Haunted
Luigi couldn't help it. The stress of the night, which felt like days, and finally seeing his brother outside of that painting had made him crack. Especially the goofy face on Mario, slowly coming to consciousness after the professor put him through his machine—backwards. Tears of relief trickled down as he laughed at his elder brother. He could barely catch his breath.
Mario shook off the shock and the 2-dimensional curse and looked over at his laughing brother. He smiled to see Luigi so cheerful. He didn't see the exhaustion. He didn't see the fear. And he didn't see the dread and pressure. So he was shocked when his baby brother fell forward with sudden unconsciousness, face in the stone floor.
"Yikes!" Professor Gadd cried. "Luigi!"
Mario ran to him, the frame of the photo he was once inside still dangling from his neck. He knelt down and scooped up Luigi's head. He looked as green as his outfit. "Weeg…" he whispered. His little brother had never been on an adventure alone before. "I'm sorry I put you through this…" And yet, "What exactly did I put him through, Professor?"
Mario knew Luigi's fears, though they were many, by heart. Ghosts were high on the list. To think that he had to face off against the king of the boos made Mario worry as he carried Luigi to the castle that night. The professor filled him in on the other ghosts Luigi had to put to rest inside their paintings.
"What kind of mansion is this?"
"I guess that's the biggest mystery, Master Mario, and a mystery best left for another day. Luigi needs rest after the night he had."
"No kidding."
The castle was a shorter distance away than the brothers' house, and Mario knew the princess would not mind opening a guest room for the younger hero.
Hero, definitely. In all the time Mario has been saving the Mushroom Kingdom and its princess, no one really gave a second thought to the green-clad brother, but especially now, he had proven himself more than capable of going on a courageous adventure… and on his own. Of course, Luigi would do anything for his older brother, and for that, Mario felt guilty about how easy his capture was before his brother had to save him.
"My stars!" Peach gasped upon their entry. "Come, we have a bed right this way." She clapped her hands, "Toadsworth!"
The chancellor appeared. "Ah, Master Mario!" He noticed Luigi's unconscious body. "And… um…"
Mario was not in the mood to hear the chancellor stumble over the memory of Luigi. He pushed past the old shroom and into the bedroom Peach had indicated. There, he laid his brother on the sky blue spread.
Luigi was in a cold sweat, and his eyes were twitching furiously. Short gasps and whimpers escaped his lips every so often. Mario frowned at this view of his brother, too similar to the time he was poisoned years ago.
"What happened, Mario?" Peach asked him.
Mario shook his head. "He's exhausted…"
"Seems like more than exhaustion has its grip on him."
Mario turned to her. She had her eyes fixed on his twitching brow.
"What happened?" she repeated.
Mario told her the story the professor had shared with him, everything Luigi had been through: every fear, every battle, every danger… to save him from the biggest terror of all.
.
"Luigi, you're the only one who can help me!" the Professor cried.
"Professor Gadd, I defeated King Boo… I caught all those ghosts… It's over!"
"Not quite, my boy. The king of the boos has escaped!"
Luigi paled. "What?"
"And he's making the ghosts in Evershade Valley very aggressive. He's destroyed the Dark Moon!"
Luigi shook his head. "Get someone else, Professor. I'm retired as a hero. That's that."
"Well… there is one other thing…" the professor hesitated.
"What?"
"He's got your brother again."
Luigi felt his heart stop. "No… Mario…"
"It's up to you, Luigi."
Luigi put down the phone and slid out of his chair. And he shortly found himself in Evershade Valley, a city of nothing but ghosts.
.
The morning light splashed its way into the guest room, where Mario had fallen asleep in the chair next to Luigi's bed, leaning against the table beside the pillow. One of Peach's mushroom servants saw that both brothers were asleep and left the breakfast tray quietly on the table at the center of the room.
A mumbling from the younger brother startled him as he left, however, as the comatose hero gasped out in pain and fear. The servant hurried to the side of the bed. Was Green-Mario always that pale? He scurried through the halls to the castle nurse, who followed him back to the room. The bustle of people in the room woke the older brother.
"Wh-What?" he blinked at the two servants. "What's wrong?" he asked with concern upon seeing the medical one. He looked at his brother.
Luigi was clearly in a nightmare, one so ghastly that the color had completely escaped from his face. He couldn't help it anymore, he tried to wake Luigi up. Putting a hand on his little brother's shoulder, he shook.
Luigi breathed in a gasp, and his hands flung up in defense, smacking Mario so suddenly, he fell back in shock. He rubbed his nose and stood back up. "Luigi!" he shouted. "Wake up! It's just a dream, bro!"
But the green hero did not awaken.
.
Luigi stared at Professor Gadd. "A p-p-p-paranormal portal?" he barely stuttered out.
"Ready to go?" the professor asked.
"N-No! What?! Wait!"
But it was too late. Luigi was sent to search out the Terrace. It didn't take him long to shake in horror, holding in his shriek as King Boo himself opened the portal with a dark, pulsing, purple energy and flew inside. Then, a crowd of ghosts spilled out of the portal. Whimpering, Luigi bent down, clutching his head. "Why…" he cried. "Why am I doing this again…?"
But he knew why. His brother needed him again. And he was not going to let him down. He stood, still shaking a bit, and got his Poltergust ready. He would not give up. He was so close to his brother… so close to King Boo… so close to the last piece of the Dark Moon.
.
The green-clad brother could not be awakened, no matter how many mushroom people shook him, slapped him, or poured ice water on him. He rolled over, back and forth, and shivered after their efforts. Soon enough, the princess herself had to drive them away. She stood with Mario, looking at Luigi with even greater concern. Tears joined the ice water and sweat at Luigi's cheeks. Whatever he was dreaming, whatever unpleasant nightmare was in his mind, they felt sick watching it unfold on his terrified, unconscious face.
"I can't do anything for him," Mario finally whispered.
Peach looked over at him and was startled to see her hero in tears.
"I've never felt so useless."
She reached over and took his hand. "Of all the things tried in the last hour to wake him, I believe you to be the only one that can." She led him to the bedside. "Come… try again."
Mario leaned over his brother—cold, wet, and terrified—and put a hand on his shoulder. "Luigi… You saved me. Your fears are over. Wake up and see it."
The sun was bursting through the window now, settling a bright ray on Luigi's eyes. His brow furrowed and a smile curled under his mustache. "Look!" Peach gasped.
Mario took his hand and dried Luigi's face from the cold and tears, lifting him to a drooping sitting position. He kept his arm around him and studied his face. Luigi was at peace in his dream now. He was fully resting.
Despite himself, Mario smiled. "Now I do not want to wake him up," he almost chuckled.
With that, the professor came bursting through the door. "A new mansion! I bought a new mansion. Gone with that haunted nightmare!"
Peach and Mario were startled.
"And how fares Luigi?"
Mario looked at his brother again. "Better," he whispered.
.
It was dark.
That was all he knew.
Everything that had happened… it was over now. For the second time.
But he didn't want to open his eyes.
All bad things come in threes… he thought to himself.
A shuffle, a sigh, a creak.
He hated not being able to see any dangers, so he opened his eyes after all.
The first thing he noticed, he wasn't in the chair he was just lounging in at his and his brother's house. There was a dim glow from a fireplace. He sat up and peered about as his eyes adjusted. His head felt heavy, pounding with the remnants of a fitful sleep. Sleep. Was it all a dream? The ghosts? Mario's capture? Professor Gadd? All figments of my imagination? He looked and saw, to his horror, the professor sitting on a chair facing the fire.
Luigi yelped in dismay, disturbing something next to him.
The rustling there startled him so much, he pushed back and ended up falling out of the bed on which he was lying. "Luigi?" a voice asked. "Luigi!" In an instant, his brother was beside him, stooping down to unravel him from the blue sheets.
"M-Mario!" his relief flooded him with tears. He hugged his brother. "You're still here!"
"Y-Yeah, bro," the hero held his trembling brother.
"No more mansions, Mario! Please!" Luigi pulled back and looked his brother in the eye. "I can't do any more haunted mansions!"
"Well, I do say, Luigi!" Professor Gadd exclaimed. "You look like you've seen a ghost again!"
"No more ghosts!" Luigi squeezed Mario tighter.
"No more ghosts, Weeg, don't worry," Mario said, giving a glare toward the professor. "One haunted mansion is enough for you."
"Two was unbearable!"
"Was?" Mario asked. Then, he understood. "Holy stars… Luigi… your nightmare…"
"N-Nightmare?"
Mario squeezed him in comfort. "The second one was just a dream, Weeg… don't you worry. We're safe. We're in the princess's castle. No more ghosts."
"No more ghosts…" Luigi repeated.
After awhile, Mario began to pull out of the hug, but noticed that Luigi was once again sound asleep. He smiled sadly and placed his brother back on the large bed.
Professor Gadd got up and nodded. "Rest well, Luigi. You deserve it." He headed for the door. "You know where to find me, yes?" and with a salute and a wave, the good professor left the room.
Mario looked back down at his brother and pushed the hair from his face. "Sweet dreams, little bro."
.
Author's Note: This is my first request fanfic! I wrote this as someone's suggestion that I write about a bit of angsty exhaustion after our green hero saves his brother from the mansion. I hope you like my take on it, and if you have a request, I'll at least consider it, especially if it fits canon and my personal Mario Bros. timeline. Happy reading! ~PencilGirl92