Chapter 12 Comfort and Determination

The morning breeze made Luigi feel chilly. Rubbing his arms, he made sure to stay out of anyone's eyesight while he walked through Toad Town. No one needed to see him in this state, that would just make everyone concerned and would cause a ruckus. No one needed to experience a ruckus, not during what was a time of crisis, a time of confusion, a time of unwanted change.

Still rubbing his arms, Luigi only focused on getting to his goal. That goal in question was Peach's Castle, because if Daisy was going to be anywhere in the Mushroom Kingdom at this time of day, it was there. It could be argued that Luigi should be making his way toward his and Mario's house instead, and there were legitimate reasons to try that. But after what happened before the sun rose, Luigi wouldn't feel right going there. How could you look your brother in the eye after you put his life in danger?

That question in particular really stung. If one were to consider it, Ashina had stolen a lot from Luigi, swiping everything he loved out of his hands and cackling in his face. She had taken his normal life. She had taken his comfort. And now, she had almost taken Mario's life. That was part of the reason why Luigi wanted to remove this dastardly curse so much. If someone died because of him, he would never forgive himself. He'd never be able to sleep at night. If Grambi gave him reasons why he belonged in the Overthere, he would outright say the great God was wrong and personally escort himself to the Underwhere.

Luigi whimpered. Oh, he hoped he could fix this somehow.

After a little bit of walking, Luigi thankfully got to the castle. He breathed a breath of relief and hope and looked up at the window. He wasn't walking through the front door, there was no way in Hell. Picking up a rock, Luigi hurled it at the window. He waited for about two minutes, and each second that passed by made him worry. Even though there wasn't anyone around, Luigi felt like he had a thousand pairs of eyes laser-focused on him. Right as he was about to throw another rock was when Daisy came and opened the window. She was still in her pajamas, and her hair was ruffled and messy. Regardless, when she saw Luigi, she seemed to bolt completely wide awake.

"Luigi! What… what happened? That… that phone call…"

"I know, I know." Luigi stepped forward, seriously worrying about someone turning the corner and seeing his naked, bloodied self. "Can you throw down a rope? I promise I'll explain everything."

Daisy didn't say anything, just nodding. She stepped away from the window, throwing down a rope within seconds. Taking a deep breath, Luigi grabbed hold of it and started to ascend. Oh, this was a weird sight; a naked guy climbing up the wall of Peach's Castle. It would probably be a very humorous scenario if the circumstances weren't so dire.

It felt like a century had passed when Luigi climbed through the window. When his feet were on the floor, he only had a second to appreciate that he was no longer in public before Daisy gasped. She took in his appearance, looking absolutely horrified as she did.

"Luigi…"

"I know." Luigi whimpered and started to shake. "So much has happened, and I…" he wiped his brow, taking in shaky breaths. "Everything is just… I don't even know. Daisy, do you think you can help me?"

Daisy frowned. She looked like she wanted to badger Luigi nonstop, trying to get every single last detail as to what happened and what was going on. Luigi didn't blame her, but… well, he needed to reorient himself first. He needed to take care of his horrible appearance.

Daisy eventually nodded. "I'll draw a bath."

"Thank you," Luigi breathed in relief. He closed the window as Daisy went in the bathroom. The sound of the water cascading down into the tub was like music to his ears. After such a horrible experience, such a simple everyday sound was precisely what the poor plumber needed. He went over to the bathroom door, still rubbing his arms. He smiled at the sight of the bubbles accumulating in the water. Again, it was such a normal everyday thing that brought him a world of relief.

"Here you go," Daisy said as she turned off the water. "I'll, uh, I'll leave you be." She gave him a serious look. "And after you come out, you'd better keep your word and tell me everything."

"I will. I promise." Luigi smiled at her, although it was a pretty weak smile in the grand scheme of things. Daisy smiled back, looking worried to the nth degree. She exited the bathroom, and Luigi stepped into the tub.

…

Coming out of the bathroom with Daisy's orange bathrobe wrapped around him, Luigi felt leagues better. He wasn't anywhere close to one hundred percent though, especially since that bath allowed him to process things. Sure, some of the things he processed brought him, but others… well, others made him scared witless.

He was a werewolf now? He was actually, legitimately a werewolf now?

"You okay?" Daisy asked from her position on the bed.

Luigi bit his lip. "I…" he shook his head. "I don't know. Everything…" he whimpered. "Something happened. Something bad."

Daisy rose from the bed. "Well, whatever it is, I'm sure we can handle it together."

Luigi sniffled. "I… I don't even know if I can. I…" He whimpered again. "I'm so sorry."

Daisy went up and put her hand on his shoulder. She then wrapped him in a hug. Luigi drank in her scent, wondering why it was so overpowering. Was it just because she used a strong perfume, or was it because he now had heightened werewolf scent?

Luigi started crying. "Daisy… I feel like…" he shook his head. "I don't even know who I am anymore. I don't know what to do. I… I'm different…"

Daisy squeezed him and pulled away to look in his eyes. "What happened?" She had this sad shine in her eyes, as well as a worried one. "Did that Ashina lady you told me about do something to you?" Luigi couldn't even summon the words, he just nodded. When he did, Daisy's eyes grew wide and she curled her hand into a fist. "Well, whatever she did to you, she's going to pay for it. No one hurts Luigi Mario. Not when I have a say about it."

Luigi sniffled. "That's very sweet Daisy, but… what she did to me is going to require a lot more than a beating. She…" Luigi hesitated. Could he even say it? Did he have the strength? "She turned me into… into…"

"Into what?" Now Daisy looked worried again. "Luigi, what did she turn you into? Did she… what did she do exactly?"

Luigi took in a big, shaky breath. "She… turned me into a… werewolf."

Daisy pulled away. She stared at Luigi like he had gone irreversibly nuts. "A werewolf?"

"Yeah. A werewolf." Luigi looked into Daisy's eyes as she looked like she was having all the trouble in the world processing this. "She… made me eat that furry mushroom we found and brought to E Gadd a while back. She forced me to eat it, and… it turned me into a werewolf." Luigi took in another shaky breath. "Every time the full moon rises, I turn into… a monster."

Daisy's jaw dropped and her pupils sunk to half their normal size. She didn't say anything, which for a person like her was never a good thing. Daisy was NEVER speechless. She always knew the exact words to say; she was never at a loss for words.

"Oh my God," she was finally able to mutter. "That…" She looked down at the ground. "That's horrible."

Luigi let out a cry. "It gets worse." Luigi felt like his legs were going to give out as Daisy looked back at him. "I… transformed last night and I… almost ate Mario."

Daisy gasped. Now she looked like she had been told she had four weeks to live. That made sense; Luigi literally had four weeks to live before the horrible curse that claimed him last night was going to change him again.

"Luigi…" Daisy walked closer to him. "How… I'm so sorry." A tear actually grew in her eye. When Princess Daisy was close to crying, you knew that you were royally fucked. "Luigi, it wasn't your fault. You weren't you."

"I know that! But…" Luigi burst into tears. He cried and cried, feeling like he was at a total loss. All the confidence he displayed when he encountered Ashina was gone. Because really, that confidence had been built on one of the flimsiest foundations of all time. Not to mention it was mainly done as a survival instinct at a time where he could probably be beaten and tortured. But now that he was with someone he trusted, he couldn't help but break down. He longed for the strength he had before though, longed for it like an alcoholic longs for a drink.

"Luigi." Daisy wrapped him in a hug as he continued crying. "Luigi, it's going to be okay."

"We don't know that!" Luigi cried some more as he buried his face in Daisy's shoulder. "I don't know what to do, I don't know where to go from here… I'm a monster, Daisy."

"No," Daisy said, her voice extra firm. "You're not, and I don't want you to view yourself in that way either." She tilted his head up so that she could look at him fully. "You're still you. That beast that almost ate Mario, that wasn't you. It was just a force that took over your body. You had nothing to do with what it did."

Luigi sniffled. "You do have a point, but…" Luigi shook his head. "How can I get rid of this? How can I deal with this?"

Daisy hesitated. "Well…" A determination flashed in her eyes. "Luigi, you're one of the Mario brothers. You and Mario can overcome any challenge that is thrown at you; I've seen you do that countless times. Why would this instance be any different? You can overcome this. You can get your life back."

"I… I hope I can. I want to believe I can, but…"

"But nothing. You're Luigi Mario. You're an amazing person and a great hero. You've fought Bowser, King Boo, and you sure as hell fight this curse. Not to mention that Ashina bitch who put it on you."

Luigi chuckled. It was a small chuckle, but a chuckle nonetheless. "Well… technically I already did fight her, and I won."

"See! What did I tell you?" Daisy laughed as Luigi wiped the tears from his eyes. "You WILL beat this Luigi. I don't care if it takes one week or one decade, you will get back to normal. I will personally make sure of that. I will not eat or sleep until this werewolf curse is gone and you can feel better about yourself."

Luigi let out a breath. "You're really sweet, Daisy." He frowned. "I just…" He sighed. "I really don't know what I need to do to remove the curse. I don't know where to go, I don't know where to start; I don't know anything."

Daisy put her hand to her chin. "Well… maybe we should go down to the library. Maybe there are some books there that could tell us about this."

Luigi sighed. "I don't know. E Gadd didn't have any information about the were-mushroom when we went to him, so how can we expect the library to have anything?"

"Well… we can't, but that's where optimism and hope come in." Daisy smiled. "I mean, E Gadd isn't the end all, be all of any Mushroom World knowledge, even if he likes to come across that way." Luigi chuckled, which made Daisy smirk. "If there's anywhere to look, it's the library. And if we can't find anything there, we'll find somewhere else to search. Like I said, I'm not going to eat or sleep until this whole thing is sorted out."

Luigi let out a breath. "Thanks, Daisy. You… you're amazing." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "So… let me get dressed, and then we'll head out."