One

Let's just say, it all started with a broken toilet…

Mario and Luigi were on their way to work. They were simple plumbers in the big city of NYC, and they were the best plumbers around, for once they fixed the toilet, shower, or sink, it was guaranteed not to break down again. Which meant they were paid big, way more than plumbers are supposed to be paid. They went to their small office building in the heart of NYC. They were hoping for no calls today, but that was impossible in New York; last week, they had twenty seven calls, and just yesterday they had fifteen calls to repair plumbing. They were a bit exhausted, and needed to take a break. Luckily, there were no calls that morning, so the brothers caught a few hours of sleep before going down to the Italian Pizzeria for lunch.

As they ate, they looked out the window and watched the city life go by. They often thought about their futures and wanted to get out of the plumbing business. Mario wanted to explore the world, and maybe meet a nice female companion while he was t it. Luigi wanted to settle down, get married, and start a family of his own. The brothers wanted different lives, but in order to achieve it, they first had to get out of the plumbing job and find more suitable careers.

"Hey, Mario."

"Yeah, Luigi"

"You ever thought about doing something other than this dumb plumbing job?"

"Well, yeah, of course I have," Mario answered as he slurped on his soda, "But the thing is, I don't know what else there is for me."

"Dad always said that the apple doesn't fall to far from the tree. Our whole family, on dad's side that is, have all been plumbers. Maybe we're just destined to be plumbers and nothing else."

"But what if dad's wrong?"

Mario and Luigi's parents were Italian, and on their father's side, every male member had been in the plumbing business. It was a family thing. Mario and Luigi moved from Italy to New York to try and make it big as plumbers. And make it big they did. But now, they just wanted a different lives from what they were expected to live.

"Well, dad's never wrong, Mario. You know that."

"Maybe so. But something tells me that just this once, he's actually wrong. I don't know how he is or what, but trust me. This time, he's wrong. I'm gonna prove it."

"Well until the day comes when you prove him wrong," Luigi said as he wiped his mouth and placed the dirty napkin into his empty plate, "It's best you get back to work at something you do best. No matter how gross it is."

He got up, and then Mario got up as well. After paying the bill, they left the restaurant and went back to their office. Upon arrival, the phone rang and Luigi went to pick it up.

"Hello, Mario Bros. Plumbing Services. You bust it, we fix it good and new. How can we help you?"

"Yeah, uh, my girlfriend's freaking out over her toilet."

"What's wrong with it?"

"Well, earlier it was spitting up sparks and smoke, and then all of a sudden this plant just popped up out of the bowl and started shooting fire at us!"

"Woah there! That's not natural!"

"Exactly what we said!"

"Alright, me and my bro will be there at your house in a few! What's the address?"

"712 Schenectady Avenue!"

"We'll be there!"

Luigi hung up the phone and turned to Mario, who looked concerned at this point.

"Mario, we gotta go! This one's a doozey!"

They dashed out of the building, jumped into the truck, and took off at about 90 mph, dashing though traffic as they made their way to the house in danger. They reached there in only seven minutes, and got out of the truck with their supplies as soon as the engine clicked off. Mario sprinted for the door and rang the bell constantly. But when the door opened however, Mario froze, and every single thing that was coursing through his body came to a standstill as he looked at the person who answered the door.

"P-P-Pauline?"

Pauline stood at door, her face etched in pure fright, more so at the danger of the toilet than at the sight of Mario.

"Mario! Thank goodness you're here! Please, I need your help with this toilet!"

Mario shook his head and regained composure of what he was doing. He dashed inside the house to the bathroom, expecting to see some type of man-eating Venus flytrap snapping at him, or fire just everywhere. But no, that wasn't the case. The toilet was indeed coughing up sparks and smoke, but there was no sign that fire or plants had ever inhabited the bathroom. Scratching his head in a confused manner, he took out a gunk unclogger serum, poured the green substance inside the bowl and flushed the toilet. He waited a few seconds before unscrewing the pipes, banging a few things inside, screw back on the pipes, and flush again. The toilet worked as good as new. It confused him even more, and he went out to report his findings.

"Well…it doesn't look like anything was living in it. There was sparks and crackles and whatnot, but other than that, no fire or man-eating plants."

"Well maybe it went away," Luigi said as Pauline sighed with relief, "I'll wait for you outside, Mario."

Luigi grabbed his stuff and went outside to the truck. Mario stood there with Pauline in an awkward silence before she said something.

"Um, if you need anything, the kitchen's-"

"Yeah, I know. I remember where everything is."

"Oh yeah…"

"Yeah…"

More silence. Mario took the time to notice what she had on. Her outfit was a bit skimpy; a short tank that only covered the upper part of her torso, and a pair of really short jeans shorts. Mario blushed and decided that now was the time to leave.

"I-I guess I should go now…"

"Mario, wait," Pauline said. He turned around and she stepped a bit closer to him. "Uh, you know, I haven't seen you around in a while, or spoken to you as a matter of fact."

"Yeah, well, I've been busy…"

"I can see that…saving the world one toilet at a time. That was always you."

Mario chuckled softly. "Haha, you're right about that. Well, I'll be going now. See ya around."

"Alright. Call me sometime."

"Sure. I'll think about it."

He walked out of the house and got into the truck, turned on the engine, and drove off at a much slower speed. The brothers were silent for a bit, and then Luigi turned to Mario.

"So…have you ever spoken to her since you two…"

"No. Today was the first time since then." He frowned after he finished the sentence. "Talking about wanting me to call her and stuff."

"And are you?"

"I haven't decided yet. But I don't think I will."

They drove on in a bit more silence. "Don't you think it's weird, Luigi?"

"What's weird?"

"How she claimed that there was a Piranha like plant shooting fire at her, but when we get there, there's nothing there?"

"What are you saying…"

"I'm saying that she's lying."

"Mario-"

"How is she just going to say all that stuff was coming out of her toilet? Obviously that was a big lie."

"But…"

"But what?"

"What if she's not lying?"

Silence. Mario didn't know what else to say. Pauline's cry of help seemed false. Then again, what if it was truth, and strange things were only just beginning to happen New York? The duo remained silent for the rest of the ride home.