Summary: During a game of Cliffhangers an accident occurs leaving to bitter rivals in each other's company. Luigi wants to return to safety so he can see Daisy, whilst Waluigi just wants to get out.
The Way It Was Left
Waluigi was extremely annoyed. Annoyed at his brother for putting him in this situation in the first place, but most of all he was annoyed with Luigi. He didn't want to be his partner.
This was one heck of a bad day for him. As far as he was concerned he wished he hadn't got out of bed. He'd only agreed to the Mario party because Wario said it would be a chance to get one over on the Mario brothers. Getting on over on Luigi would be excellent, he thought. So he agreed.
It was then, when the party started that he started to regret it. They choose Toads Midway Madness as their party board and the order of turns was decided. Luigi got a stroke of luck and went first, followed by Wario, then Mario and wonderful as it was, Waluigi was forth to go.
It started out well enough; he got to twenty coins first and was on course for the star. However he was on the train track. Luigi's go was next after a quick game of Book Squirm (Which Waluigi won), unfortunately for Waluigi, Luigi landed on a happening space. Waluigi didn't know much about it until he saw Luigi running towards him at a fast pace. Behind Luigi was the train, Waluigi glared at Luigi then started to run too. He'd get that star later.
After ten turns later and Waluigi's luck hadn't turned for the better. He had no coins (Which he had Luigi to thank for) and he had no stars. Luigi had four stars, Wario three and Mario three. Here he stood just before his turn and for once he rolled a ten. Grinning to himself he ran the ten spaces. He came to a halt at the tenth and looked down at the floor. He had to stop himself from cursing. It was a red space. Not that it mattered; he had no coins left any way. Then he thought. No, it did matter. Luigi also landed on a red space. Mario and Wario landed on blue spaces. Waluigi groaned. Luigi was to be his partner.
It would be all right if they had an easy game. Waluigi watched the roulette spin to decide what game they would partake in. He heard Luigi groan and then realised why. They were to play Cliffhangers.
"Oh joy," Waluigi muttered to himself. Luigi's scared of heights.
In a matter of minutes Toad had gathered the four players and had them ready to scale the white cliff. Now they all stood wearing winter coats and waited for the signal to start the game. It came. Waluigi was the first one out of him and Luigi to start climbing. No way was Luigi going to mess this up for him. He needed to claw back and win the party.
They had climbed some height and neither of them spoke a word to the other. Not that either of them minded. Luigi was scared stiff. He didn't really trust Waluigi, so he was scared that his rival would drop him or something.
"Come on shorty!" Called Waluigi from above him, in his usual mocking tone.
"I will if you watch where you're going. Look! That ice on your left isn't really stable!" Luigi said bitterly. He'd rather have gone with Wario then have to put up with Waluigi.
"Don't be a woman! The ice is fine, now get your stupid ass up here or I'll come back down and give you a whack!" Waluigi snapped. Typical of Luigi, always worrying about something.
Waluigi was correct. The ice was fine. He tried to pull Luigi up faster but the guy in green was having none of it.
"Do you want to win or not?" Waluigi snapped. Then he heard someone shout finish. Growling in frustration he yanked Luigi rope.
"Hey watch it you moron!" Luigi yelled. Waluigi stopped at the next platform. He was going to kill Luigi. He could make it look like an accident. Luigi eventually caught up with his counterpart. He really couldn't be bothered with Waluigi's ranting.
"How are you winning? Honestly your useless!" Waluigi said angrily to Luigi.
"Oh shut up. You were never going to win any way," Luigi said. After that remark the two rivals went into a full scale-shouting match. The bickering could be heard from the stands down below. Peach, Daisy, Mario and Wario were down there. Mario and Wario were waiting for Waluigi and Luigi to get back down so they could continue the party.
"You might be waiting a while Mario," Peach said shaking her head.
"You might be right there Peach," Mario agreed. Wario shook his head.
"WE were never that bad!" He said looking up at the warring rivals. The other three looked at him in disbelief.
"You stole my castle!" Mario said laughing. Wario shrugged.
"Yeah but I was peaceful in doing so!" He argued. Daisy shook her head and then something dawned on her.
"Erm, if they get louder wouldn't that cause an avalanche?" She asked worried about her boyfriend's safety.
"It's had me on it and nothing happened. They're quite safe," Wario said. Everyone laughed at him, he didn't understand why but let it slide.
Back up on the cliff the two rivals still hadn't finished ripping into each other. Luigi grated on Waluigi so much that he went to hit him. Luigi cleverly guessed what was going to happen and ducked. Waluigi's fist connected with the icy wall behind Luigi. The cliff started to shake. The two rivals stared at each other in shock.
Down below the people below watched the exchange of insults and Waluigi's attempt to hit Luigi. The crowd seemed far more interested in this development then they had through out the whole party.
"I'm going to book that guy in for counselling," Wario said sarcastically.
Luigi and Waluigi tried to stay upright as the cliff shook fiercely. Behind them the wall, which Waluigi had hit, gave way and a small cavern appeared at their feet. In the next few seconds Waluigi spotted an on coming drift of snow and didn't fancy his chances. He grabbed Luigi and dashed inside the cavern. There was so much snow that they were now blocked from the outside.
"You really are a moron at times," Luigi said.
"Shut up," Waluigi said as he tried to find a way out.
The cheers from the crowd below started to die down when they realised what was happening. After Waluigi's attempt at hitting Luigi backfired and the snow fell down the crowd started to gasp and a few spectators screamed. Daisy was one of them.
"Oh no," Peach whispered. She didn't know what to say. Mario was silent.
"They'll be ok. They'll come out of the snow in a minute. They'll still be at each others throats, though!" Wario said hopefully.
Behind them Toadsworth came trotting through the crowds.
"Ahem. I'm here to inform you that a rescue team are on they're way up. Luigi will be fine don't you all worry yourselves," Toadsworth said looking troubled.
"And Waluigi?" Wario said angrily.
"Oh well him too I suppose," Toadsworth said before turning his back on Wario. Wario went to smack the old toad but Mario stopped him.
Meanwhile, Waluigi and Luigi came to an agreement, there was no way out. It was dark inside the cavern and Luigi didn't like it. Waluigi thought it was a good thing.
"At least now I can't see you!" He snapped angrily.
"Can't you be civil for one minute?" Luigi asked.
"Yes. But not to you," Waluigi answered. Luigi rolled his eyes and thanked the lords that it was dark so Waluigi couldn't see him. He wouldn't mind it at all but it was eerily silent when Waluigi wasn't making a racket. He'd gone quiet after answering Luigi's earlier question. Eventually the silence got to Luigi. He didn't like it one bit. To keep Waluigi talking he'd make him rants on about something and what better thing then the subject of Luigi.
"Why do you resent me so much, any way?" he asked. Hoping he was as far away from Waluigi as possible. Waluigi didn't answer. Luigi thought he was being ignorant.
"Hello?" Luigi asked timidly. No reply. He waited a short while before asking another question.
"Waluigi?" No reply came.
"Where are you?" Again no reply. Luigi wondered if Waluigi had disappeared on him. Neither of them knew if the cavern led to anywhere. He started to worry that he was on his own.
"Please answer me..." He said quietly, fear in his voice. Still Waluigi did not answer.
"I don't want to be on my own," He said quivering. His voice sounded slightly high pitched. He started to breath heavily. Where was he?
He stood there trying to calm down. It was difficult. He wanted to cry but stopped himself, it was a time to be brave. In a split second a pair of hands came behind him and grabbed him. Luigi yelped in fright and then he heard a laugh. A cruel mocking laugh that he recognised.
"Waluigi! You moron!" Luigi shouted.
"Chill out. Honestly, you'll give yourself a heart attack," Waluigi said, trying to controlling his laughter. Luigi was annoyed. Even when they were stuck he found time to mess about and ridicule him.
"Why do you resent me?" Luigi asked, he really did want to know.
"Because you think you're so wonderful and it's annoying," Waluigi said bitterly.
"You couldn't be further from the truth," Luigi muttered.
"Come on admit it, you've got the girl, the money, your own video game and all. Admit it, you think you're special," Waluigi chided.
"Is that it? You're jealous!" Luigi said.
"I am not jealous," Waluigi snapped. "And if you say it once more I'm taking off and leaving you here... alone!" Luigi didn't like the idea of that threat so he changed conversation.
"How are we going to get out of here?" he muttered.
"I don't know," Waluigi said. Like he'd know how they were going to get out.
"The sooner we get out the sooner you can go back to your fan club and I can go and crawl back under my rock," Waluigi said as he tried to feel for a way out.
"You really are bitter aren't you?" Luigi asked, "I don't understand how anyone can be like you,"
"Yes well, you wouldn't would you? You've had everyone fawning over you!" Waluigi bit back.
"Right yeah. Having to play second fiddle to my brother. That's a great example of people fawning over me," He said dryly. Waluigi took that bit of info in.
"At least people knew who you were. You had your family behind you," Waluigi remarked.
"We have the same family, idiot," Luigi said. This guy was so dense it was unbelievable.
"Hmm yeah. The family who worshipped you and your brother. The family who disowned me. Yep we had the same circumstances!" Waluigi snapped.
Luigi thought about it. It was true. Waluigi was actually the black sheep of the family. He was the only cousin he wasn't allowed to mention. Even Wario was sort of liked in the family. Luigi wasn't going to tell Waluigi that he was correct of course.
"Erm we should try going into the cavern," Luigi said. Waluigi agreed. They used Luigi's rope to bind them together once again and then set off. Waluigi went first, because he was the braver of the two.
"Why do you only hate me then? Why not the rest of the family?" Luigi asked. Waluigi sighed before answering.
"Because you got everything I want! That's why. Any way why on earth do you care? You hate me as much as I hate you!"
"Everything? That aint true," Luigi said, thinking it was all just a case of sour grapes.
"You have Daisy! All way through high school I tried so hard to win her affections and you come along. You didn't have to do anything and she fell at your feet! How is that fair!" Waluigi hissed. Luigi stayed silent. So that was it.
"You where better at everything too. I couldn't so anything right. Everything I did you did better, so I decided to change and became my own person," Waluigi concluded.
"Right, so you thought that a good reason to try and become the Mushroom Kingdoms number one bad ass?" Luigi asked incredulously. Waluigi didn't answer.
"Well sorry, but your brother beat you to that one," Luigi said. He regretted saying that because Waluigi gave the rope a sharp tug and sent Luigi flying.
"Ooops," he said sarcastically.
Back on the outside Wario, Mario, Peach and Daisy were waiting patiently for news.
"I dread to think what they're doing," Mario said wryly. Wario cracked a smile.
"Probably trying to kill each other at a guess,"
Conditions inside the cavern were getting worse. It was so cold and Luigi was beginning to feel it. If Waluigi felt the cold then he didn't let on. Again silence kicked in and once again Luigi didn't like it so he decided to speak again.
"I don't hate you, you know?" Luigi said. He meant it sincerely. He wasn't the type to hate anyone. Sure he could dislike strongly but never hate. He always thought if you don't like some one then why waste strong feelings on them?
"Why?"
"No idea, I really should do though," He said whilst smirking.
"Oh this is stupid. We're lost in some stupid cavern and have no way out," Waluigi growled when he felt what seemed to be a dead end. He sat on the floor and gave up completely.
"So what? You've resigned to dying in here?" Luigi asked.
"Well, it's not like I'm going to be missed is it?" He asked.
"Right," Luigi answered feeling it was pointless arguing.
Luigi sat himself down next to Waluigi. He smiled to himself. If anyone had told him that he would be stuck in a cavern with Waluigi he would have laughed at them. It was getting colder, Luigi was sure of it and he started to shiver. Even with his coat on he was still cold. He felt Waluigi shift by the side of him. Before he could ask what he was doing Waluigi's coat landed on him.
"Will you not be cold?" Luigi asked his counterpart. Waluigi gave a dry laugh.
"Heart of stone and I have no feelings, so no I won't be cold," Luigi shook his head with a smile.
The pair sat in silence. Luigi could have sworn that he heard running water. He listened more carefully. He was now positive.
"Waluigi, can you hear that?" He asked excitedly.
"Erm, no. Hear what?"
"Running water. Come on," Luigi said as he stood up and pulled up Waluigi with him. Waluigi followed him but only because he was bond by rope. He didn't actually trust Luigi.
After some time they did find water and they also found a small hole in the side of the cavern.
"Oh, excellent! A hole," Waluigi drawled. Luigi glared at him.
"We could try and shift some of the edges of the hole," Luigi suggested. Waluigi deemed this an acceptable idea and started to clear some of the stone edge. It didn't take too much time to make a hole big enough for them to climb through.
On the outside of the cavern the light hurt their eyes. The drop to the floor was very long and Luigi expressed no wishes to climb down. Waluigi oddly shared that sentiment.
They found a safe rock to sit on. All they could do was wait for someone to find them. Waluigi sat down with his head resting on his knees; all he could do at that moment in time was stare into the distance.
As time passed Luigi got bored of sitting down and stood up to stretch his back. He took a deep breath and took in the fresh crisp air. If they weren't in such a dire situation Luigi would have taken time out to admire the view and the natural beauty. However this did not stop him commenting on the fresh air, much to Waluigi's annoyance.
"Wow, the air is so fresh up here," Luigi sighed. Waluigi stood up next to him and stared at him in disbelief. He was going to make a comment to his rival but then he heard something.
"Do you hear that?" He said to Luigi, who shook his head.
"Listen!" Waluigi shouted whilst grabbing Luigi, who wobbled a bit and was scared that he was going to fall.
"Watch it!" Luigi snapped
"Sssh!"
Both of them stood listening out for something and then they heard it. The wonderful sound of a helicopter in the distance. From the side of the mountain a red and white rescue copter came heading in their direction. With a grin Waluigi starting jumping up and down, trying to draw attention to them. Luigi decided this was a good idea and decided to join him.
The rescue Toads in the helicopter saw two figures jumping on the mountainside and decided to head in for a closer look. One of the Toads realised who it was first and contacted Toadsworth to say that they had found both Luigi and Waluigi.
The Toads got the helicopter as close as possible to the mountainside and then dropped down a rope ladder.
Waluigi and Luigi were relieved. They could go back home, where it was warm and safe. Both made to climb the rope at the same time. But instead of fighting with each other they seemed to have learnt something from their ordeal.
"After you, shorty" Waluigi said. Luigi shook his head.
"No, after you," Luigi insisted.
"Seriously, after you. I'm less scared of dying then you are," Waluigi said. Luigi agreed and then climbed the ladder. As soon as Luigi was safely in the helicopter Waluigi climbed the ladder. The Toads pulled the ladder up and then headed off towards the rescue centre.
Mario, Wario, Peach and Daisy had already reached the rescue centre. Toadsworth had received the message from the Toads in the helicopter and had sent the foursome off to the rescue centre to await the safe return of their friends.
In the waiting room Peach and Daisy were reading magazines, whilst Wario had badgered Mario into playing eye-spy.
"I spy with my little eye something beginning with 'E'" Wario began. Mario yawned and started looking round for something beginning with the letter E. Mario looked towards the entrance and was about to say entrance when he saw –
"Luigi!" He shouted. Wario looked at Mario in surprise.
"Erm, Luigi doesn't start with an E Mario," Wario said. Mario shook his head and pointed at the entrance where Luigi was walking through, followed by Waluigi. The Princess's looked up and smiled happily. Daisy ran over to Luigi and hugged him tightly. Mario and Peach got up and walked over to Luigi too. Wario, not being the sentimental type walked over and shook Waluigi's hand.
"Right I'm going home, want a lift bro?" Wario asked Waluigi.
"Go on then," He answered before telling Wario to wait one minute. He walked straight over to Luigi who looked scared and then confused when Waluigi held out his hand. Everyone else was speechless as the two rivals shook hands and called a truce to their bickering.
Since then they got on reasonably well and that's the way it was left.