A/N: Numbers indicated in bold and italics with parentheses are just some extra details I wanted to explain or reference. They will be found at the bottom of the page. They'll also be separate from other chapters of the story. Ex.- (1)
*NOTE: This chapter has been re-edited for dialogue reconstruction and grammar mistakes.
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights or the characters of Mario and Sonic. They belong to Nintendo and Sega, respectively.
Chapter 1: Early Celebration
Location: Mushroom Kingdom
It was a peaceful morning in the Mushroom Kingdom. Birds were chirping, a small breeze was blowing through the trees, delicious mushrooms and beautiful flowers were growing in the vast fields, and several citizens began to work early maintaining the castle grounds and picking up crops or bouquets. There was a beautiful sunrise that started to peak over the mountainside in the early summer hours.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The continuous, annoying sound blared for a good thirty seconds before the mustachioed man sluggishly turned on his side and reached over to his bedside dresser to shut off his alarm clock. Still drowsy, he scratched his head and looked up to see the time. 8:30 a.m. He started to yawn as he lazily got out of his bed and rubbed his eyes to get rid of the rheum that developed in his slumber.
The man was wearing a green tank top and white gym shorts as his night apparel, unlike his usual white and green striped pajamas since it was hot out yesterday, alongside the fact he went running to burn off some calories from the all-you-can-eat pasta special he ate two days ago. However, he did feel relaxed that he slept in, even though he's more of a morning guy.
He walked over to his drawer to grab a fresh set of his normal everyday clothes: a long-sleeved green shirt, two white gloves, a set of white socks, a clean pair of briefs, and dark blue overalls with two yellow buttons. He took a green towel and headed to the bathroom to take a nice, relaxing shower. He set his clothes down on the closed toilet seat and turned the shower handle.
As he waited for the water to warm up, he proceeded to take off his sportswear and throw them in the hamper. When the water got warm, he got in and cleansed his body and brown hair with his green apple scented soap and shampoo, whistling the Super Mario Bros. theme. Once he finished rinsing, he turned the shower off, opened the glass door, and reached for his towel to dry off. He covered his lower half as he stepped out and proceeded to the sink. He combed his hair down to its usual appearance and brushed his teeth.
After feeling refreshed and clean, the man threw the towel in the hamper and began to put on his attire. He started with the briefs, then his green shirt, followed by the blue overalls, his gloves, and lastly his socks. He exited the bathroom and walked over to the bedroom mirror where his brown shoes were. To his right was a rack with a green hat. It featured a white patch with a green 'L' on the front. After putting on his footwear, he grabbed the cap and placed it firmly on his head. He looked at himself, plucking his thick mustache under his nose and smiled proudly.
"Ah, I feel like a new Luigi now!" he thought excitedly.
It was 8:45 by the time Luigi walked downstairs into the kitchen. As he entered, he noticed his older brother was making pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon. His brother was wearing similar clothing, only with a red shirt, a red cap with an 'M' on it, and blue overalls that aren't as dark as his. He, too, had a bushy mustache under his big nose.
The man in red turned around and stopped what he was doing to greet his brother. "Good morning, Luigi! Happy birthday!" (1)
"Morning, Mario! Thanks for remembering, bro!" he said as they exchanged a hug with each other. After the embrace, Mario went back to the oven. "So whatcha doing?"
"I'm making a celebratory breakfast for you! I hope you're hungry!"
"I sure am. But after eating, I'm probably gonna have to start running again. You know how bad I felt after eating all that pasta Wednesday night."
"Don't kid yourself, Luigi! It's your birthday! Eat as much as you want. We usually burn off those calories running in our adventures. And who knows, maybe we'll have another one pretty soon!"
"Ugh, don't get me started on that."
As much as Luigi likes to run, jump, and perform parkour, he doesn't like it when he's running into trouble. Truth be told, Luigi was neither ambitious nor courageous as his older brother when it comes to dangerous explorations. Most of the time, Luigi would sit back and take care of the house while Mario would go out to the kingdom or, in most cases, travel and trek through multiple worlds to rescue Princess Peach, the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, from the evil clutches of King Bowser, the leader of his group known as the Koopa Clan.
If Luigi was dragged into an adventure, he accompanied Mario and had to face any dangers that they come across. Known to be timid and scared of almost anything, especially ghosts, he usually feared for the worst. He continued to have bad memories of all the ghosts taunting him in his mansion adventure when he had to save his older bro from King Boo.
Aside from being terrified, he gets jealous of the fact that he's not as strong or brave as Mario (or when he doesn't get invited on vacations or adventures, when he feels like it). But during the times when he exhibited bravery, he gets left behind in the shadows as he received little to no attention while the main hero receives unlimited praise from the Mushroom community. Almost everyone, including himself, had considered him as a clumsy sidekick, or an unlikely hero throughout his life. His feelings can get hurt from this sometimes, but he doesn't take in the belittlement too seriously as he's generally a kind-hearted person. On occasion, he does earn appreciation from both his brother and the princess for his attempts.
Mario finished preparing Luigi's birthday breakfast and he placed the plate in front of his brother who was sitting at the dining table.
"Thanks, Mario," he said as he began to take a bite of scrambled eggs. "Mmm… So fluffy and scrumptious!"
"Glad to see you love it," chuckled Mario. "We got a big day ahead of us."
"Really? Why is that, bro?" asked Luigi as he continued eating.
"That's because we're expecting some visitors arriving in the kingdom. Sonic and his friends from Mobius are planning to visit to celebrate your special day!"
"Really?! That's awesome!" beamed Luigi. Ever since Mario and Sonic joined the Summer Olympics in Beijing, they have converted from franchise rivals into great pals. They each had strong relationships with each other's friends, as well. "It's been since the Rio Olympics since we've seen the guys."
"Yeah, those times in Rio were pretty good, and competitive, too. Remember how Sonic would always tear up the track with his speed?" Luigi nodded as he poured some syrup onto his pancakes. "Now that I think about it, if you decide to run, maybe you can ask him to join. I'm sure he won't mind exercising," Mario joked as he gave his brother on a nudge to the shoulder.
"As long as he doesn't take it as a competition, I'm fine with that. As much as I admire his speed, he'd finish a 5K run in just a matter of seconds and I would've run just ten feet!" exclaimed Luigi as Mario laughed at his joke. "By the way, aren't you gonna eat breakfast?"
The red plumber shook his head. "I already had some cereal. I decided to wake up early to cook this for you."
"Well I appreciate it, bro." thanked Luigi as he ate a strip of bacon.
"No problem, Luigi! After you're done, we-" Mario got interrupted by the telephone, ringing a familiar tone from Super Mario World from the living room. (2) "Oh, I bet I know who that could be! I'll go answer it."
As Mario rushed out of the kitchen, Luigi got up from the table to get some orange juice from the fridge.
He got to the lounge and managed to pick up the phone in time. "Hello?"
On the other side of the line was none other than the Blue Blur himself. "Hey, Mario! How's it going, buddy?" he greeted with a big grin on his muzzle.
"Oh, hello Sonic!" Mario replied. "I'm doing well, thanks. Good to hear from you again!"
"Right back at ya! Listen, Tails is calling the rest of the gang that it's Luigi's birthday today. Once he's done, we're gonna meet up with everyone and head to your world afterwards."
"That's perfect! We'll meet you outside of Peach's Castle."
"Sounds good. We should probably arrive in about fifteen minutes."
"With your speed, you'd be here in a matter of seconds!" Sonic couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's joke. "Anyways, we should be heading out soon as well. Say 'hi' to Tails and the others for me."
"I will, Mario. And tell Luigi that I wish him a happy birthday!"
"Okey-dokey, Sonic! I'll see you soon!"
"Later, Mario!" Both hung up the phone afterwards. Mario went back to the kitchen to see Luigi who just finished his breakfast.
"So who was that, Mario?" Luigi asked as he started washing his plate.
"That was Sonic. He said that he and Tails will gather up their friends and meet up with us outside of the castle. He also wished you a happy birthday."
Luigi expressed a big smile on his face. "How nice of him! Thanks again for the meal. I'm almost done cleaning, and then we can go."
After placing the dishes in the drying rack, Luigi followed Mario out the door and locked it up with the keys. The two brothers walked over and entered the green pipe on their front lawn as they made their way to Toad Town.
It was only the beginning to Luigi's big day. However, anything could happen during an eventful time like this.
END OF CHAPTER
Just starting off short and simple with the Mario Bros. and an appearance with the Blue Blur. The next chapter will focus on just the Sonic characters as we find out what they're doing in Mobius.
Thanks for reading the first chapter of Hidden Bravery! Please follow and favorite the story to catch up on the plot! And please write a review so I can get some feedback!
Post-Chapter Notes:
(1): I decided that Luigi's birthday would take place in the summer, specifically July 14th, since that was the release date of the original Mario Bros. video game.
(2): The ringtone is from Super Mario World, based off the theme when the brothers destroy the fortresses after beating the Koopalings. It's also one of the ringtones heard from Mario's Mailbox SP from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, one of my favorite games of all time.