't played Super Paper Mario. Sorry about that.

I hope this fanfic isn't TOO confusing right off the bat... I want to upkeep a certain level of intrigue, but not so much that the story doesn't make sense. It might be hard to find that balance... Welp, I'll see what I can do.