Chapter Twenty-Three:
Meeting with the Meme Guardians
Even with the cops and FBI swarming the block, Meggy didn't have any troubles exiting her house, getting into her car, and driving out of the neighborhood. When she looked back, she could see a few FBI agents scoping around Bob's hotel, and pressing Big Smoke, whom the ex-rapper had hired to run the place in his extended absence for some reason.
Bob had to be out of his mind if he was going to hire a crook to run his hotel, but that was not highly important, even with what was at play and where Meggy was going. The former squid girl drove through the streets of Mushroom City, and followed the road to the Showgrounds.
When she glanced up a little, the sky seemed to be overcast, setting the near-bleak mood for the current situation. And, everywhere Meggy looked, she could see cops interrogating people for information on Mario's whereabouts while flashing pictures of SMG3's notebook, undoubtedly provided by the ex-villain himself.
Meggy turned on the radio to play some tunes that could put her mind at ease. However, the second she turned it on, an odd fanfare-jingle began playing over the speakers, accompanying a British-sounding voice;
"It's TV time.
"It's TV Time with your friend..."
The beanie-sporting sports coach switched the channel before she could hear the rest of the song, and smiled to the sound of 'Fresh Start' by the Squid Sisters.
Meggy returned her focus to the road, and saw the large green trees rising up on every side of the road, surrounding her ride, and indicating she was on the right path to the SMG4 Castle. A trio of birds flew overhead through the leaves, and Meggy flipped the switch on the radio, changing from the Inkopolis music station to a news channel.
In moments, the Inkling-turned human was hearing the unmistakable sound of Kermit's voice flooding through the speakers; "...Cuba's leader has denied the rumor that he has sent plutonium to North Korea for a boost in the communist regime's nuclear program.
"Meanwhile, the 88th Mushroom Brigade has arrived in Poland to add more muscle to NATO's arsenal as renewed joint exercises between British, French and US troops take place in key regions across Eastern Europe. This increase in NATO activity occurs following recent Russian provocations as Russian jets were seen flying over NATO bases in Latvia and Moldova.
"Concurrently, Russia's President Vladimir has declared there will be no withdrawing from Ukraine, nor will the Russian Air Force cease with buzzing US ships in the Baltic and Black Seas and conducting sorties into Eastern European air space..."
'Least they aren't discussing Mario and the stolen notebook.' Meggy thought.
She saw the blue-white tent-like castle directly ahead, and rolled through the Showgrounds, passing the dusty, old tents, and pulled up near the front doors before cutting the engines for the time being.
Meggy exited her car, then she pushed open the door, and stepped into the grand foyer of the SMG4 Castle.
Oddly enough, the lights were all dim, even with the faint sunlight pouring through the windows, which set a grim sort of tone for the beanie girl's visit. She walked through the hall, passing by the iconic glitchy S symbol in the middle of the floor, and headed to SMG4's room.
While he didn't elaborate further on the details, SMG4, as well as SMG3, intended to chat with Meggy in the very place where the meme man's bedroom/workspace. They could have met in the foyer or the gaming room, but SMG4's room was ideal enough.
The orange-haired coach stepped through the half-open door, and found the meme man waiting with SMG3, and Tari, British agent James "007" Bond, a slightly pudgy human guy in a blue SMG4 T-shirt, and Senbo Mazushi. And, among the group, was Walter "Oneshot" Wren's niece Sophia, and a couple of Toads, one of whom was wearing glasses.
No, the Toad was not Frankie. This Toad's name was Denedry, and he was an avid SMG4 subscriber, which he was proud of as he sported an SMG4 Fan tag on his jacket. Denedry had been into SMG4's show for the past eight years, even before Meggy entered the picture.
"Hi, Meggy!" Tari greeted.
"Oh, hey, Tari." Meggy hugged the cyborg gamer, "So, SMG4 texted you too?"
"Yeah, and it looks like you may have been the last one to invite." Tari remarked.
"Great to see you, Meggy." SMG4 greeted, "We were just about to start the meeting."
Senbo rolled his eyes. "Is someone going to explain why I'm getting involved?" He asked, "I didn't plan on getting roped into Stinky Meme Goof Three's diary situation, and mom asked me to pick up dad's tuxedo from the dry cleaners."
SMG4 stared at the former troublemaker.
"Why are you involved?" He echoed, "Because, you subscribed to SMG4 last year, and you left a comment on my last video. Not to mention, we need all the help we can find, especially from our friends and subscribers of the SMG4 channel. Without subscribers, I wouldn't be popular."
"Looks like the dry cleaners are gonna have to wait, loser." SMG3 added coldly.
"My mom is going to eat me." Senbo groaned.
"Hey, Sophia." Meggy said to her idol-turned virtual nemesis' niece.
Sophia, wearing a gray shirt, light-black pants, and a floppy hat, flashed the beanie human a polite smile. "Great to see you too, Meggy." She said, "Hope you've been taking good care of that beanie."
The door opened again, and ASpider25, one of SMG4's Inkling friends, walked in with Inkura and ShadowSquid9, an Octoling associate of SMG4 who knew his way around the Dark Web.
"What's up?!" Spider waved gleefully.
"Hi, guys!" Inkura said with happiness.
"Been a while, SMG4." SS9 bumped fists with the meme man.
SMG4 surveyed the room and nodded. "Okay, that's everyone." He said, glancing at SMG3, "Now, you know why you're all here. But, just in case, a little recap doesn't hurt..." He pointed to a while board that showed a picture of Mario and a picture of SMG3's notebook, "Not too long ago, Mario, the Avatar of our world, stole our friend's special notebook.
"As of right now, the police are scouring the Mushroom Kingdom for a trace of him and the item he stole. However, we got an anonymous tip suggesting Mario took the notebook to a place known only as Casino Paisano. With considerable help, we looked into it, and the intel turns out to be legit."
James Bond pushed the white board aside, and turned on SMG4's computer. In moments, footage showing Mario running to a tall casino establishment with the sign 'Casino Paisano' on it was seen, and the group caught a glimpse of a purple object in his hand...
"My notebook." SMG3 nodded, "And I heard that place is guarded heavier than Fort Knox."
"So, my intel tells me..." SMG4 went on, "...the notebook's been taken by Mario to some billionaire tycoon and is inside this casino. And it's exact location?" The footage changed, and everyone watched with shock as a new scene appeared, showing the notebook being probed and prodded on a dais by machinery.
"The CEO's Office, on the top floor of the casino." The meme man declared in a half-dramatic manner.
SMG3 looked at the footage, and it was obvious he hadn't seen it yet, and let out a little sigh of relief to see his notebook hadn't been opened. The former villain chuckled, "Looks like Mario still needs my key to open it. Heh-heh, and he can't try to get it from me right now, he knows I won't let him."
"Wait." Tari held up a hand, "How is Mario doing this on his own?"
"Isn't he a big idiot despite having a form of intelligence?" Sophia inquired, "He may be capable of stomping on Koopas, and helped Meggy in the Splatfest, but he's still dumb."
James Bond and SMG4 nodded at one another. "You're right." The latter said, "Mario isn't the only one behind this, given how stupid he can be. According to the intel, Mario's the head of security in that casino, meaning he's working for someone else."
"Who?" Meggy asked.
"I didn't believe it when the Boos shared the information." Bond said crisply.
A Boo floated in, and tapped a button on SMG4's computer. In a second, a collective gasp was filling the room as the footage displayed the CEO's desk, and right behind the desk was a cardboard drawing of a fat man in a chef's outfit holding up a pizza. And everyone knew who it was too well.
"MARTY?!" SMG3 declared, "THAT PIECE OF CARDBOARD CRAP IS BEHIND THIS?!"
"What would Mario's pizza shop mascot OC want with that notebook and how did he get to be in charge of a casino?" Senbo asked with confusion.
"This isn't right." Meggy remarked, "I thought we resolved the conflict with him."
"Oh no..." Tari whimpered, "Do you think... Marty might have gotten more greedy for money, leading to him taking over the casino from someone else, only for it to not be enough, and now, he thinks SMG3's notebook holds some vital secret that could help him become more successful? And how did he find out about the notebook?"
The pudgy SMG4 T-shirt guy held up a shaking hand. "If I may..." He said, "There's something shady at play here. Someone must've been spying on the SMG4 Crew, and saw SMG3 writing in his notebook, and they probably must be manipulating Marty from the shadows for their own gain..."
"It doesn't matter, Devin!" Spider exclaimed, "THIS SITUATION IS SERIOUS!"
"Not to mention my notebook contains many dark, many deep, many unthinkable secrets that the world should never learn about." SMG3 said with urgency mixed with anger, "AND WE'RE GOING IN!"
"Whoa, cowboy!" SMG4 held up his hand, "We can't just go in, guns blazing, especially when that casino is heavily guarded with state-of-the-art weapons technology that will blow our asses up the moment we get detected. And who knows what Mario has up his sleeve? This is why we got our friends and our fans here, to help us plan out our spy mission."
SMG3's face brightened up. "Hold on." He said, "If we're going to prepare for a 'spy mission, we're going to need the proper attire..." The ex-villain glanced at James Bond, "...Just like our man over here."