"Mario?"
Luigi found himself wandering around in the darkness, the sound of gnarled floorboards creaking underneath him wherever he stepped. The green plumber felt isolated and alone in a place he couldn't recognize, only seeing the posters on the leaking walls. The posters depicted cartoon characters he had never seen before, each one covered in stains from the dripping pipes above him. The colors of the walls and floor were a dirty grayish-yellow, with many of the boards unevenly placed and even showing cracks that leaked with an oozing black.
"Mario..." Luigi called out to his older twin brother again, attempting to reunite with him and escape this accursed place. A water-like substance above him could be heard rumbling in the pipes, coming in from all directions. The green plumber could feel his heart quivering in fright, his breathing increasing as he heard some kind of laughter behind himself.
"...Mario?" The green plumber could feel his white gloves charge up with some electrical sparks, but not quite enough as he was unable to figure out if it was his brother… or someone far more threatening. The strange laughter echoed again, this time in front of Luigi before he could even turn around. Within a moment's glance, Luigi was able to discover a yellow, crescent-like eye staring back at him within the darkness of the place he was trapped in.
"Oh me, oh my," the voice spoke back at him in a lighthearted, gleeful tone, with a smiling mouth colored red. "Why are you wandering these empty halls? You're behaving like a child lost in a carnival, looking for his mother and father."
"Who are you? You're not-a Mario… are you?" Luigi asked, trembling as he slowly backed away from this mysterious stranger. The stranger in the shadows laughed his heart out, making Luigi seem like an idiot for not recognizing this stranger wasn't the brother he looked up to so much. In fact, this strange entity was someone Luigi didn't recognize at all.
"Doesn't my voice ring any bells, at least?" the stranger called out to him, disappearing into the shadows of the twisted halls as his voice echoed on. "...Shame. It seems like you don't recognize me at all, but I remember an unfortunate soul just like you. How he cried and flailed around in terror as we went forward to our ultimate show." The bellowing of a fearsome creature stretched across the walls, snapping the pipes buried deep within.
Luigi's eyes dilated as he trembled underneath the massive size of the beast he gazed upon, which towered above him at an unnatural level. The green plumber didn't seem to recognize the black substance flooding above his feet, rising the more he stared at the monster. A face that looked exactly like Luigi's stared down upon him, bearing eyes that were the same shape as the stranger's as gurgling bellows deep in its long neck could be heard.
"He was quite the fighter, I must say," the stranger's voice continued. Luigi soon couldn't find himself breathing as he was completely submerged in the black substance flooding the halls. The green plumber could feel his lungs about to burst from the deep pressure squeezing around his body, and yet he didn't need to gasp for fresh air. He could see clearly within the inky depths, seeing mere flashes of a world he couldn't recognize.
He recognized himself within that world, as well as Mario, Peach, and Bowser. But they were somehow… completely different. Almost as if they weren't the same people he remembered. There were also new faces he couldn't seem to recall, such as what appeared to be a cloaked vampire wearing a monocle and holding a mysterious book by his side. There was also the appearance of a sweet, childlike girl with green skin and pigtails transforming into a horrifying creature that spat out rubies and crawled around like a spider among one of many strange beings found in those flashes.
"You still don't recall the world I'm showing you?" the stranger continued. "You don't recall all these faces before you? Well, I guess that would lead me to one logical conclusion: you must have been dragged here from an alternate dimension, like a moth attracted to a flame. I was just looking for some sweet revenge."
Revenge?
Faces soon instantly surrounded the green plumber, giving him a major scare as the windows to the world he saw vanished within a trace. The faces he saw were copies of the same theatrical mask: the colors of black and white split in half so that the right side was white and the left side was black. The eyes on each mask also had a difference in terms of color, with an eye of black on the right and an eye of yellow on the left. One of the masks in front of Luigi emerged from the wall of faces, with a shadowy mist trailing behind it.
The mist slowly began to take the form of a harlequin-like jester, forming a cap with five ends spread out like the rays of a star. The two ends between the center and the far sides were shorter in length compared to the other three, colored like white sand glowing with the golden rays of sunlight and giving off a pale-yellow hue. As for the other three ends, they were much longer and appeared in a bluish-periwinkle near the mask. A majority of their actual color was actually a vibrant hybrid of mostly purple and a hint of magenta, all while decorated with white bokeh that didn't touch the mask. There were golden, diamond-shaped jingle bells on each end of the purple-striped portions of the cap as well.
A cloak surrounded the human-like body of the stranger below the head, all while the being in question was still taking form. The cape was striped like his cap, with the colors of periwinkle fading into purple (minus the white bokeh) and light-yellow spread evenly around him with pointed ends like a poncho… in a way. The periwinkle-and-purple collar was also pointed, with some kind of golden diamond as an accessory near the being's neck. Underneath the poncho were legs swathed in black, with puffy, short black pants and shoes that were slightly curved upward at the toes.
"This may be all a horrible dream, but according to the Dark Prognosticus it's the foreshadowing of my triumphant return!" the fully-formed stranger proclaimed. "Best be prepared for the end of days, for soon the curtains will rise… and I will make my way to the center stage once again. Ciao~!" The faces instantly vanished, leaving Luigi floating in the dark abyss of the inky water. Where the being once appeared now remains a beating heart, with streams of a mercury-like substance flowing from it and ripples on its surface.
Luigi's breathing increased as the faint light emitting from that heart faded into the darkness, disappearing from his view. Before anything else happened, Luigi could feel his feet touch the floor that he couldn't see. Just when this lucid illusion was about to be over, a massive beast different from the one Luigi saw earlier pounced straight for him without warning. A gargled roar emitted from the beast's long fangs, which were stained a pale yellow in color. Just as when the green plumber was above to be devoured by the creature before him, he sat upright in his bed and woke up with a scream.
Streaks of aquamarine lightning spread out from Luigi's fingertips as he clinged onto the bedsheets on his sides, spreading across the room he was sleeping in. Unknowingly, he bursted all the lightbulbs that were in the lights on the ceiling and the table lamp next to him, none of which were turned on for the night. The green plumber woke up in a cold sweat, his heart throbbing hard and fast in his chest and his breathing attempting to regulate itself by slowing down. Luigi was dressed in blue shorts and a green tank top, with his iconic green cap resting on the lamp table and covered in the glass shards that were rained above it due to Luigi's nightmare.
Considering the alarm clock in his room was also broken from how he woke up, Luigi glanced at the window outside. The cloudy sunlight was just barely shining over the frozen water in the garden, leaving him completely dazed by what he just witnessed. What was that jester in his dreams? It was someone he didn't recognize at all and at the same time… did. Like some kind of alternate dimension that was completely different from the Mushroom Kingdom he and his friends live in.
He didn't really care to spend the rest of the day thinking about that dream in bed as he quickly got up and dressed in his usual green attire, leaving his room to look for Mario and ask him his opinion on what he just saw. Pikachu hopped by the green plumber as he walked out of his room, carrying a strawberry in his mouth. Yoshi also dashed in front of Luigi, who was following pursuit of the Pokémon with the strawberry.
"Hey, Yoshi?" Luigi asked. "Have you seen-a Mario anywhere? I need-a to ask-a him something." Yoshi placed his hand underneath his large nose before eventually shrugging and running off in Pikachu's direction. Luigi wandered around the huge fortress for a while, hoping to find his brother somewhere around here.
Inside the Smash Fortress, Steve watched the large snowflakes fall from the sky through the large window that was in the middle of the stairway at the end of the main entrance's hall, amazed by just how many there were even if it wasn't an incoming storm. PAC-MAN and Incineroar were also next to Steve, with far more amazement in their eyes considering Steve couldn't even show any emotion.
The smile-like beard was now fully visible on the blocky player's face, considering he didn't bother to treat it for the past few days ever since he woke up in the Smash Fortress. Because of the fact that he could also seem to blink too, Banjo and Kazooie have been very protective of him like a worried mother and father, sometimes forbidding him to go outside without them watching him. He didn't even know why they were suddenly acting like that in the first place. But with a couple fighters that couldn't speak like him just gazing outside, he felt at peace without the bear and the Breegull bothering him in moments where he didn't feel like he needed to be bothered.
In fact, Steve began to wonder if he even needed to be babysat by his two closest friends. He's been well known to be wildly adventurous and creative long before he met Banjo and Kazooie, so why was he not allowed to go outside and experience the wonders of an alien world in winter?
"Steve!" Banjo called out to the blocky player at the bottom of the stairs. Speak of the devil…
"Banjo and I are gonna head out to the Legacy to meet up with Mario, Bowser, and Peach," Kazooie reminded Steve. "Considering it's a pretty wintry morning, especially when Hat Kid just left a week ago, it might be interesting in exploring what Arcus has to offer in terms of its supposed four seasons." The blocky player, hungry for adventure, left Incineroar and PAC-MAN and dashed down the stairs, running past Banjo and Kazooie straight at the front door.
"Wait! If you wanna go outside, at least let us accompany you," Banjo advised, stopping Steve through just words alone. "It's still a new world. You'll never know what kind of creatures would show up and ambush ya." The blocky player shook his head, walking back to the bear and Breegull. Rather worried about the animal duo, Steve pulled out another one of his notes and wrote in it, passing it to Banjo for him and Kazooie to read.
"Why are you two acting like I'm gonna get into trouble?" the note read, interpreting Steve's thoughts as usual. "I can take care of myself. Just please stop worrying." Banjo and Kazooie knew Steve shouldn't be knowing what happened to him prior to the accident, but due to these new changes affecting Steve's face there was this underlying fear he was going to transform into that creepy, perverted monster the previous Steve they once knew was.
"It's nothing," Kazooie answered. "It's just that… there are things we just don't want to talk about right now. Mewtwo suggested we should look after you for as long as necessary."
"What Kazooie said," Banjo added. "Besides, she and I are also heading out as well to check in on Mario, Peach, and Bowser over at the Legacy. So you can tag along, as long as you don't get lost from our line of sight." Steve lowered his head and shook it, and it didn't take long for Luigi to show up.
The green plumber was just about to call out to the bear and Breegull and their blocky friend, but the Duck Hunt dog startled him by surprise by jumping onto his lap for a pat. Luigi laughed as he stroked behind those long, flappy ears while the dog gave him slobbery kisses, all while the duck on his back was flapping his wings and trying not to fall over.
"Okay, okay," Luigi giggled, trying to get the dog to stop licking his face in such a ticklish manner and giving him a brief moment of distraction from the dream he had a quarter-hour ago. "Good-a morning to you too, Duck Hunt." The green plumber got himself away from the duck-dog duo to walk over to the blocky player and his bear and bird friends, having just noticed that they were about to head outside the Smash Fortress.
"Banjo? Kazooie?" Luigi asked, having little qualms of talking to his brother about the nightmare he had in the hopes he might get some comfort. "You two have-a any idea where-a Mario might-a be? I had a nightmare last night, and… I want to talk to Mario about it." The bear and the Breegull began to feel a bit worried about the green plumber due to the sweat running down from his forehead, by which Luigi was quick to notice and wiped it off with his lower arm.
"What was your dream about… exactly?" Kazooie questioned, wondering if Luigi had ever acted like this before.
"I was… in some kind of strange-a place," Luigi sighed, swallowing the twitching lump in his throat. "The likes of which I had never seen before. There was-a ink leaking from the walls, completely submerging me in it. Then there was this shadow… that transformed into a jester. And he looked-a completely different from the one I encountered months ago with Byleth and some of-a your friends. Marx… was-a it? Yeah, the jester in my-a dream didn't look like-a Marx at all."
"Okay, okay," Banjo told him, gently patting the green plumber's shoulders. "Just… what happened next?"
"He said I reminded him of another warrior just like-a me, saying I came-a from another dimension," Luigi continued. "He mentioned his… triumphant return, as predicted by some kind of 'Dark Prognosticus'. And before I woke up, I was attacked by a black beast with a wide, sharp-toothed grin."
"A wide, sharp-toothed grin, huh?" Kazooie asked by the time the green plumber finished describing his nightmare. "...Sorry. I don't think we know what you're talking about."
"I understand," Luigi took into consideration. "Perhaps my-a brother can get it a bit better. If there's anyone that I can look up to, it's-a him."
"Oh, speaking of which. We're just about to head out to the Legacy and check up on ol' Mario and the crew," Banjo spoke up. "Steve wants to go outside and explore, so it might be best if we take him with us."
"I see… you're both still being protective of Steve, aren't ya?" Luigi responded. "I can tell you're trying to be good foster parents towards him, but… when do you suppose enough is enough? He doesn't look too happy."
"Eh, we're sure he's fine," Banjo answered, gripping the handle of one of the fortress's front doors with his paw. "Now come on. This snowfall doesn't look like it'll calm down anytime soon."
"Easy for-a you to say," Luigi replied, he and Steve shivering a bit as the chilly wind blew through by the time the bear opened the door. "You've got-a fur and-a feathers." By the time Banjo and Kazooie stepped outside, Steve already sprinted past them, ready to explore the world around him.
"Steve, wait up!" Kazooie called out to Steve as she flipped Banjo onto her back through his backpack and dashed behind the blocky player, with Luigi warming his hands with green flames and following in pursuit.
Inside the warm, futuristic aesthetic that was the Legacy, Mario watched as one of the Miis of the Gunner class was taking careful analysis of the control panel that was next to the transporter. With the red plumber where Princess Peach and Bowser, who volunteered to go with him and check up on the machine considering they can no longer seem to go through it in order to get back to their worlds. It was already quite difficult considering the books in the fortress's library were so many and unmarked that it would be hard to go through them all.
"Hm…" the Mii pondered with curiosity, placing a thumb underneath her chin before she activated the holographic screens on her arm cannon to check the statistics inside the control panel. "Control panel's practically untouched. Transporter's in peak perfect condition. We even rigged this thing to make sure it works both ways before we applied that device Byleth brought with you guys."
"But how was that Hydra able to utilize all that magic?" Peach asked. "Bowser, you were in that realm with Alchemo, Hat Kid, Donkey Kong, Mewtwo, and the others. Do you have any idea how this happened?"
"If I had to take a guess, that Hydra must've been born in that Liquification Chamber and lived in it for its whole life, so it must have had some practice with the magic it's swallowed," Bowser pointed out. "But normally a creature like that would attack to saturate itself… and it certainly wasn't hungry for us Skylanders. I can tell what any beast craves for, and it definitely was those Rift Engines we carried along. But why those things? My guess is someone must have told that Hydra to use those Rift Engines to warp itself across dimensions. And it all circles back to that one jester that screwed things up for us: Jevil."
"Jevil? How would you know?" Peach continued with the question, having the dreadful feeling that she wasn't getting the most logical answer.
"The moment we met him, he was completely insane. A real nutcase who should probably be locked up for his nihilistic beliefs. According to Alchemo, the Sky Eater that's been disconnecting worlds from each other was all that clown's idea. He's hard to predict, but we know he's got some kind of agenda… like he knows what's going to happen to us in the future." Mario looked over his shoulder, curious to learn more about that Darkner who appeared in Skylands.
"I swear, there's something more sinister in the works here," Mario pondered, finding himself in agreement with his Koopa rival. "It must have been staged. Someone is-a pulling the strings, and I'm afraid to figure out who it could be…" The Mii Gunner closed the compartment of the control panel, unable to figure out how the magic used to power it was affected.
"I've got no clue," the Mii Gunner mentioned, scratching her head. "If that skeleton was right, then… looks like you guys might have no choice than to use those books if you wanna get back to your worlds again."
"Thank you for checking on that machine," Peach told the Mii Gunner that was making her departure.
"Don't mention it," the Mii Gunner thanked shortly before leaving, unknowingly bumping into Steve as she made her way out. The blocky player came into the Legacy by himself, eager to see the interior of the massive gunship he first arrived in. Considering he was almost unconscious by the time he came to Arcus, Steve was bewildered by how spacious and alien it was.
"Why hello there" Mario greeted, curious to see what the blocky player was up to all by himself. "What are you-a doing here alone? Shouldn't Banjo and Kazooie be-a taking care of-a you?"
"Steve, there you are!" Kazooie squawked while she ran down the hallway to catch up with the Player. Banjo turned himself over, allowing the Breegull to sit in his backpack once more. Luigi arrived shortly after, hugging himself for warmth as the snow from outside melted on his cap and clothes.
"Why didn't you slow down for us? You were supposed to stay in our line of sight!" Banjo asked with deep concern. "Oh! Hi, Mario! Hi, Bowser!"
"Don't 'hello' me," Bowser told the bear and bird. "Didn't Mewtwo tell you to keep watch over your friend?"
"We know… we know," Kazooie cooed. "But lately, Steve has been acting more rebellious and we can't understand why. Plus, he's grown that smiley-beard and is starting to blink. We're completely worried about him."
"Oh my… have you at least set some ground rules? Parenting can be very hard and stressful. Perhaps we can help you two with your situation," Peach asked.
"Nah, we're good," Banjo answered. "We know Steve's always gonna be our friend, no matter what. Surely he might be able to understand what we're doing is helping him heal. You understand the horror we had to go through to get him out of Minecraft during the event of that Wither Storm, right?"
"Yeah, we understand what you're trying to fix, and if it's for Steve's well-being then it's fine," Bowser added, placing a scaly paw on Banjo's shoulder. "But from my experience, raising someone as your own kid ain't no easy task. I've got one son and seven minions, all of them living in the same room with me. It's hard now having to raise so many as a single parent. You two should be lucky you're together. You've got double the firepower needed in order to look after such a rebellious warrior."
"Yeah, but here's the thing: Steve is known for having more of an adventurous side," Kazooie pointed out. "The Lord of Games is responsible for creating characters but never really implementing personalities into them. He says that 'a higher authority' takes care of those things, so maybe that 'higher authority' could have given Steve the quirks to be a reckless explorer. But that doesn't give Steve the right to act like this. And we're the only friends he's ever really interacted with… and he might feel uncomfortable if you guys tried helping him out…"
While all that was going on, Luigi cautiously approached his brother to talk to him about the nightmare he witnessed. Considering Luigi tended to be the more cowardly of the two, it would come to no surprise that he would be easily frightened. Even after having to traverse haunted mansions and hotels, it seemed as though his bravery did not improve one bit… and he knew no matter what he would always be Player #2. In his brother's shadow.
With a few quick taps on the red plumber's shoulder to catch his attention, Luigi asked, "Mario? Can I-a have a word-a with you?"
"Why sure," Mario spoke in response, cheerful as ever. "What-a seems to be on your mind?"
"So… I had-a this nightmare about some kind of uncanny place," Luigi began, trying to remember the dream to the best of his ability. "It was dark and cold, and… there were these pipes with ink flowing through them behind the walls. And then afterwards, a shadow appeared and took on the form of a… jester with a two-tone mask and purple clothes."
"Oh my…" Mario replied in shock, slowly starting to recognize what his twin brother saw might very well be real to him. "What was that shadow's name?"
"He didn't say," Luigi continued. "All he-a said to me was that I reminded him of someone he once-a knew, but I don't even know who he is. He said I was dragged from another dimension, and that he was-a looking for some revenge. Not to mention that the nightmare I had was just a foreshadowing from something called a Dark Prognosticus, marking that shadow's triumphant return… whatever that-a means. And before I woke up, I was… devoured by a beast with a body as black as the ink I was submerged in and smiling yellow teeth as sharp as knives. Mario, please. I'm-a scared. What if that-a dream was real and some kind of psychopathic creature were to rise without us-a knowing about it?"
"Luigi, Luigi, calm-a down," Mario objected, pulling his brother in close for a hug while giving him the confidence he needed to invigorate him. "It was just a horrible nightmare. There's no way these kinds of dreams can actually come true. That would be ridiculous, wouldn't it? You've faced through much worse, remember? Why would-a this time be any different?"
"Mario, I-"
"That's not-a to say you can't do a little dreaming yourself if you're not happy with the life you have, as long as you aren't too selfish about those dreams. Besides… Can you imagine a world where nightmares come to life and people we've never seen before in those same nightmares can even cheat death itself? Now that… would be a beautiful and positively silly thought."
With a feeling of uneasiness instead of the comfort he'd thought he'd get, pushing himself out of the hug Luigi replied with, "You're not really-a helping, Mario." The red plumber noticed the distraught face his brother had, and he tried thinking of a good excuse to make Luigi feel a little better.
"Don't think too much about it. I mean the thought itself is beautiful and positively silly in the sense that nothing like that actually exists, so there's no real reason to worry." Luigi breathed a small and momentary sigh of relief solely from the reason that what his brother said about a nightmare like that coming true may very well be true.
"You're-a right," Luigi responded, letting Mario rest a hand on his shoulder. "It's all in my-a head. Dreams like-a that aren't real, but… it was still frightening and I'd rather be more cautious about the message it tried to tell me."
"Luigi, Luigi, Luigi… you and your crazy conspiracies," Mario sighed, patting Luigi's shoulder. "Now come on. We best get back to the Smash Fortress and organize a group to leave off for an expedition to the Yoeka Skerries. We've been planning this for quite a while, so just… try not to worry too much."
When the fighters were just about to make their leave, Steve was jumping in place, punching the air to alert his friends. The transporter was beginning to glow, and the blocky player was the only one to notice. The Breegull suddenly recognized the commotion and pecked Banjo's head to get him to turn around.
"What is it, Steve?" Banjo asked, with Steve's action also alerting the other four fighters with them. The Super Smash Brothers gathered near the transporter to witness what was about to happen next. Should the machine glow like that, it could only mean one thing: someone must have found the portal that warps them straight into Arcus. But who could their guests be…?
As the light from the transporter seemed to have dimmed, Mario and his friends realized it was not just one person that used the transporter, but two. And those two new strangers seemed to be short in appearance as well. Their skin was light gray like the porcelain commonly found in chinaware, and they wore black, long-sleeve shirts, white gloves, and brown boots. However, one of the mysterious newcomers seemed to have red shorts like Mickey Mouse's overalls without the golden buttons, and his head was literally a wide cup with a strange, milky-white liquid inside… with a red bendy straw for an additional feature. The other one was donned with blue shorts and had a head resembling more of that of a mug with a straightened straw and a larger nose.
"Wow… what is this place?" the anthropomorphic cup with the red shorts asked, bewildered by the new realm he and his companion found themselves in. "Nothing looks painted. How curious..."
"This is why you don't enter strange, white portals, Cuphead," the red-wearing cup's companion added, referring to the one that went with him as Cuphead. "You'll never know where you might end up. Not to mention we don't have enough time to collect all those contracts. We could have ended up back at the Devil's Casino without any-"
"Mugman, wait wait wait!" Cuphead shushed, quickly slapping his hand over his companion's mouth after suddenly realizing they weren't alone in the room. "Do you see what I see over there?" Mugman looked in Cuphead's direction, his eyes widening upon seeing seven strangers staring at them with a completely different look on their faces.
"Now that you mention it, I kinda do," Mugman spoke with an underlying curiosity, pushing Cuphead's hand away from his mouth. "They seem to be staring back at us all funny and stuff…"
"No, no… I mean, just look at 'em! I've never seen anything quite like these guys before!" Cuphead added, holding Mugman's head straight in the hopes that his companion would slowly start to recognize what the anthropomorphic cup was talking about. "No outlines, no flat colors, lots of tints and shades… they're not toons, are they?"
"Toons?" Peach asked. From the perspectives of the Super Smash Brothers, they saw Cuphead and Mugman far more differently. For one, the cups seemed to appear two-dimensional like Mr. Game & Watch, complete with the pie-shaped pupils that look like PAC-MAN's eyes. However, they were far more animated than stiff like the monochromatic fighter is. Not to mention their entire bodies can be seen from any perspective with the illusion of a two-dimensional plane and they would have the same volume as anyone from the third dimension would. They seemed to have been inspired by those old rubber hose cartoons from the 1930's, when studios that were founded by legendary artists such as Walt Disney and the Fleischer Brothers were practicing that style of animation, but it seemed like Cuphead and Mugman had adapted a new animation style all on their own for quite a while.
"You.. You guys can talk?" Cuphead asked upon hearing the princess speak, letting go of Mugman's head.
"Of course we can talk, dimwit," Bowser growled. "Just who the hell do you think you are?"
"Well, I'm Cuphead," the anthropomorphic cup with the red shorts introduced, taking a short bow so as not to spill the liquid from his head. "This is my brother Mugman."
"Excuse him. We really shouldn't be here," Mugman added with a bit of nervousness in his voice, guiding Cuphead back through one of the platforms on the transporter. "We'll just… go back the way we came."
"I'm-a sorry to say this, but you can't-a," Mario replied. "That transporter you two came from… doesn't work-a both ways. Trust us. We've tried."
"Ya mean we can't go back!?" Cuphead asked in a disappointed tone, jumping off the transporter and marching straight up to the red plumber while Mugman followed behind. "Tell that to Sweeney! You better have a good excuse to cover this little trick of yours up, bub!"
"I swear, I'm-a telling the truth," Mario was quick to reply before Cuphead lost his cool. "The only way you can return to the world you came from is… well, it's-a bit hard to explain, but bear with us."
"We can explain things to you while we take you to our place and look for what you and your brother need to get you home, um… Cuphead," Peach requested as the voice of reasoning.
"And why should we listen to you guys?" Cuphead asked, still remaining rather suspicious about the strangers surrounding the two cups.
"Because you decided to wander through that portal in the first place," Mugman sighed, placing his hand on his blue nose. "Technically, we're stuck here thanks to you."
"Sorry, Mugsy," Cuphead apologized, letting himself cool down before the liquid in his head boiled over. "Guess I forgot to think before I act… again."
"As usual," Mugman replied, his arms crossed over his chest as he gave his brother a solemn glance. "Not to mention this kind of troublemaking from you is exactly what got us in this mess in the first place. Didn't Elder Kettle also say something about not going off into whatever portals you see?"
"Okay, okay… Just tell us what happened back in your world when we head home to the Smash Fortress," Kazooie squawked. "Doesn't look like you have much time left to get what needs to be done with whatever it is you're doing."
"Besides, you can-a trust us," Luigi added with honesty in his voice. "We're friendly towards anyone that visits our realm… or at-a least try to be. If you want to return to where you came from, you can come with-a us. I'm sure a lot of our friends would be very interested in meeting-a you considering they've never seen… cartoons quite like you two."
"Really? You've never seen cartoons before?" Cuphead asked with a thumb underneath his chin.
"Oh, we know all sorts of cartoons here," Peach advised, walking out of the transporter room. "It's just that you and Mugman are… well, I can't find the right words to describe it. Come on, everybody." After Cuphead and Mugman left with Bowser, Mario, and Luigi, Banjo and Kazooie were just about to head out.
"Hey, Steve! We're going back to the Smash Fortress," the bear called out to the blocky player. "Steve…?" The animal duo started to recognize that the Player didn't seem to notice they were even in the room with him, and he was just standing there as though he was mesmerized by the soft lights of the transporter. Time seemed to have slowed down around Steve, and even Banjo and Kazooie were frozen for whatever reason. Considering Steve cannot even move, he knew this could only mean one thing.
"Hello again, pal," that grotesque version of Steve greeted, appearing next to a frozen bear and bird. "How long have you forgotten about me? A few days? Maybe a week, tops? Yeah… it's been quite a while. I told ya before I ain't gonna be leaving ya alone eventually, so get used to it." The grotesque abomination waddled his way over to the blocky player, who was unable to move his body out of fear from his horrifying counterpart.
"Treatin' me like a peeping tom, ain't ya? But I'm just here to give you some helpful tips. That bear and bird… they sure love telling you who's holdin' the reigns of this friendship. But I've been here long before you, and you'll bet your sweet dippy I'll be here after. I'll be here after you ditch the ones keeping you from all the joy you could be experiencing right about now. It's more important than them, isn't it?" Steve did not move or stir, allowing the phantasmagoric creature that was somehow related to him creep up closer.
"You're still not listening, are you? Those two cups that came here to this world… they'll be leaving off to their realm to take care of unfinished business. Chances are whatever they've got going on, they'll definitely bring your friends along too. You're welcome to join them on their little adventure, if you want. The choice is up to you: either ditch Banjo and Kazooie for a taste of freedom and creativity… or stay locked up in the cage they built around you." The blocky player's pixelated eyes blinked upon hearing Banjo's voice overpower the grotesque abomination staring over his shoulder. The bear was trying to gain Steve's attention for a few seconds now, not wanting to sound like a broken record.
"Steve? We'll be leavin' right now. Come on," Banjo told Steve, by which the blocky player turned his head in response. He ran to the bear and the Breegull, staying by their side as they left the transporter room to meet with Mario, his friends, and the strange toons that escaped into their dimension. As the fighters left, Steve cannot help but wonder if his two best friends are really keeping him back from the experiences worth living.
Treading through the thick blanket of snow that had settled down in the Ironwood Forest, Cuphead and Mugman followed behind the fighters that took them in for their peculiarities and interests in wanting to learn more about the situation that the porcelain brothers were trapped in. Banjo and Kazooie with their friend Steve followed behind in pursuit, being a little late to the party due to the blocky player's lucid nightmarish daydreaming.
"Mamma mia… forgot-a to bring a scarf or even a jacket," Mario stammered, his teeth chattering from the bitter cold and his hands rubbing close together to maintain the small flames emerging from his white gloves.
"You kidding!? This weather's so c-c-c-cold that I think my brain's literally gonna freeze!" Cuphead exclaimed while the snow began to fall heavily around them on their way back to the Smash Fortress.
"So… anything you two like to tell us about what's going on in your world?" Bowser asked, the cold not really bothering him all that much thanks to his durability and his fiery breath churning in his lungs to keep himself warm.
"Oh yeah," Mugman replied, both he and Cuphead hopping into the footprints left behind by the Smashers so as not to sink into the deep snow themselves. "Alright… so my brother and I live on the Inkwell Isles, where toons like us populate them left and right. We live with Elder Kettle, who warned us not to go to the Devil's Casino. Unfortunately, you can blame Cuphead for dragging me with him to that godforsaken place despite the elder's warnings and getting us both into trouble."
"You like b-b-b-blaming me for bad luck, dontcha?" Cuphead interrupted.
"Well, it's k-k-k-kinda your fault," Mugman answered shortly before continuing. "So we enter the casino and play a few rounds of craps. Earned a lot of loot through our winning streak. Things were going well at first until the Devil himself, who owned the casino, offered to raise the stakes. If we won on the next roll all the loot in the casino was ours, but our souls were his should we lose. I tried to object against the dangerous offer, but Cuphead over here decided to risk everything for all that cold, hard cash… and got snake eyes. Thankfully, the Devil spared us after we begged him for mercy, but we pay servitude in eternal damnation to him if we don't get the contracts of his previous debtors by tomorrow midnight."
"Tomorrow midnight? In your world?" Peach asked. "Well, if that's the case we better take you two back to the Inkwell Isles so you can get your debts to the Devil done right away!"
"I'm not sure if we're gonna be collecting those contracts anytime soon," Cuphead mentioned, holding his brother's hand as they shielded their eyes from the snowfall. "The debtors we went up against are tough to the bone, and they ain't gonna be giving up their souls for ours. Mugman and I have faced every one of those hoodlums, and we didn't even come close to getting a single contract from them. They're THAT intensely hard."
"Well maybe we can-a lend a helping hand if they're-a really difficult to beat," Mario offered.
"You guys? Offering to help?" Cuphead questioned, the bendy straw in his cup-shaped head curling into a question mark shape. "Unless you wanna risk getting your bones broken, I don't think it's worth a shot." Steve, who was listening to the story told by the cartoon characters, began to grow rather fond of the peculiar world they seemed to have come from and was eager to learn more about it.
"I think Mario and his friends can go on ahead and head off to your world," Kazooie cooed. "Banjo and I have already got a challenge trying to take care of Steve here."
"Hey, no challenge is too great for us-a to overcome," Mario insisted. "We've got plenty of experience in terms of fighting, so we can-a help you two deal with the Devil and his debtors… up-a close and personal, of-a course."
"Hm… alright," Cuphead answered. "But like I said: they're tough to the bone. The fights against them aren't easy." The fighters soon ended up at the stone bridge connecting to the front doors of the Smash Fortress, standing firmly over a frozen lake. Mario and his friends were certain they came back from their little trip across the snowfall.
Even though the weather was positively chilling outside, the Smash Fortress was warm and soothing from the inside thanks to the fireplace blazing bright and the furnace vents spreading the heat from the room to the rest of the castle, past the arranged tables and chairs. Pichu, Yoshi, the Pokémon Trainer, Mr. Game & Watch, and Piranha Plant were sitting near the fire, trying to keep themselves warm near the fire. Princess Daisy approached the fighters, carrying Flowey in his flowerpot in her arms.
"Hey, guys," Daisy told the Smashers. "Looks like Flowey wants to warm up by the fire a bit, so can you give him some room?" The Princess of Sarasaland gently stroked the back of the monster flower's golden petals, bothering him quite a bit.
"Don't get too comfortable around me," Flowey warned in retaliation to Daisy petting him. "I'd kill you before you even know it."
"Yeah, sure," Daisy replied in a cheerful tone, setting Flowey next to the Piranha Plant before walking off. The flower glanced up at the carnivorous plant, who got his face close enough to sniff the creature next to him.
"You're a curious specimen, aren't you?" Flowey asked. "Well… no funny businesses or I'll rip your teeth out." The Piranha Plant simply licked Flowey's face like a dog, bearing a contented grin. Flowey, however, was not amused as he used his small vines to wipe the saliva off his face.
As for Daisy, she walked out and sat down at the bottom of the stairs, groaning out of boredom since there was nothing to do around here. The legendary Son of Sparda that was staying with the Smashers as a guest with the likes of Sans was passing by the Princess of Sarasaland on his way down the stairs.
"Heya, gorgeous," Dante greeted. "Whatcha doing here?"
"Nothing much," Daisy sighed, resting her hands on her lap. "I'm just so darn bored."
"Well… there's a good chunk of this place that hasn't been explored yet," the Devil Hunter advised. "You can go check out those untouched rooms for some entertainment."
"Perhaps. Anything you're planning today?" Daisy asked as she stood up from where she sat.
"Nothing much," the Devil Hunter added, resting his arms behind his head. "Just gonna have a little chat with Bayonetta. She seems rather nice. And sexy too. My kind of woman."
"Okay, you have fun with her, but be careful. You'll never know when she might scratch." The tomboyish princess headed through the large door next to the entrance to the frozen garden, and Dante managed to catch the Umbra Witch herself by the corner of his eye at the grand hallway. She glanced up at the peculiar markings imprinted upon the walls, past the pictures hung upon them.
The more Cereza seemed to stare at the markings, the more curious she began to grow about the Smash Fortress. The place was rather new, and it was literally oozing with secrets yet to be found about the castle, or in any case about Arcus and its universe in general. The paintings were rather vague and cryptic themselves, some of which she couldn't really seem to describe.
Dante snuck up on Bayonetta, surprising her ever so slightly with, "Hi, gorgeous. Wonderful artworks, aren't they? And the markings carved into the walls too."
"Fancy meeting you here, Dante," Bayonetta noted with a tongue-in-cheek tone in her voice, staring at the Devil Hunter with eyes as seductive as a panther. "Take a good look at them. Do you often wonder if these paintings and markings are trying to tell us something?"
"Hm… now that you mention it, I can kinda see it," Dante replied, his arms crossed over his chest. "Like there's some kind of story these artifacts contain, but they're just so… vague that they're interesting."
"Whatever do you mean?"
"That's the thing. I have no idea. I'm just… it's quite hard to put into words, in all honesty. I mean, they look cool in and of themselves, but it drives me to ask some questions about the world you guys live in. What other places exist on this planet? Does it live in a solar system or is it just a single child to its sun? How are those islands floating? Who built those ancient monuments?"
"Just as bugged out as you, love. I can't seem to answer those questions, not even with the knowledge my clan once provided. Perhaps once we get the Hands back, we could be able to learn a bit more about this world we've never really explored for twenty years."
"And maybe find an easier way to get back to our worlds instead of going through each one at the library and waste time opening up portals to worlds we've never discovered yet. I bumped into Daisy as I made my way downstairs. She said there wasn't anything to do around here. I suggested she should explore the Smash Fortress since it's humongous and only a small portion has only been discovered. It's vast… like the universe. Ever since I lost my mother, I've been trying to keep my mind focused on other things other than killing all demons out of revenge. I've grown far more curious about the human world than Sparda ever was. A lot of people tend to assume my head's far up in the clouds…"
"Interesting. I guess you and I are similar in terms of personality… with the only difference being my vocabulary tends to be a bit more… erotic than yours. Am I understanding that correctly?" The Devil Hunter chuckled at the comment, nodding his head in response and more eager than not to just momentarily shift the conversation away from the paintings in order to have a little chat with the Umbra Witch.
"Yeah, you got that right. Still… I wonder what my mom would think about me and Vergil ever since we grew up on separate paths. We've been divided for as long as I can remember, with Vergil willing to trade his human heritage for more power. Even then, he's still my brother… and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't kill him despite what he thinks of me. He sometimes drops in for visits, but it's for the occasional brawl."
"Your mother… what was her name?" Bayonetta asked, curious about the half-demon's mother and wondering if there were some kind of similarities towards those she knew about. Other than that, she seemed to be more interested in who Dante's mother once was.
"...Eva," Dante answered.
"Eva… what a beautiful name she was blessed with." Cereza walked up to Dante, pulling out some kind of bracelet she carried on her skin-tight suit. Upon presenting it to the Son of Sparda, Dante could see the appearance of what appeared to be one of Bayonetta's artifacts: the Bracelet of Time.
"This precious little accessory has given me the ability to access Witch Time and Bat Within," Bayonetta explained. "Legends say it was crafted by a witch who bore your mother's name, and that she signed a contract with a legendary dark knight to fight back against the rebellious forces eager to break free from Inferno and drown the human world in darkness."
"...Sounds like a similar story I heard when Vergil and I were just boys," Dante replied upon hearing the brief tale of the Bracelet of Time's history. "You wouldn't suppose my mother was an Umbra Witch just like you… was she?"
"Have no idea if your mother was that same witch. There are plenty of women named Eva in the world. It could have been anyone. But that story about the dark knight… it makes me kind of curious. I only knew about Eva through legend, and if she just so happened to be your mother… well, I guess that technically makes you and your brother the half-sons of an Umbra Witch too."
"Heh. You really mean it?"
"Why, of course. But it's just a theory. You can't always take information you hear as a fact. And besides… I'm sure the both of us can get along perfectly. You're quite a cute boy to chat with. Most other men would be fawning over me, but you've certainly become the apple of my eye."
"Cute boy?" Dante chuckled, scratching the back of his head with a little tint in his cheeks upon Bayonetta giving him that compliment since normally he would do the flirting part first upon every good-looking woman he encountered.
"We can find some similarities in the worlds we came from, and maybe even have some playful banters in our fights against sweeping hordes of enemies should we land in a battle against angels and demons. Pit and his dark counterpart are the real buggers here, let me tell you that." The front doors suddenly swung open, surprising the Devil Hunter and the Umbra Witch ever so slightly. Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser walked into the fortress, with Banjo, Kazooie, and Steve dragging behind.
"Finally, you guys are back," Dante greeted. "Weather's gotten quite intense, hasn't it?"
"It sure has-a," Mario answered, slowly backing away from his group. "Look: the transporter activated, and we've found two new guests willing to go back, but… I don't-a know if you're ready to see what they look like."
"We're fine with whoever you show us. I'm sure it wouldn't affect us negatively in any way possible," Bayonetta replied. Just as Mario and his friends separated from each other, Dante and Bayonetta could see Cuphead and Mugman with the group, with the red-clothed cup waving his hand in a shy manner.
"Oh… my God," Dante couldn't believe what he's seeing right now, and Cereza was just as shocked as him. "Are you two like… actual, living cartoons? This can't be real. There's gotta be a holographic projector around here."
"Holographic? What's that?" Mugman questioned, tapping his fingers against the rim of his mug-shaped head.
"How interesting," Bayonetta replied, with Ken Masters just passing by and instantly stopping in surprise over the toons that came with Mario and the gang. "I suppose in another universe, cartoons can come to life. Quite literally, of course."
"Okay, okay," Cuphead rebutted, placing his hands in front of his face and using the gesture of pushing as a way to tell those around him and his brother to back off. "At this point, we get it. We look different from the lot of ya. But Mugman and I don't necessarily have enough time to hang around with you so you can stare at our physical appearances. Cuz once midnight approaches, we're both toast. Now come on. Do you wanna help us get back to our world or not?"
"Alright, we'll help," Bowser answered. "Now come on. Let's head to that library. We'll check every last book, if we have to." The Koopa King marched past Ken and Chrom, who too was rather curious about what was going on.
Chrom placed a thumb underneath his chin, talking to Ken with, "What strange little creatures walking among us."
"You heard the cup with the red clothes. Best not to waste time questioning their appearances unless we wanna get into trouble. Let's just play along with the assumption they… just exist.," Ken Masters confirmed.
"Damn straight," Dante replied upon hearing the two fatherly fighters talk with each other while he was walking past them with Mario, Peach, Luigi, Steve, Bayonetta, and Banjo & Kazooie with the two toons.
The books in the library, though unmarked in terms of name, had shelves that marked which letters they started with from A to Z. In order to get Cuphead and Mugman back to their world, which was the Inkwell Isles, the fighters that met the toons were combing the I section. They checked the spines on each book, trying to find the correct name. Dante and Sans also volunteered to help with Bayonetta by their side, searching through the section as best as they could with no luck.
"These are all written in some kind of alien language," Dante finally spoke up, bored out of his skull. "I can't seem to translate them. Anybody here good at linguistics?"
"Maybe you should get Mega Man and Clementine in on this," Peach replied. "I think they managed to figure this sort of language out before heading out to find Pappy."
"Already on it," Dante alerted, zipping out of the library to look for the Inkling and Rockman. The Devil Hunter came back in just a few seconds, carrying Clementine and Mega Man in his arms.
"These who you're looking for?" Dante asked shortly before letting the two smaller fighters drop to the carpeted floor. Clementine's brains were already swimming due to the intense G-force she endured just like when Sonic carried her anywhere. As for Mega Man, he was already confused as to why exactly the Devil Hunter abducted him and the Inkling.
"Um… I don't mean to be rude, but any idea why you just snatched us away while we were playing some poker?" Mega Man questioned, tapping his foot while waiting for a response.
The Son of Sparda simply replied with, "Ask them." The ones Dante was referring to were Cuphead and Mugman, the very toons looking for a way back home.
"Apparently, all of these books have some kind of letter… things on the spines," Cuphead explained. "One of em takes me and Mugman back to the Inkwell Isles. Think you both can find a book with that exact name in this section?" At first, the two fighters who had no idea what was going on stared at the toons quite curiously with confused eyes, but in just a few seconds Mega Man gave his answer without pondering.
"We'll try seeing what we can do," the blue bomber stated, glancing up at all the untouched books in the section. There was a lot for the Super Smash Brothers to go through, but maybe with a little bit of help the job could get done much easier. Mega Man gave a couple quick taps against the side of his helmet, his robotic eyes scanning through every dusty cover. Thousands of translated words ran over his vision while he was in pursuit of the one labeled "Inkwell Isles." Soon, Rockman managed to find the right book, located just a few feet high at one of the higher shelves. The letters spelt out seemed to read "Nésylpuipiaueanainai Nésāhnnaiueanésāhn."
"Clementine. Need a boost?" Mega Man asked the Inkling, to which she nodded in response. Mega Man called in his robot canine partner Rush, spawning him in front of himself and giving her what she needed to get that specific book. The Inkling bounced off Rush, tightly gripping the bookshelves while she snatched the book that the Smashers were looking for. By the time she grabbed the book, she pushed herself off of the shelves and landed on her feet in front of Sans.
"Could have used a ladder," Dante suggested as Sans used his telekinesis to grab the book Clementine was holding. Mega Man and Inkling glanced over to find out there was a long ladder supported by wheels just sitting there, and the two soon began to realize that they didn't exactly have to do those cool stunts to get something they needed. But considering it was too late, the fighters all went into the room found beneath that trapdoor.
By the time everyone that offered to help Cuphead and Mugman made their way down the stairs to the cellar below, Mega Man and Clementine offered to translate the alien language presented on the stand on that wooden table.
"I think you're supposed to place that book of yours on the stand," Mega Man suggested.
"Are you sure something might-a work if we-a do this?" Mario questioned.
"You tell me," Mega Man replied, crossing his arms and looking over to the red plumber. "You asked for that book." The skeleton that came with them took the chance of placing the book on the stand, taking a step back as the book began to open and levitate, the pages inside it glimmering blue and rapidly flipping through the pages. The letters on its spine translated into "Inkwell Isles".
Steve slowly approached the book, his knowledge of things such as enchantment tables flooding back to his head the more he stared at the floating book. Banjo and Kazooie, however, were cautiously wary. The bear held on tight to Steve's blocky arm, holding him back from potential danger. They gave a glare at the Player, telling him to stay back from something that could harm him both physically and mentally. Everyone but the Devil Hunter didn't seem to notice, and Dante himself knew the look that bear and bird were giving their bestie.
The Son of Sparda had quite a close relationship with Steve, among all of the other fighters he's currently living with right now. In recent days, he's starting to feel as though there was something bugging the blocky player. As if something was keeping Steve back from accomplishing something, but what? He soon snapped out of his thoughts the second he just remembered they were in a room with a floating book, and Cuphead was willing to go ahead and touch the blue pages.
The pages flashed brightly and began to rapidly flip, with the walls of text projected onto the sides of the room in an exact scenario that happened with the Villager, Bowser Jr., and the Koopalings. Cuphead, surprised by what he just did, simply stared in wonder with his brother and the other Smashers at what just happened in the room. Unlike the book labelled "Doom," there wasn't really anything to learn about that world, and the details of the place were rather vague. It just happened to be a world where cartoons came to life without any question. Luigi, on the other hand, managed to see something that caught his eye on the wall to his left.
The green plumber shuffled close to the wall while everyone else stood around like befuddled dummies. The ambiguous text that he could read gave him a little insight into some of the secrets hidden in Cuphead's world, with photos of a tall brick building that looked like it was taken by an old, black-and-white camera. Two men, who looked like they were in their early 20's, stood in front of the brick building with many other people behind them with faces he couldn't seem to recognize. Between the two men was what looked to be a wooden cutout of some kind of cartoon-ish demon with a white face, a toothy grin beneath pie eyes, and curved horns donned atop a floating head. The demon's body was entirely black, with shiny shoes, a bowtie, and gloves with buttons. Plastered next to the photograph taken were rough sketches and concept art for some toons, each one of them related to the demon printed on the cutout in terms of style and art design. But what Luigi saw next filled him with a sense of uneasiness.
There was another photograph taken within what appeared to be the large brick studio itself, in front of a wooden wall. All it took was five, wrathful words of ink-dripping hatred caught in the photograph that sent Luigi an unnerving aura of what was to come…
The Creator lied to us.
The younger twin brother of Mario, though disturbed by how rushed and filled with sorrow and fear those words screamed, needed to know the name of that place if he wanted to get any answers since the name of that studio seemed to have been cropped out. For what he knew that place may hold the answers which he was willing to seek, believing that no matter what he was told he still thought that nightmare he had to be real. Thankfully, those frightening words didn't last long as Mario was the one who touched the pages in the glowing book again, which drew all the text presented on the walls before anyone else in the cellar got the chance to read anything from it.
The text spun above the pages of the book, converting into a holographic map of the whole city of Civiltatula. The Smashers gathered around while watching as the book zoomed in on the downtown part of the town. A tiny stick figure at that part of the town was shown carrying a bucket, spilling some kind of liquid into a square that stretched all over the lower area at a specific section of the downtown, preferably a section that was completely flat and had no interfering buildings, monuments, or fauna. The perimeter on all four sides was about three hundred and eleven feet in length, according to the text that was displayed next to the square. The area in total needed to be filled with ninety-six thousand, seven hundred and twenty-one feet of any kind of ink that was available. The only reason to do that was because at each corner of the square there were four special drains hidden on the streets, and they each needed an equal amount of ink necessary to activate the portal to the Inkwell Isles.
"Hm… anybody reading what we have to do here?" Peach asked.
"Yep," replied Mega Man. "I think we have to cover an entire city block worth of ink in order to get that portal open." Clementine chirped in her Inkling language, cocking her Splattershot as a sign she wanted to do something, most noticeably offering to help, and no one didn't even have to translate what she was saying since her body language alone was enough to help the fighters understand.
"Are you sure you can handle painting an entire city block with ink all by yourself?" asked Dante. "Wouldn't it make more sense if some of us were to help?" Steve jumped up and down, looking over to the bear and bird to see if they had anything to say in the matter.
Much to the blocky player's unexpected surprise, Banjo responded with, "Sure. Kazooie and I will be eager to help."
"Steve can tag along and offer some assistance, since he's been meaning to keep himself busy with something else besides adventure," Kazooie said, blissfully unaware of what Steve really wanted.
And the Son of Sparda knew what the blocky player really wanted.
Banjo & Kazooie, Steve, and Dante offered to assist Clementine with painting an entire block full of her own ink, and the Inkling alone had no trouble alone in her own corner since she could just transform into a squid and refill in her own puddle. She was dressed in warmer attire, even though the snowfall began to calm down, which consisted of a pair of earmuffs, some mittens, and a puffy jacket.
Cloud Strife and Link were standing by the side, watching as Clementine moved closer towards their direction with her roller. The two swordsmen were donned with trench coats and scarves, and the Gunner Ultimate Reborn was with them while they stood next to one of the buildings that was damaged during the Rift outbreak and getting rebuilt by the likes of Buckots and Trowlons assisting the Mii Gunners.
"Looks like the Inkling and some of our friends are… painting the road for some reason," Cloud pondered, turning towards the Mii Gunner. "Do you remember asking them if they could do that, especially with the construction that needs to take place in the city?"
"Well… they told me and the other two Ultimates with what was going on, and that the area they were trying to cover with ink won't interfere with the rebuilding of all the places that were destroyed by the incident," Sherry explained as best as she could. "So while R.O.B. is trying to take care of things down at the Legacy, the boys and I are choosing to fix things here. Even though we ourselves are fighters, they're still our people at the end of the day. Both the Miis and the Subspace Army."
"Well, good luck with that, especially when it's so cold outside," replied Link.
"Are you sure you… don't want to work with us?" Sherry asked in slight surprise, curious as to how come the Champion of Hyrule wasn't in the mood for helping out. "Why, with your knowledge on that Sheikah Slate and all of its features, we can get these buildings patched in no time!"
"I don't know…" the Hylian sighed while glancing over to the 1st-class SOLDIER. "The last time I relied on my own skills, I guess I got so carried away I unknowingly put myself in danger. I may not have been so lucky if Cloud wasn't there to protect my back and pull me out of the mud."
"Well… I don't really mind you using your skills to help out others," Cloud replied, rubbing the back of his head while his breath fogged up in the chilly air. "Like I mentioned, you can do whatever. Just… don't get too over-confident again, like I mentioned the past couple of times."
"I know, Cloud…" resumed Link, noticing that the ex-mercenary's cheeks were a little red. "Hey, I think you're blushing a bit." Cloud Strife noticed what Link was talking about, pulling the dark aquamarine scarf around his neck up to his nose.
"It's nothing… just the cold," Cloud Strife dismissed with the only words he could say in response, looking away from the two fighters with a blushing face. Link and the Mii Gunner stifled their giggles a bit, admiring how adorable the 1st-class SOLDIER looked in the weather.
"I mean, Link's ears are also tinted red as well, so I'm probably not the only one," the ex-mercenary pointed out. The Champion of Hyrule covered the tips of his pointed ears, breathing out of his nose above his own scarf while his cheeks were also blushing. But whether it was out of childish embarrassment or from the chilly winter air, it was hard to say.
Before anything else happened next, Dante zipped over to the current location where Sherry, Link, and Cloud were at. Since the Devil Hunter appeared so quickly due to his superhuman speed, his sudden arrival was quite surprising. The Son of Sparda was holding the Inkbrush that Clementine had with the other ink-related weapons at her disposal, simply borrowing it for the time being.
"Oh! Dante! What a pleasant surprise!" proclaimed the Gunner Ultimate Reborn. "We weren't expecting you to show up so soon…"
"Yeah, well… you guys are kinda standing above something. Can you move outta the way, please?" asked Dante. The Devil Hunter gently pushed between Link and Cloud, planting the Inkbrush over a special spot in the center of the sidewalk. When the Devil Hunter began to paint the road with the Inkbrush, the three fighters noticed what appeared to be some kind of small, circular drain glowing with futuristic markings that made it look more like it belonged in the shower than on the road.
"So… coating an entire block of ink to unlock a portal, I presume," Link guessed, placing a finger underneath his chin.
"You can thank the books in that huge library located in the Smash Fortress for this wacky job," Dante replied, scrubbing one spot of the road like a janitor in the school hallway. He only stopped after a couple of seconds when he began to sigh.
"What's the matter, Dante?" Cloud asked.
"Okay. I didn't think I would get the day when I wanted to come clear about something, but… personally, I seem to have worrying opinions on what's going on between Steve and that bear and bird."
"Banjo and Kazooie?" questioned Sherry. "I have no idea what you're exactly worried about, but the relationship between them and that blocky individual from their world? Do you think you can clarify that for us, Dante?"
"You get what I'm talking about, right? The bear and the bird are apparently looking after the guy like he had a tragic accident, but haven't you noticed their methods of parenting are a bit too… extreme?" Dante explained.
"Whatever do you mean?" Link asked.
"Everywhere Steve goes, Banjo and Kazooie seem to follow," the Devil Hunter continued. "They try their hardest to raise him like a child, even though he is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. He can't seem to explore on his own without his pals telling him 'No,' and they seem far too cautious about his safety. As though they think Steve is constantly in danger. Hey, Link: you've been having problems of your own too, right?"
"What about them?" the Hylian asked. "Well… Cloud's been mentioning that it's because of my overconfidence. That I'm letting my weapons and skills do the thinking for me. Perhaps Banjo and Kazooie are doing the same with Steve in preventing him from becoming too courageous."
"But when is it too much for someone to handle?" Dante pointed out. "When does the pampering take a toll for the worst? When does overprotectiveness eventually take control of your life?"
"What are you going on about?" Cloud proposed.
"I've been having a bad feeling as of late, and I think it may have something to do with that bear and bird. Like they might have no idea how to properly handle parenthood."
"Maybe you should… talk to them?" the Mii Gunner addressed. "You can try to give out a sense of understanding and find a way to benefit both sides. Maybe you can find out why Banjo & Kazooie are being overprotective, as well as learn why Steve's upset as a result." The Devil Hunter tapped the bottom of his chin, looking at the painted road while he thought of a solution.
"You might be onto something… I'll be back in a minute," Dante confirmed with a quick decision, running straight ahead while dragging the Inkbrush behind him.
Kazooie was ejecting Splat Bombs she and Banjo borrowed from Clementine, by which Banjo caught them and threw them on the ground for an ink-colored blast of orange at another section of the corner they were painting. The Breegull heard the sound of the Devil Hunter skidding across the inked road, creating a sloshing sound of the orange fluid that was staying fresh from the light snowfall.
"Okay, Kazooie. I'm ready for more of those Splat Bombs," Banjo told his teammate, holding his fore paw out while staying ignorant of the Son of Sparda standing behind them. Kazooie tapped his head with her beak, to which the bear responded by turning around.
"Well well well... If it ain't our lovable half-blood venator," greeted Banjo as Dante placed his hand on the handle of the Inkbrush as though it was a cane. "How's it going at your corner?"
"Progress is as smooth as this ink," Dante replied. "Any idea where Steve is?"
"He's right next to us, helping cover the areas we missed," Banjo cleared up, pointing over to his left. Just a few feet away from the bear-and-bird duo, Steve was using Clementine's Slosher to spill ink across the road, supposedly covering up more of the road. Dante seemed to recognize that through the blocky player's lowered head something was troubling Steve.
"Do you mind if I borrow him for a little bit?" asked Dante, placing the Inkbrush on his back over his Rebellion.
"How come?" Kazooie cautiously questioned as she and Banjo eyed the Devil Hunter with suspicion.
"I just want to have a small chat with him," Dante explained, raising his hands slightly up to clear up what he intends to be doing. "Don't worry. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to him."
"For God's sake, hope you keep true to your word," Banjo replied. Dante strutted over to Steve, tapping the blocky player on his shoulder. Steve lifted up his head and turned around, making eye contact with the younger twin son of Sparda.
"Hey, Steve… mind if I talk with you for a minute?" the Devil Hunter asked, gently holding Steve's arm while walking away from the bear and the bird until they were both at a reasonable distance and the anthropomorphic duo resumed their work under the assumption that nothing bad was ever going to happen to their cubic friend.
Once the two were far enough to avoid being overheard by Banjo and Kazooie, Dante sighed and started the conversation with, "I take it your two pals aren't treating you in the best shape, are they?" Steve began writing in one of the many notes he carried along, passing it to the Devil Hunter when he was done.
"Ever since I woke up, they've been treating me like a child," Steve's first note explained. "They think that something terrible is going to happen to me unless I'm under their protection and in their line of sight and/or with close friends. Banjo and Kazooie are trying to keep me from something, but I don't know what. I can't seem to remember how or when I even got here to this realm, and already they're pampering me like some kind of child, even though I can take care of myself."
"Hm… sounds to me like they're overcompensating," Dante spoke in response. "Did you try talking to them?" The blocky player wrote down his thoughts in another note, passing it to the Devil Hunter.
"I tried multiple times, but I always get this response that I'm not supposed to know something," the second note read. "It's like they're keeping secrets from me, and those same secrets could potentially be harmful for my health. It's like they don't want me to go exploring and express my creative freedom however I want. But every time I even try getting these kinds of thoughts… I get plagued by some kind of demonic presence."
"Oh my… what kind?" asked Dante.
"A grotesque version of myself, if I can recall correctly," the third note began. "Constantly teasing me, taunting me with the thought of abandoning my friends just to experience the self-pleasure and dignity in the freedom of my world's abilities. Minecraft's abilities. And if I even try to go down that path, I might start to deteriorate, lose all of my credibility, lose my friends, and become ugly… both outside and in. Sure, I might find relief in finally talking back to the bad parenting skills of Banjo and Kazooie, but at what cost? I'm… deeply worried about what to do here." Dante began to think about what kind of message he could use to solve Steve's problem, fully aware that he wasn't the best at giving supportive quotes that can instantly change people's opinions and views on the world. But with straight confidence, he tried anyway.
"Y'know… from the way I see things, every road has something that blocks you from progressing," Dante answered. "Be it a giant log, a landslide, a branching path… it's entirely random. But through my own personal struggles, I learned to overcome them by coming up with different solutions to different problems. Your struggle may very well be a fork in the road. I may not know the answer, but with your creativity and desire for artistic freedom I'm sure you can come up with one on your own. We all have the power to be what we desire. You just have to declare it through your intentions and your actions. Most of us declare what we don't want. It's just as valid, but in doing so sometimes we lose sight of what we really want." Steve began to contemplate on what the half-demon said, knowing very well he would eventually take those words to heart.
"And who knows? Maybe you might become a battle-hardened Smasher yourself one day," Dante finished, shrugging his shoulders. "It might come in fifty years when you're old and gray and your balding around your head, or today when you decide to go on over to that cartoon dimension. Choice is up to you, just like in your realm. Or however that works… You should probably head back to your bear and bird. They're kinda getting worried right now." Steve nodded and ran off behind the Devil Hunter, dashing back to Banjo & Kazooie with the thought of traveling to the Inkwell Isles giving him some ideas.
As for Dante, he looked over behind himself, seeing that Clementine had just finished up on her own corner with her Splat Roller. Once the Inkling was done, she stepped back and watched as the futuristic drain absorbed all the ink she spilled across the road like a bath sponge with a large radius. The same drain began to glow in a neon aquamarine color, and some kind of line made out of light began to flow from its position towards the direction of the large castle found in the Ironwood Forest.
Alchemo and Pappy had their heads over the railings on the Smash Fortress's main bridge across the water, watching in awe as two lines of aqua light slithered across the icy lake and into a tall tower just right next to the second dome that was a tad bit smaller than the primary dome. It began to glow at the tip, driving the young cadet and the magenta-haired hybrid girl with interest in exploring more of this expansive place.
"Every time I look at this humongous stronghold, I feel like I should explore the place more and more," Paddy told Alchemo.
"Same goes for me, and I'm quite quizzical on what exactly that section has in store for the whole lot of us," Alchemo replied, adjusting the glasses on his face. "Like there could be some kind of inner bailey we might not have discovered yet, or even a museum, or a plumbing, heating, and power facility."
"Or an actual throne room," Pappy added, getting more intensified with excitement by the minute. "I don't really get why the other fighters call the one we already have the 'throne room.' I mean, there are dining tables and chairs. Shouldn't it obviously be called the dining room?"
"Yeah… I wonder…" Alchemo replied with thoughts on exploration while he and the magenta-haired girl didn't seem to recognize that the Inkling was walking past them with Banjo & Kazooie, Steve, and Dante. The blocky player glanced over to the two guests living with the Super Smash Brothers, starting to feel desirous and even a bit jealous that a couple of individuals who are probably at a younger age than him get to wander around.
Once the fighters who helped Clementine paint an entire block worth of ink got into the Smash Fortress, they met up with Mario, Peach, Luigi, Bowser, Cuphead, and Mugman near the door to the garden, who had been waiting for them to return.
"Ah! We were just-a waiting for you to return-a," Mario greeted. "So: who's-a in the mood to go and give that Devil his-a due?"
"If there's anything involving demons and devils, I'm sure as hell going with you guys," Dante was quick to decide with a confirmed answer, planting his fist in the palm of his hand. "Nothing excites me more than kicking the ass of a super-powerful guy who threatens you with eternal damnation."
"How curious," Cuphead noted. "You're willing to come with us to help take down that sniveling weasel and his debtors?"
"I've been meaning to look for a challenge, and since Mario mentioned something about a demon, clarify me on this one thing before I pack up: how hard are these fights against them?"
"That depends," Mugman replied, tapping the rim of his mug-shaped head. "You're talking about as-a-rock kind of hard or mind-numbingly extreme, hellfire-inducing intense kind of hard?"
"The latter, of course," Dante noted.
"Yep to a P," Cuphead answered. "Like we told your friends here, these bosses we'll be facing are a real pain in the butt, but I'm certain since you're a masochist for this kind of stuff I dunno why we would deny your offer… unless you just like dying, of course." The Inkling gulped when she heard how difficult those bosses might be, so she decided to back away as a sure sign that she would pass on the offer of traveling to the Inkwell Isles.
"The only things that put me in a good mood are pizza, strawberry sundaes, and a lifetime of killing demons with the intent to hurt and murder," Dante pointed out, holding his hands behind his head. "So - where's that portal of yours?" Princess Peach glanced outside of the open garden entrance, spotting one of the platforms on the various islands start to levitate.
"Oh, I think we may have found our answer," Peach proclaimed. The rest of the fighters in the group entered the garden and ran on over to the newly-reawakened platform, activating and opening up a new portal for anyone to enter into.
"Let's hope this little contraption-thingy of yours works," Cuphead told the group as he grabbed ahold of Mugman's hand and jumped onto the platform. The two toons felt rather nervous as they were both engulfed in an aura of bright blue before vanishing completely in front of the various characters from other worlds.
"Oh, so that's how they work," Dante noted after seeing the portal up top on the platform work in action. "Whelp, don't try being too late." The Devil Hunter jumped onto that same platform while flipping and exclaiming in joy with a simple "Woohoo!". Dante was next to vanish in the blue aura, followed by Mario, Peach, and Bowser.
"Don't-a leave me behind!" Luigi called out in a panicked rush, running over to the bottom of the platform and jumping onto it. When the green plumber also disappeared, Banjo laid his fuzzy hands on the sides of Steve's cubic arms, sighing deeply.
"Alright, Steve," Banjo told the blocky player. "Kazooie and I will be heading out to another world. Stay with all of our other friends and don't - I repeat: DON'T - follow us into the Inkwell Isles."
"Or you're gonna be really sorry, mister!" Kazooie squawked, poking out of Banjo's backpack before tucking herself back in. The bear jumped onto the platform, giving a small salute to Steve before he and the Breegull in his backpack vanished.
Now Steve was all alone in the garden. No one to talk to. No one to plague his mind. He chose to stand near the portal for a little while, admiring the dark blue colors swirling around it. He began to wonder if those inspirational words Dante gave him really did hold some kind of meaning to them.
And one thing's for sure: if the blocky player were to enter that portal, he may have to look for the answer himself.