Summary: In a desolate world populated by fearless warriors, the legendary Crimson Flame is on a mission to confront the most powerful one of all. Meanwhile, in another world, Mario's brother, Luigi, has gone missing and is nowhere to be found. Will the rift between these two worlds be sealed? Based on the Black Rock Shooter OVAs. DaisyxMario. Rated K Plus for action sequences.
Hey, guys! I know that I have other stories in progress, but I'm doing another one. I know it's not the wisest idea, but I've had this idea in my head for awhile. Unlike Swirls of Black and Green, which started out short but grew into a long story, I plan to keep this one short. I'm aiming for 5 chapters at most. If you haven't watched the Black Rock Shooter OVAs (just the OVAs, not the show), you may have trouble following at first. It will make sense later on.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters you see here. The Mario games and characters belong to Nintendo. The concept belongs to Ryohei Fuke/Huke.
CLING! CLASH! The Crimson Flame clashed weapons with his greatest rival, Goldrush. He was ugly with his large pink nose, purple bags under his eyes, and cleft chin. He already had thick hairs growing above his lip. Goldrush smirked as he prepared to strike the Crimson Flame. Instead, the red warrior dodged his attack. He did a back flip and landed on the opposite side of the platform.
On the other side, Goldrush laughed. Even his voice sounded nasally and ugly. "You're going soft on me, Red. It's a shame. I used to enjoy fighting with you so much..."
The Crimson Flame narrowed his eyes.
Goldrush smirked. "I know what you're here to do. Unfortunately, I can't let you do that!" He launched towards him with a confident, toothy grin. He used his right hand to strike with his sword. The two continued clashing weapons. CLING! CLASH! He switched hands and struck the Crimson Flame with his pike. He cried out, dropping his sword. The red warrior fell off the edge of the platform, the ground quickly rushing to meet him.
SMASH! His back throbbed with pain. The Crimson Flame groaned. A scar tore through his red shirt. He looked up to see a warrior in gold armor coming down to meet him.
The Crimson Flame rolled out of the way just as Goldrush landed. The floor crumbled under his heavy weight. The Crimson Flame scanned the ground for his sword and found it a few feet away. Goldrush saw this and growled. He jumped and crouched in midair, landing on the ground with a deafening SMASH! The Crimson Flame noticed the floor break apart, but also saw vibrations throughout the whole area. The walls of the fragile building were crashing all around them.
Goldrush laughed. He stepped in front of the Crimson Flame. He pointed his sword at his throat. He said nothing, for he knew that he had won this fight.
The broken building rushed towards them. In seconds, this area would be nothing but rubble. The Crimson Flame had to act fast. He frowned and made fire appear in his right hand, launching a fireball towards his enemy.
Goldrush screamed as the fire hit his face, scorching his skin. He covered his face and stepped back.
The Crimson Flame grabbed his sword and ran as his enemy was crushed in the oncoming rubble.
"See you after school, Papa!"
Papa waved at them from the driver's seat. "Have a good day, Mario! You too, Luigi!"
Luigi grabbed his bag and shut the car door. "Bye, Papa!"
Once both boys were ready to go, Papa drove off. Mario and Luigi walked towards the school. They were surrounded by other students. Unlike yesterday, which was freshmen orientation, students of all grade levels were approaching the school.
Luigi bit his lip. Although the boys were twins, they had opposing views when it came to other people. Mario was the flourishing extrovert, enthusiastic and friendly. Luigi, on the other hand, was the shy introvert. While he hesitated, Mario wore a smile on his face.
The boy in green stretched and yawned. "I'm tired. Why does school always have to start so early?"
"Oh, come on, bro!" Mario said. "It's the first day of high school! Aren't you excited?"
"I guess so," Luigi muttered, rubbing his eyes.
"Luigi, we're freshmen now! Pretty soon, we're gonna have jobs and girlfriends and we'll get fancy cars too!"
The boy in green smiled. "You might want to slow down there, Mario. We're only fifteen. Did you drink extra coffee this morning?"
The boy in red shrugged. "Maybe. So what?"
Luigi laughed and tried not to focus on his nervousness. It would be easier back in Brooklyn, where he and Mario already knew everybody. However, they moved to New York City a few weeks ago so their father could find better work. Business had been slow at his old job and he was hoping to get a fresh start in the new city. Plus, Papa believed he had a better chance of getting his novel published in a more prominent area.
As Mario and Luigi got closer to the school, a sign caught Luigi's eye. It read, Welcome to Toadstool High! Home of the NYC Toads!
Luigi sighed as they entered the building. "I guess we're Toadstool toads now. Seriously, they couldn't get more creative with their mascot?"
"Oh, don't be so picky, Luigi." They both got out their schedules and compared them one more time. "Alright, it looks like we both have first and second hour together! That's Math and English!"
"Good. I don't think that I could survive all my classes without you."
Mario looked up curiously. "You did it in middle school."
"I know. I'm just not used to this city yet."
Luigi thought he saw a flash of purple out of the corner of his eye. However, he didn't know who it was until it was too late. "Oh, look. It's the stupid Mario brothers in the flesh."
The boy in green turned. The other boy was wearing a purple sweater and baggy jeans. He had black eyes and a large pink nose. He also had purple bags under his eyes and a narrow face. At sixteen, he already had a mustache growing in. Luigi narrowed his eyes. Unlike the majority of students at Toadstool High, he recognized this boy. "Waluigi..."
Waluigi was Mario and Luigi's cousin. Although he grew up in New York City all his life, the boys knew him through family gatherings and the occasional visit. While his older brother was at least tolerable, Waluigi seemed to go out of his way to annoy the boys, especially Luigi. The two had been rivals since the day they met.
Mario frowned. "What do you want?"
Waluigi crossed his arms. "Nothing. I just find it a shame that this place is gonna be ruined because of you two, especially green."
Luigi frowned, looking down. Mario noticed this and glared at Waluigi. "This is our school too." He looked around for a second person. "Where's your brother at? Aren't you and Wario stuck like glue?"
"He got into a motorbike accident," Waluigi said casually.
Luigi looked up, worried. "Is he okay?"
Waluigi shrugged. "It's only a few broken bones. He'll be back at school in a week at most. I bet the fact that you guys are here made him lose his concentration."
The boy in green rolled his eyes. "Don't you have anything better to do than make fun of us?"
"Shut up, green."
Luigi growled and got closer to Waluigi. Though he was normally a pacifist, he wasn't about to take any torment from his cousin on the first day. Luigi might have punched him if it weren't for Mario. The boy in red grabbed his brother's sleeve. Luigi turned, irritated. However, he calmed down when he saw Mario's expression. He had a frown on his face, but his eyes shined with worry and concern. Luigi sighed and backed down.
Mario grabbed Luigi's hand. "Come on, Luigi. We have better things to do."
As they walked away, Luigi glared at his cousin. Waluigi held an L on his forehead and stuck his tongue out.
The rest of the day was ordinary. All seven class periods were a blur of new textbooks and lists of rules. They were also given a mountain of supplies to buy for class. Mario and Luigi were glad when they found out they also had lunch together; however, those thirty minutes were a small break in comparison to all the time spent in class.
After school, Mario and Luigi met outside. Since both of their parents worked during the afternoon, they had to take the bus home. Thankfully, it was only a short ride.
"So, how was the first day, Wee-gee?"
"It was okay. The only bad part is that Waluigi and I have acting class together. It's during fifth hour."
Mario frowned. "Boo!" He drew out the word, flashing a thumb down. "That really sucks, Luigi."
Luigi shrugged. "Eh. I'm not too worried about it. Acting is still my favorite class. You know, I think I might try out for the school play in September. They're doing Romeo and Juliet."
Mario grinned. "Yeah? Well, I hope you get in! You're a great actor, Wee-gee!"
Luigi blushed and played with the hem of his shirt. "I don't know about that."
"Oh, come on! You've been getting in plays since we were kids!"
The boy in green chuckled. "Yeah, I guess that's true. What about you? How was your first day?"
"I made some new friends already! There's this really short kid in Biology who insists that I call him Toad. Even the teachers forget that his real name is Ethan. He's a bit of a weirdo, but he's really nice. Oh, and I also met this girl named Peach. Peach Toadstool. She's the principal's daughter. "
"Sounds like you're already smitten for her," Luigi teased. Mario was always a hit with the girls back in Brooklyn.
Mario gave him a playful shove. "I'm taking a break from girls."
"But didn't you say something about girlfriends and fancy cars earlier today?"
"Yeah, but that's for later! I'm still trying to get over Pauline."
"You broke up with her a month ago."
"But it was still rough..."
Luigi grinned. "I'm giving you and Peach a few days at most."
Mario stuck out his tongue. However, his eyes lit up as he remembered something. "Oh, wait! I almost forgot!" He dug through his back pack.
Luigi furrowed his brows. "What is it, Mario?"
The boy in red pulled out his cellphone, wiping the bits of dust off the screen. "I met to do this at the school, but better late than never!" He went to the camera app on his phone and turned to Luigi. "We gotta capture this moment! Our first real day as highschoolers!"
Luigi laughed. "If you insist..." He got closer to Mario and smiled for the tiny camera.
Mario flashed a smile. "Here's to a good school year!"
He pressed the button on his phone. There was a brief flash, then their photo was on the screen. Mario had a confident smile on his face while Luigi wore a shy grin. While Luigi went back to staring at the window, Mario grinned and set the photo as his wallpaper.
His red cape fluttered in the distance. His brown boots scrapped the dirt as he slowly walked up to the cliff. All he had to do was look down and he saw it. The Crimson Flame stared at the broken castle beneath him. The sky was covered in fog and he could hear rumbling thunder in the distance. BOOM! The warrior knew there would be a storm ahead. A thunderstorm.
The Crimson Flame stepped a few more feet in front of the cliff. He reached for his aching chest. The second he touched it, he felt sharp stinging. He cringed. When he pulled his hand away, it was covered in blood. His red short-sleeved shirt was torn, as were his black shorts. The scar on his chest was still bleeding.
He closed his eyes and sighed. He knew this wouldn't be easy. He probably had warriors standing watch in front of his hideout, ready for this exact situation. They would be more powerful than Goldrush.
But the Crimson Flame didn't care. He knew he had to do this. He made a promise.
Shaking the blood away, the Crimson Flame jumped off the cliff.
He was going to find him.
Did you follow that? I hope you did. I didn't realize how confusing this might be to a newcomer until I started writing it down. Hopefully, it will make more sense later. These two concepts might seem unrelated, but they'll cross paths eventually.
Let me know if you want more!
-Colorful and Free
