breath20k
Thank you!
CVGWJames
You too, man!
LiamTheYoshi
I wouldn't trust that kind of person at all. I'd delete that text immediately.
mariobroultimate
Yeah. That scene was intense, no doubt. As for your Bros. Attack ideas, I'll see where to implement them later on.
Nataly Guardado
I'd say Jeremy is just as cute as Red Yoshi when she was just a baby.
...
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Welcome to 2021, guys! To start off the New Year, let's try and find out who the secret person called "X" is and what the texts he's sending mean.
...
Chapter 26: Sneaking and Peeking
"What blockade?" Mario asked. "And are we even allowed to go back to the minor league locker room?"
"As long as no one sees us, we'll be good," Luigi reassured Mario. He slowly opened the door and quietly led Mario and Jeremy back to the minor league locker room. The security guards paid no mind to them at all.
"All right-y. Now where?" Mario asked.
"Let's split up," Jeremy suggested. "There might be a hidden passage somewhere."
With that, the group split up. Mario checked in the quarters, looking underneath the bunk beds; Luigi checked the bathroom's shower stalls and tapped all the walls to determine if there was a potential hole within. Finally, Jeremy was able to open each locker and search for a passage inside.
Suddenly, Luigi's hand accidentally punched through the wall to the left of the leftmost sink, revealing a small tunnel that can be only crawled through. He hurried to the center of the locker room and waved his hand to get Mario and Jeremy's attention.
"I found a tunnel next to the sinks," Luigi whispered. "Come on."
Luigi led Mario and Jeremy to the tunnel and crawled inside first. Mario and Jeremy followed behind. On the other side of the tunnel was a small room with a light red and yellow brick wall in front.
Are we supposed to smash this wall? Mario wondered. He took out his hammer and destroyed the brick wall with just one hit. The next room in front was an abandoned storage room with broken computers and empty bookshelves.
The group immediately started looking around for a potential clue within. Suddenly, Mario noticed a withered piece of paper inside one of the computer's broken monitors. He carefully pulled it out, making sure to not cut his hand on the glass.
"Guys. I found a note inside," Mario said. He unfolded the paper, which bore a diagram of a cage with coils running all over the top and a giant lightbulb on top. "Oh. It's a diagram of a machine."
"But what is this?" Jeremy asked. "I'm not sure if it relates to the Crystal Stars or not. Who'd even leave something like this lying around?"
"Let's keep that paper and study it more later," Luigi offered.
"Okey-dokey," Mario agreed. He, Luigi, and Jeremy went through the tunnel back to the minor league locker room.
Suddenly, Mario found himself standing in front of Jolene, who was waiting next to the sinks. "Whoa! Jolene! What are you doing here?" he asked with surprise.
"Uh, the question is: what are you doing here?" Jolene argued. "You, Mr. Ibáñez, and Jeremy! Major-league fighters are forbidden in the minor league locker room."
"I know. But someone told us to-"
Jolene interrupted by snatching the diagram out of Mario's hand.
"Hey! I found that thing!"
"I'll be taking this, thank you very much," Jolene said before walking away.
"Jolene! Give it back!" Mario shouted as he tried to follow her. "Please!"
"Mario, let her leave," Luigi said, stopping Mario in his tracks. "We're busted anyway."
"How did she know we walked in?" Mario groaned with irritation. "No one was around!"
"Well, at least we tried," Jeremy said.
Despite being angry, Mario went with Luigi and Jeremy back to the major league locker room.
"Let's get some more matches in," Luigi offered.
"Fine..." Mario sighed as he reserved the next match at 1:25 PM, which paired the group against The Shellshockers: two Shady Koopas and one Shady Paratroopa. The conditions were, "No special moves, no jumping."
During the fight, Jeremy ate up the first Shady Koopa and spit it at the Shady Paratroopa, clipping its wings. The shell ricocheted after the impact toward Mario, who punched it at the first Shady Koopa; both were launched out of the ring. Finally, the second Shady Koopa retreated into its shell and hurtled forward.
Luigi finished the match using his forward smash attack from the Super Smash Bros. games. The Shady Koopa bounced off the ropes and fell on his stomach following the attack.
In the end, the Mario Bros and Jeremy were placed at Rank 7 and won 350 Coins each; Mario and Luigi's money banks now had 2,515 Coins while Jeremy's bank had 995.
Before Mario could reserve the next match, another group text was sent to him and Luigi: "Keep sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong and you are D-E-A-D M-E-A-T."
Mario felt his heart stop for a brief second, having been frightened by the text.
"You okay, González?" Jeremy asked with concern after hearing Mario gasp.
"I... I didn't expect this kind of text," Mario answered.
"Me neither," Luigi chimed in. "I'm thinking that isn't the 'X' guy or whatever. I mean, who would send something like that?"
"I don't want to talk about it," Mario said. "It's only gonna make me more anxious."
Mario went ahead and reserved another match at 1:45 PM against The Fuzz, which consisted of a Fuzzy, a Green Fuzzy, and a Flower Fuzzy. There were no fighting conditions, but his ring name wasn't listed next to Luigi and Jeremy's names. Instead of being bummed out, he was relieved as he recalled being bitten by a Fuzzy at Shhwonk Fortress yesterday.
"Go get 'em for me, bro," Mario told Luigi as the latter went with Jeremy to the arena.
Again, the match was easy as pie for Luigi and Jeremy. First, Luigi used his Thunderhand move to stun the three Fuzzies; Jeremy then ate the Green Fuzzy and spat it at the black Fuzzy, sending them out of the ring. Finally, Luigi defeated the Flower Fuzzy with his Fire Jump Punch move. By the time the bell rang to end the match, the Flower Fuzzy was scorched from the finishing attack.
As expected, Mario didn't win anything since he wasn't a part of the match. But Luigi and Jeremy each won 360 Coins, putting their money banks at 2,875 and 1,355 Coins respectively, and all three were moved to Rank 6.
Since Mario anticipated another text being sent to him and Luigi's phone, he held his hands in front. "Not yet."
"Why?" Luigi asked.
"What if that 'X' guy or someone else texts us?"
"Then we'll read it," Jeremy answered.
"But I don't trust him. I don't know if he's luring us to a trap or something," Mario said.
"That's possible," Luigi responded. "But don't worry about it, Mario. I'll fight for you if anything happens. Not talking about the matches. I mean if the 'X' guy ambushes us."
"Okay. Thank you," Mario sighed.
The next match would pin Mario and friends against The Magikoopa Masters at 2:00 PM. The fighting conditions listed were, "Let opponents attack at least three times, finish with a Ground Pound."
The Magikoopa Masters comprised a Red Magikoopa, a Green Magikoopa, and a White Magikoopa.
Prior to the battle, Mario quipped, "Where's your boss, huh? Did Kamek send you here?"
"Kamek? Who is he?" the White Magikoopa lied.
"He's Bowser's right-hand man, dumbbell!" Luigi retorted before the bell rang.
The Red Magikoopa shot a fiery spell, which Mario canceled with a barrage of fireballs. The Green Magikoopa shot a green-colored spell, which confused the group initially.
Just then, the spell turned into a Green Koopa Shell that bashed Luigi in the face. He grabbed his face and dropped to his knees, groaning with pain.
"I got them!" Jeremy exclaimed while Mario tended to Luigi.
In simultaneous fashion, the White Magikoopa shot a magic blast shaped like a large bullet while Jeremy ate the Koopa Shell and spat it at the Red Magikoopa. Unfortunately, he was hit by the magic blast and fell on his stomach.
"You!" Mario said with gritted teeth, glaring at the Green and White Magikoopas. As he charged toward the Magikoopas, they started to throw magic blasts in rapid-fire mode. He was quick enough to dodge the blasts and snatch both Magikoopas' wands.
Knowing Mario had to finish the match per the conditions, he leaped up and started to Ground Pound the floor. But he flung both wands downward, creating a magical shockwave that immobilized both Magikoopas and flung Luigi and Jeremy into the ropes behind them.
The match ended with Mario, Luigi, and Jeremy as the winners once more. After being placed in Rank 5, they each won 375 Coins; Mario stood at 2,890, Luigi stood at 3,250, and Jeremy stood at 1,730.
"You both good?" Mario asked Luigi and Jeremy.
"Yeah." "I'm fine," Luigi and Jeremy answered, respectively.
At 2:15 PM; Mario, Luigi, Jeremy headed back to the arena to face Craw-Daddy with the conditions being, "No jumping, show off during at least one attack."
I guess we can't jump or else Craw-Daddy will stab our feet, Mario thought before the bell rang. He decided to engage in a "sword fight" with Craw-Daddy using his hammer as his weapon.
...
Meanwhile; Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie watched on as Mario battled Craw-Daddy.
"Break his spear!" "Go, my Mario!" Koops and Flurrie shouted.
Goombella only observed the match silently.
...
"Give up already!" Mario yelled while continuing to swing his hammer at Craw-Daddy's spear.
"Never! I will drag you through the portal to Hell!" Craw-Daddy boasted.
Just then, Mario noticed Luigi charging his Green Missile move behind his back and pinned Craw-Daddy's spear against the ropes.
"Be...still..." Mario winced.
Finally, Luigi fired himself toward Craw-Daddy, flexing his arms for the audience. The force of the impact was so violent that Craw-Daddy literally broke through the ropes and fell a short distance from the ring.
The Mario Bros high-fived each other as the referee ended the match.
Now at Rank 4, Mario and friends were awarded 390 Coins each for their victory. Mario's bank had 3,280 Coins, Luigi's total was 3,640 Coins, and Jeremy stood at 2,120.
Mario carefully counted all the Coin amounts plus the three 50 Coin bonuses using his phone's calculator. "So far, we have 9,190 Coins altogether!" he exclaimed.
"Wow! How much will we win when we defeat Rawk Hawk?" Luigi wondered.
"I'll say 1,000 each," Jeremy answered. "Maybe more or less. Who knows?"
Suddenly, Mario and Luigi received another group text: "gO tO tHe TeLePhOnE bOoTh OuT oN tHe PaViLiOn. FrOm X."
"What phone booth?" Mario asked. "I didn't see one when we first arrived."
"Maybe we didn't look hard enough," Luigi said.
Without further ado; Mario, Luigi, and Jeremy exited the major league locker room and started to walk to the front entrance. Just as they turned the corner in the foyer, Rawk Hawk jumped in front.
"González! Ibáñez! Good timing, you pudgy little punks!" Rawk Hawk said.
Mario stood in front of Jeremy, who was already shaking with fear. "Stay away from Jeremy!" he warned Rawk Hawk.
"Or else what? You'll steal my Champ Belt? Ha! You better quit stealing the spotlight from me or I will put you through a train of hurt! Quit making such a splash if you value your puny lives! Harharharharharhar!"
Rawk Hawk walked away, relieving all but Jeremy.
"Va bene, mi amico, (It's okay, my friend.)" Mario said softly in Italian. "He's gone."
"I'm s-sorry..." Jeremy said in a shaky voice. "I d-don't know why I g-got scared..."
"He won't choke you again. I promise."
Jeremy took a deep breath before the group went outside.
"I'll look near the Hot Dog Stand. Luigi, check near the gelato shop. Jeremy, go to the blimp station," Mario instructed Luigi and Jeremy.
With that; Mario, Luigi, and Jeremy split up.
Mario looked behind the Hot Dog Stand and in the corner store next to it, but found nothing.
...
Luigi went inside the Fresh Gelato Shop but stopped upon seeing the gelato stand in front.
I'd love to get another cup of pistachio, Luigi thought to himself, but he shook his head. Nah. Maybe later.
There was no phone booth inside the Fresh Gelato Shop, so Luigi went back outside and scouted the right side of Glitzville.
...
Why a phone booth out of all places? Is that 'X' person going to call us? Jeremy wondered. He paced around the bottom end of Glitzville where the blimp station was located.
Suddenly, Jeremy noticed a red structure with glass windows on the bottom-left corner. He immediately ran up to it and recognized the structure as a telephone box; specifically, a vintage British version. He went inside and found a gray key on top of the AED container.
This could be useful.
Jeremy ran back to the center of Glitzville and waited for the Mario Bros to rejoin him. They eventually met up with Jeremy a few minutes later.
"Where'd you get the key?" Mario asked, noticing the key in Jeremy's hand.
"It was in that phone box over there." Jeremy pointed to the telephone box.
Again, Mario and Luigi's phones received another text, "gO tO tHe StOrAgE rOoM nExT tO gRuBbA's OfFiCe. From X."
"What the freak is his problem?" Luigi questioned. "Did this guy read our minds or...spy on us?"
"Looks like it. But to me, it's like a weird version of a scavenger hunt," Mario chuckled. He led Luigi and Jeremy back into the Glitz Pit's long hallway.
...
"So you're telling me that you have no idea who got inside? What do we pay you for?" Jolene asked a security guard standing next to a locked door.
"I'm awful sorry, Ms. Jolene. I heard a noise in there, but I couldn't find nothing..." the guard answered.
"Hmph. Fine, leave the rest of this matter to me. Go back to your post. And listen to me carefully: do not ever tell anyone of this or I'll have your job."
"Whatever," the guard sighed before walking off. It was then that Mario and friends entered the hallway.
Jolene saw them out of the corner of her eye and stopped them saying, "Hold it!"
"What's the matter, Jolene?" Mario asked. "You look anxious."
"I... This... This doesn't concern you!" Jolene hesitated. "What business do you have here?!"
"We didn't mean to interrupt-"
"Enough!" Jolene interrupted Luigi. "Just... Just stay out of places where you have no business being, okay?!" Jolene ran off quickly.
"Something's wrong with her," Mario said. "Is she hiding a secret?"
"Probably," Jeremy replied.
Mario went and used the key to unlock the door, which unveiled a storage room with large wooden crates all over the place.
"Okay... What do we find here...?" Mario asked with confusion.
The group checked all the crates' exteriors for any attached notes; only one had a medium-sized piece of yellow paper taped to the side. Mario took the paper and read the message out loud, "This arena holds many secrets. Take extra care, lest you end up like those poor souls upstairs."
"It is a scavenger hunt," Luigi said. "This might be one of the clues leading to the real Crystal Star."
Right on cue, another text was sent to Mario and Luigi, "fInD tHe LaDdEr SwItCh To ReAcH tHe AtTiC. From X."
"The switch may be under one of these crates," Mario said. He went up to the row of crates on the left side and started pulling them away from the wall. Luigi and Jeremy helped out too.
Once all the crates were moved to the middle of the storage room, Mario saw a Blue Exclamation Point Switch on the top-left corner. He pressed the switch, opening a trapdoor in the ceiling. A wooden ladder extended to the ground a few seconds later.
"Let's climb up," Jeremy said. He started up the ladder with Mario and Luigi following behind. They reached the attic, which was barely lit up.
There were smaller crates all around the attic with a locked door on the right side and a vent cover on the left side.
Knowing they needed to find a key for the door later, Mario and friends decided to go through the vent, which was barely big enough to crawl through.
"Okay. Shut up, guys," Mario said quietly. "Don't let anyone hear us."
...
Down in Grubba's office, he was busy talking with Jolene. "So you didn't find hide or hair of nobody in the storage room, that what yer sayin'?"
"Yes, Mr. Grubba. It appeared to be secure," Jolene replied. "Don't worry about it, sir. I've taken the necessary precautions. It was most likely just a rat or something."
...
Mario heard Jolene and Grubba's voices from a lit-up vent cover ahead and slowly crawled toward it. He made sure to peek through without anyone seeing his head.
...
"Well, no big deal either way. Ain't nothin' in there we'd miss too much anyway. Thanks fer stayin' on top of this, Jolene. Hey, an' by the way, any word on King K?"
"I'm afraid we still don't know the whereabouts of King K, Mr. Grubba. And so... I deleted his spot on our roster per regulations," Jolene answered. "The Glitz Pit no longer has any official connection to KP Pete, aka King K. I have, of course, taken the same steps with all fighters who have gone missing."
...
King K's missing? Mario asked himself. What happened to him?
...
"Hoo, fighters sure have been goin' missin' a lot lately! That's the fifth this year!" Grubba exclaimed. "What on God's green Earth's goin' on? I even heard some security ijit sayin' the Pit's cursed!"
"I doubt that sir, but I certainly don't understand the disappearances," Jolene stated.
"Well, fer the time bein', tell the other fellas that King K headed on home for a spell. If word gets out about missin' fighters, it sure ain't gonna be good for business, no siree! Nasty rumors have a way of sendin' folks runnin' to the hills, know what I mean?"
"I understand completely, Mr. Grubba. I will take care of everything, sir," Jolene said.
...
"What's Mr. Grubba saying?" Luigi whispered.
"He and Jolene said King K's gone missing," Mario answered. "There's, like, four other cases this year too. I don't know if they're dead or something."
...
"Y'know, Jolene... Yer a damn fine manager, but you just plumb disappear sometimes... I gotta know! Where the hell do you go, darlin'?" Grubba asked.
"Uh..." Jolene started to sweat with a nervous look on her face. "Th-that's..."
"Come on. Spill the beans."
"Mr. Grubba... You... I know you're my boss...but... I don't believe that's any of your business..."
"Easy! Didn't mean to pry, now!" Grubba said. "How 'bout this, then... Heard of the Crystal Star?"
...
"He knows of the Crystal Star!" Jeremy said in his regular tone of voice.
"Shh! What did I say?" Mario loudly whispered.
...
"Huh?" Jolene looked up at the ceiling, having heard Jeremy's voice, but didn't see anyone in the vent.
"What're you lookin' at?" Grubba asked.
"I thought I heard something," Jolene said.
"I didn't hear nothin'. Let's move on, okay? Now, what about the Crystal Star?"
"Um... I... I've n-never heard o-of...such a th-thing, Mr. Grubba..." Jolene stuttered.
"Are you lyin'?"
"No! I'm not!" Jolene shouted. "Just let me go!"
"Okey-doke. Well, I 'preciate yer time, Ms. Jolene," Grubba said. "Buh-bye."
Jolene immediately ran out the door, leaving Grubba by himself.
"Well, if this ain't a fine how-do-you-do! Seems like good fighters are a dyin' breed. Those wild children González, Ibáñez, and Jeremy are just about the only draws I still got 'round here," Grubba said.
...
"You're lucky they didn't see us," Mario whispered.
"I'm sorry. I got excited when Jolene said 'Crystal Star'," Jeremy apologized. "But it seemed she acted pretty scared when he let that one slip out."
"I thought King K retired," Luigi pointed out. "Maybe we'll find out the truth later."
The Mario Bros and Jeremy quickly climbed down to the storage room and went back to the major league locker room.
"Holy crap," Luigi sighed. "That was way too close."
"Yeah. But I know it'll be sometime soon before we find the Crystal Star," Mario responded. He decided to reserve another match since he wanted to get to the champ position with Luigi and Jeremy by the end of the day.
For the next match at 2:40 PM, the Mario Bros and Jeremy were paired against The Big Bad Brute Bros: a Hammer Bro, a Fire Bro, and a Boomerang Bro. There were no fighting conditions listed.
"We've dealt with so many of these Bros enemies," Mario said on the way to the arena. "No prob at all."
"Yup," Luigi agreed.
Right as the match began, all three Bros' started shooting their weapons in unison. Jeremy ate up the Hammer Bro's hammers and spat them back at him, defeating the Hammer Bro immediately.
Just like with the Red Magikoopa, Mario canceled out the Fire Bro's fireballs and breakdance-kicked him out of the ring.
At the same time, Luigi caught the boomerang thrown by the Boomerang Bro and quipped, "You wanna play catch?" He shot an electric bolt at the boomerang and threw it at the Boomerang Bro, electrocuting him upon impact.
"Great job, guys!" Mario exclaimed, high-fiving Luigi and Jeremy amidst the audience chanting their ring names.
After the match, the Mario Bros and Jeremy were each awarded 400 Coins and were placed at Rank 3. Mario's bank had 3,680 Coins, Luigi stood at 4,040, and Jeremy had 2,520.
Just as Mario closed out of the computer, another group text was sent to him and Luigi, "This is your last warning! Stop snooping around about the Crystal Star! If you don't, you'll suffer the same fate as the other fighters who have gone missing..."
"Oh, Jesus..." Mario said in a worried tone of voice. "I think I know who it is."
"What?" Luigi asked.
"It's Mr. Grubba. He's the one spying on us."
"Are you sure about that?" Jeremy questioned.
Mario took a few seconds to think it over. "Um... Maybe not. It's just a guess."
"Hey! You three!" one of the Shady Koopas from the Shellshockers called out. "There's a gift for you in the quarters!"
"Okay," Mario answered, leading Luigi and Jeremy to the quarters.
On a round table between two of the left wall's bunk beds was a tray with three red wine glasses with a note in front.
The note read, "Congratulations to you, González, Ibáñez, and Jeremy! All of us are proud of you for making it this far! In the meantime, take a break and reflect on what you've done. You deserve being the champs of the Glitz Pit!" There was no signature or addresser name on the bottom of the note.
"Uh... I don't drink," Mario said. "They could've given us a slice of cake."
"Mario, one glass of wine isn't that bad," Luigi reassured Mario. "After all, it's a thing people do after winning big sporting events. Even I go to Toad Bar & Grille on occasions like this."
"What's wine?" Jeremy asked.
"It's a fancy kind of grape juice," Luigi explained. "But you only drink it in extreme moderation."
Luigi and Jeremy sat at the round table, but Mario stayed standing.
"Come on, bro. Sit down." Luigi gestured for Mario to sit down, which he reluctantly did. Mario looked at the wine glasses, which all looked the same.
Jeremy took the left glass while Luigi took the top glass.
"I'll do the toast," Luigi offered. "To us: the international soon-to-be champs of Glitzville."
Mario slowly picked up the right glass and raised it with the others.
"Cheers," Mario said in a mellow tone of voice as everyone clinked their glasses.
Despite Mario being unsure about drinking wine, he downed his glass quickly. Luigi and Jeremy finished their glasses shortly thereafter.
"Ooh. It's a bit stronger than I expected," Luigi said as he puckered his face from the wine's alcohol. Mario and Jeremy also reacted similarly.
"Is that how wine's supposed to taste?" Jeremy asked.
"Yeah. They probably put a bit more alcohol in it," Luigi replied.
Suddenly, Mario felt his stomach churn and his face warming up. He clutched his stomach immediately, feeling it slowly hurt.
"Mario? Are you okay?" Luigi asked.
"Guys... I don't feel so good..." Mario murmured. He felt like his head was spinning round and round and his hands started to tremble. "I don't know what's..."
"Bro! What's wrong?" Luigi became frightened at what Mario was going through. He couldn't tell if the wine was causing those symptoms.
"I don't... I don't know what's happening-"
Before Mario knew it, his vision became blurry and he fell backward on the floor. Luigi immediately rushed up to Mario's side; Jeremy could only watch in horror, unable to say anything.
"No! Mario!" Luigi cried with despair. "Stay with me! Please!"
"Help me..." Mario groaned. He tried to lift his head up to no avail, and finally went unconscious.