Stolen Hope - A Super Mario Bros Fanfic

Chapter 3 - A Fragment of Hope

A faint, quiet dripping could be heard from within the dark and enclosed tunnel inlet. The sun had been up for a while, its warm rays seeping into the tunnel, revealing a figure curled up within it. The figure's clothes were tattered and torn, his arms and face bearing scratches, scrapes and bruises.

Slowly, he began to regain consciousness, making a heaving effort with his stiff arms to sit up. He took a few deep breaths, trying to collect himself calmly while trying to piece together the events which led him here. Okay, focus Luigi, what happened for you to be a-here? Luigi stated to himself, while looking at his shirt's awfully torn green sleeve, eyes widening when he saw a cut upon his bare arm. While continuing to run a check over himself for any severe injuries, he continued to think to himself. So, you were with Mario after running a few errands in the kingdom. We walked back home together, and then..... he trailed off, remembering the events that transpired, one by one. I..I.. ..ran...and then..we were..ambushed. His brother's words echoed in his head.

"I'll hold them off, you run to the castle and bring backup"

"Oh no.." he murmured aloud to himself, realising that he had never made it and his brother could very well be still caught within the fray. "H..how long h..have I-a been out for..?" shakiness edging his tone. He began to remember his encounter at the cliff's edge, getting knocked off by the goomba and plummeting down towards his doom, so he had thought at least. He remembered getting scraped by a jutting rock just after falling, grazing his arm and tearing his sleeve. Briefly afterwards, in flailing panic, he had gripped onto a jutting edge of a small tunnel, the force knocking the wind out of him. He barely managed to drag himself upwards, his energy completely drained at this point. The last thing that he could remember is tiredness overcoming his frantic state, unconsciousness engulfing him.

Panic began to ensue, Luigi's brain beginning to spiral with thoughts of anger, frustration, but most of all; fear. He didn't know how to get back up to the forest, since one slip up in the climb could lead to a plummet of doom. Struggling to regain composure, he yelled out in desperation "Hello!! Is anybody there?? HELP!". He continued to call out, yet to no avail, each attempt making his panic rise in his chest.

This is all your fault.

He would have never been that deep in the forest to get ambushed if it wasn't for you.

You failed as a brother.

Words kept echoing in his head, before he was about to lose it, he heard a noise. The sound of rustling bushes. "Is someone there..?" he murmured nervously, just loud enough for whoever it was to hear him.

"L...Luigi? Luigi is that you?!" a familiar voice called out. At the first sound of her voice, relief washed over him

"Princess! Can you hear me?? I'm down here!" he shouted, hoping she had heard him. Moments later, he looked out the tunnel and upwards to see her staring down at him. She was a fair distance above where he sat, but still about three times as high as he could jump, much less than he initially thought.

"LUIGI! You're still alive!" she gasped in shock, clearly relieved. "How did you get down there?"

"I can tell you later, but first, I need to-a get up" he replied, nervousness returning. She had momentarily disappeared from sight, returning after a brief period.

"I can't find anything to help. I'm afraid you'll have to climb up" she stated anxiously. Suppressing his fear, Luigi stood up, faced the outer edge of the cliff and began to climb, carefully choosing jutting rocks to place his hands and feet on. No matter how much his brain was screaming in protest, he had to continue. He had to get to the top. Slowly but steadily, he climbed towards the top of the cliff. One step at a time he kept repeating in his head. Just before reaching the top, placing his right hand above him, the support his left hand had its weight on crumbled off the cliff, throwing him off balance, causing him to lose his footing. He clung onto his right support for dear life, panicking to a point where he was unable to find his footing. Peach saw this, a look of pure terror upon her face. "LUIGI!" she yelled, reaching her hand down towards him. He extended his left arm, straining it just far enough to grasp her hand. With great struggle, she heaved Luigi up just enough for him to grab the cliff's edge and drag himself up to safety.

After finding his footing, while shaking intensely, he ran up to her and they embraced in a hug. For a few moments, they stood in silence, purely in relief of each other's company.

"Thank you so much Peach!! I...I thou..ght I was gonna be stuck down-a there f..for ever!" he stuttered, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks.

"I'm just..so glad you're alive! Bowser sent me a letter telling me he had killed you..and I just..couldn't believe it..I ran down here as soon as I found out and I heard you calling," she replied, tears having fallen on her end too. "W..what happened..to you and Mario?"

Luigi froze, guilt overwhelming him, now noticing his brother's absence. "We..were ambushed by B..Bowser's army, I was driven away from him and herded off the cliff...." he trailed off, knowing he had to ask the question gnawing at him. Fearful of the answer, he asked "Y..you said Bowser told you I was d..dead..wh..what did he say abou.." he once again trailed off, unable to complete the sentence. Peach, pulling back, had a very serious look plastered on her face. She knew what he had meant. Tears having ceased, she spoke, sadness edging her tone

"...Bowser has him.."

Wow I'm so sorry I haven't updated this in awhile. I've been caught up in a lot of things lately and I haven't really had much time to update this. Things are starting to calm down now so hopefully I can start to write for this more frequently (hopefully once a week).