A/N: This story was originally written by Miss nene1234. She wrote the first two chapters and after I left reviews on those chapters, we talked quite a bit through PMs, and I ended up becoming her unofficial betareader and editing/reworking these first two chapters. nene1234, for personal reasons, has requested that I take on her story and post it here—the ideas are hers, but the writing will be purely mine from the third chapter on—with her as a close consultant.

The original versions of the first two chapters of this story are no longer posted.

Prologue

Why did it all have to come to this? Why do I have to be such a stubborn person?

She was in the middle of Mushroom Forest. Her elegant ballroom dress was now tattered from all the running and hiding in the bushes. Scratches and bruises covered every visible area of her skin.

A rustling sound to her left made her stomach lurch in panic. She tried to get up and run, but her body was too injured to move, and despite her fear, despite knowing that she needed to be quiet—or else he would find her—the pain and the stress grew too great, and she cried out.

A long, strained silence fell over the forest, foreboding and ominous. In the silence, she could hear only the thundering of her heart, rushing in her ears and vibrating in her chest.

Then, she saw him. The one responsible for all the pain. The reason she was running. The reason her life, not to mention countless others, was at stake. The same one who had once promised never to hurt her.

Though, she was to blame for happened also. Just as he had played a part in it, so had she. If it wasn't for her, things wouldn't have turned out this way.

Laughter rang out, reverberating through the forest, not warm and pleasant like the sound usually was, not endearing as it usually was from him, but hollow and unfeeling. Reminiscent, in fact, of the triumphant, psychotic laugh of Bowser, but somehow even colder. Daisy stared in horror as the bearer of this hideous laughter came a step closer to where she huddled, trembling and terrified.

"You actually thought you got away. I have to say that plan of yours was a good one, but not good enough. I'm afraid your friends had to suffer a rather horrible—"

"What did you do to them?" she cried, fear for those she loved choking off the fear for herself and summoning the hot anger pulsing through her veins. It granted her the boldness to cut him off in the middle of his gloating diatribe.

"Calm yourself. I would never do anything to hurt you. Remember my promise?" the man in green simpered to her, and then he laughed again, that horrible laugh.

"Shut up," she snapped. "I don't know why you're doing this but you will be stopped."

"On the contrary…" He raised his hand above his head and spurts of green electricity started to crackle in his palm. Daisy's eyes widened, recognizing what he was about to do, and she turned to bolt, but it was too late. The electricity from his hand spread into a green electrical dome, surrounding him and Daisy. A prison, trapped with the one person she despised above all others. "I will succeed in my plans," he continued with a mocking smile. "Oh, and by the way, here is something to help you calm your fears."

The man reached up and pulled his signature green cap from his head and tossed it at her feet. Shaking out his hair, he walked to the opposite end of the dome.

Daisy wanted to cry as she looked down at the hat. Silly and bright neon green, with a white circle surrounding a big, gaudy green "L," it was utterly ridiculous, not to mention impractical. But now it was the only connection she had left to the past she missed so terribly. She fell to her knees and carefully took the hat in both hands, holding it to her chest and closing her eyes as swarms of memories invaded her consciousness. She remembered how things were, and she thought of how they were now, and she knew who was responsible.

When her eyes flashed open and swung up to look at him, they were filled with a boiling hatred.

"I don't know who you are, but you are not and will never be anything like Luigi no matter how hard you try," Daisy said in a whisper.

At those words, the man slowly turned towards Daisy, anger filling his face. Daisy felt the pervading, cold fear clench at her as she saw his expression, and she found herself scooting away from him as he walked closer to her. Finally, her back was nearly against the dome, and she could feel the static tugging at her dress, warning her not to move any further. She forced herself to stay perfectly still as he leaned towards her. Her heart started to race when his face came uncomfortably close, and even then he did not stop—the inane and panicked thought crossed her mind that he would kiss her, and that, more than anything else, would really destroy her—but he just touched his big round nose to her small curved one. He was close enough for his mustache to prickle her face as he whispered, "Explain to me, for the millionth time, how I am not Luigi. That is the name my mother gave me when I was born and it hasn't changed since. My appearance also hasn't changed and my personality, heh, hasn't altered at all, so I don't see why you can't accept the fact that this is me."

"You are Luigi, but you're not Luigi," Daisy tried to explain, beads of sweat appearing on her forehead. She wished she could move from him, but that would result in her being fried. The possibility crossed her mind, but—no. Her friends needed her; she was their only hope now. And besides, being with him wasn't a fate worse than death. Yet. At least, she still wanted to live. She wanted to fight. She wanted to save him and herself.

"I see. And why not?" he challenged, not budging an inch and smiling as if he could read her thoughts.

"Because you aren't the Luigi I know. He wouldn't go this far. You may have not changed, but your aura has, the essence that made Luigi who he was."

"Well!" He clapped his hands and finally straightened up. Daisy breathed an imperceptible sigh of relief. "It looks like Miss Princess has answered the main question. And do you know why?" he asked, his voice lowering into what was very nearly a growl.

"Because…" Daisy bit her lip, but she couldn't help the tears that finally began to form.

"Because…?" he prodded, as if he didn't know, mercilessly rubbing salt into the wound.

Daisy didn't answer. Her pain was growing too immense for her to speak. She knew inside that Luigi, the one who had stood up for her and always protected her, had undergone this dramatic change… because of her.

And now Luigi stared down at her with an emotionless face. "It was because of you," he sneered, his words dripping disdain. Every word was another dagger in her. "And now that you have gotten what you wanted, and turned me into this—this thing that I have become—the question now is, 'What should I do to you to show you how you made me feel?'"

"I said I was..."

"Sorry! Right?" The words exploded out of him, and the tenuous composure and finesse he had possessed dissipated, to be replaced by deranged madness. Daisy's back stiffened; her first instinct had been to leap backwards, but luckily her logic tempered that impulse. "Words! Meaningless, empty words! Sorry doesn't even come close to repairing—" Luigi stopped, struggling to compose himself, and finally he fixed her with a hardened gaze. "Sorry fixes nothing."

With that, Luigi crossed to the other side of the dome and turned his attention to the sky.

Daisy allowed her body to relax as she carefully moved from the very edge of the dome, and watched the empty gaze of a broken spirit stare upwards.

If only things could have changed. If only I could turn back the clock.

It all started

A few months ago…