Luigi swiped at a water drop that fell on his face, and another. And another. What is this, Chinese water torture? he thought. Then he felt the wet, cold stone beneath him and he looked up, opening his eyes.
He had made it into Bowser's lair. His plan had worked! He could have jumped for joy, but decided against it when his ribs told him to stop moving so much. He pushed himself up slowly, until he was standing straight. Now then. Which way to my family and friends…And which way is out?
There were four tunnels around him, and he racked his brain trying to remember which way led to what room. He began to take "Tunnel Number One," but he backtracked and thought some more. This one has gotta be right, he thought with little confidence, and entered the third tunnel. The walls became more cramped and colder, and soon he found himself blindly running his hand along the walls. The tunnel became so small he had to crawl on his stomach to get any farther. "Maybe this one is wrong," he muttered sorely, hating his ribs. Then he saw a tiny light at the end. He kept crawling through the wet passageway until he came upon an air vent grate, holes punched through it. Through the holes he saw a row of cells…....and something pink and tattered.
Holding his breath, his arm snaked through the grate and he unlatched it, letting it swing away. It creaked, but he didn't care. He made the short drop from the opening to the ground, and gasped a little, bending over and holding his chest. He glanced around warily, and, seeing no one, he made his way down the row of cells, lit only with a few flaming torches.
He found the bundle of tattered pink, and his face contorted with sadness. Peach lay in her cell, lying on a filthy blanket and shivering uncontrollably. The sleeves of her dress always left something to be desired, like length.
"Peach!" he whispered. She looked up quickly, terrified. Her eyes were sunken, her hair was rumpled and greasy, and she looked flat out awful. A nasty bruise covered one side of her face, reaching into her hairline, and some of it was caked with blood.
"Peach, it's me. Luigi."
"Luigi?" she practically screamed, trying to get up.
"No no, shhh. Stay quiet. They might catch me."
Peach, finding that she didn't have the energy to stand, crawled to the wet bars of the cell. She reached through the rusty cage and felt Luigi's face, as if to make sure she wasn't dreaming…...
"Luigi?" she whispered, crying. "You're here?"
"In the flesh," he said, trying to smile at her. Her fingertips were like ice on his cheeks, but he endured it anyway.
"You're okay?"
"Better than some," he said softly. "Listen, I'm gonna get you out of here--"
"Oh, Luigi. You have to find Mario." Peach interrupted him, her eyes wild.
"What? Why, where is he?"
"They took him to his room. You have to get him, Luigi--"
"Wait, wait a minute…his room?"
"Yes, the rooms we have our dreams in. Bowser's got them all here, he brought us here, Luigi I don't know how, but you have to find Mario before they kill him." Peach barely stopped for a breath.
"Kill him?" he asked in disbelief. "I thought this was only--"
"Forget whatever you thought. There's something bad in his room, I don't know what, but it could kill him. Please believe me, Luigi."
Mario raced through the hall and into his bedroom again. He shut his door and leaned against it, breathing heavily. He heard footsteps, and someone pounding on the door.
"Come out, come out where ever you are!" he growled in a high pitched voice. The man threw himself against the door, and after the fourth time, it broke off the hinges. He stumbled into the room and checked himself, looking around with narrowed eyes.
"Want to play hide and seek, do you?" He crept closer towards the bed, seeing something curled up underneath a fallen blanket on the floor. Grinning madly, he stood right next to it, pulled out his gun and shot five times.
Seemingly satisfied, he lowered the pistol and watched his victim. When nothing happened after some moments, he knelt down and looked more closely with a critical eye. He pulled away the blanket and sneered, finding only some pillows.
He cursed loudly and stomped up, running down the stairs.
Mario hid under the crawl space beneath the stairs, listening to the man's footsteps as if they belonged to Death. He grasped his small childhood superstition, his lucky rabbit's foot, mouthing to himself. "I wish he'd go away, I wish he'd go away."
Peach wouldn't hear anything otherwise from the younger plumber. "Please, Luigi. Forget me. Go get Mario, now!"
Luigi, still a little confused, shook his head weakly. "I can't leave you--"
"Go!" she pressed. "Please!"
Finally he stood up and started down the corridor. "Straight ahead!" she called to him. Room after room after room lined the dark hall way, and every door he passed he opened or ran into it, checking for his brother. Straight ahead? He thought. There's dozens of rooms! If only I can get there in time.
"Mario?" Luigi screamed into one room. It, like all the others, was empty. Discouraged, he slammed it shut behind him and went to the next.
"Mario, where are you?" He came to another door, with the number 87 over it. He tried the handle but it was locked securely.
"No, no….hang on, Mario!"
Mario had waited long enough under the stairs, hearing nary a sound. Slowly, heart pounding in his chest, he snuck out and looked around him, checking every corner and shadow. He crept carefully into the kitchen, hoping to find a weapon for defense. He held his breath and pushed open the swinging door. Silence.
Then a scream as a shadowy figure leapt at him, brandishing the gun. Startled, Mario fell to the ground, and scrambled up quickly. The man aimed and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. He cursed aloud and tried again, but he was out of ammunition. He threw his gun down and growled. Mario took this to his advantage and threw a hard punch. The man fell into the wall behind him and kicked his boot into the plumber's stomach. Mario stumbled back, fighting for air and doubled over.
The man grabbed a glass bottle from the kitchen counter and brought it down on the plumber's capped head. Unfortunately, his hat didn't protect him much, and shattered crystals flew everywhere. Another kick to his stomach, and he crashed out of the kitchen and landed hard on the wood floor. He was winded, and he winced from the throbbing pain in his head. He was dizzy and couldn't see straight, and he struggled for rational thought. He closed his eyes.
Can't breathe. Head hurts. Can't think. Where is he? Can't think….
He gulped some air and coughed, the wind knocked out of him. He opened his eyes and barely made out the image of the shadow man, wielding something that glinted when it caught the light.
"You've been a very naught boy," he cackled, creeping closer.
Can't think, head hurts…
Luigi threw himself at the strong iron door, already feeling the bruises in his shoulder and arm. His rib cage was screaming for him to stop, but he couldn't. He just knew it was the door.
"Hang on Mario! I'm gonna get you out!" He cursed to himself, sorely wishing the door would magically open on its own.
"No, please…please open! Mario!"
Mario tried to push himself up, but the man was already on him, raising the broken end of the bottle.
No, I can't die this way!
He grabbed the lethal hand and stopped its course toward him. His face turned red with the effort, and the sharp edge of glass brushed his neck lightly, making him tremble out of fear. Grunting a little, he managed to push the broken bottle away from his face a just a few inches.
"Silly little boy. Thinks he can beat the bad guy!" the shadow hissed. Mario's fist collided with his jaw and he rolled out of harm's way, stumbling up to stand.
The shadow stood as well, throwing the weapon away.
"Alright. We can play your game now. Man to man…" Mario charged at him, and didn't see the glint of metal from the shadow's wrist. A small movement, and the man let Mario run right into the steak knife.
"…or, we can play man to boy."
"Mario!" Luigi kept screaming. "I'm coming! Man, this had better be his door."
What did Peach mean, 'kill him'? Surely she wasn't serious. Even so, Luigi kept ramming into the strong door, hoping is brother wasn't in harm. And hoping the door would open sometime soon.
"I'm coming!"
Drawing in his breath sharply, Mario's mouth was open in a silent scream as he felt cold steel inside him. He grasped the man's hand weakly, silently begging him to stop. But he didn't. Beaming in maniacal victory, he held the plumber's shoulder with one hand, pulling Mario closer and pushing the knife deeper. The plumber groaned, somewhere between a sigh and a whimper as the man twisted the weapon with an abrupt turn of his wrist, then slowly back again, savoring the moment. Mario exhaled in slow, painful gasps, slowly sinking to the floor. He sank to his knees, eyes glassy, a trickle of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth, and the man pulled his knife out, satisfied with his work.
"One down, one more to go," he whispered with glee as Mario closed his eyes falteringly, fighting for consciousness.
Luigi rammed into the door one more time, surprised when it gave way, then terrified when he fell headfirst into cold, hard, concrete floor.
Ignoring the racking pain in his ribs, he groaned and pushed himself up. The room was large, but was entirely covered in concrete walls. He cringed, holding his chest. Then he saw Mario.
"Oh, no! Please!" He yelled in panic, racing as fast as he could manage to his brother. Mario lay on his side, away from the other plumber, surrounded in blood.
Luigi screamed again. "Mario!!"
No answer. He slid to a stop, not minding the knees of his overalls being stained with the scarlet liquid. He rolled his brother onto his back and shut his eyes at the horrid sight, pushing down reflexive sickness.
"Mario, no, don't…." He saw Mario swallow, and his eyes glimmered with hope.
"Mario, you're alive!"
Not for long, the elder thought to himself. All he could do was shake his head.
"No, don't do that. You're gonna be fine…just fine." Luigi's voice was soft and reassuring to Mario, and he felt glad just to have him there.
"You're going to be all right. We just…have to get you out…" Luigi was afraid to move his brother for fear it would make him worse. "You'll be fine…" He stopped himself, realizing the idiocy of his statement.
You fool, he thought. Don't you see it's over? Luigi shook his head, holding Mario's hand.
"No, no no, please. Please don't--" He bit his trembling lip in an effort to hide his tears that hung precariosly in the corners of his eyes. Don't, please. Just…just call me Weegee. Please, Mario. Call me Weegee."
Mario tried to form the word on his lips, but only got by with a breathy 'we'.
"No, Mario! Say it!" he pleaded. "Please."
Instead his brother's eyes began to close, mouthing Luigi's nickname, over and over.
Bowser, enraged, pushed over a table and collared Kamek.
"He wasn't supposed to DIE, you fool!"
"But haven't you wanted the Mario's dead for some time, your highness?" asked Kamek innocently, calmly.
"Not this time!" he bellowed into the turtle's glassed face. "I want them to wallow in freakish misery for the rest of their lives!"
"Well, Luigi will have twice the misery, his brothers death and his nightmare…and you will have ridded yourself of a Mushroom Kingdom hero."
Bowser's eyes were wild for another moment or so, seething, but seeming to run the idea through his head. Then his face changed with recognition.
"Yes," he said slowly, menacingly as he put Kamek down. "Yes, that's just it."
*Makes a freaked out face* Don't run away! Please! I know this sucked...it was too EMOTIONAL. Whatever.