Chapter XI: A Glimmer of Hope

Luigi was in the middle of laying down on Amy's bed and flipping through a gaming magazine when Amy came in. She held a plate with a soft-shelled taco on it.

"Here's your dinner," Amy said nervously. "But I know you're Italian and I don't know what kind of toppings you like."

Luigi happily accepted the meal, however. "It's no big deal. Tacos aren't too different from pizza. I mean there's meat, cheese, tomatoes..."

"I still wonder how you got down here," Amy said while Luigi ate. "What happened?"

"I dunno. It's a long story."

"C'mon. Please?"

"Well...okay..." Luigi said reluctantly.

Luigi didn't want to go into detail. He explained to Amy that he was simply a good friend to a herd of yoshis and Wart came along one day and turned them into eggs. Though he was able to get the first two without too many problems, Wart dropped the third one into the ocean.

"So then you sorta went overboard as well, huh?" Amy asked. "That's too bad."

"I just wish there was something I could do..."

"It's a long shot, but I'm gonna help you look for that egg tomorrow."

Luigi just shook his head. He doubted that such a bold claim could possibly be true.

"That's a nice ring you have there," Luigi said, changing the subject.

"You dig mood rings, huh?" The princess held out her right hand so Luigi could see it better.

"Yeah. But I was actually talking about the other one."

Amy held up that hand as well. The ring she wore on that one had a green heart-shaped jewel on it.

"This old thing?" she asked, feeling a little surprised that Luigi even noticed it. "I found it a few weeks ago. It reminded me of you for some reason, so I kept it."

"It's pretty though. Look at that glow."

"Glow?" Amy looked at the ring again and saw that it was glowing. "Weird. It's never done that before. Why is it doing that now?"

"Maybe we can figure it out tomorrow," Luigi yawned. "I'm getting tired."

"I suppose it's about time for me to go to bed too. Don't worry. There should enough room on my bed for both of us."

Luigi laughed to himself. "Well, once you get my stuffed doppelganger off."

"Oh yeah. No need for that to be there when I've got the real deal now," Amy said as picked up the plushie and sat it down on her computer chair.

Luigi settled down on the bed while Amy turned the light off, then she got into bed as well.

"Good night, Luigi."

"Night, Amy."

Although Luigi felt rather tired, he was having a rough night. He woke up a few hours later. Everything was completely dark aside from the pale light of a 1-Up nightlight. Luigi got out of bed and looked out the window. The ocean was pitch-black, but the city did have some streetlamps for light during nighttime.

"I wish there was some way I can let Mario know where I am..." Luigi sighed.

Luigi was about to try to go back to sleep when he saw Amy's computer and got an idea. If the princess was able to use it to import and export things, it must have an internet connection. Luigi booted it up to see if there was anything he can do.

"Okay. This seems to work," Luigi whispered. "E-mail. Li'l green bro at MKOL dot com. Password..." he paused for a second. "I'm-a number one."

Mario was sound asleep on the S.S. Garlic when some strange music came from within his back pack. The song in question was a sped-up version of the Super Mario World credits. Mario tossed and turned in bed, then put his head under the pillow.

"Urgh..." Mario murmured. "Don't e-mail me right now, Luigi..." Mario stopped and thought about what he just said. "Wait! Luigi?!"

Wide awake now, Mario grabbed his back pack. He took out his Mailbox SP and flipped the device open. Mario looked at the screen and read the mail he just received.

"'Mario, I am sending you this message to let you know that I'm fine. I ended up in the underwater city of ah-kwop-ah-liss.'" Mario was unsure of how to pronounce the name of the city. '"The princess there is taking care of me. Please let the yoshis know about this and don't worry about me. Luigi.' So...I guess he didn't die after all..."

Mario closed the Mailbox SP and returned it to his back pack, then he went back to bed. He was relieved to hear from Luigi, but he wished he knew more about his whereabouts.

"Hey, you!" Wario pounded on Mario's door the next morning. "It's time for you to get your butt home!"

Mario answered the door. "Seriously? But I got-"

"I was told that you wanted to go home. Now get!"

"That's true, but I got a message from Luigi last night."

"Oy..." Wario shook his head and tapped his foot. "Now your head is messed up, huh? Might wanna see a doctor or something."

"This is not a joke!" Mario fetched the Mailbox SP so Wario can see the message himself.

Wario quickly read the mail. "Well, I recognize the e-mail address. It must be real then. You know, I think I saw something about Aquapolis in The World of Plit. Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back."

Wario left Mario's cabin and returned with the book a few minutes later. He and Mario sat down on the bed and huddled over the pages.

"I saw it in the index of unconfirmed locations," Wario said as he flipped to the appropriate section. "See. Right there. 'Aquapolis, pronounced ah-kwa-poh-liss. It is believed that Aquapolis is a city about the size of Toad Town concealed entirely inside a clear protective bubble underwater near Kong Isle.'"

"That sounds about right," Mario nodded. "We lost Luigi shortly after we left Kong Isle. He's gotta be there."

"Knock-knock," Waluigi said just outside the door, which was left wide open. "You're still here, Mario? I thought you were going back to Yoshi's Island to make a shrine."

"There's been a bit of a change of plans. Luigi is still out there."

"Yeah," Wario chimed in. "Mr. Diehard never actually kicked the bucket. He's in an underwater city."

"Now if only there was a way we can get down there..."

The three humans became quiet. Is there anything they can do to get Luigi back?

"I have an idea," Waluigi spoke. "It isn't exactly pretty, but I think it's worth a try. Come, Wario. We gotta go fetch something. Mario, you and the yoshis stay on the ship. Don't worry. I know what I'm doing." He and Wario left.

Pinky, who slept in the same room as Mario, woke up because of the talking.

"What's going on?" she said groggily. "Are we home yet?"

"Yes, but I don't think we're gonna stay for long," Mario answered. "We're gonna go rescue Luigi."

Pinky had no idea what Mario meant by that and gave him a bewildered look.

Mario and the yoshis went to the kitchen to have some breakfast, a pot of oatmeal. They were almost finished when they heard a loud thud outside.

"What was that?" Yosheta gasped.

"I don't know, but I'm checking it out," Mario said as he headed out the door.

Outside, Mario saw that the S.S. Garlic was moving. This would mean that Wario was at the helm, so Mario decided to go there.

"What are you doing here?" Wario grumped when he saw Mario.

"I thought I heard something around here. Something big."

"That would probably be Waluigi. He's at the back of the ship. He's actually waiting for you."

Mario shrugged and left Wario to do his thing. At the back of the S.S. Garlic, he found Waluigi tinkering with what appeared to be a fairly large piece of machinery.

"What the heck is that thing?" Mario asked.

Waluigi backed up so Mario could see it better. It was a submarine. It featured a green and blue paint job that was similar to the one Luigi's kart, the Green Fire, had. It even had Luigi's signature green letter L on the fins.

"Ladies and gents," Waluigi beamed. "I present to you Luigi's personal sub, the Green Marine!"

"A submarine..." Mario said as he looked at it from front to back. "This is just the sort of thing we needed! But where did it come from? Luigi never told me about this before."

"Only E. Gadd, Luigi and I knew about it until now. Technically, it's a prototype."

"I guess your plan is to take this down to Aquapolis and get Luigi, huh?"

"Not quite," Waluigi said nervously. "I was going to get you to do it. It would just be awkward if I did it. Also, chances are Luigi would kill me if he found out I used the Green Marine. Or at least give me a beatdown."

"I doubt that," Mario disagreed. "I'm willing to bet that if Luigi knew that you played a role in saving him, he wouldn't do that."

"Perhaps. Anyway, Wario is getting the ship to around the place where we lost Luigi. There's still the little problem of it being a prototype."

Mario looked at the controls in the cockpit. "What's the matter with it?"

"We haven't had a chance to test out the weapons yet."

"That's all? Heh. I probably won't even have to blast anything. I'm gonna let the yoshis know what's up."

Mario went to check on the yoshis and found them in his room. They all looked forlorn.

"Why the long faces?" Mario asked them. "I already told you that Luigi is still alive."

"Yeah yeah. I know," Purpley frowned. "It's just not the same without him."

"Don't worry. I'm gonna look for him in awhile. Why not do something to take your minds off this? How about the swimming pool?"

After the yoshis left to go swimming, Mario laid down and took a nap.

"Mario," said Pinky. "Mario, wake up."

"D'oh... What is it now, Pinky?"

"The ring is glowing again."

Mario looked at his right hand. When he saw the ring glow yesterday, he decided to wear it so he could keep an eye on it. The ring was indeed glowing, though not nearly as brightly as before. But as time went on, the glow intensified.

"'Stones as different as night and day,'" Mario quoted the riddle from the temple in Birabuto. "'Their lights will help show a way. If the holders happen to go astray.' By golly, I think I've got it!"

Mario got off the bed so quickly that he almost tripped over his feet, then he high-tailed it to the helm.

"Stop the boat, Wario!" Mario shouted excitedly. "This is the spot!"

Waluigi was getting a crane ready to put the Green Marine in the water when Mario and Wario arrived on the scene.

"What makes you so sure this is the right place?" Wario asked Mario.

"As Luigi once told me while we were golfing..." Mario gazed at the ring. "You gotta believe!"

"I've got everything all set," Waluigi announced. "I'm just waiting for the pilot now."

"Are you sure you don't want to drive it?"

"You'll be fine," Wario said while giving Mario a shove.

"What's going on?" Purpley asked. She heard the commotion and came to investigate.

"Our good buddy Mario here is gonna use that sub to get Luigi back," Waluigi explained.

Purpley watched as Mario climbed into the Green Marine. Using the crane, Waluigi picked up the submarine and placed it in the water.

"Wish me luck, guys!" Mario shouted as he waved to everyone.

Mario closed the hatch and examined the controls. To be honest, he didn't quite know what to do.

"Couldn't Waluigi tell me how to operate this thing first? Oh, wait..." Mario stopped when he saw a sticky note with basic operation instructions written on it. "That's handy."

After reading everything the note had to say, Mario knew exactly what to do.

"Luigi, here I come..."