Count Green

Episode 8: The Girl in the Sky

That following day, after the ball and finding out about the Bloodstone, the gang got back to work. Minds were clear and they could officially focus on the problem at hand.

Well...all but three.

While Peach and Luigi worked on finding the Bloodstone, Nadia had gone back to her kingdom for a quick moment with Vanessa going along with her. They said they would be back in a few days or a few hours, but the bros had a feeling that Nadia was hiding something from them.

Speaking of, Mario was sitting in the foyer on the staircase. Just sitting, with a hand on his head. Something seemed to have been bothering him that whole day. Something terrifying. And though Rita had just walked in from the hall leading to Elvin's old lab, she could tell and see the demons that Mario was facing right now.

She went to go speak to him, but her voice never came out. Not a peep was spoken. Something in her heart made her stop dead like she was all of a sudden nervous to speak to Mario, the Hero in Red, the Mushroom Kingdom's savior.

It's like she formed some sort of attachment to him.

She took a deep breath and ran back the way she came, softly closing the door behind her. She hoped Mario didn't hear, but unfortunately, he heard the door close. He knew it was Rita that was there, however. He knew the scent of her perfume anywhere. It smelled like nature.

(SONG: "Kristoff Lullaby" - Frozen on Broadway) [Semi-lyric change]

MARIO: What is this hollow kind of helpless I'm feeling?/This type of terror is new./And/the fact that I can hardly breathe is now revealing/how much I've changed cause of you./You light the world for me/you live life fearlessly/braver than the bravest of us do./You trust, you hope, you dare/you choose to live and care/I thought that I was strong/'til the day I met you./What do I know about love?/What do I know about love?/Everything I thought I did/you've gone and changed it, kid./You're what I...know about love.

(End of the song)

Professor Elvin Gadd was in his new lab in his new hotel, looking over some of the rogue ghosts from the past. He kept a chart handy to mark how long they've been inside their capsule, and how their progress of becoming good is coming along.

But then he got to King Boo's capsule.

He took the chart from the side of the capsule, and looked up, dropping it in response out of fear and worry.

King Boo was gone.

A giant hole was in the top of the capsule and a message on the window saying: 'Good luck warning him in time.'

King Boo's laughter spilled through the air of the Treacherous Mansion. His evil eyes gazing over the entire inner courtyard.

"Oh, it feels good to be out of that contraption!" He yelled, laughing afterward again.

"I'm glad to hear that," Aurore spoke, arms crossed with a smirk. "Now, you owe me one."

"Oh, right!" King Boo looked at the woman, her red eyes ablaze with passion and evil. "What is it that you want in return?"

"I want the Man in Green," She spoke smoothly, making King Boo's smile fall instantly. "And you are going to help me win his heart."

"Oh, hell no!" King Boo yelled. "He's not worth it!"

"He's more powerful than my first husband," Aurore explained. "And with him as my kingdom's king, then no one could stop us. We'd rule."

King Boo just gave Aurore a look of surprise, anger, and confusion all rolled into one, basically saying that she was crazy for falling for the green man. "You do realize he's my archenemy, right?"

"Yes," Aurore giggled out. "And who better to help me with winning this war, than the one who started his trauma from the beginning?"

King Boo sighed out his frustrations, turning to the mirror to see Peach placing a blanket over Luigi's sleeping form. The peace...the love. He felt the anger boil inside him again, knowing that in his mind, this man deserved none of this.

(SONG: "The Moon Rises" - Ponyphonic) [Lyric change - don't ask]

"Fine," He finally said, making Aurore smirk. "I'll help."

"Perfect."

AURORE: Now the hour has come at last/the soft and fading light/has crossed the west horizon/and has bidden us/goodnight./And what a lovely night it is/to walk in Dark Light fields/to see the softer shades that are by starlight now revealed./So why is it that now/when all is quiet and at rest/when candles glow and all the world is at it's very best/the citizens of this globe Earth/should lock themselves away/to shun the moon and wait instead/though she won't come today.

With this, Aurore walked up to the Terrace, King Boo floating behind her with curiosity.

AURORE: Am I so wrong to wish that he would see things as I do?/And am I so wrong to think that he might love me, too?/Why shouldn't he adore me?/Is it not within my right?/I will not be overshadowed/mine is not the lesser light./I've waited long enough now/for them all the come around./And now the light may plead and threaten/the dark will stand her ground!

The vision of a world with darkness appeared to her mind, with Luigi by her side. She saw the tombstones of the ones who tried to save him, and the wicked excitement of King Boo for finally having a victory against the Mario Brothers.

AURORE: It comes to this at last/I will no longer yield my heart/if he cannot love but one royal alone./See the dark is rising/she has come to claim/the heavens for her own!/And all will know the wonder/of my dark and jeweled sky/when all the world is wrapped in an eternal lullaby./So say goodnight to this/the final setting of the sun./Tomorrow dawns in darkness/the nightmare has begun!

(End of the song)

Luigi stirred on the couch, making Peach perk up some. She watched with a grin as he woke up and looked at her.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," She teased, making him snort as he sat up and rubbed his hands against his face.

"Anything new surface?" Luigi asked with a yawn, making Peach giggle before walking over to him and sitting beside him with the laptop in her lap.

"Actually, yes," She said. "I learned that there's a power in a Bloodstone that could cleanse you of any evil energy."

"So, like if-" Luigi trailed off, shaking his head of the idea of having HIM come out.

"You mean Mr. L?" She asked, smirking and making Luigi shush her. She giggled and patted his hand. "Don't worry, Lu. If he hasn't come out since we saved Flipside and any other world from Dimentio, then I don't think he'll ever come back out."

"I sure hope not," Luigi sighed.

"But that's not all I learned. I also learned that the stone can be anything," Luigi looked at her with wonder. "It could be a necklace, a bracelet...a ring."

"So, if we find anything of that nature, then it could and/or might be the Bloodstone meant for me," Luigi said, a smile forming on his face.

"Yeah," She grinned. "This is the first I've seen you smile in a while."

"Well, yeah," Luigi said, putting an arm behind Peach on the back of the couch. "Though this is not a way to get rid of this curse completely...it's a step to being normal again."

"That's the spirit," Peach laughed, making Luigi chuckle some as Rita walked in after a moment.

"Hey, guys," She said. "Any new information?"

"We found a few things," Peach said, seeing the glint of something else in her cousin's eyes. "But that's not why you came to find us, is it?" Rita scoffed with amusement.

"You picked that up just like how my father would," She giggled, making Peach giggle in return while Luigi grinned. "But yeah, that's not why I'm here. I'm looking for Mario. Do you guys know where he went?"

"I thought he was in the foyer," Peach asked.

"He was earlier, but when I went back he wasn't there. Any idea of where-?" Luigi's gasp stopped her in mid-sentence as he leaned for with realization.

"I can't believe how stupid I am sometimes," He said.

"Why? What's wrong?" Peach asked.

Luigi looked at the girls and grinned towards Rita. He saw something in her that he knew Mario liked. He knew that, though Rita was technically a witch, Mario grew fond of her...grew to love her. And for that, he knew the story he was about to tell wasn't his.

"Is something wrong with Mario?" Rita asked with worry.

"That's something you should ask him yourself," Luigi said with a grin and a nod. "He might be in the backyard."

"Oh...okay," Rita was confused at first, thinking of what all this could mean as she left the room.

Mario sat on the fountain in the backyard, trying to calm the nerves in his stomach.

"HELP! SOMEONE!" The echoes of his own voice ricocheting off the walls of his mind. The screams from his throat brought tears to his eyes. All this drowned out any sounds behind him. All he could hear were his cries for help...the laughter of someone wicked...the glow of the Dark Moon above him...and...

"Mario?" The red-clad hero jumped as he looked over, seeing Rita staring at him with concerned red eyes. "Are you okay?" He quickly wiped a tear from his cheek and smiled, masking the fact that he was indeed not okay.

"Yeah, I'm fine," He said, a quiver in his voice. Rita picked up on it and gave a look, a look that Mario just scoffed with amusement at. "That's the same look Peach gives me at times."

"The one where she knows you're lying?" Rita asked as Mario nodded his head. "Yeah, this is just even further that we're cousins." She giggled, now sitting beside Mario on the fountain. "Now, what's wrong?"

Mario tried his best to keep the feign sense of being alright but found himself caving as his smile fell.

(SONG: "In A Crowd of Thousands" - Anastasia on Broadway) [Lyric change]

"It's the anniversary of King Boo capturing me for the second time," He answered, making Rita perk up at that memory.

MARIO: Long ago/way back when/I still think of that day now and then./How King Boo was set free/in a crowd of thousands./He went on/as he did/finding ghosts just to do his bidding/and soon he found me/in that crowd of thousands./But as I started to run/I couldn't help but notice/a girl flying up in the sky./I reached out with my hand and called up/for her to help./The Dark Moon/shattered on/with the shade in my eyes/she was gone/but if I think of then/in that crowd of thousands/I'd find her/again.

RITA: You're making this sound so familiar.

MARIO: I am? How so?

RITA: Well... (Sings) Long ago/(MARIO: Long ago)/way back when/(MARIO: way back when)/the Dark Moon disappeared from the sky/but a man caught my eye.

BOTH: In a crowd of thousands

RITA: He wore red/just like me/he wasn't like anyone I have seen./If only I noticed sooner/oh, that crown of demons./I heard him call out to me/with blood-curdling screams/as King Boo began to advance./Oh, and I tried to help him/yes I tried/but then/silence.

MARIO: Wait a minute...wait...

MARIO and RITA: ...that was you?

BOTH: The Dark Moon/shattered on/with the shade in my eyes/you were gone/but I knew even then/in a crowd of thousands/I'd find you/again.

MARIO: Rita?

(End of the song)

"Yes?" The young girl said slowly, a smile on her face. They stared at each other with surprise for a moment, just a moment, as they were now standing in the middle of the yard. Their eyes meeting the others in a new light for the first time. Their hearts beating as one that Rita only ever felt with men she fell in love with.

It was at this moment that Mario's heart took control of his mind. He grabbed Rita's hand and pulled her towards him, planting his lips to hers in a simple kiss. And once they pulled away, they smiled at each other, continuing to stare into each other's eyes.

Peach was at the kitchen door, giggling with excitement as she went to speak with Luigi about this, but found him nowhere in sight.

"Huh...where'd he go?"

Going through Evershade Village, Luigi walked the path, keeping his hood up to hide from prying eyes. Seeing Mario with Rita, seeing them share their first kiss made Luigi wish he had the courage and the strength to tell Peach how he felt. He wished he could tell her he loved her. He wished he could kiss her and not regret if that will ruin their friendship.

He wished to have her as his queen.

Luigi sighed at the wishes as he looked up from the ground, now stopping in his tracks as he looked at the abandonment of the village. The marketplace was empty, as well as the park and department areas.

"Something doesn't feel right," He said as he turned around to head back to the Gloomy Manor. However, he stopped dead in his tracks yet again as the ghost that caused his fear and trauma all those years ago floated in front of him now.

"Boo," King Boo said as Aurore walked out from behind him and used her scepter to cast a spell on Luigi. She spoke something in French as the orb on her scepter glowed with a dark light, Luigi could feel his energy leaving his body.

"Sleep..." Aurore's voice echoed through the scepter and at that moment, Luigi fell to the ground, blacking out as he fell into the sleeping spell cast upon him.

"Nighty night...my handsome prince."

~TO BE CONTINUED...~