WHACK!

"Wh-Wha-"

WHACK!

"What the hell?"

WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!

"SHIT!" Mario covered his head and scrambled to his feet.

"Mario? What the hell? Were you...asleep int he bathroom?! When did you get in here?!"

"Luigi?!" Mario looked around. Oh yeah, that's right. Home. I went through the portal and...I guess I fell asleep as soon as I walked through...

"Come on man, I gotta use the bathroom, and it's already a pain in the ass enough with this wheelchair..."

Mario's eyes widened. Wait. Everything last night. Pauline. Donkey Kong. None of it was a dream, then that means...

He dug furiously into his pockets. It's gotta be here, it's gotta be here...

Mario pulled out the Bit. "Holy shit."

"Woof! Woof!" "Quack!" Hiro and Kiyo came bounding down the stairs at the sound of all the ruckus. Kiyo flapped up into Luigi's lap. Hiro settled at his feet.

"Dude, what is that?"

"Luigi, I need you to hold this. Right now."

"Wh-what?" Mario, let me do this after I-"

"Right now." Mario grabbed Luigi's hand and forced it open.

"Mario, what the fuck?! What is this?!" Luigi was completely helpless to stop Mario from doing whatever the fuck this was about. "Are you fucking high man? What is this?"

"You wanna walk again man? Just say it. I promise this'll work!

"Okay, okay! If it'll get you to piss off!" Luigi made a fist, his hand clutched around the Bit. "I wanna feel better! I wanna walk agai-"

His arm twitched, tightening up instantly. He gasped.

The Bit's energy flowed through his body. He could feel it repair his body. He could feel his pain fade away.

He could feel.

Luigi gripped the armrests of the wheelchair.

He raised his left leg out of the chair.

He raised his right leg out of the chair.

And for the first time in quite a while, Luigi stood on his own two feet.

"WOOF! WOOF! WOOFWOOOF! WOOOOF!

"QUUUAAAAAAAAAAACK!"

The pets exploded in noise, doing a happy dance around Luigi.

"how do you feel?"

He walked in place for a few steps.

"Honestly... I know... like in my head, I know I shouldn't be able to do this So easy. I feel fucked up as hell, but my body...it feels like just...normal I guess."

"Like nothing ever happened?"

"Yeah...Mario, what the fuck did you do?"

"It's a long story, but-"

"Actually wait, still gotta use the bathroom." Luigi pushed past him and closed the door.


"And that's everything."

Luigi leaned back on the couch as he was casually petting Kiyo. Hiro had was sitting in his wheelchair. "Holy shit." He held his hands up and tapped his feet, looking for a response. "So, let me make sure I'm understanding you. After, this is after you rig a boxing match, you and Pauline go off a cliff with a gorilla, get chased by this ape, Pauline gets kidnapped, and you run up a burning building to save her, and you are in some game now?"

Mario nodded "Yeah. That's the gist of it. But, just call the gorilla Donkey Kong. It's the name we came up with."

I should be calling bullshit. Luigi buried his face in his hands. But...

His eyes were right in front of the Bit.

I can't deny what this thing just did to me.

"Lemme prove to you what happened. What time is it?" Mario looked at the clock on the wall. 5:48 P.M.

"Okay, the 5:30 news should be on." He cut on the TV.

"One of our top stories tonight, a construction area was in full blaze around midnight last night, raging until fireman managed to put out around 4:20. Police currently have no suspects at this time, but it may be related to a damaged car that was reported stolen earlier that night-"

"Hopefully Pauline said that she dropped me off somewhere before her car got 'stolen', I'd hate to deal with any more heat."

"So assuming you don't get arrested for arson, what now?"

"Now, I wait to see whatever happens next in this game. Which reminds me," Mario held his hand out. "I'm gonna need that Bit back."

"Take it." Luigi stretched out his arm. Whatever Mario's gotten himself into, he can get himself out of it. "I've had my use of-"

What the fuck am I saying?

He pulled his arm back.

"What the hell?" Mario looked at him sideways. "Man, what are you doing?"

"Let me help you out, man." Luigi got up off the couch. If what Mario is saying is true, he's in the most craziest, deepest shit ever. I can't just hang him out to dry.

Mario waved it off. "Absolutely not. Not even in the fucking question."

"Wha? Why not?"

"I am not letting you get involved in this. I said yes to this game, no one else."

"You already kinda got me involved when you gave me this." Luigi held up the Bit. "And I think I got quite a bit of use out this already."

"No one has to know. Which is why we have to get on the same page for Mom and Dad. We are going to tell them that the surgery is what fixed you. They'll believe that plenty more than me finding some random magical doctor stone."

"But-" Luigi turned his head, incensed. "Stop FUCKING LAUGHING!"

Hiro and Kiyo both jumped out of the way to get as far from Luigi as possible.

"Gaaah!" Mario bent over, covering his head with his hands. "God, Luigi, what the hell, I wasn't even laughing."

Luigi gave him a shocked expression. Was I really that loud? "No, not you, that person that was...wait, you didn't hear that?"

"I can barely hear anything right now, no I didn't hear-" The voice that was in my head. Oh fuck. Oh fuck they know.

"Luigi, that voice, are you still hearing it?"

"No, it's gone now." Mario's stern expression made Luigi's skin crawl. It was so stern but...he could sense the fear on his brother's face. "Mario, was that the person in your head you were talking about?"

"Has to be. Gah, my ears. Quick, give me the Bit."

With a little hesitation, Luigi gave the Bit back to him. As soon as the ringing in his ears stopped, Mario pocketed the Bit.

"Well, guess that answers my question on if I'm still being watched. He turned away and took a few aimless steps.

"What's wrong? What are you worried about now?" A queasy feeling was building up in Luigi's stomach.

"Nothing...it's just," Mario's foot kicked against a box. "The hell?" He bent down to pick it up. "The hell is this?"

"Dude, don't tell me you forgot. It was your idea in the first place!"

"Forgot what? Sorry, Luigi, I've been a little busy."


He opened his eyes. He was staring right into the side of a mattress.

Mac pushed himself off the bed. "Gah! Ah, that hurts..."

"You going back to sleep again son?"

Mac turned around. Doc was standing in the doorway.

"Doc..."

"Congrats kid." Doc made his way over to Mac's bedside, pouring out the stale clinic coffee in the sink. "You got a job for the WVBA. well, you work for Donny King, so maybe I shouldn't say congrats. But you do have an honest job, and I spent all day getting the details worked out. So, good job kid." He ruffled Mac's hair. "You won your first fight, and all that came with it. That fight was amazing. I'll never forget it."

A hug.

"I'm proud of you Mac. I really am."

Doc pulled back to see the look Mac's face. Huh, thought he'd be happier. He must still be in a lot of pain. And my fat ass probably didn't make it better with crushing him just now. Shit. Misplayed that one.

He stood up. "Since you seem to be trying to get up, I'm gonna go get you checked out. Nurses said nothing was broken, but you would be sore for a while. But I think we both knew that was coming, right Mac. Ehehaha!" He gave a little chuckle.

Mac just looked up at him blankly.

0-for-2. "Be back in a few minutes Mac, hang tight!" Doc left the room and shook his head as he went down the hall. Jeez, I am just off today...

"I'm proud of you Mac. I really am."

Mac's head slowly slumped down and he ended up looking at his hands. They were shaking, practically vibrating in place. Not from the pain, but...

He's proud of me...

Tears were quickly building to his eyes. The freely ran down his cheeks into his lap.

"That fight was amazing. I'll never forget it."

Did I really do that good of a job? I mean, I remember getting knocked down. But I did win, so I must've! And the way Doc looked at me...

"Good job kid."

He meant it. He really really meant it...

"...And in more local sports news, Doc Louis, Boxing's Worst Nightmare, returned to the ring last night for the first time in 15 years after his retirement match against the Bald Bull. But this time, it wasn't him who had the gloves on."

Mac snapped to attention. The TV is on, I guess I just hadn't noticed it.

"The first African-American world boxing champion had another first last night, as this was his first match as a coach, taking second for his student, Mackenzie Little. Introduced as "Little Mac", the pair celebrated a win in the main event and received a WVBA Future Investment Contract. We caught up with Louis earlier today for more."

Doc was standing at the front entrance of the clinic in his black trench coat and red beanie.

"Part of it is having love for the sport, you know what I mean? And when you find a diamond in the rough you... you have this obligation to give back to the sport that picked you up and took you in when you had nothing else to your name. And after everything I've done in this business, I owe my life to boxing; for better or worse."

He-he called me a diamond in the rough? He thinks I'm a diamond?

"And now it's time for me to give back to the sport in a different way. Do something with taking a guy with potential and putting him on the road to being a superstar the world over. My story is over. My career; that book is closed. This isn't about me this is about Mac. This is about the person who could, from what I've seen so far, has got the potential to someday be world champion."

Mac's mouth went agape. World champion? Does he really think I could one day be world champion?

"It gives me chance to start over. Because Mac will get the benefit of having someone who's been up and down those long and dusty roads with nothing but tears in their eyes and dreams in their heart. I'm not just out to do right by him. I'm determined to."

"Aside from being the longest-reigning WVBA champion of all time, Doc Louis was known for his captivating interviews, here is his famous "To The Children Of The World" speech match with Gen Oshi in Tokyo in 1972:"

The news show started displaying old, grainy footage. Doc was standing in a ring, looking far younger than what was now. He was sweating panting heavy, his face begrudgingly letting the pain shine through, but he was standing.

And he had a mic.

"Now! I bet a whole lotta people going to bed mad tonight, ain'tcha?! Ain'tcha?! Well, this ain't for you, so you can gone ahead n turn off da TV right now! This, this is for all the little children of the world! Alotta people put bets against Doc Louis tonight, so don't be surprised if ya next-door neighbor go missing all of a sudden. For the last month, everybody been saying the same thing. 'Oh, Doc's number is up! He too old to keep up with this young cat! He ain't got the power to put folks down no more! Well despite all the talk, all the hope, all the beggin, all the pleadin, at the end of the day, this match ended with AND YOU WINNER BY KNOCKOUT! DOOOOOOOOOOOOOC LOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUIS!"

A loud chorus of boos erupted in the arena.

Doc leaned on the ropes and cupped his ear on his hand.

"I think I've humored yall long enough, let me get to my point, and I'll be outta here.

The point is, don't bother tuning in tomorrow with all the suits and ties analyzing the fight tell you what happened, what didn't, what punch shoulda got thrown, who shoulda moved where it doesn't matter. There's one reason why I won tonight, and one reason only. I was not the bigger man in this contest. I was not the stronger man in this contest. I was not the faster man in this contest. And children, let me tell you something: that's how life can be. You might be born with the ability to grow taller than the big fridges at the store. Your parents might be big and you might be big and you can run all day and all night and you won't lose a single pound. You might be born sick and can't put on any muscle all your life and 8 days out of the week you wake up feeling bad and lay down feeling bad. But let me tell you something: if you can't use your body to make it in this world, you gotta use your mind. That's how I won tonight. Because I was the smartest man in this contest. And from the looks of things im the smartest person in this whole arena..."

The boos re-emerged. Now louder and more deafening than ever before.

"You might not be the biggest, the fittest, the roughest, the toughest, the strongest, the longest, the hairiest, or the scariest, but none of that is stopping you from being the smartest."

It cut back to the news network.

"One of the most controversial figures in boxing history, feuding with several European governments, many of his fellow contemporary boxers, and the NAACP, Doc Louis remains as quite possibly the biggest icon the sport as ever seen, as his career created a boom period in boxing, with the top five highest-grossing boxing events of all time all having his name in the main event slot. One of our top stories tonight, a construction area was in full blaze-"

"Hey, Mac, ready to go?!" Doc called from down the hall.

"Y-yeah!" Mac wiped the tears from his eyes. It was time to go home.

"Wait a minute, before we get in the car. Let me take you out back real quick."

"Yeah, they shoveled the snow out here. It ain't perfect. But it'll do."

"What's going on?"

"You know about the Star Punch Uppercut right? My best move?"

"Yeah, of course!"

"You noticed I didn't teach it to you, right?"

"Yeah. I thought it was because you didn't think I was good enough."

"Oh no, Mac, you're fine. The reason why I didn't teach you the Star Punch is because uppercuts are meant to be thrown when the opponent's head is below yours. When your elbow is elevated to shoulder height, and your fist is at your head, you lose the control. When your elbow is low and coming up, you have control. I wasn't sure what was gonna happen, and I didn't want you to lean on my magic bullet, so I didn't teach it to you. But given your performance yesterday, i think it's time you learn it."

"Really?!"

He remembered what Mario said a when he first started training with Doc. "Dude. You gotta teach me the Star Punch. It's fucking amazing. Whenever Doc shows it to you, you have to show it to me. Promise?"

"Get in position."

Mac got into his stance. The salt in the snow made the ground a little crinkly, but that was nothing. Definitely worth learning the Star Punch.

"Now, the Star Punch Uppercut is dangerous, to both you and your opponent. The crux of all of it is the commit. You have to commit to this punch, its all or nothing. You are putting as much of a full body rotation, as much weight and force, into this punch as you can. And you have to do it quick. You want to have a least a little chance of getting back into position in case it misses."

Doc got into his orthodox stance.

"So the first thing I'm gonna do is move my left foot to the left behind me. I wanna create space to get back on defense. Then I'm throwing the uppercut with my right. But before my elbow gets straight and above my shoulder, I'm going to turn my whole body left, and I'm doing that by turning my body like a hooking motion. Then I'm going to complete the spin and move back as far as I can in the next few moments. So let me take you through it motion by motion." He lined up right next to Mac.

"I take a step back with your left."

Mac brought his front foot, the left, back behind his right.

"Raise your punch as you are making a full body rotation."

Mac turned his shoulders as brought up his uppercut.

"Now hook your body back and follow through. Make sure to leave your feet. You do not want to get into the habit of swinging all of your weight on one ankle."

Mac swung his body around and left his feet, coming back into his orthodox stance.

"Hey Doc, didn't you tell me not to do my Superman punch because I left my feet?"

"Indeed I did. The benefit of the Star Punch Uppercut is that its a counter move, especially one that you can throw out of thin air. Try it again, this one in real-time."

"Okay."

Mac got into his stance. Bring the foot back. Throw the punch. Turn the body. Bring it throu-

Mac slipped as he landed, taking a few quick stutter steps to balance himself.

e

"Woah." Doc's concerned expression told the whole story. Mac could see it in his eyes as looked up at him. I fucked it up. He taught me his best move and I fucked it up right in front of him.

"Wait wait wait wait wait." Mac quickly gathered himself. "Let me try it again."

Set the feet. Bring the foot back. Throw the punch. Spin around.

He set his feet perfectly as he landed.

"You didn't get your hand up Mac." Doc pointed out. "You threw that punch across your body, and it barely got over your other shoulder."

"What?" "Hold on hold on. I'll get it right this ti-"

Doc held him in place. "That's enough for one day son. Look where we at. A salted parking lot with snow coming down. This is no place for training. I just wanted to show it to you for such a good job yesterday. I know we're right outside of hospital but that's no excuse to go hurt yourself. and if you slipped and fell out here you really be hating it. Let's call it a day. And after Christmas, we'll pick things back up. In the ring. Got it?"

Mac stared at the ground.

"Keep practicing a little more. I don't want you using that in fights, you hear me? Not until we get it down, alright?

You need to be faster than that. Not only are you exposing your body to your opponents, but as you turn, you are blind. Only for a moment, but that's all some people need."

"Alright." Mac looked down at the ground with disappointment.

Doc laid a hand on his student's shoulder. "Remeber its a race, not a sprint. Let's get you home."


"We made that first punch together baby. We are home free!" Doc was doing a little shimmy in his seat at a red light. "You don't have to fight again until your an adult. I want you fighting at least once every four months to test your growth, so I will look around the city for places where I can get you in somewhere, but man! We getting paid to mind our damn business. I love it! You gotta stay clean tho."

He paused to point a finger at Mac. "Can't get caught with no drugs in your system, and they can come any time, once every 30 days. And knowing Donnie, they probably coming in the middle of the night, just to irritate you. So be careful. You might have to watch what you eat. Never know who puts what in where these days."

The light turned green and he kept moving. "You awfully quiet kid, you feeling alright? I need to take you back to the clinic?

"No, it's just..." Mac looked away, opting to look at the Christmas lights that were hanging up and down the street. Just looking at Doc made him feel like tearing up. I have to change the conversation.

"What was the fight with the NAACP about?"

"Ahhh. Where'd you hear about that?" Doc's face fell. "Yeah...that happened. When the Civil Rights Movement was reaching its peak in the early 60s, I was WVBA world champion. They were the top company in America. got all the network and TV deals. No other promotions really came close, they were still stuck on regional TV."

"Why was the WVBA the top promotion?"

"Think about where you are, kid," Doc smirked. "This is New York. The best city in the world. If you can run the boroughs, you can run the state. You can run the state, you can run the whole northeast. You can run the northeast, you can run the country. You run this country, you can run the whole damn world, and that's what the WVBA was doing when I came along."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense..."

So because I was their first black world champion, they branded me as the first-ever. Not true one bit. There were a lot of world champions, especially with all the promotions and territories in America alone. Mama was a world champion. But like the WVBA, I separated myself by being the first televised world champion, and I went continent to continent defending the WVBA world title. So really, I was just the first to put the world in world champion. And during this time, I was approached by members of the NAACP, and they asked me to become a member and speak at a few meetings."

"And you said no?"

"Yeah. Yeah I did."

"Why?"

"I spoke with Donnie about it." Doc's voice lowered The words were coming out slow. "He told me...he told me it was a horrible idea. He said it didn't match the character I had built up in my run to the championship. And that part was true. I wasn't hugging fans and giving out high-fives and kissing babies on the forehead. So I agreed with him. And then he told me that if I joined, the backlash would cause people to protest my matches. Everyone would stop watching, and the WVBA would get rid of me. He told me my career and life was on the line. I agreed with him. But then I said that the Movement was more important than my career. And then he told me that if it wasn't for my career the NAACP wouldn't have asked me that. So i agreed with him."

"And then what happened."

"I met with the NAACP associates a few weeks later. I respectfully declined. We talked a little bit more, they begged and pleaded me. The longer we kept talking, the more I felt bed for what I was doing. Eventually, the accepted my refusal, and we went our separate ways. I remember going to bed that night, and I had this huge pit in my stomach, like part of me just knew I had made the wrong choice. I almost prayed."

He made a left turn. "A few days later in the national papers, there were some articles saying I didn't join because I couldn't 'identify' with the Movement. Over the next few days, several Movement leaders made comments that I took offense to. I said some things I'm not proud of in response."

"And then what?"

"That was it. All involved had made their feelings known, and everyone moved on to the next story." Doc came to the stop in the traffic, not even minding the car sliding a bit on the icy road.

"What I didn't know, was that the real reason Donnie told me not to go ahead with it was that he was trying to kiss up to the owner of the WVBA. The owner wanted nothing to do with the Movement, so when he realized that Donnie had kept his top star out of the NAACP's influence, he was ecstatic. He brought Donnie into his inner circle of business butt buddies, one thing led to another, and that's what led Donnie King to become the next owner of the WVBA. I never put it together until I wrote my autobiography that Donnie's probably the rat bastard who leaked a 'edited' account of the story to the press."

"Wow. Donnie really did all these terrible things to you?"

"Let me tell you something, Mac. As much as I hate Donnie King, as much as I regret Donnie King's influence on me, I cannot blame Donnie King for my decision making. I could have said yes. I had every opportunity. I have made alot of bad decisions on my own. Now I could have put myself around better people, and they could have influenced me to make better choices. But at the end of the day, I have to take accountability for my life. That's why its good to surround yourself with good people."

"Yeah..." Mac realized he hadn't seen anyone else at the hospital. Last night after the match was kinda fuzzy...

"Where is everyone else?"

"Well, Mama started coughing, so I had her get a flight back to Georgia. That reminds me," Doc's face picked back up into a grin as he looked at Mac. "I owe you one, kid. That's the first time I ever won a fight with Mama. Took me fifty-three trips around the sun, but I did it. Oh, she was mad when I got into it with her! She wanted to stay so bad. I kinda feel bad for telling her to go back, you know? But as you get older, this cold weather ain't all that good to be in, especially if you ain't used to it. She wanted me to tell you she loved you by the way, and to keep going."

"Wow. I didn't mean to cause any trouble..." They had a fight over just being around me? That seems unreal.

Doc shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Your parents had to take Luigi home. Your mother said she was gonna help your father out in the shop today, they closing early."

"What about Mario?"

Doc's face fell. "Mario..."

"Why, what's wrong. Did something happen to Mario?!" Mac turned in his seat.

"No no..." Mac's reaction seemed to irritate Doc even more. "He ran off with his girl last night and that's the last we've heard of him. Ain't call, ain't get back home the morning after...nothing."

"I wonder if he was in ay trouble." It seemed a little strange Mario would be outta the picture for so long.

"Let me tell you something son, and I'mma need you to listen good on this: you need to be careful around Mario."

"What?! How can you say that?! After what he did last night? He saved me!"

"And where is he now? Your guess is as good as mine. Mario seems like the type where he picks and chooses who he gonna be. He could walk an old woman across the street and in the same breath steal the shoes off a dead man because 'he don't need 'em no more'. I'm telling you, he really wishy-washy. You cannot, I repeat, cannot trust your future to a wishy-washy person. "

"That's...not true. You don't know him like I know him!"

"Keep telling yourself that. Sad part is you believe it!" Doc turned away from Mac's glare. Kid looks ready to swing on me, damn.

"He's gonna break your heart. And he's gonna do it in a big way. That's probably what it's gonna take for you to realize what I'm saying."

"You're wrong Doc."

"We shall see. I hope not. I know you don't think it, but I really hope I'm wrong about him. But I don't think so. I truly don't. To me, Mario looks like the kind of person that will do anything or say anything at any time to get what he wants."

Seeing Mac turn to look out the window, Doc focused on driving. Guess we shall see, Mac. We shall see...

This just felt...wrong. Going behind Mario's back and talking about him like this. Mac remembered when he had first met Mario and they were going to Doc's. "Oh, this man used to be the baddest boxer in the world. His uppercut, the Star Punch, could knock out anyone he stepped in the ring with. He was a multi-time world champion in the WVBA, the greatest there ever was."


"Welcome home, Mac. It's gonna feel pretty good to-" As Doc pulled and parked in the Martinet's driveway, he realized something was wrong. Wait a minute, why is the front door open?

Screaming emerged from inside the house.

"SHIT!" Doc rushed out of the car

Should I stay here? Mac watched as Doc ran into the house. After everything they've done for me...I can't just hide away now!

Slowly opening the car door, Mac hesitantly tiptoed up and the driveway, before peering into the door.

Everyone was staring at Luigi, who was setting the kitchen table with Mario.

"Oh my God!" Yoko was gasping for breath. "Luigi!"

"The cake!" Mario stared down in horror as he looked at the contents of a box at Yoko's feet, which had been scattered across the floor.

"It's a miracle! My boy is whole again!" Luigi found himself rushed by his parents.

Doc ushered Mac in and closed the door behind himself, taking a quick peek out the window. A couple of people stared at the house for a few seconds, then went about their business. Seems like a personal affair. Don't need onlookers. With that, he turned back to Luigi; and took off his cap to slide his fingers against his hair. Still, if anything was worth staring at, it was this. "I ain't never seen something like this. Just...how?"

"Must've been the surgery!" Mario said. "It worked better than anyone could've expected!"

"Yeah. Must have." Luigi managed to squeeze through the bear hugs and do a little jig. "I feel fit as a fiddle."

"Well, we should go back to the hospital so that they can do more tests and give an update on his condition."

"You know Mom, we and Luigi talked about it. He said no. I mean, look how miserable he was back there."

"Yeah. I...really don't want to go back there, Mom."

"But, what if you get an infection or you break a bone or-"

"If anything happens to me, or if I feel back at all Mom, I promise; I will go back to the hospital."

"As much as I always told you boys to get your check-ups, I'll side with you two on this one," Lou said. "We don't have to go back to 'em. They'll just keep taking our money. So if anything does happen with you Luigi, tell us. We'll go to a better hospital next time."

"Thanks Dad, I appreciate it."

"Hey um, what was this for?" Mac was holding up candles displaced among the splattered cake, a 5 and a 1"

"Well kid, in the excitement, we kinda forgot to wish you happy birthday!"

"Birthday?"

"Yeah, flip them numbers around, Mac. You're 15!"

"I-I am?"

"Yeah, we were getting all your legal affairs in order for the fight, and I managed to find your birth certificate."

Lou reached into a drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Mackenzie Anthony Little. October 18th."

"Anthony? My Middle name is Anthony?" Saying it just felt...weird.

"Don't feel bad, Mac. Mine is Albano." He jerked his thumb at Luigi. "His is Alberto."

"So you had a birthday party for me?"

"You deserve it, boxing star." Yoko gave him a hug.

Lou picked up a box that was on the floor. "And what kind of birthday party would it be without presents?!"

Mario slid his arm around Mac. "Noticed you was a bit raggedy, so we got together and got something for you. You can call this an early Christmas gift!"

"T-shirts!" Yoko excitedly pulled a black shirt out of the box. "10 of them!"

MAC was in green block letters in the front.

STAR PUNCH KID was in similarly-styled letters on the back.

"We wanted to wear it to your match, but we couldn't get the delivery in time. Sorry about that..."

"Nononono..." Mac held his hands up. "This is fine. This is great. This is..." This is the best day of my life...

"Try it on man, you should be the first to wear it." Mario threw him a small.

Mac quickly threw off his stained shirt to try this new one.

"Wow, its...pretty snug."

"It looks great on you, too." Mario gave him a pat on the back. "Really showing off those muscles there."

"Oh, I'm so glad you like it!" Yoko clasped her hands together. "I wanted something you could wear year-round, even in this weather...still, get a coat on or something, will you?"

"Hold on, let me show you what I got for you." Doc grabbed a small box and pulled out a pair of black gloves. "Look like some regular 5$ gloves right? Well they ain't. These are sap gloves. You know why they called sap gloves?"

Mac shook his head.

"Because whoever messes with you while you got these on will feel like a sap once you're done with 'em!" He let out a hearty chuckle. "Here, let me show you, put these on."

As he slipped his fingers into the glove, Mac could feel something was...different. "What makes these so special?"

"It's lead in it, that's what's special!"

"Lead? Where?" Mac flipped his hands up and down. "It just looks like leather to me."

"In the glove! Powdered lead is put into the glove before they finish making it. It'll protect your hands, and give your punches more knockout power. Offense and defense and top of the line quality while you're at it!"

Doc reached back into the box, this time pulling out a concrete block. "I wanna test them out right here. Come break this brick for me!"

"Wh-what?!" The younger boxer couldn't believe it. "Are you serious?"

"Go ahead kid, show us how good you are, again!"

"You got this Mac, this is light work!"

Doc was holding the brick in Mac's chest."

"Come on Mac baby, one punch. Let's see what you got."

Mac held his hands up in the orthodox stance.

With a quick jab he struck. Breaking the brick straight through.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!"

"Way to go Mac! That was great!"

Doc tossed the halves of the brick in the trash can. "How do your hands feel?"

He looked at his hands and wiggled his fingers. "Fine. Didn't hurt at all."

His mentor beamed at him. "Knew it. Money well spent."

"Well, we were gonna have an ice cream cake, but that's all on the floor now." Yoko looked down at the remains of the cake with disappointment. "I made the mess, I'll clean it up." She excused herself to the kitchen.

Lou followed her. "Let me help, I'll run some water..."

"Don't worry, I'll just get another one since no one is in the mode for floor ice cream cake." Mario jerked his thumb out the door. "There's a Cold Stone down the street, we can get an ice cream cake there. Luigi, wanna come stretch your legs?"

Luigi went to the closet and grabbed a jacket. "Best thing I've heard you say all day."

"I'll take Hiro and Kiyo too." Mac went to grab their leashes. This'll probably be the last time I can take them for a walk with all this snow.

"We'll be back in 15 minutes! Later!" Luigi called out.

"I'll be waiting for you to get back, Mac!" Doc pointed at him. "Don't get too stuffed now! You got the body of an athlete. Gotta eat like it!" His voice echoed out into the street as the trio and their pets walked down the steps.

"What a day." Mario couldn't help but grin."

"Man...this, this feels amazing."

"You're not even staggering."

"The snow feels nice."

"I've had enough snow for a while, not gonna lie."

"Well Mac, this is for you, kid. What kinda cake do you want? Mac? Mac?"

Mac snapped out of it? "Huh, what'd you say?"

"I asked what you wanted. You're calling the shots kid. This is all for you."

"Honestly...I kinda wanna Reese's cake. I've never had one before."

"Reese's? Aight." Mario shrugged as he grabbed the door handle and opened it. "I think they got one in here, but if not we can always just go to-"

The expression on Mac's face went from casual to shock in an instant.

"The hell's wrong with you kid?" He turned around. "They got bugs or-"

The apartment.

Mario Bros. Plumbing.

"Holy..." Luigi wandered inside, taking a minute to wipe his feet on the welcome mat before walking on the carpet.

"I thought you said you got rid of everything?"

"I did." Mario looked around. This doesn't make sense. Couch. Table. Pictures. Vases. Pillows. Even Hiro and Kiyo's food bowls. The duo was currently sniffing everything in sight and looking at each other afterwards. Even the mutt can tell something's really off. Fridge. TV. He'd boxed up everything weeks ago. Everything was here. Like he'd never touched a thing. This shouldn't be here. There's no way they could just walk to the apartment from their parents' house.

This is a trap.

Someone put all this here. And brought this right too them.

"We need to get out of here right-"

The door slammed behind them. Shit! Shouldn't have said that out loud!

Mario yanked on the handle. CHRIST, IT'S LOCKED!

"M-M-Mario..." Luigi held up a quivering finger. "Look outside."

Mario pulled out the Bit. Clutching it firmly, he peeked out the window.

Black.

Inky, empty, endless, black.

"Wait, what am I looking-"

It hit him.

Its never been this dark before. No streetlights. No cars. I don't even see people on the sidewalk. Oh fuck...'

Have a seat.

Everyone froze.

Mario slowly turned his head back.

Mac was unable to speak. His entire body was trembling.

Luigi looked at Mario, simply shaking his head.

"Well...couch is right there." Mario backed away from the window. Whoever's doing this just could have attacked us. They want us-me, know that they're here. Maybe I can talk to them.

As Mario sat down, Mac and Luigi exchanged looks. "...Just follow his head, Mac. Don't say anything." Luigi turned to Mario as he settled down on the couch. "I hope you know what you're doing."

They looked away from each other.

Of course he fucking doesn't.

Of course I fucking don't.

"Uh, guys..." Mac was pointing at the TV. "Something's wrong with the..."

Black sludge was pouring out of the screen. The running blob of mass streaked down the television stand. Just as everyone stood up, a white-gray border outlined the figure. A head with no face, no eyes. A nose and a mouth. Circular hands. Were those...feet? Or shoes?

Wait a minute. Is that thing standing parra-

Mario Martinet. You are in debt to Master.


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