The play was apparently over as there was a huge crowd of Toads leaving the pavilion as Lucina approached. She towered over the crowd, keeping an eye out for Pit. Lucina wanted to inform him right away about the plan she made with Luigi. The plan was to meet with the Princess after tomorrow's performance. Simple and without any complications. Just the way Lucina liked it.
As the minutes passed, more and more Toads were swarming the area. Lucina was starting to get a little concerned that she couldn't spot Pit. Especially since, like her, he was much taller than the common Toad.
Then there was a shrill yell of frustration. Lucina twisted on the spot and turned towards the source of the commotion. There was Pit standing next to a wooden door, looming over a little red guy wearing a white mask. The door had a label which read Backstage. "Look I'm telling you," Pit was yelling. "I need to speak with the Princess!"
"And I'm telling you kid… it's not her!" The red guy responded, sounding tough despite being short. "Now beat it before I call security!"
"Liar! She was on stage! She's here and this is a matter of importance concerning all the regions!" Pit stood there panting with excitement, which Lucina felt wasn't really helping his case.
"Well, why didn't you say so?" The guy's voice dripped with sarcasm. "If its that important… then I'll go fetch her."
As the guy opened the door a smidge and started to speak to someone within, Pit stood there triumphantly. Lucina started to make her way over to her friend before he could embarrass himself more. She had only taken a few steps when the red guy then backed away from the door as it swung wide open. Pit's joy instantly melted from his face as he was grabbed by a giant hand.
Stepping out of the door was the body to which that hand belonged too. It was a giant brown ape wearing a necktie. The beast effortlessly hoisted the screaming Pit above its head. And before Lucina could even think to draw her weapon, the ape leapt to the air and climbed the building. Soon, it and Pit both vanished from Lucina's sight.
Lucina cursed under her breath. And here was the complication. Hopefully the ape wouldn't take Pit too far or worse… kill him.
"What in tarnation is happening out here?"
Lucina turned her attention back to the door. In the doorway was Princess Peach. She didn't sound as peachy as she did during the play. She sounded louder with a voice filled with spunk. The masked guy spoke, "Just a crazy fan, Daisy. I had DK take care of him."
"Thank you, Shy Guy," Daisy kindly responded. Then she noticed Lucina. "Oh! Howdy dear. Did you see the play?"
"Um… I saw most of it." Lucina answered. "I'm sorry about my friend."
"Your friends with that weirdo?" The Shy Guy stiffened up, putting his small stubby arm in front of Daisy. "Do I need to call back security?"
"There's no need." Daisy quickly said. "I reckon this girl means no harm."
The Shy Guy hesitantly lowered his arm. "As you wish. Though that guy really was a weirdo. Thinking that you were the actual Princess." He snorted before walking back over to his post.
Daisy reached for her hair and tugged at it. Lucina was surprised when it came off. It was a blonde wig and Daisy shook her actual hair, which was a soft maple color. "Sorry about that. This darn thing gets so itchy." She eyed Lucina's hair. "Though I must say, your hair is beautiful. Is it natural?"
Lucina blushed at the comment. "Um… yes?" She didn't know what Daisy meant by natural, but she had a more pressing issue at hand. "Say… what's going to happen to my friend?"
Daisy placed a finger on her cheek as she mulled over the answer. "Oh. DK is just going to take him out where all the overeager fans go… the bottomless pit!"
"WHAT?" Lucina nearly bucked at the answer she got. She need to go right away and save Pit.
Daisy quickly raised her hands. "I'm kiddin! He will be fine. He's just going to be thrown in some dumpster somewhere."
The feeling was slowly returning to Lucina. "Sorry about panicking like that. I'm not used to jokes like that back where I'm from."
"Say… where are you from anyway?"
Lucina cursed to herself again. She needed to stop being so obvious that she wasn't a local. She was spared of answering as a timid voice said, "There you are Lucina." Both girls turned around and saw Luigi walking up to them. "Did you find your friend?"
"Well… sort of," Lucina admitted. "He got carried away because he thought Daisy here was the real Princess."
Luigi tilted his hat a little and scratched his head. "Why did he think that? Has he never been to a play before?"
Lucina thought about it before answering. Pit has been up in Skyworld ever since he was young, and this was his first time down here on the surface in a while. And she wasn't sure if they performed up there. "I'm not sure."
Daisy ran her hand through her hair, flipping it softly. "Well, I reckon the kid has good tastes if he assumed I was a beaut like the Princess." She paused and turned her attention to Luigi. "And were did you scamper off too Luigi? Mario looking for you."
Luigi face fell. "He… he is?"
"Yeah, he wants to have a word with you. He's out in the crowd… you know how he is after a performance."
For some reason, Luigi's face went from nervousness to full blown terrified. "I see… well… I'll see you both later…."
And with that, he timidly scampered around and slowly walked towards the crowd. As he disappeared into the mass, Daisy let out a sigh. "Poor Luigi. If only he would grow a backbone…" She paused as though she remembered she wasn't alone. "Ignore that! I'm just talking to myself."
Lucina hesitated. She wanted to ask a personal question, but she wasn't sure just how much she should get involved with these people's lives. She after all was from a different region. But… perhaps it was the royalty part of her that wanted to help the citizens out. "Why is there some bad blood between the Mario Brothers?"
Daisy squinted at Lucina, as though sizing her up. "You could say that. A few years ago, there was an incident where Bowser the Koopa King attempted to kidnap Princess Peach."
"So just like that first scene in the play?"
"Yes and no. The Mario Brothers were simple poor plumbers at the time, not famous superstars. They stumbled across the fleeing Bowser by accident. The brothers took a chance and managed to defeat Bowser in a fight. The kidnapped Princess who saw the event claimed that after the dust settled, Mario was the last one standing."
Really? Lucina thought. She was having a hard time believing Mario as a fighter. That self-centered guy certainly could jump, but he didn't seem to show any other talents.
She must have showed some doubt on her face as Daisy chuckled. "I thought so too. I was friends with the brothers, and I thought it was a tall tale. I found out the truth when I read Luigi's diary."
Daisy paused for a moment, looking guilty about reading her friend's private diary. "Mario ran forward to fight… and immediately was taken out by a Bullet Bill. Bowser stood over the fallen Mario, chuckling. Luigi, despite being terrified beyond reason, didn't wish for his brother to die. So, with his mind going blank, he fought hard to protect his brother. And when the dust settled, Luigi had defeated Bowser, but he had fallen unconscious due to fatigue. As Luigi fell, Mario stirred just as the Princess managed to remove her blindfold."
"And the first thing she saw was Mario, standing up," Lucina finished, her hands clenched. "He just took credit for Luigi's work."
Solemnly, Daisy nodded. "I admit… I don't know if that is also entirely how that event went down. Though I know Luigi can get wild sometimes. Like when were…" She paused, blushing like a tomato. Daisy coughed and quickly said, "Anyway… Because Peach told everyone that Mario was her savior, the citizens started to treat him like a celebrity. And all that attention has gone to his head."
"Why doesn't Luigi say anything?"
"You've seen him… he has such a terrible inferiority complex. I wish he would work on overcoming it… but he's too scared to try."
Just as Lucina opened her mouth, there was a loud thud behind her. She whipped around and came face to face with that giant ape. The beast grinned and gave Daisy a thumbs up. "Thank you for doing your job DK," Daisy said, before quicky adding, "and this one's a friend! You don't need to toss her away."
Satisfied, DK walked around Lucina and reentered the building. Lucina smacked her forehead. "I forgot about Pit. I'm sorry to leave like this but I need to find my friend!"
Daisy waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry bout it sugar. I don't think DK would've thrown him too far."
Lucina bowed to Daisy before turning around. She raced as fast as she could around the dwindling crowd. She was so caught up in the Mario Brother's tale that she forgot that Pit was taken away.
But she couldn't help but feel sorry for Luigi. The poor man was getting overshadowed by his own brother, and he was too scared to say anything. Maybe once she completed the mission then she would offer to help Luigi out.
She ran around another corner at a breakneck speed. But right now, she had to focus. Lucina needed to find Pit before he could get into any more trouble.
Luigi didn't have to search to hard to find his bro. All he had to do was follow the sea of cheering Toads. Sure enough, Mario could be seen autographing everything that was placed in his direction. And from the look on his face, he was loving every second of it.
Some would say he earned that right, though Luigi wouldn't go that far. Still, Luigi had to admit he was a little happy seeing his brother happy again. He knew Mario was bored of the mundane life of a plumber. But that was the only job that would hire them. Luigi knew that Mario didn't complain much because as he put it, 'they would become Superstars someday!'
And Superstars they became after they saved the Princess. Sure… Mario got the credit for the rescue, but at least there now was enough food on the table for them now. So, Luigi didn't complain too much. Of course, he was too nervous to say anything to contradict that story. He didn't want to go back to eating scraps and unclogging pipes.
He felt a tug on his overalls which sent a shiver down his spine. Luigi nervously gazed down and saw a tiny Blue Toad. "Oh wow," the kid beamed! "It's you… Green Mario!"
Luigi's nervousness was instantly replaced with annoyance. Green Mario! That cruel nickname stuck to him like honey. But at least the kid recognized him, so that had to count for something. "That's a right! It's me Luigi."
"Can I have your autograph?"
"Of course, you a can!"
Mario had materialized next to Luigi, making him jump. He smiled at the kid and said, "Why settle for one bro when you can have both Mario Brother's signatures!"
The kid shined even brighter. "Gee thanks Mario," he exclaimed as Mario signed the Toad's paper.
Just as Luigi reached to sign the paper too, it was snatched out of the air and returned to the kid. "Sorry bub," came the low voice of Mario's gruff bodyguard. "Super Mario has to return to his trailer to rest up for tomorrow's show."
It was hard to tell who was more disappointed. The Toad or Mario. The kid walked away looking sad. Mario looked like he wanted to keep basking in all the attention. Luigi was just upset he didn't get to autograph. He made to follow the young fan, but a firm hand landed on his shoulder. "Good to see you, bro," Mario said, the warmth vanishing from his eyes. "Let's have a chat."
A single bead of sweat dripped down Luigi's brow as Mario and the bodyguard led the way towards the trailers. Once they were out of earshot of the crowd, Mario turned to the bodyguard. "I'll be right in. I just need to have a word with Luigi."
The bodyguard nodded and stepped away. Once he was gone, Mario sighed and turned to face his brother. "What happened tonight? Why couldn't you create even a simple fireball?"
"I'm sorry," Luigi pleaded. "I've been a practicing but I'm struggling."
"You're lucky that with my improv I was able to save the show! Imagine if the Princess saw that! Kind of a good thing she said she was going to be late for the show tonight."
Luigi tilted his head. "The Princess is here? I thought that she was coming tomorrow?"
Mario shook his head. "She… wanted to surprise me. She's out getting prepared for tonight." His moustache quivered in excitement. He noticed the skeptical look on Luigi's face. "Oh, get you mind out of the pipe. We're just going on a date."
So, the Princess was here tonight… Luigi considered going to find his new friend, Lucina, to tell her that the Peach was here. But he was certain that Mario would get angry at an interruptions for his romantic night out. So he was stick to their original plan.
He cleared his throat. "But back to the topic at hand. You need to be able to cast a fireball by tomorrow if you want to perform."
"Why can't I play as myself," Luigi said quickly before silencing himself. He knew his brother did not like to be backtalked too.
"Why? You know why Luigi. Your taller than be so when we stand under the spotlight for the finale, I end up stuck under your shadow. And we can't have the Superstar covered in darkness."
"You… your right," Luigi muttered. "But couldn't we find someone else to control that Bowser suit?"
"You know why you're the perfect person for the role. No one else we know can reach the controls and still be able to see where there going. And no one does that role better than you!"
Luigi perked up. "You… you really mean that?"
Mario placed a comforting hand on his younger brother's shoulder. "Of course. Now we both better get ready. You have a lot of practicing to do, and I have an important date!"
That didn't really seem fair, but Luigi kept silent. Giving his brother one last smile, Mario turned around, humming a cheerful tune to himself. He opened his trailer and vanished from view. Luigi looked down at his hands. "But I just don't have the same knack as you do bro…"
And as though to prove his point, he flicked his hand at some bushes. Not a single ember flew from his hands. Instead, it was a line of electricity that soared from his hand and into the bush. Luigi was caught off guard. He had never done something like that before.
But before he could fully process what had happened, there was a loud groan from beyond the bush. Terrified that he hit something, Luigi rushed over and peeked over the bush. There were two large people hiding behind the bush and under the cover of darkness, Luigi couldn't make out their faces. The longer one appeared to be unconscious. "Oh my gosh," Luigi shrilly said. "Did I do that?"
"Er… no," the shorter person gruffly said. He bent down and effortlessly picked up the lanky person. "This fool… he just tripped. It was a long day for us…. And he needs food. So… I'm going to take him to get some."
He spoke quickly as though he was hiding something. Before Luigi could ask, the guy booked it as fast as his tiny feet would carry him. Stunned, Luigi was sure that they were fans trying to spy on Mario. But Luigi couldn't help but feel like there was something familiar about that voice…
At least the guy claimed that Luigi didn't hit his friend. So that was a good thing. Luigi looked back down at his hands. But what was that? A part of him wanted to go ask Mario about it.
Luigi sighed as he knew that would be a bad idea. Aside from Mario getting annoyed about interrupting him, he would scold Luigi from summoning something that isn't fire.
But the fact he managed to summon something in the first place was remarkable. Feeling a little bit better, Luigi returned to trying to conjure up fireballs. He wouldn't be a failure this time.
"If I ever see that ape again, he's going to be sorry!" Pit angrily ranted as he struggled to pull himself out of the garbage dumpster he was tossed into. He was sure the Princess was just beyond that door when the dumb ape had to ruin everything.
He managed to pull himself forward an inch when a banana peel landed on his head. "Hey watch it," he barked. His outburst cause a person to shriek. He could hear them running away from the dumpster.
A few minutes passed after the shriek and Pit managed to pull most of his body out of the trash. As he was sure that he would never get rid of the smell completely, a soft voice called out, "Pit? Are you in there?"
Feeling relieved, Pit called out, "Yes I am!"
Pit reached out to the side of the dumpster and a familiar hand grabbed his own. With surprising strength, Lucina was able to help pull Pit free from his junky prison. Back on his feet, Pit muttered, "Thanks."
Lucina responded by pinching her nose and taking several steps back. "I'm sorry to say this Pit… but you reek. What trash do these people throw away that smells this bad?"
"Trust me… you don't want to know! Anyway, let's go back to the pavilion. We need to get backstage!"
"About that," Lucina started to say, but Pit was on a roll.
"I'm sure that ape was guarding the Princess! If we manage to sneak around it, we would be able to speak directly with the Princess about the invitation!"
"Pit… you really think Peach performed tonight?" Lucina asked, a worried expression popped up on her face.
Pit rolled his eyes. "Uh duh! You saw most of the play! She was on stage for most of the acts!"
"I don't know how best to say this… but that was an actress pretending to be her Pit… she's a wonderful girl named Daisy and…"
"No… your wrong! I saw her with my own eyes," Pit snapped. How could Lucina believe that? After all, Mario played himself in the play, so the Princess also was the real one on stage. This Daisy person probably was a cosplayer.
"Look Pit," a now annoyed Lucina responded. "I talked with Luigi and he's going to introduce us to the actual Princess when she arrives for the show tomorrow."
Pit clenched his fists. Why was Lucina making this harder than it needed to be? He knew where Princess Peach was, and he didn't need some nobody named Luigi to help. In fact, he didn't need Lucina's help in the first place. After all, this whole test was to prove to Lady Palutena that Pit was truly worthy to of being Skyworld's Captain and capable of carrying out this mission.
He was still sore about getting beat by Ike back in Altea. And yet, Lucina was able to disarm him before her Uncle Marth managed to stop the fight. If he had to depend on others to save him, then he would be seen as a liability to Lady Palutena. And he couldn't risk that. He had to proof that he could be everything that she needed him to be. He needed to become a Superstar. Just like Mario!
Pit smiled. "Okay Lucina… I understand. I'm going to go back and try to talk to Mario."
Lucina looked confused at the sudden change in conversation. "Why?"
"It would be a nice souvenir for Lady Palutena," he replied.
Looking skeptical, Lucina said, "Okay? I'm sure he probably is still in the park. Shall we go together?"
"Oh no that's okay," Pit quickly interjected. "It's been a long day. Why don't you find somewhere to rest, and I'll be right back?"
"Alright… I'll stay here until you get back."
"Sounds good to me." Pit rotated around and said over his shoulder, "Be back soon!"
And he walked off, trying hard not to look guilty. He didn't like lying to Lucina, but if he told her his real plan then she would have stopped him. He was going to sneak backstage and find the Princess. He would hand over the invitation and he would get all the credit for completing the mission! Just imagining the look on Snake's face was enough to make Pit giggle.
Pit navigated his way through the dark woods back to the park. He was a little familiar with this route seeing as a giant ape carried him this way. Except it was difficult finding the path without a light source.
He continued his journey for several minutes, only stumbling over the occasional hidden root. Finally, he found an opening and burst out onto the edge of the park. He looked around and too his surprise, there was not a single soul in sight.
It was getting late after all. But Pit expected there to be a few stragglers at the very least. It was a little creepy, especially with all the faces on the trees and the hills overlooking the park. There was only a single light hanging from a pole in the center. That sole source of light did provide a little comfort.
Pit made his way forward, crossing the park as fast as his feet could carry him. "What a moron! He nearly got me!"
A snarky voice near Pit caused the poor angel to leap into the air. He looked around for the owner of the voice and saw two figures crossing the park behind him. The smaller one was holding a large sack. It looked like they didn't notice Pit. But they didn't have anything to do with me, Pit thought.
He only took three steps when the voice continued, "Next time I see that moron… why I'm going to give him a wallop!"
"Good thing we followed that moron though," a deeper voice said. "That conversation led us right to Princess Peach."
Pit came to a halt and turned around. They mentioned the Princess. Maybe they could help him out. He went forward and called out, "Hey you two! What was that you said about the Princess?"
It was the duo's turn to freeze. They looked horrified as the angel ran toward them. "Nothing." The smaller yellow one said. "We don't know nothing about the Princess."
"Yeah, beat it shrimp," the lanky purple guy spat out.
They turned around and quickly walked away from Pit. Well, that was rude, Pit angrily thought. Something was off about them…
Then Pit noticed that the sack was moving. That certainly was strange. Pit let his wings free and using some of the limited power Palutena bestowed upon him, he dashed into the air. In a breakneck speed, he flew over the heads of the pair and landed in front of them. The duo stumbled backwards as Pit revealed his blades, pointing it at the pair. "Alright suspicious guys! What's in the bag?"
"Nothing," the purple on said. "Just some dirty overalls."
"Exactly. Just clothes and certainly not a Princess…"
There was an awkward silence between all three. After a moment, Pit realized. "Wait! The Princess is in there! You're kidnaping her!"
The purple one smacked his partner upside the head. "Good going loser!"
"Well, what's the brat going to do?"
"Here's what I'm going to do," Pit boldly declared. "I'm going to take the Princess from you and become a Superstar like Mario."
The pair exchanged a devious glance. "All right Superstar," the yellow one slowly said. "You can have the Princess."
Suddenly, he hoisted the sack over his shoulder and hurled it at Pit. Shocked, Pit dropped his blades and opened his arms to catch the Princess. What he didn't expect was the combination of the strength of the throw and the weight of the Princess.
The impact knocked all the wind out of him, and he fell onto the grass. The sack laid on top of him and he struggled to breath. The snickering kidnappers towered over him. "Well, what do you think Waluigi?" The yellow one asked. "You think the boss would pay us some extra coins for the kid?"
"I think so Wario. Even if he doesn't, he mentioned a partner that could use some new test subjects."
Pit gasped, the air slowly returning to his lungs. "You won't… win."
The duo laughed mockingly at the fallen angel. "Good one," the purple one, Waluigi mocked. "No one's going to stop us. And I think it's time for kids to go to sleep!"
Without warning, he pulled out a violet tennis racket. The last thing Pit saw was the racket moving towards him before he was left seeing stars.
