Chapter 5 Crystal Confusion

"Oh, Angry Luigi, you really don't have to do this…"

Angry Luigi laughed as he pulled his soapy hands out of the dish basin in the sink. "Oh, but Luigi! It's always been my dream to do the dishes for you!" He chuckled, sounding like the young kid that he was. "And making you dinner, and cleaning your garage… I want to do everything for you! There's no such thing as a job that's too hard when it comes to making Luigi happy!"

With that, Angry Luigi jumped right back into doing the dishes. All the while, Luigi stood back in awe of this sight. This kid… this was such an odd scenario, especially for someone who didn't get NEARLY as much attention as his older brother. It was so strange because on the one hand, Luigi appreciated the help and the recognition. But on the other… wasn't this kinda taking advantage of a young boy who didn't know any better?

"Uh… Angry Luigi…" he paused. "Man, that name is a mouthful…"

"Then just call me AL!" Angry Luigi said as he rinsed a plate and put it in the drying rack. "That's what my friends call me."

"Uh… okay, AL… don't you think you'd have a better time doing something else? Like, you can discuss the plan with Mario and your friends in the dining room. I'm sure that'll be much more exciting to you than just… doing dishes."

"It's fine, Luigi!" AL said without even a second of hesitation. "I really don't mind." He turned back to Luigi, his brown eyes sparkling. "But speaking of the others, you came into the kitchen to make them tea, didn't you?"

"Oh!" Luigi started scrambling. "Yes, yes, thank you!" And with that, Luigi's concerns about taking advantage of AL were completely forgotten (at least, for the time being). Luigi put some hot water on the stove and brought it to a boil before grabbing some tea bags from the drawer and bringing them out to the people in the dining room.

"Sorry, I took so long." Luigi chuckled sheepishly, and his whole face felt warm. "I.. uh… I was distracted."

"That's alright, Lu," Mario said. "You know what they say, better late than never."

"Er… yes…" Luigi immediately got to work preparing everyone's tea. It was easy to do so for Mario, Peach, and Aqua; he practically had their tea preferences etched into the structure of his heart. And honestly, preparing it for Savannah and Bill wasn't that difficult either. The kids were VERY polite and patient, not to mention excited. They were so polite that, despite everything, Luigi actually felt a sense of accomplishment when he finished up with serving them. Sure, in the grand scheme of things, it was a very small thing to do, but… hey, it was the small things that made the biggest difference.

With that, everyone got right to drinking tea. Luigi took gingerly sips of his ginger tea (appropriately enough). He studied the room, taking note of everyone's mood. He noticed that Mario's brow was furrowed slightly. He noticed that Aqua's gaze kept traveling between her best amico and her big sister. He noticed that Peach was staring off in a random direction, not saying a word as she was clearly lost in thought. These things working together crafted a scene that had an almost eerie vibe to it. The things that were left unsaid, the things that everyone in the room wish they didn't have to acknowledge (and therefore were procrastinating when it came to doing so), made Luigi's stomach churn. Even his ginger tea, a drink that was supposed to soothe a troubled stomach, did very little in terms of preventing him from feeling nauseous.

If there was one saving grace to this scene, it would be Bill and Savannah. Looking at these two kids, who had twinkles in their eyes and excited smiles on their faces, made Luigi's heart melt. They seemed so eager when it came to helping the group, so happy that they were getting a chance to drink tea with their idols. It was sweet.

"So…" Bill set his tea down and looked at everyone at the table. "I suppose now we should all start discussing the plan?"

Mario frowned and put his mug on the table. "I suppose we kinda have to." He took a deep breath. "Considering the type of power that Bowser and Bone Mage have access to, we obviously need to be smart about the way we approach attacking them. And so, I was thinking that we should…"

"Okay! I'm done!"

Everyone turned toward the door to see AL wiping his damp hands on his shirt. His eyes mainly stayed focused on Luigi, who by this point didn't know how to feel.

"Wait. You did ALL the dishes?"

"You bet!" AL approached Luigi, still smiling like he had just gotten away with something. "And now, Mr. Luigi Mario, I think it's right about time that I REALLY treat you."

Luigi squirmed a little as AL turned toward the corner of the room. "That's really sweet, AL, but you don't have to…"

POOF!

And just like that, all of Luigi's doubts vanished and were replaced with shock. In fact, with the exception of Bill and Savannah, everyone else seemed to be shocked too. This was because AL had just created a throne out of crystals. Combing the white and green crystals with the natural lighting of the room created a sight that was truly captivating. The throne sparkled and shone, drawing Luigi in and making him wonder if he was actually dreaming.

"TA DA!" AL said as he gestured toward the throne. "What are you waiting for, Luigi! Sit in your throne like the king you are!"

Luigi couldn't even move. He stared, dumbfounded, at AL and the throne he just made. He felt like he would never be able to talk again.

Thankfully, Mario had no such limitation. "Wait wait wait, hold on just a minute!" He stood up, gawking in a way that wasn't too dissimilar to Luigi. "You know magic?"

"Yes! Well, no. I mean… it's complicated." AL scratched the back of his head. "It's not really magic; just a power I have. I have the ability to make crystals out of thin air."

"Make crystals out of thin air?" Peach repeated. "That's… that's incredible!" She stood up. "How did you even get the power?"

"Yeah!" Aqua stood up. "Are you descended from Mushroom Kingdom royalty or something? Last time I checked, they're the only ones who have powers like that!"

AL laughed. "Nope! No royal blood in my veins; no sirree!" He gestured to Bill. "Bill is actually the one who's responsible for this! I asked him if he could give me superpowers one day, and he did just that!"

It was at this point that Luigi finally managed to find his voice. "You gave your friend superpowers? HOW?"

Bill chuckled as his face turned pink. "Well… it's kinda complicated. At first, I didn't really know how to do it, as my expertise is more in the field of planes and aircrafts than it is with super abilities." He shrugged. "But I did eventually figure out a way. Mostly with using Galaxium and doing some experimentation on AL to see how said Galaxium could combine with his bloodstream."

Luigi and everyone else gawked at Bill. That was… wow. A KID was able to do something like that? A kid was able to give his friend superpowers through genetic experimentation?

"That's amazing…" Luigi said quietly.

"It is," AL said, "but it isn't as amazing as you, Luigi!" He once again gestured to the throne. "Now, go on! Take a seat! I made this throne for you specifically!"

Luigi chuckled. "Um… okay." He made his way over to the throne and sat down. As he did, he blinked in surprise. "Wow. This is surprisingly comfy!" He snuggled deeper into the chair. "I was expecting it to feel more like… well, crystal!"

AL giggled. "That's exactly what I was hoping to hear from you." He pointed at the floor, and all at once a footrest made out of the same type of green and white crystals appeared in front of the throne. "Now go on! Put your feet up!" Not knowing what was going to happen, Luigi did as he was told. Then, with a type of speed that would make even a certain blue hedgehog jealous, AL took off Luigi's left shoe and sock. Before Luigi even had the opportunity to object, AL started giving him a foot massage.

"AL? How did…"

"Shh…" AL just smiled. "Just relax! Let this happen! You're the hero, and I'm treating you like one!"

Luigi, dumbfounded, just let AL continue with the foot massage. At first, Luigi found it weird that a kid he didn't know existed an hour ago was touching his feet. But the further they got into the foot massage, the more Luigi… liked it? Yeah, he did like it! If he didn't know any better, he would assume AL did this professionally!

"Wow. This is nice."

"Thanks." AL gestured toward Savannah. "Savannah's mom has a friend who's a professional masseuse. She comes over to her house sometimes, and when Bill and I are there, she gives all of us massages." He beamed. "We learned from the best."

"I'll say." Luigi smiled. "You kids sure have a lot of skills. Crystal powers, scientific knowledge, and experience… are you sure you're only eleven?"

The three kids laughed. "Oh come on, Luigi," Savannah said. "We're not that great." She paused, her face falling. "In fact, I wouldn't even say we're good."

"Not good? Get out of here!" Aqua said. She smiled at Bill, Savannah, and AL. "I think you guys would be good resources in a fight against Bowser!"

"You know what! I'm starting to feel that way too!" Mario stood up, smiling underneath his mustache. "I could probably train Angry Luigi in ways to use his crystal powers in combat! And Bill… if you could recreate the process that gave Angry… AL his superpowers, then that could really benefit the team! You could give Luigi and me powers that would help us stomp Bowser and Bone Mage's butts into dust!"

Unlike what Luigi and Mario were clearly expecting, Bill, Savannah, and AL all exchanged looks without saying a word. The silence in the room was, in a word, unbearable. All the excitement over finding out what these three kids were capable of completely vanished into the ether, instead being replaced with the squirminess that Luigi had felt not too long ago. AL cleared his throat. Savannah fidgeted with a piece of string sticking out of her dress. Bill twiddled his thumbs.

"Uh… right guys?" Mario asked, with all the previous excitement he had felt before completely gone. "You can do that, right?"

AL, whose demeanor was now so different one would think he was a completely different person, sighed. "See, the thing about that is… I don't know if I can do that." He shimmied his foot on the floor. "I don't know how to use my powers for combat. And… I don't know how well I'd do in… training…"

"Yeah," said Bill. "Besides, I only really got lucky when it came to giving AL powers. It would take a while to recreate that." He sniffled. "And… I don't think I can…"

Luigi gawked. What… what was going on? Why did these kids seem so less confident than before? Mario literally just gave them ways that they could contribute to the mission, a mission they had seemed so eager to go on. What happened? Why did everything change so suddenly?

"Oh, come on, guys," Aqua said. "I'm sure you'll be able to do it!"

Despite those words, and despite the fact that Aqua gave an encouraging smile while saying them, the kids still looked hesitant and uncomfortable. Right as Luigi was about to start pestering them with questions was when Savannah cleared her throat, stood up from her chair, and looked at the boys.

"I think we need to spend some time outside."
Bill and AL nodded without saying a word before they all left. The remaining party of four exchanged looks with one another, looks that were so wrought with confusion.

"What was that about?" Mario asked.

"I don't know…" Aqua looked toward the door the trio had just exited before putting on a determined face and standing up. "But I'm gonna find out."