1-2: MK: Mario and Peach
Mario "Jumpman" Mario adjusted his signature red cap for the umpteenth time as he waited for his younger brother to show up. Beside him was the beautiful Princess Peach Toadstool, clad in her pink dress, her blonde hair brushing her shoulders. They stood atop the roof of the latter's castle, which consisted of three towers. The central tower was an especially handy tool in a heated battle, as it could set up an infinite combo. The couple had already strategized how they could trap Luigi between them and that structure.
"Don't worry," said Peach. "He'll be here soon. I just saw him defeat the Yoshi Team. And besides, the geography of the course is familiar to him."
Mario smiled. "Okeydokey."
"Were you really teamed with a Luigi clone two years ago?" questioned Peach, raising an eyebrow.
"Yep," sighed Mario. "Worst mistake I ever made. Should've known he was a fake." He changed the subject. "Princess, do you think he's gonna be okay? I mean, after he fought Koopa…"
"I know," Peach said softly. "I know."
Mario's brow furrowed lightly as he flashed back to that fateful day…
Luigi had fought hard, even harder than him during their usual final battles. He'd used his fast speed, long wavedash, ability to chain-grab and his brand-new, hard-hitting attacks and had exploited Koopa's slow speed, poor mobility and low jump height—but he'd still lost, and lost badly. Afterward, Mario had spied Koopa talking to Luigi. He was too far away to hear what was being said, but he could tell by the way his baby brother's jaw locked, his fists balled at his sides, the muscles and veins in his neck rolled and the icy, searing glare on his face that Koopa was rubbing the loss in his face. Once the turtle lumbered off, chuckling, Luigi wheeled around and headed briskly for the Training Area. Mario had followed him, but when he heard the door slam and lock, he understood that Luigi needed some time alone. It took most of the day for the green-clad plumber to cool off. During dinnertime, Mario cooked his baby bro's favorite pasta, and they talked about the incident. By the time the dishes were cleared away, Luigi felt better, if only a little. The Bros then claimed the Training Area, sparring until it was time for lights out.
"He hasn't spoken to Koopa since it all went down, and rightfully so," said Mario. "I keep hoping that he eats crow and apologizes, but that's not likely to happen."
"But you know something?" piped up Peach. "Since that day, Luigi's worked harder than ever. It's like—he knows that overgrown turtle is wrong. And he's preparing and waiting for the chance to finally prove him wrong. Look—here he comes now!"
"Yahoo!" shouted Luigi as he hopped onto the roof of the castle, ready for battle.
"Hey, Lu!" Peach and Mario greeted as one.
"Hello, Mario. Princess," Luigi greeted back.
"How was it?" asked Mario.
Luigi shrugged. "Déjà vu, if you ask me."
Peach straightened her shoulders. "Do your best against us, but remember to have some fun and enjoy our company, okay?"
"Okay."
The three exchanged handshakes and then positioned their fighting stances. Luigi slowed his breathing as his eyes flicked between his brother and the Princess.
READY…GO!
As one, Peach and Mario rushed their opponent. Luigi snapped into action with a Cyclone and quickly took the offensive. He went for Mario first, clobbering him with his overhand punches which chained into themselves and ending the combo with his heel kick and a quick power kick. Peach raced into the fray, her frying pan, golf club and tennis racket at the ready. Her opponent dodged some of the swings, but she managed to connect several times with the painful frying pan and send him flying with her golf club. Luigi scrambled up and flicked some fireballs at the Princess, turning his attention back to his recovering brother. Peach just stood back and let the Bros duke. Watching them go at it like two titans had the appeal of a thrill ride. They were powerhouse fighters, even more so now that Luigi had leveled the playing field. From the beginning, they'd been classified as all-arounds, easy to play, easy for gamers to sink their teeth into. In Team Battles, their chemistry set any stage ablaze. Against each other, their love and respect for the other sibling really bubbled out. Those hours sparring together paid off and should be taken into consideration to understand their explosive meetings on the battlefield. Determined looks were exchanged as they continued to volley blows and Smash attacks back and forth, their energetic shouts bouncing off the castle towers. With swishes of his Cape, Mario could send Luigi stumbling into one such tower, which he then used to blast away at his little bro. With a little bit of luck, Luigi could propel himself with full force into Mario, sometimes even misfiring. As the moniker "Trowel Stab" suggested, Luigi bent his elbow, wound himself up and launched his open hand into his opponent, knocking him away diagonally. He could also change the angle of this attack; the same could be said for his strong side attack. But Mario's forward smash was just as cool. Winding up with his hands cupped near his chest, he lunged forward, unleashing a mighty blast of fire from his palm. He'd also relieve Luigi of a few coins using his jumping uppercut attack. No matter; Luigi paid him back when he got in close and executed the same attack, with a more—fiery—effect.
Two years earlier, the Bros had battled it out on a similar stage when Luigi was pitted against Mario and his false self. Yoshi had been his teammate, but the man in green had focused entirely on his brother while Yoshi dealt with the clone. Engaging in close combat with Mario was cathartic to Luigi, in a strange way. It reminded him that despite their similarities, Luigi had certain distinctions which made him stand out and possibly increased his chances of victory. And while they loved each other deeply, these were the moments when the other side of their relationship began to come out—the combustible, competitive side. Luigi had finally notched a solo adventure under his belt, but Mario still received more credit in saving the Princess. And recently, at a Power Tennis tournament, the Bros squared off against one another in the finals. That summery afternoon saw one of the tensest final matches in its history. And after a long, hard and sweaty game, Luigi had won. He'd accepted his trophy with pride, relishing in the audience's cheers for him, not Mario. But as the red-capped brother in question walked over, intending to be a good sportsman and congratulate Luigi—something happened. Somehow, as Mario clapped Luigi on the shoulder, he'd stepped on his foot. The action ignited brief controversy, though Mario swore it was an accident. But a group seeking to discredit Mario reported seeing the man in red laughing as he ground his shoe into Luigi's foot. As for Luigi himself, he was mildly cool towards his big bro as the Melee tournament began. Thanks to some one-on-ones Master Hand arranged between the plumbers, Luigi was finally beginning to work past that incident.
Even now, in the throes of Adventure Mode, performing chain-grabs and combos on Mario, their bodies close as fists, feet, open hands, fireballs and more thudded into them, Luigi couldn't help but think about it. Was it really an accident? Or was it a little hissy-fit from a salty older brother? It was, after all, the first time Luigi had beaten Mario at tennis. But during doubles, they were teamed together, and their strategy and chemistry propelled them to a final victory over their Princesses. Luigi was more confused than anything. One of these days, he was going to sit Mario down and have a nice chat with him over this.
Peach rested on the other side of the roof, examining her Parasol. With Luigi distracted, she could slip in and help her man double-team their foe. That would be so much fun! She smacked the Parasol in her palm a few times, suddenly wondering how easily it could penetrate the rough hide of a certain stubborn kidnapper.
The Mushroom Princess bit her lip, so hard that tiny drops of blood poked through her soft, pink lips. Her grip tightened on the Parasol, her hands sweating beneath her luxurious gloves. That princess-snatching meanie had the gall to badmouth a respected resident of her domain—in front of her and Mario, no less! The sight of him bestowing a crushing, humiliating defeat upon the green plumber was seared into her memory. She'd seen Mario rush down there to provide comfort once the awards ceremony was over and done and quickly followed him. Her plumber didn't hear what Koopa had said to Luigi. She did.
Then, she snapped herself back to the present, doing one last check on her Parasol and then inspecting her frying pan, tennis racket, golf club and Toad counterattack. She could pull Veggies from the ground, even coming up with Beam Swords, Mr. Saturns and Bob-ombs! Observing the Bros in fierce hand-to-hand, Peach reasoned that she could initiate a two-on-one by hurling a Veggie at him and then going full force while he was distracted. It had worked well with other adventurers.
Her eyes were now fixed on Luigi as he sought to wrest the advantage from Mario, and her mind started to drift…
He was so handsome, standing there on that stage, straight and tall and never flinching, staring down the formidable, fearsome appearance of his opponent. His eyes were cold, practically screaming "Come at me, bro!" to the giant turtle. Instead of his usual green, he wore pink, a homage to his years manning a Wrecking Crew. The soft, warm color was a counterbalance to the passionate energy obviously circulating inside of him as he waited for the countdown, unfazed by Koopa's sneer as he looked at him down the length of his nose. Peach was so ready for that obnoxious reptile to be put in his place!
But fate was cruel that day, and the villain had triumphed for once in his life. He made sure to remind Luigi of that and to lay it on thick that Mario and Peach saw the whole thing.
"Look at the way I pummeled you, Green 'Stache," the diabolical king had laughed as he forced Luigi to watch the replay. "Look at me absolutely destroying you—look at how sad, weak and pitiful you are. You really think you're so useful to your dear brother if you can't even beat me on your own? You're nothing but a simpering, pipsqueak second banana, now let's see those tears. GWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAA!"
More words were said, and yet Luigi hadn't shed a single tear. Koopa wasn't worth a cry. Instead, he'd walked away from his opponent and stalked over to the Training Area, where he remained for most of the day and a few hours that night after dinner. During the latter, Mario had joined in. And for days after, Luigi threw himself harder into his matches, giving it his all and visibly improving. Peach was itching to witness a rematch. She couldn't wait to see the look on her enemy's face then.
A Veggie was now in her hand. Silently, Peach sneaked up on Luigi, still fully engaged with Mario. Once she was an appropriate distance from him, she curled back her arm and let the Veggie fly. Luigi gave a startled exclamation as the Veggie bopped him on the back.
He whirled. "Princess!"
"Forgot about me?" Peach asked jokingly before doing her Peach Bomber attack, popping Luigi high into the air.
"Well played, Peachy," cooed Mario.
Peach nodded. "Let's do this, Mario."
Luigi had barely gotten back up when Mario grabbed him and threw him toward Peach. She "served" him back to her beau using her tennis racket, and from there, the duo had a team combo going. They made sure to bounce him off the central tower a few times for good measure. Peach had her Parasol at the ready, either to help her recover, to prevent Luigi from counterattacking her or just to inflict some more hurt. Some of her attacks, such as her aerials, had magical effects to them, and her Toad was on hand to spray out some spores when the going got tough. She twirled a ribbon round her body for her up smash, and then spun around in her dress for her down smash. With these whimsical moves, she could really help the rubber-legged, brawler-based Mario.
But—
Luigi was like no other opponent they ever faced before. With a shout, he escaped the team combo, his Green Missile colliding with Mario, and then nailed Peach with his breakdance sweep. She slammed her frying pan into his face, and it wasn't long before a skirmish erupted between them. At first, Luigi settled for quick, light blows against the Princess, but when she fought more aggressively, so did he. He engaged her till they were both working up a sweat, and after Peach attacked with her Parasol, he grasped her, swung her around three times and then let go. She found herself clinging to the ledge, and before she could pull herself back up, Luigi bashfully kicked the ground, meteor-smashing and defeating her.
He spun around and focused back on Mario, releasing more and more of the tension he'd carried with him recently. The elder was baiting the younger silly with his Cape and his nefarious forward air, nicknamed "the Plunger". Luigi would always air dodge in time and try to edgeguard if Mario tried to plunge him off the stage. Now that they had the roof to themselves, they pressed one another from one end of the stage to the other, making great use of the turrets. Luigi sent Mario stumbling using his sissy fists and followed up with a good roundhouse spinning kick, and Mario responded with several Tornado attacks. They grabbed and threw one another with excellent power. Mario made sure to keep his skills top-notch in the last two years, but so did Luigi. After an attempt to K.O. Mario with the Super Jump Punch failed, Luigi flung him off stage as hard as he could, jumped over and executed a downwards twirl kick, aiming so that his opponent was right at his hip, allowing him to meteor smash his older brother.
GAME!
"This concludes the first stage of Adventure Mode," Master Hand's voice spoke to him. "For the second stage, things are about to get a little—creepy."
Luigi tasted the sweat which dripped onto his lip. "Thanks for the heads-up," he said.
What could possibly be creepier than a haunted mansion?
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