Chapter Two:
To Attorney Hall
Mario, OnyxKing67 and Funky Kong looked up the directions for the Mushroom Kingdom's Attorney Hall, which was located on the west side of Mushroom City. Once they knew where they were going, the trio headed out the door, hopped into Kong Mobile, Funky's ride, and rode down to the city without a moment to lose with OnyxKing driving.
It had been a pretty long time since OnyxKing last interacted with SMG4, text messages and Twitter aside, and he hadn't seen him since the meme man moved back to Australia after they'd defeated Zelus. He never forgot the good times, even though Mario seemed to forget now and then.
But, if there was one thing they never forgot about; it was the situation with the Doki-Doki Club girls, especially in regards to Monika and what she had said about Mario with how he appeared to be associated with her class, despite his denials. However, it would be a while before they worried about that again.
Even then, unbeknownst to OnyxKing and the others, including Funky, Mario was hounded by a mysterious shadow that resembled him, staring at the dim-witted Italian with its eerie yellow eyes as it sat next to him. The shadow had troubled the Fat Italian for a long time, ever since their battle with Zelus, when that crazed Inkling had unleashed her fear-inducing powers on the heroes.
'You're not going to question why SMG4 would want to meet with OnyxKing at a law-related place?' The shadow asked, 'Are you really that dumb?'
Mario didn't respond, knowing that neither Funky or OnyxKing would believe their friend was talking to a shadow of himself.
'It is quite sad and pathetic.' Shadow Mario sneered, 'Just look at you, moving forward while ignoring your past, refusing to face reality. Did you forget about the game, about her? Coward! You're even more pathetic, hiding in the shadows, hiding from who you truly are. I'm not going to leave you alone, you know how stupid it is, leaving that Doki-Doki Club business unfinished!'
He ignored him and the shadow gave up, slowly fading away until the only company Mario had in the car was "Lawyer" Funky Kong and OnyxKing. But the shadow wasn't gone, it would still linger, in the back of the plumber's mind.
And, when the opportune moment arose, the entity would hound him again, like it had every day, for the past few years.
Calmly, quietly, Mario pushed those thoughts aside and sat still in the car. And the only thing he could think about was spaghetti. Tasty, juicy spaghetti. Perhaps they would serve spaghetti down at Attorney Hall, assuming the people working there actually liked it. If so, Mario couldn't wait to dig in, just as he couldn't wait to see SMG4 again.
Then, he wondered; how would Four react when Mario told him of the Doki-Doki Club situation?
The trio drove through the lush green countryside and the fat Italian looked out the window, seeing Toads and Koopas interacting, cows feasting in the meadows, and birds flying across the sky. And then, they entered Mushroom City, full of mushroom symbols and neon signs. Mario spotted an orange Inkling girl walking with a Goomba, talking peacefully with it.
Mushroom City was in an upbeat mood as if nobody was concerned about anything such as the end of the world or someone having a connection to a dating game school.
For a brief minute, Mario spotted a familiar pink-haired anime girl in a pale open jacket, revealing black top and a brown skirt making out with a green-haired Inkling boy with brown skin on a street corner. He didn't question it, even as he once again remembered that infamous blind date with the Inkling girl that Peach had set him up for.
Perhaps, an interspecies human-Inkling romance could work after all, but an Inkling going out with an anime girl was... remarkable. Didn't Inklings have issues with anime, Meggy still had issues with anime even after turning into a human.
Funky pulled out his Kong Phone, a monkey-themed version of an I-Phone, and snapped a couple pictures of the scenery. OnyxKing just paid attention to where he was going and looked at the directions, then he turned left at a street corner and passed by the local Mushroom Target.
"Can you believe that some Inkling named a diner after Zelus?" The YouTuber remarked as they passed by a diner with a red Inkling symbol on it, "Peh. 'Zelus Squid Diner', like I'm gonna go there."
"Maybe they serve spaghetti?" Mario quipped.
"Shut up, Mario." OnyxKing briefly glared at the plumber, "AND GET THE HECK OUT OF THE WAY, OLD MAN HOBO!"
He honked the horn and slammed the breaks. Mario and Funky yelped and glanced out the window ahead, seeing an old man in a ragged blue shirt and shorts crossing the street. The old man yelped when he saw the Kong Mobile inches from him, then he ran as fast as his old legs could carry him and got off the street.
OnyxKing67 continued forward, driving through the spot where Old Man Hobo had been walking. The trio was silent, no other words needed to be exchanged. OnyxKing drove past a parkway, passing by the local park, then he took a right and drove towards 8-Bit Street.
The Mario-looking YouTuber checked the directions one more time and nodded, they were getting close to their destination.
He drove past a large statue that resembled Mario in his NES days, which made Mario laugh with glee and remark how he looked so snazzy. OnyxKing drove around another corner, passing 16-Bit Avenue, and rode down 1996 Takashi Street.
Now, they were approaching town square and Mario could see City Hall a few blocks over, standing majestically over the district. And then, they looked to the left and spotted another building with a billboard that read; 'Attorney Hall, New Best Law Office In Town, Accepting Volunteers.'
"Here we are, kids." OnyxKing said, "Attorney Hall."
He drove into a small parking lot and cut the engines. The Kong Mobile came to a stop and OnyxKing shut down the vehicle. He nodded at the directions, then he unbuckled and stepped out, followed by Mario and Funky. There was no time to dilly-dally, an old friend awaited, but neither of them knew what was in store for them inside.
