So, quick explanation for you; I'm obsessed with Frozen. There you go.
-What if Luigi was the one with the ability to freeze anything?
No, it's not a crossover, no, Elsa and Anna aren't in it. It's a mash up of Mario and Frozen. Therefore, the elements of Frozen will be in the Mario universe.
Review? :)
"Beware of the Frozen Heart..."
Mario:
Not all people are born with sorcery. Except if you're me. Being made of fire, magma, lava, etc. Anything hot, has it's advantages and disadvantages. It's a dangerous and beautiful gift, supposedly. I have no idea how I was born with it, my parents never knew why, I just was. What's weird though is my brother, Luigi, wasn't born with sorcery. He was normal. But because I was born with such a dangerous power, my parents made me stay away from Luigi. Thus, destroying any brotherly connection we ever had. He'd come to my door almost everyday or month or so, asking if I wanted to play. He was only five, what's the kid to do? Go play by himself or find something else to do. Our parents loved us both but, they were consistently worrying about my growing abilities. As I got older, my powers became stronger, and even more dangerous. But, when I was 16 our parents died of murder, so, it was just me and Luigi. But I had remembered what my parents had said, "Stay away from Luigi." I'm not sure if there was anyway to make me feel worse. I didn't like shutting out my -now-only family, but that's how things had to be. Anyways, today's the princess's coronation and I'll be finally able to come out of my room. I was fixing my tie when I heard a knock on the door. A small, quiet voice said,
"Mario...Today's Peach's coronation. She'd be really sad if you didn't come..." The voice belonged to that little brother of mine. I sighed deeply and didn't say anything back. I heard him sigh sadly and walk away, I took a good look in the mirror and glanced at the gloves I always wore. They never came off. I breathed slowly as I carefully opened the door that led out into the hallway. It's been forever since I last saw the hall. I poked my head out the door to make sure no one was around, silently, I brought myself to be outside the door. There, I stood in the hallway that still hadn't changed after years of isolation.
...
"Born of cold and winter air and mountain rain combining. This icy force both foul and fair has a frozen heart worth mining..."
I was surprised that I still knew my way around the house. I stood next to Luigi as I watched the prin- excuse me, queen, danced. Peach was a queen now. Damn, time flies. I glanced over to my right to Luigi who didn't look like that little kid anymore who would follow me around the house. He'd always bug me to play with him, but you couldn't blame the kid. What's he to do? Nothing, I suppose. Now, that I look at Luigi, he looks older by a lot. He's taller, stronger. He's...Grown up. I couldn't imagine how many birthdays I missed...
"Cut through the heart, cold and clear. Strike for love, strike for fear. See the beauty sharp and sheer. Split the ice apart. And break the frozen heart.."
One thing stood out to me about Luigi; the white strand of hair. He was supposedly born with it, but it could mean other things, too. Thankfully, it wasn't me who caused him to have white hair. If I didn't keep my powers under control, I could easily burn or even worse, kill someone. Fire is extremely dangerous, over the years people started to learn not to make me angry. I had to be careful. Luigi noticed me looking at him, but he instantly looked down at his shoes. I walked closer to him but, he backed away, as if he's hiding something.
"Hi." I tried to start a conversation. He looked up quickly and said,
"Hi, me? Oh, well, hi." He pointed to himself, I nodded my head a little. I glanced over the room filled with people dancing.
"So, this is what a party looks like?" I say, inhaling the smell of chocolate. Yum.
"You smell the chocolate, too?" Luigi grins a little, I nodded again,
"By the way, when did they decide to make Peach the queen?" I asked, turning toward Luigi. He shrugged,
"Sometime a few months ago. They said regardless if she marries or not, she has to take the throne in place of her father."
"Beautiful, powerful, dangerous, cold. Ice has a magic that can't be controlled. Stronger than one, stronger than ten, stronger than a hundred men..."
"Merlin died? That's awful." My heart sank a little, he was a great king. I watched Luigi bow his head a little at the thought, I turned my attention back out to the guests as the Queen came up to me.
"Mario, I'm so glad you decided to finally come," she exclaimed, "Care to dance?" I was reluctant but I nodded anyways and took her hand and led her to the dance floor. We started to waltz even though in the back of my mind was an overwhelming fear that I'll hurt her. My heart told me to enjoy the fun while it lasted and throw that thought away. I listened to what it said and forgotten completely about the fear. As we began to stop dancing, the people around us started clapping as the music ended. I bowed and she curtsied. We went our own ways and I went back up to where Luigi was waiting for me.
"Well, she is obviously enjoying the night. Why aren't you?" He asks, I froze for a second as I walked up the few steps. I forgot that he didn't know why I spent years isolating myself from him. I sighed and shook my head,
"I am." It sounded like I actually meant it, so, that's good.
"Born of cold and winter air and mountain air combining. This icy force both foul and fair has a frozen heart worth mining.."
To my surprise, Bowser never intended to ruin the night and have me chase him. He simply bowed and greeted the Queen politely; which I never knew he had any manners. Not once had Luigi told me that Bowser had come to ruin the day ahead or the countless times he tried to sabotage everything and everyone.
...
Days went by and I realized the more I isolated myself from everyone, it only made my powers grow more dangerous. I was born with something that shouldn't be held in. I ached to set them free and show them off, but fire is nothing to be played with. We all know the saying, "Never play with fire." Well, yeah, that can be argued but when it has been kept in and hidden for years, that really becomes fatal. So, every night when all is asleep, I sneak into the backyard and mess around with it. I had stopped hiding from my fears, because almost everyone knows me as the "Fearless Super Mario". I became really great friends with Yoshi and I've been trying to reconnect with Luigi again. But the more I tried, the more Luigi stayed away. He avoided me, was there something I had done? For the next few weeks, I noticed Luigi becoming more like I used to be; jumpy and...Afraid. There was also something about his physical appearance that made me stare for a second. I couldn't place my finger on it for a while until it donned on me; the white streak of hair was spreading. His hair was turning...White. His eyes became more icy and cold looking. They were still blue but, were lighter. What was really freaky was whenever Luigi got mad, his eyes turned pretty much into pale blue-green ice. Just like mine go up into flames... I tried to reach out to him but, he'd shut me out. I tried so hard to figure out what was wrong but, he never came around.
It wasn't until that following Saturday when I finally found out what he was hiding. He was in the middle of a fight with his co-captain, Marty, during a Striker's game. Luigi's team mates were behind him and a few of mine and others were standing in the door way, watching the fight unravel. Luigi turned away finally after being yelled at for about two minutes. The co-captain grabbed Luigi's wrist but, instead, took his glove off. Luigi turned around quickly, almost desperately, and shouted,
"Give me back the glove!" He held out his hand,
"No, why? Why do you shut people out? We have a game to finish, you can't call quits early, Luigi!" The co-captain argued,
"Enough..." Luigi muttered to him, trying to contain his anger. He tried to hide the fear, but there it was again, those cold, mean, looking eyes. With an icy hatred for the world.
"No! Why do you, what the hell is up with you?" Marty shouted,
"Shut up, Marty..." Luigi muttered again, turning to the door, and crossing his arms and almost seems that he was hunching over in fear.
"No! What are you so afraid of?" Marty screamed, Luigi turned and waved his arm, and out busted a cold wind of ice,
"I said, enough!" He yelled.
We were silent for those few seconds, we were standing back as the ice flew towards Marty as he ducked. The source of power froze the lockers behind him. By the time Luigi had did this, the coach was in the room, but so was Toadsworth (most likely trying to keep Peach safe). Under his breath, I heard him say something about sorcery. Sorcery... I thought Luigi was born normally? Soon, gasps filled the room as Luigi stood behind the door, with his hand on the doorknob. He looked horrified, but obviously, so did every other person in the room; including myself. We kept going back, trying to get away from Luigi. His eyes had turned into complete ice. Not literally, but you get the picture, right? Only a few strands of brown remained in his hair. The only who didn't seem completely spooked was Daisy. Still, no one said a word. Luigi was breathing slightly heavy and then he opened the door behind him and ran. This is why he wouldn't talk to me, or come near me all week... Under my own breath, I muttered his name,
"Luigi." I ran after him as soon as the unintentional shock wore off. Daisy following shortly behind me, I didn't want to her to follow me but she insisted.
"Cut through the heart, cold and clear. Strike for the love, strike for fear, there's beauty and there's danger here. Split the ice apart and beware of the frozen heart."
We kept calling out his name as we chased him. I had no idea where he was heading but, he made a sharp turn and ran towards the house. I stopped suddenly as the front door was slammed in my face. I rolled my eyes and told Daisy I could take it from here. I followed him down the hall where he ran into his room, the only safe room in the house, and locked his door shut. After a few seconds, I knocked. I tried to offer to help Luigi control his powers considering I had to do that myself, but he still he refused.
"Luigi, I know you're scared, but if you open the door, we can work this out together." I thought about not telling him about the fact that I am pretty much made of fire. Which is kind of ironic you realize that he's ice and I'm fire. Two opposites...No? Don't the image. Well, I can't spend all day trying to draw you one, so, do me a favor and try to picture it yourself. All the memories of me shutting him out made me shiver, I knocked again but harder, "Luigi, don't be...Me. I won't let you isolate yourself from everyone." I heard soft cries coming from the other side of the door, he must be sitting behind it. Good thing I have a spare key. I came back a few seconds later with a key and unlocked the door and tried to open it. Unsuccessful, I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. This was going to be harder than I thought. But this is what Luigi felt like? When I shut him out like he is doing to me? I didn't like the feeling so much. I was determined to not let him be in isolation his whole life. I tried to knock one last time, and said softly, "You don't have to live in fear, because I'll be right here." Unintentional rhyme. I decided to just call it a night and try again in the morning.
When I woke the next morning, nothing had changed. Luigi still hadn't come out of his room. He really was scared of coming out, almost as if the police were to show up. Weeks on end he wouldn't dare to come out, until the Queen's birthday rolled around. Then he really didn't have a choice, I'd drag him out of the room myself if I had to. When I knocked again on that day, I heard nothing. I tried to forcefully open the door, but he really kept it shut. How can a door be stuck so well? I felt a cold breeze wash over me, I shivered a little and told Luigi to come out. I told him that it was Peach's birthday today and he didn't have and option. Silence...
"Go away, Mario." I heard his quiet voice say sternly. I didn't listen. Instead, I tried to knock down the door. I hated to do this but, enough is enough. Let me tell you something, never bang your shoulder into a wooden door. Ouch. The door finally cracked open and I busted through it. Only to be surrounded by ice and snow.
My feet started to slip a little on the floor as I looked around the room. His room was literally frozen. Literally, there were snowflakes falling slowly from the ceiling. That's not right. No. What? I felt a sudden chill again, Luigi's room was freezing cold. I shook my head and looked for him. I barely saw him because of his white hair, but he was in the corner of the room. His face was buried into his arms. He wasn't shaking at all, mostly likely because he's adapted to the cold, unlike me, who's used to the freaking heat. So, I was shaking like a leaf. I set a hand on his shoulder and he jumped up immediately,
"How did you get in here?" He says startled. I gave him one of my famous "you've-got-to-be-kidding-me-right-now" looks.
"You seriously didn't here the door being busted open?" I jabbed a thumb towards the uneven door. Luigi shook his head and told me to get out, I said no. "Luigi, I'm not going to let you hide from this. You're capable of great things with these powers, you just have to know how to use them. Which is why I'll help you." I tried to walk him out into the hallway but he fought against me. Usually, how it works is the older sibling always wins but, Luigi puts up a good fight if he wants to. Unfortunately, it was one of those moments.
What seemed like forever, I finally got him to come out of hiding. We greeted Peach with some flowers and she seemed flattered, and she told us to make ourselves at home. Luigi looked pretty claustrophobic next all the people; who was also trying to hide from the police and guards. I told him not to worry about it so much, but of course, I jinxed it. Within an hour of being there, I was talking to a few friends along side Peach and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luigi being surrounded by guards. I turned completely that way and watched the fight unfold.
"Luigi!" I heard Daisy yell, Peach moved in front of me and tried to get a hold of an order she did not command. That being to attack Luigi... By the time she finally caught their attention, the ballroom was covered in ice. I heard Luigi apologize about the doors, and Peach said something about 'replacing them anyway.' Luigi stood in the middle of the room, as we stood on the balcony. He had something that looked like a glacier blocking one of the guards and was pushing him off balance. I heard Peach shout,
"Luigi! Don't be the monster they fear that you are!" He froze, and slowly looked up at her as I watched one of the guards (who was closed in by ice), point his cross bow at him. I saw another guard push the cross bow towards the ceiling and the arrow was launched right up and through the chandelier. Luigi looked up quickly and ran the other way as the chandelier fell. We all stood back and some of us were horrified. The chandelier came crashing down and some of the glass slid on the floor. As Luigi ran, he tripped on some and went head first into the wall and slide across the floor.
...
The silence cut me to the core. The guards that weren't vandalized by the ice came running over and picked him up. They cuffed as Peach came down the staircase, disobeying Toadsworth's orders of staying away from Luigi and the glass.
"What are you doing?" She asked, coming over to them, I wondered the same thing.
"Taking him to where monsters belong." A guard answered,
"Luigi wouldn't hurt anyone." She argued,
"Your Highness, we are only trying to do what's right." The guard said,
"He was scared! It was self-defense! And I didn't give no such order to attack him the first place! Who told you to do so?" Peach's voice rose,
"Toadsworth." The guards say at the same time. Peach's face crumpled into anger as she looked at Toadsworth, we all did the same.
"What." She said slowly, Toadsworth started to talk,
"I'm only trying to protect this kingdom and you, my dear." He says,
"By harassing a friend of mine? Huh?" She was furious now, the guards were told to take Luigi to the prison and my head popped up. "I didn't tell you to go! Put him down!" She orders, turning to the guards. The guards didn't listen and walked away. I moved out of the crowd and went near Peach. I set a hand on her shoulder,
"Hey, I'll free him." I said softly,
"It's for the best, Master Mario," Toadsworth interrupted. I didn't listen. "This party's over, close the gates." He says, walking away. The people began to leave the castle, but I stayed behind. No one is going to tell me that my brother is a monster. He just needs time, from what I can tell is that he kept his powers hidden from everyone, including mom and dad. He had them ever since he was born but, didn't start developing until he was in his teens. They built up and the more he did so, the more dangerous and powerful they became. Just like me... Yes, that can happen.
"I'm so sorry, Mario. I'll have a nice chat with those guards, this was my fault." Peach says, turning to me. I shook my head,
"Oh, Peach, none of this was your fault. It was no one's, nobody was aware that this was going to happen." Honestly, the person to blame is Toadsworth...
"Thank you, Mario. I think we should go to the prison and see Luigi." I nodded my head, I asked her if she should tell Toadsworth but she said not to worry about it. When we stepped out into the open, it surprised both of us to see it covered in snow. I chilled all the way down to my feet, and Peach crossed her arms. I put my jacket around her as we walked towards the prison's gate. When we entered, I asked to see was cell Luigi was in, and they said that visiting hours were closed for today. Which I thought was complete BS. They said that we could watch on the monitors, so we did. I saw him wake up and try to walk over to the window. He hands were chained, he looked at them and back at the window. I heard him mutter,
"What have I done?" Oh, Bro, nothing. You didn't do anything... The winter outside began to infuriate and the wind started to blow the snow around. It became a blizzard. From what I can see, the snow and ice represent Luigi's emotions in some sort of way. Like, how the wind became faster, and the snow started to pick up. Maybe it's showing the storm that brews in him? As the wind became even faster, I looked back at the screen in front of me to see the walls of the cell start to freeze up. Icicles shot out from the sides (which probably stood for isolation), and I barely noticed the chains were starting to freeze. Luigi stood in the cell and watched the walls close in as he pulled on the chains. The snow became faster, and the walls started to break, and eventually, everything snapped. The police, me, and Peach, all stood up quickly as we watched Luigi break free. The walls broke down and outside was a swirling storm of snow. I told Peach to stay put until the blizzard calmed down, I went outside to find Luigi. But when I did, I literally couldn't see anything, so, I held my hand up slightly to shield my face from the snow. I called out his name a few times but, I found nothing. I went back into the police station and shook my head,
"Nope. Nothing." I decided to just wait until the storm died down before I looked for him again.
...
As it turns out, Luigi had gone back home and this time making sure he never came out. I tried everything to get him to come out, Daisy and Peach both came over to help. We had another Striker's match to attend in an hour and it was the biggest game of the year. We were all well trained and ready to go for it, but I won't let Luigi waste all that time from training to sit around in his room. I grew tired of being soft on him, so, I tried a harder approach, which seemed to have worked for a short while because I got him to talk through the door that separated us. I made one last deal with him,
"Luigi. I'll tell you what; if you come, and you win then, you can go back into hiding. But if I win, you're staying out and letting me help you." It was a last resort but, hey, it worked. I pretty much had to drag him into the locker rooms because of what happened last time. I saw Marty keeping his distance from Luigi, smart guy. Well, he's either smart or he's just too afraid to be near him. Luigi hadn't said a word the whole time we were in the locker rooms. So, when it finally came time to play, I was going to go into the home entrance, when Luigi refused not to leave. Christ, boy... I decided to just to leave him be and start the game anyways. I was really starting to lose my patience with that boy. When the time finally came for his team to face Daisy's, I knew it was going to be interesting. I noticed Daisy wasn't afraid, and she wanted to help. I watched Luigi closely as the match began, he was very picky of where he stood. I noticed that a lot of his teammates were very reluctant to be next to him, as he was to them. He consistently tried not to use his hands; more so to keep them out of the way. In soccer, you're not supposed to use your hands anyways, so, I don't see what he was so freaked out about.
When half time came around, I saw Luigi standing in the field still. His arms were crossed, and he was staring at the ground. I watched carefully as Daisy approached him.
"Luigi? You okay?" She asked, trying to set a hand on his shoulder, he quickly moved,
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just stay away." His voice was quiet and hoarse. Just like the voice he used when knocking on my door... He moved some of his hair out of his face as he walked away.
"Hey, I wasn't done talking to you, come here!" Daisy yells slightly, she followed him as he moved faster. This caught Peach's attention as I made a side conversation with her as I watched myself. He spoke again,
"Daisy, please! I'm only trying to protect you! Please, go back over there!" Luigi's voice began to rise, as he nodded towards us. Daisy refused to back down, she was about two inches from Luigi when he turned around with a surprised look on his face. He then, moved away, and I rolled my eyes. Peach had a worried look on her face,
"You don't have to protect me, I'm not afraid!" Daisy says, with a hand on her chest. Luigi said,
"Just stay away, and you'll be safe from me." I sighed at the thought of my younger brother thinking he's a threat to us. I heard Peach mutter,
"Please, Daisy, stop bothering him." Daisy was known to be pushy, normally, I'd help her out but, I had to agree with Peach on this one. He doesn't know how to control his powers yet, if something happened, it could be fatal. I watched the two of them argue back and forth until I heard Luigi shout,
"I can't escape this! I can't control the curse!" I looked up slightly as the weather changed, Peach held her hand out,
"Snow?" She wonders, my attention drew back to Luigi as he was hunched over, and freaking out a little. He kept telling Daisy to leave, and I was wishing she would listen. A swirling storm of snow formed around Luigi, which seemed cool (unintentional pun), and dangerous at the same time. The snow began to fall harder, we all backed into the bleachers even more. The storm became faster the more he argued. Daisy and Luigi bickered and yelled over one another as we watched. Luigi immediately noticed the storm around him,
"Daisy, please, you'll only make it worse!" He cried, running his fingers through his hair, some of us gasped as Daisy kept yelling, I heard Peach yell at her,
"Daisy! Stop!" She didn't listen, I heard Daisy keep shouting things to try to get him to calm down, stuff like,
"We can work this out, we'll make the sun shine bright!" I heard Luigi yell at full volume,
"There's too much fear, and you're not safe here!" The two kept shouting over each other as Peach attempted to keep shouting for the them to both shut up. The temperature dropped dramatically as the blizzard around Luigi became faster. The wind started to pick up as I suddenly became colder. But we all gasped loudly as Luigi screamed,
"I can't!" All of the magic gathered into one and was sent all around the field and directly at Daisy as she ducked. The magic bounced off the electric force field and struck Peach in the head. I instantly turned towards her, and held her up,
"Peach? Peach!" I said, she kept muttering "ow", I picked her up and told Toadsworth (who was in complete shock and fear), that I'd take her the hospital. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luigi run away, holding back tears in fear and looked completely mortified. His hands stayed near him at all costs. I sighed again as I heard Toadsworth call for security. I knew this time, I couldn't help him not because they wouldn't let me, but, because I didn't want to. He hurt Peach and she's the next person I care about too much.
...
As it turns out, Peach was going to be fine. The doctor had said that she was lucky it wasn't her heart. She would've frozen over. This of course, made me be protective over her even more. As we walked back to the castle, we were stopped a lot by Toads and others to check on Peach. Peach had mentioned that she wanted to see Luigi, I was reluctant to let her near him again, but I gave in. I had no clue where he went so, I asked Daisy,
"Where did Luigi go?" I was still kind of pissed at her too, for setting him off like that.
"The security caught him before he reached the mountains. His in prison." She says slowly, not turning around. She was obviously upset about her actions she displayed at the tournament. I saw Peach's face crumple at the mention of prison. I motioned her to come on. Once we reached the gates of the prison, the police outside assumed we were here for Luigi, they pointed inside. The police inside told us what cell he was in, and took us to him. The police told Luigi that he had visitors, but Luigi didn't stand up. The police gestured for us to sit and talk to him. He said that he would stand outside the door and wait for us. There. I saw Luigi chained even more than before, and was on the ground and looking the floor. He didn't bother to turn around but, instead, simply said,
"Why are you here?" I was going to speak but, Peach did before me,
"Luigi, I'm fine, just so you know. It was only my head, so, how 'bout we get you out of here and- He instantly turned and said,
"No! Just...Leave. Leave me be. I'm better off here." I was tired of trying to help him out, so, I didn't say anything. I looked at the chains, they looked painful to wear. I saw marks on his wrist from the chains. I bit my lip as I said to Peach,
"Don't get him upset. Let's just go, before something else happens." I helped her up and led her back out into the hall. I watched the police and Peach go the other way, I turned to Luigi and said,
"You'd think after the last Striker's match you'd listen. Nope. Conceal and don't feel. One more thing, if you want me trust you ever again, I suggest you learn to control those powers of yours." I didn't mention anything about the deal I made with him. It was time that I became a hard ass on him anyways, there's only us now. If something happened, then I wouldn't be to...Never mind. I made my way back into the lobby and took Peach's hand and led her out into the open. It wasn't a surprise if the kingdom didn't trust him either, but I knew he meant well but, he just couldn't be trusted. My guilty conscience told me that what I had said to him was a bad idea, and it somewhat was, but he needed to learn the facts. To some it up, I guess really just didn't need Luigi. I know, I know, cruel much? But c'mon.
Luigi:
I tried so hard not to cry, but the tears just came down and down as the cell door slammed shut. I wasn't crying because of what Mario said, I was crying because I was a monster. I had hurt Peach, I could've got her killed and it was my fault. I shouldn't have came out of my room, I shouldn't have came to the tournament. None of this would've happened if I had just stayed home. I could see that Mario tired of me, or least helping. He had tried to reach out so many times, but I pushed my older brother away because of fear. Now, he doesn't trust me anymore. I remembered trying to get him to come out of his room when I was younger. I had wanted to him to come play with me on the swings set or on the hill near our house. He had shut me out. But now, it's my turn the other way. Conceal...Don't feel. Words our father had said to us. Well, first it was Mario, but then Mario said them to me. We had lived by those words. I leaned against the cold concrete walls of my cell, and stared at the chains that held a firm grip on my wrists. I could feel them bleeding, my wrists, but I could care less.
A week later, I convinced the police dept., to free me to at least apologize to the Queen. A police officer took me to her castle to keep an eye on me. He stayed in distance in case I exploded again. Toadsworth was extremely protective over Peach now. I entered her castle and saw her helping a few Toads position the new chandelier. She turned around, and her face lit up.
"Luigi!" She smiled, as she came down to greet me. I backed away slightly, remembering just a short while ago I had nearly froze her. Her smile faded as I did so, "What's wrong? Do you care for some tea?" I shook my head, I became nervous. I crossed my arms, and clenched my fists and kept them near me.
"No, Your Highness, that's okay. I just came to say I'm sorry." I caught the officer out of the corner of my eye, watching me carefully. Peach seemed to notice the police but, she didn't question why he was here. She looked a bit confused but then nodded slightly,
"Don't worry about it, Luigi. It was an accident, Daisy shouldn't have pushed you like that." Peach grins, trying to keep the mood light.
"It's not Daisy's fault, though." I murmured,
"It's no one's." Peach sighs, I shook my head and started to talk about the real reason why I came in the first place, but I heard other footsteps enter the room. Peach looked that way, and waved her hand. It was Mario. Great. I backed away even more when Mario noticed me. Peach and Mario came over to me,
"Uh, I have to go." I started to back away even more, towards the cop,
"Huh? But you just got here, please, stay and have some tea with us." Peach's face fell into disappointment. I shook my head, trying not to look at Mario. I was too ashamed to look at him.
"Once again, I just came to apologize about the chandelier, and the doors. And of course, hurting you. I'm so sorry, but I've gotta go." I say quickly and ran out the door. I started to shake, as the cop led me out. The guilt kept washing over me, I just wanted to run. Run far away, and never come back. I decided to make a run for it, I broke away from the cop's death grip on my arm and ran the other way. Towards the mountains, I ran as fast as I could. I held back tears that longed to be free, I was sick of hurting people. I heard the cop following me, I felt that several more had followed. I hid behind a tree that was covered in snow and watched the cops go by. I sighed and walked to the right side of the tree. I headed for the tallest mountain, and once I got there, I made a house. One made out of ice, of course! It was a typical house, but I added a few of my elements of my own style to it. I didn't need it heated, the cold never bothered me. I felt as if no one or nothing could touch me or I could touch on that mountain. Here, I could be myself, but alone and free. Without hurting anyone... So, because I was alone, and the cops probably are gone, I shouted at the top of my lungs,
"You can kiss my ass! I'm never going back!" Boy, it felt good to shout that and not being to told to shut up.
...
Mario:
I watched Luigi run out, I felt Peach sigh beside me.
"I hope he knows that I know he's sorry. That it wasn't his fault." She says, turning back to the Toads that were hanging the chandelier. I shook my head and didn't say anything. I had noticed that he was trying to avoid eye contact with me before he left. Peach turned back to me and said,
"Did you hear that?" I looked at her,
"Hear what, Your Highness?" She nodded towards the way Luigi ran out, but in came running in a Toad. He was frantically throwing his arms around and his mouth was open wide. Peach looked at him as he came up to her,
"What's wrong, Toad?" She asks, trying to calm him down,
"Luigi...Got...Away." He gasped for breath. My face contorted into confusion,
"And this is a bad thing because...?" I say, the Toad rolled his eyes,
"It's a bad thing because the cops are after him! Toadsworth thinks he's a danger to the Mushroom Kingdom, so, he wants him gone!" Toad breathed again, my own breath caught in my throat as I looked back up. I now remember seeing Luigi breaking free of the cops' grip on him before he left. Peach stood back up and walked towards the door,
"Where are you going?" Toad asks, following her, then me a few seconds later.
"To get Luigi before the cops. Who knows what nonsense Toadsworth will have them do to him?" She says firmly, grabbing her coat. I sighed and said (much to my regret),
"I'll go with you." She smiled as she said, and with that we set out to find that little brother of mine. In the middle of this, Daisy stopped in front of us and said,
"Where ya'll heading?" She smiles,
"To find Luigi." Peach says before I could give a snide answer.
"Oh, can I help? I really need to talk to him, anyways." I sighed mentally, but Peach told her to tag along.
We got some information on which way Luigi had ran from the same Toad we spoke to earlier. He said that he thinks that Luigi went for the Peak; the highest mountain on the east side of the Mushroom Kingdom. As we continued to look for Luigi, Daisy filled us in on sorcery. She said that she did some research and to be honest, I wasn't too keen on my own sorcery either. She told us that the more he isolates, the more powerful it becomes. Also, because it's ice, it cannot be controlled, that he'd have to learn to deal with it himself. You can imagine how much more this frustrated me. Daisy also said something about how as soon as I turned 25 my own would stop gaining strength and that they would be at their highest potential. Luigi's? It doesn't stop. Meaning of this, you ask? Well, I'll give it to you straight; it means that Luigi could over power me in a battle. How's that for sibling rivalry? She said that according to the reference she looked through, that one with the ability of ice/snow is strong enough to wipe out a whole town if angered enough. Oh! Remember when I mentioned something on Luigi's powers reflecting his emotions? Well, as it turns out, I was right, Daisy said something about how one's emotions can be expressed through their own actions or powers. So, the icicles that hung down from the cell's walls? Isolation. It stood for isolation and that's kind of sad to think about. Another thing occurred to me, if Luigi's practically made of ice/snow, then wouldn't that mean he has a frozen heart? Christ. Maybe that's why he's so bitter these past few weeks.
Peach finally broke us out of a silence when she noticed something peculiar about the area we were in. There were icicles dangling from the trees, it was actually beautiful to look at. It must've been a sign that Luigi was here at some point. I turned to Daisy, who was fascinated with winter usually anyways.
"I never knew winter could be so...Pretty." She sighs dreamily, as she held out her hand under the frozen droplets of water that in cased the tree branches. Well, that's Daisy for you. Speaking technically because she lives in Sarasaland; basically Florida but hotter. Yes, Sarasaland is technically a desert but, the weather conditions make it controversial. So, yeah, Daisy rarely sees snow, but I'm no stranger to it for God's sake, Brooklyn was awful during winters. I didn't mind the snow actually, but it's a pain in the ass to shovel the driveway. Anyways, I accidentally ran into Daisy as she stopped suddenly.
"What?" I asked, moving next to her, she pointed to a house in front of her silently. All of our jaws dropped at the sight; it was a house made of ice. It was actually kind of scary but, freaking cool (still no pun intended) to look at. Obviously, this is where my brother was.
...
This was where he was hiding, huh? Clever, I must say. Nope, because no one would suspect an ice house on top of a mountain, nope nothing strange at all. Daisy began to walk up to the house, with Peach shortly following after, and I stayed behind.
"Come on, Mario." Peach says with a slight grip on my wrist. I sighed and walked up the perfectly carved stairs leading to the -12 degree house. Okay, it probably isn't -12 but, still too cold for my liking. We stopped in front of the door. Someone had to knock... Apparently, which had to be me. I went in front of the girls and stared at the door for a few seconds.
"Knock." Peach says, bouncing on her heels slightly. It couldn't have been much warmer inside than it is outside. My guess is it's probably 32 degrees out right now, but that wind chill makes it colder. I breathed out for a second, then knocked. I was taken back a little when it opened by itself.
"It opened!" Daisy smiles, her breath was visible in the air,
"Yeah, that's a first." I said, and we all walked in. We were all in awe at our surroundings, everything was made of ice. It was cold. It was beautiful. I decided to just call his name,
"Luigi?" I heard a slight shuffle coming from another room. I then, saw my brother step out into the light. He was still dressed the same, but something about him was different.
"What are you doing here?" He says, a little surprised. Peach walked towards him, but he instantly moved back into the darkness.
"We...Came to come and get you." Daisy says, "Look, I really need to-
"Is this about the Striker's tournament?"
"Yes." Daisy says,
"Well, it's okay. I know you didn't mean to push me, but I should've stayed home, then everything would been fine." He said,
"But-
"You should probably go." All of looked at each other right then,
"But we just got here, we can work this out." Daisy says, trying to settle him down, and I stayed silent the whole time. I still couldn't figure out what was so different about him though, maybe it actually was his clothes but, I didn't notice. I decided to just shrug it off, I also realized that he was still avoiding eye contact with me.
"No, it's okay, really, I'm fine here." Luigi says, holding up his hands that no longer had gloves them. I looked down at my own hands that were covered; he still didn't know about mine...
"Why do you insist staying here, won't you get lonely?" Peach asks, her face falling a little.
"Huh? No, not really. Besides, I can be here, where I'm free and I can be myself," He frowns, "Alone. Where I can't hurt anybody." He shrugged and back away into the darkness,
"So, you're still upset about hitting Peach in the head, huh? Well, listen, she's fine." Daisy says firmly,
"Daisy's right, Luigi, you can't punish yourself forever." Peach nods, coming closer to Luigi, she nearly touched his shoulder, when he shouted,
"Don't touch me!" We were quiet, "Please, I don't wanna hurt you." He said the last sentence slower and calmer. His eyes were wide in fear, Peach tried an even softer attempt to sort things out,
"Luigi...You're not going to hurt me. You're not going to hurt anyone." She gave him a sympathetic smile, and tried to reach out to him. He kept backing away, still refusing to look at me. I sighed and finally spoke,
"You do realize the more you act like this, the more you'll make it worse?" Peach and Daisy turned to me, Luigi had turned the other way in spite of himself. He knew I was referring to him. My eyes were hard and cold, I felt my guilty conscience wash over me, telling me to be nicer. I refused.
"Leave." Luigi said simply, still not facing us.
"But, Luigi, we-
"I said, leave!" He yelled, turning towards us and unleashing more magic. We all ducked and watched fly past us and bounce off the walls and hit Luigi in the heart. He toppled over, I felt the room shake a little and freeze even more. I saw icicles come out from the sides, the walls began to crack under pressure. Luigi was still on the ground, I heard the sounds of ice forming, and I told the girls to leave, but they refused to leave without him.
"Mario! He needs our help!" I felt the temperature drop, as Peach said that, going near Luigi. He stood up, with his hands close to his chest, his eyes still wide with fear.
"Leave. You're not safe here!" He said again, turning away.
"Luigi, you need help!" Peach argued,
"I don't need anyone's help." Luigi says, trying to hide the fear and sadness in his voice. His hands stayed close to him as his eyes continued to plead us to leave. He started to shake a little, and he fell to the ground again but this time, he didn't wake up.
Luigi:
"You have to let him in the castle, Toadsworth!" I heard Peach yell, I heard disoriented voices and I couldn't open my eyes. I couldn't believe I actually froze myself, if you wanna know what freezing your heart feels like, it actually feels like a heart burn. I tried to move but I was chained to something within the next second. I felt myself become cold, normally, the cold doesn't bother me, but this? This was well below freezing, or the kind I'm used to. My hands were shaking and I had trouble listening to the on going conversation. Technically, because I have the power of ice/snow, my heart is already 'frozen', but you've got to remember that I'm a human being, too. I mean, I feel things, too you know?
I woke to a bitter chill eating at myself, I was surrounded in darkness, where am I? I thought drowsily, getting up off the floor. I tried to stand up but, my body was too weak. I guess I deserved what I got, anyways, maybe this was for the best?
Mario:
Peach decided to forcefully bring Luigi back to the Mushroom Kingdom, I could see his hair was now completely white, his face was pale and cold. I watched the guards take Luigi away for the third time as Peach came back over to Daisy and I, her eyes brimming with tears. I set my hands on her shoulders,
"Peach, you tried and that's all that matters." I said, whipping away the tears with my thumbs.
"I know, I just wish Toadsworth wasn't so protective." She says sadly, "Daisy? Are you okay?" Daisy jumped a little and said,
"Guys...Luigi's magic hit himself in the heart..." Peach and I looked at each other confused,
"Yes, and your point being?" I said,
"Well, Mario, it means that because it was Luigi's magic, and he hit himself, that means he'll freeze twice as fast!" She began to panic,
"Calm down, Daisy! What do you mean, 'freeze twice as fast'?" Peach asks, setting a hand in her friend's shoulder.
"It means that because Luigi it the one with the ability, his body will freeze almost instantly!" Daisy was full out yelling now, I sucked in a breath and Peach put a hand over her mouth, holding in a gasp.
"This is kind of reluctant to say but, how?" Peach asks,
"Well, it will freeze instantly because Luigi didn't control his powers at a young age. So, really, because he kept them hidden all these years, the power itself will take over the body and freeze the person." It was times like these I was glad Daisy was smart, even I didn't know that. We stood there for a second then, ran towards the police dept.
...
When the police officer opened Luigi's cell door, it came as a surprise to all of us to find Toadsworth talking to him, and a guard was behind them. We stood in the door way as I saw Luigi nearly frozen. His fingers were frost bitten, his hair was white and his eyes were complete blue ice now. I saw that his cheeks were starting to freeze, Peach and Daisy walked into the room as Toadsworth turned around. He slightly pushed Peach back, telling her to stay back from Luigi. Her face became hard,
"I will not move. Luigi needs help." She said firmly, yanking her hands away from Toadsworth. Luigi was shaking fast and his hands stayed close to his chest at all times, his teeth looked like they were chattering. My heart actually started to sink, my eyes softened, he was shaking because he was cold. He was shaking because he was scared. I swallowed hard as I heard him say weakly,
"I...Don't need...Anyone's help." He shivered in between words, I felt the room start to freeze up just like his house. The guard stood back, we all did, except me. Prison cells were normally cold anyways, but we needed to get Luigi warm. I thought of using my own ability but, I decided against it. The guard made all leave the room, as it started to freeze. Icicles shot out from the sides, and Luigi was in there all alone. Peach stood back a second,
"I don't understand why you people won't help a friend of mine?" She says, turning towards Luigi, Toadsworth immediately budged in,
"Your Highness! Stay away from that monster!" He panics, she looked a bit hurt,
"Toadsworth, Luigi isn't a monster. Quit calling him that." I saw Luigi drop to the floor, Daisy rushed to his side. Luigi held up a hand and got up on his own, he looked at us carefully.
"Guys...Go. I'm better off here. Leave." He says, still shivering. He started to become even worse as his fingers froze over completely.
"No, I'm not leaving here until you come." Peach demands, The room started to cave in, and the guard pulled us out. Luigi's back was turned from us,
"I'm a danger to the Mushroom Kingdom. Please, leave..." He says, his voice cracking.
"You're not a danger." I muttered, sighing. The room started to crack and bricks began to fall, the guard shouted,
"Let's go!"
"We can't just leave him there! Get him, Daisy!" Peach says, as the storm outside began to become visible. She offered Luigi her hand as the final wall broke and the storm was completely revealed. His eyes still pleaded for us to go. A tear slowly streaked Luigi's face but instantly froze and fell to the ground. His breath was visible, and he kept shaking and shivering. But at all costs did his hands stay his side. Peach held her hand out farther for him,
"C'mon!" She yelled over the roaring wind, and Luigi finally looked at me. He still looked betrayed in some way, and he shook his head and grunted and ran the other way, fear following him. My head went back slightly, my eyes widened, Peach gasped at the sight of the storm dying down. Then suddenly, it came to a stop. Slow, swirling snowflakes came down like an average snow day. It was too quiet. Daisy was the first to run out into the open, refusing to listen to Toadsworth's orders. Peach shortly followed after. That same silence filled the air again but, quickly vanished as I heard the sounds of crying. I made my way slowly out to the open as the guard and Toadsworth did the same. I stopped at the sight I was looking at. My face had to be priceless, the color drained from my face, my mouth was slightly ajar as I looked at what was before me. Daisy was crying. She was holding something, or someone. Her cries were pain filled, as I walked closer I felt my heart sink drop all the way down to my feet. She was holding Luigi. He was frozen. Frozen solid; cold, hard, ice. I sat down next to her as Peach did the same, but cried. The only thing I realized that moment was I pushed my brother away from me again. After trying so hard not to, I did it again. I gave up on him and this was the result; freezing to death. Literally. All the memories of us playing together as kids came back, the memories of me shutting him out for years. Right then, I felt something inside me snap, I couldn't help it. I cried. I took my frozen and only family from Daisy's arms and kept him close to me. His eyes still showed that fear; the fear of being shut out and unloved, and not trusted. The fear of hurting someone else. He kept running from us to protect us. I murmured softly,
"No...Please...No," I held him by his shoulders, I felt a lonesome tear escape my eye and drip onto Luigi's face. "Luigi." I cried, I felt something else leave me, that anger I felt towards him, the guilt was replaced by it. I didn't know I needed you. I really do and now you're gone...I do need him. I remembered one other thing and it was the same thing Luigi said when coming to my door when we were younger;
"Come outside and play! Come and play with me!" I wished there was a way to tell him that I wanted to open the door but, couldn't. I could still hear his little kid voice saying those words. He was so innocent, and lonely back then. I could picture his wide blue eyes pleading for me to open the door. I quietly said to the frozen figure in my arms,
"Yes. I want to go and play, on the hill by the house. I want to play with you, Weegie." I was silent for a few seconds before I repeatedly said I'm sorry to him, I saw Daisy and Peach hug each other. Yes, even heroes can cry sometimes. Farther and farther away I had shut him out, I had pushed him away. He was so afraid to hurt someone else and I didn't see it. Please, don't leave me. I thought anonymously. I suddenly felt a source of heat come from nowhere. I opened my eyes to find my own sorcery heating Luigi without me even doing anything. It was thawing him. I sat back and kept my hand on his shoulder as it defrosted him. Peach and Daisy gasped at the sight, I felt him shudder a breath and sat up. He looked around quickly and stood up, and I immediately did so, too.
"Luigi?" I said, he turned to me, he didn't that fearful look in his eyes but, he seemed still a bit skeptical of me. Something in his eyes suggested he was still a little afraid, but he returned the small smile I gave him. I pulled him into a tight hug, and said, "I'm sorry, Luigi. I'm so sorry." I felt him return the hug and buried his face into my jacket. His hair was now fully brunette again and his eyes returned back to its former blue color. He looked like my little brother again, I pulled away from the hug and walked over to Peach and Daisy. They each hugged him lightly and he seemed a bit worried that he'll do something again but, I gave him look that reassured him. The land around us began to defrost and turn back into Spring. Luigi turned back to me, I held out my arms a little and he ran into them. I hugged him for a second and then said, "C'mon, I wanna show you something." He looked at me confused and shrugged and followed me.
I walked up the hill behind our house and stood under the big tree that shadowed some of the landscape.
"Mario? What are you doing?" He asks, watching me, I gestured with my head for him to come, I held out my hand and out came a little ball of fire. Luigi's breath caught slightly, he looked so surprised. His face was priceless, "Why? Why did you keep this from me for so long?" He asks, looking at it, then looking at his hand. It was a long story, but I shortened it,
"You wanna know why I had shut you out? This is why." I said, lifting my hand up into the air, and letting the ball of fire go. "Mom and dad made me. To protect you." I held out his hand, and told him to go for it. He lifted his hand up and out came ice shards, poised and graceful little snowflakes, too. He seemed a little spooked about it still but, I said, "Feel it. Don't conceal it." He nodded as I showed him a few more skills, he tried to copy me but, ended up freezing the tree.
"Oops." He said, I laughed a little,
"Here, watch, Bro." I showed him again, and eventually, he caught on. Together we created our own little world of fire and ice, and together we were unstoppable. We knew better.
:)
Review?