The Princess Sees Green, Chapter 6

Proud To Be A Mushroom Citizen

            "Mario! Mario!"

            Yoshi came hobbling up the steps at the end of the backyard patio where Mario sat alone with a large bowl of ravioli and a newspaper on the table in front of him.

            "There's a war on!" Yoshi hollered. "What the heck are you sitting there for when Luigi's at the castle right now? He's the only one we have to lead the battle!"

            "Something wrong with that?" Mario shrugged, then settled back in the chair and patted the newspaper. "According to the Mushroom Kingdom Daily, he's got a ninety-two percent approval rating amongst our good citizens."

            Not that Yoshi doubted Luigi's popularity, but he did have several concerns about the accuracy of the kingdom press. "Ninety-two? Really? You don't think they've exaggerated that any?"

            "Nope. And even if they have, if he's anywhere close to that figure, he's doing a great job." Mario answered between bites of pasta.

            "Have you even been keeping up with the war, Mario?"

            "Yes. The castle has been thoroughly shielded, kingdom guardsmen are posted at our borders, and the invading forces aren't getting very far anywhere else. I hear Luigi's squashing the enemy like beetle bugs."

            Yoshi partially agreed. "But aren't you worried about the princess? They say she's gone into hiding. No one's seen her in days."

            Mention of the princess disturbed Mario. The hard pinch in his gut forced him to abruptly put down the fork and pick up the paper without comment.

            "Mario, I said, the princess hasn't been seen in days. Seven days! Actually, she hadn't been spotted a few days before all this happened. No one's saying anything, but I think Bowser's kidnapped her again."

            Not a word was murmured from Mario's lips as Yoshi got louder.

            "Are you listening to me? I said--"

            "I know what you said already! The princess isn't kidnapped. She's fine. I've spoken with her."

            "And? Don't you think you should be the one protecting her instead of Luigi?"

            Mario lowered the paper and glared at his green amigo. "It's too bad you are so naive about things, Yoshi. But that's not important, I suppose. What's important is that we win this war, and I have no doubt my brother will do that. People have underestimated him. They have no idea he's a strategic mastermind."

            This time, Yoshi raised a dubious brow. "He is? Luigi? I never really thought of him as one of those army commander types before...but if you say so,"

            "Yes. Few people know the real Luigi. You probably didn't know camouflage was actually his first choice over solid green either, and he's the one who led the training of the Sarasaland troops."

            "What? But they're the ones we're fighting!"

            "I know, and it's a shame, Yoshi, how some bite the hand who feeds them."

            "But why? Why are they attacking us? Why would Princess Daisy join up with Bowser to go up against Luigi?"

            Another shrug from Mario. "Well, love is very unpredictable, that's why."

            "I just wanna know what started this whole thing."

            "Ah, telling you that would do nothing but make matters worse. Trust me, it's best to let Luigi handle this war. He managed to start it, he'll have to finish it. Now, is there anything I can get for you, my friend?"

            Yoshi eagerly focused his attention to the serving table, and his eyes grew wider upon sight of the huge bowl of ravioli. "Sure! I'll have three bowls of that with some garlic bread and green mustard and carrots and piles of lettuce--"

            "Whoa!" Mario leaned back in his chair. "This is not Cantonelli's! I have a modest pot of ravioli, that's it."

            Yoshi's face shrouded with disappointment. "Gee Mario, there must really be something bothering you, you're starving yourself."

            "I am not starving myself."

            "On a diet?"

            "What would I do that for?"

            Another few seconds and Yoshi thought he'd summed up the situation. "I got it! Nobody's been paying you for your work have they?"

            "They pay me," Mario nodded. "Yes, they do all right. They pay me with cakes, pies, pizzas, you name it. So you see, I am a very well-fed man, I have even managed to take a break from cooking every night."

            Indeed Mario wasn't suffering much in this economic downfall. Eating well kept him plenty satisfied. He took a bowl from the storage compartment underneath the service tray, lobbed in some pasta, then pushed it aside for Yoshi to join him. And alas, Yoshi had one last comment before sitting down and digging in.

            "Mmm, I think I'll go into plumbing—"

            Then the phone rang.

            "Excuse me," said Mario, grabbing for the receiver on his serving table at the same time Yoshi gobbled up an entire bowl of ravioli. "Hello, this is-a Mario."

            "Mario..."

            "Weegee? How are you doing, brother? Everything turning out good so far?"

            "Well, I am here with the princess—"

            "Well you don't have to rub it in my face, Weege."

            "No, you don't understand. I have good news...."

            "Oh?"  so you and princess get delivery from a stork? thought Mario as he glanced at Yoshi stuffing his face with a second helping.

            "I didn't hear you Mario. Speak up." said Luigi.

            "Never mind. Go ahead, tell me the good news."

            "The Sarasaland army has retreated."

            "Yes, go on."

            "The Koopas have been captured,"

            "Very well."

            "And we are now ready to embark on an entirely new dimension in Mushroom World."

            "Stop speaking alien nonsense Weegee and tell me what it is you want to say."

            "No problem. We're taking over the Republic of Sarasaland. It now belongs to us, brother. I've arranged to have a new government implemented in less than twenty-four hours."

            "Weegee, Weegee, Weegee," Mario shook his head. "We do not need to take over Sarasaland, they've been getting along just fine without us."

            "You can't be serious, Mario. They tried to destroy us!"

            "But you accomplish nothing by going in-a like Mussolini. Besides, you're battle was with Daisy's father, not the people."

            "Now wait just one minute," Luigi snapped. "Who told you this? You haven't even been here and you know everything before I tell you...."

            There was a long pause of silence which Mario figured was Luigi cutting a glare at the princess; no doubt she must have been somewhere in close proximity taking refuge in the security installation along with Toad and the castle's special reinforcements.

            "Weegee, listen to me, brother. This entire affair....which is exactly what it's been...has changed you. You're not yourself and as much as I will most likely regret saying this, I know it's because of the princess. She brings out the best, and unfortunately the worst in both of us. "Hello? You there, Weege?"

            "Hello?" a squeaky voice answered.

            "Toad? What happened to Luigi?"

            "The princess."

            "No, not the princess. I said, what happened to Luigi?"

            "That is what happened. The princess is angry with him for trying to take over Sarasaland...she even called him a heartless tyrant a few minutes ago. This is kinda scary, Mario. They've really been going at it and now the princess is threatening to take away his citizenship and she might even ship him off to solitary confinement at Doomsday Island Prison."

            "Oh no, she wouldn't do a thing like that—"

            A futile argument suddenly broke out in the background.

            "You're a deplorable monster! I hate you Luigi!"

            "One minute you love me, the next you hate me! Obviously you're unable to make up your mind the same as you rule in this little toadstool kingdom of yours!"

            "If not for you we wouldn't be in this mess!"

            "It takes two to tango, my darling princess!"

            "Yes! That's right! And we'll never tango together again!"

            "Until the next time you get mad at my brother!"

            "I'd never make the same mistake twice!"

            "Mistake? Oh...that's not what you said when you told me to—"

            "Luigi!" Toad broke in. "You're wanted on the red phone! ...I think it's Princess Daisy."

            Mario, wishing he were there to see the look on his brother's face, listened to the moment of complete silence, then Toad's voice came over the phone once again.

            "Mario? Do you think you could stop whatever you're doing there and come to the castle? I think we'll be needing a little help around here."

            "My help? No....no. I need to stay out of this one. Plus, I got a part-time job at the cement factory....oh...I think my boss calls me now.... Goodbye, Toad—"

            Clink, went the phone.

            "Heehee! I got rid of them!" went Mario, then suddenly he remembered Yoshi, who looked too disgusted to eat any more pasta.

            "So you didn't want to tell me, huh Mario? About Luigi and the princess? Together? Gee, that's really sad. I'd never think the princess would do something so dishonorable....and Luigi....wow, this is just too shocking."

            Finally Mario pushed away his bowl and scooted to the edge of his chair as he was about to get up, "Yes, that's-a life, Yoshi. Live and-a learn."

            "But what happens now? I mean, with you and the princess...you and Luigi..."

            Mario rose up and rolled the service cart against the wall behind Yoshi then returned to the table to straighten things a bit. "Nothing." he answered.

            "Nothing?"

            "That's right. The princess will be kidnapped by Bowser again some day and it will be up to me to save her."

            "And you'd do it?"

            "Why not? I am just as forgiving as the next guy."

            "Wow Mario, you're really amazing. I can't believe this is something you'd just forgive and forget."

            "Who said anything about forgetting?"

            ....please forget....

            "Luigi? Luigi! Wake up! Come on! Please wake up!"

            The roughing up took a toll on his already sore muscles and even opening his eyes seemed to be too much of a task for him to manage. Finally, as he saw the daylight, or what he believed was the light of the sun, he noticed something very unusual about his surroundings. It could not have been the sun because nothing but darkness surrounded him, except one glow of light cast from above—a flashlight—held by Toad.

            "Bowser's out," said the little fellow. "He's escaped along with dozens of his troops and shortly after that were a number of huge blasts, and everything came crumbling down on top of us. We've lost some of our best guards, Luigi—"

            He raised up immediately and looked around with one thing on his mind,

            "Peach....."

            Just inches away from him, she rested on the ground, eyes shut, her body covered to her shoulders with a thick blanket, her head propped slightly by what appeared to be Toad's rolled up overcoat.

            Luigi got up too quickly and grimaced as he pulled her to him, "...Princess..." speaking in a whisper. "...say something to me..."

            "She hasn't said anything since it happened, that was about fifteen minutes ago," said Toad, then he called attention to the bloody gash on her head beneath her bangs. "You can see where she was hit by some of the debris... She is breathing though, and she'll squeeze your hand if you ask her to."

            The last thing Luigi remembered was Daisy's sharp tone of voice when telling him how wrong her father had been to wage war against the Mushroom Kingdom when she should have been the one to do it herself. Next thing he heard were multiple explosions somewhere off in the tunnel sector and Daisy's last words before the line went dead, "...she doesn't love you, Weegee...she'll never love you the way I've loved you...."  And just as he was angry with himself for not knowing how the hell to respond, the ceiling and walls came crumbling down around him.

            Now the place would have been pitch black if not for one bright flashlight.

            "All this happened in a matter of seconds," said Toad. "I don't think we were hit from the air, I think it was from the ground....probably embedded explosives I'd say, planted by who knows....someone we never knew was on their side I bet."

            Luigi's head wasn't yet clear enough to make speculations. He couldn't even concern himself with the water spewing through cracks between the fallen concrete because on his mind for the moment was a strange twinge he felt while watching his princess in her suspended state of animation.

            "You can hear me..." Luigi murmured with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "Very good, Princess. Put up a fight..." he knew she could hear him by the way she squeezed his hand. "...that's it...use your strength...every ounce of it you've got....."

            All of a sudden she was shivering and he looked down the length of thick cloth to her feet where he immediately saw a rising pool of water.

            "We can't stay here," he said and grabbed Toad's flashlight, shined it in every direction in a desperate search for higher ground, but there was nothing but piles of broken concrete along less than a six foot radius held together by luck alone. With the water coming through so fast, they would either be crushed to death when the rubble finally gave way or in a matter of hours they would drown.

            "What to we do now, Luigi?" asked Toad. "It's all over now, isn't it?"

            Luigi didn't dare admit that he knew they were about to die, for the life of the people's dear princess was literally in his hands and Toad's too.  If he could say anything at this point, he had to make it sound far better than it really was, and so he told the princess, "...Your bedroom is very beautiful....just lovely and warm, Peach," then lowered his voice. "...we're there now...nice and warm..."

            After saying that, he looked at Toad and nodded, and he knew Toad understood.

            "You want me to close the door, Luigi?"

            "Yes, do that. We'll be fine here for the rest of the night, and we'll be at peace in the morning."

Part 7