Chapter Text
Previously: two months earlier
With final hugs the Mushroom Kingdom's royal couple and the Sarasaland Princess boarded their respective ships. They waved to Luigi as he stood on the dock alone, soon the ships were just specks on the horizon.
There was fanfare as the princess’s flag ship landed in the royal airfield. Toadsworth wrung his hands a little nervously as the landing crew got to work securing the ship to the tethering posts. The way the princess and Mario left in such a rush almost a month ago worried him to no end. While the princess had sent a letter a few days after it still made his mustache twitch with worry at her being in that creature’s lair. He knew the king of the koopas had signed a peace treaty but years of him being such a big thorn did not go away after only a couple years.
The ship stopped its engine and the gangplank lowered. Straightening his spine best he could, Toadsworth pushed his worry back as he faced the ship. He smiled brightly as the princess came down, dressed more casually than when she left in jean shorts and a pink polo shirt. She was arm in arm with Mario and his smile fell as he saw the condition the man was in. There were audible gasps around him as the other toads saw their hero, the human was missing a leg.
“My word! Princess Peach, what has happened?” He asked, hurrying toward them fast as his small legs could go. “Should I call for a medic?”
“Calm down, old timer, before you have a heart attack. I’m fine.” Mario started to say.
“Fine? Dear boy, this is not fine! What happened to your leg? Did Bowser do this? What of Luigi? Is he hurt as well?” The old toad questioned. Peach gently placed her hand on his withered cap.
“It’s alright, Toadsworth, Bowser didn’t do this, and Luigi is fine.” Peach explained calmly. “Things got rather… intense at the kaiju koopa kingdom. None of it was Bowser’s doing, he was attacked as well but everything is ok.”
“Kaiju… wait, has Bowser returned to his family homeland?” Toadsworth asked, suddenly curious. “It’s been years since he’s sat on the throne there.”
“Seems that way.” Mario piped in. “They’re doing alright for not having him there for so long.”
“We can’t linger long, Toadsworth, we have an appointment with Professor E. Gadd.” Peach stated. “Could you have my shopping bags placed in my dressing room?”
“Of course, Princess.” Toadsworth nodded, motioning for the attending toads. “Shall I call for a driver for the two of you?”
“No thank you, I can drive us.” Peach shook her head as they walked the rest of the way down the plank.
Taking it slow they made their way to the Royal garage where Peach’s personal kart sat. Since E. Gadd lived just on the other side of the Mushroom kingdom, they wouldn’t need the bus. While the hotel was still in working order the professor had opted to return to his old home where his main lab was. Last they’d heard it was being run by the ghosts no longer under King Boo’s control. Once in and buckled did the princess speed out of the garage. After about thirty minutes of driving toward the edge of the Mushroom village. At the far end of the kingdom’s border in Dimple woods, E. Gadd’s home sat amongst the trees. Mario eyed the manor-like house as the kart came to a stop. There were antennas and satellite dishes all over the roof, security cameras swiveled back and forth.
“Least the old man is doing good for himself.” He commented, moving to get out.
“Well, most of the money Luigi found in that hotel he shared with the professor so he could have the means to fund his projects and space for them.” Peach said as she climbed out quicker than the man to hurry to his side of the kart to help him out. “The rest went to the hotel. If I remember, Luigi didn’t take much for himself.”
“I don’t see why not; he did most of the work beating the great marshmallow.” Mario shrugged. Together the royal couple made their way to the front door. One of the cameras turned to focus on them. Mario waved at the camera, “Hey, doc, it's just us.”
As they stood before the front door a small tv monitor that was embedded in the door came online revealing the professor in black and white. “That’s professor to you, Other Luigi.”
“It's Mario.” The human grumbled glaring at the image of E. Gadd. For some reason the small genius treated him like he was incompetent and that he was second compared to his brother. Was this how Luigi felt when other people did the same to him?
“Whatever, come inside I don’t have all day to wait on you.” The professor pressed a button off screen and the front door opened with a buzz. The two entered the house/lab, unfinished projects littered every room they walked through until they reached the lab proper in the back. The professor sat in a rolling chair atop a stack of books with his hand on what looked like a joystick.
“Ah Princess… and … Mary. Welcome! I was beginning to wonder if you would show.” E. Gadd stated, shifting the stick making the chair roll forward stopping in front of them. “Now then, with the measurements Luigi sent ahead I believe I was able to craft a leg that will fit you properly, Martin, and survive your energetic lifestyle.”
“Mario.” The human gritted out. Seriously, this had to be on purpose. “You sure you made something that can survive me? From what I understand you had issues keeping that oversized marshmallow locked up.”
“And yet you yourself were captured by the ‘oversized marshmallow’ how many times now?” E. Gadd challenged leaning forward in his chair a little. Mario went to lean forward himself to get in the man’s face only for Peach to pull him back.
“Mario, we are here for the professor’s help. Don’t pick fights.” Peach chastised.
“He started it!” The human protested. A look from his girlfriend had Mario backing down. “Fine.”
“Thank you, dear. Now Professor, you have the leg ready?” Peach questioned, leveling the inventor with the same look. The professor found himself biting back the insult he had prepared for the human on the tip of his tongue.
“Yes, your highness, if you would both follow me, please.” The professor put his chair in gear and rolled further into his lab, the couple followed close behind. In the back of the lab was an operating table with various surgical tools laying on a smaller table next to it. On a third table lay a metallic leg, it was sleek and shiny gray with hardly any hint it was mechanical. “Here we are. It tested it with various scenarios therefore you shouldn’t have any trouble in any terrains in the different kingdoms. There is a downside however.”
“I f*ckin knew it.” Mario grumbled, earning an elbow to the ribs from Peach.
“In order for it to work properly I will have to operate on what remains of your old leg. The nerve endings will have to be connected to the wire connectors in the leg.” E. Gadd explained. “It will be painful and the normal recovery time is at least a year but I have something that will speed up the healing so you can walk.”
Mario didn’t like the sound of surgery but if it meant he got his other leg back great.
“Lets-a go.” Mario nodded. Peach couldn’t help the giggle as E. Gadd shook his head gesturing toward the operation table.
“Come on then.” The professor said.
*Several hours later…*
Mario slowly came back to consciousness from the anesthesia, it had felt like he’d just gone to sleep.
“Mario?” The voice of an angel spoke to him as she came into blurry view. Her pretty blue eyes were full of concern. “How are you feeling?”
“Sei un angelo?” He mumbled, causing the angel to chuckle a bit.
“No, dearest.” She smiled down at him.
“Its going to take him a few more minutes to come back to himself, Princess. The anesthesia takes a moment to properly wear off.” A second voice spoke off to the side. “This should help bring him out of it faster. Just a caffeine shot.”
After a minute or two he suddenly felt more alert as the angel.. Peach watched him closely. Mario blinked a few times as he attempted to sit up.
“Not so fast, Martin.” E. Gadd spoke from the left of the room.
“Its Mario, old man.” The Italian grumbled as he turned his glare where he heard the professor.
“And he’s back.” The professor feigned excitement as he rolled his chair closer to the bed side that wasn’t occupied by the princess. “Feeling more like yourself?”
“Yeah, can I sit up now?” Mario asked a little impatiently. “My back feels like it's asleep.”
“While physically impossible, I suppose it shouldn’t aggravate your leg.” E. Gadd nodded. “Pretty sure you should be healed by now.”
With Peach’s help Mario carefully sat up in the bed, now vertical he could see the metal appendage replacing the flesh leg. He stared at it, not really sure how to feel about it. Least he didn’t have to walk with crutches or help anymore. Mario stared at the metal toes and tried to wiggle them with a thought, to his and Peach’s relief the response.
“Ah good the nerve connection worked.” E. Gadd hummed as he rolled closer, inspecting the metal cap where the leg was connected to the stump. “Whatever did this made a clean enough cut, so I didn’t need to repair much, just reroute the main vein and artery. Let’s try standing up to make sure it's sturdy.”
Mario nodded as he carefully swung his legs over the side of the bed, thankfully he didn’t feel any pain as he set his foot on the ground. He blinked as he registered what the professor just said.
“Hang on, Luigi didn’t tell you what it was that did this?” Mario asked.
“He did not, all he said in his letter was there was an accident, and you lost your leg.” E. Gadd shook his head as he studied the leg closer. “What did happen?”
“Well, somehow my baby brother got pulled into a deathmatch with this dick kaiju koopa who attacked his own kid. Then this ghost freak showed up and caused all kinds of chaos! Apparently, he traumatized Bowser when he was a kid, killed his mom or something. When I tried to fight the freak, he cut my leg off.” Mario explained. “Called himself Solaris.”
E. Gadd froze as he went slightly pale. No, that couldn’t be right when Luigi emerged from the painting, he battled King Boo and that… thing, before sucking them up in the poltergust. He would have to investigate this after the two left.
“Never heard of such a ghost. He must’ve met him after you lot left the hotel.” E. Gadd shook his head quickly, regaining his composure. “Alright stand up.”
Mario stared at the professor, noticing his sudden pause, the old man knew something, but he wasn’t talking. Leaving it for later the plumber got to his feet. He was slightly off balance having the second leg back after being with only one for so long. Peach kept a steadying hand on his shoulder, once he felt balanced, he nodded at her, and she moved her hand. He took a step forward and all the shakiness was gone thankfully. More confident in his steps Mario started jogging a bit.
“Good, you have all the movement in your leg.” E. Gadd nodded approvingly as he watched the human jog around the lab. “The hydraulics should be fully functional as well so your power jumps will be much higher than they used to be.”
Mario came to a stop at that. “Higher jumps huh?” the human grinned. Peach, realizing what her lover was thinking, gave him a look.
“Mario, don’t you dare we are still inside.” She narrowed her eyes at him.
“The princess is right, if you wish to test the jump let’s go outside first.” E. Gadd nodded. And Mario thought about it, he really did. Until he looked up at the skylight just above him and smirked.
"Mariano, don't you-!" Before Peach could stop him, Mario crouched a bit before leaping straight up through the sky light. A loud 'wahoo' following behind him as he flew through the window.
This was just like jumping around on the moon! He could practically see Peach’s castle way off in the distance. The height and temporary weightlessness felt amazing, he’d have to get better control of the jump now like when he first came to this world. As he started to come down, Mario realized exactly how high he really was.
“This is probably gonna hurt.” He said aloud as he descended back down toward the professor’s house. Instead of where he first jumped out of, he was aimed toward what looked like a glass dome. This was definitely gonna hurt. Mario quickly reoriented so his back would hit first, he curled in on himself to minimize damage. Thankfully his clothes didn’t shred as he fell through the glass, landing on what felt like a stack of empty boxes. He groaned as he uncurled laying flat on his back. “That was fun.”
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the older Mario brother.” An annoyingly high-pitched voice spoke from behind him. Mario craned his head back to look at the upside-down visage of King Boo, still in the glass prison Luigi had put him in. “Nice of you to drop in.”
Mario glared at the boo as he rolled over onto his stomach before standing. “I see you are still trapped, Marshmallow.”
“No thanks to that pain in the ass brother of yours.” King Boo smirked. “How is Luigi doing by the way? I hear he’s working with Bowser now. Must be a major blow to your ego to have him working with your nemesis.”
“He works for Bowser, and we aren’t nemesis anymore. We buried that hatchet.” Mario glared at the ghost king crossing his arms. “And how’d you know about that? Solaris been by for conjugal visits?”
Boo laughed high pitched at that, “So you have met my second in command have you? I can see his handy work on you.” Those purple eyes focused on the metal leg attached to the human. “Honestly, your brother can fight him no problem.”
“He would have if the coward hadn’t disappeared.” Mario sneered. “Wait, Solaris did know Luigi. When did they fight?”
“Oh? You mean you don’t remember?” King Boo grinned. In a dark corner of the room behind Mario a pair of purple spiral eyes opened as a cheshire grin spread beneath them in the dark. “I would have thought Luigi would share his experience with his big brother.”
“What are you talking about?” Mario asked suspiciously. He felt ‘something’ crack in his mind, a blurred image of someone that looked vaguely like Luigi standing before him.
“You really don’t remember do you?” King Boo teased, before turning his back to the human. Mario felt a sudden anger course through him. “Well I wouldn’t want to ruin Luigi’s personal fame after all.”
“What the hell are you talking about?!” Mario demanded as he approached the shelf where King Boo’s container sat. He could vaguely hear approaching footsteps but that didn’t matter. All that did right now was this bastard telling him what happened to his brother. Mario was nose to glass with the container. “What don’t I remember?!”
King Boo whipped around so fast he almost blurred in the container; his mostly black eyes now glowed deep pink as he came right up to the glass. “Why, your brother becoming a killer in the nightmare realm of course. He is much stronger than you now, he knows it of course and laughs at you behind your back. Why else do you think he removed your memories? So he can pretend to be this weak little coward who needs his big brother to protect him. So when you get your ass handed to you he can swoop in. Do you think it was a coincidence that he suddenly had those abilities? Surely you aren’t that much of a fool, but then again the star princess is good with mind altering. Who knows what else he had her alter for him?”
As the boo spoke Mario felt the anger boil into rage. Luigi wouldn’t do that… would he? Mario knows his brother’s abilities, what he did at that fight arena… it was so out of character for the other. Luigi was hiding something from him. And what did Rosalina have to do with this?
“And really shacking up with the monster that caused you and your princess so much heartache over the years? That’s just the ultimate slap to the face don’t you think?” King Boo chuckled. “They must be planning something together, laughing at you, waiting for the moment to pull the rug from under you.” Mario felt his hands start to catch fire as the anger built. “Face it, Mario, you aren’t the great hero you once were. If you ever were. To them… You are a joke.” Mario’s fist was lifted to punch the container before he realized what he was doing. Only Peach’s voice stopped him.
“MARIO!” She cried out hurrying into the room followed closely by E. Gadd. “What are you-?”
Mario glarred at the still grinning boo before suddenly spinning on his heel and storming out. “I’m getting my clothes, we’re done.” As he stormed past the professor and princess neither noticed the faint purple ring around his blue iris.
“I… Mario!” Peach called after him but the man ignored her. Peach turned to look at the still grinning boo, narrowing her eyes at the ghost before addressing the professor. “Thank you for the help, Professor.”
“Not at all, Princess, I’ll see what that nuisance said to him.” E. Gadd glared at the ghost. Nodding Peach hurried after Mario, hoping he didn’t leave without her. Once she was gone, E. Gadd rolled into the room toward the machine that kept his record of ghosts. “I don’t know what you said to him, but I’m moving you and that friend of yours to a dark container, so you won’t cause any more mischief.” E. Gadd searched the ghost registry looking for Solaris. He paled as it came back negative. There was no ghost with that name. E. Gadd turned a glare at the suddenly laughing King Boo.
“What have you done?” E. Gadd demanded.
“Oh, you old fool, you should really keep track of your prisoners.” King Boo cackled. “He escaped MONTHS AGO!! Solaris is far too strong to be kept in a feeble ghost trap. Why else is he my second?”
“He did attack Luigi and the others then. I need to get them, to provide some protection so he can’t hurt them more.” E. Gadd started to move around his lab when his chair suddenly stopped working, dumping him out onto the floor. The computers and lights started to flicker and glow dark purple. E. Gadd sat up as a sinister laugh filled the lab. “What?”
“Should really put some protections out for yourself, Doc.” A voice snickered behind the professor. As E. Gadd turned the last thought through his mind was a prayer to whoever listened that Luigi and his family would be safe.
Then everything went dark.
Peach’s cart was too far away for either rider to hear the warning alarms sounding throughout E. Gadd’s lab as all the containers were opened.
