Chapter 3:

They Called Him Hero

Everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom attended. It wasn't mandatory or anything, but every mushroom citizen wanted to pay their respects to the hero.

The ceremony was beautiful, Mario had to admit. The music was Toadofsky's finest. Everyone was dressed in dark, gloomy colors. Each held a single red flower in honor of the hero. Mario scanned his eyes across the attendees. Peach would be giving some sort of speech, so she sat up front. Next to her was Luigi. Mario could barely see him. He was hunched over. Daisy was rubbing his back. Toad and Toadette were fidgeting beside her. Toadette couldn't seem to properly frill the black bow on her right braid. Toad was picking at a loose thread on his brown vest.

At the front, on the stage, was a shrine of sorts. On it were some odds and ends from Mario's house. An extra hat, a picture or two, a letter or journal entry or something. Mario couldn't tell from his vantage point.

Peach stepped in front of the stage and the mourners quieted down. Even Toad and Toadette looked up from their fussing. "Thank you for coming," Peach's voice was hollow. Mario had never heard her speak like that before. Whenever she would address her people, her voice was always full of hope, even in the bleakest times. Her voice had a high-pitched tone, but today it was low and solemn. "Mario—" She fought back a sob. "Mario would have appreciated seeing so many of his friends… and fans, I suppose."

Mario swallowed. "Fans"? He thought about it. Well, for those of them who didn't exactly know me… I suppose I can't fault them for that. He squeezed his eyes shut. What am I saying? I shouldn't put anyone at fault for anything! Stupid voice in my head…

"First of all, it isn't hard to state that Mario was a hero. Everyone knew that. We could always count on him to fight evil and save the princess." She smiled slightly. "He was always there when we needed him, and he was even there before we knew we needed him." She became a little more comfortable at her place on stage, but her voice threatened to tremble. "I remember, when I was just a teen, stubborn as they come. It was the first time I had ever seen Mario. He was jumping up a construction zone to save a girl from a giant ape. Everyone began to call him 'that jump man' after that, but I knew better. That was when I first recognized him as a hero."

Mario couldn't help the nagging thought that came after she said that. She was there? He had no idea she had been watching him. He thought he had just met that girl casually after saving his then-girlfriend, Pauline. But Peach had met him, seeing him as a hero. She had fallen for him, as a hero.

"I actually talked with him later that day…" Peach continued. "And that's when I learned that he was not only the kingdom's hero, but the hero of his little brother." She gestured to Luigi, and for the first time, perhaps in his life, the Mushroom Kingdom citizens looked at the younger man. His eyes did not connect with anyone, though. They remained downcast. "He was going home to help him through a fever."

Mario remembered that day clear as if it was yesterday. After saving Pauline and receiving the worst gratitude ever, he broke off with her and returned home to his sick kid brother. Unfortunately, his true enemy of his childhood days, Powser, Bowser's father, and a greater threat at that time than his son, had poisoned his brother with a poison shroom. He had almost lost Luigi that day, but he was able to save him. Yes, he was his brother's hero.

"Mario never fought for glory." Peach was saying now. "He never fought for the recognition or the fame, though it came easily to him. He fought for what was right. He fought to save a damsel in distress. He fought to protect a kingdom. He fought for the sake of home, family, and friends. We must remember him for this. He was truly a great hero, great for the reason he fought, not for his ability." She wiped a tear from her cheek. "May Mario be in the Overthere, watching us from above, smiling down on his home and family. May he be blessed forever."

The mourners murmured their agreements as Princess Peach took her seat. She nudged Luigi, who was apparently the next in line to speak. He shook his head, and Daisy said something to Peach, who nodded. She then turned to Toad and Toadette. Toad stood up and ran to the front. "That's all we have in the way of speeches," he told them. "Let us now honor our fallen hero with the flower ceremony."

Mario felt odd carrying a flower to his own shrine, but if he didn't, it would have been very suspicious. He was able to see that front row of mourners after he placed the flower on the shrine top with the hundred others. Peach was weeping silently, still wiping her eyes with her fingertips, which weren't stained with her makeup this time. Luigi was staring at the shrine, watching each flower as it was placed on the pile, wincing at each one, as if each flower that was placed further proved Mario's fate. Daisy still had her arm around him but wasn't really looking at anything, just staring into space. Toad was up by the table, making sure none of the flowers fell. Toadette was fidgeting with that bow again, as if it was the most important thing in the world.

The afternoon was bright, but Mario felt nothing but a gloomy overcast of sadness. He left the mourning site quickly and returned home. Two weeks had passed since he had begun his new life. For two weeks, he had watched his friends mourn for him, his brother muted with sadness. He hated it. I'm right. He thought. They care. Is this not proof enough?

"Not yet."

.

Mario would not normally have had the time to wander through the Mushroom Kingdom Library, but he had discovered a new hobby. Reading tales that had nothing to do with his own heroics was interesting to him. He often found himself scolding the characters through the pages, as if they could hear him. He found that the endings dragged on longer than necessary. Surely such meaningful conversation and big changes would not happen in real life.

He was actually quite interested in the history section of the library. It was on one day that he was scouring the shelves for something that interested him when he heard a familiar voice.

"It took him quite awhile to finally write that last chapter," the librarian told the familiar princess.

Daisy followed her down the aisle. "Could you expect anything else? He was mourning him."

"The memorial has been long over."

"He was his brother."

"Yes, well. We've been expecting something from him for quite some time, the way you raved on and on about his skill with the pen."

"He was waiting for a perfect ending. Too bad it was so perfect."

"The Mushroom Kingdom has truly lost a great man."

They were now right next to Mario. Daisy gave a polite smile his way and they both watched as the librarian slid a thick, leather-bound book at the edge of the history section.

"So sad to consider him 'history', no? It truly gives him the label of 'gone.'"

"Why not put it in the biography section?"

"Because he has given this kingdom so much history!"

"I suppose…"

The librarian walked away as Daisy continued to look at the new book's spine.

"A brand new book?" Mario asked.

Daisy nodded. "Yeah." She turned to look at him. "Actually written by…" She stopped herself. "Do you know Mario?"

"The hero? I believe everyone does."

"Yeah, that was a dumb question…" She pulled out the book, holding it gently as if it was made of glass. "This book was written by his brother. You may know him as a green-clad guy?"

Mario dared to let his character remember his own connection. "Ah, Luigi."

Daisy looked up at him in shock. "Yes."

"I was his doctor in the ER. How is he?"

"Oh yeah… You did look familiar. Sorry, doc. He's g—Well, he's not good, but… hopefully he gets there."

"His injury is still causing him pain? I could write up a prescription for some pain medication—"

"No, nothing like that. Physically, he's fine. A bit of a sore arm, but other than that, healthy as a horse. It's his emotional health I'm worried about. But I guess the fact that he could finish this story says he's progressing okay…"

For the first time, Mario looked at the title of the book. There, in bold-faced calligraphy were the words: The Story of Super Mario. "He wrote down his stories?" Mario asked. He knew Luigi told his stories to the mushroom kids, but he never knew he had actually written them down. And that book was a pretty decent sized volume. He could barely believe it was all about him.

Luckily, Daisy took his question as a shock that Mario's stories were captured, not that Luigi wrote down stories the stranger knew he spoke. Otherwise, he may not have been able to keep his identity. "Yes. Mario was his muse, I guess. Luigi was always so full of joy to write about his brother. It all started when Mario left him on one of his journeys. Um…" she fingered through the pages and found a middle chapter. "This is when he started writing… though it's not when the hero's story begins, according to Luigi."

Mario took the book from Daisy and saw that the chapter was about his journey that led him to meet Mallow and Geno, as well as be joined by the princess herself and even Bowser, back before he officially could be called Mario's teammate. He remembered leaving Luigi behind that day he went to save the princess. He never complained and stayed behind as he was bid for journeys after that as well.

He flipped through the book, which contained many more chapters, before and after. "May I check this out?"

"That's the librarian's job, doc," Daisy noted. "But I'll have to tell Luigi that he's got a fan already!" She winked and left Mario to continue paging through.

The first chapter told of his adventures with the Yoshis, those friendly dinosaurs that had their own island and their own story to tell. The Mario Brothers had actually returned to Yoshi Island as adults with no memory of their infancy with them, but they learned more than just memories of their past. Luigi must have gotten every detail, though, because there, in his elegant hand and prose, was their story.

And it went on to their childhood, before Mario had even become famous. There, Luigi told of the hero his brother had been to him, the responsibility he had over him. He wrote about how he raised him after their parents died so suddenly, parents that Luigi did not even remember. His words brought tears to Mario's eyes.

Then the story told of his first adventure in the Mushroom Kingdom, how he saved Princess Peach for the first time without much in the appearance of directions. And from there, all the subsequent adventures, which did not even become repetitive or dull in Luigi's hand. Still, Mario did not want to read of his exploits, so the next thing he read was the last chapter, where Luigi described the battle that had changed the Mushroom Kingdom forever:

"When the smoke cleared, only Luigi remained. The green-clad brother who could not hope to fill the shoes of the hero. But for once, the Mushroom Kingdom was not threatened, not in any danger. Mario was gone, but perhaps peace will remain."

"Their hero has done what he needed to do, would you not agree?" Hearing the question, Mario's brow furrowed.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You read it for yourself. Mario's gone, but the kingdom's at peace for once. Seems like the people of the Mushroom Kingdom think that's a fair enough trade."

Mario closed the book and slid it back on the shelf. He hadn't noticed how long he'd been standing there, reading that book.

"And in the history section… they don't care about you as a person, just as a stepping stone in history. Otherwise, you'd be with the biographies."

Mario tried not to agree, but even Daisy didn't put up much of a fight for the matter. Then again, Daisy wasn't the best go-to for friendly relationships with him. Surely, Luigi would've if he could.

He shook his head and went to leave the library. He wondered why his brother never showed him his work-in-progress book. He had obviously been working on it for quite some time. But if Mario hadn't 'died,' he may never have seen it. What had kept Luigi from sharing it?

He got to his home, which was conveniently in view of his old house. He looked out the window, wondering what Luigi was doing… what he was thinking… how he was mourning and whether he had spoken at all, especially since the memorial three days ago.