"Feeling pain is not weakness. Submitting to it is."
Mario sat down, his legs hanging over the water, as he stared at the statue.
The Statue of Liberty. A symbol of freedom. It had been so long since he had seen it last. It had been only twenty years, and he had not even recognized his own hometown as he entered.
Mario's gaze drifted towards the buildings. For some indiscernible reason, the towers were here no more, which baffled Mario to no end. Why should such important buildings by torn down?
Mario was uneasy of what was to come. What other things have changed? What other buildings he had seen for years were gone, how many stores had shut down, how many people had disappeared?
People.
New York.
It had been nearly twenty years, and yet he had never come back, even for a visit. How were all of his and Luigi's old friends?
It had been a long time since the Mario Bros had left New York behind in order to pursue the flighty temptress, Adventure. Indeed, they had left their entire lives behind. Their jobs, friends, and hometown... all left behind, and only because Mario craved a little more action.
Mario was lost in thought as he walked through the streets, hardly knowing where his feet were taking him. Seeing his old town brought back quite a few memories.
Not very many people knew Mario back then. He was simply nothing more then a young (And very handsome) man who was down on his luck, forced to fix leaky pipes and drains for a living. His brother Luigi, on the other hand, had received several scholarships to colleges all around the country, but as the brothers were young orphans, there was no money to pay for tuition. And so, upon graduating as valedictorian in his class, Luigi immediatly began helping his brother with the plumbing.
Mario had dropped out of school his Sophomore year, following the death of their Mother. He had always liked school, and was somewhat envious of his twin brother Luigi's prowess at mathematics and machinery. However, if any one of them was going to make money, it was Luigi. But in the end, they could barely make ends meet at home, let alone allow Luigi to attend college.
For two years, it was nothing but cheap noodles for dinner, and work work work all throughout the day. Mario had always viewed these days as his darkest hour. He felt utterly powerless under the heating, electricity, and food bills all piling up on one another. Neither Brother had much time for having mindless fun like most people their age. It was truly infuriating. The only people Mario and Luigi had were each other.
And then, he came.
A monstrous Ape that seemed to have come from nowhere erupted into the street where Mario, desperate for a quick buck, had been working as a wood figurist, creating artsy little soevenirs for tourists on the spot. The ape had grabbed Mario's customer, and hoisted her through the air and onto a nearby building that was under construction.
A crowd quickly formed under the building, and Mario looked up in wonder as the ape sat the woman down on a platform above his head, and leered down at the people below. The woman herself was out of her mind.
"Please! Someone! Help me!"
Mario looked around. Many of these people were far bigger and stronger then he, but none of them were stepping forward to try and help the poor girl. He steeled himself, and walked forward. Ladders were placed in several places around the structure their purpose unknown to Mario.
Mario was terrified, of the sort that can only be understood by people who willingly put themselves on the line every day for the sake of others.
"High how can you get?" Mario had asked himself. "As high as I can."
Mario was never quite sure why the construction crew had a whole bunch of barrels sitting all by themselves, but whatever their purpose was originally intended for, they were soon going to be part of his nightmares.
The ape roared and grabbed a barrel. Heaving it over it's head, it tossed it down the side of the building, it's angle heading towards Mario himself.
The platform was too narrow to move out of the way. If he went down the ladder, there was always a chance that the barrel could decide to change direction and whack him in the face as he tried to descend.
He had been the best freshman high jumper the Track team at his high school had ever seen. Why not.
He leaped as high as he could into the air: he did not look down: he looked forward. He was not going to just give up just because some sort of Ape with an attitude problem wanted to mess with his customers.
The barrel rolled past him, and shattered as it contacted an orange beam. Mario had ignored this. He had run forward, towards the next ladder. The ape roared as it threw more barrels. Mario, his confidence in his ability restored, leapt them all. In his growing frustration, the ape grabbed his prize and fled to a higher level as soon as Mario approached him. He caught sight of the girls awestruck face as she was whisked away. Adrenaline pumping, he followed suit.
Mario could honestly not remember exactly what happened after that. At some point, the crowd below began to scream 'Jumpman! Jumpman! Jumpman!' Mario thought he dodged some pies. But that was impossible. Then there were springs that were trying to kill him. Unlikely. And then, somehow, impossibly, Mario had cornered the big Ape to the top of the building.
Mario was exhausted: beads of sweat were pouring down his face, and he was having problems breathing. He had not done any strenous exercise in nearly four years. Nevertheless, the Ape had no way to escape.
The Ape glared down at Mario with fire in it's eyes. If you want her back, you're going to have to fight me.
Mario was not stupid. He was an overweight plumber who's diet consisted of nearly nothing but cheap noodles. It was a miracle he had made it this far. There was no way he could take that thing on in a direct fight.
Indirectly though, maybe there was something...
Mario began to work on the small screws in the support structure directly below the great Ape using nothing more then the small knife he had been using for whittling in what seemed like forever ago. As the last screw popped out, the ape fell down several stories right on top of it's cranium. The crowd cheered as Mario climbed the final ladder and slowly staggered towards the girl.
"Hey... are you alright?"
He never heard her reply, as the exhaustion of what had transpired took it's toll, and he collaspsed.
It didn't make him look like less of a hero.
A/N: Hmph. I'm annoyed at my narrative style. Well, this chapter is a bit short too, but I'm hoping the quick update makes up for the other short chapter.
Anyway, I have been asked as to why Wario and Waluigi and Daisy were not mentioned in the 'human population poll' well, to be honest, I sort of forgot about them. But! That was because I knew Wario and Waluigi were either not going to be part of this story, or not as residents of the Mushroom Kingdom if they do appear. I'm not really sure yet which direction I want to take, but I'll make up my mind soon.
I think I might need some help in writing combat scenes... I feel as if this time I was limited because of what I was referencing (A historical battle, that shall be remembered for as long as there are videogames) instead of an original fight. I'd still like some pointers though.
Okay. Hopefully, the plot will pick up and I'll have a good reason to write longer chapters. I can't wait!
