Chapter Thirteen:
Road Rage
With her sense of justice overshadowing her timid nature for a moment, Tari ran in to intervene.
If those Piantas took the car with nobody to stop them, Meggy wouldn't make it to her graduation on time. In those moments, she was seeing the scenario play out in the back of her mind right now, complete with Meggy angrily blaming Mario for the entire mess they would be in.
Or, if any luck, the people at Omnia could cancel the ceremony and try again another day. However, missing the graduation wasn't an option, Meggy had worked hard to become a sports coach and this was her day.
If she were out here right now, she wouldn't have wasted a second in beating up those Piantas.
"Stop!" Tari begged, grabbing Bal's arm and irritating the Pianta crime boss, "We need this to get Meggy to her graduation!"
"GET OFF!"
Bal swatted the cyborg gamer aside, ripped out the gas pump, and threw open the door. The corrupt Pianta climbed inside the car, and his associates followed. Tari stood up, watching with dread as the gangsters filed into the somewhat fully-gassed up automobile, and Bal activated the ignition.
'No.' The blue-haired gamer girl thought sadly. In those moments, all she could do was watch as the Piantas drove off.
From what Tari knew, she'd let Meggy down, and the upcoming sports coach was taking a while to come out of that store. Meanwhile, Mario had just gone off to the bathroom...
Tari was half-corrected when she heard a toilet flushing, and the unmistakable theme of the overworld theme being hummed as Mario returned. The pudgy Italian's joyful mood slipped the second he saw the saddened Tari waiting for him.
"Where's the car?" The dim-witted avatar asked.
"It's not here." Tari sobbed, "It's been stolen."
'Figures.' Mario thought, hearing the not-so distant sound of the car's engines running, "Could you excuse me for a moment?"
The mentally-challenged Italian hero stepped away from the gas station, with his mind hard set on getting the car back by any means necessary. Mario slapped a fist into his palm, and, searching for a temporary transport to use in his efforts, he spotted an unattended Mercedes.
"Mario's going to do something very illegal." The fat Italian quipped, with Grand Theft Auto mode kicking in.
Oh, doing something illegal was very easy to do. When someone like Hal Monitor wasn't around, of course. Mario stomped across the grass, kicked aside Monty Mole out of the way, and opened the doors, noticing they weren't safely locked, then he hit the gas.
A little further on the road, meters and meters away from the gas station, Bal and his crew were driving along and the mafia boss couldn't have been in a brighter mood now that he had his car back.
One more matter still remained, however, and that was Bob. Bal intended to track down that hobo, and give him a piece of his mind for what he'd done. Once he was finished with Bob, the mafia boss would ensure that nobody bothered remembering him in any way.
"Uh, boss?"
Rumbling engines from another car were filling Bal's ears, and his associate was pointing to the rear view mirror, where the reflection of another car chasing them, driven by Mario, was becoming clearer by the second.
"Deal with him!" Bal ordered his men.
Guns clicked, and the windows rolled down. The Piantas riding in the back poked their heads out, and took aim at Mario. The pudgy plumber ducked his head at the last moment, right before the bullets began flying.
No pulling any punches. Mario was in hardcore Grand Theft Auto mode now.
He slammed the speed pedal, and spun the wheel with all of the elbow grease in his body before the Piantas opened fire again. Mario rolled off the road, and kept his eye on Bob's car. And then, he turned the wheel in a hard left manner, and sped back towards the road.
Bal and his men watched Mario's movements, and prepared to unload their guns again. However, the Mario-driven Mercedes was fast, and just before the Piantas' ride could pass by...
WHAM!
Mario braced himself seconds before making impact, and the car slammed into the side of the other car. The side windows shattered, and Bal's car was launched into the air as the engines sputtered out. The seatbelts broke off, and the Piantas tumbled around in their ride.
The black car spun in the air for a time, then it crash-landed on the side of the road with the wheels still attached before black steam rose from the front hood.
He slapped the brakes, and turned off the engine. Mario stepped out of the car, and walked towards the wreck that was the car Bob gave to him just as Bal and his goons were recovering.
One Pianta slammed the car door open, and stepped out with his machine gun to confront the approaching spaghetti-addict. Mario kicked the weapon out of the goon's hand, smacked him in the face, and slammed his head against the back of the car.
"Get! OUT!" Mario grabbed Bal and punched the mafia boss in the nose, then he threw him out of the vehicle.
"BOSS!" A Pianta shouted, and he pulled out a pistol.
Noticing the would-be shooter, Mario grabbed the gun, and shot the thug in the knee and tossed him aside before doing the same thing with one more Pianta. Just before Bal could get back in the car, the fat Italian climbed in, closed the doors, and started the ignition without much thought.
The engines spluttered and groaned, more steam rose, and Mario drove the car out of the field, back onto the road, and leaving the Piantas behind. Despite the damage, the vehicle was in working condition, just barely.
He drove towards the gas station, prepared to face the chances that Meggy would be more frustrated than ever. Mario crossed his fingers, and hoped he didn't have to see her the second he got back. Luckily, the only one waiting at the station was Tari, and Meggy was still inside the store.
Very carefully, Mario parked the car in the spot where they'd stopped to get gas earlier, then he hopped out to tell the gamer girl the job was done, which filled Tari with relief. Now they could get to the graduation, once Meggy was done with paying up in that store...