A/N: Second update in one day, so be sure to read the last chapter too if you missed it. And again, thank you for the reviews!

* * * * CHAPTER 4 * * * *

Beyond the walls of Toad Town the kingdom stretched on for miles in every direction, a sprawling expanse of countryside, forests, rivers, and the occasional mountain. Sometimes the landscape actually changed; a hill that didn't have eyes before would suddenly seem to have them, or a tree would shift along, or an entire lake would abruptly disappear. People native to the kingdom had long ago learned to ignore these oddities.

Normally the countryside was a peaceful place to walk through, but for Luigi and his three unlikely companions, it was nothing short of a nightmare. Waluigi couldn't seem to stop poking fun at his rival whenever the opportunity arose, and Wario's constant daydreaming about treasure was starting to grate on the others.

Luigi had a map of the area which he'd pulled out of somewhere, but knowing where he was supposed to go only made things worse. When the bickering between the two Evil Brothers and Toadette reached a crescendo, he halted dead in his tracks and waved the map frantically. 'Time out, guys! Look at this.'

They all shoved each other aside in an effort to get the best spot. When everyone was finally assembled around him, Luigi indicated a single point on the map with a slightly trembling finger. 'It says... the fastest way to get to Bowser's Castle is by travelling through Piranha Woods.'

Toadette covered her mouth in shock. 'We can't go there,' she said immediately. 'It's dangerous. We'd get eaten by piranha plants, and then who would help Mario and the princess?'

They all paused to consider her argument, their expressions tense and nervous.

Then Wario spoke up: 'Look, Bowser's Castle is gonna be far more dangerous than some stupid forest, isn't it?! I say we keep going.' He clenched a huge fist and scowled as though daring them to disagree.

Toadette scratched her head indecisively and Waluigi said, 'I hate to say it, but I think he's right... for once.'

Wario rounded on him, but Luigi quickly broke up the fight by getting between them and raising both shaky hands. 'L-look guys, let's just keep walking, OK? If we really want to save the others, then we have to go through Piranha Woods.'

Toadette hesitated, then nodded and said, 'You're right.' There was a general, reluctant murmur of assent from Waluigi while his brother just folded his arms and looked smug.

With that problem out of the way, the four of them continued walking, though more quietly than before.

'Look.' Luigi stopped, pointing somewhere ahead of them.

They were grouped together on a hillside (one of the individuals which didn't yet have eyes), staring at a dark clump of trees and bushes less than half a mile away. The thin, twisting trunks and snakelike vines, visible even at that distance, seemed to have unnerved the travellers into pausing.

Toadette put her hands on her hips and turned towards the Evil Brothers. 'What do you two know about piranha plants?' she demanded a little bossily. Luigi silently admired her courage in standing up against them, especially considering Wario could have punched her into next week without much effort.

In response to her question Wario grumpily muttered, 'I dunno,' but Waluigi immediately raised his head and seemed to take an interest in the conversation.

'They're not as aggressive as people think,' he said in a snide, contemptuous voice, as though mocking their lack of knowledge. 'They won't attack unless you step on them or poke them with a stick or whatever. So as long as you don't do anything too stupid, you should be fine. I know how hard that'll be for you, though...'

Ignoring his cousin's jibe at his intelligence, Luigi glanced at the forest again and said, 'So we can get through without being in any danger?'

Waluigi shrugged his thin shoulders. 'They're unpredictable. You can't be sure what they'll decide to do.'

'Well, that's reassuring,' growled Wario and the two brothers glared mutinously at each other.

Luigi hastily spoke up before any more arguments could erupt. 'C'mon everyone, let's just hurry and go!' Although he hadn't mentioned it to any of his companions, he'd been thinking up horrible scenarios involving Mario and Peach being locked up by Bowser, maybe hurt, maybe even... he trailed off the thought. There was no point worrying about something that hadn't happened yet.

He just hoped they got there in time.

Wario grunted, interrupting the brief silence that had fallen between them. 'I'm gonna go in first,' he stated. 'You weaklings can walk behind me if you're so scared.' He sneered the last word and stomped off in the direction of the forest.

Luigi cried out and gave chase. 'W-wait up!' He wouldn't have cared much if something happened to Wario, but he didn't want the group split apart. For now, at least, they all needed each other. Even the Evil Brothers must have known that, else they'd have gone ahead alone a long time ago.

When he, Toadette and Waluigi caught up, Wario had already ventured into the edge of the woods. As everyone else cautiously crept forth, they saw long vines hanging down like ropes from the tree-branches overhead, but no sign of any piranha plants... yet.

None of them spoke as they advanced deeper into the forest. The trees grew so dense that they blocked out the sun's rays, and everything was cold and dark, giving the atmosphere a forbidding feeling. Things crunched underneath Luigi's shoes as he took a few steps forward and he shuddered, having no desire to find out what they were.

It was a good few minutes before a voice broke the eerie silence. It was Toadette.

'Um... I think we have a problem.'

Luigi whipped around to face her, eyes widened with terror. 'Wh-what is it?' he stammered.

The girl pointed wordlessly upwards and everyone's heads swivelled around to follow her finger. Luigi gasped in shock and Wario muttered something indistinct in Italian.

It was a giant piranha plant, curled up in the bough of a tree with its thorn-studded vines twisted tightly around the branches. Its head, or rather body, was bright crimson and its teeth were so long they protruded from its jaws. It appeared to be fast asleep, but Luigi wasn't taking any chances walking underneath the creature.

He turned to the others for support and saw Wario glaring at his tall brother. 'Well, what do we do?!' he growled. 'You're the piranha plant genius here, so tell us how to kill that ugly thing!'

Waluigi gaped for a moment. 'You're gonna kill it?'

'Why not? It'll eat us if we don't!'

Toadette spoke up again, and although her voice sounded soft and frightened, she was still clearly determined. 'Let's just creep beneath it, OK?' she suggested. 'It won't wake up if we're quiet.'

'It doesn't even have ears,' Wario said, but no-one was paying him any attention anymore; they were all watching the giant monster curled up in the treetops. As Luigi stared fixedly at it, he saw a spiky vine move slightly to hang over the edge of the branch, and swallowed loudly.

'OK,' he said quietly, and surprised himself with how calm his voice sounded. 'If we're really going to do this, then let's get it over with.'

'The loudest of us should go first,' said Waluigi, throwing a nasty smirk in his older brother's direction. Wario scowled back, then started walking underneath the piranha's tree with slightly-quieter-than-usual stomping footsteps. Unknown to him, the others were all holding their breath as they watched.

It took about five minutes, but Wario finally reached the other side of the tree, a safe distance from the sleeping creature. He punched a fist in the air and whooped gleefully before signalling for the others to follow.

'All right, my turn,' said Waluigi, impatiently elbowing his cousin out of the way and starting forwards.

Once again nothing happened. Luigi tensed when his cousin trod on something and made a loud snapping noise, but the piranha plant didn't even stir. He was beginning to suspect that it was in hibernation and wouldn't hear them even if they threw a party right underneath its tree. As soon as his cousin was safely on the other side, he began to edge forwards with Toadette close on his heels, reluctant to be left behind.

Everything went fine until he was about halfway across the gap. But of course, if anything bad happened, it just had to happen to him.

He was inching his way over a large patch of dead leaves that crackled with every step he took. Every now and again he'd glance up at the piranha, which still hadn't moved. Its lack of reaction boosted his confidence and he started to move more quickly, until all of a sudden –

'WEEGEE! HURRY UP, WILL YOU?!' Waluigi said in a loud whisper. His brother was angrily signalling for him to be quiet, but he didn't seem to have noticed. 'WE'RE GONNA BE HERE ALL DAY!'

The piranha's head shifted.

'Will you shut it?!' Wario whispered back, shoving his brother until he nearly fell over. Luigi, who'd been standing frozen with a horrified expression, slowly looked up.

A pair of massive jaws were hanging directly above him, dripping with saliva as the piranha plant gradually eased itself out of its long sleep.

In that second, he decided that he may as well take the risk and run for his life. 'Toadette, over here!' he screamed, not even trying to keep his voice down as he dashed across the dead leaves and raced towards his waiting cousins.

With a speed that seemed to defy nature, the piranha plant stretched out its thorny neck and lunged at him. Its teeth clicked together an inch from the back of his head as he stumbled over a protruding root and fell painfully onto the forest floor. Toadette yelled a warning and ran past him. Luigi picked himself up as fast as he could, but he could already hear the monster's jaws hurtling towards him for a second attempt.

Suddenly, he heard an angry shout as Wario surged forwards and whacked the piranha's head with a fist. It fell back, hissing in frustration as it tried to get its teeth into him instead. Luigi found himself being yanked to his feet by one arm, and took the opportunity to stumble out of the reach of the piranha's jaws, to safety.

What followed after that was an awe-inspiring display of power. Luigi and Toadette stood well back and watched as Wario easily beat the monster, seeming to use only a fraction of his tremendous strength. When the finishing blow struck the creature's huge, crimson head, it hissed once and slowly slithered back up its tree to recover. Wario turned towards the others, slightly out of breath but completely unharmed.

Then he transferred his gaze to Waluigi, who was skulking a little further back from everyone else. 'WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!' he bellowed suddenly, making them all jump.

'What are you talking about?' Waluigi replied. Luigi caught the faintly puzzled edge to his tone that nobody else seemed to notice.

'You tried to get him killed!'

'That was an accident!'

'IT WASN'T –'

Although he was extremely surprised to see Wario, someone who'd hated him ever since they were children, standing up for him, Luigi decided to intervene before the noise attracted another piranha plant. 'Can we talk once we're out of this place?' he pleaded.

The Evil Brothers both scowled at the interruption but stopped arguing. As they walked through the woods in single file, the silence that came between them was far from companionable, and none of them would look at each other.