Chapter Text
“H-h-hello?” Luigi stammered, letting himself nervously into the old, gray mansion. If he’d ever seen a haunted looking house—this had to be the hauntedest. “Hello-ooo?”
Luigi walked to the base of the stairs. His foot caught on the bottom step and he tumbled forward onto the dusty stair rug. His hands shot out, clutching wildly, trying to catch himself. He caught one of the iron balusters. His weight yanking it askew. A deep click was heard, then a rumble. Before his very eyes, a bookcase slid aside to reveal a hidden door. Whoa.
“Um…hello? Anybody home?” he poked his head in, only to freeze as a green face popped out of the wall.
“WAAAAAAH!!! G—G-g-ghost!!!!” he wailed, turning to run only for the doors to slam shut and lock, the ghost reappearing in front of him. “WAAAAAAHHH!!!!”
The ghost waved it’s hands at him. Motioning him to shush. His voice died, but he continued to squeal under his breath:
“aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!”
The ghost shush him more and motioned for calm, holding up its hands to show it meant no harm.
“You promise you won’t spoke me or try to steal my soul or something?”
The ghost nodded solemnly.
“Phew. O-o-okie-dokie.” His hands were still shaking. The ghost motioned him to follow. He hesitated and asked, “Do you know where I am?”
Nodding, the ghost floated toward the secret door pointing. Luigi went inside. It was a strange room with a raised altar at the center. On a pillow atop it was a glittering crown.
“But…why did that weird pipe spit me out here? Do you know?” he asked his ghostly green ‘friend.’
Again, the ghost nodded, gesticulating a plea and drawing the word SOS in the thick layer of dust on the floor.
“Me?” Luigi pointed to himself.
Another enthusiastic nod.
“But I don’t understand. How can I help? I’m not a g-g-g—a g-g-ghost!”
The translucent green figure just nodded and pointed to the writing on the altar. He read it aloud.
“Two to keep the balance. One to rule those spirits that haunt this plane by choice, and one to shield the softer souls whose journeys have not reached their end. One undead, eternal—the other a mortal flower.” He looked up. The green ghost’s hands urged him to read more, but he suddenly had a knot in his gut.
“W-w-wait, you think I’m your—but what happened to your old ruler?”
The ghost’s face bent into a sad frown. The knot in Lu’s gut only grew.
“Well, I can’t—you’ve got the wrong guy. Really! I’m not a ruler! I wouldn’t know the first thing about it and b-besides…I don’t like ghosts—er—no offense, you seem nice, it’s just…”
The ghost made a face and disappeared into an armchair. The chair became animated and swept him up. He protested, but it floated up into the air. Behind him the crank on an old-fashioned projector began to turn and at the same time a tape clicked. Vintage images played across the old screen in front of him.
“Hello?! Testing. Oh good! Um. Hello! My name is Prince Amun. If you’re seeing this…then I regret my time as ruler of this domain has passed. Please. I pray hear my plea. My ghostly friends mean you no harm. In fact, they need help. Now more than ever. For decades there has been a delicate balance here in this world between spirits who refuse to rest, Boos, and those carving their own path to the next life. Always there have been two rulers, two princes or princesses, to rule as equals. But ten years ago…something changed. Prince Boolius of the Boos usurped my predecessor and declared himself King. He would force the souls of the innocent to serve his malice—puppetting them like vessels and never letting them journey beyond this life, keeping them from ever rejoining their family and loved ones in the next realm. Only a mortal head can bear my crown. Boolius would see it destroyed. If that happens, it’ll destabilize the balance and all portals between worlds—this and ANY others—will be destroyed. I will fight with all I have for these spirits I gladly call my friends and for the sake of all the worlds connected via the portal pipes to this realm like myself who were stranded here from other worlds. Even Boolius’ Power cannot breach the protections on these walls.”
Luigi eyes the intricate red seals and swallowed hard. It was like something straight out of a ghost-hunting show…oh fuck, what had he gotten himself into—
“Please. To the mortal who finds this message: it’s all up to you now. I realize how much it is to ask, but please, if there is anyone in your life whom you love—anyone at all—ask yourself: does their soul deserve the undying torment of forever wandering their old world? An eternity of aimless agony? Their only hope is for a new champion to claim my crown. I promise you, you will not be alone. I and the wisdom of all rulers before me are at your disposal. We will guide as best we can. I pray, hear my plea. It all depends on you.”
The chair finally lowered to the floor and the reel ended. Luigi tumbled out of the seat and vomited.
The ghost made a kind of echoey ‘yich’ sound and a gagging face. Luigi wiped his mouth with the back of a shaking hand. This was too much. It was all too much. One minute he’s falling with his brother, then they’re separated and he’s plunged into this world of fire and death and now…fuck what was he supposed to—how could he—he couldn’t just t-take the crown that was too much pressure…but…but…
Mario…
What would happen to Mario if the pipe portals closed as the prince in the film said they might?! Had Mario even landed somewhere else, or was he still spinning in that weird inter dimensional stream? If he was, what would happen to him if they suddenly just stopped?! What if Mario was lost forever?! Or what if his bro could never get home and was trapped somewhere infinitely worse than this?! What if—immediately his stomach rebelled at the thought, but he managed not to vomit this time. He didn’t want to think it, but it rose unbidden. What if his brother died somewhere? What if Mario was already…no! No! Mario couldn’t be. He couldn’t. Luigi wanted to believe he’d know. That he’d feel it, but…what if? And what if Mario became like this green ghost floating beside him? Trapped. Unable to properly move on. Or worse…what if Mario fell victim to this King Boolius’ evil influence? What if his brother was taken and made to hurt and harm people—the very thing Mario despised most in life? And…how many good souls like his brother’s had already been forced into the very same? They didn’t deserve that. No one deserved that. His gloves tightened. He carefully stepped around the stain of his own vomit and slowly climbed the altar. On the pillow an ornate silver crown bearing a white foggy stone glittered and sparkled. Luigi wished it were something a bit less obtrusive like an earring. He didn’t exactly like drawing a great deal of attention to himself, but he supposed it’d have to do. What he didn’t expect was for bright glittering magic to wreath the object the moment his fingers touched it. He had to squint and blink, putting one hand in front of his eyes. When the light faded, the crown was gone and, in its place, resting in his palm, was an ornate earring with the same white, translucent tear-drop shaped stone handing from it. He stared in awe for a few moments before slipping it into his ear, gasping as he felt the cold metal latching on tight. Rushing to the nearest old mirror, he was astonished to see the silver begin to glow and wrap around the shell of his ear like an ear cuff, latching itself through his second and third piercings there with little to no effort.
“Why do I get the feeling that’s never coming off?” He grumbled to himself, taking a very shaky breath. “Alright, Amun, or whatever your name was. You said I’d have the wisdom of all of you guys, or whatever, so tell me, what the hell am I supposed to do now?”
He wasn’t expecting a reply, but he really should have. Every sealed door blew open at once. The lights went out and a current of frigid air swept into the room. Dread greater than anything he’d ever felt before in his entire life as a coward flooded his being as a great white shape with a wispy tail, glowing purple eyes and fangs that were the stuff of nightmares, appeared seemingly from nowhere.
“A MORTAL?!” It shrieked. “But how have I been summoned—” its face sharpened with malice. Luigi scrambled backward and his earring caught the light. “WHAT?!” It spat, floating forward with its short triangular arms rising. Luigi yelled as he hoisted up into the air by some kind of glowing purple magic.
“Pathetic—” he was flung into a wall. Pain exploded across his body, “little—” CRASH! Another wall, more pain, “worm!” Crack! Some pieces of wall and a bit of ceiling crumbled this time. Luigi landed in a heap, barely conscious. He could taste blood in his mouth. “You dare crown yourself the next Prince of the Dead? I can smell your fear from here! And your pathetic sick! Did you really think someone this weak could stand against me, Amun?!” That shrill cackle was a sound Luigi would never forget as long—or short—as he lived. He was hoisted up again, his battered body screaming in protest. He closed his eyes. Begging for something, anything, to help him out of this misery. He was yanked forward by that invisible grasp until one of the ghost’s real arms gripped him. It was so cold…like ice was being shot directly into his veins. He began to scream. He was being frozen from the inside out. He screwed his eyes shut even tighter and flailed, arms shooting out in a last attempt at escape. Something sang down his arms, like thousands of ants racing together in crazy lines down his arms just under the skin. The ghost wailed.
Luigi opened his eyes. Blue crackling energy—raw arcs of electricity were bursting from his hands directly into the semi-corporeal ghost. Only now did he realize said ghost wore a crown. This…this was King Boolius? No wonder the first thing he’d done was try to kill him…
Luigi’s mind sharpened, one thought taking precedence above all else, even the pain: he couldn’t let this ghost get hold of the crown. He had to move. He had to run. For Mario. For everyone he’d ever loved and lost. For the slim chance of someday returning home in one piece. But how could he run from a ghost? The king would just follow him, right?
Look down. Said a voice inside his head.
He did. There was a big red seal beneath his feet. A star in a circle. One of the lines was broken. He knew what to do. His arm was already bleeding. He smeared his fingers through the blood and patched the broken circle The ghost king lunged toward him. He scrambled back, heart thumping with terrified relief as the massive shape hit an invisible wall. King Boo looked down.
“WHAT?! NO! WHY YOU DEVIOUS LITTLE COWARD!!!”
Luigi launched forward through the pain, dashing away fast as his legs could carry him.
Where was he even supposed to go? Surely that wouldn’t hold such a powerful vengeful spirit long…
The great Fire Mountain. Said the voice. You must head for the Koopa King’s domain. Ancient magics in his castle prevent all Boos from harming mortals. There you will be safe.
“But where—which way—” he whispered.
The volcano. You must reach the town in the shadow of the volcano, Luigi.
“Amun.” Luigi realized.
Yes. We are here. We will do our best to guide you, but our powers are weak.
“Thanks for the save back there with the electricity.”
That was not us.
Luigi’s feet ground to a brief halt.
That was you, new prince. The crown merely augments the magic already inside you. You are a lightning rod. Very rare and very powerful. No doubt such power will serve you well when it comes time to face Boo again.
“Don’t take this the wrong way. But I sincerely hope I never see that specter again.”
Predictably, Amun had nothing to say to that. Probably because they both knew he’d have to.
He looked at the sky and the horizon line, immediately setting sights on an enormous mountain of molten rock and smoke. Volcano, here I come, he thought, breaking out in a run despite the stitch in his side and the ache in his bones. Amun’s voice slowly answered.
We understand, but the mantle you have claimed is fraught with danger. This battle has just begun.
“Yeah…” he muttered, “I was afraid of that.”
Pt. 2 Hall of the Fire Mountain King
Luigi staggered up to the black gates of an imposing castle town bordered by a blisteringly hot lava floe. His clothes were dirty, tattered and torn. His face and gloves streaked with ash and soot. He was parched and badly limping, adrenaline having worn off hours ago.
“Who goes there?!” Demanded a sharp voice of authority. “Show your identification.”
“I,” he panted, licking dry lips and raising his voice as much as he could, “I don’t have any. My name is—”
“Doesn’t matter. No one without identification is allowed past the gates. King Bowser’s orders.”
“Then l-let me speak to your king.”
“Pah! What d’you expect us to do? Bring King Bowser down here?” They laughed. “His royal spikiness doesn’t see anyone without appointment and nobody without papers gets in the capital without his express permission!”
Spikiness? Luigi shook that off. Exhaustion and heat were setting in. He didn’t have much longer. Already he felt lightheaded and on the verge of collapse. Fuck it. He flexed his fingers and that stinging, buzzing feeling rushed down his arms again, bright orbs of electrical energy concentrating in his palms. He thrust forward and they sang through the air, blasting the great gates wide open. The turtle-looking creatures atop the wall shouted and sounded an alarm. He rushed past with a final burst of desperate speed. Truly, he had no clue where he was getting the energy from, but he pulled out everything he had. He could see the great looming castle. His legs and lungs burned as he sprinted up cobbled roads, more than once nearly losing his footing. There was another gate up ahead. And they’d received the alert. An iron grate was being lowered. He dove to the ground, sliding inside mere seconds before it slammed closed inches from his head. It took him a half-second extra to hoist up his trembling and aching frame, peeling himself off the ground. Yelling voices were all around. It was pure chaos. He ducked rough punches and tossed spears, making a dash for the enormous iron doors. Before he reached them, though, his injuries had well and truly caught up with him. He was tackled to the ground, arms wrestled behind his back by scaled hands. He fired off a final burst of electrical charge that sent them flying off, only for new hands to replace them. His vision started blurring. The doors…he was…so close…
Bam! They slammed open. An enormous golden shape crowned with red burst out with a terrifying roar.
“Your awfulness!” Squeaked one of the voices straining to pin him face down in the ashy dirt. “This intruder forced his way past the city gates and tried to break in the castle!!”
“IDIOTS! HOW INCOMPETENT DO YOU HAVE TO BE TO LET ANYONE GET THIS FAR?! I SHOULD HAVE YOU ALL—”
Luigi stared at a blurring pair of giant claws attached to legs like tree trunks.
“Get off him.” The same voice, low, deeper than any Luigi’d ever heard before, repeated.
“But sire.”
“OFF! NOW!”
The weight on his back and the terrible twisting grip on his already sore arms vanished. He tried to push himself up, only to hit the dirt with a whine. No. He couldn’t give up. He fought off the impending dark. Not now. Mario…his brother…he still had to find his brother…He tried again. Again, he hit the dirt. One of the scaled hands from before blurred into reach, seemingly about to try and help, but a bass-filled growl stopped them. Luigi looked at the massive golden legs, eyes narrowing into focus enough to make out the detailed scales. With a sound of tortured agony, he finally managed to sit up on his knees. His neck creaked as it tilted back, following legs up past a shelled barrel of a torso and boulder shoulders, all the way to a face that resembled more the snout of a dragon than the beak-like features of a turtle. Red eyes, like living flames, burned through his soul.
“Little man, what are you doing in my kingdom?”
“S’only,” his voice was a grating rasp, “safe place.”
“Ha! Safe?!” The giant bellowed, mocking him. “Who do you expect me to believe you’re running from? The Mushroom kingdom?”
Dark, dirty eyebrows furrowing at mention of this mushroom place he’d never heard of, Luigi shook his head, but that made his neck hurt, so instead he gasped out, “N-no.”
“No?” This ‘king’ Bowser crossed his arms and sneered at him like he was an amusing little insect.
“K-king…” his voice gave out. He had to swallow. “…B-Boolius…” the very last thing he saw before his body gave out completely were lava red eyes widening in shock and a large hand shooting out to catch him.
When he came to, unintelligible voices nearby swam into focus. One was the deep bass growl of the golden king from earlier. The other was new.
“…will he be alright?”
“Right as rain in a week or so. It’s frankly amazing he made it so far past the guards in his condition.”
“He said Boo is after him.”
“Indeed. I do not doubt it.”
An impatient growl rather implied the big guy didn’t understand and wanted answers.
“Did my lessons teach you nothing, your forgetfulness? Does the stone dangling from his ear not tell all?”
“Out with it Kamek.”
This nasally voiced ‘Kamek’ sighed.
“That,” Luigi rather fancied he was being pointed to, but he hadn’t yet dared open his eyes, “is the Veilstone heart. A royal gem. Odd as it’s form maybe be, that earring is a crown, your cluelessness.”
“A crown?!” The voice echoed, volume spiking. “He’s…a princess?”
“A prince I suspect,” Kamek corrected, “but I suppose that depends on how they identify themself. And, yes. The Veilstone Heart is the royal jewel of Death.”
Tense silence followed. Luigi very much wondered if now was a good time to open his eyes, then the King rumbled:
“So…that’s why Boo wants him—”
“Dead,” he finished, finally forcing his eyelids open and sitting up. His ribs ached. He hissed.
“Not so fast, your mortalness,” Kamek tutted, floating??? Yup. Floating toward him. Luigi slowly processed what he was seeing. A much smaller turtle creature in blue wizard robes and a matching blue hat was hovering on a broom right in front of him. You know what? He was fine with it. He’d already seen crazier shit today. The end of Kamek’s wand glowed and the guy looked at it like it was telling him something important. Luigi just waited.
“You must be in pain.”
“Yeah, maybe just a bit.” He snarked. A deep guffaw had his eyes sliding up the yellow-gold barrel of a body towering behind the wizard. Kamek looked from one to the other of them and said slowly.
“His fieriness King Bowser of the Koopas.”
“You’re—” his voice was still pretty dry and raw. Kamek magicked him up a glass of water that he chugged completely. “You’re koopas?”
“Yes. That is what we are called. And you are a human, yes?”
“Was when I woke up this morning.”
“Very good. Prince…” Kamek trailed off, clearly waiting.
“Luigi.”
“Prince Luigi.”
“Have you—” he cleared his throat. “Have you seen or heard of another human recently coming out a pipe somewhere around here? L-looks like me, but shorter? Wearing red?”
Kamek and Bowser looked at each other, then shook their heads.
“You are the first human to set foot here in years. Our molten lands are not hospitable to your kind.”
“I noticed.” He caught sight of his soiled face and tattered clothes in a mirror nearby and winced. “c-can I—is there some place I can clean up? A shower or even j-just a bucket of water would be—”
“We’ll put you up in one of our guest rooms.”
It caught both Kamek and Luigi off guard. The king frowned at the wizard.
“Well, if Boo’s after him, this is the safest place. Even if the marshmallow shows his face, he can’t do anything long as he’s on castle grounds.
“…” Kamek seemed to be searching the King’s face thoughtfully. “Very prudent your considerateness.”
“Th-thank you, k-King Bowser.”
“Don’t mention it, tiny. C’mon. I’ll show you to your room.”
Luigi bristled at being called tiny, but he wasn’t about to complain when the guy was giving him a place to stay. Kamek floated after them.
A few minutes later, the king opened a door on a room furnished entirely in an eye-watering shade of pink. But it had a bed and a bathroom and that was all Luigi cared about. Immediately and thoughtlessly stripping his torn and soiled overalls, hat, gloves and shirt he made a beeline straight for the shower.
Bowser choked on air and sputtered loudly for some time, but Luigi needed to be clean too badly to give a damn. He jumped without thinking under the spray with his boxers on, then had to peel them off and hang the soggy trunks on the frosted glass shower wall with a wet THWUMP! A deep voice awkwardly called out:
“I’ll, uh, we’ll get out of your hair.”
Luigi hummed and moaned in relief as hot water caressed his muscles. He heard fast retreating stomping steps and then a sharp chuckle from Kamek.
The magikoopa rapped softly on the door and informed him that there were clothes in the closet and if he needed anything simply to call, then closed the bathroom door with a click.
Luigi took a long hot shower. When he finally emerged, his skin was tinged pink from the delightful heat. Fuck, he’d really needed that. His hair was clean for the first time in ages. He dried himself with a towel and wandered out, half expecting Kamek or Bowser to still be there, but he was quite alone. Going straight to the closet his nose wrinkled. It was nothing but dresses. Now, he didn’t have a problem with dresses, some of them were really gorgeous, but he very much disliked the vibrant shade of pink they all shared. Sighing, since it seemed he had no choice but to work the pink, Lu donned a slim, silky pink number with a heart-palpitating slit on one side and a dip that exposed way too much back to be anything short of scandalous. Way he figured, he now had a ghost king gunning for him, so he might as well live a little before he died. And as long as he had to wear a pink dress…fuck it, why not go all the way?
There were no shoes in his size. Hmph. He could probably make do without if he had socks or stockings or something. He found some thigh-high fishnets…this time white, not pink, thank goodness. He looked in the mirror. His curls were still a bit damp, but this hot climate would finish drying them in no time.
Knock, knock, knock.
He tensed.
“Who is it?”
“Um…Prince uh, Prince” there was some hurried whispering and then, “Prince Lugi.”
He crossed to the door and opened it, frowning at them.
“It’s Luigi.”
The two koopas, both much smaller and less dragon-like than their king jumped, eyes widening. Their jaws hit the floor. Luigi’s ‘fuck it all’ attitude wavered slightly. Did he look that bad?
“Ah. Um. Um,” one guard stammered. “Well, uh—uh—you see, Princess…”
“Prince is fine.”
“Oh! Uh! So sorry! Um, Prince Luigi, his Kingness sent us to e-escort you to the royal dining room to j-join the royal family for dinner.”
Luigi’s stomach growled. His cheeks darkened with embarrassment.
“…T-then please lead the way.”
One koopa led while the other trailed behind him. Luigi wasn’t sure whether it was for his protection or to protect others from him. Possibly both. The next time he saw the koopa who’d been walking behind him, they hurried to open a very tall door, their face redder than a radish as they stammered.
“Um…P-Prince Luigi, my k-king!”
Luigi whispered soft thanks and stepped inside. Very quickly realizing the entire room had turned to look at him. The long table was crowded, both sides occupied by small to mid-sized koopas who looked a bit more dragony like Bowser. Kamek was there also.
“Whoa!” One of the smaller dragon koopas said. They had a voice like a child. Luigi took a closer look. Wait. Were they all…children?
“Wow, you’re pretty!” One who looked exactly like Bowser only smaller exclaimed.
He laughed and gave a funny curtsy.
“Why, thank you, piccolo!”
“Papa didn’t tell us you were so pretty!” The kid added, shooting his father a pouty look. Luigi couldn’t help but giggle. Not only was Bowser turning red as his hair, he was also smoking from the nose. Did he breathe fire? Luigi couldn’t say the possibility surprised him.
Taking pity on the clearly floored royal koopa, he playfully said, “well, give your Papa a little slack, kiddo. To be fair I was covered in drywall, ash, and a few days’ worth of dirt and sweat!”
“Are you a really a prince?” The little Bowser asked, animatedly. He was very cute. “You don’t wear a crown like a prince!”
“Are you sure?” Luigi angled his head to one side, flashing his ornate new bit of jewelry. One of the others, a girl, squealed.
“Ooooh! How pretty! I’ve never seen a crown take a form like that before! Most Princes and Princesses are so unoriginal!”
“Ah, but your Papa does not wear a crown,” Luigi pointed out.
“Sure, he does! It’s fused to his shell pattern. Duh! Like all royal koopa!”
“Oh.” he blinked, blushing. “I didn’t know. I’d never met any koopas until today.”
“Wow, really?!”
He nodded. The little Bowser pointed to the empty seat across from the king.
“You can sit there next to Papa, since you’re a prince and all!”
“Why thank you…um…Prince…?”
“Bowser Junior! But it’s just Junior for short!”
Introductions ran down the table as Luigi slowly walked to his seat. Ludwig, Roy, Lemmy, Iggy, Morton, Larry and Wendy.
When he arrived, Bowser stood and pulled out his chair for him. He blushed a little, very much unused to be treated like this. He was so busy avoiding the big koopa’s eyes he didn’t see how flustered Bowser got when he caught sight of the back of Luigi’s dress for the first time.
“So…what Prince are you, exactly?”
“Prince of the Dead, bambino.”
Junior frowned.
“That sounds scary.”
“It hasn’t exactly been a laugh.” He lamented, honestly.
“So how come you came here to visit us?”
“It’s safe here, bambino.”
“From what?”
“King Boolius…” the name didn’t seem to ring a bell for the little guy and he remembered that earlier Bowser had called him, “or King Boo?”
“Uncle Boo?” Junior was confused.
Luigi dropped his fork halfway to his mouth, food temporarily forgotten. Real fear coiled in his gut.
“You’re—” he shot up from the table and scampered back. Bowser intercepted before he could run, catching him by the wrist.
“Whoa. Whoa. Slow down. Luigi.”
“Let me go! If you’re k-keeping me h-here just to f-fork me over to him—”
“No. Listen to me! LISTEN!” His voice boomed. Luigi froze on pure instinct. “We do have an alliance with Boo. We have to. His kingdom technically falls within my borders—” Luigi tried to cut him off, but he spoke over the human protest, enunciating extra clearly: “but so does yours.”
Lu considered.
“…my domain? As in I have…”
“Yeah.” Bowser nodded. “The Evershade Valley, big gray mountains covered in black forest.”
Luigi shuddered and his fingers stroked the gem dangling from his ear.
“That’s where you ran here from…yeah?”
He nodded, slowly.
“There are ancient magics even older than this castle on this land that do not allow Boos to cause harm to living creatures. As long as you’re here, you will be safe. You have my word.”
Lips tightening, fists curled, Lu grimaced.
“I…thank you…but…I have to leave eventually. I have to find my brother.”
Bowser frowned, but red eyes flickered with understanding. The king knew if it were one of his brood out there…
“Very well, my koopas can aid the search as well. I’ll send scouts.”
Tears of gratitude and immense appreciation welled up in the man’s eyes. His hands pressed to Bowser’s plastron.
“Thank you. Thank you so much, King Bowser.”
One of the older kids, the blue-haired one asked in an anxious tone.
“But if he’s Prince of the Dead, doesn’t that mean he and Boo have to marry?”
Fresh horror turned Luigi’s stomach.
“Wh-wha-WHAT?”
Kamek shot the koopaling a hard stare, interjecting.
“Not necessarily, Prince Ludwig. It’s true, that was the commonly accepted arrangement made in the past, but it ended when Boo decided he wanted all the ruling power for himself and killed his mortal partner. Her chosen successor, Prince Amun took the crown and fought Boo’s tyranny from afar for as long and as hard as he could, but he was not strong enough to restore the balance on his own. The story goes that he hid the crown inside a secret room deep in an old mansion where Boo could not lay spectral hands upon it. Where it the crown would await its new wearer.”
Luigi shivered and slowly tumbled down in his seat, pale and bloodless.
There was silence for a little while. Then Junior asked:
“Why’d you take it? Did you wanna be a prince?”
Shaking his head, the man whispered.
“No, principe.”
“Then how come—”
“Because it was the right thing to do. Not just for all the friends and family I’ve lost…not just for those I don’t want to lose…but for everyone else’s loved ones, too. And if I let Boo get any stronger…the portals between our worlds could just…vanish. I might never see mio fratello or my famiglia again. For me…” his voice fell even quieter, “that’s worse than death. Do you understand?” He smiled sweetly. “It’s okie-dokie if you don’t, bambino.”
“I…I think so. I love my Papa and gramps and Kammy and my brothers and sister…and you love your family too, right?”
“Si, Junior. More than anything.”
The rest of dinner was muted and dour. Afterward, Bowser offered to walk Luigi back to his rooms. The man accepted.
“I asked Kamek to send out patrols right away. If your brother is on my lands, or any others, we’ll soon hear word of it.”
“Thank you so much. Like I said, my family…they mean the world to me.”
“It was just your brother and you who fell down the warp pipe?”
“Is that what it’s called?”
Bowser nodded.
“Yes. Just us. He…we recently started our own plumbing business. There was flooding in downtown and of course Mario goes and—”
“Mario?” Bowser cut him off, tail swishing. “Your brother’s name is Mario?!”
“Yes! Then, you have heard of—” he could tell from the glint in Bowser’s eyes the king knew the name. “Where is he?! Is he alright? Can you take me to—”
“No.”
Luigi deflated faster than a popped tire.
“…why not?”
“He’s currently in the Mushroom Kingdom with…” the deep voice trailed off. Worried, Luigi pounced on the big guy, body practically pasted up against the firm shell. Steam curled up from Bowser’s nostrils. This man was the complete opposite any other human he’d encountered, eager to invade his space rather than shrink from it, tougher than nails—having fought off some of his best guards while injured and still relentless—he remembered the repeated attempts to sit up when they’d met, even though the human was in terrible shape… he was glad Kamek had managed to heal Luigi to this degree, but the human still had a slight limp and a number of dark angry bruises and healing cuts.
“With who?! Is he in danger?”
Bowser scoffed, puffing more steam, before shaking his head.
“Nah. The toadstools like humans. You’re pretty rare here, y’know.”
“Then…” Luigi’s face crinkled, “How come we can’t—”
“It isn’t safe,” Bowser sighed, staring guiltily at the ground. “We’re not on the best terms.” Faces with begging blue eyes, he confessed, “Fine, I’m not exactly on their friends list. I…” he rubbed the back of his neck. “I may have kidnapped their princess once or twice in the past.”
Luigi stepped back. Bowser immediately missed his weight and warmth. He hated the betrayal and distrust flashing across the man’s face and let his shoulders droop.
“I wanted her to marry me.”
The man was sharp enough to deduce what he left unsaid.
“She didn’t want to.”
“No. She didn’t—still doesn’t—I’m sure.”
“Can’t you at least ask them for a ceasefire or a parley or something?”
“We’re not at war. Just…not friendly.”
“So, you could send them a letter?”
Bowser was reluctant. Luigi’s face turned pleading. The man dropped to his knees.
“Please, mio re, I—” tears glistened, “I need to know my brother’s alright, and he needs to know I’m okay, too.”
Sharp claws reached down, leafing through wonderfully soft brown curls. The king’s purr grumbled to life. It became an almost growl.
“You’re so cute I almost want to say no to see how far you’ll go.”
Nervous apprehension crept into the human’s posture. Bowser could tell he was being sized up and couldn’t quite disguise a tail wag when Luigi didn’t seem outright repulsed by what he saw. The human blushed.
“Actually, I’m not exactly considered handsome back home. Mario and I—our whole family—we’re pretty short and lots of folks think our noses and mustaches are—”
“Adorable,” Bowser purred.
Luigi turned scarlet.
“Oh…um…well…thanks.”
They walked on for a bit until the king looked up and said, “I think this is your stop.”
Their feet ground to a halt.
“Bowser…thank you.” Luigi patted the giant hand, looking up into the koopa’s eyes. “For everything.”
“Bowser’s eyes were not shy in their appreciation of his form.
“You’re a knockout in that dress.”
“Hah!” Luigi laughed. “You should see me in green!”
“You like green?” Bowser asked softly.
“Si. It’s my favorite color. Not that I hate the pink!” He hurried to reassure, embarrassed of his faux pas. “It’s um…it’s um…very…springy?”
Chuckling, Bowser shook his head.
“Haha, you’re good. Don’t like it much myself, as it happens. It was for…”
Luigi took a stabbing guess.
“…the princess you were trying to marry?”
“Yeah.”
“Gotcha.” Smiling, he patted the giant’s shoulder, encouragingly. “Well, if you need help repainting…you know where to find me!”
Deep laughter bounced off the walls. Lu smiled.
“Goodnight, Bowser.”
“Goodnight, Luigi.”