Into the Darkness [Mario Au]

Prologue Part 2: Au Revoir

     As Ludwig waited on the front porch of his house, he watched the setting sun, taking in his surroundings. 

     Straight in front of him, just a mere speck on the horizon was one of the fortresses his father had built. It had been placed there to protect against any invasions, particularly from the Mushroom Kingdom.

     The flag was flown at half staff, and it was easy to see why.

     Even though the fort was built on the top of a cliff so the soldiers could rain down cannonballs on the enemy forces, the Mushroom Kingdom's soldiers didn't care. They set up several catapults and began to decimate the fort. 

     Ludwig saw a rock fly in an arc before it knocked down the flagpole. Even from where he was, he could still hear the yells and screams of soldiers as they tried to make a retreat. But the Mushroom Kingdom wasn't letting them get away. They had purposefully divided their forces around the cliffs, and any forces that tried to escape were caught and made prisoners of war.

     Even if he didn't show it, Ludwig was nervous. If the Mushroom Kingdom headed over here, none of his siblings would escape. Possibly all of them would be put in jail for life, and some like Ludwig might even receive the death penalty for conspiring with their father. 

     His father.

     Ludwig and his dad had never really had a strong relationship, and this was another reason why; his father was spontaneous and didn't think things through. Whenever Ludwig critiqued him of this trait, his father shook his head and said "waiting is for cowards". 

     Bowser was probably dead now or he was going to be dead shortly. It didn't matter if he surrendered Princess Peach, the Mushroom Kingdom had given him several warnings that his father reacted to with very colorful language.

     The sun had just dipped under the horizon and the temperature was steadily, so Ludwig took out the jacket he had and put it on. 

     Still no sign of his siblings. 

     He was just about to go inside to yell for his siblings when Roy came out, visible frustration on his face.

     Ludwig knew his brother was angry, he was certain everyone was mad.

     "You were right."

     The words surprised Ludwig. Roy tended to be stubborn, and a few weeks ago, the two had a fight over dad going to Isle Delfino. Ludwig had thought it wasn't coincidental that when his father heard that Princess Peach was going to Isle Delfino he made plans to go there himself, while Roy thought that he just wanted to have a good time with Jr.

     Ludwig looked at him questionably. "What does it matter to you now? You haven't cared about it at all for the past few weeks," he said quietly, unsure if his brother was genuine about his apology.

     "Because thanks to King Dad, now Jr is in trouble," Roy explained angrily.

     Jr. He'd forgotten about Jr. He was also probably going to die unless he found a way to hide, which on the tiny Isle Delfino, was going to be difficult. 

     The door opened again and then slammed shut. Larry, Wendy, and Morton all walked out, their faces holding no emotion. They sat down on the steps of the porch, Morton's step groaning from the weight on it.

     The silence seemed to weigh on everyone, their souls crushed. None of them enjoyed being alone, and hated silence. At least all of them besides Ludwig did.

     Lemmy and Iggy came out next, and Ludwig saw the black case he carried in his left hand. He looked at him in surprise, but all Lemmy did was smile back weakly. 

     There they were, all sitting on the porch as the sun set, all about to part ways. It was almost idyllic if it weren't for the fact that Ludwig wasn't going to see his siblings for a long time. 

     Ludwig stood up nervously and cleared his throat. All of his sibling's faces were plastered with anxiety, somberness, or anger. It would be impossible to deduce if they only carried one, two, or three of the expressions. 

     "We must make sure that we don't go where another is heading, so we shall all state where we're headed," he informed his siblings. "I am going to Music Park."

     "I'm going to Toad Town," Lemmy mumbled.

     "I dunno where I'm headed, but it's not anywhere near here," Roy growled. Ludwig shot him a disapproving glare that was returned.

     "I'm taking over E. Gadd's lab!" Iggy yelled, cackling like a madman, which he was.

     "That is unrealistic, Iggy, be a little more rational," Ludwig chastised.

     "Fine! I'll go to the Soda Jungle!" Iggy said, huffing in anger.

     "I'm heading off to Cheep Cheep Beach!" Wendy chirped happily.

     Morton looked nervous. "I dunno where I'm going, probably Dry Dry Desert," he said uneasily.

     "And I'm going to Donut Plains!" Larry cheered.

     Ludwig nodded. "And with that, dear siblings, we must part. Au revoir." 

     Wendy rolled her eyes. "Bye to you as well, Luddy."

     Ludwig smiled. "Not goodbye, sister. Till we see each other again." 

     And with that Ludwig gave each one of his siblings a wave goodbye, and left.

     As he looked back, he saw his siblings leaving as well. They were narrowly escaping the Mushroom Kingdom's forces, which were steadily approaching.

     All but Roy. He was still sitting on the porch, staring at the sunset. Ludwig clamped his mouth shut, as to not alert the Mushroom Kingdom's forces to his whereabouts.

     His brother stood up and went back inside the castle.

     Ludwig wanted to go back, he wanted to save his brother, but he knew that it would do no good. He was far too stubborn to convince and too strong to force. 

     He understood why he was staying, however; he wasn't letting the Mushroom Kingdom take over his home that easily, they were going to have send the best they had to raise their flag over the castle. 

     Ludwig turned away from Ludwig, from his house he cherished so much and began to walk away, hoping his brother would survive.

     And that wraps up the prologue! Next chapter we're gonna head over to Isle Delfino and see how Jr is doing! I know that this chapter was probably a little forced and rushed, especially the end, so I'm definitely going to be editing that soon. Bye!