Fireproof

Peasley Turns to a Sun God, and Mario's Hideout Turns Into a Fixer-Upper

The Piranha plant ends up scooping them all up in its mouth and spitting them into the air, and anyone looking up would've seen 3 specks shooting across the sky.

And depending on how close or far they were from being up in the sky, they might even hear screaming.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

But it's all very short lived, as the three specks crash land not too far from a warp zone, with the contents of Toad's backpack scattered all over the place.

"Waaaaaaaaaah!" he wails as he runs around, trying to grab everything at once.
"Peasley?" Luigi asks as he sits up. "You okay?"

"Hah!" Peasley laughs, flipping his hair. "When am I ever not?", then asks seriously, "But truly, what is your next plan?"

"My next plan?" Luigi repeats, not quite understanding until the flying adrenaline leaves him all at once, upon realizing, "Oh nonononononono."

His breathing turns ragged, "What am I supposed to do now? He showed me the door! I can't go back to the Mushroom Kingdom empty handed! Not to mention whatever's happening in your kingdom!"

"Forget about my kingdom for a moment." Peasley orders, coming to stand next to him. "What about your current wellbeing?"

"My what? " Luigi is so not in the mood for chivalry. "Were you not just almost eaten by a giant Piranha plant and spit back out, same as me?"

"Your chest is glowing."

"My chest is not--" a sharp pain cuts him off, and Luigi clutches his chest on instinct, wincing for a moment or two before he looks down.

"What the heck?"

"Your brother's Firebrand was active when he shoved you away, wasn't it?" Peasley guesses. "Alright, enough of this. You're coming with me!"

"Whoo! Another adventure!" Toad cheers as he comes over, backpack finally all packed up again. "Where are we off to this time?"

"There." Peasley points to a pipe. "We're going to my kingdom."

"Where you said all of this was also happening?" Luigi recalls.

"That's right. I have a suspicion our answers lie in the Fire Palace."

"What makes you say that?"

"I came there as a child, seeking adventure. A burn like yours, won't even be a thought when he heals it."

Mario paces back and forth in his hideout, panting in his panic.

"Come on. Force it back in. It's not me, it's not me, it's. Not. Me."

But all around him, the vegetation only seems to get more aggressive, as many start sprouting long thorns poking out at him, while others start to decay and wither.

"Is it getting worse?"

"Mhm." Luigi nods, hand still on his chest from when he first felt it. "But it's weird. It's not just physical pain, it's like I'm...scared, but like it's not me ."

"Hm." Peasley notes, then tells him. "Look, you should know the god that resides in the Fire Palace does not get many visitors, so his memory is not what it used to be. You need to be clear and to the point, understand?"

Luigi nods, then Peasley points, "And with that, we're here!"

"Here" is apparently some old ruins, which Luigi is sure he's never seen before, but the ache in his chest seems to increase when he gets closer.

"Uh...I don't know if this is a good idea." Luigi says slowly.

"Hey, come on!" Toad encourages. "What's a little adventuring without exploring ruins?"

Seeing he's outnumbered, Luigi only nods and follows them inside, even as the chest pain gets stronger.

The first thing Luigi notices is the tremors.

Now and then, as they go deeper into the ruins, a little tremor is felt, and they have to stop until it's passed, before continuing on.

But, eventually, they reach the heart, as Peasley calls it.

"H-hello?" Luigi calls out.

"WHO DARES ENTER MY PALACE?"

The booming voice makes Luigi and Toad yelp, but Peasley just rolls his eyes, flipping his hair.

"Who do you think you're fooling with that? Come out here at once! We have an emergency!"

A burst of light appears, making Luigi and Toad jump, then appears a figure with a sun for a head.

"Fine, ruin my fun. What's going on now?" the figure says, bored.

"This man." Peasley grabs Luigi and shoves him in front. "He's been burnt by the Firebrand."

"Let me see."

Luigi slowly removes his hand from his chest, exposing the area where Mario touched to shove him away.

"I'm sorry, but from this point on, your life is out of my control. That burn mark opened up an empathetic bond between you and your brother. If not closed or severed, you'll be driven to the breaking point."

" What? " Weirdly, Luigi doesn't seem too panicked at the thought, as he looks down at his chest, puts his hand back over it, and closes his eyes.

"Surely you can remove the bond?" Peasley asks.

"No. This is beyond even me." The god shakes his head. "If it was just an accidental flesh wound, then yes. But a mark such as this can only be handled by your other half."

"My what? " Now Luigi does panic. "But I don't have time to--"

"Stop." The god says, now floating over to Luigi to look right in his eyes. "A twin doesn't have to look for their other half. They were born with it."

Luigi's eyes widen, then he nods, understanding immediately, "Mario. It's Mario, isn't it?"

"Two bodies, one heart." The god nods. "And the love in their eyes will set the world on fire."

Luigi nods as he mulls all of that over, then all at once, he understands.

"I have to—" but he's cut off once again as the chest pain becomes so unbearable, he falls to his knees. "Get me back to Peach's castle."

Peasley nods, flips his hair, and pulls out a pillow, this time not wasting time as he picks up Luigi like luggage and just flies away, with Toad barely clinging onto his leg.

"He's in there!" a Paratroopa points.

"Very well." Bowser opens his mouth, and immediately starts burning down all the foliage.

Inside the hideout, Mario feels the heat before the fire reaches him, and immediately runs deeper inside.

But he doesn't run fast enough, as he's surrounded by Koopas, Goombas, and Bob-ombs.

"Leave me alone!" he yells, even as the Firebrand inside him makes him fall to his knees, the fire spreading to almost setting the Bob-ombs on fire.

"Stop!" comes the order before a much larger Koopa comes into the room.

"You're coming with me. Something tells me the princess will be much more willing to negotiate with your life on the line."

But Mario's so far gone now, he barely hears anything the Koopa just said, before he passes out, the last thing he sees is the Koopa standing over him and saying,

"Take him to the dungeons."