Before we begin, I just want to give a nice, humble thank you to everyone reading the story for their continued support. Chapter 8 is now at over 90 views on here, and both it and its illustration have 1K views on DeviantArt-the highest hits on both sites.

I'd also like to mention that this fanfic's TV Tropes article is now all set up.

As always, stay tuned for Chapter 10 next week!

Alright, onto the chapter!

Chapter 9:

The Aftermath

Even though Senbo was a sadist, he made sure to treat his lady right. And even though he was a young teenager, he knew a thing or two about preparing food. Sure, anyone can prepare a sandwich, but the wannabe musician wanted to make these particular sandwiches extra-special for Aibo. When the victorious couple met again at their favorite grassy field, she could see that he brought a lunch box with him for them to eat at the very picnic table they planned Operation: Saiko's Guitar on. The bespectacled girl just knew her favorite lunch was going to be inside that box. And it was. What better way to celebrate the completion of their operation?

"How are you enjoying your meatloaf sandwiches, baby cakes?" asked Senbo.

"It's delish," replied Aibo, who was truly enjoying her food. "Meatloaf is my favorite."

"Well," said Senbo, "I wanted to thank you properly for helping me play that guitar—as well as giving Saiko her much-deserved emotional trauma."

"Deserved is right," concurred Aibo. "No one says no to my Senbo."

The table was short enough for the triumphant couple to lean over and give each other a kiss on the lips. And that's just what they did.

"So, how was the guitar?" asked Aibo. "Was it everything you dreamed of?"

"And worlds more," replied Senbo. "It felt magical, like I was Saiko herself, only way cooler."

"Well," said Aibo, "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, but all good things must end eventually. Tari should be waking up from her uh…'nap' soon. Once she leaves her apartment, Saiko will realize she isn't dead, and everything will go back to normal."

The wannabe musician gave a look at this. That kind of look that told her that he had other ideas.

"Yeah, uh, about that," he said.

"Is something wrong?" asked Aibo.

"I've been thinking," explained Senbo, "I've enjoyed Saiko's suffering so much, and I know you enjoyed it too. And I was wondering if there's a way we can make her suffering go for a little longer. Isn't Ultra Jump Mania releasing a DLC update today?"

Aibo widened her eyes at the realization of this news.

"Oh yeah," she said, "it is."

"And knowing Tari," continued Senbo, "she can totally lose herself in her video games, both figuratively and literally. So, can we maybe leave her to play that update to her heart's content so Saiko can still think she's dead?"

"Are you sure you don't just want to come up with another plan to lure Saiko out of the house so you can play her guitar again?" asked Aibo.

Senbo shook his head at this.

"This isn't about the guitar anymore," he said. "Playing it while she was gone was fun, but I enjoyed her suffering even more."

It didn't take any time at all for Aibo to nod her head in agreement to her boyfriend's request.

"If it's Saiko's suffering my Senbo wants," she said, "it's Saiko's suffering my Senbo gets."

"And if Saiko's friends end up crying for Tari too, oh well," said Senbo.

"There's just one problem," said Aibo. "Tari can play that game until the sun dies down, but even she would need to go out and get some fresh air once in a while. Someone's bound to see her and realize she isn't dead, then Saiko will know, and she won't be miserable anymore."

"Well, we can't have that," said Senbo. "She needs to pay for denying me my dream. Got any ideas?"

"Certainly," said Aibo. "Ultra Jump Mania supports co-op, and games tend to be even more fun if you play with friends."

"And more intense when you play with rivals," said Senbo.

With that, Aibo got out her phone and showed her boyfriend a familiar face.

"This looks like a job for…Belle Fontiere," she said.

For years, Peach's Castle has been established as the primary hangout for the Glitchy Gang. It was here that SMG4 and friends have had their many fun adventures, and when they weren't having adventures, they would just hang out, relax, and be themselves—provided Mario's idiocy or Bob's mischief doesn't drive them crazy. Right now, they (or at least SMG4, Mario, Luigi, Bob, and Saiko's band) were in the TV room, watching the new feature-length movie Ducks.

This movie made them think of Tari. It had everything in it that she liked, and that's ignoring the fact that…well, it had ducks. The lead characters were likable role models, the writers who worked on the movie were behind some of the games she played, and the villain was redeemed in the end when they all learned a valuable lesson: that Hugh Neutron was their only god.

It was fun for the whole family—and the SMG4 crew was indeed a family. They planned to ask their gamer friend if she knew about this movie the next time they see her. She probably has, but they wanted an excuse to hang out with her. She was just so much fun to hang out with. They haven't heard from her after she gave them the update on her recovery from her spill in this very castle, but they figured she was taking her mind off of the incident with a game or two. And if she didn't visit Peach's Castle after a certain amount of time, they would come to her.

As the movie was wrapping up, the Glitchy Gang heard the slow creaking sounds of the door opening. They turned around and saw Saiko entering the room. She looked sad and forlorn, and her eyes were red, indicating that she had been crying.

This can't be good.

"What's wrong, Saiko?" asked SMG4.

"YeAh," said Bob, "I hAvEn'T sEeN yOu ThIs UpSeT iN a LoNg TiMe. NoT sInCe YeStErDaY."

The miserable anime girl tried her best to keep her composure as she prepared to tell them what she had witnessed.

"It's Tari," she said, her voice breaking.

"Oh yeah," said Mario, not quite getting the hint, "have you seen her lately? We just watched this cool movie about ducks, and we think she might like it. I mean, it's nowhere near as good as Spaghetti Neverforghetti, despite what the reviews from professional people will—"

"SHE'S DEAD!" interrupted Saiko loudly.

Everyone gasped when they heard this shocking news.

"GaSp," Bob simply said.

The young rock star once again fell into tears as she broke the news to her friends. She knew they were going to be upset when they heard the news that Tari was dead, and she knew she was going to start crying all over again, but there was no way she could hide this from them. They needed to know that their sweet friend who always put others before herself was no longer with them.

As Saiko continued to sob, she began to describe how Tari met her end.

"She…she called me," she explained through sobs, "telling me she was…was sinking in q…qu…quicksand. B-b-b-but when I got there, all I saw…WAS HER HAND! She…she was too far away for me to…"

Saiko couldn't finish her sentence. She was too busy crying for her fallen friend. Some of the others were on the verge of tears as well.

"Oh no," said Meggy, her voice breaking, "not again!"

Shroomy, usually the most optimistic of the group, was the second to break down in tears for Tari.

"Have mercy!" he sobbed. "I loved that girl!"

"We all loved that girl," said SMG4 sadly.

"I wish," sobbed Saiko, "I wish I had g-g-gotten to the qu-quicksand in time!"

"Saiko, it's not your fault," reassured Luigi, who was shedding a few tears himself. "You did everything you could."

"I know," wailed Saiko, "but it hurts. Why cou…why couldn't I have saved her?! I've been so protective of her, but…but now…"

Once again, the anime girl was too busy crying to finish her sentence. And now, more and more members of the SMG4 crew were crying for their fallen friend.

"She was the nicest person I knew," wept Mario.

"Nothing will ever be the same again," moaned Whimpu.

Soon, nearly everyone in the room was in tears, and Mario, Luigi, SMG4, Meggy, Shroomy, Whimpu, and Saiko all gave each other a group hug in mourning of Tari.

"WaIt," said Bob, "I wAsN't PaYiNg AtTeNtIoN. HoW dId ShE dIe?"

Everyone gave him an angry glare, which made him practically shit himself.

After four hours bare minimum of being completely out, Tari had finally regained consciousness as her mind slowly emerged from sleep. Or at least, she was convinced it was sleep. Last thing she remembered, she wanted to relax after all that charity work and that nasty fall down the stairs, before that crazy dream about that movie director. She figured that was what took everything out of her. Why else would she have woken up in bed? In her half-drowsy state, she glanced at the clock by her bedside.

1:00 p.m.

The startled android couldn't believe how much time has passed. Was she really asleep for that long? She must have been more exhausted than she thought. Maybe she should go see her friends—of which she had many, due to her kindness—to see how they were doing.

But then she pumped the brakes for a second as she remembered something. One of her favorite games was getting a DLC update today. Ultra Jump Mania was getting a new mode that contained a whole new island for Coconut Boy to explore. She remembered how exciting the trailer for that update looked, with wise words from the Elder Tomato serving as the trailer's narration. The new mode was called "Lost Island". Tari liked that title. Short, sweet, and to the point. As soon as the trailer was over, she knew she had to preorder and pay the full price for the update the first chance she got, before the day of its release.

And now, that day was here. Don't get her wrong, she always put others first. But video games were still her passion, and if there's a new game or new game mode she's looking forward to, she will play it until the Minecraft cows come home. Or at least until her friends need her for a zany scheme. Coincidentally (or maybe not so), the system that supported Ultra Jump Mania was already hooked up, and the game cartridge was already in. She couldn't wait to see what that new mode was all about.

Social interactions can wait for a while. After all, it wasn't like her friends thought she was dead or anything.