Mario

Mario was in awe at the sight of Rosalina. A character from one of his favorite movies, Rosalina was the mother of the Lumas and guardian of the cosmos. However, her past was shrouded in mystery, and even he didn't have all of the answers.

"What are you doing here?" he finally asked. At this, Rosalina frowned.

"I'm afraid there is much to discuss. Come, let us go to the library. We can discuss more there." Mario nodded and followed her, turning back to see if Luigi was following. To his surprise, Luigi was right on his tail. Maybe there was hope for him after all.

They sat in a circle in the library, with Rosalina in her rocking chair and the brothers on some stools. A Luma flew in with some tea, which they gladly accepted. Finally, Rosalina began her story.

"As I'm sure you guessed, I'm not simply here for a vacation. I was made aware of an evil that had revealed itself, the entity you know as 'King Boo'." Mario nodded, waiting for her to continue. "There is more to King Boo than meets the eye, however. He is actually an ancient evil that predates even my existence. I assume you're aware of how I became the Lumas' mother?" Again, Mario nodded. Rosalina had once been a normal human girl, living in the Mushroom Kingdom. One day, however, a spaceship containing a Luma fell from the sky. After travelling together for some time in the hopes of finding the Luma's mother, they soon realized that Rosalina was the mother the Luma had been searching for all along. "Well, there's a part of that story that even you don't know about. King Boo was the reason the Lumas were scattered across the cosmos in the first place. He had destroyed the ship that I found on that fateful day." She closed her eyes, as if recalling the day her life had changed. "When I officially became the mother of the Lumas, King Boo decided to face me directly. He was much stronger at the time, and he very nearly wiped out the Comet Observatory. Luckily, in the end, I came out on top, but he wasn't dead. Greatly weakened, he vowed to one day return before disappearing. I've spent most of my life searching for him ever since."

"And now you've found him in the Mushroom Kingdom," Mario realized.

"Indeed, the place where it all began. Only now, he's a ghost, so I'm guessing that at some point after he fled, he actually did die."

"Wait, so you mean King Boo was at one point alive?"

"Yes, though his true name has long been forgotten. That is beside the point, though. The point is that we need to stop him. Mario, are you aware of the location of Professor E. Gadd?"

"Well...kind of." Mario knew his general location, but nothing too specific. After assisting in the defeat of Bowser, E. Gadd had moved into the nearby forest. The problem was that the forest was so massive, that no one knew the exact location of his new residence.

"You need to find him. His expertise in ghost hunting will be a valuable asset in the coming battle. The two of you will need to find him as soon as possible, and return here after doing so."

"Really? You mean have to go too?" It was the first time Luigi had spoken since they had landed on the Comet Observatory.

"Of course. You will know the professor's technology better than most, so you will have to wield the weapon provided." Rosalina arose from the chair and looked at the brothers. "You may rest here for a while, but you will need to leave before it is too late. Now, I have other matters to attend to. Please come find me when you are ready to leave." She left the library, leaving Mario and Luigi alone.

"Well, are you still convinced this is all 'just a dream'?" Mario snarked.

"Don't start that with me, Mario." And it was then that Mario knew this was serious. Luigi only ever called him by his name if he was genuinely upset.

"Luigi, you know you can talk to me, right?" Mario asked, in a much softer tone.

"You wouldn't understand..."

"Try me." Finally, Luigi sighed.

"I always knew you were telling the truth. I just didn't want to believe it."

"Then why-?"

"Let me finish. I didn't want to believe because I was jealous. Heh, sounds pretty petty when I say it out loud. I just didn't understand why you got to experience these adventures, while I was stuck at home doing house cleaning!" Luigi was shouting by this point, and spun to face his brother. "How often do you get to go on cool adventures, huh? And I'm not just talking about here, I'm talking about in our world too." Mario was slowly starting to piece it together. "All of the time. You're either meeting with fans, or filming your next big film, or making your next game. How often do I get to do any of that? Maybe once a year, and that's if I'm lucky."

"Hey, I offered to let you come-"

"See, you don't get it. I didn't want to come because you asked me, or to help you on your adventure. I wanted my own adventure! My own experience! But every night, you would come home and talk about how 'There's a pipe in our house! I saw the princess today! I killed Bowser!', and you never once stopped to think if I actually wanted to hear about your adventures." And finally, it clicked for Mario. He had always gone on about his adventures, never once stopping to think about if Luigi had felt left out.

"Well, look at it this way. Now is your chance to make a name for yourself here. How cool would it be if you were known as the one that took down King Boo?"

"Look, I'm going to help. But, I don't want you overshadowing my victory. If I do this, I just want them to know it wasn't all you." Mario nodded as he placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Deal."

King Boo

"This will be a lot easier if you talk now. Where. Are. They?" King Boo snarled, getting right up in Kamek's face.

"I don't fear death. Besides, I have a feeling you already know where they are, you just don't want to admit it." Kamek chuckled.

"Guards! Take him away!" King Boo ordered. As Kamek was escorted out of the room, King Boo made his way to the window. The truth was, he did know where the Mario brothers were. He knew it the moment he saw the comet appear in the sky.

"It's been a long time, Rosalina," he said as he turned around. Sure enough, there she was. "I thought you were smarter than this. Coming into my own castle?"

"Who said I was actually here?" It was then he noticed her figure rippling. "I came simply to give you a message. End your conquest now, and I'll let you off easily. Just because you're a ghost now doesn't mean I can't still kill you." At this King Boo laughed.

"Please, I haven't even used my full power yet! Frankly, you killing me is the best thing that could have ever happened! So no, I won't surrender. If anything, I look forward to this fight!" He let out another cackle of glee as he summoned a bolt of lightning where "Rosalina" was standing, causing her to disappear from the room.

"Very well," her voice echoed. "If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get."

Author's note: I'll keep this brief. I'm not exactly proud of where I've gone with this fic. I had a good idea at first, but now it has just turned into another stereotypical cringy fanfic. I'm still going to finish it, don't get me wrong, but it might take a while in between chapters so that I can figure out how to properly finish it. I'm thinking 2 or 3 more chapters before I'm done, then I'll move on to my next project. Just wanted to let you guys know, see you soon!