Chapter 17

17A - Breaking Point

For the last several minutes, Mario, having completely lost his cool, continued to drag Luigi down the foyer's upper east hall.

Luigi had been pleading to Mario to reconsider and go back to Jim to apologize, but he didn't listen as he was obsessed with saving Princess Peach. Finally, Luigi threw Mario over his head with his arms, breaking free of Mario's grip. Mario started to charge Luigi, but Luigi pinned him against the wall on his left-hand side.

"Let me go!" Mario screamed. "We're on a mission!" Luigi snatched Mario's cap off his head and tossed it away.

Before Mario could complain about his cap, Luigi yelled louder than Mario, "I DON'T GIVE A SHIZZLE ABOUT YOUR STUPID RED CAP, MARIO! THAT'S THE MOST UNIMPORTANT THING I'VE SEEN YOU OBSESS ABOUT!" Luigi had a scary glare on his face, given he was at the end of his rope.

"But-"

"SHUT THE HECK UP! YOU'VE BEEN THE MOST SELFISH PERSON I'VE EVER COME ACROSS! AND YOU JUST SOCKED A GREAT FRIEND OF OURS ALL BECAUSE YOU EXPECTED HIM TO CALM DOWN WHEN HE COULDN'T!"

Mario began to tear up and his lips started quivering.

"WHAT IS YOU CRYING GONNA DO?! MAKE ME STOP CHEWING YOU OUT AND PINNING YOU AGAINST A WALL?!" Luigi went on. "I'VE BEEN TRYING TO BE THE SO-CALLED 'BIG BROTHER' FOR YOU, WHEN IN REALITY, I WAS BORN SECOND! IF VIOLENCE WAS THE ANSWER, I WOULD PUNCH YOUR FACE IN LIKE YOU DID TO JIM, BUT I'M NOT GONNA DO THAT!"

"Then why-" Luigi slammed his hand over Mario's mouth.

"I WILL NOT TOLERATE HEARING YOUR VOICE UNTIL I ASK YOU TO SPEAK! AM I CLEAR?!" Mario nodded his head. "AS I WAS SAYING, I WOULD PUNCH YOU AS REVENGE FOR HURTING JIM WHEN HE DIDN'T DESERVE IT, BUT THAT WOULD MAKE ME A FOOL IN FRONT OF EVERYONE JUST LIKE WHAT YOU DID TO YOURSELF!"

Luigi's voice began to tremble, having been pushed past his breaking point.

"DO YOU EVEN REALIZE HOW MUCH I'VE TRIED TO HELP YOU CONTROL YOUR ANGER?! FOR EVERY SINGLE DAY OF OUR LIVES! AND EVERY TIME YOU PROMISE TO CHANGE, YOU REVERT TO YOUR OLD WAYS AND THE CYCLE CONTINUES! WHO ARE YOU TO THINK YOU CAN DISRESPECT EVERYONE AROUND YOU WHEN YOU'RE NOT YOURSELF?! I SHOULD'VE LET THE COPS ARREST YOU AT SHIVER CITY!"

Mario attempted to wriggle out of Luigi's grasp, but Luigi pushed him harder against the wall.

"NO! YOU DON'T MOVE! YOU DON'T MOVE! BE STILL!" Luigi roared. "NO ONE IS GOING ANYWHERE! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" Mario nodded his head again. "I'M LITERALLY THIS CLOSE TO GIVING UP ON SAVING PRINCESS PEACH AND LEAVING YOU ON YOUR OWN! I'M SICK AND TIRED OF SEEING YOU BREAKING STUFF, HURTING PEOPLE, MAKING A LOUD SCENE IN FRONT OF A PUBLIC CROWD, AND BEGGING FOR MORE CHANCES TO CHANGE!"

"YOU DON'T DESERVE FOR ME TO BE NICE TO YOU ANYMORE!" Luigi cried with anger. "I'VE BEEN PUSHING MYSELF TO STAY COOL WHENEVER YOU LOSE YOURSELF WHEN I SHOULD'VE TAKEN ACTION RATHER THAN LETTING YOU GET AWAY WITH IT! I CAN'T EVEN LOOK AT YOUR ANGRY FACE ANYMORE!" Luigi threw Mario down the way they came before running off to the door leading to the next room and sitting in a corner to cry his eyes out.

Meanwhile, Mario laid still on his stomach, reflecting on every single outburst he had in his life; he was also crying, but not as hard as Luigi was. Both sobbed for ten minutes straight before Mario composed himself and stood back up before putting his cap back on. He saw Luigi still crying with a guilty look on his face.

"If I talk to Luigi, he's gonna jump me again..." Mario said to himself. "Should I leave him alone more, or go for it...?" After 15 seconds, Mario made the decision to talk to Luigi again, but walked slowly so that Luigi wouldn't hear his footsteps.

Mario kneeled in front of Luigi, who was facing the corner the whole time he was alone.

"Um... Uh..." Mario hesitated. "Luigi...?" Mario decided to not touch Luigi because that would make him angry again. "Bro...?"

Luigi finally heard Mario's voice and slowly turned to Mario, whose eyes were red and puffy from crying, but it was less than Luigi's eyes. Luigi took a few seconds to think before he suddenly embraced Mario tight.

"Luigi! That's too tight!" Mario complained.

"M-Mario..." Luigi cried with a scratchy voice. "I-I'm s-so s-sorry...! W-what I-I...s-screamed w-wasn't...true...!" Luigi loosened the hug a bit before Mario hugged Luigi back.

"But you sounded serious," Mario said.

"I-I d-didn't...m-mean t-to sound...th-that way...! I j-just love...J-Jim...just as m-much as...I-I love y-you...and P-Princess P-Peach...!"

"Don't cry, Luigi," Mario coaxed Luigi. "I forgive you. If you still want to let me do the rest by myself, I'll go solo."

"N-no...!" Luigi sobbed. "I-I d-don't wanna...g-go h-home! I-I...need y-you! Please!"

Mario teared up at Luigi's plea, but remained calm.

"Me too, Luigi. That's why we're brothers. Siblings need each other," Mario said before Luigi let go of him. "See? I'm being the big brother now."

"I kn-know... Th-thank you for...b-being th-that...for m-me..." Luigi sniffed.

"Do you want me to go back to the cell and apologize to Jim?" Mario asked.

"No... We n-need to...k-keep going..." Luigi replied.

"Luigi, he's our friend. We should wait for him." Luigi took a deep breath.

"But we don't know where Jim's going. He might be going back to the Star Road because fighting Bowser with the Star Rod is too dangerous for a teenager like him."

"That's possible. Maybe he's doing the right thing for once," Mario said. "But no matter what, Jim will root for us just like everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Yeah. At least Jim did try to help the party guests out of the castle," Luigi responded. "I'm actually proud of him for staying behind, but I was too scared to trust him."

"I guess that means both of us will apologize to Jim after this is over," Mario said.

"I'm sorry I threw your cap away," Luigi apologized. "I should've left it alone because it's the one thing that our fans know about you besides our countless adventures."

"It's okay, Luigi. You didn't ruin my cap."

"All right-y. Can we go now?" Luigi asked.

"If you insist." Mario stood back up before helping Luigi on his feet. "As long as we work together, Bowser won't stand a chance." Mario and Luigi shook hands, officially calling a truce.

"Deal." Luigi turned to Watt, who had been waiting patiently. "Let's-a go, Watt."

Just as Watt caught up, Mario and friends walked into the next room, wondering what traps will hinder their progress this time.