Stolen Hope - A Super Mario Bros Fanfic

Chapter 5 - A Chance Amidst the Fear

"We have three days.. If I dont hand myself in, then...Bowser will kill him" Peach explained gloomily.

The plumber stood, paralysed in fear at the revalation, Peach's own worries beginning to resurface. She swept them aside, keeping her calm and tried to stop Luigi from spiraling into uncontrollable panic. He looked as if he had turned to stone, apart from the tears beginning to spill once more.

"Luigi.." she stated unsure how to continue as she tried to search for comforting words. She reached out her hand and placed it on the poor plumber's shoulder, locking eyes with him. "I know it may seem hopeless right now, and who knows what's happening to him, but Mario is strong, you know that. You've saved him before, and this time, we can both do it again! This isn't the time to fall apart when he is depending on us, its time to step up and take action" she stated, her own words motivating her.

Luigi seemed to calm down a little bit, although she could still sense something was up, besides the worry for his brother.

"Yeah..I think you're right. Mario is the strongest person I know, I need to be strong for him." Luigi said, the shakiness slowly fading out from his voice. "Thank you."

"So now that we're on the same page, we need to come up with a plan. Bowser's castle is bound to be swarmed with soldiers, especially with a prisoner. I don't think the two of us can brute force his army, especially with me not being able to find them off as effectively as you..Maybe we could find a way to sneak in and out without Bowser knowing?"

"T..that sounds reasonable, and much less risky than what M-..." Luigi trailed off, as if he stopped himself from continuing. "I..um.I mean why don't we go to the house and gather some supplies? C'mon I think that I-a remember the way back! Let's go!" Luigi stammered, clearly anxious yet trying to hide it.

"Wait! Before we go, have this" Peach pulled out her emergency Super Mushroom, gesturing it towards Luigi. "This should give you some more stamina, I think you need it after such a terrible night."

Luigi thanked the princess before they walked into the forest. Their trip was engulfed in silence, the light rustle of the tress within the calming breeze and the soft crunching of the leaves below their feet being the only noises gracing their ears. Throughout their walk in the serene peace of the forest, Peach was stuck within her thoughts.

Why was Luigi acting so..odd when it comes to last night...I get being worried about his brother...but he's trying to hide something...and what was that before when he cut himself off?...More importantly, why were those two out in the forest to get ambushed in the first place?? They wouldn't have been that confined and trapped within Bowser's army otherwise...

Peach shook her concerns off for now, she couldn't think straight with the rapid thoughts. What is important is that they formulate a plan, and fast. Finally, the duo spotted the trees thinning out, revealing a familliar pathway.

"Here we go!" Luigi exclaimed, clearly glad to have found the way.

The two continued along the path until they approached a clearing, the forest having subsided into grassland, revealing a house just a small while away. The two walked up to the brothers' home, entering and taking seats within the dining area.

After they settled down and Luigi had changed to clean clothing, he dragged out a large brown wooden chest, featuring a stunning golden rim over its edges. He pulled out a key from within his pocket. Opening the locked chest revealed many various types of power ups, some of which even Peach clearly recognized from her outings with the bros.

"This is our emergency power up storage, for drastic situations," Luigi explained bluntly. "We can use these to give us an upper hand, or maybe even to sneak into Bowser's castle."