Chapter 10:

Aftermath

He stood up. He was standing where his house was, but it was no longer there. He brushed off his clothes and saw his familiar overalls being dusted off by his old white gloves. He smiled as he tapped the brim of his red hat. He smiled wider as he felt his mustache above his mouth. He was back.

He wasted no time and headed for the Mushroom Kingdom. But the kingdom was shrouded in a deep shadow. The mushroom people were in such a panic, they didn't even see him approaching. Only one citizen noticed him and ran to him. It was Toadette.

Despite the looming darkness, her grin couldn't be denied. "You've come back!" she hugged Mario so tight, he thought he'd be thinner than Waluigi when she was through with him.

"Toadette… What's going on?"

"It's crazy!" Her grin disappeared and was quickly replaced with panic. "Out of nowhere… She's back, Mario! She's back!"

Mario didn't have to ask who. She was trapped long enough inside him. It took him doubting himself and doing her work for her to get her out to torture Mushroom Kingdom's citizens even more.

He tightened his fists. "It's time to make up for lost time…"

Toadette looked up at him curiously.

"I made a terrible mistake, Toadette… I listened to a bad-guy… I listened to that evil witch instead of my heart…"

"She made you doubt us. That's why you were questioning us like that…"

Mario nodded. "But she's gone too far. I should have never let her cloud my thoughts. We're a family… all of us together… heck, even Bowser. I shouldn't have ever doubted that."

"What are you going to do?"

"Fight her."

"What if…" She couldn't finish, but Mario could see fresh tears in her eyes. "What if you really do die this time, Master Mario?"

Mario looked down at her. Before, he would jump into battle without a second thought. In his "new" life, he would've been frustrated to think he had to risk his life for barely anything. Now, though, he thought about who he was saving, and who he would leave behind if he died. He couldn't stand to make them as sad as he had seen them as Doctor Mario. He refused to let them mourn him again. But he had to do something, or they'd get killed themselves.

"I have an idea, Toadette. But I need you to be brave." He knelt down to her level. "Can you do that for me?"

Toadette sniffed, wiped her eyes, and nodded.

"Good girl." Mario smiled at her. "Go back to the castle and find Daisy. Tell her, and only her, that I'm alive. Tell her I trust her to hold the witch off from the others."

Toadette nodded and ran off to the castle.

If anyone could protect the others in Mario's absence, it was Daisy. He just hoped that she trusted him enough to do as he says.

.

It wasn't hard to get into the castle. The front door was already blown to pieces by a blast of insanely powerful darkness. Mario wore the suit of a fire flower's blessing. This time, he was going to win without repercussions. This time, he would save everyone, including himself.

"I can blast through that door just as easily as the front door!" the voice sneered, this time outside Mario's head. "I'd hate to cause more damage to this beautiful castle!"

"Try it, granny!" Daisy shouted back.

Mario smirked. Only the Princess of Sarasaland would have those kinds of guts.

A blast was heard, but the voice screeched. "WHAT?! How is this possible?"

"Oh, sorry. Were you trying to get in?" Daisy taunted.

There was another blast as Mario quickly made his way down the hall, silently as he could. He had nothing but complete trust in Daisy's ability to hold down the fort, quite literally, while he came in for the counter attack.

Soon, he could see her, the tall, black, powerful figure of the witch he had battled those months ago. The one who had caused everything from the start. He was within striking distance. He formed a fireball in his hand. And he blasted it into the wall beside him.

The noise was enough to make the witch turn to see him and growl a little. But it was also the moment that Mario slid into the blocked-off room and grinned at Daisy. "Knew you wouldn't let me down, Princess," he said.

He tossed a bunch of stars to Luigi, Peach, and, of course, Daisy. "Ready to rock?" Daisy asked him.

"I'd say it's about time."

Mario missed kicking butt, he realized as they charged the dark witch together. She couldn't defend against four as easily as she could defend against just him. She was defeated without much of a challenge, because this time Mario thought through the battle all the way. It was going to be his final battle, after all.

The smoke cleared, just as Luigi had described in his book. But they were all still standing; they were all still alive.

Daisy dusted off the front of her gown. "'Bout time, hero," she said. "When you sent Toadette, I thought you expected me to do your job for you."

"You… knew?" Luigi was staring in shock.

Daisy turned to him. "Stop staring and hug your brother, already, Weegie!"

Luigi wasted no time to run to his brother and wrap his arms around him. "Mario… I…"

"I know, Weeg," Mario felt good to be in his brother's embrace.

Peach approached the pair. "Mario… I can't believe that… You… I…"

Mario smiled, still patting his brothers back as he felt his warm tears on his shoulder.

Peach leaned over and kissed him overtop his bushy mustache, causing Daisy to coo teasingly. "Mario…" tears were flowing from her now.

"Aw, geez, you guys!" Daisy laughed. "This is supposed to be a happy day! Mario's back! Stop your crying!"

Luigi finally pulled back from his brother, wiping his eyes with the back of his hands. Peach came in and embraced him, giving him another kiss.

"Wait…" Luigi started. "Toadette… you sent Toadette?"

"She saw me out in the streets. Where is she now?"

Daisy looked around. "Why isn't she with us? I thought she stayed here."

Peach gasped. "No! She went to find Toad! He wasn't with her, so she wanted to make sure he was okay while we held off Kammy!"

Mario had a sickening feeling in his gut, and it looked like Luigi had that same feeling. Peach and Daisy looked worried, themselves. They ran off through the hall. They came upon the mushroom children, but Toad was trapped under the stones of a blasted wall, pinned and looking rather green. Toadette was crying over him.

Mario knelt down next to them, and Toadette looked up. "Would it be too much to ask…" she gasped through her sobs.

"Sh…" Mario held a hand up and took Toad's pulse. He was alive, thank goodness. "He's gonna be okay, Toadette. Don't you worry one bit."

She smiled through her tears. As Mario started to free him from the stones with the help of the others, he couldn't help but realize how well Toad and Toadette's sibling relationship reflected his and Luigi's. They would do anything for each other. The elder was protective of the younger. The younger worried about the elder. They both had hearts of gold, willing to help anyone at a moment's notice. You didn't have to be a superhero to be a hero.

Toad was soon on the bed where Mario had treated Luigi's arm that same day. He worked quickly and soon Toad looked more like himself. "His legs will need time to heal. And he just needs a little rest after all that."

Toadette nodded. Mario stood and turned toward the others, who looked at him like he had just sprouted another stache.

"What?"

Luigi looked like it was hard for him to breath. Daisy looked on the verge of anger. Peach, on the verge of disappointment. Toadette gulped beside him. That's when he knew. They knew. They knew everything.

Luigi backed up, leaving the room before Mario could stop him. He tried to advance to the door, but the minute he crossed Daisy's path, she slapped him. "I can't believe you!" her voice trembled.

Mario rubbed his stinging cheek, "There's so much more to it."

"You better wish to every Luma in the sky you can make up a good enough excuse."

"It's not an excuse. I'm at fault for it, I know. I listened to that witch with barely a second thought more than just a glimmer of hopefulness, and she tricked me in the end." He paused. "I'm terrible."

"Did you really believe all of that? Everything you asked us? Everything you said to Luigi?"

Mario couldn't lie, but he also knew now that he was wrong. He wanted more than anything for it to have been his secret, something they would never find out. But secrets always come out in the end. "Not now. Not after realizing what I almost lost. Not after hearing everything you said about me… seeing how all of you, even you, Daisy, mourned for me. I hate myself for it. But I can't change my mistakes. I can just make up for them."

"Of course Luigi will forgive you." She shook her head. "But know that I never will."

Mario sighed. "Daisy, I'm sorry." She turned her back to him. He looked at Peach. "I'm sorry. I was doubtful when I should have known better."

Peach lowered her head.

.

Mario felt like kicking a dozen koopa shells. He hated himself so much at that moment.

"You hate me, don't you?" a sad, soft voice.

He reeled around to see his brother, still clutching that injured arm.

"As I got older I felt more and more like I was a burden… I was, wasn't I?"

"Luigi," Mario didn't know whether he should feel relieved that his brother was talking to him, or further guilty that he was so good to do so. "That's just not true."

"Do you really think we use you?"

"Luigi." Mario put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "You were never a burden. You were a blessing." Luigi looked up at him sadly, his eyes wet and shining. "You knew something about me that I didn't even know myself. You were always able to read me. You were always the best brother a guy could ask for." He looked Luigi straight in the eyes. "The last thing I ever want to do is hurt you."

Luigi's eyes were sad. It broke Mario's heart, but he held his gaze. Soon, they sparkled, but not with oncoming tears. "Mario… I…"

"I have my whole life ahead of me to make it up to everyone. Everything I failed to do… Everything I messed up. They may never forgive me, but I'll—"

Luigi pulled him into a hug. "I love you, bro."

Mario returned the hug and realized that he, himself, was crying.

Luigi let go of him, and he felt Peach's hand on his shoulder. "Daisy tends to exaggerate," she half-smiled, gesturing over her shoulder at the other princess. She was standing with her head down. "We've come to realize one important thing."

"What's that?"

"You fought back," Peach said simply. And she continued, "You didn't leave us forever. You could have stayed in that new life, but you always found your way back. You cared about us… even when you didn't think we cared about you. Doesn't that tell us something?"

Mario swallowed. "I never noticed, even as I did it… But yeah… You're right. I wanted to make sure you were all alright." He turned to Luigi. "When I realized what I knew about your arm… I wanted to make sure you healed properly. I wanted to come back to my old life, and I didn't even know it!" He smiled through his own tears.

"And you trusted me to help you," Daisy added. "You told me you were alive and let me play my part."

"Perfectly, I should add."

Daisy grinned again. Then, for the first time since he met her, she gave him a hug. There was nothing like a Daisy hug. And for the first time, Mario truly felt like her friend. "Try not to die again, okay, doctor?"

"That's the plan."

.

If Mario knew one thing through all his adventures, it's that he always came back happy. As hard as any of his journeys were, as annoyed as he may have been in the back of his mind to have to go, he realized that he was always happy at his homecoming. Why? Because he was surrounded by his friends and family. He had saved their lives. And true, they loved him for it. But they also loved him because he was Mario.

Needless to say, he had a few things to explain to Pauline. He wondered if she'd believe it was him the whole time. He never knew. She was too upset that her boyfriend was breaking up with her, again, to be worried about whether he was the same man as her last ex. Mario realized what he knew before. Pauline was only interested in him for her own sake. He decided someone else would have to give her the fat purse. He would be glad if he never saw her again.

Bowser wasn't surprised that Mario was alive, in the end. He said of course he was, and didn't really react much more than that. But Mario knew he cared. As much as Bowser "hated" it, they were friends. "Think of it more like frenemies," Bowser corrected. That was a start.

Daisy and he certainly got along a lot better. She still was protective over Luigi, but Mario had given her fewer opportunities to hate him, if any. She was kinda like his right hand woman when he needed some tough company. She even outranked Bowser as his go-to tough guy.

As for Peach, he realized, almost too late, how he didn't need to pretend with her. She loved him despite his mistakes, and he knew there were several. She never judged him for his needs, and she was supportive of his baby brother. That was something he never had with Pauline.

As for Luigi, he and Mario were best bros, just like always. And each of them made sure the other knew how much he meant to him. As far as Mario was concerned, he was never going to let Luigi fret or feel ignored ever again. He even just about pounded Luigi's name into Toadsworth's memory… or at least threatened to.

Mario could never doubt anyone ever again. And he was never tempted to. After all, the Mushroom Kingdom was safe since Kammy's final defeat. In the end, he supposed he got that wish she promised him for being right. Peace. What greater wish was there? As far as he was concerned, it was time for them all to relax and enjoy each other's company in peace. Because that's why he saved the world in the first place.