Snowflakes rained down upon the land as Toads laughed and played in the snowy countryside near a tall green tree adorned with ornaments and lights. It was Christmastime and, all across the Mushroom Kingdom, the inhabitants were ready for the big season, every home was decorated and all seemed to be perfect.
A couple Inklings walking through Toad Town, visiting from Inkopolis, tipped their hats and bade several Toads their Christmas greetings in Inkish with the Toads wishing them a happy holiday in town.
Even the Gorons of Death Mountain were enjoying Christmas in the Mushroom Kingdom, especially as one Goron was doing a gift exchange with a toad.
Hal Monitor, everyone's favorite enforcer of the law, was on patrol duty, keeping an eye out for anything I-L-L-E-G-A-L! While it was still the holidays, it didn't stop crime from causing trouble and crime was something to be worried about... especially with what was coming very soon.
Downtown in Mushroom City, a winter breeze blew through the streets, a couple posters taped to the walls rippling in the wind. One poster in particular blew off and smacked a Toad in the face before it blew away, the poster wasn't any ordinary poster however. It was a flier...
A picture on the poster showed a green-colored humanoid creature with a sinister grin and wearing a red Santa hat, holding a knife in hand.
Just above the picture, the words read; 'WATCH OUT! The Grinch Is Coming To Town.'
On the bottom, there was a message explaining why people should be worried about the Grinch. He was a dangerous criminal who terrorized Whoville a few years prior and was still on the loose since then, the last known sighting had been in Sarassaland with a few rumors saying he'd been seen stalking around Octo Valley.
As far as everyone knew, this Grinch was really bad news and it was believed that he would be making his way to the Mushroom Kingdom very soon.
In fact, unbeknownst to anyone, that time was now.
It was a cold and snowy night, everyone was in their homes, getting in the Christmas mood, while others played outside or interacted with their friends. On the east side of Mushroom City, a blue Inkling boy was walking out of a coffee shop, with some warm coco in hand. Coco, a very tasty coffee to drink during the winter.
The squid boy walked through the town, taking in the scenery as he went and sipped his drink, the Mushroom Kingdom knew how to look lively. Unbeknownst to the young Inkling, his festive mood was not about to last long.
He was finishing his coffee when a chill went up his spine, but it wasn't because of the winter itself. A thumping noise made him turn, looking to see where the sound came from.
Layn, the Inkling, gazed around, his eyes squinting as he peered into the darkness.
It was already late, usually the time people went to bed, but there was something going on.
He sipped the last of his coco, then he threw the cup in the trash and headed off down the street, heading to his apartment that was a couple blocks away.
However...
He stopped, he could hear something, someone was coming his way. He looked around, wondering what was going on. Layn heard footsteps, someone chuckling, then he heard... jingle bells?
The Inkling turned around, finding a tall green humanoid-looking creature standing in front of him, wearing a Santa hat, holding a knife and looking at him with a chilling smile. Layn was terrified, he'd seen the papers. It couldn't be, but it was...
The Grinch raised the knife.
Layn screamed.
A shink sound was heard and blue ink tainted the ground.
The night was then silent as the Grinch claimed another victim.
Somewhere uptown, somewhere not very far from the terror that had unfolded, a mustached Italian in red and blue was out for a walk, humming the overworld theme as he carried a plate of spaghetti and ate it.
Mario was in a good mood, especially when he'd just gotten his hands on his favorite food for a December night snack.
"Oh boy..." Mario said, "This-a makes Mario so happy."
He walked on, humming the overworld theme even more and making goofy noises that made a few people look at him funny. Even Toad, who was out and about, frowned with annoyance, Mario would never stop driving him nuts.
Mario walked along, enjoying his plate of spaghetti. Then he finished his meal and threw it out, the Italian belched and rubbed his belly, feeling famished.
Now, it was time to head home and get some sleep before his brother started worrying. The plumber walked through town square, walking past the large Christmas tree standing in the middle of the streets.
Just a few days before the big day, that was exciting. And yet, every night leading up to Christmas felt like Christmas, what could possibly happen?
A thud behind Mario perked his attention. He raised an eyebrow with confusion. Slowly, he turned. Finding that a Santa statue had suddenly fallen over. That wasn't right, who knocked over Santa Claus.
Despite being dim-witted, Mario had a good heart.
He walked over to the statue and propped it back up. It stood next to the statue of a reindeer, standing tall and mighty like the real Saint Nick himself. Mario chuckled pridefully and walked off, leaving the square. But just then...
SHINK-SHINK-SHINK-SHINK!
It sounded like...
Someone sharpening a knife?
Who was there?
Mario turned, staring into the darkness, there weren't many lights on in the vicinity and it was hard to tell who was there. But someone was here, he heard something sharp being sharpened, but what for?
Crunch-crunch-crunch!
The plumber froze, his heart pounding. Someone was coming. He hid behind a post box, shaking with fear. He saw a shadow, someone wearing... a Santa hat?
Santa?
Feeling curious and nervous, Mario emerged from behind the post box and saw...
Oh no!
Walking through the square and through the snowflakes, carrying a knife, was a tall green-colored being. Mario had seen pictures of him, it looked like... The Grinch. He'd read stories about the Grinch, but it couldn't be him, the Grinch never carried a knife. Whomever this guy was, he was dangerous.
The Grinch's eyes scanned the area, a sinister smile on his face. Then, he turned, looking in Mario's direction and looking right at him. He held up the knife, the blade glinted in the darkness and the strange fellow sneered evilly.
"EEK, MAMA MIA!" Mario exclaimed.
He ran, ran for his life, trying to get away from this guy who was now out for him.
The Grinch chuckled evilly, then; he began to follow Mario.
The Grinch pulled out a sharpener, he put his knife to it and began to sharpen the blade again, loud enough for anyone and everyone to hear. A Goomba walked out of a building, yawning and groaning.
"What is that racket?" The Goomba grunted.
"I am."
The Goomba looked up, looking into the eyes of The Grinch. He screamed; the blade came down. No more screams. The Grinch smirked and walked off, leaving the Goomba's lifeless form in the snow, to be taken by the cold.
Another victim. So many lives, so little time for them.
Not too far off, Mario ducked into an alleyway, shivering with fear. He could not believe that his little late-night adventure for spaghetti had led to him encountering a horrible serial killer with the face of the Grinch.
He'd heard the scream; the Grinch had taken a life. Mario thought he'd heard one a while ago, when he was getting spaghetti, but he'd decided it was just his imagination then. Now, he was regretting his dismissiveness.
This was real, this was serious.
The plumber shivered, his instincts warning him that the Grinch may be coming in this direction. Or maybe he was dreaming?
He pinched himself and closed his eyes, closed them for a minute. Then he opened then again.
No, still here, still hiding in an alleyway with his heart beating in terror. It was real.
A scream pierced his ears, the sound of a knife cutting into something, someone laughed a horrible laugh. The scream stopped. Mario poked his head out from his hiding place, he saw him from several feet away, stabbing a Koopa.
A Shy Guy stood on the sidewalk, watching with horror in his masked eyes. The Grinch turned towards him, knife in hand.
Mario wanted to scream, beg for the Shy Guy to run. But it was too late...
The Grinch's blade came down, striking its target.
Silence in the night, another life lost!
He stood over the corpses, eying them silently. Mario, with his sense of justice, covered his mouth in horror and began moving into the shadows of the alleyway. The Grinch turned, turning in the Italian's direction.
A cold smirk etched itself onto his face, he could sense fear.
With the knife still in hand, he strode across the street, walking through the snow and approaching the alleyway. Mario had gone deeper into the shadows, sneaking his way behind buildings and garbage cans, trying to escape.
Don't make a sound.
Not one sound.
He turned a corner and threw himself behind the wall of a building near a dumpster, catching a glimpse of The Grinch coming by. The Grinch stopped and turned, he walked into the alleyway, scanning the darkness for his next target.
Clunk!
The Grinch turned and brought down his knife, stabbing something. But it was just an empty soda can, already abandoned when its contents had been absorbed. The Grinch growled and approached the spot where Mario was trying to hide, he turned...
Nobody there.
He looked around, trying to find his target, unaware that Mario had climbed to the rooftop. From above, Mario watched. Then he backed away from the edge and looked at the nearest building on the other side. Slowly, he backed up, preparing to run.
Then, he ran.
He ran fast, the distance closed quickly.
Mario jumped.
The plumber leaped through the air, leaping over the alley, he made his landing on the next rooftop with a thud. Below, the sound perked The Grinch's ears, he smirked and moved out of the alley.
Mario ran across the rooftops, hoping from one roof to the next until he was on the edge of a store, an appliance store. He climbed down the ladder and ran across the street, Mario didn't look back, but he knew one thing...
Grinch was following him, there was no doubt about that.
"Mama mia..." He said breathlessly.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
He didn't look back, but the Grinch had attacked someone again, he had to have done that.
And that scream belonged to a hapless Toad.
'Poor Toadie...' Mario thought.
The plumber ran, running until he was out of breath. When he looked up, he took in the environment around him. He'd ran to a landfill; he knew this place well. This was where Bob was usually found, but the Garo wasn't home.
Mario was alone.
He looked back, seeing his footprints in the snow, and his eyes widened with terror. Despite trying to be careful, Mario had left tracks and he'd just led the Grinch to the landfill.
There was nowhere left to run, Mario had to make a stand.
It wouldn't be long.
He was coming.
And the fat Italian was on his own, no friends for back up.
What other choice did he have?
'Mario's got this.' The plumber thought.
Mario headed to the closest trash pile he could find and prepared himself for battle, he was not going to let that Grinch get him without a fight.
No, he was not going to fall.
Only one would walk away.
Only one was going to fall tonight. And it would be him.
Footsteps soon shifting through the snow sounded through the landfill, a cold breathing carried through the air, accompanied by the sharpening of a knife and a sinister smirk.
The Grinch walked into the landfill, grinning like a maniac.
Without a word, he walked through the dump, surveying the mountains of trash around him, searching for his victim. In the shadows, Mario hid, preparing to strike.
All night, he had been the hunted, the Grinch as the hunter.
Now was the time to turn the tables.
He would no longer be the hunted.
Plus, it all came down to the impending fight.
It was time to fight back, time for the hunted became the hunter.
The Grinch scanned the landfill, like a vulture searching for prey from the sky above, like a hunter droid prowling a post-apocalyptic landscape for victims. He walked slowly, he started whistling a chilling funeral march, the whistle of death. He chuckled evilly, then he turned and approached a pile of trash.
He couldn't wait, another unfortunate victim's life about to come to an end.
Season's greetings!
Closer, closer, closer. The Grinch looked up and down, he hummed gleefully, humming a terrifying version of a famous Christmas tune.
And unbeknownst to him, the one he was looking for was preparing to strike.
The Grinch chuckled, he raised his knife and sharpened it again.
Not too far off, the bell tolled from a clock tower, the gong ringing for all to hear.
Midnight hour!
It was time!
He leaped from the shadows, pouncing on The Grinch, dressed in armor customized from metal garbage. Mario struck, kicking the green nutcase in the back of the head.
The Grinch turned, smirking gleefully as he held his knife.
Mario glared at him.
"Take-a that, mamaf***er!" He said.
"We're going to have so much fun..." The Grinch intoned menacingly.
He stabbed at Mario; the blade aimed at him. Mario dodged the attack, he kicked the Grinch, knocking him backwards into a trash pile.
Garbage rained on him, hitting the Grinch on the head. Mario took advantage of this; he lunged and kicked The Grinch in the head. The Grinch fought back, trying to stab Mario, only for a TV to bonk him on the head.
He stumbled around, trying to nab the plumber. Mario kicked him, the Grinch went flying. Mario leaped onto a massive pile of overlooking him, then he dove down and rammed his nemesis again. He kicked him in the back, sending him sprawling into the ground.
And just before The Grinch could get back up, Mario ran off behind a mountain of trash. The Grinch rubbed his eyes and looked around, wondering where the plumber was gone.
The sinister humanoid picked up his knife, waiting for Mario to reveal himself. Then, he heard a rumbling. A shadow loomed over, machinery whirred, and he looked up too late. The claws grabbed him, lifting him off the ground, holding him steadily. Mario laughed and grinned manically at The Grinch, eager to finish him off.
He threw the lever and drove the crane through the dump with the struggling Grinch in the crane's claws, Mario knew what to do. The structure came into view, the bright orange light was shining through a crack in the wall. The crane came close and, automatically, the wall opened, revealing the illuminated interior.
"Looks-a like you're toasty now!" Mario sang.
The Grinch gulped. Despite his feared reputation and his sinister confidence, he knew where this was going and there was no way out.
So, this was how it ended. In a blaze of fire.
And eternal darkness awaited.
Mario drove the crane in closer, he slammed on the breaks near the incinerator compound and threw the switch. The crane extended, entering the incinerator, the claws above the pit.
The Grinch whimpered in terror. He hugged his knife closer to himself, this was the end.
Watching the fear in his defeated enemy's eyes, Mario pressed the button.
The claw opened, slackening its grip.
The Grinch fell, landing on the slope.
He screamed, facing the light of the flames before him.
No way out, no way back.
Mario watched with glee, watching The Grinch's final moments.
The Grinch looked up at Mario one last time, fear showing in his eyes.
He neared the edge, he looked into the fire, the heat was getting to him. The blade began to melt, he could feel his skin burning.
One more inch closer, he fell into the pit, fell into the fire.
No screams, nothing remained.
At long last, The Grinch, the terrifying criminal who'd terrorized many towns and had brought harm to some of the Mushroom Kingdom's inhabitants, was gone, consumed by the flames of a blazing incinerator, his soul consumed by eternal darkness. And nobody would miss him.
Mario backed away from the incinerator and shut down the crane, he climbed out of the driver's chair and hopped off the vehicle with glee in his eyes. With that creep gone, the plumber could enjoy Christmas with his friends.
And with a smile of relief, he walked off, leaving the landfill and heading for home, ready to enjoy a very festive Christmas season without incident. And he needed some rest after that ordeal, Mario had earned it.
The End