He had his father’s directions to Gusu, but the journey was longer than he thought. He had gotten lost again and again, guided back by the weasel spirits Wen Qing and Wen Ning, had been given spiritual gifts from the tree spirit Xiao Xingchen, had been given food by the eager wolf-dog Jin Ling.
But when he arrived in the mountains, Lan Sizhui realized all that meant nothing, as he did not know how to reach the city in the clouds. He did not have Lan Wangji’s ability to summon clouds nor would Bichen respond to him the way it had to his mother. Helpless, he found himself staring longingly into the sky.
A great gust of wings and Wei Wuxian landed beside him in a whirlwind of black and white and scarlet. “Uncle! You followed me,” Lan Sizhui said in surprise.
The crane bent his long neck to look into the boy’s eyes. “Did you think I would not? I hatched alongside your father’s river, have guarded it and him, and cherish him like a brother. Do not think I would not protect his son when he is unable to.”
Lan Sizhui felt like a little boy again, taking his first steps with his hand fisted in his uncle’s feathers, wobbly and uncertain, and felt that all over again. Relying on Wei Wuxian’s strength to keep himself moving forward.
Lan Sizhui returned his face to the billowing, gold-touched clouds high above. Somewhere hidden in them was the great city his mother had left to see the world below, and had returned to a captive. “I have been given aid to get here, and gifts, but all of it would be for nothing if I cannot sprout wings.”
Wei Wuxian clacked his beak in thought.
“I will take you,” he decided. “It was I who first urged your mother to leave the Cloud Recesses to visit the world below, despite her being forbidden from doing so. Never before have I cherished the consequences of my actions so dearly.” The crane touched his scarlet forehead against Lan Sizhui’s.
The boy gripped Bichen tightly, steeling himself. His mother was waiting. “Very well. I do not know what waits for me above, but at least I have a fierce protector in you, Uncle.”
“Always.”
Gripping his shoulders securely, Wei Wuxian carried him into the sky. And with every great wingbeat, Lan Sizhui could feel himself grow closer to his mother, her presence like a bright beacon.
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Day 19: Hungry
-please stop-
Super Dimentio cackles in delight as Mario tumbles from a swinging hand, feeling a crunch that has a trembling part of it finally still.
-don’t-
A finger twitches, but it doesn't prevent Paper Mario from getting a missile to the face, or Bowser tanking a headbutt as Peach dashes between its legs in hopes of attacking it from behind-
-you're... hurting them. stop-
Paper Peach is desperately keeping her ground as her parasol blocked projectiles, only to be sent careening back by Paper Bowser and Mario, who has been bodyslammed by a sliding shoe-
-stopsTOPITSTOPIT-
The entity cranes its head unnaturally as its eyes follow Peach, whose attacks simply bounce off.
"Useless."
It raises its hand-
And spasms.
It’s fighting with itself.
Mario would have thought it was just readying another attack, but-
The things arms seemed to wind themselves around the neck- squeezing as the rest of the body jerked in disjointed effort.
-STOPITSTOPITIWILLNOTLETYOU-
His head feels like it's splitting open- no one is shouting but the words are loud enough to feel them crashing into his skull.
"ha."
He looks up (when did he fall to his knees?) and sees the thing's face stretch into a crazed grin.
"hahaHAHAHA!" He hates how the laugh echoes in this place- how it sounds like Luigi but just. Not. "YOU REALLY THINK IT WOULD BE THAT EASY, LITTLE 'HERO'?" It wrenches its arms apart, making a crackling sound that sends Mario's stomach lurching.
The thing has its hands loom over him, now, and while it felt like another blow might end his game-
The hand snaps backward, fingers twisting behind the 'wrist' as the thing wails-
He can't help but feel hope.
"Lu-" He coughs and ignores the iron-tasting wetness clogging his mouth. "Luigi?"
It's not paying any attention to him, or anyone for that matter as the spasming sends it crashing to knees-
"no-NO-!"
The voice sounds nothing like Luigi, but also not like the thing.
"YOu- YOU- ArE NOT The SHowRunNer here-!"
"ShUt... UP!" The thing(?) screams- and shoves a gloved hand deep in its mouth.
It's disgusting to watch, especially as fluids start seeping out-
There's a squelch-
And there a jester is, wrapped in a darkening hand- frozen in shock. as the 'thing' seems to catch its breath.
Mario tries again. "Weegie?"
It's a split second, but he still feels unimaginable relief to see it- no, Luigi, it's Luigi- glance over to him with a tired but warm look.
And then his brother looks back at his hand-
And Mario tries to not feel fear when he sees that familiar face contort into something- dark.
He's never seen Luigi angry, nevermind whatever it is that he sees aimed at Dimentio (and it has to be him, especially as the jester seems to try to squirm out of its Luigi's grasp).
In his peripherals, he sees everyone else in their own state of anticipation, maybe hints of trepidation, and he couldn't blame them-
He wasn't expecting that expression to smooth out.
He definitely didn't expect Luigi's arm to condense with shadows and-
They spread down to his hands, bubbling around the wrist, up the hand-
And then Dimentio is screaming.
"nonoNONONONO- THIS IS NOT- NOT LIKE THIS-"
Mario isn't sure what to feel when he sees the figure get enveloped by those shadows-
The screaming cuts out.
He... feels horror. He hates that it's caused by Luigi. He feels like he's been dunked in an ice bath and left to dry in a freezer. Was that Luigi?
And did it matter, when he sees that towering figure tremble and shrink?
Did it matter when that figure starts to look less like that 'thing' and more like Luigi?
Did it matter when Luigi, and it is Luigi, he could hear his voice, see his face even if a bit lacking in color...
He doesn't hesitate to run towards him when he looks ready to keel over, doesn't flinch when he catches him and leads him down to the ground and into his arms-
He decides that it doesn't matter, when he hears his baby brother cry.
It doesn't even matter that he can feel Bowser approach in heavy steps, plopping down near them only to scoop them both in a hug.
It doesn't matter to him, not when the other half of his world seems to be breaking just the same as ever.
He just isn't sure what the others are feeling.
The sudden silence rings loudly in here.
Bowser would never say that he was scared.
With Luigi, he could say -with surety- that the Green Bean could never manage to scare him at all.
Strangely, even with the things that play out in front of him, he doesn't feel scared either. Not with the protective rage (something almost unrecognizable on that face) aimed at what used to be a threat.
He doesn’t give a damn that Luigi isn’t… the same, or that he’s technically hugging the red menace as well.
Luigi's fine- they're fine.
Everything's fine.
He-
He feels the way the brothers shift closer, yes, but also feels a colder hand reach above his upper plastron, patting around for something-
Oh.
He does his best to curl inwards, letting his muzzle nuzzle into Luigi's green-capped hair(?) and the searching hand does its best to curl around his head in a familiar hug.
...What does he feel then?
It's... something warm, maybe even hot, sitting in the bottom of his stomach. It flares up when Luigi calms down enough to pet his mane, nails scritching satisfyingly yet sending shivers down his spine.
He is... also tense? Bowser isn't nervous, or waiting for something, per say, but the world also feels strangely intense. He can feel his heart beating faster than usual, even though everything is done, and-
He stills, and is very grateful that neither human notices.
He'll deal with those feelings later.
Bowser is quick to stand up, lugging the two brothers up with him (he is smug to hear two startled yelps from that) and stomps over to the group of Paper versions and Peach.
He tries to not feel hungry.
The conversation with the Paper versions is... enlightening for Peach. And maybe them too, considering the thoughtful looks towards the unlikely pair huddled together with Mario.
For one, they are incredibly sure that -whatever Dimentio did- he hadn't bothered to keep tabs on their Luigi. If he wasn't this careless -or reckless- enough with the merge into 'Super Dimentio', there might have been a good chance of none of them surviving this.
Another is that Paper Bowser seems... stumped, realizing that his other version has fallen in love with someone who isn't Peach.
(She tries not to acknowledge the warning look Paper Mario shoots him with.)
Their last revelation is that whatever Dimentio did to summon the Chaos Heart this time hasn't ripped a hole in their reality.
It has also not really left.
Peeking back at the trio, coming closer due to Bowser, she is still off-put by the shock of white hair next to Mario's brown.
Never mind the lingering (but thankfully fading) pulses of emptiness that surround Luigi.
She's... not sure how to feel about Dimentio's... death? Is he even alive still, or was that truly...?
Regardless, they needed to go back. If not because of how unsure she is of this place's stability-
A stomach growls, and the only reason she knows it's from Luigi is becuase he shrinks into himself with a whine of embarrassment.
She tries really hard to not be incredulous, considering he just ate-
She is sure no one here has eaten since this morning...
How long have they been here?
She claps her hands together, startling everyone with the broken silence.
"Let's go home!"
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