Characters Alive: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, Toad, Toadette, Yoshi, Birdo, Bowser, Wario, Waluigi, Mona, Pauline.

Characters Dead: None.

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Do you ever get that funny feeling in the pit of your stomach? You know that feeling you get when you're watching a B-rated horror movie and there's always that one really stupid girl who always seems to call down the stairs, "Is anybody down there?" As if the killer is going to answer her. When she hears no answer she starts walking down the stairs and you just want to scream, "No you idiot don't do that! You're going to die!" But she still keeps going despite your protests and walks into her intimate and bloody death.

Do you ever get that feeling in real life? That feeling you get when you want to scream at a character in a movie but instead it's yourself? You want to shake yourself by the shoulders and yell, "What the hell are you doing? Have you lost your bloody mind?!" You want to run to the hills. Hide under your blanket. Slap yourself silly to try and knock some sense into yourself. But you still keep going despite your inner protests. That kind of feeling?

Do you ever imagine yourself as a character in a horror movie? You'd be the smart character who'd know they were in a horror movie. Right? You'd know because they're always set in creepy places like an abandoned hospitals or an old house. You'd be smart and turn around and leave because you'd sense something was wrong. And even if you didn't leave you'd know what to do at all times. You'd be nice to the creepy relative that randomly just showed up that everyone else seemingly hates. You'd make sure to confiscate all the knives and other murderous weapons as soon as trouble arises. You'd avoid stairs and windows, go everywhere in pairs, be able to fight for hours on end and not get tired.

But what if the killer wasn't who you thought it was. What if they were an old friend? Your best friend? Your sibling? Your lover? What if the person who was causing you, and so many others, so much pain was the person you could never fathom. And when it's your time for them to come and harm you it pains you to see them this way. You guys have so many memories together. How could they do this to you? You'd imagine yourself growing old and having a fruitful life, not dying young and unfulfilled. You haven't even been to a different kingdom for God's sake! Why would they do this to you? How could they be so sick and twisted to even think to do something like this? You've done everything right and you're still going to die a painful and unglamorous death. I guess that's what strikes fear into you. What's scarier than doing everything in vain and still staring straight into the futile eyes of death?

What's scarier than doing everything you can yet still staring death in the eyes?

The House on the Hill

Day One

2:19pm

The Princess had a knack for baking. When she had a day off from her royal duties she liked to indulge her hobby. She would bake anything from pies to snickerdoodles to lava cakes. It was a hobby that few knew she had. And in that old cabin on the top of Tall, Tall Mountain the Princess was baking to her hearts desire. She was so excited to finally have a break that she had invited all her friends to spend a weekend with her at her great-great-great grandmother's cabin.

She may have gone overboard in baking treats for her friends though. She had baked everyone either a cake or pie, and two dozen cookies each. She was hoping her friends wouldn't mind. It was the thought that counts right? Her nerves were put on edge when she heard someone knock on the door. What if they didn't like all the baked goods?

"Coming," the Princess called out in a sing song voice.

She ran through the house to reach the door and felt her heart catch in her throat when she saw who it was. It was Mario. The plumber she had crushed on since she was a kid. She remembered when he and his brother had first started apprenticing their father, the Castle maintenance plumber. She had befriended them because she often got lonely being the only child in the castle and they were there often enough. She had become smitten with Mario after little time spent together. Sure Luigi was taller and some would say better looking but she had found something charming behind the baby hairs that were forming a moustache. Mario was oblivious though and could never quite catch her drift. Peach was determined to change that this weekend. She was young, in love, and determined.

Realizing she had just been standing in front of the door in a daze the Princess flung the door open with such force that the hinges bent causing it to squeak. She was face to face with Mario now. She felt very underdressed in that moment. She wasn't in any of her usual royal garb and she was quite certain she had flour on her face. She could feel her cheeks start to burn.

"Uhh, hi Peach." Mario said, taking a small step back. The Princess could tell he felt awkward.

"Hi Mario!" She said a little too enthusiastically. "Come in please. Let me take your bags."

"No-no. I can handle my bags." Mario chuckled, heaving his bag onto his shoulder.

They stepped inside and shut the door, which squealed loudly the whole time. Mario took the whole place in. Dust covered furniture, cobwebs in all the books and crannies, a tv that looked like it was from the Stone Age. It looked as if it could pass as a haunted house. Peach could sense Mario was feeling tense and said, "It's a bit of a fixer-upper. It was my great-great-great-grandmothers before she married into the Toadstool family."

"Yeah," he agreed, "it sure does smell good though."

The Princess smiled fondly. Mario's love for food sure hadn't changed. "I've been baking. Come and try some."

And so they ate scones, and drank camomile tea-well the Princess drank tea. Mario drank his coffee he had bought from a shop on his way. The reconciled and talked as if they had lost no time between them at all, like old friends should be able to. Soon there was another knock at the door announcing the arrival of more guests and the house slowly was filled with guests and laughter and recollections of fond memories they had shared together.

After everyone had arrived, with some help, the Princess had prepared a large dinner for everyone to enjoy together. Standing at the head of the table, the Princess wanted to make an announcement before everyone could eat. "Attention everybody. I would like to make an announcement. I would just like to thank everybody for coming. It means a lot to me. I know nothing is going to go wrong this weekend. I think we're going to have so much fun that we'll never want to leave."