"Unnn…" Luigi groaned as he sat up, his head pounding.
"Oh! He's awake!" A voice shouted to his left. Luigi turned and barely saw a figure run out a door before he found himself alone in an empty room. Rubbing his eyes, he found himself on a small bed, his clothes badly torn.
"What happened? Where am I?" The plumber mumbled aloud as he pulled the covers off and stood up, his legs wobbling. Luigi stumbled forward, throwing out a hand to keep from slamming into a wall. Putting a hand to his forehead, he tried to catch his breath. His head wouldn't stop spinning, and he felt his stomach revolting against his movement. His breathing soon returned to normal however, and the pulsing in his head died down enough for Luigi to survey his surroundings.
The bed was really the only thing that looked normal. Curtains were shredded, dressers were overturned, lamps had shattered, and two of the walls looked like they had holes in them before as wooden crosses now barred people from going through them. Luigi checked to make sure he still had his hat and, after finding out it was still in good shape, turned towards the door where a gleaming weapon lay next to it.
Luigi's eyes widened as he recognized it as the weapon he had picked up in that strange field of blades. Picking it up, he found that the once grey, brittle weapon had gained color and looked quite sturdy. The 'Super Mushroom' handle, was colored green like a 1-Up Mushroom, and the length of the key gleamed stately silver, almost like a real sword. The key-chain was the only thing that stayed the same; its black cover with red lines almost seemed to pulse now that he was holding the weapon. Noticing the door next to him, Luigi opened it, weapon in hand.
He hadn't walked two steps outside the house before he dropped the weapon, his eyes wide in horror.
A war zone lay in front of him. Houses destroyed, fountains broken with water streaming on the ground, having made a river out of the town. Only a few houses were still standing, though they still had numerous holes through them. It looked like a hurricane had hit the town! Smoke erupted all around him, and not four feet ahead of him lay dozens of craters where smoke emanated from. Dark clouds hung over the town, and though he didn't want to believe it, he knew exactly where he was. He ran towards the building with the greatest amount of damage visible even from where he stood in the town.
Peach's Castle.
He ran up to the front gate, passing over the destroyed drawbridge that lay snapped in half, laying in the moat that surrounded the castle. The front doors were gone, and as he stepped into the empty castle, he found where they had gone. One lay on the ground with an imprinted fist on its front, while the other was stuck in the wall above the door to the second floor, an imprint similar to the other door on its front. A ray of light streamed into the middle of the room, and when Luigi turned to the giant hole that the light streamed through he couldn't resist the urge to swallow. He never thought he would see such a giant hole where the castle's library used to be.
Jumping up to it, he found books everywhere, bookshelves on the ground and traces of what looked like fires that had been put out recently. Walking around he found a pair of glasses on the ground. His heartbeat quickened at the thought of Toadburt, the castle's top librarian who would spend hours in the quiet room. He held onto the glasses, confused as to what in the world happened.
A bright red color caught his eye, and Luigi's heartbeat quickened.
"Mario?" Luigi jumped back into the foyer of the castle, running up the stairway to the second floor. Numerous pictures that had adorned the stairway were missing or torn, and Luigi was reminded of the time Bowser had invaded the castle, using its power stars to imprison Peach into the stained glass that was once outside. The residents of Toad Town, fearful of Peach being imprisoned again inside of the stained glass, changed the image to a simple Super Mushroom, which was now shattered.
Luigi reached the second floor, finding it much the same as the previous level. Smoke and holes plagued the floor, and Luigi wondered if it was going to give out. So carefully making his way across, he made his way to the back of the castle, to Peach's resting quarters. There was no other place that the two would have gone, and most likely it would be the only place in the entire castle where people could be. And so far, aside from the person he had heard when he woke up, he hadn't seen anyone else. He knew Toad Town, despite being a peaceful village, was full of happy, energetic and friendly Toadstools.
Yet none were to be found.
He stopped as he reached the bedroom, his breath caught in his throat. A red hat lay on the ground outside the door, numerous holes in it. He picked it up, staring at it for a few moments before slowly walking over to the broken door. He swallowed painfully before peering inside. Not hearing anything, Luigi fully opened the door, taking cautious steps as he looked around the room that perfectly described the word 'chaos'. Shredded curtains, broken picture frames, a closet full of burnt dresses...nothing seemed to imply someone was still here. Scorch marks were all over the room, indicating Mario had definitely fought something here. The greatest question for Luigi, however, was that there were no other fire marks, or even claw marks anywhere. No large indents or anything that would prove who else had fought here, as there was only one person Luigi could think of that would attack the town in such a manner.
"It wasn't Bowser…." Luigi concluded in horror. He had expected it to be the Koopa King, what with the two large clawed indents on the front doors. But the only marks in the room were Mario's; meaning whatever Mario had fought, not only had it beaten him soundlessly, it hadn't put up much of a fight in retaliation to his brother's fiery fighting style.
Luigi looked around the destroyed room one last time and a glitter caught his eye. Walking over to it, Luigi found it to be a glistening blue shard. The plumber stared at it closely, wondering what in the world it could be. It was tiny, about the size of a flash drive.
"Now you see the carnage…but what will you do about it? By boogity!" A voice suddenly spoke behind Luigi, causing the plumber to whip around, his right hand ablaze with a green fire. It was his quickest attack, but as Luigi spun around, his eyes widened and a smile formed on his face, the fire dying out.
"TOADBURT!" Luigi shouted, running over and picking up the small librarian.
"Woah! Easy there Luigi! I'm terrified of heights! By boogity!"
Luigi laughed, spinning around his friend. "'By Boogity' Hahaha! It really IS you!" He laughed before remembering something. "Oh!" Luigi put down the blue, spectacled Toad before handing him the pair of glasses he had picked up earlier. "Here, I think these are yours." Toadburt smiled.
"Thank you, by boogity! I had lost them during the attack, and had to use my spare." The Toad put the broken glasses into a spare case before pocketing it. Turning back to Luigi, he motioned for him to follow. Luigi found himself outside once more, looking at the carnage of Toad Town. "As you can see, the Town barely held up." Luigi frowned deeply. "But we're making out all right. Come on. I'll bring you to whose currently in charge." Walking back through town, Luigi began to notice some Toads. Looking at the clearing sky, he found it to be early morning.
'That would explain why I didn't see anyone. I was one of the first ones up this morning.' Luigi smirked before a frown settled back on his face. 'But, when me and Mario got here, I had just woken up. It looks like it's earlier than before. Man, this is so confusing...' Luigi put a hand to his forehead in the hopes of calming his pounding head.
Toadburt led Luigi to a small area where numerous tents were set up. He looked to his left to see a hastily made sign with a red cross on it, indicating it was a makeshift hospital. He had never seen so many tents lined up together. Pulling his eyes away, he found Toads already working on repairing important buildings, such as hospitals and grocery stores. He soon found himself in front of a large tent and, walking inside, found the person in charge.
"Merlon!" Luigi exclaimed pointing a finger towards the Star Reader. The blue-hooded man turned to his guests, hopping out from behind a makeshift desk and walking over to them.
"Ah! Luigi! Good to see you again. Though I wish it was on better conditions..." Luigi looked around the tent. Numerous Toads were writing things down, though everyone's eyes were now on Luigi. A few sleeping rolls had been made up, now stashed conveniently into the corners of the large tent.
"Merlon...what's going on? Last I remembered, some weird creatures attacked Toad Town, I was jumped on by a bunch of them, then..." Luigi hesitated on telling him of the dream of blades. "Then nothing..." Luigi said, keeping the blade dream a secret. Thinking of the blades reminded him of the one he had dropped when he had first seen Toad Town. He began looking around for it, not realizing he was doing so until Merlon patted his arm.
"Not now. First, you must eat."
"Eat? Now that you mention it, I never DID eat breakfast..." Luigi said putting a hand to his stomach, which immediately started rumbling loudly. Some of the Toads chuckled before one came up with a bowl of soup. Luigi thanked the Toad before sitting down and eating. Not a very good breakfast, but he'd take what he could get right now. Merlon went back to his desk before sitting back in his fold-able chair, sighing deeply.
"Luigi, there's something you should know first." Luigi looked up from his bowl of soup, slowly slurping in a spoonful of the hearty mushroom soup. "You've been unconscious for three days."
SPLOOOSH!
Luigi snapped his head towards Merlin, having spit out the spoonful of soup right onto Toadburt. He quickly apologized to the grumbling blue Toad before snapping his head back to Merlon.
"I WAS WHAT!?" He shouted. Now he was even MORE confused than before! Merlon nodded when a Toad suddenly ran in, holding something.
"MERLON! MERLON! IT'S LUIGI! HE'S FINALLY AWAKE! HE'S...finally...awake..." The Toad calmed down as he caught sight of Luigi before bursting out energetically once more. "LUIGI! YOU'RE AWAKE! YOU'RE FINALLY AWAKE!" He bounced around in joy.
"BENDS! KNOCK IT OFF!" Merlon shouted, causing the Toad to stop. He laughed nervously before tensing, seemingly remembering something.
"Oh! That's right! Here Luigi, this is yours! I found it outside of the house you were sleeping in after you went unconscious!" He handed him the 1-up mushroom blade before waving and running off. "I've got to tell everyone else!" Luigi blinked as he stared at the weapon. It pulsed in his hand, seemingly enjoying his touch. Merlon sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"That was Bends. And knowing him, he probably told half the town before he remembered to tell me." Toadburt began to chuckle, having cleaned off his glasses of Mushroom soup.
"He forgets what he's doing halfway through it, and probably went back to where you were unconscious before remembering to tell Merlon. Why, it's thanks to him that I found you in the castle, by boogity!" Merlon coughed, getting the twosome's attention.
"Despite his forgetfulness...Luigi." He turned to the plumber. "That weapon is what you were holding when we first found you." Luigi turned his attention back to the blade. "One witness says that he saw you get jumped on by those strange black creatures and, a few moments later, a bright light erupted from where you were attacked. He said that when he was able to see again, you were holding that weapon." Luigi lifted the blade up, curious as to what it was supposed to be.
"What is it? I've never seen anything like it. It's like a 1-up mushroom turned into a sword, thingy." Toadburt shrugged as Luigi continued to examine the weapon. "Now that I look at it, it seems more like a key..." Luigi held the weapon away from him, getting a better look at it.
'Come to think of it...I thought I heard those black things say something about a key-something...what was it again?' Luigi thought as his eyes narrowed in concentration.
Merlon shook his head. "The more pressing matter is that you are awake. Luigi, I have a favor to ask of you." The plumber turned to the Star Reader. "I had a vision last night, and knew you would be awakening soon. Now that this has come to pass, I will tell you what I saw." He took a deep breath, taking in the moment. Luigi, knowing how Merlon acted, took another spoonful of soup, since the last one had been shot all over Toadburt. "I had a vision that you would be waking, and when you woke, you went to Star Summit."
"Star Summit? Why there?" Luigi asked curiously. Merlon chastised him for talking in the middle of his vision. Rolling his eyes, Luigi took another slurp of soup.
"You went to Star Summit and began talking with the stars. I also saw you walking up to a strange door, but the vision fades from there..." He said sounding mysterious. He turned to see Luigi salting the soup. "DID YOU HEAR A WORD I SAID!?" The Star Reader shouted in rage, soup, salt and toads flying away from the force of his roar.
"Yeah, I heard you." Luigi sighed, wiping his brow with a handkerchief. "But do you have to sound so mysterious when you do that? It'd be much simpler if you just told me normally." He sighed, dusting off his shirt. Merlon began shouting at him, the tent bouncing around in excitement. Nearby Toads began laughing at the excited tent, the comical atmosphere soothing many a Toads' tension.
"Now," Merlon sighed, the tent a complete wreck. "You must go to Star Summit immediately."
"WHAT? But I didn't really eat much!" Luigi complained. "And I havn't eaten in three days!"
"TOO BAD! GET MOVING YOU LAZY BAG OF POTATOES!" Merlon shouted, punting Luigi out of the tent. Luigi grumbled as he massaged his sore behind when suddenly Merlon shouted again. "AND TAKE THIS WITH YOU!" Luigi turned around just in time to get smacked in the face by the weapon. Glaring at the tent, Luigi picked up the blade and began walking towards Star Summit.