Twenty-five meters above the ground, the gorilla tossed Pauline onto the platform next to him and bared his teeth with a growl. Isolated on the cold metal, she was too paralyzed to stand up, let alone run. Back to more important matters. The gorilla stared down at Mario and howled.

"Just you wait, you son of a bitch!" Mario stared right back at him. "I'm gonna get up there, and you're not gonna like it when I do!"

As a matter of fact...He looked down at the Bit. I wonder if I can get up there with this. I haven't really seen this thing's limits. Let's see what happens.

Taking a few steps back, Mario never took his eyes off of the gorilla. This Bit makes me stronger than you. As soon as I get up there, I'm throwing you right off.

Mario dashed forwards. Running start, now all I need is the lift... Mario planted his feet and sprang up in the air. I should make it, I should make it...

The gorilla stepped back in shock as Mario flew above him. He would be coming down any second. To the left and above him were the platforms. Below laid the gorilla looked left. Only Pauline and the girders. He looked right...

"GOT YA THIS TIME!" Just before Mario set his feet, something came crashing right into his face. Knocked from the platform, Mario crashed back down into the snow.

"THE FUCK?!" He coughed profusely as he staggered around on one knee. "WHAT the...water?"

Droplets of water fell from his glove. As he looked around, little bits of wood and metal were scattered around the now.

"Was that a...was that a fucking barrel? Did he just hit me with a fucking rainwater barrel?"

Mario looked at the gorilla, who was currently pointing down at him and laughing hysterically. Then he looked beside him.

Barrels. Dozens and dozens of barrels.

"Pauline...how many barrels are up there?"

"It...uh..ummm...It says store a max of 100 at a time!"

"A HUNDRED?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

"Sorry..."

"No, it's not your fault. Just, give me some time to get up there. I'm gonna move between the girders up to you. Just stay where you are. Don't provoke it!

"Be careful!"

"Gonna have to be!"

Seeing Mario approach the bottom of the girders, the gorilla's expression quickly changed from a laugh to a sneer. It beat its chest before grabbing another barrel.

Mario paused. This thing's using the environment now. Wish I'd thought of that first. Let me take a look around, see if anything's here I can use. To the right and above him were the platforms. Below laid the ground. To the left...

was a blue barrel, standing all by itself.

Hold up, wait a minute, something ain't right. What's this thing doing all alone out here. Did the boys just fuck around and leave it here? What's even in it? Is it rainwater, or...

or...

Forcing his tightening hands to move, Mario turned the barrel around.

OIL


"SHIT!" Mario scurried back. "Are you fucking kidding me?'

At the sight of Mario strangely retreating from the blue barrel, the gorilla got an idea. With a smile on his lips, the gorilla dropped his barrel, not at Mario...

"MARIO! WATCH OUT!"

He looked up to see another barrel dropping down at him. On instinct, he lept out of the way and followed the barrel as it fell...right into the oil drum.

The right flames lit up the night in an instant. Pauline turned her head as the sudden boom and rush of hot air swelled its way up. Hearing the crackling of flames blew here almost paralyzed her even more, but slowly, she peeked her head out and tried to see past the smoke...

"MARIO!"

"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!"

Mario was sprawling on the ground. Covered in flames.

The gorilla was sprawling on the platform, tears coming out of his eyes from laughter.

Mario sunk his arms into a pile of snow. STOP DROP ROLL STOP DROP ROLL

"BURN."

"HEAL!" Mario clenched down on the Bit. The third-degree burns quickly revert back into his normal skin.

"BURN."

"Burn?!" Mario looked around. Whoever said that had to be close. Practically in his ear. Was it the voice from before?

"BURN."

"Who the-" Mario's attention snapped, as he caught a glimpse of fire on his shoulder, and stared at it.

That's when he realized it was staring back. Two dotty orange eyes in its white center.

"Holy..."

"BURN."

The little flame settled on his shoulder, and Mario remembered he was being roasted alive, and quite intensely at that.

To put it out, he gave it a good smack with his free hand. The fire simply split up from the rush of air under Mario's hand and encircled it. He plopped over into another pile of snow, and the flame went out with a hiss of black smoke creeping into the air.

"Okay...that happened." Mario used the Bit to repair his overalls, heal the scalding on his shoulder, and most importantly, get that awful smoke smell off of him.

"Guess you did that too, huh?" He said to the Bit. "You give life now? Did that thing have a soul?" He shook his head. "I don't even wanna think about it. Let me just get up this building and-"

He froze at the sight of the building, the bottom run amok with flames scurrying around. "BURN." "BURN." "BURN." "BURN." "BURN." "BURN."

He followed the trail of several flames moving up the tower. SHIT! I GOTTA GET PAULINE BEFORE THEY BURN THIS THING DOWN!

He made a dash for the main girder.

The gorilla, smelling the familiar scent of smoke stopped in his mirth to see several flames bypass him. Looking around, he gazed down to see Mario going to the platforms.

"BURN." A flame was coming right at Mario.

Clenching the Bit, Mario jumped over the flame just as it reached him. Stumbling on the landing, Mario set his sights on the ladder just a few yards away. The gorilla's eyes widened and he turned around to the barrels.

I'm in his blind spot now! Mario grinned at he climbed up the ladder. It can't see where I am. All I gotta do is sneak up on it and...

Thunderous rattling went off over Mario's head.

Oh boy. He stopped to process what was happening. Is that thing coming down here himself, or is he...

Numerous clangs and rolling sounds were above him now. And from the sounds of the impacts getting louder, they were definitely getting closer.

He's sending the barrels down the girders now too. He gets 100 barrels of rainwater, I get a barrel of oil next to me. Great.

With a clang, a barrel dropped off of the edge of the girder above Mario and started rolling at him. Mario set his feet to jump over it, then he saw something in front of him.

Hey, that's a mallet. I wonder if I can...

Picking up the mallet, He clasped the handle next to the Bit and held it overhead. He drove it down on the Barrel and it burst open instantly, water flying in all directions.

"Now we're cooking with gas!" He sprinted forward, swinging the hammer up and down. I'll just carry this with me all the way up, and then crack that gorilla's teeth with it! No problem!

As another barrel dropped down off the edge of the girder, Mario smashed it again. Like a pinata! Man, those barrels are useless against my

He looked at the mallet again. Its head was dented inward.

ARE YOU SERIOUS?! He looked at it in disgust. Just when I thought I had a break, this breaks!

A heavy thud clanged out seemingly above his head. Mario shrank back as he followed the barrel between the openings of the girders. Walking to meet it at the edge of the platform, Mario hit it with his hammer, and as it burst open, the mallet head went flying off the handle into the fire below.

Shit. Well, it was nice while it lasted. Throwing the handle away, Mario climbed up the second level far ladder.

As he set his feet on the third level girder, another barrel was already coming down on him. Jumping up just in time, Mario faltered on the landing but remained upright. Seeing a ladder in front of him, Mario grabbed at it to climb, but realized the ladder was split in two!

SHIT! Mario looked right past it to see another ladder fully connected from the top down.

"I need to slow down." He started rubbing his eyes. "I'm seeing things, everything is a little hazy all of a sudden. Seeing an orange glow at the end of his vision, Mario looked down

No.

The flames were spreading. The thickness of the smoke made the air cloudier by the second.

Heat rises, and so does smoke. I can't be playing around in here. I'm on a timer now!

Another barrel came tumbling down the edge of the girder. Mario heard crash a ways above his head. That must be the barrels falling down the ladders. All this banging and the unstable ground is making them move erratically. Christ, what's next?!

As the barrel came rolling back to him, another barrel came down the ladder.

NOW I GOTTA JUMP OVER TWO!

Mario stepped back. Shit, I wish I was Luigi. He could probably do this WITHOUT the Bit. But...
He set his feet. I can't give up too much ground, I gotta keep going forward.

Running up to the barrels Mario leaped over them both, falling to the ground as he landed. Hearing the echo of another barrel rolling down was more than enough to get him back to his feet. Seeing another barrel fall to his level, he ran to the middle ladder and climbed up. Seeing two barrels roll to the ladder made him pause. What if one of those falls down this ladder?

Mario slid down the middle ladder just as a barrel reached him. He hopped over it, using the ladder to stabilize himself. As the other barrels rolled past the ladder, Mario climbed up to the next level. One of those barrels was blue. If it's another oil barrels, I'll have even less time to save Pauline.

Reaching the fourth level, Mario saw a barrel coming right on time. Jumping over it, he landed rather well, only taking a few mini-steps to set himself. Seeing the barrels coming tumbling down above him, he ran past the first ladder and stood between it and the second ladder that was next to the end of the girder. Now let's see how things shake out.

The first barrel moved past both ladders and rolled off the edge of the ladder. As the second barrel fell down the ladder behind Mario, he knew what he had to do

Jumping over the barrel in front of him, Mario climbed the ladder nearest the edge As he got to the next level, he saw another mallet right beside him.

"Sweet, just what I needed!"

Picking up the mallet, Mario smashed the barrels as he made his way across the girder. As the gorilla reached for another barrel, Mario saw his chance. Smashing one last barrel and throwing away the mallet, Mario climbed up the last ladder and was now on the same girder with Pauline and the gorilla!

At the sight of the Mario, the gorilla stepped back in surprise, before chucking another barrel at him. Mario jumped over it and landed in stride as he climbed up the ladder to Pauline.

"Told you I'd make it, didn't I?"

Pauline nearly tackled him with a hug. "I never had any doubt..."

Mario pushed her to the floor, just a barrel slammed into him, knocking him off the plotform. As he got back to his feet, the gorilla grabbed Pauline and climbed up the two main ladders.

Now that there are two ladders, the gorilla is balancing its weight. The ladders aren't breaking. Perfect.He dusted himself off.

"I could throw a barrel at it myself..." He eyed the barrels to the side. No...it's still got Pauline, i don't want it to fall off right now."

Christ im already sweating...

His chest erupted and Mario broke out in a coughing fit.

What the hell...

Whisps of black danced in the air all around him. Looking down, Mario saw a bed of flames beneath him.

The fire was growing. Shit, I'm gonna run out of oxygen soon. I can't chase this thing forever. I gotta keep running up. Shit, how am I getting Pauline out of this? Ehh, One thing at a time Mario.

Mario climbed up after it.

One thing at a time...


HOW HIGH CAN YOU GET?

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