Chapter 6: Lost and Found
Luigi kept running through the pipes, not thinking one bit about where he was running to or where he was at all. The panicing threw off his concentration and got him lost. Thirty minutes later, Luigi realized that he had no clue where he was. He stopped to think, "Where was that pipe? Where was it? Okay, uh... The way to Brooklyn was marked with a blue pipe, but I don’t see any blue pipes. Mamamia..."
It was no use, Luigi was lost and he couldn't find his way out. He decided to take a random pipe to get out; it was no use running around in circles. He entered the pipe. He went in warp speed as he kept screaming for his mother. Then, he came out of the pipe through some snow and found himself in Ice Land. It was very cold, with gigantic blizzards and a very thick fog. "Great," said Luigi.
Luigi tried to get back in the pipe, but he found out that it had been covered in snow in seconds as soon as he got out. Luigi walked ahead and realized that there wasn't civilization for miles. That pretty much meant that Luigi was in an uninhabited tundra. He walked north as he shivered. He kept walking and walking as the wind got stronger and the snow fell faster. Luigi kept going, but he was losing his will to go on. An hour later he couldn't walk any longer and landed in the snow, with no hope of anybody rescuing him. His life flashed before his eyes: his birth, his brother, Daisy, the Mushroom Kingdom, and the Plumber Shop in Brooklyn. He was becoming unconscious as his life continued to rush in his head. Then, he fainted, knowing it was the end for him.
* * *
Later, Luigi woke up, strangely warm and satisfied. He found himself in a cabin. A rest cabin, to be exact. A fireplace was brightly lit with fire as Luigi noticed the log walls and the pictures hanging on it. The floorboards were nicely aligned and the end table right by the bed held a bowl of Cheep Cheep soup.
A Bumpty with a nurse hat walked in an said, "Oh! You're awake!"
Luigi replied, "Where am I?"
"Why, you're in Shiver City. A group of Bumpty lumberjacks were walking to town with wood and found you, laying in the snow. They took you here to warm you up and let you rest for a while."
Luigi remembered about Mario and said, "Listen, Mario is..." Luigi didn't want to panic them or get thrown in an asylum for saying such crazy talk, so he restated his reply, "Mario is sick. Very, very sick. He went near biohazardous waste and I heard that you guys have rare crystals and winter fruits that are essential to creating the best medicine around. Can you help me?"
"Of course, anything for Mario. Follow me."
Luigi got out from the bed and followed the nurse. Luigi found out this place was bigger than he'd thought, because it wasn't a rest cabin, it was a hospital. Lots of doctors and nurses were rushing around with appointments and surgeries to complete. The place had a distinctive old people smell. The view was nice, with residents walking in the snow and doing the usual things they did. Luigi kept following the Bumpty nurse until she stopped. Luigi stopped too. She turned right and unlocked a door that was labeled Medicine Lab. She unlocked the door and then she and Luigi entered.
The place was crawling with scientists. Some were holding pure essences of elements in beakers, others were calculating on a blackboard, and the rest were putting the finishing touches on a cure for the common cold. Luigi never knew the Bumpties were so advanced. The room barely had light. It had an interesting tile pattern on the floor and a matching wall, curtain, and lightbulb. The scientists saw Luigi and waved to him as their quick hello and then resumed their work.
"Amazing, isn't it?" said the nurse, "Now, I have a batch that can destroy the biohazard contents in your brother, Luigi. Dr. Beak?"
A doctor replied, "Yes?"
"Get the biohazard solution out for me. You have tested it, right?"
"Yes, it's very successful. I think it might work."
"Good, please bring it to me, Doctor."
The doctor walked up to a metal cabinet labeled Successful Serums. He opened it with a key and looked through the test tubes filled with solutions. He picked up a periwinkle-colored serum labeled with a biohazard mark. He held it carefully as he gave it to the nurse. The nurse gave it to Luigi.
"Make sure he drinks half of the serum all at once. If the disease is really advanced then you must make sure he drinks the whole thing, and I mean the WHOLE thing, all at once," instructed the nurse. "This kind of disease your brother has is powerful and rare. You'd better go before your brother's condition gets worse."
"But, I can't survive out there in the tundra!"
"There's a warp pipe that leads to Toad Town, right by the hospital. Don't worry, it's under our awning, so it's not covered with snow. I wish you good luck, Luigi."
Luigi greatly thanked the nurse and went out the door of the hospital. He found the warp pipe and went inside, ignoring his fears of warp speed. He kept going at a dangerously fast pace. Then, he was in Pipe Land again, but saw a sign on a pipe that read Toad Town. "This must be the way," said Luigi. He walked up to the pipe but couldn't go through for some reason. Was it malfunctioning or was someone inside? Then, someone hit him at warp speed. This got Luigi a big bruise on his cheek. Luigi turned around, hoping it wasn't who he thought it was. But it was.
"Ha!" scoffed Viral. "Did you really think that you could escape me? I know where you are, Luigi. Don't underestimate me. Now, cooperate and I'll let you live... as my slave! Hahaha!"
"Cooperate this, freak!" screamed Luigi. He quickly got out the serum and grabbed Viral in a flash. Viral tried to use his powers, but it was too late; he had drank all of the serum before he knew it.
"Ahh!" he screamed. "Not medicine. No! No... you can't do... that..." His legs started shaking and the glow around him started to fade as Mario started to recover his original look. He started to sound like Mario for a little. Then, he fainted onto the wet floor. Luigi slowly walked ahead to Mario. The white hair and the gray skin had vanished. Luigi was relieved and went closer to pick him up. Then Mario opened his eyes and said something that showed Luigi's failure.
"Don't think you've gotten rid of me
yet."
Chapter 7: To Brooklyn
"But... but... I just gave you that serum!" said Luigi, quaking in his boots. "How? That stuff was supposed to work!"
"Almost, but you missed a drop," said Viral. Luigi looked at his hands and noticed that he didn't have the serum, Viral did. He saw that there was one drop left in the test tube. "I'm losing my powers thanks to you!" Viral yelled, clearly angry. He crushed the test tube and the drop of medicine splattered onto the stone-cold floor. "You have made a big mistake, trying to obliterate me from existence. I will not let you leave here and live. Come my minions! Destroy this hapless plumber!"
Then, there was a rumbling that shook the whole area. The pipe that led to Toad Town was shaking the most. Then, it stopped for a moment, looking as though Viral has failed. Luigi was relieved, but he shouldn't have been, because something did happen. Just then, hundreds of Toads flew through the pipe and went right by Viral. Some pushed Luigi to the floor. He couldn't believe it, but he had to. They had been manipulated to follow Viral's commands.
"Nice, huh?" said the psychopathic virus, "Since the residents didn't want to be in my rule, I used a little persuasion and they got the idea immediately. Now, minions, attack Luigi!"
The Toads ran at Luigi and he ran for his life, throughout Pipe Land. The Toads carried all kinds of torches and pitchforks as they chanted over and over again, "KILL LUIGI! KILL LUIGI!" Luigi ran faster and faster, but it was no use, they were gaining up on him. Luigi couldn't stand the running any longer. He had to take another pipe to see if fate would keep him alive. He went right and then right again quickly, hoping no Toad has noticed he had used a pipe. He went at light speed once more. He was starting to get used to it, but he was still terrified. Then he got out and landed on the ground hard.
He realized he was in... the Brooklyn sewers? There were grimy walls, a bad odor, and numerous piles of garbage floating about. It was definitely the sewers. It seemed that Luigi has found the blue pipe Mario had used earlier. Now that he was in the sewers, he could get to the research facility in Brooklyn, so he could find a better cure. However, he wasn't safe. The army of Toads and their leader has found them. Luigi knew he couldn't fight back, otherwise he would hurt The toads. But, he knows that he couldn't survive this, so he would fight he had to. "Let's-a go..." whispered Luigi.
The Toads rushed to Luigi and Luigi fought back. He punched, jumped, and did everything else necessary to survive. The Toads were getting knocked out. Luigi kept going, thinking he could do this all day. Minutes past as he kept his will to fight, but he was starting losing energy. He saw the pipe that lead to Pilt and decided to give it his all. When all the Toads rushed at him again, he did a super punch attack that Mario had told him about a long time ago. It was so strong that the force blew the Toads away into the pipe. As suddenly as they had appeared, they were gone.
Viral looked at Luigi and clapped slowly for his brilliant performance. "Very good, Luigi. I see that you ARE a powerful fighter. Well, let's not get cocky here. I may have lost my powers, but I still have your brother's and guess what he had in his pocket?" Viral then pulled out a Fire Flower and used it to become Fire Viral. "Now, let's see if you can beat me."
Luigi held his position and looked through his pocket to find some powers. A problem sparked; Luigi had nothing in his pocket. He should've obtained supplies, but it was too late now. Luigi was starting to become terrified of his enemy.
"What's the matter, Luigi?" said Viral, "Don't you have any powers with you? Well, I guess this scenario will do." Viral ran to Luigi and took out Mario's hammer. He hit him with it sideways, launching Luigi into the walls of the sewers. Luigi got up quickly, but then Viral shot fireballs at him, causing damage to Luigi. He fell upon the shallow waters of the sewers. Viral ran ahead and kicked Luigi on the stomach and rolled along the shallow waters. Luigi couldn't give up on this fight. When Viral ran up to him, Luigi said, "I'm sorry, Mario," and stood up and punched him in the chest.
Viral was launched into the water. Luigi ran up and jumped on Viral as he got up. Viral stayed down for a moment. He merely chuckled. "You idiot. Don't you realize it is your brother who only feel the scars of this battle?" He got up and waited for Luigi to reply.
"Yeah," said Luigi. "But, you're not Mario. Not anymore." Then he ran up and gave him a super jump attack that badly damaged Viral. It was so powerful that even Viral felt the pain. He transformed back to his original form. Viral groaned.
"Impossible, I couldn't have felt that!" he wailed, his voice echoing throughout the sewers. He then noticed Luigi was running away. "Don't think you can get away from me!" he yelled to Luigi. He ran after him into the darkness. They ran through the maze for quite a while, noticing the same grime, pipes, and water as they passed by; they were running in circles. Luigi was starting to lose his energy and was starting to slow down. Viral had lost his own powers quite a while ago and has now running out of Mario's powers, and Mario was not good at running; he was also starting to slow down.
Then Viral said, "Don't think I don't
have one more trick up my sleeve!" He took out a P-Wing and transformed
into Raccoon Viral. Then he started to run faster as Luigi was going even
slower. "Hahaha!" he laughed. "When I get to you, I'll make sure you stay
dead! Hahahaha!"
Chapter 8: Doctor's Orders
Luigi needed an idea and fast before Viral caught up and did who knows what. While thinking and running simultaneously, he noticed a brick wall and turned at the last second. Viral did not and crashed head-on into the wall. He felt pain once again. When Luigi noticed that, he realized something he hadn't realized before: Viral had infected Mario's brain. If his head took damage, Viral felt pain, since he was in there. Luigi knew he had to take advantage of this weakness in order to get to the medical facility. While his enemy was trying to get up, Luigi found some scattered objects and threw them at Viral's head. Viral couldn't take the pain.
By the time Viral noticed that Luigi had stopped throwing objects, Luigi was running for his life. Viral got up and ran for him, still in Raccoon form. Luigi ran endlessly until he stopped and saw a ladder that led into the world of Brooklyn, New York. Finally! thought Luigi, Now to get to that medical factory.
Luigi climbed up the ladder, filled with joy that the nightmare would finally be over. However, fate took a toll on Luigi. Viral grabbed Luigi's leg, trying to pull him down. "You will not go to that medical factory!" He yelled in a bitter tone, "I will not be defeated by a man that fixes pipes in his spare time!" Luigi tried to shake his leg free, but it was no use, Viral's grip was too tight. Then a piece of cement feel from the roof of the sewers and hit Viral. Luigi was free and he climbed up.
He noticed that he was in the industrial district of Brooklyn. Hundreds of factories were on every corner of the street. The sky was a polluted gray with gray clouds; he couldn't tell if it was night or day. Many dirty objects lay around, from knocked over trash cans to piles of rotting garbage. While looking around, he saw a big, grimy building that had a sign right by it that read "Brooklyn Medical Research Facility". "This is the place?" questioned Luigi. "How unsanitary." Then he noticed that he'd stepped on a little pile of garbage. Luigi groaned in disgust as we wiped off his foot and ran to the building. However, he didn't notice a hand popping out of the sewers.
As Luigi entered the building, he noticed that nobody was there. Not even the guards were around. The foyer was grimy, ugly, dark, and pale. It looked like the place was falling apart. He ran into the halls to find someone in the building. As he ran through hall after hall, he noticed a flickering light behind a door that read "Dr Ritz". The abbreviation's period was missing. He slowly opened the door and noticed the lab was even grimier than the foyer. Lots of scattered test tubes and broken computers sat about. Some of the test tubes held chemicals and a Bunsen Burner was on, heating a beaker. This place was definitely falling apart. Then Luigi saw a scientist typing on a working computer. Luigi walked closer and decided to say something to him.
"Excuse me," said Luigi, "are you Dr. Ritz?" The man turned on his swivel chair and got up. He had an unbelievably clean lab coat with a snazzy tie and shirt to boot. He was starting to lose his hair and wore some pretty thick glasses. He walked up to Luigi and said, "Yes, I'm Dr. Ritz. Why do you ask?"
"Dr. Ritz..." Luigi started to say.
"Please, call me Monty," interrupted the doctor.
"Monty, you have tried to make a cure for cancer, right?"
Monty had trouble replying.
"Monty, that 'cure' somehow got dumped on my brother. How did you made this and what could I do to stop it?"
"I was hoping that would finally get away from my mind. I thought I was going to revolutionize the world with a cure that would save thousands. It was my dream to find a cure for some of the worst diseases known to man. However, I made an imbalance with the Seaborgium Oxide that was supposed to the main ingredient; the radioactivity in the Seaborgium made the medicine too powerful and it was transformed into a virus. A very powerful virus. I ordered that it be contained in medical waste to weaken it and have it dumped in the sewers. I wasted all that time and money and now look! The place is going to shut down all because of me. Everybody at this facility hates me so, and why not? Everyone is going to lose their jobs because of me. How did your brother got that medical waste dumped on him?"
"That is not important. I somehow weakened the virus inside him and now I have to find a cure before he can somehow become more powerful."
"You're in luck, my friend, I was entering a cure into the computer just in case that virus got anyone. Let me make a few adjustments." He rushed around the lab and made some last-minute touches on the beaker on the Bunsen Burner. "Finally, it is done. However, we will need more power to make this actually work." Monty thought for a moment as he set down the medicine on the table. "I think that electrical causes will make this work. However, I don't see anything that we can use to electrify the medicine."
"Hmm, well we better think of something fast or HE might come."
"Well, we could always use the..."
Then something shattered the walls of the building. It was Viral, ready to get revenge on Luigi. He ran ahead to Luigi and punched him in the gut with extreme force. Luigi fell groaning onto the grimy floor. He got up quickly and raced to Monty. He saw that Monty was knocked out by a piece of the wall. He searched for the medicine and found it still on the table and intact. Then Viral ran up, but Luigi ducked under his attack. Luigi quickly ran to something that ran on electricity: the computer that Dr. Ritz had used to enter the cure. He ran up and grabbed the monitor.
"Ha," said Luigi's enemy. "What are you going to do, throw it at me? Don't make me laugh."
Then Luigi got one of the main wires
on the computer, flowing with electricity for only a few seconds. He quickly
hit Viral's head with the wire and poured on every last bit of the medicine.
Viral screamed in pain, he screamed so loud that the whole city might've
heard him. Viral kept trying to take out the wire, but he was weakening
and weakening and weakening... until everything stopped.
Chapter 9: Final Confrontation
The enemy had fainted and Luigi saw that the computer was doing a download. A download? thought Luigi. What does that mean?
As Luigi observed the computer, the doctor woke up, mumbling about a fierce headache. He looked at the computer screen. "A download, eh?" said the doctor with something on his mind. "Oh no. The computer is going to dump something in your brother's mind!"
"What? But why?" replied Luigi.
"Simple," said Monty, "that wire is connected to his mind, somehow. The computer cannot handle too much information, so it will take one of the minds, either your brother's or the virus's."
"How is it going to decide between them?"
"Someone has to do it. The computer demands a download or it will be confused when it receives nothing and will explode due to that confusion. My boy, you should've used that power box I was going to suggest, so we wouldn't be in this mess. Somewhere in his mind, there is a mentle battle over who should go. The virus will not go down without a fight."
"What can we do for Mario?"
The doctor walked away from Luigi with his hands behind his back. A few seconds later, he replied with the only solution he had for this predicament, "Pray."
* * *
Mario woke up with a headache just as bad as Monty's. He found himself on a flat circular platform. The background featured some weird effects in a gooey purple blob. Then he saw that he was not alone; Viral was there as well. He seemed to be in a liquid form. He shined a cadet blue with his smooth texture.
Viral walked up to Mario with splashes in his steps. "Well, I heard a conversation from the doctor and your brother, Mario," said Viral, "and we seem to have found each other in your mind. And we seem to be connected to a computer with a download that will start in ten minutes. One of us has to go. And guess what, Mario. I'm not going anywhere... without a fight."
Holy Macaroni! thought Mario. I have to win this fight in less than ten minutes or I'll be gone forever? This is my only chance... Mario took his fighting stance and signaled with his hands to Viral to start fighting.
Viral ran forward and punched Mario very quickly. He kept punching him until he delivered a final blow. Suddenly Mario was floating up and down, getting dropped onto the platform repeatedly. "As long as I'm in YOUR mind, Mario, I can do anything I want here," said Viral, "and I'll start by doing anything to beat you." Mario was hit by a big blow once again and slid across the platform, almost falling. "Careful," said Viral. "Fall and you're through. I'm going to beat you up in ways you've never seen, before I throw you out of the ring."
Mario ran with fury and tried fighting back with all he could, but it was no match for Viral's quick speed. Then Viral disappeared and Mario was shocked. He turned around and was inflicted with another blow. Mario was badly beaten up. A battered Mario tried hard to think of a way to fight Viral, but his opponent simply seemed too powerful. Then Mario got an idea that he should've thought of long time ago...
When Viral went to beat Mario up again, he found Mario concentrating. Viral was very confused. Then, he heard a sound. It sounded like a jet, a very fast jet. Then he realized that Mario was thinking so he could call reinforcements. The type of reinforcements that is a virus's worst nightmare. White blood cells.
Viral saw a whole flock of them, and knew he couldn't fight all of those cells. He tried to run, but realized that there was nowhere to go. The white blood cells bunched up on the virus and he tried to fight his way out, but there was way too many cells to escape. They kept pushing him and spraying him with some weird liquid that burned Viral horribly. Then one blood cell gave a big push and the virus fell off the platform.
"Don't think I won't return, because I will!" said Viral, plummeting into the downloading sequence. Mario had won the fight and the worst was over. Then Mario felt a sinking feeling. He looked and saw that he was melting into the platform. Mario was terrified, but he couldn't do a thing to stop it, and just like that, he was gone.
* * *
Meanwhile in the lab, Luigi and Monty were waiting with feelings of hope. They heard the computer beep and found out that the downloading sequence was complete. They found that the wire was out of Mario/Viral and he was opening his eyes, his brother hoping that he was who he really was.
Mario/Viral said one thing, "Luigi, thank you for helping me. You're a real brother."
Luigi ran to his brother and hugged
him and was filled with joy. The worst was over and the Mushroom Kingdom
and quite possibly Pilt was saved by the Mario Brothers.
Chapter 10: In Conclusion
Everything is finally back to normal and everybody has resumed their regular lives in the Mushroom Kingdom. Plus, Mario learned a big lesson; a lesson he will never forget.
Mario learned that even a hero like him needs help every once in a while. If Luigi hadn't saved him, he would have been stuck as an evildoer for the rest of his lifetime. Mario also learned that if he needed help, he should say so. After all, keeping it in like that will pretty much put you in danger. Mario has pretty much forgotten about that incident about losing his mind.
Luigi was praised for saving the Mushroom Kingdom and Mario from Viral. A party in Peach's castle was thrown in his honor, with beautiful decorations, scrumptious food, and mild-mannered guests. Luigi was given a medal for saving the kingdom by the princess herself. Luigi was very pleased and was happy that he had saved his brother.
Monty decided to try to cure another disease through careful research and patience. He accidentally found a cure for strep throat instead of SARS, but it was a start and the doctor was praised for the cure and his company was rolling in money, thanks to Monty.
Finally, Viral is still stuck in that computer. The computer has been shut off for a long time now and it has been moved into a closet full of junk. The computer shows burnt marks and scars that were caused by the battle in the building. The monitor beeps for a moment and the screen blinks for a few seconds. Hmm... Is Viral really done for? Only time will tell.
The End
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