Chapter Sixteen:

A Grizzly Space Showdown


Mario, Meggy and SMG4 were shocked and at a near loss for words beyond belief. They'd heard of him before, but it couldn't be happening, not now. And after all this time, he'd emerged from wherever her was.

Sure, he and his company may have been involved with Nintendo in some form with the Splatoon games, but this was unbelievable. However, it was true, the big guy had made his appearance.

And judging by his ominous stare, the way he spoke to the trio, he was big trouble. One of the producers had expressed hope earlier that he or DJ Octavio wouldn't cause trouble, but unfortunately, trouble was looming, literally and figuratively.

In fact, he was trouble and he was embodying that trouble full-time, bringing it all down upon the group as they faced the imposing threat before them.


Ursine Alien Anomaly:

Mr. Grizz


"Whatcha up to, ya big monkey?" Mario called out to the bear.

Mr. Grizz stared at the plumber and his friends blankly. "Unregistered workers." He said in a cold rumble, "You have failed to do your proper research before attempting to make an application, I am a bear, not a monkey.

"But that will change in a matter of minutes as my plan that I have set in motion is being set into full-scale operation, history is about to change. Evolution is inevitable."

"And what do you mean?" Meggy shouted, "What are you up to, you massive walking and talking ball of fur?"

"For too long, humanity has reigned over this world, sharing it with the likes of living fungus and other species, and the simple-minded mammals have suffered under this reign." Mr. Grizz intoned, "Even the squids and octopi have thrived for too long, it is time for a new order, one where mammals reign and walk free.

"You, humans and Inklings, turtles and fish life, are all a liability. Enjoy the final remaining minutes the world has, the new era begins today and it was all made possible by the Inklings who went out of their way to salvage the Salmon Eggs from the Salmonids.

"And now, the final operation begins. The world shall prosper in freedom from the human plague. And there is nothing the managers of Nintendo can do to hold me back with their Splatoon franchise..."

The surface rumbled again and the group felt the building quake harder than it ever had before. A large mass appeared behind Mr. Grizz, rising from the ocean. Mario, Meggy and SMG4 recognized the shape, seeing it was a rocket.

As the rocket rose from the ocean, masses of gleaming fur, just like the patches on Mr. Grizz's fur, began to materialize on the rocket's hull itself. Mr. Grizz grabbed onto the rocket and it flew up towards the sky, taking the massive bear with him while it's rider glared down at the heroes ominously.

"I have no employ for you!" Grizz called down, "Best to make do with the time that remains before my Fuzzy Ooze covers the world from above!"

As the rocket faded from view. Mario stamped his foot angrily and growled, "That-a stupid bear. Mario's going to rip every last inch of fur off of him if it's-a the last thing he does."

"You said it, Red." Meggy primed her Splattershot, "We're not letting him destroy the world before we can resolve the crisis with Nintendo and save our friends from being shut down by a legally-signed DMCA."

"But how are we gonna get up there?" SMG4 asked.

Someone coughed and the group turned around, finding Cap'n Craig Cuttlefish of the Squidbeak Splatoon eying them, having made his way onto the rooftop after likely watching Mario and Meggy's battle with the police force.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance?" The old Inkling offered. He tapped his cane and a Luma appeared from behind him, the living star floated a foot away from the captain and spun around, morphing into a Launch Star.

"Courtesy of a nice woman named Rosalina." Cuttlefish said, "We were just filming a scene for the crossover and she sensed you were in trouble."

"Yahoo!" Mario whooped, "Now we're talking."

"Good luck up there, young'uns." The captain tipped his hat.

Mario leaped into the Launch Star, floating off the ground before the big star spun and launched the plumber towards the sky.

Meggy followed suit, letting the Launch Star launch her before SMG4 let himself get launched. The trio soared through the clouds over the ocean, flying higher with the stars' blessing until they'd left the planet's gravitational pull and were soaring into the depths of space.

The rocket was just up ahead, having gotten further away from the ground, and Mr. Grizz was riding atop it. Mario and Meggy soared down, finding themselves protected from the lack of oxygen, enabled to breathe thanks to the power of the stars.

Mario breathed slowly with Meggy breathing slowly as well, even SMG4 was a little nervous, but he breathed slowly to calm himself down. Both Mario and Meggy landed on the rocket, standing straight and staring up at the massive bear staring down at them.

Meggy primed her Splattershot and Mario placed himself in a combat-ready stance, all ready for battle with the titanic alien bear.

"You persist…" Mr. Grizz mused, eyes flashing red, "Perhaps I should give you all extra credit for making your way up here. And thus, you have guaranteed your hiring... as insects for me to squash before I obliterate your kind!"

Meggy squeezed the trigger, opening fire on Mr. Grizz and landing a couple lucky shots in the eyes along with some of the Fuzzy Ooze patches on his body.

The bear blinked the ink out of his vision and grabbed a massive chunk of Fuzzy Ooze from one of the patches on the ship and threw it towards the heroes, Mario and Meggy ducked and SMG4 took cover, narrowly missing the projectile.

The other patches of Fuzzy Ooze bubbled and a pair of Octarians with coats of fur emerged, firing Fuzzy Ink at the heroes and trying to knock them out. Meggy fired at every single Fuzzy Octarian in sight, taking them both out at once with well-timed shots while throwing Splat-Bombs into the mix.

A determined Mario leaped into the air, heading right for Mr. Grizz, and punched him in the face, knocking the large bear back a few feet before the big guy got back up and swiped at Mario, knocking him several feet until he was a few inches from a Fuzzy Ooze patch.

SMG4 helped Mario get back up and drew a pistol from his inventory, taking a clear aim at Mr. Grizz before shooting at him with the bullets narrowly hitting their target in the arm and the legs. Mr. Grizz roared in pain and slammed his humongous arm down on the hull, causing the ship to violently quake beneath the heroes.

"YOU ARE AN IMPEDENCE TO MY PLAN!" Mr. Grizz yelled, "THE HUMAN RACE HAS BEEN LEFT UNCHECKED FOR TOO LONG, RESULTING IN YOU WACKY JUMP PLUMBERS AND HUMANOID SQUIDS WHO SHIFT INTO HUMAN FORM WHEN DRAINED OF INK AND NOW, MY KIND REIGNS SUPREME!"

The lumbering genocidal bear brought his fists down on the floor of the rocket, causing the panels to rupture and the trio of heroes found themselves losing balance as they were hurled off the rocket.

Meggy gripped her Splattershot tightly, firing off several shots at Mr. Grizz just as they were leaving the rocket, even as Mario and SMG4 yelled and flailed their limbs. Failure was not an option, whatever weapon Mr. Grizz had on that rocket was set to fire at any minute and the world was facing a grizzly destruction.

Down below, every single one of their friends were counting on them. Tari, Saiko, SMG3 and perhaps so many others, inside and outside the firewall. They couldn't fail, this was not where the quest ended, and Mr. Grizz was nothing compared to Zero.

'Mama mia...' Mario thought, 'I never be able to eat that spaghetti again.'

Just then, the trio heard rocket engines from somewhere behind them. Before Meggy, Mario and SMG4 knew it, they were riding a top a huge mech as it soared towards Mr. Grizz. They both looked down and were in for a massive surprise when they saw who the pilot was.

"LAWYER KONG?!" SMG4 exclaimed.

"I've been watchin' that bear for a while." Lawyer Kong said, "But none of us could expect him to pull what we scripted him to do in the big game. Tomorrow's Splatoon 3 Day and we ain't lettin' that bear destroy the world and shut us outta business before folks can enjoy another Splat-tastic masterpiece."

"We couldn't have asked for back-up at a time like this." Meggy remarked with near relief, "Now let's show that bear whose boss and save the world."

"Let's-a go!" Mario whooped.

"Ha-ha!" Lawyer Kong chuckled, "I like that enthusiasm and I got the perfect funk for this funky battle."

Music started pumping out of the flying robot-ship's speakers, vibrant and energetic, rhythmic music that made the speakers vibrate and almost echoed across the darkness of space.

It started with a couple drumbeats, followed by a chime and some electric cords, all building up towards the main course of the song that was about to play.

"Oh my gosh, I know this song!" Meggy exclaimed.

"Yahoo! I love a good beat!" Mario remarked.

"Man, nothin' can get ya in a good mood than some fantastic Inkling music." SMG4 grinned.

"That's right!" Funky Kong started mixing a keyboard on the control panel, "There ain't any better music fit for a big battle then that sweet, groovy heavenly melody that Splatoon fans know and love; the Calamari Inkantation! LET'S HIT IT!"

The monkey slammed on the gas and rocketed towards Mr. Grizz, weapons systems kicking into high gear as the vocals of the Squid Sisters harmonically reverberated from the speakers in flow in the music, the bubbly squid song flowed into Meggy's ears, followed by Mario and SMG4's ears, until the beat was motivating them.

Mr. Grizz snarled at the combatants, somewhat irked by the music, but ready for one last showdown before he set on with destroying the world.

And down below, the Inkantation could be heard playing on every sound-speaker in Inkopolis while flowing through every radio station in the Mushroom Kingdom and could be even heard across various frequencies outside the Kingdom, prompting anyone who heard it to start dancing and singing until the whole world was singing it.

In fact, even the likes of the resort paradise of Port Aurora was hearing it. Every Aura Bora listening to music on their radios when the Calamari Inkantation started emitting from the speakers, surprising the island's inhabitants as though they'd never heard it before.

Up in space, the Glitchy Mario gang engaged Mr. Grizz head-on.

Meggy opened fire with her Splattershot, unleashing a barrage of ink-fire on the bear, as Mario took to a turret with SMG4 doing the same as Lawyer Kong commandeered the Octobot's weapons systems, ready to take down the big bear in the biggest beat anyone had ever seen.

Lasers rocketed out of the Octobot's barrels towards Mr. Grizz and blasted the spot where he stood, causing him to slightly loose balance. The bear summoned Fuzzy-Octarians and sent them at the gang, only for the Octobot to obliterate them in seconds.

SMG4 worked the controls of his turret and fired a massive pulse of energy at the bear, wiping out a patch of Fuzzy Ooze that surrounded him.

"YEAH! FEEL THE POWER OF MEMES!" The meme man yelled.

"Didn't know ya had a sense of humor, Stanley." Lawyer Kong chuckled, then his eyes widened, "Wait, memes? SMG4?!"

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." SMG4 said firmly.

"LET'S-A GET-A THAT BIG BOY!" Mario cried.

"Opposition is futile!" Mr. Grizz snarled, "You have two minutes before the world is covered in Fuzzy Ooze as it is deployed by the Grizzinator!"

A port on the back of the ship behind the bear opened up and a massive cannon surrounded by Fuzzy Ooze appeared. Meggy, Mario and SMG4's eyes widened, that big bear certainly meant business. A beeping filled their ears, indicating that a timer was now ticking down towards the destruction of the world.

Lawyer Kong soared in, firing shots at Mr. Grizz and obliterating Fuzzy Ink while getting in range of the bear's weapon just close enough for the gang to throw in some Splat-Bombs that decimated the weapon upon detonating.

The weapon exploded with ink and ooze flying everywhere, Mr. Grizz was caught off guard by the explosion and stumbled over, leaving him open for another attack. Nearby, spot where the machine had appeared crackled and machinery hummed intensely, indicating that another one was about to appear.

The starry void appeared to gleam red, not much time was left until Mr. Grizz unleashed his last ditch effort to achieve victory.

Ready to deal the final blow, Mario and the group dropped a payload of bombs from the Octobot's arsenal upon Mr. Grizz's ship, wiping out more patches of Fuzzy Ooze littering the spacecraft while taking out a couple more patches that were on the large bear.

Violent explosions rocked the ship and Mr. Grizz stood, looking weak and defeated.

"It seems… all of my plans... have been all for nothing..." The bear said, "Perhaps... the humans and the other non-human species are the dominant life forms. A world ruled by animals without humanity... I suppose this is it then, none of you will receive severance paaaaaay…"

The rocket exploded and Mr. Grizz vanished in a ball of flame, his plans at an end. However, the ensuing explosion rocked the Octobot hard, causing Mario, Meggy and SMG4 to fall off and the trio drifted through space, drifting back towards the planet below...