A/N: Hey, guys! Welcome to this my new fanfic! This one will be different from usual, a series of one-shots with our favorite twins, Mario and Luigi! I've been following the situation with the Super Mario Bros. Movie for months, and with the release of the final trailer last month, I'm so excited! The release is scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday April 5th, and I really hope to see it! I apologize if the new chapter of my Final Fantasy VI fanfic has not yet come out three months after the previous one, but apart from the fact that I have reached an advanced point where it becomes difficult to prepare everything I want to put, I also had a few unexpected events and was busy with other things. End of the premise, let's begin!

Chapter 1: Plumber Beginnings

Brothers are always very special. Between their differences, rivalries, moments of annoyance, but also heartwarming moments, relationships between brothers are always complex. And if these brothers are twins, the bonds are much stronger. Have you ever had a brother or sister? Here is the story of the two most famous and beloved twin brothers of all time.

The oldest of the two brothers was short and chubby, but not necessarily fat. He had chocolate brown hair, and his sapphire eyes were full of cheerfulness, while the younger one was taller and slim. Although they were very similar in physical appearance, even wearing the same clothes but of different colors, they were different in terms of personality, as he was more cautious, clumsy, insecure and shy than his more energetic and optimistic older brother. They both had thick black moustache, so you'd think they're in their forties or fifties, right? Wrong! They were actually young men of about 24 years old. They were experienced heroes who had been protecting the Mushroom Kingdom for quite some time, yet they lived in a modest house.

(''Starship Mario- Super Mario Galaxy 2 OST'')

It was a beautiful Monday morning, and the sun was shining in the Mushroom Kingdom, a perfect day to spend time outside. The older brother woke up and got out of bed at 7 AM, feeling the sunlight on his skin with pleasure. ''Ah, what a beautiful day! Here we go, Mario!'' Mario exclaimed in excitement. He went to take a shower and comb his hair, then put on a red T-shirt, blue overalls, white gloves, brown shoes and a red hat with the initial of his name.

When he finished dressing, Mario smelled something inviting downstairs, in the kitchen, and thought Luigi was there, knowing that he was usually the first to wake up. He found him right there, dressed in dark blue jeans overalls and darker shoes than his, with a green shirt and hat instead of red. ''Good morning, Luigi! Nice day, isn't it?'' greeted him.

''Hey, good morning, Mario! You came just in time! I made pancakes for breakfast.'' said Luigi, putting a pancake on a plate with the frying pan and taking two cups to pour some coffee into.

The two brothers began to eat breakfast, talking about how the sun was shining brightly.

''It seems like the ideal day to play sports together.'' said Mario.

''Yeah, I feel like playing golf!'' said Luigi, taking a sip of coffee.

When the two brothers finished breakfast, they heard a flapping of wings. ''It's Parakarry! I think he brought us the mail!'' exclaimed Mario.

Outside the door was Parakarry, a postman Paratroopa and friend of Mario and Luigi. ''Mario, Luigi! Nice day, huh?'' he asked.

''Hi, Parakarry!'' Luigi greeted him. ''You haven't forgotten the letters again, didn't you?'' he added, jokingly.

Parakarry laughed. ''No, I didn't lose the letters. There is mail for the two of you. Princess Peach would like to see you.'' he replied, giving them a letter.

''I wonder what it is.'' said Luigi.

''Now you'll find out. See you around!'' said Parakarry, flying away.

(''Starship Mario- Super Mario Galaxy 2 OST-s'')

(''Toy Time Galaxy- Super Mario Galaxy OST'')

Mario opened the letter and began to read it.

''Dear Mario and Luigi,

Today is a wonderful day! Daisy and I decided to organize a picnic in the gardens of my castle, and Starlow will also be there. Are you coming with us?

Meet us here this morning at 8 AM. Take Yoshi with you, he'll love it.''

Yours truly,

Princess Toadstool Peach(1)''

Mario smiled under his mustache. He and Peach were great together, and there was also his friend Daisy, who was dating Luigi. ''Hey, Luigi! The princess invited us to a picnic! She also says we should invite Yoshi.'' he said, excited.

''Sounds like a good idea.'' said Luigi.

Before returning home to prepare everything, they went to visit their old friend Yoshi.

Yoshi was happy to see them. (''Yo, Mario, Luigi! What do you say?'') he asked.

''Hello, Yoshi! Peach invited us to a picnic this morning.'' Mario replied.

''Would you like to come with us?'' asked Luigi.

Hearing the picnic, Yoshi lit up like neon lights. (''Of course I'll come!'') he said. He loved food, especially fruit, and would give anything to eat.

The three then went to the brothers' house to prepare their baskets with food, and when everything was ready, they went to Peach's Castle.

(''Toy Time Galaxy- Super Mario Galaxy OST'')

(''Peach's Castle- New Super Mario Bros. Wii OST'')

Given the distance between Mario and Luigi's house and the castle, Mario, Luigi and Yoshi arrived at their destination in a short time. Peach, Daisy and Starlow were waiting for them with a small tablecloth and carrying their respective baskets.

''Good morning, guys! I see you've arrived!'' said Daisy.

''Hello yello! We were waiting for you, we have a few things to tell you.'' said Starlow.

''I'm really happy that you came to us. I see you also brought Yoshi with you.'' said Peach.

(''You know how I am with food, girls. I would give everything to eat something!'') Yoshi said, immediately opening his basket, full of fruit.

Everyone laughed. Their dinosaur friend was often a glutton, but you couldn't stay mad at him for long if he caused some trouble with his appetite.

''So, was there something you wanted to know?'' asked Luigi, intent on eating a croquette sandwich.

''Well, we know you've been here for a long time, but we've been wondering how long you've been doing your job.'' said Peach.

(''Yes, how long have you been plumbers?'') Yoshi asked.

''It's a long story. We were still living in New York, in Brooklyn.'' Mario replied, in the middle of a mouthful of meatballs.

(Flashback)

A long time ago, a Brooklyn...

Before Mario and Luigi ended up in the Mushroom Kingdom, they lived in Brooklyn. For some time they struggled to keep a stable job as their employers did not treat them very well, especially Luigi, and when Mario came to his defense, he was fired. This made Luigi increasingly insecure, and Mario was increasingly nervous. They became workers at a demolition site, and it seemed that things had gotten worse. Their leader was Foreman Spike, a large and plump man with a thick beard and sunglasses that smelled like cigar smoke. His wild appearance, combined with the fact that he had a bad temper, always made Luigi's hair stand on end when he was near him. (2)

(''The last job we had done before we became plumbers was as workers on a demolition site, and we had a really nasty boss. He was Foreman Spike. He was short-tempered, didn't follow safety regulations, often mobbed us and underpaid us and our colleagues. Our workers' helmets were of very poor quality, and did not protect our heads from the debris and rubble that fell during work.'')

One day, Mario and Luigi had been discussing for some time with some colleagues what to do. ''I feel less and less like working here. What do you think, Greg?'' asked Mario.

''You're right. If this continues for much longer, I will resign.'' replied Greg, also irritated. ''I have a five-year-old son and another one who is just six months old and I don't spend enough time with them because the working hours last too long! And my wife complains because I work too much and blames me, all while I have to break my back here!''

''The salary we get is barely enough to feed my children!'' added another colleague, Maurice. ''I want a job with better pay!''

''Mario, Greg, Maurice, are you sure it's a good idea? If we resign, we will be left without a job, and it is not certain that we'll find another one.'' said Luigi, not very sure.

''Let me tell you, Luigi, you're too soft! Go to the boss's office and report him!'' said Frank, another colleague, bluntly.

"If I report Spike, he will fire me and do the same with Mario. I don't want us to lose another job because of me. That time we were working in a factory, we were fired because I had stumbled and made a mess," Luigi replied.

Mario was baffled. He had never blamed Luigi for what had happened, even though he was clumsy. ''It's not your fault for what happened. Besids, I'd rather resign than working in unacceptable conditions.'' he said.

But when the sentence ended, it began to rain, and the rain became a downpour in a short time. ''You could keep your mouth shut, you know,ì.'' said Maurice.

And as if that wasn't enough, Spike forced everyone to get to work. They had to demolish an abandoned building.

''I'm not going to work like that in this rain!'' Greg blurted out.

''There's a downpour here! If someone falls down, then it's your fault!'' added Mario.

''Shut up and start working, you idlers!'' shouted Spike.

With hammers and a crane with a demolition ball, the workers had to get to work. Reluctantly, Greg began to control the wrecking ball. ''Who does that idiot think he is?!'' he complained.

''He treats us all like horse dung! I hate it when he does that!'' muttered Mario.

''Let's forget about it and focus on work, or he'll kill us.'' said Frank.

As if the poor quality helmets weren't enough, the rain was very problematic, making the ground slippery, and the fact that it was raining heavily also made it difficult for Greg to move the wrecking ball well because he could see very little of it. Since Luigi was clumsy, it was a problem especially for him, since hewas constantly at risk of falling down. The palace had nine floors, and he and Mario were on the penultimate floor. Their job was to use a large hammer to destroy the steel and place dynamite to implode the building, but with the rain, they had increasing difficulty finding places to place the explosives. If it thundered, lightning struck the ground a short distance from the building, narrowly missing the platforms.

''I'm not getting paid enough for this...'' murmured another worker.

''You're right, Anthony, but we can't do anything about it.'' said Luigi.

''This is a real pain for me, and I also have to take care of my nephew Clark because he's an orphan. My sister and brother-in-law died a couple of years ago, when he was five. As his uncle, I am his closest relative, and I have custody of him.'' said Anthony.

Both Mario and Luigi looked at him sadly. ''Oh, no...'' they murmured, sorry. Two of their colleagues, James and Leon, were at ground level, trying to move the rubble using excavators and bulldozers, but couldn't see anything. James drove the excavator, while Leon used the bulldozer.

''WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! Why aren't you working up there?!'' roared Spike, several floors below.

''Easy for you to say, I can't see anything with this rain!'' shouted Maurice in response.

''I can't see anything in front of me, the sky is so dark it looks like it's night out!'' Leon complained.

''You're the usual slackers!'' snapped Spike.

''Let's see you working like this then!'' replied James.

''I hear you, moron!'' shouted Spike.

The work continued amid several complaints and nervous breakdowns, and the downpour only got worse. The wind became very strong and stormy, and Luigi struggled more and more to stay balanced.

''Even I have my limits, this is ridiculous!'' another worker, Felix, commented. ''What do you think, Ralph?''

''You're right about that. That guy is driving me nuts!'' Ralph complained.(3)

(End flashback)

(''I wouldn't want to be in front of such a person.)'' commented Yoshi, eating a large slice of watermelon.

''I don't like these people.'' said Starlow.

''This guy sucks!'' exclaimed Daisy, disgusted.

Peach looked sadly at the two brothers. ''And then what happened?'' she asked.

''That very day, Luigi was the victim of an incident at work, and this was the breaking point.'' replied Mario.

(Flashback)

(''Oh No!- Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky OST'')

The storm grew stronger and stronger, and Maurice barely avoided falling from the seventh floor. ''This weather's nasty!'' he said.

A bolt of lightning narrowly missed the platform, and Luigi was unlucky enough to be electrocuted by a stray spark and hit in the head by rubble. ''Why is it always me?'' he murmured.

Mario looked at him worriedly. ''This is why you need decent helmets. These ones suck, and I don't think they even tighten well!'' he complained.

One of the platforms suddenly gave way, and Frank had to cling to the crane, much to everyone's horror. Greg in particular was shocked when he saw his colleague clinging to the top of the crane.

''Frank! Hold on, we'll help you!'' cried Luigi.

It was difficult, especially in the rain, but Frank managed to reach the end and Mario and Luigi grabbed his hands, pulling him up so he could grab on to their platform and climb up.

''Mamma mia... that was too close...'' sighed Mario.

''S-S-Somebody really could have died here...'' Luigi stammered, trembling with shock at what was about to happen.

''Thank you, you saved my life.'' said Frank.

Spike began to complain again, and he did not care that one of his subordinates had almost fallen to his death, which caused deep unrest in the workers. Mario put the dynamite on the top floor, and then went up with Luigi to put the remaining dynamite on the roof.

(''Oh No!- Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky OST-s'')

''Are we done yet?'' asked Mario half an hour later, clearly annoyed. It had taken them four hours to place all the explosives.

''I think we have placed all the explosive charges. Let's go down and detonate them, I don't think I can bear more than this.'' replied Luigi.

But no one expected what happened next.

(''That day, Spike forced us to work during a rainstorm. We were supposed to demolish an abandoned building, but lightning struck the roof and Luigi fell off.'')

(''30 Seconds!- Mario VS Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars OST'')

Lightning struck the edge of the roof, catching the two brothers off guard, and Luigi's hammer flew out of his hand.

''Luigi, what's wrong?!'' Mario cried up, jolting.

''What's going on up there?!'' James exclaimed.

The roof was very slippery due to the rain, and before long, Luigi lost his balance. ''Aaaah! Help!'' He tried to hold on with both hands, but his fingers slipped because of both the heavy rain and the wet roof, and in two seconds, he lost his grip and fell down.

''LUIGI, NOOOOOO!'' Mario screamed.

''I can't look!'' Leon yelled, covering his eyes.

''He will be reduced to a pulp, I just know it...'' murmured Maurice.

Mario immediately started running, going down the road as fast as he could, and his colleagues also left their jobs, ignoring the fact that Spike was yelling nasty words at them.

Luigi screamed in terror as he saw the ground getting closer and closer, and his screams seemed to echo despite the showers and strong winds.

(''30 Seconds!- Mario VS Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars OST-s'')

*CRACK!*

He had landed on his feet, and not even a second later, he was face to the ground. He let out a half-choked scream and held his legs with his hands, feeling something coming out of his nose. As if this were not enough, bricks fell on his legs and crumbled, flying away, then the hammer fell on him and hit him straight in the stomach. He felt a terrible pain in his guts, but had no strength to scream or move anymore, and everything turned black...

When everyone returned to the ground, screams of horror could be heard in the street. At least half a dozen passers-by had seen it all.

''What the hell happened?!'' exclaimed Frank.

''Look!'' said Ralph.

(''Goodbye Sadness- Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam OST'')

Mario was back on the street, and what he saw almost stopped his heart. Luigi was on the sidewalk, lying on his side, and he was not moving. It was a shock to everyone. The older brother immediately ran towards him. ''Luigi! Luigi! Oh, no, this is terrible!'' he cried.

''Oh, my gosh...'' Felix murmured.

''I saw him fall a short distance from me.'' said James.

Anthony was so shocked that he couldn't say anything.

What had happened was even more shocking because Luigi was in very bad shape. His legs were at an unnatural angle, and his arms were practically below them. His big round nose was flattened, his pants were torn and there were horrible purple bruises and cuts on his bare legs, as well as another rather bad one on his stomach. In addition, from these points, there was something red coming out, and that liquid also stained his hammer.

This sent Mario even more into a panic, and his eyes were filling with tears. ''Come on, Luigi, wake up! Wake up, please! Luigi, open your eyes!'' he shouted.

''You think he's... dead?'' asked Maurice, hesitantly.

''NO! Don't say that, Maurice, I refuse to believe it!'' Mario snapped.

''Mario, he fell from over nine floors. No one would survive a fall from the third floor, let alone from the roof of a building.'' Ralph told him.

But Mario didn't listen to him, too scared of losing his brother. Pleading not to leave him, he rested his body on his legs and put his ear on his chest, listening attentively. There was a pulse! Weak, but he felt it. ''He's breathing... I don't know how, but he's still breathing...'' he said.

Everyone sighed with relief, but it was still all disconcerting because Luigi couldn't hold out for long, even though he was still alive.

''Does anyone have an umbrella?'' asked Mario. He doubted his cell phone was water-repellent, and he didn't want the storm to cause a malfunction or combustion.

''I have one.'' James replied, approaching Mario and opening an umbrella, covering him from the rain. With this, Mario picked up the phone and called 911.

''Hello? You must come, quick! My brother fell from the roof of an abandoned building during the demolition work! He won't hold on much longer!''

(''Goodbye Sadness- Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam OST-s'')

''YOU DO NOT STOP WORK WITHOUT MY PERMISSION! GET BACK TO WORK!'' Spike thundered, furious that the work had ended abruptly.

''Do you have any idea what happened because of you, poopface?!'' yelled Ralph.

''Since you forced us to work in this flood, then the problem is yours!'' snapped Greg. Mario gave Spike a furious look that said, ''I'll handle you later.'' and waited for the ambulance for ten minutes. When he arrived, he put the body on a stretcher and saw the ambulance drive away to the nearest hospital. He quit work immediately afterwards, and he was in such a bad mood that to vent he threw a dumpster full of bottles on the ground, kicked it and broke all the bottles, glass and fragile garbage inside.

Later, he went to the hospital to visit his brother, and was surprised by the doctors' diagnosis. Luigi was alive, but he was seriously injured: due to the fall, he had broken both his legs and nose, and he also had four broken ribs when the hammer fell on his chest. He couldn't explain why he was still alive, but he didn't care.

All Mario wanted was to stay at Luigi's side, and he went on strike in protest against Spike. Luigi did not recover until two weeks later. Meanwhile, the day after the accident, the news had ended up on TV, and not long after that, it was also in all the newspapers.

(''Luigi survived, somehow, but he had broken his nose, four ribs and both legs, and recovered only a couple of weeks later. In protest for what happened, I didn't go to work.'')

(End flashback)

Peach was so shocked by the explanation that she choked on a piece of bread. ''You can't be serious, aren't you, Mario?'' she asked, after a coughing fit.

''Yes, tell me you're joking!'' said Starlow, shocked.

''He's not kidding,'' replied Luigi.

(''WHAT?!'') Yoshi shouted, horrified. He was so shocked by what he had heard that he almost spat out his glass of orangeade.

''Can I break that fool's head for what he did?!' blurted Daisy, furious at what had happened to Luigi, unnerved everyone.

"I don't think you'd be able to get to Brooklyn. So Spike is in jail, it's not worth it.'' said Luigi.

"However, while Luigi was in the hospital, I organized protests together with my colleagues, but Spike suppressed them. Despite this, we continued to protest by striking in front of his company.'' said Mario. ''The day after Luigi was discharged from the hospital, I terminated our contracts.''

(Flashback)

While Luigi was in the hospital, Mario organized protests together with his friends and colleagues, striking and protesting in front of Spike's company with signs, whistles, megaphones and various noises. He carried two signs, one with the words ''MY BROTHER ALMOST DIED AT WORK DUE TO THE NEGLIGENCE AND CARELESSNESS OF MY BOSS!'', while on the other one was written ''DOWN WITH FOREMAN SPIKE!'', and the other workers carried signs with Luigi's face or with writings such as ''NO TO VIOLATIONS OF SAFETY REGULATIONS!", ''DOWN WITH UNWORTHY WORKING CONDITIONS!'' and ''SHAME ON YOU, FOREMAN SPIKE!''

Like with the aftermath of the incident, the protests were also on television, but things did not change. They were peaceful protests, with demands for better employment contracts, better working conditions and wage increases, but Spike suppressed them and also involved the police, resulting in a series of brawls in which all of Mario's colleagues that were present during the incident, including James, Greg, Anthony and Ralph, were injured and ended up in the hospital gradually over the days.

Greg almost got suffocated to death when a policeman pinned him with a knee on his neck for five minutes and fainted from lack of air, ending up in the hospital with dark bruises on the back of his head.

Anthony was hit in the head with a baton and lost consciousness from the impact, ending up in the hospital with a bump with the size of a golf ball.

James had internal injuries and a chest full of bruises from a series of baton beatings.

Maurice had a black eye and bruises on his legs.

Felix had a wrist fracture.

Leon had hip and rib fractures.

Ralph had a spine fracture.

Finally, Frank, who was already injured in the shoulder by a fractured humerus, lost consciousness when Spike knocked him out with a wrench, suffering a head injury like Anthony.

Mario was slightly injured in the arm, but he was otherwise unharmed. He didn't even care about that, however. Spike was cracking down on protests and strikes and had also got the police involved. He was fed up with all this, and the more it happened, the more he wanted to scream from the rooftops about the police brutality in the United States, a problem that created several social discontents(4), and seemed almost on the verge of cursing every time.

Two weeks later...

(''Family- Super Mario Galaxy OST'')

''Weegee? Luigi, wake up. Can you hear me? It's me.''

Luigi could hear a familiar voice, but he couldn't figure out who was talking. He slowly opened his eyes and saw what appeared to be a red and blue mass. His vision was blurred, and he could not see well, but then the room around him began to be clearer.

''Where am I...?'' he murmured. Now he saw more clearly, and recognized the person sitting next to the right side of the bed, shaking his hand. It was his brother. ''Mario...?''

Mario sighed with relief. ''Oh, Luigi... Thank goodness you're alive. I was so worried about you.'' he said.

''What happened?'' asked Luigi.

''You fell off the roof. I don't know how it happened, but you survived the fall. However, you broke your nose, your legs and four ribs, and the doctors told me that if you landed another way instead of with your legs, you wouldn't survive. I was so scared.'' Mario replied, hugging him.

Luigi felt a band-aid on his nose, and his legs were bandaged. He didn't even know how he managed to survive, but he was still confused. ''How did this happen?'' he asked.

Mario felt his anger at Spike boiling over inside him. ''It was all Spike's fault. He forced us to work under a thunderstorm and you fell off the roof. I want to make him pay.'' he declared.

The younger brother moved sharply, but it was a mistake, as he felt pain in his left leg. ''Mario, don't do anything. We're going to lose our jobs.'' he said nervously.

"Better to be fired than to work in these conditions. All this for a salary of $300 per month.'' replied Mario.

That day, Luigi was discharged from the hospital, but with the recommendation not to strain his legs too much and not to move abruptly. Mario received a notification on his mobile phone. It was a message from one of his colleagues, Anthony.

''Mario, we'll have another day of strike tomorrow. Meet us at our boss's company tomorrow morning.''

(''After Luigi was able to leave the hospital, I received a message from a colleague. We confronted Spike, and I terminated our contract in protest for his actions.'')

(''Family- Super Mario Galaxy OST-s'')

The next day, ignoring his brother's protests that it would not be a good idea, Mario took him to Spike's company, and there was an intense and noisy protest outside.

''How long has this been going on?'' asked Luigi.

''Ever ince the accident that almost killed you. We stopped working for two weeks in protest against Spike, and I led the protests.'' Mario replied.

''You're crazy, Mario!'' exclaimed Luigi. ''What will happen to us if we lose our jobs?''

''I'd rather let this happen than seeing you stone dead.'' said Mario.

Some workers saw Luigi, and everyone was shocked.

''I don't believe it, how did he survive?'' asked Ralph.

''Hey, Luigi! I can't believe you're alive!'' exclaimed Maurice.

''Hi, guys. I didn't want to come here, it was Mario who insisted.'' said Luigi.

''That moron of our boss has locked himself in his office and doesn't let anyone in.'' said Felix.

Mario did not hesitate. Followed by everyone else, he climbed the stairs until he reached Spike's office, then kicked down the door.

''HEY!'' Spike blurted out, furious that someone had broken into his office.

''Spike, let's put an end to this. NOW!'' shouted Mario.

''WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE AGAIN AFTER TWO WEEKS OF NOT WORKING?!''

''I didn't go to work because my brother ALMOST DIED because of you!''

''My fault?! How could it be my fault if your brother is so clumsy?!''

''No offense, but it was your idea to make us work under a downpour.'' said Luigi in response. Outside the room, the other workers shouted insults at Spike.

''I've had enough! I resign! And Luigi will do the same!'' declared Mario. Luigi was nervous, and he didn't like to be involved like that.

''You can't do that! The whole stationery says so!'' snapped Spike, showing a contract.

''You know what I'll do with your lousy contract!'' shouted Mario, taking the contract out of his hand and ripping it into a thousand pieces.

''Mario...?'' murmured Luigi, nervously grabbing his brother's arm.

''What is it?'' asked Mario.

Spike was furious. He punched both brothers and nearly smashed them to the ground. Luigi took the impact worse, as he was already wounded in the legs, and Mario menacingly stared at his now former boss.

''UGH! Do as you wish, screw-ups! You didn't get anything with me!'' shouted Spike, spitting at Mario and Luigi's feet.

''I think you're referring to the wrong screw-up. The real screw-up is the one who forced a certain worker to work under a rainstorm, not the one who was the victim of that incident.'' said Luigi. Even he was now beginning to get a little irritated.

Maurice almost felt out of breath in surprise, and appreciated this gesture. ''Make him face reality, Luigi!'' shouted Leon.

''HOW DARE YOU?! BOTH OF YOU!'' Spike screamed. ''IF IT WASN'T FOR ME, YOU TWO WOULD BE ROTTING IN THE STREET ROTTING, MEATBALL!''

Everyone outside gasped. Mario clenched his fists in anger. ''What did just you say?!'' he blurted out.

''I said ''Meatball''. You are Italian-Americans. And you're a fatso.'' said Spike.(5)

Mario slammed his hands on the desk, looking the big man straight in the eye. He loathed these discriminatory insults because of his heritage, and he hated it when someone insulted him for his weight and called him fat. ''We have reported you to the police for all your violations. Give me a reason why I shouldn't kick you in the teeth.'' he threatened him.

''Do you dare to threaten your boss?!'' Spike bellowed.

''Oh, the heck I will. And you're not our boss anymore.'' declared Mario.

''It can't last like this forever. We have already wasted enough time working in this dump.'' Luigi added.

This only made Spike even angrier. ''WHY, YOU FILTHY...!'' He threw himself on the desk and grabbed Luigi by the neck, then slammed him against the wall and spat in his face while still strangling him. ''YOU AND THAT FAT BROTHER OF YOURS!'' Everyone watched in horror. He shouldn't have done that.

Mario couldn't take it anymore. He took a nearby wrench and hit Spike in the head, forcing him to let go of Luigi. Before he could even complain, he repaid him with the same coin by grabbing him by the throat. ''DON'T YOU DARE TREAT MY BROTHER LIKE THAT! AND I'M NOT FAT!'' he yelled.

''Do you really think I'm such a sucker?'' asked Spike.

''Yes, we just think so, OK?! You are a horrible person! You give us lousy quality helmets! You force us to work under thunderstorms! You pay us with a starvation wage! You bully us and sabotage us all day! And let me tell you what we think of you, Spike: you're just a rotten cheapskate, and you make me SICK!'' replied Mario, and he spit in his face for good measure.

''Oh yes?! If the two of you get another job, I'll show you how you'll regret quitting!'' shouted Spike menacingly.

''That's it! YOU'RE FINISHED!'' yelled Mario, and he threw Spike over the door, then took a lighter and set fire to the paperwork. All his former colleagues cheered and began to thrash his office, while others lifted him and led him outside as he kicked and screamed at the top of his lungs something that prompted someone to put a cork in his mouth to shut him up.

''Mario, what did you do?! You just attacked our boss!'' shouted Luigi, horrified.

''He's not our boss anymore, Luigi. Let's go home.'' said Mario. He was no longer screaming, but he was breathing heavily and was still in a bad mood.

As Mario and Luigi returned to their apartment in Brooklyn, Luigi could only look at his brother with concern. As he lost himself in thought, he saw it as a volcano about to erupt, with lava bubbling inside. He decided to remain silent, and the two brothers did not say a word to each other until they opened the house-door, and when they came to their room, it was then that Luigi saw his big brother beside himself with anger like never before, and the first sign was when he violently slammed the door.

''THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD IT!'' Mario screamed, throwing his helmet to the ground and kicking it out the window, accidentally hitting a cat on the road. ''WE'VE BEEN CONSTANTLY CHANGING JOBS FOR FOUR MONTHS AND NOTHING HAS CHANGED!''

Luigi stepped back to the door in fear as Mario kept screaming, kicking his bed. ''Mario, calm down... It's all over now...'' he murmured to him.

''NO, I WILL NOT CALM DOWN! THAT SCOUNDREL ALMOST CAUSED YOUR DEATH AT WORK, AND YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN?!''

''Mario, calm down! Don't take it out on me, please!'' Luigi begged him.

(''I was furious with our former boss, but I was mostly fed up with having to constantly change jobs with no results for four months. But then, Luigi had a brilliant idea.'')

(''Sadness and Happiness- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door OST'')

Mario began to breathe heavily, then let himself fall on the bed. He was clearly embarrassed by how he had scared his brother. ''I'm sorry, Luigi... I didn't mean to scare you. I'm not mad at you, it's just that everything that happened with Spike drove me crazy.'' he said.

''You're stressed.'' said Luigi. ''Anyway, now we're unemployed again, so we have to find another job.''

''And what comes to your mind?'' asked Mario.

''Let's try to be plumbers.'' Luigi proposed, looking through the various job offers.

''No, don't bother. Plumbers are considered low-ranking people, and this is a menial job, I don't think they will pay us much.'' replied the man in red.

''Wait, I had an idea! What if we started our own business?'' asked Luigi.

It was then that it hit Mario. How had he not thought about it before? He was confident again! ''Luigi, you're a genius!'' he exclaimed, and suddenly hugged Luigi.

''You think?''

''Of course! I didn't even think about it once, it's a great idea!''

Relieved, Luigi returned his brother's embrace.

(''Sadness and Happiness- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door OST-s'')

(End flashback)

(''Peach's Castle- New Super Mario Bros. Wii OST'')

''We founded our own business, the Super Mario Bros. Plumbing. One day, we went to work in the sewers of New York, and then we ended up here.'' concluded Mario, showing a photo with the two brothers next to a yellow van. There was an illustration of Mario on the side, and one of Luigi on the other side.

''You sure have been through a lot before you came here.'' said Peach.

"You know, Pauline, my ex-girlfriend, left me a month before the incident. We were still friends, but she put an end to the relationship because she was worried that Luigi and I were struggling to maintain a stable job.'' said Mario.

''Was Luigi able to help you?'' asked Daisy.

''Yes. Luigi had noticed that I was not a good mood for some time, and wanted to do something. He had obtained two tickets to a baseball game, and invited me to come and watch it with him.'' Mario replied.

''How did it end?'' asked Starlow.

''Oh, it was a match between the two best teams in the league. The atmosphere was very intense, both teams had played without ever holding anything back. The game was very hard-fought, and it ended in a draw. Mario felt much better after the game.'' replied Luigi.

Peach smiled. ''You have an amazing brother, Mario,'' he said.

''He always worries about me. I'm very glad he's my brother.'' said Mario.

''Did any of you know anything about our history before we ended up here in the Mushroom Kingdom?'' asked Luigi.

''A little. Mario had told me that your work experiences were difficult, but I never thought it was so serious. It hadn't opened up much, though, it was a special moment.'' said Starlow.

''I know. Please don't remind me.'' said Mario, knowing what he was referring to. It was when Luigi had fallen into a coma for three months, and he had woken up only ten days ago, only to risk death again to protect the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser that same day.(6)

''About that ugly mug Spike, did he pay for it?'' asked Daisy impatiently.

"Yes, he was arrested for safety violations, negligence and for his role in the incident on the workplace when I fell off the roof.

(''How was it with your new job?'') Yoshi asked.

''It wasn't easy at first, partly because of the lack of budget, but then, we started to be quite successful.'' replied Mario.

''You know, I think Spike and Wario would be good friends.'' said Luigi. Everyone burst out laughing.

''Oh, yeah. But I would prefer Wario to him, honestly.'' said Mario.

Everyone had finished eating. ''Well, it was great to hear more about you,'' said Daisy.

''Thanks for the picnic, we loved it.'' said Luigi, happy with the picnic.

(''We should do that more often.'') added Yoshi.

''We'll do it again, Yoshi, you'll see.'' said Starlow.

''Well, now let's go home. See you later!'' said Luigi.

''See you soon!'' said Mario. Peach said goodbye to him with a kiss on the nose, and he blushed.

(''Peach's Castle- New Super Mario Bros. Wii OST-s'')

(''Mario Bros.' House- Paper Mario OST'')

Back home, Mario and Luigi began planning what to do that day. They saw their van outside and smiled, remembering those times.

''This picnic was really enjoyable, let's do it again sometime.'' said Luigi, and Mario agreed with him.

''You know, bro, I've never thanked you for starting our business.'' said the man in red.

''For what? That was nothing.'' replied Luigi, not convinced.

''It's a lot more than you think. In the old days of our work in New York, we found ourselves in front of this pipe and then we ended up here. And since then we've made a lot of new friends, had a lot of new adventures and done a lot of new things. In a way, it's thanks to you that we're here.'' Mario told him, and the two brothers embraced.

''Do you really think so?'' asked the man in green.

''Of course,'' Mario replied, giving Luigi a kiss on the cheek. ''You're an amazing brother, Weegee, and I love you so much.''

''Oh, I love you too, Mario.'' said Luigi.

''Hey, do you want to play with our SNES a little?'' asked Mario.

''Oh yes! Get ready to lose in Super Mario Kart!'' replied Luigi. Mario laughed in response.

Mario and Luigi had faced a lot of misadventures even before ending up in the Mushroom Kingdom, but that was only the beginning of their adventures, and their bond, already strong then, would become even stronger. Several new adventures awaited them.

(''Mario Bros.' House- Paper Mario OST-s'')

A/N: And here is the first one-shot of this fanfic! Let me know what you think or if you have any ideas for future one-shots. I remind you, however, that it should not be anything too mature. Even if I consider some more mature ideas, I won't go too far for tone reasons. Stay tuned and I'll see you in the next chapter!

(1): In the early games, Peach was called Toadstool in the West, but starting with Super Mario 64, the Japanese name is used, and Toadstool is rendered her last name.

(2): In Wrecking Crew, Mario and Luigi are workers on a demolition site, and must destroy all the walls, concrete blocks, stairs, and pillars. Their boss is Foreman Spike, who sabotages them during work. Spike was also confirmed as a character in the film, and has an official voice actor, Sebastian Maniscalco. The film has an official website dedicated to Mario and Luigi's plumbing business, and Spike sent a review of one in five stars full of resentment because they had stopped working with him because they were tired of " bosses". According to Art of Super Mario Odyssey, it was revealed that in Super Mario Odyssey, Mario and Luigi's activity was supposed to appear in New Donk City.

(3): Reference to Fix-It Felix and Wreck-It Ralph. They are the protagonist and antagonist of an old video game, and in 2013, Disney released a movie based on said video game.

(4): The American police are notorious for their impulsiveness and are also accused of abuse of power and racist behavior. Police brutality, acerbated by the paucity of gun controls, is a serious problem in the United States, provoking several protests. In this scene, the part where Greg is nearly suffocated to death is a reference to George Floyd's death in Minnesota three years ago: Floyd was arrested for allegedly using a fake $20 bill, and police officer Derek Chauvin put his knee on his neck for nine minutes. killing him by asphyxiation. Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison for second-degree murder and manslaughter, and the other three policemen who were with him and did nothing to stop him, also preventing passers-by from intervening, were also convicted and are currently on trial for negligence and aiding and abetting manslaughter.

(5): Former U.S. President Donald Trump uses derogatory nicknames toward his political opponents and rivals, including a member of his party, Italian-American Ron DeSantis, current governor of Florida since 2019 and a member of the Republican Party. Trump has nicknamed him ''Meatball'', which has been the subject of some controversy because the nickname is deemed offensive to Italian-Americans.

(6): It is a reference to one of my fanfic, ''Don't leave me, my bro''. Follow it and you will understand better.