A Nutcracker and the Beast

Chapter 4: Back home in the Darkland

"And this is the garden, Luigi," Junior said as he put Luigi on the floor so he could walk. It's been two days since they got to the Darkland, and Luigi is already having a bad time. It's full of lava that he has almost set himself on fire, and there are a lot more Koppa here than on the flying fortress they were on. If the Koppa were like the Toads, he didn't want any of them seeing him in case they screamed and tried to kill him like a rat.

"It's much bigger than I thought. I'm just glad that there's no lava." Luigi said as he moved over to some rose brush next to them. He also half expected it to have only power-up and, of course, the peach tree Junior told him about.

"Yeah! It's the only piece of land that would actually grow plants so dad makes sure that there is nothing nearby that can burn them," Junior said, moving toward the peach tree. "This way Luigi! I want you to see the peach tree! The peaches are starting to grow!"

Luigi followed him, taking in every flower in the garden. Most were red, like roses, tulips, marigolds, and bleeding hearts. The following popular colors were yellow and green, rarely seeing any other color besides the pink and white that only pop in one area - near the peach tree. Once at the tree, Luigi noticed how big it was, not because of how small he was but because it was a fully grown tree. Luigi thought that it was a newly planted tree, but it was a peach tree about to grow peaches. It had all the flowers on it.

"Once those flowers start to go away, the peaches will start growing, and they taste amazing! Peach shows me a pie recipe I'll make with her!" Junior said, looking up at the tree with a smile. "I can't wait till you have some!"

Luigi averted his gaze, putting on a sad smile. He found it sweet that since Junior found him, he treated him as if he was a person and not some toy, but it broke his heart, opening old wounds.

"That's very kind of you, Junior, but...I can't eat it. I have no need for it." Luigi told him. When he first turned into a nutcracker, his biggest fear was how he would take care of himself. How would he eat and drink if he had a hole in his back? How will he sleep and know if he is sleeping? How would he know if he was in pain or was missing some part? He soon learned the answer to all of those questions when he was in a cage, locked up in a forgotten room for no one to hear him. No one to see him. No one to save him.

"Why not?" Junior asked; it was an innocent question, but it felt like a knife was stabbing Luigi.

"I'm... I'm just a toy. Toy don't need food to live. They also don't need water, or sleep...they don't need the things that you need to live." He explained, not wanting to explain this to a child.

"But you always pretend to fall asleep when I do, why can't you do that with food?"

"Because of my back," Luigi said, turning around, "it has a hole in it. It's there so my mouth can move, and when I put something in my mouth...it just falls out. It makes me feel empty, like a ghost."

"Oh," Junior said, sadness showing on his face, "Well...what if I wish you real?!" His face turned into a smile at his grand idea. "If I wish you could be alive, then what stops me from wishing that you're a real person?!"

Luigi frowned; this isn't a wish; it's a curse. A curse that he can't tell anyone about; he learned the hard way when he told Professor E. Gadd. Luigi still remembers the horror of what happened to him, the professor's eyes turning white as he covers his ears. He kept yelling to make the noise disappear, crying as his body slowly turned to stone. Luigi tried to save him, he wanted to make it stop, but when Luigi touched him, he, too, started to turn. Finally, his wooden body turned so hard that he couldn't move, he lost his voice, and his sight began to turn black. And the noises, oh, how the noise hunted him since it was just that laugh. That god-awful laugh before he saw those glowing purple eyes turn pitch black. Luigi nodded no, hoping that he hadn't started crying.