Chapter 5: Climb
Time faded away within the darkness, and Mario wasn't sure whether if had been minutes or hours before he emerged again. He just kept falling, falling, falling. But then, something sudden. He started falling in the other direction, landing with a thud on the hard asphalt of the street. As his eyes adjusted to the light of the twilight, he clambered to his feet in a confused daze. He looked around. There was a large crowd in front of him, and a few police cars. he looked forward and upward, and was stunned to see the large red metal beams of the construction site. High above the ground were the vague figures of none other than Donkey Kong and Pauline. Instantly, he charged forward through the crowd. As he neared the entrance, which was blocked by a police barricade, he spotted Mr. Spike.
"Hey, what's going on?"
"Aw, i's awful, Mario!" he said, clearly worried. "Da palice can't shoot dat monkey down, 'cause he's a 'endange-ad species' er some garbage like that. They got guys from da zoo comin' down ta tranq 'im, but in da meantime... look!" Mario gazed upwards at Pauline, still trembling in fear.
"I know, sir. We've gotta save her."
"Eh? Save who?"
"What?"
"D'only thing that needs savin' right now is my buildin'!" Mario looked back. Some of the beams were becoming loose, and the cable for the lift had snapped.
"In addition ta that," the disconcerted foreman continued, "he spilled about six er seven barrels a' oil when 'e came stormin' in here. An', he's been lobbin' barrels a' gasoline fer da construction machines at us from up top! Dis is gonna cost me a fortune!" Mario just looked at the greedy man in shock. He hadn't even noticed Pauline. He was just concerned with keeping his pockets lined. Not unlike Donkey Kong before him, a rage overtook Mario, and before he knew what he had done, Mr. Spike was lying unconscious with a broken nose, and Mario's fist was a little numb.
He turned and leapt over the barracade, ignoring the shouts of the officers behind him. He made a beeline for a ladder that led up to the second story, but dodged to the side suddenly as a large wooden barrel came crashing down right where he was standing. It broke open instantly, splashing gasoline everywhere. Undeterred, Mario dashed forward, and grabbed the ladder, scrambling up it as quickly as he could. As he reached the top, he had to jump immediately to avoid being knocked off by another barrel that was rolling towards him. The barrel continued as he fell back onto the thin, crooked beam, and rolled off onto the ground, breaking open.
Mario dashed for the ladder leading to the second story, but stopped suddenly and gripped the ladder tight as he heard the barrel slam down on the beam above him, then bounce down and shatter on the beam he had just departed. Still determined, he continued his climb. He stopped, however, when he found an object that was lying on the beam. It was a very familiar object, and he smiled as he reached down and picked it up.
It was the sledge hammer he had thrown at the construction worker earlier that day.