Brother's Loyalty: Battle for Evershade Valley

D-1: Cold Case

In anticipation of the freezing temperatures, Luigi swapped out his short-sleeved shirt for a flannel, long-sleeved one. He also slid on a winter coat, a scarf, a pair of earmuffs and more insulated gloves.

"I hope you like snow," Gadd told him when he emerged in his winter wear.

"Well—I have a love-hate relationship with it," said Luigi.

"As we all," Fred chimed in.

Gadd then told Luigi a little about his next destination.

"A secret mining operation was started at the top of that snowy mountain a while back," he said, "but it's been abandoned since."

"Why?" asked Luigi.

"No one knows," replied Gadd, "but what I do know is that the minerals in the mountain—especially the crystals—have unusual properties."

"That would explain the secret behind that mining operation," mused Luigi.

"But we'll discourse on that later," said Gadd. "The next Dark Moon piece is somewhere in this Secret Mine."

"Unfortunately, the signal picked up by the Parascope is unstable because of the terrible weather," Zed piped up.

"Does that mean we'll have to wing it?" asked Luigi.

"No," Gadd assured him, "because I already have a Toad Assistant there, doing some research. What are the odds, eh?"

"One in 734,958," Fred said crisply.

"Gee, thanks," murmured Luigi.

"His name's Ned, and he may have seen where the Dark Moon piece landed," said Gadd, "but he's not responding to my calls!"

Fred and Zed exchanged a concerned look.

"He's probably in the chalet, napping in front of the fireplace," reasoned Gadd, rolling his eyes. "I'll pixelate you nearby."

"If I ask him about the Dark Moon piece's location, then do you think he'll personally lead me there?" asked Luigi.

"I don't want him taking that chance," said Gadd. "Once you find him, bring him back here so we can talk to him."

"You got it," said Luigi.

"In the meantime, I'll keep scanning the area with the Parascope, looking for our Dark Moon piece," said Gadd. "Though the harsh weather will make it tough to find anything."

"We'll have to keep trying," said Zed.

"If the remaining Dark Moon pieces fall into the wrong hands, then that's no bueno," added Fred.

Gadd nodded. "Are you ready, Luigi? Here we go!"

Luigi sent Mario another text message before he gave Gadd the go-ahead to pixelate him out.

...

The Secret Mine was an old, frozen shack smack-dab in the middle of a perpetually winter wonderland. Currently, it wasn't as wonderous, since there were ghosts running rampant. It certainly wasn't wonderous to Luigi, who wound up pixelated there upside down, landing face-first in the cold snow. He pulled his head free, adjusted his cap and got to his feet, the cold beginning to knife his cheeks as his breath hung in thick clouds about him.