Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Puzzles’ thoughts raced as he held a cigarette to his vent, staring out a window in his studio to the forest. Everything had been getting wrong for him. He was drawing a blank on ideas for parodies, the SMG4 crew found his studio through Mario’s boot trails, and now his beloved partner couldn't visit him anymore. It was demeaning...

Not to mention everything the SMG4 crew said to him when they found him and Mario together. How they yelled at him, degraded him, told him he would never be successful... It really took a toll on him. It made him think about his endeavors for success, and how they would always fail no matter how hard he tried. He was never going to achieve his dreams... No matter how hard he tried.

Puzzles sighed and walked away from the window, wandering out of his bedroom and standing in the hallway as he dropped his cigarette. When he turned towards his office, he saw a messy desk covered in papers, a trashcan full of crumpled scripts, and a framed photo of him and Mario on the wall. Puzzles smiled before walking past the office into the kitchen, and his heart raced again when he laid eyes on the knife on the counter.

No one would care if he left, right? He was just an annoyance to everyone, probably Mario too. Why else would Mario hang around him if not for free TV? People would probably celebrate his death too, throw a big old party to say “Hey, this guy is dead!” It was agonizing.

... It wouldn't take much to do it. Puzzles cut off his head once to look like this, he could certainly do it again. All he had to do was just... Slash. And he'd be dead. No point in making it look dramatic, because no one would be there to see him.

.. Except for Mario. He was the only one who actually cared. He would visit Mr. Puzzles every day to talk to him about life, to help him with his scripts, and throw him on the right path to redemption.

Probably not anymore, though. SMG4’s words might've convinced him that Puzzles was irredeemable, and now he'd never see his lover again.

Not like it mattered. Mario deserved better.

Puzzles reached for the knife.

~

Mario and SMG3 wandered through the forests nervously as Mario led the way to Puzzles’ studio. They couldn't take the main path thanks to the crew’s discovery, so they had to take a different route.

“So, tell me again why you like him?” Three asked, and Mario sighed. “To start, he's really confident in himself. He's always looking for something to be proud of, and when he succeeds at something tough, he isn't afraid to show it off to me. It's sweet.” Mario smiled weakly, despite the shiver running up his spine. Three tilted his head. “Go on.”

“And- And he's also really kind. It took a while for him to get used to me visiting regularly, but I'm the end, he actually really liked having me around. At some point he started making spaghetti and leaving it in the fridge for me!”

“That's really nice, actually...” Three replied, rubbing his arm nervously. Something felt wrong to him, but he didn't know what. Eventually, they both arrived at the studio, and Mario knocked on the door. “Amore, I'm back! And I brought SMG3, but he won't hurt you!!” He explained through the door, but he received no answer. Mario grew nervous. “Amore? I promise Three won't bite, he's all bark!”

“Hey!” Mario's comment made Three smack him over the head, but there was still no answer from the other side. Now slightly panicked, Mario tried to open the door, and was surprised to see that it was unlocked. Kicking it open out of fear, Mario ran inside the studio shouting his lover's name. “Puzzles!!”

“Mario, wait up!!” Three yelled after him, following him into the studio as he ran after him. After a few minutes of running, he found him looking into the living room, staring at Puzzles’ decapitated head on the couch. His body was laying on the floor, holding a knife and the framed photo of one of their dates. Three gasped. “O-Oh my god...” He mumbled, glancing at Mario to notice tears running down his cheeks.

“A-Amore..?” He mumbled, slowly walking towards the couch and lifting the head of his lover. A strange mix of blood and oil stained the couch where his head sat, and Mario began to sob as he stared at the dark screen. “No... No, no, no, no no no... No, please, not now!” He cried, hugging his head tightly as he fell to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Three could only stand where he was, gazing at the body of Mr. Puzzles as he processed what happened.

This was SMG4’s fault.

He tried to tell him and the others to leave Puzzles and Mario alone, but he just wouldn't listen.

“I'm gonna go talk to SMG4.” He said bitterly, slowly turning to leave the studio, leaving Mario alone to cry over his boyfriend.

“Please... No, amore!!” Mario sobbed, shaking the head vigorously in denial. “Please, this has to be a prank right?!” He cried, looking around the living room of the studio. “Well, this-this isn't funny! You can come out now! Amore?!” He sobbed, gazing at the body of his lover with teary eyes. When he reached to lift the framed photo, he saw him and Puzzles on the ice cream date they went on a few months before.

If only he was quicker in convincing Three to come with him to see his boyfriend...

Mario sobbed as he hugged the TV head tighter, caring not if his overalls and gloves were stained with his blood. He cried for his lover, and for him.

Chapter Text

Three stomped through the forest in anger as he clenched his fists, grumbling to himself as leaves and twigs snapped under his boots.

Mr. Puzzles was dead, killed by his own hand. Mario was still in his studio sobbing over him. And Three was on his way to give SMG4 a stern talking to. He told Four and Three others to leave Mario and Puzzles well enough alone, but they didn't listen, they ran to his studio to degrade and demean Mr. Puzzles, and now the adware was dead. By god, Three wanted to punch Four in the face when he saw him.

“SMG3!!” Mario shouted after the purple guardian, running after him with Puzzles’ hat in his hands. Three glanced back at him as the Italian caught up. “What? What's wrong?”

“Please - Don't hurt SMG4, he didn't know what he was doing-”

“Are you kidding me?! His words made Puzzles fucking kill himself! He deserves to know about this!” Three shouted, resuming his stomping towards the castle. Mario grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “I-I know, but you shouldn't hurt him!”

“Get off!!” Three pushed Mario off of his arm, knocking him to the ground as he stomped towards the castle. Mario felt tears well up in his eyes again as he clutched his lover’s hat, curling into a ball on the ground as he sobbed into his knees.

Three slammed the castle doors open, startling Meggy, Tari and SMG4 as he walked towards Four. “Oh, hey SMG3! I was wondering where you went-”

A firm smack across the face shut the blue guardian up, and Meggy gasped. “Three, what the hell was that for?!” She yelled, only to receive no answer as Three grabbed Four by the sweater and shook him roughly. “Do you have any idea what the fuck you did, SMG4?!” He shouted, and Four shook his head. “N-No?! What the hell are you talking about?!”

“I swear to god, if you saw Mario right now, you'd know exactly what you did!!”

“I swear to- Is this about Mr. Puzzles?! I told Mario not to see him again!!” Four shouted, now irritated at the Italian. Three shook him harder, and Meggy pushed him back. “What's gotten into you, man?! Don't tell me Mr. Puzzles brainwashed you!!” She yelled, and Three scowled as he clenched his fists.

“He can't brainwash anyone anymore because he's fucking DEAD!!”

The castle fell silent, Three’s words echoing off the walls. Four’s eyes widened. “Wh... What?”

“Puzzles killed himself! Because of you!!” Three pointed an angry finger at his guardian partner, and Four frowned. “There's no way he would’ve done that! He's too prideful to let some insults get to him!”

“Tell that to Mario.” Three pointed to the open castle doors as Mario walked in, his cheeks stained with tears as he gazed down at his lover's hat. His overalls and gloves were stained with the blood of his boyfriend, and Tari covered her mouth with her hands. “No... No, he wouldn't-!”

“Yeah, he would. And he did.” Three snapped, looking at Mario with a worried gaze. The Italian's gaze was completely devoid of emotion as he stared at the hat in his hands, turning it around as he held it tightly. His mustache drooped.

Meggy stepped towards Mario. “Oh, red... Did-Did you really care about him that much?” She asked, and when Mario didn't answer, Three did. “Yeah, obviously. And now, because of you-” He pointed again at SMG4- “Puzzles is dead and Mario's probably going to have depression for the next few months.” Three glared at the guardian before approaching Mario and grabbing him by the arm, leading him to the stairs. “Great job, Four; You're a real hero.” He said sarcastically before disappearing upstairs. Four tugged at his sweater collar. “... Puzzles... Actually did that..?” He mumbled, finding it hard to believe. But the way Mario looked, how distraught he was as he stared at the hat in his hands, all signs pointed to true.

Puzzles had killed himself thanks to Four.

Some hero Four was.