Their van drives around the streets of Brooklyn as Mario and Luigi look for work far into the evening.
Mario searches the streets frantically with his eyes as Luigi searches for the right words to say to his brother.
People begin to go home, eat dinner, and meet up with their family members as they get ready to relax for the night, but Mario and Luigi still can't find work.
The van stops at a stoplight as Mario frustratingly sighs.
Mario watches as a mother and father hug their two grown children and walk them inside of their house. Mario sighs as Luigi places his hand on his brother's shoulder.
Luigi: "Eh.....Mario?"
Mario sits silently.
Luigi: "....Look....I'm sure that if you got on your hands and knees....and PLEADED really hard with Papa to let you back in....that maybe he would?"
Luigi's nervous smile and chuckle puts off any hope that he had of cheering Mario up.
His brother then slams his head on the wheel.
Luigi puts a hand on his brother's back as he speaks.
Mario: "I don't think he would Luigi.....they just don't see me like how they see you...."
Luigi: "Sure they do Mario! They see you as their son!"
Mario: "No they don't.....they just see me as a spoiled bambino..."
Luigi: "Oh, Mario, come on! If anything, they see me as a little bambino!"
Mario: "Fine, then they see you as a bambino and me as a spoiled little brat......All I was trying to do was get us better jobs....I just wanted to enjoy my work by helping people in a way that...well....I can help! I mean, we've done plumbing before!"
Luigi: "Yeah but it hasn't always gone well!"
Mario: "Yeah....but we have gotten more experienced! Mama and papa just can't see that....but if we could get a job, then we could prove it to them, and we could show that stiff old man that I didn't just do this out of impulse!"
Luigi: "Yeah, we could......if we got a job, but it's getting late and we haven't had a single call yet. We can't prove ourselves if we don't have jobs! That was the whole point of the deal! Look, papa was right, there are times for wants and needs. We want to do this, but we can't, and we need a place to live, which we can have, if you're willing to give up...."
Mario looks ahead at the red light and then sighs.
Mario: "Yeah.....you're right....we should just give up for tonight and try and...beg papa for my old room back...."
Luigi: "Yeah! See? That's what I'm talking about! Knowing when to quit!....oh wait, that came out wrong...."
Mario: "Hahaha........ha......you were always the one ready to give up, huh Luigi?"
Luigi: "Yeah, I was....wait, was that an insult or a compliment? Because it sounded like a compliment but hit like an insult!"
Mario turns the wheel and begins to make a u turn before a woman runs out in front of the car. The entire van screeches to a halt as Mario holds the wheel tight and Luigi jumps behind his seat. Mario, after inhaling and exhaling a few breaths, then looks back to Luigi with a mocking smile.
Mario: "You okay back there, brother?"
Luigi: "Oh shut it, Mario! If we were in a crash just now, I would've been safe and you would've been as flat as a pizza!"
Mario shakes his head before glaring at the woman and sticking his head out the window.
Mario: "Hey, whatsa the big idea?"
The woman rushes around and grabs Mario's hands.
Woman: "Are you the Mario brothers from the commercial?"
Mario looks to the stickers on the side of the van which prominently display their logo.
Mario: "Why yes, I do believe we are!"
Woman: "Oh thank goodness! Look, all of the other plumbers that I've called are either out of town or have gone to bed! I have a severe leakage in one of my pipes in the basement and seriously need someone to give it a look! Can you help? I will pay anything!"
Mario slowly turns to smirk at Luigi as he climbs into the front seat and collapses with a huff.
Luigi: "......what?"
Mario: "I just got Brooklyn's best plumbers their FIRST job yet."
Luigi: "What? Oh Mario, please no! We just agreed to give up!"
Mario: "Luigi, that was the old Mario! The new Mario is not giving up anytime soon!"
Mario turns to look at the woman.
Mario: "Show us the way mam!"
Woman: "On it!"
The woman runs over to a nearby moped, jumps on, and speeds off towards her home. Mario and Luigi follow after in their van.
As stars begin to pepper the sky, Mario and Luigi walk up the steps of her home.
The older woman then leads them through the main hall of her home, past portraits and paintings, and towards one dark door with cracks covering it.
Woman: "The leak started this morning, I thought I would easily be able to deal with it, but no matter what I did, nothing stopped it up!"
Mario: "Well that's because you aren't a professional mam!"
Luigi groans.
The older woman takes out a ring of keys and unlocks the door for them. The door then swings open with a loud creaking noise as what seems to be a raspy whisper comes from the room.
Luigi: "Did you hear that?"
Mario: "Hear what?"
They then venture down the nearly broken steps as they make their way into the damp dark basement.....to see a single washer with bubbles floating up beside it.
The entire basement has about half a foot of water in it and the water level is rising.
Mario: "I see what your problem is mam....it's that washer!"
Woman: "Is it really?"
Mario: "Yep, but thankfully, we got you covered! You just go upstairs and everything will be taken care of when we come back up!"
Woman: "Oh thank you Mario brothers! Thank you! Oh, but please keep the main lights off while you're down here boys!"
Mario: "Yeah, yeah, we got it, don't worry, lights will stay off!"
Mario pushes the woman up the stairs and then shuts the door. Another whisper causes a chill to go up Luigi's spine.
Luigi: "Mario, seriously, are you hearing what I'm hearing?"
Mario: "All I'm hearing is an old girl who needs some work done."
Mario holds out his hand for a wrench as Luigi digs through the toolbox and hands one to him.
Together, the brothers spend hours working on the washer, using different tools and parts to get everything running again. However, when they're about to be done, Luigi hears it again...
Mario: "Alright Luigi, we're almost finished, let's just make sure this thing is running right!"
Luigi: "You got it Mario!"
???: "Luigi....."
Luigi: "Huh?"
???: "Luigi.......you're almost finished...."
Luigi: "W-w-w-what was that Mario?"
Mario: "Luigi, I keep telling ya, I don't hear anything!"
???: "Just gotta make sure....."
Luigi shakes in his boots.
Parrot: "THAT YOU START RUNNING, BAWK!"
Luigi screams as Mario grabs the flashlight and turns it on to see a parrot inside of its cage, shielding itself from the rays of light.
Mario: "Oh, looks like you did hear something crybaby, you heard a little ol parrot whispering to you!"
Luigi: "Hey, I'm not a crybaby! You would've been scared too if you heard someone whispering to you like that!"
Mario: "Well, mystery solved, now let's get back to work."
Mario hands off the flashlight to Luigi as he continues pointing it at the parrot while shaking. After a few seconds, Mario notices that Luigi isn't right next to him.
Mario: "Luigi? Bro, what's the hold up?"
Luigi: "S-s-sorry Mario, it's just....it's still here!"
Mario: "Still her-of course it's still here! It's in a cage! What can it even do to you from inside that cage?"
Luigi: "It can talk to me!"
Mario: "........Luigi...."
Luigi: "Mario, only two things are supposed to talk, humans and those monsters on tv that we call actors! It ain't right for an animal to talk! It's.....unnatural."
Mario: "Unnatural? Pfft, Luigi, it's a parrot, they're made to talk!"
Luigi continues to shiver as Mario shakes his head.
Mario: "Luigi, we have a job to do and a paycheck to get! Are you seriously gonna let something that hasn't attacked you at all get in the way of our work?!?"
Luigi: "W-w-well...."
Mario rolls his eyes and grabs the flashlight from him.
Mario: "Luigi, look, it's just a poor defenseless parrot! It can't even get ya! I mean, you've been looking at it so long, it's beginning to shak-wait hold on...."
The flashlight goes over a metal sign next to the cage that reads 'Do not shine light on me! I get mad when I see light!'
Mario and Luigi look at each other after reading this.
Mario: "Well, he looks more scared then mad, right?"
The parrot then puts his wings to his sides, opens up his beak slightly, and flexes his talons.
Mario: "Well, he isn't trying to attack yet, right?"
The parrot begins banging into the cage over and over again.
Mario: "Well.....he can't get out, right?"
The parrot stops attacking, puts its wings to its side, and uses its beak to unlatch the cage.
Mario: "Uh oh..."
Luigi: "Mario, if I die, I'm blaming you."
Mario and Luigi grab hold of each other as the parrot dives towards them with a screech.