Luigi is not in this game.

Chapter Ten

Andres held onto the star as it floated through the air. The wind blew softly against his face, the defeated Bowser long behind him on the platform. Void stretched far below Andres, but he was no longer scared. He had the last star. The one-hundred-twentieth star. He was going home.

Andres blinked open his eyes. He found himself lying on the carpet of his living room. The two chairs that he and Lacey- no- his mother sat on countless times. The Nintendo and controllers were lying next to him, all plugged in. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. Did I... fall asleep? He wondered. Was that real? He jumped to his feet and looked at the TV screen. It was black, even though the game console was still on. But that wasn't important. He sprinted through the house looking for Lacey with no luck. He opened the door to the backyard, his dad sitting on the porch swing. He turned around and made eye contact with Andres.
"Well good morning, sleepy head." He said.
"Huh?" Andres breathed heavily.
"You fell asleep while you and Lacey played the game. I assumed you went upstairs."
"Where's mom?"
"Mom? Andres, did you have another dream?" His dad breathed. "Mom is still gone."
"No, not mom, Lacey, where is she?" He asked.
"I don't know, I thought she was with you."

Days went by and Lacey still didn't show up. Andres had been tearing away the events that happened previously. How could he know if they were true or not? Eventually, after so long of not hearing from Lacey, his dad called the police. Their search came up empty and presumed her dead after some time. Andres didn't have to presume, he knew she was dead.
Andres couldn't bear the constant heaviness in the house. His father was quiet and Kaleb became angrier, but surprisingly didn't take it out on Andres. He was numb moving through the house. He always pulled up a chair next to him while playing Mario, but eventually, he got tired of it. Tired of being alone.
He sat in his room, working hard on a project. He thought that if he could somehow escape, everything would be okay. He was tired of the bullying at school, Kaleb's angry outbursts, his father's quietness, and the emptiness in the house for the second time. Everything was wrong. But he knew exactly where to find comfort.
Andres wrote a note. When both Kaleb and his father were asleep, he snuck into the kitchen and placed it on the counter. Afterwards, he walked into the living room and turned on the TV. He inserted a cartridge into the console. Not one anyone else could get. He sat on the floor, running around as Mario into the castle and outside into the courtyard. He punched all of the ghosts and turned around to face Luigi. For a moment, he could see a faint outline of his mother standing in him. He spoke to him and once again, the game made a horrid sound and glitched out. It didn't scare Andres this time, instead, he rested his hand on the console and felt it get hot. He welcomed the feeling. His hand stretched into the plastic and he was gone. Only the controller lying on the floor to show that anyone was there.

Andres awoke on soft grass. He blinked open his eyes against the sun and sat up to his knees. He gazed around the mushroom forest. It worked. He stood and saw a pink point of a castle in the distance. The Mushroom Kingdom. He looked down at his hands. He wasn't Mario like last time, he was himself. His own character in the game, but he belonged there. Nothing would try to kill him. No bosses, no angry mushrooms or turtles, just peace. He made sure of that. He was in a new world now, one where he could restart for good.