"I see them!" Luigi cried out, jumping in his excitement as he squinted through his binoculars. In the distance, he could make out a pink plane among the twinkling stars, drawing closer to the Kingdom. The Toads around him began to clap and cheer, moving around the Mushroom Airstrip to make room for the aircraft to land.
The green clad plumber shifted his weight from one leg to the other as the plane gradually came closer and began to circle. He was overjoyed at his brother's return, and was excited to hear all about the vacation he'd taken. He all but tackled Mario as he disembarked when the plane finally landed, laughing at the new tan his brother sported.
"How was it?" Luigi asked as the others joined them, raising his voice to be heard above the crowd of Toads celebrating their return. "Did you have fun?"
"Lots," Mario replied half sarcastically, giving a laugh at Luigi's confused expression. "More fun than you could possibly imagine."
Before Luigi could ask what he meant, one of the Toads gave a loud exclamation, pointing at a figure behind Peach and Toadsworth.
"Who's that?" he cried. "They look familiar!"
As if on cue, the crowd of Toads shifted, surrounding their newfound friend with greetings and inquiries. Luigi craned his neck and gasped once he caught sight of the familiar white beanie sporting a blue 'A' on the side.
"Alby?" he questioned quietly, blinking in surprise. Not that he wasn't happy to see them, of course, but.. What exactly were they doing here? As if reading his mind, the Toads spoke up, asking question after question after question.
"Who are you?"
"Are you friends with Mario and Luigi?"
"Is it true you live in Boo Woods?"
"Do you remember me?"
"What're you doing here?"
"Are you a boy or a girl?"
"You look human! Are you human?"
"Where are you from?"
Alby blushed brightly and blinked, trying to back away from the crowd of Toads as discreetly as possible, sputtering all the while. They'd never gotten so much attention at once before, and they were getting slightly overwhelmed by it all. Sensing their discomfort, Toadsworth stepped forward, gently shooing the younger Toads away with his walking stick.
"Now, now," he chided. "No need to be disrespectful. Give Mx. Alby some room to breathe."
"Alby's going to be our guest for a little bit," Peach announced. "They're going to stay for dinner, and then go back home tomorrow."
"Speaking of dinner," Mario interjected. "I'm starving."
"Of course you are," Peach giggled, placing a gentle hand atop his cap. "Let's make our way to the castle, then."
Alby trailed behind as everyone walked ahead of them, chattering amongst themselves. They followed along quietly, looking around in awe. The Mushroom Kingdom wasn't as tropical as Delfino Isle, but it was certainly very pretty. There were lots of little shrubs and bushes all around, as well as trees dotted with tasty looking fruit. Alby wished they could see it in the daytime.
Their eyes widened as they looked ahead, seeing a shadowy outline of a large spire peeking above the treetops. They were approaching the castle! Their fingers tingled with excitement, and they picked up the pace a bit, thrilled. Alby wasn't really used to big buildings or structures. All their life, they'd lived underground, or in tiny places meant for two residents only. On Delfino Isle, they'd been impressed by the architecture, and the size of the buildings- but they'd never seen a castle before. As excited as they were…. They were also nervous.
Luigi, Mario, Peach, and all the Toads.. Their lifestyle was so different. Alby couldn't quite put their finger on it, but it seemed like so much… more than what they were used to. It was a little embarrassing, actually. Though they'd befriended Peach, Mario, and Toadsworth on Isle Delfino, they still felt like a sort of clueless intruder, and-
"You're pretty quiet."
Alby blinked, shoving their thoughts aside and looking up at Luigi, who had his eyebrows raised curiously. When did he get here? They could've sworn he'd been talking to Mario just moments ago. Alby shrugged in response.
"It's been a long day," they confessed. Luigi hummed and gave an understanding nod.
"Long, but not bad, I hope?" he asked. Alby gave another shrug, nodding in agreement this time.
"Nah, I'm just trying to get over what happened on the plane," they explained, continuing at Luigi's confused expression. "I… Well, I've never really been on a plane before, and.. I kinda fainted when we took off. I'm fine now, though! It was just.. Nerve wracking, I guess."
To their surprise, Luigi placed a hand on their shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze, waving their embarrassment away.
"Happens to the best of us," he muttered. "I'd be lying if I said I hadn't fainted before.."
He trailed off as Alby went slack-jawed, green eyes widening, their shoulders slouching with shock. Luigi slowly turned to see what they were gaping at, and he couldn't help but chuckle once he realized they were staring at Peach's castle.
"Gadzooks," they gasped quietly, steps slowing as they walked towards the front gates. "It's.. huge. A-and beautiful. It's so… wow."
They cleared their throat and looked away in embarrassment at the amused look on Luigi's face, and the green clad plumber gave them a small nudge.
"Don't worry," he said. "It blew me away the first time I saw it, too."
"Heck, even Bowser could fit in there, no problem," Alby commented, blinking at Luigi's stunned expression.
"You know B-Bowser?" he asked, recoiling when Alby squinted, their nose wrinkling in confusion.
"Wait… you mean Mario didn't tell you?" they questioned, giving the red clad plumber a quick glance. Mario turned, overhearing their conversation, and gave a sheepish chuckle at Luigi's baffled expression, which quickly turned into a worried, stern one as he stood akimbo, brows furrowing.
"Tell me what?" the younger brother demanded. Alby sputtered and gave Mario an apologetic look, which he waved away reassuringly.
"It's a long story," he sighed as they made their way inside the castle. "But it all started when we landed on the airstrip.."