Sad

The heavy oak doors of SMG4’s castle didn’t just close; they slammed with a finality that echoed through the entire courtyard. Mario tumbled down the stone steps, his iconic red cap fluttering off his head and landing in a puddle of muddy water. He didn't scramble to pick it up with his usual frantic energy. Instead, he sat there, his gloved hands pressed into the dirt, staring at the wood grain of the door as if waiting for the "just kidding" that never came.

Inside, the muffled sound of a popping cork drifted through the stone walls. There was a cheer—a collective, high-pitched roar of relief.

"Finally! Some peace and quiet!" SMG4’s voice rang out, sounding lighter than it had in years.

"My ears... they don't hurt anymore," Saiko added, followed by the clinking of glasses.

Mario reached out, picking up his hat. He squeezed the water out of it, the vibrant red fabric looking dull and sodden. His stomach, usually a bottomless pit demanding spaghetti, felt like it had been filled with cold lead. He didn’t scream. He didn’t throw a tantrum. He just stood up, placed the wet hat on his head, and turned away. He looked smaller than usual as he began the long walk toward the city, his head bowed so low his chin touched his overalls.

Inside the throne room, the atmosphere was electric with a cruel sort of joy. Bob was doing a celebratory rap about the lack of property damage, and Meggy was laughing at a joke Bob had made about the "dead weight" being lifted.

However, near the buffet table, Luigi stood perfectly still. His hands were shaking so violently that the soda in his cup was splashing over the rim. His green hat cast a shadow over his eyes, but his teeth were gritted so hard they looked like they might crack.

"Luigi! Come on, lighten up!" SMG4 shouted, waving a hand toward his friend. "No more clogged toilets! No more stolen memes! Aren't you happy?"

Luigi looked up. His eyes weren't filled with his usual cowardly tears. They were burning with a cold, sharp fury that silenced the room.

"Happy?" Luigi’s voice was a low tremble. "You just threw my brother out into the street. For what? Being annoying? Being himself?"

"Luigi, he’s a menace," Meggy said, her smile faltering. "We just need a break. He’ll be fine."

"He’s my brother," Luigi hissed, stepping forward. The cowardice that usually defined him was nowhere to be found. "He’s the reason half of you even have a place to stay. He’s the reason we’re a 'crew' in the first place. And you all just... celebrated throwing him away like trash."

In the corner, Melony sat on a beanbag, her Fierce Deity mask resting beside her. She wasn't laughing. She wasn't sleeping. She was staring at the door with a profound sadness. She remembered the nights after Axol had passed—the nights when the grief felt like it was drowning her. Mario had been the only one who didn't try to "fix" her with logic or training. He had simply sat with her, sharing his snacks in silence, his presence a warm, steady anchor in her storm.

"He’s not a menace," Melony said softly, her voice cutting through the tension. "He’s family. And you’re all being mean."

She stood up, grabbed her mask, and walked toward the stairs, refusing to look at SMG4. Luigi followed her, giving the rest of the group a look of pure disdain.

"Don't expect me to fix the plumbing when it breaks," Luigi snapped over his shoulder. "And don't expect me to forget this. You’ve made a huge mistake."

The doors clicked shut behind them, leaving the "celebration" in an awkward, suffocating silence.

***

The city was bustling, a stark contrast to the hollow feeling in Mario’s chest. He walked along the sidewalk, his feet dragging. Usually, the sight of a hot dog stand or a shiny coin would have him leaping with joy, but he passed them by without a second glance.

He reached a busy intersection where Karen, the perennially exhausted cat-mom, was herding her brood of kittens toward a bus stop. She was juggling three shopping bags, a stroller, and a coffee that was mostly cold.

Normally, this was the moment where Mario would do something catastrophically stupid. He would accidentally knock over her groceries, or try to ride one of the kittens like a horse, or ask her if she had any "illegal spaghetti" in her bags. Karen was already bracing for it. She saw the red hat approaching and instinctively tightened her grip on her bags, her ears pinning back in irritation.

"Look, Mario, if you’re about to ask for a discount on anything, the answer is no," she barked, not even looking up as she tried to keep her toddlers from running into traffic. "I’m off the clock, I’m tired, and I don't have the patience for your—"

She stopped.

Mario didn't stop. He didn't even look at her. He simply shuffled past, his eyes fixed on the cracked pavement. He moved like a ghost, his shoulders hunched, his arms hanging limp at his sides. There was no "It’s-a me," no "Ooh, ravioli," no chaotic energy at all. Just a profound, heavy silence.

Karen stood frozen, her mouth slightly open. She watched him walk away, his red silhouette getting smaller in the distance. The kittens, sensing the shift in mood, stopped squirming and watched him too.

"Mommy? Why is the red man sad?" one of the kittens asked, pulling at her sleeve.

Karen didn't answer immediately. She had spent years being the target of Mario’s idiocy. She had yelled at him, banned him from stores, and threatened him with every legal action imaginable. But seeing him like this—stripped of his spark—felt wrong. It felt like the sun had suddenly decided to stop being bright.

"I... I don't know, sweetie," Karen whispered, her expression softening into genuine concern.

She looked down the street again. Mario hadn't even noticed the coin he’d stepped over. That was the biggest red flag of all.

***

Back at the castle entrance, Luigi and Melony stood on the porch.

"We have to find him," Melony said, her hand resting on the hilt of her blade. "He shouldn't be alone right now."

"I know," Luigi said, his voice cracking slightly as his anger began to mix with worry. "But we also need to make sure they understand. They think they can just hit a reset button on Mario because he’s 'difficult.' They forgot that he’s the heart of this place, even if that heart is made of pasta and stupidity."

Luigi looked back at the castle. He loved his friends, but today, they weren't friends. They were bullies.

"Melony, go find him. You’re faster. Take him to the secret bunker under my house. It’s stocked with enough spaghetti to last a month," Luigi instructed.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

Luigi adjusted his gloves, a dark glint in his eyes. "I’m going to make sure the 'celebration' ends early. If they want a castle without Mario, they’re going to find out exactly how miserable that really is."

Melony nodded once and vanished in a blur of purple energy, heading toward the city.

Luigi turned back toward the heavy doors. He wasn't the "cowardly brother" today. He was a man on a mission. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a specialized wrench—one he usually only used for the most stubborn pipes.

"Let's see how much they enjoy their 'peace' when the water main 'accidentally' bursts and the Wi-Fi router finds its way into the moat," Luigi muttered to himself.

***

Mario had reached the pier. He sat on the edge of the wooden planks, his legs dangling over the dark water of the harbor. The sun was beginning to set, casting long, orange shadows over the kingdom.

He pulled a small, crumpled photograph from his pocket. It was a picture of the whole crew from a few months ago, taken during a beach trip. Everyone was smiling. He was in the center, covered in sand and holding a giant crab.

He looked at SMG4’s face in the photo. He looked at Meggy. He looked at Bob.

"Mario... Mario thought we were having fun," he whispered to the empty air.

A shadow fell over him. He didn't look up, thinking it was just a seagull or perhaps a stranger wanting him to move.

"Mario?"

The voice was soft, melodic, and filled with a warmth he didn't think he deserved right now. He turned his head slightly to see Melony standing there. She wasn't wearing her mask; her eyes were kind and sad.

"Go away, Melony," Mario said, his voice uncharacteristically flat. "Mario is... Mario is retired."

Melony sat down beside him, her boots dangling over the water next to his brown shoes. "They were wrong, Mario. All of them."

"They looked happy," Mario said, gesturing vaguely toward the distant castle. "They cheered. Mario heard them. Mario is just a big, dumb-dumb who breaks things. SMG4 said so."

Melony reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You’re the person who made me feel like I could keep going when Axol left. You didn't break me. You helped me."

Mario looked at her, his lip quivering. "But the castle... the memes..."

"The castle is just a building," Melony said firmly. "And the memes are just pictures. You’re our brother. Luigi is looking for you. He’s really mad at them."

Mario wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "Luigi is mad? But Luigi is scared of everything."

"Not when it comes to you," Melony smiled. "Come on. Let’s go to Luigi’s place. We can have a sleepover. No SMG4. No rules. Just us."

Mario looked back at the city. He saw Karen standing on the sidewalk a few blocks away, still watching him. When their eyes met, the grumpy cat-mom gave him a very small, very stiff nod of encouragement before turning to board her bus.

It wasn't a plate of spaghetti, and it wasn't a grand apology, but it was something.

"Okay," Mario said, standing up and dusting off his overalls. "But Mario gets to choose the movie."

"Deal," Melony said, offering him a hand.

As they walked away from the pier, the first sounds of chaos began to drift from the direction of the castle—the sound of a very loud, very intentional plumbing explosion.

Mario didn't know it yet, but the Mushroom Kingdom was about to learn a very painful lesson: you don't know what you've got until the "dumb spaghetti enjoyer" isn't there to hold the madness together. And Luigi was going to make sure that lesson was taught in the most inconvenient way possible.

For the first time that day, Mario felt a tiny spark of his usual self return. He wasn't quite ready to "Wahoo" yet, but as he walked with Melony, he felt like he might be able to again, someday soon.