"ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ..."

"Sir, you need to wake up."

"ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ..."

"Your flight landed an hour ago, sir, you're causing delays!"

"ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ..."

"Oh, for the love of... HEY, WAKE UP ALREADY, YOU LAZY BUM!"

Startled awake at long last, Luigi was instantly confused by the look of pure, unbridled loathing that the flight attendant Toad standing in the aisle to his side was giving him.

"Wha...?" Luigi muttered groggily, wiping the sleep gunk from his eyes. "Are we there yet?"

Transitioning to the outside of the plane, where the sun was just beginning to fade away beyond the cityscape horizon, the only word said by the flight attendant was a loud, emphatic "YES!", followed shortly thereafter with Luigi's sudden departure from the plane as he was tossed out by the surprisingly strong flight attendant, ala Jazz being thrown out by Uncle Phil. As Luigi landed on his face with a thud, the plane's stairs folded back into it as it shuttled down the runway into an open hangar. Picking himself back up and dusting himself off with as much dignity as he could muster, Luigi let out a low whistle and rubbed his neck sorely.

"Mama Mia... Talk about a rough landing..."

Quickly regaining his bearings, Luigi made his way off of the tarmac and into the airport terminal, eager to get inside and out of the cool, nippy New Appelle air. As he stepped into the crowded, noisy New Appelle International Airport, Luigi glanced around the enormous main terminal nervously, looking for an exit into the city proper. Almost as soon as he set foot into the building, however, he was immediately accosted by an incredibly scuzzy looking Goomba with a black, pinstriped baseball cap and a slicked back, black ponytail that looked as if it hadn't been washed in months, if not years. All in all, the Goomba practically radiated sleaze, and unfortunately for Luigi, he began to speak to him, an unpleasant gleam in his eye.

"Hehehe, wow buddy, you look like you got hit by a train!" the Goomba began before Luigi could escape, sidling up to him in an uncomfortably close manner. Grinning at the altogether frazzled expression on Luigi's face, the Goomba continued his spiel. "You need a lawyer, pal? 'Cuz hey, as it just so happens, I am, in fact, one of the greatest lawyers in all of New Appelle! Goom E. Ryerson, attorney at law, at your service!" Somehow pulling a shifty looking degree out of his 'pocket' without actually having hands, or pockets for that matter, the Goomba held it up just long enough for Luigi to begin noticing that the words appeared to be drawn on by hand in crayon, then quickly stuffed it back away and pulled a much smaller object out, thrusting it into Luigi's gloved hand against his will. "Here, take a card, and we can get down to business, alright palsy?"

Luigi stood there momentarily dazed at the sudden and fast-paced nature of this unexpected meeting, as he looked down at the filthy, torn up card that he just KNEW was going to stain his glove in some way. Quickly shaking himself out of his stupefied state, Luigi began to back away from the Goomba, shaking his head and stuttering, "O-Oh no, I-I don't need a lawyer!"

"You sure, buddy? Because you look AWFULLY banged up there..." the Goomba stated persuasively, slithering back up to Luigi like a snake playing with it's wounded prey.

"N-No, no, I'm quite sure, I'm a-ok, no lawyer needed for me, no siree!" Luigi replied, desperately trying to get away from the ambulance chasing Goomba at all costs.

"Ah, well, your loss then, pal!" the Goomba finally relented, muttering "Lousy rotten bum..." under his breath as Luigi stepped onto a busy escalator, which the Goomba seemed none too keen on getting onto himself. As Luigi slowly rode downward, away from the Goomba, he heard the alleged lawyer call out behind him, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be back soon enough, hehehehehe!"

Luigi let out a shiver of slight horror once he stepped off the escalator. That sure wasn't what he expected the 'welcoming committee' to look like... Shaking his head, Luigi convinced himself it had to be an isolated incident, "That guy probably does the same thing to every poor, unsuspecting shmuck who gets off the plane looking as confused as I did." Luigi thought, chuckling to himself. Feeling a bit more at ease, he continued on his way, but quickly stopped off at a receptionist's booth the moment he spotted it, figuring it'd be a lot easier to just ask someone who worked at the place where the exit was rather than wandering around blindly, trying to find it himself.

Clearing his throat, he walked up to the receptionist's little tube shaped cubicle, or 'tubicle', as Luigi rather uncleverly thought to himself, and politely began to ask for directions from the unsettlingly happy looking receptionist Toad. "Excuse me, ma'am, but I-"

"Why, hello there! Welcome to New Appelle!" the receptionist Toad interrupted cheerfully, her already disturbingly robotic smile stretching even wider as she began to speak. "We here at Toadway Airlines hope you had an enjoyable flight, and we personally recommend the Shooting Star Suites hotel chain as your inn of choice during your visit! And remember to tell them Toadway Airlines sent you for an amazing 10% increase on the price of all amenities!"

Luigi blinked, staring back at the receptionist nervously, letting out an uncomfortable forced laugh as the receptionist continued to smile blankly at him. Slowly, he started trying to explain his situation again, once he was sure she didn't have another sales pitch to interrupt him with. "U-Um, b-but I-"

Before Luigi could get another word out, the receptionist slammed her booth's little window, taping a piece of paper to her side which read "Sorry, gone to lunch!", though she still continued to do nothing but stare at Luigi eerily from the other side, unflinching, unblinking, and unmoving, watching him the entire way as he shuffled out of the area and into the next one, stuffing his hands into his pockets and sighing in annoyance. Eventually, after a few more fruitless minutes of walking around in circles and getting nowhere, Luigi decided to stop and rest for a moment in a small waiting lounge, to try and get his bearings back as best he could. Unfortunately, he couldn't help but overhear a whole variety of other depressing conversations as he stood in the cramped, overpacked lounge.

"Wonderful, another business trip to this rotten apple of a city... Am I ever going to be able to see my wife and kids' faces again?" muttered an orange spotted Toad in a sharp business suit, who looked to be burning through his company's expense account at the lounge's cola bar. Taking a long swig of his Chuckola Cola, he laughed bitterly to himself and shook his head. "Not like it matters, since I doubt they even remember mine anymore..."

Frowning sadly at the man's plight, Luigi's attention turned to a very out of place looking Doogan standing at the corner of the cola bar, who wore tacky clothing more suited to a tropical island tourist trap than to a place like New Appelle. The lime green Hawaiian shirt and hot neon pink swim trunk wearing Doogan paced back and forth in an anxious, overly caffeinated manner, as he spoke loudly to a Koopa who had the misfortune of being nearby him, his voice almost as grating and obnoxious to listen to as his clothing was to look at.

"Can you believe this, man?! Talk about totally bogus! I have no idea how I even ended up here!" the Doogan said in irritation, the poor Koopa looking as if he'd rather be having dinner with a group of starved cannibals than listening to the Doogan's tale of supposed misery. "I was supposed to be heading to the Keelhaul Key Resort for my vacation, I reserved the presidential suite and everything! But now I only have enough money to make the return trip... Man, this bites!" The Doogan kicked stupidly at a nearby bar stool, injuring his foot in the process and giving the Koopa a chance to escape while he was distracted hopping up and down on his uninjured foot. Once he stopped hopping, he sighed in disgust, then put his hand up to his chin and muttered to himself, "...I wonder if there are any good lawyers in this town..."

Luigi merely shook his head at both the Doogan's story and his actions, then stood up to get back to looking for the exit, more than ready to get away from the lounge of despair and misery before he overheard any other tales of misfortune. However, as he was turning to leave, an incredibly giddy and excited looking red-spotted female Toad came riding down the escalator he had gotten off of earlier, with a voice almost as obnoxious as the Doogan's, though with a noticeably southern/hick accent, and whose appearance and demeanor just SCREAMED 'naive tourist'. She talked loudly to herself, drawing a lot of attention from passers by which she seemed completely oblivious to, lost in her own little world.

"Ah, finally, I'm here in the big city!" the Toad exclaimed, twirling through the small, cramped lounge as best she could, completely ignoring all the scathing looks she was getting from the people she walked past, seemingly without a care in the world. "I've waited so long to get out of my podunk little home town, I was starting to think this day would never arrive! Now my only worry is, where should I go first? Should I see Madame Flurrie's newest play, get something to eat from one of the super famous restaurants in 'The Circle', or head to the stadium to watch the Chomps demolish whatever poor team has the misfortune of playing them today? Ah, decisions, decisions..." Stopping in place, seemingly to actually try to use her brain for a moment, the Toad began looking all around her before catching a glimpse of the closest person to her, who just so unfortunately happened to be Luigi. Smiling broadly at him, she rushed up to him like a moth to a flame before he had much of a chance to get away, and began speaking to him so quickly he could hardly make out what she was saying. "Say, you don't know your way around here, do you? Oh, wait, what am I saying, of COURSE you don't! I mean, who in their right mind would wear an outfit as tacky as THAT in a place like this besides some kind of clueless out-of-town backwoods yokel? Sorry for asking such a silly question! La-da-dee-dee-daaaaaa~!"

With that, the Toad girl twirled back off in a random direction, humming to herself as she assumingly went looking for another person to completely talk over. Luigi could do little more than take off his hat and scratch his head in bewilderment. He had been involved in three conversations so far, if you could even call them that, and he couldn't get a word in edgewise in any of them. He had been in New Appelle for all of ten minutes, and he already couldn't stand it. And he hadn't even left the airport yet!

"Well, surely the rest of the city isn't like this." Luigi thought to himself, trying his best to stay positive, something he wasn't particularly skilled in doing. "I'm sure most big city airports are filled to the brim with nutjobs like these, so it probably doesn't have any bearing whatsoever about what the actual citizens of this fine city are really like...I hope."

As Luigi was lost in thought, a small hand crept up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, this your first time in the big city, buddy?" came a sudden voice from behind Luigi, causing him to whip around and jump back in fright from the unexpectedness of it. The source of the voice and the hand, a rather normal looking (in comparison to the other people Luigi had met in the airport, at least) blue-spotted male Toad, held his hands up in front of himself non-threateningly, letting out a small laugh at Luigi's reaction. "Whoa-hoa-hoa, sorry 'bout that, pal, didn't mean to scare ya like that! You just looked so tweaked out there, I wanted to make sure you were okay, that's all!"

Once Luigi's heart managed to dislodge itself from his throat, he took a few deep, calming breaths and replied regretfully to the Toad. "A-Ah, no, it's alright, everything scares me... Er, I mean... Yeah, this is my first time in the big city. Or, well, my first time in ANY big city, really. So it's just a little daunting to me, that's all. I'm sure I'll get used to it soon, though!"

"Hoo boy..." The Toad let out a low breath, looking at Luigi with concern, an expression that Luigi was none too pleased to see. "Well, I hate to break it to ya, fella, but take my advice, most of the people here are slimier than the sewers, and they smell worse to boot. So if I were you, I'd try an' keep my mouth shut and not talk to any old random stranger that you happen to meet, like you're doing right now!"

"O-O-O-Oh dear..." Luigi stuttered in worry, any sense of optimism he had left flushed right down the proverbial toilet.

"Oh, and make sure you keep any and all personal items and valuables close to your person at all times, ESPECIALLY if you happen to accidentally walk down any back alleys." the Toad continued, much to Luigi's utter chagrin. "There's a reason people always leave here poorer than they arrived, and believe me, it ain't the 'five star' services and entertainment!"

"A-Ah, I'll... I'll keep that in mind..." Luigi stuttered, no longer wanting to leave the airport. He quickly did his best to silence those thoughts of cowardice, however; this was no time for 'that' Luigi to rear his head, he was on an important mission, and bah gawd, he wasn't going to give up before he even got started! Steeling his nerves, he tipped his cap and smiled at the Toad, forcing his negative thoughts into the back of his mind. "Well, th-thanks for the heads up, I'll definitely make sure to stay on my guard at all times while I'm here."

"No problem, man, just tryin' to do my part to warn people who don't know any better, because the last thing you wanna be in a city like this is clueless." the Toad said, smiling wearily back at Luigi. "I dunno what you're here for, but stay on your toes, pal, and good luck, because you're gonna need it!"

With that, the Toad waved goodbye, a gesture that Luigi returned to him, and he walked away, leaving Luigi alone.

"Oh boy, that's just great, since good luck is something that's morally opposed to me..." Luigi mumbled dryly to himself as soon as he was alone. Suddenly, he felt like kicking himself, realizing he should've asked the helpful Toad for directions, since he was still completely lost. Sighing hopelessly, Luigi knew one thing for sure at least; when he was ready to go home, he was taking a boat.

Thankfully for Luigi, the exit wasn't as hard to find as he feared it was going to be, and he eventually stumbled upon it after about ten more minutes of walking around aimlessly, following signs that weren't nearly as informative and helpful as the should have been in Luigi's opinion. Nevertheless, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief once he finally saw the exit doors, and sat down on a padded seat near the door to make sure he had everything tucked away safely as the friendly Toad had told him to before he headed out into the city. Sound from a nearby TV caught his attention, and as he looked at it, he saw a familiar sight displayed upon it.

"This is Clara T., reporting to you LIVE from the Toad Town docks!" came the enthusiastic voice of the television reporter, who indeed was standing in the exact spot that Luigi had been just hours ago. Catching a glimpse of Club 64 in the background, Luigi's stomach rumbled, and he licked his lips longingly at the thought of digging into one of their delicious seafood dishes, sighing sadly to himself once he realized he wouldn't be able to taste it for a good long while, and equally hoping the food in New Appelle was both edible and not too expensive.

"As I'm sure you're all aware, earlier today, the Grand Toadstool, the Mushroom Kingdom's new royal cruise ship, set off on its maiden voyage from this very port, taking with it an absolute smorgasbord of S-List celebrities and socialites of incomparable renown, from movie stars, to superstar athletes, to famous geniuses, and everyone else in between! And of course, it just wouldn't be right if the cruise didn't contain the two most famous and beloved citizens in our entire kingdom, the always lovely Princess Peach and her hero and our, the one and only SUPER Mario!"

"Always with the 'super' moniker..." Luigi scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Sure'd be nice if people called me 'Super' Luigi all the time like that..."

"And folks, make sure you tune in at 9:00, as we'll be broadcasting LIVE ON LOCATION aboard the Grand Toadstool itself, with our venerable veteran reporter, Klarc Koopsleeve, there to interview anyone and EVERYONE! You don't wanna miss it folks, so stay right here, on your number one source for news in New Appelle, MKBN!"

"Boy, what I wouldn't give to be on that cruise right now..." came the voice of a female Koopa who was sitting across from Luigi, shaking her head longingly. "Because man-o-man, am I tired of this place. Let me tell you, there's nothing more depressing than watching the people who hang out in airports, ESPECIALLY this one. It's so easy to tell who's who just by the looks on their faces. Miserable businessmen whose jobs constantly keep them away from their families, sleazy ambulance chasing lawyers trying to scam up new 'clients', naive out-of-towners who think the big city's some super great place like it's portrayed as in the movies and on TV..." Staring at Luigi, she raised her eyebrow curiously. "...But I gotta say, I can't tell WHAT you're here for. Is there some sort of septic worker's convention going down in town today?"

"Er, actually, I'm..." Luigi bit his lip when he remembered what the letter said about not telling anyone a thing about why he was there for. "...Yeah, let's... Let's go with that."

"Oh, great, in that case, do you think you could come take a look at my toilet before you head out there?" the Koopa asked, leaning in close to Luigi before finishing her sentence in a rather embarrassed manner. "You see, I kind of... Flushed my phone down it... Totally by accident, of course! But yeah, I can't really call anyone OR use the bathroom until I get it out, so..."

"Oh, uh, gee, m-maybe later, ma'am..." Luigi stated semi-regretfully, getting up and walking to the door before the Koopa had a chance to try and persuade him any further. He was still aching from the last toilet he and his brother had to unclog, so Luigi sure wasn't looking to do THAT again anytime soon.

Bracing himself as best he could for both the cold and whatever else awaited him, Luigi stepped out through the airport's automatic doors, finally setting foot into New Appelle City proper for the very first time. The city that sprawled out before him was not at all what he was expecting, and he stood and stared in awe; at the tall, tall buildings, the throngs of people rushing to and fro, and the astounding numbers of lights that lit the entire city up like one big Christmas tree. Luigi had never been to a place quite like New Appelle before, and the sights, smells, and sounds that surrounded him flooded his senses with a feeling of pure wonderment.

"Wow, they aren't kidding when they call this place the big city..." he said to himself, continuing to stare ahead of him, his eyes darting from one point of interest to the next.

Unfortunately, Luigi became so entranced in the city that was sprawled out in front of him that he didn't even notice the vile green suited Bandit the was sneaking up behind him until it was too late.

"Haha, thanks for the coins, sucker!" the Bandit sneered, bumping forcefully into Luigi, swiping his wallet with ease, then zipping out of sight down a nearby back alley, all before Luigi could even react.

"W-W-W-WAH!" Luigi cried out in shock, stumbling forward from the force of the Bandit's unexpected bump, almost stumbling right into a lane of busy traffic. Quickly stopping himself before he became roadkill, Luigi hopped back and started patting down the pocket he had stuffed his wallet into, realizing it was no longer there.

"N-NO! All my coins, and my passport, too!" Luigi cried, horrified that he had already fallen prey to the city. "Oh no, oh no! I won't be able to do ANYTHING if I don't get those back! I gotta catch that lousy, rotten thief before he gets away!"

Looking frantically in the direction that he thought the Bandit took off to, he spotted a lone, dark alleyway, the sight of which made Luigi's blood run cold. There was no way, NO WAY that Luigi would EVER so much as THINK of going down such a horrifyingly foreboding alleyway, let alone at night... Unless he absolutely had to. And, unfortunately for him, that was just the case.

"M-M-M-M-Mama M-Mia..." Luigi continued to hesitate, until suddenly realizing that the Bandit was getting further and further away the longer he waited. Steeling up all his nerve, Luigi ran towards the alley, feeling as if he was rushing straight into the maw of death itself.

As he made it to the entrance of the alleyway, Luigi was greeted with a sight that he was not expecting, but one that made him even more terrified than he already was.

"Hey girly, dat's a nice camera ya got dere!"

"Hehehe, that ain't the ONLY thing she's got on her that's nice!"

"Oh yeah, I think you mighta taken a wrong turn somewhere, didn'tcha, girly?"

Dimly illuminated by a dying street light, a group of thugs, consisting a Bandit, a Doogan, and a Goomba, had someone cornered, although Luigi couldn't make out what she looked like, as she was pinned into a corner by the thugs, making it impossible for Luigi to make much out other than a brief glimpse of something green.

"Sh-Shut up, you creeps!" cried the girl. While the fear in her voice was clearly evident, she didn't seem like she was going to just back down either. "Get lost, you jerks! You... You don't wanna mess with me! I... I know people! DANGEROUS people! People that are gonna rip you guys to shreds if they find out you did anything to me!"

"Ohoho, is dat right, girly?" came the snide reply of whom Luigi assumed was the leader of the group, the Bandit. Sneering evilly, the Bandit laughed. "Well, I guess we won't leave anything for these 'people' to find, then."

As the Bandit and the Goomba laughed horribly, the Doogan had a troubled look upon his face, and he was quick to speak his concern to his leader. "B-But, boss, what if she ain't kiddin'? For all we know, she might be some mob boss' daughter or somethin'!"

"Y-Yeah, that's right, that's exactly what I am!" the girl said quickly, which only served to enhance the frightened expression on the Doogan's face. The Bandit, however, merely growled in annoyance.

"Doogley, you idiot, dere ain't no mobs what are run by dem dumb dinos!" the Bandit scalded, smacking the Doogan upside the head.

"Oh..." Doogley replied, rubbing his head before the worried look came back to it. "B-But, boss, what if she's adopted?"

"Y-Yeah, what if I'm adopted?!" the girl cried, before quickly amending her statement. "I-I mean, yeah, I'm adopted, that's exactly what I am! And boy oh boy, are you idiots ever gonna get it when my dad finds out about this! He's gonna send his associates out, and they're gonna make it so that you'll have to eat everything through a straw for the rest of your lives! I-In fact, knowing how paranoid he is, he uh, he probably already sent some guys out to follow me, he's always worried about me like that! So, uh, you guys, you better just run now, if you know what's good for you!"

The Bandit smacked the Doogan again, harder this time, as he whimpered in apparent fear of the repercussions of their actions. Once more, the Bandit seemed nonplussed, folding his arms and sneering at the girl.

"Oh yeah, is dat right, girly?" the Bandit asked, clearly not convinced at all by the girl's obvious lies. "So, tell me dhen, where are all dese so called 'associates' of yer 'daddy', huh?"

"Uhhhhh..." As the thugs laughed and began to close in on the girl, she shuffled around, looking around desperately for something, then suddenly gasping and pointing. "Th-There's one right now! And oh my gosh, it's... It's 'HIM'! Wow, you guys are DEAD MEAT now!"

The thugs all turned around to look at the person that the girl was pointing at.

"O-Oh no..." Luigi whimpered, as all three thugs began glowering at him threateningly. "Somehow, I should've seen that coming..."

This chapter might seem a bit different in regards to dialogue than the rest of the story, due to it having been rewritten from my original "fake game write up" version of the story, in which I was including the dialogue Luigi had with literally every single NPC in the "game". Unfortunately, I'm not nearly good enough of a writer to attempt to do such a thing in a proper story format, at least not without most likely making it super incredibly boring, so there probaby won't be as much NPC dialogue in later chapters.

ANYWAYS, I'll shut up now. Enjoy.

OH RIGHT THAT'S RIGHT, ONE MORE THING I FORGOT TO MENTION IN THE FIRST PART. If you see any typos or the like, please point them out to me so that I may fix them, because I am unfortunately not a very thorough proof reader. Thank you!