* * * * CHAPTER 2 * * * *

'Woah...' For a long moment, all Luigi could do was stand in the doorway and gape, unable to believe what he was seeing.

The peace and quiet of Toad Town had vanished like an extinguished candle flame, to be replaced by the kind of frenzied chaos only panicking citizens could make. Everywhere he looked, people were running around screaming. Near the star-patterned gates leading to Peach's Castle, he glimpsed elderly Toadsworth moving as swiftly as he could through the crowds, trying to regain control.

'Woah,' he repeated. He might have never moved, except he was distracted by a certain Toad girl following him out of the café. He tore his eyes away from the commotion and glanced at her face instead. Her black eyes were wide with shock and she looked almost ready to bolt but, to his relief, she stood her ground.

'Woah,' she mimicked in a tone of awe. Then: 'What d'you think happened here, Luigi?! Everyone's in a total panic!'

He shook his head, almost speechless. 'I don't know...'

Suddenly, a familiar small shape emerged from the crowd, looking tired and harried. 'Master Luigi! And dear Toadette!' he panted in a faintly accented voice. 'What in the blazes is going on?'

Luigi pulled off his cap to scratch his head nervously. 'I was actually going to ask you the same question,' he muttered, but Toadsworth, busy shooing aside a pair of curious young children, didn't seem to hear. When he turned back to face them, he appeared even more vexed than before.

'I fear something had worried the citizens tremendously,' he said. 'I will speak with these people and attempt to get some answers from them. In the meantime, Master Luigi, I suggest you fetch your brother in case something truly awful has happened.'

'Mario's not here!' he protested. 'He went out this morning to save Peach, remember?'

'And he hasn't returned yet?!' Toadsworth was wringing his hands anxiously over the head of his cane. 'Oh dear, oh dear, what are we going to do... I suppose we'll simply have to wait until Master Mario returns...'

Luigi tried to bite back the little flare of irritation that erupted when the old man spoke about his brother. Why couldn't they just ask him for help? He'd gladly protect this town if the need arose, and he wasn't weak or stupid... But of course, whenever danger appeared the entire kingdom turned to Mario for aid. Mario, and not him.

Toadsworth was still rambling, unaware that Luigi had tuned him out.

Just then, Toadette tugged on the plumber's sleeve to catch his attention. When he bent closer to her, she hissed, 'I think I know what this is all about. I heard someone talking. Over here!' She suddenly started dragging him forwards, showing surprising physical strength despite being half his height.

'Where are we – oh!'

They were outside Merlon the fortuneteller's house, a very odd building with a spinning roof and strange music creeping from somewhere inside. The Toads seemed to give the place a wide berth as they ran by. Near the entrance, the fortuneteller himself was glancing around as though searching for someone in the crowds, looking a little anxious. His expression immediately brightened when he saw Toadette pulling Luigi over to his house.

'Ah, Luigi! You came at a perfect time!' He ushered them closer, but didn't invite them inside. 'A most peculiar vision came to me just moments before this commotion broke out... I believe I know the cause of it.'

'...So what is it?' Toadette prompted impatiently when he didn't continue.

Merlon only spared her a brief glance before returning his attention to Luigi. 'It concerns your brother,' he said. 'As you know, Mario travelled to Bowser's dark lands to find the princess... but something, something has happened to him. The vision did not tell me exactly what, but I am sure of this: both the princess and her rescuer are now in grave danger.'

Luigi felt the blood drain from his face. Mario? In danger? That was almost unheard of... Beyond his control, the memory from earlier came floating back to him, the memory of the one time his brother had been injured while protecting Peach. He recalled the long days he'd spent alone in the Toad hospital waiting for Mario to awaken, and the fear he'd felt. Now it all seemed to be happening again.

Merlon was watching him keenly, perhaps waiting for him to faint from shock, but after a minute he cleared his throat and continued. 'Mario now needs saving himself, and there is nobody here who can do it. Except, possibly... you.'

Luigi began to wonder if he was actually dreaming; everything around him had developed a feeling of unreality. 'Y-you want me... to rescue Peach and Mario?!'

In some distant part of his mind he felt bizarrely satisfied. It was nice to finally be needed, he thought. Then he snapped his attention back to Merlon as the old fortuneteller spoke, his tone solemn and deadly serious.

'I cannot tell whether you'll succeed,' he said, 'but it must be done. We all need Mario. And this... this is your chance to prove to the whole kingdom that you can be a great hero too. Will you attempt it?' His eyes were knifelike, glowing brightly from underneath his shadow-filled hood.

Luigi stared at Merlon for a long moment, then glanced down at Toadette, who was standing silently beside him with a determined expression, waiting for him to respond. He looked at the crowds being restrained by Toadsworth, panicking because they had lost their most beloved hero. He wondered if he had the ability to do this, and whether he'd come out alive if he did. Then he decided it didn't matter anyway. Mario was his brother, whom he cared about, and this was the only chance he'd ever have to show everyone that he wasn't useless.

He nodded grimly. 'I'll do my best,' he said, and saw an approving gleam come into Merlon's eyes.

'You've chosen well,' said the fortuneteller gravely, extending a hand to pat Luigi on the shoulder. 'I wish you good luck. Oh, and one more thing!'

Luigi, who had been just starting to turn away, glanced back impatiently.

'I advise you to bring a companion along,' Merlon told him. 'It is not safe to enter danger alone.'

'But Mario often goes alone...' the plumber protested. Was this Merlon's way of saying he was too weak to fend for himself? But the look in the fortuneteller's gaze only showed concern.

'Your brother...' There was an lengthy pause. 'Is not the brightest,' he finished carefully. 'He does not always judge danger as well as he should. If you truly wish to succeed, you will be cautious and bring a partner to aid you.'

Luigi found himself turning towards Toadette for some reason. She probably wouldn't be much help to him in Bowser's castle; she wasn't a fighter at all. But something about her determined expression gave him pause for thought.

'Toadette,' he asked tentatively, 'will you...'

'Of course!' she interrupted, eyes blazing. 'I'll do whatever I can to help! I wanna see Mario and the princess saved as much as you do, so let's hurry and get going.' Hands on hips, she strode in the direction of the town gates, obviously expecting him to follow.

Meanwhile, in Bowser's Castle...

'P-Princess!'

Mario gasped out the word as a raging fireball dashed past them, nearly flattening them against the wall. They were inside a massive, high-ceilinged room adorned with stone carvings of the egotistical Koopa King himself. At one end was a steaming lava pit, and at the other end was Bowser standing right in the doorway. They had no escape route; they were blocked off and even Mario couldn't see a way to get out of this mess.

'Princess!' he cried again. 'I'll distract him. You hurry and get –'

'No!' she shouted back, her voice shrill with fear but equally determined. 'I'm not leaving you to face him alone this time, Mario!' She was pressed up against the stone wall beside him and refusing to move.

Then Bowser let out a gruff chuckle and stepped forwards a couple of paces, fire blistering on the ground at his feet. He was huge, bigger than they'd ever seen him, looming high over Mario and Peach's heads. His orange eyes were scorching with hatred and, they noticed, a slight joy and finally having his arch-rival (and the princess) at his mercy. But mostly hatred.

'Mario!' he boomed. 'My great plan has succeeded! You are helpless before me and this time, you can do nothing to save yourself and Peach!' He glared at them and raised a clawed fist as if intending to swipe them out of existence.

Then the sound of a broomstick racing through the air caught their attention, and they all simultaneously looked at the doorway, Bowser growling with annoyance at being interrupted in his perfect moment.

'What is it, Kamek?!' he bellowed furiously. 'Can't you see I'm busy destroying Mario here?'

The small magikoopa flinched and darted backwards a little, but didn't leave the room entirely.

'M-my Lord,' he reported, only stammering slightly. 'I have news! One of your troops let slip that you'd defeated Mario, a-and now the whole of Toad Town knows... they're in an uproar!'

Bowser snarled. 'So what! Are you gonna tell me every time one of them blows their nose?! I don't care what Toad Town is up to!' He turned away and raised his fist towards Mario, but was once again stopped by Kamek's voice.

'My Lord, it's worse than that! I flew out myself just a minute ago and overheard the fortuneteller guy talking to Luigi. Apparently, Luigi is coming here to try and rescue his brother and Peach... n-not that he'll succeed, of course!' the magikoopa hastened to add, spotting the murderous gleam in Bowser's eyes. But then it abruptly changed into amusement.

'HA! Luigi, coming here? HIM?! Oh, this is gonna be awesome! Kamek, assign someone to watch the door here while I go and wait for our new guest.' Bowser grinned cruelly. 'I want to see how long he lasts against the tricks and traps of my castle!' Still roaring with laughter, he stomped out of the room with Kamek following at a distance. The door slammed shut and they heard armoured boots, indicating that some soldiers were taking up guard duty just outside. Then there was no sound but the bubbling of the lava pit.

Now left alone, Mario and Peach gazed at each other in a mixture of shock, admiration, and horror.

'Luigi,' the red-capped plumber muttered to himself, looking stricken.

The princess took his hand in her own and said, 'He'll be destroyed in this castle! Even you barely managed to get through it, Mario!'

'I know.' His voice was low and grim.

'What are we going to do?'

He turned and stared fixedly at the door, as though half-expecting his brother to come bursting inside at any moment. 'There's nothing we can do, Peach...' he replied hopelessly.