Author's Note: Jeez, I'm so tired.
This chapter is a return to Snake, Luigi and Mario. That's about all I can say. And there's a bit of cuteness (only a bit) here. Not pervy. If two guys nowadays can't joke around together, hug or even take a nap by each other's side without being gay, I'll... I'll cry. I'll... do something. x.x
Let's not have tl;dr author's notes. On with the story.
Luigi was a cheerful young man.
He was very kind to everyone, and his shy, gentle nature and reasonably good looks appealed to the other Smashers in the hotel. He wasn't as well-known as Mario, his older brother, but those who knew Luigi found that the younger Mario brother was actually a lot more gentle and easygoing. Being a bit of a pacifist, he seldom fought very violently; but those who had ever been to battle with him knew that he was a very strong Smasher indeed.
And he was always happy. Why, some people hardly knew, but they all knew for sure that Luigi seemed a lot more cheerful nowadays than he had been when the tournament had first begun. At first, everyone knew Luigi to be a very shy, quiet person who seldom socialized with any others and mostly kept to himself; but he had changed and there was no doubt about that. It showed in his expression, the way he greeted people in the mornings, the way he smiled - yes, he was one happy Smasher. Although many people didn't know this, it was mostly due to his newfound friend and famed mercenary Solid Snake that this attitude change had taken place. He enjoyed the soldier's company more than anything; the mischief they got up to sometimes was less than mature, yes, but the other's sense of macabre humour never failed to amuse him. He knew that Snake was older than him by a couple of years or so, but that didn't bother him. They shared conversations with one another every day, hid in the cardboard box, and attended brawl matches together.
The Smashers were mostly unaware of the two's friendship. As for the Smashers who knew about the two being friends, most of the time they were all right with it. Meta Knight and Jigglypuff often were included in the two's conversations, and when some outings took place the four would often go together. And that was a perfectly fine arrangement as far as they were concerned. The Master Hand himself seemed to approve of the two's friendship, and often put them in team brawls so they could fight together and stick close. Some others, like Sonic and Pit, seemed to be nervous or slightly worried about Snake's presence, but even they left the two in peace.
Only one Smasher refused to do this, and this was a lot harder on Luigi - because of who that Smasher happened to be.
"I'm going to Delfino Plaza, Mario... Battle Royale-style brawl... I don't know when I'll be back, those brawls can last for hours..." Luigi called to his brother as he put on his new socks and laced up his shoes. He smartened up his hair and lightly put his cap in place, smiling to himself. "Mario? Are you awake?"
No answer came. He shrugged, but checked in his older brother's room just in case. Mario was in his bed, the curtains drawn, his eyes closed and serene. He seemed dead to the world. Luigi chuckled lightly to himself, and then went out briefly only to return with a notepad and pen. He scribbled some words down on the paper and left the pad on the bedside table.
"That'll do." He murmured to himself, and skipped out of the room and out of the hotel suite, taking his keycard with him. His cheerful mood remained until he arrived at Delfino Plaza - people were surrounding a certain area, talking noisily above the crowd and trying to make themselves heard.
"What the..." He muttered to himself, but pushed through the complaining crowd, reaching the very centre of the scene. Master Hand was there, shouting out instructions and blocking any other Smashers entering. "...heck?"
"Ah, Luigi!" Master Hand gestured to him, seemingly glad of the distraction. "Just in time! I regret to say this, but your brawl today in Delfino Plaza is cancelled."
"Cancelled?" Luigi repeated, suddenly feeling cold and panicked. "What... what happened? Was it an accident?"
"Unfortunately, you are right. Your opponents today were Link, Ike and Ganondorf, was it not?"
"Yes..."
"Ganondorf has wounded Ike quite severely during a bout of rage, I'm afraid. We only found out minutes ago - they're taking Ike to the infirmary now." Sure enough, a limp blue-haired figure on a stretcher was being carried out, taking the crowd along with it. Ganondorf followed closely behind, scowling and muttering to himself (with the others jeering him). "I cannot have a battle royale brawl with only two participants, and the schedule will overlap if we arrange another one today. Off you go now." Master Hand waved the plumber to the side, and began creeping along with his fingers to the Delfino Plaza arena, moving away.
"But Master Hand!" Luigi hollered, feeling still very confused. "When... when will my next brawl be?"
The giant hand was already partway through the arena gates, but he twirled his index and thumb slightly at the question.
"I don't know if Ike will be up tomorrow. And Ganondorf is suspended. We will have to arrange a new team before your next brawl. The brawl will take place tomorrow - with new Smashers. That is all I can tell you." Without further ado, he disappeared into the arena and shut the door behind him. The younger Mario brother was left standing there, dumbfounded, before he suddenly regained control over his limbs and sulkily kicked at the ground.
"Great..." He muttered. "Just great... and I thought that this would be an all-day brawl..." Sighing, he turned around and walked away. What now? He couldn't stay at Delfino Plaza, nor could he go anywhere else. He'd already written to Mario about his brawl, and if he went back now there would be questions. And quite frankly, Luigi didn't want to be forced into a brawl or be asked questions about an unpleasant topic he didn't particularly want to discuss.
But as Lady Luck would have it, he was spared from those options by something else. Luigi caught sight of a purplish cloak in a distant corner, one that he recognized, and curiously stepped off the path and nearer to the place where he'd seen it. What he found was a rather nice surprise.
"Meta!" Luigi called. The owner of the cloak looked up, and waved his hand in a reply; he appeared to be surrounded by two large rolls of parchment and was poring over one of them with much interest. The younger Mario brother strolled over to said corner and smiled; now this would be a lot more interesting than going back to the suite. "How have you been?"
"Very fine indeed, Luigi." Meta Knight placed down the rolls of parchment and then bowed, that being his way of greeting people. "I haven't seen you in quite a while."
"I haven't seen you much either." Luigi sat down next to the masked knight, his cheerful mood returning. "How's it going with Jigglypuff?"
"She's heavenly." Meta Knight replied, taking the rolls of parchment in his arms again and staring at the horizon. "We've talked to the managers and are in a permanent dining arrangement. And we've started brawling together too."
Luigi smiled. "That's good news!"
"And how is Snake doing?" The blue knight asked, turning to look at the younger Mario brother. "Are you two still getting up to no good? Within weeks I swear you two'll be sneaking off to Suite 301..." Suite 301 was not a residence, because the room apparently had ghosts in there. Some said that the spirit of a Melee-Smasher, Mewtwo, lingered in the depths of the suite and exposed the deepest and darkest secrets of any other Smasher who dared to venture into the rooms. It was only a myth, of course - but Luigi had battled Mewtwo before, and knew that the Pokemon would do exactly that if the chance came by. Besides, he didn't like ghosts, whether real or fake - and knew well enough to stay away from the suite.
However, what Meta Knight was referring to was not that. Some also said that if two or more Smashers went in there, Mewtwo wouldn't know which Smasher to torture with their most embarrassing secrets and therefore leave them in peace. So groups of Smashers would steal the keys and enter the suite for a dare at midnight every now and then, scaring each other and generally going a bit crazy with the whole 'ghost' idea. Some even emerged pale-faced and claimed that they had been haunted by ghosts in the night, and show off fake bite marks and bruises.
"Eww..." Luigi pulled a face, shuddering. "...That was uncalled for, Meta Knight."
"My pleasure." The knight replied calmly, and unrolled the parchment again, deeply engrossed in the words written there. The green-clad plumber leaned over to look at the elaborate handwritten words, trying to figure out what they meant.
"They're a list of orders taken from the hotel suites." Meta Knight explained, as if he'd read Luigi's mind. "Take a look. This here is an order placed for a crate of alcopops, from Suite 205. That's Ness and Lucas's suite. Here's an order for chamois leather used to polish swords, from my suite. Master Hand told me to take a look and add up everything, to see if they all fit into the budget."
Luigi nodded, letting his eyes wander around the countless names and products written in the parchment. Eventually, his eyes stopped and rested upon a famillar name; he looked at the delivery times and order placed carefully, letting everything add up nicely in his mind. A slow grin spread onto his face.
"I'll have some fun with that..."
Solid Snake was a very content soldier.
True, he was a mercenary known for his ruthlessness and ability to 'coax' out information from anyone. Although he was blissfully unaware of this, he also scared a lot of people with his presence alone. He was no ordinary man, nor was he really a cheerful type of person. But he was very much himself most of the time, and he was fine with that.
Of course, it wouldn't be true to say that he was a loner. Even when he had just arrived in the hotel, he had his portable radio, the Codec, with him so he could keep in touch with his three associates. They gave him helpful hints and advice the first few times that he had battled - but as time went by, he found himself adjusting naturally to the surreal atmosphere of the tournament and now only used the codec every now and then to get news of the outside world. He had friends in the hotel too - not many, but certainly enough to keep him going.
He was particularly close to one of them.
Luigi, at first glance, was a tall slender Italian plumber who wore a green shirt and hat with blue overalls and was intensely shy and nervous. That had been the first impression of the younger Mario brother Snake had gotten when he'd first looked at him. But then a couple of weeks passed by, and then one day, the shy young man had come to Shadow Moses Island for a break and had run into Snake instead. Suddenly Snake wasn't a loner any more - days and weeks passed by with the two spending more time with each other, occasionally resulting in hilarious episodes. Luigi had reached out to him first, and he'd accepted. Then Snake wasn't so feared or disliked any more, and although he wouldn't say it out aloud, he cared immensely about Luigi's well-being and feelings. The green-clad plumber had been injured just over a week ago, and he still remembered the sight with painful clarity - and thanked God that Luigi hadn't been hurt badly.
In fact, their friendship had grown to such a point that Smashers were beginning to tease them a little.
"You two've been hanging around together for a surprisingly long amount of time." Link had pointed out when he'd had one too many glasses of whisky two nights ago. They had invited Link and Zelda over to Shadow Moses Island for a brawl, and had decided to stay for the evening. "Odd, considering you two being such introverts. What's happened, huh? Are you two lovers or something?"
"Link!" Luigi and Zelda both exclaimed together, the former's face red as a strawberry. Zelda walked over to Link and took away the whisky bottle. "Come on, Link. You're drunk. Let me help you back to the hotel..." The princess bowed her head in apology to the two (Luigi's face was still crimson). "I'm sorry. He just does that sometimes."
Snake, who had kept silent throughout the conversation, now leaned forwards and looked the Hylian in the eye, his expression giving away nothing.
"Get your facts right, Link. We're not lovers, we're married." He suddenly grinned, grabbing the now-extremely embarrassed plumber by the waist and pulling him closer. "I'm the wife, you know. I do all the cooking and washing up."
"Snake!" Luigi half-shrieked, his face redder than ever. "Shut up already!" But even he was beginning to see the humour in Snake's statement, and the look on Zelda and Link's face was just too priceless to bear. He began to double over laughing, while trying to cover the mercenary's mouth and prevent him from saying anything even more embarrassing.
"Get off, Luigi." The mercenary chuckled, wiping away tears of mirth and lightly pushing Luigi away (and failing). "That's no way to treat your wife!" And then they both started laughing again. Link passed out there and then, and Zelda passionately declared the fact that the two were insane, mischievous rascals. This just set them off laughing again, of course, and then Zelda had left, shaking her head and muttering 'Men!' under her breath.
That was what Snake did most of the time. Either be mesmerized with all the possibilities he could make with a Yoshi while sitting in a box, or embarrass the heck out of Luigi. The latter didn't seem to mind much, as even the mercenary knew the boundaries in which a joke could go up to - and sometimes he even caught a little smile on the other's face, full of emotions he could hardly make out. That was a bit odd, but then they were both not exactly normal.
"God, I'm bored." He muttered, and looked towards the door. He didn't have a brawl lined up in his schedule, and therefore had some free time to buy some supplies from Smashville, wander around the arenas, or even stay in the suite and rest. There were others in the hotel too, like Princess Peach and Prince Marth, but he didn't feel like joining any of the Smashers for idle chat. So he was sitting in an upturned cardboard box (that doubled as a couch) and mindlessly thumbing through a book on stealth mechanisms, because he hadn't anything better to do.
And he was waiting.
Last night he'd ordered a six-pack of beer from the kitchen, only to end up talking to Crazy Hand who had had been slurping the soup straight from a giant pot. Certainly not the best conversation anyone could ever have whilst in the hotel. After much confusing talks and screaming, the staff had apologized to him on the line and promised that the six-pack of beer would be delivered to him the next morning. Snake was quite an impatient soul, but with beer such things were of no importance or use; so he had agreed quietly and went straight to bed.
About time the beer was delivered, he thought, and inwardly cursed the kitchen staff; it wasn't like he had asked for a large amount. But he had long ago learnt not to meddle with the business of hotel staff, so all he could do really was to sit and wait. He didn't particularly like not being able to do much about this, but there were no other options.
Snake sighed and got up, going over to his coffee machine and brewing himself a cup of coffee. He took out the powdered coffee beans - the finest one he could find in Smashville, he did love to treat himself to the best - and poured them with a little water into the machine, turning the switch on and letting the machine do the rest of the work. Soon, the rich, deep aroma of espresso filled the room, and he breathed in the delightful scent, closing his eyes and letting a small smile light up his face. He did love his daily cup of coffee every day.
The machine stopped as the switch clicked itself back into the 'off' position. The mercenary got up, took a cup and poured the dark liquid into it, swirling it around a little to warm the cup. He checked that the machine was off for the second time and walked over to the window with his coffee, staring out mindlessly as he took a small sip. Delicious, as always.
His peaceful moment was interrupted, however, when three knocks came on the door.
"Who is it?" He called, but received no reply. Frowning slightly in confusion, he strode to the door and unlocked it, peering out onto the corridor.
But the hallway was empty.
"...Hello?" He called uneasily, wondering if this was some kind of a prank; if it was, he would personally gut the person responsible later. Snake looked around, his frown deepening, stepping out onto the red-carpeted floor - and then he saw it. A cardboard box stood next to his door, immobile and large, with its top sealed tightly with tape; there were finger holes at the sides, but that was all.
"A box?" He exclaimed to himself. He was very fond of boxes for obvious reasons, and feeling a bit less suspicious, he swept down to look at the codes printed on it. The box was plain, unlike his trademark 'Smash Bros' box, and was a darker brown in colour. 'Special Delivery' was stamped on the top of the box, along with a white envelope taped to the side. There was no other information of the sender available. Curious, the mercenary tiptoed lightly to the box and carefully unstuck the tape on the envelope, wary of its contents. For all he knew, this could be a time bomb. But the envelope simply held limp in his hand, and the box was perfectly still. A bit more reassured, he opened the envelope and looked inside - a piece of blue note paper was folded up within, and he took it out, unfolding it and reading what had been written there.
Snake
A present from your best friend. I helped to get (this part was blacked out with pen) in the box. Don't get too surprised about the contents. Enjoy.
Meta Knight.
P.S. Jigglypuff says sorry for pushing you off Halberd a month-and-half ago. She couldn't get a chance to see you.
"...The hell?" Was Snake's only comment to this note. He folded the note up again into a tight square and put in in his pocket; and stared at the box for a long time, trying to comprehend what was going on. The gift that Luigi had given him just less than a week ago had taught him not to be so suspicious - but the cool, calculating part of his mind told him that this box still had no business whatsoever at his suite door.
"But then..." Snake murmured to himself, still gazing at the box. "...If Meta Knight sent this... then surely it must be safe?"
He recalled the words that the blue knight had written. It was certainly his handwriting - no doubt about that - and he'd said that the box was a present from 'your best friend'. What did that mean? He quickly thought about his friends; Luigi, Meta Knight, Link, Marth and Captain Falcon. He hadn't many friends in the hotel, so he could narrow his options down quite easily. Meta Knight he'd already crossed off. Captain Falcon and Link were both a bit too smitten with the female Smashers in the hotel to think about miscellaneous matters, and it was highly unlikely that they'd send something out of the blue. That left Marth and Luigi.
Now the blue-haired prince was a fair possibility. He happened to be in the hotel now, and would politely greet the mercenary and make conversation. Snake dwelt upon this for a while, but then shook his head as he remembered one small, but crucial detail.
Meta Knight and Marth were intense rivals. No way the knight would help him pack a present.
That left Luigi. The soldier thought about the 'your best friend' part of the note carefully. Luigi was indeed his closest and best friend; it had been partly due to him that Snake had become a bit more relaxed and more willing to talk to people. And although Snake vaguely recalled that he had a brawl session today, he would still be able to send this in advance. It all made sense.
Letting a small smile creep into his face, Snake bent down and dragged the box into his suite. It felt rather heavy, heavy enough that he couldn't lift it; but he wasn't too bothered about that. The box was cool and dry, and when he'd closed the door behind him and lightly pushed the box into the middle of the room, he swore that he felt something thump against the sides with a 'clunk' inside.
"Cheers, Luigi." Snake called out to no one in particular, the smile still gracing his face. If his calculations were right, then he would owe Luigi quite a lot. He mentally made a note to take the younger Mario brother out for a treat, and then tore off the tape sealing the top of the cardboard box.
What happened next was certainly unexpected.
The instant that the tape had been torn off, the box rocked and something - someone - shot out of it, sending bunches of little foam shock-absorbers and Styrofoam into the air. Snake let out a startled cry, backing away rapidly from the box; but he was safe, completely safe. The person was wearing a bright smile on his face, wearing clean white gloves, green shirt and blue denim overalls.
"Special delivery!" Luigi called out, styrofoam pieces in his hair, grinning brightly and holding out a six-pack of beer to a stunned Snake. The beer had been wrapped in a special bag that kept objects at a certain temperature - the beer was ice-cold to the touch and had just the slightest hint of condensation on the can surfaces. Perfect for instant enjoyment. Snake stared at the younger Mario brother for a long while before a chuckle escaped him; and he pulled the other out of the box, laughing fit to burst.
"You're daft, you are!" Snake laughed, pulling out the foam pieces from Luigi's hair and brushing them away. The latter grinned and shook his head, sending another shower of Styrofoam into the air and making the mercenary start laughing all over again.
He loved that plumber.
Honestly.
Meanwhile, Mario was having a very different time.
He yawned and sat up on his bed, wondering what time it was. The clock on his bedside table read nine thirty a.m. - he was due in for a brawl at eleven twenty. More than enough time to get ready. Food was served at all hours in this hotel, so he would probably be able to get some sugar loaf and tea for breakfast.
"Luigi?" He called sleepily, but no answer came. Instantly concerned, he climbed out of bed and put on a long-sleeved shirt, put on slippers and pattered over to Luigi's room; but there was no one there. The bed had been freshly made and the bedside table was clean, and there was no sign of Luigi anywhere.
"Where is he?" He murmured to himself, suddenly feeling rather depressed - he had been looking forward to spending the morning with his younger brother. But he wasn't anywhere; sighing, he shuffled back into his room, noticing the notepad on the table only then. He picked up the pad, reading his younger brother's words:
Mario,
I've gone to Delfino P. Battle Royale brawl. Will try to come back in one piece in time for bed... I haven't got very easy opponents today.
Yoshi ate your chocolate chip cookie. I've put another pack near the coffee machine and washed your FLUDD, by the way.
Your loving brother,
Luigi.
"Oh yeah..." Mario whispered to himself. He had completely forgotten that Luigi had a brawl that morning. Damn it, why hadn't he woken up sooner? He had spent over a week without talking much to his brother or anyone much for that matter; and today had seemed just perfect...
Mario placed the pad down again and sighed heavily, leaning against the headboard of the bed. His eyes slid shut tiredly. So what was going on? Did he no longer even know his brother's schedule and what he got up to? Hell, did he even know his brother any more? Two months and a half had passed since the tournament and Mario had begun to realize that Luigi no longer needed his company as much. Luigi had changed so much - it alarmed Mario, and he felt extremely alarmed whenever he thought about it all. Occasionally he would go into his younger brother's room and just look at him for a long while, wondering what had become of the little child that Luigi had once been. Mario had always been the one that Luigi looked up to, the one that he loved most and were best friends with. Mario did not doubt that he still came first with Luigi; but a rival for his care and friendship had appeared out of the most unlikely source, and it made the red-clad plumber uneasy as anything.
Mario no longer really knew what to feel about Solid Snake anymore. At first, the mercenary was just an enemy to him, someone dangerous and despicable. But when Luigi had been injured, it had been him who had carried the younger Mario brother to safety and protected him. Mario knew that he really ought to be grateful to Snake for doing that.
Instead he had let his resentment take control, and had argued with Snake for the remainder of that brawl.
That wasn't something he could forgive himself for. He could have nodded a thanks to Snake instead of even talking. He could have called out to Master Hand to halt the brawl and carry Luigi back. But he failed to do either of those things, all because he'd been too selfish and his hatred had gone out of control. He didn't even talk or acknowledge Snake any more, and the latter did the same for him. It was as if neither existed in the other's eyes.
But the more he thought about it, the more he felt himself growing bitter - Snake, he felt, had taken Luigi away from him without notice nor warning, and was refusing to give him up. And because of that, he had no choice but to fight and argue.
A knock sounded on his door, and he turned around with an unfathomable look in his eyes. Reluctantly, he got up to open the door. Who was it? He wasn't expecting visitors at this time of the day -
"Who - ah..."
Princess Peach stood at the door, her expression unusually firm and set.
"We need to talk, Mario."
Mario looked at her for a long time, but then turned his back on the princess, leaving the door open but no longer really acknowledging her. "Princess, this is not a good time."
"Nonsense." She stated briskly with the authority of a governor, and entered his suite, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. "You haven't spoken to me for a full week, and you're no longer paying close attention to your brawls anymore. You look permanently depressed and you're sleeping late. Hardly what I'd call normal behaviour, Mario. I doubt that your 'bad time' would last that long." But then her face softened, and she looked at him, genuine concern and worry in her eyes. "Mario, please. What's going on?"
"It's hardly important."
The princess merely looked at Mario, unbearable pity and sympathy in her expression.
"It's because of Luigi, isn't it?" She said softly. "Ever since he got injured that day... you changed."
Mario looked at her for a second, but then turned back. "You don't know what you're talking about, Princess."
Princess Peach drew in a breath at this unusual hostility, but still she refused to give up. "Let Luigi be friends with whoever he wishes. Snake hasn't hurt him, and he seems to be a nice enough person. You've got to let go of Luigi sometime."
"I can't abandon my own brother."
"It's not abandoning." The princess had moved closer, and she was now standing right next to him. "It's just letting go and letting him live his own life. You can't hold on to Luigi forever."
Mario sighed. "Princess... I don't wish to discuss this any further. I'll sort out my own problems. I know that I can't keep holding him back forever, it's just that..." He trailed off. Just what? Why couldn't he just let go of his brother? Because he was so used to having Luigi around him, perhaps? Mario didn't know.
"Mario... Luigi is not a child. Please remember that." Princess Peach implored. But she wasn't getting through and she knew it all too well; she sighed, looked at the red-clad plumber sadly, and quietly walked out of the suite. Mario heard her high heeled shoes clicking faintly as she turned the corner, and strode over to the door, shutting it with a thud. He then slid down the door and stayed sitting on the carpeted ground, head buried in his arms.
That encounter had not been the most pleasant one.
Yes, he was miserable. Yes, he couldn't get over the fact that Luigi and Snake were friends. And yes, he knew that he was driving away people who truly wanted to help. He didn't want to think about the brawl that had gotten Luigi injured, but at the same time he couldn't stop dwelling on it; this made him permanently moody and depressed. As much as he wanted to forget that brawl, Mario couldn't get rid of one thought; Luigi had been hit by a stray attack that day before getting hit with the rubble. But he didn't know just whose attack it had been. What if he had been the one who'd launched that attack? What if...
...he had injured his own brother?
"No...!" He muttered to himself, shaking his head, trying to get a grip on himself. He couldn't have done it. He just couldn't have hurt his own brother. It wasn't his fault - there were two other Smashers apart from him in the arena at that time. It could have been anyone's attack. But he couldn't get rid of that one horrible thought, and sunk down deeper into his well of misery, forgetting about everything else. He couldn't have done it. He would never, never injure his own younger brother...
He wasn't a bad person.
He really wasn't.
Really.
