Author's Note:
As you might infer from the title, this chapter is mostly inspired by Monster Hunter: Rise. I haven't done anything Monster Hunter-related since chapter 152 - Spyro's debut chapter - so it's been a long time coming. Now to answer some reviews:
"Will Reiji Xiaomu, Saya, and Sheath from Namco X Capcom and the Project X Zone games show up for the Pac-Man anniversary chapter? Is the Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne chapter gonna happen when the game comes out on May 25? A scene of Haru getting a job at Crazy Taxi? (She drives like crazy in Persona 5 Strikers). A cook-off scene between Mythra, Palutena, and Raine Sage? And finally, what are your thoughts on the shark game Maneater coming to Switch?"
Probably. Hopefully, the Nocturne chapter will happen. Haru getting a job at Crazy Taxi would be hilarious. Same goes for the cook-off scene (though Raine may or may not be a part of it). And since we already have a game about a goose on the Switch...why not one about a shark? Very interested about Maneater being on the Switch. Another anonymous review:
"Speaking of Mini Leblanc, isn't there already a cafe in the mansion? Joker can make coffee in there, and if he wants to, he can make some curry with Cilan."
You're right, but the cafe could use an upgrade. Another anonymous review:
"Let's bring Solaire to meet Arthur. It would be an epic meeting between the two knights."
Arthur meeting Shovel Knight just happened a few weeks ago, so Arthur meeting Solaire will be on the menu. Up next is Cloudenstein:
"...there's a problem. If you're trying to go the "change your heart" route for Cloud, how does the camera will cover it? Because a normal person can't easily go to the Mementos. Here's an idea, maybe try and give a camera to one of Joker's friends. Because after all, it's a Smash documentary made by "normal people", not your usual Smash fanfiction"
Very good question! If I do go with that route, I'll make sure to have one of the Phantom Thieves bring a camera with them to Mementos. Preferably Ryuji. Moving on:
"Also, if Kasumi knows about Maruki, it means she's already Sumire, right? I guess Joker and the others called her "Kasumi" so it won't make it hard for the residents."
Eh, pretty much. Moving on:
"On an unrelated note, I hope with Kana in the mansion, I wish this is the beginning of Corrin's redemption arc. Stop being stupid, and start being an actual good father. Well, I hope the other Nohrian kids could show up, like Siegbert (Xander's son) and Forrest (Leo's son)."
One of the reasons I brought Kana into the story was to have a Corrin redemption arc. As for the other Nohrian kids, don't know when they'll show up. BowserFan327 is back with more:
"...for a follow up fir my mini Leblanc idea, Min-Min could see it as Joker and friends trying to usurp her place in the mansion as one of it's best cooks. And I could imagine that all the thieves would make their signature dishes(like the curry, coffee, and Yusuke's beef bow from Royal) or invent something new(Like Ann making a crepe bar, Ryuji making skull shaped pancakes, Mona in charge of pet food etc.)."
Some very intriguing ideas you have there - I may use them when mini Leblanc goes into business. Last up is A JRPG enjoyer (I can tell that this isn't videogamedunkey):
"If Corrin and Felicia secretly eloped, does that mean Roy is also secretly eloped with Lilina?"
Yes, that is true. It would be very fitting that Ike is the only unmarried Fire Emblem character in Smash Life. Speaking of Ike...
"The only options for Ike (based on the supports in Path of Radiance) are Titania, Lethe, and Elincia. I know Ike has said something about Elincia, but what about Geoffrey, will he had anything to say about it?"
Oh, that's right...Geoffrey and Elincia are romantically linked! I could see Geoffrey feeling some type of way about Ike liking Elincia. One more thing:
"Who's gonna pair the Byleths?"
Would say that they're paired with each other, but that wouldn't work. So they are paired with...whoever you want to pair with. Use your imagination, people!
Episode 275: Magnamalo
For any man, there was no greater feeling than being a father. And surprisingly, Corrin was the latest mansion resident to relish in such a happy feeling.
A year ago, Corrin and Felicia secretly eloped at a wedding officiated by Silas and had remained silent about their marriage to the others - even to Kamui and Flora. Kana was conceived shortly after Corrin and Felicia wed, and was placed in the Deeprealms after she was born. (Her birth, much like the wedding, was kept secret, too.) It wasn't until Kana showed up in Nohr that Silas brought the young girl to the mansion, to be with her parents.
And so, while Felicia maintained her duties as one of the mansion's maids, Corrin was spending some quality time with Kana. His mission as a parent was to teach Kana everything he had learned at the mansion and then some. No matter how haphazard his teaching was.
"This is Tom Brady - he's the greatest athlete that has ever lived, let alone exist," Corrin explained to Kana in the living room, showing his daughter a picture of Tom Brady. Had to print it out, since no one else would do it for him. "Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."
"Okay, papa," said Kana, accepting whatever nonsense came out from her father's mouth. Pleased with Kana's response, Corrin placed the picture of Brady on the couch, before pulling out a picture of Emperor Palpatine.
"And this is Emperor Palpatine - the true essence of evil." Corrin held the picture of Palpatine close to Kana's face, wanting his daughter to sense just how evil the emperor was. "Are you intimidated by his evil nature?"
"I'm more intimidated by his ugliness than anything." Furrowing his brow, Corrin glanced at the picture of Palpatine, not quite understanding where his daughter was coming from.
"To each their own, but okay...moving on." Corrin sighed in disbelief, as he placed the picture of Palpatine on the couch. Riku entered the living room, seeing Corrin and Kana on the couch together.
"Still brainwashing your child, I see," Riku said to Corrin, before taking a sip from his water bottle. Corrin did not appreciate Riku's remark, frowning at the silver-haired Keyblade wielder.
"I am not 'brainwashing' Kana, I am merely showing her the ways. Instilling her the knowledge that I have gained over time." Riku almost choked on his water, resisting the urge to laugh.
"Okay, man, whatever you say...I would save your daughter from you, but I think it's too late for that." Riku walked out of the living room, as Corrin continued to frown at him.
Riku: I've only lived at this mansion for a short time, but I've come to recognize Corrin as one of the biggest dorks in the mansion - if not, the biggest. So when I found out that he had a kid, I just assumed that some dying lady handed her kid to Corrin because there no one else was around. It was too bad to be true. And don't even get me started on his "secret wedding" - that just sounds like an absolute sham.
"Ignore him, Kana - he's just salty that he could never experience fatherhood," Corrin said to his daughter, as Bowser crept around the corner, looking at Corrin with a proud smile. "Especially with that attitude."
"Never thought I'd see the day..." Bowser said to Corrin, tears welling up in his eyes as a single tear ran down his face. "My former protege is now a father...my heart is swelling with pride..."
"Well, I'm glad to see that you're happy." Corrin took for granted how very happy Bowser was, as he was caught off-guard by the Koopa King's hug. "This is hugely unexpected..."
"Corrin, since I was your mentor, I deserve to be Kana's godfather." Bowser stopped hugging Corrin and looked at the prince, wanting him to say yes. "Do it for your former teacher. Do it for me!"
"I don't think Kana would want you as a godfather," stated Corrin, seeing how disinterested Kana was in having Bowser as a father figure. Kana saw up close how Bowser treated his own kids - save for Bowser Jr.
"Who cares what she thinks, she has no choice in the matter. But you know what? I'll give you some time to think over it." Bowser would let go of Corrin, as he left the living room. "Don't leave me hangin'!"
"Uh, sure thing, Bowser..." Corrin was relieved that Bowser left since he could go back to teaching Kana. "So, Kana, where did we leave off of?"
"Papa, I'm not enjoying these lessons of yours," Kana expressed her feelings to Corrin, starting to find her father's lessons monotonous. "I want to go outside and chase some dragons! Or even fight some monsters! Are there any monsters in this city?"
"A monster sighting in this city is...pretty rare, I'll say. But if the opportunity comes around, we'll go hunting for some monsters, if that's what you want..."
Rex made some considerable progress with Nia in the last episode, when the swordsman gifted the Gormotti a toy mouse. With a red ribbon. For an average chick, a toy mouse might not be much, but for a feline lady such as Nia...it worked. Nia was seen playing with the toy mouse a few times, and it amused Rex.
Now, Rex wanted to go beyond for his next move, and really set things in motion. He wanted to make his relationship with Nia work, and he wanted to do more than just handing his lover a bunch of gifts. No more material stuff.
Given that Link was engaged, planning to finally marry Zelda sometime in the fall, Rex could ask the Hylian for some guidance. But with the Hylian unusually busy today - to the point where he told the others not to bother him - Rex was a man on his own.
"Ninjara, can you help me out a bit?" Rex asked the ninja, peeking behind the couch he was sitting on in the gaming room. Ninjara looked like he was hiding from someone...or some people. "I'm writing a letter to Nia."
"Not now, I'm busy," Ninjara responded quietly, looking around to make sure that whoever might be looking for him wasn't around. "Just leave me alone!"
"Busy doing what? Anyway, I want my letter to Nia to sound very romantic, but not cheesy. Gotta take the right approach. Got any good suggestions?"
"I have a good suggestion...shut up and go away." Ninjara looked towards the gaming room entrance, seeing King K. Rool entering in. "If you keep talking to me like this, you might blow my..."
"HA! We finally found you!" shouted a voice, as Yuffie appeared from behind K. Rool along with her ninja pals - Sheik, Greninja, Asuka, Kat, and Ana. K. Rool, under the brief assumption that Yuffie was talking to him, scratched his head in confusion.
"...cover," Ninjara finished his sentence, sighing as Yuffie was pointing right at him. "Oh well, it wouldn't have mattered anyway, they still would find me..."
"Who finally found me?" asked King K. Kool, increasingly growing nervous as he got down on the floor with his hands over his hands. "Is it the IRS?! How many times do I have to tell those idiots, I don't even pay taxes!"
Zelda: Being the woman of the mansion is nice and all, but I don't get to spend nearly as much time as I used to with Yuffie and the others. But that's why I decided to finish my daily quota early today and leave any responsibilities up to Researcher Zelda. In the meantime... *transforms into Sheik*
Sheik:...I've got a little catching up to do.
"PLEASE, SOMEONE PLEASE, TAKE THE EVIL TAX COLLECTORS AWAY!" King K. Rool cried out to no one in particular, hands still over his head. "I'm a king, for crying out loud! Rules for thee, but not for me! Does nobody even believe in that anymore?!"
"Relax, K. Rool, no one is out to get you," Sheik informed the Kremling, who stopped his panicking as he picked himself up off the floor. "We were just looking for Ninjara, that's all."
"Now's my time to escape..." said Ninjara as he tried to dash out of the gaming room...only to be stopped by Greninja. Greninja had used his Shadow Sneak to stop Ninjara in his path.
"Not so fast!" Kat shouted at Ninjara, as she and Ana leaped at the ninja and brought him down to the floor. The ninja twins had Ninjara pinned. "Thought you could get away so easily?"
"Let me go...I said, let me go!" Ninjara tried to fight off Kat and Ana's grasp, but it was no use. He was forced to watch as Sheik, Yuffie, and Asuka walked over to him, standing over his body.
"I must say, Ninjara, this has been long overdue..." Sheik said to the ninja, cracking her knuckles as Ninjara instantly feared for the worst. "...so, are you ready to finally join our ninja club?"
"Sheik, I need to ask you a question!" Rex shouted to the ninja, hopping off the couch so he could speak with her. Sheik pinched the crown of her nose, as she sighed deeply. "I'm writing a letter to Nia, and I want it to sound romantic, and..."
"Can't you see that we're busy here?" Sheik brought Rex's attention to her fellow ninja pals, all of whom were quickly annoyed by Rex's presence. "We're trying to do an initiation process..."
"Ha, being busy! Ninjara used that same excuse. So I want the letter to sound romantic, but I can't seem to think of anything. Got any suggestions?"
"Here's a good one...shut your mouth, and get lost." Sheik sound pretty intimidating there - threatening even. Rex oughta vamoose if he knows what's good for him.
"Wow, Ninjara said something similar! You two must share the same mind. Makes sense." Having just about enough of Rex, Sheik winded up her arm for a punch to the face, before...
"Rex, have you tried asking Nia out on a date?" Asuka asked the swordsman, saving him from a sucker punch from Sheik. The nervous look on Rex's face suggested that the swordsman had some second doubts.
"I would ask her out, but I'm scared that I might botch something." Hey, at least he was being honest about himself. "Don't want to say the wrong thing, and erase any momentum we have..."
"You can't be serious right now..." Ninjara sighed at Rex, wishing that he had a hand to facepalm with. Too bad Kat and Ana were holding both of his hands.
"Well, if you want...we can arrange a date for you and Nia!" Yuffie suggested to Rex, as Sheik gave the ninja a wide-eyed look. Yuffie was deviating from the original plan - to initiate Ninjara. "We'll set up the locale, organize the food, maybe even find some special entertainment..."
"That sounds awesome! That means you'll ask Nia if she will go out on a date with me, right?" Rex looked at Yuffie with an eager face, as Yuffie eyed around the gaming room.
"Uh, I was thinking that maybe my friends and I surprise her...but sure, that works!" Rex was pleased to hear this, as he pumped his fist and smiled.
"Guess I won't be needing this anymore..." Rex tore his letter in half, tearing the pieces away before leaving the gaming room. "...can't wait for my date with Nia, ladies! Oh, uh, and you two, Greninja!"
"I suppose we can kill two birds with one stone..." remarked Sheik, scratching her chin as she looked down at Ninjara. The worry in Ninjara's eyes was palpable.
Yuffie: I didn't really mean any of those things I said to Rex. I just wanted him to buzz off. But he still decided to go through with my on-the-fly plan anyways! Huh, guess I really am a genius... *smirks*
Sheik: So, change of plan - Ninjara is going to have to prove himself that he's worthy of joining our ninja club. And he'll do just that by helping us with this date with Rex and Nia. He can try and get out of it all he wants; we'll just keep reeling him back in.
When Sonic expressed his desire to help Cloud with the Aerith Revival Project, he hoped to be a major player and play a big part in the project's success. But the whole time, the blue hedgehog was nothing more than an errand boy - especially with Moira. He was always delivering food and drink to Moira, and running a few nonsensical tasks on the side. Felt like a waste of time to him.
So when Moira stopped by the mansion today, Sonic sneaked out and retreated to Mario's house. He knocked on the back screendoor, looking over his shoulder and hoping that Moira hadn't reached him.
"C'mon, hurry, open up..." said Sonic, sweat running down his face as his nervousness grew. Eventually, the screendoor was opened by Mario, and Sonic ran inside and into Mario's arms.
"Uh...good-a afternoon, Sonic," Mario said to the plumber, closing the screendoor as he assumed that Sonic was hugging him. "What's-a with the hug? Something you need-a to tell me about?"
"It's that crazy witch lady, Moira O'Donnell..." Sonic pulled himself away from Mario, with fear both on his face and in his voice. "...she's starting to drive me insane! I can't take it no more."
"Alright, Sonic, relax...come-a with me, have a seat." Mario led Sonic to the living room, sitting the hedgehog down on the couch next to a resting Spyro. "What is Moira doing to drive-a you crazy?"
"She keeps forcing me to do these dumb chores, right? Like getting her some water, or turning down the thermostat. Stuff that she could do herself!"
"I mean, Moira sounds-a like a very busy person. But you, on the other hand..." Sonic was starting to look offended, as he frowned at Mario.
"What, are you saying that I'm lazy? I just want to help out, man! Help Cloud with his...with his..." Sonic was about to mention the Aerith Revival Project but quickly held his tongue.
"Help-a Cloud with what, exactly?" It wouldn't matter if Sonic spilled the beans - Mario already knew about the project anyways.
"...with this plan to take Aerith out on a vacation somewhere!" Sonic wiped away some sweat from his face, as Mario gave an amused smile. "Yeah, to Jamaica, or something. Sandals, Jamaica. That's where Snake planned on taking Meryl to, right?"
"Mario, can you turn the TV on?" Peach said to her husband as she entered the living room, having seen something on the cell phone in her hands. "Something is happening in the city..."
"When-a is there anything not happening in this city?" wondered Mario as he reached for the TV remote, using it to turn the TV on. The first thing that appeared on the television screen...was a bunch of talking crayons, naming colors and junk.
"You watch the Baby Channel?" Spyro asked Mario, as he and Sonic were having the plumber very inquisitive looks. "Had a feeling you watch it in secret."
"It's for Jennifer, mind-a you..." Spyro and Sonic were relatively unconvinced, as Mario flipped through the channels until he reached the local news station. On the screen was a picture of some kind of large monster.
"Local authorities have reported seeing this giant monster near the shores of Seattle," the news anchor reported before the news station did a zoom-in on the giant monster in question. "This is the only known image of the monster, apparently taken on a flip phone."
"People still use flip phones?" pondered Sonic, as Mario hopped off his couch to take a closer look at the monster. "Gotta admit, the picture quality's nice..."
"According to eyewitnesses, this monster hasn't attacked anyone but has caused some damage to the boats docked to the shore. That being said...kids, if daddy's boat gets wrecked again, just know that it wasn't the lobster crabs this time."
"This is horrible - we haven't had a monster in Seattle since Rathalos attacked," stated Peach, as the mere mention of Rathalos got Spyro all pumped up. "What do you think we should do, Mario?"
"Easy - just leave it up to me!" Spyro said to Peach as he stood up heroically on the couch, finding himself in the groove. "I'll take down that monster by myself, no help needed!"
"Was expecting a serious answer, but I do appreciate the eagerness, Spyro," Peach smiled at the purple dragon, who was starting to feel some type of way. "Seriously though, Mario, what should we do?"
"Master Hand usually depended on-a me whenever stuff went down in the city," replied Mario, as Spyro grumbled and laid back down on the couch. "Maybe we should depend-a on Cloud. Have-a him deal with the issue."
"Yeah, let's go with the spiky-haired dude just because he has a giant sword..." grumbled Spyro, yawning as his eyes were slowly drifting asleep. "...you guys just have no clue."
Cloud stood outside Link's door, knocking on the door as he waited for a response. The door would be opened by Link, albeit just a crack, as the Hylian poked his head slightly out the doorway.
"Hey, I'm here to help with your wedding planning or whatever," Cloud said to Link, not showing a lot of enthusiasm in his voice. Then again, it was hard to tell whether Cloud felt genuinely excited or not.
"Sorry Cloud, but I'm busy - come back another time," Link replied before he closed the door on his friend's face. Cloud sighed, shaking his head.
"The one time I offer to help Link, and he just turns me down..." Cloud was about to walk away, but couldn't find the strength to do it. "...hope I hadn't lost his trust."
Link: Zelda was yearning so much to hang out with her ninja pals, so guess what she decides to do? Ask me to handle all the wedding invites. Zelda organized a very long guest list, and she wants the invites to be done "delicately", so I'm probably gonna be stuck here in my room until midnight Saturday at the earliest. Why does planning for a wedding have to be so stressful? Imagine if Zelda and I had parents...
Suddenly, Cloud heard his cellphone ringing, suspecting that it was Mario who was calling him. When he dug into his pocket and pulled his cellphone out, he saw Mario's name in the caller ID. Sometimes Cloud hated being right.
"What do you want now, Mario?" Cloud answered the phone, not even bothering to say hello to Mario. Either he was annoyed, or disheartened by Link turning down his help. "Got your foot stuck in the garbage disposal again?"
"Well, actually, I got my foot-a stuck in the garbage disposal this morning," replied Mario, as Mario made a very inquisitive face knowing that some questions were better left not asked. "Long story, but I got it out-a in no time. Anyways, have you heard-a about the monster in town?"
"Another monster, huh? That's definitely not news at all." A lot of dripping sarcasm in the tone of Cloud's voice. "Let me guess, Rathalos is back?"
"Nope, different monster this-a time. The news-a report said that it was causing some ruckus along-a the shore. Might wanna have some-a one take care of business."
"I'll see what I can do. Gonna go see if there's anyone available. Wonder if I can force them to participate...that's what Master Hand would do."
Lloyd went around the mansion, bragging to the others about the $10,000 that he and Pit raised from his food delivery service. And after a week of bragging, it was time for Lloyd to spend his money the best way he knew how. Despite Lloyd wanting to pursue his spending spree, some doubters refused to believe that Lloyd raised that thousands of dollars, let alone any amount of money. Take Samus, for instance.
"Samus, Lloyd, and I have a dilemma!" Pit said to the bounty hunter as he and Lloyd frantically ran inside the workshop. Samus was pretending to be working on something so that she wouldn't be bothered. "It's about our money."
"Don't care, not my problem," replied Samus, not giving any eye contact as she pretended to use a screwdriver on an already finished machine part.
"Of course, it's not your problem...which is why we want you to help us solve it," responded Lloyd, as Samus sighed and forced herself to give Pit and Lloyd her attention. "Anyway, we tried to spend the money we raised."
"Whoop-dee-doo, you decided to spend some imaginary dollars...bet you boys got yourselves your own personalized unicorns. Or did you put your money together, and hired some leprechaun butler?"
"Very funny...but if you wanted to know, we wanted to purchase our very own sauna." Samus couldn't help but cringe at the thought of that. "One that all the guys can use."
"You ladies think you have it all good, with your nice little 'beauty salon,'" Lloyd said to Samus, trying not to look jealous in front of Samus. "This is our chance to make ourselves equal!"
"So buying a sauna is supposed to make everyone feel equal...riiiiight." Knowing the kind of men that would be inside the sauna, Samus wouldn't go inside that thing even if someone held a gun to her head.
Pit: I know that Cloud wanted the $10,000, but surely he has to give me and Lloyd some piece of the pie. I mean, that's the money that we earned through our hard work and determination! And Dark Pit said I had neither one of those two qualities...dude's been awfully quiet lately. His throat must be full from eating too much crow.
Lloyd: The idea of buying a sauna didn't really cross my mind until I saw a few online videos of some Japanese dudes chilling in one. They all looked so chill, so relaxed...and so naked. Thankfully, most of them had their backs turned to the camera...it was mainly those that didn't believe in bringing a towel.
"So what do you even need help with?" Samus asked Pit and Lloyd; Lloyd dug into his pockets and showed Samus several dollar bills. "Is that the money you actually raised?"
"That's right!" Lloyd exclaimed proudly, holding it closer to Samus so that the bounty hunter would erase all her doubts. "But when we tried to pay upfront, the folks turned away. Didn't even want to accept our money."
"Wait a minute...this money is counterfeit!" Indeed it was - Professor E. Gadd used a printer to make the counterfeit money in the previous episode.
"Ah, I see...you're still an ungrateful hater, Miss Aran," Lloyd put the money back in his pockets as he and Pit pulled away from Samus. "Still don't wanna accept the truth, huh? One day you'll finally open your eyes."
"Lloyd, I'm telling the truth, the money is..." It was too late, as Lloyd and Pit both left from the workshop. "...guess they'll learn the hard way."
Fox and Falco were both informed by Moira that they would be going back in time and retrieving a DNA sample from Aerith in the past. Even though the time-traveling trails with Luigi were a success, as they learned from Cloud, the pilots still didn't want to take any chances. That was why they were going through a hallway closet, looking for some "time-traveling gear".
"Which space helmet would look better on me?" Falco asked Fox, holding up two different kinds of space helmets. There was a pile of clothes behind him.
"Both of them look pretty ridiculous, but I think the red one definitely suits you more," Fox offered his two cents, as Falco tried out the helmet and placed it on his head. "Sure you can fit in there?"
"It's either this or the fishbowl..." Falco felt the tip of his nose being pressed against the glass, but he did his best to shrug it off. "...this helmet is cleaner, but not by much, though."
"Doing some spring cleaning, you two?" Ema Skye asked the pilots as she passed by, proud of them for taking some initiative. Which was something that Fox and Falco very seldomly do.
"Ema, on a scale from one to ten, how much would this protect me?" Fox asked the forensics expert as he showed her a yellow raincoat. "This was the best raincoat I could find."
"What is that supposed to protect you from?" Ema didn't know whether to laugh or walk away and save some part of her sanity. "You and Falco going on a trip to some acid rainforest?"
"No, we're traveling through time." From that point onwards, Ema suspended her belief in anything that came out of Fox's mouth. "Need something to protect us from the quantum rays. And stop making that face! Have you not watched Ant-Man?"
"I'm pretty sure that Ant-Man didn't need a silly raincoat to travel through time...but I must ask, why are you traveling through time anyway?"
"We're going back in time to see Aerith!" replied Falco, before quickly covering his mouth as he gasped. Almost gave away a huge part of the Aerith Revival Project. Fox looked at Falco out of shock.
"Yeah, to prevent Sephiroth from ever killing her!" Fox said to Ema, doing his best to save his friend's behind. Ema didn't look convinced - either that, or she was just skeptical.
"I dunno...wouldn't that cause a time paradox?" Ema asked the pilots, taking some time to consider how Aerith being saved would impact the future. "What if Aerith never died, and Cloud doesn't have the desire to defeat Sephiroth?"
"If he never had the desire to kick Sephiroth's butt, to begin with, then he's a weak, fragile man." Fox had to do most of the talk since Falco was too reluctant to speak. "That shows a lack of ambition!"
"But at least he has the ambition to bring Aerith back from the dead!" Falco blurted out, only to gasp and cover his mouth a second time. Fox slapped his forehead, knowing that Falco had spilled all the beans.
"Back from the dead, huh?" Ema smirked at the pilots, with Fox disappointed in Falco and Falco beginning to hate himself forever. "Guess you want me to keep that a secret." At that moment, both Fox and Falco looked up at Ema with astonished faces.
"So...you would promise not to tell the others about Cloud's plan?" Fox asked Ema; if Ema held up her end of the bargain, the pilots would forever consider her a real one. If they haven't already.
"Sure! I know that attempting to revive someone is a pretty big deal - as a forensics expert, I would do. I won't let anyone hear a peep!"
"Are you serious right now?" To show Fox and Falco how serious she was, Ema smiled and did a zipping motion with her fingers over her mouth. That alone gave the pilots her full assurance. "Awesome! You never let us down, Ema."
"I never do...but you two make sure to find a better time-traveling suit. Don't wanna let Scott Lang down!" Ema wagged her finger at Fox and Falco, before leaving the premises.
Ema: Cloud wants to revive Aerith...this universe's Aerith...I can respect that. But one thing I don't respect is having Fox and Falco travel through time for this whole revival thing to work. The last thing you would want is for anyone to be stuck in time and space. (Though I do have a select list of people I would personally wish that fate upon, Slippy being one of them.) Maybe I can do Cloud a huge solid...gonna need some extra hands.
With the monster likely still causing a scene along the Seattle coastline, Cloud hoped to find a group of residents that could band together and take care of the giant monster before any heck broke loose. Cloud spoke with Red the Pokemon Trainer in the lounge, as Joker curiously stopped by.
"Just for the record, Mario said that the monster in the city is not a dragon," Cloud stated to Red, who frowned as he punched the air. "So that means no 'bragging rights' for Charizard this time. Mario could be wrong, though."
"Meh, dragon or not, Charizard's still got this..." replied a very confident Red, before taking out his Poke Ball and sending out Charizard. "He took out that fat ogre last week, so any monster is no match for him."
"That 'fat ogre' was actually an overweight man, but to each their own..." Soon Joker entered the lounge, garnering the attention of Cloud. Much to Cloud's great chagrin. "...Joker, we can chat another time. I'm busy at the moment."
"No, I want in on this...monster conversation," replied Joker, as Cloud furrowed his brow at the young man. What did Joker have planned? "What if...I recruited a bunch of folks to fight this monster?"
"Nice try, Joker, but that's what I'm already doing. Don't need you taking away my shine." Cloud felt very skeptical of Joker and felt every right to be that way - especially after the events of the last episode.
"It's not about taking away your shrine, I'm just saving you some time." His skepticism growing by the minute, Cloud furrowed his brow even more. "After all, I think you need a bit more time on your little 'project'..."
"...you know what, I wouldn't mind being a part of Joker's squad," Red spoke up, seeing the tension brewing between Joker and Cloud. A part of him wanted to break the tension right away.
"If that's what you wanna do, then that's your call," said Cloud, who feared that Joker - and perhaps the Phantom Thieves, by extension - might know a bit too much. "Just make sure your Charizard doesn't drag the others down..."
"You're gonna do great, Charizard, I just know it..." Red patted Charizard on the head, hyping up the flame Pokemon, as Cloud and Joker were now staring each other down. The tension, which had once left temporarily, was back in full force.
"Go ahead and recruit as many people as you want...just stay out of my business," Cloud gave this command to Joker, brushing past the young man as he headed out of the lounge. Joker had a giant smirk on his face.
"I'll stay out of your business, alright..." remarked Joker, as he rolled up one of the sleeves of his black jacket. "...but I can't say the same for my friends."
Having done his best to "educate" Kana, Corrin moved on to playing games with his daughter in the gaming room. He and Kana were playing a game of darts, with Donkey Kong serving as a third wheel.
"Here I go, papa!" Kana squealed to Corrin, before throwing the dart with all her might. The dart flew across the air and struck the target...barely, as the dart struck the very edge of the target.
"Wow, Kana, you actually broke my own personal record!" marveled Corrin, who many considered to be one of the worst, if not the worst, darts player in the entire mansion. "That's pretty remarkable, wouldn't you say, Donkey Kong?"
"Given that you never hit the target, I guess so," shrugged Donkey Kong, only saying that just to be nice. Didn't want to embarrass Corrin too much in front of his daughter. "A blind person has better aim than you." So much for not embarrassing Corrin...
Donkey Kong: I'm not exaggerating when I say that Corrin is the worst darts player I've ever seen. Whenever he plays darts, someone typically ends up making a trip to Leia's nurse's office. Nine out of ten times, it's usually the person playing against Corrin.
"Alright...now it's my turn," said Corrin, getting himself ready as he stared down the target with his dart in hand. Donkey Kong saw how terribly off Corrin's throwing technique, and had to intervene.
"No, no no, I don't think so," said the gorilla as he stopped Corrin mid-throw, nearly getting his eye poked out by the dart. "We should play a different game. See what Kana's good at. How about some pool?"
"Is Kana at a legal enough age to play pool?" A question like that almost made Donkey Kong blank out - he couldn't fully comprehend how stupid the nature of the question was. "I've seen drunk men play pool...on TV, that is..."
"That has nothing to do with anything! C'mon, your daughter will have lots of fun." So Donkey Kong led Corrin away, before looking behind to see if Kana was coming along. "Kana, are you coming with us?"
"Something on the television, Kana?" Corrin asked his daughter, who was transfixed by whatever was happening on the television screen above her. Corrin and Donkey Kong looked at the television, and saw a special news report...and yes, it was about the giant monster in Seattle.
"Local authorities have now reported that the giant monster is moving along down the Seattle coast," the news anchor reported, as captured images of the giant monster flashed on the TV screen. "Which means that my boat should be safe...my wife will be a happy woman tonight."
"Papa, can we go and fight that monster?" Kana turned around and asked Corrin, as she pointed at the giant monster on the screen. "Pretty, pretty please?"
"I dunno, it looks pretty out of our league!" replied a very hesitant Corrin, who wanted to keep his daughter safe. Fighting that monster would be the exact opposite of his MO. "Might even eat us both for lunch."
"Corrin, do you really want to upset your daughter?" Donkey Kong asked Corrin with a toothy grin, wrapping his arm around the prince of Nohr. "Do you not realize how big it would be for her, to fight a monster of such great stature?"
"Have you seen how big that monster looked?! Those pictures aren't lying, that I know. And you think we can take it on?"
"Look at your daughter, Kana. Just look at her!" Corrin looked at Kana and saw how eager the young girl was to fight the monster. "Can you not see how much this moment would mean to her? Do you see the fervor in her eyes?"
"I did say earlier that I wanted to fight a monster, papa..." Kana said to Corrin; she would shed a few tears but didn't want to guilt-trip her father.
"Think about it, man...you and Kana, fighting a monster together? That would be some excellent father-daughter bonding time." That final point from Donkey Kong hammered it home for Corrin, who went from reluctant to determined in a heartbeat.
"Kana, I think we have a monster to dispatch..." Corrin said to his daughter, approaching her and kneeling at her before offering his hand. "...do you wish to join me in the fight?"
"Yes, papa!" Kana squealed with delight, as she took Corrin's hand; Corrin smiled warmly as he stood back up. "Do you have your sword?"
"Left it in my room, but that's the only thing I'll need. Now let's go!" So Corrin left the gaming room with Kana, holding his daughter's hand along the way, as Donkey Kong sighed in relief.
"Ah...freedom at least," remarked DK, before he looked around the gaming room for anyone available. "Now to find a worthy opponent that doesn't suck..."
If Rex had planned to spend some quality time with Nia today, then the swordsman was partially out of luck - for Nia took the five cats for a stroll around the Seattle beach, with Pyra, Mythra, and Dromarch. Nia served as a caretaker of the five felines and was getting tired of her duties.
"You think the Phantom Thieves like cats, outside of Joker?" Nia asked Pyra and Mythra all while making sure that the five cats were keeping up.
"Wouldn't hurt to ask," replied Pyra, able to see how slowly disinterested Nia was from taking care of the five cats all the time. Which was why she and Mythra sometimes offered to chip in. "They do act pretty friendly around Morgana."
"Eh, I've always assumed that they just tolerated him. I won't lie, I can't stand Morgana sometimes...n-not because I'm cat-like myself. Blegh..."
"Aha! At last, we meet again! The Bringer of Chaos, the Zekenator himself...he is here! Bask in his glory!"
Nia and company stopped in their tracks, as a dude with an eyepatch and a girl appeared out from the blue. The two struck a pose, expecting Nia and the others to be impressed.
"Oh no...it's him," fretted Mythra, quickly recognizing the two individuals standing before her - Zeke von Genbu, and his Blade Pandoria. Rex and his pals had quite the history with Zeke and Pandora.
"Finally! The Zekenator is reunited with his old friends!" exclaimed Zeke, unsheathing his sword - the Purple Lightning Dreamsmasher - as Pandoria mimicked Zeke's every move. "Such a fitting reunion!"
"Too bad that nobody wanted to see you, Shellhead," Nia frowned at Zeke, wishing for the Crown Prince to just buzz off already. It took a few seconds for Zeke to realize that someone was missing.
"Wait a blasted minute! Where on earth is Rex?" Zeke and Pandoria looked around the beach for Rex, seeing that the swordsman was nowhere in sight. "Did he know about this fateful reunion, and chose not to show up?"
"He's at the Smash Mansion, handling some business," replied Pyra, as the mere mention of the mansion caught Zeke's attention. "Speaking of which, we have some business to handle ourselves..."
"Ah, yes, the Smash Mansion! So many wonderful stories I've heard about it!" Must've been only positive stories. "The splendor of such a fine establishment cannot be understated."
"And where did you hear this 'stories' from, some drug addict off the street?" Nia questioned Zeke as she folded her arms. "Why don't you do us a favor already, and get lost?"
"No, Nia, I am afraid not! For Pandoria and I came to this locale to hunt down a monstrous beast, and prove our might! And maybe heroics..."
"So you didn't come to this beach just to hunt us down?" asked Mythra, as Nia lowkey wished that the monstrous beast would eat Zeke alive; Pandoria could be spared. "That's pretty reassuring..."
Zeke: *whispering* Don't tell the ladies this, but we didn't come here just to fight the monster...this will be our little secret. You see, I've been meaning to congratulate Pyra and Mythra for being in Smash. Even have a gift just for the occasion! It was originally meant for Rex, so I'll give out parts of the gift to "bid" myself time with...some tinkering. It will be the thought that counts!
"In case you might be wondering, this is the beast that Pandoria and I are searching for!" Zeke said to Nia and company, showing them an image on a cellphone that he pulled out of seemingly nowhere. Nia and company looked at the image - the monster in it was the same as the one shown on the news. "Feast your eyes on its majesty! The Magnamalo!"
"Um, buddy...I want my phone back," a man said to Zeke, standing behind the Crown Prince and tapping his shoulder. Seeing the man, Zeke handed the phone over to the man who then walked away.
"Now I must ask...do you think that the three of us can stand a chance against Magnamalo?" Zeke struck a magnificent pose, one that excused heroism and bravery, and Pandoria mimicked the pose to perfection.
"There's only two of you," stated Pyra, causing Zeke to panic as he and Pandoria looked down at the sand, searching for the third member of their group.
"Turters? Where are you boy?" Zeke got down on the sand, searching aggressively, before standing back up and patting all over himself. "This is why I shouldn't have let him stroll on the beach!"
"How do we know if he was just trying to get away from you?" assumed Dromarch, with Pyra, Mythra, and Nia smiling in response as Zeke continued his search for Turters. Pandoria did her best to aid Zeke's search.
Suddenly, a smoke bomb was dropped in the vicinity of Zeke and the others, causing a large cloud of smoke. Everyone was coughing as the smoke filled the air, before eventually clearing up. And once the smoke cleared...Nia saw that she had an invitation in her hand.
"What's this?" the Gormotti wondered as she opened the invite, with Pyra, Mythra, and Dromarch curiously coming closer to see what the invite entailed. "'You have been invited, Nia of the Gormott Province...to join Rex on a date?'"
"A date? Rex wants to go on a date with you?" Pyra asked Nia, finding herself uneasy with the invite that Nia had received. "Are you sure that invite is legit?"
"No way it's real - the print looks way too good to be Rex's handwriting," replied Mythra, who felt the need to throw some slight shade. "Still, getting someone to ask Nia out on a date for him sounds very much like Rex."
"'Meet me at Seattle Meowtropolitan on North 45th Street,'" Nia kept on reading the invite, as Pyra and Mythra struggled with the fact that there was an actual restaurant named Seattle Meowtropolitan. At least it made sense for the date. "'You can't miss it! P.S.: bring the cats if you want.'"
"Looks like someone's got a date!" Zeke smiled at Nia, as Pyra appeared to be feeling the exact opposite of whatever Zeke was feeling. "A proud achievement if I do say so myself. Must be feeling elated, don't you Nia?"
"Wouldn't call this date a 'proud achievement', but I guess this is pretty exciting," replied Nia, smiling at the invite in her hands. "Wonder why Rex wanted to announce our date this way."
"Because he was too chicken to ask you out himself," stated a certain ninja, as Ninjara showed up at the scene. In his hand was a smoke bomb. "I had to do the dirty work for him."
"So that means that invite is real, then," said Mythra as her doubts vanished away. Pyra, on the other hand, was still at unease.
"Indeed. I assume that Rex is waiting for you at this...Seattle Meowtropolitan, whatever that is. Better not leave him waiting."
"Alright then, ladies...we're off," Nia said to Pyra and Mythra...and Dromarch, as she led the three individuals away and to Seattle Meowtropolitan. Zeke stood around, his mouth agape as he wanted Nia and company to come back.
"Wait, come back - our reunion isn't over yet!" the Crown Prince shouted at Nia and company, as Mythra waved off the Crown Prince. Gritting his teeth, Zeke angrily pointed at Ninjara. "You scoundrel...why did you have to come and ruin a perfect moment?"
"That's none of my business," replied Ninjara, as Zeke gasped as the ninja and clutched his pearls. Soon Ninjara joined by (much to his chagrin) Sheik, Yuffie, Greninja, Kat, and Ana.
"Nice work, Ninjara - you are really proving your worth," Sheik said to the ninja, patting him on his back. Ninjara had no choice but to stomach it. "Sooner or later, you'll be one of us!"
"Regrettably...I'm going to hate you all even more now." Soon the fifth member of the ninja pals, Asuka, appeared while holding a certain animal in her hand.
"Guys, look what I found - a turtle!" Asuka showed off the turtle to the ninja pals, as Zeke instantly perked up. "Saw him walking towards the water."
"Is that...Turters?" asked Zeke, before making a mad dash towards and Asuka and seeing the turtle sitting in the palm of her hand. "Yes, it is! Turters, I've finally found you, my boy!"
"This is your pet turtle?" Asuka asked Zeke, who didn't bother answering the question as he swiped Turters out of Asuka's hand. He was very possessive of his turtle friend.
"Handling a man's turtle..." Zeke scolded Asuka, before scurrying back to Pandoria and pointing at the ninja pals. "...you rapscallions think that you can lay a finger on Turters, and get away with it?"
"We didn't even know he existed until now," stated Yuffie, speaking on behalf of every ninja pal not named Asuka. Zeke refused to believe her. "Also, why are you so fascinated with a turtle?"
"Turters is not just any ordinary turtle...he is...our mascot!" Zeke proudly held up Turters in the air, as the ninja pals instantly thought less of him. "A fine mascot, at that..."
"This guy sounds like the biggest loser on the planet," Kat murmured to Ana, who nodded her head in agreement. Zeke was somehow able to hear Kat, as he gasped at the young ninja girl.
"The biggest loser on the planet?! How dare you show disrespect to the Crown Prince! Why don't you put some respect on my..."
Zeke would be interrupted when a roar was heard from the distance. The roar got Zeke all giddy, as the Crown Prince squealed with delight.
"Pandoria, I believe that the Magnamalo is ready for its royal beating!" Zeke said to his Blade, who shared his excitement. Ninjara shook his head. "Why don't we teach it a lesson or two?"
"I think it's YOU who needs a lesson..." Sheik said to Zeke, who turned to the ninja and gave her a friendly wave. Time for Zeke and Pandoria to vamoose.
"Till we meet again, ninja friends. And away we go!" Zeke and Pandoria ran down the beach, hoping to kick some monster butt.
"Good riddance...looks like we're off to Seattle Meowtropolitan. No smoke bombs to get away from us this time, Ninjara."
Now armed with his sword, Corrin was prepared to take on the giant monster - whose name was revealed to be Magnamalo, according to Zeke - with his daughter Kana. But before the prince could depart, he first had to send some regards. He already informed Kamui and the maids about his mission...and now he was about to inform Mario.
"Just wanted to give you a heads up before Kana and I set out to the beach," Corrin said to Mario, who was standing at the front door with Sonic behind him. "There is a monster that..."
"Yeah, I know, I'm watching it on-a the news," replied Mario as he pointed his thumb at the television in the living room. Corrin saw Magnamalo, which appeared to be dominating the local news scene.
"Ah, so I see that you're already informed! So about that monster...Kana and I plan on killing it. Or at least sending it back to its homeland. Whichever one works the best."
"I think we should sacrifice Corrin's daughter to the monster, as a peace offering," Sonic suggested to Mario in a whisper, as Mario frowned and looked at Sonic crazily. "The further Kana is away from Corrin, the better..."
Mario: I've come to accept-a that Corrin is now a father and a family man. I won't live-a in denial like the others. Do I think that Corrin is worthy enough-a to move out, and live on his-a own like me? Eh...
"If I don't make it out alive, make sure to remember me," Corrin said to Mario and Sonic, as the latter wondered if there was anything about Corrin even worth remembering. "Though I may let my own self be eaten, for Kana's sake."
"I don't want you to go, papa," Kana said to Corrin, as she for the life of her couldn't deal with life without Corrin. "I want you to stay forever!"
"I know, Kana, but sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures. Between the two of us, I'd rather die than to let you..."
"We have a breaking news update about the monster in Seattle," announced the news anchor on the television, showing footage of Magnamalo running. "The monster is moving away from the coast, and into the city lines!"
"Mama mia...that's not good," remarked Mario, before squinting his eyes when he saw in the footage two folks being chased by Magnamalo. "Who-a is that the monster's chasing?"
"According to eyewitnesses, the two individuals you see in the footage provoked the monster." The camera did a zoom-in on the two individuals in question...and it was Zeke and Pandoria. "We have no word on why these two engaged with the monster in the first place..."
"Maybe those two are masochists," assumed Sonic, as Spyro watched the news footage and was invigorated from seeing Magnamalo in action. "Wanting to be eaten alive falls under masochism, right? I mean, it's not cannibalism..."
"We cannot guarantee if the monster will cause any significant damage within the city. But what I can guarantee you is that the monster will NOT wreck my new house. Needed a stupid third mortgage to pay it off. Curse you, dad!"
"What if that monster's headed towards the mansion?" asked Spyro, finding himself in the groove as he jumped off the couch. "I'll be the one to put him out of his misery!"
"You are so funny, Spyro..." Peach said to Spyro from the kitchen, as Spyro frowned at the princess and grumbled under his breath. Had a few choice things he wanted to say to Peach.
"Come to think-a of it, the monster heading this way would-a be...very much on-brand," Mario offered his take as he scratched his chin in thought, before turning to Corrin and Kana. "Corrin, it'd be best-a that you and Kana stay put."
"In that case, we'll just monitor the monster's every movement," responded Corrin, watching the news footage on the television. "That monster's going to wish it never came here! If it ever shows up..."
Even with the presence of Magnamalo in Seattle, Rex's date with Nia was still on. The ninja pals asked Jacky Bryant to take Rex to Seattle Meowtropolitan, and watch over him until Nia arrived.
"Still can't believe this is an actual institution..." Jacky said to Rex, standing in a lounge with the swordsman and seeing nothing but cats all over the place.
"This is what the ninjas picked out," replied Rex, as he saw a kitten warming up to him and rubbing its head against the swordsman's leg. "Pretty fitting given who my date is!"
"Who's your date again? Nia? I always thought that you had a thing for either Pyra or Mythra." Rex didn't fault Jacky for thinking that way. "But mostly Pyra."
"Well, I just figured I gravitate towards her more." Jacky suddenly tuned out Rex, as he heard some sounds from the nearby cafe. "Hope that Pyra and Mythra have no hard feelings."
"Yeah, definitely..." Ignoring the rest of the conversation, Jacky curiously took a peek inside the nearby cafe and saw the ninja pals setting things up...and rounding up the Seattle Meowtropolitan employees. One poor employee was being slapped repeatedly by Sheik.
"How many times do I have to tell you, the cafe is off-limits!" the employee said to Sheik, only to be slapped hard in the face. "Please stop, you almost broke my nose that time!"
"We don't have to abide by your rules, bub..." Sheik said to the employee, pulling him close to her face before dropping him on the floor. Sheik looked over and saw Jacky staring at her, and the ninja could only muster a sheepish cough.
Sheik: We're not exactly expecting perfection with Rex and Nia's date. This is more or less a courtesy call. The date will go well for as long as Rex will allow it.
"Hello, ladies! And Dromarch!" Rex was heard speaking from the lounge, as Jacky hurried back in and saw Nia and company enter Seattle Meowtropolitan. Nia looked excited, Mythra did her best to remain interested, and Pyra was still at unease. Dromarch, well, he was just there.
"I know you didn't forget about the five cats," Nia said to Rex, smiling at the five cats that she brought to the cafe. The five cats in question ran up to Rex, ambushing the swordsman and nearly made him lose his balance.
"Hey, hey now, take it easy you guys!" Rex would be saved from the cat ambush, as the other cats in the lounge came over to play with the colored cats. "That invite, did you like it, Nia?"
"It was sweet - though it would've been sweeter had you given it to me in person." Rex had nothing to say about that, smiling sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "But who knows, maybe one of these days you'll man up."
"Are you here for your date, good sir?" a person with a very dignified voice asked Rex, who turned around and saw a waiter standing by. The waiter had green hair, was sharply dressed and carried a white towel over his arm.
"Uh...do I know you from somewhere?" Rex asked the waiter, feeling a strong sense of familiarity, as the green hair was throwing the swordsman off. It was neatly combed, though.
"I am not obligated to disclose any of my personal information to you. Now, is your date here or not? Who is your date?"
"That would be me," Nia spoke up, holding her hand for the waiter to recognize her. Even she thought the waiter looked familiar.
"Very well then. Follow me, you two, and I will show you to your table." So Rex and Nia followed the green-haired waiter to their table, with Dromarch accompanying Nia along the way. The waiter sat Rex and Nia down at their table and tried to shoo Dromarch away, but to no avail.
Pit and Lloyd weren't convinced that their money was counterfeit, and they were still looking for answers. The duo spoke with Wario in his room and had him inspect the money for some clarification.
"Oh yeah...oh yeah...there's no getting around it," remarked Wario after he was done inspecting the money, his mind completely made up. "It's absolutely one hundred percent confirmed."
"So the money is real?" Lloyd asked Wario, knowing that the fatso, despite his many faults, wouldn't let him and Pit down. "Those are actual dollar bills?!"
"No, you stupid idiot! All of your money is counterfeit! Counted every single dollar, and they're all counterfeit. I'm so sorry." It ate Wario inside, actually apologizing to someone.
"Man, you're a hater just like everyone else." Lloyd shook his head in dismay at Wario, as he gathered up all the counterfeit money. "Bet you can't stand to see anyone else earn money the hard way!"
"You don't believe me, huh? Why don't you feel the dollar bills for yourself!" So Lloyd took up Wario's advice, and felt one of the dollar bills, analyzing its texture and whatnot. "Does it feel different to you?"
"It does...feel different." Lloyd slowly frowned, as Pit took one of the dollar bills and felt it. Even rubbed the dollar bill on his face, for good measure. "What do you think, Pit?"
"Feels like copy paper, almost," said Pit, as his and Lloyd's worst fears were soon realized. "As if the dollar bills came straight out of a copy machine!"
"Exactly - because I think your money did come out from a copy machine!" affirmed Wario, causing both Pit and Lloyd to gasp in shock. "I'd wager that someone stole your money, and replaced it with counterfeit dollar bills!"
"But who would do such a thing?" wondered Lloyd, who was distraught as ever; Cloud might have the answer to Lloyd's question. "Were they jealous of how successful we were?"
"Perhaps they were. Not that often you see a numskull or two putting their heads together and making some dough." Slowly coming to grips with the truth, Lloyd looked down at the floor. "The thought of you two blokes being breadwinners probably cut in deep into someone."
"Excuse me...I need a moment by myself." Lloyd walked out of Wario's room, struggling with the fact that his own money was tainted.
"Yikes, this isn't good," remarked Pit as he stuck the dollar bill in his hand somewhere in his pocket. "Cloud wouldn't be happy to hear about this!"
"Why do you think Cloud would care?" Wario asked Pit, raising a curious eyebrow at the angel. "Is he obligated to know how successful your delivery service was just because he's the man of the mansion?"
"Well, no, it's just that Cloud asked me to find him $10,000. I stole money from Star Records at first and got in trouble for it. Maybe if Cloud hadn't told me to find $10,000 that wasn't lying around..."
"Did he ever tell you why he needed this $10,000?" Wario thought that ten grand was a big amount to ask from someone, especially Pit of all people. "Sounds suspicious, if you ask me."
Corrin and Kana were watching the news in Mario's living room with Mario, Sonic, and Spyro - keeping themselves updated about Magnamalo. The news anchor was doing his best to keep the viewers at home informed.
"We have just received word that the giant monster is not headed to downtown Seattle," the news anchor reported, knowing that those living downtown were letting out huge sighs of relief. "I repeat, it is not heading downtown."
"A monster tracker thing would really come in handy right now," remarked Sonic, as footage of the Magnamalo running was shown on the television screen. "This news channel must be cheap."
"Now we have a new report. The giant monster is headed to...the Smash Mansion?!" The news anchor almost had his eyes bulge out of his sockets when he read the new report. "My goodness, that dumb building is always accruing trouble..."
"Alright, just what I wanted to hear!" exclaimed Spyro, as he felt a heroic zeal building up inside of him. "Time to show that monster who's boss!"
"I think you should stay in, Spyro," Peach said to the purple dragon; she wasn't hating on Spyro, per se, she was just trying to look out for him. "We wouldn't want to lose you."
"Have no fear, Princess Peach...for Kana and I will fight at Spyro's side!" Corrin proclaimed to the princess, as Spyro wasn't so bullish with fighting alongside the prince. "Fighting with Spyro has been a dream of mine, and today that dream will finally come true!"
"A strange dream to have, but I completely understand..." Peach would leave Spyro alone, leaving the purple dragon to deal with Corrin - the last person he wanted to fight a monster with.
Spyro: Corrin has been obsessed with me ever since I started living with Mario and Peach. He's repeatedly asked Mario if he could "adopt" me, and Mario has turned him down every time. Maybe now that he has a daughter, Corrin will finally shut up...
Corrin: How come Mario never lets me adopt Spyro, and take him under my wing? He should have nothing to worry about. I'm the staunchest critic of bestiality there is!
"After we're done fighting the monster...can we adopt the dragon, papa?" Kana asked Corrin, as Spyro's eyes grew wide with worry. "Keep him as a pet?" Corrin glanced at Spyro, who was aggressively shaking his head no at the prince.
"That will be a question for another day, sweetheart," replied Corrin, before grabbing Kana and Spyro and running out of Mario's house. "We have no time to waste! The monster will be here at any minute!"
So Corrin, Kana, and Spyro went outside, standing at the front of the mansion. As the three had their eyes peeled for Magnamalo, Fox and Falco stepped down from the porch, both wearing a very questionable ensemble.
"Starting to feel like we didn't think this through," Fox said to Falco, garnering the attention of Spyro; Spyro turned around, and furrowed his brow when he saw Fox and Falco both wearing a raincoat, some corduroy pants, and racing helmets.
"Um, what's with the get-up?" Spyro asked Fox and Falco, as Corrin and Kana also got a look at the pilots. "Going to some avant-garde music festival?"
"These are our protective time-traveling gear." Fox was only going to mention time travel, and not share anything else. "There are no time-traveling suits around, so we had to improvise..."
"We both feel kinda sweaty with this junk on, but whatever keeps us safe," added Falco as Corrin, Kana, and Spyro exchanged dubious looks with one another. "Don't wanna burnt by some quantum rays, you know what I mean?"
"Would you look at that...looks like some folks got the memo about the monster in town. Ah well, the more bodies the merrier..."
Coming around the corner of the mansion was Joker, who stayed true to his word and recruited a bunch of residents to fight Magnamalo. Those residents? Link, Steve, Dark Pit, Riku, Red the Pokemon Trainer (with Charizard), Arthur, and Crash. A very decent group.
"So what do you think of my squad?" Joker asked Spyro and company, as he and his men joined the three at the front of the mansion. "I put it together with the right intentions..."
Joker: I figured that to take down a monster, I need men who have experience fighting monsters in the past. Link? Fighting evil monsters is sort of his thing. Arthur? The best undead exterminator around. Charizard? He's fought against fellow "pocket monsters". Steve? He knows a thing or two about dealing with those pesky Creepers. Riku? Slain as much Heartless as Sora, I'm sure. Dark Pit? Probably dealt with monsters in the Underworld. And Crash? He has battled with Dr. Cortex, who looks like much more of a monster than his minions if we're being honest.
"Better be glad you asked me to do this while I'm on break," Link said to Joker, as he still had a couple of more wedding invitations to finish. "I need all the invites done before dinner, or Zelda will..."
"This won't take long, Link - if you do your job," Joker assured the Hylian, instilling his confidence inside of him. It was still in the afternoon; Link had plenty of time to finish the invitations anyway.
"Yeah, if I do my job...might have someone getting in my way." Link looked at one person in particular - Crash, who was busy digging through his ear for earwax. And then eating said earwax. The bandicoot probably didn't even know what he agreed to.
"Can't believe that you're going to let your own daughter get killed," Riku said to Corrin, surprise to see the prince and his daughter outside. "Unless you're here just to be our cheerleader."
"Spyro and I are going to fight the monster together!" Corrin said triumphantly to Riku, who resisted the sudden urge to laugh. "A dream come true..."
"For the record, I never agreed to do this, fighting with Corrin," Spyro clarified to Riku, who was showing some sympathy for the purple dragon. "I just wanted to handle things myself."
"Well it looks like you're out of luck," responded Riku, sorry that the presence of Joker's squad crushed Spyro's original ambition. "But hey, with us around, you won't be the only one carrying Corrin."
"What do you mean by that?" Corrin frowned at Riku, only to be startled by the sound of a roar coming from afar. "Oh my, that monster must be near!"
"M-M-Monster?!" stammered Fox, as he and Falco were both unfit for taking on Magnamalo. "Uh, you guys go ahead, Falco and I will see you back inside..." Fox and Falco hurried back inside the mansion, bringing their strange ensembles with them.
As for everyone outside, they all got on the offensive as they waited for the monster to arrive. The roars were getting louder and louder. But after a couple of seconds of waiting...only Zeke and Pandoria showed up, running towards the mansion.
"I can confirm that the man with the eyepatch is not the monster," stated Steve, as Zeke and Pandoria came to a stop and took a breather. Who knew that being chased by Magnamalo would be so exhausting?
"Thanks for the info, Steve..." Joker said sarcastically to the craftsman, before turning his attention to Zeke and Pandoria. "...and just who are you two supposed to be?"
"Give us...a second..." Zeke said to Joker, so out of breath that he could collapse at any given minute. "Being chased by Magnamalo is no laughing matter..."
"Magnamalo? Is that the name of the monster?" asked Dark Pit, before turning to the others and whispering, "This dude must've been responsible for bringing the monster into the city."
"Ah, now I feel fully refreshed!" No longer out of breath, Zeke smiled and struck a pose, as Pandoria mimicked the Crown Prince. "Now introducing...the mighty Zeke von Genbu! You may call me Zeke, or the Zekenator!"
"No one is ever going to call you by any of those names, except Zeke," responded Spyro, as Zeke took the purple dragon's comments with stride. Zeke has heard much worse from Nia.
"And look at this! A crowd of onlookers, willing to see my might and bravery as I go toe-to-toe against Magnamalo! Personally wanted a bigger crowd, but we all can't be choosers..."
"Wait, so you led Magnamalo to this mansion just because you wanted an audience to witness you fight it? Seems like a flimsy plan to me."
"A flimsy plan it is not, dragon! Watch your mouth. The moment that I heard of Magnamalo's presence, I came to this city to prove my worth to everyone as Crown Prince!"
"The Crown Prince of what, delusions of grandeur?" joked Riku, as a few of the others were laughing. Zeke growled at the Keyblade wielder.
"You take that back, you ungrateful barbarian! Don't make me make an example out of you before I lay my hands on..."
Suddenly a roar was heard, interrupting Zeke as a large shadow fell over the Crown Prince. Zeke and Pandoria both looked up and saw Magnamalo above them, letting out another roar.
"Aha, there it is - Magnamalo!" shouted Zeke, as he and Pandoria jumped back from Magnmalo and faced the monster. Zeke took out his Purple Lightning Dreamsmasher, sizing up his enemy. "Stand back, and watch a Crown Prince go to work!"
"You must be mistaken...these folks are here to fight Magnamalo, too," Joker informed Zeke, who saw how eager to fight everyone from Corrin to Steve was. As much as he wanted a crowd to cheer him on, Zeke did appreciate some help.
"So I see that my adoring crowd is full of willing fighters...now that's the spirit! Almost brings a tear to my eye. Now everyone, let's show this Magnamalo everything we got!"
Rex's date with Nia at Seattle Meowtropolitan was going well so far, and both Rex and Nia were enjoying a great time together. Watching them from afar were Pyra, Mythra, and Jacky, all three situated at the lounge.
"Those two sure are enjoying themselves..." remarked Pyra, who was still feeling uneasy. Mythra picked up on how Pyra was feeling, smiling wryly.
"What's the matter, Pyra - are you jealous or something?" Mythra asked the fellow Blade, who blushed slightly and looked down at the floor. "I knew it...you secretly had it for Rex. Didn't you?"
"...P-Perhaps." Refusing to say any more about the matter, Pyra looked away as she kept on blushing. "That's all I can tell you..."
Mythra: I always knew that Pyra had a small crush on Rex. Why wouldn't I know? Pyra and I are practically the same person! We practically know each other's secrets! Wait until you hear what Pyra secretly thinks of Knuckles' rapping skills.
"Enjoying the date so far, you two?" the green-haired waiter asked Rex and Nia, his white towel still over his arm. It was protocol to keep the white towel over his arm at all times.
"Can't complain!" smiled Rex as he gave the waiter a thumbs up. A positive sign that things were obviously going well. "Couldn't ask for a better date."
"I am glad to hear it. Just let me know if you two need anything." So the waiter walked away, but he couldn't...for Nia was holding unto his sleeve. "Excuse me, ma'am, but can you please let go?"
"You look very familiar..." Nia said to the waiter, as she simply couldn't hold in how or what she felt about him. "Any chance that you're from the mansion?"
"What mansion are you talking about? The Smash Mansion?" The waiter eyed around the cafe, his eyes falling upon the ninja pals who were hiding behind a nearby table. "I don't know what you're talking about..."
"I know who you are! It's you! Ninjara!" Nia pointed at the waiter, who was in fact Ninjara. The lack of a mask made it hard for Nia and even Rex to recognize Ninjara's identity.
"Yes, you have found out my identity...but let me assure you that I'm not an actual waiter, by any means necessary. I was forced into doing this..."
"Ninjara, you weren't supposed to mention that!" Yuffie shouted at the ninja, standing up from the table she and her friends were hiding behind. Sheik tried to pull Yuffie down, but it was too late.
"Be quiet, Yuffie..." Sheik told her friend, as quieting Yuffie was the only thing that Sheik could do at this very moment. Very slowly, Sheik looked over and saw Rex and Nia staring.
"What is the meaning of this?" asked Nia; she wasn't angry, mind you, she was just moderately curious. "Ninjara was forced to be our waiter, why, exactly?"
"You deserve an explanation..." Sheik appeared from behind the table, with the other ninja pals doing the same. Nia was left wondering how much eavesdropping the ninja pals had done. "...you see, Rex kinda wanted to go on a date with you."
"Is that so?" Nia looked at Rex, who gave a sheepish smile; little did Nia know that the whole date idea was actually a suggestion from Yuffie, not Rex.
"Yeah, Rex was too scared to set up the date by himself, let alone ask you out, so we had to come through for him. Ninjara was the one who gave you that invite to the date..."
"...and I was the one to serve as your stupid waiter," Nijara said to Nia, effectively finishing Sheik's sentence. "Against my will, I might add."
"Knew I couldn't go about preparing this whole date alone," Rex smiled sheepishly at Nia, hoping that the Gormotti wouldn't think less of him as a man. "You don't have a problem with it, do you?"
"Had a sneaky feeling that a few others were involved with this date..." replied Nia, with Rex afraid that he would be thrown under the bus. Instead, Nia gave Rex a warming smile. "...but I won't knock on you for showing a little effort, Rex. Really appreciated this date."
"Phew, for a moment there I thought you were gonna roast me..." Rex wiped away some sweat from his forehead, letting out a little bit of laughter. "...you're still going to roast me, aren't you?"
"Eh, maybe not at a time like this. Though I'd rather save all the roasting for that Shellhead, Zeke. Wonder if he found that monster he was looking for..."
Zeke not only found the monster he was looking for, Magnamalo...but he was also fighting it at the mansion. With some help from Corrin, Kana, Spyro, and Joker's men, no less. Pac-Man saw all the action going down, from his porch.
"The one day I wanted to show my son how to mow the grass...and stuff like this happens," the eater of ghosts sighed, before heading back inside his house and taking all his bitterness with him. "I can never have nice things living around here."
Pac-Man: Been following the updates about the monster in town on the local news. Gotta admit - it was pretty fun watching all the madness go down. Until the news anchor said that the monster was headed to the mansion.
"Begone, monster!" Arthur shouted at Magnamalo as he threw a javelin at the monster, only for Magnamalo to deflect the javelin with its head and sending it flying back towards Arthur. The javelin struck Arthur, causing his armor to fall off.
"...surprised that didn't happen sooner," remarked Joker, watching as Arthur retreated inside the mansion to find himself some armor. "Keep up the good work, you guys!"
"I am building blocks to keep the monster contained," Steve announced for no particular reason, building several walls of blocks to restrict Magnamalo's movement. But one swift flail from Magnamalo's tail was enough to break all of the blocks. "Oh no. All of my blocks are gone."
"That's no problem, chum, we still got this in the bag!" Zeke said to Steve, trying to land a hit on Magnamalo with his sword. "Opening, we need an opening!"
"On it!" shouted Dark Pit, who was flying up in the air, as he fired several arrows at Magnamalo. This stunned the monster temporarily, as Zeke, Riku and Link went ham on Magnamalo with their blades.
"Oh snap, it's about to blow!" shouted Red, seeing some flames erupting from Magnamalo's mouth as Zeke and the others jumped back. "Charizard, use Flamethrower, quick!" Once Magnamalo blew out flames, Charizard blew out some flames of his own to counter Magnamalo.
"I don't think he can hold it much longer..." said Joker, as Magnamalo was dominating Charizard in the battle of flames. That is, until some wumpa fruit was fired at Magnamalo, courtesy of the bazooka-wielding Crash.
"Atta boy!" Zeke commended Crash, who fired some more wumpa fruit at Magnamalo for good measure. Eventually, Magnamalo stopped breathing fire.
"Heads up!" shouted Spyro as he flew up into the air, before landing on top of Magnamalo head-first. The impact was strong enough to send Magnamalo's head and the rest of its body to the ground.
"Yes! This is it! This is our opportunity!" exclaimed Corrin, getting all excited as he sized up the downed Magnamalo. "Kana, are you ready?"
"As ready as you are, papa!" squealed Kana, as she happily stood at Corrin's side. The others moved out of the way, letting Corrin and Kana do their thing.
"Just follow my lead, and soon this monster will be history." Corrin turned into a dragon, and Kana would follow suit. Zeke and Pandoria must be jealous of how much synergy the Nohrians had.
Once in dragon form, Corrin opened his Dragon Fang and unleashed a wicked whirlpool, with Kana doing the same. This created a giant whirlpool, one that was unleashed on Magnamalo. Magnamalo was washed away by the whirlpool, crashing into some faraway trees as it was downed in an instant.
"Yippee!" cheered Crash, as Magnamalo was finally defeated thanks to Corrin and Kana - who reverted to their human forms. Corrin and Kana earned themselves a few cheers and applause from the others.
"So Kana can use that move as well..." remarked Joker, recognizing the whirlpool as a part of Corrin's Final Smash. "...like father like daughter, I guess."
"Guess that means your daughter will be stealing hearts just like you," Dark Pit said to Joker, who gave the doppelganger a dubious glare. "Because, you know...you're a dad and all."
Spyro: Still kinda wish that I took on Magnamalo by myself...but hey, at least Corrin and Kana had their special moment together. Stuff like that is bigger than personal glory.
Riki: Major kudos to Corrin - he got in some actual father-daughter bonding time. Nothing like that stupid brainwashing thing, which I hope comes to an end today. If I hear either Brady or Palpatine's name come out of Corrin's mouth one more time, I might puke.
"Great work, everyone! High fives, all around!" exclaimed Zeke, commending everyone as he gave out high fives. "Teamwork truly makes the dream work!"
"Sorry for the long wait, left my armor in the laundry room," apologized Arthur as he returned outside wearing a fresh suit of armor...only to see that Magnamalo was already defeated. "Seriously...?"
"I am afraid that you were too late," Steve said to Arthur, who was feeling salty as he stomped his foot on the ground in anger. "I insist on wearing better armor next time."
"...and there you have it, folks - the monster is now taken care of," reported the news anchor, as Cloud and Moira were watching the news broadcast on Magnamalo in the living room. "All thanks to the mansion residents, of course. Bet I can get them to fix my boat..."
"Corrin isn't so useless after all," remarked Moira, who thought of Corrin as worthless due to his lack of involvement in the Aerith Revival Project. "If only he can show his value more often..."
"He still has some time left to prove himself," Cloud said to Moira, as the news cameras were focused on Corrin and Kana. "To you, at least."
"Cloud, I have some very bad news!" Pit ran inside the living room to alert the swordsman. "Our $10,000 was stolen, and replaced with counterfeit money!"
"You don't say..." Cloud did his best to feign his concern, while Moira looked on with an amused face. "...how do you think that happened?"
"Beats me, but Lloyd is very upset about it. I really hate that this happened. I know how much you wanted that money, Cloud."
"I know, but I'll get down to the bottom of this. Don't you worry." Having Cloud's full assurance, Pit smiled confidently and left the living room, as Cloud immediately sighed afterward.
"You will have to come clean with him and Lloyd eventually," Moira said to Cloud, resting her hand on the swordsman's shoulder. "After all, the affairs of money is no laughing matter."
"No laughing matter indeed..." quietly remarked a certain one-winged angel standing far behind Cloud. Sephiroth was spying on Cloud...and with him were Makoto and Haru, who were taking notes on Cloud. Cloud was gonna get his real soon...
Against his will, Ninjara had to prove his worth to the ninja pals by helping them with Rex and Nia's date. And begrudgingly, Ninjara passed the test! So the ninja pals brought Ninjara back to the mansion, once Rex and Nia's date was over, to officially welcome Ninjara to their exclusive club.
"You were a huge help today, with Rex's date," Sheik said to Ninjara, who was gathered with the ninja pals in the lounge. "And you know what that means? You're now..."
"I'm not joining you guys," said Ninjara, standing his ground as he laid against the wall with his arms folded. The ninja just wouldn't budge.
"Could you at least give us a sign that you may be interested?" Ana asked Ninjara, who looked down at the floor and sighed deeply. "You can't just leave us hanging!"
"How about this for a sign of interest..." Ninjara took out a smoke bomb and dropped it on the floor, creating a burst of smoke. Once the smoke cleared up in the lounge, Ninjara, predictably, was gone.
"The smoke bomb...the oldest trick in the book," remarked Asuka, not surprised that Ninjara escaped the way that he did. "No worries, we'll get him next time!"
Ninjara: Those "ninja pals" might've gotten the better of me today, but from here on out, they won't be as fortunate. I won't join their club, even if one of the members held a gun to my head and forced me to join. I fear that it may get to that point soon...
With Magnamalo defeated (and taken to animal control services, possibly), it was time for Zeke and Pandoria to head back home. But before he could leave, Zeke first had to give Pyra and Mythra their gift for joining Smash. Or at least one part of it.
"This is 'Part One' of Pyra and Mythra's gift," Zeke said to Rex as he handed the swordsman a lighter in the middle of the hallway. Rex looked confused as Zeke dropped the lighter in his hand. "I'll be back at the mansion later for 'Part Two'."
"Uh...thanks, Zeke," Rex thanked the Crown Prince, who responded with a smile and two-finger salute before he and Pandoria ran down the hallway. "Shouldn't expect anything less from a man obsessed with a turtle..."
Putting the lighter away, Rex walked down the hallway, passing by Corrin and Kana. Both Nohrians were overjoyed about their efforts today.
"You got your wish, Kana - got to fight a monster with your father!" Corrin said to his daughter, who was all smiles. Kana couldn't have asked for a better day to spend with her dad. "I know that you're happy."
"Yup!" grinned Kana, as Ema conspicuously crept over to Kana and plucked a strand of hair from the young girl. Corrin caught the forensics expert in the act.
"Oh, don't mind me - just doing this for research purposes," Ema explained herself, as Corrin and Kana were both looking at the forensics expert. "About, uh, the Deeprealms."
"Ah, I see that you must've overheard my conversation with Volnutt about the Deeprealms," Corrin said to Ema, who placed Kana's hair strand inside a small test tube. Hmm.
"I mean, I was there at the cafe, that day...you and Volnutt can be such loud talkers. Just going to do some research on the Deeprealms, no biggie. Bye!" And with that, Ema took off down the hallway.
Interesting that Ema placed Kana's hair strand inside the test tube...what was that woman concocting?