Chapter 4: Revelations
Mike cracked his door a bit and looked out for the others. He saw nobody, and he sneaked out his door and headed down the hallway. He quietly opened the door to the pipe room, entered the room, and closed the door behind himself. Now which pipe was it? he asked himself. Unbeknownst to him, Rose saw him walk down the hallway. She stealthily tiptoed down the hall and put her hand on the doorknob. Mike heard the doorknob turn, and he plastered himself against the wall, ready to nail whoever came through the door. The door opened and Mike brought both of his fists down in one single ball. Rose saw the blow coming and used the force of the attack to throw Mike into the wall. "Ouch," he said wearily, with his legs going up the wall and his back flat against the floor.
"Oops. Sorry, knee-jerk reaction," Rose said.
"I never could get the jump on you, could I?"
"Nope. But…"
Mike stood up and asked, "What?"
"Why are you here?"
"People have always asked why we are here, Rose, but no one, not even I, knows the answer."
"No, Mike," Rose said, annoyed. "Why are you here in the pipe room?"
"I'm leaving," Mike replied shortly.
"Leaving?! Why?"
"Because there's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home," Mike joked.
"You're really pushing the Wizard of Oz, aren't you? But seriously, why are you leaving?"
"I don't belong here."
"Don't belong here! But…But…You're Luigi's grandson!!"
"First, I still don't believe that. Second, that Leo character has it in for me."
"Oh come on, Mike! Leo may be stern, but that's a bit much."
"Rose, I'm a pretty good judge of character. He hates me with the whole essence of his being." He paused, then continued. "Okay, maybe not that much, but I'm not far off."
"I know why he dislikes you. See, he dislikes Luigi, and since your Luigi's grandson…"
"GOD, ROSE, I'M NOT LUIGI'S FREAKIN' GRANDSON!!! I STILL DON'T BELIEVE YOU, SO JUST DROP IT, okay?" Mike yelled. He didn't want to, but Rose just didn't know when to quit.
"Either way, Mike, Bowser wants you, dead or alive."
"So far, you're the only one who's told me that. Considering our track record together, I take everything you say with a few really large grains of salt."
"So, you do hate me…" Rose said dejectedly.
Mike put his hands on Rose's shoulders and said, "No, Rose. It's just that I don't believe you when you make outrageous claims like this. I don't hate you at all."
"Thank you, Mike. But you still can't go."
"Watch me," Mike said. Mike turned back to the assortment of pipes and tried to remember which one led to the sewer.
"Mike, if you leave, you'll be turning your back on the real world, and you'll just go back into your own little bubble world, where nothing bad ever happens."
"No, Rose, bad things do happen," Mike said quietly. He continued louder, "If Luigi is so important, then why don't you go get him yourself?"
"So, you do admit that he's your grandfather."
"No, I just asked why you just didn't go and get him yourself."
"Well, since I just went from foster house to foster house, I never knew where he was. Where is he?"
"Oh, it's a very nice spot, just down the road from my house, good shade, right next to a tree, nice white stone. I bring him flowers every month."
"Wha? What are you talking about?"
"He's dead, Rose. Our grandfather is dead!" Mike said, tears starting to gather in the corners of his eyes. "That's why this is special to me," he continued, taking out his pendant. "He died the day after he gave me this. Some punks trapped him in an alley and demanded his wallet. He refused and the gang started beating him up for it. He died a few hours later, at the hospital. Grandma died a few days later, from a broken heart." He sniffed and did his best to hold back the onrushing tears.
"I'm sorry, Mike. I never knew," Rose said softly.
"What? We had asked the foster service to tell you!"
"Mike, it happened right after your 12th birthday, right? The people I was staying with didn't care about me, only about the tax break they got. They never would have told me."
Mike clenched his fists and said, "I knew I should have told you in person…" He unclenched his fists and sighed. "Sorry, Rose."
"It's not your fault."
"Either way, I'm still going."
"Mike, please. Don't."
"I'm sorry, Rose. I don't want to get caught up in some war and die because of it. If I were you, I'd leave too, before it's too late." Mike turned and headed over to the pipe he thought brought them here. "See ya'," he said.
"Mike, wait!" Rose started, but Mike had already jumped in. "That's not the right pipe…" she finished dejectedly. She muttered something under her breath and ran off to get the others.
Mike was flying through the pipe with thoughts of regret and sadness going through his mind. He felt bad about leaving Rose behind, but she would come along eventually. He noticed a light at the end of pipe. That's strange, he thought, I should be going up, if I remember the orientation of the pipe correctly. Uh-oh. He then came flying out of the pipe and ran smack into a wall. He fell on a pile of garbage in the alleyway he emerged in, unconscious.