Author's Note: I've had this one-shot in my head for the entire week, so I decided to take a short break from thinking about TNGA to dive into this. It is considerably different than my epic, but I promise TNGA will turn out better for all characters involved. Anyway, enjoy and please R &R.

A World Apart

Wario stubbed out his cigar on the railing. Simple pleasures, he thought wryly. He looked out over the ruined kingdom. He had planned on taking the land for himself once, but those days seemed impossibly far away. Those were days when he was greedy and fat with wealth and expensive cuisine. He had more money than he could ever need, but it meant nothing in this world.

Wario wished with all his heart things had turned out differently. He still kicked himself for never having seen it coming. First one Toad had gone crazy and killed his family. Then there were reports of rampant cannibalism among the mushroom people. Whatever was doing this to the Toads had eventually spread to the main castle. The princess's most trusted retainer had been found eaten alive, and the rest of the castle's inhabitants had disappeared or fallen under the firing of his shotgun. That was the only way to stop them from attacking. He sighed.

"No use trying to change the past," he said as he turned and went into the tower. A woman was sleeping on the stone floor just inside. She was on her back with her arm up over her head as if to shield herself from assault. Her dull blonde hair hung limply over her face, and her tattered dress was stained brown and red.

"Wake up," he said gruffly as he nudged her awake.

"Mario?" she asked.

"No," he said with a gentler tone "but you need to get up anyway. I don't know how long it will be until more of those monsters appear."

She sat up. "Where are we going? Are we going to find Mario?"

"Yes," he lied. "We're going to find Mario."

Poor kid, he thought. He had found the princess the day before, huddled in the corner of one of the many rooms in the castle. He had been shocked that she had survived her attackers. She had told him before she went to sleep that she had stolen a sword from one of the armored statues in the main hall and had used it to defend herself from the horde. He still couldn't quite believe it.

Wario held out his hand to help Peach off the floor. She recoiled at first. She couldn't help it. To her Wario had always been Mario's fat, disgusting relative. He would show up for major events just to be in the presence of the wealthy. She thought she had caught him staring lecherously at her once and had ordered the guards to throw him out. This Wario was not the one who had laughed his gravelly laugh and shown himself out that night.

"Should we get you a change of clothes?" he asked after she finally accepted his help.

"No! No, no. I would rather not go into the bed chambers. That's where Mario and I fought most of the creatures."

"You were with him?"

The princess crossed her arms over her chest and shivered. "I--I was. Mario told me to lock him in the basement after Luigi--" Tears formed in her eyes.

Wario took off his leather jacket and gently wrapped it around Peach's shoulders. "After Luigi what?" he prodded in a quiet voice.

"B-bit him," she sobbed. Her next words were muffled as she hid her face in her hands. "Mario was helping me defend the castle gates. We were on a turret, and he shouted to me that he saw Luigi down below. I told Mario that I didn't think Luigi looked right. But I watched in horror as they--fought. Mario had to shoot him and--" By this time Peach was crying so profusely that no more words would come out. She instinctively threw her arms around Wario, and he held her awkwardly until she quieted down.

"Do you know why I came here?" he asked as he let her go.

"To--to save me?" Peach smiled through her tears.

"No, nothing so glamorous. Remember when I used to sneak around the palace looking for riches to steal?"

"No," she replied, looking slightly disturbed.

"Well, one day I was in the basement and came across a warp pipe room. It wasn't guarded, so I snuck in. At the time the pipes were all boarded up, and I didn't want to pry them open and get caught. I didn't even know where they led! I still don't. But I'm afraid they may be my only chance now. Our only chance."

Peach's face brightened. "So we can go to the basement, rescue Mario, and escape!"

"Yeah--sure." Wario didn't have the heart to tell the princess that Mario had probably completed his transformation and was wandering around the basement looking for food. He wondered if she had never considered this possibility or if she was just in complete denial. He decided to keep a close eye on her. Denial could be a dangerous thing.

"I know the fastest way to the basement," Peach said, "follow me."

Peach led Wario to the top of the tower stairs. "We'll reach the basement at the bottom of this staircase. The pipe room will be down the hall and to the left. That's where Mario told me to lock him, but don't worry," Peach said. She reached into the front of her dress and pulled out a skeleton key. "This opens up every room in the palace," she said proudly.

"Maybe I should go first," Wario said as he reloaded his shotgun, "Just in case."

Peach followed Wario as they crept down the stairs. Wario had not yet made it into the bowels of the palace on this visit. Suddenly he stopped.

"What is it?" Peach asked.

"Shh..listen,"

The sound was quiet at first but became louder as its producer came closer. It began as a hollow moan but turned into a screech when it spotted its prey. Peach screamed, but all sound was quickly swallowed up by the blast from Wario's weapon.

They stepped gingerly over the now-headless creature. Peach made the mistake of looking back at the mass of blood and putrid flesh that at one time would have died for her. She retched but quickly regained control.

"I thought you said you had been slaying these mushroom guys left and right."

Peach blushed a deep red. "Well, in my hysteria yesterday I may have exaggerated just a bit. Mario eliminated most of them. I did manage to slay a couple of those things. And anyway, they're disgusting no matter how many you've seen."

"Fair enough," Wario replied as they continued into the depths of the palace.

"It's getting difficult to see," Wario said. "Go in my jacket and get my flashlight. I think it's in the inside pocket."

Peach felt inside the left pocket until her hand hit something made of steel. She pulled out a revolver. "This isn't a flashlight."

Wario looked over his shoulder. "Oh…that. Don't worry, it isn't loaded. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small box. "I've got the bullets right here."

"Oh, it was in the right pocket." She flicked the light on and handed it to Wario.

"It looks like there aren't any of them left on the stairs. Let's keep going."

They traveled down the rest of the spiral flight in silence. Then they turned down a long hallway. At the end was a pair of double doors.

"Well," Peach said nervously, "this is it." She took out her key and unlocked the door.

Wario swept the room with his flashlight. He didn't notice anything unusual until the beam fell on a shadowed figure. It was huddled near the floor and repeated something over and over again in a gravelly voice.

"It almost sounds like my name," Peach whispered to Wario. "Maybe it's Mario."

Peach began to sneak toward the figure, despite Wario's whispers of protest. When Peach was within a few feet, the figure whipped around.

"Mario?" Peach said with relief, until she noticed his decaying skin and the blood dripping from his moustache.

"PEACH!" the abomination screamed and rushed toward her.

Peach instinctively put up her arms to block the creature's attack, but it tackled her to the ground. Wario aimed his gun but couldn't tell where Peach ended and the monster began. He finally gave up and fired.

As the smoke cleared, Wario could faintly see an upright shadow. He sighed with relief when he realized it was the princess and rushed toward her.

"Thank God you're alright--" he began to say until Peach held up her forearm. The thing that was once Mario had raggedly torn the flesh with its teeth. "Oh, oh God no!"

"So that's it?" Peach said through tears. "I'm going to become one of them now, aren't I?"

"Not if I can help it," Wario said, holding up his firearm.

"No," Peach said, "I'll--I'll do it myself. I just need those bullets."

Wario reached into his pocket and pulled out the box with reluctance. He held it out to Peach, who had already taken the revolver out of Wario's jacket pocket. She took the box and loaded the gun. Wario turned away. This was one act of violence he could choose not to witness. The bang of the weapon echoed throughout the cavernous room. Wario turned to see Peach's body lying beside what was once Mario. He had never thought about the possibility of an afterlife before, but now he found himself thinking that Mario and Peach had to be together again somewhere. He wanted someone to be happy at the end of all of this, even if it wasn't going to be him.

Wario focused on the pipe directly in front of him. It was covered by a few flimsy boards, which he easily punched through. The pipe emitted a mildew smell. It wasn't pleasant, but Wario figured wherever it led had to be a hell of a lot better than were he was.

"Here's hoping" he said just before he took a deep breath and plunged in headfirst.