14th installment of the VGNU.
The time has finally come.
Heroes are called from all corners of a universe self-destructing.
A mysterious figure has gathered them to save their worlds before it is too late.
Will they stop this great calamity?
Or...
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As much as Pauline hated the sewers, she found herself wandering through them to the tunnel where the dark pit had once been. It was like it had never been there, patched up with old brick that looked to have been put in a hundred years ago and never touched since. But she knew... She knew that beneath those bricks was a portal to another world, and her son was lost on the other side of it...
But today, she forced herself to find a distraction, and wound up at their family's favorite pizza place; Mama Mia's.
Pauline sat in a booth in the back of the restaurant, staring out the window at city traffic. She didn't know what she was looking for anymore, she knew she wouldn't see him walking down the street. Even Luigi was gone now, searching for answers...
"Any luck?"
Pauline snapped to her senses as Mama Mia came over to her table. "No, not yet..."
"Y'know... I know it's not easy, but after so long..." Mama Mia shook her head. "I'm sorry Pauline, it ain't my place."
"No it's fine," Pauline smiled weakly. "I know how it looks... I know there's a chance he won't come back... but..."
"How's Luigi doin'?" Mama Mia asked, trying to shift to a lighter note. "Still traveling the world?"
Pauline nodded. "He's in Russia at the moment. Spoke to him just the other day... I don't blame him getting away from things... First his father, then the divide that show caused, and now Mario disappearing..."
Mama Mia sat down so she could look Pauline in the eye. For a moment, she held a look of suspicion as she tried to figure out where Pauline's head was at. "You really think... Mario's just missin'?"
Pauline faced the window again. "... Yes... I know he's alive... He's just... somewhere out there..."
Mama Mia sighed, knowing she wouldn't get any more out of her today. Pauline rarely ate here these days, just stopping by to sit in a familiar space, so Mama Mia didn't bother asking for her order. Instead she left Pauline alone to her thoughts...
Luigi will find you... Pauline leaned on her palm, watching traffic. ... He'll bring you home...
___
"To Mr. Luigi Mario, Congratulations on winning... Your own private mansion!"
Luigi held tight to the brochure as he sailed to yet another island in the middle of the pacific ocean. It wasn't the greatest boat, a simple motor and shredded leather seats, but it was all he could afford after so many trips across the globe. There would be no flight to this island, marked only by a dot on the map that came with his brochure, but the waters got rougher and rougher as the night set upon him. Black clouds blotted out the sky, and rain blurred his vision. It was everything he could do just to stay afloat as the harsh waves crashed into him.
