Chapter Ten:

A Sports Student's Happiness

"Mario, slow down!" Tari protested.

"Wahoooooooo!" Mario hollered, ignoring the cyborg gamer.

The fat Italian's foot pressed down on the pedal, with the acceleration stick set to the highest limit, and the car sped through the streets as Mario steered with precision. They'd just passed over the border between Eagleland and the Mushroom Kingdom, leaving Onett behind for the moment, and Mario was making the car ride all the more exciting.

Mario laughed as he steered left at an intersection, and breezed right past Waluigi's Taco Stand, taking the Wah-man by surprise. Waluigi shook his fist at the passing car, yelling at the driver to watch where he was going.

"So, how did you get the new makeover, Tari?" Mario asked, "It almost reminds Mario of the look that Saiko got during the Meme Games, I love those two new hair strands on your head by the way."

Tari giggled sheepishly, "It was last night while I was playing Smash with Belle."

-Flashback-

Tari laughed as her fingers tapped the buttons on her controller, and she locked eyes with Belle for a brief moment, then she returned her focus to the video game. On the screen, Yoshi, Tari's character, was locked in combat with Ganondorf, Belle's character, from The Legend of Zelda. Yoshi punched Ganondorf again, and the Gerudo yelled with fury.

"Hee-hee-hee, it looks like you're finished Belle." Tari said to her rival in a teasing manner.

"I was just getting warmed up." Belle remarked in a snarky tone.

Just then, right before she could do something, and before Tari landed another hit, the two gamers heard a knock on the door. The door burst open, and SMG4 came walking into the room, holding a glowing wand in his hand.

"Look what I found!" The meme man cried, "It's a special wand that can change someone's appearance!"

"SMG4, can you wait until we're done?" Belle asked as she and Tari paused their game.

"C'mon!" SMG4 exclaimed, "It looks so cool. I just studied it, and I think this is how Old Man Hobo somehow changed his appearance, someone used it on him. I found it in the dump near the Showgrounds, and it still has some power left for changing someone's appearance. I studied it, and, it turns out, it can't change someone back into a form they previously had."

"Perhaps we can use it on Swag and Chris!" Tari suggested.

SMG4 chuckled. "Sorry, it only works on one person..." He told the gamer girl, "...and after seeing Meggy, Saiko, Bob, Boopkins, and SMG3 change while I changed too, I think I know who I can change with this wand before it's power gives out for good."

He twirled the wand, then he thrust it forward with the tip pointed at Tari. A blinding light filled the room, and the cyborg gamer let out a yelp. Belle shielded her eyes and SMG4 watched as he felt the magical artifact fade from his hands. Seconds later, as the light settled, everyone looked at Tari...

"Oh my gosh!" Tari exclaimed as she examined herself, her clothes looked refurbished, her face looked a little smoother, and two strands of hair had popped up to form a heart-shape, "Look at the details on my clothes, and my cyborg arm looks so good! I LOVE IT! Wait until the others see my new look. This has to be the best change we've ever gone through!"

Swagmaster69696969 suddenly came running into the room, arms thrown up and shaking with rage. "And I can't believe Chris and I are stuck looking like ass N64 video game NPCs!" The guard cried.

-End Flashback-

"Have you given any thought to bringing Marty to life with a magic wand?" Tari asked, "Boopkins brought Saiko to life with a magic wand, which is different compared to Axol bringing anime characters to life for a time with his Inkweaver."

"Nah." Mario said.

"WATCH OUT FOR OPTIMUS PRIME!" Tari suddenly shrieked.

Mario let out a cry of "MAMA MIA" and swerved hard, narrowly avoiding a large blue-red truck, which was actually Optimus Prime going somewhere else. By now, the group were in Belmont. The fat Italian was speeding like a madman, and ran over a pair of Goombas, an action that scared Tari.

"Why can't you drive like a sane person?!" The gamer protested.

That was the thing with Mario in the SMG4 universe, he wasn't a sane person, but he was still a caring individual. At least he listened to Tari's concerns, most of them anyway. Mario sped to the right, rolled down a freeway that led towards Mushroom City, and took another turn onto a road that led into a recognizable suburb;

The neighborhood where Bob's Hotel and Meggy's house were located, and it was clearly the same suburb as Mario could see the hotel looming above a nearby street. He remembered how it all started no less than two years ago, before the gang encountered Zero for the first time.

Mario eased up on the gas by a couple meters, and steered the car onto the last street before coming to a stop right by Meggy's house. Mario cut the engines as steam rose from the hood, and stepped out with a slightly dazed Tari.

"I'll never get used to your parking, Mario." The gamer girl told him.

"Parking? What's that?" Mario asked sarcastically.

Tari giggled and headed for Meggy's house. "Come on, let's not keep Meggy waiting." She urged.

The gamer girl walked to the porch slowly, but Mario, being kind of irrational, ran up, and kicked the door open. Tari looked at the fat Italian with worry, but Mario quipped, "We're good friends, she won't mind."

In the following second, they heard giggling, and Meggy stepped out, sporting her college uniform, and the craziest wide-eyed grin that Mario and Tari had ever seen. The latter was a little freaked out, and Meggy looked at them for a moment longer, and then...

She squealed.

"Meggy, are you okay?" Mario asked.

"Okay?!" Meggy laughed excitedly, "I'm better than okay, Mario! BECAUSE I'M GRADUATING!"

Both Mario and Tari remembered that for almost two years, Meggy had been attending Omnia Academy for training to become a sports coach. She'd started attending alongside Melony, who graduated after a few months, but Meggy still had more education and resumed attending Omnia shortly before Lawyer Kong struck.

Meggy squealed again, even as a few neighbors poked their heads out of their windows with slight annoyance. Mario rarely saw Meggy in a mood like this, given how energetic she was, going as far back to when she was an Inkling girl.

"I'm so happy for you, Meggy." Tari said with stars in her eyes, "Let's get going. We should be there on time."

"Mario's-a driving!" Mario declared, and he started moving towards Bob's car, only for Meggy to block his path.

"Oh no you don't." Meggy told him, "I got to get there on time, so I'm driving!"

Mario laughed, "Are you tall enough to..."

Meggy slapped him upside the face, then she got into the driver's seat and started the engines. Mario looked at Tari, then they climbed into the back of the car, and Meggy pulled out of the neighborhood. Meggy pulled out her phone and started texting to people she knew, telling them she was on her way, and then, she and her friends drove off.

Unbeknownst to them, a dark-haired Inkling with teal-blue eyes was observing from a distance as a TV set lit up, and the image of a smiley-faced TV made an appearance for a brief moment before the television set deactivated on it's own...