Trouble in NDC

In the summer afternoon of New Donk City, the Mario brothers are looking over a set of blueprints. "Va bene," Mario started, "quindi dovremmo mettere le valvole a pressione qui-"
"Ciao, ragazzi," Pauline strutted in a jumpsuit, with a jovial bounce. "How's it going?"

"Oh, uh, we're just figuring out plumbing stuff for the building over." Luigi said as he rolled up the blueprints.

"What are you doing out here?" Ask Mario.

Pauline dusted herself off, "one of the cranes broke down, so they called me in to fix it."

"Oh, yeah, I worked on of those before. They're a pain in the neck to operate," said Luigi.

"Honestly, it's about time this city expanded with the amount of overcrowding there is." Pauline said. "Granted, I'm not thrilled with another building meant to be climbable."

"Alright, this is where and I meet an impasse," Mario rebuttals. "I say, more climbable buildings!" He argued with gusto. "Makes getting places easier, nice view, good way to exercise and quite frankly just fun."

"Your fun is a safety hazard." She stood defiantly. "You and I both know you can't trust those apes to not accidentally crash through a window and cause a wreck in some poor shmoe's apartment. And I don't think placating to make it easier for them helps anyone."

"Mario, we're going to be late," Luigi piped up, with no effect. On the rooftop of the building next to them was Donkey Kong swingin around the infrastructures. He starts to look closer to the two having their chat, eyes set on Pauline.

"Lady, you're overreacting," Mario continued. "It's fun, and it's not like anyone's getting hurt or anything." Donkey Kong charges in and grabs Pauline, knocking the brothers over.

He charges up the unfinished building, and all the construction workers fleeing the scene. During this, Pauline's suit gets ripped from the knees down and the sleeves ripped off. He continued to drag her up the steel bars and past the barrels and tools.

The brothers were left in a daze, with Luigi pulling his cap over his eyes. Mario, finally registering what happened, pushed his way through the panicked crowd and started climbing. The steel bars started to bend and creaked above him. He peeked above him and saw the Pauline hugging a bar up above, with Donkey Kong throwing barrels.

Are you kidding me? Mario thought to himself. Then he almost got hit by a barrel that he quickly jumped over. Okay, I guess not.

Running down the metallic pathways only keeping his eyes on Pauline, he nearly fell off the end of it. He grasped at the ladder, and looked how far the fall would've been. His vision began to blur and tightened his grip on the ladder. The crowd forming at the bottom and their yells began to be muffled.

Then he heard Pauline's screams of terror and desperation, and forced himself up the ladder and continued. The commotion, the bars continuous deformation and Pauline's screams filled the air once more. As the world became crystal clear, he scaled the unfinished building once more.

Higher up, as night fell, Mario found a walkie talkie and noticed one close to his brother on ground level. He knew that this battle would keep going till there was no building left to cover. Such a fate would leave Mario unable to get close. He grabbed the walkie talkie and yelled into it, hoping it would reach him. And it did.

"Luigi!" Luigi jumped from the event. "I need you to do me a favor."

"Mario! Cosa stai facendo?" He yelled frantically, "Quella grande scimmia ti farà male!"

"Yes, and he's going to hurt Pauline too if you don't help me!"

"Um, okay. What do I need to do? I want to make sure you two are okay."

"Go into a crane and hook it to the top of the building if you can. When I say the word, yank it out and it should fall on the bars below with no damage."

"Uh, okay, but why-"

"Why are there fireballs? Chi sta costruendo questo?" Mario screamed.

"Nevermind, you're busy!" Luigi ran off to a crane. He positioned it over the top bar and hooked onto a less secure piece between two bars. Donkey Kong and Pauline reach it as Mario follows after.

Instead of trying to reach them again, Mario made sure he was beneath the secure bars above him. Pauline saw the crane above, and saw the divide between the bars and this one. She crawled over to the secure bar, as she reached it, DK noticed.

"Now!" Mario yelled into his walkie talkie, and so Luigi complied. The bar was removed right under his feet, and gravity took its course. They looked over as Donkey Kong came down with a crashing thud on the ground. Mario ran over to another bar that Pauline was on.

She was shaking uncontrollably, and Mario grabbed her hand and looked up to her. She looked over at him and yelled, "WHY DID YOU DO THAT? YOU COULD'VE GOTTEN HURT!"

"You- you were in trouble!" He panted, not realizing how out of breath he was.

"Yeah, but we could've gotten the police and," she glanced down at the crowd. "Oh, we are very high! We need to go down!" She hugged onto the steer bar and Mario.

"It's okay Pauline, we're okay," he stroked her hair. She buried her head into his chest and held him closer. "You think you can walk down?" She shook her head. "Want me to carry you?" She let out a small "uh huh" through a murmur. Then, a laugh.

"Hey," she didn't lift her head, "so, I was right. I told you so." Mario looked off into the distance as his eyes glazed over.

"Well, technically this isn't messing up some poor shmoe's apartment, so-"

"Bring me down, you jerk!" Pauline pushed away, both with a nervous laugh.

"Okay, okay." He walked over and picked her up. Mario looked over to the skyscrapers below them.

He focused on the rail ahead of him instead. Everytime he looked at how high above they were, he gripped Pauline harder to remind himself to be careful. Trying to keep a balanced path when everything is going against it.

Nonetheless, he succeeded and brought her down. Luigi ran over with tears in his eyes and hugs them. His swarm of questions was only cut off by the army of reporters following suite.

"How did you do such a feat?"

"Jumpman! What made you believe it was possible?"

"What's your favorite fruit? Mine's watermelon!" That one may or may not have been a kid trying to get a question for a school newspaper.

"Jumpman, what are you and Lady gonna do now?"

"I" the crowd froze as his raised his hand, "am going to bed."

"What?" Luigi asked before Mario nearly collapsed onto the ground. He and Pauline grabbed and Pauline carried him. Luigi pushed through the crowd and hailed a taxi.

"Alright, enough questions! Let him rest." They ducked into the taxi as the crowd continued to hoard them. The taxi drove off and left the reporters in the dust.

Mario found himself in a cold empty abyss, with no end in sight. It's as if someone took a blindfold to him and dropped him off in a field on the verge of winter. That is until smoke and flames started to encrust his feet.

A figure hidden behind a trail of smoke stood ahead of him. It loomed over Mario, making him feel small and insignificant. The only thing making it seem less intimidating was the distance. Followed by the ground shaking with it's foot steps. A tremor that was only beaten by it's roar.

Mario snapped out of bed in a cold sweat. He held onto the warm comforter and looked around his room. It was terribly messy with knick knacks cluttering his shelves and clothes strewn about the floor. Video games and cords were all cluttered in a plastic bin under a small cable TV. He breathed a small air of relief.

He walked into the living room, where Pauline and Luigi were having a conversation with each other. He looked at both of them, and a grin came over face. "You guys are okay!"

"There's our superstar," said Pauline.

"Bro, you're awake!" Luigi said. Mario tackle hugged him, and did the same with Pauline.

"Of course we're okay, because of you." She kneeled down to be at equal height.

"Heh, I don't understand you sometimes," said Luigi. "How do you do something like that, and the next day your reaction is nothing but cheer?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" He rebuttal. "We're alive! We faced a giant battle and won! That's more than enough reason to cheer."

"Suppose you're right," he took a sip of coffee. "By the way, coffee's done. Made your favorite."

"And I made your favorite breakfast too, it's on the counter." Pauline said.

"Thank you, but you don't have to do that."

"Yes we do. I don't know where I'd be without ya. Especially now," Pauline smiled.

Mario took a bite of eggs and looked over at the clock. "Wait, Luigi we're late. We gotta go!"

"It's already taken care of," he replied, setting up a video game. "Boss called in and said we could have a few days off because of what happened.

"Oh."

"Wanna play a game with me?"

"Assolutamente!"

"Great!" Luigi turned on the TV to it being a news report of Mario's heroism. "Well, that was quick."

"We are not sure of the names of the hero and damsel, so far being labeled 'Jumpman' and 'Lady,'" said the reporter.

"Jumpman and Lady?" Mario questioned.

"Well if we ever become superheros, we know what not to call ourselves," Pauline drank the coffee that was almost as bitter as her.

"After this break, we'll go into reports of feuding between Mushroom Kingdom and Koopa Kingdom continue," said the reporter, "and how things are heating up."

"Let's just get to the game," said Mario. "I can't handle that right now."

"Destra," Luigi wrapped his arm around him, "giochiamo!"

"Yeah. Let's play!" Mario agreed.

That same time, news of the heroic "Jumpman" spread like wildfire. Even to the royals of Mushroom Kingdom took notice, and then some.

They played their game straight for the following three days, taking turns taking naps. It hit two am when they were on the last level.

Then Pauline came in and tripped on the power plug.

"Pauline!" Luigi cried.

"What? I was getting water," she replied. She found the plug in, and inserted it back in. It started on the first level.

"You erased our entire game!" Luigi yelled.

"We spent days on that," Mario said, too exhausted to yell. But you could tell, something inside of him broke.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she started giggling.

"I'm glad you think it's funny!" Luigi said.

"You two get mad so rarely," she said in a fit of laughter. "I'm sorry, I'm very loopy. Everything is funny to me right now."

"Just go to bed, you've done enough!" He pointed towards her room.

"Whatever you say, dad." Pauline yelled back, as the door slammed.

"Guys, we're gonna wake up the neighbors," Mario said point blank. Luigi started laughing too.

"Ok, I'm going to bed too. We'll deal with that later," he motioned to the console and got off the couch.

"Sure we can't do anything else? I don't wanna go to bed." Mario begged.

"Why not?"

"The nightmare came back, I don't wanna sleep." He admitted sheepishly.

"Oh," Luigi patted his shoulder, "Beh, sai che è solo un sogno, giusto?" ("Well, you know it's just a dream, right?")

"Sì, ma tu sai quanto cattivo." ("Yes, but you know how bad they can get.")

"Tutto apposto. Basta dormire con la tv. Se succede qualcosa, ti sveglierò." ("Alright. Just sleep with the tv on. If something happens, I'll wake you up.")

"Grazie. Ti amo." ("Thank you. Love ya.")

"Ti amo anch'io," ("Love you too") Luigi headed off to bed, and Mario turned the station.

"King Koopa continued his threats against the Mushroom nation," said the news anchor as he flipped over. "The Mushroom King and Queen has said their piece, yet no word from target of warped affection, Princess Toadstool. Speculation that she is nowhere near the castle anymore for the last two days. With no word about her whereabouts from the royals. We now go to-" Mario flipped the channel to a cartoon.

He grabbed an old blanket from the closet, and rested himself on the couch. He closed his eyes for what he felt was a moment, when he heard a knock at the door. He looked at the clock. Who could be here at four am?

He dragged himself to the door, where a blonde woman in sunglasses and a hoodie stood before him. "Hi. Are you Jumpman?" She asked in a familiar high pitched voice.

"Um. Well, my name is Mario, but yeah," he said. "Why are you here?" She removed her sunglasses and pulled down her hoodie to reveal a crown. It took a minute to register since he was dead tired, "you're- are you Princess Toadstool?" He took a step back.

"Yes." She took out a pen and paper, and started writing on the door. "Does anyone live with you?"

"Uh, yes," he answered with confusion. "My brother Luigi, and my roommate Pauline. Why do you ask?"

"Because they should know where you're at." She finished the letter and taped it to the back of the door.

"What?"

"You're coming with me," she said without missing a beat. "You're going to be my new guard. Now come along." Peach grabbed his arm and closed the door behind them.

"Um, okay then." He said with bewilderment.

"We must go now. We don't have a lot of time," she dragged him down the apartments into a car, and took off. They left New Donk City before sunrise hit.