Do I even have to explain this fanfiction? Yes, it's a oneshot that I've had in my head for so long, and it's been bugging me more than my alone time without a phone. Enjoy!
Do I look like Nintendo to you?
World "36"-1, commonly referred to as World -1 or the Minus World. Mario had heard of it. Everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom had, actually. Mario went on to World 1-2 to try and jump through the wall to get there. After 3 failed attempts and rage-induced muttering, he finally made it through.
Inside was an area, the Warp Zone, except something was off. The World numbers weren't hovering over the pipes as they should. Mario thought about it, but went into one of the side pipes anyway. What he was greeted with was a copy of a previous level, except the level read -1. Could this actually be it? The fable? The myth? It looked so... Plain.
He swam through it and got to the end pipe. Finally, the end of this boring level... He thought. He went through, but was booted back to the beginning. He was in shock. All the way back!? How!?
Years went by, due to the infinite lives given to him by the Princess, he couldn't die here. He played through this endless purgatory. He can't escape. He won't escape.
He's stuck.