Oops. . . realized I didn't have these notes when I posted this up. . . so I'm reposting, and I'm going to say this again: READ AND REVIEW! Why haven't I gotten very many reviews recently? Stoney. . . You've been waiting for this chapter for a while now. . .


Chapter 34: Ten Year Legend


The vines were very thick around here, so Phil had to chop a path through the ever-thickening jungle. Why he was going in this direction, he didn't know. But he had a feeling it would lead him somewhere.

The jungle cleared into an all-too familiar surrounding. Phil could recognize the terrain all around from when he played Super Mario RPG.

He didn't play it too far, just far enough as to appease Robert, Jenna's brother. It was one summer month a year or two ago, while he was waiting for Jenna to get ready on a date. He was sitting in the living room, when Robert walked in. The name-calling commenced, the word freak in heavy use.

It was all in good fun, and Robert eventually dared the Zelda-fanboy Philip to play SMRPG all the way through. Jenna was ready long before he finished defeating Croco the first time, but he did as well as anyone capable could.

Phil pondered for a moment. He didn't get all flustered and mad when he thought about Jenna then. True, she was a known boyfriend dumper, but he held on to those feelings a while longer, then continued walking.

The terrain he recognized was from Mushroom Way, one of the first areas in the game. That meant that all he had to do was follow the trail to the Pipe House.

Phil strolled along the dusty trail thinking of what to do when he reached the place. Bust the door down and yell for him. . . nah, that'd look stupid if he wasn't in. . . I can't knock and say 'Hello, I'm that kid you tried to murder; I've come to kill you!', that's just plain idiotic. . . There's the stealth approach. . .

A few bushes away, the Pipe House stood in all it's former glory. The place was run-down, hadn't been repaired in years. About ten years or so, he'd say. . . Ben's words still hung onto him.

The front door was half-broken, and hanging from only the bottom hinge, which creaked loudly when the thing was pushed. Creaked loudly. It must have been some act of God that it didn't fall apart right there.

The rooms inside were clearly and visibly dusty, even though most of the place was in the shadows. The glassless and shutter less windows shone ample sunlight through to show that the wind unsettled the dust from time to time, and there was a lot of it in the air.

Phil put the scarf that was hanging around his shoulders up to his nose so as not to choke when he entered.

There was old and rotting furniture all over the floor, a table turned against the wall in one corner. This room wasn't in the game. . . Phil wondered as to where it was from. . .

Another door at the far side proceeded to the next room, probably the bedroom.

Phil raised his sword to his waist level, and took his shield off his back, and proceeded slowly to the door ahead.

Tis room was darker, the window had a shutter on it, and it was closed. Phil could hear some faint breathing. . . From the bed that was right next to him.

For a brief moment, Phil considered killing the individual right there, whoever it might have been. Actually, the idea that it might not have been Mario didn't cross his mind until he had his sword raised in a prime position in the air.

Instead, Phil walked to the window not to far ahead and opened the shutters. He turned to get a look at who was in the bed right there.

Phil blinked, as it took him a while to realize who he was actually looking at. The first features he noticed was the long ragged beard, and the dread locked hair. The clothes were not only torn, but looked much older than the house currently did. But there was something about the man's face and mustache. . .

Then Phil looked at the hat he had on his head.

The green hat.

It was very clean, as if it had special care taken of it. And on the front there was a stitched letter 'L' on a white circle.

This person was none other than Luigi Mario.

Maybe he should kill him right now, anyway. . .

But more words rang through his head. . .

'He didn't follow in his brother's footsteps, thank goodness,' Ken said. 'He went into hiding soon afterward. Luigi didn't think that Bowser was evil enough to actually kill someone he loved.'

Well, now Phil knew he didn't have to kill him. . . But then again, he didn't want to kill him. Maybe he knew where Mario was or hid or something.

Phil took another look at the green hat, and then the look on Luigi's face. He sighed, and sat down in a chair that was right behind him.

The chair shattered into a couple dozen pieces, as well as the silence in the air, and also convinced a lot more dust particles to rise and choke things. Thus could be said the same thing of the green-clad former plumber.

"WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU WANT!?"

Phil was so startled by the sudden hands clasping around his throat, he dropped his sword and shield onto the ground, and tried to get the death grip off of him.

It actually wasn't to hard, considering the circumstances. Maybe it was still some of that strength left over from the purple mist. Whatever happened, Luigi lost his sense of hostility right then and back off.

"Who are you?" He reiterated.

"My name is of no consequence," Phil said, trying to be as dramatic as possible so as to lessen the awkwardness of the situation, "I've just come looking for Mario."

"Why? Have a grudge against him? Get in line."

"He gave me this. . ." Phil lifted his shirt to show Luigi the scar on the front side of his body.

"He nicked you. Big deal."

Phil turned around to show the other scar at the same spot that was on the front.

"Ah. That explains it."

Phil lowered his shirt. "Do you know where I can find him?"

"About as much as anyone else. He's become like a ninja of sorts since the incident. . ."

"A shadow walking in the night, knowing neither fear nor fright. . .Hunting for the one he seeks. . ."

"What?"

"Oh, sorry. . ." Phil looked a little embarrassed, "Just something I remember a friend of mine. . ." Why am I thinking about Danielle's poetry right now? "Hey. . . I want to know what happened that day, when Peach went missing. I don't think I've heard the whole story. . ."

"Everyone's heard the whole story."

Phil wasn't quite ready to tell him where he was from, or that his world was now a mushed-up conglomerate of others. "I'm not from around here. . ."

"I can tell." Luigi sighed, "But there's so few humans in this world. . ."

"Tell me about it. . ." Phil coughed under his breath, "So what do you know?"

"Everything good enough of an answer?"

"Details, please."

"Where would you like me to start?"

"Umm. . . how about from when Mario goes crazy?"

Luigi chuckled a little morbidly, "When he realized that the Princess was gone. . . just gone, not captured, his jaw dropped out of his mouth and stood there for what must have been the better part of a week. But when he finally started moving again all he did was twitch and drool."

"What about you?"

"I kept hope that the princess would show up again. You know, everyone thinks Bowser killed her. . ."

"Heard it before. Go on about Mario."

"He finally got around to moving, but then he locked himself in the workshop out back and didn't come out for a month at least. He made a lot of noise, though, and when he did come out. . . he had this body armor and a six foot katana. . ."

"And he started killing things."

"Pretty much. But. . . he left his hat behind."

Luigi pointed to a drawer in the corner , on in a nightstand that also was in pretty good condition considering the condition of the entire house. Phil opened the drawer, and inside there was a a red hat, with and 'M' on it.

"You realize I still have to kill him."

"Everyone has to. By the way. . . Now that I've done you a favor, you do me one."

"Name it."

"Why hasn't the koopa guard flushed me out of here and thrown me in a dungeon somewhere?"

"That's quite easy, I understand why you'd have that question. . ." Luigi knew just as much about the Koopa Clan as they currently did about him, "They've been busy trying to hold together, what with all the attacks Mario makes on them. They don't concentrate on anything else. . ."

"And how do you know this?"

"One. . . of my friends are in the guard."

"The one that wrote that poetry?"

"No, not the same one. . . Though I wouldn't be surprised if Ben were right and she were here too. . ."

"Ben?"

"Not Ben, but. . ." Phil sighed. "All my friends are currently residing in Bowser's Keep, or so I still think. . ."

"They're with Bowser?"

"Yeah."

"Since when has Bowser accepted Humans into his army?"

"They're. . . not exactly human. . ."

"Then what?"

"It depends on which one. I'm not exactly what you consider human, either." Phil lifted the bandanna on his head to show his pointed ears.

Luigi looked at them for a while. "This is odd. . ."

"Then I'm sure Ben has it all figured out and he can tell you all about it."

"In Bowser's Keep? I can't go in there!"

"I give you express permission. You got any paper for a note?"

Luigi opened the drawer on the bottom of the stand, taking out a small book. "I was going to use this as a diary sometime, but I never got around to it."

Phil took the book, and opened up to a random blank page, and tore it out. Taking the pen that was in the spine, he scrawled a note in his good handwriting, hoping that Jenna would accept this if nothing else.

Why am I thinking about Jenna again?



so. . . Same old Final Fantasy: The Last Hero stuff. . . blahblah. . . I'm starting to lose interest. Come on! It's not that hard!

Next time on Video Game: I'm losing ground before the next big plot point, so be ready for more scene switching. Until then, Ciao!