Chapter 12: Luigi's Breakdown
The next morning came bright and early. Luigi was a bit restless, however. The crevice proved to be rather uncomfortable compared to Blacky's cave. To make matters worse, he worried about Mario and the safety of his friends. He tried to go back to sleep when his stomach growled. So instead, he dug into a bag of potato chips that he brought along while he quietly watched the sunrise.
Eventually, one of the yoshis broke the silence. "Are you okay?"
"Just a little tired, Pinky," Luigi replied. "If you're hungry, I think there's still some fruit in the sack Wario brought."
Pinky nodded and helped herself to some apples. She noticed that the leader didn't seem to he his usual self. He mentioned that he was tired and it sure looked like he was.
After awhile, the rest of the herd woke up and ate the fruit that Wario gathered the previous day. When they finished, they immediately left and continued up the trail in the hopes that they would find Mario or perhaps even Mini Bluey.
Wario was still upset about what happened yesterday. "Hey, Luigi. I need to have a word with you about that new buddy of yours."
Luigi looked back and saw Sushie bouncing along the path and doing her best to keep up. She is much more agile in the water than on land. She didn't bother Luigi one bit though.
"What seems to be the problem?" asked Luigi.
"I don't trust it," the bulky man replied. "I don't like anything that keeps me from getting treasure."
Sushie is completely confused. "What are you talking about?"
"Like you don't know. Purple is the color of pirates!"
"That's royalty, you fool!" Birdo shouted, throwing in her two cents. "That's what they say anyway. Of course, you know me. I prefer pink."
"Look, Wario. If you don't like Sushie, that's too bad," Luigi concluded.
Luigi's party pressed on. They had no idea where they were going, but they knew that they had to keep moving, lest they get attacked and captured by the zookeepers.
"Wait up, Luigi," Blacky panted. "I'm not as fast as I used to be."
Luigi paused for a moment to catch his breath. "Sorry, but we can't stay in one place for too long."
Suddenly, there was a rumbling sound, as if a rock slide was coming. Yosheta's eyes grew wide with fear as a particularly large rock came hurtling towards her!
"Look out!" Luigi gasped as he tackled Yosheta moments before the rock landed right where she stood.
"Whoa! Are you alright?" her mother asked.
Yosheta was surprised by the close call and couldn't speak. Her expression said it all. She was in shock.
"Where did that come from?" Luigi said angrily as he looked at the rock. "Is this some sort of trap?"
"Strange," Sushie mused, also looking at the rock. "It sort of looks like Mario."
It did, indeed, resemble Mario. To be more exact, it appeared to be Mario in a protective stance. Nobody knew what to make of it.
"Hey. There you are, Luigi," The rock actually spoke in Mario's voice!
Now Luigi is as shocked as poor Yosheta was. "Ma-Mario?"
"Yeah. It's me. Sushie? What are you doing here?"
"I've come to help Luigi here with the yoshis," the fish answered. "Say, did you put a stone cap on?"
"I was getting to that. Luigi, remember the storm last year and how I tried to save you with the metal cap?"
"Well, yeah. Can't forget about something like that very easily."
"I had the feeling that it might happen again, so I packed a metal cap. I thought I did anyway. The zookeepers ambushed me last night. I wanted to fight them off with metal power, but...well..."
"It was actually a stone cap and now you can't move," Sushie finished for him.
"Exactly."
"Haha. Oh, wow," Waluigi laughed. "That sucks. But if you can't move, then is it that you can still talk?"
Mario thought for a few seconds. "I'll get back to you on that one. Anyway, the zookeepers are probably still nearby. I recall they mentioned wanting 'the pink one with the bow.'"
Birdo looked around nervously. None of the yoshis wore a bow, but she did.
"So you know what you must do now, right?" the immobilized brother went on. "You must leave this place."
"Bu-but..." Luigi stammered, not wanting to leave his brother so soon after finding him.
"Go on. Leave. I'll catch up in a bit."
"You'd better do as he says," Sushie insisted. "I'm sure he knows what he's doing."
"Go, green one. Just keep a calm mind and you'll be fine. Now go!"
With no other option, Luigi and friends leave Mario behind and continue on their way. They eventually found a small patch of watermelons which the yoshis began to help themselves to. While they forged, Luigi seated himself on a nearby rock and stared into space.
"You must leave this place," the worried hero cryptically repeated what Mario said. "Go on. Leave. Go, green one."
"Luigi? Are you okay?" Purpley asked when she overheard what he said.
"Just keep a calm mind and you'll be fine. Now go. Oh, Mario..." Luigi finished as a tear rolled down his cheek.
Knowing that something was very wrong, Purpley got Blacky to see if there was anything he could do.
"Listen, Luigi," the black yoshi spoke firmly. "As the elder, I feel that it's my duty to help everyone. That includes the leader. Now, tell me what's wrong."
"The...the zookeepers are trying to catch you." Luigi sobbed. "And now Mario is gone and...and...and..."
By now, all the yoshis stopped eating and tried to figure out what the matter was.
"I think I know what pity is now," said Wario, who usually only cared about himself.
"Y-You know this is m-my fault, right?" If I n-never came here t-to begin with, th-the zookeepers wouldn't have fo-followed us and start th-this..." Luigi then buried his face in his gloved hands and cried more.
"Hey. Settle down," said Sushie.
"We'll be fine. Hopefully," Birdo chimed in.
"N-now you g-guys are in trouble and...I-I-I don't know what to d-do..."
"Geez. Pull yourself together, man," Waluigi muttered. It's difficult to tell what he thinks of the situation.
"You know what my mama always said at times like this?" Yosheta said in her usual quiet voice. "You should take a nap if you're feeling tired, sad or weak."
"It's true, you know," Pinky added. "You really should lie down right now."
Blacky agreed. "Yes. I suggest you settle down over there and get some rest." He pointed to a some-what flat area.
Luigi's emotions were out of control, but he decided that it probably would be best if he took a moment to relax and perhaps clear his head. He flopped onto his belly and continues to sob.
"That looks kinda uncomfortable," the man in yellow said as he turned Luigi over so he was on his back. "Here, I'll even throw in one of my sacks. Probably not the best blanket, but it beats nothing."
"Gr...grazie..."
Purpley and Oshi decided to stick by Luigi and comfort him. Oshi allowed his idol to use him as a pillow while Purpley snuggled up on his left side. After about a minute, she rested her head on his chest. She seemed to be quite fond of this position.
Luigi felt better knowing the yoshis cared about him so much. Of course, this is how they became such good friends to begin with. Soon enough, he was fast asleep.
Relieved that their friend was getting a much needed rest, the yoshis continued munching on the watermelons. Wario even grabbed one for Waluigi and himself. He smashed it open with a powerful punch.
"Do you think Luigi will be okay?" Pinky spoke quietly as she ate.
"I'm sure he will," Blacky replied. "The poor guy is a bit overworked. That's all."
"I really hope so. I'm so worried about him and Mini Bluey."
After their meal, everyone decided to do like Luigi and rest up. It wasn't long before Sushie noticed something moving in the distance.
"Heads up, everyone!" Sushie commanded. "Something's coming up the mountain toward us!"
The yoshis' eyes shot open in alarm. Some got up to have a look while others wondered what to do. Purpley considered waking up Luigi, but decided not to. Redy seemed to be panicking the most. He leaned over a cliff to see what was going on.
"I don't see anything," he said. "Where is it?"
"Red yoshi! Get away from there!" Birdo warned.
It was too late. Redy leaned too far over and fell. Luckily he did not fall far, as it would appear that the newcomer was none other than Mario. He just so happened to be right below the cliff, so he caught the yoshi easily.
"Lose someone?" the famous hero asked as he helped Redy return to the rest of the herd.
"Well! I thought so anyway!" said a relieved Sushie. "What took you?"
"I already told you guys. I used the wrong cap. And to think I wasted thirty coins on that."
"I'll say. What a rip off," Wario scoffed.
"Shoot. You're lucky I came just in time to save you, Redy. That tumble could've hurt big time. Where's Luigi anyway? He's supposed to keep you guys from doing stunts like that."
"He's sleeping over there," Pinky answered as she pointed to Luigi, still sound asleep.
"What? That slacker!" Mario shouted, obviously unaware of Luigi's nervous breakdown.
"No, Mario! Don't wake him up!" Yosheta pleaded.
Mario stomped toward Luigi and shoved Purpley off him. Then he proceeded to slap his brother across the face repeatedly.
"Ow! What are you doing?" Luigi yelled groggily.
"Trying to get your lazy butt up! That's what!"
"Hey! I'm the leader here and don't you forget it!" Clearly Luigi isn't feeling much better than before his nap.
"Some leader you are! Don't you know what happened to Redy? You almost lost him!"
"Oh, shut up! Don't even pull any more of that wise crap again! How would you like a Hyper Burn, little man?"
"Let's see you do it before I Freeze Blast you first!"
"That's quite enough, guys!" Birdo screamed as she jumped between the enraged siblings. "Stop this now!"
"Back off, Birdo!" Mario demanded.
"Do as he says!" Luigi added. "Things are gonna get rough..."
