A/N: Well, a special thanks to all of you who reviewed! I wasn't actually expecting anyone to like this...and not just because I killed Luigi. And for all you Luigi fans out there...I'M SORRY! But that's the way the story goes. But enough now! On with the fic!

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone or anything except Belladonna.

Chapter 2: A Funeral and Unexpected Allies

A huge silence filled the room. Everyone was in shock. All had been as good as gold, and within a few minutes, Luigi was dead, there was a threat to take over their precious kingdom, and the princess had been kidnapped. It was too much to take in at once.

Mario felt completely numb. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He kneeled beside Luigi's lifeless body, staring at it blankly. He just couldn't believe it. His mind did not want to accept the fact that Luigi was dead. And he had probably died hating Mario. All over a stupid argument. The thought filled him with such sadness that he start to cry, his whole body being wracked with sobs.

Daisy knelt down beside Mario, stroked Luigi's cheek, and burst into tears. She buried her head into Luigi's chest, which was quickly becoming stiff and cold due to rigor mortis. "No! Luigi! Wake up! Please wake up!" She kept trying to shake him, trying to wake him up, and yet in her heart she knew her efforts were futile. Luigi was dead, and he would never wake up.

All of a sudden, Mario stood up. "I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS BELLADONNA! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS!" the plumber screamed at the ceiling where the murderess had been floating moments before, shaking his fist, tears streaming down his cheeks into his moustache.

Toadsworth walked over to Mario. "Mario, how are you going to save the princess?" he asked timidly, afraid Mario would start yelling at him.

The Toadsworth's fear came true, and he flinched as Mario yelled, "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW? I'VE JUST LOST MY BROTHER! THE ONLY FAMILY I HAVE LEFT IS GONE! AND I HAVEN'T SPOKEN TO HIM SINCE THIS AFTERNOON! ALL BECAUSE OF A STUPID ARGUMENT! AND HERE YOU ARE, ASKING ME HOW TO SAVE THE PRINCESS!" he screamed, anguish written on his face.

The old toad looked sympathetically at Mario. "I know it's hard!" he said to Mario. "And Luigi's death is a huge loss to the whole kingdom. But right now, we have to move on. It's the only way we can stop Belladonna and prevent her from hurting anyone else. Luigi would have wanted you to help the kingdom wouldn't he?" Toadsworth hated talking like this, but he was logical.

"You're right," sighed Mario. "But Luigi..." he trailed off sadly.

"Another reason to go after Belladonna. Do it for Luigi!" The elderly toad tried to encourage Mario, but his heart wasn't in it, for he had spoken the truth before. Luigi's death would affect the whole kingdom. He was very well liked by ever resident of Toad Town, even though a few people made fun of him.

Daisy got control of herself. She sat up sniffling. "I want to see him buried in the Flower Garden. He liked it there so much. We used to go there and...and..." she lost control again and the sadness overcame her. Daisy started crying again, even harder than before.

Mario looked dully at her. "Yeah, the Flower Garden is a good resting place for him."

A koopa walked up to Mario. "If you want Mario, I can make the funeral arrangements..."

"Yes. Thank you."

"You're welcome. And my condolences."

Two days later...

The funeral was today. Mario and the psychic Merlon had been trying to track down Belladonna, but so far no luck. It was funny, because Belladonna wielded such powerful magic, and Merlon was an expert at finding such magic, and yet, nothing.

The day was dark and gloomy, making all of the many citizens attending the funeral even more miserable than before. It was as if even the weather was grieving the loss of Luigi.

Mario was at the funeral parlor, greeting all the people who attended. They were all offering their deepest regrets to the eldest Mario Brother, yet Mario tuned it all out. 'Maybe this is just a bad dream,' he thought. 'Maybe it's just a dream and soon I'll wake up, and Luigi will scold me for sleeping in.' He hoped against hope that it was a dream, yet deep down inside his heart he knew the truth. He felt even worse, because he couldn't track down his brother's killer. And all the little things came to him, the little things that bugged Luigi that Mario did, and it was eating him up inside.

"It's time for the burial Mario," said Koopon, the koopa who had made all of the funeral arrangements.

Burial. This was the part Mario had been dreading. For it was the final goodbye to Luigi...and the final hope that this was just some nightmare would be buried along with his brother. "Okay," he said monotonously. He, with the help of a few other people, lifted the casket, which held his brother's body. They left the funeral parlor. Because Luigi was so famous amongst the residents of Toad Town, they would be taking the long route to the Flower Garden so that everyone could see what was happening. The march began, with a crowd of toads, koopas, goombas, and plenty others following close behind.

The Wicked Brothers, Wario and Waluigi, ran into Toad Town, cackling excitedly. They had just come back from a treasure hunt, and it had paid off big time.

"Excellent!" said Wario, rubbing his chubby hands together. "More treasure!"

"Thanks to a great tip-off!" said Waluigi, leering at their newfound treasure greedily.

"Hey! What's that over there?" asked Wario, looking behind his brother.

"Oh no you don't! I'm not falling for that one again! I want my fair share of the prize!" said Waluigi angrily. "You aren't going to cheat me again!"

Wario shook his head. "I'm serious! There's a huge crowd marching down the street behind you!"

Waluigi snarled. "I'm not that stupid Wario!"

Wario sighed exasperatedly and turned his brother around.

"Hey! Wait; there IS a big crowd! I wonder what this is all about?"

Just then, a toad walked in front of them, his head hanging.

"Hey you!" said Wario gruffly. "What's going on here? What's with the big crowd over there?"

The toad looked at him sadly, with a bit of astonishment in his eyes. "Didn't you know? The funeral is today!"

Wario glowered. "What funeral?"

The toad sighed. "The funeral for Luigi. I'm surprised you don't know. Everyone one here knows, even the people who weren't at the party when he was murdered two days ago."

Whatever the Wicked Brothers had been expecting, it wasn't this. "Luigi's dead!" screeched Waluigi. "How!"

The toad looked at him nervously. These two were starting to freak him out. "Well, according to the rumors flying around, he was murdered at Princess Peach's party last night. Wait a second..." the toad said. It finally dawned on him why these two people looked familiar. "You two are the Wicked Brothers aren't you?"

"Yes," mumbled Waluigi. "We are."

"I can't believe it!" exclaimed Wario. "I mean, I knew Bowser was bad. But he never really bothered me personally. He never touched my treasure. And he did have a nasty habit of kidnapping Peach but then again, that must have been like a drug addiction. Bad for you. It costs too much to keep women happy. BUT MURDERING MY COUSIN IS GOING TOO FAR!" he burst out.

"It wasn't Bowser who killed Luigi," said the toad. "According to rumors, it was an evil sorceress named Belladonna."

"Belladonna, eh?" said Waluigi. "Well, she's going to pay for this! Nobody kills my family and gets away with it, even if it was Luigi!"

"She's scary though. Poor Luigi..." the toad started to sniffles, and then he ran crying from the angry Wicked Brothers.

"So, what are we going to do bro?" Waluigi asked.

"Let's go see Mario," said Wario. "He'll probably be able to help us track her down. He might even know where this Belladonna is already! Let's go and get a piece of the action!"

"YEAH!" yelled Waluigi. They dashed off to the funeral crowd to find Mario.

A great many people burst into tears as the coffin was lowered into the ground. Even some of the flowers wept, for Luigi had always been so loving and tender with them, watering them and pruning them when the need came.

It was over. Luigi was finally put to rest. Mario noticed that Daisy wasn't there. The doctor had to give her sedatives to get over the shock without harm. It started raining just as the funeral ended, and all the gloomy citizens rushed home to get out of the rain, and to grieve in private.

"HEY MARIO!" a voice yelled. Mario turned around to see the figures of Wario and Waluigi rushing towards him.

They reached him panting. "We just heard the news," said Wario. "And we want to help get rid of this Belladonna scum. Where is she?"

"I don't know. Merlon hasn't been able to track her down yet," said Mario gloomily.

"WHAT? HOW COULD MERLON NOT BE ABLE TO TRACK HER?"

"I don't know! I just don't know!" exploded Mario. "If I knew where she was, SHE'D BE DEAD RIGHT NOW!"

Waluigi and Wario looked at him in shock. They had never seen him like this before. Usually Wario was the violent one, and right now, he looked tame next to Mario.

"Well, let's go see if we can't change that," said Waluigi. He and Wario started to pull Mario to Merlon's house, which was close by.

Belladonna looked into the water and laughed at the scene before her. "Those fools will never find me!"

"Yes they will!" cried Peach, who was tied up nearby. "Mario will come and save me. And you will pay for your deeds!"

"You're threatening me?" Belladonna asked in disbelief. She burst out laughing. She laughed so hard that tears came to her eyes. When the fit was over, she gasped and said, "At this rate, they'll never find me! I cast a spell that would block any sort of way to track me by magic. Consulting that magician won't help them!"

Peach looked in shock. 'How could she know about Merlon?'

As if reading her thoughts, Belladonna said, "Unlike most villains, I study my opponents moves. Now, the obvious way to track me is through magic. All I had to do was find out Toad Town's infamous spellcaster. And then shield my lair so that no locating spell could find it."

"YOU'RE EVIL! I WILL GET OUT OF HERE! AND I'LL TELL MARIO EVERYTHING!" Peach screamed hysterically.

Belladonna's face melted into a poisonous glare. "If you even try to escape my dear, Mario will not get you back unscathed. I have a whole list of punishments ready if you dare try to defy me. And they aren't pleasant. I am not like that foolish Koopa King. I am a sorceress of extreme power, and it is not an easy task to do something without my knowledge. You would do well to remember that!" she spat out.

Peach shivered. 'Mario! Please hurry!'


End chapter 2! The plot thickens! Please inspire me by reviewing! And remember, flames will be ignored! So don't bother typing them! Compliments and constructive criticism only!