Chapter Twenty-Eight:

And There's SMG4, He's Dead...

They sat side-by-side on the rooftop, watching the glow of the sunset, watching the countryside and the mountains.

Only half an hour had gone by since it happened, since the document was signed, since the horror that unfolded with its handing over to the acting judge. And by now, only he remained, except that he didn't have long until he had to shut down.

"I'm... I'm going to miss this place." SMG4 said.

Mario lowered his head sadly, he couldn't believe this was all happening, after so many adventures and all the challenges they'd faced. When SMG3 had taken over and erased the gang, Mario thought they were gone forever, unaware that they weren't, especially with the Internet Graveyard at play.

But this time, the situation was far different. As far as he knew, he was about to lose his friends, likely forever, and there would be no way to get them back.

"Remember that time when we had that Chain Chomp chase after us?" He heard him ask, "Or the time when we battled a rage-fueled deity version of Waluigi? When you got your pingas stuck in the door? And the time when we fought a cosmic eldritch monster?"

Eyes welling with sorrow, the fat Italian threw his arms around SMG4, wailing desperately. "NO! SMG4! DON'T LEAVE MEEEEEEE!" Mario sobbed.

SMG4 lowered his head sadly, then he heard someone cough. The meme man and Mario turned, seeing Lawyer Kong behind him. Nintendo's attorney pointed to a watch, indicating that they didn't have much time left.

"It's time for me to go..." SMG4 said solemnly.

He walked towards Lawyer Kong, ready to accept his fate. Then he stopped, thinking about something else, his fans, the fans who'd followed him for all these years.

During his time as a YouTuber, he'd gained countless subscribers and he knew that all of those people were going to miss him, even though they would understand the circumstances behind this.

"Can I... make one final goodbye...?" He asked.

"Very well..." Lawyer Kong said, "But make it quick and make it a good one."

A Lakkitu floated up, the camera ready. Eyes watering hard, SMG4 turned to face the camera, knowing that his fans would be watching what would be his last video. Those unaware expected an advertisement for an SMG4 brand, not knowing what they were about to see.

"Hey, guys..." SMG4 said, "Thanks for watching SMG4 for so long, so, this is goodbye..."

With that, it happened. SMG4 closed his eyes, the last of his tears falling. And when he opened them again, they were blank. The Mario-looking meme guardian dropped to the ground in a limp robot-like manner, then he fell on his back, sprawled across the ground in front of Mario and Lawyer Kong as Lakkitu floated off.

It was all over, the meme guardian, the world's favorite YouTuber, was no more. Mario dropped to his knees, removing his hat, as he mourned the loss of another friend.

So many had fallen over the years; Desti, Greg, Axol and, now, SMG4 and the rest of the Glitchy Gang, and all that Mario had left was his brother, Bob and Boopkins, and Nintendo...