Chapter 7 I'm My Brother

Mario stirred. Even with his eyes closed, he could tell that light was filtering in through the window, lighting up the dark room. Part of him wanted to groan; it was morning already? Why couldn't he have just a few more minutes in darkness? Why couldn't he spend just a few seconds more in this snuggly, comfortable bed?

At the same time though, he wasn't too upset at the fact that it was morning. The reason for this was because this presented him with a perfect opportunity to make up with Luigi. The argument they had last night had been aggravating, and sure, Mario had to admit that he was still upset about the things his brother had said. But after taking the time to sleep on it, his mood had simmered down to a calmer level, allowing him to look upon the argument with an objective lens. He realized that Luigi just had a rough day. He had been angry before Mario had opened his mouth, so therefore was entirely speaking from that perspective.

Mario got that. Sometimes, he said things he didn't mean when he was mad too. Things that he wished he hadn't said, things that he wanted to take back and things he wanted someone else to forget that he had said at all. He figured Luigi was feeling the exact same way. Therefore, Mario couldn't be mad at him TOO much.

So, what was one way that would tell Luigi that Mario was willing to make up with him? Well, Luigi always did appreciate when his brother cooked him breakfast. So, that's what he was going to do. Fry up some eggs, cook some bacon…he was going to give Luigi the best breakfast of his entire life.

With this thought in mind, Mario sat up in bed. That was when he noticed something strange: he was in Luigi's room.

Uh, why was he in Luigi's room? This was just so…random. And weird; super weird. Did….did Luigi decide to pull a prank on him? If so, why would be choose such a bizarre premise for a prank? REAL pranks involved pies in the face, shock buzzers, and water squirting flowers. Not…switching rooms for no apparent reason.

Ah well. The more time Mario spent thinking about that, the less time he would get to make breakfast. So, pushing all the bizarre, confusing questions and emotions to the side, Mario got up.

Luigi yawned. It was morning already. Good; he had a date with Princess Daisy that he was immensely looking forward to. Sure, he also had getting the humongous boohemoth out of his mansion to deal with; a fact that made him extremely scared. But still, at least he would be able to put the bad things and feelings yesterday brought him behind him. Princess Daisy was much more pleasant than any argument with Mario.

Luigi opened his eyes. When he did, he blinked. He blinked once, twice. He rubbed his eyes, trying to figure out why he wasn't in his room, but rather, his brother's. Seriously, what was happening? This was so strange; how did he end up here? Did he sleep walk into the room? That would make some sense, but the fact that Mario himself was absent set off alarm bells in Luigi's head.

At least, until the smells from the kitchen wafted into the room. They actually put a smile on Luigi's face; fried eggs and bacon. The great combination to end all great combinations. Mario must have decided to make breakfast two days in a row; something that he very rarely if ever did. This was probably due to the fight they had last night.

Oh yeah, the fight. Luigi shook his head as he got out of Mario's bed. He admittedly did feel a little bad about some of the things he said, but he also felt mad at some of the things Mario said. The same thoughts that had circled around in his head the night before returned.

At least, for a little bit. With the scent of juicy bacon wafting into his nose, he figured that Mario must feel bad. And really, if he felt bad enough to make breakfast two days in a row, then Luigi didn't have any reason to be mad at him. So, with one last big yawn and stretch, he made his way into the hallway.

The scent of bacon grew stronger as Luigi made his way down the hallway. He felt like he could float after it like some sort of silly cartoon character. The aroma made him smile the closer he got to it. By the time he got to the kitchen, he felt as if he had found his one and only true love.

That is, until he saw who was leaning over the stove. When he did, all the positive emotions he felt were replaced by strong, gut wrenching fear. He gawked, unable to move a muscle, unable to make a single solitary sound. The only thing he could do was think about one, terrifying question.

Why did the person over the stove look exactly like HIM?!

The person (again, the person who looked who looked like HIM) must have noticed his presence, because they sniffed. "Honestly bro," he said with LUIGI'S voice. "I have no idea how you got me into your room.." he turned around with the pan in hand. "But I know for a fact you're going to enjoy…"

Luigi's doppelganger stopped the second their eyes met. His jaw dropped, his eyes grew big and wide. He dropped the pan on the floor, causing a deafening PANG to carry throughout the house. Neither Luigi nor his double moved.

That was, until the double screamed. "AHHHHHHH!"

Luigi joined right in with the screaming. "AHHHHHH!" The two of them screamed like they had just witnessed a decapitation. Cold goosebumps grew all over Luigi's arms. His heart rate QUADRUPLED. How was this possible? Who was behind this? Who was his double?

By the time they both finished screaming, Luigi backed up into the wall, trembling like he never trembled before. Even the colossal boohemoth from yesterday didn't hold a candle to how much fear the sight of his doppleganger did.

"W…w…." He shook. "What are you?"

The double hyperventilated, not daring to take his eyes off Luigi. "What am I? What are you?" He pointed a shaking finger. "Why do you look like me?"

Luigi sharply exhaled. "You're one to talk bud; your face looks extremely familiar to me!"

The double shook his head. "What…what do you mean?" His voice shook like a leaf in the wind. "I'M Super Mario! You have no right to come into my house and steal my appearance and…" he hyperventilated. "Oh Mama Mia, what is going on?" He nearly collapsed onto the floor, in a way not too dissimilar to how the pan he was cooking with did.

Luigi, meanwhile, was reeling. This double…no, it couldn't be true. They hadn't meant what they had said before. And yet…with how they had made breakfast…and the name they addressed themself as…

Luigi gasped. "Mario? Is that you?"

Mario looked up. "You…you know me?"

Luigi gawked. "Of course I do! Bro, it's me; Luigi!"

Mario's pupils shrunk, and he nearly screamed a second time. "LUIGI?" He shook his head. "No. No no no; that's impossible!" He stood back up. "Luigi, you're…you're…you're ME!"

Luigi's heart stopped. "I'm…" Without another word, he turned on his heel and made his way into the hallway; desperate to get to the mirror. Mario followed after him, keeping a good enough distance away. When they both got to the mirror, they both looked into it and gasped.

"No way!" Luigi exclaimed. He touched his face. Or, to be more accurate, Mario's face. "This…this….this is…" He looked into Mario's eyes, his heart rate pumped up to eleven. "Mario…you and I…"

"Yeah." Mario stared at his reflection. "I…can't believe it!" He looked back at his brother. "Luigi…you and I…"

Luigi started crying. This wasn't true! He didn't want it to be true! And yet, here he was. He wanted to break down crying and curl up into a little ball; hide himself in a way where he would never see the light of day again.

"We switched bodies." Those three words came out quiet and stuttery, even more so than Luigi was accustomed to . He put his hands to his new face, feeling every last detail. The mustache, the nose, the cheeks. "We…WE SWITCHED BODIES!" He looked at Mario. "You're me and…and I'm you!"

"I know!" Mario looked into the mirror as well, taking in his brother's features in the same way Luigi had done mere seconds ago. "Oh, sweet Grambi and all of his Nimbis, this is terrible!" Mario began hyperventilating again. He paced back and forth, trying to get his breathing under control as he asked all of the obvious questions. "How could this happen? Did Bowser do this? Is this just some sick prank to try and get to us?" He trembled. "HOW? How could this happen! I'm supposed to be Super Mario, the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom! Not…Luigi!"

That statement drew anger out of Luigi, reminding him once again about the argument they had the night before. However, those memories also reminded him about another detail from the night before. A small detail, a miniscule detail. And yet, it was a detail that mattered profoundly; a detail that explained everything.

"Oh no." Luigi put his hands to his head. "This is bad, this is so bad!"

"I know!" Mario looked down at his new body, cringing like he was looking at something disgusting. "How in the Mushroom World am I supposed to rescue the Princess and save the Mushroom Kingdom like this?!"

"Hey!" Luigi exclaimed, glaring at his brother. "I'm just as capable as you, Mario!" He lowered his head. "And that's not what I was talking about. I think…" he took in a deep breath. "I think I know how this happened."

Mario blinked. "Wait, what?" He took a step closer. "Luigi, did you…" he shook his head. "Luigi, don't tell me that you are the one responsible for this!"

"Well…" Luigi's heart continued to sink. "I…I think I am…" Mario simultaneously looked shocked and angry. Despite that, Luigi still explained what happened. "You see, I was really mad about our argument last night. I felt like you didn't think that highly of me. So, I…" he took in a breath. "So, when I saw a shooting star outside my window…I…may have made a wish for…for you to be me?"

Mario blinked, his jaw dropped. "You…you…" his eyebrows scrunched up. "You did what?"

"I'm sorry!" Luigi said, holding up his hands in a defensive manner. "I'm sorry; I'm so sorry! I…I didn't think that it would come true! And I especially didn't think it would switch our bodies!"

Now Mario looked angry. "How else do you think it would have come true!" He yelled. "If I become you, that means that you would have to become me! It only make sense!"

Luigi sniffled. "I…I guess I didn't think about that…"

Mario groaned and put his head in his hands. "Luigi!" He paced around. 'Luigi, Luigi, Luigi…!" He looked into his brother's eyes. Or rather, his own eyes. "Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

"I'm sorry!" Luigi said. Tears started to fall from his eyes. "I'm sorry, Mario! I didn't…I didn't want…" He burst into tears. "I didn't want this! I promise you I didn't!" He wailed like a baby.

This sight actually caused Mario to soften up a little bit. "Oh, Weegee." He went up and put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Don't cry, fratellino. Don't cry." He hugged him. "It's gonna be alright…" He sighed. "Some...somehow."

This display of affection helped Luigi to calm down a little. Even in the midst of a terrible situation, Mario was not above comforting his brother. Even if being hugged by someone who was in his body was…uncomfortable, to say the least.

"How…how…" Luigi wiped his nose and looked up at his brother. "There's…there's got to be a way to reverse this? Right, Mario?"

Mario looked unsure. "I…I hope so." He put his hand to his chin. "I mean, you said that the way you caused this was by wishing on a shooting star…" a small smile grew on his face. "So, naturally, I think the way to switch us back is to make another wish!"

Luigi perked up. "Hey, yeah! That's perfect!" His face fell. "But…that means we would have to wait for the night…"

"True," Mario said as his face fell. Just a soon as it fell though, it rose back up. "But that's okay! All that means is we just have to get through this one day!"

Luigi raised an eyebrow. "Get through this one day as each other? How in the Mushroom World are we going to do that?"

"One step at a time!" Mario smiled as he patted Luigi on the back. "And the first step we need to take is getting dressed!"

Luigi stiffened up. "Getting…getting dressed?"

"Do you know a better way to start the day?" Mario asked. "Come on; it's not going to be that difficult." He made his way toward the stairs.

Luigi, meanwhile, stood there cringing. Getting dressed. That was bound to be REALLY awkward. And yet, it was also, unfortunately, required and inevitable. Oh no. Oh no no no no no.

"Weegee, come on!" Mario called out.

Luigi sighed. "Okay, Mario." He began walking. "Just don't expect me to have my eyes open while I'm getting dressed."