After closing the door, Luigi had immediately begun counting to 120. About fifteen seconds in; the sound of a nasty thwack ruptured his cadence. He stopped counting and started listening for whatever was next.
Then it got quiet.
Why did it get quiet?
His heartbeat was quick to fill the lack of sound. Something was wrong. Very wrong. It had to have been a good minute by now. Mario should be saying something. The fucker knows Luigi was worried. If something happened; he should have said something. He would have said something. Right? Right?
Yeah, like that's Mario's style. Especially when I ain't got a Bit myself.
Shit. He was in trouble. Mario said he'd been attacked by those statues earlier. In that log pause, Luigi didn't hear anything then, either.
He needed to move. He needed to move, now.
"Mario? Mario are you okay?!" Please be alright by yourself. With his fist trembling, he rasped his knuckles against the deep-brown mahogany door, one had already clamped on the bronze door handle. "Mario?! Y-You're running outta time, man! You go this?"
Of course not.
The door handle rattled in his grip. That box. That box did something. If Mario with his Bit was in trouble, the fuck could he do without one?
Fuck it.
"Mac, come break me off one of these legs real quick." Luigi hoisted up a nightstand, grabbing exactly where the dresser ended and leg began.
"Alright." He got into his stance.
"Just rip it off. You don't have to punch everything."
"Oh yeah, right."
With a hearty snap, the leg of the dresser had been parted. Luigi waved it around in his hand. Solid and easy to swing, but lacking the weight for power. Not really what I want, but it'll have to do.
"Mario?"
A voice called. "I-I'm coming in!"
Luigi slowly nudged the door forward; waiting for any resistance to quicky pull back. A squeak of the door hinge cut through the air in a long, uninterrupted fashion.
Hiro and Kiyo exchanged glances behind Mac. They knew exactly what they had to do. Stepping forward, they as close to Luigi as they could, and just before Mac could pull them away.
"WOOF!"
"HONK!"
Luigi jumped forward, bursting into the roof. "FU-"
Mario was slumped against the wall. His arm and shoulder were bulging out of his clothes. And it was spreading down his chest, branching all over his body. Something had gotten inside him. Rotting him away from the inside. "MARIOOOO!"He pressed his fingers to his brother's neck. No pulse.
"What the hell is this?" He put his hand on Mario's shoulder. The mass was wriggling in Luigi's grasp. "Get the FUCK outta Mario, you piece of shit!" He looked around the body. There's gotta be an entry point here, right? Maybe I can pull it out? I don't see one. But, how did it get inside him? Did he breathe this in? Is that why it's choking him? That would kill him quick! If he isn't already...no. Mario! Please don't be dead, please don't be dead. Let me save you! I just gotta find a way how! There's gotta be a way!
A light was shining in Mario's left hand, catching Luigi's attention. The Bit! why isn't it saving him?! The Bit was dimmer than ever, the light quickly fading. Luigi saw a trail of bulging veins traveling towards the hand.
"OH FUCK THAT!" Luigi grabbed Mario's hand and clasped it and the Bit in-between his own. "MAC!" he whipped his head to the youth, who had looked on stunned in horrified silence. "GET SOMETHING SHARP! WE'RE CUTTING THIS OUT!"
"Uh-Uh-Uh...his knife!" Mac pointed right below Luigi's foot.
Luigi kicked it across the floor. "Make a cut somewhere on his right arm! That's where it looks the biggest!"
"What I cut an artery, he'll bleed out."
"Whatever is inside of him is so big I doubt you'll hit it, but make a light first cut so we know what we're dealing wi-" A shimmer of light erupted in his eye. A ding ran out.
"Is that the other Bit?" Mac shielded his eyes.
"Yeah, maybe we can use that to slice faster!" Or...
The more Bits you have, the stronger you will be.
Grabbing the Bit in the crevice, Luigi opened Mario's hand and stacked it on top of the other one."
As the Bits first made contact, a shockwave of rainbow-colored light enveloped the room. A quick, strangely pleasant sound filled the air and died out as quickly as it came.
Power-Up.
Luigi's entire body was vibrating. This time, he could see it quite clearly, as if seconds from phasing out of existence. I should be scared. I would be scared. But its this...this...
Feeling wasn't the word. 'Feeling' narrowed down what he was currently experiencing. Power. Overwhelming power; far greater than anything he'd ever experienced before. Every sense, every 'feeling' he could ever have, was blended together by this power. He was 'feeling' everything and nothing; all at the same time. It would be impossible to put into words; but to Luigi, it was quite simple.
Mario was still slumped over, eyes completely closed. The Bits' energy was all around him in a white aura. "Tell me I'm not too late Mario." Despite all the power in his body, Luigi could only manage a whisper. "Please. Open your eyes." He should be getting this power, right?"
"I need you."
Have you ever been to Electric Ladyland?
Mario's hand twitched. Luigi looked at him with a burning hope in his eyes. "That's it, Mario. You can do this. Fight it. Fight it! I'm right here with-
Mario's eyes shot open. A wild swipe of his hand away with both Bits.
"M-Mario?" Luigi jumped up. Is that Mario, or the infect-
A massive roar emerged from Mario's throat. A sound that froze all that heard it. Never did any of them ever hear that kind of sound emerge from a human being before.
Mario reached down and picked up his pocket knife.
"MAC, RUN!"
The blade tore right through the red shirt. In one rapid drag, Mario gashed opened his entire arm. Not an ounce of blood could be seen. Black ichor squelched as it came to the surface. Be it from pain, surprise, fury, or some combination of all three, it was writhing around fiercer than ever.
The magic carpet waits for you
"Holy-"
The ooze still planted inside him burrowed through his shoulder, and Luigi could see it slam into the back of Mario's neck. Mario was doing everything he could to rip it off him.
"You gotta fight it Mario. You can do this, you can do this, YOu can-"
Mario snatched a handful of it in his grasp, wretched convulsing ichor from his arm, and threw it across his body to the window-side wall with a thunderous splat on impact.
Staggering to the right, he noticed blood already forming a red waterfall along his arm. He closed his eyes.
Breathe. He needed to breathe. A sharp inhale. In. Out. In. Out...
With the power of two Bits, both ends of the wound conjoined together instantly. Even his shirt readily stitched itself back together.
I do hope you kill Master Ganon.
Opening his eyes, Mario was greeted to the stunned faces of his brothers and the pets.
He put both Bits into his overall pocket. A tip of the hat. A grin to go with it. "It's-a-Me, Mario."
"Holy shit. I thought you were dead." Mac put his hand on his mouth; on the verge of tears."
So don't you be late
"Well, I woulda been if you guys hadn't of made the save!" Mario gave Luigi a firm hug, turning him around to look at the ooze. Churning in its own fluids but not coming closer. Good enough for the moment. "What took you so long?!"
"Well, when I felt like you were in trouble, I had Mac break off a table leg for me..."
"A wooden table leg?!" Mario looked away sheepishly, keeping the ichor just on the edge of his vision. "It was a cursed box, not a vampire! What kind of vaniac would try to stake a box?"
"Hehehe...yeah..." Luigi nodded. The rattling of his legs made it hard to stay upright. He realized how much he was clinging to Mario for support. "I guess I am pretty dumb..."
"Oh, nononono! I'm glad that you're at least thinking ahead, even if it's not working. And besides, you saved me! Try not to cut it so close next time, but you did save me. Luigi, look at me." Mario clamped down on his brother's shoulders. "I wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for you. I owe you my life. Listen... I didn't want to admit it. But Watcher was right. I need you." He turned to Hiro, Kiyo, and Mac. "And I need you guys too."
Luigi looked at the pet Duo. Yeah...glad those two pushed me in here when they did.
Mario reached into his overall shirt pocket, pulling out a Bit. An N slowly came to form on the face of Bit #2. He held the gray block up to Luigi. "Take it."
A blink. "What?"
"Come on. Take it. You need to have something on you too. No offense to the table leg."
Luigi eyed the N-Bit with trepidation. If Mario was gonna run headfirst into shit, he'd better be carrying two Bits. Far away from him and Mac. All of this had been way too close for comfort. If Mario is a better frontman with two Bits, I'm all for it.
"Keep it."
"I'd be dead if it wasn't for you. You deserve it more than me."
"Maybe later, kinda sick of this whole Bit business."
Mario shrugged. "Alright." He pocketed the Bit once more.
Mac suddenly realized he hadn't been paying attention to the puddle of black goop on the wall. Standing in the same mile as it was a very horrifying prospect, much less the same room. "So what now? Are we done here or what?"
Mario looked around at the ruin surrounding him. "Yeah...I think we've just about done what we came here to do." "Now..."
He patted his gut. "I'm getting pretty hungry. What about you guys?"
Luigi remembered eating was something he needed to do. "Yeah, I...I guess I could eat."
Hiro pawed the floor rapidly.
Mac looked around. Nobody seemed to have packed any food. "Wait...what are we gonna eat?"
"Well, they gotta have a kitchen somewhere." Mario pointed to the bed. "I mean, look at the size of that thing! That guy must eat my body weight in a single sitting. And if this is some lord's estate then, hell, we already broke into the guy's bed, why stop now? Gotta have some jewels of something lying around."
"Normally I'd say 'Woah geez, do not steal',' but whoever owns the place, Dragmire, he's the one that's behind all this, right?"
"I'm not sure anymore. The only person Facade said was 'Master Ganon'..." The ichor had suspiciously settled down. Is Facade dead, or is the little bastard thinking...
"Facade, who's that? First time you've said that name." Luigi wrinkled his brows. "If you found something earlier, you should have said it."
"Well-"
"Um...does this mean that Dragmire didn't do anything wrong?" Mac was backing out of the hallway, with the Duck Hunt Duo in tow. Now was not the time for these two to be talking. They can do that over food. Away from the death goop.
"Maybe. We can talk about it later." Whoever Ganon was, he had an ass-kicking coming his way, but that would have to wait. And then the topic of Link...Later. Mario stretched his chest and yawned. Running out of ways to keep an eye on the little shit, Luigi. Let's go.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Luigi headed for the door and stopped to grab it on his way out."
"Wait, before we go, You sure that box is completely gone from you, right? It didn't lay some eggs in you some kinda way Alien-style, right?"
He sent chills down his brother's spine. "I hate that you said it, especially like that, but I'll check."
He pulled a Bit from his pocket. Actually...considering it took me both to beat Facade, better make it two. Just in case the eggs are deep.
As soon as he made contact with that other Bit, he gasped. That first jolt was something fierce, but the lingering, that continuous sensation of being absolutely wired, that was gonna take getting used to.
Mario closed his eyes, Bit in each hand. The combined power accelerating through the circuit of his being. Purging him of any outside damage, disease, energies. One hell of a check-up...
He opened his eyes again, all smiles. "I'm fine, bro. No Demon sacs in this boy."
He was more sure of that than anything in his life. 100% Facade free. Two Bits in two days. He was straight red, red hot! He was on fire!
...He was absolutely scorching.
Mario gasped, dropping the Bits instantly.
"Mar-"
Luigi saw his brother drop to the floor, going into a continuous throb. All Mario could muster out was a few pain-fueled mumbles.
"MARIO!"
Mac heard Luigi's cry and lept through the furniture back into the room. I knew we shoulda got outta here when we had the chance! I knew it! He looked in the doorway to see Luigi cradling Mario in his arms.
There must still be some left in him! Luigi snatched up a Bit and put in Mario's hand. Heal him. Wipe out whatever's left already. "Come on Mario, we're almost-"
Mario screamed. Recoiling his hand back and writhing on the ground.
Mario's face. It. It...
It was flashing red.
Luigi waved the N-Bit back-and-forth between them. Why isn't it working? It must be the box! It's still got something somewhere inside him!
"Why is the Bit hurting him all of a sudden?"
"No Mac, it's that box... trap thing! Make sure to keep an eye on it! It did something to Mario! It's not the Bit! It can't be!"
"And it's stopping you from using the Bit on him?"
Using two Bits has shown to be very daunting on beings like you.
"Watcher..." Luigi could only whisper at the memory.
He pulled back the Bit. "No Mac, you're right. It's the Bit doing this to Mario. He's...exhausted his use of the Bit or something. And now it's taking his toll on him."
Two. Two is our limit.
Luigi reached out to second bit, and quickly pulled his hand away. "Mac. Come get the Bit and pick him up. It's time to go."
"I-I-I'm not using that! We just saw what it did to him!"
"That was only with two."
"You don't know that! Maybe with one it just takes longer!"
"Well, I'm not gonna pick it up! And Mario can't! You're the only other person here, damn it!" He kicked the Bit over to Mac. "After everything Mario's done for us, you can't pick him up? Whatever. I'll do it."
"No, wait wait wait. I got him." Mac scooped up the Bit and picked Mario up. He was squirming, but somehow Mario was light as a feather.
"What about what Mario said? We need to get food, and money, and..."
"Later. Don't you see how much danger we're in?!" Luigi pointed at his brother. "Mario's hurt. Bad. We need to find a place where we can get him some rest. That's our top priority right now."
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere that's not here." Luigi put his hand out, the N-Bit gleaming between his fingers. All I gotta do is want to go someplace right? How about somewhere far away from here. Where we're safe. The air started swirling in front of the back wall. Several twinklings of light began emerging in the center.
A sharp noise emitted from inside the house. A voice.
Electric woman waits for you and me
Mac turned his head into alarm. "What was that?!"
"Mac, as soon as the portal is done, get Mario out of here!" Shit, what would Mario do... Mario came through the portal last before. The only thing they were getting chased by was Watcher's power. How long do those portal things take to close, anyway? It felt like Mario came out a little too long after he did. And Luigi went through first. I don't wanna get followed... Luigi looked to the bed. I can use that as a barricade! I hope the door has a lock...
Bright light reflected off the wall in front of him. "The portal's ready! Everyone, get through! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!"
"What about yo-"
"GO!"
With Mario secure in his arms, Mac vanished as he went through. Hiro and Kiyo mere steps behind.
Luigi pulled on the large bed with ease. He reached for the doorknob with his other hand. Hope it has a lock-
A figure was standing in the hallway, looking down at all the drawers and dressers that had been strewn out of the room.
A figure was standing at the other end of the main hall. They were wearing a form-fitting blue suit with a red eye on the center and a tail on the chest. Wraps obscured the face, though tufts of dirty-blonde hair wear poking out near the face. One such tuft was covering the left eye.
Luigi noticed them first.
He gasped.
They looked up.
The two locked eyes.
Luigi promptly slammed the door, locked it, and slid the bed in front. Is there a way I can make that thing close as soon as I go walk into it? He wiggled the Bit around. How do I get you to do that...wait, I'm wasting time. I just need to-
A hand clamped down on his shoulder. Luigi jumped forward, stumbling to the ground. As he got back to his feet, he couldn't believe what he saw.
The rest of the figure phasing through both the door and the bed. Staring down at him.
So it's time we take a ride.
oooooooo Electric Ladyland?
End Of Electric Ladyland
The Screaming For Vengence Arc will be getting numerous updates to better suit the current version of the story. I will announce in the titles when the revisions are complete.
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