~Told through Mario's POV and Luigi's POV (Sorry for switch-ups)

Hey all! Yes, such a clever name for this story. Yes, tis a song fic by Three Days Grace; Scared.

Enjoy! R&R!

Mario:

People sometimes ask me why I don't bring Luigi on my adventures? The answer is anonymous, and every one has their own opinions on it. Some say that it's just because I want to spend time with Peach, others say because I only want the attention. None of that is actually true, (okay the first answer is sometimes). The real reason is because I'm trying to protect him. You never know what's out there these days, and what Bowser has added to the life-sized obstacle I go through every Thursday or so. So, if I brought Luigi one day and something happened unexpected and I couldn't help him, I would never be able to forgive myself. And I would never be able to live that down. I've told the truth in press conferences but when they ask me this question, I always end up lying because I want to obviously protect him. Luigi is the only family I have and if something happened and I wasn't around, then I don't know what I'd do. A lot people say I don't care about him, and that's never true. I don't bring him into subjects because I don't want people to get the wrong idea and go after him. But in this case, I did bring him and Daisy. Bowser stood before me and Peach and Daisy stood above me. Bowser had locked them in what looked like bird cages. Little did I know that Luigi was nowhere in sight...

"Give it up, Mario!" Bowser growls,

"Does it look like I'll ever give up? Try never!" I say snidely.

"I've decided to play a little game with you, okay? I'm going to try something new and see how you react." What game is he trying to play? I didn't even notice that Peach and Daisy were trying to get my attention. I looked up slightly,

"I'll get you down in a minute, don't worry!" I shout. Just then, Peach's cage opened and out she came. I started to run but Bowser landed in front of her.

"Peach!" Daisy yelled, her face squished up in the bars.

"I'm okay." Peach breathes. Bowser had a bubble around Peach, she was then guided to a table. She was layed down on the table carefully and she just lied there.

"I want to see how much you care about your friends." Bowser grinned, as he snapped his fingers. Peach then fell asleep. I heard something rattle, then a cage was slammed on to me and in I went. I was guided up towards Daisy's and I mouthed "Are you okay?" to her. She nodded slightly but then her attention was drawn to Peach. Peach lied there unconscious and we watched as Bowser watched us. "She's slowly dying." Bowser says with an evil grin.

"Stop!" Daisy yelled,

"Oh, I would but only if Mario agreed to one thing." We both saw Peach slowly getting skinner and more pale; her hair began to lose it's shine and color. She looked rather bony than healthy, and every now and then we'd hear her breathe down. This was too painful to watch,

"What would I have to agree to?" I manage to say, anger filled my voice,

"You'd have to agree to be my prisoner forever." Daisy's mouth was wide open, as well as mine. A sturdy look was plastered on my face, I was never going to allow that. But then I didn't want to lose my love. I was fighting to stay strong, just when I was about to cave, Bowser said, "I see that this isn't giving you any emotion. I am surprised, but I think that if I took someone elses life, you'd cave easier. What if the person was your brother." I snapped my head up quickly, Peach was quickly lifted back up into her cage, I tried to reach for her as she began to wake up. It was no use, instead Luigi was replaced and put in her spot. But the process was much faster than Peach's. Absolute terror filled me, I knew I shouldn't have brought him along this time. Anger wanted to explode out of me, and the thought of losing the person I care for the most? I couldn't live either.

"Stop! You're killing him!" Daisy screeched with tears in her eyes, Peach was still too weak to even realize what was happening. She turned her head and looked, she looked better than she did just a few seconds ago.

"Peach, are you okay?" I say, worry filled my voice.

"Yes, but Mario, look at Luigi." She pointed down towards him, it actually tugged my heart really bad to see Luigi slowly dying. His expression was blank and his eyes were slightly open, he started to lose weight, and eventually his stomach was flat. He and seemed to have lost his hat, so his hair became dry looking. It didn't have it's color any more, it was just a flat version of brown. His mustache drooped down.

"Every body, do you hear that?" Daisy says, we all were there in silence including Bowser. Then I heard it, the slow, weak, heart beat of his heart. Tears started to form in my own eyes, I couldn't watch, I turned my head away.

"It all comes down if you'll be the prisoner I've been waiting to keep for years..." Bowser teased, I then saw a single tear run down Luigi's nearly lifeless face. I couldn't hold on, I couldn't watch my little brother die, not like this. I started to shake,

"FINE! I'll do it! Just stop! Leave him alone!" I screamed, fighting back tears. Peach let out a painful gasp,

"Mario..." she whined,

"Don't worry I won't be his prisoner for long." I say trying to give her a reassuring smile. But my eyes fell back on Luigi. My protective instincts begged me to go after him. I heard the floor of my cage squeak. I dropped to the floor as well as Daisy and Peach. I hugged Peach and Daisy and made sure they're okay.

"I'll be nice and give you time to say good-bye." Bowser left the room, and the key word 'good-bye' never left my mind. Peach started to cry as well as Daisy. But the only person I truly wanted to keep safe right now was my brother. I hugged them both tightly and ran over to Luigi. I looked at him, he was still completely out of it. But he was slowly becoming healthy looking again. His eyes had closed already, but that single tear had stopped mid-way. It had froze on his cheek,

"Bro, I don't know if you can hear me or not but..." I started to tear up, realizing this may be the last time I ever see him. My voice shook and cracked, "This might be the last time you hear my voice or see me...Um, but I wanted to let you know that Bowser is keeping me under guard. As his prisoner...Forever. I want you to be strong alright?" Bowser came back into the room,

"Let's go!" He growled, I started feel tears building up in my eyes, I ruffled Luigi's hair one more time. Like I always did as a kid, as if we were still ten. I hugged Peach and Daisy tightly, Peach kissed my cheek and I hugged them a bit longer. Bowser tied my hands around my back, and I looked back at Luigi's now filled face, I barely saw his eyes open before the door closed behind me. Bowser pushed me into a cold cell. As soon as he left the room, I then cried.

Luigi:

I woke up in pain, but I sat up, thinking I heard Mario's voice say something. I did hear the sound of someone, actually more than one person crying. I was on a table, I blinked and I saw Peach hugging Daisy. I felt as if something inside me was snapped dry. Like something was missing. Daisy caught my eye, she ran over to me as Peach followed her.

"Luigi! Are you okay? I was so worried that you'd never wake up." Daisy was teary-eyed, but what was she crying about? I wiped a stray tear away from her cheek with my thumb,

"I thought I heard Mario's voice? Where is he anyways?" Peach started crying harder, Daisy had a hand on her shoulder, I knew something was wrong. "I think I heard him say something about Bowser kidnapping him?" I guessed, because no one was answering me. Worry and nerves flooded through me, Daisy looked at me, as I hopped off the table.

"I guess I'm going to have to explain, huh?" She says looking at Peach, who was still crying. Daisy led Peach and I out of the castle, and I looked back wondering if we had left Mario in there?

"Well, tell me!" I say getting nervous and anxious.

"Luigi, Mario did speak to you. You were still unconscious but he had said that Bowser did take him. But as his prisoner, this was because Bowser had threatened to take not only Peach's life but yours too. And as soon as he realized Mario wasn't reacting to Peach but Mario had agreed to be his prisoner after Bowser tried killing you... And well, he took him as his prisoner for good." I had a feeling that's all be getting out of Daisy because then she started to cry, "But Mario did tell you to be strong." I had a hard time swallowing this, Mario's not coming back? As in forever? I'll never get to see him again?

...

We had reached the Mushroom Kingdom, and Peach had announced what went down at Bowser's place. This had resulted in pretty much the whole kingdom going crazy and depressed. Little did I care though because I had already locked myself in my own house. I had cried myself to sleep and hoped it was just a dream...

I heard a knock on the door, as I woke from the 'sleep' I had. My attention was drawn to myself as I looked in the mirror. My eyes were blotchy and my cheeks were tear-stained. I didn't answer the door, I already assumed it was Peach or Daisy. I opened the door to find Toad surprisingly.

"What?" I said, not hearing what I had said,

"I just wanted to check on you; the Princess had sent me...You don't look too good, may be you should talk to Daisy? You know? At least so you're not always alone?" Toad gave a sad smile, he was trying to help but I just didn't have the strength in me to talk more than one sentence.

"No thanks, I'm good." I say,

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Toad." I say now aggravated. My stomach rumbled as I closed the door, I rubbed my eyes not even giving a care in the world about my hunger. I had struggled with my eating habits before but it ended with me in treatment. I couldn't trust myself to be alone for so long, what if something happened? It didn't matter because I had to TRY to sleep for gymnastics tomorrow. We had Regionals next week, and it will be the first where Mario won't be there. I had let myself fall on the couch and groaned into a pillow. I felt the sleep catch up to my body, I hadn't slept very well. In fact, I haven't slept at all. But I was going to need it because Regionals was 2 hours away from here. I didn't even throw a blanket over me, I just closed my eyes. Waking up tomorrow knowing that Mario will still be gone.

*That Friday*

Mario:

Nearly three days had passed since I've seen the Princess or friends and of course, Luigi. I freaking starving but I could always lose a little bit of weight? I wasn't allowed to do anything but the funny thing was I couldn't! All I did was talk to the security guard at night when Bowser was already sleeping...Hopefully. All I could wonder is how Luigi was doing? A few weeks ago he notified me that he had Regionals next week, which means this coming Tuesday. It would be the first I wouldn't be going to his competitions. I had always enjoyed them, too, watching Luigi flip around on the floor. It was a different routine every time as well, which makes them really interesting. Luigi was the best vaulter on his team, he always made a clean but strong landing. Luigi is also the team captain, but I don't know how much of a captain he'll be this time around. It was I think sometime around 11 at night and I was busy talking to Larry, the security guard. We both went on and on talking about random stuff. Like sports, and music etc..At first Larry was a mean guard but I've gotten to know him better these past few hours.

"So, what about your family?" Larry asks, adjusting his spear. He sat down on the ground across from my dungeon. I swallowed hard, "Well?" he sounded pissed.

"I'm thinking, God, Larry. Don't you know what it's like to lose someone?" The thought of Luigi being miserable came into my head.

"Actually, I do..." He calmed down, "My brother died when I was 10. We were really close, he was my younger brother too. Our parents went missing when I was about seven and he was five. I had to grow up fast so he didn't have to." I didn't realize how much this Koopa had lost. His parents, his brother and practically everything. Larry looked down at the ground, "I wish I could've protected him in some way, you know?" I saw him actually start to cry.

"Trust me, I can relate to the notion." I said, giving him a sad smile.

"I felt like his death was my fault. But he knew that I'd take a bullet for him, he was my best friend..." Best friend...Flashbacks of me and Luigi were flooding my brain. Laughter filled these memories, and there was one memory in particular. There was a sudden picture of Luigi and I being silly, I had him in a head lock and was giving him a nuggie. We were trying to look at the camera and smile but were just laughing. This was his high school graduation...I shook my head,

"I know, Larry, I wish I could see my brother too."

"Isn't your brother the guy in the green?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about your brother, man." I say, "I'd take a bullet for my brother too, I may not show it but he knows it."

"I wish that-

"We all wish, Larry." I say cutting him off, and turning around. I really didn't want to talk about this anymore, it was too painful...

Sometime in the night, I had a nightmare. It was a faint memory of Luigi trying to...Harm him self. The nightmare ended when I had found him and took the knife out of his hand. He had dropped to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. He was almost hysterical, and all he cried was "I want to die." And I said, "I won't let that happen." I had him in a tight hug, to think I nearly lost him that day. Not many people know about it, just close friends. We had told his gymnastics coach and team it was a personal family issue. Obviously it was but we weren't specific. I woke with a short scream, and I breathed heavy. I realized I was shaking, I leaned against the cold brick walls, Larry was awake already.

"You okay, man?" He whispers, he actually sounded like he cared,

"No...I need to get out of here."

"Nightmare?"

"Yeah."

"This place is famous for those, I swear..."

"Don't we all know?"

"What was it about?"

"Um, it was about my brother..." I started to tear up at the thought of losing him. Luckily the moon the only showing a corner of the cell, but I was in the darker corner.

"Oh, yeah, family nightmares are the worst."

"You bet..." Larry sighs and says,

"I'd do anything to be with my family right now. My brother and I always assumed our parents were dead after a few months because they never came back. I didn't even want to be a guard for this psychopath that lives here. I hate it here, I'm not a bad person. Right?"

"No, you don't seem like one. Not all, but I'd do anything to see my brother again too."

"But even when and if I die, I probably will go down."

"Nah, God's forgiving. You worry too much, I'm sure you'll see him again."

"Thanks, dude."

"Not problem." With that I fell back asleep.

Luigi:

I woke up this time without scaring myself in my sleep. I woke up early because it was a training day at the Clif Gymnastics Club today... Boy, was I looking forward to that. Normally, I would look forward to it but today I was just completely out of it, like everyday these past few days. I threw on my gym stuff and grabbed my bag and went out the door. At my gym, the girls and guys work in the same gym. The guys have their own equipment and the girls have their own. Today, we'd see who'd even go to Regionals; qualify. By the time I got there, Socko was waiting for me.

"Dude! Cross is going to be pissed!" Cross is our coach, and he's really awesome but he can be a hard ass sometimes. I walked up the stairs and into the gym where the rest of my team was waiting for me.

"Hamilton!" Cross says, coming down from the office; Hamilton was my last name. I turned,

"Look, I know I'm late, but I can explain..." Actually, I didn't know how to explain my brother's captivity by some monster...

"Whatever, just get out there and practice." Oh my god, he actually let me go! I walked over to the locker and put my stuff into it. I took off my jacket and threw it in too, which only left me in shorts and a really light short sleeved shirt. All of the Clif members had to wear the same thing except the girls had to wear the same leotard... What's also cool to look forward to is seeing Daisy every day. Yes, she goes here. She came over to me,

"Hey you actually showed up!" She playfully hit me in the arm, I didn't say anything because she obviously saw the expression in my eyes. "Look, just do your best today okay?" She gave me a quick peck on the cheek and went about her own routine. My hand started to shake, it was then I realized I hadn't eaten in two days. Ah, crap. Mario would be furious, I hope this doesn't screw up my chances today. I seriously couldn't take any other bad news this week. My vision became blurry, but I shook my head and walked over to the high bar. Also because I struggled with an eating disorder a year ago, I was still gaining my strength back so, my routines were a bit rough whether I worked hard or not. Cross had told me to keep it clean and simple this time around for obvious reasons I just told you. I had decided to just do a Triple Back Dismount. (A/N: note my extremely poor gymnastics background) I had been working on it for quite some time. But the Triple Back Dismount, I almost never land. I could risk an injury but hey, I don't care. I did my routine just as I thought and actually landed it.

"Nice!" Socko says giving a pat on the back, until Cross ruined the moment.

"Hamilton, you're not planning to do that dismount when the NGO arrives, do you?"

"Yes..." My hand started to shake again, I shook harder to get the blood back into it. Cross looked at me concerned. "It's fine, the blood was cut off." I lied, I walked away and over floor. I started my routine with a press handstand and landed in a front bridge and went back up into a half handstand. This is where I did a press handstand and stopped going down about half way and held it.

...

The time had came where the NGO arrived and Socko had just finished his floor routine. We clapped for him but my hand started shaking again and my vision became blurry again. And it was my turn on high bar...I walked up to it and stared at it while the announcer said my name. I addressed the NGO and jumped up and flipped a few times on it. My vision still hadn't regained full sight yet, I was screwed. I couldn't see what I was doing. I became dizzy, and on my third flip, mid air, I fell to the ground, unconscious. I heard numerous gasps fill the room, and I felt someone next to me; Daisy.

"Luigi? Are you okay?" The voice was disoriented, then I actually didn't seem to hear anything..

Mario:

I woke up the next morning, still in the dungeon. Larry was still asleep, I wondered if Luigi made the Regionals Team? I'd really like to find out, I heard a door open. Speak of the devil...

"I'll be nice to you for once and let you see today's paper. There might be something you'd wanna see..." Bowser says sliding the paper through the opening of the bars. Then he went back out and slammed the door, I took the paper. There's nothing- Then I saw a small article in the sports section:

"Clif Gymnastics Club has always been the strongest gym in the Mushroom Kingdom. But when the NGO arrives putting more pressure on the team, things go the wrong way. Team captain, Luigi Hamilton falls mid air on bar and did not wake up. He seemed to be unconscious and didn't respond to people around him." I was in utter shock, I saw Bowser waiting for his paper. He was taping his foot, waiting impatiently. Luigi fell? The article had a small picture of Luigi on ground and people around him; Daisy, his coach and fellow team members. I slid it back out, and went close to the bars,

"Bowser, you have to let me out. NOW." I say quickly, already knowing what happened. Luigi didn't eat... I had a gut feeling something would happen to him.

"Nope. I can't allow that, I was nice enough to let you see, and now, I think I wanna make you suffer. Suffering by not seeing your brother in the hospital, I suppose." He grins evilly.

"Please, Bowser!" Okay, now I was begging.

"No!" He growls, Larry stood up,

"Wait, Your Ruthlessness! What if I went with him? So, he doesn't get away?" That was actually a good point. Yes, Larry!

"Hmm. No!" Bowser thought quickly,

"Just give it a thought, have a heart will ya?" Larry tries,

"Alright, fine! If I find out he's gone, you'll be sorry!" He threw Larry the keys, and slammed the door behind him. Larry waited a few seconds to make sure he was gone, he quickly unlocked the bars and let me out.

"You freaking rock, Larry!" I say giving him a 'bro-hug'.

"Hey, don't mention it... Now, where's your brother at?" He says as we go out of the prison.

"Oh, well, the article didn't say where but I think I do." I say getting excited. We walked back out to where the fight happened a few days ago. It brought sheer terror into my mind, the day I left. I have no regrets though because if I hadn't, Luigi would've been dead. We walked out of the castle, and it was cloudy but dark; usual. It felt so good to be out in the open again, I stretched, and I made a mental note to find food. By the time we reached the Mushroom Kingdom, I saw clouds above us and everyone looked so depressed. It looked dead, it wasn't full of life here anymore, but other that it seemed as it hasn't changed. Some people noticed me pass by and went hysterical. People started to wake up from their depression and look up. The town started to get worked up, but as much I wanted to greet and hug every one of them, this was temporary. I asked Larry to guard me in a non coherent way.

"No problem, Mario." Larry grins, he go a stern look on his face, and looked strong and serious. He really couldn't pull it off, I tried to keep from laughing.

"SOMEBODY NOTIFY THE PRINCESS!" A Toad shouted, I shook my head and said under my breath,

"Don't." Larry seemed to have heard me,

"Ignore them, so, what hospital do you think he's in?"

"Uh? Oh, this one." I then had realized it was at least 7 at night. Man, I sleep in too late. I hope he's not sleeping...I prayed.

"A Mental hospital?" Larry questions,

"Eating disorder." I sighed,

"Oh." Larry went back to try being a guard. I walked in to see a calm place, filled with a bunch people. Some like my brother or others are really sick. I remember the first time Luigi came here...I walked up to the front desk,

"Hi, Mario! Glad to see you're back, um, what's up with the guard?" A tall nurse says with a smile.

"Bowser. Now, what room is Luigi in?"

"Ah, 432A," She says, pointing to my left, "Take a left and it should be the third one on the right." I read her name tag,

"Thanks, Valery." I say trying to give a smile. I speed-walked down the hall, I wasn't going to yell at Luigi this time but instead I'll just talk to him. I haven't seen him in what seemed like forever.. I stood outside his door,

"Well, go on. Oh! I noticed something else too, Mario, Bowser didn't give me a time to get you back! Wow, he's really not himself." I laughed gruffly, and said,

"Ha-ha, um, do you think you could stay outside the door?"

"No problem." Larry says, completely understanding.

"You're awesome." I say, I took a deep breath and opened the door. I debated whether or not to close the door. But I really didn't want to let Larry on the conversation, in case things get family personal. I closed the door quietly behind me and stood there,

"Enjoying that overly expensive magazine, Luigi?" I say looking at his sports magazine. He groaned,

"What?" He set the magazine in his lap and look at me. I swear I saw him start to tear up, he sat back in his bed. I walked over to him nearly about to tear up myself. He sat up and the magazine on the table next to him. I reached over him and hugged him, swallowing my tears. "How-

"Larry convinced Bowser." I interrupted him, still hugging him tighter.

"Who?"

"The awesome guard that's standing outside the door."

"Awesome?"

"Long story. Now, what happened on bar?"

"Oh, I hallucinated, and yeah." He says pulling away.

"And? You're here?"

"They found out I haven't been keeping up with my eating habits." He says looking down at his hands. I sat down next to him,

"So, not eating was the answer?"

"I couldn't trust myself, and I was dealing with you being gone and..." He trailed off,

"Luigi, I'm only here to see you. Bowser was actually nice enough to let me come here after he had let me see today's paper."

"I'm in the paper?"

"Unfortunately, yes. But the article didn't say where you were, but I already had a feeling."

"You know me too well." He smiles, still looking down.

"That's what brothers are for." I say,

"It's only been a few days but I really missed you."

"Trust me, I missed you too."

"Are you staying?"

"Unfortunately no, little Bro. Like I said before, I only came for this reason."

"So, you're going back after this?"

"I have no choice, either that or...Bowser will do something to Larry. He'll probably kill him, and Larry is my only friend in that rat hole."

"But- The door opened and Larry says,

"Mario? We should probably head back...Hey, Luigi." Luigi waved slightly, I saw Luigi's face crumple, a wave of sadness hit me. It killed me to leave him again, I ruffled his hair,

"Don't worry Bro, I won't be in there too long."

"Bye, Mario." He says a verge of crying. I leaned over and gave him a tight hug,

"This time promise me you'll take care of your health, little Bro?" He nodded into my shoulder, I saw Larry start to tear up. I can't imagine how hard it must be not being able to hug his own brother any day of the week.

"Yeah, I promise."

"Bye, Weegie." I say walking out the door, following Larry. I looked back at him, he started to cry. I started to tear as well,

"C'mon, Mario." Larry says calmly.

*A Year Later*

Mario:

I knew a year had passed since I've seen Luigi when he was in the hospital. Not much has changed here, except Larry and I became really good friends. It made the whole thing seem less lonely. My heart seemed to tug every day now, I could understand how upset Luigi right about now. I hadn't seen Peach and the rest of my friends in what seemed so long. I missed them so much, but not as much as my brother. The only good part to this whole thing is that Peach won't be kidnapped anymore. But I'd rather her be kidnapped and having me save her every time, rather than being locked up forever...

Luigi:

I felt sick. I was at Princess Daisy's house again for the third night because I always am terrified of going to sleep. I was on her floor, trying to sleep but I was in the middle of a nightmare. I tossed and turned and was breathing heavy. I didn't have a choice, Daisy made me stay here. She became worried about me and my eating habits. Daisy is one of the few people who know about it. I whimpered and my eyes shot open, and I sat up quickly. I was crying/screaming "NO!" Daisy came over to me, and said,

"Luigi, calm down, it was just a dream." She had me in hug, "It's okay..."

"It wasn't a dream, it was real." I cried. For the rest of the night she hugged me.

The next morning I went home but only to fall asleep again...

Mario:

"I am going out, and you better keep an eye on him. And if you don't-

"I know, 'it will cost you'." Larry grunts, rolling his eyes,

"I can take your life just like that so, I'd be careful of what comes out of your mouth!" Bowser hisses, walking out the door, not even noticing he dropped the keys.

"Sir, you- Larry stopped for a moment, and ran back into the prison. I looked up at him, "Guess who left me the keys?" He sang, jingling them.

"Where did he go?" I asked, deeply interested

"I don't know, all he said was 'I'll be back later', then the usual threat." I laughed a bit for the first time in a while. I didn't know some Koopas where actually nice.

"So...?"

"So, I was thinking of letting you go." Larry says, my eyes widened as he unlocked my cell.

"You're crazy! Bowser said-

"I don't care if he kills me, Mario! If it comes to that, then it means I'll get to be with my own family again too." I could see he was anxious to get out of this world, I got up off the floor and bro-hugged him.

"You my friend, freaking rock! Thank you so much! And trust me, I'm sure you'll see them again!"

"I do trust you, Mario! Run! Go!" I stopped mid way,

"Come with me!"

"No! I rather die and be with my brother, Mario. There's nothing here for me to like."

"But you only got a glimpse of the Mushroom Kingdom, you'd love it there!"

"Mario. I know you're trying to be nice, but the time in the dungeon was enough. It's time for me to move on." He gave me a smile,

"But-

"Go! You're brother needs you!" He was right but I didn't want to just leave him,

"I can't leave you here!"

"Yes you can! Mario, I want to live happily and freely and if it means dying then yes. I'm miserable here..." He yells,

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

"I've no regrets." I gave one last nod and waved good-bye. I actually will miss him, but he needs his family. I couldn't believe he's willing to risk his life for my own. That's a true friend right there.

"Mario! Wait!" I stopped outside the castle,

"Yeah?" I yell back,

"Take these with you!" He tossed me the keys to my cell, "To make sure Bowser doesn't get a hold of you again. Burn them, seal them away, whatever it takes! Tell your friends and brother I said 'hi' and 'good-bye'!"

"Will do, friend!" I say running and waving. I ran as fast as I could. I'm finally free...

...

I found myself being greeted by a bunch of Toads, and I had to keep saying, "Yes, I'm staying." I decided to go visit Princess Peach,

"MARIO!" I heard an all too excited voice say, I turned to find Toad,

"Toad! Hey! Good to see you again, it really is, but where's the Princess?" I say smiling big,

"Talking a walk in her garden, I'm going to go spread the news!" I was going to tell him that practically every one knew already. But I decided to let the kid have his fun. I smiled and ran towards the castle.

"Hey!" I say once up to the guards,

"Mario! Holy crap! It's you! The Princess is in her garden!" one of them said, astounded; letting me through. A rush of excitement built in me, but I figured to go casual with the conversation. There. I saw her near the water fountain. I smiled bigger,

"Princess?" I say, she turned, it took her a few seconds to realize who said it.

"MARIO!" She squealed as she ran over as fast she could. I twirled her in the air, she laughed and kissed me. I was startled for a minute then I kissed her back.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you." I say, putting her back down, but my hands still around her waist.

"And you have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that." she says leaning her forehead on mine. I still couldn't believe she just kissed me. Oh my god...No YOU have no idea how long I've been waiting for that!

"I love you, Mario." She says obviously still dazed.

"I love you too, but right now there's someone else I need to see."

"Luigi? You have no idea, Mario how upset he is. Daisy told me that he's not doing so well, she said he rarely talks anymore. Doesn't smile, nothing, he just locks himself in the house."

"I think that will change soon." I say,

"You better go now. By the way, I knew you wouldn't stay forever in there." She says, kissing me lightly. I felt dizzy because I couldn't comprehend it all. I ran towards the house, and stopped in front of the door way. Luigi must've locked the door...I remembered there's a spare key in the bush next to the door. I carefully and slowly opened the door and set the key down on the table. The lights were off, I had a confused face, I turned them on,

"Heh, he kept the house clean." I said to myself, smiling, I walked down the hall and noticed that my room was clean too. I shook my head, still smiling and then the last door to my left appeared. This is Luigi's room, knowing him he probably locked himself in there. But he actually didn't, I quietly walked in and shut the door behind me. The lights were off, and the sun poked through his curtains. I saw him on his bed; shaking. It looked like he was sleeping, every time he breathed, he shuddered afterwards. He had no blankets on him, he just layed there. His breathing was heavy and I just stood there looking at him. I debated whether or not to wake him up, but I guess I didn't have to because he gave me heart attack. I jumped because he started to scream, "NO!" He started to cry hard, I sat down next to him, and assumed he was awake because his eyes were open.

"Luigi? It's alright, hey, wake up." I shook him; he gasped a little, but didn't turn over. He was still shaking, and crying, "Bro? Hey, you're okay...Can you turn around?" He turned slightly,

"Mario?" He says, I nodded,

"Yeah. It's me." He turned over to the other side, turned his light on. His face was blotchy and red; it looked like he hasn't slept in days. Can't say I blame the poor guy, I mean c'mon, I was gone for a freaking year. He suddenly started to cry more, and I hugged him really tight.

"I was starting to think you were dead..." He whispered, as if that's how loud he could actually talk.

"I'm alive, Bro. I'm here to stay." I say, letting him cry into my shoulder. He pulled back,

"For good?"

"Yes."

"How did Bowser get convinced?"

"He didn't. Remember Larry? Well, you know what, I'll tell you all about it later."

"Oh." Luigi says, "I missed you so much."

"I missed you more." I say in all honesty. What? We're all being sentimental here, okay? Luigi stopped crying. "Luigi, um, why were you screaming?"

"I was? Oh, that's something that's been happening for a while now. Sometimes I end up sleeping over Daisy's."

"Sleeping over?"

"Stop! Not in that way!"

"Relax I was kidding!" I playfully hit him,

"This is the first I've smiled in a while. A long time, actually." He says, rubbing his eyes.

"Hey, me too. Don't do that, you'll make it worse."

"Well, how about we get cleaned up, and go greet some people?"

"We?"

"You."

"Oh, I smell that bad?"

"Yes! And I just hugged you, too!" He laughs,

"Well, then maybe I should hug you even longer!" I say, pulling him into a hug,

"No!" He says still laughs, "By the way, you missed a lot in the past year." He got up and opened his curtains.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, I'll fill you in later. But I'm dead serious about taking that shower."

"I don't Princess Peach even noticed, because she was too busy kissing me."

"She kissed you!?" Luigi sounded surprised, maybe I shouldn't have said that.

"Yeah, I hope you're not mad." I say walking out the door,

"Nah, I have someone better." He says from the other room,

"Who?"

"A person and let me tell you, she's the only reason that kept me going all these months." I rolled my eyes, we had so much to catch up on. I still couldn't believe what Larry did for me, I truly hope he's with his brother. I got in the shower, and you wouldn't know how good that felt! I had forgotten that I had lost a bit of weight, but I'm pretty sure it will come back within a few weeks. I got out of the shower and threw some better clothes on. I combed out my hair and walked out to find Luigi waiting for me in the kitchen.

"So, before we go out there, how you been in gymnastics? I hope you've been eating well." I say, sitting down next to him,

"It turns out that my score and place on vault saved me. They reserved a spot for me on the team, which was nice of them. Socko and Daisy made it too. Yes, I've keeping up, Daisy made sure of it."

"Well, that's good! Now, you ready to go out?"

"Yeah, the sun will probably have a Dracula effect on me, though." He says, I gave a laugh, and opened the door to find Daisy and Peach standing there.

"Luigi! I'm glad to see you're better! And Mario, is that shirt new?" Peach smiles, I looked down at my shirt,

"It is to me! That's all that matters."

"Hey, Mario! Good to have you back!" Daisy exclaims, Luigi walked over to her and held her face in his hands, "What are you doing, Luigi?" She grins,

"Something I should've done a long time ago." He says and then he kissed her.

"Well, now you should that more often." She says, "Oh, by the way, in case you didn't figure in out yet, Luigi and I are dating."

"Just now?" Peach asks,

"Nah, we have been for a few months now, he just never kissed me."

"Daisy!" Luigi says,

"Smooth, Bro, smooth." I say. This caused laughter from everyone, you learn something every day don't you?

...

*A few weeks later*

Mario:

As it turns out, Larry did pass away that weekend. I had told Luigi the whole story of how Larry risked his life to set me free. Also,I didn't forget to tell Peach and the rest of them that he said 'hi' and 'bye', before I left. It wasn't Bowser who had killed him though, instead he over dosed on pills to just get it over with. I went to his funeral as well as the rest of us, a few other Toads and such showed up too. Bowser agreed to return to going back to his old deeds again, and as for the rest of us... Well...Peach and I are planning to get married at some point;I had already proposed to her. Luigi and Daisy, stayed the same but have gotten closer. Luigi ended up making the Nationals and Finals in gymnastics. Now, let's hope he makes it to the USTC (United States Training Center). But I know he'll go far, I can see it...

Luigi:

I stood outside Peach's balcony, the kingdom rejoiced for an entire week, and honestly, I don't remember most of it. Daisy came out and stood next to me,

"You okay?" She asks,

"Yeah, I'm good. It's just this whole week was crazy, you know?"

"Yeah..." She sighed,

"Peach is already debating what dress to wear at the wedding. And I'm like, 'oh my god'." Daisy laughs,

"Lord, help her."

"I know, right?" I looked at her, and wrapped my arms around her waist.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asks, leaning into me,

"Yeah, everything's perfect." I say and kissed her sweetly, she titled her head more and wrapped her arms around my neck. She deepened the kiss and my arms made their around her lower back. Truthfully, I have everything where I want it.

~END!

...

*Rises hand* Okay, I'll admit I cried while writing the story. Especially the part where Mario had to say good-bye to Luigi.

OMG THIS TOOK 6 HOURS TO WRITE! D: Phew! I'm tired, I'm out of ideas, but I can tell you I'm working on the next chapter in Running Out of Time !

Sorry, this story HAD to come to an end, but trust me I freaking loved writing it!

Please R & R!

~Jax!