AN: Hey guys. I hope you like this chapter in particular, as it is one of the first times I've written about this subject matter in SK specifically. Hopefully it isn't too... preachy or anything lol :)

Chapter 18 The Perfect Sermon

Larry kept his eyes on the preacher, waiting to see what exactly would happen. He heard the stray whisper from some of the other churchgoers, but that didn't distract him in the least. He really wanted to see what the whole deal was when it came to a real-world church service. He didn't even know what church services were like in his own world, let alone Mario and Luigi's.

Eventually, much to Larry's surprise, the sound of a piano carried throughout the room. Blinking, Larry heard the preacher say to turn to page two hundred and thirty-four in the hymnals, and everyone stood up. By this point, Larry was so heavily confused that he didn't move a muscle, instead just sitting back and trying to process everything happening.

"Larry, stand up!" Luciana whispered.

Figuring that following directions while in the church would be for the best, Larry rose to his feet. Luciana showed him the hymnal, which was currently open to what appeared to be some kind of song. How Great Thou Art, was its name. Larry, not knowing the words, just stood in place as the rest of the congregation sang out the lyrics.

"Oh Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, thy power throughout the universe displayed."

As he listened to this song, Larry wasn't afraid to admit that he ended up smiling. It was beautiful. Sure, it wasn't something he would listen to in his own time, and sure, some of the churchgoers REALLY didn't know how to sing. In fact, thanks to his robotic superpowers, Larry was able to pick up when someone sang a note wrong and when someone messed up the song's key. By all accounts, that should probably ruin the whole experience for him, but… it didn't. If anything, it made it better for him. These people weren't trying to win awards or make careers out of their singing voices, they were just singing from the heart. They were following along with the words of this quite frankly gorgeous song, not worrying about anything except the here and now. There was something so authentic about this, something that Larry had never experienced before. It made him happy, it really truly did.

Of course, all good things must come to an end eventually. The congregation eventually sang the last note, and the piano player eventually pressed the last key. Everyone stood in place for a few seconds afterward, which ignited Larry's curiosity and confusion all over again. Why wasn't anyone going ahead and sitting down?

"You may be seated," the preacher said.

Oh. That was why; they needed to get the go-ahead from the man in charge. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it did strike Larry as a little funny. What were these guys; sheep?

"I am very pleased to see you all here today," the preacher said, speaking with a voice that was surprisingly animated and enthusiastic for a place such as this. "I see a lot of returning faces…" he looked toward the back of the church, and Larry could've sworn that the preacher made direct eye contact with him. "And I see some new faces." The preacher smiled. "And to all those new faces, I would like to give a warm and hearty welcome."

Larry smiled. Dang, this guy is actually kinda cool. Who knew? He leaned back in his chair, all at once starting to appreciate this on a completely different level. The church service had been nice before, but now there was something about it. Now that he had been acknowledged and welcomed by the preacher, the man, the head honcho, he felt like things were all the more special.

"Now…" the preacher cleared his throat. "As you are all aware, there was a funeral service held here last week."

That made Larry seize up. He exchanged a look with Mario and Luigi, all at once feeling a bit uneasy.

"Many of us in this room attended, and many of us in this room personally knew Mrs. Theresa Nutterman. We were there to say goodbye, and we were there to celebrate her life and the fact that she is now in Heaven with our Lord and Savior." The preacher paused. "But of course, such an event wasn't easy for us. For, like I said before, many of us knew Theresa Nutterman. We saw her love for her friends, we saw her love for the Lord. Because of that, I'm sure many of you found what happened to her to be saddening. Some of you may even think that it's unfair."

Larry REALLY started feeling weird. Tears sprung in his eyes as he listened to the preacher's words, and yet, at the same time, he couldn't turn away from him. This whole thing hit close to home, closer than he ever would've anticipated.

"And I personally don't blame you if you feel that way. Death is never easy. It is never fun. It doesn't matter if the person is old or if the person is young. Saying goodbye is one of the hardest things many people have to experience." To Larry's surprise, the preacher smiled. That didn't make sense, did it; being able to smile after saying such dismal words? But, to Larry's astonishment… "But thankfully, God knows how difficult the process of death is, which is why He has made it clear over and over again that He will not leave us alone." He opened the black book that he had originally brought into the room and placed it on the podium. "Open your Bibles to Psalm 34:18 please." Larry heard the rustling of pages all over the sanctuary, even right next to him because Mia and Mario were opening their own Bibles. "Now, I know that a lot of you are familiar with this verse, especially so if you attended Theresa's funeral. It's a verse many turn to when they experience hardship, which is for good reason. 'The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in Spirit." The preacher's smile grew bigger. "It is a simple verse in the grand scheme of things, but it cannot be overstated how important it is, how vital an understanding of it is for those who have gone through or are experiencing hardship."

Larry leaned forward. This was starting to go in an interesting direction, he had to admit. In fact, it was more than interesting; it almost felt like the words and the topic of the sermon were… chosen for him specifically. That might be an egotistical thing to believe, but… it genuinely did feel that way.

"God will NEVER leave you. He has promised multiple times in multiple books of the Bible that He will never leave you nor forsake you. And this is especially true for those who experience hardship and grief." The preacher paused. "God… wants you to know that. He wants you to know that even when it seems hopeless, He is still holding onto you. He is still holding onto you, and He has no intention of ever letting go. This is true in the good times and in the bad. Especially in the bad."

Larry leaned forward, thoroughly entranced. This was… this was interesting. He could only wonder where this sermon would go from here.

…

Well… it seemed that it went in some pretty incredible directions. About an hour later, Larry sat in the same pew, listening to the same preacher, being accompanied by the same family. And yet, something felt different. For one thing, there were tears in his eyes. They flowed down his face, resembling raindrops. Normally, he would feel embarrassed that he was crying in public, but not this time. He let them flow freely as he listened to the rest of what the preacher said in the sermon.

"That is God's promise to you. Even when you are going through the worst storm of your life, He is still right there beside you. He saw you through everything, He knows that you need help and comfort. Don't ever forget that. Thank you."

With that, the preacher closed the Bible and walked away from the podium. Larry smiled, feeling all sorts of interesting emotions stewing within him. To his surprise, he heard sniffling from right beside him. Mario was drying his eyes, which was probably the most shocking event of this whole trip. Mario was crying? The Super Mario, the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, one of the strongest and most resilient men Larry had ever known… was crying?

"Mario? Are you okay?"

Mario let out a sigh as the rest of the congregation rose to sing the closing hymn. "I'm fine, Larry." He looked over at the Koopaling. "Are you okay?"

Larry paused. Now, how could he answer that? He didn't know how, which was mostly because he didn't know if he was okay. He stood in place as the congregation sang the song. He didn't pay attention to the lyrics, just thinking and trying to determine how he felt. He felt touched. He felt sad. He felt… seen.

Eventually, the singing died down, and all the people filtered out of the sanctuary. Well, okay, some people stayed behind to chat, and Priscilla from earlier even went to talk with the Mario family, but Larry didn't really pay her any mind. That sermon… seriously, it felt like it was tailor-made for him. How else could the preacher talk about a subject so eerily similar to what Larry Koopa had been going through? Seriously, giving a long, one-hour speech about death? That just… it was so strange.

"Larry?"

Larry did a double-take. He noticed Luigi looking at him as the rest of the family talked with Priscilla. Larry frowned, looking down at his lap as Luigi gave him a furrowed brow. Great, it seemed like he would have to talk.

"Larry, what's going on?"

Larry sighed and looked back at Luigi. "Luigi… how did… I don't… how can…" Oh goodness, talking was proving to be the most difficult task in the world right now.

Thankfully, Luigi seemed to pick up on what Larry was trying to say rather quickly. He put his hand on his shoulder and gave him a warm smile. "That sermon hit really close to home, huh?"

"I… yeah, it did."

Luigi laughed. "Sometimes, they do. Sometimes, when you go to church, you hear exactly what you need to hear at that specific moment." He laughed some more. "This is even true if you spend a lot of time away from church, like me and Mario did."

Larry nodded. "Yeah, it's… it's pretty cool." He thought about Tec again, realizing that he didn't feel nearly as bad. Sure, he didn't know if the words the preacher said, about a God who was close to the broken-hearted and whatnot, even applied to a creature from another world. But… well, it felt nice to think that it did.

"Yeah." Luigi sat still for a few seconds. "It is."

Larry hesitated, once again stewing over everything that was happening. "So…" he wanted to say something deep and meaningful, but that had never really been his specialty, so… "So, what are we doing next?"

Luigi shrugged. "I think that depends on what Mama wants to do."

"Of course," Larry said with a snicker. He looked at Mia, Mateo, Luciana, and Mario, who were all conversing with Priscilla. It seemed… it seemed that a world of good was coming from meeting these people. Sure, Tec was still gone, and always would be gone, but… maybe this was exactly what Larry needed. It certainly felt like it. He certainly had felt really good ever since coming to this world, ever since meeting all the new people and especially listening to the sermon.

Larry sighed. He really hoped these positive feelings would last. He also hoped he would have fun doing whatever the family chose to do next.