I'm so lonely.
Solitude does many things to an individual. It's silent, and it's maddening without anyone around. There's no one to comfort you. There's no one to converse with. There's absolutely nothing.
Everyone is gone.
I never quite realize how much I really miss them, until times like this. Sometimes, I swear they're still here. When I'm alone, I can hear phantom footsteps, remnants of voices, the memories of what used to be still lurking through these lonely halls.
I can hear them laughing. I can hear them crying. I can hear them screaming.
But, I know they aren't really there. As much as I'd like to believe they are, they're gone.
I miss them.
I miss them so much.
"Are we all ready to go?"
Luigi's voice had entirely lost its ever-familiar unsure and anxious tremor. The man now stood prideful and confident as he led the group to action. He had to admit he felt a little out of place, what with ordering royalty figures around like this. But whenever he looked over at them, they seemed to be following his instructions. Heck, his brother even gave him approval this time around! He watched gleefully whenever Mario gave him a weak thumbs up.
Everyone was preparing individually, each one running about and handling themselves for the journey ahead.
Queen Bean had ordered that Dr. Toadley bandage Peasley's head wound, despite his rampant protesting to the idea, claiming the pouring blood from the back of his head was merely a flesh wound. The Queen wasn't buying it however, seeing to his bandaging personally. His blonde hair, dyed a sickly turquoise from the blood, was not exactly flourishing, much to his dismay. That was likely the only reason he agreed to holding a gauze to his wound while Toadley bandaged his head.
Toadsworth, who was still coughing in intervals and refused help from medical staff, escorted King Fret around, trying to keep him calmed amongst the rushing others. The old toad knew that if Fret had a choice, he would've left hours ago to go seek out Eclair and end her game. He was still mumbling things about her being a coward and a dirty liar.
The others were well underway with preparations, gathering supplies and weapons meant for use on the journey.
Luigi tended to his brother's chest wound, waiting for the others to prepare themselves. When the younger brother finished with that, Mario packed a knapsack full of healing items and the like. All the while, Toadsworth distributed weapons from the armory of the castle.
He handed them off to the others, albeit while also harshly commanding them to return the items as soon as they returned safely with the Princess.
"I'm ready, Luigi." Prince Dreambert smiled warmly, adjusting the golden bracelets on his wrists as he approached the younger Mario brother. "I do hope I can be service."
Peasley examined the sword given to him for a moment, before returning it to its sheath and attaching it to his crimson belt. "Well, it's certainly not my trusty rapier… but I am quite flexible. I'm more than willing to work with what we have." He readjusted the belt and sword, turning to Luigi with a grin. "I believe I'm prepared."
Queen Bean approached Peasley from behind, checking that his bandages were secured.
"You had better not get yourself hurt on this mission, Prince Peasley." She warned tactfully, her tone dangerous. "I'm expecting you to come home safe."
"Of course, Mother." Peasley affirmed before cocking his head to the side, confused. "Wait. Aren't you coming with us?"
Queen Bean shook her head. "I don't believe that'd be in anyone's best interest. I think it'd be better for me to stay behind." She turned to Fret and Cyan, ruffling the small Sprixie's hair as she spoke. Cyan smiled gently. "Someone needs to watch over these two while the rest of you are gone. And Toadsworth is certainly in no position to do so…"
Toadsworth went to object, but coughed instead, nodding begrudgingly. Queen Bean smiled as Cyan nodded meekly in agreement. Fret voiced no objections either, grunting with a small nod. He still avoided eye contact.
"I see." Peasley turned to the others. "Just don't be getting into trouble while I'm off, alright, Mother?"
"What have I ever?" Queen Bean guffawed loudly before her tone went serious once more. "But, please… do be careful, all of you. We don't know what Bowser is planning this time around..."
"Way ahead of you, your Majesty." Mario called, bowing his head before turning to his little brother. "Are you ready, Weegie?"
Luigi laughed, shrugging. "Ready as I'll ever be, bro."
Mario fixed the straps of the bag on his shoulders, now filled to the brim with power-ups, items, and mushrooms... just in case anything went wrong on their journey.
The group of young heroes was almost ready, Toadsworth lecturing Mario on a few final things and Queen Bean giving her son a small kiss and tight hug, making sure not to crush his spine. When Peasley was finally released, he hobbled back towards Luigi and Dreambert, who were still going over things.
"Be safe, darling!" Queen Bean called. "Oh, and, all of you, bring the princess back safely!"
Dreambert fidgeted with his fingers absently, turning to Luigi with an expectant stare. "So, are we just planning on marching straight to the Dark Lands?"
Luigi looked toward the general direction Bowser's Kingdom was, giving Mario a glance. Mario's expression was neutral, gaze darkened and deep in concentration.
"...Not quite. We can't be brash about this, after all." Luigi grinned defiantly as he stared back at the small group behind him, each one of them listening intently to every word he spoke. "And I think I have an idea…"
Peach had never felt so lonely.
Sitting on her knees in her cell, she ran her hands over the creases of her dress, fiddling with the fabric to try and pass the time. Her dress had been noticeably dirited from only the mere passing of an hour or so, stray particles of ash and smoke clinging to the pink fabric. Being randomly abducted probably didn't help it's condition either…
She gazed down, staring at her gloved hands through hazy eyes. She shivered, clutching her hands together, running her thumbs over her knuckles and exhaling.
She just couldn't believe he would do this.
"Mh… Mama?"
Peach jolted, lifting her head and glancing beyond her messy locks of hair, noticing a short figure approach her line of sight. "W-What?"
"Ma… P-Princess! Princess Peach!" A boyish voice hastily corrected himself.
Peach squinted, the darkness of her prison and her glossy eyesight making it hard to see. She wiped at her eyes, listening to small, hurried footsteps approaching her cell quickly.
Bowser Junior, carrying a bundle of items in his small arms, appeared before her. He panted momentarily, trying to catch his breath as he stepped toward the princess's cell. Without a word, he abruptly dropped a sea of markers and construction paper on the floor.
Peach stared at the mess momentarily, pausing before releasing a short perplexed chuckle. "What's all this?"
"Pops is kinda mad right now... about Mario and stuff, probably…" Junior mumbled. "But, he was tellin' me, er, well, all the Koopalings too, about how you were sad and stuff. So, we made a plan to tryta cheer you up."
Junior plopped himself down on the floor, crossing his legs before reaching for a red marker, handing it over to Peach. "Here."
"O-Oh." Peach softly exclaimed before delicately taking the marker. "Thank you…"
"Yeah. I'm not a very good drawer, but that's okay."
Peach felt a smile slowly crack on her pursed lips.
Junior handed her a piece of white construction paper through the bars of the cell as he situated himself, moving to lie down on his stomach as he comfortably draped himself over his own paper, starting to draw a face. Peach looked down at her own red marker and white paper, leaning forward on her knees to begin drawing a small bird.
She hummed gently as she went, the marker ink bleeding through the cheap paper. She hadn't drawn in what felt like years. The only time ink ever touched parchment nowadays was to write diplomatic letters, let alone ever even sketch.
"Ma… Peach-"
"Hm?" Peach glanced up.
"Papa doesn't want you to be sad. He wouldn't tell you this but," Junior scribbled hair on the face he was drawing. "I think he's really scared... he just wants to keep you safe… Ludwig says papa's emotions are weird."
Peach nodded absently.
The two drew in silence until Peach looked up from her own blood-red bird, tapping on Junior's drawing. Junior's artwork was messy, lines of marker jumbled together hastily. Peach found it charming, in its own cute little way.
"What're you drawing?"
"He's…" Junior sat up on his arms, grabbing another marker. "He's a guy from my favorite video game. Dad doesn't like him, 'cus he keeps fighting this big dragon, and papa thinks the big dragon is misunderstood."
Peach smiled.
"You're a good drawer." Junior commented, tapping a claw on Peach's drawing before coloring in his own. "Can you draw a princess? That's who my hero guy saves."
Junior pointed at his own drawing with his marker.
"Oh…" Peach set aside her unfinished bird, being handed a light pink sheet of paper. "O-Of course. I can try."
"So, she has red hair an' a white dress…" Junior tossed his drawing aside, instead placing a piece of gray paper down under his arms. "An' I'll draw the dragon!"
Peach smiled, starting to sketch out a human's body to draw a princess. She asked for a few clarifications, and Junior helped her by adding on features the princess had.
It took him about half an hour to warm up to the princess enough to talk with her casually. He rambled on and on about his favorite video game and the rest of the characters to her, talking about how the graphics of the game weren't all that great but it was a good way to pass the time. He mentioned that Larry was the only one better at the game than he was.
Peach looked up at him, watching him as he rambled on.
He seemed so... happy. He was just a child. One who had previously witnessed a murder, the unjust thievery of life, and he was still smiling.
She admired that.
The two drew and talked for what felt like hours, Peach all but forgetting about the conditions she was in. The only worries she had now was the fact that the red marker had bled onto her palms and stained her skin.
It wasn't until a loud commotion, coming from beyond her cell, sounded that Peach snapped back to reality. Junior had a similar reaction, standing alert.
"He's here."
Peach sat back before standing slowly, gripping the bars of her cell while staring down at Junior quizzically. "What? Who's here?"
"The bad man! Obviously!"
Junior fixed the bandana around his neck, exhaling before running off without another word as the commotion grew louder, crumpling the drawing he had been working on as he dashed away from the princess's cell. Peach stared after him, knowing exactly what the young koopa meant.
She knew he would rescue her. Everything was going to be okay.
Mario was finally here.
"I had no idea fire flowers were capable of doing that!" Dreambert exclaimed, trying to keep his excited tone at a hush. "I thought they were just for decoration and floral arrangements…!"
"Luigi, do they always change the color of your garb like that?" Peasley eagerly questioned.
Luigi merely shushed the pair of princes, reminding them that they were supposed to be conspicuous at the moment. Sneaking into Bowser's castle was no easy feat, and the rampant questions from the newly-appointed heros didn't make the situation any better.
Mario's pace dragged a bit as he hung around the back of the group, Peasley and Dreambert in the middle, while Luigi led the group head-on.
Luigi's plan had been going pretty well so far. Unlike Mario's usual strategy of fighting everything in sight and jumping right into danger, Luigi stuck to the shadows. That made it easy to sneak in without hardly anyone noticing. The journey to the Dark Lands itself was rather straightforward, only battling enemies if they attacked them first. And despite their fair share of battles, they didn't come about too often... so long as they were careful. Often, a simple explanation and reassurance that they meant no harm to an agitated Wiggler or enraged Goomba was all it took to calm down their foes.
The group of four returned to silence as they trudged forward through the dreary halls of Bowser's Castle, intent on finding Princess Peach. Mario and Luigi knew where Bowser usually kept her, so it was only a matter of time until they arrived.
Mario, however, still dragged his feet, glancing behind his shoulder and up ahead ever so often. With every bump and fidget he heard, his head spun and his breathing hastened. His mind had constantly been plagued by the same thought, and being here, even if it was such a familiar place at this point, only made him feel sick to his stomach.
As Peasley whispered to Dreambert about the distasteful decor of Bowser's castle, Mario ran ahead to grab Luigi's shoulder, slowing his younger brother down.
"Mario?"
"Luigi." Mario whispered, trying to keep his voice at a minimum. "Doesn't this feel off to you?"
"N-No…?" Luigi glanced around, shrugging his shoulders. "Everything seems to be going pretty well."
"It's just… I feel like we should've been spotted at this point. I'll give him credit where credit's due, Bowser is usually pretty prepared for this sort of thing."
"Mario, it's okay. Maybe this'll go off without a hitch! Get through the castle, grab the princess, get outta here. We'll be back to the Mushroom Kingdom before we even know it!"
"But..." Mario glanced down at his hands, looking forward with a shaky exhale. He went to say something, but shut his mouth before even choking out the words. Luigi placed a comforting hand on Mario's shoulder, patting him gently.
"Fratello, it'll be okay. I pro-"
"WELL, WELL, WELL! IF IT ISN'T OUR OLD PAL, MARIO!"
"Aaaand… there it is." Mario sighed, readying himself for a fight if need be.
Luigi cringed and winced as he glanced up, the lights shining from the headlights of various koopa cars making themselves very prominent in the darkness of the castle. Excited laughter erupted amongst the seven Koopalings, all staring down at the four heroes.
"Gwhehe, we didn't expect you so soon!"
"YEAH! You're usually such a slowpoke!"
"Well, it's okay for us, because we're gonna CLOBBER YOU ANYWAY!"
Luigi trembled, but pushed down his fear in favor of standing tall. "We… We're not afraid of you! Where's the Princess?"
Before they could even sarcastically reply, Mario jumped up on the gathering of koopas and clown cars, intent on landing a hit on at least one of them. They each moved out of the way, almost too fluidly, as though they had been preparing for exactly that situation.
"Too bad, Mario!" Wendy excitedly giggled, placing her chin over her manicured claws. "King Dad's been teaching us all of your lame tricks! This time, we're ready for anything you throw at us!"
"Then it's a rather good thing they brought reinforcements." Prince Peasley suddenly spoke up, drawing his blade and pointing it toward the Koopalings, readying himself for battle. "Due to your lack of understanding of 'our' tricks."
"WHO YOU?" Morton questioned, confused. He scratched at the side of his head. "YOU NOT TOADS."
"Wait... I feel like I've seen your face before..."
"I'd remember an ugly-looking face like that, Roy." Wendy added while pointing at the two out-of-place princes, gagging dramatically. "Why're you even here?"
"We're friends of Mario and Luigi's." Dreambert stood by Peasley's side confidently, hovering absently off the ground. "And we're going to rescue the Princess, if you don't mind!"
"You'll have to get through us, first!" The Koopalings hopped out of the clown cars, dismissing them before each stood in their respective battle stances. "FOR LORD BOWSER!"
Dreambert leapt forward, handling Lemmy's attack first, thinking a giant bouncy ball wouldn't be too tough to deflate. Peasley grinned, adjusting his grip on his sword handle before quickly glancing toward Luigi, ushering him away.
"You two, go ahead. Find Peach. Dreambert and I will handle this…"
Luigi went to object, but nodded instead, despite his better judgement. He reached into the knapsack Mario was carrying, pulling out a few items for Peasley and Dreambert's consumption, if need be.
Luigi and Mario ran off to the sound of the Koopalings cackling and crying out, hopefully distracted enough so that the brothers could go ahead. They ran through a set of double doors, shutting them before breathing heavily.
Mario glanced around, his complexion still pale as his thoughts did not waver. Luigi went to comfort him, but Mario just assured him that they needed to continue.
The two eventually found themselves in Bowser's throne room, face to face with the doors that led to the area where Bowser usually had all of his final showdowns with Mario. Mario knew that if the Koopalings were there and ready for his arrival, that Bowser would surely be waiting expectedly behind those doors. Probably with some smug remark to welcome the brothers into his lair.
"You ready?"
Luigi was silent before he suddenly shrunk back, stepping backwards. All of the intrusive thoughts he had been trying to expel returned at once, his face going white as a sheet as his body began to tremble, his breathing quickened. His thoughts made his vision hazy, gaze flickering.
"N-No…" Luigi breathed out, shaking his head. "I can't do this…"
Mario, though distracted at the thoughts of Bowser and impending defeat, turned hastily and grabbed his brother's shoulders, trying to steady him.
"Hey, hey, Luigi. It's okay. I'm here."
"I'm n-not a leader, b-bro, I can't do t-this…!"
Mario glanced back before hugging his little brother, whispering words of affirmation and reassurance to the anxious man. After a long silence, he backed up, leaving Luigi some space. He thought for a moment before coming to an idea, reaching to his side and removing the straps of the bag off of him.
"Here." Mario handed over the knapsack. "You go find Peach. Find a way to sneak in there, get her out, and then you all come find me."
"B-But… bro… I can't leave you to fight B-Bowser all alone. W-What if he h-hurts you... like, real bad... and I'm not there-?!"
"You can do this, Weeg. I know you can." Mario reassured. "This won't be a problem. Bowser won't bother us anymore after this, it'll be okay. I'll be okay."
Luigi paused for a moment before nodding, hesitantly moving toward the side doors of the throne room that ultimately led down to the dungeon and prison cells. He just had to find the Princess. It would be easy… surely.
He glanced back at Mario, who had already threw open the doors, greeted immediately by Bowser's guttural laughter and triumphant tone, which became muffled as the doors shut behind the red-capped hero.
Luigi exhaled, leaving the sounds of fighting and war behind as he marched on.
Peach glanced up quick, feeling her heart pounding when Junior suddenly returned, having pulled his bandana over his face now as he slammed the metal door behind him. He was mumbling to himself.
"The bad men…! They want to take Mama away…" He kept repeating it like a mantra, terrified at the thought.
Peach gripped the bars of her cell, keeping her gaze focused forward until she realized someone was trying to force the door open. Junior yelped, scurrying over by Peach's cell and standing protectively in front of her.
And, as the door was finally pushed open, there stood the youngest of the Mario brothers.
"Luigi!"
"Principessa!" Luigi excitedly exclaimed, happy to see Peach alive and well.
Mario had kept mumbling about how he thought Bowser had already ended her game, so it was a joyous sight to see her so happy to see him. And despite some grime on her face and dress, she appeared in relatively healthy condition.
"Stay away from Mama!" Junior barked at Luigi's approaching.
"Junior…" Peach spoke softly. "Junior, I'm not your m-"
Junior's rampant protective cries turned to tears trickling down his round cheeks. His shoulders went limp and he turned to Peach slowly, reaching up to try and hold her by the hand. "I-I don't want you to go away, again, Mama."
Peach, despite everything, felt herself calming down. She understood what he was saying. She placed a hand on her chest, bending down on her knees to stare straight into Junior's eyes, brimming with tears. She wiped away at them with her hand, smiling.
"Junior… if you want to spend time with me, you don't have to have anyone kidnap me against my will to do it. You can come over to the Mushroom Kingdom anytime. I'd be happy to see you. Your father could even tag along."
"B-But… the bad men are trying to take you away…"
"B-Bowser Junior... eh..." Luigi ventured hesitantly before clearing his throat. "The Princess has a say in what she does. Mario and I help her s-so she has that choice. And she wants to help people too."
Junior pouted, glaring at Luigi through bared teeth. "Papa just wants to keep Mama safe! You can't take her away! She'd get hurt! You bad men would hurt her!
Peach chuckled gently. "Junior… I can assure you I can handle myself. Mario and Luigi are my friends. They wouldn't try and hurt me."
Junior glanced back at Luigi before turning to face Peach. "You… you promise?"
Peach nodded.
It seemed like hours had passed in the silence that followed. Junior stood still, contemplating on everything he had ever been taught silently. He sniffled, trying to wipe at the tears on his face. It took a few minutes before Junior finally spoke, shakily.
"...Okay."
Junior's feet pitter-pattered across the cold floor of the dungeon before returning with a key, unlocking Peach's cell. Peach exited, grabbing her dress daintily and leaning down on her knees to envelop Junior in a hug.
"Thank you." Peach smiled gently. "You made the right decision, Junior."
"Principessa!"
Peach stood up abruptly and hugged Luigi as well before drawing back, looking around. "Where's Mario?"
"O-Oh! He's fighting Bowser…"
"Papa?!"
"Mm. He said to go find him after-"
Luigi was interrupted by a thunderous roar that sounded above them, echoing throughout the whole castle. The trio jumped unexpectedly at the abrupt sound.
W-What?
"We should hurry." Peach urged, grabbing her dress and running ahead. "We need to find Mario."
Luigi followed behind, Junior anxiously rushing after the princess to wherever his papa might be.
Why did you…? How...
When the three reached the throne room and the doors that led to where Mario and Bowser were, it took almost all of their strength combined to shove open the doors.
How could you?
They paused upon throwing them open, hesitantly entering to find Mario with his back turned to them. It was completely quiet.
I thought I could trust you.
Mario stood alone, hands shaking and clothes singed. There were burn marks at his feet, the ground scorched. The swirling lava that lied in pools along the concrete arena, bubbling and sizzling, were the only sound in the vicinity.
Bowser was nowhere in sight.
The silence was deafening.