Okay, I've rambled long enough. Thanks to Jes for the cookie, she unknowingly inspired me to update this. (Yes, Peach really IS crazy now! ^_^ ) And Koji and Pisces, tanks for da reviews! Enjoy....bwa ha ha ha!
Scratch scratch scratch. Scratch. The Princess worked determinedly the rest of the night…or day. She had lost track of time. Luigi was the one with a digital watch, and now he…
She fought back tears and worked even harder, scraping the small chip of rock against a clear, dry spot on the floor. Scratch scratch. She was careful not to wear it too small, but sharp enough so…so that…
Footsteps interrupted her thoughts. Kamek made his way towards her cell with incredibly swiftness for his stature, and she hid the stone in her hand-no, in a fold of her dress. Kamek opened the door to her cell and she frowned at him, confused. "What do you want?" she rasped. She had screamed herself hoarse by now, and even swallowing hurt her dry throat. Kamek answered her with a scaly fist to her face. She cried out and held her cheekbone. "What are you doing?"
"What Bowser should have done long ago." He raised his wand for another blow, and Peach's face went pale. His hand was stopped, however, by a much larger and stronger one.
"Yes, Kamek, what are you doing?" The glass-eyed turtle snatched his wand with his other hand, daring not to make an excuse, swung the wand quickly, and he disappeared. Growling in disapproval, Bowser unclenched his hand and glanced at Peach who still held her face. She stared at him in shock as he turned to go.
"Why would you do that?" she asked quietly. He stopped in his tracks for a split moment, then slammed the door behind him. She watched him leave, cautiously waiting until his shadow was gone. Then she sharpened her tool again.
Bowser had left, cell door wide open. Now it was up to the plumbers to get Peach and themselves out of the nightmare. Luigi glanced at Mario.
"Sorry…for cough," the elder plumber wheezed apologetically. Luigi shook his head and admonished him.
"Don't be. It's not your fault."
"Weegy, I'm so tired."
Luigi felt a stab of fear course through his blood. He had to hurry and help them. "You can sleep…once we get back to the palace. Here, hang onto me." Mario whimpered as Luigi heaved him up, an arm slung over his brother's shoulder. "Come on…" Mario painfully dragged himself next to Luigi, trying to keep up and stand up at the same time. "Come on." Luigi shoved the cloud safely in his pocket, doing most of the work of helping his brother. "We've just got to find Peach. And then...we can, go home."
Finally it was sharp enough. Finally she could get out of this place. Finally the nightmare would end. Finally, finally, finally…
A cell door shutting made her fumble with her tool and nervously she drew a deep breath, then held the stone at her wrist.
Who was coming? Was it anyone at all? Or just her imagination. No matter. She couldn't wait any longer. She pushed the stone against her skin, but all it left was a scratch. Not as deep as she had hoped. Again she pushed. Again, a small scratch.
No no no, this is not supposed to happen! Footsteps now, getting closer. She stroked again and again at the flesh against her left wrist, but she hardly broke the skin.
No no no…not sharp enough, no… She dug with all her might, and with one last stroke, a sharp point found her arm. She trembled slightly as red started to cover her hand, dripping down onto the floor. She looked up, feeling nauseas, and faced Bowser. His expression looked startled, maybe even somewhat panicked. He blew air out of his mouth and growled, rolling his eyes. Peach looked down again, watching the chip of stone fall from her red hand as Bowser pressed something on the wall by her cell. She started to feel sleepy, but just as she closed her eyes--
Flash.
Opening the door softly, Toad quietly stepped into what was once the Princess's bedroom. Now it was an infirmary. Tubes and all shapes and sizes were coming from her, as well as the plumbers in their own rooms. The little mushroom hugged himself against the horrid sight and crept by her side, standing on a stool.
"Oh Princess. Please wake up. Please get better." He gasped suddenly; he noticed a bruise on Peach's upper cheek where there had not been on before. He sighed sadly and lightly stroked her cheek with chubby fingertips. "Please get better."
Out of nowhere Peach's right arm snapped up and she grabbed Toad's small wrist with an iron grip. The little mushroom didn't have time to cry out in fear. He stared at her, quite startled, too frightened to be happy that she was finally awake. Her fingers were icy cold, like she had awakened from death, and they dug into his skin.
"Y-your highness…" Peach gaze aimed straight up at the ceiling, then she looked at Toad, her eyes glassy and wild. Still she would not let go. Toad held her gaze for a short moment, then his eyes grew wider. He yanked and pulled away from his Princess's hand until she let go, and stumbled off the stool, racing for the door.
"Nurse!" he screamed. His voice was too high, too high for Peach's liking. Too high pitched and nervous. She turned to look at her left arm and realized what all the trouble was about. Oh yeah...I hurt myself...
Nurse? What was a nurse doing in her palace? And what was she doing back in her palace? How did…did she awake from the dream?
Sure enough, a nurse ran in, followed by some other folks dressed in white. Maybe this is heaven, Peach thought. She tried to sit up but they urged her to lay back down. Urging each other, hurry now, do this, get that…now what were they doing?
Her arm…her left arm. They wanted to fix it. Fine by me, heaven doctors. As long as I'm out of the nightmare, do whatever you feel like. They loaded her arm with painkillers or something that made her feel woozy, and she gasped suddenly.
Mario…Luigi…does this mean they're back too? She called out weakly.
"Mario."
"They're not here."
Not here?
"Luigi!"
"They can't hear you."
First they're not here, and now they are but they can't hear me calling them? Who asked you, Mister-white-coat-man? If they are alive, then...... Now she screamed.
"Mario! Luigi!" She tried to sit up again, but a sharp pain in her wrist made her stop.
"Please Princess! Lie back!"
"She's pulling the stitches out."
"No! Mario!"
"Should we restrain her sir?"
"Luigi!!"
Something, or someone, holding her left arm down. Holding her back. She just wanted to leave, why wouldn't they leave her alone?
Now she began to cry. She felt so drained, of energy, of blood, of everything, anything, everything. She gave in to their pleas and commands, relaxing, but sobs racked her aching body. She started to doze as the nice men and ladies worked hard to fix her wrist, and she cried herself to sleep. All she could think about was her plumbers.
"Mario…" she whispered, lips barely moving.
"Come on…" Luigi urged his brother to keep moving in the nicest voice possible, but Mario's fuel was running on low. Luigi's head jerked up and he recognized his surroundings. "Come on, man, we're almost there."
His brother answered him incoherently, truly feeling like the living dead by now. Mario didn't look up from the floor; boy, his head felt heavy. He heard Luigi utter a disappointed curse and tried to lift his head again. Through his bleary vision, he saw an empty cell.
"Where is she?" his brother growled. "That freaking little traitor…"
"Maybe…she's back…"
He heard Luigi swallow nervously. "Or maybe she's in her room. Come on, we're gonna find her."
"Tired…"
"Come on, Mario."
Mar'o wants ta come on, he really does, but he's feelin' pretty tired…It was getting harder for him to keep up, his legs kept dragging, oh man, his stomach hurt.
"Weegee…"
"Yeah?"
"I can't."
"No, come on."
"…I can't."
A sigh, kind of sad and rushed all at once. Mario started to feel bad.
" 'm sorry."
"No, don't be. Here, lay down."
Mario did as he's told, and it sure felt good. Now he's being picked up again. Luigi has an arm under his shoulders and another under his knees. Sights and sounds are blurry; he can't thank his brother. The tunnel they were in was getting darker. Or maybe it was just him.
"I gotcha," Luigi grunted, trying to get a better hold on his brother. Surprisingly enough, his ribs were starting to feel better, even under the weight of carrying another person. "I gotcha."
Luigi turned and looked down the corridor where the nightmare rooms were stored in two straight lines. He shivered at the sight in spite of himself, but he had to find Peach's room…she might get killed too.
He hated to admit it to himself, but Mario was getting heavier every second. He thought about stopping for a breather when something bright flashed in front of his face. Blinded, he backed up, stumbling under his own weight and his brother's. Can't drop him, can't drop him…
He dropped Mario anyway, and a pang of remorse was quickly replaced with pain in his head. He slammed against the wall with a low thud, his arms and legs felt pinned by an unseen force. Something sharp on his neck, now under his chin, lifting his head up to the ceiling. Bowser, that little…He tried to glance down with his eyes, but he couldn't see anyone. Wait, that's not-
"I thought he got rid of you. I should have never trusted him with the job." Kamek grumbled. He hovered above the floor on a tiny cloud of his own bright magic, holding the blade.
Not even daring to swallow, Luigi spoke, mouth barely moving. "You'll never get away with this," he whispered, feeling stupid and stalling for time. Come on Bowser, you said you'd get here first…
"What makes you so sure? Once I finish you, I'll off your brother…if he did't already save me the trouble."
Luigi's eyes looked down and to the right, panicked. Mario did look rather motionless, and fear coursed through his veins. "He--he's fine." Bowser, where are you? he thought desperately.
Kamek hovered up to his level, grinning only slightly.
"Bowser will kill you for this."
"Oh will he?" Kamek challenged. "Not if I get to him first."
'Not if I get to him first...' Bowser, you lie like a dog. Luigi didn't avert his eyes, but he felt the mysterious grip on his wrists and ankles loosening. He fought against the force as discreetly as he could. Kamek drew up the blade and ran the tip down Luigi's temple, cheek, back down to his neck. The plumber's breath quickened involuntarily.
"That's right. The nightmare will be over soon," cooed Kamek, surprisingly calm.
Adrenaline pulsed through his body as the sharp point pressed harder. His left hand was free; he grabbed Kamek's wrist and pulled the knife away from the right side of his neck, his other hand crossed over and punched the turtle smack in the face, all in one smooth motion.
Luigi collapsed to his knees but got up again easily. He had reached his brother and dug into his pocket for the cloud. He turned to face Kamek, gloating at him, waving a hand. So long, ya freak! Then he pulled the loose thread…
Nothing. The stuffing inside blossomed out like a flower, the cloud fell in two separate pieces, and Luigi's face paled. Nothing else.
That's when he felt a tug on the front of his overalls. Then his ankles. His feet were yanked out from underneath him and he fell flat on his back. He coughed once and weakly looked over and beyond his feet; Kamek stood with his wand, smiling that malicious smile that Luigi was so used to seeing on Bowser. He felt another pull on his feet, and he was being dragged closer and closer to the evil magician. He dragged his arms above him, to try and find something to anchor onto and stop himself, but he was going too fast. He stopped a foot away from his oppponent, but before he could utter a curse…
Crack. Gasp. A heavy weight on his chest, almost as bad as the crushing walls in his nightmare room. Maybe worse. Blinding pain…not again. Bowser….didn't come…he lied…stole the Princess…maybe this is his idea of a joke…
He opened and closed his mouth, like a fish out of water, trying to gulp something. Luigi simply couldn't breathe. That liar.
He couldn't even feel what was there…maybe more magic, maybe Bowser's foot…maybe even Kamek sitting on him. He didn't care. It was too good to be true.
His senses were distorted…hard to see, hard to hear…where was that cloud? He dropped it. He looked around, exhausted. Yeah…just a few feet away. The little turtle devil leered over him, looking very proud of himself.
"Bowser isn't man enough to take care of you Marios. He never was."
Too good to be true.
Luigi gave a small squeak; now the dark tunnel was growing darker than it already was. He closed his eyes…sounds were softer, he heard his brother wheeze his name.
Liar.
Wait…this is not what a Mushroom Kingdom hero would do. A hero never gives up. Mario wouldn't give up. Luigi opened his swollen eyes and looked to his right, stretching out a hand and grasping the cloud fiercely.
"Stupid boy," admonished Kamek. "Are you still trying to win?"
Darker, darker, darker…Luigi would die trying. He looked to his left…something shaped like a tiny daisy sat in the corner where the wall met the floor of the hallway. His hand wouldn't stretch, his eyes couldn't see…
Suddenly the weight was lifted, and Luigi gulped the air, perhaps a little too greedily because his broken chest begged him to stop. He gasped shortly, head still spinning, trying to discern the scuffling sounds above him. Kamek was begging, "No, no, you don't understand…" Something snapped; two equal pieces of wand dropped next to Luigi on the floor. A cell door creaked open… "No no no!"…hideous wailing echoed from inside…the cell door was slammed shut and locked with an ominous click.
Still catching his breath, the plumber looked up weakly. He swallowed before croaking the words.
"Hi, liar." He didn't even give Bowser a chance to answer. He stretched his left arm, gritting his teeth and trying desperately to ignore the pain in his chest. There was the small, simple daisy growing out of sheer rock in the corner. But Luigi knew better. He grasped it, crushing it in his hand. He bit his lip against the pain as it singed his skin. He felt something electric and powerful move through his body. He turned his head back to the cloud…its expression was now that of fear. Its cute, large, thread-stitched eyes were wide, its mouth open in horror. In a matter of seconds it burst into flames.
Then everything disappeared.