Chapter Twelve:
The First Scary Challenge
Ringing filled his ears, followed by an odd pounding sensation in his head. A dim light flooded his closed eyes with air rushing into his nostrils. Mario slowly awakened, seeing a slight blur as his eyes began to open. He could hardly remember his last activity, what was he just doing and how long had he been out for?
"Owww..." Mario muttered, "Oh man, what happened? Did... did we party yesterday? How hard did we party and... what did I drink?"
Still disoriented, the fat Italian looked to his side, seeing Luigi sleeping on the floor next to him.
"Th... There's Luigi." A weary Mario remarked, "He probably ate too much..."
And just then, Mario felt something on his head. Usually, it was his hat. But he could feel... teeth. His eyes moved upward, allowing the fat plumber to see a Piranha Plant biting into his scalp. You did not want to mess with a Piranha Plant, their bites were nasty, and Mario NEVER wanted to have one on his head.
He took it in for a second and then, he finally screamed with shock and sat up quickly. "WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" Mario yelled with outrage, "I BOUGHT A HAT?! A PIRANHA PLANT HAT?! IT LOOKS LIKE ASS! I must have been through some pretty weird crap... Huh?"
Just when things couldn't get crazier, he looked down, seeing his leg was chained up. Mario looked around, seeing that he and Luigi were in a dark and drab room. This place was certainly not the ideal location to hold a party, that was for sure. Mario heard a mutter and watched as his little bro finally woke up.
"Uhhhh, mama mia..." Luigi groaned, "Mario?"
"Hey, Luigi!" Mario waved gleefully, "Did you save any food for me?"
"Wha...?" Luigi then noticed their surroundings and the chains around their legs. Confusion became panic and the green-clad plumber screamed, "OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD! I'M-A SO SCARED, MARIO! ARE WE GOING TO DIE? IN THIS ROOM?! HOW DID WE END UP IN A HOUSE OF HORRORS WITH THAT ON YOUR HEAD AND ANOTHER ON MINE AS WELL?!"
Mario chuckled, "Okay, calm down, Luigi. It's probably one of Mario's fans..."
Before he could go further, the sound of static made him and Luigi turn, facing a TV screen as it rested upon the wall. The screen had activated and was filled with static. And then, an image appeared, showing someone wearing Majora's Mask and a strange outfit with a lanky body. Whomever this was, they were trying to hide their face.
'This is going to be some messed up horror movie scenario, isn't it?' Mario thought, 'Are we dealing with some crazy horror movie fan?'
"Greetings, Mario Brothers..." The man said, "My name is... well, it's not important. I want to play a game... In thirty seconds, those Piranha Plants will close, killing you both unless you both figure out how to get them off before they bite your brains out..."
Luigi panicked, hearing every word of that man, he did not want to become Piranha Plant food.
"Games?! Oh boy!" Mario chuckled, "But, c'mon, let's a play something else that isn't this sheet, eh? Like, eh, Super Smash each other in the face Bros. I WANT TO PLAY SOMETHING ELSE THAT ISN'T BOOOOORIIIIIIIIING!"
"Starting the timer."
The mystery man vanished and the image was replaced with a timer, showing 00:30, and began to tick down;
Twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven, twenty-six...
"Well, shit." Mario remarked, "Looks-a like we're screwed."
"NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! I CAN'T-A DIE!" Luigi wailed, "I THINK I LEFT THE OVEN ON AT HOME AND I DON'T THINK I FINISHED VACUUMING YET! MARIO?! MARIO! HELP! HELP! MAMA MIA!"
"Don't-a worry, Luigi. Mario's got it!" Mario clicked his fingers.
He started banging on the wall, screaming like a madman. He grabbed the Piranha Plant and tried to yank it off his head, but pulled back at the last minute, knowing that the teeth would likely rip a good chunk of his brains out if he yanked it off. There had to be another way, there wasn't that much time remaining on that clock.
Twenty-one, twenty, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen…
"BEING NICE ALWAYS WORKS! BEING NICE ALWAYS WORKS!" Luigi wailed, "Uh, hey vicious plants, would you please let go of our heads?"
Fourteen, thirteen, twelve, eleven, TEN SECONDS LEFT...
"MAMAF***ER!" Mario shouted, trying to use his hand like a saw, "C'MON! GET OFF!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Luigi screamed.
Five seconds left.
"Oh ho no..." Mario whimpered, "Mario can't go like this, not when there was-a so much spaghetti to eat."
"GOODBYE, MARIO! GOODBYE, MEGGY! GOODBYE, PEACH!" Luigi shrieked, "THIS IS THE END, BUT AT LEAST MARIO AND I WILL BE TOGETHER IN THE AFTERLIFE! GOODBYE, EVERYONE, GOODBYE!"
Three, two, one, zero!
Both brothers braced themselves, ready for the plants to close. But just then, something happened. The two Piranha Plants released themselves from Mario and Luigi's heads and hopped off, looking at one another with odd smiles on their faces.
"Hey, there." The first Piranha Plant said, "You look nice, baby!"
"Really?" The second one replied.
"Yes, you're very pretty! You wanna make a family of Piranha Plants?! Its budding season!"
"Oooh, yeah!" The second Piranha Plant remarked with eagerness, "Let's do it!"
The timer vanished from the screen and the mysterious man reappeared, just as the two Piranha Plants crawled out of the room, laughing with glee as if they felt so happy to find love. Mario and Luigi watched the two vicious plants leaving, somewhat feeling relieved that they were both still alive.
"How come spaghetti doesn't talk to me so romantically like that?" Mario asked, no sooner than when those two Piranha Plants were out of sight.
Luigi looked at Mario, still feeling confused. And just before they could process pretty much EVERYTHING, the man declared that it was time to move to the next room. Mario and Luigi felt a jolt and saw their chains shaking. Seconds later, they were pulled into the darkness, screaming all the way and their howls filled the walls along with the ominous laughter of their mysterious host...