LiamTheYoshi

It's okay, man. I'm sure Mario knows his fans feel for him deeply. If it was possible, I would go to the Mushroom Kingdom to cheer up Mario.

mariobroultimate

I don't blame you for shedding some tears. If this were a movie, Mario could get an Oscar for "Best Animated Character".

StarlitDuck

It is a shame. They just didn't want to stall with the funeral, so Peach's birthday was when it was scheduled.

7B - Get Out!

It's the next day at 5:05 PM. Earlier this morning, Mario was able to go back to his pad, but was instructed by Luigi to walk slowly so as to not fall over. He decided to wear one of his spare red caps and donned a blue shirt and red overalls.

"Feels great to be home," Mario sighed while going downstairs to check on his Faraway Warp Zone. He didn't turn on the computer, but stared at the control panel and side-mounted Warp Pipe.

Suddenly, Mario heard some rustling coming from upstairs, startling him instantly. Thinking that someone broke into his house, Mario quietly went upstairs to his closet and took out his red and yellow hammer in case he had to defend himself. He tiptoed out of the closet and saw a shadow in his kitchen.

"Who is that...?" Mario asked himself as he drew closer to the kitchen. By the time he reached the doorway, he recognized whose shadow it was and quickly became angry. He barged into the kitchen to see Wario rummaging through his fridge.

"WARIO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?!" Mario yelled, stopping Wario in his tracks.

"I just want-" Wario started before Mario interrupted him.

"NO! I DON'T WANNA HEAR IT! AFTER ALL THE DEATHS YOU AND WALUIGI CAUSED, YOU COME HERE TO DO WHAT?! APOLOGIZE?!" Wario closed the fridge door.

"No. I-"

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Mario held his hammer in front of Wario's head, worrying Wario even more. He began to back up toward the front door.

"Why do-"

"DON'T ASK! I'LL BASH YOUR SKULL IN UNTIL THERE'S NOTHING LEFT!" Mario screamed at the top of his lungs. "NOW MOVE!" Wario reached the door and turned the knob before hurrying onto the front yard's pathway.

He stopped after walking several feet from the wooden staircase and stared at Mario standing in front of the door.

"DON'T STAND THERE, YOU SCUMBAG! IT'S NOT THAT HARD TO WALK OUT THE GATE!" Mario yelled again. Wario slowly backed up again.

"I-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP! I'M NOT TELLING YOU AGAIN!" Mario started to walk toward Wario, but focused his eyes on him only. "GET OFF MY-" Suddenly, Mario fell forward, having missed one of the steps.

A loud crash echoed from the foyer, immediately waking up Luigi, who sat up quickly from his bed.

"What was that...?" Luigi asked himself. It was actually 1 AM, the early morning after Toadsworth's funeral.

Luigi got out of bed and walked out of his bedroom on the first floor toward the foyer.

"Did something just crash...?"

As he neared the foyer, Luigi saw Mario lying on his stomach, crying his eyes out and holding his head.

"HOLY CRAP!" Luigi shouted while hurrying to Mario. "MARIO!"

"Nnyaaghhh...!" Mario groaned with agony. He had just fallen down the stairs because he was sleepwalking while having a nightmare.

"Are you okay?" Luigi asked after kneeling next to Mario.

"N-no...!"

"What's wrong?"

"D-did... Did W-Wario...l-leave...?" Mario cried.

"What are you talking about?" Luigi questioned.

"W-Wario...broke i-into m-my...house...!" Mario replied as he slowly got up on his knees. He hung his head to the floor and grabbed it with his left hand.

"No, he didn't. Wario's nowhere in this kingdom anymore," Luigi said.

"B-but h-he..." Mario started to say, but couldn't get himself to talk more.

"Mario, you literally fell down the stairs sleepwalking!" Luigi scolded Mario after grabbing his shoulders. "You could've broken your skull again!"

"L-Luigi... I..." Luigi let go of Mario's shoulders; Mario collapsed on his stomach again and cried harder.

"Bro, calm down. It was just a nightmare," Luigi coaxed Mario, who didn't respond.

"Oh, Mario..." Luigi said with sympathy before hugging Mario. "It's okay. No one's gonna touch you."

"N-no... I..." Mario sobbed. Again, he couldn't make out sentences because of how upset he was.

"Shh," Luigi shushed Mario. "Let's-a go back upstairs, okay?" Luigi stood Mario back up and walked him upstairs to the guest room with his arm around Mario.

"W-why...w-was the d-door...o-open...?" Mario wept after entering the room again.

"I don't know. But don't worry about it. I'll close the door after I leave you be." Luigi laid Mario on his back and tucked him into bed.

"I-I'm s-sorry...L-Luigi...!"

"It's okay, bro. I'm sorry you had that nightmare. I promise you everything will be fine."

"O-okay..."

"I love you, Mario," Luigi said before walking out of the guest room.

"I-I l-love...y-you too...L-Luigi..." Mario cried. Luigi waved good night before shutting the door.

"I can't believe that happened, Luigi," Mario said while sipping his coffee. It's 7:30 AM and the Mario Bros were eating breakfast together in the dining room.

"Me neither. It's obviously a side effect of your injury," Luigi responded. "You know, PTSD nightmares."

"No. Wario breaking and entering doesn't count as the PTSD type," Mario said. "I don't know what kind of nightmare it was."

"Let's just say it also has to do with your hatred toward the Wario Bros." The toaster dinged from the kitchen, prompting Luigi to take two pieces of cinnamon swirl bread out of it and onto a plate before buttering the bread.

"Your toast is ready, bro," Luigi said before serving Mario his cinnamon toast.

"Thank you, Luigi." Mario took a small bite because he wanted to savor the taste. "I don't know if I asked, but when will the tournament start again?"

"Well, first off, the doctor said you can't play in the tournament, so you're essentially disqualified."

"Yeah."

"How's your head feeling?" Luigi asked.

"It kind of hurts, but I think it'll get worse because I took my meds right after I got up," Mario replied.

"All right-y. The other thing is that there might be an announcement in a couple days. Hopefully, they'll reschedule the last two matches very soon."

"When?"

"I don't know the answer to that either," Luigi said while Mario continued to eat his toast.

"So, Wario and Waluigi are actually gone, right?" Mario asked.

"I'm confident they're gone forever. Believe me: Wario and Waluigi will get locked up as soon as they show themselves again."

"If that happens, Luigi, I don't want to be near them," Mario requested.

"I understand. I'll fight the Wario Bros off for you if they DO come back," Luigi said.

"Thank you," Mario thanked Luigi, who patted his shoulder. "I've never had a nicer brother in my whole life. It's like you're my guardian angel." Luigi blushed at Mario's compliment.

"Wow. You really mean that?" Luigi chuckled.

"I do. You're literally more than just a simple brother, Luigi. I swear you are."

"Oh, thank you, Mario." Luigi hugged Mario as a sign of gratitude. "You're an excellent brother too. I know you're older than me, but I'll still protect you no matter what."

Luigi stopped hugging Mario after a short while.

"Are you done with your breakfast, bro?" Luigi asked.

"Not yet. I haven't finished my second piece," Mario answered before finishing his toast. He then gave the plate to Luigi, who rinsed it off and put it in the dishwasher.