Chapter Thirty-Four:

Grieving for A Lost Brother

He watched his greedy counterpart leave, then Mario turned to look at Luigi, who was barely able to stand. His little bro looked like he was in pretty bad shape, especially with how dirty and wet his clothes were after spending so much time in that sewer. Luigi burped, then his wobbling knees gave out, and he fell over. Mario moved fast, catching his little brother just in time.

"Oh man, you smell like rotten spaghetti, Luigi." Mario remarked as he smelled Luigi.

"Thank God you got me out of the water, M-Mario." The green Italian quipped, "It was scary down there, and I got bit by one of those Salmonids you told me about. I need a bath, and some new overalls… Oooooh, mama mia, uhhhhh... So damn dizzy..."

"Let's-a get you home, paisano." Mario said to his wet, dazed brother.

He put a gentle arm around Luigi, then he lifted the green Italian's arm over his shoulder, and offered himself as support for the weak brother. Mario walked away from the waterfront, carrying Luigi as if he'd been terribly injured, and began the long trek through the city to home. He could feel the wetness in Luigi's ruined overalls stain his own clothes, but he wouldn't give up until they were home.

Being separated thanks to the machinations of Waluigi had been an unnerving ordeal, especially for them both. Luigi fought to stay awake, shaking his head, and spluttering, while Mario focused on carrying his younger brother through the streets as the fresh daylight air filled their nostrils.

At some point, while it was alright to have fun, Mario needed to show more care and concern for Luigi's safety. For years, with all of his antics, the fat Italian had taken his own brother for granted, not even thinking about it until the moment it seemed he would lose him forever. No more cruel pranks on Luigi, their parents weren't around, and it was up to Mario to take care of his own brother.

'Everything I do, giving Luigi so much stress, Mario's got to take it easy with the pranks if I want to be with my bro more often...' Mario thought, 'Not to mention, he takes care of me too.'

Wario arrived back at his trash-filled residence after a long walk, the tears rolling down his face had dried up now, leaving slight stains on his cheeks and portions of his overalls. The greedy Italian was more than sad by the time he'd made it back, he was peeved, and his blood was bubbling. Wario's hands shook a little, even as he kept them rolled up into gloved fists.

The frustrated scam artist dug through the trash pile, finding a bucket of chicken that he had saved for himself, while he fumed with a hint of fury that was hard to bottle up. Somewhere deep down, he wanted to scream, but Wario was too upset and preoccupied with his chicken to vent his anger.

"Stupid Mario Brothers..." Wario grumbled, "I don't need them... I don't need anyone! I got chicken, very yummy, tasty chicken right here..."

He was just about to pop a piece of chicken into his mouth, ready to taste its delicious crunchiness, then he stopped. Wario held the chicken in his hand, and stared at his would-be meal with sadness as a memory flowed into his mind; the day when he told Waluigi that the fried chicken had been eaten, the same day Waluigi came by to ask Wario if he was special.

"Waluigi would have wanted this chicken..." Wario said to himself, and he could imagine his brother sitting with him right now, eagerly wanting to feast on some chicken too, "...and I would have told him, 'No, piss off! This chicken is mine.'"

And the thought of his own brother, who'd been missing for a while, instantly enraged the money-loving Italian scammer. "No!" He snarled, shooting to his feet and finally losing his cool, "I don't need him, I DON'T NEED HIM, I DON'T NEED HIM! I! DON'T! NEED! HIM! I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT STUPID LANKY FOOL!"

Wario kicked the chicken bucket, seething and venting his anger, unaware that the very person he was ranting about was observing from the shadows. In a dark cave far from Mushroom City, Waluigi lowered his head in sadness, and a tear rolled down his eyes as the very sound of Wario detesting him fueled his pain even more. And it gave him more power than ever...

'Such a shame.' Waluigi thought with a forming sneer on his face.

Back at the dump, Wario breathed heavily, then he heard a thump and turned to see that his bucket of chicken had hit something laying on the ground. Wario walked over to look, and, to his surprise, he saw it was Waluigi's hat.

All of that anger was replaced with sorrow and the greedy Italian picked up the hat of his brother. Seconds ago, he was declaring his disdain for Waluigi. And now, looking at that hat, the con artist realized how wrong he was to say all of that. For so long, Wario had taken him for granted so much, he didn't stop to see that Waluigi meant the world to him.

They were more than just partners in crime, they were brothers, and they had done so much together. And in an instant, Wario remembered every adventure and scam that they'd done together.

From partaking in a golf tournament, to joining Bob's circus, to competing in Mario's tower challenge, and causing trouble in the wild west, to teaming up with Saiko Bichitaru, partaking in that battle royale Master Hand had hosted, and selling "magical rocks" on behalf of SMG4. The Wario Bros had done some pretty wild stuff, and Wario could never forget that.

Deep sorrow consumed him until it felt like his heart had filled up with a river of tears. Wario wiped his eye, then he clutched Waluigi's hat, and sat down as he began to sob. All the joy his scams brought him were gone, replaced by grief and humane remorse, as Wario could only think of his own brother.

How could he treat him like dirt, how could he have been so stupid?

And add Master Hand refusing to let Waluigi into Smash, all of that neglect and being treated like an outcast had pushed the Wah man to the breaking point. Worst of all, Wario had been too blinded by his own love of money to see the truth. Both he and Master Hand had pushed Waluigi around, treated him like dirt, leading to the pain that Wario was releasing with all of the tears.

Now, as far as Wario knew, Waluigi was out there somewhere. He had to find him, he had to tell him how he felt. And maybe, just maybe, Waluigi would come home with him. Then, together, they would have adventures and scam people just like the old times.

'I'm so sorry, Waluigi.' Wario thought, 'And now, our scam business is on hold until further notice. And the vacuum we're leaving because of you, who could possibly take advantage of that?'

-Meanwhile-

Bob adjusted his hat, then he dusted off his cloak, and made sure the items on the desk were perfectly positioned. Then, he looked at the camera, and faced the Koopa who was operating it. With everything that was happening, the Garo did not have all day, he was about to open for business and this was the time of year when the carnival came to town.

"Are you ready to roll?" Bob demanded.

"Ready when you are, chief." The Koopa quipped.

"Okay, let's get this rolling and get the suckers' attention! What are you waiting for, noob? I'm ready to get rolling."

"Alright! Aaaaaaaand action!" The cameraman shouted.

Music began to play and the effects team made sure they had the right background. Bob stood in front of the camera, looking his very best, then he spread out his arms and began his announcement as people across the Mushroom Kingdom tuned into their TVs as they had been doing so for nearly every day in their lives.

"Come on down now, b****es!" Bob declared, "It's the grand opening! Come one, come all, Bob's carnival is open to the public, we have the best games in the whole show, and you will all get special prizes with the tickets you earn from the games we have to offer…"