This chapter will be focus solely on the normal world, so don't expect any other world scenes. Next chapter will be about the other world. Hopefully, you'll see why I arranged it this way later.

It had been 25 minutes since school went out. Mario sat on a bench in front of the school, tapping his foot. "Where are you?"

"Hey, Mario," A voice said. Mario turned. Daisy sat next to him. "What's up?"

"Have you seen Luigi? He's so late. He's usually out here by 3:15."

Daisy shrugged. "He wasn't at art today. I assumed he went home sick."

Mario blinked. "Luigi wasn't there?"

"Nope. Who's his sixth hour teacher?"

The boy in red took a moment to think. "Professor Gadd, I think."

"Let's go ask him."

Mario agreed and the two went back inside. The halls were drained with the exception of a few students. Some rooms were empty while others were hosting after-school clubs. They went to the third floor and knocked on the chemistry room.

Professor Elvin Gadd opened the door. He would've been bald if it weren't for the single tuft of white hair on his head. He wore big, round blue glasses. Although he should've retired long ago, this was supposedly his last year at Toadstool High.

"Why, hello, Mario. Young lady," Professor E. Gadd nodded to Daisy. "What are you two doing here so late? Chemistry club is only on Thursdays."

"We're looking for Luigi," Mario explained. "We're usually on the bus by now, but he hasn't shown up yet."

"And we have seventh hour together, but he wasn't there today," Daisy added. "Have you seen him?"

The professor nodded. "As a matter of fact, I have." He explained how Luigi was there during sixth hour and how he had to use the restroom near the end of class. "See, I don't usually let kids go at the end of the hour, but I trusted him to be here before the bell rang. He came back later than usual. I asked what took him so long and he stared at me for a long while, not saying anything." The elderly man stroked his chin. "Now that I really think about it, there was something off about him..."

Daisy blinked. "Something off? What do you mean?"

"His eyes..." E. Gadd shook his head. "No, that must've been my imagination. Unless...Did Sonny get silver contacts recently?"

Mario and Daisy shook their heads. The professor shrugged. "Well, anyway, he gave me back the pass and said he had to leave early. He looked so pale. I thought he got sick, so I told him to go to the nurse's office. I think Sonny just went home and forgot to tell you."

Mario let out a sigh of relief. He still found the situation odd, but at least he knew where Luigi was now. "Thank you, professor."

The professor smiled and nodded. "Anytime, Mario. Tell Sonny to get better for me."

"Will do." With that, Mario said goodbye to Daisy and headed outside. Luigi would need a good talking to once he got home.

After taking the late bus, Mario went to his house. He unlocked the door and walked inside. Setting his stuff down, he called out, "Luigi, I'm home!" No answer. Mario furrowed his brows. "Luigi?" He whispered. Worry began creeping back in.

"He's probably still mad at me..." The boy in red cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hey, Luigi!~" He pronounced each syllable of his name slowly. Silence.

Mario began checking all the rooms in the house. He started with Luigi's bedroom. His room was perfectly neat, as usual, but Luigi wasn't there. Next, he looked in the kitchen, dining room, and laundry room. While checking the bathroom, he found the toilet was clear. Luigi couldn't have gotten sick recently. Finally, Mario checked his father's study. Nothing.

Mario pulled out his cell phone and called Luigi's number. He put the phone to his ear and waited. After a long period of silence, Mario got a voicemail. Hi, it's Luigi. I'm probably studying right now, so leave a message real quick and I'll get right back to you!

He groaned and called his father's number. This time, he got a response. "Hello?"

"Hi, Papa. It's Mario."

Papa's tone became friendlier. "Hey, Mario. What is it?"

"Did the nurse call the school earlier today?"

Papa sounded confused. "No, she didn't. Why?"

"Well...I heard Luigi went home sick, but I can't find him anywhere."

"Did you check all the rooms in the house?"

Mario nodded instinctively. "Yeah, I did."

"Hmm...Well, maybe I can help you find him after I get home from work. I'll call your mother too. Just sit tight. Okay, Mario?"

"Okay, Papa."

"Alright. I'll see you tonight. Bye."

With that, Papa hang up. Mario sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He sent a text message to Luigi, asking where he was. He already sent one just like it when he was waiting at the school. Mario even left a message. "Hey, Luigi. Look, it's..." Mario checked the clock. "4 o'clock and I can't find you anywhere. You're starting to freak me out. Just call back, okay?"

At five-thirty, Mama and Papa came home. "Hello, Mario," Mama said. "Has Luigi come home yet?"

Mario shook his head. Mama frowned and whipped out her cell phone. "I'll call the school. Mario, can you try his cell phone?"

"I already did that, Mama, and I sent a text message. He won't answer."

Mama turned to Papa. "Marco, maybe we should call the police. I'm really starting to get worried..."

"We can't. Luigi has to be missing for a full 24 hours for them to respond."

Mama bit her lip. "Well, I really hope Luigi won't be missing for that long."

After some thinking, Papa said, "We'll ask the neighbors. Hopefully, they've seen him."

She nodded. "Alright then..."

"Come on, Lily. We can go together." Papa turned to his oldest son. "Mario, keep texting and calling until Luigi responds."

With that, both parents left the house. Mario stared at the door. Not knowing what else to do, he wrote another text. Mama and Papa are getting worried and so am I. Please reply.

It turned out none of the neighbors had seen Luigi since that morning. The rest of the day, the family waited. Mario called and texted multiple times, but it changed nothing. Luigi didn't come home that night.

The next morning, Mario went to school. He dragged himself inside the building, yawning and rubbing his eyes. His cup of coffee didn't help much. At the very least, the caffeine was taking a long time to kick in.

Daisy noticed him and started to say something, but stopped when she noticed how tired he was. "Mario, are you okay? You look exhausted."

"I am exhausted," Mario muttered. "Luigi still hasn't come home. I hardly got any sleep last night."

Daisy's eyes widened. "He wasn't there?"

"Nope. I was hoping he'd be here at school."

"I haven't seen him. Mario, maybe we should ask Uncle Peter. He can make an announcement for the whole school."

Mario blinked. At first, he didn't have the slightest idea why Daisy was bringing up her uncle. Then he remembered: Peach and Daisy were cousins. She was talking about the principal. "Mama and Papa already called the school last night."

The girl flashed a hopeful smile. "Well...I'll go talk to him again. Maybe he saw Luigi this morning."

The boy in red shrugged. "If you think it will help…"

That afternoon, Mario sat in Algebra. Although the teacher was in the middle of a lecture, Mario wasn't paying attention in the slightest. His mind kept going back to Luigi. Apparently, Daisy didn't get any new information out of the principal. Where could he have gone?

Suddenly, his phone light up. Mario got a new text message from his father. He opened it, his blood going cold as he read.

Your mother and I can't wait anymore. We've called the police. Come meet me at the office as soon as you can.

"Mario, put your phone away," The teacher said with a firm tone.

Mario stood. "Ma'am, it's my father. He wants me to meet him at the office."

His teacher frowned. "May I see the text?" Mario handed his phone over, knowing it wasn't a question. The teacher read the text, mouthing the words. She gave the phone back to Mario. In a softer tone, she said, "Go get your things."

Mario nodded and put his things in his bag, then left the classroom. He heard kids whispering about him as he left. A lot of them were still hung up about the fight. As if that mattered anymore.

Mario went to the office. Papa offered a sad smile, his brown eyes shining with pain. It looked as if he were about to cry. "Hey, kiddo."

Mario hugged his father. "Papa...I really miss Luigi."

Papa patted his back. "I know. I do too." He let go of him. "Come on. The police have some questions for you."

Papa took Mario home in his car. When they returned home, Mama was sitting on the couch. She lit up when they walked in the door. "Oh, there he is! Mario!" She rushed to him and gave him a hug. She held on for so long that Mario wondered what kind of thoughts were running through his mother's head. Did she think he would disappear too if she let go? Eventually, she did let go and pointed to the couch. "Sit down. These officers are here to help us find Luigi."

Mario glanced at the two officers. They were both middle aged men. One of them had dark hair and glasses while the other one was bald and muscular. If it wasn't for Mama, he might not have noticed them. Mario nodded numbly and sat on the couch.

The bald officer introduced himself as Officer Davis and his partner as Officer Carter. Next, they stated facts Mario already knew: Luigi went to school yesterday, but didn't come home. No one had seen him since. After that spiel, Officer Davis told Mario that they needed to question him. "We really don't have much to go off of regarding your brother's case. We were hoping you could provide us with more information. Do you think you could answer a few questions for us?" The bald officer asked.

Mario nodded. Officer Davis gave his partner a curt nod. Officer Carter pulled out his notebook and adjusted his glasses. "When was the last time you saw your brother?"

Mario looked to the side and whispered, "Yesterday."

"We're going to need you to speak up, son," Officer Davis instructed.

Mario repeated the word, but louder. "Yesterday."

Officer Carter wrote that down. "Where was he the last time you saw him?"

"He was at school with me. I was eating lunch with my girlfriend and a couple of our friends. Luigi..." Mario swallowed hard. "Luigi was eating by himself."

"Was there anything unusual about his behavior?" Officer Carter asked.

"Well, I talked to his chemistry teacher yesterday after school. He thought that Luigi got sick because he was so pale. I don't know why he was acting that way."

The officer wrote more in his notebook. "Did your brother had any motives for running away?"

Mario was about to say no, then he remembered the fight. "He was mad at me. We got into a fight last week at school."

The officer raised an eyebrow. "A physical fight?"

Mario nodded. "Yes. We were both suspended for three days."

"Could you please elaborate on that?"

Mario took a deep breath. "Well, I found out he had a crush on my girlfriend, Daisy. I got mad at him. I thought he was trying to break us apart. Then he said..." He swallowed hard. His throat suddenly felt dry. "H-He said that he was sick of me doing well on the basketball team while he never gets into any plays he auditions for. He was Romeo last fall, but he's been having bad luck this year. And he said that he was tired of being seen as my baby brother even though we're twins..."

Mama grabbed his hand. "Mario..."

"I slapped him, then we started fighting. W-We haven't had a real conversation since." Tears trailed down his cheeks. "I-I was so stupid. It's my fault Luigi ran away. If it wasn't for me...He'd still..."

That was the breaking point. Mario sobbed, unable to continue. He had been so mean to Luigi just because he happened to like Daisy too. Why had he been so stupid? Mama hugged Mario. She held him tightly, just like when he was little.

Papa sighed. "Officers, I think that's all he's going to say..."

It had been a week since Luigi's disappearance. The Mario family still saw no sign of him. At first, Mario was almost too hopeful. He would go in public and see a green sweater out of the corner of his eye. He'd light up and quickly turn only to see a stranger wearing green. Other times, he'd hear Luigi's voice, but it would only be his imagination. Still, he kept his eyes peeled, waiting for Luigi to come back.

The following Monday, Mario went to the principal before school to ask if he could hang up missing posters. Luckily, he said yes. "Good luck finding your brother," Principal Toadstool added. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, just like Peach. "This school isn't the same without him."

Mario thanked him. He went out with his stack of posters and decided to hang them on the cork-board first. He fought for space among the many club announcements and upcoming events. Once he found enough space, he started pinning posters up.

"Hey, Mario."

Mario turned. It was Waluigi. The boy in red glared. "What do you want?"

Waluigi shrugged. "I just wanted to wish you good luck finding Luigi."

Mario huffed. He hung another poster up, practically stabbing the push pin into the cork-board. He waited for Waluigi to go away, but he just stood there, waiting. Mario knew he wouldn't leave until he got a response, so he asked, "Why do you care? You were the one who picked on him non-stop! Wario told me all about what you've been doing to him."

"Look, I know I was a jerk, alright!? I-"

"If you knew, then why did you do it!?" Mario interrupted.

He groaned. "I did it because I hate myself! Your brother is so much better than me! He's nice and a better actor and he has more friends than I do! He was an easy target! But now that I made him go missing…" He trailed off.

Mario glanced at Waluigi. To his surprise, he was wearing a look of remorse. The boy in purple shook his head, as if apologizing was too much for him. Maybe it was. "I just couldn't live with myself if Luigi got hurt or even killed out there because of me."

The boy in red grew tense. "Who said anything about Luigi getting killed?"

There was a moment of silence. Waluigi sighed. "Forget it." With that, he turned and talked away. At the last second, he turned back. "If you ever find him, tell him I'm sorry."

Mario went back to hanging up posters, refusing to acknowledge his cousin any longer. Once the bell rang, he went to Anatomy reluctantly. He sat in his chair and got out his textbook. Daisy sat next to him, as usual. For once, he didn't want her there. He just wanted to be alone.

Instead, Daisy greeted him. "Hey, Mario."

Mario didn't look at her. "Hey."

"Any luck finding him?"

He sighed. "No, Daisy. No luck."

Her smile faltered. "Oh. Well, maybe you'll find him today!"

Mario frowned. He knew Daisy was just trying to help, but this was too much. "Daisy, I don't want to sound rude, but can you please leave me alone?"

She was silent for a few seconds. "Okay, Mario. I guess I'll just have to come out and say it. I'm really worried about you. And so is Peach."

"I'm still here. It's Luigi you should be worried about."

"Mario, you're important too! Don't get me wrong. I love Luigi. He's like the older brother I never had. But I don't think he would want you to be sad." The boy in red was silent. "You have to stay positive and believe Luigi is going to come back."

Mario turned to face her and raised his voice. "And what if he doesn't? What if I never see him again?" She jumped. He sighed and lowered his voice. "I'm sorry…"

"It's okay. I know you miss him, but we're going to get him back. And if he doesn't show up...I'll go with you to find him."

He smiled. Maybe she understood more than he thought. "Thanks, Daisy."

That night, Mario sat on his bed. He had his textbook out along with a pencil and paper. At first glance, you would see a boy studying diligently. However, it would take a few more seconds to notice the small details that gave Mario away. If you looked closely, you would notice his eyes, glued to the paper but staring at nothing in particular. You would notice the purple bags underneath them and how he struggled to stay awake. You would notice how easily Mario was breaking apart.

Mario took a deep breath and repeated Daisy's words to himself. "Stay positive. He's coming back." He had to focus. Problem number 24...

PING! Mario immediately grabbed his phone. He saw the flashing envelope on screen, indicating he got a new text.

It was from Luigi.

Mario gasped and whispered his brother's name. He opened the text and saw the numbers: 451920181525/318913191514/6121135

Mario blinked. "What is this? Some kinda code?" He stared at the numbers for a few minutes, trying to make sense of them. Then it hit him. When they were kids, Mario and Luigi liked passing notes to each other in class. Eventually, the teacher found them, so they started speaking in code. Each number corresponded to its letter in the alphabet. 1 was A, 2 was B, and so on.

The boy in red didn't waste any time. He shut his notebook, leaving his homework inside. He spent the next ten minutes decoding the message. He was right about the code, though its message was even more cryptic.

It read, DESTROY CRIMSON FLAME.

Mario blinked. "Destroy Crimson Flame? W-What does this even mean?" Mario texted back. Luigi, what are you talking about? Why did you send me this? Where are you? As an afterthought, he added, I don't even care if you wanna talk in code. I just want you here.

After a few moments of silence, Mario tried one last time to call Luigi. He dialed the number and put the phone to his ear, waiting. It went to voicemail for the thousandth time. Mario groaned and decided to call someone else. He dialed her number and waited. For a moment, he worried she had already gone to sleep.

Then he heard her voice. "Hello?"

Mario lit up. "Daisy! It's me, Mario."

"I know. I have caller ID." She yawned. "What's up?"

"Meet me at the park! I got a text from Luigi!"

Daisy's voice grew a lot more excited. "What!? Really!? What did it say?"

"It had some kind of code in it. I'm not sure what it means, but it might be a clue."

"Hmm. I'll ask my dad if he can-"

Mario shook his head. "No, don't! He won't let you go! Just...Find a way out!"

Daisy was silent for a few seconds. "Are you telling me to sneak out?"

Mario rolled his eyes. "Daisy, you know that Luigi is more important than some stupid rules!"

The other end was quiet again. "I'll see what I can do."

"I'll be at the park in ten minutes." Mario hung up and grabbed his brown boots. He also slipped on his red jacket. Mario thought about changing out of his shorts, but decided against it. He didn't have time. He left the room and went to the door.

"Mario?"

Mario froze. Darn it. He was caught. He turned to face his mother. She wore a worried look on her face. "Where are you going? It's getting late."

He didn't have time for this. He quickly blurred out, "Daisy's house!" Next, he opened the door and stepped outside.

"Mario, wait!"

The boy in red ignored his mother. Despite her calls for him to come back inside, Mario went through the gate and headed into the front yard. He ran past the houses and apartments, only stopping occasionally to catch his breath. He almost expected to hear his mother's footsteps behind him, but the one time he looked back, no one was behind him.

Finally, Mario arrived at the park. He looked around frantically, not seeing Daisy anywhere. However, he noticed a gleam in the darkness. Mario looked back and saw an object sticking out of the grass. He approached it and picked it up. He gasped. Luigi's cell phone.

Mario felt his stomach sink. Luigi wasn't here. He must've lost his phone before he went missing. But if that was the case, how could he have sent the message earlier? Had he been there recently? Mario's mind raced with possibilities.

There was something else Mario noticed: Luigi's wallpaper. It was the photo from the first day of high school. The one he took on the bus. He once had that same photo as his wallpaper. He didn't know when he changed it to a picture of Daisy.

Mario felt the tears coming before he even knew he was crying. He held the phone to his chest. "Luigi, where are you? Please don't do this." Lowering his voice to a whisper, he added, "I love you, little bro..."

At first, he didn't notice the wind rushing by. It was a gentle breeze at first, calm and quiet. Then the wind blew harder, faster, and more urgently. Mario wiped his tears and looked around. When had it gotten so windy?

Suddenly, a bright light flashed. Mario covered his eyes. Within seconds, he disappeared with the light.

I haven't actually played Luigi's Mansion, so I based E. Gadd on what I've seen in other fanfics and his page on the Mario wiki. I hope I portrayed him right.

Originally, I had a couple of Waluigi's friends taunting Luigi in place of Waluigi's apology. I decided that scene felt fake and wrote something else instead. I wanted to flesh out Waluigi a little more instead of leave him as the generic bully. Other than that, this chapter is pretty much identical to the first draft. I hope you liked that scene.

In case you're interested in checking out the Black Rock Shooter OVA, I would say that this chapter is the closest to the original source material. I took a lot of creative liberties with this story so that I wouldn't end up with a carbon copy of the anime. (You'll notice that a lot of fics based on already existing stories make this mistake a LOT.) There are a lot of differences with the anime and this story: For example, Yomi (Luigi's role) is part of the volleyball team while Luigi is a thespian.

Next chapter: The ultimate showdown between The Crimson Flame and The Green Thunder! Who will win!?

-Colorful and Free