Today was the day. The day the tall, lanky man in purple had been waiting for. A new Super Smash Bros tournament had been announced. This one was called "Ultimate", so he figured it HAD to be a big one. Today a few lucky citizens would receive invitations to this tournament. He had kept his fingers crossed since the tournament was announced that he would get lucky and be invited to fight this time.
The man currently stood in front of the old sink in the bathroom of his tiny, less than stellar home. He stared into the dirt covered mirror that desperately needed a wipe down, but he had been neglecting to do. He brushed his thick, brown hair back with his cheap, plastic comb just the way he liked it. After his hair was to his liking, he grinned widely at himself before grabbing his signature purple hat with the less than iconic reverse mirrored yellow "L" on it, and placed it on the top of his head. He laughed afterwords.
"This is Waluigi's time to shine!" He exclaimed to himself before continuing further with his laughter. After seeing himself fit and ready to go, he headed for the door.
He left his messy house and headed towards Peach's Castle where in just a few short minutes the invitations were going to be given out like they usually were. His large, toothy smile remained on his face as he walked down the road. Passersby grimaced as he walked past them. He wasn't well liked in the Mushroom Kingdom. But he honestly didn't care. He did when he first arrived, wanting to be as famous as the Mario Brothers. But after awhile, he realized he had become famous in another way. Even though they didn't like him, everyone knew who he was. And that was all he had wanted all along, so he was perfectly fine with it. Besides, he didn't like anyone in the Mushroom Kingdom anyways.
One of the main things he hated about his small house was just how far away it actually was from Peach's Castle. It was close to a twenty minute walk. And considering walking was his only means of transportation currently, due to all of his karts and bikes being impounded by Mushroom Kingdom law enforcement due to one reason or another, it annoyed him. Sure he had grown used to it at this point, but still. He would rather be driving places than walking everywhere.
As he walked, the roar of a loud engine was heard behind him. He hummed I'm confusion before looking back as the sound neared him. He saw the two small Toad's that had just passed him jump out of the way for their lives, as a short, fat, and pointy mustached man decked out in a jean jacket, pink denim jeans, and a yellow helmet with a red stripe going down the center of it and a pair of goggles resting in the front, came flying down the road on a motor cycle. Waluigi instantly recognized the man to be his long time scheming buddy, Wario.
"Outta the way, Losers! Wario's got somewhere to be!" The man yelled in his harsh, gruff voice, "WAH HAHA!" He laughed obnoxiously as he flew past the the two angry Toads. His eyes closed during his laughter so he didn't notice his tall, lanky, purple clad friend also walking the road.
"Wario! Open your eyes!" Waluigi yelled. One of Wario's eyes slightly opened when he heard his name. He opened it just in time to see Waluigi standing in the road.
"WAHHH!" He exclaimed as he swerved his bike to avoid hitting the man. He slammed to a stop, nearly flipping over his handle bars as the bike jerked forward before finally coming to a stop. "Whataya doin' in the road! I'm drivin' here!" He exclaimed as he turned his attention towards Waluigi, who remained standing where he had been.
"Walking! What's it look like?!" He spit back at the shorter, fatter man. Wario let out a low gruff huff in annoyance as a response.
"Imma on my way to get MY Smash Bros invitation. I dunno about you, but Wario is more important." He said. Waluigi expected as much.
"That's where Waluigi is going." He replied. Wario broke out into laughter again, this annoyed Waluigi further. "What'ssa so funny?!"
"You wasting your AND Wario's time with this conversation. Imma actually goin' to be getting an invitation to Smash." Wario replied once his laughter ceased.
"Oh yeah?! How are you so sure?!" Waluigi asked.
"Because Wario's THE BEST!" Wario replied in his usually very egotistical tone. Waluigi shook his head.
"And Waluigi's NUMBER ONE!" He yelled back. Wario laughed again.
"Number one at being a loser maybe," Waluigi growled at the insult. "Now if you'll politely get out my way, Wario has an invitation to get." He waved Waluigi off as he climbed back onto his bike. Waluigi clenched his fists as he watched the man.
His annoyance towards the man quickly faded once he realized he had wasted too much time on his conversation. The ceremony was going to be starting any minute, and he knew he wasn't going to make it on foot. He growled in frustration. "Great! Now I'm going to be late thanks to you! They surely won't give Waluigi his invitation if he shows up late! Then I'll be left out of the tournament again!" He ranted. Wario rolled his eyes as he did. For anyone else he would have just mocked their misfortune and left them there. He cared less for people than people Waluigi did. He was more about money and gold than anything.
"Gah! Stop your complaining and get on already! You're goin' to make Wario late too!" The man exclaimed, interrupting Waluigi's rant. This silenced the taller, thinner man. It surprised him. Wario was a very greedy, selfish person. Sure they were partners in tennis tournaments and had actually worked together in tormenting the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom in more ways than one over the past bunch of years. But even so, that didn't mean Waluigi was immune from Wario's abuse. Wario laughing and driving off, leaving Waluigi in the dust of his motorcycle wasn't too far fetched, honestly.
"Wah... really?" He questioned.
"Yeah! Now hurry up will ya?!" Wario responded, growing more and more impatient as he did. Waluigi didn't waste anymore time after that. He quickly made his way over to his ''friend's'' bike and climbed on the back. Wario hardly gave him enough time to even do that. He took off has fast as he had arrived before Waluigi's butt even hit the seat. He was still surprised that Wario even...
*PFFT!* the loud sound followed by a pretty awful stench that filled Waluigi's nostrils interrupted his thoughts.
"WAH! T-that's awful!" He exclaimed, using one hand to cover his nose as he did, making his already congested-sounding voice sound even more congested. Wario laughed.
"Stopped by the taco stand! Wa hahaha! Deal with it!" He was clearly getting amusement out of Waluigi's discomfort. He started wondering if maybe running there would have been a less...toxic way of transportation.
The rest of the ride was a smelly one for Waluigi. Wario constantly let out the most vile, smelly farts Waluigi had ever smelt before, laughing every time he did. By the time they very obnoxiously and dangerously pulled up to the courtyard of Princess Peach's Castle where the invitations were going to be handed out, almost mowing down several citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom as they did, Waluigi climbed off of the motorcycle as soon as he could. Mainly to get away from the fowl stench of fart burrito that seemed to surround it.
"Letsa go." Wario motioned for the taller man to follow as he hopped off of his bike and his ascent through the large crowed of people. "Wa hahaha! Outta the way Losers! Wario coming through!" He exclaimed as he shoved through the gathering amount of Toads, Pintas, and Koopas, as he and Waluigi made their way towards the front. Waluigi took in all the glares he and his companion were receiving as they did.
Besides all of the seemingly generic citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom, Waluigi immediately took notice of the definite standouts of the bunch as they finally reach the front of the crowed. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, Yoshi, and Birdo stood happily chatting away with one another. The happiness that they were all displaying annoyed both Waluigi and Wario.
"Whatta bunch of losers!" Wario commented clearly not amused by the sight. Waluigi didn't feel like he needed to give a response to this. They were just happy because they already knew they were getting invitations to the next Smash Bros tournament. Well... most of them at least.
Their happy mingling eventually ceased as darkness filled the sky. Loud gasps filled the courtyard as all the attention had been turned to the large pirate ship that now inhabited the sky. The already obvious owner of said ship became even more obvious as deep laughter was heard. Bowser, Mario's longtime enemy, lept from the side of the ship. Innocent civilians scattered as his large form came crashing down into the middle of the courtyard. He let out another laugh as he looked around. None of the hero's seemed too pleased with his very intrusive entry.
But he didn't come alone. His son, Bowser Jr., entered next leading behind his top henchmen Lemmy, Iggy, Roy, Wendy, Morton, Ludwig, and Larry, collectively known as "The Koopalings." The bunch quickly joined the big, bad Koopa King, flying down to the ground in their Koopa Clown Cars.
"Bowser..." Mario said defensively steeping in front of Peach.
"Bwahahaha! Calm down, plumber. We're here for our Smash Bros invitations." Bowser's voice boomed. It definitely intimidated the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom. Wario was hoping some sort of trouble would break out. He needed the laugh.
"Yeah, Mmmario!" Bowser Jr. piped up in a tone mocking the plumber. Mario never broke eye contact from the larger of the two koopas.
"*Clears Throat* Ladies and Gentlemen, if I could have you're attention, we may begin today's invitation ceremony." Toadsworth, currently the oldest member of the species alive, spoke. He was the one Master Hand always delivered the invasions to, and then was tasked with the very VERY important duty of making sure they didn't get into anybody's hands except the very lucky few recipients they were assigned to. This got Waluigi's immediate attention. This is what he had been waiting for. He was about to get his long overdue invitation to Smash Bros, and he knew it. Bowser broke his attention away from Mario, his mocking smirk remaining on his face as he did so. Mario was still somewhat reluctant to look away considering all the damage Bowser had caused in the past, so he was going to keep his eyes on him.
"Okay. So Mister Master Hand has given me seventeen invitations to hand out for the fifth annual Super Smash Bros tournament: Ultimate. This tournament in particular is rather important. I've been informed that it's going to be celebrating the series as a whole. So those of you lucky enough to receive an invitation will be taking part in a history making event." The old Toad explained. There was a lot of chattering going around. Everyone seemed to be rather excited about this "history making tournament." Waluigi was about to be taking part in something huge! He knew it!
"So today's first two invitations go to the two brothers that have proudly represented the Mushroom Kingdom since the very first Super Smash Bros tournament. The two brothers that have saved our behinds countless times over. Mario and Luigi!" The old Toad said rather proudly. The crowed erupted into cheers as Mario and Luigi happily walked onto the small stage, waving as they did, to receive their invitations. Wario and Waluigi both let out low growls of annoyance as they watched the old Toad hand the Mario Brothers the invitations. They smiled widely and waved at the crowed once again, taking in the ovation. Wario was growing so annoyed at this point he was getting ready to blow. But right before he did, the two brothers finally stepped back off the stage. "Okay, okay, now, moving on. The next invitation goes to Mushroom Kingdom's own lovely, lovely Princess. Our very own Princess Peach!" The Old Toad announced sounding just as excited as he did before. The crowed erupted once again as Peach made her way onto the stage to receive her invitation.
"Thank you. Thank you." Peach said happily as she waved in a very Princess-Esq fashion.
"Wah... who cares." Wario said getting Waluigi to finally look his way. He knew his short, chubby companion was growing impatient at this point. It was obvious he just wanted to see if he was getting an invitation so he could get out of there. The loud cheers didn't stop until Peach finally stepped back off of the stage.
"The next invitations go to two more members of our community that have represented us proudly for years. Yoshi and Dr. Mario!" Toadsworth called, his happiness still yet to fade. Yoshi and Dr. Mario walked on to the stage getting cheered as loud as the last three invitation recipients had been. Waluigi was left puzzled as he watched the Doctor grab his invitation. He quickly looked towards Mario afterwords only to see him standing in the ground clapping. He rubbed his eyes wondering exactly what he was seeing. But yep... there were two Mario's apparently. He didn't understand how, but there was.
"Princess Rosalina has also been invited to return to the tournament." Toadsworth said as Dr. Mario and Yoshi made their way off of the stage. Rosalina smiled at him as she briskly made her way onto the stage. The cheering all of these people were receiving was ridiculous, and it was really getting annoying at this point. Neither Waluigi, nor Wario seemed too amused by it. Waluigi didn't seemed to amused as he watched the Princess shyly wave back to the cheering crowed. Besides Bowser, she was the only one in the Mushroom Kingdom that could rival the tall, lanky man in height. He was still taller than her, but still. She was pretty tall.
"And... Bowser has also been invited to return." Toadsworth said, sounding way less enthused than he had been previously.
"Bwahahaha!" Bowser laughed as he stomped his way towards, and up the stage, snatching his invitation out of the old Toad's hand, almost launching him off the stage as he did. The citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom wanted to boo, but they didn't. They were all way too intimidated of the Koopa King to do so. Bowser stomped back off the stage, rattling Toadsworth as he did. He readjusted himself before going on.
"O-okay, very well then. Um... Bowser Jr., and The Koopalings, Roy, Wendy, Larry, Iggy, Ludwig, Morton, and Lemmy have also been invited to return to this years tournament." The eight smaller Koopas quickly, and very obnoxiously made their way to the stage. Fighting as they made their way up the steps.
"I'm going first!" Larry exclaimed.
"No pipsqueak! I am!" Morton yelled as he tried to pull his brother backwards.
"I'm a girl! Ladies first!" Wendy yelled from the back.
"My dad is the king! I should go first!" Bowser Jr. yelled.
"Oh, dear." Toadsworth said, watching as the group of smaller Koopas battled to be the first one to get their Smash Bros invitation.
Usually Wario and Waluigi would find humor in a matter like this, but considering they were two of the last semi-important, none generic citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom without invitations, this was just holding up finding out if they were getting them or not. And that annoyed both of them to their very cores.
"Hurry it up! Wario doesn't have all day!" Wario yelled towards the arguing Koopas. They ignored him. Bowser Jr. was eventually able to squeeze his way through the pack and reach the stage first.
"Haha! I get to get mine first!" He teased as he made his way over to Toadsworth, snatching one of the invitations out of his hand as he did. Bowser stood watching, proud of son. He showed a little less interest in The Koopalings, though. Hardly paying attention to them as they one-by-one rudely snatched their invitations out of Toadsworth's hand, following Bowser Jr.'s lead. Waluigi could faintly hear the displeased murmuring of the locals as they watched the Koopalings exit the stage. Toadsworth quickly decided to move on as they did.
"Okay, okay. Now then, we have only two invitations left for this years Super Smash Bros tournament," he began. Wario was growing more and more impatient with the old Toad the longer he stood without an invitation. "The first of the two goes to another veteran fighter in the Super Smash Bros tournament, Wario." He finally called.
"It's'a 'bout time!" Wario exclaimed as he made his way towards the stage, leaving Waluigi standing alone. Saving Wario as the last veteran returnee, plus there only being one invitation left HAD to mean something. Waluigi was about to realize a long time dream of his, and he knew it. It really was about to be his time in the spotlight.
Wario waddled up onto the stage, grabbing his invitation from Toadsworth before looking out towards the crowed in a very taunting manner. "Hahaha! Wario's back baby!" He exclaimed, flaunting the invitation to the crowd. They didn't seem too enthused by it. Toadsworth didn't either. He put his hands on Wario's back and started pushing him back towards the steps.
"Okay, I think you've shown it off enough. It's time to move on." He said, really wanting to get Wario out of there.
"Aye! Hey! What's the big idea?!" Wario exclaimed. Toadsworth ignored the question and kept pushing until he finally managed to get Wario to the steps. Wario turned and shot an annoyed expression towards the old Toad before walking down the steps, grumbling in annoyance as he did. The cheers picked back up as Toadsworth headed back for center stage.
"Okay, okay. It's now time for to hang out the final invitation." He began, holding up the now lone invitation in his hand. A lot of low chattering picked up as the curious citizens wondered who would be joining the Super Smash Bros tournament for the first time. This is the part where Waluigi began to grow even more excited. He couldn't wait to see the faces all of these people made when he was revealed to be the final Mushroom Kingdom participant in this years tournament. "Now, the final invitation is going to be given to one very special member of our community. One that has been with us for a long even, even if they haven't been given the proper spotlight they deserve. There have been a lot of followers clamoring for this particular person to join the Super Smash Bros tournament for a very long time now, and today is the day that it is finally going to happen." He continued. Waluigi was practically bouncing up and down in excitement at this point. It was coming, he knew it was.
Wario finally reproached his tall, lanky counterpart, watching his building excitement. "You look really stupid doing that." He commented. Usually Waluigi would have given some sort of response to his scheming partner's rude comments, but this time he was way too excited to.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Mushroom Kingdom's newest representation in the Super Smash Bros tournament is..." Here it comes! Waluigi's heart was practically about to beat right out of his chest. The old Toad was about to say his name. He could already imagine the citizens' moans and groans of displeasure as he proudly made his way onto the stage and accepted his... "Princess Daisy!" Waluigi was broke from his thoughts. His jaw nearly dropped to the ground as he was.
"WAH...?!" He exclaimed in a confused shock.
"HA!" Wario laughed.
"OMG! OH MY GOSH! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Daisy exclaimed as the loud cheering once again picked back up. Waluigi was left in a stunned silence as he watched the overly ecstatic princess make her way onto the stage to accept her invitation. And just like that, his dreams were shattered as he felt his heart drop into his stomach.
Daisy? DAISY?! How could they pick Daisy over him? He didn't understand. He was sure he had it on lock this time. He just... didn't get it.
"I just want to congratulate all seventeen representatives of the Mushroom Kingdom for being accepted into the grandest Super Smash Bros tournament to date! You've also all been invited to a celebratory lunching at Princess Peach's Castle!" Toadsworth exclaimed, motioning to the large castle behind him. The cheering once again picked back up.
Waluigi continued to stand in a confused silence. The chattering fading as the large crowed of people made their way towards Peach's Castle for this "Celebratory Lunching." He slowly shook his head as he looked down towards the ground wondering what had just happened.
"Hahaha! Better luck next time!" Wario exclaimed as he roughly slapped Waluigi's back, sending him stumbling forward. His laughing continued as he headed towards the castle. There was no way he was going to pass up on a free lunch. Waluigi shook his head once again as his eyes quickly shifted focus to the old Toad still on the stage. This had to be some kind of joke, right? They were just tricking him. He got an invitation and they were just hiding it from him to annoy him. He quickly stomped towards the stage to confront the Toad.
"Hey!" He exclaimed getting Toadsworth's attention.
"Hmmm...?" The Toad hummed as he turned to face the man stomping towards him.
"I know I got an invitation! I had to've! Now where is it?!" Waluigi asked. He was clearly annoyed at this point. If they were playing tricks on him, which they very well could have been doing, he wasn't enjoying. Toadsworth shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Waluigi, that was the last invitation for this years tournament." He replied. Waluigi shook his head again not wanting to buy that.
"No. NO! It can't be! There has to be another one! This is supposed to be Waluigi's time!" He exclaimed, lowering himself down enough to grab the old toad's vest and shake him. Toadsworth looked somewhat caught off guard at first. He wanted to be annoyed by the man's actions, but with how desperate his tone of voice was, he couldn't be. "Please...?" Waluigi had never been THIS desperate before... ever. And he knew if anyone else saw his actions it would ruin his reputation. But he didn't know what else to do. He really didn't. A frown grew on the toad's face, feeling sympathetic for the very heartbroken man.
"I'm sorry, Waluigi. Maybe you'll receive one for the next tournament." Toadsworth said as he placed one of his small hands on the man's shoulder. Waluigi stared down at the ground not saying anything. "Why don't you come join us for lunch. I'm sure the meal may help you." He offered. Waluigi's silence continued. Toadsworth gave him one more pat on the shoulder before heading off the stage and towards the castle, leaving Waluigi alone.
He stayed on his knees, eyes closed, with his head facing the brown boarded stage floor. The silence surrounded him. He would have thought he was alone, but he wasn't. There was someone that had stuck around. Someone that saw what had just happened.
As Waluigi continued to try and understand why he didn't receive an invitation, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He figured it was Toadsworth again.
"Will you leave me alone! I'm not coming to your stupid lunch thing!" Waluigi snapped, but the hand didn't remove itself.
"I never said you had to." A soft voice spoke in return. Waluigi's head shot up as he turned to face the owner. Standing before him was Princess Rosalina, The mother of the stars. Waluigi didn't know why she had bothered to stop and talk to him, but he didn't care. He had no interest in conversing with her. He shrugged he shoulder off and returned to his feet.
"I don't feel like talking." He said as he began to walk away. Rosalina watched him as he did. He didn't make it far before she caught up to him.
"Waluigi, I saw what happened." Rosalina spoke, this caused the man to skid to a stop. He was annoyed, and embarrassed at that point. He didn't say anything, so Rosalina went on. "I think you should have received an invitation."
"Oh, really? Why do you care if I got one or not? You got one. Everyone else got one. Waluigi was wrongfully ignored... again!" The man snapped once again. Rosalina didn't even seem the least bit fazed by it.
"Waluigi, I care because I know how much you wanted it. I know that you are deserving of it. I haven't known you as long as the others have, but I know regardless of your wrong doings, you really do try. Perhaps you could try without cheating, but I digress. But if we're being honest, I was expecting you to receive an invitation this time. I'm perplexed as to why you didn't." She spoke once again. Her soft voice finally made Waluigi turn to face her. He honestly wasn't sure if she was patronizing him, or what. He was quite surprised.
"I didn't because all of these people are dirty, stinkin', rotten, cheaters!" Waluigi said very begrudgingly. Rosalina disapprovingly shook her head.
"They've all earned their spots in the tournament, Waluigi. You can't be upset with them. The ruler of the tournament, Master Hand, is the one that keeps over looking you. You cannot blame the others for that. I'm sure they feel the same way as I do, they just haven't admitted it yet. I'm sure they realized long ago that you belong in the tournament." She said.
"If they felt the same way they'd boycott the Smash Bros tournament until Waluigi was added!" Waluigi exclaimed.
"It May help, but it may not. Besides, you couldn't ask them to do that. You wouldn't want to." Rosalina said. Waluigi pondered that a few seconds before responding.
"I wouldn't be against it." He said. Rosalina again didn't seem to happy with his response.
"You wouldn't make your friends give up something as important as this for you." She said.
"Those losers aren't Waluigi's friends." Waluigi said as he crossed his arms.
"They are." Rosalina said. Waluigi shook his head.
"They aren't. I don't like any of them, and they don't like me. I don't care if they gave up a chance at competing in the Smash Bros tournament. They've all been there before. Waluigi hasn't. And Waluigi DESERVES to be there!" He said.
"Waluigi, if they didn't like you, Mario wouldn't keep inviting you to his parties, or his sports events. Regardless of what you've done to them in your past, they care about you. They may not always show it, but they do. And as I told you earlier, I'm sure they're just as upset about your repeated absence in the Smash Bros tournament as you are." Regardless of what she was saying, her voice never rose above her soft whisper. As angry as Waluigi was, and boy was he angry, he couldn't help but feel...relaxed as she spoke? Just that thought made him feel sick. But regardless, she did have a point. Even with how much of a sore winner he was, and everything he's done to everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom, they still invited him to everything they did. Which probably means nothing considering Mario still invited Bowser to all of his get togethers, too. And Bowser had done much worse than him.
"You'll get into Super Smash Bros one of these days. I know you will. They can't ignore you forever. I just need you to know that you have support, regardless of rather you want it, or not." Rosalina continued. Waluigi was once again left in a stunned silence. Support? He had HER support? He still wasn't even sure why she cared. She may have told him that she had been watching him, and saw how hard he had been trying, but he still wasn't buying it. The two had hardly said two words to each other in the almost eleven long years they had known each other. So why did she care now? It never seemed like she did before.
"Rosalina! Oh, Rosalina!" Someone sweetly calling in distance got both Waluigi, and Rosalina's attention. It was Peach. She was waving Rosalina over. Rosalina smiled towards the princess, before giving her a slow, single nod. Rosalina turned her smile back towards Waluigi before speaking again.
"I'm going to join the others for lunch. I would really like it if you would join us." Her soft smile remained on her face as she spoke. Waluigi remained silent, so she decided to continue. "Hope I see you there." After that she flashed the man another warm smile, before turning and walking away.
Waluigi watched as the star princess headed towards the castle. Sure he was still upset that he didn't receive an invitation to Super Smash Bros: Ultimate. But now he was more confused as to why someone like Rosalina cared enough about him to try and... comfort... him. But even so... after that interesting conversation, he couldn't help but realize maybe he could go for some lunch.
And it wasn't because of Rosalina... the villainy in him knew that much.
As Waluigi headed towards the castle, he thought. He knew he was going to be sour about this for awhile. But even so, he did manage to tell himself something that he was sure.
"Waluigi didn't make it. Too bad. I get you next time, cheaters."