Mario's deathbed

The Mushroom Kingdom Hospital was usually a place of chaotic recovery, often filled with Toads who had tripped over their own feet or Toadsworth having yet another heart attack. But in Room 101, the air was thick with the sterile scent of antiseptic and the rhythmic, haunting beep of a heart monitor that sounded far too slow.

Mario lay in the oversized hospital bed, his iconic red cap resting on the bedside table. For the first time in his life, he looked small. His mustache, usually bouncy and full of personality, seemed limp, and his skin had taken on a pale, waxy hue that no amount of spaghetti could fix.

He reached out with a trembling hand, fumbling for his phone. His fingers, usually greasy from pizza, were clean and pale. He tapped the group call icon on his contacts list. The screen flickered, showing the "Calling..." animation.

At the Showgrounds, the atmosphere was the complete opposite. SMG4 was hunched over his computer, frantically editing a video about a toilet that gained sentience. Bob and Fishy Boopkins were arguing in the background about whether anime girls or piles of trash were more aesthetic. Meggy was practicing her kicks near the entrance, and Luigi was fussing over a bouquet of flowers he was trying to arrange for the foyer.

SMG4’s phone buzzed aggressively. He glanced at the caller ID and a grin broke across his face.

"Hey, guys! It’s Mario!" SMG4 shouted, waving the phone around. "Maybe he’s finally calling to apologize for blowing up the kitchen this morning."

He swiped the screen to answer and put it on speaker, holding it up so the whole crew could see. "Mario! Where the heck have you been? You missed the—"

The words died in SMG4’s throat. The rest of the crew crowded around the screen, their playful expressions melting into masks of pure horror.

Mario was framed by white pillows and a web of plastic tubes. An oxygen mask was pulled down around his neck, and his eyes, usually wide with manic energy, were half-lidded and glazed.

"Oh... hey guys," Mario rasped. His voice was a thin shadow of its usual boisterous self. "Mama mia... you all look like you’ve seen a ghost."

"Mario?" SMG4’s voice cracked. The phone trembled in his grip. "What is this? Is this a prank? Did you put on makeup to get out of cleaning the RV?"

Luigi pushed his way to the front, his face turning a ghostly shade of green. "Bro? Mario? Why are you in the hospital? Why are there so many machines?"

Melony, who had been dozing on a nearby crate, stood up slowly. Her usual sleepy demeanor vanished, replaced by a cold, sharp dread. She walked over to the phone, her eyes wide. "Mario... your life force... it’s fading."

Mario tried to give a signature thumbs-up, but his hand fell back onto the sheets after only a few inches. He gave a weak, wet cough. "The doctor... he said the spaghetti levels in my blood finally hit zero. Or maybe it was the three thousand times I fell off a cliff. I think... I think I’m out of 1-Up mushrooms, guys."

The silence that followed was deafening. Even Bob, who usually had a witty remark or an insult ready, remained silent, his glowing eyes flickering with genuine distress.

"What are you saying, Mario?" Meggy asked, her voice trembling. "You’re just sick. We’ll get Dr. Mario, or we’ll go on a quest to find a Phoenix Down, or—"

"Meggy," Mario interrupted, his voice soft. "Not this time. The big Nintendo in the sky... it’s calling for a Game Over."

Luigi let out a strangled sob, clutching his green cap to his chest. He collapsed to his knees, burying his face in his hands. "No! No, no, no! Mario, you can’t! We were supposed to go karting this weekend! You promised!"

Melony’s lip quivered. She reached out toward the screen as if she could pull Mario through the pixels and back into the room. Tears began to track down her cheeks, glowing faintly with her deity energy. "We can save you. I’ll use the sword, I’ll—"

"Melony... don't," Mario whispered. "Just... come say goodbye? I don't want to be alone when the credits roll."

SMG4 felt like his heart had been dropped into a blender. The man on the screen was more than just a source of content or a chaotic roommate. He was his best friend. He was the soul of the kingdom.

"Everyone," SMG4 said, his voice dropping into a tone of command they rarely heard. "Get to the van. Now!"

He didn't wait for a response. He bolted for the door, the phone still clutched in his hand. The crew followed in a frantic, stumbling rush. Tari was crying openly, her cybernetic arm sparking with her distress. Saiko looked grim, her jaw set tight to keep from breaking down, while Bob and Boopkins were uncharacteristically quiet, huddled together as they ran.

The drive to the hospital was a blur of illegal U-turns and screaming sirens. SMG4 drove like a madman, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. In the back, Luigi was inconsolable, his cries muffled by Melony, who held him in a tight, protective hug even as her own tears fell silently onto his shoulder.

When they arrived, they didn't wait for the elevator. They sprinted up the stairs, the sound of their heavy breathing echoing in the sterile stairwell. They burst through the doors of the third floor, ignoring the protests of a nurse who tried to tell them only two visitors were allowed at a time.

They reached Room 101 and skidded to a halt.

The reality was worse than the video call. Mario looked even smaller in person. The "beep... beep... beep..." of the monitor was the only sound in the room.

SMG4 was the first to approach the bed. He reached out and took Mario’s hand. It was cold.

"We’re here, Mario," SMG4 whispered. "We’re all here."

Mario turned his head slowly. A tiny, genuine smile touched his lips—not the crazy, wide-eyed grin of a man looking at a pizza, but the tired smile of a brother.

"Good," Mario breathed. "I was worried... I’d have to eat the hospital jello by myself. It tastes like... wet cardboard."

Luigi threw himself at the side of the bed, wailing. "Mario! Don't go! I'll give you all my coins! I'll let you be Player One! Just please, don't leave me!"

Mario moved his hand with great effort, resting it on Luigi’s green hat. "Hey... Weegee. Don't cry. You’re the best... Player Two... a guy could ask for. You’re a hero now. You don't need me to hide behind anymore."

Luigi shook his head violently, his tears soaking into Mario’s hospital gown. "I don't want to be a hero without you!"

Melony stepped forward, kneeling beside Luigi. She took Mario’s other hand. "Is there truly nothing we can do? I can feel your spirit... it’s so thin."

Mario looked at her, his eyes softening. "Melony... take care of the garden. And make sure... SMG4 doesn't spend all his time... on that stupid computer. He needs... to go outside."

SMG4 let out a wet laugh, a tear sliding down his nose. "I promise, Mario. I’ll go outside. I’ll even touch grass."

Meggy stood at the foot of the bed, her hands clenched into fists. She was trying so hard to be the strong one, the athlete, the coach. But her shoulders were shaking. "Mario... who’s going to challenge me to stupid competitions? Who’s going to drive me crazy?"

"You’re the best, Meggy," Mario said, his voice growing fainter. "The strongest... inkling... human... whatever you are. Keep winning. For me."

Tari sobbed, hiding her face behind her hood. Saiko looked away, staring at the wall as her eyes brimmed with moisture. Bob lowered his head, his usual bravado completely gone.

"Hey... SMG4?" Mario whispered.

SMG4 leaned in closer. "Yeah, Mario?"

"Is the video... going to be funny?"

SMG4 choked back a sob. "The funniest one yet, Mario. It’s going to have all the memes. All of them."

"Good," Mario said. He closed his eyes. "I think... I’m gonna take a nap now. I’m really... really tired."

The heart monitor’s rhythm began to slow further. *Beep... ... beep... ... ... beep...*

"Mario?" SMG4 called out, his voice trembling. "Mario, stay with us. Just a little longer."

"It’s okay," Mario murmured, his voice barely audible over the hum of the machines. "I can smell it... the big spaghetti... in the sky. It smells... like heaven."

Luigi let out a final, heartbroken scream of "MARIO!" as the monitor emitted a single, continuous, high-pitched tone.

The line went flat.

The silence that followed was the loudest thing SMG4 had ever heard. It was a silence that didn't belong in their world—a world usually filled with explosions, screaming, and the "Wahoo!" of a red-clad plumber.

Melony bowed her head, her hair falling forward to hide her face as she let out a soft, mourning wail. Luigi collapsed entirely, his body shaking with the force of his grief. Meggy turned away, punching the wall once in frustration before breaking down into Tari’s arms.

SMG4 didn't move. He stayed there, holding Mario’s hand, staring at the face of the man who had been the center of his universe for over a decade. He looked at the empty red hat on the nightstand.

"Game Over, Mario," SMG4 whispered, his voice thick with a pain he couldn't describe. "Game Over."

Outside the hospital window, the sun began to set over the Mushroom Kingdom, casting long, golden shadows over the land. The castle stood in the distance, a silent monument to the adventures they had shared.

In the room, the crew gathered around the bed, a circle of broken hearts. They were no longer just a group of internet parodies or chaotic entities. They were a family, and they had just lost their heart.

Bob reached out, his metal claw gently touching Mario’s shoulder. "GoOdByE... fAtPiEceOfShIt," he croaked, his voice synthesizer glitching with emotion. It was the highest compliment Bob could give.

Fishy Boopkins sobbed into his hands. "He never got to see the new anime season!"

As the nurses finally entered the room to gently usher them out, SMG4 picked up Mario’s red hat. He held it against his chest, feeling the coarse fabric. It felt heavy, filled with the weight of a thousand memories.

They walked out of the hospital in a daze, the world outside continuing on as if nothing had changed. But for them, everything had changed. The colors seemed a little duller, the air a little colder.

As they reached the van, Luigi stopped and looked up at the stars. "Do you think... he’s okay?"

SMG4 looked at the red hat in his hands, then up at the sky. He imagined Mario somewhere, sitting at a table that stretched on forever, piled high with the most perfect, golden spaghetti imaginable. He imagined him laughing, his belly shaking, finally free of the glitchy, dangerous world they lived in.

"Yeah, Luigi," SMG4 said, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. "I think he’s doing just fine."

He climbed into the driver's seat, but he didn't start the engine right away. He just sat there, looking at the empty passenger seat where a fat, red plumber usually sat, demanding they stop at the nearest McDonald's.

The journey ahead would be quiet. It would be lonely. But as SMG4 looked at his grieving friends in the rearview mirror, he knew they would get through it. They had to. Because that’s what Mario would have wanted—right after he finished his spaghetti.

With a heavy sigh, SMG4 started the van and drove away from the hospital, leaving behind the body of a legend, but carrying the spirit of a brother. The Mushroom Kingdom would never be the same, but the stars tonight seemed to shine just a little bit brighter, as if the universe itself was celebrating a life lived at maximum volume.