"8... 9... 10... hm... 15." Daisy held out all the star shards they'd collected for her companions to see. "16 if you count the toy."

Two weeks had passed since Daisy and Peach fought off the fuzzy queen and were rescued by Lady Bow. Daisy had healed from her poison, though she nearly suffering a heart attack when she awoke in the ghost mansion. She and Peach had continued to collect stray shards in the area until Mario's ankle had healed. Their ventures had been successful and strangely unhindered. Yet their quest to find Luigi had continued to come up empty handed. It truly was as though he'd disappeared from the world completely.

"I wonder how many are left?" Peach pondered aloud, tapping her cheek with her gloved hand thoughtfully. "And what shall we do with them once we have them?"

Daisy shrugged, shoving the star shards into one of the pockets of the satchel Ninjetta usually carried then slung it over her own shoulder for safe keeping. "Dunno, but I'll guard these with my life if I have to. No weird dimension-hopping baddies will get these from me!" She grinned confidently, flexing her arms to indicate her strength.

"I have absolute faith in you!" Peach added cheerfully with a nod.

Ninjetta clung to Daisy's skirt as a raucous noise suddenly overtook the previously quiet forest. The noise grew louder as the source grew closer.

"Man, it sounds like a giant fan!" Daisy fussed, pressing her hands against her ears to try to deafen the sound. She wondered what could be making such a noise, but her thoughts were interrupted repeatedly by the whirring sound followed by a high-pitched whine. Then it hit her. It was him, wasn't it? He did threaten that he would be back and he did have something that sounded like a large fan. But that whine sound was something new.

A flash of light in the distance caught her attention, and Daisy instinctively grabs both Mario and Peach, diving to the ground with them just as a massive jolt of green lightning rolled through the area. The whirring sound grew even louder until finally the source came into view. "Is that a... head?!" Daisy gawked.

"This is my brother, Brobot," Mr. L boasted over speakers installed on his Brobot. "My greatest creation in the field of brobotics. And with him, I'll become number one and finally defeat you, Mr. Hero. Have at you!"

"Graaaaah!" Daisy hissed as she stood up, straightened her dress, and shook a fist upwards towards where Brobot hovered. "What is your dealio, Mr. L?! Are ya trying to take down the whole forest?!" Though now that she thought about it, what was one forest when all connected worlds were at stake?

Mr. L scoffed. "Move, princess."

"Or what, you'll take me down too?" She stood defiantly in front of the other three, shielding them from whatever Mr. L had to throw at them.

Mr. L paused for a moment, strangely considering what his answer would be. With Mario, he wanted to beat him, to take him down, but he certainly wouldn't kill him. Where would the fun in that be? If Mario were dead, then he wouldn't come back for a rematch and the rivalry would die. That'd be boring. L thought he would simply take out anyone in his way but there was something about this stubborn golden princess that just stopped him in his tracks.

But there was also his mission. One of them was holding 15 star shards. He needed those. They all considered him the villain, they themselves the heroes. The villainous answer to Daisy's posed question would obviously be yes, but he wasn't driven to destroy them. He wasn't the villain they thought he was.

Pushing some levers down to lower settings, he began generating more electricity. He wouldn't kill her, no, but he could deliver enough of a jolt to get her out of the way. "The green thunder cannot be stopped." The cannons sparked and whined until they'd built up enough static electricity to fire off a bolt of green thunder.

Daisy swallowed hard. It was a stupid move, perhaps, but she didn't always think things through. But now that she was standing there, she couldn't just dodge and leave her friends at risk. The green lightning drew closer but as she expected an impact, something pink blocked her view. As she caught her breath, she blinked, realizing it was Peach's parasol.

Peach had stood up, opening her parasol at the last moment and placing it in front of them both. She couldn't let her best friend sacrifice herself. The lightning bounced off the parasol, scattering in the forest and striking whatever it reached first before being absorbed into the ground. A few trees split in half, driving the angry treants and other aggressive creatures away.

"I've made some upgrades to my parasol," Peach smiled brightly. It was nice to be the hero for once. "I couldn't let you sacrifice yourself. I'd be so lonely without you."

Daisy grinned. She couldn't be the hero this time, but at least she would live to see another day and protect her friends. And it was nice to see Peach take some action as well. She was often the victim, but she could also be a hero in her own right. "Well I didn't want to lose ya either."

Mario took to his feet behind the princesses, suddenly beginning to glow a golden yellow. "When he stops firing, move and take cover."

Daisy glanced back at Mario, her eyes growing wide. "What are ya plannin' to do?! That guy's firin' lightning at us! He's nutso!"

"I'm going to use the ultimate technique the fire god taught me when we were helping the BeanBean Kingdom." Mario spoke with a confidence in his eyes as he drew more energy. He was often hesitant to use such a technique, as it would only work once before he had to rest and recharge for much longer than this fight would last. It drew a great deal of energy from within and from the fire god himself. It was a borrowed technique, but its effects were devastating. He didn't want to kill Mr. L, but he certainly couldn't let that Brobot wreak havoc anymore. It had to be stopped.

Mr. L scoffed again as the cannons' blasts fizzled out. This would be more difficult than he'd thought. Mimi was right. Those princesses were a powerful force, defiant and clever. And for once, Mimi wasn't exaggerating when she said Miss Pink had a magic parasol. He leaned over to prepare firing small missiles at them in hopes to jarr that parasol out of the princess's hand and get them to move or even inadvertently reveal who had the star shards.

He glanced back through the windshield in Brobot's hat in time to see a massive red fireball arching from the ground. L scrambled for the controls, attempting to move his brother from the fireball's path, yet the fireball was far too quick, impacting the robot and causing it to overheat. It grew hotter and hotter until the metal simply split at the bolts, the engine exploding and throwing the Green Thunder from his own creation.

"Ya didn't hafta kill him!" Daisy stared at the explosion.

"I didn't want to," Mario frowned. He knew the technique to be powerful, but he didn't expect it to be that powerful. Then again, it was the power of a god. "Stay here and protect the shards. I'll go see if I can find him."

"Be careful, Mario!" Peach shouted as he disappeared into the forest.

The area was quite well damaged, first by the deflected lightning, then the explosion. Mr. L hadn't managed to bail in time, the explosion forcibly ejecting him from Brobot. He'd impacted a tree, colliding with its branches before they gave way and dumped him into a bush below.

He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. His head throbbed. He ached, but he was still alive. To think Mario had that kind of power and was holding back this entire time. He had to find a way to beat that. He had to be stronger if he were to accomplish his goals.

Jamming his foot against the trunk of the tree, he freed himself from the grasp of the bush, rolling out onto the ground face down in the dirt. He pushed himself up, feeling the twinge in his shoulder as he moved and retrieved his hat.

His entire outfit were torn once again, singed in some places, others tinted with blood. He could never keep his clothes in one piece when dealing with his rival, could he? No matter. That wasn't his main concern at the moment. Those so-called heroes probably thought him dead. He could take advantage of this. He checked the device he created to attach to the palm of his hand. It was still surprisingly in one piece.

Mario stepped over a few smouldering remains of the robot. The more remains he encountered, the more certain Mario was that L had suffered some great injuries. L was on a rampage, putting too many people and the area in danger, but doubt still panged in the back of Mario's mind. He wasn't entirely convinced L was a villain. Mario had much time to ponder while recovering from his sprained ankle. The more he pondered, the more he realized that L was someone he knew well, but something had happened to this person to turn him into this state, to turn him into L.

Mario ducked for cover as a large bolt of green lightning cracked past him. Mr. L was still alive and somewhere up ahead. "Mr. L, we don't need to fight."

Mr. L scoffed somewhere up ahead. "Oh really? So you can declare yourself the victor of our little rivalry? I don't think so."

"This rivalry is getting out of hand." Mario frowned.

Mr. L fired off another bolt, seething. "I've been living in your shadow too long, Mr. Hero. It's time I become number one!"

Mario frowned even more, still prostrated on the ground. If L was who Mario believed him to be, then Mario was concerned even more. "Do you truly feel you're living in my shadow?" Had he always felt this way or was this feeling something which developed by becoming Mr. L or perhaps it was what drove him to become Mr. L.

"Did I stutter?!" Mr. L shouted, gritting his teeth. He was growing frustrated. He knew Mario was out there, but he wasn't entirely certain where. He drew a hand to his shoulder, attempting to stop the throbbing. He hit it hard when he landed. It would undoubtedly hurt for some time, but he wasn't going to permit it to hinder his work. He grimaced, hoping that Mario wasn't watching this. He couldn't show Mr. Hero any weakness. Stop hurting. Stop hurting now. I have to become number one. I can't lose now.

Opening his eyes, Mr. L found himself face to face with a bright red fireball. He didn't have time to dodge, yet he did draw his left hand forward, activating the prototype forcefield shield he was still working on. The shield proved strong, preventing any damage yet the force of the attack pushed him backwards into the tree he'd landed on earlier. He hit his right shoulder, the twinge of pain nearly knocking him unconscious. He slumped against the tree, attempting to regain his bearings. He would not be taken alive. He'd fight to the death if the situation called for it.

"Mr. L."

Opening his eyes, Mr. L found Mario looming over him. He expected a direct attack, but Mario made no move to do so. There wasn't even anger in his eyes. Instead he held a hand out. Mr. L batted it away. "I don't need your pity."

Mario frowned. "You know me well enough to know I won't pity you. Please come home. Bro."

Mr. L scowled at Mario. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

His words stabbed Mario straight through the heart. Did he not remember? This couldn't be the work of some psychological transformation. This had to be something different, something much stronger. "What has happened to you?" Worry knit his brow.

Mr. L opened his mouth to shout some more, but he paused. That look. That worried look. He'd seen it before, hadn't he? No, that was impossible. They were rivals, opposites. He was pitying him, mocking him. No, that wasn't it either. Mario wasn't the pitying or mocking type. He never was. It was familiar, all of it was familiar, like some overwhelming sense of deja vu.

"I don't know what you've been told, L, but those star shards. They'll turn all the connected worlds into nothingness." Mario's brow seemed to knit in worry more than before. "I know you're not a villain. I just hope this quest of yours won't turn you into one."

Mr. L stared. There was no way the star shards could do that. They formed the Wishing Star, the only thing which could bring back the Count's lost love. For a moment, he considered that Mario was misguiding him, purposefully taking the Wishing Star for himself, as he'd been lead to believe thus far. Yet as he leaned against the tree, Mario looming over him worried, Mr. L saw no hint of malice. He truly believed that was the purpose of the star shards. One of them was being lied to.

"THE GREEN THUNDER HAS AAAARIIIIIVED!" The words rang out in the silent forest as a second L sprang forth, landing between the fallen L and Mario. "You just took out my decoy! Ohohohoho! Prepare to be beaten, Mr. Hero!"

Mr. L gaped at the second L. He had to admit Mimi's ability to mimic someone's form was astounding, but she at least should get his catchphrases right. But now wasn't the time to dispute phrasing. He knew what she was trying to do. She probably saw the explosion over the forest and had come to protect him. Her timing couldn't be worse.

Using the tree as support, Mr. L pulled himself to his feet then grabbed the fake L by the collar, pulling her backwards. "We're leaving."

"The green thunder won't leave until he's number one!" the fake L proclaimed.

"We're leaving now before you embarrass us both!" Mr. L hissed, yanking on her collar some more. Something was going on. Something big. Someone was being deceived about the true nature of the shards; he just wasn't entirely sure which side was just yet. He glanced at Mario for a moment, judging the other's reaction. Mario made no move to stop them, still wearing a worried expression.

"But!" the fake L protested. "But he..."

With a silent command, Mr. L used the device on his hand to open a portal. "Did I make it sound like a request? We're leaving now." He pushed her into the portal, following close behind. He glanced over his shoulder at Mario before closing the portal behind him.

Cracking noises behind him drew Mario's attention. The three girls had followed him, concerned, though Daisy appeared more irate than the other two. "Did you just let him go?!" She prepared to yell some more but stopped quickly when she noticed the concerned expression drawn across Mario's face. "Oh man. What happened."

"Someone's lying to him," Mario confessed. "I just hope he realizes it before it's too late."

….

Author's musings

The conversation I wished Mario and L had in the game. There was a lot of tension between these two, and I never thought the game touched on it enough, how L felt living in Mario's shadow, his desire to become number one, how badly he desired victory.

But his relationship with Mario is strong, so strong that it starts giving him déjà vu and that he knows, without a doubt, Mario is somehow telling the truth. No one quite knows what the true story is just yet, but someone is being lied to.

I just can't make a light-hearted story, can I?