Act One
Chapter One: Slumber
Strokes of black and blue on an endless backdrop shimmered above a little kingdom known as the Mushroom Kingdom. Little houses resembling toadstools dotted the terrain and stone walkways were traced with golden, blue, and purple wildflowers. An earthy petrichor drifted through the crisp air. A towering castle stood in the center, the moat protecting it glistening with beauty with the reflection of the stars in the sky.
This place was inhabited by little mushroom people called Toads. Few roamed the streets- most of them were sleeping with their families at this hour- but not because of any danger. In fact, it would've been the safest place there is if it weren't for its leader who was always missing.
Oh, how precious the leader was- a fine princess that tourists often gossiped about; declared that she was the most gorgeous woman in the land- perhaps that was why she was kidnapped frequently.
I'm afraid we aren't here to talk about the beauty and safety of the Mushroom Kingdom when it's past eleven.
In the midst of all the mushroom houses was a two-story wooden house with a brick roof. A blue-and-white mailbox sat in the bright-green grass along the dirt path. An old white picket fence that constantly bit the dust encircled the house. On the side of the house, a clothesline that usually bolstered various articles of clothing- overalls, shirts, and socks- was bare.
Within the house resided two brothers- twin brothers, to be exact.
On one side of their room was a twin bed with some socks and denim overalls laying at its base. Alongside the bed, a shelf supported countless dusty trophies carelessly arrayed. A man on the chubby side snoozed in a red blanket, his snoring tousling the bristly hair resting above his lip. His face was round and his eyebrows thick. This man was Mario.
The other side of the room was cleaner. A family picture was fixed to the wall next to another twin bed. In this bed was Mario's little brother, who was lanky and had an elongated face. The dark pensile hair under his nose had been smartly combed. This man was Luigi.
Normally, both siblings would be winners at catching Z's, but not tonight.
While Mario was dreaming about a special girl, Luigi fell into a frightening reverie. Images played through his head over and over- images that startled him. He dangled from a tree, his body heavy and limp. Then he was looming over his older brother who was bloody at his feet. Then he began to sink into a deep pool of water.
His warm sage-green blanket fell to his side as an invisible wind thrust him upwards. A very lucid explosion disturbed his senses, jolting him awake. Two piercing blue eyes shattered the darkness. Luigi woke to his body swimming in cold nothingness. His hands flailed about, desperately trying to grasp something, anything. Terrified, Luigi screamed, but an unknown force squeezed his windpipes. A tiny wail escaped from his lips. Then his body came crashing down as if whatever was holding him had let go.
At last, a high-pitched scream flew out of his mouth. He bolted upright in bed, his thin frame rattling violently as he drew in shaky breaths. Hugging his blanket to his chest, he sucked in a ball of air and released it. He listened as his heartbeat began to slow. Then, just when he thought he was feeling better, his stomach flipped sideways. Grimacing, he covered his mouth and resisted the urge to make a floor pizza.
After fighting a fit of nausea, Luigi glanced around the room. He didn't know what he was expecting to see- a ghost of some sort, perhaps. After they adjusted to the dark, his eyes landed on the family portrait on the wall. He and his brother were in the center of Toad Town, smiling and in a warm embrace. Luigi couldn't help but grin, a warm feeling rising in his chest. Then the picture dropped, skidding down the wall and crashing to the floor. There was a heavy clunk accompanied by the sound of glass breaking, followed by a shriek.
Luigi slid out of bed, the thump of his own feet hitting the floor almost startling him. The frame of the picture had shattered into crystalline shards that decorated the wooden floor. Sighing, Luigi bent down to pick up the beloved photo, but his stomach turned over again. He rocked himself back to his feet.
He peered through the small window, trying to distract himself. A toothy smile hovered above the distant Mushroom Castle. Luigi tore his eyes away, only to look back up and realize it was just the moon.
He glanced over at his big brother who was sleeping like a baby. For a moment, he considered waking him. Then he remembered the last time he woke his brother over a dream. Mario wouldn't stop coddling him for days. The idea left his brain, but another entered it.
Luigi reached underneath his bed, his fingers striking against cold metal. He dragged what appeared to be a modified vacuum cleaner out from under the bed. In one swift motion, he had strapped the contraption to his back. He aimed the hose at the wall, assuming a defensive stance.
"Alright! I have my Poltergust ready, and I am not afraid to use it!" he shouted to the wall, his voice carrying a clear Italian accent. Fully alert and pushing fear aside, he scanned the room. His sixth sense greeted him with a frigid chill that crawled down his sweaty back.
Something is definitely here, he thought.
Focus. Concentrate. One small misstep could demolish everything you had worked toward thus far, thought a princess who drifted in space in her Comet Observatory. She held a knife in between slender yet flawless fingers and began scrutinizing her masterpiece, her beautiful cyrean eyes depicting her intense concentration. She swiped a silky wisp of strawberry-blonde hair out of her view, then grabbed a puffy bag from the marbled counter. The bag was chock-full of sweet lilac buttercream.
Don't mess this up, she continued to remind herself.
She arched over her kitchen counter, a bead of sweat running down her face to the tip of her nose. Closing one eye, she gave the piping bag a gentle squeeze. The buttercream slithered out of its bag with ease. She piped tiny swirls, forming a star on top of a brilliant three-decker cake.
Perfection.
This young woman was Rosalina, the princess of the galaxies. She wore a white sweater, its sleeves rolled up to the nook of her elbow, and a pair of dark jeans. A shiny star necklace dangled from her neck. She was very long, reaching a staggering 7'7 in height.
Rosalina slid her hands underneath the base of her creation and gave it a lift. The cake wobbled a little, then stabilized. It was heavier than it looked.
"All finished!" she sang. Her voice was deep with a gentle sound. A shrill voice screamed from behind, "MAMA!" Startled, Rosalina flung her hands upward, the cake flying in the air before landing with a splat on the counter.
"Merdi," she cursed under her breath, frowning at the mess in front of her. Then she turned to face one of her Lumas, that is, a young star. It lit the room with a pleasant orange radiance. The Luma eyed the mess behind her.
"Oh, sorry, Mama," it mumbled, though loud enough to hear. Rosalina put on a smile to hide her frustration. "It's alright, Taurus. Now, what can I help you with?"
I'll never know how that cake turned out. But at least I get to make another one.
"Mama, there was a report of a huge amount of power emanating in a small area," replied Taurus. Rosalina raised an eyebrow. "Danger level?" "Moderate." "Zone?" The Luma paused before responding. "The-the Mushroom Kingdom." Rosalina nearly choked on air, her mind flooding with foggy memories.
The Mushroom Kingdom. I can't go back now, the 100-year cycle has not yet completed.
"Show me," she said at last. Before leaving the kitchen, she nicked a dollop of frosting with her finger from the counter.
Mmm. Tasty. But not nearly as tasty as how Mama used to make it.
The ponytail at the top of her head bouncing around, Rosalina followed Taurus to the map of the entire universe at the center of her observatory. She examined the holographic image and, sure enough, spotted a dark yellow dot in the Mushroom Kingdom area.
"How long?" she asked, pinching the map to zoom it in. As the area grew closer, she could make out where exactly the dot was- the Mario brothers' house.
"Well, um, the dot came from the Bean Bean Kingdom and stopped here a few hours ago," Taurus said. Rosalina sighed. "And you waited to tell me… why?" If he had legs, he would have scuffed the ground with guilt. "I didn't think it was an issue until now! I'm sorry!" He spoke rapidly, his roundish body bobbing up and down in the air and his tiny stubby arms raised. Tears formed in his beady black eyes. Rosalina swiped him out of the air before he could cry, engulfing him in a tight hug. "Calm down, Taurus, it's okay."
They turn back to the map. The yellow dot seemed like it was increasing in size. Rosalina blinked. "Is it getting bigger?" Taurus squinted at it. "Wait, no, it's coming closer!" Eyes wide as dinner plates, the two whirled around frantically, not knowing what they were even looking for. Soon after, a loud crash rattled the ship, coming from the Terrace.
A tiny pink Luma zoomed toward them, quivering with fright. "Mama, someone fell into the Terrace; they broke your telescope!" Rosalina's heart dropped.
No.
Paling, she took a breath and marched to the Terrace, her Lumas floating behind her.
Someone groaned from within. The voice was high-pitched and rough simultaneously- a young man's, perhaps. Rosalina hovered inside so that her heels wouldn't make annoying click-clacking noises.
There was a pile of rubble- a very indistinct pile of rubble at that- that sat in the far side of the room. It was a pile of old cloak and shiny metal. Rosalina approached it, holding her breath. The star children stopped in the doorway. "Hello?" she called. Part of her hoped that it would be Mario. If it was, that would mean that something was terribly wrong. A figure emerged from the mess on the floor, wearing an old brown cloak. Only a dazzling smile could be seen underneath his hood. Under the dirty brown cloak, the figure wore a glittery white-and-blue striped jumpsuit and a green belt with a star pin in the center. The straightforward description- he looked like an incognito Christmas elf.
Rosalina squeezed her wand that she held defensively behind her left thigh. She took a moment to recall her father's training, then spoke.
"Who are you?" she bellowed, her tone firm but kind. The elf guy shook invisible dust off his shiny white knee-high boots.
"Oh, you wouldn't know," he replied simply with a wave of his gloved hand. He took a step toward her. "Since you're going to ask, I'll tell you what I'm doing here. See, I need a place to plot. I was kicked out of my own house so I really need somewhere to go."
Rosalina relaxed.
Just a guy looking for a home that happened to stumble in here.
She opened her mouth to reply sweetly, "Sure! I'll bake you a cake! One of my kids messed up the last one, though," but instead took a careful thought about what the man had said to her.
"What are you planning?" she said. She increased the distance between them. The stranger's smile grew wider. He replied, excitedly, "Oh, I'm coming up with the greatest plan yet!" He clapped with glee. "I'll tear up Mario and his friends' life so bad, they'll never get over it! And you'll be in it, too!"
That crossed the line for Rosalina. The hand behind her back shot forward, clutching the wand with a fierce grip and aiming it at his face. She could've blown his head off right then and there.
"What did you just say?" she growled, taken aback. The man stepped closer, ignoring the tip of the wand poking the top of his head, and let out a sigh. "I knew you wouldn't let me." It was hard to tell but he was pouting like a scolded child. Then the smile returned. His body vanished in a puff of glitter.
Rosalina blinked. She swirled around the room, confused. The Lumas, still cowering in the doorway, gaped and huddled together. Rosalina stopped at the end of the room, where the pile of metal still laid. Her mouth hung open as she dropped to her knees.
This was the only thing I had that belonged to him.
The pace of her heart quickening, she swallowed tears and gently picked up the long scope. Both lenses at each end had shattered. Closing her eyes, she hugged the piece of metal and with a shaky breath cried softly, "I'm sorry, Papa."
After a moment of lament, Rosalina lifted herself back into the air and darted out the door.
He threatened my family. And he destroyed the telescope. He'll pay. These thoughts swirled around her head as she swirled around the observatory. The hand holding her wand trembled, itching for action. At last, she spotted the puff of glitter.
The intruder stood at the rounded edge of the observatory, where just a foot beyond him was nothing but black and stars. The reflection of the distant galaxies shone in a pair of goggles strapped over his eyes. Rosalina whirled around him, blocking the edge and towering over him to look more intimidating. "I'm going to need an explanation from you before I vaporize you." She raised her wand again, expecting answers, but only got a straight face from the man.
"You think I'm going to reveal my whole plan this early?" he chortled, his hands on his hips. "No. But I will execute one part of it right now."
Before Rosalina could react, a fist drilled into her gut. She saw nothing but a blur as her body was sent flying past the horizon. The last thing she saw was the stranger standing on her observatory with a smug grin plastered on his face.
Author's Note:
What's going on with Luigi? And just who was that stranger that encountered Rosalina?
This is my first story, so any constructive criticism is appreciated, but no hate!
I do have my own headcanons/theories, so if you don't like them, click the back button or something.