WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT! LOOK BACK IF YOU DON'T WANT TO LOOK!

Dizziness, discomfort, fatigue – those were the words to describe how Luigi felt as he regained consciousness. His head felt foggy as he struggled to open his heavy eyes and move his body. A few minutes passed and he managed to lift his eyelids open, feeling the fogginess lifting. He found himself looking up at the pitch-black ceiling. He attempted to move his arms again, only to feel something holding them down.

Confused, Luigi glanced over his body, only for his eyes to widen in shock. His arms and legs were held down on what looked like an operating table. He struggled to free his limbs from the restraints, but the belts held him down tight.

Luigi groaned as he slammed his head against the table in frustration. He was so close – so damn close, but now he was back to square one. He looked around his surroundings to see he was in a small room of some sort; there was a table with beakers, a cauldron in the corner, and a large closet. The room looked dirty and felt chilly.

"I was so close," Luigi sighed miserably. He felt tears pricking his eyelids, and anxiety forming in his belly. Luigi's hands trembled lightly under his restraints. He just wanted to cry. He wanted to go home, see his brother, his sister-in-law, his girlfriend, his friends, his relatives.

"Aw, is the baby crying?"

Luigi nearly jumped out of his skin; Luigi turned his head towards the entrance – standing there, with a smug grin was none other than the Koopa King himself. Bowser strolled towards his bound captive, grinning rather insanely with each step he took. Luigi scowled at the dragon turtle.

"I'm not crying," the plumber said defensively, "It's just dusty in here and it's acting up my sinuses."

"Keep telling yourself that plumb-scum, keep telling yourself that." Bowser scoffed – his grin instantly dropped to an angry expression, "My best minion told me about your attempted escape."

"What of it?" Luigi huffed angrily.

"Did I permit you to leave? NO SIR I didn't!" The Koopa king snapped.

Luigi shifted his head away, holding his tongue; he wanted to say something witty, but given the Koopa king's current mood he decided not to poke the bear. Bowser, annoyed by the silence slammed his fist against the wall. Luigi nearly jumped out of his skin.

"WELL!" Bowser Roared, "DID IT!"

"N-No!" Luigi replied hastily.

"Didn't think so." Bowser Hissed. He circled his captive as if he was a vulture ready to strike his dying prey. Luigi held his breath – waiting for the Koopa King to strike. He could feel his chest about to burst from suspension.

"Well," he said, after working up the nerve to ask the Koopa king, "Why am I here? Aside from trying to escape obviously; what is this place?" He asked glancing around the room.

"It's nothing special, just an extra room used for storage," The Koopa king's grin grew sadistic, sending chills down Luigi's spine, "At least it was until I found the perfect use for it."

Before Luigi could ask, the door opened and in came two Koopa Troopas, wheeling in a cart. The minions bowed to their master and fled the room quickly. Luigi nearly paled when he saw what was on the table: matches, two black jars, a variety of Knives, and a scalpel. Bowser picked up one of the knives in awe, his blood-red eyes reflecting off the blade's luster. Shifting his gaze from the blade to his captive, he could see Luigi's bluish-green eyes widen in horror – this made Bowser's smile grow even further. For the first time since he abducted him, this was the first time Bowser managed to instill fear into Luigi.

"What are you planning to do with those?" Luigi asked feebly, fearing he already knew the answer.

Bowser merely smiled and pressed his free claw against Luigi's chest to keep him pinned. He raised the knife over the trapped human's arm. The evil king could feel his prisoner trembling under his grip. For the first time, the hallways were filled with Luigi's screams.

Meanwhile, in the Mushroom Kingdom Castle, Gadd continued to monitor the computer, keeping tabs on everyone, waiting for someone to let him know they found Luigi. To his disappointment, it was the same response; nothing. The elder took a quick glance over at the Sarasaland Princess who was currently petting Polter, Luigi's polterpup, trying to seek some sort of comfort.

"It's gonna be okay Polter," She said as she petted his translucent head to comfort him. The polterpup just whimpered in response; he would only believe her statement once his master was returned to him. Daisy shifted her eyes over to the professor, not being able to handle the silence anymore, "So, how did you find out?"

"Your cousin told me," The professor responded with a shrug, "Luigi asked me to watch Polterguard while he helped Mario pack. When he didn't show up, I went to see if he was alright only to see his entire house gone." The professor couldn't help but chuckle sadly at the painful memories, "Never expected it end up on the castle grounds." The professor turned his chair over to look at Daisy and Polter.

Polterguard kept staring off into space, longing for his master. Daisy could sense his sadness as she continued to pet him. It pained her and Gadd to see the normal ball of sunshine to be reduced to a depressed state.

"He's taken it the hardest," The professor stood up and walked over to the corner the Princess sat in with the polterpup, "He war raring to see Luigi again, only for this mess to occur." He glanced up at Daisy's wounded expression, "He's not the only one either."

Daisy closed her eyes, "We all want to see him again . . . Especially me," She opened them slightly feeling dread wash over her, "I was too hard on Peach wasn't I?" she asked. Gadd was surprised by that last sentence. The Princess looked up at the ceiling, "I was so furious that she kept me out of the dark, that I forgot I wasn't the only one worried about Luigi. What's worse, I was close to blaming Mario for what happened."

"Mario?" Gadd responded skeptically.

Daisy locked eyes with the professor after a while, "I thought if Mario had taken Luigi with him, instead of trying to get the move over quickly, then maybe he could have protected him, and none of this would have happened," Daisy could feel tears forming from her guilt.

Gadd handed Daisy a tissue and the princess quickly dried her eyes, "Your highness, don't dwell on it," Gadd consoled, "Peach and Mario know you were upset, and once we find Luigi everything will be alright."

"I hope so."

Before Gadd could say anything else, he heard the computer monitor beeping; the location was from Vibe Island. Gadd quickly hit a button on the keyboard, and the monitor showed Princess Peach looking downhearted. From her expression, both Daisy and Gadd could tell the news wasn't good.

"Your highness?" Gadd said hesitantly, "Any, progress?"

Peach shook her head no, "We searched every corner of the island more than once, but we couldn't find him. I'm sorry," She apologized, a hint of sorrow in her voice.

"Don't apologize for your majesty. There are still plenty of areas we haven't checked, I'm sure we'll find Luigi." the professor reassured.

"I hope so," Peach responded, "We're going to Pi'illo island to see if Dreambert and Starlow had any luck with their search team. We'll alert you as soon as we arrive."

"Wait!"

Peach, Polter, and Gadd nearly jumped out of their skin from Daisy's outburst. The desert princess stood up, looking up at the computer screen and locking eyes with her cousin. She was nervous, but she knew it was now or never.

"Peach, about what happened," The redhead princess began in a trembling voice, "I'm sorry."

Peach gave her cousin a gentle smile and replied: "I know."

All characters belong to Nintendo.