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

Didn't Expect to See HIM Again, Did You?

Mario dashes for the door right as a doctor walks in, and he screams at them, " Get him back! NOW! "

The doctor rushes over to check Luigi's pulse, and upon not finding one, goes over grab the defibrillator.

But what no one can see is Luigi's vision slowly turning darker, until it's gone completely, and he feels himself being pulled down, down, down...

"Clear!" the doctor calls, before zapping Luigi's chest, and though he convulses, the pulse doesn't return.

"Get away from him!" Mario shoves them out of the way and begins chest compressions himself.

Luigi doesn't know where he is, only that he's positive it's not the hospital.

Also it seems to be ethereal in nature, because he can't really feel anything here.

He looks around, and realizes he's standing outside a storefront, and the sign is flipped to Closed.

He looks around some more, but this is the only place that looks even remotely solid in this weird landscape.

He looks again, and now the sign is changed to Open.

Luigi shrugs, then decides he has nothing left to lose, opens the door and walks in.

The moment he does, he realizes it's not just any storefront. It's their storefront, completely stocked, decorated and ready for business.

"Hello?" Luigi calls out, but all he hears is his own voice echoing back at him.

He keeps walking around, but when he sees something sitting by the register, he makes his way over.

It's a framed photograph, and when he picks it up, he can see it's a screengrab from their commercial. With a start, he realizes the glass is shattered.

It hits him like a punch to the gut, and as he looks around the storefront, it's like he's just now realizing what this place really is.

As he looks, he hears the last line in their commercial,

"Forget-a expensive plumbing companies where you're-a just a face. For the Super Mario Bros, you're family!"

"We finally opened our first storefront." Luigi says to the picture frame. "But now there won't be any Mario Brothers for the Grand Opening. Mario's officially on borrowed time. I did everything I could to stop him, but I was lying to myself. I knew. I've always known."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Mario screams as he keeps up his compressions. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

His screams are so loud to where everyone comes back into the room, but it's Giovanni who comes over first.

"Mario--"

"He's not gonna die." Mario seethes, and one look into his eyes is all it takes to see the utter devastation setting in.

"He's dead--"

"He. Is not. Leaving. Me." Mario spits back at him, maintaining compressions like his life depends on it.

"The doctors have been consulting with Nastasia." Peach tells the room. "They're trying to think of how Dimentio's magic works."

"If Mario wasn't pumping his heart, he'd be dead right now." The doctor tells her. "I can't even tell if he's not braindead."

"Braindead..." Mario mutters, then suddenly screams, "NASTASIA!"

In moments, the Swoop woman appears, "Yes? Can't you see I'm trying to help save your brother?"

"Tell me how you brainwashed him." Mario orders, slightly out of breath from the exertion.

"What?" Nastasia looks properly put out. "This is not the time to--"

"TELL ME!" Mario screams.

"I-I had to dig deep into his mind, to separate him from anything that could bring him back." Nastasia stammers.

"You had to hide him behind your magic?" Mario asks, wincing as his hands start to sting, but still not stopping.

"Yes."

"Okay, Nastasia? I can't believe I'm saying this, but I need you to do it again."

"WHAT?" It sounds like the entire room is saying it, but Mario doesn't waver.

"Do it again. Find wherever he is in his mind and use your hypnotism to trap him there." Mario orders.

"Mario you can't--" Arthur tries to argue.

"Actually, he can." Nastasia's face stays stoic. "He's right. If I do it, it might stop Luigi from going braindead long enough to fight it."

She flashes her glasses once, and the red lightning that still gives Mario the willies envelops Luigi's body.

"If you did anything but what I said..." Mario growls, not messing around.

"No, I wouldn't." Nastasia promises.

"Let me do compressions." Giovanni asks, putting a hand on Mario's shoulder, but Mario shrugs him off.

"No, I can't, he needs me!" Mario yells at him.

"Okay, okay, Mario?" Giovanni grabs his face to make him look at him. "You're tired. You need to let someone else take over."

"Nononononono—" It's clear the panic and exertion is not letting Mario see straight.

"Mario, listen to me." Giovanni says, not letting Mario push him away. "You're doing everything right. I'm the one that took you to get certified. Remember? I took both you and Luigi before you started at the Wrecking Crew."

Mario nods slowly, so Giovanni continues, "I took it too, just in case. I can help him."

Mario wants to argue that Luigi doesn't need anyone but him, but as his arms start to shake, and the tears won't stop, he knows he can't be selfish.

"Okay, ready?" Giovanni asks. "1...2...3!"

They swap quickly, and the moment Giovanni picks it up in the same rhythm, Mario grabs Luigi's face, pressing their foreheads together.

"Don't you dare leave me, Weegee." Mario begs, tears falling freely. "You know I'm right behind you if you do."

Luigi gasps as suddenly, the framed photo is mended, and he can see the screengrab clearly.

"Well isn't that sweet." A voice that sounds eerily like his own startles Luigi as he whips around to look.

"You think if you fix a photograph, you can just go home?" Luigi's stares as his doppelganger comes closer. He's wearing a green scarf, his clothes are all in black, he has a black bandana over his eyes, and his cap has a backwards L. "I don't think so."

"How long before we know something?" Mario asks weakly, all anger drained out of him.

"That's up to him." Nastasia says. "And for all we know, we made things worse."

"You think we've lost him, don't you?" Mario accuses. "We're at the final boss, and we're losing."

"Who in the Underwhere are you, and what in the Underwhere are either of us doing here?" Luigi demands.

"Well that's got to be about the stupidest question I've ever heard." The doppelganger snarks. "I'm you, dumbass. Mr. L, in the flesh."