Chapter 2: Celebration

The Mushroom Kingdom lit the night sky with a sea of lights and fireworks. Hundreds of toads raced from one stand after another with popcorn, cotton candy, and other sweets while others gazed at the display of colorful lights above them.

"Ooooh! Ahhhhh!" One firework exploded into the shape of a green mushroom, then another into a red fire flower, and finally a brown leaf. Luigi walked with Mario and passed a few carnival games. First, a duck hunt stand, then a chimp climbing flip machine, and a soda shake-up.

"Aww, Luigi, let's try one!" Mario pulled Luigi to one of the stands, where a mustached toad spun two pop guns around.

"Step right up to the Boo Shooting Gallery! Everyone wants to shoot a Boo!"

"Ehh, ghosts!" Luigi yelped when he saw the pink specters appear with their tongues hanging out.

"We'll have a go!" Mario tossed a gold coin into the toad's little hands, and he returned the favor with his cap guns.

"And go!" Before they knew it, the pink boos came at them.

"Yaah!" Luigi closed his eyes and shot. To Mario's surprise, his little brother hit the Boo dead center and earned max points.

"Woah, Luigi." Another Boo came out, but Luigi shot them one after the other and soon took Mario's. The toad running the stand felt his mouth drop to the ground when he watched Luigi's score reach the triple digits. Before he knew it, Luigi found himself laughing as Mario handed him his gun, and the taller plumber shot every Boo in sight.

"Woah! Check it out!" A vast crowd of excited toads surrounded Luigi and gazed in wonder until he shot the last Boo.

"That's a new record!" The stand owner fell backward while Luigi's crowd cheered.

"Luigi, you can shoot Boos!" Mario smacked his brother's back, and Luigi trembled when he saw what he did.

"Yeah, I guess I can."

"Here you are!" The toad placed a giant stuffed Yoshi into Luigi's hands, almost making him fall over. He struggled to keep it upright as they continued toward the city center.

"Man, the toads really know how to throw a party." Mario laughed as he saw a few dancing in the streets.

"Yeah." Luigi grunted as he struggled to keep the enormous plushie upright. "So Mario, you and Peach are gonna, well."

"Who knows? We'll see where tonight goes. I mean, she's beautiful, smart, witty, strong, and uh, well."

"Perfect." Luigi finished and made Mario turn a little scarlet.

"I guess you could say that. But I'm just gonna do my best."

"Mario, it's gonna be fine. You're the greatest there ever was." Luigi huffed and grunted under the Yoshi's strain.

"Here, let me help you." Mario took the Yoshi from Luigi moments before a familiar voice overtook the music.

"Out of the way! Princess Peach is coming through!" Toad now wore a black suit and shades as he waved his frying pan around. Peach came up behind him and shook her head with a playful smile.

"Mario, been busy at the game stands, I see?" She chuckled when her eyes lingered on the giant Yoshi.

"Actually, Luigi won this. You should have seen him at the Boo shooting gallery."

"Oh, Mario, you should have just ran with it!" Toad scolded Mario before Peach patted his head.

"I admire your honesty, Mario. So you're a Boo exterminator now, Luigi?"

"Uhh? I guess." Luigi stroked the back of his head with a nervous grin.

"Princess! Dance with us!" a toadette tugged on Peach's arm toward the dance floor as other toads soon joined in.

"Mario, Luigi, feel like dancing?"

"Well, I've never been much of a dancer, but what the heck." Mario was being modest, of course. Luigi remembered him dancing just fine at their high school dances. However, his stomach hardened as Luigi recalled how he never got a date for any dances.

"Come on, Luigi." Mario and Peach pulled Luigi onto the dancefloor. The festive music flowed through them both as they moved with the rhythm.

"Let's-a go!" Mario laughed as he jumped with his fist in the air, landed on his hands, then flipped himself back upright.

"Hmp, not bad. But can you do this!" Peach likewise flipped herself up with an acrobatic spin and floated down with her dress as a parachute. Toads and toadettes cheered them on while Luigi stumbled about as he tried to dance, only to almost trip up more than once.

"That's it, Luigi! Dance!" Toad laughed as he joined in and spun himself on his big head. Despite his nervousness, Luigi soon smiled again and joined in with the others. A rush of excitement overtook him and Toad when they saw Mario and Peach strategically move closer to each other. However, every time the two almost joined, a toad or toadette got in the way or pulled one of them away to dance with them.

"Awww, come on." Luigi groaned.

"Don't worry. I've got this." Toad whipped out an iPhone, a courtesy gift from Mario and Luigi. He made his way to the DJ and pushed him aside. "Take a break." Toad plugged his phone in and scrolled to the song. "Take it from here, Mario."

Everyone on the dance floor stopped as Forever by Chris Brown started and changed the entire atmosphere. A sharp look from Toad sent the toads and toadettes a clear message, and they cleared the way. Now unincumbered, Mario took a deep breath and guided his dance toward Peach. The Princess took notice and soon did the same until their hands met.

"Ok, hero, show me what you've got."

"Here we go!" Mario surprised Peach with his dance moves, though in a way that made her giggle. Luigi soon chuckled with Toad when they saw Mario jump into the air with Peach a few times, spin, and sweep her off her feet. This finisher made the Princess's face go a little scarlet, but her confident smile remained.

"Oh, Mario." Luigi savored his brother's success, but a cold emptiness soon overcame the green plumber when he looked around and saw he now stood alone. The realization of what would happen turned his stomach to stone. Mario and Peach would get closer and closer while he remained behind. "You go, Mario." Luigi sighed and walked away.

He soon found himself in the mushroom forests outside the city. Despite his solitude, Luigi had a perfect view of the celebrations but remained distant from them. Mario's assurance that he, too, was a hero echoed in his mind but did not reach Luigi's heart. He imagined Peach and Mario starting a new life together without him.

"The Mario Brothers. For how much longer." Just as Luigi lowered his head, he heard another voice scream from behind him. "Huh?" Luigi looked around until he realized it came from a green warp pipe behind him, the one that led back to Brooklyn.

"Ahhh!" A flash of yellow overtook Luigi's sight, and before he knew what had happened, someone flew out of the pipe and slammed him into the ground.

"Ooof! Mamma mia, what was that-" Luigi's heart raced, and words froze in his lungs when he saw the most beautiful woman in the world raise her dazed face over his.

"Ohhh, what happened?" She moaned and rubbed her head. After a few breathless moments, she looked down and saw a scarlet Luigi below her. "Huh?"

"Uhhh, hi." Luigi muttered before she scrambled to her feet.

"Ahhh! Who are you!? Where am I?!"

"Woah, calm down! You're in the Mushroom Kingdom, and I, hold on. Woah! It's you!? Soccer Princess Daisy!" Luigi almost jumped out of his skin, and a swarm of butterflies flew in his stomach.

"Mushroom Kingdom!? I was just, hold on, I've seen you before! Yeah, you're one of those two plumbers who beat the turtle monsters in Brooklyn a year ago!"

"Yes! Yes, that's exactly who I am!" Luigi's held his hands together in an overwhelming sense of delight and excitement.

"What was your name? Mario! You're Mario!" Daisy watched Luigi deflate like a balloon and almost double over.

"Luigi, Mario's my brother." Luigi groaned before he and Diasy heard the noise of something moving in the pipe behind her.

"Ahhh! That's right! There are dinosaurs after me!" She screamed and hid behind Luigi, who quivered before the pipe.

"Wait a minute, dinosaurs?"

"Yoshi!" Luigi stood up straighter when he saw not one but four Yoshis shoot out and land around them. "Woah!"

"Ohh, it's ok, Daisy, those are just Yoshis completely-" Luigi yelped when the blue Yoshi knocked him onto his back and licked him like a dog. "Harmless." Despite what he said, Daisy hyperventilated as she watched the green, red, and yellow Yoshis look around.

"Uhhh, nice Yoshi." She stuttered as the yellow one looked right at her.

"Woah!" It shot its massive tongue out toward Daisy, who screamed only to see the round end ensnare not her, but a massive yellow caterpillar with a flower on its head behind her. Yet the athlete still trembled when she saw the yellow Yoshi swallow it in one gulp. "Yoshi!"

"Ok, big guy, come on, let me up." Luigi struggled to his feet while the blue Yoshi kept licking and nuzzling him. However, after a moment, the Green Yoshi pointed at more potential food in the distance and led the others after it.

"Ahhh, what if they come back!?" Daisy stuttered as she hid behind Luigi again.

"Don't worry. If you want to get back to Brooklyn, just head back through the pipe-" Luigi yelped and turned bright red when Daisy wrapped her arms around him.

"No! I'm not going through that pipe again!" She trembled and did not feel Luigi shake even more.

"Ok! Ok! What if I took you to the Mushroom Kingdom? There are two other humans there."

"Humans! Humans are good! Please, take me!"

"Right this way!"

Author's note

Daisy has arrived! And yes, this story will be a romance between our heros! As for Daisy's voice, I imagine her with Olivia Hack's voice acting, aka Ty Lee from Avatar the Last Airbender.

So until next time,

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