Chapter Nineteen:

Meme Man Gone Mad

"Get out! Get out! GET OUT!" He shouted, his voice filled with rage.

SMG4 smacked Waluigi, which triggered his transformation into Waluigi Launcher mode. Mario took cover with Meggy behind a big Question Mark block, the rest of the group braced themselves, and SMG4 opened fire. Missiles burst out of the maw of the Waluigi-converted Waluigi Launcher, exploding all over the castle foyer.

People screamed and made a run for it, avoiding the explosions and incoming missiles as SMG4 yelled like a lunatic, firing indiscriminately all around the room and blasting decorations everywhere.

"IT'S GOTTA BE PERFECT! IT'S GOTTA BE PERFECT!" SMG4 shouted, "IT'S GOTTA BE PERFECT!"

"What's gotten into him?!" Meggy cried in her hiding spot.

"I don't know!" Mario exclaimed, "He's never acted like this before!"

"OH MY GOD! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Wario cried as he narrowly avoided a missile, the fat greedy Italian ran for the door and barely got out as a missile exploded near him, sending him flying through the courtyard! Koopas, Goombas, and nearly everyone else bolted out of the castle.

SMG4 fired several more missiles, blowing up a couple Goombas and causing part of the ceiling to collapse. Princess Peach entered the room, having heard the explosions from all the way up in her room, and she glared at the meme man.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF BLOWING UP MY CASTLE, SMG4?!" The princess yelled.

BOOM!

Peach screamed as she flew into a wall, knocked back by an explosion from the Waluigi Launcher. The princess yelled as she danced around, her dress in flames. She dropped and rolled, putting out the fires, then she ran back up stairs and glared at SMG4 angrily. "WHY DO I LET YOU STAY IN MY CASTLE IF YOU'RE GOING TO BLOW IT UP?!" She yelled.

"SHUT YOUR BIG LOUD MOUTH, YOU NAGGING ROYAL B****!" SMG4 yelled back, "I DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO BE BOSSED AROUND WHEN THERE ARE OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS TO DEAL WITH! DO I LOOK LIKE I CARE ABOUT THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF YOUR CASTLE, I COULD CARE LESS IF IT SANK INTO THE EARTH!"

He fired another Waluigi missile at the princess, prompting her to run back up to the throne room. SMG4 then threw down the launcher and Waluigi reverted back to normal. He whimpered in fear, staring at the angry meme man, then he made a break for the door.

SMG4 panted, even with his face showing anger... and madness. Once he caught his breath, he would fix that damn Wi-Fi, and then it was back to work on his video. It had to be perfect, it needed to be perfect, no more distractions.

But this nonsense. He'd tried to make his video perfect, he'd been interrupted so many times, and what drew him out was the near breaking point...

"OI! IDIOT!"

He turned, facing his former nemesis. SMG3 was irked and surprised by SMG4's behavior, taken aback by the meme man's outburst and the way he'd acted just now... especially during an event such as Mar10 Day. The nerve of it all!

"We're here to celebrate your best friend's day and you're acting like this?!" SMG3 demanded.

"NONE OF YOU UNDERSTAND THE WORK I DO!" SMG4 yelled.

"SMG4, calm down..." Meggy stepped forward, "You're really concerning us, you didn't come out of your room, and you look like you haven't slept or washed yourself for a long time. I know you're making a video, but can you at least spend some time with your friends?"

"Don't tell me how to take care of myself!" SMG4 demanded, "I DO NOT HAVE THE TIME FOR THIS AND I WILL NOT BE INTERRUPTED WHEN I AM MAKING A VIDEO! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO MAKE SURE ITS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT AND I AM NOT MAKING ANY COMPROMISES UNTIL THAT VIDEO IS FINISHED!"

He turned his attention to the Wi-Fi router and placed it back on the ledge, inspected the device, and plugged it back in while adjusting the receiver. The light flashed, indicating that it had a signal.

SMG4 then made his way back towards the Secret Slide Room, passing Mario on the way.

"But, SMG4, the main event..." The plumber said nervously as he held a paper in his hands.

"JUST LEAVE ME THE F*** ALONE!" SMG4 yelled and he slammed the door behind him.

Mario and the others stood outside the door, full of worry for their friend in his current state of mind, unsure of what to think. SMG4 had been busy making content in the past, but never to an extent such as this where he would lash out like that.

Tears rolled down Mario's face and Meggy looked over his shoulder, her eyes widening and the breath leaving her lungs, as she saw what was on it, she saw the words 'Mar10 Day Best Friend Award' with the picture of Mario giving SMG4 a ribbon. The former Inkling fought the urge to cry with Mario, realizing how more important Mar10 Day was than ever.

Mario had planned to award SMG4 for being a good friend, for being his best friend, for all of those years they'd known each other. But since SMG4 didn't join the party, those plans were ruined.

On the other side of the door, the meme man himself sat down at his computer once again, composing himself despite his insanity. He saw the notification that the internet connection was restored.

With that out of the way, it was time to continue his work. No more distractions, and his friends were a massive distraction.

SMG4 frowned as he prepared to resume making the video, the internet disconnect made him lose his train of thought. Thankfully, he didn't lose his progress. He needed to keep animating the characters and revising the script, ensuring there were little to no errors. To make his video perfect, there could be no writing errors or anything else.

'It's got to be perfect, it has to be one hundred percent perfect.' He thought.

Just then, his computer blinked, and a small TV with a smiley face made it's appearance. SMG4 raised an eyebrow, wondering where that thing came from. He hadn't seen the likes of a smiling TV before, even though he'd seen so many memes at this point in his life.

"Hey, it looks like you need some editing help." The TV said to SMG4.

'Yeah, maybe I do.' The meme man thought.

A new window made an appearance, showing a yellow background with various other colors, and the mysterious TV icon floated to the side of the screen. In a heartbeat, an interesting item popped up on the screen; A dark-red keyboard with fangs and strange eyes, giving a demonic appearance.

SMG4 assumed the keyboard was designed like that to look scary and interesting.

"Can I interest you in a new keyboard?" The TV Adware asked, "It's guaranteed to make your work PERFECT!"

SMG4 became interested, especially at the prospect of this new keyboard helping him make his video the way he wanted to. He was already desperate and frustrated, perhaps it could work. And that keyboard looked really cool, if what the TV thing said was true, then he would soon have his perfect video complete and be perfect enough in no time.

He clicked the 'BUY' icon beneath the ad and the funny TV vanished. SMG4 wondered where that thing disappeared to, a part of him wanting to learn more about his visitor and wanting to thank it for offering to help.

Just then, the nearby window shattered and something bonked SMG4 in the head. He turned and caught it, seeing his new keyboard had arrived.

The meme man felt and examined it, those teeth looked fake and those eyes didn't seem to do anything. But holding it in his hands, SMG4 felt a renewed sense of determination to make his video perfect. And he wasn't going to waste any time. He hooked up the keyboard into the computer and started typing away, going at full speed.

And just then, the keyboard glowed and ominous energies seeped their way into SMG4's fingertips. At first, the meme man faltered, but then he picked up speed. A strange dark aura began emitting from the keyboard and the eyes lit up as a shadow fell across the room.

'My gosh...' SMG4 thought, 'That feeling... What is this urge to make more perfect content?'

"Yes..." He cried, his pupils shrinking, "YES!"

He continued clicking away at the keyboard, going full speed ahead with the project he'd already been working on. SMG4's eyes shrank and the strange power from the keyboard seeped deeper into him, entering his mind and soul. SMG4's consciousness shifted, adjusting to make room for a new presence.

'You got this.' A voice encouraged, 'You know what you want to do.'

'I know what to do.' SMG4's mind thought, 'I want this to be perfect.'

'And you will make it perfect, just the way you intend it to be. We'll be working hard together and this will be an interesting time, SMG4. You can't stop now, no matter how many errors it takes. After all, you bought this keyboard and here you are, working harder than ever, no matter what...'

"IT'S GONNA BE PERFECT!" SMG4 cried happily, "IT'S GONNA BE PERFECT!"

He then paused and a thought occurred to him; his viewers and his friends. The video was a priority, but what if he let everyone see what he was working on?

'Can we do a live-stream?' SMG4 thought, 'Let everyone see what I'm making?'

'Of course. Who wouldn't want to see what you're doing?' The voice replied.

Outside the room, Mario and the others heard pinging sounds. Meggy brought out her phone and SMG3 did the same, they saw a YouTube notification that SMG4 was doing a live-stream. They tapped the link and were treated to the image of SMG4 in the Secret Slide Room, working on his project in solitude. And neither of them knew what else was happening in there...