Seven years is such a short time,

Way past the sight of my prime.

I don't want to go out that way,

Without having a single say,

I don't want to go at all,

I don't want to fall,

In seven years.

"Alright, let's go..." Luigi muttered, stepping out of the machine. He ran into E. Gadd's lab.

"Ah, Luigi. Are you finished taping the exhaust vent?" he asked, looking up from his work.

"...Taping over the..." Luigi was dumbfounded that he didn't notice that he'd been gone for almost 3 hours, then he remembered that he came back to exactly the time he left. "Uh, no. But I just remembered I have to go do something urgent, bye!" He tossed the tape onto the table and ran out.

"Hey Mario, wake up," Daisy said, nudging her friend.

"What! Is the Mushroom Kingdom changed yet?!" He responded, looking around quickly, only to find the depressing ruins staring back at him.

"No. You wouldn't remember it anyway, if that was the case."

"God, what is taking him so long?"

"I don't know, but we're gonna have to keep waiting," she replied, playing with a strand of her hair.

"Mario!" Luigi yelled upon entry to his house.

"What?!" he shouted back, appearing from the door to the living room. "Is Peach kidnapped? Is Bowser coming soon? Is he right outside the door?"

"Worse. Sit down."

He sat into a kitchen chair, a look of impatient panic on his face.

"Well, earlier today, I was at E. Gadd's house, and I kinda, sorta used the time machine..."

"You used it?" Mario replied, shocked. "Where did you go?"

"7 years into the future."

"Really? How was it? I bet the whole kingdom's really futuristic, with shiny buildings, and-"

"No, not at all," Luigi interrupted. "It's a complete and total disaster."

He was silent for a few moments. "That can't be right."

"It is!" he persisted. "The you of that time said you wouldn't beleive me..."

"Well, no, because it's not gonna be true. There's no way the Mushroom Kingdom could be destroyed."

"Well, apparently there is, because I just saw it... We need to stop this! Don't you realize what will happen? The Mushroom Kingdom will be destroyed! Peach and I are dead," he said quickly and impatiently.

"...Wh... What?"

"And not just us. Y'know the feild behind the castle? Completely filled with tombstones. All the way to Desert Land."

"How would... What happened?"

"...Maybe I should show you. Let's go to Gadd's house."

"Professor Gadd, is there any way that a person could talk to their future self?" Luigi asked.

"Well, considering the whole Shroomies incident, I'd say for a short time, but-"

"Thank you. Mario's gonna come help me... tape over the exhaust vent," Luigi said, walking out the door.

He jumped into the driver's seat and turned the time settings to 7 years in the future. "Well, come on in."

Mario sat down in the passenger's seat. "Okay... let's go."

Luigi stepped on the gas, and the engine roared to life. A split second before they hit the shed, it disappeared, and the sensation of time once again weighed them down.

The second the vehicle stopped, Luigi jumped out and gestured for Mario to follow. They walked toward the kingdom slowly.

"Oh my God..." Mario muttered. "It's true... The whole kingdom..."

"Do you beleive me now?" Luigi asked, slightly sarcastically. "Let's talk to you and Daisy." He led him to the Item Shop.

"Mario? I'm back." Luigi said, opening the door. "And I brought someone."

"Really? Nothing's changed yet..." Mario heard an all to familiar voice inside the shop. "Who's there?"

"Mario, this is Mario."

The future Mario stood and faced his past counterpart. "You brought him here? You're not supposed to do that."

"Like you said, he wouldn't beleive me," Luigi explained.

"Oh, I beleive you now," Mario replied. "What can we do?"

"Kill Bowser," the other Mario informed. "Permanently."

"That's the only way?"

"Yes. Nice to meet you, by the way. Oh, and one other thing." He clenched his fist and punched him in the stomach.

"OW! What the hell was that for?!" the present Mario asked, his arms around his middle.

"Look, there are about ten things I want you to do when you go back, but I'll only say a few," he scolded angerly. "Don't let Bowser off easily, don't try the orange pepper, knock the knife out of his hand, and propose to her, you moron."

"...I'll keep that in mind, but I have something to say to you, too." He punched him back with force.

The future Mario doubled over. "You'll be feeling that in a few years, y'know."

"Small price to pay."

"Okay, okay," Luigi said, interrupting the argument. "Just tell us the full plan."

"What's the date for you guys?" he asked.

Luigi told him the date. "...It should start about a year from then," he informed. "Bowser should attack from the east, with a whole crapload of troops... You'll need more people. A lot more people."

"Why should it be any different?" Mario asked. "We've taken on his troops a million times before."

"All at once, Mr. Genius?"

"I don't appreciate the verbal attacks from myself," he retorted.

"Anyhow... defend the castle, and the power up store under the castle, since that's where his powers are going to come from..." He trailed off.

"What?"

"Nothing. I just got a huge Deja Vu. But I guess that was expected."

"Yeah... I think we got it. Let's go." Luigi stood up. "Thanks for all your help."

"No problem. Thanks for saving the world."

"No problem."

"I can't beleive I turn into that bastard..." Mario said when they sat down in the car.

"I dunno, I didn't notice any difference," Luigi informed.

"Oh... Wait, hey!"

"Heh," he laughed. "So, what are we gonna do for a whole year? Should we tell Peach and Daisy?"

"We're not going to let it happen, and I'm not sure we should tell them. I think that as soon as we get home, we should go right to Bowser's castle and kill him," Mario explained.

"How?"

"I don't know."

Well, I decided to continue. No, I'm not dead yet. But I have been having long periods of absence. Eh, I'll be here more often from now on.

Thank you, and good night.