Once again, I'm back. Is anyone even still there? Well, if you are, I applaud you. Now, let's get on with the story…

Mario and Stooge followed an escort of three D-Men through the dark and dank corners of the Underwhere. Eventually, they came to the edge of a deep chasm, with stairs descending down on it's side, spiraling downward into darkness.

"Well," said one of the D-Men, "this is as far as we can take you. Good luck down there. You're really going to need it."

"Grazie," Mario said. "Siamo in grado di gestire da qui."

As the D-Men scuttled away, Stooge looked over the edge of the chasm. He picked up a pebble, and threw it down into the depths. It fell, getting smaller and smaller in their sight before vanishing completely. They never heard it hit the bottom.

Stooge swallowed. "Are we… sure this is a good idea?" He asked.

"Non devi venire con me, lo sai," Mario said.

"Oh, but I couldn't just leave you to face whatever lurks in there alone!" Stooge replied. "No, that would be indecent of me. Come, then! On we go, like two noble explorers in the land of dark uncertainty! Now all we need are coonskin hats…."

Stooge marched triumphantly onto the staircase, and began the descent. Mario followed behind him. As they treked onwards, descending deeper into Way Down Here, Mario had to admit that he was becoming more and more intrigued by his strange new companion.

The dungeon beneath Peach's castle hadn't held prisoners in years. Now, the cells were full again, now housing the enemies of Lord Fawful. There was no natural light in the dungeons, the only visibility coming from small torches placed sparingly along the walls. Water dripped from the ceiling, as the halls were below the moat, and rats ran from cell to cell, searching for any trace of edible matter.

One rat wandered into a cell occupied by a tall and skinny prisoner. He wore blue overalls over a green shirt, and a green hat with a tear in the back. He had been sitting silently for the past few minutes, desperately trying to fall asleep. Just when he was about to doze off, a small rat climbed onto his arm.

"AAAIIIIIIEEEE!" Luigi screamed as he shot up, shaking his arm violently, until the rat fell off and scurried away. He breathed rapidly for a few moments, then sighed and sat down in the corner of his cell. In his mind, the image of a few days ago kept playing over and over in his mind. His brother, Mario, standing heroically before Fawful, brave and defiant… And then he was shot, through the chest with purple lightning.

Tears flooded Luigi's face as he remembered his brothers last few moments, along with the utter helplessness he had felt. He should have stood with Mario. He should have let him know that he was there to support him, and helped him stand against Fawful… But no. He was too much of a coward. And now he would rot away in this cell for the rest of his life, regretting what he didn't do all those years ago.

The sound of footsteps shook him from his thoughts. He looked up to see the guard, a Fawfulized Toad, making his rounds with dinner. He slid Luigi's food tray under the bars; a cold chicken patty, month-old green beans, and mashed potatoes that were almost frozen solid. He sighed, and pulled the tray over to him.

That's when he noticed something red, sticking out in his mashed potatoes. Cautiously, he touched it. It felt slick and metallic. He looked around the corner to make sure the guard was gone, and then pulled it out. There, covered in potato gunk, was a return pipe.

His mind exploded into a million questions. How did this get here? Where did it go? How had the guard missed it? He turned it around, and saw something etched into its side. Wiping away the potatoes, he saw a message, which had been carved into the pipe. "Use this. Find help," it said.

Luigi wondered who could have possibly sent this to him. He pondering was interrupted, however, by the sound of the guard's footsteps coming around the corner. He quickly threw the item onto the ground, where it grew into a full-sized red pipe. He heard the footsteps of the guard getting closer. There was no time to think about it. Only one thing he could do now.

When the guard rounded the corner, all he saw in that little cell was a food tray some scattered mashed potatoes.

That's all for now! Thank you all for reading and reviewing! I'm sorry for making you all wait so long for another chapter. I can't promise that I'll improve… in fact, I can't promise that I'll even be able to continue writing this… but I'll try to keep going, and I hope you all will like what I do put out there. Anyway, thanks again for reading, and I'll see you all in chapter 10!