Chapter Three:

You Can't Escape Work as A Mascot

"I can't breathe!" The Italian yelled, "I need air!"

"MARIO, NO!" SMG4 yelled.

Too late, all the Nintendo Ninjas had noticed and so did Lawyer Kong.

Lawyer Kong put down his brief case and he approached Mario, who looked up at him nervously. The monkey's furious facial expression made it seem like he wasn't happy with the plumber for hanging out with SMG4 and was about to lecture him at first, but then, Lawyer Kong smiled warmly.

"There you are, Mario!" The monkey said like he had just found a missing pet, "We've been looking all over for you, the boys were worried sick…"

Mario groaned. "Hey, lawyer guy." He said, "What did I do this time?"

"It's been a few years since we made the last big Super Mario title..." A ninja explained, "And people have been getting concerned that there hasn't been a new game since then."

"Aaaaannnnd we can't make our next game without our number one star." Lawyer Kong added, "Nor can we keep those worried fans waiting any longer, who makes a Mario game without our mascot?"

Mario rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I don't think so."

"Ha!" Lawyer Kong scoffed, "Really now, Mario? You got a lot of guts to say 'no' to your boss!"

'Oh boy…' SMG4 gulped.

Lawyer Kong reached into his briefcase and pulled out a document, showing it to Mario. "Do you know what this contract is?" He asked sternly.

"Boring legal stuff?" Mario remarked with a hint of sarcasm.

"It's... It's an intellectual property contract." SMG4 said, recognizing the file from the back.

"Well, well, well. I see someone's been doing his legal research." Lawyer Kong said, he turned back to the red Italian, "It means we at Nintendo own you and you can't escape work..."

"I WON'T DO IT; I WON'T DO IT!" The fat Italian protested furiously, "YOU. CAN'T. MAKE. ME!"

He punched Lawyer Kong in the face and ran from the room, knocking down several Nintendo Ninjas on the way. Lawyer Kong got back up, his face steaming with irritation, and ordered the ninjas to go after Mario.

The mentally-challenged Italian raced downstairs and was halfway to the door when a Nintendo Ninja jumped in front of him, wielding a Wii Nun-chuck like a weapon.

Mario dropped down and kicked the ninja in the legs, knocking him over and causing the ninja to drop his weapon before kicking the ninja in the face and rendering him unconscious.

Grunting noises prompted Mario to turn around and prepared himself, a pair of ninjas were flying at him, battle-ready and prepared to take him into custody.

BAM! BIFF! POW! BAFF! PUNCH! Mario punched and kicked the ninjas coming at him, then he grabbed a Toad and chucked him right at Lawyer Kong as he was coming down the stairs. The Toad hollered and grabbed onto the big monkey's face, blinding him and giving Mario enough time to escape.

However, Lawyer Kong grabbed the Toad and cast him aside, determined to achieve his objective no matter the odds and how hard it seemed to be to get that plumber.

Mario made a mad dash out the door and ran into the garden where Luigi was still attending the flowers, the red-clad hero looked around, keeping an eye out for more goons. Nintendo was not going to be done with him yet, not by a long shot, and there was no doubt that Lawyer Kong had a trick up his sleeve somewhere.

POOF! Several Nintendo Ninjas appeared, surrounding Mario. The fat plumber positioned himself in a combat-ready stance and leaped upward, he kicked a Ninja hard in the chin, knocking him to the ground. Then the silly Italian back-handed another with his fist, then he kicked a third in the groin…

But, unfortunately for Mario, he overestimated his foes. A ninja pounced on the plumber and grabbed his upper neck in a Vulcan neck pinch, Mario froze, unable to move.

The Nintendo Ninjas tied up the plumber, making sure he couldn't escape.

Lawyer Kong walked through the garden towards Mario, holding his hands behind his back with a wild grin on his face. The monkey reached into his briefcase and pulled out a piece of legal paperwork with Nintendo's signature on it, showing it to Mario in a firm manner.

"I.P. Ownership Act..." Lawyer Kong declared, "You are property of Nintendo and are required to make games with us as our mascot. Miyamoto is your creator and you cannot avoid work with us, Mario..." He put away the paper, "Now come, we have games to make..."

Mario lowered his head in defeat and Lawyer Kong walked away with the Ninjas beside him and the plumber in custody. From the castle bridge, SMG4 watched with a somber look as his friend was led away by Nintendo's legal team. As much as he wanted to help him, he knew the risks and would just have to accept reality.

"Sorry, Mario." SMG4 said with a tear in his eyes, "But I can't risk angering Nintendo."

The meme man sat down, wondering what to do now. It was probably best to wait until Nintendo had finished making their next game with Mario, then the plumber could come make memes with the meme man again if they allowed it until the next game was in the plans.

"Is there something wrong, SMG4?"

Mario and SMG4's friend Meggy Spletzer walked up, seeing the sad look upon SMG4's face. The former Inkling wasn't aware of what was actually going on yet, but she knew the situation was a serious one if SMG4 looked so sad today.

"You know what's wrong, Meggy." SMG4 said to the beanie-wearing human girl, "It's Mario."

"Ok. So..." Meggy asked, "What did Mario do this time?"

"Nintendo's come for him and... I can't do anything about it, we probably can't do anything about it right now."

Meggy scratched her chin, thinking about what was going on. Then she clicked her finger and whipped out her Splattershot. "Fear not, SMG4!" She declared, "I'll go and you'll have Mario back before you know it; Meggy Spletzer is on the job!"

"Wait, wha…?" SMG4 looked up in shock. He was about to utter a protest, but Meggy had already dashed off; ready to take action and do what she thought she had to do.

'Oh dear...' The meme man thought; he was already dreading what came next with Meggy heading off to get Mario.

Whatever happened, the situation was very likely not going to look good. But all that anybody could do was hope for the best; perhaps things would turn out well in the end and there would be nothing to worry about after today...?