25m Distance Between Us

And if those Dark Clouds Start to Swirl

Mario had just finished traversing the Luncheon Kingdom with his hat ally, Cappy. The fat blue-wearing Broodal meant absolutely nothing to the plucky plumber, who stomped his head inwards as if he were a lowly Goomba.

Speaking of Goombas, Cappy had joked with Mario that if he could not have Peach or Pauline, he could always have the pink Goomba girl who fell smitten with him in his captured Goomba body. Mario contemplated flipping him off for that remark, but he decided to take the high road and continue on his journey.

He looked at the odd world around him and his thoughts drifted back to a time that was not so surreal.

At least, not for him.

"Mario!"

"What is it, Paulie?" the preteen Mario in a blue shirt with red shorts asked, leaving his post as Goalie in the Soccer game, and dropping the ball to the floor.

A younger Pauline approached him quickly, wearing a raggedy old blue dress with her hair tied in a ponytail. She looked very distraught, almost to the point of tears. Mario sat down with her in the ugly junkyard and told Luigi and the other boys to continue without him. Luigi was then tackled by Wario and Waluigi stole the ball off of him.

Pauline was having trouble coordinating her words. She was sobbing and trying to hide from Mario. He did not understand what was going on, and it only made him worry. What could drive her, of all people, so hysterical? She was always level-headed, albeit headstrong, as well. Finally, after a chain of tears and sobs, she outed with it.

"My father had a heart attack!" she bursted. "He's in the St. Merlumina General Hospital! It doesn't look good! What can I do?"

Mario hugged his weeping friend, He could never imagine what life would be like without his own father. It was a hard thought to bear. He could only scarcely imagine what she was feeling at this moment.

"I'm sure that-a Mr. Lombardi will-a be okay!" He said, trying to issue in some hope into the situation.

The poor Italian immigrant families in New Donk City tended to band together; Mario was not worried that Pauline and her mother would have nobody to turn to; heck, his family were always good friends with hers. They would jump to help if anything went wrong. Her family had helped his settle in after they escaped the Mushroom Kingdom when the Mario Brothers were only infants.

Pauline was beginning to calm down and regain her composure. She wiped the tears from her eyes. "Y-you're probably right, Mario! I'm just making things far worse by panicking. Thank you."

"It's-a not a problem!" Mario reassured. "Please, don't-a cry, Paulie!"

She nodded, and stood up off the piece of scrap metal. She waved to Mario and ran her way home.

He stood for a moment, stupefied, only to be hit with the soccer ball on the back of the head by Wario. Waluigi was laughing at him, as well. Mario laughed it off, as he knew he would beat the crap out of them in a moment.

Mario leaped onto a Frying Pan Brother and kicked off his hat, replacing it with Cappy and capturing him. He then wrought destruction upon all the foes in his wake, mercilessly tossing frying pan after frying pan at them, and bashing cheese blocks along the way.

He could swear that one of them laughed at him like Waluigi had long ago. The satisfaction of breaking his teeth was certainly there.

After much traversing through hot liquid and meat and corn and other oddities, Mario found himself with a handful of Moons.