Once they got close to Toad Town, they saw three giant origami Goombas.
Mario groaned, "You've got to be kidding me…"
Luigi added, "A - and we haven't even seen Bowser yet."
Violet pointed out, "I suggest we try to sneak by those guys."
Olivia stated, "That's a good idea."
They kept moving, trying not to attract attention. When they got into Toad Town, they noticed how quiet and empty it was. Mario couldn't help but wonder what happened to the Koopa King.
Luigi turned to his brother, "You okay, Malleo?"
Mario admitted, "Yeah just getting the creeps, Weegie."
Luigi stated, "You seem…distracted."
Mario looked at him, "You could always look straight through me. I…couldn't even do that for you when…"
The red clad plumber stopped in mid sentence, trying not to cry. Luigi placed his hand on Mario's shoulder, gaining his attention.
Luigi stated, "Hey, you know I don't blame you for that."
Mario sniffled, "I - I know."
Luigi replied, "You're the best guy in the world. And the best part is, you are my brother, mi fratello."
Mario hugged his younger brother, holding him tightly. Luigi returned it, holding his brother close. Mario refused to cry, though. He really didn't deserve Luigi. Although, he could sense Mr. L watching them. He was a bit on edge, though just for a minute. They parted from their hug as Mario saw Luigi's eyes were silver. Mario gasped but as soon as he saw it, they were gone. Mario knew that he had to keep an eye on Luigi, just in case.
As they were chatting, Violet had seen that one of the giant origami Goombas had gotten behind Olivia.
Violet cried out, "Olivia!" She activated her Aurora Nine, getting behind the giant origami Goomba. She froze the back, allowing for her to kick it open, after a few kicks. She asked, "A - are you okay?"
Olivia stammered, "Y - you saved me!" She hugged Violet, who was covered in confetti. She added, "Thank you!"
Violet blushed, "Aw I had to save my sis…friend."
Olivia giggled as she stayed close to Violet. They looked around Toad Town, trying to look for Bowser. But there was no sign of him. They had gotten close to where the castle used to be but saw the bridge was broken.
Olivia breathed, "Crud."
Violet stated, "There's got to be another way in."
Luigi added, "Yeah but how?"
Mario replied, "I suggest we look around."
After getting a manhole hook, they went down the manhole. They went into the Graffiti Underground. They looked around a bit before they finally found a warp pipe. They went in and arrived where the castle was. The group had gone inside.
Olivia commented, "There's nothing here."
Violet said, "Yeah, you're right about that. No sign of Bowser either."
Luigi teased, "That's a good thing, Vi."
Violet giggled. Mario spoke, "Maybe there are some clues around here to get rid of those streamers?"
They looked around, seeing that the castle was indeed on top of a mountain. They had seen the red streamer and started to follow it. It led them to Picnic Road. They walked down, where they saw the Earth Vellumental Temple.
The first Koopa told them, "Hey guys, it's a really bad situation. The door to the Earth Vellumental Temple is sealed! No one can get inside and pay tribute!"
The second Koopa added, "The door will only open when all five holy Shell Stones are placed in the Shell Stone receptacle. But four of them are gone and that heathen is trying to steal the last one!"
Sure enough, an origami shy guy was trying to take out the last Shell Stone.
The first one further added, "We'd go try to stop him but we are just the Koopa Troopa."
Mario waved them off, "Don't worry, I got this. Watch this fratello. I'll beat this guy with one hand tied behind my back."
Luigi raised a brow, "Is that a wise idea?"
Violet added, "Yeah, we can help."
Olivia pointed out, "Well, at least you two can."
Mario activated his Firebrand, gaining the origami shy guy's attention. The two fought for a bit as the hero of the kingdom lit a fire on the Folded Soldier. He managed to defeat it. Mario bowed to them, jokingly. Luigi raised a brow. 'What was that all about,' he thought. The Koopa Troopa was pleased with his work. They told the group that they needed to find the other Shell Stones to open the door.
Luigi was agitated, "You know, I thought you learned your lesson about leaving me behind, Malleo."
Mario started to say, "Weegie…"
Before he could say anything else, Luigi had run off, tears in his eyes. Violet was about to go after him but Olivia waved her off. She frowned but she got the message. This was something for Mario to clear up. Mario had run after Luigi. Violet turned to Olivia.
She told the origami girl, "Let's go ahead and start looking."
Olivia agreed, "Good idea."
With that, the girls headed off to find the Shell Stones.
…
Luigi had been too caught up in his crying to notice that he was coming up to a small pond. Mario had caught the ghost hunter before he could fall in. Luigi breathed a small sigh of relief. Mario looked at him, apologetically.
He said, "I'm sorry… I didn't mean any harm, fratello. I…saw your eyes turn silver earlier."
Luigi stammered, "W - what?"
Mario sighed, "Yes… I'm not trying to cut you out of this at all, Luigi. But this does concern me. If you or L falls into Olly's hands, I will never forgive myself."
Luigi was a bit taken back, "You are worried about L?"
Mario clarified, "I'm worried about you both, fratello. Why wouldn't I be?"
Luigi pointed out, "Because L is a pain in the butt?"
Mario responded, "And he's helped us to. So there is a bit of good in him."
Luigi sniffled, "Just a bit."
To that, the red clad plumber laughed. Luigi did too. They hugged each other. Luigi whispered something that sounded like I forgive you. Mario felt relieved.
…
Wishmaker1028: Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!
