Innocents: Peach

Victims: 4 Toads, Bowser, Daisy, Rosalina, Mario, Wario, Waluigi, Birdo and Yoshi

Murderer: Luigi

Luigi:

Exhilaration pulsed through his very being, the cat's mind next to him almost overwhelming. He wanted her neck, posed so openly and as pale as the snow he had watched falling all winter whilst formulating the plan. Formulating the rise to power. Creating the theatre.

He wanted her.

And she was all his.

The thinner, more sensitive whiskers of his catlike being twitched with anxious impatience, telling him to continue, to call the curtain on the prey. To finish.

To silence.

But she was right here, even now, clinging to every word, every move, every breath he took. Completely and utterly at his disposal.

Whatever he wanted.

And he wanted to make it last.

Another thought came to him. A second test of competence. A commitment.

A spice of life and a will to survive.

After the end game.

"What do you think?" He whispered, looking towards the ceiling.

The voices began to chant, agreeing with him. Praising him for a thought that surely would appease both parties.

Luigi now looked back to the princess, pressed and frightened against the door to freedom. The door which he had so quickly and swiftly locked.

He watched the little blue vein in her neck pulse, pumping frightened blood through his petrified victim. He watched the ragged rise and fall of Peach's chest, listened to the frantic drum of her heart, observed the miniscule movements of her fingers as they twitched against the doorframe. Searching for an exit in the cracks, seeking out a way to freedom.

A path they would never find

What a lovely plan it was.

Making of a good bonus round.

"Well, we reached a total consensus, I think, so I'll explain what the heck is going on. You're obviously impatient and dying  for me to continue, so I'll make it snappy."

Luigi clicked his fingers, his tail and oversensitive ears twitching at the sudden noise. What a bad joke that was. Perhaps he did have the makings of one of the once obnoxious brothers.

"It's evident that you lost. I will always accept that. However, I still am not satisfied with this... quick chance to finish. I love games. Something I've never been able to shake away. So, this is what I'm challenging you. There are two doors in this hallway that are still unlocked. The way out is sealed, and the way in is where I stand. I'll deactivate this powerup and hang out in the doorway of the courtroom, using nothing but my own, un-catlike senses to listen, smell or feel. Meanwhile, you pick door A or B."

Luigi twitched his ears in the two directions the doors were.

"Your goal is to A, pick a room which I won't, or B, be so quiet in picking a room that I don't hear you enter or leave. If I catch any sign that maybe you are in a room, my eyes will open. Then I pick a room, reactivating the powerup of my choice. I will stay to my assigned room for the remaining time unless you try to escape. If I choose the right room, I hunt until I catch. If I choose the wrong room, the authorities will arrive, you live, I still testify in court, blah blah blah. In essence, the same terms."

He now began to step back, one hand reaching for the bell at his throat. Just as he was about to take it off, another thought hit him and he readdressed the princess.

"Oh! And, well, you don't have to play if you don't want to. Just, you know, give me a holler and we can do this the old fashioned way. I understand if you really just don't want to take a gamble, so that's fine. Just know that I'm always there for you."

He winked, watching Peach's face twist with disgust. That was to be expected.

"Righto, taking away the powerup. I do warn you, though, if you attack me, terms are off and I will hunt you down, formalities gone." Luigi narrowed his eyes, resuming the bestial nature that still burned within.

Without another hesitation, he loosed the knot which held the bell, watching the ribbon fall away into his hands.

A rushing sensation ran through his veins, the exhilaration leaving, the beast being removed from his consciousness, reduced to but a small portion of what it once was, burning like a small coal in the back of his mind.

The tingling began immediately after, feeling the small ears folding back once again, shredding into small follicles which began to lose themselves in the curls of his natural hair. The thrashing tail twitched once more before curling under his suspenders, the green mixing and melding with the green fabric of his partially stained shirt. His cat whiskers also split into parts, losing their touch as they too blended into his original ones. The claws were last, retracting into their pads and becoming paler as they reverted into fingernails, the white fur becoming fabric gloves.

Before long, he stood with the cat bell in his clenched hand, fully himself again.

Luigi ran a tongue over his teeth, feeling the incisors beginning to shrink a touch before setting, still as sharp as ever. Some things, Luigi thought, never change.

He looked up at the princess, who by now had peeled herself away from the wall which she had been frightened against. Luigi found himself wishing he had the ears, if only to hear the throb of her heartbeat once again.

The princess stared at him with cold blue eyes. Luigi looked her right back. Even though he had drained himself of the energy of the cat, he was no less daunted, and he was determined to end the game. He was tired of playing ring around the rosie.

"Begin." He growled, chest heaving, trying to regain his breath.

"Before I change my mind."

Luigi closed his eyes, letting the sounds, scents, and emotions set around him like a blanket, choking out all life and distraction as he began the game at last.

He would win.

No other options.

Peach:

"Begin. Before I change my mind."

Luigi's livid eyes had closed, the bell held firmly in his hand. He had lowered his head, as if to prove that he was indeed not looking out.

Peach soundlessly approached, careful not to let even her breathing give her away. She listened to the soft, whispered breathing of Luigi as he stood stoically against the courthouse door, noted his change of posture and how he now held the hammer loosely at his side, how his ears pricked at the smallest creak of the building.

He was ready.

And so was she.

She turned outwards, viewing both doors. Only one could be chosen and only one, at a wild guess, could be correct.

Damn  it, she hated choices. Bowser or Mario? Mario or Luigi? This or that? pink or peach? Give her the one that would pay the stupid bill for all that was good and perfect!

"Calm down," She reasoned with herself, "Panicking has gotten you nowhere in the past and it certainly won't now."

Her thoughts began to rationalize the longer she stared at both doors.

Luigi had always been superstitious, if his strangely irrational fear of ghosts and his wish to remain on Karma's "good side" was reason enough. So why not choose the one which would make Luigi less certain to enter?

Peach moved quietly to the left door, but stopped upon touching the knob.

But what if he was expecting that choice? After all, the whole night had been a theatre to him, in cruel play where he had tossed aside all fears and rationale to continue whatever he had needed to do to put them all to an end. Could it be that he was expecting her to follow that? Or what if he had expected her to doubt herself and choose the other again? And again, and again...

Peach set her jaw. This was going nowhere. No doubt Luigi was becoming suspicious. Pick now, or die quickly.

Whispering a silent prayer, Peach recalled a small rhyme, thinking of it to herself.

"Sky blue, sky blue, who's got the mushrooms?"

Her finger pointed left.

Throat tightening, Peach finally accepted the door, touching the knob once again.

Once, and only once, her bloodstained glove slipped on the knob, earning her a tiny brass ring of sudden notice.

Peach look back wildly at Luigi, whose head was now up. To Peach's relief, his eyes were still closed, though he tipped his head at the sound, frowning as his did so.

Taking the opportunity, Peach opened the door the rest of the way, silencing the hinges, which were rather well oiled, and stepping in, closing the door behind her.

Sealing her fate.

Sealing her vision in the darkness of damnation.

Luigi (Mentality):

The darkness offers many things. Many of which you cannot find in the light of recognition. The most wonderful one is entire observation. A feeling of total control. Of complete understanding.

Pure and complete being.

I listen now. To my heartbeat, dark and thoughtful, to the ringing in my head, evident and always, to the sound of the building around me, old and collapsing.

And above all, to the essence of the victim who stands by my side.

The victim that I love.

That I would fight for. One that I would die for.

That I would kill for.

The last that I must eliminate.

For once, my mind is completely silent, my brother and his late comrades silent as I listen in the dark.

She breathes softly. Trying not to let me hear. Her delicate intakes I can feel, barely rustling my ear.

She has no clue of what I am capable of.

Do I even know what I am capable of?

Silence for eternity follows, making my tormented thoughts reign over everything I can feel and hear.

And she steps away.

Is she finally prepared to make her choice? Is she going to give up?

Tiny scrapes meet me. The victim moving about uncertainly. I can wait, though. I am extremely patient.

The choir begins to whisper again, warning me of a trick that may come. I bare my teeth. No tricks. I can control. I know the game. I play the game.

And suddenly, a sound.

It rings, high as the dogwhistle. I flinch, lifting my head.

There. She is there.

Bronze. Bell-like.

The bells that I wished I could hear someday.

The day that now can never be. The day that I could understand why I was placed here.

The day when hundreds of bronze bells would ring, and not the mournful and grim squealing of the dagger which I had revealed tonight.

The day when I could be with her forever. When I would have to hide no longer.

Now dashed against the stones. Just as the rest of my long, ill-begotten dreams had been.

Nothing left for me.

Nothing left for Luigi.

Only to end. Finish.

Please. Just end.

No more.

No more light.

Only my tortured mind.

The candle which lit my path long extinguished.

My eyes open, taking in the darkened sight before me.

Two doors. One correct, one ending in certain death.

And either way I choose, I cannot win.

Death already traces cold fingers over my string of life, playing it as a cruel harpist.

Nothing left. Nothing to live for.

Nothing that I can possess eternally.

Choose a door. Only one, and your trial is over.

But perhaps...

Redemption?

Something to chase away the shadows of my insanity?

The day which I wished that I could see? The one I know could never arrive?

The day which could heal me.

Pick a door.

Pick the correct door.

Redemption? Complete madness?

Hope.

My fingers close upon the doorknob.

I'm ready. I want to see that day.

I will make it come true.

The bell rings softly in my closed hand and I stare at it, emotions whistling through my mind with as much ferocity as a hurricane.

I throw the bell.

It hits the front door and shatters, the clapper detaching and ringing one more sweet note before falling into eternal silence.

So much like me.

The first of the hundred others that I imagined would someday ring joyously for me. Rising triumphant from all strife, from all difficulties.

But can be no more.

The brown leaf I shred. My mind at its peak. No longer abused. In control. In command.

My own perfection.

This is the finale. The end.

I open the door, finishing myself in one way or another.

I die.

Or I shatter.

No one left behind to love.

To love me back.

Peach:

The door had closed without a sound.

Now the waiting game began, anxiously preparing for a debut of a relieving win or a devastating and deathly loss.

And Luigi was behind it all.

A man who could have never been imagined as the puppet master. Who toyed with them until the big reveal.

Who was always ready for anything.

As Peach discovered, the room was not as dark as originally thought. In fact, golden light streamed in a small, faint ray from a thin, slitted window.

Boxes were strewn about everywhere and the room itself was made of ornately chiseled stone, continuing the pattern of baroque architecture so obviously stated throughout the rest of the courthouse. The room must have been a storage facility, abused and forgotten, since the light densely revealed dust particles floating in its view.

Peach ran a hand over a nearby box, watching as her finger left an evident line on it.

She rubbed her fingertips together, feeling the dirty softness of the dust on her gloves.

It could have been a pleasant room, had it not been for all the clutter and the lack of sources of light around.

However, she didn't have long to admire the room, as there was the tiniest jingle from behind the door, followed by the clicking of the doorknob's latch.

Peach's eyes widened as she watched the knob turn, slowly but surely.

He had chosen her room.

Now it was time to fight for her survival.

Her panicked gaze flicked around the room, settling on a mahogany desk which was covered with an old sheet, simply overflowing with dust.

Beggars can't be choosers, and Peach dove under the sheet just as the door opened on grimly silent hinges.

From where she sat, Peach could view the floor from underneath the sheet's lip. Even then, many boxes obstructed her view, disallowing her to totally see the happenings of the entire room.

The view was fine enough, though, to see dark brown boots step in, leaving slightly red footsteps to trail in the grey dust behind them.

The psychopath had entered the room, silently and swiftly.

Peach backed away from the sheet, not wishing to accidentally brush it like she had with Waluigi, pressing her back against the wall and beginning to touch the bloodied hem of her ballgown.

The sound of the planks echoing under Luigi's feet almost drowned out the fast rhythm of Peach's heart.

Hide. Just for a half hour longer. No noise, no movement.

"And most of all," Peach thought as dust began to tickle her nose, "Don't sneeze."

Even as she thought of the concept, it was immediately pushed aside as the boots suddenly appeared in front of the sheet, kicking at the dust. Above, more flakes fell, a rubbing sound of Luigi brushing off the sheet preceding it.

Peach could hear murmurs above, mixed in with slight humming, which scarily enough, was to the tune of a children's rhyme that was used as a common joke about the entering of adulthood. However, the joke had turned sour, as Luigi twisted it to fit the scenario.

"Here comes the bride, all dressed in stained white.

And here is the groom, brandishing a knife."

Peach shuddered as she heard the melodically dark tenor voice of Luigi gently whispering the words flawlessly. His voice was so versatile, Peach realized, that it had indeed been his signature vibrato that she had heard in every imitation the said killer had mimicked.

Luigi was the hitman that one would want for a stealthy, untraceable kill. There were simply so many ways that Luigi had twisted the path upon itself, confusing the victims with every step and only strengthening the killer's melody of death.

Peach had no choice but to stare at Luigi's boots. Now, she noticed that instead of a dark brown, as she had previously noted, they were rather their normal shade, stained with flecks of red-brown, trailing all about the floor where he stood. The bottoms of his overalls fared no better, fading from their clean, jean blue to a dark, murderous crimson.

Dust continued to fall like ashy snow, some of which began to collect on bunches of Peach's gown. She remained silent, not even allowing herself the smallest reprieve of stillness. After all, he had said that he was going to hunt as whatever he liked. Perhaps he had chosen the beast of the cat to be his final disguise.

After a few more baited moments, the shoes moved, stepping back the way they had came, creating another set of grey-red footprints.

Luigi's music had long since silenced, now replaced with the occasional sighing breath or a small growl. Was he frightened that he had made the wrong choice?

The shoes ceased their movement with a thump in the center of the room. Peach watched as they turned a full circle. Luigi observing the surroundings.

She heard his voice once again. It was not completely dark and full of malice as she expected, but rather breathy and singsong in its own uniquely twisted way.

"I know you're in here, princess... And if you aren't, I'll waste my time anyways. I've nothing better to do in the meanwhile."

A sigh.

There was another thump, and Peach blinked in shock, almost letting out a squeak of surprise. She bit her thumb to keep her peace.

When she looked up again, a dark grey blunt lay on the floor, the handle facing upwards. Luigi's legs were crossed to the side, as if he were leaning on it. Despite the situation, he appeared to be very relaxed, as if he cared not that his life could very well be laying on a line.

"Don't think that I'm passing you up, Peachy. Rather, I'm just listening. Even if it means listening to my own voice. I just want something to talk to as far as I'm concerned, and the voices can't really make small talk. They just scream or shout. Kinda gives me an earache after a while. It seems that the only way they shut up is if something else makes a noise."

A pause.

"I really don't know what I would give right now if only to hear your voice... I'm really sorry..."

Luigi's voice suddenly became quiet.

"Oh, what I would give..."

Dust continued to float from the cloth, imitating crude snowflakes, and some even flecked with red. Luigi was so quiet. Betraying his actions performed the night which was behind them both.

After a few more seconds of silence, Luigi jumped, landing as he was before, feet a shoulder length apart.

"That's it! If you're in here, well, I've got a solution! If you can hear me, then you hear me, if not, then I'll have some reprieve from the voices."

Peach continued to listen to the ranting of the madman. Luigi was beginning to pace, his shoes traveling back and forth across the wooden planks, creaking under his steps. Finally he stopped, beginning to rock on his feet. The hammer was being swung back and forth like a pendulum, keeping time to the swaying of his feet.

"I don't think I've ever caught you alone like this, Peach, so I'm going to tell you exactly what's on my mind while no one else is around."

There was a shuddering breath, as if Luigi was frightened to continue. Peach couldn't understand what he would be afraid of. He had her life tied around one finger, and the others' deaths hanging about his neck like chains.

He continued.

"I love you, princess. Now I'm not afraid to admit. I love you. I love you and I don't want to hurt you. They were the ones who always hurt me, but you... You were always there. The smallest thing I did, I could always see it in your eyes, you looked impressed and... Dare I say it? Proud? Something that Mario never looked at me with. He looked past me and right at you, as if he thought that he owned you or something. In my mind, he was no better than Bowser himself. Don't get me wrong, I loved my sibling... and I'm sure he cared a touch as well... even when he did put me through absolute shit. Trying to make me stronger, he said. But you never looked for that in me. You were happy with just me. And that... that's why I love you. You love me for who I am, not for whatever the hell Mario tried to make me into. And... and I know that now you probably hate me, and you even said yourself that you wanted to see me burn, but princess... I..."

The swaying stopped, Luigi still breathing rather heavily. Peach almost leaned forward, trying to listen to the heartfelt, yet mad, confession of feelings.

She remembered. Oh she remembered.

...

"What happened to you? Are you alright?"

Luigi had stumbled into the room, wild eyed and seemingly distracted by something coming up behind him.

His face was scratched up, as if he had been in a fight with a clawed creature. He was shaking so much, he looked as if he was going to collapse then and there.

"I swear... one day he's... he's gonna kill me..."

Peach was able to snag Luigi's arm just as he keeled over. With a sigh, Luigi collapsed, chest heaving.

His brother, in that moment, took the moment to enter.

"Is he in here?! Is he okay!? He just left, and..." Mario spotted the flagging Luigi held in Peach's delicate embrace.

Mario shook his head, eyes softening, beginning to lift his brother out of Peach's hold. Luigi's head lolled to the side, barely breathing as Mario picked him up.

"I told him not to run off... He should have known that it was a bad decision! He still can't control it. If he's not careful, it's going to consume him completely. The powers are to be held with great caution... I'm trying to teach him, but he just... he doesn't listen!"

Mario's grip tightened once, holding his brother in a quick embrace before laying him softly on a couch nearby.

"What happened? What caused him to run? If I know your brother, he doesn't run without good reason. What did you do?"

Mario looked at Peach, his deep blue eyes barely glittering with something darker than their usual shine.

"Why would you suspect it to be me? You've known that he runs at the slightest mention of danger, let alone an actual threat. I'm sorry if he just can't focus long enough in order to learn what he has to do in a real life-or-death scenario, but if he can't be educated, real life situations have to pay the bill."

Mario was pacing anxiously in front of Luigi, sometimes glancing over at him at a sudden shudder or a twitch.

"I know it's harsh, but..."

Mario exhaled, sitting beside his prone twin. Luigi's brows were creased, as if he were fighting with something, even in his subconscious state. He was helpless. Even Mario seemed to notice the longer he observed his twin, beginning to deflate as he watched every movement Luigi made.

"I can't protect him forever... I love my brother, but I can't always be there for him. He even knows that I'm flawed. I want to protect him, but if I do, he'll be the first to die. I hate to admit it... but if Bowser starts to take playtime attacks to the next aggressive stage, I can't defend my own brother. Luigi's become too much of a bargaining chip."

"You still haven't explained what happened to him! Is there anything that we can do?"

Mario shook his head, barely rubbing Luigi's shoulder.

"He needs to come out of it on his own. I was the same way when I was younger. It's nearly impossible to control until you master it yourself. We just need to give him a chance."

"So there's nothing we can do?!" Peach cried with worry.

Mario flinched at her sudden raise in voice.

"I never said that."

"Then what can we do?"

Mario looked at her with a stare that she knew.

"You're not saying..." She whispered.

"It's the only way. He needs to work through it himself."

"It's too harsh! He even said you were going to kill him!"

"I'm NOT going to kill him!" Mario shouted, face slowly becoming flushed to match that of his shirt. He was slightly shaking, beginning to ball his hands into fists. Peach continued, nonetheless.

"Then what are you going to do? You can't just abuse him, he's your sibling!"

"He's my responsibility. Ever since they left us, he's been my responsibility."

"Surely you aren't going to play the abandoned and alone card."

"It's the only card I have left!"

"Luigi can't handle it!"

"Luigi is a coward!"

It went silent as Mario glared at Peach from the top of his eyes, undaunted by the obvious difference in height. Despite herself, Peach felt a tremor of fear of the older brother.

"I can't change his emotions, but I can change his mindset. This is the only way."

"Do you really think he's ready?"

Mario smiled, slightly chuckling.

"He's begged me to take him along for years. I denied him every time. Now is as good as ever to show him what real life is like."

"And if he gets hurt? If he dies?!"

"I'll be there. I'll be along. I won't let anything happen to him. He'll be in pain, he'll be hurt, he'll even regret coming along, but I refuse to let him die."

"You're twisted. And I thought you were the hero!"

Mario made no response, only looking at Peach for a moment longer before turning away.

"Even heroes have a shred of darkness in them. Luigi's is larger than most others. This is why he was susceptible in the first place."

"Is that why he hates you? Why he thinks that you'll kill him!?"

Mario lowered his head, removing his hat.

"I love him more than anyone could fathom. Hate me though he may, I will do anything for his well-being. And... one day... I hope he'll remember... Remember this decision, and I hope that he'll forgive me. Forgive me for everything that I did to him, for every memory I tear from him, for the pain he has yet to experience. I hope he forgives me."

On the couch, Luigi shifted. Mario's eyes flicked to him.

"He's coming around. Princess... could you... explain? I'm going to say the wrong things, and there is no need for him to hate me before we begin."

Before Peach could respond, Mario had already lost the soft, exposed persona, steeling his gaze and donning his hat once again. He began to walk away, leaving the princess with the younger brother.

How was she to handle the situation? She was no therapist.

Awkwardly, Peach sat by the green brother, who by now was beginning to rub his eyes, trying to regain the consciousness lost to him but a few minutes ago.

Mario reappeared, offering a small bowl of water with a cloth. He never met Peach's gaze, only setting the bowl on the sidetable and retreating once again. Already, Mario was extricating himself from Luigi, already beginning the first phase of hardening.

The first of the lessons of hate. Of survival.

Of twisted love.

Luigi was slightly laughing now, a mixture of light humor and returning pain.

The first of many to come.

Peach removed the cloth from the bowl, beginning to wring it out and dab at the scratches which covered Luigi's face.

He removed the glove from his face, blinking suddenly.

"W_what happened? Did... did I do it right? Is Mario here?"

Peach made no response, only continuing in her process of cleaning the rag and reapplying it. Luigi hissed as the water seeped into the cuts. It would not be the worst that he would experience. So much more to come. Would he withstand it? Was he strong enough to undergo the harshness which would be thrust towards him by his own brother?

While Peach was absorbed in her own thoughts, Luigi gently grasped her wrist.

"Where is he? Can I talk to him?"

Peach's tongue refused to move, refused to tell the delicate brother who lay so hapless before her the total truth. He could never take such harshness in such a sudden turn. Instead, she shook her head, telling Luigi no.

He stared at her for a moment before releasing her wrist and sighing. He turned towards the large garden window, looking out at the bending trees.

"I'm a disappointment, aren't I? That's why he won't talk to me."

"No, no Luigi. You aren't a disappointment. Mario is just... busy. He'll be in after a bit, I'm sure."

"Or he's pushing me aside. Don't tell me you haven't noticed when he's frowned at my attempts to make him happy or if I screw up on something he instructs me to do. I'm sorry. I don't mean to make mistakes, I just... I think that there's something else, something else that tells me to try something different. Something that... oh, never mind."

"Something that what, Luigi?"

Luigi shook his head.

"No, no. Never mind. It's... it's not important..."

Peach turned Luigi's chin to face her. He looked shocked, and his crystal blue eyes were slightly clouded, as if still recovering from lack of consciousness.

"Luigi..."

"No... It's not important..."

"It's not healthy to keep this to yourself... Please, all I want is to help you... I don't care what you think Mario wants, or what Mario wants of you, I just want you to understand that I'm here..."

"So he does hate me."

"I said nothing of the sort."

"But you never said otherwise."

At this, Peach was silent. Luigi looked at her, as if searching for something before nodding and turning away.

"I'm fine, Princess. You have other things to attend to, I'm sure. I can take care of myself."

"Luigi..."

"I'm fine."

Peach looked at Luigi for a moment longer before standing. Just as she was about to leave, she turned once again, looking at Luigi, who was still facing the window, unmoving and unresponsive.

"Please... don't do this." Peach whispered.

Luigi was silent.

After hesitating for a moment longer, not sure if this was the right thing to say, Peach finally spoke, committing to her thoughts.

"Luigi, no matter what Mario says... What he does, what he tells you... I just... Just understand that I will care... And that you have someone to confide in, even when you think there's no one left behind."

There was the smallest movement, almost like a shrug from the brother.

With that, Peach looked back at Luigi for only a second's moment before turning away and entering the next room.

She had no way of knowing that Luigi had already begun to whisper the secret to himself, rubbing a small, golden bell between the fingers of his left glove. Finally, he smiled wanly, running his tongue over razor sharp canines.

It had already begun.

...

Luigi couldn't handle the hate which was ladled upon him. It had been too much.

Was this why he had snapped?

Why he loved her?

Why he was laying bet after bet on her life?

Did he want to kill her at all?

It seemed an eternity under the table. Under the cloth of fear.

Luigi still stood outside, the hammer still swinging past bloodied boots. Boots stained by the blood of one that had begun his fall into the pits of insanity.

The hammer moved, and a loud smash proceeded from it, dust clouds beginning to float about the room, surrounding Peach's view like a snowstorm.

Several smashes of the same caliber continued, as if Luigi was going on a rampage inside of the room.

Eventually, they all ended. Silence fell like a blanket, smothering all sounds but that of the small echoes of Luigi's breathing.

The boots turned a full circle again, as if observing the handiwork.

He spoke.

"Princess... when you believed in me... I... I want to say..."

Peach watched with wide eyes as one foot moved, bending forward...

And falling upon one knee.

Peach could see Luigi's chest now, though his face was unable to be seen. At least if she couldn't see him, he couldn't see her.

She watched as he procured a glittering object from a sleeve, refracting the dust-glittered light and casting bright fragments of color on the dirtied walls.

A diamond.

"I'm asking, from my knee, Princess..." Now his voice shook, hardly audible.

"Will you be mine?"

Luigi:

Everything that he had done, accomplished, been forced through... all collected at this moment.

The crowning jewel upon a diadem of madness and pain.

A diadem he had worn low on his brow, senseless to the true power offered.

Memories, hatreds, alliances, allies, all gathered together and swirling around his head.

So many memories.

...

"Why don't you listen!?"

"I'm trying my best! I really am!"

Tears were pricking his eyes, bitter and slightly mocking.

"Then try harder! If you can't control, it will consume!"

"Why don't you understand? I'm trying my hardest! I can't do any more!"

Luigi's voice was shaking, looking at his twin, who was breathing heavily.

"Why do you hate me so much?! What don't you understand? Why have you changed? You used to care!"

"I still do care, L, but you need to control it! You can't just let it in completely, it'll destroy you!"

"How will it destroy me? It's just a stupid bell!" The word came out bitterly, almost with an additional spit.

Mario's blue eyes became clouded, almost rumbling with quiet thunder. He stalked towards Luigi.

"That 'Stupid bell' is a powerup. All of them have essences, some more bestial than others. If you don't resist them, they'll take over."

Mario was nose to nose with his brother, having taken the higher position on the slope they were standing on together.

"What about the fireflowers then? Or even the iceflowers for that matter?"

"They're the same. Carrying the primordial instincts of ice and fire. Emotionless and insanity. Inverse similarities."

"So you're pretty much saying that you're under the influence of an iceflower!?" Luigi spat, "Because you don't seem to give a shit anymore! I'm your own sibling, and you don't care?!"

Mario's hand moved so quickly, Luigi had no time to register.

But he felt the sting as color began to rise to his cheeks.

His brother had just hit him? Mario had never... he had never done that before...

Shakily, Luigi met the darkened gaze of his elder twin, whose hand was drawn back, knuckles outwards, as if prepared for another obstruction.

"Don't undermine me, Luigi. You're going to receive a lot worse than this out in the real world."

Luigi's hands balled. Mario had hit him?

Cold tears traced over the profuse flushing of Luigi's cheek. The salt he could taste as he began to choke up, his throat tightening. He couldn't feel. He couldn't feel anything.

"Fight him... Prove you aren't afraid! Prove! Prove!"

All there was was Mario's bright, piercing blue eyes, merciless and cold.

And frightened?

Something reflecting in their depths. Something behind Luigi.

Something Mario couldn't see.

Yet the bane of Luigi's fears.

Colors flashed in Luigi's vision, branches scratching across his face and arms. No more. No more.

He was at the castle before he realized that he had run away. Bursting through the door, he heard Peach.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

Luigi's head was light, as if he were drowsy. So many things inside... fears, instructions, all swirling around in his confused mind.

"I swear... one day he's... he's gonna kill me..."

Darkness.

...

"It'll consume you..."

But it hadn't, hadn't it.

He was in control.

And he had turned the tables. He had dealt revenge.

The bell was gone, every distraction cleared away.

Yet... The coal in the back of his mind burned sullenly, ushering him on. To do his job here.

As if he weren't actually there.

But now, kneeling on the dusty planks, he felt something different.

Confusion.

It didn't know how to take the emotion presented to it.

...

"They don't understand emotion. It's your strongest advantage over its influence."

"So should I just be stubborn? Like you?"

The slightest ghost of a smile touched Mario's face.

"Proportions... proportions... You need to resist, but accept. Deny, but agree. While you need to resist their control, they need to consent to you. If you are too stubborn, they won't obey."

Luigi frowned.

"I've been very open, bro, but none of them will listen. They just... don't... do?"

Mario nodded.

"I get the point. Some are harder to convince than others, and sometimes, you need a... special one."

"Special?"

"One that always accepts. When I was younger, I always needed one. Over time, though, I started to understand them more, and they understood me. Soon, all of them accepted me. So, here I am, trying to help you be accepted in the same way."

Luigi looked at the small bell which he held by a green sash.

"And you think that this one's right for me?"

"There has to be at least one out there."

Luigi hesitated, observing the bell as he lifted it to his eye level. It wasn't large, but it certainly looked new. Every facet of it gleamed with a sunlike glow.

"Why are we working with the bell again?" He asked, turning it in his hands once more.

"Physical fights are easier to manage than emotional ones. Within the cat's mind, control is simple. You just have to remember that you are indeed, human. But with the fireflower or the iceflower, emotivity is its primary aspect. I can't control your emotions."

While his brother still spoke, Luigi had begun to tie the bell around his neck, knotting the ribbon behind his neck so that it hung like a choker, the bell as the jewel of interest.

He exhaled, trying to feel for the essence held within.

And something touched him. Strong, and yet, controlled.

Something that he could control.

He reached back, brushing the font.

It electrified him. The shock coursing through every aspect of his being filled him.

HIs cheeks stung, like he was running through barbed wire. A strange chill went up and down his neck and spine, a second extension becoming apparent, twitching and slightly agitated.

And he was surrounded by noise, senses becoming overactive. He covered his ears, trying to block out the sound.

But his ears weren't there.

He felt his hair shifting, moving aside for something beginning to burn at his crown.

The spot in which the noise was apparent.

He reach for the strange objects.

They were soft, and twitched when he touched them.

His real cat ears.

He had been accepted? By this singular bell? At last?

And something stirring within, a nature which he had never felt before.

A wild part of him, as if locked in chains, wanted to be released. To be set free to sense, to hunt, to fight...

To kill.

A voice brought him back. So familiar, and yet... so abrasive.

"Are you alright? Control! Control!"

Luigi listened to the voice in his head. To the voice of the abrasive companion. The second consciousness was not afraid.

He wanted to be like it. Unafraid. Bold.

To prove himself of something.

And the aggressor had to be taken care of.

Luigi could let go. Become one with the second primal instinct held just beneath his skin. Be free.

Be wild.

And all of a sudden, he pounced, lifting his lip and flashing new, sharp teeth.

'You're mine.'

Tackling the unsuspecting prey was simple, pinning it down with needle-sharp claws, black as pitch.

Keeping it there was another trial. The frightened, anxious eyes locked on his the whole time, its softer teeth bared in a surprisingly savage snarl.

It wasn't scared? Of him?

Tightening about his throat, claws sinking in.

A snap, and a small jingle.

Luigi's eyes widened. His brother was beneath him, held by his clean gloves.

But his brother was not clean in the slightest.

Those eyes burned with cold fire, still baring teeth in a grimace, bottom lip split and cheeks flushed with red.

And in his right hand, hanging on a stained brown string, was the immaculate bell.

His freedom, clenched in the hand.

Mario suddenly rolled over, knocking Luigi to the side and standing up, still holding the bell in a fist.

"Right. That's enough."

Luigi shakily looked at his hands, the sliver thin claws now but a portion of his gloves. He had... attacked Mario?

And it had been so effortless. His brother had been so helpless. One more snap and...

He would have been gone.

Now Mario tucked the bell away, wiping himself down, knocking off some of the dirt settled on his pants and shirt.

"We're going home."

Luigi shook his head.

"A_and the bell? Will... will I k_keep it?"

Mario's flaming blue eyes met him. Luigi didn't need oral response.

The gaze said it all.

"No. And never again."

Without a word, Mario turned, already beginning to stalk towards the town again.

Did Luigi note slight shaking?

...

Luigi smiled. The night that Mario had confiscated the bell. Thought that he could keep Luigi away from the evident freedom which he had held on his fingertips? Well, evidently thought wrong. Since then, he had kept the spark of rebellion, keeping it hidden, secretly accepting it with every dream which passed.

And eventually, all accepted him.

The bell he may have shattered, but the spark of freedom remained bright. He would possess it forever.

His moment was now. Now and forevermore.

"I love you, Peach." He whispered to the silent moment which hung around him, cloaking him in dark shadows and madness.

Silence. Pure and utter silence met him.

Even if he had chosen the wrong room, he had gotten exactly what he had desired.

Belonging.

Revenge, perhaps.

Confession. A confession of true feelings.

The gem in his fingers sparkled. Perfectly flawless. Genuine and true.

Just as his love for the final one.

Was she here?

Was she a passing fantasy?

The only one who could save him.

Like she promised in his first decent.

She would always be there for him.

"You said you would always be there, Princess." His voice was shot. Tired and cracking. So much... So little time remaining for him...

He felt a trickle cut a path through the settling dust on his cheeks. Something he had not felt truly for a long time.

It felt...

Human.

Breath catching, Luigi doubled over. Oh, how human he felt. He was not flawless... Not pure... Evil. Oh, evil was he.

He felt naked, stripped of the innocence that had once been his to control. To possess.

And if he was to be human, the most human of emotions must have consumed him in that moment.

He cried.

Oh, he cried. For himself. For his sanity. For all the victims whose lives he had ended that night.

For his brother.

His brother...

Everything...

Soundlessness.

Frozen in that moment. Locked in eternity. A Purgatory of fire and remorse.

"I just... I just want to be done. Please... no more." A prayer. A whisper. A plea.

"End it."

The coal burned, singeing his train of thought, drying every tear.

It would be there.

It would end it.

"Oh whatever deity above... Just make it end."

'Stop crying. There is no reason to mourn over what cannot be changed. Freedom is yours. Always yours. They can't hurt you anymore. You're free. You're free...'

"I'm free..."

Never again. No chains to hold him down. No one there to hold him back or to force him to comply.

His will be done.

Even if she was to break his heart, like all other dreams before hers, he could depend on the spark. The part inside which really cared.

Who would always be there.

And now, if he had to fight for anything, his sanity, his love, his life...

He would do it for that last shred of twisted hope.

'Fa la ninna...'

"Fa la nanna..."

Just go to sleep...

It was over. He was through with fighting.

"Famous fighter..." Luigi murmured to himself. "Some fighter I am. I can't even subdue myself, let alone anyone else. What a stupid name to be given to me."

'And yet... All of them... Dead at my fingertips... I am worth something...'

His hands began to clench, tightening his grip on the diamond, feeling it dig into his palm.

'I AM  worth something.'

Something to fight for. That spark. That lust for freedom. No more limitations. A free game.

His game.

Luigi breath began to quicken. The fight was not over. It had never been over.

It was just a pause. A faint reprieve.

And the last challenger...

His head snapped up, glaring about the room wildly.

The bell had rung again, much more harsh and desperate than before.

His lightning blue eyes met bluebell depths, like those of the small hues strung within her honeyed locks.

His challenger...

His love...

The obstacle...

And yet...

The key to his freedom.

"Famous fighter..." Luigi said lowly, beginning to ease himself to his feet, reaching for the hammer at his side.

The doorknob turned, the mechanism turning anxiously.

"No!" He shouted desperately, lunging towards the door and swinging the hammer in a hook.

It caught the princess around her middle.

With a sharp cry, Luigi's heartbreaker was thrust to the side, landing awkwardly against the far wall among old boxes and dust covered antiques.

The dust began to cloud the room, shimmering softly as the boldening light from the medieval window shone through.

So little time.

So many memories.

He didn't want to remember...

Not now...

Never again...

That day...

...

He was under the shade of a wizened cherry tree. The early summer sun was beating warm on his back.

He was turning his hat in his hands, feeling the scented breeze brush his hair softly, drying him slowly.

Another failed day. A day when he had failed his brother.

And everyone had laughed.

Luigi went red thinking about the incident. He hadn't meant to loosen the pipe. It had just been an accident! Mario had been talking to him, instructing him on what to do next. It was a typical issue, something he should have memorized by then, but it was his first try doing it with as little guidance as possible...

Luigi hung his head as he remembered the rhyme that his brother had first taught him when Luigi had started to come along to the business.

"Lefty loosey, righty tighty. Turn your hand left to loosen the pipe, and right to tighten it. Simple as that."

"Yeah," Luigi whispered, wringing out his green hat, "Just as easy as that..."

And the pipe had burst, soaking the unsuspecting Luigi to the skin.

It was then followed in conjunction by seven others, disturbed by the sudden change in water pressure.

HIs brother had been the first to let out a crack of laughter, claiming that Luigi looked as shocked and confused as a wet cat.

"It's alright! Happens all the time! Took me three errors to make a right, so that means you're already a third of the way there!"

Luigi, on the other hand, had slowly looked at the wrench in his hand, considering briefly upon throwing it before noiselessly setting it down and storming out of the pipeworks, trying to dry his face with soaked gloves. The whole disheartening and embarrassing walk to the tree was met by toads who would either stare at him in a shocked manner or begin to let out a whisper of laughter, which would travel among the crowd and be joined into an ocean of passing whispered remarks or gentle, high-pitched giggles.

Luigi pulled the hat over his eyes, forcing his gaze to land upon the ground. It was typical of him to do these kinds of things nowadays, but he couldn't just make the crowd stop. That would be far too harsh. Besides, he was technically the new kid in town, since Mario had decided to move the business from a small rural area just further north. It would be rude to shout at the current residents.

Luigi looked upward, peering through pinked petals and gnarled branches to see tiny slices of sky above.

"I'm-a never gonna fit in, am I?" He whispered to the sky.

"Finally, a breath of fresh air! Being inside is so..."

Luigi's gaze snapped towards the sound. He thought he was alone. This was going to be awkward, wasn't it?

A young woman with sky blue eyes was looking at him intently.

"Oh... I'm sorry... I, I didn't know I wasn't alone..."

She brushed a trailing lock of blonde behind an ear. Her head was covered with a delicate lace shawl, and she was attired in a magenta cloak, which carefully covered her shoulders and trailed down to the grass.

Luigi blanched. This was the only other human he had seen here other than his sibling so far.

"N_no, you okay, um, È una bella vista, non è vero?" He slipped off his hat, trying to hold it behind his back shamefacedly.

The woman looked at him, confused.

"La vista... È... bella, vero? Vorrei poter vedere qualcosa di simile tutto il tempo." He asked again, nodding towards the town below.

The girl blinked a few times, barely shaking her head.

"I'm... sorry. I, I don't understand. Do you speak english?"

Luigi inhaled slightly. English... Of course. He wanted to kick himself. Why would he begin to rant in Italian like that?

Saying a silent prayer, he began again.

"The sight... is... bella, yes? Desiderio I could see this all times."

The girl smiled, her eyes brightening.

"You aren't from around here, are you?" she said softly, beginning to step towards him.

"No... Came here week's time back."

The girl nodded.

"Where are you from? Those words are so fluent. You must have come from a place of great beauty to speak in such a manner."

Luigi lifted an eyebrow, beginning to smile back. This was the first time that someone had asked him where he was from. Mario usually took care of social matters, letting Luigi listen to the new language before trying it out. Now it was his time to speak.

"I think you not know the place."

The girl laughed, a bright, melodic sound.

"Try me!"

"D' accordo... My Patria is Italy. Little north of land here."

"Italy? Oh, I've heard of that place!" The girl clapped her hands together.

"Have you?" Luigi asked, intrigued.

"Oh yes! I've heard so many stories about the area, but I've never been there. Is it really as pretty as the stories make it seem?" The girl sat on the grass, putting her chin on her hands. Her cloak parted near her chest, revealing a small blue gemstone sparkling on her throat.

It looked so exquisite.

Luigi sat as well, leaning against the rough bark. Italy... he missed his home already. So many stories he could tell about the land.

"Italy... all stories I could tell... It is meraviglioso, most beautiful place in world. I ricordare all large valleys and hills, ocean beaches, my home... Like paradise. All stories you hear truthful tell."

He looked at his listener, who was leaning towards him with wide eyes.

"Oh, you make it sound so beautiful... I wish I could see it..."

"What stops you?" He asked, intrigued.

A flicker of uncertainty went through those enchanting blue eyes. The girl lowered her hands, beginning to hang her head. Her hair seemed to catch the sun, causing it to gleam like polished gold.

She was so beautiful.

"You know..." Luigi began, trying to crouch down into her gaze, "You simili to Italy. You sono bel."

The eyes lifted, and the girl managed a weak smile.

"Grazie, straniero." She barely whispered.

Luigi shook his head, shocked. He fell against the tree, letting out a surprised gasp.

"Conosci l'italiano?" He hissed, leaning forward again.

The girl shook her head, her blonde locks gracefully following suit. Luigi looked at her with awe. He had never seen a blonde before. Her hair was so lightly colored, so unlike his own dark chocolate. How was it possible to have such brightly hued hair?

The girl continued.

"No, I only know molto poco... A friend of mine has been teaching me a bit. Simplicities; hello, goodbye, thank you, please... the like."

She observed Luigi more carefully now.

"You know... looking at you... you look a lot like him."

"Me?" Luigi asked, pointing to himself.

Those eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Yes, you. You both have the same eyes. And you speak the very same way... always a trace of that foreign tongue when you speak, although the one I'm thinking of can swap between the two without a single issue."

Luigi's eyes widened. Could this girl be thinking of...

"He... Umano? Indossa molto rosso?"

The girl gave him the confused look again.

"I don't know what you're saying, but I have a feeling that you know him?"

Luigi was bobbing now, excited and anxious.

"Yeah, yeah!"

"I still don't know him well, but I think his name was... Martin? Merlock? No... it was... was..."

"Mario?" Luigi prompted.

The girl snapped her fingers.

"Mario! That's the name! Are you two related at all?"

Luigi was now grinning maniacally, enlightened by this discovery.

"Yeah! Mio fratello!"

The girl also shared his grin.

"Your brother? Mario's told me so much about you! You must be Luigi! Mario said that he was trying to get you across the border, but now you're here!"

"I'm-a Luigi! Long wait, ma I'm-a here!"

Luigi looked at the girl for a minute longer. They stopped speaking, the silence only broken by the excited breathing of the two.

Luigi laughed.

"Mio english è così bad!" He exclaimed, "I'm-a dispiace tanto, sono un allievo lento. Slow learn!"

"I don't think you're that bad. I can understand you pretty well, and you seem to recognize my speech perfectly. You said you came here only a week back, right?" The girl asked, waving a hand.

"I did."

"Well, I think, for how long you've been here, you've been picking up really quickly." She lowered her hand. "You're learning very quickly!"

Luigi felt warm.

"Mario talk," He said, swaying back and forth, "I hear. Mario teach, I memorizzare."

He stopped swaying, remembering the earlier accident.

"I rovinare le cose..."

"What?" The girl asked, leaning in.

Luigi felt even warmer. He was beginning to stress out. A hard lump rose in his throat, but he forced himself to continue.

"I_I mess up a... a lot." He looked away, his gaze setting on a cluster of red and white speckled mushrooms.

A soft touch brushed his cheek. He bristled slightly, but the touch was so gentle. He felt inclined to turn.

The girl had moved closer, only mere inches from him. More of her cloak had fallen away, revealing a rather peculiar ballgown beneath. It was a scallop pink, and had small traces of intricate lace over the bodice.

"You going to partito?" Luigi asked softly.

The girl looked down at herself before looking back at him and laughing in the same manner.

"No, I... I guess I just felt formal today... that's all."

Luigi lifted an eyebrow, spotting the tiniest blotches of blush beginning to form on the girl's cheeks.

"Davvero formal."

The girl looked away and it was silent for a moment.

Finally, she glanced back up at Luigi.

"What happened to you, Luigi? You're all wet."

Luigi ran his free hand through his partially dried hair, feeling small droplets running down his neck and his back.

"Ah, I... I mess up..."

"Do you want to... talk about it? You seem concerned about it."

"Well... I'm-a po' imbarazzato about matter..." The heat continued to pulse in his cheeks, not letting a single moment go by unnoticed.

The girl smiled faintly. It was a gentle slope, a childish grin which made her nose crinkle up and her eyes suddenly brighten. She looked extremely friendly, as if she were trying to alleviate some of the embarrassment from the matter.

"It surely couldn't have been that bad." She said, gently lifting Luigi's hand out of his hair and holding it in both of her petite gloves.

She had such slim fingers, covered with a flawless white fabric which Luigi could not name. They were so unlike his coarse cotton workhands, accustomed to tough scrapes and harsh handling on a constant basis.

"What could you have possibly done?" She asked, beginning to rub his one hand. "I don't think you could have caused any permanent effects."

Luigi smiled at her, brows creasing in sudden relief.

"I... break pipe... water splash..."

Luigi thought about the matter again. How his sibling had laughed, sputtering for breath, not reacting save for simply placing the wrench down... Now that he thought of it once again, it had been rather amusing. Especially since...

"I'm-a drenched!" He howled with laughter.

The bright sound of the girl's laughter joined him soonafter.

For a while, they just sat together, listening to each other.

When their jovial attitudes had ceased, Luigi finally caught his breath and asked a question of his own.

"You say you not leave to Italia... Why that way?" He looked over at the girl, who by now was sitting next to his left, still tracing fingers over his mostly dried glove.

The fingers stopped tracing and the girl let out a sigh.

"My father would never allow it. He's very overprotective, and he thinks that something would happen to me if I did leave. He says we have enough issues here as it is."

Luigi felt a chill go through him and he let out a sigh of his own, looking away.

"You... fortunato... You have papà... You have famiglia..."

He felt the small gaze of the girl on him.

"You... you don't?" She whispered, beginning to squeeze his hand. Luigi barely returned the pressure, not wanting to harm the generous act of comradery.

"N_n_no..." He said at last, his tongue beginning to trip on itself, as if wishing to be silenced, "Just... just Mario... and... and Luigi..."

"Your parents?" the girl whispered, seemingly shocked.

"Never knew. Or... anzi... left behind."

"You left your parents behind?"

"No... they leave twins behind... When piccolo. Mario e Luigi when otto."

The girl was quiet, thinking for a moment before Luigi felt a sharp squeeze.

"When you two were eight?"

Luigi sent a small pressure back, telling her to be a little more quiet.

"When otto, yes."

"Orphaning... at eight?" she said more quietly, as if trying to repeat the information to herself rather than confirm it from Luigi.

Luigi gave no verbal response, only nodding carefully.

"If that what you call... or... orphan... orphaning?" Luigi sounded out the word carefully. It has some complexities in it, making a harsh beginning followed by a long, irritating sound like shouting, then finishing by adding a wistful ring to the end, as if remembering something which faded away the longer you thought of it.

The sound of the word certainly sounded exactly like what was trying to be portrayed. Harshly stating a fact, a fact that would not and could not be denied, ended by a mournful wail of a forgotten soul when remembering what it once used to possess.

Luigi realized suddenly, that that soul was in fact his own. A soul and a state of mind that he and his brother both had to bear, it seemed.

He thought about the word. Orphaning... It hadn't been that easy... had it?

That morning, he had been woken by Mario, who had looked a mess. He looked as if he had been crying for a long time, voice shaking as he begged for his twin to wake up.

And then Luigi had noticed that the house he had been asleep in was not around him anymore. They were surrounded by trees.

And not a comforting sound in hearing.

It had been that easy. Take the children, and leave them behind. Move on without them.

Luigi's gaze settled on a fallen cherry blossom. He never thought of that occasion anymore. It was locked away and forgotten.

And the faces... The first eight years of memory...

All that they were were milky blurs now. No true meaning behind them.

"No pensi of... orphaning in time now. Much ahead to imagine..."

"How do you not think of your orphaning? Isn't that what drives you to make your life better?"

Luigi shrugged.

"Orphaning sound bad... Bad change. Not happen again. Mario here, I'm-a here... We change assieme. I protect, he protect, we protect reciprocamente."

"So... that is your drive?"

"If you think that way."

"I do."

Luigi shrugged again, shaking his head.

"Do you... remember them at all? Do you think about them?" Came the whispered questions.

Luigi looked at the sky, covered by countless petals, which slowly floated through the air. He began to count some of them.

"Think of? Sempre. Remember? Non. I try to lose mem... memor... memory." He sounded out another word which sounded familiar, rolling the 'r' unintentionally.

"You shouldn't just lock them away."

"Hm?" Luigi glanced at the girl.

"I mean it. You shouldn't lock them away. Whether or not you like it, they are still a part of you and they will always be a part of you, for better or for worse. You should remember them. I'm sure, that in their heart of hearts, they had a reason for what they did. And I have a feeling that they wished things could have been different. You should remember them, even if it motivates you to never do the same to another."

Luigi felt a sinking feeling in his gut. He knew that she was right, but yet... he was frightened to remember. His throat began to tighten and the corners of his eyes burned.

He knew what was happening, but he didn't want the tears to fall now. Not here, in front of the stranger which had shown him so much compassion.

He stood up suddenly, brushing the girl's hand off of him. He looked over the town once more before dusting himself down, brushing pink petals off of his clothes.

"I... I go. Find Mario. Go home." Luigi silently cursed himself for his shaking voice. Mario would have disapproved. Luigi always marveled how his brother could be so self-controlled, when Mario only allowed an emotion if he wished it to affect him.

His brother was so unlike him. Mario was so much stronger. Controlled... Motivated... Luigi was weak, frightened, alone...

A hand touched his left shoulder. A pristine, snow white glove.

The girl stepped in front of him, brushing his damp hair away from his face.

She looked sad.

"I'm sorry." She said softly, "I... I didn't mean... I didn't mean to... to make you upset..."

Luigi looked at the ground, at the cloak which garbed the girl, the petals falling from the tree. Anything to make his gaze shift away from those mournful eyes.

The hand moved from his shoulder to his chin, lifting his head so that he looked directly into those very eyes. They too, seemed to sparkle with the same bitterness which Luigi felt in his own. Her cheeks were flushed now, matching the melancholy smile which barely crossed her lips.

"I... I've never talked to anyone like this before... You're... you're really charismatic... Did you know that, Luigi?"

"Ch... charism... matic? C_Charismatic?" He stuttered, not sure if he wanted to leave or if he wanted to continue to feel that gentle hand.

"Easy to talk to." Said the girl. "Much easier than your sibling. Mario was... somewhat icy at times..."

"He... was?"

She nodded.

"He always seemed to be hiding something... Behind his open demeanor. Whenever he talked about you... or about Italy..."

She looked away.

Luigi shuddered, despite how warm the day was.

Gently, not wanting to harm the delicate stranger, Luigi slipped his arms around the girl, carefully pressing her to himself in a small embrace.

The girl took a sudden breath of surprise, but soon, Luigi felt the arms enfold around him as well, returning the gesture.

Luigi looked over the girl's shoulder, towards the town, their shadows dark under the midday sun. His hands idly trailed up and down her back, threading through her blonde hair. Hair so unnatural in Italy, and yet, so beautiful.

He felt the girl's hands gently brushing the back of his hair, feeling the tenseness in his shoulders, the hesitant breaths that he took.

After what felt like a blissful eternity, Luigi finally let her go, staring down at the ground as he backed away.

"I... have go now... for true..." He felt breathless, a weight lifting from his stomach, his head clearing as he ran a glove across his eyes.

The girl hesitated once before responding.

"I... It... It was nice to meet you... Luigi..."

Luigi stopped for a moment.

"Did I... You give name?"

The girl bristled.

"A... name?"

Luigi nodded.

The girl frowned for a moment before her face lightened.

"My name... Luigi? Do you come to the castle often?" She pointed toward the crowning jewel of the town, a huge castle on its outskirts.

Luigi squinted at it for a moment, shading his eyes with a hand.

"Talvolta..."

"Yes?"

Luigi nodded.

"If you ever go there, ask for the stranger with blonde hair. They'll know who you're talking about."

"Stran... stranger with bl... blonde hair?"

The girl nodded.

"That's it."

"That not a name." Luigi said, shaking his head.

The girl shifted.

"I... don't think you would want to know who I am."

"Why?"

The girl waved her hands at him frantically.

"It's not that I don't trust you, Luigi, or that I don't care, it's just... I just want to be conoscenti, someone to talk to without a social bias."

"Bias?" He inquired.

The girl was backing away.

"You'll understand in time... Just... please trust me now..."

With that, she ran, her cloak beginning to billow with the force of her movement.

"Wait!" Luigi shouted, leaping toward her and making a wild grab.

When he looked at his hands, the lace veil hung from his fingers.

He slowly looked towards the girl.

And found that he had made a terrible mistake.

What a fool he had made of himself.

What had he done?

...

Luigi forced his gaze upwards, landing upon the shocked princess, who was trying to regain her balance as she stood.

She would never break his heart again.

With an inhuman scream, Luigi lunged towards the prone royalty, hammer prepared to do his bidding.

Peach:

Her eyes widened as Luigi gave a warcry, storming towards her with eyes blazing and the hammer destroying everything in his path.

She feinted a left and dove for a right, trying to throw off the raging man. Luigi was not deterred, and just as Peach was about to make it to the safety of the boxes...

The powerful, blunt end of the hammer struck, mere millimeters from her head. The wall cracked around the impact of the blow, the stones chipping away.

Peach turned to run the other direction, but the handle of the hammer slammed in the other way, pinning the princess' head in the gap between the blunt and the handle.

In the next moment, Luigi was nose to nose with her, allowing Peach to see the tiniest details in each of his frigid blue irises. He was breathing heavily and his intakes shuddered.

"No. You won't leave me again." He snarled softly.

"Again?" Peach forced her terrified tongue to move.

As if a sudden shock had hit him, Luigi's eyes widened and he stopped breathing. Peach stared into those widened depths, swirling with latent madness.

Luigi's eyes softened and he looked at her with something like faint confusion. His gaze searched hers, his pupils flicking back and forth across her face. He began to breathe again, much more slowly and controlled. He licked his lips once, as if trying to do something to entertain himself, and looked to the ground, never releasing the pressure on the hammer, held in both clenched hands.

Peach's hands trailed to the hammer's handle, gently pushing against it.

"Again?" She whispered, brushing the madman's gloves.

Luigi twitched at her touch, lifting his head to stare at her hands now covering his.

"You know damn  well what I mean. Don't play stupid. I hate idiots." Luigi hissed boldly, looking into her eyes wildly.

"What are you talking  about? Again?"

Luigi shifted his weight, looking at his hostage smugly. Releasing a hold on the hammer with one hand, he pressed it to his chest and made a reaction, as if being shot.

"I'm hurt princess... How could you not remember?"

"What am I trying to remember, you godforsaken bastard!?" Peach shouted, lunging towards her accuser.

That was the wrong thing to say, and Peach's eyes widened as she spoke those words.

Scarily, Luigi made no movement for a solid three seconds, listening to Peach's echoing voice ring in the room for a moment longer. He entertained himself by watching traces of dust float softly through the room before readdressing Peach, not even glancing at her as he spoke.

"Say that again, Princess."

Peach bit her tongue, watching the distracted brother as he held out that free glove, watching the dust settle in his cupped hand. She remained silent.

Luigi spared a glance at her, not turning his head, observing her out of the corner of his eye.

"Say that again... Princess." His voice seemed to have dropped an octave, and he was looking at her the same way a panther would stare at a trapped rabbit.

"Call me the godforsaken bastard again. You aren't wrong in that claim. I just want to hear it from you. One... last... time." The last word was barely a low growl.

Silence fell again, Peach barely breathing as she felt the hard, wood handle pressed against her chest. Remember... Remember what?

"The day under the cherry tree..." came the whispered answer, Luigi now looking intently at his shoes as he spoke softly. "The day we first met..."

Peach's eyes widened. The day...

Luigi inhaled deeply as he looked mistily out of the brightening window.

"Do you remember how we parted ways that day?" Luigi now turned to her slowly. "How we marked our first departure?"

He suddenly pressed both hands to the hammer, pressing Peach tighter against the wall. Peach gasped and slightly choked, strangled by the sudden force.

"Tell me you remember!" Luigi shouted, "That you cannot forget!"

Peach blearily looked into the desperate eyes, spotting small rivulets trailing down his narrow cheeks. His crazed hair, slicked with blood and sweat.

His deranged grimace, the sharpened canines clenched tightly.

"Tell me!" Luigi began to shake the hammer, voice quivering, now hardly a whisper.

"Please..."

She did remember.

How could she forget?

...

She felt the veil torn from her head, her final cover of normalcy.

The crown had only caught once, tearing the veil before freeing itself.

She spun, looking at Luigi, who was staring at that very veil in his shaking hands.

For a few priceless moments, Luigi had stared at that article in shock. But then he had looked up...

And given a gasp of surprise, pressing himself to the bark.

"R_r_regale! You... regale!" He shook his head, stuttering as he seemed to be attempting to melt into the tree itself.

Peach gently touched the now visible crown on her head, beginning to remove it and stepping closer to the now terrified Luigi.

"No, no! Just... the stranger! Not a princess, not royalty! Just, just a person! Please, you don't have to be scared!"

Luigi still stared at her with frightened ice blue eyes.

"S_s_si prega... P_perdonami. I'm-a scusa! S_s_sorry!" He shook his head faster, trying to shrink away from her approach.

Peach stopped her advance, looking at the petrified stranger.

"Luigi... you don't have to be scared... I just wanted... wanted to talk to you!"

"Regale..." He whispered, now looking at her with slight awe.

"No..." Peach said sadly, "Please... just a person..."

Luigi was silent for a moment before he replied shakily.

"No... not just person... You regale... I..." Luigi looked around, beginning to ease himself to his feet. "I... I go now... P_perdonami... regale..."

Before Peach could say anything more, Luigi had already taken to his heels, beginning to dash down the hill faster than a frightened squirrel, leaving the immaculate lace veil behind.

"Luigi!" Peach cried as she watched her outside friend flee back into town, leaving her alone in the storm of petals falling from the cherry tree.

She looked at the veil in her hands, contemplating it quickly before throwing it aside with as much force as she could muster. There was no use for it anymore.

She readjusted her cloak again, styling it to cover her face completely in a shrouding hood before following the path that Luigi had taken into town, biting her tongue to prevent bitter tears from watering the flowers which grew on the path.

...

"The day..." Peach answered in realization, "The day you ran away from me..."

Luigi continued to look at her with those deep eyes, now beginning to nod slowly with her thought.

"The days when I was a coward..." He finished, looking at Peach warily, "When I was too scared to stand my own. When I didn't even understand myself."

"Why did you run? All I wanted was to be there for you..." Peach choked silently, shaking her head at him.

"I was too scared... So many things in my head... Things I had never opened up to my own sibling about... You... you were so different... I felt safe..."

Luigi trailed off, whispering one word so silently that Peach almost missed it.

"Loved..."

"Why did it come to this? Why did you snap? I was there... I was always there!" Peach begged, trying to budge the hammer. The pressure did not cease.

Luigi observed her, shaking his head, eyes clouding, as if even he were confused by his own reactions.

"I wanted something more... Something my brother would never allow me... And something you wouldn't have either..."

"What?" Peach whispered.

Luigi lifted his chin, flashing the sharpened canines.

"I wanted to be free. To damn all rules, concepts, ideals... I wanted pure, unfettered freedom. And now, I suppose, I have earned it..."

Luigi brushed a finger through Peach's trailing blonde hair.

"But there is one thing I never got to say or do, Princess... Under the tree or ever since..."

The finger gently pressed her neck and Peach leaned against it, trying to stop Luigi from continuing.

He was unabashed, and gently turned Peach's chin to face his dark, gently glistening eyes.

He tipped his head once more, his eyes warming and his lip curling in a gentle smile.

"Ti amo, Peach... Mi Amore si."

'I love you, Peach... I love you.'

Peach gasped as she looked into the crystal eyes, now staring into her own.

She knew what would happen before it did.

Luigi spared a small glance at his feet before returning his full attention to the princess. His hand brushed aside Peach's blonde bangs, allowing Peach to feel the gently firm touch of the psycho before her.

Before Peach could utter a word or a sound of surprise or fear, she and Luigi brushed noses for but a moment...

And their lips touched.

In fear, Peach tried to pull away, to shrink into the wall at her back, but the hammer which Luigi held was unrelenting, forcing her to stay the embrace.

Despite herself, Peach felt a spark. A rising feeling of giddiness. And yet, she felt the burning feeling of fear coursing through her existence, as if she were to expect any betrayal from the emotion at hand. Luigi did not yield, his hand creeping behind her head to hold her closer. To seal the moment.

This moment... to be his.

And in a twisted sense, she loved it.

She loved to be held close to him, the man whom she had sympathized with, the delicate brother who seemed uncertain of himself, the brother who was not afraid to share his emotions, his true drive...

His madness.

The burning faded to a dull throb, Peach's spark kindling into something new.

And she returned the approach, the zest of life beginning to sing through her veins, melding her drive with his, their motives finally justified.

She felt every curve and smooth sensation, the soft force of their embrace perfected against the other...

The uniting of two.

The hidden now uncloaked.

The crown and dagger unveiled.

The Princess and the Madman.

Omniscient:

The shadows are darkest before the dawn, as many hopeless individuals claim and wish it to be. And yet, the light is brightest before the darkness of despair.

And when light and darkness meet, a shadow is born. A shadow of confusion...

Or perhaps one of love, created solely to hide those whose passions are wished to be unseen. For those who wish to remain secret.

A similar shadow is cast in a room, a room clouded by dust and the ancient tastes of those long gone. And in the room are the two now cloaked by this shadow, hidden by the strengthening light of coming dawn.

One of those hidden, a child of justice and loyalty, instructed to defend those without a voice or without an ability to stand alone, who now has touched the font of something more than what she can withstand on her own.

The other, a forgotten soul, one driven mad by possibilities of change and differences which they tried to experience, influenced by a power beyond the control which promised abilities beyond fathomable imagination, now submissive to the bribery of freedom and madness.

Together, it seems as if these two beings cannot stand together for long, one always divided against the other, trying to destroy the other completely.

And yet, within the impossible, a ray of hope, a ray which could be influenced by either being to be melded to their control.

But can they understand it? Do they wish to end the moment which is theirs to experience now?

Do they have a choice?

The eyes of the honored pierce the shadows, noting its opposite with a mixed sense of awe and unfettered fear. The gaze of the maddened is unyielding, returning a feel of accomplishment and belonging.

From the window, a breath of the past now revived to the present, the ray of hope shines, falling upon the hidden pair, settling upon the one who is to tip the scales to interminable darkness or a golden age of enlightenment and bravery.

They gaze at each other a moment longer, the eyes of the defeated widening as they behold the victor before them, the sunburst of fully fleshed day now visible.

The light illuminates the silhouette of the victor, the light of dawn creating for them a glistening halo of celestial dawn.

Morning has broken.

...

End of "Painting the Town Red"

Til' we meet again, Keep rockin'

-Shamrockin13