CHAPTER 24

Peach stares at Luigi's body, cradling him in her arms. Luigi is still breathing, but it is clear it is causing him immense pain.

"I'm sorry Luigi," Peach whispers. "I tried...I tried so hard."

Luigi's eyes open, and as he sees Peach's face, he smiles.

"It's ok," he whispers. "Do one thing...for me."

"Anything!" she says, tears dripping down her face splattering upon Luigi's cheeks.

"Tell...Daisy...I...Love...Her"

With that last sentence gasped out, Luigi shuts his eyes one final time as his body goes limp. Peach remains kneeled, holding Luigi's body. She wants to believe she is still in a dream, an illusion created by the Sea of Trees, one that shows a dark twisted world that will soon wake her up. A nightmare that will encourage her to fight stronger than ever before to prevent this...this evil from happening again.

...Unfortunately, her heart knows that this is reality. That this sight is not an illusion at all. It is real. A real failure that she must forever live with. The Mushroom Kingdom has once again lost one of its greatest heroes.

Bowser and Ganon are observing the battle from their throne room.

"Wow!" Bowser says, legitimately shocked. "I'm...I'm not sure how to process what happened."

Ganon looks over to Bowser.

"Well" Bowser says. "I'd say we've succeeded in our objective. We've repelled the Toad Forces...I really wasn't expecting Luigi to go down though."

"Yes" nods Ganon. "While what we see may be a sad sight, we cannot let it interfere with our overall objective."

"Right," says Bowser.

"To think," Ganon says. "We almost had to wait for the perfect moment for this to happen...Call off the troops. We've earned our victory"

Bowser, somewhat reluctantly, waves his hand, his half of the Triforce of Power lighting up and making the Moblins disappear. Ganon does the same, forcing the Koopa Troop to do the same. The Green Toads have moved back to the bridge and have taken Princess Azura and Yashil captive.

"Princess Peach" Ganon states from a window, calling down to her as she's holding Luigi's lifeless body. "As one ruler of a castle to another, I admit you have somewhat gained my respect. I will show you some mercy. I will only take the Yoshi and the Zora Princess hostage, you may reconvene with your remaining troops."

Peach doesn't respond, she can't even look up. She cannot avert her eyes from Luigi's graying smile.

"I'm sure you'll want to give that one a proper burial," says Ganon. " I will allow you to leave and provide one for your warrior...I too know what it is like to bury a loved one."

Peach doesn't respond, nor can she move or speak. She keeps her eyes trained on Luigi's face until a single tear rolls off of her cheek and onto his forehead. She then wipes it away, and turns around to face Ganon. Even when her gaze meets his, she refuses to allow him a word.

"Hmph" Ganon says, turning to his ally and summoning a portal. "Bowser, we're moving out to my Tower. I will allow them four more days before we finish our plan."

"Of course," Bowser says. "We wouldn't want to waste any time."

"Good day to you, Princess Peach" says Ganon as he and Bowser leave through a portal.

Down below, in the courtyard of the Castle, Peach has lowered Luigi's body into a hole, covered it with dirt, and placed his hat on a stick. The rest of the remaining Rainbow Alliance members remain silent. Luigi was at most an acquaintance to them, but they recognize the deep admiration Peach had for him. After several minutes of silence, Peach speaks, a final speech to commemorate the fallen hero.

"...there is no greater sacrifice than giving your life for others..."

The Rainbow Alliance remains quiet, knowing that this speech is directed towards them. They continue to stare at the grave, no words escaping their lips.

Peach continues "Luigi was a good man. He always believed in justice and equality. He always put himself second to the people he cared about...and that's something I always admired about him."

The Rainbow Alliance remains silent, their eyes filled with tears.

"He was a man content with his life being the lesser known brother to the Mushroom Kingdom's greatest hero. He was a man that was happy just seeing the smiling faces of those he could help. He rarely, if ever, wanted the spotlight for himself. He just wanted to provide everyone that small boost they needed to get through their day...to make them feel a little better. He didn't need all the power and fame that came with being the hero . He just wanted to help people...because he knew that there were many who needed it. The world always needs more people like Luigi. It needs those who are willing to fight evil when the chips are down, but can kick back and relax and enjoy a plate of pasta with the people they love. Luigi was a hero because he did what he loved without hesitation."

"I hope that I can be like him...or at least come close to it" Peach says, wiping her eyes. "I wish I could have known him longer, but I guess that means I have a lot of living left to do."

Peach looks at the grave, realizing the truth.

"He truly was special, and now he's in a place where I know he will be treated well. Now I have to do the job that he would have done for me."

She stands up, clenches her fist, and pounds it into her chest three times.

"We've still got a lot of work to do" she says, looking around at her allies. "I may not know what we are fighting for anymore, but I know we aren't just fighting for ourselves. We're not working together just for the sheer sake of survival, we are fighting for something bigger than us. We are Royalty. We are Chiefs. We are Generals. We are Captains. We are Leaders. We are the ones our people look up to. We are the ones they turn to in a time of need. We are the ones they can lean on when times are tough...and that's exactly why we need to go on. There are people depending on us. People who are counting on us to keep fighting, to keep believing in a world where people follow you out of respect and love rather than fear and hatred, and to keep pushing forward when things seem impossible...That's exactly what we're going to do."

The Rainbow Alliance stands up, heads held high. They look at each other, their eyes glistening with determination.

"We do this for Luigi!" Peach states.

"We do this for Hyrule!" says Zelda.

"We do this for my Men!" declares Naranjo.

"We do this for me Crew!" announces Burnscar.

Link is silent, but raises his Master Sword in the air, showing his undying loyalty.

"That's right!" Peach yells. "Now let's go find those two wretches and show them what it truly means to be a leader!"

The Rainbow Alliance gathers the remaining Toad Soldiers and begins a long hard march.