SMB|Love Really Makes A Guy Come Outta His Shell

Who are you?

Luigi groans with a cough as he sits up. Whatever he and Mario had discovered in the sewers of Brooklyn, it wasn't human - that was for certain. The two brothers passing through galaxies and being separated by these galaxies was terrifying. Here the young plumber was, in an unknown location, without his older brother to protect him.

It was dark, almost giving off a spooky vibe, but it was quite warm. Felt as if Luigi was in the Bahamas if the Bahamas were a sweltering experience. He stumbles for his yellow flashlight, mutters a 'thank you' as it turns on before proceeding on. He was scared, normally Mario would be right next to him, telling him that it'd be alright as long as they were together.

Mario... Where could he be? Is he safe? Is he hurt? Luigi thinks to himself as he shines his light left and right. Upon his brief lookout, he could have sworn he saw a weird skeletal figure.

He then hears someone fall behind him, from where he started. Luigi whipped around to see something. A creature with horns and pale red wings. The creature gets up, holding their head with a groan; they were slightly taller than Luigi, only by a few inches nothing more. But the pale red color was prominent across their body, spare white freckles and scars. Their hair was a dark color, and horns were pitch black with very thin white stripes.

Luigi lets out a scream as he stumbles again. The demon looking creature looks to him and jumps back before realizing something, "Wait! Wait! I am not here to hurt you!"

"Who are-- where are-- what are you?!" He asks. The sound of bats fluttering past made him whip his torch to the direction of the sound before turning to the demon.

"Well, for starters, my name is Shade." They said, hand extended out as a greeting and a assit. "You are...?"

"L... Luigi..." He takes the red creature's hand.

"Luigi. You're human, right?" Shade asks.

"Last I'm aware, yes."

"Wow... I never seen, nor met, a human before, let alone a living one!" Shade said.

"Okay... What are you then?"

"Imp, is the best way to call it." Shade said as they looked around. "Definitely in not Hell, but it looks like it if it were in a dark fantasy setting..." They mutter to themselves.

"Did... Did ya come here by a weird pipe, too?" Asked Luigi.

"Oddly, yes. More like fell into a exposed manhole." Shade explains.

Before Luigi could ask more questions, the sound of bones clunking together in the bushes turned the two towards the noise. The light illuminated the sound of the nose to reveal a skeletal turtle lets out a small growl as he chased after them. The two ran with screams but the skeletal turtle was quicker than expected, tackling Luigi. Shade grabbed a hold of the turtle's head before pulling it clean off. The bones fell to the ground with a clatter. The imp throws the head to the bones as if it was a gross bug.

"Thank you..." Luigi breathes out. "What on earth is this thing?"

The skull roars to life as its mangled body reconnected itself again. And from the horizon more of the exact same creatures started heading towards the two.

"Whatever they are, they ain't friendly!" Shade pulls Luigi with them as they ran again. But they were running out of land as they stopped before a lava moat that surrounded a castle; a brimstone bridge crossed the two lands together. A safe haven perhaps.

"You might wanna get behind me." Shade said.

"What-- why?"

"Just trust me." Shade said.