12
Luigi continued through the left cave as Mario told him to do. He thought he heard Lord Crump's voice earlier, but it was now a thing of the past. All that mattered to him now was finding the Crystal Star, but at the same time, he could not stop thinking about the night he had shared with Princess Daisy. He wished for her to be with him again, in a safe place where they could take care of and look after each other. Luigi also wished that his brother could trust him more often and not worry about every little thing he does. He was able to make decisions on his own, but was always too shy to make them. But now, it seemed that Luigi was beginning to take a stand for himself for the first time in his life. He was proud himself.
As Luigi wandered the cave, he was suddenly attacked by a storm of blue Swoopers. He immediately ducked as they swooped down and ran down the cave to get away as they passed. All seemed well until Luigi started to smell something weird inside the cave. It became stronger the farther he ventured.
"What is that stench?" Luigi asked himself. "Did something die in here?"
Then, Luigi saw that his path was blocked by large decaying wooden planks that sealed off a larger cavern. There was also a rusted sign on it, but Luigi was unable to make out any of the words:
D…G…
…Z… …P …H…D
…T…R …T …U… …N …I…
"What is this even supposed to say?!" Luigi said. "They wouldn't seal this place without a reason."
Luigi looked down at the ground and saw that the railroad tracks had disappeared. He became suspicious, but at the same time he figured that it did not matter to him. Once again, he only cared about the Star. Slowly, Luigi began tearing down the wooden boards that blocked his way, discovering that they were surprisingly heavy. After the first board, he struggled with the rest of them and almost dropped one of them on his feet; it was obvious that Luigi had never been the one for lifting weights and lifting things.
"Damn! I wish Mario never took all the mushrooms with him!" he said to himself regretfully. "I need to start weightlifting!"
Despite all of his struggles, Luigi finally lifted the final board off of its supporting position and ventured into the smaller square-shaped cavern, where the smell was becoming more prominent. At first, the cave seemed to be a dead end, but luckily there was a hole in the ground that lead deeper down. Luigi had no other way to go but down into the dark abyss and face the dangers that lay below him.
"Well, here goes nothing." he said as he lowered himself down. Luigi dropped into another narrow cave passage that lead to a point where it split into two passages. He decided to go right.
"That smell is giving me a headache!" Luigi complained as he struggled to keep his pace. Another flock of Swoopers flew at Luigi as he rounded another corner, taking a left in the process. But he was able to avoid the attack and run down the passage. He thought more about the smell the farther he went, and at the same time the air inside the cave was starting to become very yellow and hazy. Luigi knew that something was not right.
"What is this air that I'm breathing?!" Luigi coughed as his chest started to burn. Every time that he tried to breath, it was becoming harder and harder and his vision started to distort and confuse him. He was breathing poisonous gas! He remembered the sign he had seen earlier and was now regretting not being able to figure it out, for he knew exactly what it was saying now:
DANGER
HAZE UP AHEAD
ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK
Luigi struggled to find his way out as ran through a complicated maze of underground passages that seemed to lead him nowhere but in a circle. The haze was now as thick as fog and Luigi was starting to feel weird. He felt like a drunk person who had no coordination and kept running into cave walls, thinking that he was about to make a turn when the turn was still a few feet away. Nonetheless, Luigi continued running in hopes of finding a way out before his fate could be sealed. Suddenly, Luigi heard a voice coming from somewhere else inside the cave.
"Luigi! Where are you?!" said the voice. "Luigi!"
Mario! Luigi thought. He's somewhere close to where I'm at! I'm saved. Wasting no more time, Luigi followed the echoes of his brother's voice through the deadly yellow haze. His vision was severely distorted and unreliable, almost like he had overdosed on some weird hallucinogenic substance. But Luigi was still as sober as could be, but he had to rely on his hearing and sense of touch to guide him through the haze.
"MARIO!" Luigi shouted. "I'm over here!
"Don't move, Luigi!" he shouted back. "I'm coming to get you!"
"HURRY!" Luigi shouted. "THIS HAZE IS STARTING TO MAKE ME LIGHTHEADED!"
"NEVERMIND!" Mario shouted. "GET OUT OF THERE! FOLLOW THE SOUND OF MY VOICE!"
Luigi started following Mario's voice as he hummed a familiar tune. He suddenly, fell to his knees when he tripped over a rock that he was unable to see clearly. Still, he was able to get back onto his feet and slowly make his way out of the hazy maze. Luigi noticed the yellow "fog" clearing away and saw what looked like the figure of his brother ahead of him.
"Mario!" Luigi said weakly. Suddenly, his vision went black and he fell flat on his face as he went unconscious. He thought he heard Mario call his name, but the words were severely muffled, almost as if he were trying to talk underwater. After that, everything went silent and Luigi went into a deep sleep.
Hey, everyone! Sorry I was unable to update a little sooner. I was busy with the family during the Labor Day weekend and wasn't near the computer a whole lot during that time. But I was able to finish the chapter nonetheless! :)
Luigi stumbled into a cave filled with poisonous yellow haze, leaving him dazed and judgmentally impaired. He does, however, find his brother just beyond the haze, but ends up falling unconscious after being exposed for far too long. This was fully inspired by the underground hazy maze from Super Mario 64, which is also one of my favorite parts of the game.
Luigi's suffering is obviously going to have a negative impact on the brothers' progress, but by how much? Is there still hope of accomplishing their first goal? If so, how will they do it?
I'll try to update sometime by the end of this week, but until then I will catch you later! Stay tuned! :)
saturn95