Chapter Eighteen:
Escape From The City
"Who are you, guys?"
Mario, Meggy and SMG4 turned in the direction of Luigi's voice, they all saw that he was very confused right now, especially in his brainwashed state as he was looking at Meggy and SMG4.
Mario stared at his younger brother, almost blankly. Then, the plumber's eyes briefly widened, like they usually did whenever he was about to do something stupid, and he smiled kindly.
"This is your mama and papa, Luigi." Mario said, lying to his brainwashed brother.
"Mama?" Luigi looked at Meggy, then he looked at SMG4, "Papa?"
Watching his reaction, Mario started laughing, only for Meggy to slap him silly. Mario groaned, he definitely deserved this.
"We don't have time to worry about this right now." SMG4 said firmly, "We gotta get out of the city and avoid getting caught by the cops and Lawyer Kong, I bet you we just made the news and wanted signs are being set up right now."
"Let me check the news." Meggy grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, clicking right to the news channel right in time as the Squid Sisters' logo appeared, followed by the scene of the studio with Callie and Marie in their usual positions.
"Hold on to your tentacles..." Callie announced.
"Its Inkopolis News Time..." Marie finished.
"Breaking news flash!" The former cried, "We have fugitives! Just a short time ago, after Nintendo Headquarters established a firewall with new laws that are being passed by all governments in Nintendo-friendly zones, Illegal I.P made their way inside the city. The first of these criminals has been identified as SMG4..."
An image of SMG4 appeared on the screen, showing him in his Mario-like appearance next to a picture of him in his Stanley-like appearance.
"Known for making memes and videos based on video game properties..." Callie went on, "He has been branded a liability and an illegitimate citizen of the Mushroom Kingdom due to cases of meme-induced stupidity associated with apocalyptic events, even though he helped save us from that island a few years ago."
"The second fugitive has been identified as Meggy Spletzer..." Marie added, a picture of Meggy popping up on-screen as Meggy gasped in shock, "Splatfest champion and former resident of Inkopolis. It is such a shame that she has been involved with criminal activities such as the kidnapping of Nintendo's mascot Super Mario."
Callie spoke again, "When asked about the situation, Nintendo's attorney Lawyer Kong had this to say."
Lawyer Kong appeared on screen, surrounded by reporters. It was beyond insane that the media had caught up to him so quickly, but cameras were already surrounding him and flashing, a pair of Inkling police officers were busy trying to stop a crowd of Inklings from getting close to him.
"Nintendo is about making quality entertainment and protecting our property is very important." Lawyer Kong said, "When SMG4 first showed up years ago, it caused massive quality complications as soon as his memes started spreading. And worst of all, by using Mario, he has been ruining our value beyond recognition.
"We have seen firsthand the consequences of SMG4's activities in the years since his arrival, our world was faced with a viral abomination that sought to use our mascot for its apocalyptic plans and our headquarters was nearly destroyed during the meteor shower caused by the same enemy when it opened that Box thing.
"How he was able to get inside, fooling everyone into thinking he was Stanley, is not important. But what is important that he and his associates must be stopped through any legal means necessary, no matter how high the costs are."
Lawyer Kong vanished and the Squid Sisters reappeared.
"And that's all the news for today!" Callie cried, "The authorities will resolve the situation as soon as they can and, hopefully, order will be restored to our world. Until next time..."
"Stay fresh!" The Squid Sisters declared in unison, striking their Fresh poses.
The broadcast ended and Meggy shut off the TV, her hands shaking as she set aside the remote. She'd just been branded a fugitive by the race she used to be a member of, just because she was trying to help SMG4 get Mario back along with everyone else.
And on top of that, it tarnished her status as a Splatfest Champion. How humiliating...
Mario was beside her, his eyes wide as hers. "Mama mia!" He exclaimed.
"Don't tell me the Inkopolis authorities have officially branded us fugitives!" SMG4 yelled from the driver's seat.
"It's bad, really bad!" Meggy replied.
"Mario! What have you gotten us into?!" Luigi exclaimed, "These people aren't our parents, how could you even let yourself get mixed up with a pair of fugitives? WHAT-A HAPPENED TO YOU? WHO ARE YOU GUYS? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO ME? WHAT ABOUT SAVING THE PRINCESS?"
Meggy and Mario tied up Luigi with a piece of spare rope they found and made sure to confiscate his phone, making sure he didn't call the police if he tried to escape, not that he was going to since the cops were after the group anyway.
Loud sirens got their attention along with the sound of helicopter engines and radio chatter. SMG4 slammed on the gas and the van was racing along the highway of Inkopolis at high-speed, Mario and Meggy peaked out the window, seeing cop cars in pursuit along with more choppers and Inkling officers riding motorbikes.
"We got cops!" Meggy called.
"How many?!" SMG4 yelled.
"All of them, I think!"
"Well, I'm already trying to get them off my tail, so don't bother asking!"
A loudspeaker buzzed and an Inkling's voice blared its way into the van; "THIS IS THE INKOPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT! PULL OVER THE RV, YOU ARE COMANDEERING A VEHICLE THAT YOU HAVE STOLEN! YOU WILL PULL OVER IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE INKOPOLIS POLICE AND NINTENDO HEADQUARTERS!"
Meggy grabbed her Splattershot and tugged the cord, opening up the roof of the RV, before giving Mario his own. She nodded to the plumber and the two climbed to the top, ready to fight off the authorities. SMG4 called out to the duo, telling them to keep the police off their tail while he found the city exit.
"SURRENDER AT ONCE! THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING!" An officer shouted.
"Ready to break the law even more?" Meggy asked Mario.
"Mario's going to do something illegal." The Italian nodded.
All in agreement, Meggy opened fire, raining ink upon the pursuing squad. Several cops crashed and fell off their motorbikes, their bodies exploding as their spirits floated away, leaving their gear and uniforms behind again.
The cars vroomed in, a couple officers popping out with their Splattershots armed and ready as they took aim at Mario and Meggy. Police helicopters flew in, Splatlings spinning as the pilots prepared to fire.
Mario brought out a Splat-charger and took quick aim at one of the helicopters, he squeezed the trigger and a burst of ink struck the chopper's weapon, causing an explosion of ink that knocked the vehicle off course and sent it crashing into another chopper hard.
SMG4 steered the wheel hard at an intersection on the freeway, slamming his foot on the gas harder as the van shot down the nearby avenue, racing through the surrounding city district as billboards flashed wanted signs that showed SMG4 and Meggy along with Mario.
Mario gazed at the signs and his eyes lit up, a wide smile etching onto his face as he stared at his image.
"Mario looks so good!" He exclaimed, "They got-a my appearance right!"
"RED! FOCUS!" Meggy screamed.
Loud siren wailing snapped Mario back to his senses and he raised his Splattershot, seeing a pair of Inkling police motorcycles had vroomed closer to the RV with the cops preparing their weapons.
Mario fired on the officers, knocking them all off of their bikes. Meggy took several shots at the cop cars, hitting them in the engines and derailing them into each other, taking more police officers off their tail.
More motorcycle engine rumbling reached their ears and the duo watched with near-surprise as several black-suited men in masks made their appearance; Nintendo Ninjas.
The Ninjas howled and pulled out their samurai blades and Kunai, ready to attack them. Mario and Meggy nodded to each other and opened fire with their Splat weapons upon the pursuing Ninjas.
"AYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" A ninja cried as ink struck his bike, the engine exploded and the Nintendo Ninja collapsed onto the road, where he was ran over and crushed by the pursuing police cars. More Nintendo Ninjas entered the scene, packing pistols and machine guns, all taking aim at the back of the van.
"Oh no, you don't!" Meggy brought out an Inkzooka and fired a massive shot at the Ninja squad, blasting them all off the road as bike parts flew everywhere.
SMG4 steered a corner and drove down the next road, avoiding cars along the way. Mario and Meggy ducked and grabbed onto something, making sure they didn't fall off the RV. They got back inside the van and closed the roof, seeing that the police had given up the chase for now.
Before they knew it, SMG4 had driven past a sign that read "city exit" and was driving through a dark tunnel. Mario and Meggy put away their weapons and untied Luigi, making sure he was safe and that he wouldn't cause any trouble.
The van soon exited the city, rolling through a vast desert with the Inkopolis behind them. But despite the trouble that had passed, SMG4 continued to drive on...