Chapter Thirty-One:
They're Finally Back, They're Finally Back...
Yes, he could make it. Hopefully, a judge was there. Maybe Kirby was still acting judge, Mario was this close to getting his friends back. What could stop him now?
"He has no style, he has no grace..."
Mario's heart thumped and he looked behind himself, seeing Lawyer Kong coming after him in the Koopa Car, singing the DK rap without a care in the world. The lawyer glared at him, bopping his head and listening to the funky beat until he turned the radio off and said, "This Kong has a gun."
The monkey drew a pistol and began firing at Mario, the plumber swerved left and right, avoiding every bullet that came his way like a programmed video game enemy NPC.
He then focused on getting to the courthouse full-speed and pulled into a dive, streaking towards the ground below and avoiding more bullets from Lawyer Kong.
"GRRR! That plumber!" The monkey yelled.
He heard snickering behind him and turned to see the Duck Hunt Dog laughing at his misfortune, the mutt must have woken up when the lawyer started shooting at Mario.
Furious, Lawyer Kong grabbed the dog by the scruff of the collar and threw him out of the Koopa Car, down into the streets below where he was caught by a girl in a suit and glasses.
"You poor doggy..." The girl gasped, she then glared up at Lawyer Kong, "Don't worry, we'll make sure that he gets what he deserves."
Mario soared through the door, landing on solid ground flawlessly thanks to the Launch Star's power. It took him a minute to realize he was in the courtroom, Mario looked around for the right person to talk to and, to his delight, sitting in the judge's booth and resting his eyes was Kirby with the wig still on and the gavel in hand.
The plumber stood up and walked towards the booth, the parody contract in hand. He knocked on the booth and Kirby woke up, seeing the parody contract in the plumber's hand.
Mario gave Kirby the contract, crossing his fingers that the pink puff would make the right choice, just as Lawyer Kong charged into the room, steaming furiously as he glared angrily at Mario.
"You are legally dead!" He snarled.
Mario prepared himself, even as the funky attorney drew his gun. But then...
"Hold it!"
Kirby looked at Lawyer Kong, "This parody contract contends with the DMCA that you signed."
Lawyer Kong's eyes were wide, Mario seemed delighted, he punched the air excitedly with a "wahoo" before the monkey threw his arms up furiously and cried, "YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS! WE SIGNED A BINDING CONTRACT!"
"Sorry, Lawyer Kong, but the law is the law..." Kirby said firmly, he looked at Mario, "Thank you, Mario, for bringing me this parody contract so I can revive your friends on this day."
He banged the gavel and, despite being written on toilet paper, the Parody Contract let off a blue aura and a flash of light enveloped the courtroom as Mario shielded his eyes while Lawyer Kong stomped angrily and raged in monkey. The light soon settled and Mario looked up, watching as it all happened before his very eyes.
SMG4 and SMG3, Tari, Saiko, Kaizo, Old Man Hobo, Hal Monitor, SMG1, SMG2, Melony, JubJub, Swagmaster, Chris, Karen, Depresso, Wheeler, Belle, Shroomy, Whimpu, Rob, just about everyone that Mario knew all came back as the DMCA's power was reversed.
SMG1 and SMG2 looked at each other with confusion with SMG2 holding up part of a coconut, which he somehow obtained.
"What happened?" SMG1 remarked, "We were in another world, playing coconut catch with a nice kid, and then we're in a courtroom?"
"Aww, man." SMG2 said sadly, "And I didn't get the chance to give Theo his coconut back..."
"So, we're in court..." Karen said with her dour demeanor, "That means we're on trial for coming back to live in this world."
"Mario?" SMG4 said with amazement, "I-I'm alive!"
Mario was bursting with joy, even as Lawyer Kong snarled with anger, he'd done it again, he'd brought back his friends from the brink of near-oblivion. They were going to have so many more wacky adventures, face so many more enemies, and have some really fun times, even if Mario got on everyone's nerves.
"SMG4!" Mario ran towards his friend, ready to embrace him and everyone else. However, he'd noticed that Meggy wasn't in the room, perhaps she'd rematerialized somewhere else. But it didn't matter, his friends were back and...
"Hold it!" Judge Kirby said again, making Mario freeze in his tracks, "SMG4 has been summoned for a trial, a trial that will determine the fate of all non-Nintendo I.P."
Everyone looked up in shock, then their attention shifted as they heard Lawyer Kong laughing hysterically. "Trial? That's great!" He cried, pointing at Mario and the crew, "These guys don't even have a lawyer, what losers!"
"Do we need a lawyer?" Mario asked.
"Yeah, you'll lose without proper representation." Kirby nodded as Lawyer Kong continued to laugh.
Everyone looked at each other, wondering what to do and who was going to defend them from Nintendo's attorneys. They had to think of something fast, who was qualified with the best legal knowledge and could possibly ensure they managed to defeat Nintendo?
Just then, before anybody could come up with something or throw in the towel or Judge Kirby could declare the SMG4-side guilty, the courthouse doors flew open again.
"OBJECTION!" A fierce female voice shouted.
Mario looked up, his mind exploding with more delight as his best friend Meggy stepped forward, wearing glasses and a very formal female lawyer suit, not too unlike the one that she wore as an Inkling. Words couldn't begin to describe his joy, especially with how relieved he was to see that she was back as well.
"Meggy Spletzer, lawyer in-training, at your service!" Meggy said, holding a briefcase, likely filled with legal paperwork related to the parody law. Mario glanced at Lawyer Kong, who was fuming with fury, and back at Meggy, just as Kirby declared that the trial of Nintendo v. SMG4 was about to begin...