This is my first one-shot, and my first attempt at any kind of piece this short. This takes place in the same universe as 'Mario and the Spirit from the Outer Realm' and looks a little bit inside Luigi's head. There are no OCs, no spoilers and there is no need to have read any of Outer Realm prior to reading this. Okay so here goes...

Therapy

He never remembered the journey here. It was always made on autopilot. But he knew the walk back was always one of hopeless despair, one he'd never yet made alone.

It was a path he and his brother trod often in happier times, when they were still able to come and go as they pleased. Though there was no point in coming to this place any more, there were times he'd still inexplicably find himself here. He didn't know why. He'd lost hope long ago.

He traced the 'X' etched into the tree with his finger, a symbol he renewed every year to stop it from fading. Mario had scratched it there with his pen-knife on that fateful morning before sprinting back to their lodge for a spade. While waiting for his brother's return Luigi began clawing at the ground with his hands, looking for any sign of the pipe that had brought them here from Brooklyn the night before. They dug for it all day, taking turns to rest, until they'd created a circular hole four feet deep and six in diameter. Then they spent the night lying side by side in the grave of their former life, in the hope that the green tube would rise up around them and take them home.

That was before they understood the mechanics of warp pipes, or rather the lack thereof; before they understood their transient nature.

The hole had long since been filled in; sparse grasses and woodland flowers now sprinkled the site. On the occasions Luigi found himself here he would trace the circular outline in the dirt with his boot where the pipe had once protruded. Then he'd stretch out inside it like da Vinci's Vitruvian Man and lay there for hours, sometimes days, imagining the pipe carrying him home. But instead it would be Mario who'd find him and carry him, cold and shivering back to their lodge.

Even now, as he stretched out his limbs on the soft soil, he knew what he was doing was selfish. What if his greatest wish came true? What if the pipe did reappear and take him home? What if it took him back and vanished again, leaving Mario truly alone? He couldn't stay in this world. He couldn't go back to his own world. He couldn't... He cut off that train of thought before it took hold of his mind again, remembering the decision it once led him to take. If Mario hadn't have caught him climbing the tree with the noose in his hand, he would have seen it through.

That had been a terrible day, but some good had come of it. They'd spent the rest of that afternoon in each other's arms, talking about the people they missed, the hardships they didn't have to endure any more, and how much they cared for each other. Suicide wouldn't bring him any closer to home than sitting for days inside the circle. And both would separate him from Mario.

Although Mario never stopped him from coming back here after that, Luigi knew his brother could no longer trust him to be alone. It would never be long before a Yoshi or a Toad would somehow find an excuse to wander past, or even sit silently nearby while he lay inside his circle, struggling to come to terms with his exile. Though sometimes he'd be glad for the company, sometimes the very presence of these species just made things worse.

More than anything else Luigi missed his own kind, especially when the one human marooned here with him in this world was out doing battle with Bowser. That was when Luigi was at his worst, when he felt like he was the only one. Of course he knew there were other humans around. But humans weren't indigenous to Mushroom World, and they were rare. Besides, the few he did know were all at least second generation natives and didn't understand his isolation like Mario did.

Professor Gadd would talk about the life of his grandfather who'd been stranded here by a disappearing pipe. But these were second hand memories of a long-dead man who left Earth half a century before Luigi was even born. And Daisy, sweet Daisy... who tried so hard to make him forget... he just couldn't make that commitment to her... couldn't release himself from that circle... not yet...

At least nowadays he wasn't coming here as often as he used to. Even Mario had commented on that. Luigi sat up cross legged and looked ahead over the valley, the first view of Mushroom World he and his brother had seen. A little red dot bounced and jumped across the meadows towards him and he knew his time would soon be up.

He patted the ground beside him, aware now of the soft scent of the wild flowers growing there, and used his last few moments of solitude to remember those he'd left behind. He looked up at Mario as soon as he heard his footsteps, and his brother's face brightened.

"Feeling better?"

Luigi nodded, and allowed Mario to help him up out of the circle.

"Ready to come back?"

He was ready. And one day, he'd be able to make the journey by himself.

As always, any and all feedback, positive or negative, is most welcome.