Chapter Three:

Preparing for the Collab

He sat on the floor at his house, enjoying a plate of spaghetti and humming a happy little Diddy as he did so.

Mario was in the happiest of spirits, especially on a day like this when there wasn't much to do, especially after all that had happened since Lawyer Kong went bye-bye after the big SMG4 v. Nintendo debacle that had unfolded in the several months after Zero's final defeat, all in the same year.

The plumber was just munching on some meatballs when Luigi yelped.

"MARIO! YOU HAVE GOT TO SEE THIS!" The green Italian cried.

"Oh, mama mia." Mario set aside his spaghetti and exited his bedroom, joining Luigi at the table, where the plumber was looking at a computer. The green Italian was in a state of shock, especially with whatever he was looking at online.

Mario rolled his eyes. "Okay, Luigi." He said, "What-a have we got this-a... WHOA!"

He couldn't believe what he was seeing, it was unthinkable; SMG3 had gained three-million viewers while doing a live-stream of himself playing World of Warcraft while IN A BURNING BUILDING... IN THE INTERNET GRAVEYARD?

And on top of that, HE WAS GOING TO DO A COLLABORATION WITH SOMEONE KNOWN AS MISTER YEAST?!

"It's all over the Internet, on Twitter, and there are several YouTube videos about this." Luigi remarked, "I hope SMG4 is going to be okay and he didn't lose several thousand subscribers because of something like this."

Knock-knock-knock!

Mario went to answer the door and to his surprise, he found SMG4 on the doorstep with a wary expression on his face.

"Hey, SMG4." Mario said in his most polite Italian manner as he invited the meme man inside the house, "How's it-a going, what can-a we do for you this-a time? You want-a Mario to make a video with-a you..." Mario grabbed a notepad and a pencil, "What's-a the latest idea for your video featuring your favorite boy."

"You're not gonna believe this." SMG4 said.

"SMG3 hitting three million viewers while live-streaming a playthrough of his game and collaborating with someone known as Mr. Yeast?" Luigi asked.

"Wow, you guys know about that already." The meme man chuckled, "AND THAT'S WHAT I CAME TO TALK ABOUT, I'M FACING THE THREAT OF BEING OUTSHINED BY THE GUY WHO SPENT NEARLY TEN YEARS GIVING US TROUBLE AND TRYING TO TAKE OVER MY CHANNEL AND A GOOD MANY OF MY FANS ARE FOLLOWING HIM!"

"C'mon, SMG4." Mario laughed, "You're not gonna lose subscribers just because SMG3 did a live-stream that earned millions of views, didn't we bury the hatchet with him when we teamed up to save the universe from an eldritch cosmic monster that tried to corrupt your boy Mario over a year ago?"

"Oh man, those days may be long gone, but SMG3 and I can still have one heck of a rivalry going if somethin' comes up..." SMG4 chuckled, "Mario, the reason I came here was to ask for your help.

"I just assisted SMG3 with his live-stream after meeting Mr. Yeast and he suggested that you be involved with the big collab that he will be doin' with him soon."

"Do you need me?" Luigi asked.

"Just Mario."

"Okay, I'll be attending to my Flower Shop." Luigi shrugged as he powered down the computer for the time being, "But if you need-a me, give me a call and I'll be there to back you and-a Mario up. Let's-a hope the situation won't be as-a bad as it-a seems."

"Luigi..." Mario gave the green Italian a pat on the shoulder, "There's no need to start worrying, we're not returning to the old days of SMG3 giving us trouble."

SMG4 nodded. "You got that one right, buddy." He said, "As long as I keep making content, churning out the memes and still getting more subscribers, this guy here is still the king. We just have to see what happens with SMG3 and Mr. Yeast's collab when it happens. And speakin' of which, ya with me on it, Mario?"

Mario pumped his fist and flashed a silly grin. "Let's-a go!" He said.

He sat back in his chair, the fire hologram ending. His stream was over. He had more viewers than ever, his live-streams were going to be a lot more interesting in the future. And on top of that, SMG3 didn't have to do a stupid endless live-stream challenge.

That one sucked, and it sucked more when Mario and SMG4 had pranked him. Man, that was still stupid. At least that nonsense, especially when he had a meme drop a nuke on the Starbucks, was just a big dumb fever dream.

But now, he had something big happening. It was time for a Col-lab-or-ration.

Once the stream had finished, SMG3 heard his phone ring. It was him. He picked it up and tapped the answer button, the voice of Mr. Yeast came over on the other line.

"I see you have finished with your stream..." He said.

"Yes, I am." SMG3 nodded.

"So, are you ready to collab?"

"Oh, you bet..." The former nemesis of SMG4 stood, a slight sinister smirk upon his face, "And I know this collaboration is going to be very interesting and exciting, especially since a friend of ours will be helping us. Do you remember, SMG4, Mr. Yeast, that guy you encountered briefly when we met recently?"

"Certainly, I have seen his content for years, before I saw you and decided you'd be perfect to work with."

SMG3's grin widened. "Indeed, and we'll be joined by a very special friend of his during the collab..." He looked at a text message from SMG4 saying that Mario was on board, "...And having him on board is going to be quite the treat."

On the other end, Mr. Yeast nodded in agreement. "I know it will." He said. And with that, the call ended and SMG3 nodded to Egg-dog, it was time to get to work...

'Showtime.'