The Luigi Story

Chapter 1: A ruined picnic part 2

As the last buzzer faded, it became quiet for a moment. We waited for what was about to come next, but what hit us was unexpected. A giant stream of red mist started pouring down upon our city. The wind picked up the mist and made it swirl around in the air. It would have been beautiful if it were not so terrifying. The mist had now completely covered the airship behind it and was nearing the highest points of the town.

Not knowing what the mist was or did, a division of Koopa Elites dived right into it, trying to take out the cannon before it could finish what it was doing. The Elites went into the mist, but it remained quiet. No shots were heard as we waited in silence for the results. Then suddenly, we saw the division at the end of the mist gliding downward and crashing into the ground. The remaining Elites readjusted their attack vector and also went into the mist only to emerge falling from the sky on the other side.

Everybody looked in shock as they saw them falling hopelessly from the sky.

"What happened to them, Mario?" I asked.

"I don't know, Luigi," Mario replied, "but we better get moving to that bunker. Let's just hope they all have 1up-shrooms handy."

The crowd started to move, some of them running as fast as they could. Others were still frozen in place as they looked in horror as the wall of mist was heading their way. We were halfway to the bunker when the mist cleared the high-rise buildings and suddenly dropped down and accelerated. Everybody started to panic as the whole crowd of Toads, Koopas, and other creatures started stampeding towards the bunker.

"Keep calm," I told them, but they didn't listen.

The mist was now where we were only moments ago. The Toads and Koopas still standing there started running, but it was too late for them as the mist caught them within seconds. You could see the terror in their eyes as they disappeared in the thick red mist with their hands still reaching out for help.

"Luigi!" Mario said, as he took out a star from his backpack. "You guide them to safety. I'm going in."

"No, Mario!!!" I screamed back. "This is dangerous; you can't win on your own against a whole ship. We have to go back and think of a plan."

"It's okay, Luigi," Mario replied. "I have dealt with Bowser before, and I am not going to let him win now."

"NO!," I screamed again. "This is not like any other Bowser attack. You need to come with me to safety."

I tried to wave my way through the crowd and grab Mario by his hands, but the crowd was pushing me further down the street. Mario managed to slip to the side of the street, and he had his backpack off. The mist was only moments away from him now. I couldn't possibly reach Mario and get to the bunker before the mist hit us in time. Nonetheless, I tried to push through. All I got to see was Mario going through his backpack. He now stood up again and had a star in his left hand. With his right hand, he took a piece of paper from his overall. He seemed to read it before putting it back. The last moments I saw of Mario were him looking back at me with a smile. His smile at that moment had a thousand meanings, and everything went through my head at once.

Then, just before the mist hit him, Mario used his star and ran into the mist. I couldn't believe what I just saw, and I let myself be taken away by the crowd. I couldn't follow what was going on around me anymore. I was stricken by grief and confusion, and so was everyone around me. With Mario gone, the crowd became desperate and not minding the others around them. I too was running mindlessly with tears in my eyes and the thought of Mario in my head. Why did he run into the mist? What was on that paper? And why did he look back at me?

All those questions and more, with no answers and no time to ask. The only thing I could do now was run and get to safety. My mind started to clear a bit while I was running, and just now I could see what was going on. I could see people laying on the ground with broken ankles and other injuries from the stampede. On the sidewalks, I could see parents with their crying children and old folks trying to walk as quickly as they could. I didn't know what the mist would bring us, but I did know that they would not make it in time to the bunker. There was no time to help them as the mist was right behind.

"Saving them will help no one," I thought. But it felt like a cowardly way of thinking. All those years listening to Mario and his adventures and now leaving the wounded to their own demise. When I reached the green pipe of the bunker, it was overcrowded. Hundreds of villagers were trying to get in as the mist came in closer and closer. The normally kind Toads and Koopas of this town now started cursing and fighting to try and get their loved ones or themselves inside.

I moved through the crowd pushing and squeezing my way through the people and finally managed to reach the green pipe. "Calm down, everybody!" I yelled at the crowd. "We need to do this calmly." The crowd didn't respond, and people were pushing and dragging each other out of the pipe. The way it was now, no one would manage their way down. I had to think of something to get their attention and decided to search around in my backpack. I quickly took it off and went through it. I went for the Tanooki Leaf. I used the Leaf and jumped on top of the green pipe. Here I used my swirl attack with my tail and it pushed over all of the people that were standing besides the pipe.

They were surprised at my attack, but it did manage to grab their attention. "Everybody stay calm," I told them. "We need to go down one by one." I grabbed the hand of the first person I could see and let her on top of the pipe. "Quickly climb down to the sewer," I told her. She looked me in the eyes before she went down. "Thank you, Luigi," she said before she climbed down. "Who is next?" I said to the crowd.

An old Koopa came towards me and reached out his hand. I took his hand and gently pulled him up and then let him climb down into the pipe. When the old Koopa was climbing down, I grabbed the next hand that reached towards me. This time it was a young woman with her child in her arms. The child was most likely not older than three years. "It's okay now, young one," I said to the kid. "You are safe now." Then I let them down into the sewer. Suddenly, I heard a commotion in the crowd, followed by a loud scream. I turned around towards the noise and I saw what caused the scream. The red mist was here.

The red mist was now at the edge of the park, and it was getting closer. It would just take a couple of seconds before it reached the pipe. The crowd was now becoming unruly. They started yelling and pushing that they wanted to get in. As the mist came nearer, those in the back started fighting, trying to make their way through. "Calm down, everybody, please!" I yelled at the crowd, but they wouldn't listen. Some of the people here started running away, but most stayed, trying desperately to enter. I led down some more people in a hurry, but it was going to be too little too late.

As the mist rolled in closer and closer, the crowd realized that only a few could go down and the rest will be stuck here. Now, those at the front joined the fight and tried to claw their way in, but they kept being dragged away into the fight. No one was going down the pipe now. I tried to keep the people calm, but then suddenly someone grabbed my feet and I lost balance. I fell down and hit my head on the edge of the green pipe. This fall has left me in a daze and now I couldn't see well. It was as if the whole world was spinning around me. I could feel someone pulling on my arm, but I couldn't see who it was. Before I realized it, I had the feeling of falling down a well. I was looking up towards the sky and it was moving away from me. The sky was now a single circle of light and getting away from me. Then, I landed with a thud on the floor and pain went all across my body. I could still see the point of light and somebody was standing up there. The light was disappearing. The circle of light was being eaten by darkness. It was now a crescent of light and I could see arms reaching out from the light and faces of sorrow piercing my soul. As the last of the light dimmed, I closed my eyes, and my consciousness faded away.