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Chapter Text

“Escapee” translates to “Profugo” in Italian. “Profugo” can also mean “refugee”. Refweegee? Refuigi? Get it? Kill me.

—

In the belly of Bowser’s prison, a host of unfortunate souls hung caged above lava. It had only been a half-hour since the human, Luigi, had been forced to hang suspended among them. He was fresh with fear from his earlier encounter with Bowser, and wasted no time in voicing his aspirations. “I hafta get outta here!” he cried. He shouldered the cage bars resulting in a bruised arm and a sharp clanging sound that stabbed the edges of his brain. “OW!”

Nearby, a caged duo of penguins and their king watched piteously. “Leave it alone,” the monarch advised Luigi. “Don't worsen your situation.” A nearby troop of rebel goombas growled in agreement.

“Can it get any worse than this?” Luigi didn't intend to be snappish, but he was in a panic. Here he was in a different world having just been separated from his brother, Mario, chased through burnt lava fields by undead turtle skeletons, interrogated by a dragon-esque turtle tyrant, and now caged suspended above a pit of melted rock.

He punched the lock without thinking, the impact causing pain to explode across his gloved knuckles. "AUGH!" He tucked them between his legs to alleviate the burning. 

“Of course it can.” King Penguin affirmed after a moment’s silence. “If you allow it.” Luigi clunked his forehead against the bars. 

“Eh, let ‘im dream,” one of the goombas rumbled. “Makes fo' a good show, at least.” An agreeable murmur echoed about the populace.

In spite of their differences, the prisoners were fairly well acquainted, and, while they didn’t sugarcoat their situation, tried to make their newest inmate feel at ease. All tried, except for a blue Lumalee.

“The only show I care for is the afterlife, an existence free of the mortal coil,” the luma giggled, swinging about its cage like an acrobat. A collective groan from the other prisoners followed that less-than-cheerful chime. 

Luigi felt queasier by the minute, but, despite the others repeatedly telling him off, kept brainstorming. Though timid, he wasn’t one to back down from an opportunity to save his skin if presented. It was just a matter of finding one. 

“Come on!” Luigi cried. “Ascoltami! Listen!” He clapped thrice in rapid succession. “What haven’t ya guys tried?!” He waited, hoping to inspire a few ideas from his prison mates, but they were adamant that there was nothing they could do but wait for:

“—the sweet release of death!” 

“B-But—!” Luigi pleaded over the luma's demented laughter. “You don’t understand! I'm not supposed to be here!"

"Neither are we, Buddy," a lone penguin snapped.

"Oh! Oh, no!" Luigi backtracked. "I meant, my brother and I–!”

“Oi! Pipe it down!” a nearby koopa guard snarled. He was flying what Luigi could only describe as a mini toy-like hover chopper. “You’re supposed to be suffering in sweet silence!” The koopa spat, and whacked their cages with his spear for good measure.

Luigi clapped his hands over his ears to drown out the noise. The luma just giggled.

“That’s better,” the koopa sniffed and flew off. Once he was out of earshot, the luma stuck out its tongue and blew a raspberry.

Luigi sighed enviously for that fearlessness. He sat down and watched the guard disappear behind a wall to make way for another to take his place.

"You get used to it," the lone penguin quietly assured with an apologetic smile.

Luigi eyed the new guard's flying machine. “If I could get hold of one of those... ” he swore.

“One of the Koopa Cars?” the penguin whispered. “Yeah, get in line. Nobody’s gotten lucky enough to catch the guards “off-guard” Heh.” He waved his flippers. “Besides, ya need fingers to operate ‘em. Learned THAT the hard way!”

Luigi frowned at his hands and, craning his neck, watched the rising cage chains disappear into the distant fog above. “Think I could climb out?”

The penguin and a few other eavesdroppers gave Luigi a once over. “You'd probably make it about halfway,” the penguin conceded, “before falling to your death, and that's only if the guards don't stick you first.”

Luigi peeked down at the molten pool just yards below his cage and reared back at the blast of heat before it engulfed his face. “But it's worth the try, ain't it?” He looked to the others for support only to be met with hopeless silence.

The lumalee giggled jovially. “A liquid-fire end sounds merciful to me!” It winked. “Go for it! If you’re skinny enough.”

Luigi blinked, stunned. That was by far the most encouraging thing the little star creature had said, just enough to inspire Luigi to try again when the guards turned their backs. 

As the man methodically wormed his arms, shoulders, and head through the bars, more nearby prisoners caught wind of what was going on and watched. Once his torso squeezed through, his heart jumped with excitement. “I AM skinny enough!” he whispered to the luma, earning from it a celebratory twirl.

Luigi craned his neck up again and assessed. His great escape was as simple as scaling the chain connecting his cage to the faraway ceiling. Luigi pumped his fist with newfound determination. He could do it!

King Penguin watched with renewed vigor and spoke, “If there’s even a fool’s hope of success, GO. We’ll divert as much of their attention as we can.” 

“Oh, thank you! Thanks a billion!" Luigi beamed. He watched the penguins expertly pass the word around like a game of telephone through a series of indecipherable bird-like squawks and chirps. Soon, every single detainee braced in quiet anticipation for what the human prisoner was about to attempt. 

Poised halfway out the cage, Luigi waited, his heart beating like a hammer.

When the scheme reached the bottom of the grapevine, commotion erupted. One of the penguin prisoners nearest to the lava down below started to make an awful racket, purposefully stamping her webbed feet and rattling the rusty bars like a madguin. “LET ME OUTTA HERE!” she shouted, eyes bugging out and jaw agape. “I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!” She shot Luigi an excited smile before snapping back into character and wailing with partially-perceived agony.

Just as planned, the Koopa guards focused all their efforts on the distraction and lowered themselves to hover far below Luigi’s cage. This was his chance.

Eternally grateful, Luigi mouthed more thanks to the Penguin King and squeezed the rest of himself through the bars. The movement rattled his cage, but the commotion below was so loud that his sound were muffled. He maneuvered himself against the hot metal, sweat began to bead on his forehead as the heat and nerves began to overpower him.

“Don’t overthink it, Lu,” he thought. “Pretend you’re at a jungle-gym.”

The illusion did help a bit, and Luigi swung himself to the roof of the container without strain. Then, taking a deep breath, he began to climb the chain like one would climb a rope in gym class. The steel was hot enough to burn his skin through his gloves and pant legs but Luigi gritted his teeth and persisted. He was getting out and finding his older brother no matter what!

His ascent captivated the other prisoners whose attention had not been lured by the bait. The climb was slow going, which made the man all the more nervous when the penguin’s ruckus suddenly quelled, followed by a series of furious shouts from the Penguin King.

His time was running out. Now that the commotion had died down, the guards would spread out again and increase his risk of being spotted. Luigi paused to give his arms a short break, but looking up he realized he’d underestimated just how much chain there was to climb. 

“Only a thousand feet to go!” the little lumalee giggled aloud, spinning its cage like a top. “He's making it out!” The surrounding prisoners stopped dead and the guards jolted at attention.

“Who's makin' it out?” questioned a green koopa. He rose up and tapped the star creature’s cage bars with his spear. It promptly burst into crazed laughter and motioned upward with one of his short limbs.

Luigi froze, clinging desperately to the thick chain. His cover had been blown. 

“Ay! ESCAPEE!” gasped one of the soldiers, and just like that, all the previously distracted guards began to converge.

Practically dribbling with anxiety, Luigi shrieked at the swarm of koopa cars billowing his way. They were zeroed in and advancing fast, waving their spears and shouting like mad.

“Oh, no! No, no, no!” he choked, gripping the hot metal for dear life. He couldn’t let himself get captured, not again, but he wasn’t going to let himself fall either. He swallowed hard, panic overtaking his brain until it was running on autopilot. 

“GET IT!” As soon as a soldier was close enough to touch him, Luigi swung and kicked out with his legs at its airship. The vehicle was surprisingly fickle and bobbed unsteadily away by the meager force. 

The victory was short-lived because now he was surrounded. Four koopas took their aim and launched their spears. Luigi yelped and slid down a few feet just in time. Only one of the spears managed to pin his cap into the chain's groove. 

“YIPE!” he cried, and elbowed away a koopa who’d grabbed his sleeve from behind. “STOP! STOP IT!” 

They, of course, didn’t listen, so Luigi took a risk and used his momentum to kick off a nearby airship and swing the chain to and fro. The guards tried their best but their airships kept bouncing off one another as they closed in, ceasing progression. 

Luigi took in a huge peal of breath and kept swinging despite his muscles beginning to tire. Down below, his empty cage knocked into a distracted guard and flung him out of his own ship and onto another nearby cage. 

Luigi’s eyes widened. The empty vehicle was there for the taking, but the guards were closing in now after momentary disarray. He didn’t have time to slide down. He squeezed his eyes shut, gripped the chain one final time, and jumped.

Time stood still. His heart skipped a beat. A rush of searing wind whipped his face. The few seconds of freefall felt like hours, and he was certain he’d fall straight into the lava. But his aim was true; he plunged into the empty koopa car.

“...He got it! HE GOT IT!” shouted the penguin who’d told Luigi about the airships. He and the others screamed their support, rattling their chains and stomping their feet for the human escapee. 

Luigi hoisted himself into a sitting position, dazed but relatively unharmed. The prison practically exploded with cheers and angry bellows.

“Get OUT!” The Penguin King bellowed over the noise, snapping the plumber out of his trance. “FLY NOW!” 

“Tell our stories!” another penguin wailed, reaching through the bars with his little flipper.

“GAH! OKIE-DOKIE!” Luigi shrieked, frazzled, and randomly pressed the controls on the airship’s tiny dashboard until it shot straight up, past the cages, past the guards and even knocking them aside, until he reached the area of chain where his cap had been speared. He snatched it, momentarily joyful, and then as he looked back at his shrinking acquaintances, awfully conflicted. 

“Wait!” he exclaimed, wondering if he should risk rescuing someone else, but as he observed their proud smiles and waving flippers (and the luma's disappointed pout), he had faith they could accomplish what he had if they worked together again. If not, then perhaps one day, if possible, he could find someone stronger to help them. 

He repositioned himself and set his gaze straight. Mario was his first priority. 

Up Luigi flew into the barren fog, and, finally, he was allowed a moment to breathe. “He's never gonna believe me when I tell him about this." He shook his head fondly and wiped his sweaty forehead. “Holy-molyyyYAH!” 

Without proper knowledge of how to stop the alien device, Luigi crashed head-first into the ceiling. Quickly as lightning, he ducked to avoid crushing his skull. The vehicle sputtered and wobbled unsteadily due to the impact and, to Luigi’s horror, began to sink back down. Thinking fast, he jammed his foot into a secure groove and grabbed one of the cage chains to keep the machine level. Thankfully, as he twisted and turned, he spotted a suitable place to land. 

The area was a lip of land jutting out from the cliffside, and just beyond that stood an enormous archway. Peering through the fog, Luigi could just make out a hallway and figured that was the way to go next.

On the count of three, Luigi again used his momentum and swung himself and the koopa car toward the lip. He felt the machine bob and sputter some more, sinking faster and faster as the jostled gears struggled to support the man seated inside. 

Closer and closer still! Luigi jumped as soon as he felt the machine give one last little grunt before dying and free-falling out from under his feet. He yelped and reached for the lip, just barely catching the ledge with his fingers while the machine fell down into the burning orange below. 

Luigi heard an echoed crash and winced. He pulled himself over the ledge and collapsed, mercifully onto solid ground. "H-Holy moly," he groaned, and threw an arm over his face. A part of him couldn’t help but laugh at just how crazy that had been, and the journey was hardly over.

Luigi shakily picked himself up from the cobblestone floor and clutched his arm. Through the adrenaline-filled chaos, he hadn’t felt the spearhead graze his skin, but now it was ever-apparent.

“Ow,” he winced, pulling his hand away and swallowing hard at the sight of blood staining his white glove. He checked himself over and found nothing else significant. “Eh-heh! Just a scratch. And some burns. And bruises.”

He stared in awe at the great archway and the long pillared hallway leading deeper into the cobble. He had no idea how to find his way out of this maze, nor did he know where to even start looking for Mario. 

“Okay, okay. You’re okay,” he chanted in a self-soothing manner, even as the gargantuan hallway before him loomed with even bigger statues of his captor. “Outside. Get outside, and the rest’ll come to ya.” 

He hurriedly jogged on, but when the sound of angry koopas reached his ears, he took off sprinting. They had followed him up and were ticked beyond all measure. From what the veteran prisoners had told him, nobody had ever made it out alive. That prompted him to run faster.

“Find that human!” he heard a screechy voice echo through the corridors. “The king’ll fry us all if we let it escape!”

Judging by the ground shaking beneath his pounding feet, there were a lot of soldiers on his tail. Heart beating like a hammer, Luigi spared a glance over his shoulder. What had to be tens of shadows stretched across the orange glow confirmed his fears.  

Luigi innately cried out and dove behind a large pillar. There, he shook like a leaf as tons of armed guards both flew and sprinted past him down the hall.

“FIND IT!” Luigi heard the winged commander screech. He pressed himself as much as possible against the burning black pillar, pushing through the searing pain in order to keep his position inconspicuous.

“We lose this one, and Lord Bowser’ll have our shells!”

Luigi screwed his eyes shut against the lavafall just yards away from him. All he could do was pray, pray that none of them would pause, would think to look behind the pillar just feet away.

“WAIT! Do you smell that? Smoke!”

The rattling of metal weapons died down and was replaced by the sounds of about a hundred scaly nostrils sniffing the air. Luigi paled. While pressing back against the pillar, his clothes had singed, leaving a smoky scent to waft amongst the koopas.

“It’s the human!” came a shout. “Follow your snouts!”

Luigi had no time to react before a sharp spearhead poked at his chest. He’d been discovered.

“Ay! I found it, Boss! It’s right here!” the spear’s owner, a red koopaling, called. He snickered and steered Luigi away from the pillar and backed him dangerously close to the lava wall. “Let’s roast it on a spit!”

Luigi blanched, knocked the spear away, and took off again. This time the entire crowd was on him.

“NO spit-roasting! King Koopa wants him alive for the ceremony!” Luigi heard the commander shout, earning a few annoyed hisses from the runners. “But don’t be afraid to rough him up a bit!”

Several paratroopas gained ground and took turns trying to yank the terrified human up either by his hair or overall straps. Through sheer panicked strength Luigi managed to fend them off, though not without a lot of screaming.

He rounded a corner, huffing and gasping for air. At the end of this new corridor, a large door sat shut. Luigi’s face brightened with hope. 

“Exit!” he wheezed, but the small army had almost caught up. 

Just feet from the door, Luigi could feel little claws swiping and curling at him in an attempt to subdue. He pushed on, using one last burst of energy to shoulder his way through the door and fly through to the other side.

Against all luck, he tripped and fell hard. His head smacked the ground and his breath hitched. Peering over his shoulder, he scrambled and prepared himself for the soldiers to burst through, but amazingly, the ruckus stayed put on the other side. Amazing still, it began to settle, fade even, as if the crowd was moving away at a rapid pace.

Luigi shakily picked himself up and replaced his cap. “H-Heh!” he gasped, swaying with dizziness. “You just got—!” He stopped short and glanced about. More walls, more ceiling and floors…

That had NOT been the exit and this was NOT the outside world. 

The door opened; Luigi braced for the army but only a single blue-shelled Koopa entered through the door. He was grinning, which immediately put Luigi on edge. 

“YOU,” the Koopa snarled. He jabbed his spear. “You are in a heap of trouble.”

Luigi was as confused as he was afraid. He turned and began running again but stopped dead in his tracks once he realized where he’d ended up.

The ground cracked with glowing embers, the walls flowed pure lava-falls, and the gargantuan statues of King Bowser lined said falls; all leading to the floating staircase and spiky throne where the ruler of the Darklands sat, his wizard lackey by his side.

“WHAT?!” he heard them shout, as if annoyed.

Luigi reared back, nearly skewering himself on the blue koopa’s spear. He tried to resist, but with an army lingering behind ready to tear him to pieces, he had no choice but to move forward. 

Dragging his feet, Luigi could feel Bowser’s red eyes glaring down at him. The surrounding heat intensified as they neared, and Luigi began to sweat bullets. 

“What do I do?!” he thought frantically, keeping his head down to avoid eye-contact with the beast. “What do I DO?!”

“He’s trickier than we’d assumed,” the Koopa hissed once they reached the base. “Our sincerest apologies, Lord Bowser, for being so careless.” He crouched on one knee and bowed. 

"Tricky indeed," spoke Kamek, sounding impressed as he licked his beaky lips.

Luigi dared look up and yelped when he saw that Bowser was looming right in front of him. Somehow he’d stepped down from his throne without making noise. Before Luigi could even turn on his heels and spring, Bowser’s massive hand clamped around his torso and drew him close.

“How did you escape?” Bowser barked, his fiery breath like a kiln's insides. “My perimeters are fortified!”

Luigi closed his eyes and whimpered in the face of the oppressive heat. Fear had completely dominated his mind, clouding all possibilities of formulating another escape plan. Arms pinned to sides and legs dangling, he saw no way out of this situation.

“How?!" Bowser roared. He tightened his grip.

“Cah—!” Luigi hacked. The pressure was making his eyes bulge and cheeks red. “Gahk—! Caa—”

Bowser loosened his grip leaving the poor man to violently cough. 

“Urg... L…Luck?” Luigi squeaked. He didn’t have the heart to betray any chances his fellow detainees could take henceforth.

“Oh, is that it?” Bowser was displeased, to put it mildly. “Well, from now on, I won't risk having you around my other prisoners.” Another slight squeeze, just to illustrate his annoyance.

Despite everything, Luigi’s naive heart surged with hope. "Y-Ya letting me go?” It was a long shot, but if he’d proved too much of a hassle for Bowser and his troops to bother with—

Bowser tipped his scaly head back and guffawed, crushing that notion like a bug. “Letting you go?” he repeated in disbelief. “I HOPE your brother is as stupid as you.” He nodded at his wizard, Kamek. “Fetch the aviary for our "good-luck charm".”

“Yes, Sire.” The Koopa vanished in a pinkish cloud leaving the two alone.

Luigi squirmed in the reptile’s iron grip and opted to plead. “L-Look,” he braved, “I know you don’t like Mario all that much with—er, him travelin’ with your, uh, “fiancé” and all, but if you let me go, I-I’ll take him home. Far away! I’ll get him outta your…uh…" He quickly glanced at the top of Bowser’s head. "...hair, and you’ll never see us again!

Bowser lifted his chin. “Oh-ho-ho! Really?” He tossed Luigi up and caught him again in his open palm. “Do you really think I, the future ruler of the world, would put his trust into an idiot like you?"

Luigi smiled slightly hysterically and steadied himself on Bowser’s scaly fingers. “Uh, sure!” he said, bobbing his head. His ramblings were soon interrupted by a small, Kamek-led group of Koopa guards pushing a fancy metallic cage to their king. Inside with three morose-looking birds.

Luigi went on, even as Bowser began to huff and puff, "You’ll never even hear about us agaAAAAAH!” Bowser let loose a barrage of fire from his gaping jaw, incinerating all that was in the cage. Once the smoke cleared, the cage was empty, save for three small piles of ash.

Bowser smirked at the few stray Klepto feathers fluttering to the ground. “That'll do." He nodded at Kamek, who happily opened the top with his magic, allowing Bowser to shove Luigi right inside.

“NO!” Luigi yelped. He landed hard; the ash did little to cushion his fall. “W-Wait! WAIT!” He scrambled to his feet and grabbed the cage bars. They were more compact and in much better shape than the clanky mess that was his prior cell. He couldn’t squeeze through even if he tried. “Please! Don't do this!”

“I just did," Bowser hissed, and blasted the seam of the cage top with heat so that the hinges literally melted together, effectively sealing Luigi inside. "Since you’re so keen on running off, I might as well keep you right here with me."

"Why?!" Luigi asked, truly baffled. "I'm not important to you at all, am I?!"

Bowser flashed his fangs and lifted the cage by its handle with little effort. “My word is my bond, Luigi.” His rumbling voice dripped with malice as he ascended the floating stairs. “And I swore I'd kill you in front of your brother.”

Luigi's heart sank to his boots. Bowser was persistent. He shuddered and pressed himself back against the furthest section of the small cage. “Why?!” he begged. “He hasn’t done anything wrong!"

"I disagree."

"W-We didn’t even mean to come here!"  Luigi reached through bars to try and make the beast see reason. "It was an accident!”

“Silence, Prisoner!” Kamek warned. He illuminated the human with his magic just to remind him of his powerlessness.

After resettling onto his grand throne, Bowser spoke. "In the badlands, there are no accidents..." He purposefully dragged a finger across his scaly throat. "...and in the new world, you'll be long gone." Luigi clutched his throat and fell into a shuddery silence.

At that moment, another blue-shelled koopa general approached the throne. “Ahem! Lord Bowser!” he exclaimed. “We have found the princess AND the mustachioed human! He has won the Kong army. They are all heading to her kingdom as I speak.”

“Mario?!” Luigi accidentally blurted, and clamped both hands over his mouth. Kamek drew back in fear as a furious stream of smoke billowed from Bowser's mouth, his visible ire and the news of Mario’s situation causing Luigi’s heart to both rise to Heaven and sink to Hell. 

“He won the army,” Bowser growled. “Was Peach, uh, impressed?” His irritation was lost on nobody as he clenched his gargantuan fists and clawed his throne's armrests.

The general solemnly bowed his head. “It appears so, yes. They’re heading for the secret passage.” 

Luigi tried to follow along the conversation and use any clues he could to think of a way to find Mario, but he was too unfamiliar with this world to succeed. Nearly sick with guilt, he sat back down and spotted a few red dots spotting the ash between his feet. He touched his forehead and found a small gash, another injury he'd sustained by falling through the doors. It seemed hopeless, but he lifted his head and tried to be strong. For Mario.

“Oh, so they think they can surprise me, huh?” Bowser questioned, a malicious grin spreading across his scaly maw. He snatched up Luigi's cage again and stomped down the steps. “Two can play at that game.” 

Chapter Text

Luigi was overwhelmed. Indescribable terror for his captor, embarrassment and shame for his situation, fatigue and hunger, thirst. He felt intruding claws. Burning heat. The deepest longing for his family. The heartbreaking yearning to go home. Just to name a few. These newfound emotions were twisting and wrenching him into a whole ‘nother version of himself. What he would become was yet to be seen; presently, he was as scared as he always was. Only more-so.

Bowser stomped down his massive halls with the cage in hand. Luigi clutched the bars to keep himself from toppling and focused on his brother. Mario was looking for him, that was certain, but knowing Bowser’s plan, Luigi knew he had to escape before his brother arrived. He wouldn’t be able to rest peacefully if Mario witnessed his murder. After he’d been caged and brutalized, Luigi felt something new inside his soul, a fierce determination that no matter what happened, he would spare his brother this misery. That determination gave him hope–the knowledge that as long as he was careful, he might find a way back to Mario without jeopardizing their lives.

“May I inquire with you?” Kamek addressed the human, tapping the bars with his scepter.

Startled, Luigi’s eyes flitted to the ashy gold floor of his cage, feeling the scorn of his keepers try to consume his spirit. “U-Uh, okay?” he whispered.

“What is your species' dimorphism?” the magikoopa asked. Luigi's quaking quelled some and he regarded the robed creature with confusion. 

“W-What?”

“You’re a human just like Lord Bowser's fiancé,” the mage explained, “but you’re much smaller and weaker!” He grinned cheekily, the further implications amusing him greatly. “Am I right to assume that human females outrank human males?”

A short silence. Luigi blinked and looked at the king, who was suddenly smiling radiantly. It was obvious what he was thinking but Luigi wasn’t about to give him the ego-boost he wanted. It was the least he could, or couldn’t, do.

 “N-No. It’s usually the other way around," Luigi vaguely indulged the magikoopa, at least to get his mind away from Bowser. "I’m just a little short,” he admitted. He’d always felt rather self-conscious about his height, though taller than most in his family, including Mario, but he didn't care to divulge any more information about his brother to these creatures. 

Kamek hummed with interest and tried to ask another question but snapped to attention when they all reached a small divot in the hall.

“Get ready,” ordered Bowser. After passing through the divot, they entered a new area: the open mouth of the mountainous flying fortress. 

Luigi shielded his eyes from the sudden light and the sunset sky. He was astonished to see a turquoise sea with green islands dotting the horizon, complete with a limitless stretch of vibrant rainbow curling across the oceanscape.  

“Wow,” he blurted. He'd been under the impression that the rest of this world was no different from Bowser's; barren, dark, and lava-hot. A hopeful smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. 

As Bowser carelessly let him fall, Luigi’s hope dropped with him. His cage landed, thankfully upright, but only inches from where a thousand-foot drop awaited him. Luigi whimpered and covered his eyes. Bowser’s floating island inched along the oceanscape. Luigi couldn’t surmise an escape route now. 

“Afraid of heights, huh?” Bowser mocked the shaking human. “They're the least of your worries.”

Kamek snickered, summoned his broomstick, and took off into the sky out of Luigi’s line of sight. 

A silence filled the air as Luigi found himself left terribly alone with his captor. He took several short breaths, trying hard to relax and to settle the frantic thrumming in his chest, but Bowser’s mere presence set his anxiety off like a rocket. Luigi peeked at him through his gloved fingers.

This creature was going to murder him in cold blood in front of his brother, all because of his insecure, jealous rage. Bowser didn’t JUST want to get Mario out of the way; he wanted to break him for daring to come between him and this princess. It would be horrible. It would be vulgar. And Luigi was certain Bowser would savor every moment of it.

“Is there anything I can do to change this?” Luigi asked tentatively, surprising himself by asking so directly and steadily. 

The giant koopa puffed jets of smoke from his nostrils. “What’s decided is decided,” he dismissed, breaking his search to smile sinisterly at his captive, “and I never go back on my word.” 

Luigi shrunk back and pressed his hands to his chest. 

“Now, zip it. I need to find my fiancé.” As Bowser turned back to look out at the vast world through a pair of binoculars, Luigi released a huge peal of breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. 

Speaking out of turn had been bold, but he needed to be bolder. Bowser wasn’t going to budge, Kamek was loyal to a fault, and the koopas wouldn’t dare disobey their leader. His only allies were imprisoned, and Mario had no idea what was coming. 

Only LUIGI could get himself out of this mess. 

Psyching himself up with deep breaths, he turned as quietly as possible and scoured the small area to see what he could use to aid in another escape attempt. The bars of his new cage were compact, but thin; he could at least squeeze his arm through. If he managed to nab something useful, perhaps he’d have a chance to break his way out. 

A glinting chunk of obsidian, about the size of his palm, caught Luigi’s attention. He checked one last time to make sure he was in the clear and slowly retrieved the mineral before tucking it under his knees. 

“I can already picture her face,” Luigi heard Bowser maniacally chortle, “when she feasts her eyes on my star.” 

Luigi said nothing, hoping Bowser would tune him out entirely, but the beast addressed him directly. “Bash away,” he teased, referring to the rock Luigi had snagged. "Only fire can help you and you don't breathe it.” He straightened proudly. “THAT I know for sure.”

“Sire?” squawked a nearby koopa troopa peeking out from behind them. 

Bowser jumped. “WHAT?” he growled irritatedly. 

“Should I arrange these next to the altar or by the pews?” The little koopa rounded the corner. He was holding a beautiful bouquet of red-orange flowers. As soon as he noticed Luigi, he glared, jumped back, and held the flowers protectively against his chest. 

“Put 'em on the gift table,” Bowser answered, waving flippantly. “I don’t want ‘em near my Peaches if she gets cold feet.” He paused, momentarily embarrassed. “N-Not that she WOULD.” 

The little koopa knew better than to comment. He bowed and retreated back into the ship. Luigi watched after him, staring intently at those flowers. He wondered…

“They're here, Sire!”

Luigi jumped, for Kamek, had returned. He landed breathlessly beside his king and pointed far below down to where the massive rainbow stretched from horizon to horizon. “There!” 

Bowser focused his binoculars. “Mario,” he growled. Luigi scrambled and strained to catch a glimpse of the tiny dots zooming along the rainbow. He took a start.

“Mario!?” he squawked, first overjoyed, then terrified. “MARIO!”

“Ready the ground troops,” commanded Bowser in his deep gravelly voice. A line of winged Koopas stood at attention. “I want the princess and that other human to be delivered to me unharmed. If the kongs don’t surrender, kill them.”

“You want the other human alive, Sire?” double-checked the general.

“Alive,” Bowser snarled, reluctant to admit to needing supplemental insurance if Peach refused his hand. “GO!” The general and his flock bowed and dove from the edge, their war-cries ringing in the air. 

Luigi gripped the bars so tightly that his knuckles went white beneath his singed gloves. “No, no, NO!” he cried.

Bowser was confident his troops would succeed but his temper endured. “NOW,” he addressed Kamek, “take this human to the ceremony venue.” 

Kamek obeyed, using his magic once again to transport Luigi’s cage so Bowser could focus on the task at hand. He didn’t even offer verbal confirmation, knowing that even one sound could set the king off. The “yes sires” would have to wait; Bowser mustn't be distracted. 

Luigi blurted without thinking. “If you do this-!” But no threat came to him before Bowser whirled around and pummeled the cage with his immense paw.

The brute force was so raw and powerful that even Kamek’s sorcery couldn’t keep the cage afloat. It soared several yards into the ship’s mouth. Luigi flew right with it and landed hard on his face against the sharp corner of obsidian jutting out of the uneven ground. His vision went white and a loud drone assaulted his ears. Amidst his sudden dizziness, he felt the warmth of blood dribbling from the gash in his hairline down his forehead.

Bowser’s blurry hand appeared and righted the cage. Luigi merely slumped to rest against the bars, too dazed and afraid to speak competently. His cap lay discarded by his feet.

“You wanna act tough NOW?!” Bowser boomed, bearing his fiery, toothy maw. “We'll see if your brother measures up when he watches me SNAP YOUR NECK!” 

“No! You CAN'T!” Luigi cried, growing hysterical and kicking the bars.

“I CAN!” Bowser roared and shook the cage so roughly that Luigi felt his teeth rattle. "And I will!" Kamek watched the torture unfold with a smile, but dared not join. Bowser was amped up to the max, heaving with rage. 

“A brother's execution. Now that’s a punishment well-deserved for a human home-wrecker,” he decided with a surge of finality, and righted the cage.

Luigi picked himself up to rest against the bars and pressed his gloved hand against his head. He’d never felt as helpless and weak as he did then, but he refused to give up. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. Even when he was trapped, bruised, and bleeding, he would never stop trying to protect his brother. His trembling fingers found his cap and he held it to his chest.

“Yes,” Bowser growled in answer to the silent plea. He stood and left Kamek to handle the poor plumber. “I have two vows to uphold now and I’ll be dry-boned if I don’t execute ‘em.”

…

After abandoning Luigi to Kamek, Bowser waited ready at the mouth of his ship. Just as he’d wanted, his koopa troopas followed his commands to a T. He watched with a big evil grin on his maw as his trusty troops flew in their latest batch of prisoners. Two in particular caught his eye: his beautiful Peaches, radiant as ever, and a human male who looked strikingly like Luigi. Only shorter. And rounder. And red.

Bowser snorted. If this was what he’d been worried about, he owed Kamek an apology.

Peach’s Koopa released her to land comfortably onto the deck while Mario’s let him fall rather harshly to the ground. Peach quickly helped him stand and faced the menacing Bowser with a fearless glare. Contrastingly, Mario jolted with fear when his eyes landed on the king, but he stood his ground all the same.

Bowser drew up to his full height and opened his arms to greet his future bride. “Princess Peach!” he crowed. “The magma of my twin hearts!” Peach lifted her chin, confused but defiant. Bowser sauntered closer and dropped his arm to reveal a brilliant star shining brightly behind him. “As you can see, I have the legendary Super Star.” He smoothed back his red locks and smirked. “Really makes ya realize what you’re missing out on, eh?” He chuckled in a manner of woo.

“What is that thing?” Mario whispered, referring to both the star and Bowser. Peach stepped forward, protecting her new friend from the king. 

“If you're going to use it, use it now or stand down,” she warned, but Bowser merely cleared his throat and, to the newcomers' shock, bent down on one knee. 

“No, Princess," he purred. "This star is for us.”

Peach bristled and Mario reared back, baffled.

“With its power, we’ll be invincible. We can rule the world together…” With dramatic flourish, Bowser extended his digitrade. “...Forever. Will you accept my hand in marriage?”

Peach was struck dumb, but only momentarily as she smacked the offending limb away. “Marry you? Are you crazy?” she barked, and actually stamped her foot. “I would never marry you!”

Bowser’s smoking nostrils flared. “Reconsider,” he ordered. He locked his death glare onto the human male kneeling shocked and pointed a razor-sharp claw at him. 

Kamek grinned and waved his scepter. All at once, a spectrum of color illuminated Mario from head to toe. He gasped, surprised, then let out a ragged cry as he felt an invisible force begin to crush him from every angle possible. 

Peach shouted with alarm and tried to help, but Kamek’s magic was untouchable. 

“If this is what I’d do to a stranger, imagine what I could do to the rest of your people,” Bowser mused, his intent as clear as day. 

As much as she valued her freedom, Princess Peach couldn’t defy knowing it would cost her everyone she held dear. Ultimately, she relented. “A-Alright, I’ll do it! I’ll marry you! Just, please stop!”

Bowser lifted a hand for Kamek to stand down, and the mage obeyed. Mario collapsed, a panting sweaty mess after experiencing such excruciating pain. “No, Princess!” he pleaded. Peach knelt at his side to make certain he was alright. 

“Are you okay?” she asked worriedly, and felt him for injuries.

"Me?!" Mario gasped. "Don't worry about me; I'm fine. But you-!"

“It's okay. I won’t let him hurt you," Peach insisted, wearing a determined smile to mask her obvious despair, "or anyone else.” 

This wouldn’t stand, so Mario did and addressed the massive Koopa. 

“Ya think you'll get away with this? Think again,” he growled, even as he trembled with fear. He’d never seen such an intimidating creature in all his life. Nothing on earth could compete but the dinosaurs that had died off so long ago.  

Bowser grinned, overjoyed and smug, and offered his hand to Peach. “I'm afraid I will. And you’re going to watch. Front row seat, in fact.” Peach visibly flinched as their hands made contact, hers disappearing into his giant claws. “Don't be late. Your brother’s going to make a special appearance at the end of the ceremony.”

“Luigi!?” Mario gasped. “Whadja do t' him?” He ran at the king only to be tackled by a tenner of troops. "Where is he?!" He shouted as his head was shoved to the ground.

"Don't hurt him!" Peach cried, but Bowser tugged her along.

“Don’t mind him, Peaches,” he soothed in a tone of voice that made the young lady sick to her stomach. “All you need to think about now is how lovely our future is going to be.”

Chapter Text

Few words passed between Luigi and Kamek on the way to the venue. Bowser’s savagery had rendered them mute, leaving metal clangs and lava flow to fill the gaping silence. Only when they approached a set of double doors did Luigi utter a word. 

“H-How is he gonna kill me?”

His question gave Kamek a brief pause before he smiled. “Who can say? Fire-breathing, crushing, weaponry; my king is very creative,” he answered. 

“A-And you’re okay with that?” Luigi breathed. He knew he was nothing but a stranger to the turtle-esque mage, but surely it should hold a scintilla of empathy, sympathy, something for a fellow (though otherworldly) living being.

Kamek adjusted his cyan robes and flicked his wand. “Use your imagination.” 

Dejected, Luigi hung his head. 

Kamek was as careful as he was kind. He leveraged the weight of Luigi’s cage to force open the double doors, thus revealing a cliffside patio overhanging a sea of orange-red lava. Luigi gasped at the sheer force and clutched the cage bars to keep himself steady. 

“Here we are!” the magician announced and proudly spread his arms. The venue was a splendid spectacle. The lateral areas were lined with white and purple pews. The candle-lit runway, from which several massive heart-shaped arches loomed overhead, led to a staircase and altar. It was strikingly beautiful compared to the host's typical flair.

Luigi’s wandering eyes eventually landed on a massive white cake near the ambo. Nothing seemed off until he realized that the red icing was specifically applied to each layer in a way to resemble blood running down to the base. Luigi’s face went as green as his cap.

Kamek hummed and surveyed the area to find a place to set Luigi before deciding on the gift table near the double doors. “...And there you are!” he briskly declared, setting the cage down gently so as to not disturb the other gifts. “This way, you won’t be too big of a distraction for our dear guests.”

Luigi quivered and held his palm to his bleeding forehead. He knew Kamek would never listen, yet he couldn’t suppress the urge to plead. “Don’t let him see me die,” he begged.

Kamek dusted off his robe. “Who's "him"?”

Luigi swallowed hard. “My brother!” he broke. 

Kamek flippantly waved him off. “Oh, hush now. Be happy you aren’t with the rest of the prisoners!" He flourished his arms to reveal a massive floating contraption emerging from the smoky horizon. It was a sort of metal carrier with hundreds of hanging cages suspended below. "They won’t be seeing their families when they die!” While Luigi gasped, Kamek laughed as if it hardly mattered. “Do you like cake? Mmhmm… My lord DOES have a good sense of humor.” With that, the mage plodded back inside.

Luigi looked on with despair as his former fellow prisoners hung helplessly over the lava ocean, little more than dots on the horizon. It wasn’t often that he was faced with such unabashed evil. These koopa-creatures’ depravity was beyond Spike, his former boss, any bully he’d endured, or any criminal he’d ever seen on the local news. 

Looking about himself, Luigi grew increasingly frantic. His plight was more dire than ever before. Mario was within Bowser’s reach; if Luigi didn’t escape NOW, they would both suffer and perish. 

“C’mon,” he pleaded. “Maria e Giuseppe, I need—!” He froze. Right there, just a foot away from his cage, sat the bouquet of fire flowers that Bowser had ordered be strewn about the venue. Having been jostled by Kamek when he’d set down Luigi’s cage, the flowers were resting against and singeing another gift’s wrapping paper.

“Only fire could help you…” 

Luigi hoped Bowser was cocky enough to reveal such sensitive information and wasn't simply bluffing. He plucked one of the flowers from the bunch by its stem and nearly dropped it due to its radiating heat, and to an incredible degree!

Astounded, Luigi poked the pistil and gasped as his bloodied, gloved hand suddenly caught fire. Shouting and furiously shaking his hand, he tried to put out the blaze, only to realize that neither he nor his clothes were burning. Despite the flames traveling up his arm and consuming the rest of his body, he didn’t feel a thing! 

“What the-!?” he squawked. A small fireball ignited at the center of his palm. Shocked, he flung it without thinking and watched it sizzle on the obsidian ground. The only thing that could dispel his shock now was the sharp sounds of distant koopas readying themselves for their king’s big day. 

“Wow. Okay, okay.” Luigi took a deep breath and quizzically tensed his palm. To his delight, another fireball appeared. He successfully resisted the urge to dispel it and carefully held it against the bars of his cage. 

...That was it!

“HAHA! YES!” he shouted, a wild, giddy grin spreading across his face. The bars were compact, but, like Bowser had hinted at, pliable. All it would take was a little more heat.

—

“You were right,” Mario growled, pacing the small holding cell. “Bowser has my brother.” Outside the space, Peach matched his pace, equally as furious and afraid. Their only exit, a small arched door, stood guarded by two koopa-troopas armed with spears. 

“And a super star,” the princess snapped, pressing her hand to her collar. She’d been redressed in a beautiful white wedding gown, complete with a veil and bouquet. “He must’ve taken it from the Snow Kingdom.”

Mario gritted his teeth, his anger for the monstrous creature so intense that he yelled and slammed his fist against the bars of his cell.

Across the small dressing room, the door opened, revealing Kamek. “Salutations,” he greeted with a smug little grin. To Peach, he crowed, “You look lovely, Dear Princess. It is an honor for you to take the King’s hand in matrimony.” To Mario, he turned his nose in the air and snickered, “You really don’t deserve to know this, Human, but your brother is alive and…well, as “well” as anyone could be.”

Mario’s glare momentarily faltered. He could only imagine what harm had befallen his brother at the hands of these creatures. “What are you doing to him?” he demanded, rattling the bars.

"Nothing!" Kamek didn’t even try to hide the smile behind his claws. “Nothing you won’t see with your own eyes.” Mario bared his teeth at the sickeningly boastful tone. “I won’t be long now!” With that, Kamek disappeared in a cloud of sparkly mist.

Both Peach and Mario seethed at the spot where Kamek had stood.

“We’re not lettin’ these guys win,” Mario snarled. He addressed the two guards standing by the door. “Ya hear that?! The second you turn yer backs, I’m hauling all of us outta here!” He shouted. One guards said nothing. The other scoffed.

“NO! We can’t,” Peach argued. She reached through the bars and took the man’s chin in her hand to get him to focus. “If we run now, there’ll be nothing for us to run to,” she whispered. “Even if we manage to get your brother and escape, Bowser'll power up with the star and destroy us AND everyone in my kingdom!”

Again, Mario faltered. Peach’s stare softened. “I’d power-up with it myself just to take it out of his hands,” she confessed. “But I have no idea where he keeps it.”

“S-So there’s no way outta this?” Mario wavered. “It’s either “you marry him" or "everyone dies”?” Peach didn’t answer. “He’s gonna kill me and Luigi anyway, isn’t he?” Mario muttered. "This is all my fault." He lowered his head but Peach lifted it back up.

"Hey. Listen. If I can’t defeat Bowser right here and now,” Peach comforted, “I’ll persuade him to keep you two alive until after the wedding. After that, I’ll convince him to let you and your brother go. I’m sure he’ll feel generous after we…” she paused, swallowing back bile. “...wed.” 

Mario reared back, both humbled and aghast. For Peach to sacrifice her future and dignity, even if it was also for her kingdom’s sake, she had to have a brilliant heart. He reached through the bars and, before he could back down, took her hands in his.

“If you’re resigned t’ do that for us, then I’ll make sure ya don’t have to.”

They shared a sweet smile, Peach’s more understandably morose. “If you make it back home…” she trailed, unsure of what to ask of him. “Remember me?” She put on a joking tone. “Tell my story?”

Mario shrugged good-naturedly and squeezed her hand. "I could never forget you." He lowered his voice further, almost shy. “Nobody back home would believe me if I told ‘em about this,” he confessed with a little laugh. “Sometimes, I can hardly believe it myself.” 

“Believe it, Mustache-Man,” a nearby koopa that was standing guard offhandedly replied. “Bowsa’s gonna pay US double to keep ya in the front row.” 

Without another word, Peach promptly knocked him and the other guard out and dismantled their spears. 

Mario blushed, ever impressed. “Nice punch!” he complimented, pumping his fists. 

“Thank you!” Peach smiled and carefully tucked one of the small spearheads to hide amongst the flowers in her bouquet. She curtsied for good measure, but then grew serious.

“Mario…” She paused, reached through the bars to rest her hands over his. “I can’t promise you that everything will be perfect after this, but I won’t rest until we’ve saved your brother.” 

“Whaddaya gonna do?” he asked. 

Peach dished him a coy smile and slid a finger across her throat. Then, she offered him the second spear-head. The gesture was akin to a queen offering her sword to her knight in a moment of desperation, a sign of loyalty and determination to stand together in the face of adversity.

Mario tucked it in his chest-pocket and winked. “I like where this is going.”

Chapter Text

The fantastical guests pouring into the courtyard mesmerized Luigi. As clear as day, creatures he'd never imagined could exist outside of fairytales trotted, floated, and crawled past him. His tendency to watch those around him was met with mutual interest; the guests were fascinated with him so much so that they created a traffic jam at the gift table. To dissuade the rubbernecks, a guard flung a decorative throw over Luigi’s cage, and escorted everyone else to their seats.

The sudden darkness was concerning, since Luigi wanted to discern his surroundings, but he realized that he could now heat the cage bars in relative secrecy. In the palm of his hand, he ignited yet another fireball, its light shining brightly and giving him all the visibility he needed to work.

“Okay,” he whispered. “Showtime.” But before he could start, a loud disturbance alerted him. 

Through a small hole in the throw, Luigi spotted Bowser marching past and down the aisle. He was decked out in a white and purple suit and matching top hat. The choice of fashion would be comical had Luigi’s situation been different. Right now, Bowser was too near for comfort. Luigi held his breath, but, by the grace of God, Bowser paid the gift table no heed. 

Luigi sighed with relief and held the flame in his hand against a bar. It was slow work, and he soon became so absorbed that he missed Kamek entering the courtyard with Mario bound in tow. 

As the mage had promised, he forced Mario to kneel before the pews in the very front. An amused pair of koopas sitting behind the plumber tittered at his situation. Mario ignored them. Peach had a plan and he was going to follow it. 

Following the last guest's seating, the wedding got underway. Everyone hushed. Soft piano music permeated the ashy air. Flying koopas troopas fluttered and flowered the aisle with pink petals.

From under the heated throw, Luigi heard the giant double doors creak open, followed by a chorus of “oohs” and “ahhs” at what had to be the princess walking down the aisle. Curiosity piqued, Luigi peeked through the small hole to witness the unexpected: 

Just as Kamek had claimed, the princess Bowser had been raving about, the one that his brother had been traveling with, was a human after all! Her solemn demeanor posed a stark contrast to her majestic appearance, and Luigi could only guess that she had been forced into this. He greatly sympathized with her plight but forced his sentiments aside to refocus. If the princess was here, that meant Mario had to be here as well! 

Luigi gave the bars a swift tug and grinned. The metal was nearly hot enough to be warped! It wouldn’t be long now. 

Mario watched Peach arrive at the altar, deeply despairing yet powerless to do a thing in his current state until she gave the word. He could only watch from a short distance as the wedding unfolded.

Even worse, though, was his distress for Luigi. His little brother was nowhere in sight. Hence, Mario was beginning to believe that Kamek had lied, and that Luigi was off somewhere being tortured by the koopas. Mario felt a wave of hopelessness wash over him. He had no way of knowing what had happened to Luigi and nobody to turn to; it was killing him inside. 

Then he gasped, for a floating platform of chained cages filled with prisoners had emerged from the distant haze. Bowser smiled at Peach’s horrified face. “I’ll be sacrificing these ones in your honor,” he boasted, puffing out his chest. Though Peach regarded him with dismay, he commanded his troops, “Lower the prisoners!”

The order sent Mario into a panic. “NO!” He stood and scoured each of the distant cages for his brother, but couldn’t spot him among the poor populace of penguins, goombas, and kongs. A nearby guard forced him back to the ground with his spear.

“Stay still!” it hissed.

Back at the gift table, Bowser’s muffled command struck a chord with Luigi. He felt deeply indebted to the prisoners who’d helped him escape, but he had a responsibility to Mario first. With a heavy heart, he quickly returned his attention to the task at hand, determined to free himself before it was too late. 

Kamek materialized at the altar to officiate the ceremony, wearing the smuggest grin anyone could fathom, but just as he was about to address the engaged couple, Peach socked him straight in the jaw. Taking advantage of the stunned silence that followed, she stomped on his chest for good measure.

“Oof! Dramaaa!” one of the koopas sitting behind Mario whisper-sung. 

“You really thought I’d marry you!?” Peach spat at Bowser, whose expression resembled that of a spoiled child who’d been informed of the Tooth Fairy’s nonexistence.

“I-I–!” he stammered. “Yes?” But Peach wasn’t done, wringing her wrists in preparation. “I’d never marry a monster!” A tiny smirk graced Mario’s face, and he braced himself.

Withdrawing her stolen dagger, Peach leapt for Bowser and slashed at his throat. Despite his gargantuan size, Bowser managed to dodge the stab and reared back onto his hindquarters with an embarrassing crash. 

After receiving a quick nod from Peach, Mario sprung into action. He reached into his breast pocket where his own dagger was hidden and attacked the koopa duo sitting behind him before they could help their king. Though his hands were bound, he did a fine job dispersing, even scaring them into their shells and kicking them into their fellow troops.

With Bowser stunned, Peach made quick work of Mario’s binds, slashing them to ribbons before making a run for the gift table where a plethora of question blocks and other power ups were ripe for the taking. It was a difficult mission. The guests had recovered from their shock and were roaring into battle, but Princess Peach was swift and agile. With a determined spirit and a bit of luck, she managed to outwit them all and make it to the table unscathed.

As the uproar grew even more ferocious, Luigi finally heated the metal to malleability and rejoiced. “YES!” he shouted, and rolled up his sleeves. But just as he was about to pry the bars apart, something hit the table and caused it to snap. Everything, including his cage, tumbled from its perch. The throw fell away revealing him to the unbelievable commotion. Luigi landed hard, taking damage and ultimately losing the power up. 

At once, the sensation of searing heat returned to him, and before he could realize what had happened, he touched the burning metal with his bare forearm. White hot pain licked his flesh and his vision became blurred as a dreadful hissing sound assaulted his ears. He was unsure if he’d screamed or not, but, when he came to, he was curled up and his arm was smoking.

Reeling from the pain, Luigi gasped and gargled, clutching and blowing on his searing flesh. He couldn’t risk screaming, lest he wanted to draw attention to himself. He watched the chaos unfolding and realized that without the fireflower’s powers, he couldn’t bend the bars on his own anymore. He needed help. Thankfully, all the guests were focused on the princess and leaping at her with thunderous roars. Koopas, boos, and bo-bombs alike. Nobody paid attention to Luigi, which for once he was grateful for, giving him ample time to grab a discarded metal spear and use it like a crowbar to pry the bars apart.

Carefully he crawled through the makeshift opening, making sure to avoid the remaining hot metal, and finally, finally, he was free. He clutched his arm, got to his wobbly feet, and bent over to catch his breath. The princess zoomed past, plucked a blue-flower from the ground, and activated its powers. 

Luigi watched in awe as she practically waltzed her way through the onslaught of enemies and blasted ice at the pulley system, freezing it in place and preventing the prisoners from being lowered any further. He allowed himself some relief then. They had a chance.

A flying spear stuck the ground inches from his feet, snapping him back to the present. Scrambling his brain for what to do next, Luigi staggered back from the carnage. He was about to break through the double doors, but was interrupted by a flash of red and blue among the quarreling crowd. His heart leapt to his throat. Could it be?

“Mario?!” he called, gasping with joy as the spot of red jolted and started toward him. His brother loomed into sight, a much-welcomed beacon of hope. Luigi shouted again, his voice breaking. “Mario!"

It was really him. “LU!” Mario and Luigi leapt for each other, arms outstretched, joyous watery smiles spread across their faces. Reunited, their tight embrace spoke a thousand words of gratitude and relief.

The momentum from Mario’s tackle knocked them both to the ground. Neither could contain their hysterical, tearful laughter. Luigi's shoulders twitched in an aborted shiver of anticipation as Mario yanked him to his feet. “Where’ve ya been, Bro?!” the younger of the two cried.

He meant no reprimand, but guilt struck Mario like lightning as he took in the bruises, cuts, burns, and blood littering his little brother like graffiti. “O-Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!” he exclaimed. “But I’m here now, see?!” He pressed their foreheads together. “As long as we’re together, everything’ll be okay!” 

In that instant, Luigi believed him, but as wonderful as their reunification was, the journey there would prove more perilous than ever. As if on cue to prove Mario wrong, Bowser’s menacing shadow loomed over them. He looked worse for wear, and to say he was ticked would be a horrendous understatement. 

Luigi went white as his age-old fear returned to him with a vengeance. “Go! Go!” he shrieked, practically shoving Mario toward the double doors. “He’s gonna kill us!”

“Oh-ho, no,” Mario refused. He pulled away from Luigi and actually stepped toward the heaving-with-rage king. “Alright. Give up, ya brute,” he snarled, and even jabbed a finger at Bowser’s scaly, vicious face. “The weddin’s over and we’re goin’ home.”

Luigi took a start. “Are you crazy?” he screeched, pulling harder. “He’s twenty times your size!” 

But for Luigi’s safety, Mario’s fearlessness was outmatched and, in this case, downright foolish. “C’mon,” he snapped at his brother. “You know he ain’t gettin’ away with hurting ya.”

Mario’s words hit their mark. Bowser roared and sprang toward the brothers with his claws outstretched, not unlike a tiger leaping for an unsuspecting gazelle. Mario pushed Luigi aside and moved to bait Bowser away, but, to his shock, Bowser went after Luigi instead and clawed him off his feet.

“NO!” Mario’s frantic shout alerted Peach from where she’d taken out a group of koopas and piled their shells. “Mario!” she called, and started toward him.

“You ruined EVERYTHING!” Bowser boomed, his fire-red eyes blazing with fury. Whether he was speaking to Mario, Peach, or Luigi was anyone’s guess. They had all managed to thwart his special day in his or her own way. 

Luigi landed about as gracefully as a sloppily-written punchline, and his frantic attempt to crawl away was thwarted by Bowser’s sharp claws yanking him backward. Luigi found himself flipping through the air and landing so hard on the ground that his teeth rattled. 

“I was FINALLY gonna be happy!” Bowser roared.

“STOP!” Mario shouted, the word tinged with pure desperation and panic.

But Bowser was relentless. He grabbed Luigi again, this time pinning him down by the throat and clawing his front again and again. There, he panted, giving the human a look that could kill. Luigi strained under the weight of and punched uselessly at the king’s rigid knuckles. 

Bowser just snarled. There was nothing Luigi, Mario, or even Peach could do or say to dissuade him now. In his rage, he was determined to exact revenge on the brothers for their unforgivable “transgressions”. 

"Now you all will SUFFER!” he roared, raising his digitrade to deliver a killing blow. “Like ME!"

Luigi braced himself. Luckily, Mario diverted the deadly strike by smashing the wedding cake’s pillar against Bowser’s thick, leathery head. Before the beast could recover, Peach arrived in the nick of time to jab her heels into his smoking nostrils.

Bowser was unable to defend himself against his two assailants without letting go of Luigi. He staggered back, blindly swiping at the air to fend off his attackers.

With the king’s immense weight off of him, Luigi lay sprawled coughing and shaking. Somehow, he managed to pull himself together and crawl across the cobble. Unfortunately, his prayer to go unnoticed was in vain. Once Bowser caught wind that his prey was slinking off, he promptly tossed aside both Mario and Peach, leapt for Luigi, and swiped at him with all his might.

“No-!” Luigi barely got a word out before taking the full force of the hit. It was as if a truck had pummeled him from head to toe. He flew, crashed into, and knocked over rows of pews before landing face-down near the altar. For a long moment, his vision went white and his ears filled with a low-pitched drone. “Gggah!” he winced. With Bowser’s roars ringing in his ears, he picked himself up and dove behind a pew for cover. 

There, he sat. His head spun, his heart beat like a hammer, his arm screamed, his cuts reopened, his nose ran with blood, his left eye swelled shut, and his ankle burned like a flame. He had sustained all that in under a minute. “Huh…Holy moly…” He pressed a hand to his forehead in a meager attempt to stop the bleeding and snatched up a discarded spear for a sense of security.

Just yards away, the king, his mage, and the remaining koopa-troopas had finally managed to subdue both Mario and Peach. With them under control, Bowser turned all his attention onto the one he’d sworn to murder since his capture.

“You’re REALLY trying to avoid the inevitable,” Bowser mocked incredulously, feeling no shortage of satisfaction from the smaller creature’s fear, “you weak, worthless little COWARD!? COME OUT AND FIGHT! Die with dignity!” Luigi didn’t move, admittedly demoralized. 

Mario couldn’t stand it. “Leave him alone!” he shouted, prompting Kamek to increase his spell’s gravitational pull.

“Quiet!” the magikoopa snapped, rueful that his king’s big day had been spoiled. “I see NO point to your insubordination. That one is worthless!”

Despite the magic anchoring him, Mario’s head snapped in Kamek’s direction. “Luigi’s got more worth in his pinky than your “king” does in his ENTIRE BODY!” His statement was emphatic, carrying the force of a thousand soldiers.

“His manner reveals otherwise,” Kamek countered under his breath, but behind the pew, Luigi’s ringing ears picked up on every word. He stared down warily at his burnt arm and shivered, contemplating what to do next. 

“You don’t know him!” Mario snapped, his powerful inflection echoing through the hall and drowning out Bowser's endless taunts. “He means nothin’ to you, but he’s everything to me! He’s taught me so much–I’d be LOST without him! He’s not just my brother; he’s my HERO!”

Luigi bowed his head. From the pain, he’d managed to suppress tears thus far, but hearing his brother make such a meaningful declaration was pushing it. He certainly didn’t feel like a hero, much less deserve to be called one, but his brother was neither one to lie nor boast. He was telling the truth, and that meant the world.

Bowser flexed his razor-sharp claws. “Well, your “hero” can teach you one last lesson about mucking my affairs…” he growled, stomping toward Luigi’s hiding spot, his claws glinting in the firelight, and his next words echoing in all her were present. There was no doubt in his chilling promise:

 “...by letting you watch him DIE.”

That did it. A deafening, ragged cry ripped from Luigi’s throat as he launched himself from behind the pew with the broken spear in hand. He was no less afraid, no less pained, no less intimidated and exhausted, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t going to run anymore. 

Bowser was startled, to say the least. Luigi’s unexpected comeback and shaky determination nearly rendered him speechless; he barely managed to dodge the deadly weapon. “Finally!” he growled, retaliating with a fireball.

Luigi used a pew as a launching pad and narrowly avoided the flames just in time. He thrust the spear forward again upon landing but missed his target. 

The remaining few soldiers watched but dared not interfere. They all knew this was personal. Their king wanted to carry out and win this battle alone.

Bowser, furious that his prey was evading, released a flurry of fireballs in Luigi’s direction. The man succeeded in managing to dodge each one though, not without strain, and only fueled Bowser's ire.

“GO, LU!” he heard Mario cheer.

Bowser was losing his nerve. He charged forward on aching feet, intending to crush Luigi with his massive frame, but Luigi was faster. He swerved away at the last moment, driven by adrenaline, and Bowser was left to spin out and collide with the gift table, sending the gifts to ricochet.

“Ooof,” a drybones winced, and ducked behind his fellows. They all made a hasty retreat for the double doors, knowing better than to even be a spectator at this point. 

“Where are you going?” Kamek demanded, but he couldn’t use his magic to keep the koopas there, as he was occupied with keeping Peach and Mario stationary. “Deserters!”

As Bowser struggled to collect himself, Peach looked about for inspiration and spotted the bane of all large creatures: a blue mini-mushroom. Courtesy of Bowser’s upset, it had been flung from the gift table and rolled perfectly at her feet. She kicked Kamek square in his shell-less back, resulting in him screeching and doubling over with pain. This in turn disrupted the spell he’d cast over Mario, setting him free. 

Mario got to his feet and quickly incapacitated the guard who was pinning Peach’s arms behind her back. “C’mon!” he urged. “We hafta help!”

“Use this!” Peach exclaimed and shoved the blue mushroom into Mario’s gloved hands. The two locked eyes and understanding passed between them. 

From there, Mario, Luigi, and Bowser got into the ultimate scuffle while Peach kept Kamek’s attention on her so that he couldn’t magically intervene. “Come on, you stooge,” she urged, delicately leaping from toe to toe. “Hit me with your best shot.”

Kamek recovered from the prior attack and wielded his scepter. “Come what may,” he hissed. “My allegiance is pledged to Lord Bowser.” One look into his cracked goggles would suggest he had a few regrets.

Bowser fought with the intensity of a wild animal, throwing punches and spitting fireballs every which way. Mario and Luigi were able to evade, but they were quickly running out of ideas. Mario especially, had no idea how to get Bowser to eat the mini-mushroom. He couldn’t be tricked, only forced. So, with the mushroom in hand, Mario scurried up Bowser’s shell and attempted to force the fungi down his throat from behind. Ultimately, that failed; Bowser promptly flung him off and sent him to slam back against the double doors.  

Luigi watched this all unfold with horror. “Mario!” he cried, and tried to lend aid, but Bowser blocked his path. Amidst the flames, Luigi focused but on the blue mushroom Mario had dropped and, then, it clicked. The gift-table’s blocks, mushrooms, and fire-flowers gave special abilities. The blue mushroom Mario had dropped must be special in kind. Whatever deadly ability it harbored must be detrimental if he’d tried to force-feed it to Bowser. 

Luigi snapped back to the present as Bowser took a breath and cracked his bones back into place. With a furious growl, he settled his demon-red eyes on the young human, who innately stumbled back. “LUIGI!” he roared. 

Luigi trembled and made eye contact with his brother, who lifted a shaky hand and pointed intensely at the discarded blue mushroom. Luigi understood the message. “I got it!” he blurted. “But how–?” He stopped short, realizing that the mushroom sat dangerously between himself and the rapidly approaching tyrant.

No time to think! Psyching himself up, Luigi darted forward and swept the blue fungi off the ground. Bowser took the abrupt movement as a sign to charge. He’d underestimated the human brothers, so, this time, Bowser would pull no punches. All it would take was one well-aimed snap of his jaws to kill Luigi, thus carrying out his revenge against Mario.

Luigi froze for only half a second but it was more than enough time for Bowser to smash into him and send them both past the altar and off the edge of a precipice. 

There was nothing between them and the narrow lip of land jutting out of the cliffside to slow their descents. Luigi screamed, flailed, and hit the ground inches away from the thousand-foot drop. The force knocked the wind out of him while Bowser landed heavily on his feet shortly after. 

Luigi could only lay there struggling to catch his breath. After shifting his limbs to make sure nothing was broken, he propped himself up against the sheer obsidian wall behind him and writhed. “Khhh…” He scoured the lithe area and found that it offered no room to run, no room to hide. Just him, open air, and a fire-breathing beast.

“Move!” his brain screamed. "Move, you idiot!” But his body and mind were no longer in sync. He could only open his palm to reveal the blue mushroom he’d crushed in his fist. 

“Luigi!” came Mario’s heartbroken shout from up on the edge. Luigi opened his mouth to answer but all that came out was a dry gasp. Said gasp caught the attention of Bowser, who’d steadied himself on the narrow precipice. Spotting the human, he grinned. There was nothing between him and his prey. 

“Goodbye, Luigi,” he growled, and leapt with his fanged jaw agape. 

From there, time seemed to move in slow motion. Every passing millisecond felt like an hour, contributing a great deal to Luigi's rapidly beating heart. He could feel the heat from Bowser’s breath, see the glint on his slick fangs and razor-sharp claws, smell the growing scent of ash and sulfur, feel the sharp edges of rock pressing into his back preventing escape. 

As if on autopilot, Luigi’s gloved fingers strained for and managed to grasp his savior: the spear. Lifting his other hand, he skewered the blue mushroom to the spearhead, tucked the shaft under his armpit, and propped the end against the obsidian boulder behind him for support. 

Bowser’s eyes slid toward the bright blue mushroom and widened with realization but it was too late to slow down. The spear jabbed straight down Bowser’s throat, mushroom and all. He stopped short and momentarily choked before rearing back and yanking it out. Panicked, he clutched at his throat and stared at the spear-tip. 

The mushroom was gone. Thanks to his own hubris and unyielding taste for revenge, Bowser's fate has been sealed. Luigi lay in stunned disbelief as the formerly menacing figure shrunk to a fraction of his original size. 

Luigi clutched his collar as the newly tiny critter shouted at him.“Hey! HEY!” it squeaked angrily, running up to his boot and biting the sole with its tiny teeth. “You’ll pay for this!” 

All the man could do was stare. He couldn’t believe it: Bowser was no larger than a guinea pig. Now, Luigi wasn’t privy to if this effect would last, so he raised his spear and aimed—

“Luigi!” There was Mario’s call again, he realized, and lowered his spear.

Mario descended like a professional rock climber to join them, his face twisted with rage. “Alright, Turtle,” he growled, and he lifted his boot to stomp Bowser to death. Luigi collapsed, too exhausted and dazed to even consider protest.

From above, Peach called out just into time to freeze Mario in place. “NO! Stop!” she cried. “He can’t take damage! Wait right here!” She left for a brief moment to fetch something from the gift table.

During her brief absence, Bowser ran back and forth between the brothers in a tantrum, screeching and stomping and firing tiny flames that were no more intense than a matchstick's. He wanted them to inflict damage to regain his true size. Luigi was able to ignore it, but he could tell it was taking everything in Mario to hold back.

“Oh, Mario, am I glad to see you,” Luigi wavered, rubbing his bloodied forehead. Mario’s angry expression went tender and he moved to his little brother’s side. “Same here, Lu,” he comforted. “Same here.” He looked upward, musing, “She musta done a number on that wizard, eh?”

Peach returned with the magikoopa’s scepter in one hand and, in the other, a jar, ironically the one that was sturdy enough to hold the fire-flowers that aided Luigi's escape. She promptly plucked Bowser up by his tail and carefully dropped him inside. “P-Peaches! Baby, wait! G-Give me one more ch—“ Princess Peach fastened the lid to cut off his desperate words and, just like that, the enemy was immobilized. 

Save for Bowser’s angry muffled squeaks, a silence fell over the trio. Luigi was stunned by what had just happened. He couldn’t speak, could hardly breathe. His heart still beat like a hammer. Mario, however, managed to find his voice, and regarded Luigi with a mixture of amazement and pride. "You did it, Lu," he said, clapping a hand on his brother's back.

Luigi’s shoulders heaved. “I-I did!” he laughed in a voice laden with awe. He really had. True, he hadn’t eaten, slept, or drank for almost two days. True, the separation from his brother, the kidnapping, the cages, the lava, the torment, threats, beatings, burns, and blood were awful, but he hadn't been bested. He had endured. He really DID and without impressive strength or fearlessness… Just him.

He tried hard to suppress his tears, but they were adamant to be spilled. "It's alright, Lu," Mario cried and embraced his brother. 

“ARGH! Why am I crying?” groaned Luigi, fanning his eyes. “Stop it, Eyes!”

“No shame in it, Bro,” Mario sniffled, thumbing away his own tears.

Then, for the first time, Princess Peach addressed the younger brother of the two. “Luigi?” she spoke, leaning down to put a hand on his slender shoulder. “I'll never forget what you and Mario did for me today. Taking down this psycho took real courage and I commend you for that. You have a lot to be proud of.”

Bowser made some muffled snide comment, but Luigi could have cared less. “Oh! H-heh!” He smiled, blushed a little, and gave a clumsy nod to imitate a bow. “Thanks, Your Highness.” 

He was embarrassed about his tears, but they were a testament to all he had overcome with his own determination and grit; this victory was his alone, and he deserved to feel proud of himself. 

Most important: he was now safe in his brother's arms, finally and truly free.

“I need something t' eat.”

Chapter Text

The weeks following the infamous battle passed without incident. Bowser’s speedy trial ended with just deserts. Since the blue mushroom’s stagnant effects rendered him tiny, Princess Peach arranged his quarters to be a simple, hanging golden birdcage (coincidentally similar in design to the cage Bowser had imprisoned his former captives) in a small, empty room within her castle walls. 

There, Bowser spent his time brooding, singing his woes, and plotting revenge. He was besotted to harbor any ill-will against the princess, but the Mario brothers? He wanted their heads on silver platters.

As Bowser reminisced about his future bloody endeavors, the door to his room opened. Lunch time. He hopped from his miniature piano seat with a growly “harumph”- and faced the visitor. “About time! You trying to starve me?” 

Bowser jumped with surprise. It wasn't the usual guard with his lunch, but Luigi. Bowser’s eyelid twitched.

“Hey,” the young man said good-naturedly and approached his former captor.

It only took a moment for Bowser’s anger to supplant surprise. “You here for a rematch?!” He leapt for the bars snarling like a spastic ape. 

Luigi flinched but held firm in the face of Bowser’s aggression. “No,” he answered, and stepped closer. “Just helping out.” To Bowser’s further shock, there wasn’t a speck of vengeance in the human’s eyes.

As the for explanation? Bowser turned up his nose. “Yeah, right,” he scoffed. “I know you’re just hear to sneer.”

“I’m not–”

“Then shut up and hand it over!” Bowser snapped.

Luigi paused, then carefully handed the tea-cup sized plate to the prisoner. 

“Better be meat, too,” Bowser grumbled, snatching the plate. “No more of that plant-trash.” 

The plate had a few strands of spaghetti and a single meatball on top. Bowser mistook the marinara sauce for blood and grinned morbidly. “That’s more like it,” he said, and chowed down.

Luigi took an idle step back but didn't leave. 

“What?” Bowser snapped through a mouthful of food.

Luigi wiped his brow, contemplating. “I don’t, erm… I don’t forgive you for what you put my brother through yet—“

Bowser laughed. “Do whatever you like,” he said. “It means nothing. And I know you’re still scared, no matter what front you’re trying to pass.”

Luigi didn’t deny it. “S-Sure,” he admitted. “But—” He stopped. The words “I forgive you” hung awkwardly in the air. It didn’t feel appropriate. 

“But nothing. Scram,” Bowser sneered. "I won't be stuck here forever. I’ll get out, and, when that happens, you’ll be sorry."

Luigi looked at him with strange determination. “I know,” he answered. A beat. “But I won't be running.”

Bowser’s snout wrinkled but he said nothing more. Out of habit, Luigi tipped his cap on taking his leave. The implication between them was clear. Bowser would escape one day; that cage wouldn’t entrap him any better than Luigi’s. But when that eventual escape transpired, Luigi and Mario would be there to stop him once again.

Author's Note: Holy camoly, you patient people. I apologize sincerely for the wait.