I used to be interested in hacked games. They were unique, creative, and - sorry, I should start from the beginning.

I got into ROM hacking about two years ago. Back then I had no idea old games could be changed and altered until they were something completely different from what had first been worked with. I began with watching let's plays on youtube of things like Super Mario T.K.O. and Kaizo before searching for the editing programs myself. Lunar Magic was the first and was very easy to find. After multiple failures and much time, I finally figured out how to edit a plain ROM to have a header and checked out what hacking Super Mario World was all about.

I quickly ran into several problems. The first was getting the hang of hacking the game itself. It was fun switching up the palettes or changing the background, but the novelty wore off when I ran into my second problem. I didn't have the imagination to change anything about the game without making it redundant. When I dropped SMW, I went on to the second ROM editing program: Lazy Shell. I had found it while searching for a ROM of SMW with a header and had already taken a look at some of the sections that were up for editing.

Now, I had this old belief hanging around in the back of my mind ever since I was a kid that Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was unhackable. It was the perfect game and I found no faults with it whatsoever. If nothing's wrong with a game, why mess with it?

That's why when I first booted up Lazy Shell, before Lunar Magic mind you, I was blown away. Everything, absolutely everything could be altered! If you could think it, it could be done. Out of amazement, I checked out the playthrough of the Bom-Omb Mafia hack to see a hacked ROM in action. It was unbelievable. The things people could do in totality was astounding. This was what was possible by ROM hackers. After trying out the SMW ROM editor and hitting a brick wall in creativity and interest, I opened Lazy Shell again to check out what I could do. I had hours of fun with the text editor and as it turned out, that's all I ever really messed with. Again, I couldn't come up with anything on how to change the beloved game of my childhood (at least graphically), so I ignored the editor.

Failing at actual hacking, I did the next best thing: I played existing ones. And boy were there some good ones. The really good ROM hacks I either hunted down or watched on youtube out of the sheer skill those let's players had over me. So for the longest time I watched Super Mario World hacks, some stupid, some cool, and it didn't occur to me to go find a SMRPG hack. As it so happened, it found me in my recommended box.

True Remix, Revolution, Expansion, Monkey. Just a few hacks I found by looking just a little further. This year I finally downloaded one, SMRPG Revolution. The others were mainly stats hacks except Super Monkey RPG, which apparently only had the text changed and was rated M because of it, and Expansion, which added areas to the game itself sort of like the Bom-Omb Mafia hack.

Now, I'm not one to rush through Super Mario RPG. I treasure the game too much to do so and it would ruin the experience for me otherwise. Hack or not, I wasn't going to do it. I tend to explore, checking out the little things and having fun, so it was no wonder that I recently booted up ZSNES, the emulator for SNES games, and found that I had yet to step foot into Rose Town. Only a year back had I gone there on the Virtual Console version, but this was Revolution. The monsters were harder to defeat and even at level 11 I couldn't bash down anything in Rose Way with one hit. Not wanting to drudge through another three hours or so of level grinding, I took up the search again to find another SMRPG hack.

I spent an afternoon roaming the 'net before finally settling for a site that had many, many ROMs available, even patched, translated, and hacked ones. Most were the same old thing I had seen before - seems SMRPG wasn't a game people hacked often, but then I spotted one that grabbed my attention. Super Mario RPG Reality. Being a person who enjoyed seeing realistic takes on certain aspects in video games, especially the old ones (being hit by a car is going to hurt or kill you, not just slow you down), the very name perked me up. Since the site was safe by McAfee standards, I downloaded it.

Ten minutes later, ZSNES was booted up and Mario was busy beating down some Terrapins. Exor came down, the Stars were scattered, and so far nothing had changed, not even the text. That was natural, I suppose. Couldn't expect too much out of an unknown hack. I stopped shortly after Mushroom Way, stopping for the time being. Later that night I started up the hack again, eager to see if the changes would start in Mushroom Kingdom. I was disappointed to find that everything was still the same.

Days went by and I slowly made my way through the game. Mallow, Geno, Bowser, and Toadstool all joined the party and aside from a few graphical errors and missing monster sprites, it was like nothing had changed. There weren't even any new items which, last I remember, were fairly easy to program into the game.

Although when I made the ridiculous detour to Frogfucius to allow entry to Star Hill, I got the first fully changed piece of dialogue in the whole game.

"Ah, what are you doing here? Star Hill is already open for you." Oh. Well that was convenient. I made my way over to the next location and selected Star Hill. Geno said his usual speech about stars not being granted although he didn't stop where he normally did. He walked over to a floating item box that had been just out of sight to the left and told Mario,

"This...this shouldn't be here. It's unnatural... ...Be careful, Mario. This has a weird feeling about it. ...It's dangerous. Don't get too close. Just ignore it." He turned towards the screen, breaking the fourth wall a bit. "Come on. Let's get this show on the road." He joined up with Mario again and I was free to move. Seeing as things had started to change now, I supposed this is where the person began the real hacking. A suitable place. Right after the disaster at Marrymore and right before Yaridovich made his impression on the party. Perfect. Make the breather level the path changer.

I wasn't sure what would happen after getting the item in the chest, so I made a save state and approached. The game stuttered, like it often did, and I directed Mario to jump up for the reward.

Found "Reality Charm"!

I raised an eyebrow at the message. This was what changed the game? Well, time to find out how much. I started for the star flower, but changed my mind and checked to see the description of the item. It wasn't in the normal items or equipment oddly enough. Instead it was sitting in the Special Item menu, nestled with every other item that rarely ever mattered. I checked it, no description. I grimaced. Who didn't put a description with an item when editing it in, especially one that was supposed to change so much in a game? I shook my head and continued with the story, activating star flowers and finding the fourth Star Piece with no problem.

Rose Town wasn't much different than it usually was. A few NPCs would mutter about dimensions being open and the 'beyond', but I just figured it had to do with Smithy. Exor was the bridge between dimensions, and Smithy's place was definitely a world beyond the Mushroom Kingdom. I went through Yaridovich's charade of being the chief then through the Sea and Sunken Ship. Both times I met the Shaman he mentioned not to lose my way or allow my allies to cross into the 'beyond'. My assumption of Smithy was gone, replaced by the realization that dawned on me.

If one of my characters died, they were going to be gone, into the 'beyond', whatever it was. As I got past the squid and the bandanna-wearing sharks, I hoped that 'beyond' didn't mean 'afterlife'.

Now when it came to Johnny, I had been using a tactic to ensure an easy victory. It was simple: allow Mario to die then fight off the boss with whoever was left. That way he wouldn't challenge Mario to a one-on-one, turn red, and make the boss fight a whole lot worse. So when it finally came to beat the guy, I had no choice but to allow Mario to be healed along with everybody else. Knowing Bowser wasn't going to be of use like he normally was in the overall pounding of Johnny, I switched him out with Geno. Toadstool rounded out the party and I charged into the boss battle.

To my surprise, Johnny was a little easier than he had been in my previous runs of the game. Not that he wasn't a tough opponent, he was, it was just that keeping Mario alive dwindled his health faster and made up for Bowser's absence. But there was a slight hitch in my plans. Geno is, to borrow a term from TVTropes, a glass cannon, meaning he can't take attacks very well. He's fast and he can dish out damage pretty well, but one too many attacks (like maybe taking three hits and Mario taking five or six in comparison) and he's down for the count.

Cue my horror when Johnny stabs him on a turn when I wasn't paying attention to my FP, making Peach late to heal everybody. The game stuttered and Geno fell flat on his face. I freaked and immediately had Mario go into the item stash. I moved over to the Pick-Me-Ups and my stomach felt cold. They were blank, darkened, as if it wasn't possible to use them. I chose one anyway and despite the buzz telling me it was useless, I was given the option to use a Pick-Me-Up on the only person down for the count. I didn't hesitate to get Geno back in the fight, but when he got back up, I started to feel like something was wrong.

The little tune as the characters say "Thank you!" was distorted. That would have been fine if I hadn't taken in the sight of what Geno looked like as he stared at me. The game froze for a second, and that was more than what I needed.

I knew Geno's sprite well, just as I knew Mario's, Mallow's, Bowser's, and Toadstool's. Black marks branched from his eyes and it seemed like he had some scratches on his body. A crack in his right arm crept up from his wrist like the limb had been bashed with a hammer, splitting the wood grain up to the elbow. When he turned around, his cap was off to the side and his cape appeared torn in some places. My eyes stayed there for some time before I looked at the rest of the scene. Mario and Toadstool were fine, and so was Johnny. Nothing seemed out of place. Until I looked at the health points and icons. The black marks on Geno's face were much more pronounced as were the frayed edges of his cap. It was like looking at a toy that had been abused and nearly crushed over the years, but when he blinked it just added a new level to the surrealism of it all.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I was a little scared and wanted to tear up. At my age it's harder to cry over things, but this touched on a meaningful part of my childhood. It was if the scene before me was tainting my old perceptions, slowly corroding them until they were unrecognizable.

I pressed on. I had to for Geno's sake and mine. But it hurt. Every time I chose an action for Geno and performed it, the sound would distort until I could barely tell the midi had come from this game. His attack power also seemed to have decreased and he took more damage from Johnny than usual. Mario and Toadstool had no such curse and the sounds were crystal clear. When Jonathan finally challenged Mario, Geno and Toadstool stood at the sidelines. I couldn't help drawing my eyes to the wooden doll. He was cheering along with the princess, but his movements were delayed. When the battle finally came to a close, the victory poses were struck but poor Geno was stiff, not even nodding at me. I ran through the dialogue to get the next Star Piece then checked the menu. I was stunned for I don't know how long, staring at the monitor.

Geno was removed from the party. Mallow was in his place instead. Checking the Switch screen only showed Bowser being available. I checked the item and equipment menus. The former had nothing new, but the latter had Geno's equipped items listed.

I knew something was wrong. I was a lot more savvy with ROM hacking than I had been two years ago, and I knew this couldn't be right. A character just doesn't get removed from the party after getting hurt like that. They could leave the party, sure, but unless it was a scripted event, there was no way his 'death' could mean him being out of the game for good. I had to question how it could be possible to script something like this, but the inquiry was pushed back to linger in the back of my mind. Something else was nagging me and I couldn't ignore it. Not liking the feeling in my gut, I checked Special Items. Nestled right after the Reality Charm was the item that made my breath shudder.

Geno Doll.

I nearly cried at that moment, but sucking it up, I highlighted the item.

"A broken doll filled with sadness."

I left the game alone for awhile as I thought about that one sentence. When I got back into it, I was sniffling and ready to say "Screw it" and delete the hack. But I couldn't. I would be abandoning Geno, a sort of childhood hero who had once been a source of much inspiration to a certain five year-old. I wasn't going to give up on the star spirit.

Having my head on a little straighter, I decided to speak to Johnny before leaving his cabin.

"I'm sorry for yer friend there, matey. I can pray to the Stars, but I doubt even THEY can cure yer friend now."

A lump hardened in my throat. Geno couldn't be cured? He...couldn't. He just couldn't...

My mind went through so much babbling in denial and racing of what was happening and what I would do that I went through the motions to prepare for Yaridovich on autopilot. Save, heal, go to Seaside Town --

Then I thought of something. I reset ZSNES and went to my file. Doing my best to not let the purple pipes unnerve me, I took off from the Sea back to Star Hill. If this was a scripted event, there might be a way to bring Geno back. He couldn't just be gone from the game for good. There had to be a way to gain him back as a party member.

As much as I scoured Star Hill, I found nothing that could help me. I set off for Rose Town instead and visited Gaz. Geno had made a promise to the little boy. He wouldn't go back on that, would he? Upon entering the inn I came up on a scene of Gaz playing with his other toys as his mother dealt with some customers. I went up to talk to him and all I got were the upset words of an upset child, wishing Geno was back. There was a tone of hope in his last sentence about his toy coming back, but everything was suddenly too blurry to make out. The tears were coming, and I knew what my last option was. I decided not to give back the Geno Doll when prompted (no need to make the kid even more depressed), and I hurried over to Star Hill before another idea hit me. I went to Tadpole Pond, hopping across the place's namesake to go see Frogfucius.

"One of your friends is missing. Perhaps you can find him on Star Hill." Talking to him again got one more line of text out of him. "Be wary of the beyond, Mar. The charm you have has opened the way there." I blinked and a chill ran down my spine. Mar was the name of the file I had started. Not wanted to stay any longer next to this creepy old man, I rushed off once again to Star Hill. If anything, I was eager to get Geno back in my party.

Arriving at the first screen, my eyes were instantly drawn to the star that hovered to Mario's left. It floated up to and through the star door, leaving me to trail after it. The music stopped. Out the door walked Mario and once more the little star wandered off, beckoning Mario to follow it. It went off-screen on what I soon realized was a barren map. No monsters existed and I couldn't see any star flowers either. I just keep going along the rocky terrain, going wherever it swerved. I lost track of time as I continually went up. There seemed to be no end in sight and I was getting serious chills. Eventually I came to the edge of the map where the star was waiting. It just floated there and seconds after the screen closed in the usual zig-zags for a battle. My jaw dropped.

The sprite was custom, a slightly larger, bolder version of the star Geno turns into at the end of the game. A slow, distorted version of Let's Play "Geno" played as a strip of brown unfurled across the top of the screen.

"You allowed [Geno's real name]'s body to be destroyed. Why did you grab that charm? It brings nothing but sorrow to everyone! You will atone for your crime!"

I gulped. This star was mad. No, beyond mad. It either wanted justice or blood and I was not going to stand by as it prepared to fight my party. Bowser was up first. After making a quick save state, I directed him to send out the Chain Chomp at "STAR SPIRIT".

I did a single point of damage.

"Geno is gone."

The star rammed into Bowser, taking away over half of his health. I freaked and almost used Mario's turn to use a Mid Mushroom, but thought of Toadstool's Come Back and chose Super Flame.

Five damage.

"Geno is gone!!"

The screen wavered and a sudden, sharp screech pierced my ears. I winced and readjusted my headphones, but when I turned back to the monitor, Mario was afraid, except this time his animation was different. He was in the defensive position, still shaking, and his icon showed him pulling his hat over his eyes. Peach was unharmed and Bowser was afflicted with poison.

What the heck? I couldn't remember any attacks that did random status effects for everyone and pulled everyone together for a Group Hug.

Nothing. Oh, everyone's HP was up again (I hadn't noticed Mario being at one hit point until just a second before Peach's special kicked in), but the status effects were still there. I had no Able Juices, I had no use for them, so I was screwed until the effects wore off. Judging by how hard this star was pummeling me, I didn't think the party would last that long.

Bowser's specials were crud and physical attacks did nothing, so he defended.

"Sniffle..."

The star didn't attack, but Mario's turn was skipped over. My eyes widened a bit. This fear was preventing him from attacking and all he could do was huddle until the effect stopped. I licked my lips as I plotted out my next moves. I didn't have anything to lose so I chose Peach's Special: Mute. It was basically a worthless move, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

"You didn't care about him!"

I winced and fell into silent shock as "Take Away" left Peach unconscious.

I was in trouble.

Summoning up whatever was left of my courage, I had Bowser pull up the items menu. Words couldn't describe the hopeless of the situation.

Darkened. All of them. All of the items were unusable. I couldn't revive Peach, Mario was stuck in a fetal position, and Bowser couldn't make a scratch big enough to matter. I tried selecting an item, hoping it would be like the time with Geno, but all I got was an invalid buzz.

In short, I was screwed. I let out a shaky breath of air. The music had become even slower, adding to the depressing atmosphere.

I never meant to hurt Geno, nevertheless let him die. Now everyone was being punished for it by a miserable little star spirit.

I let Bowser defend.

"YOU KILLED HIM!" The star charged. Bowser's health dropped below fifty.

"YOU LET HIM DIE!!!" The star flashed, and a pillar of bright light encompassed Mario. He was reduced to twenty points.

Geno...was dead? He couldn't be! He was a star spirit. It wasn't like he was completely bound to that little toy. Right?

The fight was not looking up. Not at all. There was no way I could win at this rate. It was like fighting Culex, but worse. It was a little star meant to grant wishes and happiness, not beat the stuffing out of Mario and company. Each hit was more powerful than it should have been, but then again this wasn't the normal game.

There was nothing else I could do but defend with Bowser.

"Sniffle... You monster..." Bowser fainted.

"How could you...?" Mario was gone.

The scene faded away, no game over text, and the music distorted badly as it slowed and came to a stop. I sighed and rubbed my forehead. That had not turned out how I wanted. When the title screen didn't come up, I tried pressing all of the buttons to get it fixed. But no matter what I pressed or how fast I did it, the black screen still stayed. I pressed F4 to restore a save state. Maybe that could set things right.

I stared at the words "UNABLE TO LOAD STATE 0." That wasn't right. I tried again and again until I just went to manually pick and load a save state. All ten slots were empty. Not a single one had any data.

I felt my stomach go cold again. Okay, so whoever made this hack made it impossible to use save states. That was all right. I'd seen other patches that were locked up so nobody could fiddle with them. I left the emulator's menus, alone with nothing more than a black square in the middle of my monitor.

Before my thoughts could wander any further, a star flew up from the bottom of the screen. It was the same sprite used for Geno after the final battle.

"Do you want to make a wish?" it asked as it bobbed up and down. The usual 'Yes' and 'No' options were given. I selected 'Yes' and another line came up.

"What will you wish for?" A list of choices came up, much more than I thought possible in this game. I knew there were limits to how much you could add or alter. This didn't seem right, but I ignored it for the moment and looked at my options.

"I wish...
> ...to start over from the beginning."
> ...Luigi was here."
> ...I knew where I was going."
> ...to see what the star sees."
> ..."
> Other

As much as the other options were teasing me, wanting me to choose them, curiosity got the best of me and I chose 'Other'. By pure instinct I pressed F2 for another save state, even though that wouldn't do anything.

On the next list, there was only one choice available.

"I wish Geno was back."

THAT touched me to the core. I was a die-hard Geno fan and dang it, if I had the chance to get him back, then by golly I was getting him back! Forget the fiasco of losing him, this was my chance! I pressed 'x' (my 'a' button) and watched as more text unfolded.

"This wish cannot come true until Smithy has been defeated. Do you understand the consequences of this wish?"

'Yes' and 'No' appeared again but this time I hesitated. What WOULD it mean? If I went up to face Smithy without Geno...

I thought about it. Minutes passed as I realized the implications.

Geno prevented Bowser from leaving the group after Exor. Without Bowser, the brunt strength of my team was gone. I would only have Mario, Peach, and Mallow to go against Smithy and I knew from experience that would be one heck of a battle. I needed Bowser. I depended on him to be my heavy hitter and there was no way I could make it through the Factory, nevertheless Countdown, without him to put a dent in everything.

Nothing else seemed important after Yaridovich. Then it hit me. There was still Star Road. How could I forget that? Geno... Wasn't he needed to get those Star Pieces up to Star Road? He was NEEDED before the final battle, regardless of Bowser!

I selected 'No'.

"Then do you want to choose another wish?" Yes. The original list came up and I was allowed to take them in again. Which one wouldn't end badly? On that matter, which one wouldn't backfire?

I went through the list and thought each choice through. This was shaping up to be like the option of saving Kid in Chrono Cross. The heartfelt option was obvious, but you couldn't help feeling like something else important might happen by choosing another path.

"I wish to start over from the beginning." That would probably reset the entire game. Probably delete all my data too. It was tempting, but I would be abandoning Geno. The star spirit I fought already blamed me, and I had no intention of leaving behind such a meaningful character.

"I wish Luigi was here." How would that help? Granted, I could use the help against Smithy, but the wish wouldn't be granted until after Smithy was defeated. It was a useless situation and I wasn't going to waste my one wish on it.

"I wish I knew where I was going." That was a play on one of the soundtracks, Where Am I Going?, which played on the Overworld. What would that wish entail? Certainly it couldn't do too much of importance. Although if I knew where I was going, could I be led to a path that eventually got Geno back? That I was drawn to. It would be incredible to know how to get him back. It would be so wonderful to have him back, even if I didn't use him in battle as much as anybody else. Well, more than Mallow anyway. Kinda think of it, I wouldn't be going through this trouble if Mallow were gone, but then again he got the group access to the royal bus, so he wasn't a total waste. Story-wise, he was interesting. In battle, not so much.

I smacked my forehead. The wish would be granted after Smithy, not before. Next!

"I wish to see what the star sees." 'Star' wasn't capitalized so I assumed it meant star spirit instead of Star Piece. So basically I would be seeing what a star spirit saw. Question was, would it be Geno or that STAR SPIRIT? Or would it be some other spirit's point of view in this whole mess?

Again, after Smithy. Gah! These wishes were just messing with my mind.

"I wish ..." Now there was a puzzler. It was just an ellipsis. It was like the wish trailed off, the person unable to decide what to wish for. The maybe path? Like if you couldn't decide what to wish for that's what you chose?

Wracking my brain for almost an hour (I could have sworn the star was getting jittery), I chose "...".

"Did you get confused? Did you have an idea of what to wish for?" Yes.

"Did I list it?" Yes.

"Are you worried?" Yes.

"That it won't come true?" Yes.

"I'm sorry about Star Road. We can't do anything until it is repaired. Maybe one of these wishes can come true if you try hard enough?" I stared at the words. 'If you try hard enough'? Well, Mallow got to his parents and stopped being a crybaby. Maybe I could get Geno back the hard way. I pressed 'x' to continue and the screen became completely white. When it died down I was back on Star Hill. The music was back to normal and monsters were back on the map. A quick check confirmed that the entire party was back to normal except for the absence of Geno as a fighter. It didn't take long to charge through the rest of the area and get back to the Overworld.

Yaridovich was next on my list to pound into the ground, but a quick detour took priority. I headed back to Frogfucius seeing as he was supposed to be the voice of direction, although all he kept saying was that 'the one missing needs to return' until his dialogue got all jumbled up. Yes, I knew Geno had to return. Could he shut up before I felt even more creeped out by this whole thing?

Seaside Town didn't do anything to ease my nerves. The fake chief laughed at the lack of a certain star spirit in my party, saying how he deserved it (I did not take too kindly to that remark) before the dialogue...switched up. Mallow emerged from Mario and starting yelling that he had no right to talk about Geno like that. Yarid laughed and called the kid pathetic. After that Mallow just stayed there as the dialogue continued as normal, but as the game went into auto-mode - I kid you not, I couldn't control a thing - Mallow rushed after Yaridovich and his henchmen. Mario systematically made his way to the ocean's edge where the boss battle would commence.

I... I couldn't even begin to comprehend what the scene was like. The overall area was dark, like the sun was setting or rising. Those fake toads surrounded a facedown Mallow and Mallow... Oh dear God Mallow. The ground was stained in red and dark-brown splotches, some of it reaching and staining the trees. His sprite was a mix of black, white, purple, and red.

"Eee hee hee! That cloud boy left a mess, and here I was hoping not to soil my hands." He hopped. "This is JUST great! Mario caught up with us." The same dialogue rolled. I didn't care.

Mario jumped like mad and punched the air a few times. The battle began.

I pretty much said "Screw it" and let loose with whatever I had on me at the moment. Red Essences and KerokeroColas were put to use as the three remaining party members smashed Yarido-freaking-vich into the ground without mercy. The fight was over in a blur and I went over to check on Mallow as soon as possible.

Found "Final Wish"!

What? WHAT?! Mallow's gone and all I get is a lousy item?! He couldn't be dead. He was not a total waste to the team. He had thunder attacks that were useful on occasion and psychopath was fun to play around with.

No, that wasn't right. It was Mallow's last request, his last...everything! I had to do something with it, right?

My chest tightened. This was not fair. This was not happening. Mallow couldn't be out of the picture with Geno to boot.

I searched the menus for the newest item, but I couldn't find it. I double-checked, my jaw fell open. How could an item as important as this be gone? Granted, it might be playing on the fact that Mallow didn't have a huge fanbase, but how could someone program an item not to show up? It was impossible as far as I knew. I tried checking Mallow again, but all I got was "...".

Then a thought hit me as I stared at the monitor. It was a wish. Could it have fallen to Star Hill? Then again I might meet that little STAR SPIRIT again. I figured "Screw it" and continued onward. I freed the townspeople, stayed the night, and left the small town. I had places to be and the game freezing up for a moment only made me realize how heavy my heart was beating.

When the screen lit up again, I think my heart stopped.

There was no denying it. Dear heavens... I was at Star Hill. Mario had popped out of a star door and was at Star Hill, complete with the area's music. I pulled up the main menu and took the time to catch my breath. A few curse words raced through my mind on repeat. This game was starting to screw me up majorly, but there was no way in hell I was going to freak out and lose it. It was just a game. Just a stupid little game. The characters, not so stupid.

Gathering my nerves again, I set off to scour every last inch of the area. Yet, I did not find what I was looking for. I began thinking that maybe Frogfucius could help, but after remembering Mario's last visit, I decided against it.

Next stop, find Mallow's parents. Right. That had to be it. Right? ...Right. Report back to them about their son. If the game let me anyways.

Out of 'Fright Hill', I trudged through the rest of the game, going through Land's End and the freakin' underground sewer place before reaching Monstro Town. I went to talk to everyone out of instinct and that rotten feeling I'd been having for the past few hours increased. Random NPCs start asking where Geno was, or if I had seen an innocent "little piece of fluff". Talking to one of them again set their dialogue straight. It had to be scripted. That's right. All scripted. I walked out of the house with the nice Toad lady and the music changed. Seamlessly.

Then I was at Star Hill.

What the hell?

Freaking out, I almost didn't notice the brown strip unfurling at the top.

"The one missing needs to return."

Yes. I knew. Geno. But how? Nothing and no one would tell me!

A star flew by, stopped for a few seconds, then continued on its way.

"Hurry, Mar." Would they stop using that word?! I rushed back to Land's End, tried ignoring the random gibberish about the rooster never coming back to the nest, got up the stupid wall, and got to Bean Valley. I just had to get to Nimbus Land, kick Valentina's butt, and talk to King and Queen Nimbus. That's all. That's all I had to do. I could get Geno as I did this or after it. There had to be a scripted event to get Geno back, I knew there was.

I went down a pipe, the game hiccuped, and the dreaded sound was back.

How many freaking times was I going to be back at Star Hill?!

"THE ONE MISSING NEEDS TO RETURN."

Stupid freaking programmer.

The star passed by again.

"Sniffle... The boy... Sniffle..."

Oh...damn it. They meant Gaz. I had to go get Gaz. How stupid was I not to have seen that to begin with?

I was starting to hate Star Hill. The normally peaceful music now wracked my nerves and I wished the monsters would just explode like in earlier games and allow me to get past, no problem.

I don't think I ever got 'jump' and 'run' confused on any game so often in my entire life. But it was okay, right? Everything blurred together as I reached the Rose Town Inn. Just one problem.

Gaz was missing. A curse streamed through my mind. He had to be somewhere. I talked to the mom and got that he was held up in his room. Upstairs Gaz was under the covers, eyes closed. I tried talking to him. Anything was better than silence.

"G...Geno... My...Geno doll... My...friend..."

Words popped up so fast on screen I nearly screamed.

"He has a high fever. Give him the Geno Doll?"

Fricking announcer text. I chose 'Yes' when prompted.

So many ellipses. I pressed 'x' over and over and over, hoping to get somewhere. When the kid finally spoke, I wish he hadn't.

"Ge... Cough... Geno...? What happened to you? Why...cough...are you all broken up? W-Why are you hurt? I thought they would...cough...hack... T-Take care of you..."

I couldn't take it. Gaz just kept going on about his friend being gone and how he was never going to see Geno again and how could Mario do this to him and how a promise had been broken. The text became jumbled and a high-pitched screech pierced my ears. I threw off my headphones and closed my eyes tight. That hadn't been pleasant. The sound eventually died down and out of habit, I slipped the headphones back on, just angling the speakers away from my inner ear. The game seemed frozen. No music played and the edges of the papery text box were glitching. Great. I pressed some keys and jumped when the lightning effect set off. The screen grew to an incredibly bright white before dying down to a plain black screen. I pressed up and I was inside the inn again, as if Mario had been there all along and the graphics had just screwed up. With the silence still ongoing, I went down the stairs. Neither Gaz nor his mom were around. Outside was the same situation. Every NPC was gone and the music wouldn't start back up. I left Rose Town and wound up in Star Hill. I left through the star door and twitched. I was back at the inn. I moved Mario, or at least tried to anyways. He wouldn't budge in the slightest. He couldn't even jump. I let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding.

Mario started walking. On his own. Auto-mode had apparently kicked in again, I guessed. As the camera panned over to the right of the first floor, I became shocked. The thing happening didn't seem possible. He was there. A horrible mess, but he was there.

Geno stood in front of the plumber. He was almost exactly as I had saw him last, clothes tattered and body broken, but the changes to his appearance still wracked my nerves. His eyes had turned entirely black, as if they had been carved or burned out. The tint of his sprite had been tampered with too. It was as if he was in a perpetual state of being poisoned.

In the far right corner, Mallow faced the three dolls of Mario, Toadstool, and Bowser. He was still bloody like the corpse I had seen back at Seaside Town. He didn't move.

GENO: I warned you about the charm. It has created a rift between our world and another. The Mushroom Kingdom is no longer safe... Star Road has become irreparable, the Star Pieces have lost their power, and you...

At this point Geno turned towards the fourth wall again. I was terrified.

GENO: ...YOU have interfered with our world! What gives you the right to mess with our lives? WE matter! WE are alive just as much as you are! You don't know what you're doing! You are just as bad as Smithy if not worse!! No wishes will come true here anymore. The other world stops wishes from coming true, because you can't wish for dreams to come true there.

He turned to Mallow. I couldn't press the buttons anymore, but it didn't matter. The text had been moving on its own. The undead prince struggled to his feet and sluggishly made his way across the room. Every movement captured my focus, making me see the extent of the damage done to him. He was just a kid. He hadn't deserved this fate.

Purple and black splotches mingled to cover his entire body, like they were bruises or dead flesh. Specks of gray and white dotted his face, his trademark pants were ripped, and red streaks covered his arms and ran from his eyes. And his mouth. There was no smile. Just a frown sitting above where a large, dark red hole was in his body. It could have only been made by a spear, but he was never stabbed by one.

No. I knew what it was. It was his heart. It was missing. There was only one place it could be.

Bile rose in my throat.

Mallow reached Geno's side and held out one of his hands. Mario made a punching motion, still there was no sound, and the child lowered his hand. Geno began to walk around the room, turning and making gestures that emphasized what he was saying.

GENO: There is no way for wishes to be granted now. Not without using the new contact between worlds. Mallow has one wish left, and I will help grant it.

He turned back to face me. My stomach dropped.

GENO: Wishes are the same as dreams, the only difference is how they are achieved.

Mallow tossed his hand up as if using an item, but nothing appeared above him.

No battle had initiated, no music played, but the top of the screen gave a read out.

"Final Wish"

The next few seconds were filled with unbearable screeches and other noises I couldn't identify. No matter what I refused to put my headphones back on and instead watched as the screen flashed. Mallow's skin peeled off one layer at a time after each flash. He was no piece of fluff to have internal organs. In almost no time, but it felt longer than that, the cloud prince was gone.

My arms shook. I could only stare at the spot where the young boy had been, now only occupied by a dark stain on the floor. Geno approached the spot where the child had last been seen and bent down. After a few seconds he stood up. Geno looked at me again, his eyes, or lack of them, accusing me of some atrocious crime that I could have avoided. He wanted me gone. He wanted me to pay.

GENO: This show is over.

Geno raised his arms, a black star superimposed over his form. The brown papery text box unfurled at the top. I stiffened. It was completely blank.

The unbearable screeches were back and I shuddered at their increased intensity. The flashing returned with the sound of lightning. This time, Mario's skin began to peel. His skin, his muscles, his organs, his skeleton. I could see it all and my eyes refused to leave the gut-wrenching act. When he was gone, Toadstool was next, then Bowser. Every time the screeches seemed to grow louder until even covering the headphones with pillows did nothing to stop my ears from aching. Was this what it was like to hear characters die? I took it as a solid, unwavering 'Yes'.

Tears crept up to blur my vision. I'd never felt more horrible. My insides were flipping and wouldn't stop.

"Murderer"

The narrator text flashed briefly. In the next second, the game crashed. After that, the PC turned off.

I stared numbly at the monitor for some time, my eyes suddenly feeling dry, before running off to the bathroom to vomit.

Days later, when I had regained some small part of my sanity and courage, I found that the hack could no longer be accessed. On top of that, ZSNES would never load up any games on my hard drive or flash drive. That included newly downloaded games to boot.

The next time I checked the ROM site, it was given a red X by McAfee. Comments said that the site had a virus unleashed, endangering the PCs of those who just casually linked to it. I don't know if that had any importance to what happened in the game, but I'm never downloading another ips or hack or ROM ever again.

I was taught something that night. Never take the worlds we see for granted. We're not supposed to mess with them. They have a history, and it's not to be fiddled with. Maybe it's to ensure that I keep that lesson in mind and heart, but every night I swear I can see Geno, in his doll form, staring at me with those black eyes. He's there, always looking at me from the very edge of my peripheral vision.

Just wait. He'll probably haunt somebody else too. I wouldn't be the only one in this unnerving nightmare. Geno awaits to punish the murderers, the defilers of the world he watches over.