But what if I am deadly wrong?

In 7 years, will it all be gone?

In all that time, will my world be dead?

With all my secrets left unsaid?

In 7 years, it'll all be new,

With all my secrets safe with you,

Or else it won't be new at all,

And my whole world will fall,

Without knowing 7 years.


"Five years ago, Bowser attacked. It wasn't like the crappy ones he did before," Mario began. "This time he really meant it. You and I tried to fight him off, but... No good. We got more help from the BeanBean Kingdom and Sarasaland, but it still didn't help."

"People died?" Luigi asked.

"People died. A lot of people," he replied, gesturing to the vast cemetery. "Bowser owned the kingdom for a few years, and it was terrible. Peach... she was held in the dungeon, and there was nothing anyone could do to help her. He was on a seemingly never-ending killing spree. You died pretty quickly after he took over. My back was turned, he had you cornered, and... I'm sorry..."

"It's alright."

"You don't mind that I let you die?" Mario asked, shocked.

"It hasn't happened yet, remember?"

"This is getting confusing. You're in my time, so we'll go by my standards, alright?"

"Alright, go on," Luigi agreed, not wanting to hear more, but also wanting to run away while covering his ears and shouting, "LALALALALALALA..."

"Bowser got more and more powerful... Y'know that secret stock of power-ups in the basement of the castle?"

"Yeah," Luigi replied.

"Completely cleaned out. In a matter of months."

Luigi was taken aback. The power-up storage was almost as big as the Mushroom Kingdom itself, trailing out across the country. To completely clean it a few months... that was just insane.

"Where is Bowser?"

"Died. From overdose," Mario explained, slightly triumphantly. "If used too much, Mushrooms can be a very powerful drug. I don't use them for fighting anymore... Come to think of it, I don't even fight anymore... There's no one left."

"Nobody? What about Daisy? Or Peach? Or Yoshi and Toad?" Luigi got panicky.

"Yoshi... He died after it started... He's older than you would think. Nobody lives forever," he said, looking in the direction which probably had Yoshi's gravestone. "I don't know what happened to Toad. He wasn't found, so he wasn't buried. He could still be alive somewhere, but I don't think it's likely..."

"W-what about Daisy?"

"Daisy's still alive," Mario responded. Luigi's face lit up. "S-she's not the same. During the war, we all told her to command her army from the safety of Sarasaland, but she ignored us and came to fight here. She's traumatized... corrupted..."

Luigi didn't say anything for a while, just held back tears. Finally, he murmured, "...A-and Peach?"

Mario didn't reply for a full minute. Finally, he spoke slowly and shakily. "A few months after it started, I got stuck in the castle dungeons, trying to find her. When I did, Bowser was there, too... I tried to stop him. But he was still on his peak from the mushrooms. I tried to stop him... But he had a knife, and I... Peach..."

"Okay. I-I don't want to know any more."

"I don't want to tell anymore." He sighed and looked like he was in deep thought. "Maybe if Daisy saw you, she would go back to normal... Or close to normal. I don't think she could go back completely the way she was."

"I'd love to see her. More than anything. I don't care what state of mind she's in," Luigi decided.

"Good," Mario said.

"Where is she?"

"Not far from here. She's in the Toad Shop, it's pretty much the only building that held up. Nobody really thought it was important enough to bomb, I guess. I mean, it had a lot of items, but still..." he mused, talking more to himself than Luigi as they started walking toward what used to be town square, until they arrived at the shop.

"I'll go in first, to talk to her," Mario told him, and disappeared inside the door.

A few minutes later of painful waiting as he heard voices from inside, Mario reappeared. "Come on."

When Luigi got his first sight of her, he knew his brother was right. She wasn't the same.

Her hair was long and matted, sticking in her face. She had bags under her eyes, implying she hadn't slept in days. Her once beautiful yellow dress was barely recognizable under the dirt. But the worst part was that he dress was torn, clearly revealing that one of her legs was missing from the knee down. Skin was sewn over the stump, like a last-minute medical procedure, but the stitches weren't taken out.

"D-Daisy?" Luigi stuttered.

"I thought I told you to stop coming here!" she screamed. "Leave, and never come back!"

"What?" Luigi murmured, shocked.

"She thinks you're a mirage," Mario explained.

"Daisy, it's me," Luigi said quietly.

Daisy burst into tears. Luigi took a step forward and kneeled by her side, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, placing her hand over his. "Y-you're... You're real?" Instead of responding, Luigi kissed her.

When they finally broke apart, Daisy still had tears in her eyes, but she was smiling. "How are you... Gadd's time machine?"

"Yeah," he replied. "I can't beleive this happened. I'm not going to let it happen."

"You can't," Daisy retorted simply.

"Don't you see? I can! I can go back and stop this! I'll tell the Mario of my time what's going to happen, and we'll just kick Bowser's spiky ass!" Luigi explained, shouting with excitedness.

"It won't work. I'm not going to beleive you," Mario argued.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm stubborn. You're gonna have to come up with some hardcore evidence for attacking him... Or maybe catch me in a mood where I'm ready for some ass-kicking," Mario responded, sitting down next to the couple.

"Oh, I have ways of making you do my bidding," Luigi assured. "Beat you up a little, or something..."

He laughed. "I'd have you facedown on the ground in five seconds."

"He would," Daisy agreed. "I remember those fights you had."

"Well, maybe I'll prove you wrong right here!" Luigi announced.

"Okay, but I'm a little rusty, I haven't fought in a-" Mario lunged at his younger sibling, pinning him to the floor, face first. "What'd I tell you?"

"Hey! I wasn't ready!" Luigi said, his voice slightly muffled. Mario let him get up.

"Are you ready now?"

"Yes."

Mario tried to land a punch on him, but Luigi caught it, returning a blow. In a few seconds, they where wrestling.

"You guys are so immature," Daisy commented with a laugh.

They rolled onto their backs, laughing.

"Y'know what?" Mario said. "This is almost like old times... Like almost everyone is back together again."

There was an almost eerie silence after his statement. Almost like they weren't the only two in the room.

"Weege?"

"Yeah?"

"I want you to go back to your time, and prevent this from happening. Do whatever you can to make me believe this is going to happen. And tell myself from the past to value what he has, and to keep close watch on the people he loves. And tell Peach that I miss her. Please."

"And tell me to stay in Sarasaland during the Gruesome," Daisy added.

"Of course," Luigi promised.

"To stop it, you're going to have to kill Bowser," Mario warned.

"How?"

"He's built up an immunity to lava, and beating him only knocks him out. You have to tear him apart, then leave the pieces for the Goombas."

Luigi shuddered at how much blood was going to spill. Maybe, in the fight, not just Bowser's.

"B-bye," Daisy stuttered, pulling him into a tight hug.

"I love you," Luigi replied.

Daisy pulled away a little, to look him in the eyes. "I've been waiting to hear you say that for forever." She took her arms from him. "Now go save the world."

He stood up, smiling.

"Well, this is it," Luigi announced, gesturing to the car.

"Wow," Mario sighed. "I almost didn't remember it. That trip to 1881 was... scary. Bet it was scary coming here, huh?"

"Yeah," Luigi agreed. "7 years isn't that long... I mean, for an entire Kingdom to get destroyed..."

"I know," he said. "I almost want to come back with you. No, I really want to go back with you. If it wouldn't blink me out of existence, I'd kill my past self and just assume his role in the world."

"Don't worry, once I change things, this whole place will be different." He stared at the date input console. "Mario?"

"Yeah?" he replied vaugly, probably lost in memories.

"How did you cope? I mean, when Peach... died?"

He was quiet. "I didn't. I asked Bowser to kill me, but he said it wasn't worth it if I wanted to die... I got my will to live back a few months ago. I dunno where it came from... Maybe my subconcious knew you where coming to fix things... Thanks, by the way."

"No problem," he responded. "Well... I'd better get going."

"OK," Mario said. "Bye. And watch your back."

"I will," Luigi assured, closing the door. "Seeya soon."

He drove off, as the speedometer gradually got higher and higher. The car was engulfed once again in sparks and fire, and the the pressure of time once again sucked away his counciousness.

Dammit, that was long. XD

Y'know, I kinda like that poem I'm making up there at the top. It's my first half-decent poem! Hooraaaay!

I just saw Grease on Broadway. You haven't lived 'till you've seen this play! The guy playing Danny was great! Hell, all of 'em where awesome. :D

Okay, if you're still awake,

~AzoNintendo