The Day After...

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Darkness...

That was all he saw. The darkness seen when your eyelids close over your eyes to drift off to deep sleep...

But Mario didn't feel asleep. No, not one bit...

Almost instantaneously, however, the darkness was lifted, and Mario could see clearly. He lay on his back, starting up at the sky. He had no idea where he was, but it was strangely peaceful. Flowers sprouted up from the ground all around his body, all colored so vividly that the texture of their petals may have resembled precious gems. He could feel the ground he lay on. It was rocky and coarse, like that of a desert. The sky overhead shone a fantastic orange-red, like that seen during a sunset. Or perhaps even a sunrise. Where on Earth was he? That is, if he even WAS on Earth...
One particular flower drooped slightly over Mario's head, almost touching his forehead. It's pedals were colored white, with red polka dots. It was a pattern that was familiar to him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on where it was from. Stranger still was why this one flower seemed so important compared to the hundreds of others he was surrounded by...

Before Mario had any more time to think about it, his surroundings began to change. The flowers began to turned liquid white and melt into the ground. The orange-glazed sky overhead started to ferment into a silvery pallette and stretch out in all directions. The white flower with the red polka dots, too was changing form, into something bulbous and white, like a pillow. What the hell was going on?! Mario questioned this to himself over and over, but despite his apparent worry, he still did not get up. He simply proceeded to lay there while the world went through its stunning transformation.
And finally, after what seemed like several days, Mario found himself no longer in this pristine desert plain growing with flora.
Instead, he was now somewhere more familiar to him - the Double Dash infirmary. In his hospital bed, his head resting on his pillow. Wide awake. And standing over him was all of his teammates, looking extremely concerned. When his eyes at last fluttered open, they all gave cheers and hollers of joy and relief.

"Uncle Mawio!"
"Daddy!"
"Mario! You're awake!"
"Thank God!"
"We're you dead?"

Mario sat up in a daze and looked around questioningly. He looked around until his eyes settled on something in Luigi's hands..
The Rainbow World Cup, glittering in all its rainbowish beauty.
"Surprise!" Luigi exclaimed, holding it up for Mario to see. "We won it! We actually won it! YEAH!!"
"Yup!" Bowser said, "And we did it even without Super Mario! Gwahaha!"
Mario rubbed his head in confusion. "Waitwaitwait. I... I missed the Rainbow World Cup?

"We're so sorry, Mario..." Peach said sadly. It was noticed she was in a wheelchair. "I woke up the morning of the race, and the doctor said my leg was well enough for me to race in it, so long as I wore a brace. We were hoping you'd recovered enough, too, but... You never woke up. We're so sorry..."
Mario sighed deeply to himself, still holding his head. "...How long's it been?"
"We won the race just yesterday," King Boo said. "You've been totally out since you got lost consciousness back on the Daisy Cruiser. The doc said you'd probably be waking up this morning, though, so we all came by to say what's up."
"W-Who did you race against?" Mario asked groggily.
"The F-Zero team. Duh!" Daisy said matter-of-factly. "They were really tough, especially Capt Falcon, but Luigi and King Boo managed to pull ahead and win it for us!"

Mario's brain was still in overdrive. His mind was still reeling with the race that he remembered. The race against all of their dark counterparts... When had that all happened? Had it even happened? Was it real?
Or was it just a... dream?
No, it had felt too real to be a dream.
Unless...

"Umm..." Mario groaned, as though not sure how to put his question into words, "Have any of you seen... or heard from... Mr V recently?"

All of Mario's teammates looked around at one another, all seemingly asking the same question. Yoshi and Birdo both shook their heads. Petey grunted in futility. Paratroopa meekly barked. Following this, they all answered in their own form of 'no'.
"We ain't heard from him since two nights ago, when we all went on that hunt for answers to the mystery, which we've totally solved, by the way," Wario stated. "We'll fill you in on the details later, if you want. But yeah, as for Mr V... I think he may really be gone. That's too bad... I was kinda startin' to appreciate that freaky bastard."
DK lowered his head. "Yeah. Where Mr V go? I still miss him!"
With all of these comments surrounding Mr V, Mario thought back to his dream, for it's clear now that's what it was. And he thought back to Mr V...
"Hey everybody?" he asked, "Can I have a little time alone? I need to, ya know, recuperate a little bit..."

"OK," they all said. They all gave their farewells and began to head out of the infirmary, but not before Peach gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"So," Bowser announced as they all walked out, "Tonight, in commemoration of this day, I proudly announce the re-opening of Bowser's Bar! And as we drink the night away, we'll give a toast to our lost loved-ones for whom we won our gorgeous, sexy new trophy; Bowser Jr, Diddy, Koopa, Waluigi, and Toad! I've also introduced a new drink to my collection - a smooth drink called Canada Dry Ginger Ale!"

"Umm, that's not real ale, dude. It's not even alcohol..."

"Yeah, well you... wait, WHAT?!"

And that was the last that was heard before the door closed.

By now, the only one who'd yet to leave was Toadette. She stared at Mario curiously as he gazed out the sunlit window.
"Whachya thinkin' about?" she asked.
"Oh, I think you know..." he answered enigmatically.
Toadette nodded. "Yeah, I wonder where he is too..."
"Well, I can't blame him for leaving. He finished his job, and he knows our lives are headed in a better direction now. We don't need him anymore, I don't think..."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Toadette replied a little sadly.

Mario then turned around and looked at Toadette sympathetically. "Hey, listen... I'm sorry about Toad..."
Toadette closed her eyes and lowered her head slightly. "Oh, it's OK... In the end, it's probably for the best that he did what he did. Besides, we won the Rainbow World Cup, so in a way, we can say it was for him."
"Yeah..." Mario replied, turning back around to look out the window.
Toadette then opened her eyes and headed towards the door. "Well, I'm the new President of Double Dash now, so I better get started working on the preparations for our race on Yoshi Circuit now..."

"Oh, OK. Sure, you go ahead and do that."

"Oh, and, umm... Mario? I was wondering if you'd like to be recruited to the position of Vice President, maybe? I mean, you know how to run a racing league better than any of us, after all..."

Mario smiled at the request. "I'd be honored! Oh, but not until I'm better..."

Toadette smiled too. "Well, right! Of course!"

Mario just nodded and chuckled to himself, then let out a sigh of contentment. "Well, you better be off to work now..."

"Right..." Toadette agreed, promptly turning around to head out of the infirmary. "See ya later, OK?"
"OK!" Mario called back as she closed the door.

Mario continued to stare out the window at the rising sun. As he stared, he thought deeply about the events of the past week. He thought about Diddy Kong, Koopa, Bowser Jr, Waluigi, Toad... And Mr V.
The mellow sunlight that leaked into the room seemed to signify the new beginning. The new beginning that was starting for him and his friends now...
Mario then slowly nodded to himself, and under his breath, whispered,

"Thank you, Mr V..."

Camera...
Speed...
Lights...
And... Action!

Duh Duh Duh DUH! Duh DUH Duh!

"Good evening, and welcome back to Mushroom City 4 O'clock News at 9. I'm your anchor Boo T, and this is my attractive new co-anchor, Tess T. Tess T, what's our top story for tonight?"
"Well Boo T, we have an excellent story for all of you at home! The Mario Kart: Double Dash racing team has just won the Rainbow World Cup! Do you know what this means, Boo?"
"Umm... No, I don't! What does it mean, Tess?"
"Oh, you big silly! It means the Mario Kart team is once again number one in terms of popularity throughout the racing world!"
"Ah, well that's wonderful to hear! Oh, but what about those rumors that some of the members had tragically passed away during the week prior to the race?"
"Well, President Toadette herself does not deny that some of the team members did meet untimely demises during that period. However, that sure didn't stop them from giving it their all and kicking F-Zero's butt for the gold!"
"Ho ho! Most definitely not! Oh, and by the way, your name's funny. Cuz you know, you're a girl, but you name sounds like that part of a man-"
"Right then, Boo! On with the next news story, please!"
"Huh?! Oh, right! Ahem! Our next top story... President of the United States George W Bush has just gotten his wang bitten off by an angry weasel! This unfortunate event will certainly be the end of his Presidential run, don't you think?"

"Oh, dear! I would think so! What crazy forces do you think were at work behind THAT event?!"
"No idea, but whoever it was, thank you! Thank you ever so much!"
"Thank you indeed! Well, that's all the time he have for tonight, folks! For all of you at home, have a good night, and be sure to tune in tomorrow for Mushroom City 4 O'clock News at 9, bringing you the latest news that you can use to build yourself a better future!"
"Thank you, and goodnight...!"

/\THE END/\