The Evils Within

Chapter 13

Mr. L smiled mischievously at the crown that sat in his hands. He could feel the power surging through him. As he stood up, he felt something else. It was no build-up. It was no satisfaction. It was... empathy. Seeing Daisy knocked out on the ground, he felt bad.

He knew it wasn't Luigi's emotions that he was feeling this time. This time, it was his own. He tried to shake it out of his head and storm out of the castle, but stopped himself. As much as he hated the thought of it, he wanted to do something to help her. He sighed in frustration, turning back to the unconscious princess. He picked her up, slung her over his shoulder, and walked into the castle.

Mr. L walked up a spiral staircase, gliding his free hand against the stone brick wall. He was glad that he knew the layout of the Sarasaland castle because he just wanted in and out. Fast.

Upon exiting the staircase, he found himself in a hallway paved with those similar bricks. A long orange carpet laced with gold trim lined the hallway. The tinted glass panes lit the hall with an orange hue. Mr. L remembered that Luigi had only been in this hallway once or twice quite some time ago, but it was exactly like he remembered it.

At the end of the hallway was Daisy's bedroom where Mr. L carefully laid her onto her bed. He took a step back away from the bed and crossed his arms. He felt a hint, a smidge, a tiny bit of remorse, but he didn't want his unwanted feelings to get in the way of his plans.

He walked over to the door, taking one more glance at Daisy. The look on his face suggested he regretted what he did to her. He took a deep breath and whispered, "I'm sorry," to her before angrily storming out of the room, tightly gripping the crown in his hand.

~~~~~~

Luigi's eyes darted back and forth between Peach and Mario as he sat up. He broke out into a nervous sweat, a stressed look on his face. He knew they weren't too happy with him.

Luigi tried his hardest to not worry the two of them, but everything he did try only made the situation worse. Dodging questions, disconnecting from the outside world, even lashing out only made Peach and Mario ask more and more questions. He understood their concern but was unsure -- and rather afraid -- how they would take his explanation to the best of his own knowledge. He had questions and didn't want to answer any of theirs until he figured out answers himself.

Peach, who had her arms crossed, spoke up. "Luigi, your sudden and rapid change in demeanor is frankly quite concerning. We understand that you may be reluctant in-" she began but was interrupted mid-sentence by the red-clad brother across from her.

"Bro, we're just trying to help you. We can't help you if you don't know what's wrong. You can trust us. We're not going to turn our back on you. We care about you. All we want is an answer to 'What is wrong?'..." He nearly cried out. All of this worrying for his brother was starting to get to his head. As strong as he was, he was on the verge of having a mental breakdown.

Luigi could see it. This was the exact opposite of the result he wanted from hiding his problems. Peach shifted uncomfortably with the dull atmosphere he gave off and Mario was freaking out. He could no longer say he didn't want to worry them because that only worried them more. He felt horrible.

Luigi looked to the floor, attempting to blink back the tears forming in his eyes before quietly admitting, "...I need help."

The others perked up. A large wave of relief washed over them. They feared that Luigi would never wish to talk about his problems, but were glad to see that they could help him with whatever was going on.

Noticing that he now had Peach and Mario's full attention, he continued quietly. "You remember when Dreambert said something about something leaving the dream world? I think I know what it was..." he bit his lip. He wanted to just stop right there but knew that they would continue to press him for answers, so he continued, "...I think... Mr. L is back and is out there, somewhere, slandering my name."

Their eyes widened in shock, Peach putting her hand over her mouth and Mario placing both his hands onto the bed. "He's back? This is serious. Why didn't you tell us?" Peach asked. She was immediately thinking of some kind of plan.

Luigi began to twiddle his fingers. "Well... I didn't exactly know until just recently. I just thought he was just giving me more of those nightmares. I didn't want to tell you about him because I knew you guys were going to worry, but I see that not telling you wasn't a great idea either," he explained, looking to the ground, defeated. A tear rolled down his cheek. "I'm sorry. I'm- I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that I caused all of the stress and anger. I'm sorry for yelling at you guys. I didn't mean it! I didn't mean any of it! I- I-" he frantically apologized. He stopped as he felt two hands on either of the shoulders.

Both Peach and Mario put a reassuring hand on his shoulders. They gave him a light smile. Luigi sniffled and returned it. It was okay.

~~~~~

Mr. L stood at the upstairs balcony that overlooked where the four kingdoms met, Daisy's crown held behind his back. It was chaos. Citizens running and hiding all over the place. Minions chasing after them. Utter destruction among the buildings. The sight thrilled him.

He cleared his throat, "Attention people of Sarasaland!" He exclaimed. Everyone, citizens and minions alike, stopped dead in their tracks, equally as confused as to what was going on.

Mr. L continued, "Your kingdom is now under the rule of the Lime-Green Kingdom, formerly Bowser's Kingdom," he chuckled to himself. "From here on out, you are only to take orders from me or approved authoritarian figures, like my minions."

A toad crawled out of his hiding place underneath a pile of rubble, his friends trying their hardest to stop him. The toad quickly gathered up some courage and stood his ground. "We don't have to listen to you! Princess Daisy is going to put a stop to this, she'd never allow it! You're not going to get away with this!" He shouted.

Unamused, Mr. L gestured a group of paratroopas over to the unruly toad. They immediately flew over, restraining the toad while his friends watched in fear and discomfort, squeezing closer to one another inside the rubble pile.

Mr. L moved his hands from behind his back, resting his elbows in the balcony's banister. He began to spin the crown around his index finger. An audible gasp could be heard throughout the crowd. This was the reaction he was waiting for.

He jokingly placed the crown on his head and continued. "As your new leader, I'd like to lay down a few new rules. Rule one, no one is allowed to enter or leave the kingdom without permission. Rule two, any and all trades must be made through approved authoritarian figures. And three, any and all mail sent from and to the kingdom will have its contents thoroughly inspected before delivery."

He wanted to make things hectic for the kingdoms. He wasn't going to straight-up imprison them, that wasn't any fun, but he didn't want to just let them live life normally, that was too nice.

Mr. L had bigger plans than to just take over Sarasaland. He couldn't just stick around all day. He needed a little help. He clapped his hands together twice before the blue cloud of smoke appeared behind him again. It quickly faded to reveal his trusty Magikoopa. "Yes, sire?" Kamek asked, floating on his broomstick.

"As I have much more important things to get to, I leave Kamek to take my place in my absence," Mr. L announced before turning to the Magikoopa. "Are you up for the task?" He asked him. Kamek simply nodded with a smile.

Mr. L waved off to his substitute as he jumped over the balcony banister, landing with a roll to the dirt ground beneath him. He walked over to the clown car and climbed in, whistling to grab his minions' attention. As the car began to take off, half of the minions followed behind.

Mr. L chuckled to himself. He has power. He has an army. The next thing he wanted was a certain red hero's head.