Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Great. 

Just great.

Bonnie Freeman was furious at herself.

She had always been a fiery soul, but this time it had really backfired.

Being the cocky person she was, she'd managed to go and piss off the godlike entity that'd trapped her and her boyfriend's souls in a game, and now they'd been sent into ANOTHER one, all because she couldn't keep her damned mouth shut for five minutes.

And to make things worse, it was a new genre.

Not that that was necessarily a bad thing, but when it came to Downbeat, a new game type rarely meant anything good. Because it usually meant having to learn how to deal with being in a totally different body than usual.

It was a good thing Mario moved around so easily, because if not, she'd be losing her mind right now.

A small shape in the distance brought her out of her angry thoughts.

Standing near her was a small, green-and-white copy of her current vessel. He seemed to be in the same boat as her, as he inspected himself with surprise before his attention shifted to her.

"...Mario? Is that really you?!"

His eyes were wide with wonder, a kind of innocence Bonnie only really saw in young children.

"Oh my gosh, it really IS you!" He exclaimed, hugging her tightly. "I can't believe I'm actually here! We're gonna have so much fun, we're gonna fight bad guys, and we'll go on all kinds of adventures together!"

Giles couldn't help but laugh at the deadpan expression on his girlfriend's face. It was the complete opposite to how the character she inhabited usually acted.

Between the child's rambling and her own thoughts, Bonnie could do nothing but sigh internally.

This was going to be a long day.

To say Lucas Everett was having a good day was an understatement.

He was having an absolutely amazing day so far! First, he'd celebrated his (eighth) birthday, which was always fun. Then, he'd gotten a brand new game for his NES, and now, he'd somehow woken up in the world of the game, with Mario right by his side! ...Oh, and the princess was there too.

He hoped it wasn't just a dream. But if it was, he'd be sure to tell Uncle Mark all about it once he woke up.

Lucas looked up at his hero, stars practically glowing in his eyes.

"I can't believe you're actually here!" He cried, waving his arms in excitement. "I always thought you were so awesome and cool, and-"

Meanwhile, Mario simply nodded along, a slight smile curling under his thick mustache. The princess seemed amused as well.

"Oh, look!" Lucas stopped, pointing at a lone brick block. "D'ya think it has anything in it?"

Mario was endeared by his enthusiasm, and gestured him to go ahead and hit it.

The boy did so, producing... nothing?

"Huh...?"

As soon as he'd hit the block, the sky had darkened a little, and the once-cheery (if a little off-key) music became slightly... emptier?

"W... Why did that happen?"

His hero seemed just as confused, as well as a little afraid. "...It's probably nothing." He hesitantly replied. "Let's just keep moving. Alright, buddy?"

"O-Okay."

Together, they continued, noticing more and more oddities popping up, until finally, the sky had turned completely black, and the music had stopped.

Bonnie was really starting to get nervous. First, she'd fallen into this world, and now, the game itself seemed broken.

What happened when they reached the end of the level certainly didn't do anything to ease her worries.

A few feet away from them, standing beside the castle, (though the end-of-level flagpole was missing, which was another thing Bonnie added to her mental tally of the oddities she'd seen in this place) was Mario. Or, at least, what appeared to be him.

His colors seemed a little off. Darker and duller. Certain details, such as the buttons on his overalls, were missing, giving him a strange, uncanny vibe.

Lucas, however, didn't seem to mind. Or notice, even, which worried Bonnie a little bit.

"Mario?"

"Hey there, champ!" He greeted, his voice low and a bit warbled. "...Oh, and you brought some friends along with you!"

The boy looked between the two almost-identical characters, clearly puzzled. "But, I thought... you were..." He trailed off.

Bonnie was a little glad he did. She didn't quite feel like explaining all of that to the kid yet.

"Well, don't worry about who's who right now." He joked, before changing the subject. "I've got a special surprise for your birthday!"

Lucas's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yep! It's waaaay back at the beginning, so I hope you don't mind a little running."

"Nope, I don't mind!" He cheerfully replied.

The figure laughed. "Well then what're you standing around for? Go and get it!"

As soon as Lucas ran off, the off-color copy's friendly demeanor vanished completely, and he glared at Bonnie with large, empty eyes.

"Go ahead. Take a head start."

The second she turned and ran, so did he.

Lucas was a little surprised that Mario managed to catch up with him so quickly. In fact, he wasn't expecting him to follow at all!

He also wasn't expecting him to grab his hand and drag him along, either.

With a confused gasp, he turned around, and let out a horrified cry.

The once friendly-looking character's features had distorted into a frightening, almost melted-looking face. Along with his appearance, his voice had changed a considerable amount, becoming a thundering, guttural roar that was a sharp contrast to his previously near-perfect Mario impression.

"LUUUUCAAAAASSSS!" The monster screamed, running towards him with terrifying speed.

Lucas could do nothing but bury his face in the real Mario's chest. Whatever this was, it wasn't his hero. It was a monster.

Eventually, they leapt to a high-up platform, and watched the imposter fall into the endless pit.

Panting, Mario set him down, laying a hand over his racing heart. "Okay... I think we're safe."

They were just about to jump off when a familiar foe interrupted them.

"WAHOOOOOOOOOO!"

The now-massive creature launched out of the chasm with a deranged smile on its face, reaching an enormous gloved hand towards him.

Lucas screamed.

Giles's eyes widened.

Bonnie let out a string of panicked curses. 

"ShitshitshitshitSHIT-!"

She'd now slung the boy over her shoulder like a sack, and frantically dashed to the pipe that wasn't there before.

"COME BACK HEEERE!"

"Never!" She yelled back, disappearing inside as the beast skidded to a halt.

Rather than feeling enraged at their escape, MX felt... thrilled. He'd chased many souls before, but none had been as exciting as this one. And although he didn't feel the same sense of connection towards this girl like he did with Lucas, he still found her interesting. Downbeat had mentioned her once or twice before, but this was the first time he'd met her in the flesh- er, digital flesh, he supposed.

He laid a hand on the pipe, patting it.

"Have fun, Lucas. I'll be back soon."

Turning around, he walked away, smiling happily to himself.

Chapter Text

Pure black surrounded the trio as they tumbled through the tube, before being spat out into a dark cave.

They'd managed to escape, and now they were trying to catch their breaths, processing everything they'd just seen in that time.

Lucas was the most visibly (and mentally) shaken, as he shivered in the corner of the room he'd landed in.

He was scared.

He just couldn't understand what was happening to him, or why it was happening.

He wanted to cry.

Oh, wait. He already was.

"...Hey, kid? You okay?"

The real Mario's voice made him poke his head out from the fetal position he'd been in.

"No..." He breathed shakily. "I'm not okay..."

Eyes downturned in sympathy, Bonnie sat down next to him, and nudged his shoulder. "Hey, it's gonna be alright. I'm here, my boyfriend's here. We're gonna make it out of this place, trust me."

"T-Thanks. ...Wait, 'boyfriend'?"

Her face turned blue with shock (or embarrassment, judging by the way she covered her mouth).

"Fuck-"

The sheer absurdity of hearing THE Super Mario drop an f-bomb made Giles cackle with laughter. Lucas sat there, speechless.

"Sorry, it's just-" She stuttered. "I- I wanted to wait before letting you know that."

"It's okay." Lucas replied quietly. "...I could tell you weren't really him."

"What?"

"...I knew this wasn't real." He turned away, small tears forming at the corners of his eyes. 

"Hey, don't say that!" She comforted. "Sure, it might be a little scary, but you can still do all of those cool things! Hitting blocks, stomping... Koopas, and jumping wherever you please!"

Those words seemed to do the trick, and he looked up at her. "...Thank you."

"You're welcome, kid. Now, how about we start moving forward again?"

"O... Okay."

"Oh, and just to introduce ourselves... My name's Bonnie, and this is Giles."

"I'm Lucas."