At Least Your Brother's Not Gonna Die Because of You!

Ignorance Really is Bliss, Isn't It?

Luigi looks to be in complete shock, " That's what's growing inside my head? Where did you get that?"

"From O'Chunks, when he got infected with one." Mario explains, handing it to the radiologist. "They brainwash people into doing someone's bidding."

"Someone's doing this to me?" Luigi screeches, understandably freaked out.

"We don't know." The radiologist admits. "But with something we've never had to treat here in the Mushroom Kingdom, there's more risks involved with treatments."

"What risks?" Mario demands in a low growl. "What's going to happen to my brother? If you know anything about how this could've happened, you need to tell me. Now."

"Depending on who put it there and why, we could be looking at any treatments being redundant." The radiologist admits. "If they were adamant on Luigi doing their bidding, taking it out wouldn't matter. It would just grow back."

"So we can't do anything." Luigi realizes.

"Not at this time, no." The radiologist can't give them false hope. "But don't be so quick to throw in the towel."

In response, Luigi sits down in a chair with a sigh, letting out a chilling laugh, "Oh Mario, isn't this hilarious?"

When Mario looks at him in confusion, Luigi says, "After everything Nastasia did to help me remember everything, she's still gonna kill me."

"We don't know if it was her." The radiologist reminds them. "Though considering she was the one that brainwashed you initially, there's a good case for it. If we could track down who did it, maybe they could stop it."

"Permanently?" Mario asks hopefully.

"Well Nastasia had intimate details about what Bleck wanted her to do to him while under her control. But with Bleck gone, and Nastasia disappeared to who knows where..."

"What good would talking to her do?" Mario rolls his eyes. "Look at what she was willing to do to me ."

"If she knows anything about when it was put there, then she might know how to remove it." The radiologist explains.

"You've already given up on experimental therapy, haven't you?" Luigi says in immediate understanding.

"I never said that." The radiologist defends. "All I said was this is going to take more than what everyone in this hospital knows."

"This changes nothing." Mario promises, squeezing the back of Luigi's neck.

"Listen to your brother." The radiologist agrees. "The twin bond you share with your brother has saved you time and time again from everything both your world and every world you've encountered here has thrown at you. There is not one doubt in my mind it will do it again. It didn't pull you back together just to separate you permanently now."

Wordlessly, Luigi leans against Mario, who wastes no time wrapping an arm around him.

"I thought Nastasia had my best interests at heart when she had me climb up to Star Hill twice and tricked you into nearly breaking our bond to get my memories back." Luigi says when they finally go home, collapsing on the couch. "How was I supposed to know Nastasia was just giving me borrowed time to say goodbye?"

"Lu," Mario sits down next to him. "I promised you weren't gonna die, and I meant it."

"I just can't believe that all this time, it never occurred to me that this was how she brainwashed me." Luigi confesses. "Why didn't it?"

A knock on the door has them greeting Peach and Mimi.

"We were hoping to get the good news in person." Peach explains, while Mimi keeps quiet.

"You're gonna have to hope for a little longer." Mario replies. "The experimental therapy didn't work."

"Oh dear..." Peach's face falls.

"And we also found out something I was hoping I'd never have to hear again." Mario adds.

"Oh?" Peach asks.

"Nastasia did this to me." Luigi tells her, watching her eyes go wide. "Apparently that's how Nastasia turned me into Mr. L."

"We don't know that." Mario reminds him.

"Yeah, we do." Luigi argues.
"What do you mean?" Peach asks gently.

"So we know Nastasia brainwashed me before." Luigi explains.

"But it never occurred to us how she did it, until we found out the mass in Luigi's head is a Floro Sprout." Mario finishes for him.

"A Floro Sprout?" Peach repeats in shock. "You mean—"

"Yes." Mario replies, seeing she understands.

"Look, I know she brainwashed you before." Mimi finally speaks up. "But that doesn't mean she did it like this."

Luigi's face hardens. "You're right. It wasn't her. It was you. "

Mimi tries to speak up, but Luigi won't let her. "You were in cahoots with Nastasia all through the end of the world, and when you were my so-called friend when I was still Mr. L, and when I called you to help me clean up her mess that left me separated from my brother. You should've told me Nastasia was prolonging the inevitable."

"She was--" Mimi starts.

" Yes she was!" Luigi shrieks. "You should've told me I had a Floro Sprout in my brain and that anything we did to get my memory back would've all ended like this. Instead you let me have false hope that it was all going to be okay once I remembered everything and we got rid of Bowser and Wario. Just this morning, I forgot I even had anything in my brain. Nastasia's plan was supposed to save me, and now I find out it only gave me borrowed time before it's going to kill me."

"Stop it." Peach orders, angry now. "You snuck into my castle and stole that modified map to Star Hill, even after I adamantly warned you it was too dangerous to go back up there."

"I don't think Luigi's up for company right now." Mario says, already making excuses. "This whole prognosis has left us all reeling. We can all catch up later."

"I'm sorry." Mimi says, complete guilt in her eyes. "I shouldn't have tagged along unannounced."

"You know he didn't mean any of that." Mario defends Luigi, whose face turns into one of confusion.

"What's going on?" He demands. "Why are you staring at me?"