The Celebration and the "After Party"

People shouted and confetti rained from the sky as the Mario Brothers and Princess Peach made their way down the cobbled streets of Toad Town in a luxurious parade float in honor of their safe return from the Darklands. It would be the last time the Mario Brothers would ever see this happen as they have finally accomplished a feat that had only been dreamt about for the past two decades ever since the Koopa King's initial uprising. Now that Bowser was out of the picture, an era of peace and tranquility was in store for the Mushroom Kingdom. Looking around the busy crowds, Mario and Luigi could make out some familiar faces, including Yoshi and a few of his friends from Dinosaur Land, rulers from other kingdoms that were allies of the Mushroom Kingdom, Toad, Toadsworth, and even a few Koopas that had already left Bowser and his evil ways before his downfall. There was even a moment when Mario and Luigi caught sight of their cousins Wario and Waluigi amongst the cheering audience, though they still wore their typical look of disgust towards the brothers. Still, the atmosphere in the city was alive with festivity, more so than it ever had in all the Christmas celebrations that took place in the last few years or even the celebrations that took place at the turn of the millennium. It was the happiest day the Mushroom World had ever seen.

Yet, despite the booming happiness, there was mental distress taking place in the minds of Mario, Luigi, and Peach, even though their facial expressions said otherwise. It was especially hard on Peach, since she got herself into a horrible dilemma. She still could not get over the fact that Mario asked her to marry him and that she lied about Luigi to him to cover his confession about his true feelings for her just before it happened. She felt very horrible, and now that Mario's marriage proposal had been postponed, she felt even worse. For the past year or so, Peach had the feeling Mario would pop the question at any time. But now that Luigi revealed his true feelings for her, it left her confused and in a state of intense guilt and sorrow. She knew Mario had deep feelings for her, since he was the first one to come out about his feelings. But now that she knew about Luigi's love for her, there was no way she could make both of them happy without starting any conflicts between the two brothers. Peach wanted Mario to understand her situation, but there was no way she could do that unless she told him the truth about Luigi. But if he knew about it, it would potentially ruin her relationship with the red-clad plumber. At the same time, Peach felt sorry for Luigi and wanted to make him feel happy, but was ashamed of the new feelings she might start to feel towards him. As much as she tried to rid herself of these thoughts, Peach found it difficult to overcome. Both Mario and Luigi were very handsome in her eyes and they both loved her, but Peach could not go with one of them without disappointing the other. At the same time, she did not want to find herself in the middle of a love triangle. This fear was the very reason she did not answer Mario's marriage proposal.

It was this indecisiveness that was now taking a toll on Mario. He had been waiting for the perfect moment to ask the princess to marry him, and he figured that the death of the evil Bowser would be the perfect time to ask. But now that Mario was suddenly put on hold, his hopes of starting a new life with the princess had been dashed. He almost wanted to break down and cry. It was just the other night he and Peach were making love to each other and saying flattering remarks to each other. Surely, there was no way that their relationship would falter after that. But he still did not understand why it had to happen the way it did. Did I ask at the wrong time? Was it too sudden for her? Was something holding her back? Does even want to get married? What did I do wrong? Mario thought back to their arrival on the boat and remembered how Peach acted after she went into the cabin to talk to Luigi. A flood of questions started pouring into his mind. As the float continued taking them though the confetti-covered street, Mario looked over to his brother and started becoming suspicious. Something did not add up.

Luigi, on the other hand, was obviously still upset over the fact that Mario initially stole Peach from him and took almost all of the credit for their adventures. But now he was upset for making Peach upset after he confessed his love for her. How would he ever make up for getting it off his chest? Would Peach ever look at him the same way again? But more importantly, what would his brother think of him if he found out about what he said to Peach? These and many other questions flooded Luigi's mind with fear and anxiety on top of the already powerful feelings of anger and depression he was experiencing. It was a miracle that he was not having a mental breakdown. The thought of his brother's hotheadedness made Luigi shiver as he contemplated the probability that he dug his own grave. He looked over at Peach and saw that she was too busy with the crowd. But when he saw his brother, Luigi saw that his eyes were transfixed on him. It was apparent that Mario suspected him of something, and he was not happy about it either. Luigi gulped.

The festivities continued into the evening in the large outdoor courtyard at Peach's castle. While the princess was busying herself with the rest of the guests by the outdoor fireplace, Mario and Luigi were busy doing their own thing though they stayed as far away from each other as possible. There were plenty of drinks, music, dancing, games, as well as a carousel for people to ride on. Mario was sitting near one of the large kegs of strong, locally brewed beer that had been set up. He was already on his third helping of the alcoholic beverage, though he did not feel the slightest bit buzzed. As much as he wanted to be with the girl of his dreams, Mario did not get up to find her out of fear that she may get upset. He was too busy contemplating what had happened on the boat that morning between Peach and Luigi and was also still trying to decipher the unusual reaction to his marriage proposal. But no matter how hard he tried, he just could not figure it out. Things had been going downhill for him ever since it happened. Mario forgot why he even suspected Luigi of anything and wished that they were both having a good time as brothers. But he knew that would not happen anytime soon, since Luigi was still angry at him for some unknown reason.

"Hey, Mario! Why aren't you having fun with the rest of us?" someone asked from behind him. Mario turned around and saw Toad. "Not too tired are you?"

"No." Mario replied, his voice quivering from the effects of the alcohol. "Just thinking right now… Something happened today."

"What happened?" Toad asked, not knowing what to expect.

"I proposed to Peach."

Toad's face dropped at the news and a huge grin appeared on his face.

"Oh my, gosh! This is exciting news! I must tell everyone else!"

Mario stopped him in his tracks.

"She never said yes or no."

"Oh…" Toad said, his facial expression more serious. "Why?"

"I don't know… It was when we were on the boat just as we were pulling towards the castle when I popped the question. I figured that right after Bowser's demise would be the perfect time to ask her, because I thought I knew for a fact that she would say yes. At first, she looked as though she was going to cry, but then she actually did cry. They weren't tears of joy either… They almost sounded regretful… After that, she just walked away like she was upset."

"That can't be good." Toad said. "But why would Peach, of all people, regret being in a relationship with you? You were the one that saved her from Bowser numerous times, after all. In fact, Peach was just outside not too long ago talking to some people about you and your brother and the great things you two have done to protect the kingdom. You guys have done this kingdom a huge deed for keeping her safe. Now that Bowser is gone for good, the Mushroom Kingdom has many peaceful years ahead of it, all thanks to you and Luigi. Where is your brother anyway?"

"I'm not sure." Mario said as his eyes started to get watery.

"Are you okay, Mario?"

"The truth is…" he said as the alcohol got the best of him. "Luigi deserves a lot more credit than he received in all of our adventures. If it weren't for him, I probably would've died in the hands of Bowser years ago…"

"What are you talking about?" Toad asked.

Mario paused, then resumed after wiping a tear.

"I can tell you this… He was the one that killed Bowser. I had nothing to do with that."

"Luigi killed Bowser?" Toad asked. "So Peach's rumors are true then! I can't believe he did not get that much attention today! Why didn't you or Luigi say anything about that?"

"He's been mad at me all day." Mario said, his tone now more serious than before. "I first noticed it before I proposed to Peach on the boat and I still have yet to figure it out… What could I have possibly done to make him so angry, Toad?"

"I don't know, Mario." Toad said. "If I knew I'd tell you. Have you at least tried putting yourself in his shoes to figure out the problem?"

"I can't do that, Toad. Even though my brother is one of the closest people I know, he's still very hard to figure out sometimes. This would be one of those times."

"Well, if you ask me, based on what you've told me already, I think he may be mad at you because he thinks you're going to take almost all of the credit from him and give it to yourself. I've been watching you and your brother after each adventure and it seems as though Luigi is on a downward spiral. He's been on the downside very hard recently and it was right before the most recent of your adventures that his behavior really started to take a turn for the worse. I would say reverse the damage, but there's really nothing you can do about it. Your name is in the books and Luigi is hardly even mentioned..."

Mario could only stand in silence. The regret he felt was so overpowering that it almost felt like he was walking in quicksand. Somehow, in the middle of all this internal turmoil, Mario remembered the suspicions he had about Luigi earlier and his sadness melted away. Did Luigi say something to Peach to make her feel bad? It was only before she went to go talk to Luigi that Peach was acting perfectly fine around him. Did the princess lie about what Luigi said to her? He could not believe he could suspect her of such a thing, but it somehow seemed like the most probably explanation. There was only one way to know for sure.

"I think I know why Luigi is mad at me." Mario said. "Where was the last place you saw Peach?"

"Last time I saw her she was over by the outdoor fireplace talking to other important people." Toad replied. "Why?"

"Because I have a hunch that she knows something about Luigi that I don't."

Luigi was overlooking the expansive front garden of Peach's castle from a high balcony and staring out into the sea as a relaxing breeze blew from the north. The sky displayed vibrant shades of orange and red along the western horizon where the sun had already dipped below the watery horizon. Besides the growing darkness, it was evident that night was starting to creep in over the lovely landscape. There were a few pink clouds hanging high in the sky and Luigi caught a glimpse of a brilliant point in the western sky. It was not twinkling like a star, so he immediately knew it was a planet. Venus probably.

There was still a lot of noise coming from the party below, but Luigi wanted to get away from it all. He knew Mario would get most of the attention anyway, so there really was no incentive for him to be there. He was still deeply troubled by Peach's reaction to his confession and how it ultimately set off a chain reaction and interfered with Mario's effort to take her hand in marriage. Even though the Mushroom Kingdom was predicted to have a bright future, things would never be the same between him and his Mario ever again. There would be no more adventures now that Bowser was gone, and he knew that he and his brother would inevitably go their separate ways. How Luigi wished he could have ended up with Peach instead… He almost wished he did not kill Bowser because of it. Either way, Luigi knew it would not end well for him. He would go down in history as a forgotten protector for the Mushroom Kingdom and Mario would forever be the greatest hero the world has ever seen. Never before in his life had Luigi felt more lonely and insignificant.

I'm just a shadow following in my brother's footsteps. Luigi thought. I'm just Mario's lame sidekick. No one cares about me enough to remember my name! I wish just one person could understand my situation!

Luigi looked up at the sky. Is there anyone out there who knows how I feel?!

There was nothing else he could do. Luigi buried his head in his arms and started to sob silently. There was no point in letting others hear his misery.

"Luigi! There you are! Everyone's looking for you!" said a tom-boyish voice.

He turned around and was surprised to see a woman standing in the stone doorway. Luigi had seen her earlier in the crowd, but not by herself. Almost instantly, he forgot about Peach and was entranced by the woman's beauty, whose figure was comparable to that of a Greek goddess. Her eyes sparkled like two lovely aquamarines and her skin was a light golden tan. She had shoulder-length auburn hair and she was wearing a fancy golden-yellow dress that was similar in style to Peach's pink dress, though instead of a large blue jewel in front, she had a large green jewel that had lacing around it in the shape of flower petals. The woman also had similar looking earrings. When she saw the tears rolling down Luigi's face, she was quick to respond.

"Are you alright?" she asked, wiping the tears from his face with a handkerchief. "What seems to be wrong, Luigi?"

"It's a long story." Luigi replied, still trying to get over the fact that he was touched by this woman, whoever she may be. "You wouldn't understand."

"It's about Mario isn't it?" she asked.

Luigi was stupefied. It's as if his plea for comfort had been answered by a supernatural entity.

"H…How did you know?" he asked.

"Peach told me everything." she said. "She said that you were upset over the fact that Mario has been stealing much of the credit for each of your adventures. She also told me that you also had feelings for her, and that you are unable to express them because she's currently in a relationship with Mario...Trust me, I know what's going on. I've seen it happen for a long time."

"You have?" Luigi asked. "Who are you?"

"Good question." the woman replied. "I'm Peach's cousin, Daisy. I am the princess of the neighboring kingdom of Sarasaland. I must say that it is a real pleasure to meet you Luigi."

Another princess? Luigi thought as he shook Daisy's hand. Wow. Why didn't I know about this before? At least I know that Peach isn't mad at me…

"There's another thing I forgot to mention." Daisy said. "Peach told me to tell you not to worry about her. She said she forgives you for fessing up about your feelings and that it was the right thing to do."

That's strange. Luigi thought. I thought she would still be mad at me.

"Come on, Luigi." Daisy said. "Let's go back down and join the others."

She held her hand up to Luigi's and he grabbed onto hers. So delicate were Daisy's hands that Luigi almost forgot that he was upset at Mario. Still, his troubling thoughts were deeply engrained in his mind as they both made their way to the grand staircase leading to the front garden.

Hey guys! I apologize for the long wait. Having no Internet really sucks...

Anyway, this was the second chapter of The Two Sides of Luigi. I hope you guys enjoyed it. There's not much that I can really say about it, other than the fact I introduced a few more characters into the plot, particularly Daisy. She will most certainly have an important role in the story later on.

Anyway, I will see you in the next update ;) The next chapter is when things will start to get really interesting.

saturn95