Chapter Fourteen:

The Sports Coach's Graduation

"Mario! You did it..." Tari complimented happily, "Kind of..." Her smile quickly faltered and was replaced with a somewhat regretful frown, "I wish I was as brave as you... and Meggy... and the others."

At that moment, Meggy walked out of the store, looking like she'd just finished with an intense workout. Mario and Tari turned to greet her, and caught a glimpse of a beaten-up man with a straw-hat. Mario managed to recognize him even with his low intelligence, and it wasn't that hard to recall someone named Aziz.

"Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late..." Meggy panted, "There was some... inconvenience."

"YOU STILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THE OXYGEN FEE!" Aziz shouted before coughing, the cough was a strong indication that Meggy had broken some of his ribs while beating the... Aura Bora out of him.

"Is the car good to go?" Meggy then asked.

Mario and Tari looked at one another anxiously, and the second their friend saw the condition Bob's car was in, the duo was bracing themselves for the former Inkling's fury. Luckily, they only had to deal with slight irritation.

"I don't want to know." The beanie girl quipped, and she climbed into the driver's seat as Mario and Tari got comfortable in the car again, "Let's hurry. Hopefully, we'll catch just the end of my graduation."

Meggy slapped her foot on the pedal, and activated the ignition. The engines sputtered, and Tari lowered her head while Mario gave a dim-witted shrug, before Meggy pulled the car out of the gas station. She shot an irked look at the pudgy Italian, then the beanie human girl reverted her attention to the road, even as a layer of steam rose from the hood.

'Come on, come on.' Meggy thought, hearing a splutter in the engine as the car vibrated.

"Mario can explain." Mario said anxiously, "Let's just say you can thank these Pianta mafia paisanos. They stole the car, and..."

"Uh, maybe we can explain later?" Tari interrupted in a nervous manner.

BAM! BAM! Meggy grit her teeth with irritation, just hearing the sound of a pipe in the car blowing filled the Inkling-turned human with the natural dread at the thought she wouldn't get to Omnia for the ceremony. The damage was hardly a concern, especially as the car could be repaired at the nearest repair shop later.

She attempted to turn on the radio, only to wind up hearing static when a news channel broadcast came up. "Efforts to *zzzzz* reorganize the monarchy and *bzzzz* government of the Mushroom Kingdom..." A reporter spoke, "...are *zzzz* stalling, due to *zzzz*"

Meggy slapped the 'off' button, playing a radio in a broken car was not a good idea.

Curious about the extent of the damage, she looked at the fuel meter, and saw the lever wobbling, a strong indication that the fuel line was busted.

Getting to the Academy on time was going to be rough, and it was nearly dusk. Meanwhile, recalling what Mario had said about the car belonging to Bob, something told Meggy the hobo was going to blame her for getting the car busted.

Around this point, the trio had left the gas station behind them, and were rolling along the very avenue that had led Meggy and Melony to Omnia nearly two years before. For a split second, Mario thought he saw one of the green bears he and the others had encountered during a field trip...

The pudgy Italian heard a light cough, and noticed a bit of steam floating around Meggy. The windows were open, but it had to be from one of the vents. The radiator must have been busted in the crash. Meggy coughed again, and she slapped on the switch for the air conditioning.

In that moment, she was tempted to just go full-throttle, and speed to Omnia, and just risk the car falling apart. Mario felt a jolt in his seat, and Tari held on to something. At least they had their seatbelts on tight.

'Please don't start yet.' Meggy thought, 'Please don't start yet. Rrrgh, I am going to strangle the hell out of Mario if the graduation happened without me or was cancelled.'

Right as the beanie girl was drifting into space with her own thoughts on what would happen if she didn't get there on time, Meggy felt a tap on the shoulder from a metal hand that belonged to Tari.

"We made it." She told her.

Meggy relaxed her grip on the steering wheel as she gazed upon the place where she'd trained for the last year-and-a-half to become a sports coach. It would be a while before she ever came back, and she could see Saiko, SMG4, and the others waiting. What time was it anyway, the sun was going down.

The beanie girl, Tari, and Mario parked the car within the gates, and Meggy breathed a sigh of relief to see the graduation hadn't started yet. The seats were set, and so was the podium. Her diploma would be brought out during the ceremony.

"HeY!"

Bob stormed forward, his sights set on the busted-up automobile as his eyes flashed red, and he glared at Mario, Tari, and Meggy, "WhAt ThE HeLl HaPpEnEd To My CaR?"

"Don't worry about that now!" Tari exclaimed as she grabbed a bouquet of flowers that Luigi had procured, "We got a graduation ceremony to take care of, we'll deal with the car later, and we had a bother!"

Aside from Bob, nobody was too worried about the car or the timing of Meggy's arrival. The beanie girl got her graduation coat, put aside her beanie for a graduation cap, and sat down in one of the front seats next to Melony, recalling her graduation from not too long after Zero was put down for good.

'God, I wish my parents were here.' The rising sports coach thought, 'And Oneshot Wren as well. At least I got my friends.'

Once the gang and the other Omnia staff/students were settled, Matt stepped forward onto the podium. And the second he faced the group, chills were creeping down everyone's backs. No one forgot how powerful and godlike he was, but Matt deserved respect, especially as he was one of the teachers in Meggy's club.

"Fair students of Omnia Academy and well-mannered guests..." The Mii said in a firm voice, despite the Batman-like undertone, "We are here to honor the efforts of our club's members in working hard to become highly-skilled sports players or, in some cases, sports coaches.

"In the last year-and-a-half, we were blessed by the presence of someone who proved to be exceptional, highly-perseverant, and full of potential. As I step aside, I ask for this girl to come forward, and you all know her well as Meggy Spletzer."

"Damn, Meggy! You knew how to leave an impression on Matt." SMG4 quipped.

"I haven't forgotten how badly he smashed me." Bowser remarked, he was attending the ceremony.

Mario and Tari stood at the side, with the latter holding the graduation flowers. One seat was saved for Bob, even though he was busy fuming over the decimation of "his car". Meggy stood, and Matt stepped aside as the Inkling-turned human made her way onto the podium. She tapped the microphone and blew off some dust.

At that moment, Meggy remembered everything that led to this point;

From Mario freeing her from the paint can, and to learning about Christmas for the first time.

From her rivalry with Desti, to facing the Waluigi Apocalypse.

From the battle on Anime Island, to the tumultuous last Splatfest and to her final conversation with Desti's ghost.

From getting her new voice, and SMG3's final defeat, to the trip to Port Aurora, to the fateful battle with Zero, to the Lawyer Kong crisis, and the recent events of the last few months with Peach's Castle being destroyed and the efforts to build a new castle at the Showgrounds.

While the last few years had been rough in some areas, Meggy had many adventures, and she'd made so many friends along the way, and those friends had helped the beanie girl through thin and thick, even when they lost someone like Axol to the yearlong battle with Niles.

So many laughs, so many tears shed, so much drama, and craziness. It was all worth it, and even then, this would not mark the end of Meggy's friendship with Mario and the others. They were here to support her as she became a sports coach, just as they'd stood by her as she battled to fulfill her final promise to Desti.

"Hey, everyone." Meggy said in her peppy manner, her voice resonating through the microphone just as excitement filled the air, "Thank you all for being here. It's been an incredibly long journey, all of our lives have been one long journey if you think about it.

"We've fought, laughed, cried, and had so many adventures together. On more than one occasion, we experienced high-stakes action and danger together, but always pulled through no matter what. Now, it feels like the end of something, but really, I know this is just the beginning. As one chapter ends, another one begins.

"And honestly, I'm so thrilled, excited, to keep growing and getting better and better. And this time as a coach! A sports coach..." Meggy punched the air, "And I hope you're all there with me for it, no matter what happens!"

In moments, cameras were flashing, and Meggy's friends and fellow Omnia students were buzzing with approval, all rooting for the former Inkling. SMG3 pumped his fist and remarked, "Hear, hear!"

"Wahoo!" SMG4 declared, Mario-style, as he clapped with glee.

Melony's face was full of joy, and she squealed happily for her enemy-turned friend. As a graduate herself, she couldn't be any prouder for the girl whom she'd started attending Omnia Academy alongside with so long ago.

"Yay, Meggy!" The watermelon waifu cried.

"Let's-a go, Meggy!" Luigi called out.

From a distance on the other side of the road, a dark-haired Inkling with teal eyes watched the graduation. Oneshot Wren smiled and nodded his head, then he morphed into his squid form and headed off with Meggy unaware that her longtime idol had been watching from afar as Omnia's top staff handed the former Inkling her diploma.

Meggy's eyes gleamed with pride, and she held it in her hands as a camera clicked, courtesy of Swag and Chris, even Boopkins and JubJub were happy. Matt nodded with approval at the sports coach.

She briefly recalled the moment Callie and Marie handed off the Golden Squid to Meggy in the streets of Inkopolis after the final results of the Splatfest were announced, and the beanie girl tossed her graduation hat in the air with a smile.

If Axol had been here, there was no doubt the manga artist would have been happy to see this. Meggy smiled for one more photo, not as a student or just a Splatfest champion, but a sports coach. With her friends backing her, and whatever challenges awaited, Sports Coach Meggy Spletzer was ready to take to the field and coach people in need of motivation...