Alone.

It was the first time since...

Luigi sighed and pulled his scarf tighter. The icy wind bit into his bones regardless. It tried to blow him back, make him lose the progress he was making on the muddy path.

The last of the golden leaves tumbled past his feet, and came to rest in tangled piles.

It seemed that everything was dead below. As dead and whitewashed as a Dry Bones.

His gaze flicked up to the trees. They shook their gray fists at the stormy sky. Leaves tumbled from their branches. Crows flapped and squawked in discomfort, always looking for a better perch.

Beyond the crows loomed a more ominous sight: snow clouds. The wind whipped them into a froth, a thick blue wall of harsh weather.

Snow? On December 1st? Mamma Mia, it was as if the Earth itself couldn't contain its excitement for Christmas!

Luigi's foot snagged on a rock. He roughly fell to his hands and knees.

He was trying to get away from the festivities, but he couldn't even get away from his own clumsiness.

He sighed and pulled himself to his feet. The chill wrapped around him, trying to drag him down again.

Maybe he should just go back…

No. He'd wanted peace. It was only December 1st, and already the holiday was being shoved down his throat, like those nasty fruitcakes that Yoshi liked to make. Festive? How about nightmarish?

Luigi shook his head. He shouldn't call it nightmarish. The Mansion had been truly nightmarish.

He grimaced. No, no. He tried to shake the thought away. He had come out here to get away from such thoughts, not to stumble upon them again!

He continued down the faded path. The ground was covered in a thin confetti of rotting leaves. The trees above looked like they were out of a storybook, the one about the knights that Mario used to read to him as a ragazzino. As he walked, the willows almost magically began to fade into an oak grove.

Luigi stopped. No, no… he would not think about Boo magic…

The Mansion flickered into his vision, seated on the path.

Dark green. A row of windows brightly lit, like eyes. Its entrance the dark jaws of a demon...

Stop it, idiota! There is no mansion!

The Mansion instantly blinked out of existence, but the oaks did not. They taunted him. Threatened to trigger the memory again.

Luigi eyed a crow that was seated on a branch just above his head. Its surveyed him back, its beady black eye a pool of mystery.

Crack! Luigi jumped as an oak branch tumbled to the ground behind him. It scattered leaves when it smacked the ground. It had lost the bitter fight to the cold.

The crow squawked and whirled away.

His heart thudded in his ears. You torture yourself. Leave, please!

But he didn't leave. He stood rooted to the spot, thoughts in motion. He couldn't go back. He wasn't ready…

He wasn't ready for Christmas. He was still dwelling on that terrible Halloween night.

Visions of ghosts, bats, and spiders began to spill into his conscious. He stumbled towards one of the oak trees. Touched it. Tried to bring himself back to reality. The hard, grooved bark between his fingers helped to pull him back out of the memories.

King Boo had thought that Mansion was merely a horror game.

Luigi closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the tree. That fang-filled sneer consumed his mind.

What kind of sick game would capture and torture his brother like that? What kind of sick game would allow King Boo's only punishment to be a life inside a painting?

Luigi had slammed his fists into the tree trunk, then pulled them away and sat down at the base of the tree. He watched the foreboding sky with teary eyes, then moved his gaze down to his knuckles. They were raw and red, with small amounts of tree bark ground into them. He'd have to wear his gloves to hide it from Mario and everyone in town.

Christmas was beginning. The season of festivity and love, and he couldn't enjoy it. He hated...

He hated King Boo.

"Oh, you do?" A hollow voice echoed through the air.

Luigi instantly sprang to his feet as his heart thudded in his chest. "W-w-who's there?"

"I said- you've decided to hate me?" A weak, flickering version of King Boo materialized, like a projection. The only crown he wore was that of his smile, which was sadistic and terrifying.

Luigi's knees buckled. He fell to the hard ground, shoots of pain traveling all the way up his spine. King Boo's ghastly laugh rang in his ears.

He was shaking. He tried to pull himself back up, but he couldn't. Even the rotting leaves between his knees seemed to quiver at the presence of King Boo. "What d-do you want?"

"I think the better question is- what do you want?"

Luigi dared look back up at the god of terror. The ghost flickered.

A hallucination.

Only a stupido allucinazione! He banged his fist on the ground. Agh, Luigi, sei sciocco! What a dummy you are!

Luigi pushed himself to his feet and glared at the vision. It was here to serve his purposes then? He puffed out his chest. "I do. I hate you."

King Boo merely smiled.

Luigi's gut began to churn. Wasn't the vision supposed to disappear after his confession? "I hate you with all of my heart and always will!"

A little chuckle came from King Boo's throat. He made no move to vanish, in fact, just the opposite. He solidified a little.

Frightened, Luigi turned away and quickly began to stumble over the slippery leaves, back to Toad Town. Maybe the vision would not disappear unless he walked away. He was at peace now.

Right?

The voice echoed behind him, a little stronger. "I am not so easily dismissed, Green One! I'll follow you!"

The monstrous chill bit into Luigi's legs as he broke into a run. King Boo was a product of his mind, he'd will it away! Go away, allucinazione. Go away and leave me alone.

Though he couldn't see it, Luigi still didn't look back. He slowed down among the willow trees. Above, the snow clouds had claimed their spot above Toad Town, and would let loose at any moment. Mario would reprimand him for being out in such dangerous weather, then would immediately shove some hot tea into Luigi's hands and force him to warm up. Things would be all right.

His breath clouded the air as he saw the first twinkle of Toad Town's bright houses through the trees in the distance.

"Looks lovely this time of year." King Boo's voice came directly from the left. Luigi jumped and stumbled backwards.

"I thought you were gone!"

The ghost shrugged. "Apparently not."

Luigi's stomach clenched. He was going to throw up, he just knew it! "B-But how will I live with you…?" His voice trailed off even as he asked the question. He looked back at the twinkling lights.

Why couldn't he live with King Boo? He was living with this weather, Toads screeching Christmas carols, and Yoshi's fruitcakes!

He glanced back at King Boo, who was staring at him with a fanged grin. He could figure this out. He could live with this monster until he found a way to get rid of him.

After all, it was only a hallucination. A vision.

"Ha, live with me?" said King Boo, "I'd like to see you try!"

"I will."

Lugi was strong. If he could conquer the real King Boo, then he could conquer this product of his own mind!

Jaw clenched, he wrapped his scarf a little tighter and began to tramp towards Toad Town.

He could do this. One day at a time.

A/N: Hello, lovely people! This is hopefully the only author's note.

First, special thanks to ViolaHarmony for giving way a lot of encouragement to me while I was drafting this story!

Secondly, this story has a total of four chapters and is already complete. I do not post stories that are not 100% done, yay! So, check back every Friday night for the next chapters!

Thirdly, (hopefully) all reviews will be responded to with PMs.

And lastly, I own all of the Nintendo characters. All of them. (Ha, no.)

Enjoy!

-Mariogeek