LiamTheYoshi

Mario Stadium is derived from the one seen in the Mario Baseball series.

mariobroultimate

You're gonna love the candidate Luigi came up with. Get ready.

StarlitDuck

Most of the time, Luigi knows to make his jokes appropriate even though some can accidentally go overboard. In my universe, Shy Guys are real because they had their own toy box in "The Seven Star Spirits".

Chapter 8

8A - We Need You

"Alex! You want some peanut butter apples?" Terry Peterson called out to Alex, who was playing on the swings in the Peterson house's backyard. The time is now 1:15 PM.

"Coming!"

Alex rushed inside to the kitchen where Terry had prepped him a plate of sliced Red Delicious apples topped with peanut butter.

"Thanks, Mom," Alex thanked Terry before he started eating his snack. Just then, the phone rang from the living room, prompting Terry to answer the call.

"Peterson Residence. This is Terry," she said.

"Hello, Terry!" a familiar voice replied over the line. Terry's face lit up.

"Luigi! Nice to hear from you!"

"Thanks. You too."

Meanwhile, having heard Terry greet Luigi over the phone, Alex also smiled big.

"How is it going?" Terry asked.

"Not much. Can I talk to Alex, please?"

"Sure. He's in the kitchen with me." Terry handed the phone to Alex and said, "Here's Luigi, Alex."

"Okay." Alex immediately took the phone and started talking to Luigi. "Hi, Luigi!"

"Hello, buddy! Are you having a good day today?"

"Yeah. I was playing on the swings earlier and Mom made me some peanut butter apples," Alex said.

"Mmm. That's a tasty snack," Luigi remarked. "I was wanting to have you come over to Mario's Pad. It's very important."

"How important?"

"You'll see," Luigi answered. "I'll start up the FWZ so the Warp Pipe will appear in your front yard."

"Do I need to bring anything?"

"You do not. Just simply wait outside," Luigi instructed Alex.

"Okay. See you there," Alex bid Luigi goodbye.

"Buh-bye, Alex." After hanging up the phone, Alex finished his snack before heading for the front door.

"I might be gone for a while, Mom," Alex said. "But I'll be fine."

"I know you will, honey," Terry responded before opening the door to let Alex outside. "See you."

"Bye." After Terry shut the door, Alex sat on the doorstep for less than a minute before a green Warp Pipe spawned to his top right. He didn't waste any time and climbed into the Warp Pipe for the 14 second ride to Mario's Pad.

After exiting the side-mounted Warp Pipe, Alex made his way upstairs and found Luigi waiting for him in the kitchen.

"Luigi!" Alex called out, getting Luigi's attention. Luigi got up from the dining room table and waved hello with his fingers.

"Hello, buddy!" Luigi greeted Alex, who ran up to hug Luigi before sitting at the table with him. "I'm so glad you came here, Alex."

"Me too, Luigi," Alex said. "Where's Mario?"

"He's at my mansion right now."

"Okay. What did you want to tell me?"

"In a week and a half, there's gonna be this big tennis game that me and Mario are playing in," Luigi stated.

"Are you playing against each other?" Alex asked.

"No. He and I are playing as a team. There's another team, Yoshi and Donkey Kong, playing against us. You remember them from the Halloween party, right?"

"Yes, I do."

"Good. Now, all of us have been practicing every day to get ready for the game, but Mario just told me that he can't play with me," Luigi explained.

"Why not?" Alex asked.

Luigi stopped to reflect on the Peach Dome disaster the previous Wednesday. He didn't want to tell Alex about Mario's serious injury because it would be too disturbing for a five year old kid. So, he decided to make up a story for Alex to understand better.

"Well... A few days ago... Uh... Mario was riding his bike...and he ran into a big row of rocks and fell over and hit his head on the ground."

"Ouch. That must've hurt," Alex commented.

"It sure did, buddy," Luigi replied. "Now, Mario can't play because the doctor said so."

"Who's playing instead?" Alex asked.

"That's what me and my friends were wondering. During lunch today; me, Daisy, and Aqua tried to come up with ideas as to who should replace Mario," Luigi continued. "And I thought you would be the right choice."

Alex immediately became confused because he had never played tennis before.

"Me? Why me?"

"Because you're me and Mario's bestest friend. We need you for this game," Luigi answered.

"But I'm too small," Alex said before standing up. "Look at me." Luigi stood up and looked down at Alex.

"I'm five years old and I'm shorter than you. I can't play tennis."

"Yes, you can, Alex," Luigi said. "I'll help you practice for the game."

"But my favorite sport is baseball," Alex calmly argued. "Dad doesn't play tennis either; he plays golf." Alex and Luigi sat back down.

"I know that your dad plays golf, but it's never too late to try a new sport," Luigi said with a smile. "Plus, it'll be fun."

But Alex frowned and stared at the table, causing Luigi to feel sorry for him.

"Hey. Don't be upset, buddy," Luigi coaxed Alex while putting his hand on his shoulder. "You're going to be a super tennis player."

"No, I'm not," Alex muttered. "I'm not Super Alex. I'm just a kid."

"You know what? You're right. You ARE a kid," Luigi agreed. "But you're no ordinary kid."

"How?"

"Let me tell you a story," Luigi began. "After me and Mario saved Princess Peach for the first time, everybody cheered for Mario and didn't pay attention to me. I got so sad that I felt like my Super powers were going away. I thought I was just a regular man."

"You see, me and Mario were born to be Super even before we found the Mushroom Kingdom," Luigi went on. "When I thought my powers were gone, I didn't want to go back to the Mushroom Kingdom and decided to start plumbing by myself again. Mario didn't want to see me upset, so he sat with me and gave me some good advice."

"He said, 'Luigi, I'm sorry everyone didn't cheer for you. But don't let that upset you for the rest of your life. You're better than you think you are. Remember that we're the Super Mario Brothers for a reason, and that is because Bowser has no chance against us. But it's not all about powers. It's about the kind of person you are in your heart.'"

"'You don't need to have powers to be Super Luigi. All you need to do is think of everyone who loves you and brings you happiness. That will give you the courage to protect your friends and family whenever they need your help. No matter what happens, you'll always be Super Luigi in your heart.'"

"That's very nice of Mario to say that," Alex remarked.

"Yes, it was. I felt happy enough to be Super again. And because of that, me and Mario decided to stay in the Mushroom Kingdom and leave our plumbing jobs behind," Luigi said. "In the case of you, Alex, you don't have to be good at tennis to be Super Alex. All it takes is what makes you happy and you'll do great things before you know it."

Alex smiled again, having been motivated by Luigi's advice.

"You'll always be Super Alex in your heart just like there's a Super Luigi in me." Alex went and hugged Luigi again.

"Thank you so much, Luigi. You made me really happy," Alex thanked Luigi.

"You're welcome, buddy," Luigi replied. "I love you."

"I love you too, Luigi." After both stopped hugging, Luigi walked with Alex out of Mario's Pad to his kart, which he parked just outside the front gate.

"Let's-a go to the tennis court," Luigi said while he and Alex got inside the kart. "We're gonna have some fun today."

"All right." Without further ado, Luigi and Alex began the 45 minute drive to the Lake Shroom Country Club: the first step in Alex's training for the Peach Dome Tennis Doubles Tournament.