An Error Has Occurred:

Written By: Hikashi Akuto

Inspired by: Mario '85/Mario PC Port

Part 1:

It was early in the morning hours of December 17th, 1999 when young 11-year old Marcus got out of bed to go play his dad’s favorite Mario Game, Super Mario World. It was Marcus’s first time playing a Mario game, so he thought what better place to start than his Dad’s favorite game. He grabbed his father’s SNES and plugged it in. After getting it completely set up he began to play. He pressed start and clicked on the first level. Although he hadn’t played the game ever before he had noticed that something was off. He himself was home alone so that was the worst part. He had felt the sudden breeze of wind come in from behind him. Something was off and he knew it. He started playing again and beat the first level. Nothing in the game was off but the music was not playing. Marcus decided to continue playing despite his senses telling him the opposite. The next level was simple but Mario didn’t look right. His face was now covered in shadow, Marcus took notice of this very quickly. 

Marcus yet again ignored this continuing the game despite the red flags everywhere. After that level he was onto the next. When he pressed start yet another thing was again off kilter. The level was meant to be above ground but this time it was below ground. Marcus however since he had never played the game did not take notice of this. However the one thing he did take notice of was that he was no longer playing Mario, he was playing Luigi. Marcus may have never played the game but he had the feeling that this wasn’t supposed to have happened. He started walking around with a worried expression on Luigi. After walking around a while Marcus noticed a pattern. There were no enemies on the level. Just eerie cave noises and echoing footsteps. After enough time when he got to the end of the level, a shadowing figure stood in the background just watching. Marcus noticed it and was visually disturbed.

Part 2:

When the level was completed the game froze. The game was silent and all Marcus could hear was his own breathing and his heart beat which was slowly getting faster. The game then finally loaded and the world map had finally loaded in. Luigi's face was distorted and eerie and the entire world map was there but no roads or levels were. Well, except the one level he was spawned on. Marcus reluctantly pressed start and the level opened up. It was just Mario looking at the screen, looking at Marcus. Mario's face was covered in shadow and there was one blue pixel on the right side of his face. There was no music playing but it felt like Mario was watching Marcus through the game. Marcus is getting way too disturbed by this and he goes to shut off the console but it overheats and a black screen appears on the television.

A blue text follows this black screen and reads "An Error has Occurred. The Nintendo work team has been notified. Please wait until your game is fixed. Error Code: MA3". This sent chills down Marcus's skin. He may not know much but he knows it's impossible for the Nintendo work team to get notified just like that and to fix his game if it was a purchased cartridge. This whole situation was creepy and he knew it. Marcus then notices all the curtains are now shut despite them being open just moments earlier. His lamp's light bulb bursts, shattering and sending the bulb's glass tumbling to the floor. Marcus was now getting extremely worried.

Part 3:

Marcus looks around frantically as numerous light bulbs burst and a chilling air floods the room causing Marcus to get cold and even more scared. Marcus then pulls his attention back to his television which was now a pitch black screen. The television is now unplugged but it turns on, revealing a black screen with some mild static and two piercing blue eyes staring directly at Marcus. A blue text appears on the screen.
"You're a persistent little pest aren't you. Well then... So be it." It reads, Marcus is even more scared and he stands up and slowly backs away from the television. 

A hand breaks through the television's screen, seemingly coming from inside it, the arm is followed by a darker tone Mario and it has a shadow over it's face but it's nose and mustache is still visible. There is one defining feature however... His piercing blue eye on the right side of his face. The Mario stands up straight and looks directly at Marcus, who was now running to his room. Marcus made a mad dash to his room and shut the door behind him and locked it, fleeing to his bed and hiding under it. Marcus waits under the bed with bated breath and hopes this is one hell of a nightmare.

"Come on out Marcus... Mario just wants to play!" His voice sounded like Mario... but... it was no Mario. It was glitchy and distorted, eerie to say it lightly.

Marcus ducked further under his bed as he heard the footsteps clop closer to his bedroom door. This creature was going not going to leave and Marcus knew it despite what he was hoping would happen. Suddenly, there's a knock on Marcus's door. 

Part 4:

Marcus was never found and the search for the young boy has ceased 5 years ago. The year is 2006 and since that unfortunate night on December 17th, 1999, there have been numerous missing persons reports flooding across Dark Oak County. All reports having one thing in common... A man with a dark red shirt and cap, gray overalls and a tall lanky 6 foot 6 inch appearance in one of the windows before the person was reported missing. Poor Marcus was never seen again and to this day nobody knows what happened.

All we know for sure is that Marcus woke up an early December 17th in 1999 and sat down to play some Super Mario Bros World.