Chapter Eighteen:

Anti-Virus License Expired LMAO


The light faded and SMG4 was back in the control room of his Guardian Pod. Mario groaned, rubbing his head, and Axol looked at the fat Italians with concern. It took time for SMG4 to process what he'd just seen, then he exclaimed; "I know where their USB is!"

Axol gasped, "WHERE?!"

"It's in Brazil."

Mario lit up with delight. "I'M A GENIUS!" The fat Italian cried.

"This trip went smoother than expected." Axol remarked happily, "Despite the slight road-bumps, we made progress, and everything seems to be alright for once."

"Yeah, and nobody died, surprisingly." Mario commented.

"Actually, I wouldn't push our luck." SMG4 said, "Everything's been fine so far, but something can come up later. Hopefully, nobody we know will lose their life. But until something does come up, yeah, we're good."

The meme man frowned, "Hold on, isn't there something missing?"

"Hmmm..." Mario pondered.

Axol's eyes widened and he gasped. "WHERE'S BOB?!" He yelped.

SMG4 shrugged. "Ah, darn it!" The YouTuber groaned, "Last time we saw him, he went off with Butter Birdo. I sure hope he doesn't get into trouble, surely, we'll run into him while we're leaving the Dark Web. In all fairness, it's not like he's gonna do something stupid. He's probably hanging out with the shady people and indulging in various shady Dark Web nonsense."

"How about we leave before something weird happens in this place?" Axol suggested.

"Yeah, this USB is cuckoo crazy." Mario agreed.

SMG4 smacked the plumber on the head. "That USB just helped us find another USB, dumbass." He reminded him, "But it did make you cuckoo crazy in the first place. What's nine plus ten?"

"Twenty-one."

'Damn it, Mario.' SMG4 rolled his eyes, then he and the others made their way out of the control room to depart the USB. It would be a long time before SMG4 had need of his "Guardian Pod" again. Once they exited the ship, he instructed the USB to close up and the door closed as the trio walked away, heading back to the VPN to make their journey back to the city.

'Wherever you are, Bob.' SMG4 thought, 'Don't do something really stupid?'


-Meanwhile-


Bob didn't seem to recognize the place he was in, but it looked somewhat familiar. Then again, he was busy trying to find Butter Birdo. He wandered into a chamber surrounded by pillars, and spotted glimpses of rubble, along with an altar. The Garo looked up and down, trying to find her as best he could.

"WhErE dId YoU gO, BuTtEr BiRdO?" Bob asked.

He kept looking around, and then, he spotted a large USB sitting in a pile of rubble beyond the altar. Bob looked at it, then he recalled that SMG4 had been trying to find his USB, except he didn't tell him what it looked like.

"HeY, GuYs. I fOuNd ThE USB!" Bob cried, "ThAt WaS eAsY!"

The Garo looked around, nobody else was there.

"GuYs, WhErE tHe HeLl DiD yOu Go?" Bob called again. And that was when he remembered; he'd ditched them, just so he could join Butter Birdo.

Bob groaned in frustration, likely very annoyed with himself. Just then, he heard a noise and turned, spotting a screen on the USB as it flashed a red danger sign. Seconds later, white text popped up and a voice buzzed; "WARNING: ANTIVIRUS LICENSE EXPIRED, LMAO!"

"WhAt?! 'LiCeNsE ExPiReD'?!" Bob echoed, "ScReW ThAt, I aIn'T pAyInG fOr ThAt CrAp!"

D-DING! Bob pulled out his tablet, seeing the notification that had just appeared, and he saw the message from Butter Birdo. He turned away, unaware that something had just emerged from the USB and was watching him.

"Oh, BuTtEr BiRdO's StArTiNg HeR sTrEaM sOoN." Bob quipped excitedly.

He began to leave the hall, his eye fixed on the tablet, even as a chill shot up his back. Bob continued to look at the countdown to the stream, unable to hold his excitement. And then, moments later, he heard an ominous voice speak behind him;

"Witness..."

Bob put down his tablet and looked around, trying to pinpoint where the speaker was. And then, he turned, and found himself face-to-face with a great horror. A large eyeball, surrounded by a red aura, with a blue pupil and creepy red veins, stared at him, staring into his soul. Bob took it in for a split second, then he freaked out.

"HoLy ShIt, It'S UgLy!" Bob exclaimed.

He did not want to look at that thing any longer, nor did he wish for something crazier or scarier to happen. The Garo took off running, slapped on a Naruto hat, and cried, "I'm OuT oF hErE, BiTcHeS! ShIt, ShIt, ShIt, ShIt, ShIT!"

Bob tore through the halls, and he never looked back. He was not going to tell SMG4 about what had happened, nor would he ever say a thing to anybody else. Bob did not want to know what that terrifying thing was, nor did he desire to learn where it came from. And yet, he knew there was something very familiar about that USB with the antivirus warning.

The Garo ran out of the cathedral, running as fast as his legs could carry him, and he repeated the five words that he'd said when he started running. He tore through the misty terrain, running towards the woods. And, right behind him, the Eye of Zero floated out of the cathedral and took in the outside world.

"Perfection will soon be achieved by us." Zero hissed, "Now... to find the Meme Guardian and the Avatar..."

Zero's Eye glowed brightly, then it glided across the cathedral grounds and flew up the side of the cliff, leaving its temporary prison behind and unseen by anyone else as it departed the Dark Web and into the unsuspecting world beyond...


"I can't believe that idiot DIDN'T ATTEMPT TO RENEW THE ANTIVIRUS LICENSE!"

SMG1 slammed his fist on the console, then he held hands with SMG2 again, utilizing the power of meme energy to stop the corrupted memes that were attempting to harass them. Once they were safe again, SMG1 grabbed the monitor and began to shake it, then he yelled, "HOW COULD YOU NOT RECOGNIZE THE GUARDIAN POD? DO YOU NOT CARE ABOUT WHAT IS AT STAKE?!"

"One, p-p-please calm down." SMG2 whimpered, "A-A-After all, he probably thought it was SMG4's Guardian Pod, wh-wh-which means he and Mario are now looking for it..."

"And they brought him along!" SMG1 said irritably, "They brought that idiot along and look at what happened? Mark my words, SMG2. If Zero gets the Avatar and this universe is reduced to near-nothingness, and if that bloody cloaked dimwit is one of the few who survives, spending the rest of his days in a desolate world should be karmic enough BECAUSE HE MADE IT HAPPEN!"

"I'm sure we'll stop Zero and prevent that from happening, please don't be upset."

"Yes, yes, yes! We'll find a way to stop Zero again..." SMG1 groaned with annoyance, "BUT DO YOU SEE THE SITUATION WE'RE IN?! WE'RE TRYING TO SURVIVE IN A CORRUPTED GUARDIAN POD, THE ANTIVIRUS LICENSE EXPIRED, AND SOMEONE DIDN'T RENEW IT AND HE JUST GOT OUT?!"

SMG2 shuddered as he saw the anger in SMG1, he'd been serious before, but Two never thought he would see his associate be this angry. The situation was probably ten times serious than ever. Prior to finding SMG4, 1 and 2 had spent years trying to warn everyone in the world about the apocalypse.

This time, they were too busy and, once again, nobody knew what was coming...