Stage 19: Start!
His opportunity was there... but it was now lost. He was betrayed. He had hope within his grasp, only for it to be ripped away.
And it was all because of her. That springy armed child that swept away what was rightfully his! And all with that smug smirk on her face!
He wouldn't stand for it. This was about more than just him. This was justice for all those that have had their rightful places in Smash Bros. pulled just out of reach! Who have had their hopes dashed for unjust reasons!
But to truly make this cathartic, he was going to need somebody else...
"Huh," Neptune said. "Why do I suddenly feel a threatening presence approaching."
"Big sis," Nepgear said, "please don't say things like that!"
"Why?" Neptune asked.
"Not only is it uncharacteristically observant of you," Noire said, "but it also happens nine times out of ten."
"Alright," Vert said, "enough you three. We have to stay focused."
Donkey Kong let out a disgruntled noise at that moment, as the group turned to see the ape nearly drop his wood pillars on top of Diddy and Squirtle, causing them to bolt so as not to get crushed! On the side of the newly implemented Spring Stadium Stage there was meant to be a replica of the Mintendo Noodle House that Min Min, the newly arrived Fighter from ARMS, worked at when she was not throwing her noodle arms into the faces of her opponents. And at the moment, many of the Fighters and Makers were assisting in the task of constructing the ramen house, as it was only decided to be implemented after the Stage itself was completed, and Master Hand was currently busy keeping his brother Crazy Hand from recreating the massive brawl of ARMS characters as seen in Min Min's reveal trailer... on top of including the SNK representatives from Terry's trailer.
The idea of allowing for a Mintendo Noodle House was not only a good idea for Min Min's sake, but for those other Fighters and even workers such as Makers or the CPUs themselves. Min Min would naturally feel more at home by working at Mintendo Noodle House in her spare time, but also it could act as a good relaxation spot for the Fighters when they were not in matches, or the Makers and CPUs when they were not working. And Min Min even offered to do all the meals herself, insisting that at least for a while she do all the work herself, which was kind to say the least.
"Are you sure you don't want anyone to help make the ramen, Min Min?" Fox asked.
"Yes," Samus said, "this welcoming party is meant to be for you. You don't have to make anything."
"Well," Min Min replied, "I wouldn't be a member of 'ramen royalty' if I wasn't willing to cook as much ramen as physically possible!"
"Your enthusiasm is... dramatic," Snake observed.
"But it's certainly not out of place," Roy added, "considering a lot of the faces we're used to seeing."
""Sure enough," Sonic said, zipping over with a collection of sodas in his hand for those that were still working.
"Thanks Sonic," IF said, wiping her brow of sweat. "I didn't realize how much Master Hand really came in handy until something like this happened."
"Maintaining already built Stages is one thing," Tekken said. "Building a part of a Stage is another thing entirely."
"And it's a shame," MAGES added, "that a few goddesses can't offer some help."
"We're only here to observe," Noire said. "Don't think I missed that sarcasm."
"P-Please Lady Noire," Lucas said, "don't get upset! We're only just getting used to Lady Blanc being relaxed again."
"Correct," Captain Falcon said. "We would really prefer if all of our goddesses could keep their cool in these times."
They weren't wrong, as Blanc had in fact returned from her vacation, the time of r & r that she took part in having done wonders for her disposition. Naturally, the amount of dedication her followers were showing her in welcoming Min Min was also helping matters quite a bit. She was actually smiling here and there, which hadn't been seen in some time.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Noire said. "Besides, I agree with you both quite a bit about Blanc actually being happy again."
"How long do you think it'll last?" Neptune asked.
"Neptune! Don't tease her!" Nepgear said, cautiously looking at the CPU of Lowee in question, as she assisted in guiding Wario and Donkey Kong place down some of their wood beams in a careful game of Tetris.
"But she has a point," Vert said.
"How so?" Uni asked skeptically.
"Well," Neptune said, "don't you have a feeling that something's gonna give? It ties back in with the reference I made earlier in the chapter about 'something happening'? I mean... don't you think with the mascot of the game Minnie's from being an Assist will cause a bit of tension?"
"Trust me Neptune," Sonic said, zipping over to her side upon overhearing what she was saying, "a lot of us Fighters had the same feeling when we were told Min Min would become the next Fighter. Mario and I have been thinking about how to approach the situation to Lady Blanc without souring her mood all day."
Speaking of which, the plumber himself approached Blanc as she continued her observations of the construction work. "Lady Blanc-a," Mario said, "as-a happy as I am-a to see you relaxed-a again, I have to-a ask you-a something."
"Yes, what is it Mario?" Blanc asked.
"See, here's the thing Lady Blanny," Sonic said. "I think Mario, I, and a whole lot of the rest of the Fighters are wondering something about Min Min's selection. Particularly, how this is going to go with Spring Man."
Blanc's face dropped a bit as she heard the Blue Blur make his case. He really did not need to elaborate, as the CPU of Lowee already had considered what they were implying.
Spring Man was the mascot character of ARMS, appearing in all the promotional material and was easilythe most recognizable character in ARMS. His presence in the Smash Bros. Tournament as an Assist Trophy before a character in ARMS was considered for the roster spoke for itself, along with other iconic figures that existed purely as Assist Trophies such as Shovel Knight, Bomberman, and Isaac. The mere reveal that ARMS would have a legitimate Fighter added to the Tournament was enough to cause some controversy in Gamindustri as everyone was left wondering, if the Fighter was not Spring Man, who would it be? And the implications that Spring Man would evolve beyond Assist Trophy status was... let's say another can of worms.
Min Min made sense when they actually stopped to think about it, as she was the most popular character from the game, statistically speaking. And it was helped by the fact that the producer of ARMS himself, Kosuke Yabuki, went on record stating that he requested Mr. Sakurai and Master Hand that Min Min be the one. All the same, that didn't mean that concern over how Spring Man would take it was totally washed.
"I understand what you two are saying," Blanc said. "And I can assure you that I spoke with Spring Man even before I was told of Mr. Sakurai's choice. And he's fine with not being the Fighter representative. He's happy with his position as an Asssist Trophy. In fact, he actually showed up first to welcome Min Min to the Tournament, right Min Min?"
The ramen worker in question perked up upon hearing her name spoken. "Springy?" she asked. "Oh, yes. He was actually very welcoming to me upon arriving. There's no bad blood whatsoever about me being picked over him."
"Well that's-a good, "Mario said in relief, fanning his face with his hat.
"I'll say," Sonic said. "Glad to hear that there won't be any trouble revolving around that."
"And now I feel he just jinxed it," Neptune said. "Still, the idea that Spirits not accounting for a character's potential for being a Fighter is curious."
"Yes," Vert observed. "Unlike Assist Trophies or Mii costumes which can only become Fighters in following games thus far, Spirits were only presumed to have a similar rule. But now that we've seen for sure that Spirits can become Fighters in the same game, it's a question about what that could mean for future Fighters, if a similar occasion could crop up."
"Well I don't know about you," Neptune said, "but I'm starting to hear genie music in the background."
Going back to Spring Man, the Assist character in question was walking back to his room alongside Knuckles and Akira. "I gotta say," Knuckles said, "I'm surprised that you're so relaxed with the fact you weren't picked as the ARMS Fighter, Spring Man. I mean, while I was happy to be present in Smash in the first place, I was at least a little disappointed that I was chosen as an Assist Trophy and not a proper Fighter alongside Sonic."
"Well," Spring Man replied, "like you said Knuckles, I was happy to just be in Smash in the first place. And I would've been happy for whatever character got selected as the Fighter for our game. Whether it be Min Min, Twintelle, Ninjara, or even Dr. Coyle. I mean, Mr. Yabuki himself said that we're all the protagonists of the game."
"Well said Spring Man," Akira said. "So you said you had to grab your SN-Flipper, right?"
"Yeah," Spring Man replied. "I was gonna see if the Candidates or somebody wanted to go for a game while we hang out at the Noodle House. I'll meet you guys there!"
He waved to Knuckles and Akira as he broke off to return to the Assist Trophy housing to grab his game system. But as he moved, he heard a chuckle from nearby. "Hello~ Spring Man~" a voice said.
Spring Man went on high alert, arms turning into their spring form as he prepared himself for combat! However, as the figure emerged from the shadows, he left his cautious stance as he recognized who it was. "Oh, hey Waluigi," he said. "You surprised me."
Waluigi was uncharacteristically silent for a moment as he watched Spring Man with an analytical gaze. Spring Man himself was put on edge yet again as Waluigi looked at him with such intensity. He wasn't used to seeing the typically cartoony and hard to take seriously Assist Trophy character so serious.
"Uh... is everything okay Waluigi?" Spring Man asked.
"Oh, I'm just swell Spring Man," Waluigi replied. "But I-a couldn't help but-a overhear your talk with the others, about-a Min Min."
"Oh yeah!" Spring Man said, his enthusiasm returning. "I was telling them how happy I was for a fellow ARMS character entering the Smash Tournament roster!"
Waluigi went silent again, his face remaining unchanged as his eyes narrowed just slightly. Spring Man was surprised once more, as the purple clad mustachio continued to just look at him. "Happy," he echoed. "You're-a happy about-a Min Min."
"Uh... yes," Spring Man replied. "Yeah, of course I'm happy. I mean, I'd be happy for anyone from our game getting to join."
"So you-a mean to tell me," Waluigi said, edging closer to Spring Man, "that you're-a not-a jealous at least a bit-a, that it was Min Min that was-a chosen over you."
"Well..." Spring Man said, put off again by Waluigi's stance, "I mean, no. I'm not jealous."
"Oh come on-a!" Waluigi said, walking around with his arms outstretched, looking dramatically at the sky as he turned his back to Spring Man. "You can-a be honest with-a me! You must be jealous! You're-a the mascot of-a ARMS! You should have-a obviously been-a the Fighter in the-a Smash-a Tournament! How can-a you try to be so high and-a mighty by claiming that you're not-a jealous of having you're-a rightful place-a stolen by some-a ramen munching brat!"
"Hey!" Spring Man said. "That's my friend you're talking about! And you better apologize!"
Waluigi was silent as he remained still in place, Spring Man's bravado deflating just a bit. This was certainly not right. Waluigi was never this serious before, it was honest to goodness unnerving. Just what was going on inside his head?
"She's-a not-a your friend," Waluigi said. "You should have had-a the spot in the Smash-a Bros. Tournament-a roster. Not her. Why should she have had-a place-a over you? Because-a she's-a popular? Because-a your own-a producer preferred-a her over you? She-a took-a what was-a rightfully yours!"
"And it's-a happened to so-a many of-a us! Assist Trophies! The-a 'participation award-a' of the Super Smash-a Bros. universe! The-a 'honorable-a mentions'! Shovel Knight-a, Bomberman, Knuckles-a, Isaac, Lyn-a, so-a many of us that-a deserve to be in-a this roster! And-a we're all squandered!"
"Why-a do you think-a it's-a right that we're all-a left in the dust!? Why do you-a think it's-a right that we're abused!? Taken advantage of-a! We all-a deserve more!"
Waluigi put a hand to Spring Man's shoulder. "And-a I want-a you to help-a me," he said.
"... With what?" Spring Man asked.
"We're-a going to-a the CPUs to demand-a our retribution! To get the recognition-a we deserve!"
Spring Man continued to stare at Waluigi with a stunned expression on his face. A look of utter disbelief written on his features. "You're out of your mind," he said. "If you honestly think that anything you say is gonna sway me, to change what I believe about my friends, you've completely snapped!"
Waluigi had that same out of character, serious glare on his face as he looked Spring Man in the eye. "So be it," he said. "I-a hoped-a we could have-a worked together. But now I see-a that I must-a always stand alone."
"And if you think I'll let you attack the CPUs," Spring Man said, getting back in a fighting stance, "then you're even crazier!"
Waluigi did not react whatsoever. He merely snapped his fingers, causing what appeared to be a pair of headlights to illuminate behind him! Next thing Spring Man knew was there was a roar of an engine, as a rush of movement overtook him!
"You're a miserable miscreant! A sickening viper that hold nothing back against stamping your feet on top of everyone!" Takemaru was yelling this at the top of his voice as he threatened to pummel the small Maker Gust over losing a match of Donkey Kong Country... and his sword as a result. Zero and Yuri Kozukata did their best to hold him back, as 5pb stood protectively in front of Gust.
"Hey," Gust said, "them's the rules Takemaru."
"But you never once said that my sword was to be sacrificed in this disgusting game of yours!" Takemaru yelled.
"Calm down, please!" Yuri said.
"She's right," Zero said. "There's no need to get violent. I'm sure with some reasoning we can-"
He cut himself off, as he heard the roar of a car in the background! The group collectively turned to see the Wario Car suddenly rush down the street, Waluigi in the front seat cackling at the top of his lungs! And in the back seat of the car was a cache of Bob-ombs! Spring Man was holding onto the car for dear life, his arms outstretched as he was hovering over the air like a deflated kite!
The car rushed past the group, heading straight in the direction of Mintendo Noodle House! There was a collective twitching of eyes, as everyone recalled the incident that had happened a few weeks prior in Lowee. "Not again," they all said
The sound of the car's rapid approach was heard by the group standing in front of the nearly completed noodle house, before it was added upon by the cackling of Waluigi! Dozens of heads were turned to see Waluigi careening towards them, showing no signs of stopping!
"Not again," nearly everyone there said as well.
"What is he doing!?" Banjo asked fretfully.
"He's going to drive right into the Noodle House!?" Ken asked.
"I think," Sonic observed, "that we were a bit wrong in our assumption that it would be Spring Man who would be the problem child in Min Min getting into the roster."
"We have to stop him!" Samus said. "With that many Bob-ombs, he could cause a great deal of damage!"
"Yeah I ain't having this shit," Blanc said. She charged forward and turned into White Heart! She brought down her axe directly onto the front of the Wario Car, causing it to flip frontwards and crash into the ground, the load of Bob-ombs dropping down, but not exploding! Both Waluigi and Spring Man, on the other hand, were vaulted forwards, crashing right in front of everyone else nearby! For a moment, the two merely just lay face first on the ground, possibly unconscious as everyone else was left to watch them.
"Huh," Neptune said. "Well that was a bit anticlimactic."
"What're you saying!?" Nepgear said. "You wanted Waluigi to crash into the Noodle House!?"
When Waluigi rose his head up from the ground upon his crash, he was greeted with a sight of dozens of angry looking Fighters, Makers, and CPUs. "Waluigi..." White Heart's voice said threateningly. "You've got some nerve, you know that, you pathetic, purple, puss bucket!"
"After the stunt you pulled last time after Byleth was announced, you honestly think you can do practically the exact same shit!? Let alone expect me to not rip your asshole in half after it!?"
"Blanc!" Waluigi said desperately.
"That's 'Lady Blanc' to you, fuckface!" White Heart added.
"L-Lady Blanc!" Waluigi said.
"Actually, screw it!" White Heart added. "Make it 'Lady White Heart' you shitstain!"
"L-Lady White Heart!" Waluigi said. "You have to understand-a! I could have-a been in the Tournament! Spring Man-a should have been the ARMS-a representative!"
"That Min Min girl is-a overrated noodle-a muncher! She-a doesn't deserve to be in-a here! So-a many Assist Trophies - Shovel Knight, Bomberman-a, Isaac - they all-a deserve to be in-a the roster far more than-a her! It's a sin-a that she is here!"
"Fuck off!" White Heart yelled. "Don't try to pull this 'woe is me' shit on me! You just wanted an excuse to join the roster! Don't try and tell me that you care about the other Assist Trophy characters!"
"Now who's the one lying?" Spring Man asked, face still planted to the ground.
"To be frank," White Heart said, "I'd have a mind to truly ban you this time! To hell with what Master Hand or Sakurai say to me!" She brandished her axe with the 'Ban' still gleaming on the side of it. Waluigi was shivering in fear as White Heart loomed over him.
Before she could lift the axe, however, a pair of spring-like arms wrapped around him and pulled him to his feet. His own arms were pinned to his side, as a cautionary turn of his head revealed to him that it was Min Min holding him upright. "Actually, Lady Blanc," she said, "I would much prefer to have this one for myself."
White Heart raised a brow, as well as most of the others watching the exchange. Min Min still had a firm smile on her face, as her eyes were closed, arms coiling around Waluigi's body. "So you say I don't deserve to be here?" she asked. "And me being here is a sin?"
"Y-y-y-y-yes," Waluigi stuttered, feeling far less confident now. "W-w-w-what're you going to do?"
Min Min's face didn't change in the slightest. She didn't even open her eyes. She just continued to smile, as a plan was clearly hidden behind her.
Before long, everyone was enjoying some of the prized ramen served by Min Min inside the newly built Mintendo Noodle House! Neptune was slurping up heaps of ramen in her mouth, as broth fell down her chin, laughing in the back of her throat. Noire was sitting next to her on the same table, looking at Neptune with a disgusted look on her face.
"Ugh! Honestly Neptune!" Noire said. "Would it kill you to eat more civilly? You've got to be the most disgusting person here!"
Neptune pointed off in one direction, not opening her eyes as she savored her food. In the direction she pointed, there was Captain Falcon eating like his life depended on it! Sure enough, he was far more manly than Neptune could have hoped for, which put Noire in silence as she daintily ate her own ramen.
"I have to say Min Min," Link said, as the girl in question was standing dutifully to the side in her work uniform, her hands folded gently in front of her, "this ramen is as good as anyone could've hoped for."
"I'll say," Joker added. "This is as great as any curry I could've made under Sojiro's wing."
"Why thank you both," Min Min said. "It does my heart good to hear those that enjoy my ramen."
"Although, I will say," Dark Pit, off to the side on his own, "I'm surprised this was enough to calm down even that purple lunatic."
Sure enough, the dark doppelganger was not referring to Neptune, but Waluigi, as the mustachio was eating bowl upon bowl of ramen at his own private table. Every ounce of defiance he had was now gone as he was crying silently into his bowls. Not out of anger or resentment of not being a Fighter anymore, but rather out of sheer guilt.
"Well," Min Min said, "when you've got the pleasing taste of ramen, coupled in with some extra saki added to the broth for extra calming effects, one can't very well find the urge to be angry anymore."
"Ah~" everyone said.
"Min Min," Waluigi said, stumbling over to the ARMS representative. "I apologize for everything I've done or said to you. Your presence here is a blessing. Everything I did... I didn't mean it!" He began crying into Min Min's shoulder as the girl patted his back gently, going "there there."
From nearby, the CPUs watched them interact, curious looks on their faces.
"So... Waluigi ain't getting banned?" Neptune asked.
"I'll talk with Master Hand and Mr. Sakurai about putting some extra restrictions on him," Blanc replied. "But as they say, three strikes you're out."
For the rest of the night, everyone enjoyed the party welcoming Min Min, while enjoying some of her famous ramen.
A/N: And here we have Min Min from ARMS added to the game! As I mentioned in my Byleth showcase chapter, I am not much of a fan of ARMS, and wasn't really feeling any hype in having a character from the game as a Fighter, however I have to say that upon seeing Min Min... it was love at first sight.
In terms of her character, she looks like she could be a ton of fun! Spring Stadium as well is easily one of my favorite DLC stages hands down, right up there with Spiral Mountain! It is Casual Smash heaven, with me being a Casual boy myself. And the music... sweet merciful crap I want to play ARMS purely for the music!
But beyond that, Min Min as a character I just find great! She's positively adorable and I can easily see why she's the #1 most popular character from the game! Overall, I am happy with her selection!
And that brings me to the whole crux of this Stage, which was built around playing off of those trying to stir the pot by going "Is Spring Man gonna get in? Does this mean Waluigi!?" That sort of thing. Honestly, I was not happy about that and a part of me was screaming the whole time, "Please don't let it be Spring Man! I'll never hear the end of it!" And all I can say is that I'm happy that the Assist Trophy rule is still intact. Call me a wet blanket but, I just call it as I see it.
That being said, as I stated earlier through Vert, the idea of the nonexistent Spirit Rule being broken does lead to a lot of interesting possibilities. It'd be interesting in the future to see somebody like Shantae becoming playable, as she is easily among my Top 5 Fighters I'd like to see in Smash! (I don't need to tell you who #1 is: Nepu-Nepu.)
(Also if you couldn't figure it out, the whole "SN-Flipper" thing was something I made up, similar to the 32DS thing. It's a play off "Super Nintendo" and Flipper as an allegory for Switch. I was trying to be clever, please don't hate me)
Overall, I'm a fan of this Stage. It's not my total favorite, but I still enjoyed it and as always, I hope you did too!
[Post Post Note! I forgot to reply to reviews again! I am very sorry, but this is what happens when you post a chapter on half power! XD]
To justinq719: Yes. Segami is, or at least can be, an idiot.
To 3 Question Marks: Thanks for the feedback. I'll be sure not to be skeptical about having a snarky Nep! (Also thanks for pointing out that I forgot to check reviews this time.)
And to the Guest who mentioned that... really detailed note about Golden Freddy all I'll say is... If more people want it, I'll do my part to try and choreograph that.
So let me know your thoughts and requests, what you think of Min Min and the ARMS content, and who you think could be the next Figther! Until next time, have a good night, stay safe, wash your hands, don't hog all the goddamn toilet paper, and take care! I'll see you in the next one!