AN: Hi, and welcome to the fic. This is something I wrote initially for A Moment of Reflection as Wario's backstory... but found it too... intense, as the tone was completely off-kilter from the original story I based it on. So I scrapped it and made it into its own story and made it darker and angstier... Well, enough with the note... enjoy...
It was after Wario faced another crushing defeat at the hands of his arch-rival, the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, the accursed Mario, after a failed attempt at once again, trying to prove that he was better than the red-capped jerk.
The portly man challenged his red-capped rival to a fight at a remote grassy field, far away from the Mushroom Kingdom, or else he would blow up his house and the kingdom while he was at it.
Mario didn't doubt his rival's threat and arrived on time, a determined, yet hesitant look on his face, while Wario was grinning madly at him, his eyes showing intense hatred.
"Wario..." the plumber said as the burly man laughed nastily.
"Wahahaha! You finally showed up... for a second there, I was wondering what I was going to do with all of these Bob-ombs..." he said as he revealed a huge stash of the walking explosives, as the hero's eyes widened.
"Mamma Mia! Wario...?! Are you...?" he said worriedly as Wario stamped his feet.
"Grr...! Enough talking! I hate your stupid face! Take this!" he cried as he lit a Bob-omb and threw it at the plumber, cackling wickedly.
Mario dodged the first Bob-omb with ease as he tried to reason with Wario.
"Wa...Wario! Calm down! We don't need to fight!" he pleaded as Wario grew even angrier.
"I said shut up!" he cried as he threw two more at the man, while he nimbly dodged it, yet again.
Wario grew furious as his rival kept trying to reason with him... only for him to completely lose it.
"Oh...! Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" he roared as he hefted the rest of the Bob-ombs with both of his hands (about a hundred) and threw it all at the red-capped plumber.
Mario screamed in fear as Wario laughed maniacally.
"Goodbye...! Not!" he laughed as a giant explosion devastated the grassy plains, Wario barely had time to hit the deck as he was grinning all the while.
"This time... I finally got'em!" he said, his eyes having a crazy look to him as he eagerly peeked in front of him, hoping to see his most-hated foe covered in ash and soot, humiliated and defeated.
However, due to the huge explosion, the smoke covered most of Wario's vision as he growled and swatted at it.
"Grr...! Go away! Can't you-a see that Wario finally won?!" yelling at the fog, as if it could listen.
Wario was forced to wait patiently to see what had become of his rival, and, for a moment, all was silent... until...
"Wah...? What's... that noise?" he said, as a strange, up-beat tune rang through the air as Wario was thoroughly confused at where the sound was coming from... until his eyes widened in realization.
"No...! It can't be!" Wario thought in absolute disbelief as his worst nightmare came true.
Wario could only stare in horror, his mind not believing what was he was seeing, as he laid his shocked eyes at his rival, still in one piece, in utter astonishment.
"Wha... WHATTTT?!" he yelled, eyes popping out of his head as the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom stood heroically, covered in a sparkly glow, completely unscathed.
He stared at Wario, with a determined look on his face as he clenched a fist.
"I tried to-a stop you..." he mumbled as he clenched his fist and launched himself at the devious man.
He threw a strong right hook that connected with his rival's face, only for the sturdy man to laugh.
"Hah...! Is that all you can do...?!" he said as he punched back... only for Mario to grin.
"Oh... Wario... didn't you know...?" he said as Wario's face dropped.
"I'm invincible." the hero said as he throttled the heavyset man, delivering punch after punch, kick after kick, until the effects of the star were over.
By the time he was done, Wario was on the ground, groaning to himself in pain, as the red-capped plumber looked at him with pity.
"Grr...! Why?! Why do you always have to win! It's not fair! Why can't a-Wario win for once!" Wario growled viciously, his body covered in dark bruises and dirt, as he closed his eyes in fierce frustration, getting to his hands and knees as he began to slam the ground with uncontrolled rage, each blow making the earth tremble violently, as Mario stood over him, his posture showing deep regret at his actions as a weary expression was plastered on his face.
"Oh Wario... i'm-a so sorry I had to do that... but you left me no other choice..." he said tiredly as he lent him a hand, a small, but worn-out smile on his face, as he wanted to help his defeated rival up.
"Come on... let's forget about this and move on... maybe we can go play tennis later." he said kindly as Wario laughed lowly, no amusement present in his voice.
"You think... i'm just going to forgive and forget this... like nothing ever happened? HA! And I thought I was demented..." he said provocatively as he slapped his rival's hand away, disgust etched onto his face as the act of kindness.
Mario looked hurt as his face changed from a look of pity into an angry glare.
"Hey...! Why did you-a do that? I thought we were friends... or used to be..." he said as Wario laughed even harder than before.
"Wahahahaha! Oh! You crack me up you idiot! You thought we were still... wahahahaha!" he chortled, tears leaking out of his eyes from joy... or pain.
The red-capped plumber crossed his arms and mumbled to himself.
"Why do you a-hate me so much...? What did I ever do to you...?" he said, a look of melancholy on his face as Wario stopped laughing.
"You think... I... hate you?" Wario stood up, knees shaking in pain as the hero nodded.
For a moment, all was silent, even the wind stopped howling, almost as if time around them was paused... before Wario roared as angrily as he possibly could, causing Mario to take a step back in shock.
"Hate you?! HATE YOU?! No... I don't hate you Mario... I... despise you... hero!" he spat, an unbelievably livid expression on his wicked face as he filled each word with as much venom and malice as he could as the red-capped plumber was taken aback.
"Wa-Wario...?" Mario said in surprise, his voice low and shaky as he was still intimidated by his earlier outburst, as Wario ranted.
"Ever since we were kids, all I wanted from you was to be your... friend! Yeah, you heard me! Your pal! Your partner! But no...! You abused my trust and bullied me every single day of my childhood! You never stopped your relentless torment! But I didn't care, I took it all with a smile as I felt more and more miserable every single day, you egocentric bonehead!" he yelled, his frustration boiling over as the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom was dead silent, his face covered in disbelief and fear, as he listened to every word with his eyes widening in disturbance.
"And i'll never forget the day that I swore to never stop hating you... the day that I got to be sheriff! Huh? Remember that hero?! And you know how long I waited to be the sheriff, Mr. Popular?!" he said as the red-capped plumber didn't answer, too stunned to say anything.
"1,255 TIMES! I WAITED 1,255 TIMES!" he roared in pure hatred as the plumber looked away from his past friend, holding his arms in front of his face almost as if to protect himself from his hateful words.
"I was so happy...! It finally felt like I was at the center of attention! That I was the good guy for once, and not some weird, fat kid that everyone else thought of me as...! It almost felt like I was like..." he said, his temper cooling off as he took a moment to think about back then, his childhood dream.
Things were dead silent, Wario had his eyes closed with a wistful expression on his face as his rival still didn't talk, too overwhelmed to produce a sound as his face was hidden from view.
Wario then shook his head slowly and chuckled to himself bitterly, almost as if he knew his childhood dream was too crazy to even say it.
"Eh... it doesn't matter... not anymore... but you wanna know what does matter... is what you said to me back then." Wario said slowly as the hero still didn't respond.
"It was after you agreed to give me that costume, after years of constantly waiting, pleading, prodding, begging, and whining, I... Wario... finally got the role of the sheriff, my wildest fantasy had come true! Oh...! How I remember, getting into costume, laughing to myself with such joy that I could finally get a chance to show you what a great guy I am, that I could be someone good, that I wasn't a loser and that maybe you would think I was... cool! Heh... if only it was that easy... Do you remember the first thing you did when I came out in my outfit? DO YA?! No... probably not, now that you have a big castle to live in, with a pretty princess as your girlfriend and that you're everyone's best friend, who cares about Wario... right!? Don't lie, I know you don't." he pointed accusingly at the plumber who flinched and looked down even lower, his gloved hand on the brim of his cap as he still stayed silent, a strange mixture of shame and anger on his face.
"I remember. The first you did to me... was laugh. That's right... you laughed at me. I was so confused when you were on the ground, rolling around in laughter. I thought you were sick or something... but then you said the one thing that I will never forget, the one thing that will make me never forgive you, no matter what you do..." he said as he grabbed the plumber by his collar, looking into his eyes with as much hate as he could.
"Wow Wario! You look really weird as the sheriff! I guess you're more of a villain than a hero huh?!"
Wario clenched his fist as he looked down at the ground, his face showing a mixture of emotions, but none of them good.
"I just wanted... to impress you... you were my idol... my hero... but you took my feelings and stomped it flatter than you do to a Goomba...! And then what! You stopped hanging out with me, started making moves on the princess, who you knew I liked back then! Started going on adventures with your cowardly brother, and you never once looked back... did you?" he said with as much contempt as he could as the red-capped plumber refused to say anything, tears streaming down his face.
Wario looked angered as he reeled back a fist.
"Well?! Aren't you gonna say something hero?! Aren't you gonna tell me how much better you are than me?! Aren't you gonna tell me that i'm worthless, that i'm never going to be a hero, and that nobody will ever be my frie-!" he started before Mario punched Wario as hard as he possibly could, taking the vengeful brute completely by surprise.
Wario fell to the ground in a heap, holding his bloody nose in pain, as his rival towered over him, tears pouring out of his face as he had nothing but anger in his eyes.
Wario laughed callously, almost as if he didn't care that he was hurt, as he stood up, ready to fight.
"That's it hero! Why don't you beat me up some more huh? Make yourself look even better while you're at it! Maybe then the princess will finally kiss you somewhere other than your nose-!" he taunted as the plumber's hands lit on fire.
"SHUT UP!" he said in an uncharacteristically angry tone as he launched himself at Wario.
Mario threw punch after vicious punch at his childhood friend, the burly man taking each swing with a sadistic smile.
"Yes! Finally! This is what i've been waiting for! Your true self to come out! The real Mario!" Wario laughed in complete joy as he fought back, tackling the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom with his right shoulder, sending the red-capped plumber a good distance away.
This only seemed to fuel his anger even more as he jumped at Wario with nothing but hatred in his eyes.
Mario threw another punch, his hand was engulfed in flames as Wario laughed fiendishly with every punch he took.
"Yes...! That's right! Keep hitting me Mario! Show me how much of a hero you are! Show me how amazing you are Mario! Show me-!" he said as Mario hit him directly in the stomach, causing the yellow-clad man to gasp for air.
"I said... shut up...!" the red-capped plumber said with utter contempt as he threw another punch at his stomach, and then his face, and then followed up with a kick, and punched him again, and again, and again, and again...
Wario felt his vision fade as he fell to the ground, completely battered and broken.
Mario stopped after he heard his past friend fall to the ground, his eyes that were full of hate were now clear.
"Huh...? What... happened...?" Mario said, his head was dizzy and his hands ached as he noticed Wario on the ground, cackling in pain.
"Wa-Wario?! What happened to you?! Are you okay...?!" he said with genuine concern as the portly man laughed.
"Heh... what...? You... *cough* want to hit me some more... go ahead... I don't care..." Wario groaned, his eyes still showing a smile as he gave the hero a wicked grin.
"Wha... what? What are you...?" Mario started as he stared at his shaking hands and noticed his gloves were covered in ash... and blood.
Mario gasped in horror, his breathing was uneven as his rival laughed at him in complete ecstasy, pleased beyond belief that he got his rival to become a monster like he was... if only for a moment.
"Wahahaha... how did you feel Mario... when you pummeled me into nothing... did you feel... powerful? Did you... like it? Do you... want to do it again...? Because I want to feel the same way... if just for a moment... I want to feel the same..." he said as Mario cried softly, disgusted at himself for what he had just done.
"Wa-Wario... i'm so..." he choked as Wario laughed weakly, amused at his compassion as he spat out a loose tooth.
"Don't. Just don't. I don't care. I never cared. Even right now, as I can't feel my fingers, I don't want your pity... I only want you to feel the same pain I do... if a just for a moment... one stinking moment..." he cursed as Mario looked at Wario in worry.
"Don't... don't move. I'll... get help!" he said as Wario laughed at him, amusement still in his eyes as he was lying in complete agony.
"Didn't you hear me... I said I don't care... but listening to others was never your strongest trait... it's never been... you just do what you think is right, and if anyone's disagrees with you..." he said, looking into Mario's eyes with a huge, disturbing smile.
"They're a villain... just like me." he cackled as Mario couldn't take it anymore.
He ran away as fast as he could away from Wario, the mere sight of him caused him to tremble, his former friend was unrecognizable, being consumed by anger and grief has turned him into something that even Bowser can't be in his wildest dreams... incapable of feeling, except for power, greed, and making those who wronged him feel the same pain he has suffered, a being that Mario swore to one day help.
Wario coughed some more blood as he stood up shakily, as he felt tired.
"Another rotten day..." was all he said as he walked home, each step causing him tremendous amounts of agony as he simply ignored it, the pain he felt now was a familiar friend, that made him forget about everything else.
He somehow stumbled home and crashed into his bathroom door, his body was on the floor as he got up with much anguish as he stared at the mirror.
His face was covered in bruises, his right eye was blackened and his nose was covered in blood.
Wario winced as he touched his burn marks on his arms and face gently, and cursed as he saw his stomach completely red and burnt as he frowned.
"I... don't think garlic will help this..." he said with a small grin as he stared at himself, voices from others flooding into his head.
"You're so ugly Wario..." "You're disgusting..." "You're so fat!" "Why are you here?" "I hate you..." were the voices running through his mind as he blinked.
"Heh. Wario forgot to buy milk." he said as he turned on his sink and washed his face, cleaning the blood and putting bandages on his wounds.
"You're so evil!" "I hope Mario beats you up..." "Greedy lout!" "Fat and ugly!" "Why don't you just leave..." ran past his mind as he whistled a merry tune as he went to rest his weary bones.
"Why don't you just leave..." "Why don't you just leave..." "Why don't you just leave..." "Why don't you just leave..." "Why don't you just leave..."
"Go..." "Get out!" "We don't want you here!" "Leave!" "Get out of here!"
Wario thought that tonight was more peaceful than usual, as he stared into his ceiling.
"I wonder if there are any leaks again..."
"LEAVE!" "LEAVE!" "LEAVE!" "LEAVE!" "LEAVE!" "LEAVE!" "LEAVE!" "LEAVE!" "LEAVE!" "LEAVE!"
"Heh... good night..." Wario said to himself, as always, as a picture from long ago, a picture of him and his old friend smiling... was hanging on the wall next to him as he snored peacefully.
The next day, Wario decided to take a break from bothering Mario.
"Eh... who needs that guy... Wario needs a vacation..." he said as he looked at his map as a familiar sounding location caught his eye.
Diamond City.
"Hm... I wonder if he still lives there..." Wario wondered as he dialed an old number on his phone, as an old friend spoke to him, the first time in years.
"Hey... Jimmy? I was in town and... uh-huh? Tonight? ...ok! Wario will be there!" he said as he packed his bags and looked behind him.
"I had enough for awhile... Wario's leaving this dump..." he said as he waved a cab down, which was driven by a dog and a cat as it sped off, headed to Diamond City, as Wario took a deep breath.
"I hope... that in Diamond City... nobody knows who that guy is..." he said wistfully as the dog-faced cab driver started to talk to him as Wario answered in an arrogant tone... only for him to laugh.
"You're funny man... what's your name? I never seen you around before..." he said as Wario grinned, the sun rising in the distance.