Landing on a 1-Up

Chapter 1 - Cover Up

Another conclusion to another long trek. Mario and Luigi had saved Peach again, but Luigi knew fully well how the day would end. Mario would get all of the credit and be invited to Peach's Castle. He would just be left in the dust. This time, he had messed up so matters were awkward between him and his brother, along with the princess. Luigi didn't even bother to walk in the parade. As soon as Mario and Peach weren't looking, he split from them and walked away. Other people could have seen this as a bad thing, but Luigi felt that it couldn't be more right. He shouldn't have gone and tried to stop his brother from destroying the key to the cell that he and Peach had locked Bowser in. They wanted him to rot. They even said that Luigi tried to stop them in a press conference, which he no longer regrets being absent from. Regardless, Bowser couldn't get any help, with his army scattered across the kingdom due to Mario and Peach's actions. By the time any of his army got back, Bowser would be dead. That was why Luigi was going to save Bowser, but not without going to visit somebody he cared very deeply about one last time.

It was late at night and the Mushroom Kingdom was celebrating what seemed to be the permanent defeat of Bowser. Daisy had since moved out of Sarasaland, due to there being too many threats for her to be able to deal with. Mario couldn't help either, since they always planned to get her when Peach was kidnapped. There was a time that they caught Daisy in her sleep after a party at the castle and Mario was free by the time the Mushroom Kingdom had heard about it, but strangely, he didn't come. When Daisy proved to be helpless on her own against the gang and the Mushroom Kingdom didn't seem like they would help, a certain man in green instead of red came to her aid. Luigi came by his own will. When Luigi invited her to his small house in Evershade Valley to lay low for a bit, she was shocked at the contrast of the brothers. Every good deed of Mario's was credited with fancy parades, but Luigi didn't get a mention. He just went home. It seemed like he had done it for a long time, because when Daisy wanted to go and tell people, Luigi said no. He was easily the more selfless out of the brothers in Daisy's eyes. She knew that once Peach was rescued, he would come to visit. That's what he did every time since they met. Now she just waited for the knock on the door.

Luigi had made it to the house after a while and knocked on the door. Daisy immediately opened it. He knew she was waiting and she could tell that he knew.

"Hi!" The two greeted each other. Luigi was let inside and he saw that food and refreshments were already prepared.

"So just another quiet night, eh?" she asked him.

"Yeah. It isn't like there's a massive parade I should be at." Luigi chuckled heartily, but Daisy knew it was painful to be in the shadow of somebody. She knew it all too well.

"Well what do you want to watch this time?" Daisy tried to end the topic as quickly as possible.

"Actually, I can't stay too long." Luigi's face began looking serious and Daisy hadn't seen that look since they fought their way out of that cave when they had first met.

"Luigi… what happened?"

"Mario and Peach have left Bowser to rot in a cell. They beat up his army and scattered them across the kingdom. There is no way any of them will be able to free him, so I have to go bust him outta there. They went too far this time." Saying that Daisy was shocked was an understatement. She had thought Mario had just been gloating a bit more than usual when he said Bowser wasn't coming back ever again.

"I'm coming with you." Daisy grabbed his arm before he got up.

"No, you can't come. If this works, then I'm going to be in a very awkward position. I cannot endanger anybody else apart from myself. I know that the whole kingdom is going to hate me for setting him free, but they don't know what truly happened."

"What am I supposed to tell Mario when he comes to find you to bring you back home?"

"Tell him that I never turned up. Just hide anything that suggests I was here."

"Ok, but I need to do one last thing." Daisy told him before reaching for her camera.

"Like we've always done, but I don't know if you're coming back another time."

"I will. Whatever it takes, I will see you again. I promise." Luigi stated that with genuity. They took another photo. The two gave this shot their all, because they knew this would be an important point in their lives. That's when Daisy's TV turned on by itself, which only occured when something major had happened in the kingdom. The weird thing was that it had already done it earlier today, when it was announced that Bowser was permanently dealt with. The two were startled by it turning on, only to be greeted by a live video everybody else was holding their breath in. It was at the parade. On the stage was Mario and Peach. He was on one knee with a ring in his hand and facing her. She stood next to him and stared at him in complete awe. Daisy and Luigi were starstruck and silent. The whole kingdom revolved around this one moment, these two people. Nobody made a sound for seconds, but they felt like hours. After a long pause, there was the response. Mario held his lungs back the tightest he would ever do in his life.