Mario '85 - A Fool to Bargain With

A Fool to Bargain With

Every day can never get any more entertaining than what he had already accomplished; a fun time. It's the same routine to no end. One step into uncharted territory is the catalyst to an upcoming disaster when the beautifully bright and cheery atmosphere transforms into a gloomy and lonely wasteland with no opponents or power-ups in sight.

"Perfect." A familiar voice softly spoke.

MX stands tall and proud in his false hero form as he views the skies that are now draining of saturation. Each step from his victim continuously creates more dullness and it brings the man anticipation.

MX is just itching to start the same old cat-and-mouse chase. He could not contain his excitement for much longer. Not until he appears.

His memories of the little boy crawl from the inner machinations of his mind, evoking some nostalgia. The way he pulled his soul out of his body before sucking him into the cartridge after he passed away from that electric shock through the console. Long before the game's code was transferred to a computer and subsequently published on the internet. Truly an extraordinary event that propelled him to where he stood. Since that fateful day, he understood that as long as the game is being run by a player, the cycle within the script will never cease.

"Come on, Lucas. Don't keep me waiting. After all, this little game of tag has only just begu—." Before he could finish his sentence, something interrupted his sentence. All the adrenaline he had previously vanished as a chilling sensation washed over him.

If one could describe the feeling, it was like daggers made of frigid ice pierced through his skin, leaving him frozen in place. The hair on the back of his neck stands up and his goosebumps pop through the clothes infused into his flesh. This gaze is unnatural. He never felt this much intensity in all of his years possessing the game.

This is not Lucas' presence he sensed. Then who could be giving him these shivers? He turns his head to scowl over his shoulder. Much to his astonishment, it was the little boy that he was obsessed with earlier right there in his Luigi vessel. But something was peculiar about him. When MX circles around to make eye contact, he can spot some very noticeable details that Lucas never had to begin with.

His deep black eyes are fixated on MX with a humongous grin stretching across its face, revealing its crooked, yet clean pearly whites to add the cherry on top. There was no sign of fear or anguish. The expression appears to be so unhinged that one could classify him as a psychopath.

There is no way that this is the boy he tormented. It is difficult to believe since he knows more about the child than practically anyone else who inhabited the lands. Regardless of whether or not the person in front of him is Lucas, MX must keep his composure. He needs to keep his guard up in this type of situation. He needs to say his lines so he can keep the charade going, and no matter the outcome, it's rinse and repeat.

"Hey there, champ! Thanks for coming!" He piped. "I left a lil' something for you at the beginning! Wanna take a look? It's a big surprise!

No response. That toothy smile is starting to create tension in the atmosphere and it's starting to affect MX.

"C-come on, buddy! Why are you still standing there? Don't you want to know what the surprise is? Trust me! You're going to love it! Just run along back and..." his words trail off, falling under deaf ears as the latter continues to stand like a statue.

What gives? Why isn't Lucas doing anything? He hasn't moved an inch since he made eye contact with him. He's just standing there... menacingly.

...Twitch. The lid under the false hero's left eye quivers as the seething smoke of frustration resonates from his core, slowly cracking through his facade. His smile once meant to put the person in front of him into a false sense of security, now teeth with irritation.