Lonelywerewolf: Here is chapter two...didnt think i would be putting it up, today...took me like half an hour to get logged in to the website...anyway, hope you read and review...I won't probably post in a while, at least until i finish a story i have put on hold.

R&R or criticize, whichever comes first.

Mario and any related characters dont belong to me.

EDIT(5/24/09) Fixed some errors, added some things.

"They say that blood is thicker than water. Maybe that's why we battle our own with more energy and gusto than we would ever expend on strangers."

-David Assael, Northern Exposure, Family Feud, 1993.

Chapter 2: A Dream, A Scream, and a thief

"NO!!!" Luigi let out a scream, quickly sitting up in the bed. Breathing hard, he scanned his surroundings with red eyes; a bed, a closet, a window, a wooden door, a green cap. His room, his house, his world. Luigi gasped a bit, letting the air that had so freely left his lungs come back in again, allowing him to take slow and steady breaths.

"LUIGI!?" The bedroom's door was thrown open. Mario stood on the doorway, his serious eyes hiding worry. Luigi almost fell from bed, but held onto the covers, having been spooked by his older brother's sudden entrance.

"Mario?" the younger man looked back at his brother, confusion written on his features.

"What happened? I heard you screaming just now!" Mario quickly left his post on the doorway and went over to his brother, who still sat on his bed, getting a closer look upon his face. "Are you alright? You look pale…something happened?" Luigi was about to tell him about his nightmare, before he clammed up, unsure of how Mario would react. The last thing he wanted to do was go to the psychologist, telling him things that he felt uncomfortable about.

"I-I'm fine…" he told his older brother, but, even Luigi could tell that Mario wasn't buying his words, as his expression didn't change, in fact, he moved closer to his younger brother, scanning his red eyes, and watching his shaking movements.

"Fine? Luigi, you were screaming your heart out...I wouldn't be the least surprised if the neighbors heard you, too!" Luigi turned his head away, blushing. That dream had seemed so real...but, it was just that, a dream.

"It was only a dream," he told his brother, turning back to face him.

"A….dream?" Mario asked worriedly. Mario recalled that for the last two weeks Luigi was the first one up, of course, this didn't appear all that strange, but when Mario had woken up at six o'clock in the morning in the weekends, he always saw his younger brother up and running, already making breakfast and stuff. He had shrug it off as normal behavior and left it at that, but when he noticed that Luigi was at times sleeping at the job, Mario knew that his younger brother was missing sleep. And now that he saw him like this, he knew why his brother was missing sleep and that's what worried him even more.

"Yeah, I'll be fine…"

"B-" Mario suddenly stopped himself, looking back at his brother's eyes. Luigi's eyes wordlessly begged him not to continue, knowing that it was useless to talk about something that would just upset the green plumber. The oldest of the Mario Brothers finally understood that just pushing the subject would make his much more intelligent younger brother shrug this off like any other sleep problem that would present itself at any given moment of their lives. "Okay, then…good night, bro...." Mario nodded back at his brother, turning to leave. He stopped near the doorway, and whispered back, "Don't hesitate to call if you need anything...you know I'll back you up."

"Thanks, Mario..." Luigi whispered back, and watched his brother leave.

As soon as the door closed behind Mario, Luigi pulled away the covers, got up from bed. He tiptoed towards the door, leaning an ear against it. The green plumber could hear his brother's footsteps, sounding farther and farther away. When the steps finally died, Luigi sighed, knowing that another sleepless night will be greeting him.

Mario walked slowly towards the huge brick castle that lay before him, ignoring the small park that decorated most of this castle's surroundings, not counting the small lake that surrounded it. He walked across the bridge, nodding at some Toads that walked by, most which he recognized as the many servants that served the Princess of Mushroom Kingdom, Peach. The hero finally managed to reach the front door, which was opened by the guards, who saluted at him, as he stepped inside the castle.

"Mario!!" He had only taken one step inside the grand castle, when a voice made the hero turn around and stop walking. Princess Peach, wearing that pink gown, and that yellow crown that was decorated by a mere three jewels, accompanied by her round blue earrings, waved her gloved hand towards him. He noticed a second gloved hand waving back at him, this one belonging to a young lady in a yellow gown, mirroring Peach's but with less 'details' as Mario liked call it, she also wore a crown, with a pair of flower themed earrings. Her long brown hair, unlike Peach's own which was tied in a ponytail, was loose with her bangs covering most of her forehead.

Daisy was a recurring visitor to the Mushroom Castle, and right now, Mario guessed that it was one of those visits with tea and cookies, and talk; talk that mostly bored the flower princess, but not like she was going to say no to her best friend, even if some of the topics that they talked about bored her to death.

Mario waved his hand towards the duo of princesses, and walked over towards them, grinning. "Good day, princesses," he addressed them, bowing a bit. Peach and Daisy returned the greeting, although Peach was the most courteous of the two, like always.

"How do you do, Mario?" Peach asked him, Mario shrugged.

"Alright, in a way, except that me and Luigi are out of the job, having no equipment to work and all." Peach frowned, a little.

"Unless that thief is caught, you guys will be without a job for quite some time..." Daisy raised an eyebrow, and looked from one friend to the other.

"A thief?" Both the plumber and princess turned to face her, but then realized that Daisy had last visited the castle a month ago, long before the thieveries started.

"Yes," Peach told her. "someone has been stealing some pipes, wires, and some logs…it has been a real problem, and well, no one can seem to catch him." Daisy crossed both arms across her chest, and looked back at Mario.

"So, from what I have heard, I'm assuming you haven't caught him, eh?" Mario sighed, admitting defeat. "That's a first," Daisy joshed. Mario gave the Sarasaland princess a mocking glare.

"Funny," he told her. Peach covered her mouth with a delicate hand, giggling softly.

"But, anyway," the toadstool princess said, her fit of giggles over. "I do wonder why anyone would want those many pipes…" Mario and Daisy shrugged in unison.

"It really depends, princess," Mario told her after a while of thinking about it. "Maybe some sort of machine or a sewer system, in my plumber's opinion." Peach gave a shrug of her own.

"Hopefully is not something bad," The red clad plumber gave her a smile, a strange smile. Peach suddenly looked up, looking straight at the plumber, worry covering her face.

"Mario, is something wrong?" she asked him. Daisy looked at the plumber, suddenly confused by the other princess's question.

"Hmm?"

"Mario, you can't hide things from me, you know." Peach whispered to him, fixing a sympathetic gaze on him. The other princess now noticed the rather strange expression that Mario had on his face, and quickly took part in the conversation.

"Come on, hero boy, spill the beans!" She told the plumber, her eyes sparkling with curious interest.

"Well…its Luigi," Daisy blinked.

"Luigi? Is he okay?" she asked him, almost screaming, her worry evident. Peach, too, was worried, but didn't say anything, as she waited for the short man's answer.

"No, he's fine." Daisy sighed in relief, although she shot another look of worry. "Its just…well, he's been acting strange lately,"

"Strange?" the two princesses asked.

"Yeah…he seems to have bad dreams, nightmares most likely, and always looks a bit sleepy and doesn't eat much…"

"He isn't sick, is he?" Daisy asked him. Mario shrugged.

"He didn't look sick to me, just a bit concerned, as if worried about something, or someone."

"Have you been talking to him?" Peach suddenly asked him.

"Yeah, but he doesn't want to talk about it. I tried yesterday, and last night, too, but he still said that he was fine. Although, knowing Luigi, he most likely would tell me about his problem when he feels most comfortable about it…if he ever feels comfortable."

"You should talk to him anyways," Daisy told him. Although one part of her was worried about the green plumber, as she wondered how that shy man was doing, and hoped that he was alright.

The dark room could stretch for miles and miles, and Luigi didn't know if he was leaving it or just entering. Light would sometimes blind his vision, but still, he kept on walking, trying to find the exit and go back home. "Hohohoho!!" Luigi froze. Someone was here, and whoever it was, was very close. "Hohohoho, how you do?" The green clad plumber, blinked and then gasped.

Standing in front of him was himself or rather, someone that looked just like him. Luigi was staring at Luigi. This other Luigi dressed the same, albeit in more lighter colors, that same face, with a cheerful smile and closed eyes. "Hohohoho!" That other Luigi called, waving a hand in front of Luigi's face.

"Wh-who are you?" Luigi asked this other in a shaking voice. The other Luigi opened his eyes, and laughed.

"Why? I'm you! That other self, the one that hides in this darkness!" The other Luigi replied, merrily.

"Hiding in the darkness?"

"Yes. Here I am, your true self, hiding in the shadows of the darkness. I'm the you that doesn't cry, the you who doesn't pale at the sight of a foe, the you that doesn't stand in the sidelines, the you that is not forgotten!!"

"The me?" Luigi asked his other him, looking both scared and confused. That other Luigi laughed again, and turned his back on the scared man.

"I'm the you, who is the Green Thunder…who doesn't cry, who doesn't faint, who doesn't stand in the sidelines, and who is not forgotten." This Luigi turned to face him, his attire had changed drastically. That plumber's suit was long gone, replaced by a black jumpsuit that mimicked his old plumber's closed. He wore a green bandanna across his neck, and a small black mask covered his eyes, that seemed to glow with some golden light. His cape still stood in place, colored of a darker green than the one he had worn before. "Wake up, Luigi…let the thunder show you the way…." And with those last words, the Green Thunder disappeared.

Luigi's eyes snapped opened. Confused of what he had suddenly seen, he looked around. He was no longer in bed, rather he was close to a nearby forest, the moon acting as the sun. The green plumber then, gasped...as he stared back at the huge mountain of pipes, logs, and wires that stood before him, with him carrying a bag on his back. Realization hit him like a bullet, as he let the bag fall, some pipes and logs falling from inside it.

The Green Thunder had returned...and he was not leaving any time soon.