Darkness all around. Silent cold darkness, and nothing more.
A voice called out through the darkness, bringing warmth and light with it.
"Luigi..." The sweet sound echoed through the eternal blackness.
"Luigi... wake up, little one." The voice continued
Luigi could see nothing but the soft glow of the warm pink light.
~Little one?~ Who would call him that? He didn't recognize the voice. Everything was fuzzy; remembering anything beyond his own name was becoming exceedingly difficult. And even that was slowly leaving him.
"M...mama?"
"Luigi come towards the light..." The voice beckoned
"But I don't want to" He whimpered
"Come..."
"No! Who are you leave me alone?" He shouted, the light ignored his question.
"Do not be frightened, little one, you will be at peace in the light."
"Peace?"
The warmth of the light was so inviting, so comforting. Sadness, anxiety, pain, not that Luigi could remember what those things felt like any more, were stripped away in the presence of the light. Luigi started towards the glow, it seemed like it was a million miles away.
"Come towards the light, little one..." the glow called to him as continued further towards its warmth.
He stopped
"I can't...I don't remember why but I just can't"
"You must hurry, come to the Light or the Darkness will swallow you up."
"I--"
"The Darkness is coming, hurry come towards the light or you will never feel its warmth again!"
What the heck did that mean? Luigi didn't have time to wonder about it as the light began to fade it was quickly being replaced by cold darkness. Not the darkness felt before the Light came but a different kind, an ominous, foreboding, inescapable, darkness.
"Hurry come...there's not much time left, come..."
Luigi started towards the rapidly fading light
"Hurry...the Darkness is here!
Luigi stopped in his tracks he felt himself being pulled away from the Light. He struggled against this unseen force to no avail. Trying to escape the Darkness, but he could do nothing as he was torn away from the warm light.
"You will never feel its warmth again..." The voice, the light, the warmth, disappeared as quickly as it came. Then there was nothing.
Mario checked his map as he wandered hopelessly lost through the Forever Forest.
"Useless..." Mario muttered shoving the folded paper in his pocket.
He walked along the small dirt path through the somewhat dense forest. Though the word forest would have been questionable most of the trees were bald of any leaves. The ones that did, had very few, brown half-dead, leaves clinging to the, sickly twig, branches.
Mario felt a little uneasy as he walked on. The forest was eerily quiet. No sounds of birds in the trees, of cute little woodland creatures scurrying around looking for food, not even the slight sounds of the wind. Nothing...
It was down right creepy!
"Boy, Luigi would be throwing a fit if he were here...This place is enough to give anybody the heebie-jeebies"
Mario really wanted his brother with him.
Mario wasn't afraid but he wouldn't have minded a little company while walking through this "too quiet" forest. And besides he was starting to miss his annoying little brother.
"I wish I could find Luigi though...I'd feel a lot better if I knew he was safe." Mario said with a sigh, he continued forward.
...Wish Granted...
Mario came to a clearing and in the distance sat a, large dark broken down old, house.
Mario looked up at the sky as a slight drizzle started to fall. He frowned, he was really starting to dislike water. Every time he'd dry off he'd somehow get wet again.
He sighed and set off towards the house. The motivation of staying half way dry, got Mario's legs moving at a good pace, and got to the front door quickly.
He gave the house a once over and decided that most likely no one was there and walked in.
All the furniture was covered by cloths; all the cloths were covered by about three inches of dust. Something caught Mario's attention. Fresh footprints in the dust on the floor, someone had been there recently or maybe someone was still there...
"Hello is any one here?"
No answer Mario searched the whole first floor of the house lots of stuff had been moved around and not to long before Mario got there either. Mario could tell because fresh hand and fingerprints were found all over the place.
Yes some one had most definitely had been there recently.
Mario started up the stairs when he noticed something on one of the filthy window's he walked over to the window to get a better look. What he saw put a huge smile on the elder Mario's face. Written in the dust on the window was:
Luigi was here ^v^ !
Mario would have jumped for joy but he didn't think the old rickety floor could take that kind of abuse.
Maybe he's still here, Mario hoped against hope that Luigi for once in his life could stay in one place for more than thirty seconds and hadn't left yet.
Mario started up the stairs when something moved behind him? No it felt more like through him. Mario wasn't alone.
"Weege?"
"Kemak, how is the jewel collection coming along?" Bowser asked his second in command.
"We have one so far; word from Privet Sherbet is that he has the second and should have it here in three days. He ran into a problem with some Yoshi but he is still on schedule and will be here soon. The third and fourth will be on their way here shortly and, the locations of the other four are being determined now."
"Excellent, everything's going smoothly, four jewels will be more than enough to keep minor annoyances like would be heroes out of my hair until I have all eight. Then I will be unstoppable. Mwa, ha, ha, ha" (Sorry that's really lame.)
Unbeknownst to Bowser and Kemak a small figure waits in the shadows listening to their conversation.
~Bowser you won't get the chance to use those jewels after I rescue the princess, she'll send the whole Mushroom Kingdom Army here to stomp you flat!~
Toad watched quietly as the two figures left the room.
"Now to find Princess Peach, and maybe I'll do a little shoplifting while I'm here. The princess and the jewel are as good as rescued!"
The sweet aroma of flowers wafted gently through the air a lovely mixed smell of Yoshi Berry Bush flowers and Pikmin flowers. (That's a real flower named after the GCN video game.)
Princess Peach lay on the silk sheets of the large, even for a Koopa, Canopy Bed.
Everything in the room was exquisite.
From the finely made and even more finely decorated wardrobe, bursting with lovely gowns of every conceivable shade of pink, which happened to be Peach's favorite color. To the huge porcelain tub that she had just gotten out of.
One thing was for sure... That if you gotta be kidnapped this was the way to go about it!
But as nice as everything was she was still a prisoner. And had to figure out some way to get out of here. It was so boring in there!
Lucky for Peach a very interesting conversation was being had by two guards right outside her door.
She left her spot and knelt on the floor with her ear to the door and listed
~I really shouldn't do stuff like this... Its so un princess like. Oh who cares I'm board!~
"Yeah so I heard master Kemak was saying that this Mario guy was on his way here to rescue the princess." One of the guards said
"Oh yeah?" The other replied
"Yup, but Kemak also said if and when Mario makes it here, he's got a surprise for him." The first guard continued.
"A surprise? But I thought Mario's the enemy?" There was silence for a long time after that. Peach assumed that the first guard was giving the second a dirty look for being so dense. She couldn't help but giggle at the stupid guard. Too bad they heard her
"Did you hear that?" The first guard asked.
Peach put her hand over her mouth.
"I think someone's been listening to us..."
The doorknob started to rattle and Peach scurried over to the bed as the door flung open.
And two guards walked in.
"So you like to ease drop huh? Well maybe if we box those pretty ears that will end that problem." The guard grabbed her wrist and she let out a high pitched cry for help.
Her cries were answered by the most unlikely of people.
"What's going on in here? Don't you have some place to be?"
"N.. Nothing King Bowser, we were just leaving!"
The two guards shot past their king and out the door.
"Did they hurt you?" Bowser asked Peach looked at him disbelieving
"No I'm fine..."
"Come with me" He said calmly motioning towards the door.
"No thank you, I'm fine where I'm at--"
"Come with now, or I will have my guards drag you out of here kicking and screaming." He said just as calmly as before. Peach sighed
"I'll come, could you at least tell me where we're going?"
"Dinner."
To be continued...
Next chapter: Dinner date: Mario and Luigi cross paths but not in the way you might think. Toad goes jewelry shopping, Peach finally gets a part in this story since chapter four, and two new characters make their debut. That's it I think.
???: Wait just one minute you!
Jes: What the...who's that?
[Maria walks in, you remember her don't you?]
Maria: [Starts yelling in Italian.]
Jes: Hey, hey, hey, calm down what's wrong?
Maria: First you take my children from me and then you torture them?
Jes: I'm not torturing them...Well maybe Weege is going to get screwed in the next couple of chapters...
Maria: What?!
Jes: Nothing! I gotta go I think I hear my mom calling me...[Run away]
Maria: Get back here! I'm going to do you, what you did to my children! [Chases Jes]
Jes: Ahhhhhhhhhhh!
Ok, that had absolutely nothing to do with the story. I just wanted to get Maria in there somewhere since she doesn't appear again till the very end of the fic. And cause I like her :)
Man, I am so sorry about the lack of updates for the past, what two weeks?
I'd love to have some great excuse as to why no updates. Like I had to work, or a bus hit me, my dog ate my homework...But I don't have one. Just Lazy-ness and writers' block which aren't excuses at all. :Sigh: I Suck! -Jes -_-!