Happy Halloween guys! A little warning for you all. This fanfic is based on a horror game called Mario '85 (or Super Mario Bros. PC Port) by Taco Games. Kids should not look it up if they don't want nightmares. Since I'm featuring nintendoscript15's OC Alex, I will slightly tone down the violence in it for his sake, but not by too much, so still be warned!
[[BGM:Waltz of the Boos - Super Mario Galaxy]]
Ah, Halloween night! A time where the normally mellow and cheery Mushroom Kingdom gets spooky! The moon shines brightly behind the clouds attempting to cover it up. The clouds themselves had cute but also disturbing jack o' lantern-like faces. Boos wandered around the kingdom trying to prank the trick-or-treaters. They usually failed because said trick-or-treaters would stare at them in the eye before said pranks were carried out. But hey, the effort counts!
We start our terrifying tale at Mario's Pad, where a Toad comes out of a pipe and knocks on the door. Answering it was none other than Mario. He himself was decked out for the holiday. He still wore his regular shirt, overalls, gloves, and shoes, but he now wore a pair of bat wings. And in place of a hat, he wore a jack-o-lantern around his whole head, with his face peeking out of the mouth.
"Trick-or-treat!"
"Oh, hey Toad! Why aren't you wearing a cost-wait…" Mario interrupted himself when he noticed something different about 'Toad'. He looked a little taller than usual. And his face seemed more detailed with a nose to boot.
"Hah! Got you good, didn't I?" the 'Toad' taunted in a very non-toad-like voice.
"Alex? Is that you?!"
"Sure is! Happy Halloween, amico!" he gave his 'older brother' a hug.
"Ha ha! What a pleasant surprise! Do your parents know you're here?" Mario asked out of slight concern.
"Yeah, they do. I told them I wanted to spend Halloween here because my neighborhood's kinda boring," Alex explained.
"Oh okay. Well I'm glad you came here, buddy!" Mario then snickered a little. "I'm also glad you finally chose to wear something different. Your parents told me that you've been dressing as me for the last three years!"
Alex sheepishly grinned. "Yeah… my parents said it was getting old and I needed to try something different. I don't mind. This is kinda nice."
Mario laughed. "Yeah. Maybe next year you could try wearing something not related to my series. Ever thought of dressing as…" he stopped to think. "...Sonic the Hedgehog?"
"Meh," Alex responded with little interest. "My cousin likes that series, but I don't. The storylines are too confusing, the voice acting sucks in my opinion, and the fast paced gameplay is too disorienting for me."
"That's fine. Just a suggestion," said Mario as he respected his opinion even though he likes some of his old rival's games. He then called upstairs. "Luigi! You got the candy?! We have our first trick-or-treater!"
Luigi came downstairs with a basket of candy and did a screechy failed imitation of a wolf's howl. He wore his regular shirt, overalls, and shoes, but his gloves were replaced by gray furry claws, and wore a wolf mask on his hand. "Uh, was that good?" Luigi asked after the 'howl'.
"Err… keep working on it," Mario said honestly. "Anyways, Alex is here!"
"Oh, sweet! Normally we'd say 'take 2'. But you're special, so you can have 4!" Luigi offered.
"Yahoo!" Alex takes 4 packs of gummies shaped like the Mario cast.
"So, where are you off to?" Mario asked as he took the candy.
"I'm going trick-or-treating with Aqua and her friends. She said to meet her at Peach's Castle."
"You sure you don't need one of us to come with you? After all, it's dark and scary out there!" Luigi shivers just thinking about it.
"I'll be fine! It's the Mushroom Kingdom. What's the worst that can happen? See you later!" Alex put his candy in the bag and ran off.
"He'll be okay, bro. He's a brave kid!" Mario assured.
[[BGM: Forever Forest - Paper Mario]]
Up in Toad Town, Alex witnessed all sorts of spooky attractions. There were toad kids walking around dressed as various characters he's seen before like Mickey Mouse, SpongeBob, Spiderman, Captain America, and more he couldn't name! There were a few yoshis present in an area with apples in water baskets, in which said yoshis would dump their heads in the baskets. One of them caught an apple in his teeth and celebrated, until the apple fell down their throat without being chewed. The yoshi started to choke on the apple until two other yoshis came to help and forced the apple out. It went flying and clogged up Birdo's mouth. She fumed with anger as the three yoshis smiled sheepishly, then she fired it out and sent the yoshis running.
Alex cringed at this strange sight and moved on. As he walked a little bit more, the kid felt a strange little tingle on his spine. The presence kept getting more and more intense… until he turned around, and the boo trying to prank him instantly whimpered and covered his eyes. Alex giggled and walked backed away staring directly at the boo until he was out of sight. The boo uncovered his eyes and facepalmed.
"Dammit!" he cursed. "Everytime!"
Alex saw Peach's Castle in the distance. It was all decked out for the holiday with jack o' lanterns present where the flags would usually be, and orange lights lit all over, along with candles seen through the windows. He was about to make a run towards the castle and greet the others with an excited grin, but then he stopped when he ran past a neon sign and walked back to look at it.
[[BGM end]]
"Assistance wanted. Special rare candy in store for those interested," Alex read. Curiously, he walked inside to see what was up.
[[BGM: Professor E. Gadd - Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon]]
The boy found himself wandering into a high tech laboratory filled with all sorts of wacky inventions. He didn't touch them out of worry that he might get in trouble, so he just continued down the path laid out for him. At the end of the path, he found this large machine. It had a large monitor next to it, and an empty doorway. A man in a chair appeared to be operating it.
"Uh, hello?" said Alex. "I'm here about the 'assistance'."
The man turned his chair to reveal his short stature with a round head, swirly glasses, a buck tooth, a tuft of white hair, and a white lab coat.
"Ah, what a curious young toad you are. Welcome! You're in for quite the ride, youngster. For I have a special assignment for you that's out of this world!" the professor greeted.
"I-I'm not a toad. I'm just dressed as one," Alex corrected. "Hey… aren't you that scientist guy from Luigi's Mansion?"
"So you've heard of me," said E. Gadd. "Well, then I guess I don't need to introduce myself. What's your name, my friend?"
"Alex. So what's this about?"
"I'm glad you asked! After years of great studies, I have finally invented a machine that can cross realities, and allow us to enter other worlds without the use of the rare warp whistle. I need a test subject to test this baby out! You interested?"
"Other realities?!" Alex gasped in awe. He only knew of two realities. His own and Mario's. So the idea of finding more of them excited him to no end! He needed to explore these! He could brag about it to all of his friends an put his name down in the history books. Not to mention the possible new friends he could make in these new realities. "Let's-a go!"
"Splendid! I'll set you up with a dimension that's similar enough to our own. I'd rather not discomfort you with an unfamiliar environment until the machine has been tested enough."
Professor E. Gadd got to work on his computer and began searching dimensions. First to come up was an underwater street with a rock, an easter island head, and a pineapple.
"Too much water…"
Next up was a grassy field with strangely natural loops formed. A blue flash quickly zipped through these loops.
"Err… too unnatural."
Then came a seemingly western area with old rusted buildings and strange men using weapons.
"You are dead! Not big surprise!" said a heavy voice.
"Too weird and violent!"
Next was a dimension where some lady was sitting on a boombox bopping her head back and forth to music while a blue-haired man appeared to be rapping in some indiscernible language to it.
"Uh… can you sing?"
"I… haven't done it before," Alex said confused.
"Then no."
The last dimension shown was a rainforest set on fire. A yellow tailess fox was shown on the ground crying. Next to him was a blue hedgehog standing next to him with decaying blue fur. He turned towards the camera to reveal a sharp toothy grin, black eyes with red irises, and an 'X' symbol slashed into his torso.
"I AM GOD!" the hedgehog proclaimed in a demonic voice. E. Gadd immediately shut off that dimension.
"Definitely not that one!"
At last, the professor found a dimension similar enough to Mario's. It resembled the first Super Mario Bros. game, complete with the exact 8 bit aesthetic.
"Perfect!"
"Woah! It looks just like Super Mario Bros.!" Alex smiled.
"Exactly! And you'll get to witness it first hand!" The Professor opened up the portal to the dimension. "Good luck out there! I'll be watching you from here, and if anything goes wrong, I'll be sure to send you back immediately."
"Let's-a go!" Alex jumped into the portal.
[[BGM end]]
[[BGM: Overworld - Super Mario Bros.]]
Alex woke up and stared down at his hands. They were entirely pixelated! In fact, everything around him was pixelated! The castle, the floor, the sky, the clouds, the blocks. It was World 1-1 just as he remembered it. But now he was witnessing it in person!
"This is incredible!" said Alex in excitement. He now looked exactly like any other toad due to the pixel limitations. But it meant he could fit in with this world, so he didn't mind!
The first thing Alex chose to do was hit a ? block to get a mushroom. He remembered exactly which one it was, too! The first ? block in the line of bricks. Alex curled his fist and jumped up to get. But then the screen suddenly went static. When it returned to normal, all the ? blocks turned into hit blocks without anything coming out, and Alex just hit his head on them.
"Ow… Hey! Where's my mushroom?!' Alex angrily looked around for it, but it was nowhere to be found. "So that's how you wanna play it, dimension? Fine! I don't need a mushroom anyways!"
Alex just moved one jumping along the pipes and stomped the goombas along the way. Strangely, the pipe which would normally lead to the bonus room was blocked. Not like the kid minded anyways. He knew this level by memory, so he'd take the long way without trouble.
[[BGM pause]]
Just as he got across the gap leading to the next part, the world went black.
"What happened?! Hello?" Alex called out. He only got one response.
"AAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEXXXX…"
"Wh-Who's there?!"
[[resume "Overworld"]]
No answer. The dimension went on like nothing happened, only now it was nighttime. And now, not only were all the ? blocks hit, but there was not a single enemy in sight. Alex's enjoyment of this place was quickly starting to falter.
"Something isn't right here…" he said to himself. Alex just continued through the level as normal. It wasn't at all difficult. But knowing the level at heart made the lack of powerups and enemies throw him off a lot. It felt very, VERY wrong! The kid's anxiety was growing by the second. He was starting to regret accepting this offer. Is a rare candy really worth this trouble?
He figured maybe once he beat the level, E. Gadd would send him back. So he climbed up the stairs in preparation to grab the flagpole and walk into the castle. But upon reaching the top, the world went black again. He heard that same demon-like voice again.
[[BGM end]]
"Innocence… doesn't… get you… FAR!"
Meanwhile at Mario's Pad, the plumbers heard a knock at their door and opened up. Present were Aqua, Toad, and Toadette. Aqua was wearing an orange skirt with a blue tie, along with makeshift bunny ears. She was dressed as Cream the Rabbit.
Toadette wore a silver skirt with a black bottom, an even longer cyan necktie, and her pigtails were painted cyan blue. She was dressed as Hatsune Miku.
Finally, Toad wore a construction outfit with a makeshift beard and a pair of sunglasses. He was dressed as Foreman Spike.
"Trick or Treat!" the three of them exclaimed.
"Oh hoho! Happy Halloween, amicos!" Mario joyfully greeted.
"Take 2 each!" Luigi instructed as he handed out the candy basket. Each of them did as told. Toad tried to take a third candy, but Luigi stared him in the eye. "What did I just say…?"
Toad immediately put it back. "Sir, yes sir!"
Aqua smile turned into a worried frown. "Hey, have you guys seen Alex? He was supposed to go trick-or-treating with us, but he hasn't shown up."
"He came here a half hour ago telling us he was gonna go with you," said Mario.
"Could he be lost?" wondered Luigi.
"Well, we better go out and find him!" Mario placed the candy basket outside with a "Take 2!" sign. Not long after, Luigi received a ringtone on his Gameboy Horror SP. He quickly opened it up to see a panicked E. Gadd.
"Hey professor! What's up?"
"Luigi! Mario! I need you both to come to my lab in Toad Town immediately! It's an emergency!" E. Gadd uttered desperately.
"We're on our way!" said Mario. They shut the Gameboy Horror SP and ran for it. The trick-or-treaters followed.
Back in the game…
[[BGM: MX Ambience - Mario '85]]
Alex was shaking in place at what he was witnessing. What he once saw as the happy and innocent Mario world had twisted itself into something darker. The hills in the background now had large cycloptic eyes staring right at him. The clouds in the sky were no longer just ordinary clouds with cute little black eyes, but now had monstrous faces with realistic eyes in tiny sockets and a large mouth with an array of sharp teeth.
The flagpole ahead of him was broken with blood smeared on it, with the flag itself on the ground torn apart. The castle ahead was also in ruins. Two entities stood in front of the destroyed castle. One of them was a toad who looked scared, and the other was what looked like Mario. Something was off, though. His hat obscured his eyes, and he appeared to just stare at the frightened toad.
Alex didn't know what to do. Why was this toad afraid? That was Mario… right? He couldn't have done this, could he? He was a hero! Without warning however, 'Mario' grew a wicked smile. More wicked than that of Wario's. His skin started to pale out, becoming more whitish and soulless. His shirt turned into a pitch black color while his overalls and cap became a deep crimson red. As if that weren't bad enough, 'Mario' grew in size, his torso, arms, legs, and even face became bigger. He was a muscular man who would give both Wario and Bowser a run for their money in terms of size. His eyes were also revealed, showing completely empty sockets.
After revealing his true form, this Mario-like creature grabbed the toad by the throat. His smile grew ever so wider upon hearing his desperate gasps for air. Finally, once the toad passed out, the entity grew the toad so hard at the broken flagpole, that he was split into pieces.
After he died, the being turned his gaze towards Alex. His mouth gaping wide like a child staring at their favorite dessert. Alex couldn't jerk a muscle. He only stood there… frozen… unable to comprehend what his eyes witnessed. Mario, the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, his idol, his best friend, casually murdering a toad right in front of his eyes?
No! He told himself several times in his head that this was not Mario. It couldn't be! After what felt like hours of tense staring (really only 15 seconds), the Mario-like beast finally spoke in that same horrifying voice he's heard.
"Hello, Alex. Why are you shaking? Don't you recognize your best friend?" he said in a faux affable demeanor.
Alex didn't respond. He didn't dare speak to this… thing!
"Let's-a play some tag! I'll give you a five second head start."
[[BGM: Game Over (Instrumental) - Super Mario Bros. Funk Mix {start at 1:00}]]
Alex wasted no time and ran straight down the stairs. His five second head start wasn't long, as 'Mario' crashed right through the stairs like they were nothing, and got right on the kid's tail. Alex never moved through 1-1 backwards before, as the game never allowed that, but now he had to learn and memorize the level backwards if he wanted to keep his game going.
Alex jumped straight over the blocks and pipes he went across before, which the monster would effortlessly break through like they were glass. Alex thankfully couldn't run out of stamina thanks to video game logic, otherwise he'd be toast for sure.
"COME BACK HERE!" the monster roared.
Alex thought the level would be exactly the same, just backwards. But then his eyes widened to see that some blocks towards the beginning of the normal level were rearranged and the ground below him was gone. He had no time to think, as the Mario impostor wasn't slowing down. So he just took the leap onto the blocks and ran across as fast as possible. The Mario impostor noticed the lack of ground and leaped as well. Unfortunately for him, his strength made him break right through the blocks and he fell into the abyss.
[[BGM pause]]
Alex crossed safely and landed next to the pipe that would lead to the bonus room and watched the monster fall. He smiled and was about to heave a sigh of relief, only to be brought back to panic when said monster jumped right out of the pit in the same fashion of Mario's usual jumps, even imitating Mario's usual demeanor.
[[resume "Game Over (instrumental)"]]
"WAHOOOOoOoOoOo!"
Alex screamed and jumped up the pipes, barely making it out of the man's grasp as he ran past the first blocks and saw a green pipe up ahead. This was it, for sure! He was home free!
"COME BACK HERE!"
Alex didn't stare turn back and bolted right in the pipe. The creature stopped in front of the pipe and growled.
[[BGM end]]
"So that's how you want to play it, huh? I'm not finished with you yet, Alex!"
Alex reached an underground area. He assumed it was 1-2, but not entirely sure since the pipe normally leading there was after the flagpole. Regardless, he was safe from 'Mario'… for now, at least. But he had to wonder, why? Why does the Mario of this world want to kill him? Well, it hit him. This wasn't Mario. This was some sort of twisted version of him trying to lead victims into his trap before he along with the rest of this world reveal their true nature. He was in a nightmare world, and he had to get the hell out of it.
"Why didn't that professor send me back like he said he would?!" was all Alex could say at the moment.
"Oh, Alex… Come out, come out wherever you are…"
Alex's heart stopped and he quickly hid behind some rubble before the Mario creature's face, now gigantic, peeked out of the background darkness and searched around before disappearing again.
"That was a close one…" he whispered.
The game went on as a hide and seek chase. Alex had to keep hiding behind background walls whenever the Mario monster peeked his head out of the darkness.
"I know you're down here, Alex. You can run, but you cannot hide!"
While hiding, 'Luigi' popped up and grabbed Alex. The man covered his mouth before he could scream, he looked around and took Alex into a hidden pipe where they landed into a secret room.
"Are you alright?"
"G-Get away from me! You are not Luigi!" Alex yelled.
"You're right. I'm not," said the Luigi lookalike in a calm demeanor. "My name is Lucas, and I am just as much of a victim in this as you are."
Alex didn't change his expression. "How should I believe that?! How do I know you're not some Hulk-like monster like that Mario impostor?!"
"If I were like MX, none of his other victims would trust me."
After he said that, various toads in the room came out of hiding.
"So he got another one? What's new?"
"The poor guy…"
All the toads muttered amongst themselves. Alex was just too confused to have any patience.
"What are you guys talking about?! Who's MX?!"
"The spirit who was chasing you and the rest of us down," explained Lucas. "MX learned of the popularity of Super Mario Bros. and created this very world in order to trick children into coming in before killing them and trapping their souls into an endless cycle. I was unfortunate to be his first victim."
Alex calmed down a bit and listened.
"It was 1985. My 8th birthday. My Uncle Mark gave me a special edition of Super Mario Bros. I was ecstatic! My classmates told me all about this game and I couldn't wait to play it. I opened the game and played through the first level. But then the screen flashed and I passed out. I woke up in the game, stuck in this Luigi vessel. Now I spend all my days getting hunted down and killed by MX over and over again. I don't know how much time has passed since, but I don't want to know!"
The other toads began to tell stories, having also once been kids in the real world like Lucas who played the cursed game. Alex noticed that they all were apparently children when MX took their lives. Does this guy only go after children? Why?
When it was Alex's turn to explain his story, he stuttered a bit.
"I-I didn't… come here the same way you guys did. I came here from an inter dimensional machine."
Lucas shrunk back even though he was already in his small form. "Wh-What?!"
"It's true! I'm not in a vessel! I only look this way because I'm wearing a Halloween costume."
"Then… it might be too late for us… But maybe there's hope for you! Just go back the way you came!" one victim said.
"You really think so?" said Alex.
"Yes. But…" Lucas warned. "You cannot let MX kill you! Should you die by his hands, your soul will be trapped here forever and be doomed to endlessly dying and being revived!"
[[BGM: Run! - Mario '85]]
Just then, MX broke into the room stomping out two toads. All the toads panic as MX proceeds to slaughter them all. After he gets all of them, he grabs Lucas by the throat.
"Lucas!" Alex yells.
"I see you've met my old pal, Lucas. We've had great times together, didn't we?"
Lucas growled with sheer hatred.
"Let him go!" Alex ordered.
"Why? We're having too much fun!" MX giddied with glee. "Besides, letting him go wouldn't do much since he's stuck here, anyways."
"J-Just go, Alex! Save yourself!" Lucas said in his last breaths before his game ended.
"NO!"
"Oh, relax! He'll be back as long as I allow it. And so will you once I'm finished here."
MX grabbed Alex and threw him at a pipe so hard that he put a massive dent into it. The kid's nose was now bleeding and he had a black eye.
"I overheard the talks. You came here through a different method? Fascinating. Perhaps I could use your abilities to find even more playmates."
MX used his strong hand to hold Alex in place and started to crush him. "Wh-What did I ever do to you?" Alex cried.
"You ran from the inevitable, but the inevitable caught up to you. And now, times up. You and I are gonna have so much fun together, Alex. Any last words?"
Alex had little room to speak, but managed to utter a few words. "N-No… f-fair…"
"That's what they always say. GAME OVER!"
MX let out the most terrifying laugh Alex had ever heard as he felt the life fading from his eyes.
Meanwhile in the real Mushroom Kingdom, E. Gadd showed the Mario Bros. and the trick or treaters the monitor showing MX about to kill Alex.
"NO! ALEX!" Aqua shouted.
"FIGHT HIM! Fight!" Toad chanted.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, E. GADD?! HE'S A FRICKING CHILD!" Mario cursed.
"I've tried to send him back, but MX completely overtook my systems!" E. Gadd explained. "That's why I brought you here! Beat MX and get Alex back here safe and sound!"
"I'm going, Luigi! Hold down the fort!"
"Mario, NO!" Too late. Mario entered the portal without hesitation.
Mario landed in the dimension in his classic 8 bit form and used a superstar to knock MX back. Alex was released from his grip and after taking breaths, smiled.
"MARIO! Y-You're the real one, right?"
"I'm as-a real as Mario can get, mi amico!" he winked.
Just then, MX got up and grinned.
"Ah, my inspiration. It's such an honor to finally meet you!" MX formally greeted.
Mario sneered. "And it's an absolute horror to meet you! You sicken me! Using my likeness so you can lure in innocent children and torment them?! Absolutely despicable!"
"Innocence never got them far, anyways. I'm just having some fun!"
"If this is your idea of fun, you're a downright sociopath! And now, I'm gonna end this!" Mario barked.
MX laughed once again. "Your persistence. I've always admired that about you, Mario. But you can't kill me. I was born when the universe began, and will die when it ends! I will keep on playing with the children until the end of time!"
"I may not be able to kill you, but I can assure that you never lay a finger on Alex again!"
Mario rushed towards MX with a fire flower and gave him a massive beat down. Alex watched in awe as the two Mario's were neck to neck and beat each other down. In the end, Mario manages to knock MX unconscious with one of his superstars, allowing E. Gadd to finally send them both back home.
[[BGM end]]
The two of them were back in their three dimensional forms and were beaten up real bad. But what mattered is that they were alive, and their friends came to hug them.
"DON'T SCARE US LIKE THAT AGAIN, BRO!" Luigi bawled.
"I'm alright, Luigi. No impostor can beat the real deal Super Mario!"
"Hahahaha!" E. Gadd applauded. "Welcome back, Mario and Alex! You're both safe and sound, and the invention was a success!"
But the others were not at all pleased. In fact, they stared angrily at the professor.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" He took out a gooey substance in a bag. "Here you go, Alex! The super rare candy I was talking about. Try it! It's really goo-"
Alex slapped the candy out of his hands.
"I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR STUPID CANDY! I ALMOST GOT MY SOUL TRAPPED IN THAT HELLSCAPE FOREVER!" the boy screamed and then turned to leave.
"Professor, do us a huge favor and NEVER USE CHILDREN AS YOUR TEST MONKEYS AGAIN!" Mario added before they all left.
"U-Understood… Happy Halloween…"
Meanwhile…
"Impressive... You have gotten very far… Unfortunately... I can't let you go any longer… You're now out of words to read... But don't worry. The game isn't over. We'll be here... Together. Until me and my friends make new games to play with you... See you next time. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" MX closed the fic.
And… we're done! Thank you so much for reading, and Happy Halloween! Before I go, here are some things to note.
1. The cameo in the last dimension before MX's is NOT Sonic exe. It's of Lord X from Sonic PC Port. The very game to inspire this one and is MX's canonical best friend.
2. MX canonically goes after only children. He actually admires Mario and didn't want to kill him, so he was going easy.
3. MX adopts Mario's general attitude, and thus is a nice guy when not hunting children. Adopting Mario's attitude is how he knows Alex's name.
Finally, character credits.
Aqua is owned by me.
Alex is owned by nintendoscript15.
MX is currently owned by Inferno on Twitter.
