Mario's Pizzeria
Day 9 - Part 1
The gang arrived at the pizzeria. It was complete!
"AAAAAAAA!" Luigi screamed like a girl. He was very excited.
He used the provided key to unlock the door.
"By the way, since we all want to work here, we should probably get some copies of this key."
"Uh, who said we're going to work here?" Daisy was confused.
"I have a whole kingdom to run, Luigi!" Peach exclaimed. "Are you mad or something?"
"My bad, my bad!"
Luigi pushed the door open.
*SLAM!*
It came back and it hit Luigi in his shoulder.
"Ooh, that door is heavy!" Luigi opened it completely.
Luigi hopped over the counter and flicked one switch was underneath it.
*WHIRR!*
The ventilation turned on. It was very quiet. Luigi flicked another switch. The fluorescent lights turned on.
"Ooh, these are pretty bright." Peach squinted her eyes.
Luigi dimmed the lights. Before, they were on brightness level 7/10, and he changed it to 5/10.
"You can dim them!"
"Heck yeah!" Luigi put it to 10/10.
"AAAAH!" Daisy yelled.
Luigi laughed. "I'm just playing, you know,"
"I know," Daisy smiled.
"Hey guys, we should probably unpack these ingredients and supplies that were provided," said Peach.
"Oh, right! Hey Daisy and Peach, can you unpack those while I set up the counter?"
"Sure!" They both went into the kitchen and carried supplies in there to unpack.
"I love these cabinets," Peach looked at the wooden cabinets. They had little icons carved into them, indicating what was supposed to be placed in them.
Peach put all of the flour in one cabinet with the flour icon. Daisy put sugar, salt, pepper, and other seasonings in another cabinet. Luigi was setting up the counter. The cash register was electronic. It had a large screen-which was large as a tablet.
"Cool!" Luigi loaded the software on the tablet. Luigi entered the kitchen and looked around. "Wow! They even got pots and pans for us too!"
Peach and Daisy organized the provided ingredients. Luigi walked to the end of the kitchen. There was a door. Luigi opened the door, and there were STAIRS.
"THE APARTMENTS," Luigi rapidly turned around to the princesses, widening his blue eyes.
"We'll check out the apartments at the end of the day," Daisy said. "Let's keep it as a surprise for us."
*BANG!*
The door flew open. "Sorry, but the restaurant isn't open y-" Luigi walked into the dining area. It was the FOOD CRITIC, Bowser, and a human. The human was five feet tall. He wore brown dress shoes, black pants, a white shirt, a brown tie, and a black suit. He also had a monocle on his left eye, with a grey hat. Bowser stood with his hands on his hips, wearing a black clip-on tie.
"Is this Mario's Pizza Shop?" The human asked.
"Um, indeed it is," Luigi was nervous.
Daisy and Peach came into the dining area.
"Hello, gentlemen..." Daisy greeted them. "And Bowser..."
Bowser squinted his eyes.
"Allow me to introduce myself," The human stepped forward. "My name is Bill Dinero. I'm the Chief Operating Officer of the Mushroom Kingdom Restaurant Bureau. I'm here with my associate food critic and a consumer of yours with numerous complaints. We are gathered here to discuss everything, right here, right now."
Bowser smiled. "They're toast," He thought.
Luigi, Daisy, and Peach gulped.
"Here's my business card," Bill handed the three a business card. "Let's get this over with."
Bill stepped back and the food critic stepped forward.
"A week ago, I-a came to this pizzeria to critique it, and I-a was only greeted by a-a-a zhisgusting and poisonous pizza. Zhe pizza was literally green, and zhe thing stink! It was an awful and abysmal experience. I expected more from-a zhis pizzeria."
The food critic stepped back. "Consumer, you may present your claim." Bowser stepped forward.
"I was never allowed to eat here. I know Mario and I were always enemies, but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to eat at the pizzeria! Wario and Waluigi are enemies of Mario, and they were allowed to eat there. They only got banned because they started the 'free pizza saga'." Bowser put up two fingers and made quotation marks.
"Anyways, with these two claims, I think It's safe to say that your pizzeria should be closed down immediately." Bill Dinero revealed construction tape that read: "suspended".
"What!" Peach, Daisy, and Luigi shouted.
"Hold on, you can't shut this pizzeria down!" Luigi got on his knees and tears ran down his eyes.
"And why can't I?" asked the businessman.
Luigi stayed on the ground, thinking for an excuse.
"Because this is technically Mario's restaurant!" said Daisy. Luigi smiled nervously.
"Okay, and where is Mario?" asked Bill Dinero.
"He's in the hospital," Peach replied. "He's recovering."
The food critic whispered to Bill Dinero. "They're just making needless excuses. Shut them down ASAP!"
Bill Dinero pushed the food critic aside. "I understand. The decision of the fate of this restaurant will have to be postponed for now."
Luigi, Peach, and Daisy wiped sweat off of their faces. The food critic was not happy.
"However, this restaurant will be closed to the public until the decision is made," declared Bill.
"WHAT!" shouted Luigi. "So, we're basically never going to sell until Mario gets out of the hospital?"
"Indeed," said Bill, "We will all meet once again to finally make the decision. Thank you for your time."
Bowser growled.
"Also, I would like a pizza," Bill turned around. "A bagel and coffee didn't fulfill my appetite this morning."
"Are you-a crazy?" The food critic whispered into Bill's ear once again. "Remember what I said about their pizza? You-a must want to kill-a yourself."
Bill pushed the Food Critic aside. "Well then, this will be a perfect time for an experiment. Let's see if this pizza is really deadly."
The food critic was nervous. The food critic had a high-class pizza shop of his own and never wanted Mario's shop to take the spotlight, which is why he made false claims about Mario's shop.
"I would like a pizza with extra tomato sauce, pepperoni, sautéed mushrooms, and red peppers. I would like the pepperoni on the left side, and the sautéed mushrooms and peppers on the right. Make it fancy."
Luigi, Peach, and Daisy stood there, confused. Luigi grabbed a pen and notepad. "Can you repeat that?"
2 MINUTES LATER...
Daisy, Luigi, and Peach were in the kitchen. Since the restaurant wasn't open the public, Luigi was free to work in the kitchen to help the princesses cook.
"And I want sparkling water too!" Bill Dinero yelled at the three. He sat at a table with the food critic and Bowser.
"You are-a clearly a numbskull." The food critic folded his arms and stared at the wall.
"Relax, I'm sharing it," Bill rolled his eyes.
"I-A DON'T WANT ANY PIZZA!" The food critic slammed his hands on the table. "You're-a wasting your time. Waiting for a moldy, zhisgusting pizza!"
Bill Dinero pulled out his smartphone to ignore the food critic.
IN THE KITCHEN...
Peach was sautéeing the mushrooms and peppers in a hot pan. Peach held the pan awkwardly.
"Peach, do you really need oven mitts for a frying pan?" asked Daisy.
"Yes, please!"
Daisy rolled her eyes and threw a pair of oven mitts at Peach. Luigi made the dough for the pizza and rolled it into a perfect circle.
"Should we bake the pizza with the mushrooms and peppers?" asked Luigi.
"I don't think so," replied Daisy.
*SIZZLE!*
The olive oil in the pan sizzled loudly. Peach took 5 steps back from the pan.
"What now?" Daisy turned around.
"I'm so scared!" Peach covered her eyes.
"YOU BAKE CAKES!" screamed Daisy. "Come on, Peach stop being a coward! You're making Luigi look brave right now."
"Aw, shucks!" Luigi blushed as he poured tomato sauce on the pizza. "He asked for extra tomato sauce, do you think this is enough?" asked Luigi.
Daisy squinted her eyes at the pizza. "Put more."
Luigi used the spoon and added more tomato sauce. He swirled it around a bit, and then he threw shredded mozzarella cheese on top. He put pepperoni slices on the left side of the pizza, evenly spacing them. "He's going to love this!" Luigi put it in the oven.
*BANG!*
Yoshi walked into the restaurant. "Dang, it's lit in here, yo! Shoot!"
Bill Dinero spotted Yoshi. "Excuse me, dinosaur. This restaurant is not open to the public."
"I don't know, cuz I see Bowser in here, yo!" Yoshi walked to the counter. "Yo, I want a pizza!"
Bill Dinero stood in front of Yoshi and pulled out his badge. "Dinosaur, I am protected by the law, and I demand you to exit the premises immediately."
"What I did?" Yoshi shrugged his shoulders.
Bill facepalmed. "This restaurant isn't open to the public!" screamed Bill. "GET OUT!"
"Fine!" Yoshi was mad. "Since you want to discriminate me, I'll leave, yo!" Yoshi violently opened the door and left.
Bowser chuckled. "Yoshi's something else." He said under his breath.
3 MINUTES LATER...
The pizza came out of the oven. "Oh yeah." Luigi smelled the pizza. Luigi placed the sautéed onions and peppers onto the pizza. The toppings were all evenly spaced on the pizza. And made a circle around it.
"Now we're talking!" Daisy grabbed a pizza box and Luigi slid the pizza right inside. Luigi taped the box shut and Peach handed Poland Spring sparkling water to him. Luigi walked to the counter with the order. "Order number one!" he called.
"Ah, yes," Bill Dinero walked to the counter. Bill Dinero sat back down with the food. He opened the box and smelled the pizza. "Hmm, it doesn't smell bad at all." Bill squinted an eye to the food critic.
"It zeems as though you-a do not get it." the Food Critic facepalmed. "They obviously made it correctly only because you're here. I'm sure they'll go back to their zhisgusting ways once you leave the premises."
"Can you just be silent and eat, please?" Bill asked.
The Critic hissed his teeth and grabbed a slice. Bowser ate a slice as well.
"Holy mackerel!" exclaimed Bowser, chewing on a slice. "This isn't that bad."
Bill dug into his pocket and pulled out a fork. He stabbed the fork in one of the slices. Tomato sauce oozed out. "Interesting." Bill pulled out a knife and used the two utensils to cut a piece of pizza and ate it. The Food Critic eyed at Bill as if he a dunce. Bill chewed on the piece of pizza that he cut and swallowed. "Why, the crust is crunchy and the bread is extremely soft! The tomato sauce is as flavorful as ever! The mushrooms and peppers were sautéed to the fullest!" said Dinero.
Bowser and the Food Critic stared at him. Luigi, Peach, and Daisy peeked behind the counter after hearing those positive words. Bill finished the slice. "You three, over here."
Luigi, Peach, and Daisy walked over with smiles on their faces.
"Why, I completely misunderstood this restaurant. I think you deserve better. It's almost as if this pizza mind-controlled me or something! We're sorry for falsely accusing the restaurant of serving poisonous food. I think we can put your restaurant off the chopping block, as long as you follow the rules and regulations of owning a restaurant in the Mushroom Kingdom."
"Not zho fast!" The food critic sprung off the chair. "I can still shut down this restaurant! All I need to do is contact the Mushroom Kingdom health department, and then file a complaint on this restaurant! That'll get this place shut down!"
"Well guess what? You're fired," replied Bill, with a little smirk.
"I'm-a sorry, what?" asked the critic.
"Don't act like you didn't hear me. YOU'RE FIRED." Bill Dinero grabbed a napkin and wiped his mouth. "Since you like to falsely accuse restaurants to get them shut down!"
The food critic looked back and pouted at Bill. He walked out of the pizzeria. "AAAAAA!" The food critic ripped off his mustache and walked away.
"Anyways, I think you're restaurant deserves to stay standing. But remember, you must follow the rules and regulations of owning a restaurant in the Mushroom Kingdom."
"Relax, I have the rules at the back of my head!" Luigi pointed to his brain.
"Which means Bowser has the right to enter the premises of the restaurant at any given point!" Bill pointed at Bowser.
"Whatever, it's not like that's a problem!" Peach smiled.
"Peach, look down," Daisy said.
Peach looked down and realized she was in Bowser's hands. "Bowser..." Bill raised an eyebrow.
Bowser put down Peach and he dusted her off with a large smirk.
"Very well!" Bill whipped out his cellphone. "All I have to do now is contact the Mushroom Kingdom Restaurant Bureau, and notify them to approve your restaurant, and then-"
*RUMBLE!* *RUMBLE!*
There was a large earthquake.
"AAAA!" Everyone yelled and scrambled to hide under tables. Pots and pans in the kitchen toppled over. Flour that was on the counter fell down on the ground and burst.
*POP!*
The flour bag burst and flour erupted across the entire restaurant. "MY EYES!" Bowser ran around.
"Get back under the table!" Luigi shouted.
The earthquake suddenly stopped, and the gang then started to feel a large gust of wind.
*WHOOSH!*
Everyone flew against the wall. A large black hole appeared right in front of them.
"I hope that isn't who I think it is!" Daisy shrieked.
"Wait, who?" asked Bowser, who's body was full of fear.
The wind stopped. The black hole suddenly made the shape of a toad. The toad became visible. It was DARK TOAD.
"HAHAHA!" Dark Toad laughed, as he floated in the air in front of the gang.
"I told you he'll be back..." a female voice whispered.
"What is this?!" Bill Dinero was afraid.
"Well, well, well. Look what we have here," Dark Toad said. "You guys really thought I wasn't going to come back to destroy you all."
"What is the meaning of this?" Bill Dinero stamped his feet and looked at Luigi, Peach, and Daisy.
Dark Toad facepalmed. "Seriously, do I have to explain this over and over again? Wario and Waluigi's orders! I'm going to officially end this restaurant for good!"
"Not if I have to do anything about it!" Luigi ate a fire flower, that was in his pocket. He did a spin jump in the air, and out came three large fireballs, flying fast as a bullet towards the evil dark mushroom.
Dark Toad smiled. He snapped his fingers and disappeared.
*BANG!*
The fireballs crashed into tables, and they caught on fire. Dark Toad reappeared. "So, do you want to throw more fireballs at me?" Dark Toad realized Luigi wasn't looking at him. Dark Toad turned around and spotted Bowser, who was sneaking to the exit. "I SEE YOU!"
Five dark plasma balls flew towards Bowser. Bowser zipped out of the restaurant, and the dark plasma balls destroyed the entrance of the pizzeria.
"Let's get out of here!" Peach shouted. "I'm not trying to die!"
Luigi, Peach, Daisy, and Bill rushed out of the pizzeria. The food critic was sitting on a bench outside, with his arms folded. "Why can't this pizzeria get destroyed already? Sheesh," he murmured to himself.
*BANG!*
Luigi, the princesses, and Bill rushed outside of the pizzeria and witnessed it fall apart into millions of pieces. Luigi got on his knees. "NOOOOOOO!" he cried.
A smile appeared on the food critic's face. "Haha, yes!"
Dark Toad appeared in front of the gang. "Now that your restaurant is taken care of, it's time to take care of you guys."
"What madness is this restaurant in?!" Bill hollered to the three. "Evil demons trying to kill everyone? Is this a joke?!"
"He just hates our restaurant!" Daisy replied, folding her arms.
"You know what, I don't think I want this restaurant to even be open the public anymore! If these types of danger lie in this restaurant, I'm out! No thank you!" Bill dug into his pocket. "Where's my phone?"
Bill turned around and looked at the pizza shop which was turned into rubble. "MY PHONE!" Bill ran towards the rubble to search for his phone. "No, no, this cannot be!"
"Mr. Dinero, no!" Luigi held onto his arm.
"Anyways, now that I'm going to kill guys, I feel like I'm going to have to step up my game. I think it's time to unleash my new form." Dark Toad snapped his fingers. His eyes turned red.
*RUMBLE!* *RUMBLE!*
There was a more powerful earthquake. Everyone instantly dropped onto the ground. Cars on the street started to bounce all over the place. Street and stop lights toppled over. Yoshi was five blocks away and felt the earthquake. "Here we go again yo," he rolled his eyes. "Yo Birdo, let's go help em' out."
*WHOOSH!*
Everyone flew across the street and landed on the ground. The sky turned into a gloomy shade of orange, and the clouds became black. Lightning endlessly sparked. A maniacal laugh echoed, and a black circle appeared and formed the shape of a DRAGON. Everyone bellowed in pain on the ground.
"Oh shit," the four said, observing the danger that lied in front of them.