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[center][b]Day/Time:[/b] Day Two - Morning
[b]Location:[/b] Tetris Castle Gardens - Mario's Funeral
[b]Tagging:[/b] [@Lmpkio][@Hylozoist][@Bright_Ops][@DracoLunaris][@Etherean Fire][@Lugubrious][@ToadRopes][@Zarkun][@Guardian Angel Haruki][@WingsOfBronze][@RokkuHoshi][/center]
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[center][url=https://youtu.be/4brUCJRVOPY]Funny Funeral Clip[/url][/center]

The funeral was held in the gardens of Tetris Castle. Several chairs were gathered before a monument that had been erected in the legendary plumber’s honor. There was no casket for a body was never recovered. Instead, Luigi had been kind enough to offer Mario’s hat and his spirit particles so that heroes from around The System could pay their respects. The Mushroom Kingdom princesses stood to the left of the monument: Daisy, Peach, and Rosalina.

The Council sat in the front row, all except for Guile who had decided to sit somewhere off to the back and the side. His seat was left empty. Visiting royalty from Nintendo, Princess Zelda from Hyrule, approached the monument and spread her white ornate skirts as she lowered to her knees and brought her hands together in a silent prayer. Koopas, Toads, Yoshis, and other refugees from the Mushroom Kingdom were weeping. Rosalina and her Lumas were comforting each other and Princess Daisy. Princess Peach, on the other hand, did not cry. Her pink parasol was low over her face, hiding the hard scowl that had warped her doe-like features. The expression would have been unbecoming of a lady to be seen by others. She was absolutely angry that Mario had been killed and that the funeral was happening at Tetris Castle and not the Mushroom Kingdom, and that Luigi…she hadn’t spoken to him even though she knew it wasn’t his fault. She just wasn’t ready to speak to him or anyone.

Toadsworth had led the sermon, and after, people lingered. They lingered to talk and pay their respects. There was cake and refreshments, but seeing as the Fat Princesses were devouring it, it didn’t seem safe to eat. The cake is a lie!

There was music and tearful speeches of how great and how silly Mario was. Cherry blossom petals drifting on a cool summer breeze completed the enchanting ambience. It was a beautiful funeral and the amount of attendees were more than enough to honor the fallen hero. And yet, Princess Peach was still unhappy. In fact, she couldn’t stand to be there any longer. With her umbrella still low over her face, her white-gloved hand grasped her pink skirts, and she silently and briskly took her leave. She left down the aisle and several heads turned to watch her go. Many were aware of the hardly secret relationship between Princess Peach and Mario. It was difficult to determine who was affected more. Luigi or her.

Guile, wearing a black dress suit like most of the heroes who could fit in one, had sat next to a hero who had worn a similar suit and was hiding behind a pair of sunglasses. The young man had spiky blonde hair and pretended to take no notice of the All-American Hero as he continued to gaze up front at all the performances and drunken stories.

Guile crossed a leg over his other and crossed his arms before his chest as he frowned over several heads at Luigi. He just so happened to be looking at him, but when the hero had returned, he recalled how harsh he had been with him. Guile was the first to blame Luigi for Mario’s death because he had been the leader. It was a horrible thing to do, seeing as the brother was already devastated by the loss, but he had been so angry. He regretted sending the heroes right-off-the-bat into combat. He had been convinced that because they had all been heroes from their games that the situation would have went better than expected. At least better than if he had sent rookies. But all he saw was chaos. He should had put them through boot camp first. He didn’t think he would have had to teach them what team work meant but some of them hadn’t been accustomed to it. While he had blamed Luigi, Guile had also blamed himself and still continued to.

[color=1a7b30][b]“We need your help,”[/b][/color] Guile said to the spiky-haired individual next to him. He didn’t once look his way though.

The young man peered up at the face of the Mario statue. Once upon a time, he would have immediately offered his sword, but Edge City hadn’t been affected by the virus yet. It might have been selfish to want to cling to the peace and quiet he still had, but who could blame him during these times?

[color=1a7b30][b]“It’s not going to last forever. I hope you know that,”[/b][/color] Guile added.

It was as though the fighter was reading his mind. Cloud inhaled deeply and exhaled just as deep through his nostrils in a big sigh. He thought about Aerith…and feared Tifa would take up arms if he didn’t. He didn’t want Tifa and the others to worry about the menace. Heh; like he could fool her. She would find out eventually where he went running off to.

[color=00a99d][b]“I’ll do it on one condition,”[/b][/color] said Cloud.

Guile turned his head slightly to regard the swordsman with a raised brow. [color=1a7b30][b]“And that is?”[/b][/color]

[color=00a99d][b]“If Tifa or anyone comes looking for me, you tell them I’m doing something else. Anything but fighting again. I don’t want them to get involved.”[/b][/color]

[color=1a7b30][b]“I’ll think of something,”[/b][/color] said Guile. He then smirked. [color=1a7b30][b]“I knew you couldn’t resist.”[/b][/color]

[color=00a99d][b]“It’s been awhile since I’ve swung that sword.”[/b][/color]