Threads of Fate (Part 2)

Rage

Luigi wasted no time in leaving. He only took a few extra minutes to enter the vaults and retrieve a hammer powerup. Stashing it in his overalls, he made his way to the Yoshi stables. Daisy would wake in a few hours, and he needed to be well out of reach before she did. He knew if she could catch up to him, there was a good chance she would talk him down, as she had done every time in the past. This time he would not give her that chance. Quickly he rode his Yoshi toward the dark lands. As he traveled, he wondered if he would intersect on the same trail Peach had taken from the Mushroom Kingdom as she rushed to Mario's aid on the day of his death.

As day turned to dusk, the world around him became burnt and barren. The smells of ash and death filled his nose. Luigi was fairly certain that he was the first outsider to enter Bowsers domain since Peach over a year ago. And as far as he could tell, very little had changed as the world around him seemed to be the very embodiment of decay.

Sometime after night had fallen, the glow of Bowsers castle appeared in the distance, and Luigi began to search for a suitable place to tie off his Yoshi. He needed every advantage he could get, so it was vital that he approach in stealth. That way Bowser would not know Luigi was coming until it was too late.

Koopas were guarding the front gate and walking the turrets. Luigi was sure he could take them, but not without them raising an alarm first. So instead Luigi approached a side wall were a large dead tree remained standing. He jumped to the tree and then immediately jump again to grab the edge of an open window. Peering inside, he saw it was an empty room that appeared to be used for storage.

Luigi climbed in, crept to the door and cracked it open. On the other side of the door were the castle kitchens. Several koopas were running back and forth preparing a pot. A head koopa was walking around giving orders.

"... and don't forget the powdered fire flower this time. I don't care what the boss said, I will not let you serve him substandard food!"

This was perfect. Luigi was worried that he would have to spend hours avoiding guards as he searched every room in the castle. Instead, he would just need to tail whichever koopa was serving him his evening meal.

Luigi sank back into the storage room and started looking around. There was a small grate. Luigi leapt up and began to crawl into it. The fit was tight but he managed to squeeze in and crawled deeper into the castle. When he came upon the next grate, he checked it. It led to the corridor. After confirming it to be deserted, Luigi lowered himself out of the grate. The corridor was large and imposing. It was dark, with only torches to light the way. There was no softness to anything. Both walls were stone, as was the floor with only a thin red carpet running down the length of it. Luigi looked for a place to hide and finally took refuge behind a large goomba statue across from the kitchen doors.

It was several minutes before a small procession of koopas emerged carrying bowls of soup on trays. Luigi was briefly worried about who to follow till one emerged carrying a single bowl much larger than the others. Surely that was Bowsers.

Tailing the koopas started out easy enough but became challenging as they entered into more populated sections of the castle. Soon Luigi was forced to leap up to the exposed scaffolding lining the ceiling and move between shadows, or leap between low hanging chandeliers throughout the castle. Eventually the sever he was tailing came to a large staircase leading into a turret. There was no way to follow unseen, but it didn't matter at this point. Luigi knew those stairs would lead to a single room at the top of the turret. A room that undoubtedly held Bowser.

He waited till the server had both come and gone and all that remained were the two guards watching over the staircase. How to get them to move?

Luigi thought a moment and then moved over to a small, deserted alcove. He quietly retrieved a touch from its walls and looked up at the chandelier in the ceiling. Leaping up to it, Luigi carefully balanced the torch, so its flames kissed the rope holding the chandelier up. He then jumped back down and returned back to his original hiding place and waited.

It took about a minute before the satisfying "CRASH" of the chandelier came and sure enough, the two guards reacted instantly, running to the source of the commotion. Such a impact would likely alert other koopas and goombas in the area as well, so Luigi waisted no time, slipping up the staircase the moment the guards had left it exposed.

Quickly ascending the staircase, Luigi could still hear the commotion from down below. He soon found himself face to face with a large set of red double doors. Bowsers emblem displayed prominently on each. This was it. The moment Luigi had obsessed on for over a year.

Luigi took a moment to mentally prepare himself. He or Bowser, one of them was going to die tonight... no, not one of them, Bowser... Bowser was going to die tonight! Luigi could not fail. He would not leave Daisy to grieve as Peach had.

Luigi thought of his brother. Their final evening together. Mario had been so excited about something, almost giddy. He had refused to tell Luigi why, instead insisting that Luigi would find out why soon enough...

Luigi mind then drifted to Peach. Broken with despair, clinging to an engagement ring, and her heart shattered into a million pieces...

And finally, to the morning after the funeral. The entire castle in a state of utter panic. Him, standing in the doorway to Peach's bedroom and Daisy rushing past him in hysterics... collapsing and sobbing at Peach's bedside.

The injustice of it went beyond words. To steel their joy, destroy their lives at such a moment... Luigi didn't need any more time to prepare. He was furious. He was ready. His only desire now, was to unleash his rage. To hurt Bowser in every way possible.

Luigi took a few steps back, and then charged the door.