Chapter 18: And Then There Was One

The sun hung low over the horizon, casting an orange glow over the grass, the evening dew shining brilliantly on each blade. The clouds shone a vibrant pink, forming a curtain between the sky and the earth. Anyone who lived there would say it's ordinary, but anyone else would be awestruck by the beauty that folded out over the hills and valleys of the Mushroom Kingdom.

The Princess' Castle stood over Toad Town, watching over it carefully, like a mother watches over its child. Its pearly white bricks glowing with heavenly light, reflecting the sun's light, making it seem too beautiful to be real. A magnificent stained-glass window was displayed over the grand doors, a work of art depicting the Kingdom's Princess.

The Grand Council of Sarasaland had indeed decided to aide the Mushroom Kingdom, but the army had been delivered moments too late. Bowser had already been killed, and the Sarasans were disappointed in missing the fight. They did, however, round up the remaining koopa troopas that still fought without the command of their King, and brought them to the dungeons of the Great Palace of Four Kingdoms, where they remained until their executions. Kamek himself was captured, but he pleaded innocence to the crimes he was accused of. King Bowser II asked that he hold Kamek in his dungeons for thirteen months, and at that point he would be released to work at the restoration of the Mushroom Kingdom, and later, Koopa Kingdom. Sarasaland accepted the rule of the Princess once more, as she had proven her worth to the kingdom, it had been agreed that they would continue the same way as they had before the death of the King, and Daisy's power would be returned to her on the day of her marriage.

The Koopa Kingdom had since become an ally of the Mushroom Kingdom and Sarasaland, now under the rule of King Bowser Koopa II. He was a just ruler, having since matured mentally and taken the throne once his siblings fled. They fled far over the hills, in belief that the Koopa dynasty was over, that they would likely be killed for being Bowser's children, and had never returned. This left only one child to take the throne, if he chose to do so. Bowser Junior ascended to the throne soon after, swearing on the day of his coronation that he would not go down the path that his father had. He always claimed to have a good heart, and was deceived and tricked into becoming Mario's enemy.

Instead of turning to conquering other kingdoms, Bowser II decided that they should work their land, make it beautiful, like Bowser always wanted, but had gone about it the wrong way. He closed down the mines, which had made the sky that grimy black and made the air thick with sulfur. It was true that the heat would remain, as they lived near an active volcano, but he insisted that their race was built for such temperatures.

And so began the Koopa's quest to restore their kingdom.

It was as if nothing had happened.

But everyone knew that it had.

One year had passed. It was the anniversary of the day they had won the kingdom back. A year since the nightmare had come to an end. A year since Mario's death.

They called it "The Hero's Memorial"; a day for the kingdom's citizens to rest, to reflect, to remember. To remember the Hero, to remember The Great Super Mario. To remember Waluigi. To remember all those who died to protect them, to make the kingdom beautiful again. It wasn't a day for sorrow, but a day for celebration. To celebrate the life of these heroes, to celebrate all they had done for them.

A great banquet was held on this day, in their honor. Mario, Waluigi and countless guards and citizens were honored at this banquet, countless row of flowers lined the halls, each with a name attached on a small gold card.

Roger Mannington...Fice Turnsee...Vanna Transowski...Anna Harson...

The names went on down the hallway, until you reach the end, where the grand doors led to the ballroom, where the banquet was being held. Before the doors, stood two large boquets, and displayed over them were portraits. These portraits portrayed Mario Mario and Waluigi Wario, the two men that had sacrificed all they had for the Kingdom. Beyond the doors was where the banquet had been held. It was over, and most of the guests had left. All that remained were a few maids and servants here and there, along with the Princess' closest friends. The servants were bustling about, cleaning up the large room.

Out on the large balcony, the servant's children sat in a circle around Luigi. They had begged him to tell them his account of what had happened, a full year ago, as well as he could remember. At first, he had been reluctant to do so, trying to ignore them and try to enjoy himself. But he soon realized that he was being followed, as pointed out to him several times. The children said that they refused to stand still, and would follow him until he told them the story.

So after another five minutes of the children following him, he politely excused himself, and walked out onto the balcony. Sitting down, he began to tell them the story, surprised that they hadn't heard of it before. Once he reached the end, the party had been long over, and the sun had set. Toad had since joined them out on the balcony, and was leaning against the railing of the balcony, listening to the retelling, even though he had lived it. The children hung on his every word, and once he finished his last sentence. They leaned forward, mouths agape, some with tears on their eyes, on edge.

"Is that the end? It can't possibly end there!"

"No, there's a little more..."

"Tell us! Did Mario live, did the kingdom get better?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Luigi asked, leaning back a bit.

"Well..."

"Think now, what are we celebrating today? Where are we living?"

"We're celebrating... When Mario defeated the Koopa King. We're living in the Mushroom Kingdom." one child said, smiling knowingly.

"Well, then what do you think the answer to your question is?" Luigi asked the child, chuckling slightly when he slipped into what looked like deep thought, and the girl beside him piped up.

"Yes! The Kingdom got better!" she cried, laughing and smiling, even when the boy beside glared at her.

"That's right."

"That can't be all! Tell us more!" another piped up, nodding eagerly.

"Ah, Toad, will you finish it off for me? My memory's been a little foggy lately," Luigi said, but he knew very well the ending of the story.

"And they all lived happily ever after," Toad said.

"For the most part," Luigi added, chuckling, "You know, kids, it's getting late. It's way past your bedtime!" he said, glancing at his watch quickly and standing up. Toad then stood up and shooed them off the balcony and back into the Hall.

They made sounds of protest, but turned and trudged back into the banquet hall, shuffling their feet and whispering amongst themselves about the story. To them, it was a fairytale, a story made to entertain them. They didn't know the horror they had endured, the pain that they had gone through, that they relived on that very day.

"A whole year..." Luigi sighed, leaning against the railing of the balcony. He stared up at the sky, blinking back the tears, making the stars blur out and come back into focus, only to be blurred out again. He reached up and brushed them away quickly when he heard someone step out onto the balcony.

"It's hard to believe, isn't it?" Daisy whispered, stepping up beside him and leaning on the balcony herself, "I mean that all this happened so long ago. It seems like only yesterday, we were waiting for Toad to come for tea..."

"Yeah, and looking for him in the forest..."

"Which was perfectly safe at the time, wasn't it?" Daisy said, laughing ever so slightly, before falling silent again, "It's just hard to believe, that day started off so normally, and then all this happened," she said, raising a hand to her forehead and sighing, "at least it all ended alright..."

"For the most part," Luigi said, "There's still my brother."

"That's true. I'm still so sorry."

"Don't be. He did what's right. I'm sure he has a special with the Stars now," Luigi said, looking up to the sky one last time before lowering his head and turning away, back to the doorway that lead inside.

"I think I'm going to call it a night," he said, yawning and starting towards the door, "It's been a long day."

"That it has. I've got a long way to go, so I'd better get going myself," Daisy said, "Are you going to be alright?"

"Me? Of course! I thought you knew me better than that!" Luigi said, laughing. He stopped laughing when she narrowed her eyes slightly, as she always seemed to do when something annoyed her.

"What did I do now?" he asked.

"I'm serious, Luigi. Your brother -died- a year ago. Knowing you, it would bother you - Don't tell me it doesn't!" she added when he opened his mouth to protest, "I know that if my brother died, I wouldn't be able to let it go so easily."

He didn't quite know what to say, she was right, in a sense. There wasn't a day when he didn't miss Mario, but the way she was talking about it made it seem like he would jump off a bridge at any given moment. He knew he wouldn't do such a thing, and knew that she knew that as well. It struck him as odd that she would be so worried over him, as she usually didn't get too worried over anything. But he hated to see her fret over such a senseless thing.

"Don't worry about me, I'm going to be perfectly fine," Luigi said, "And I'm not saying that I don't miss him, or that I don't feel the pain. I won't lie to you, it hurts. It hurts so much, but nothing's going to happen to me, okay? In fact, I think that if anyone, you should go speak with Peach."

"Alright, if you're really sure..."

"I am," he said, and decided it would be best to change the subject at such a depressing moment, and did so, "Well; we'd better get going now, eh? Let's just go say goodbye to Peach and be on our way, okay?" he suggested, taking her hand and leading her through the great glass doors that lead back to the Hall.

Daisy smiled, nodding and following him to bid the Princess farewell and start on their own separate ways.

The sky was dotted with stars, but one stood out against the inky black more than the rest. It shimmered with a brilliant light, directly over the Castle, watching it intently and winking at the stone fortress. It would stay there forever, until the one last breath of life was taken, and the earth became nothing but a lifeless stone floating in space. It would never leave that place, because if the stars could feel, this one would feel at home. But most residents of the Mushroom Kingdom would beg to differ, insist that the Stars -could- feel. They were the dead, those who died at peace (those without peace would return as Boo) and were held in high regard by the Star Spirits. They watched over the very spot where they felt at home, protecting those they loved when they were alive.

This particular Star was stationed at Princess Peach's Castle.

And it shone a bright red.

The End