Chapter 24 Emotional Roller Coaster
Luigi squirmed in his seat, hoping that the Princesses didn't notice it. They thankfully didn't, as they were focused on eating their lunch and talking to each other. Luigi wanted to join in on the conversation, but he didn't. Might be because he felt shy in this instance, might be because he didn't want to interrupt, might even be because he was too worried and too consumed in a negative thought pattern to even consider engaging in an uplifting conversation. Yeah, it was probably that last one.
Why hadn't Mario texted him back yet? It's been four hours; have they seriously gone this long finding the answers they sought? Well, to be fair, the Toad Town Library was huge, and the information they sought was hyper specific. But still, the fact that Luigi had heard absolutely nothing at all from his brother made him antsy and anxious. What if they couldn't find it? What if they searched the entire library, only to find that the answers they sought were unfindable? Oh…that would be bad. So very, very bad. That could potentially mean that the swap would become permanent!
"Mario?"
Luigi blinked. He looked over at Rosalina, giving him a furrowed brow. For a second, Luigi freaked out. Did Rose have the ability to read minds? Had she heard every last question plaguing him?
"Mario, are you okay?"
Luigi relaxed a little bit. She sounded sincere, not knowledgeable about what he had been thinking. That was a very faint silver lining in this whole horrid debacle.
"I…I'm fine." Luigi picked up his fork and took a bite of pasta (Peach had gone out of her way to have the chef's specifically make it, sighting that it was Mario's favorite dish. Nice thought, even though Luigi wasn't the biggest fan and wasn't too terribly hungry to begin with). He thought about what to add to the last statement, if there was a way to tell Peach and Rosalina that everything was going to turn out fine. He ultimately decided that there was nothing he could say; he was a terrible liar, so if he tried to assure the two of them, it wouldn't be convincing in the slightest.
Rosalina and Peach nodded. While the latter went right back to eating, the former kept her gaze locked on Luigi. She squinted at him, making Luigi worry even more as a result. Did this have anything to do with the "aura" that she mentioned earlier? Was she studying his, trying to find out why it was different from what she was used to? Oh, how long would it take for her to unveil the truth about the switch if that was the case?
"R…Rose…" Luigi swallowed a lump. "You seem…" he chuckled, trying his best to send humorous as opposed to terrified. "You can't take your eyes off of me. I didn't know that I was that much of a looker."
Rosalina did a double take. "Oh! Sorry, I was…" she sunk into her chair while flushing. "I apologize."
Peach giggled. "He does make a good point though." She smiled, the expression playful and teasing. "You're gonna have to compete with me over who gets to spend the most time with Mario, if you're that attracted to him."
Luigi almost squeaked. What? No! No, that wasn't a point he tried to make at all! It was a joke, entirely a joke…oh, this whole luncheon was turning into one enormous mess.
The space goddess seemed to agree, as she looked at Peach with an embarrassed look. "I wasn't ogling him." She faced Luigi. "No offense, Mario."
"N…none taken." Luigi picked at his pasta, wondering if the star bits that Rosalina had contributed as seasoning had been a good addition.
"Well, anyway." Peach pushed her chair back and stood up. "When you two finish, I have other things on the agenda that we can do." Her eyes sparkled as she beamed at the Lady of the Shooting Stars. "How does a mini Mario Kart race sound, Rose?"
"Ooh!" Rosalina rose out of her chair. "I am always down for that!" She looked back over at Luigi. "Does that sound good to you?" She giggled. "Beloved Hero?"
Unsure how he should take that compliment (or even if it was a compliment as opposed to a passive aggressive jab), Luigi just nodded. "I think that sounds fun."
"Great!" Peach clapped her hands together. "Then follow me out to the courtyard you too! We have a racetrack to set up!"
Luigi took a deep breath before getting out of his chair. Mario Kart did sound like a fun activity. Maybe, if he focused on driving the kart and drifting around the track, he would be able to distract himself from the questions nagging his mind.
Seriously, how much longer until he heard from Mario?
…
Mario swallowed a lump as he stood in line. The last thirty minutes or so had been a blur, a high speed blur that looked blue to the observant eye. Daisy, as high strung and full of energy as ever, had dragged him to an amusement park; Baby Park, to be more exact. While there, she had gotten him to do all sorts of things; eat the confections served, take pictures of the two of them together in front of the park attractions, and go on the rides. So far, Mario had been on the Flying Yoshi Egg Swings, Bowser Jr's Swinging Airship, and of course the Ferris Wheel. Now, as the final nail in the coffin, Daisy insisted that he join her on the roller coaster, which just so happened to be the most high speed, death defying ride not just in Baby Park, but the Mushroom Kingdom as a whole.
"Oh, this is going to be awesome!" Daisy said as the line inched forward a little bit. She looked down at the tickets, looking like she was about to make out with them or do something equally ridiculous to them. "I've been wanting to go on this coaster for years. LITERAL YEARS!" Mario put his hand to his ear, noticing that other people in the line flashing Sarasaland's Princess some dirty looks. Daisy just brushed those off with a giggle. "Are you excited Weegee?"
Hmm. Was Mario excited…an interesting question. In truth, he had never been on a roller coaster before. Even though he was the brave Super Mario, he could push fear to the side in order to face Bowser and save Peach, roller coasters…well, they freaked him out. They made 200cc Mario Kart races seem like a snail pace. What's more, they had all those loops and steep hills…sure, Mario had gone on anti-gravity Mario Kart tracks, but this was different. With anti gravity, you felt like you were in control, even when you were upside down. With roller coasters, you didn't have that. You were completely and totally at the mercy of the track, as well as the restraints on the seat that kept you from falling off the coaster and plummeting to your death.
So, was Mario excited? No. HELL no. Sure, was there a possibility that he would enjoy this, that all his preconceived notions regarding the attraction would be proven wrong? Of course. But still, Mario didn't want to take his chances. He trembled just looking at the coaster (although, to be fair, that might also be because of the boohemoth lick). He wanted to turn around and leave this ride in the dust. He didn't want to risk his heart exploding from all the adrenaline it was going to pump through his brother's veins.
Of course, Daisy wasn't about to let him do that, now was she?
"Um…I'm intrigued," Mario said. Hey, a half truth was better than a complete lie.
Daisy snorted. "Cool!" She grinned as the line got smaller. "I've always wanted to go on this coaster. I hear it'll make you wet your pants!"
Mario snorted. "Great, because me wetting Luigi's pants is going to be stellar," he muttered under his breath. Thankfully, he did it too soft for Daisy to notice.
Daisy smiled at him, the expression less playful and more loving than compared to before. "And I'm really glad I get to do this with you, Lou." She took his hand. "It's always nice to do things like this with someone you care about."
That made Mario sweat. Should he…you know what, screw it. He needed to tell Daisy who he really was. Not only would it get him out of going on this dreaded ride, but it would also help him get back to focusing on what was really important. After all, he had found the answer he and Luigi had been looking for, and they needed to tell Rosalina about Fortune's Comet before she left. Sure, would revealing the truth hurt Daisy? Maybe, but it was ultimately the right thing to do.
So, Mario took a deep breath. "Uh, listen Daisy, there's something I have to tell…"
Before he could finish his statement, Daisy squeed. "It's our turn!" She dragged Mario up the stairs. "Come on Weegee, this going to be great!"
Mario began freaking out. No! No no no! This wasn't right, he couldn't do this! He needed to tell Daisy about his true identity, and he needed to do it now!
Unfortunately, without even any input from him, the carnie dragged him toward the seat and strapped him in. Mario felt nauseous, for more reasons than one.
"Daisy, I don't think I should do this."
Daisy giggled. "Don't worry, Wegee. This ride will be fast; less than a minute, probably! You won't even have enough time to fall off!"
Oh, because that made Mario feel SO much better. He opened his mouth, ready to tell Daisy that this was a bad idea, that this wasn't a good thing and that he needed to get off the ride. Before he could, however, the ride moved forward.
"Oh no." Mario sweat bullets as the coaster made its way up the first hill. "No no no." He swallowed a lump, looking at the coaster's loops and hoping that they wouldn't be too unforgiving. He began to hyperventilate, watching the top of the hill get closer. Closer, closer, closer and…
"AAHHHH!"
…
Mario felt woozy getting out off the coaster. All the loops, all the hills, all the turns…oh, he was going to feel nauseous when he went to bed tonight. That…was way worse than rescuing Peach! He would gladly rescue Peach twenty times in a row, without any breaks before getting on that dreaded beast of an attraction again.
Daisy, however, didn't feel the same way. "Okay. That was awesome!" She grinned as she hopped out of the cart. "Definitely in the top ten best roller coasters of all time list."
Mario put his hand to his mouth, the vomit creeping up his throat. Combined with the fact that his throat hurt because of how much he had screamed on the coaster, he felt like his entire esophagus was going to fall out of his body.
"I…I…" he almost vomited. In fact, he got so close that the stuff almost dribbled onto his chin. Thankfully, a touch on the shoulder from Daisy helped him gather his bearings.
"What do you say you and I go for a walk, Weegee?"
Mario nodded. At least a walk wouldn't make him feel like his life was actively being put in mortal danger.
So, they walked around the park. They went at a slow, nice pace, one that allowed Mario to soak up the warmness of this beautiful spring day. Daisy looked happy, even though Mario knew she was a hater of all the slow kind of activities. As they walked around the fountain, the one that had a statue of Pink Gold Baby Peach (a scary concept if Mario had ever seen one), she kept her eyes on him. They glimmered like sapphires, admittedly making her look beautiful.
"I'm really glad you came with me, Luigi." She chuckled. "That coaster was always going to be fun, but riding it with you makes it a million times more special."
Mario swallowed a lump. "That's…good."
Suddenly, Daisy came to a stop. Mario looked her in the face, her pleased and exhilarated face. Her eyes stared deep into his. There was a…odd quality to them. Mario could describe it as…romantic.
Oh no. She's gonna kiss me! Mario tried pulling away. He opened his mouth, ready to tell Daisy that now wasn't the time for that. However, before he could…
Her lips locked with his. Mario could practically taste the adrenaline and love that filled her body. He nearly screamed. He only barely managed to pull away.
"Okay, okay, okay!" He looked right at Daisy, who looked confused. "Daisy, I'm afraid I can't kiss you!"
Now Daisy looked hurt on top of confused. "Why not?"
"Because…" Mario took a deep breath. "Because I'm not Luigi. I'm Mario."
