"Shh. Look, don't get too excited yet. Just because we're here doesn't mean that we're safe quite yet..." A concerned, shushing smuggler whispered to his brother, helping him out of the carrier where he had been stowed on the long ship ride. The stowaway didn't seem to notice, only looking about the darkened sky with bright and awed blue eyes. This was the new world? Looking past his brother, the newly smuggled immigrant spotted funny trees and grasses, much brighter here than it had been in his homeland.

"We just need to get you to my place. No one's going to question your appearance there..." The first was already turning away, beginning to scope out the area. "Do you remember your story?" The first paused, waiting for a response. When none met him, he turned, looking for his cargo. "Luigi?"

Luigi had wandered to one of the trees, beginning to feel its soft bark. The grass tickled his bare feet and the moon was shining full on the magical landscape. The first brother gently took his sibling by the shoulder. Luigi flinched, shrinking away before recognizing his brother and quelling his fears.

"Do you remember your story?" The first asked, slower and more serious.

Luigi nodded excitedly, indicating with hand gestures to his mouth and then shaking his head and shrugging.

The first nodded.

"That's right. You can't talk. Just remember that until you figure out the language here, alright?"

Luigi nodded, eager to please his sibling and to explore the new area. He had been crouched in the cargo hold for days, only with the hope that his brother knew what he was doing and the assistance of a befriended captain which his brother had paid off. The captain had been a toad, apparently one of the natives of this area. He had looked rather funny, Luigi thought, remembering the short fungus man with a blue toadstool cap on top of his head. Nevertheless, he had been rather kind, if a little shrill whenever he spoke. The captain had never really engaged in conversation with his stowaway, as Luigi's brother had made sure to make clear that Luigi wouldn't have known the language. The toad had settled with asking yes no questions for his passenger to answer, or having a one way conversation, which Luigi listened to quietly.

Luigi inhaled deeply, taking in the night air of the new country. It smelled faintly like home, with some traces of sweet flower fragrances and fresh grass. He thought about his homeland. It was quaint, and it had so much beauty in it, from its quietly bubbling streams and rivers, to its powerful, rolling hills and sheer cliff faces which fell into the endless sea. He smiled carefully as he recalled receiving letter after letter from his brother telling him how beautiful life was here. Luigi had written back, expressing his wishes to be there. Within months, with no responses prior, his brother had given him very strict instructions to get on a certain boat, called Peter's Joy, which would take him to this country. After everything, his brother had been right, and here he was, looking into his brother's blinding blue eyes in a new world.

Without warning, Luigi caught his sibling in a big hug, kissing him on both cheeks as was customary. His brother returned and began to chuckle softly.

"I missed you too, little bro." The elder looked about quickly before returning his attention to his excited sibling. "But we need to go. I'll fill you in while we get to my house."

Luigi nodded carefully, beginning to look about him before following his brother's soft treads as they picked their way through grasses and dense woods.

"You're in the Mushroom Kingdom now, Luigi. This place seems to be built upon the economy of mushrooms and other natural organic resources around here, and there are lots of different types of them. They seem to do special things when ingested, and I'll even show you a couple tomorrow, but for the time being," He swatted Luigi's hand away from a luminous blue mushroom, which had reminded Luigi of the toad captain. "Don't touch anything. I don't want to deal with something I can't handle tonight."

Luigi scowled at the mushroom, and back to his brother. He pointed at the mushroom and opened his hand, as if to say 'Why?'

His brother looked the mushroom over once, mumbling something under his breath before his eyes widened and he began to tug Luigi harshly along with him.

"That was a blue mushroom. They shrink you to a twentieth of your size. I really don't feel like playing I-Spy with a midget-sized Luigi quite yet, especially if you get lost. So follow along and trust me for now, okay?"

Luigi grumbled a bit under his breath before sighing and nodding. So many rules here. Luigi hoped that things would get better. He couldn't stand rules, especially since he was somehow naturally inclined to touch everything out of impeccable interest.

"It gets better, I promise." His brother answered as if he had read Luigi's thoughts. "Maybe within the week you'll be able to come along and meet the rest of the population." His brother turned his head and glared, "If you behave, that is."

Luigi gave a childish grin. Behave. He loved to disregard that word.

His brother rolled his eyes and focused on the path ahead. Once or twice, Luigi could have sworn that out of the corner of his eye, he spotted shadowy creatures lurking in the branches above and between the trunks of the trees surrounding them. Trying to choke down his surprise and slight fear, Luigi focused instead on looking down at the back of his brother's head. His brother's hair was a russet brown, and it was cropped at his neck, letting the front blow wild in the breeze. It would have been interesting, Luigi thought, if they had been identical twins, and not just fraternal. Granted, they did look much alike as it was, and some folks had confused the two of them sometimes, but they were pretty easy to tell apart, as Luigi, the younger, was in fact taller than his older twin and that Luigi had a distinctively long face, while his brother had somehow come across a childish facial impression. Other than that, the two of them shared identical bluebird eyes, distinctive noses, high cheekbones, and monkey-like ears.

Luigi's thoughts were interrupted by the shrill scream of a siren. Red lights flashed over the area and there were muffled voices as someone was speaking over an intercom of some sort. Luigi's brother skidded to a stop and began to look about him wildly, his eyes huge with a mixture of surprise and anger.

"Il diavolo sia dannato..." Luigi heard him curse with Italian flourish. "I thought we were past the border!"

Luigi forced his voice to work. He hadn't spoken for days, and it sounded dry and hoarse.

"Cosa... sta succedendo?" He stood closer to his brother, feeling much like a mouse listening to thunder as the sirens continued to squeal. The last time he had heard sirens like those...

His brother jostled his thoughts.

"We're not going to stick around to find out." He spoke affirmatively and harshly, rebuking the lights and the sirens. "Luigi, just turn and run. Don't look back, and don't stop! Go!"

With that, Luigi's sibling gave him a harsh shove from behind, forcing Luigi to kick up his feet and stumble into a sprint. His legs were sore and he was off-balance from the seafaring. Despite this, he shook his head and forced his sights to set upon the next tree, then the next, and the next... Luigi listened to the sound of his heavy breathing. More running. More hiding... When could he just be seen? As himself...

The sound of cracking branches behind him gave testament to someone following in hot pursuit. Friend or foe, the fleeing castaway didn't wish to know. His heart racing, Luigi began to weave and thread between trees, hoping to shake his chaser or deter anyone else from following. The sirens blaring behind him, Luigi watched as green trees appeared to bleed with the red light, the moon now a dangerous Blood Moon. The sign of the hunt.

Soon, the quarry reached a silvery chain fence, easily fifteen feet high, and extending through countless bushes in either direction. The footsteps began to echo again, and without another thought, Luigi gripped the chain link in both fists and dug his bare feet into another pair, beginning to heave himself upwards and over. The link pinched his feet and fingers, but the frantic immigrant cared for naught, finally flipping himself over the top and dropping to the forest floor, landing poorly and falling onto his back with a thump.

For the longest time, Luigi couldn't move, only feeling the moist dirt beneath the backs of his hands and the soft breath of the wind running through his hair. He tried to breathe, to calm his racing heart, but his chest rejected any oxygen. He lay there, gasping hollow breaths, shaking uncontrollably, until he heard a pair of feet land beside him with the sound of a small huff. The second was also breathing heavily before seeming to notice Luigi's prone form.

"Luigi!" Came a soft hiss, "Is that you?"

He wanted to answer his brother. To speak. But as he tried to answer, the only thing that came out was a strangled exhale, only traces of voice throughout. He couldn't breathe, and Luigi could see the spots forming in front of his eyes as his chest tightened, screaming for the air which it rejected.

"Can you move? Can you lift your hand?" The voice was becoming frightened.

Fortunately, Luigi found the strength to follow the instruction, lifting one trembling hand above his chest before letting it fall again.

"Hang on. You probably got the breath knocked out of you from that fall. Just don't breathe out."

Luigi felt the gentle hands of his brother probing his shoulders and chest, trying to roll him onto his stomach. This was succeeded, and Luigi could see the bleary woods which were hugging to the link fence. He felt two strong impacts between his shoulder blades, which echoed hollowly before Luigi gasped for breath, hacking as the sudden rush of air entered him. He rolled onto his back again, looking up at the blank sky with an air of shock. His brother stood over him, extending a hand. Luigi took it and his head began to spin. Somewhere, he could still hear the sirens. Or was it his ringing ears?

"Are you alright?" Luigi's brother had grabbed both of his shoulders and was slightly shaking him to clear his head.

"Sto... b_bene..." Luigi hardly heard himself speak. It was as if someone else had answered for him. His head was spinning and he felt like he was going to fall over at any given moment. When he did finally keel, his brother was there, gently supporting him until Luigi got his feet under him again.

"The hardest part is over." His brother said softly. "You're really in the Kingdom now."

"Sìì..." Luigi spoke unenthusiastically, shaking his fists in a celebratory manner.

The rest of the night blurred together in Luigi's mind. He remembered being guided by his brother through the rest of the woods, even spotting the faint lights of a small village before being led away, back into the woods. There, they came across a small cottage in the cradle of a small clearing. There was an inviting glow from one of the windows and the veranda had a pair of chairs on it.

"There," Said Luigi's brother, showing the small house. "Casa."

"Casa..." Luigi echoed in a half-trance. "Casa..."