Author's Note:
So, as you all know, Pyra and Mythra were both released on Thursday. And as I suspected, literally EVERY QUICKPLAY MATCH that I played online had Pyra and Mythra in it. Now I know that Pyra and Mythra are the newest crown jewels of Smash, but come on, people. Be more original. But enough about Pyra and Mythra. It's review time!
"Will we see Maximo show up in the next chapter? Can you add a scene of Link reacting to the Drunk Link character from X-Play? Are the Giana Sisters going to have their looks from the Twisted Dreams game rather than their looks from the DS game? A Diamond and Pearl chapter when the remakes come out? And finally, what are your thoughts on the disturbing fan arts of Pyra and Mythra abandoning Rex to be in Smash Bros?"
I'm afraid not. I might have Link react to Drunk Link. (X-Play...talk about a blast from the past.) The Giana sisters will likely have their looks from the DS game. Generation IV is one of my favorite generations, so I'm definitely doing a Diamond and Pearl chapter for the remakes. And fortunately, I haven't seen any disturbing fan art of Pyra and Mythra...and I don't even want to. Just going to keep it that way, for my own sanity. Another anonymous review:
"Here's an idea..what if for a day every nonhuman/ animal character (fox, Kirby, etc) turns human and every human/ humanoid character turns into a Pokémon or animal for a day? Idk just a random thought I had at 2 am lol"
That sounds like too much work. Another anonymous review:
"Kinda sad that we never got to see Agnes, Tiz, Ringabel, and Edea from the first Bravely Default in this story before. I hope in the near future, you can have appearances from the first Bravely Default cast, maybe they could have a conversation with the Bravely Default 2 cast. Also, I kinda wanted to see the Octopath Traveler cast appear in the story."
I'm hoping that Agnes and her pals will appear in Smash Life before the story ends. The same goes for the Octopath Traveler cast. Moving on:
"Also, would you think Chrom would warm up a bit on Rex since Chrom knows what Rex feels about being snubbed for two far more interesting characters in Smash (Robin/Lucina in Smash 4, and Pyra/Mythra in Ultimate), or would you think Chrom would just laugh at Rex for being snubbed?"
I could see Chrom warming up to Rex. Now would be a good time to revisit the Rex-Chrom dynamic. Another anonymous review:
"Any chance on an Apex Legends chapter? Since the game's coming to the Switch on March 9."
I...didn't even know about Apex Legends coming to the Switch! Shows you how much I follow the game. The next chapter in this story will be centered around Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, so...nope, no Apex Legends chapter. Up next is An NFL fan:
"Kinda a random question, but, how would Master Hand react if Russell Wilson moves from the Seahawks? Would he react the same way he did with Richard Sherman?"
Ooh, a football question! Personally, I don't see Russell Wilson moving on from the Seattle Seahawks; all the noise surrounding him just sounds like some lousy hoopla generated by the media for clicks. (Especially since it's the offseason.) But if Wilson does move on, then Master Hand would probably think of him as the biggest traitor in the entire history of Seattle. Even more so than Richard Sherman. Last up is BowserFan327:
"This is the guest who wanted Caroline and Justine. For my babysitting episode Idea, have Ness and Lucas discover mini-mementos and it's new top secret vr battle training room. And to make it even worse... The opponent is set to Shadow Rise! Those two will have nightmares for weeks! (But to keep it age appropriate, don't show the fight.)"
I think it's about time some of the residents discover Mini Mementos...and that sounds like a devious way to do just that. I can already imagine the looks of terror on Ness and Lucas' faces...
Episode 272: Stardust
At the Smash Mansion, there was no bigger attraction than the arcade room. Residents would come to the arcade room to get their arcade fix in, and maybe break a new record or two. Breaking records was the name of the game for most - some even took it personally!
Due to popular demand (and some "pandering" from Master Hand), the arcade room would receive new arcade machines, with new arcade games for everyone to play. The installation of the new arcade machines was overseen by the Arcade Bunny, who was usually in charge of the arcade room despite living next door at the tower. The Arcade Bunny had the arcade room closed off to everyone as renovations were done...
...but now, with the new arcade machines installed, the arcade room was finally reopened to the general public. Or, at least, the residents. The Arcade Bunny had a grand reopening of sorts, as he allowed people back inside the arcade room to try out the new games. Some variety was needed in the arcade room, and the Arcade Bunny delivered.
"Come one, come all, and check out the new games!" exclaimed the Arcade Bunny, as folks such as the buddy cops and the Crash Clan were entering the arcade room. There was a much bigger turnout than was expected.
"A Luigi's Mansion arcade game..." Dark Pit furrowed his brow as he stared inquisitively at the arcade game in question. "...well, guess I've seen everything now."
"Haha, that Simpsons arcade game is still around!" smiled Wolf as he walked over to the Simpsons arcade game. He didn't care that much about the new stuff. "Now my senseless beating on Principal Skinner shall remain uninterrupted..."
"They really adapted Shaq Fu into a fighting arcade game?" questioned Shulk, cringing when he saw the title "Shaq Fu" on an arcade machine, as well as Shaquille O'Neal striking a karate pose on the arcade machine's side. "Master Hand must be scraping the bottom of the barrel now..."
Knuckles: The arcade room is hands down my favorite spot in the mansion. Everything I know, I learned right here. Frogger taught me how to properly cross a street. When the mansion was haunted a couple of years ago, I learned from Pac-Man how to eat ghosts. And Dance Dance Revolution taught me how to dance.
"Woohoo! I've been dancin' here for seven minutes straight!" exclaimed Slippy, as he was killing it at Dance Dance Revolution...or so he would've been if the dance machine was even working. Coco went over to investigate the dance machine, which was out of order.
"Um, guys?" the blonde bandicoot spoke up when she discovered that the cord to the Dance Dance Revolution machine was unplugged. Crunch walked over to Coco.
"Let him have this," the burly bandicoot said to his sister as he watched Slippy dance, before putting his hand on Coco's shoulder and leading her away. Coco looked back at Slippy out of concern, as the frog still danced like there was no tomorrow.
"Huh? What's this?" inquired Ryu as he approached an arcade game called "Insert Token!", with the words "Insert token!" on the screen. Doing as he was told, Ryu inserted a token into the coin slot.
"Congratulations! You win!" announced the game voice from the arcade machine, as the screen continued saying, "Insert token!". An upset Ryu growled in frustration, as his token was wasted.
"Oh wow...a Jojo's Bizzare Adventures fighting game!" gleamed Larry, when he saw Nia and Dromarch at the arcade game in question. The excited Koopaling ran over to the game, not wanting Nia to play alone. "Hey Nia, mind if I play?"
"I've tried asking Dromarch if he wanted to be player two, but he declined," replied Nia, as Dromarch didn't even look interested in playing arcade games anyway. "Something he mentioned about imposable thumbs. But sure, you can play!"
"Awesome!" So Nia inserted two coins into the coin slot, starting the game as player one and Larry as player two. Nia selected Dio and Larry, naturally, selected Jotaro Kujo.
"Dio, you killed my great-great-grandfather, Johnathan Joestar!" shouted Jotaro as he pointed at the vampire. You know that the beef between Jotaro and Dio was real personal when Jotaro wanted to avenge his great-great-grandfather whom he never even met.
"WRYYYYY!" screamed Dio, showing off his sadistic, evil side - hard to tell what he meant by that. But whatever message he was trying to convey, Jotaro took personally.
"You take that back!" Jotaro took Dio's response so personally, that he summoned his Stand, Star Platinum. In retaliation, Dio would summon his own stand, The World. It was on.
"Fight!" shouted the game announcers, and fight Larry and Nia did. The two traded blows with one another, as Jotaro and Dio's stands were punching each other into oblivion.
"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Go! Go!" exclaimed Larry, finding himself in the groove, as Dromarch was slowly becoming impressed by Nia's arcade fighting skills. In the end, Larry would prevail, with Star Platinum knocked the living daylights out of The World as Dio was sent flying to the ground.
"K.O! The winner: Jotaro Kujo!" Jotaro would celebrate his victory the best way that he knew how - tipping his iconic hat as he looked solemnly at the ground.
"Yare yare daze..." Jotaro uttered his catchphrase, which was just as iconic as his hat. If not more. Star Platinum struck a pose behind Jotaro.
"What? You cheated," Nia complained to Larry, in disbelief that she lost to a kid. Now wasn't the time to act like a sore loser.
"You take that back!" Larry pointed at Nia, as he imitated the mighty Jotaro Kujo. He and Nia both shared a laugh.
"Round Two! Fight!" announced the game announcer, as Nia and Larry brought their focus back to the arcade game. Nia couldn't help but notice a background character on the stage.
"I'm gonna punch the old guy in the back," the Gormotti said to Larry, seeing the old man in the background as a bona fide punching bag of sorts.
"Let's gang up on him," suggested Larry, and that's what he and Nia did. Star Platinum and The World pull out all sorts of combo moves so that they aren't hitting each other but it looks as though they are hitting the old man. Who absolutely did nothing wrong.
"You're enjoying this a bit too much, my lady," Dromarch said to Nia, oddly having some sympathy for the harmless old man getting "beat up" in the arcade game. As Larry and Nia continued playing, Link and Rex entered the arcade room passing out...wedding flyers?
"Look at that - Nia is having fun over there," Link said to Rex as he brought the swordsman's attention over to Larry and Nia at the Jojo's arcade game. Rex smiled.
"Nia! How's it going?" Rex asked the Gormotti, as he came over to speak with her. "Yeah, just putting up some flyers for Link's wedding. I was asked to be Link's wedding planet assistant, only for the time being. No biggie."
"Why is Link wearing mascara?" Larry suspiciously asked Rex, as he saw a picture of Link wearing eyeliner on the wedding flyer. Link, feeling the need to clear the air, hurriedly came over to speak with Larry.
"Uh, it's eye-paint for men," the Hylian explained for Larry, who was still skeptical. "Waluigi did the wedding flyers, not me or Rex. Wanted to go for an 'exotic' feel." And just like that, Larry's skepticism faded away.
Link: Waluigi knows that he's not to associate himself with me until the wedding, so he placed these wedding flyers that he made in my room last night before bed. Also left behind a note, stating that I'm only to post these flyers "in the confines of the mansion and tower". Why am I doing this? Why do I have to be such a nice guy? I've come to realize that being a nice guy is overrated.
"Hey Rex, Larry and I were just playing this great game," Nia said to the swordsman after she won round two. Whoever won the next round claimed victory and all the bragging rights. If there were any to be claimed.
"Ha, yeah, sweet," grinned Rex as he nodded his head, before turning his attention to Larry. "Hey, how about you sit this one out, okay bud?" Rex asked the Koopaling, wanting to show his hand at arcade fighting games.
"But we just started this round," stated Larry, refusing to back down from round three. Winning against Nia would be worth bragging about to Bowser...or anyone who would actually care.
"Whoa, whoa, hey!" Rex quickly got all defensive, as he had his hands in front of him. "Relax man, I'm just trying to spend a little time with Nia, alright?"
"It'll just be one round," Nia assured Larry, hoping to face off against the Koopaling again once she and Rex were done. Admitting defeat, Larry sighed as he walked away from the arcade game.
"Round Three! Fight!" shouted the game announcer, as Rex was now in control of Jotaro. He and Nia were duking it out, as their Stands threw out punches left and right.
"So, I'm supposed to go out and run some errands later with Pyra, Mythra, and Naoto, so I won't be around." Said errands might have something to do with the five cats that Nia convinced Master Hand to keep around.
"Oh, cool, cool. Watch out!" As he played the arcade game with Nia, Rex placed his arm over the Gormotti's shoulder...while turning around and giving Larry a subtle glare. Not sure of why Rex was glaring at him, Larry cautiously left the arcade room.
"Seriously, Rex? You're just gonna give up posting these flyers to play some arcade game?" Link frowned at the swordsman, only to be left ignored. The Hylian then looked down at the wedding flyer in his hand, sighing at the image of him wearing eyeliner. Which was made in Photoshop, in case you were wondering. "Meh, these flyers aren't even that good anyway..."
Now that he had a few residents helping him with his project, Cloud decided to kick back for today and let his working buddies, so to speak, handle most of the work. As the swordsman was chilling out in the cafe, he heard his phone ring.
"Hello?" Cloud spoke into the phone as he answered the call. Bowser, who was fixing his coffee, paid an attentive ear. "Hey, professor. Yeah, things are coming along well. The pilots have been a big help, and so are Sonic and Tails. Corrin is...he's just there, but I guess he's good for moral support."
"Moral support?" wondered Bowser, keeping his voice super low; sensing that Bowser was eavesdropping on him, Cloud got up and walked away.
"Yeah, Fox and Falco are doing some DNA experimentation stuff, to 'prove their worth'. Or some jazz like that." Cloud continued his phone conversation as he exited the cafe, as Bowser continued to grow suspicious.
"What are you hiding, Mr. Strife...?" Bowser drank his cup of coffee, in just one gulp, before crushing his plastic cup with his bare hand. That was a strong sign of Bowser now in business.
Larry was so spooked by Rex's glare, that the Koopaling retreated to Luigi's home. There, Luigi was playing some card games with his neighbors Mario, Marth, and Olimar. Since Pac-Man was busy, King K. Rool sat in for the eater of ghosts. Oh, and Yuffie was playing along with them.
"King me!" shouted Yuffie as she revealed her hand, which had two Kings. Luigi and the others groaned in frustration, while Larry just spectated.
"Aw, come on!" growled Mario as he banged his fists on the table. Felt like also punching a hole in the wall, if Luigi allowed him.
"It's not fair, she doesn't even know what we're playing!" grumbled Marth, who didn't mind losing to a girl. But an inexperienced girl, on the other hand...
"We're playing goldfish...right?" asked Yuffie, essentially proving Pac-Man's point. Suddenly, some electric guitar sounds were heard outside Luigi's home.
"I think I'm picking up a radio station inside-a my head," King K. Rool furrowed his brow, under the assumption that the guitar sounds were in his own head. The Kremling was digging his finger in his ear, trying to get the sound out.
"Try blinking to see if you can change the channel," Yuffie suggested to K. Rool, who "changed the channel" by blinking once. Nothing seemed to work.
"Yuck, what is that trombone playing?" Larry cringed, as he heard someone playing the trombone - and playing it in the most mediocre way possible. "That must be Waluigi."
"Waluigi? Is he back-a here to make some more-a goo-goo eyes at Daisy?" asked Luigi as he angrily stood up, more than ready to throw some hands with Waluigi. Waluigi, of all people.
"You must have Waluigi mixed up with King Dedede, he's the one who gawks at women despite their marital status," Olimar said to Luigi, calming the plumber and making him sit back down. "Waluigi is the one who calls others names."
Olimar: Waluigi called me a short dude once. I mean, I know I'm a short dude, but it kinda hurt.
"Should I sic Polterpup on him again?" asked Yuffie as she saw Polterpup walk by. The ninja girl picked up the ghostly dog, who started chewing away on her headband. "Woah, easy tiger!"
"I'll handle it," Larry said to the others, willing to take matters into his own hands. Mario and company were very surprised by the Koopaling taking initiative and getting his hands dirty.
"Oh snap, I smell-a conflict!" exclaimed Mario, watching as Larry exited the house. Out of everyone gathered around the table, Mario was the most hyped.
Larry arrived outside and saw Iori and his bandmates - King K. Rool, Pac-Man, Barbara, Waluigi, and the newest member, Kanji - outside in Luigi's front yard, rehearsing. Link and Rex were overseeing the ensemble jazz band, with Link keeping his distance from Waluigi.
"Great work, Kanji - you are a natural!" Iori commended the delinquent, who was playing on the electric guitar. You could never have too many of those. Kanji smiled in response, as he kept playing away on the guitar.
"You guys do realize you're making a lot of noise, right?" Larry asked the jazz band, doing his best to be a peacemaker and not spark any trouble. "There are some guys...and a girl...in Luigi's house trying to play cards in peace."
"Sorry, Larry, Master Hand wouldn't let the band rehearse inside the mansion," Link apologized to the Koopaling, hoping that the jazz band hadn't interrupted Luigi and company's card game too much. "So they had to take their talents outside."
"A girl is playing card games with Luigi and the boys?" smirked Rex as he folded his arms, having a hunch for who this girl was. "I bet you it's Nia; she's pretty good at card games."
"She's out running some errands with Pyra, Mythra, and Naoto," Larry stated to Rex, before muttering the following under his breath: "And if you listened to her for once you'd know that..."
"What was that?!" Rex got incensed with Larry in a hurry, as he angrily confronted the Koopaling. Link was about to reprimand his assistant wedding planner but opted to let things play out for now.
"I just said she's not here." Somehow that statement from Larry made Rex even angrier.
"No, no, no! You want to get into it, huh? Let's get into it, bud! You think I don't know what's been going on, huh? It's obvious you've got a thing for Nia, don't you? Don't you?!"
"What? No! C'mon, man! I don't even like cats!" Larry paused, taking a moment to think over what he just said. "Okay, maybe a little."
Larry: I might have a certain liking for cats. Huge emphasis on "might". Bowser Jr. and my dad are both to blame.
"Yeah, I'm sure she's just dying to ask out an ugly turtle kid with an even uglier haircut," Rex said in a sarcastic tone. "Here's an idea." The swordsman then looked towards Kanji. "Kanji, why don't you call Naoto right now and ask her to see if Nia wants to go out on a date with Larry?"
"Nia would obviously say no, but I can still give Naoto a call," replied Kanji as he took out his phone, ready to make a call. Larry looked scared for his life.
"Hey! Look! Don't! You don't have to..." the Koopaling said to Kanji, watching in fear as Kanji was dialing Naoto's number.
"What're you gonna do, huh? What, huh?" After hitting the call button, the dial tone sounded, as Kanji waited for Naoto to pick up the phone. Larry had to do something, and fast.
"Hello?" spoke Naoto, as she finally answered the call. Larry instinctively smacked Kanji's phone out of his hand, making the cellular device hit the ground and break.
"My phone!" wailed Kanji, kneeling down at the remains of his cellphone. Everyone outside looked on in shock, as Larry slowly realized in fear what he had done.
"I-I'll buy you a new one!" Larry said to Kanji, who didn't want any of the Koopaling's apologies. Kanji angrily marched over to Larry and lifted him up by his...well, Larry wasn't wearing a shirt, so we'll just say that Kanji had him in a chokehold.
"Oh no, you're not getting off that easy!" Kanji held his hand back, ready to punch Larry in the face. Larry closed his eyes and held back, anticipating the blow.
"Hey! I know a fight when I see one!" shouted Hunter as he poked his head out of Mario's door, having the sixth sense for sensing potential fights. "Stay right there!" The cheetah went back inside Mario's house, as Kanji still wanted to punch Larry.
"Kanji...let him go," Link commanded the delinquent, using whatever authority he had. He knew that he should have intervened, especially if it meant saving Kanji's phone. Showing some mercy, Kanji dropped Larry to the ground.
"You. Me. In the backyard. Five o'clock," Kanji gave this message to Larry, walking away as he was now in a bitter mood. "We finish this."
"Looks like rehearsal's over with..." assumed Iori, as he saw Kanji heading back to the mansion. "...alright everyone, we'll pick up right where we left off tomorrow. And no, there won't be any doughnuts - I only mention doughnuts just to motivate you to come. Some of you need a push..."
"C'mon Rex, let's head back in," Link said to the swordsman, as Iori and his bandmates grabbed their instruments and headed back to the mansion. Rex would stay behind, as he shook his head at Larry in a disappointing manner.
"You did this to yourself..." Rex said to Larry, pointing at the Koopaling before he followed Link back to the mansion. Larry looked afraid, as Hunter arrived outside with a bucket of popcorn.
"Aw, he's gone! I was just gonna call Spyro over to place a few bets!" said the cheetah, before munching away on the popcorn. Can't let any good popcorn go to waste. "The smart money's on Skinny Jeans."
Bowser followed Cloud, and he followed the swordsman down to the basement where Cloud hoped to have his phone conversation in private. Minus the Rabbids, of course. Conveniently for Bowser, Cloud forgot to close the basement door, as Bowser took a peek through the crack in the doorway.
"Really, you think that will work?" Cloud spoke into the phone, as Bowser cautiously tiptoed his way inside the basement. "Okay then, I can ask Dr. Cortex to invite him over next week."
"Not now, you guys, I'm in the middle of some eavesdropping!" Bowser whispered to the Rabbids, who were climbing up the basement stairs to greet the Koopa King. "Cloud might be dropping some sweet, juicy government info, for all we know...the secret kind, of course."
"It was nice speaking with you too, professor. Take care." Done with his phone conversation, Cloud put his phone back in his pocket as he turned around. He saw Bowser sprawled out on the steps, with the Rabbids gathered around him.
"I think...I'm done for...I can already see the light." Bowser held his hand up very slowly, faking some kind of slow death to throw Cloud off. But it didn't work. "Why me...why now?"
"This would be very tragic if you were actually dying for real." Cloud went up the stairs to Bowser, moving the Rabbids out of his way. "You weren't following me around like a creep, were you?"
"Me? Follow you around, like a creep? Not unless you were a hot woman!" Bowser ended his fake dying act, as he sat upon the steps. "But I'm semi-retired from doing that now."
"Hey Cloud!" Aerith greeted the swordsman as she poked her head inside the basement. "Figured that I would find you here. Always so predictable. So, are we still planting those new flowers that Viridi bought?"
"Oh yeah, the new flowers, I totally forgot..." replied Cloud; he would've planted the flowers earlier, but obviously he was busy over the past couple of weeks. "...let's start now."
"Alright then, let's hurry. Those flowers aren't going to plant themselves, you know!" So Cloud left the basement and followed after Aerith, off to the gardens. Bowser insisted on following Cloud around still, his suspicion rising.
Larry was back inside Luigi's house, scared out of his mind about Kanji. The Koopaling was pacing back and forth, unsure of what he should do, as Luigi and the others kept playing cards. Daisy was also there, keeping watch of Larry.
"What was I thinking?!" asked Larry, wishing that he had a time machine or something so he could go back in time and correct his mistake. "I can't fight dudes like Kanji! I've never fought someone of his caliber before! Look at how much of a pipsqueak I am!"
"Just bonk him over the head!" K. Rool suggested to Larry, assuming that the Koopaling using his mallet would be the way to go. "It's nature's snooze button!"
"Boys! Why can't you learn to hate each other in secret?" Daisy asked the gentlemen, preferring to keep her beef with others under the wraps. "Like girls do!"
"Sure, listen to Daisy - maybe you can share-a dresses too!" Mario snickered at Larry, who waved off the plumber as he continued to remain undecided.
"Maybe he'll just forget about it," assumed Larry, having no choice but to remain optimistic despite the predicament he found himself in. "Maybe it'll all blow over."
"I don't know, Larry - delinquents are dangerous," K. Rool said to the Koopaling, having many doubts that Larry would make it past Kanji alive. "Their high levels of testosterone turn them into killing machines!"
"R-Really?" Larry was now scared out of his mind, stuck in a rock and a hard place. "I'm so done for!"
King K. Rool: Know a dude on the street, named Louis, who got in a fight with a delinquent once. The guy broke like, all his arms, all his legs, and I think, killed him or something, I don't know. Me and Louis were just talking about it.
"I can't stay here!" said a panicked Larry as he backed himself into a corner of Luigi's living room. "What if Kanji comes back!? I gotta hide!"
"Look, Larry, you got yourself a choice-a here," Mario said to the Koopaling, as he walked over to place an assuring hand on his shoulder. "You can either go face-a him like a man, or you can hide indoors-a like a wimp. What'll it be?"
Larry took Mario's words to heart and thought over what the plumber told him, before finally making up his mind. He decided that he wouldn't hide indoors in Luigi's house...but rather hide indoors back at the mansion, in the arcade room. Proto Man was playing an arcade game, one that Larry was hiding underneath.
"What a wimp," Proto Man remarked about Larry, not caring to ask why the Koopaling was hiding underneath the arcade machine. Only cared about winning.
"I can't fight Kanji, he's twice my size," Larry said to Proto Man, who couldn't care less as he kept his focus and attention on the arcade game. "I mean, what would getting myself killed accomplish? I just need to hide here until five o'clock passes." Larry looked at his watch and saw that it was only one-thirty. "Uggggh, this day will never end!"
"Relax, Larry. Just try not to think about Kanji. Forget about all your problems..."
Luigi was done playing cards, as his neighbors (and King K. Rool) went back to their abode. Mario, on the other hand, stayed behind, as he found himself transfixed by a show that Daisy was watching on the television.
"Giiirl, why you 'ackin so cray-cray?" a woman on the television talk show asked the girl sitting across from her, as a studio audience cheered in response. Mario was bewildered as to why the crowd even reacted as such.
"Why You Ackin' So Cray-Cray? will be back in a moment," said the TV announcer, as Mario looked over and saw Daisy watching the show attentively. The plumber for the life of him couldn't believe that his own sister-in-law watched such trash.
"I hope that Larry isn't hiding from Kanji," remarked Daisy, no longer thinking about the show that she was watching. A show that Mario felt was comparable to Jerry Springer. "He should be able to face his fears."
"Fears-a are for chumps," stated Luigi, saying perhaps the most ironic statement he's ever made in his life as he entered the kitchen. "That's why I don't have-a any!" Luigi tried to reach for an item on the kitchen shelf, but couldn't reach it.
"You want-a me to go get a ladder?" Mario asked his twin brother, seeing that Luigi's height was working against him. That doesn't happen very often.
"We don't have one," Luigi said, so fast that he nearly caught Mario off-guard. Mario had to take a moment to process what his ears had just heard.
"What? Daisy, is this true?" Mario looked towards the princess, refusing to believe Luigi even for a second. "I thought you guys always-a had a ladder around."
"He's telling the truth, sadly," replied Daisy, sounding kind of defeat in her response. You could only imagine what was going through her head.
Luigi: Studies show that keeping a ladder in the house is more-a dangerous than a loaded gun. That's why I own ten-a guns, in case some maniac tries to sneak in with a ladder. *pauses* None of my guns are loaded, mind-a you.
"Luigi, why you ackin' so cray-cray?" Mario asked his twin brother, as he was starting to feel a bit suspicious. Already, that show Daisy was watching had tainted Mario.
"You're the one who's-a 'ackin' cray-cray!'" retorted Luigi, not wanting any of Mario's crap as he retreated upstairs to his room. "I gotta go now."
"Why would Luigi be so weirded out-a by ladders?" Mario asked Daisy, not recalling this kind of behavior from his twin brother before. "You don't think he has a secret-a fear of heights?"
"It's...on and off," replied Daisy, sounding less defeated than she did before. "We might have to test him to see how big his fear is. Or we could leave well enough alone...nah! Let's test him."
Slowly but surely, Larry was getting over his fear of Kanji. The Koopaling was now playing the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure arcade game, while Mr. Resetti was playing a TRON arcade game. How was the mole doing? His avatar fell off his bike at the start of the race - and that was only the fourth time!
"Man, I wonder what it would be like to go inside a video game for real!" pondered Mr. Resetti, as he took out his drill. The mole drilled his way into the arcade machine. "I should have thought of this years ago!" Mr. Resetti tried to squeeze in, and he found it to be more of a tight squeeze than he imagined.
"Stupid Kanji. I'm not scared of him!" Larry assured himself, giving himself some confidence as he played the Jojo's arcade game. He was thinking too much, and that overthinking caused him to lose round one.
"K.O! Continue?" said the game announcer, as the countdown began on the screen. It was only ten seconds long - talk about not giving the player a chance.
"A winner never backs down from a fight..." Jotaro's voice was heard from the arcade game, likely as a last-ditch attempt to get the player to continue. Or maybe Jotaro was just speaking to himself.
"That's easy for you to say, you have more than one life." Larry let out a sigh, wondering how easy Jotaro and the other characters in the arcade game had it. "Ugh, I wish one of these guys would fight Kanji for me."
Larry was about to insert another coin, but he dropped it as it rolled onto the floor. He bends down to pick it up and notices something written on the arcade machine, and brushes off the dust, revealing the text.
"'To unleash ultimate power?'" Larry read the message inscribed on the arcade machine, before giving a curious shrug. "I do like things that are ultimate." Seeing the code written underneath the message, Larry inputted the code using the joystick and button controls. And after putting in the code...the arcade machine just shut down. "I guess it didn't work."
Larry would soon realize how wrong he was, as the screen flared back to life. Almost like the arcade game was possessed, as a bright light emitted from the screen. Larry looked over for help, and his only help available - Mr. Resetti - found himself stuck inside the TRON arcade machine.
"SELECT YOUR CHARACTER!" shouted the game announcer, sounding much more lively and empathetic than before. A character select screen appeared, featuring dudes like Jotaro, Dio, Jean Pierre Polnareff, and several others.
"Uhhh...Jotaro Kujo?" answered Larry, unsure of whether he should feel amazed or mildly concerned. The Koopaling would take a step back, as Jotaro Kujo slowly materialized outside of the game.
"Yare yare daze..." were the first words that Jotaro said once he was out of the arcade game, and of course he had to say his catchphrase. To say that Larry was amazed by what had just happened would be lightly putting it.
"Whoa! You're real?" Larry asked Jotaro, who was looking down at the Koopaling. Even in pixelated form, Jotaro was exuding a serious, tough vibe with his demeanor.
"Why don't you see for yourself?" Jotaro held out his hand to Larry, wanting him to see that he was the real deal. Slightly geeking out, Larry smacked his hand on Jotaro's.
"Ow! Your pixels are really sharp! Ugh!" Larry winced in pain as he held his hand, but he didn't care about being hurt at all - he got to meet Jotaro Kujo! That easily trumped anything.
"Greetings, turtle boy. I am Jotaro Kujo, a high school student from Japan." Jotaro summoned his Stand, Star Platinum - a strong, muscular dude with long flowing hair. "And this is my Stand, Star Platinum."
"This is so cool!" Larry was doing his best not to geek out, as Jotaro looked over and spotted a change machine. Every arcade has gotta have one of those.
"I sense a high amount of Stand energy from his change machine..." Jotaro curiously approached the change machine in question, certain that there was some evil force hiding within it. "Now, Star Platinum!" Star Platinum went to work on the change machine, punching it repeatedly until it was completely damaged.
"With Jotaro around, Kanji will be so scared, I won't even need to fight him," Larry said quietly to himself, smiling as his plan was slowly coming together. "I've got the world's greatest Stand user to be my bodyguard!"
"I need something to test my power with. That change machine had no Stand energy, but it was a waste of my ability."
"This is so amazing! I gotta show my siblings!" Larry ran out of the arcade room, as Jotaro shook his head, having no choice but to follow after Larry. Meanwhile, Mr. Resetti was literally inside the TRON arcade machine, as Yoshi came over.
"Help, I'm trapped in the game!" Mr. Resetti cried out to Yoshi, who screamed in horror as he jumped back in fear. "It was cool in theory but in practice, it was really boring."
"IT'S HAPPENING, THE ARCADE MACHINES ARE EATING US ALIVE!" screamed a panicked Yoshi as he ran out of the arcade room. He would fit right along with the conspiracy couple that lived near the mansion.
"It's not just a game anymore!" Mr. Resetti called out to Yoshi, not sure that the green dinosaur heard him.
Mr. Game and Watch: *walks over to damaged change machine, inspects the damage, and then sighs* Master Hand...
Luigi was on his living room couch, taking a nap. Gotta get his afternoon nap in so he could be fully rested for the remainder of his day. Mario and Daisy were peeking on Luigi, ready to carry out their plan.
"Alright, it's-a time to begin - Operation Get Luigi Over His Fear of Heights!" Mario said to Daisy before he crept over to Luigi. Had to be as quiet as possible.
"I came up with that name," Daisy bragged to Yuffie, who was interested in seeing if Mario and Daisy's plan would work out. Once Mario got close enough to Luigi...
"HAPPY TWIN BROTHER'S DAY!" the plumber yelled, waking up Luigi in an instant. Luigi fell onto the floor, as he nearly had a heart attack.
"Huh?" said Luigi as he looked out in slight confusion before Mario handed him a present. "Is it really Twin Brother's Day?
"Yeah, of course-a it's not a day I made up." Mario gave a wink towards Daisy and Yuffie, as Luigi happily unwrapped his present. Luigi then opened the box and pulled out...some high heels.
"High heels? Mario, you shouldn't have..." Because he felt extremely obligated to do so, Luigi put on the high heels, which were as green as his hat. The plumber then stood up, finding the heels to be too high for his liking. "Seriously? What is this?"
"What's wrong? Are you saying these heels are TOO high?" Daisy asked Luigi, who was led to believe that his wife bought the shoes for him. He couldn't be any closer to the truth. "Do they make you uncomfortable? Hmm?"
"Maybe. Probably because-a I'm not used to wearing heels." But Luigi could definitely wear a princess's dress with no problem whatsoever. Once wore Peach's dress to save the princess from Cackletta, and it did it to absolute perfection.
"Admit it! Admit-a you have a fear of heights!" Mario pointed at Luigi, wanting his twin brother to come clean with his fear. The first step to solving a problem was admitting that you have one.
"What? That's why you bought-a me these? You should be ashamed-a of yourself! And on Twin-a Brother's Day no less. But no, I don't have a 'fear of heights.'" Luigi would turn on the television, and guess what was the first thing that appeared on the screen?
"We now return to "World's Most Terrifying Skydiving!" said the TV announcer, as the shot of a skydiver jumping out of a plane was enough to make Luigi scream in absolute terror.
"Ah! Ah! Turn-a it off!" Luigi ran away from the television screen, only to trip on his high heels. Luigi had to admit to his fear at this point. "So I have a fear of heights. Is that really so cray-cray?"
If Larry wanted Jotaro to be ready for his fight against Kanji, he had to ensure that the Stand user was not only equipped but fully nourished. So he brought Jotaro to the kitchen and was looking through the fridge.
"Well, we don't have any traditional power-ups," Larry said to Jotaro, who was idly standing by, while he continued looking through the fridge. "Turkey legs, pizza boxes, gold rings...how about half a taco?"
"Place it on the floor," commanded Jotaro, as Larry took the half-eaten taco and placed it delicately on the floor. Jotaro just looked at the half-eaten taco, and the taco...disappeared! Most likely have eaten it, or saved it for later.
"Wow, I wish I could do that!" Larry was completely amazed by Jotaro, and what he was able to perform despite being in pixelated form.
Meta Knight: Had a taco saved for later in the fridge, but it's no longer there. No one seems to know what happened to it. I suspect that Duck Hunt Dog found his way back inside the fridge again.
"Now I must defeat Dio before he embarks on his quest to take over the world," said Jotaro, who refused to rest until his arch-enemy was taken care of. Dio wasn't the kind of villain that you could leave alone. "Take me to Egypt at once, turtle boy!"
"That's gonna be tough...for a number of reasons," stated Larry; the only method would be to use the teleportation device, but Master Hand probably wouldn't allow it. "But I do know a fighter here in Seattle."
"A fighter, in Seattle?" Jotaro found himself intrigued, as he held his finger underneath his chin. Any competitor was worthy competition for the Stand user. "You don't mean Mike Tyson, do you?"
"His name is Kanji Tatsumi." Larry took out his phone and showed Jotaro an unflattering picture of Kanji, who was trying to lock lips with Naoto. "He's kinda like my arch-enemy, at least only for today."
"Did he kill your father?" Jotaro analyzed the picture of Kanji, wondering how on earth Larry was so afraid of the delinquent. Perhaps if Larry pulled up a different photo of Kanji, Jotaro would have a different opinion.
"Well, he's just salty that I broke his cellphone. And he posts a really annoying amount of status updates."
"I see...and then he killed your father!" Jotaro would know a thing or two about dads being killed - he's seen his grandfather on the verge of death a few times.
"Uh, sure. Anyway, I was hoping you could, you know, scare him off for me so I don't have to fight the guy."
"Yare yare daze..." Jotaro sighed and facepalmed, likely thinking of Larry as the biggest weakling that he has ever encountered. "...if I must, then I will fight your battle for you."
"Awesome! So you'll protect me from Kanji?" After giving some thought, Jotaro nodded his head, leading Larry to smile and pump his fist.
"I promise to go easy on him." Jotaro cracked his knuckles, as he suddenly heard footsteps. "Looks like we have some company."
"Uh oh, I think I hear Lady Palutena. Stay perfectly still!" So Jotaro stayed perfectly still, while his iconic jacket blew in the wind. Although there was no wind around. "I said stay still."
"I hope you do realize that I have no control over my jacket..."
Bowser was standing around in the gardens, at a far distance, as he saw Cloud and Aerith planting some flowers together. Oh, and Tifa was there also, just to help out.
"Viridi sure has a nice taste for flowers," remarked Tifa, thoroughly impressed by the flowers that Viridi had bought. Something about that word choice made Tifa cringe a little. "A nice taste for flowers...eh, I'll let it stick."
"She's picked out better flowers ever since she stopped her hatred of humans," stated Aerith, as she was patting some soil on the ground around a newly planted flower. "Had a pretty silly reason to hate humans, if you ask me."
"Cloud, do you mind if I go out for a lunch break?" Sonic asked the swordsman as he sped to the gardens; Cloud tried to play it cool, while Aerith and Tifa were confused. "Promise I'll get something other than chili dogs!"
"Uh, sure Sonic, go on ahead," replied Cloud, as Sonic gave a thumbs up and sped away. Sonic couldn't have asked that question at a less convenient time.
"What was that all about?" Tifa asked Cloud, as she and Aerith were looking at Cloud in a very suspicious manner. Bowser had his eyes peeled.
"That was weird." That was all Cloud really could say, to avoid any further suspicion. But the suspicion that Bowser had, Cloud couldn't suppress so easily.
Larry took Jotaro down to the foyer, ready to bring the Stand user outside. At that time, Pit, Lloyd, and Toad had entered through the front door, having delivered some food around town.
"Well, boys...we raised close to five thousand dollars this week," Lloyd said to Pit and Toad, as he was liking the progress made so far. "We're killing it! Best delivery service in the game!"
"Hey fellas! Have you met Jotaro yet?" Larry asked the three residents who just entered the mansion, as Pit was the most amazed out of the three. "He's my new bodyguard."
"This turtle child gave me a taco," Jotaro stated to Pit and company, looking cool and collected with his hands in his pockets. "Granted, it wasn't much, but..."
"Wow! He's got such a cool voice!" exclaimed Pit, who didn't appear to know Jojo's Bizarre Adventure that well. The Jojo fanbase would have a field day with him. Pit excitedly took out a piece of paper, wrote some words on it, and handed it over to Jotaro. "Here, say these words."
"Effer...vescent, apple..fritter...riboflavin?" Jotaro read the words on the piece of paper - or at least a few of the words. Some words were misspelled so badly by Pit, it was hard for Jotaro to even make them out.
Jotaro: The young angel lad wanted me to say "poop" and "butts"...how old is he supposed to be?
"Pit, he's not a toy, he's a fighting machine," Larry explained to the angel, as he snatched the piece of paper from Jotaro and crumbled it up. "I'm gonna get him to defend me from Kanji."
"Isn't that kinda like cheating?" asked Toad, knowing that Jotaro could easily cream Kanji at less than ten percent of power. Perhaps even less than that!
"I guess so. Well, I'll see you guys after the fight. Wish me luck!"
Done planting the flowers, Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa went back inside the mansion interior, only to see Fox and Falco head down the hallway towards them. Perhaps the last two individuals Cloud wanted to see right about now.
"Got some good news, Cloud, we're finished with our..." Fox started, only to shut up real quick when he saw Aerith and Tifa standing around. Couldn't spill any beans. "Finished with our, uh..."
"...our massage lessons!" Falco would finish for Fox, as him massaging Aerith from two episodes ago was the first thing that came to mind. "Fox and I took massaging classes. Online. All of them. For free."
"Seems like you really took my words to heart," Aerith said to Falco, who the flower girl told was pretty good at massaging. Those words actually pleased Falco.
"Sure did! Taking those classes was my idea, I got Fox hooked. The two of us passed those classes with flying colors!"
"Passed them with flying colors, huh?" smirked Tifa as she folded her arms, unsure of whether she should be impressed or a bit skeptical. "Those classes must've been a walk in the park."
"I mean, if Fox and Falco can pass them, anyone else can," Cloud quipped, as Aerith and Tifa laughed at the swordsman's joke. As Aerith and Tifa laughed, Cloud leaned in close to Fox and Falco, whispering to them, "Get out of here now..."
"You got it," Fox whispered back as he and Falco stormed down the hallway. Cloud resumed his normal presence around Aerith and Tifa, as Bowser was peeking around the corner...
Larry and Jotaro were outside in the backyard, where Larry was supposed to meet Kanji. Five o'clock was nigh approaching, so all Larry had to do now was wait.
"Tell me my opponent's special moves, if he has any," Jotaro requested of Larry, wanting to know Kanji a bit better. Wanted to know all the delinquent's strengths and weaknesses.
"Don't worry - as soon as he sees you, he's gonna wet his pants," Larry assured Jotaro, fully confident that Kanji would run away from Jotaro out of fear. He didn't want Kanji to wind up in the hospital; he would be held accountable for the delinquent's injuries.
"His wet pants will be no match for this!" Jotaro summoned Star Platinum, and Star Platinum picked up a metal pipe he found lying on the ground.
"Whoa! Where'd that come from?" Larry gently took the metal pipe from Star Platinum, making sure that nobody got hurt. "Trust me, you won't need that. Just give him a good scare."
"Yes, I'll scare him...with this!" Star Platinum picked up a sword he found lying on the ground and swung it around out of curiosity.
Dark Pit: Yeah, sometimes the backyard has some really dangerous litter. *shrugs* But hey, it's not really my problem...I let Mr. Game and Watch handle that stuff.
"Hey, has anyone seen my sword around here?" Erdrick called out from afar, as a panicked Larry tried to pry the sword out of Star Platinum's hands. "If I find out that someone stole it, they're gonna pay!"
Mario and Daisy were ready to execute the next step on their plan of eliminating Luigi's fear of heights. Daisy crept up to Luigi, who was drinking from a can of Coca-Cola in his living room, and the princess was moving stealthily like a ninja.
"Hey Luigi!" Daisy loudly greeted the plumber, sneaking up behind the chair he was sitting in, as Luigi spat his drink out in surprise. A second near heart attack for poor Luigi today. "How would you like to go take a walk nowhere in particular while wearing a blindfold?"
"Eh, beats just sittin' around-a here being me," shrugged Luigi as he got up, only to pause and sit back down. Seeing Mario standing around made him all skeptical. "Wait a minute... you guys aren't planning on taking me some-a place super high up, are you?
"Luigi! We would-a never!" replied Mario as he put on a boy scout's sash over his torso. That really brought back some memories for Luigi. "Scout's-a honor!"
Mario: Luigi and I used to be a part-a of the boy scouts when we were kids. Unfortunately, our tenure didn't last-a that long; Luigi couldn't stop stealing badges to pad-a his own reputation.
"Alright, let's-a go," said Luigi, as he followed Mario and Daisy out of his house. Both Mario and Daisy chuckled nervously, as Mario had his fingers crossed behind his back.
"Guys, where are you going?" Yuffie asked Luigi and company, watching as they left the house; the ninja girl sighed afterward. "Always leaving me in charge of watching the kids..."
The clock had just struck five, which meant that it was time for Larry and Kanji to have their fight in the backyard. Kanji arrived at the backyard, stunned to see Larry standing alone by himself waiting for him.
"Well, well, well! Look who decided to show up!" snarled Kanji as he cracked his knuckles, eager to lay the ultimate smackdown on Larry's behind. "I thought you chickened out. You ready to settle this like men?"
"Look dude, I don't think you want to fight me," Larry said to Kanji, who saw the Koopaling's response as a major sign of weaknesses and defeat. "Let's just call this thing off before someone gets hurt."
"You scared, huh? Is that it?" Kanji put his hands on his knees, taunting Larry as he had a devious smile on his face. A smile fitting for a delinquent like him.
"Okay, dude! You asked for it!" Larry snapped his fingers, and right on cue, Jotaro showed up. Menacing as he knew how.
"Is that supposed to be Jotaro Kujo? And why is he...blurry?"
"That's right, it is Jotaro Kujo - the greatest Stand user that ever lived!"
"Yeah, right! That guy's not the real deal. You think I would be scared of that?" Kanji laughed at Jotaro, breaking an important unwritten rule...one should never laugh at Jotaro Kujo.
"How can you laugh, when you killed this boy's father?!" Jotaro pointed accusingly at Kanji, who stopped laughing in an instant. Things were about to go from zero to a hundred real quick.
"Wait, what?" Kanji was confused as to what Jotaro meant; he recalled stubbing Bowser's toe on a door the other day, but he didn't believe that he killed Bowser in the process.
"I'm giving you one last chance to back down, or this guy's gonna go nuts," Larry gave this warning to Kanji, who refused to take any crap from the Koopaling.
"How about you back down, kid?" And just like that, Kanji forced Larry's hand. He was about to receive whatever was coming to him.
"You asked for it. Jotaro? Go!" So Jotaro summoned Star Platinum and approached Kanji in the most Jotaro Kujo way possible. Kanji went from confused to concerned in a hurry.
"What the...?" Kanji ducked a punch from Star Platinum and then tried to run away. But Star Platinum picked up the delinquent, hoisting him in the air. "Woah! Hey! What's happening?"
"I didn't wanna have to do this, man, but you gave me no choice. Maybe now, if you..."
Suddenly, Star Platinum slammed Kanji to the ground, leaving the delinquent in pain. If Jotaro didn't stop, Kanji might find himself in the emergency room, or worse!
"Woah! Jotaro! You can stop!" Larry shouted to the Stand user, as Star Platinum picked up Kanji by his collar. "I think Kanji's had enough..." Jotaro did not heed Larry's words, as Star Platinum threw Kanji up in the air and made him land on some metal bars. "...stop! I said stop!"
"What the...that guy's crazy!" screamed Kanji as he pointed at Jotaro, before running away. Jotaro watched as Kanji ran off, wanting to lay a few more licks on the delinquent.
"What the heck was that?!" Larry questioned Jotaro, who showed zero remorse for his violent actions as he simply tipped his hat. "You were only supposed to scare him; you almost killed him!"
"I will not rest until the man who dishonored you is destroyed," replied Jotaro, who had unfinished business to settle as he followed Kanji's trail. "I'm not done with him yet..."
"This isn't good." Larry had no choice but to chase after Jotaro and make sure that the Stand user didn't outright kill Kanji. He followed Jotaro to a bunch of barrels and saw Star Platinum throwing a barrel at Kanji, who was hiding up in a tree.
"Chill out man! Just chill out!" Kanji called out to Jotaro after dodging the barrel thrown at him. Naoto could really save his butt right now.
"Please, Jotaro! You gotta stop!" Larry pleaded to Jotaro, as Star Platinum continued to toss barrels at Kanji. Kanji eventually got down from the tree and ran away, as Jotaro was on the chase. Larry chased after Jotaro. "Jotaro, wait!"
"Get back here, you!" Jotaro commanded Kanji, as he chased the delinquent all around the mansion premises. He refused to stop until Kanji was done for.
"You don't have to do this! At least pace yourself..." Larry started to slow down, nearly out of breath, as he got a cramp in his side. "You might get a cramp..." Eventually, Larry came to a stop, taking a breather.
Wario: You know what this is? *holds up keys* That's right! I got myself a new motorcycle! The old one was nice, not gonna lie, but it was about that time. Now get a good look at this fine specimen! *shows off new motorcycle*
Kanji: SAVE ME! *screams as he runs away, as Star Platinum grabs Wario's new motorcycle and throws it afar*
Wario: Oh no! My motorcycle! *looks shocked at first, then laughs it off* Ah, who am I kidding, I can just buy another one! I love being rich...
"Yo, Larry!" a certain hedgehog shouted to the Kremling, who had just finished taking his breather. Larry turned around and saw that Sonic had pulled up to the mansion's driveway on his blue Corvette, returning from his lunch break. "Dude, you see that video game guy tearing up almost everything in sight? Haha! That's crazy!"
"Yeah, that's Jotaro Kujo; I kinda sorta brought him to life to be my bodyguard," Larry explained to Sonic, who knew that Jotaro Kujo looked a bit familiar. The Jojo fanbase wouldn't have to worry about educating Sonic. "But now I have to stop him before he kills Kanji!"
"You need an amiable sidekick with a blue corvette?" Sonic most certainly fitted the bill.
"You know I do!" So Larry hopped inside Sonic's corvette, and Sonic drove out of the driveway and off to wherever Kanji and Jotaro were headed.
Mario and Daisy successfully led Luigi out of his house, and to an unknown location. They had the plumber blindfolded during the entire trek, knowing that he would be in for a surprise.
"Take off your blindfold... now!" Daisy instructed Luigi, who removed his blindfold. The plumber discovered that he was standing on a water tower, high up from the ground.
"Yeah, that's pretty much-a what I was expecting," remarked Luigi, not that surprised by Mario and Daisy's actions, as he was holding onto the handrail for dear life.
Captain Falcon: There's a water tower near the mansion - many of us veteran residents like to call it "Ye Old Faithful". It's been through the thick and the thin and has truly withstood the test of time. Even withstood those zombies that randomly appeared last week - although it had some bite marks on it, the last time I checked. Zombies have a very interesting appetite...should be expected since they have a hankering for brains.
"You're doing better than-a we thought!" Mario said to Luigi, as he was very proud of his brother. But his and Daisy's work wasn't done yet. "Now let-a go of the handrail..."
"Nope," answered Luigi in a high-pitched voice, his body shaking as sweat ran down his face.
"Hey, do you smell anger and testosterone?" Daisy asked the Mario Bros, as a peculiar smell reached her nostrils. Soon Kanji ran up the ladder to the water tower, nearly out of breath.
"Finally! I'm safe!" said the delinquent, looking down below him for any signs of Jotaro.
"Hey, Kanji! Get your own water tower!"
"Shh! Keep it down! He'll find us!"
"I have found you..." Jotaro said to Kanji, as he was now standing at the base of the water tower. Kanji screamed in fear as Sonic pulled up to the water tower.
"Time to save the day, dude," Sonic said to Larry, confident that the Koopaling could get Jotaro to lay off on Kanji. Larry hopped out of Sonic's corvette, hoping to save the day...and Kanji's life along with it.
"You can run, but you cannot hide!" Jotaro shouted at Kanji, as he summoned Star Platinum. Star Platinum was raring to unleash his full power.
"Jotaro! This has to stop! Please listen to me!" an exasperated Larry pleaded to Jotaro, who ignored the Koopaling as Star Platinum punched the water tower repeatedly. The water tower leaned, making those high up very worried about their safety.
"We're safe, right?" Daisy asked Mario, doing her best to maintain her balance. The water tower was less sturdy than it looked.
"Of course-a not! This thing is on-a stilts!" replied Mario, as Luigi continued to have a strong vice grip on the water tower handrail. "High high up!" Eventually, Kanji fell off the water tower and was caught by Star Platinum.
"Time to finish you," Jotaro said to Kanji after Star Platinum brought the delinquent back on his feet. Kanji backed away, as Star Platinum was ready to deliver a flurry of punches to him.
"No no no, don't! Don't finish me!" Kanji pleaded to Jotaro as he fell back on the ground, turning his head away in fear. But before Jotaro could do anything, a coin hit his head.
"Jotaro!" Larry called out the Stand user's name, as he ran over to speak with him. "I have something to tell you! Kanji...Kanji didn't kill my father."
"But if he didn't kill your father, then who did?" asked Jotaro, stunned by this new revelation. Kanji tried to make a run for it, only for Star Platinum to pick him up.
"What? No one. I lied to you." That made Jotaro feel betrayed - he thought that he could trust Larry, like a friend.
"Well, if that's the case, then that makes you...a bad guy!" Jotaro pointed at Larry, hoping that the Koopaling knew how much of an evil person he was.
"I mean, I'm kind of a bad guy already, so..." Star Platinum would place Kanji on a nearby tree branch, as Jotaro now switched his targets.
"If Kanji is not the man I was set out to destroy, then it must be...YOU!" Jotaro pointed at Larry once more, but this time with more dramatics and emphasis.
"Don't fight him, man!" Sonic encouraged Larry, speeding over to speak with the Koopaling. "That guy's got his hair infused with his hat, that means something. You could get killed!"
"I have to. I started all this and I've got to at least try to stop it." Larry was taking some accountability, and he had no choice but to own up to his mistake. Gotta be the bigger man.
"You sure you wouldn't rather hide like a wimp?" Sonic saw that Larry wasn't backing down from Jotaro, and it made him respect the Koopaling more. "Fight like a man it is..."
Sonic: Pixelated Roman Reigns was pretty cool and all, but pixelated Jotaro is even cooler! Kinda wished he didn't destroy nearly everything in his path, though - he almost destroyed that treehouse. Don't wanna hear Donkey Kong's mouth again!
Larry and Jotaro were ready to fight each other, as Larry got into a fighting stance and Jotaro had Star Platinum ready to go. Sonic took out his phone so he could record the fight on his device.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Larry let out his battle cry as he charged towards Jotaro. Jotaro, knowing that Larry would strike first, sent out Star Platinum to punch Larry and send him flying.
"You fight like a girl...and also a baby," Jotaro taunted Larry, who landed on the ground in pain. Jotaro almost felt like laughing at Larry, just to rub some salt in the wound.
"That's what you think! AAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Larry got out and shouted his battle cry once more, running towards Star Platinum. This time he anticipated Star Platinum as he dodged past the Stand, before delivering a wicked uppercut to Jotaro.
"Dude!" exclaimed Sonic, amazed by the move that Larry pulled up, as Jotaro fell to the ground. For a moment, it looked like Larry had got the better of Jotaro...
...but Jotaro got up with ease like it was nothing. That uppercut probably felt like a meager tap on his chin to him. Seeing Jotaro standing menacingly, Larry screamed and ran away.
"Don't worry, Larry, I can save you!" Sonic called out to the Koopaling, looking around as Jotaro calmly chased after Larry. "There's gotta be a health bar around here somewhere..."
Larry returned to the mansion premises and ran up a tree to avoid Jotaro. Jotaro would catch up to Larry, on the hunt for the Koopaling, as he paced around.
"Crap...I don't have a looking up animation," the Stand user frowned as he tried to look up, only to fall on the ground. Jotaro was lying flat on the ground, unable to move around.
"Haha, serves you right!" Larry laughed at Jotaro as he leaped down from the tree, as Sonic showed up in the nick of time. "So, what should I do, roll him up and put him on my wall?" Larry asked Sonic, who found Jotaro's plight quite amusing.
"We should rock paper scissors for him!" suggested Sonic, who wanted nothing more than an animated poster on his wall. Suddenly, Jotaro let out a scream.
"Star...PLATINUM!" the Stand user shouted, as he summoned his Stand. Star Platinum, using all his might, and a flurry of punches, helped Jotaro get up from the ground. "Never underestimate that my stand, Star Platinum, has punches..."
"Fine then...do your worst," Larry said to Jotaro, holding his arms out wide. What better way to be the bigger man than to admit defeat? A very honorable move by Larry Koopa.
"URA URA URA URA URA URA!" yelled Star Platinum as he punched away at Larry, with reckless oblivion. If that was even a thing. The only thing that could possibly save Larry right now was a "To be continued..." screen, and maybe some "Roundabout" on the side.
"He's done for," remarked Sonic, as Star Platinum finished off Lary with an uppercut. A little retribution for the uppercut that Larry gave to Jotaro. Larry landed on the ground, badly beaten from head to toe.
"You, sir, truly are the champion of champions," Larry said to Jotaro, paying his respects to the Stand user. The Koopaling got a painful first-hand look at how mighty Jotaro truly was.
"Yare yare daze..." said Jotaro as he tipped his hat, solemnly looking at the ground. "...looks like I'm the last man standing."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that, man," Sonic told Jotaro, pointing at his hand; Jotaro looked down at his hand, and saw that his hand was disintegrating.
"GAME OVER!" shouted the game announcer, whose voice came from...well, wherever. Regardless, that voice was the last thing that Jotaro wanted to hear.
"What? No! NO! NOOOOOOO!" Jotaro cried out, as he and Star Platinum started disintegrating. In a matter of seconds, Jotaro was no more - he was back in the arcade game where he belonged.
"Game over, my friend," said Larry, as Sonic helped the Koopaling off the ground. Dr. Wily showed up outside, looking panicked and paranoid.
"Did you boys just hear a loud voice just now?" the evil genius asked Sonic and Larry, who both decided to keep their mouths shut. Didn't feel like doing too much explaining. "Must be hearing things again...stupid hearing aid!"
The Mario Bros and Daisy remained at the water tower, and they were clinging on for dear life. And yes, Luigi still had his hands on the handrail.
"I'm sorry, Luigi!" Mario apologized to his twin brother, who was looking more comfortable about being so high up. "We thought this would-a help, but we were wrong! So wrong!"
"I-I survived! I survived-a and I feel great!" cheered Luigi as he took his hand off the handrail. "Wait, let me do a cocky dance just-a to be sure." Luigi did his cocky dance, as he moved his hips to the side. "Haha, deal with it, world! Luigi has cured-a his fear of heights!"
"Mission accomplished...I guess," remarked Daisy, as Luigi climbed down the ladder; the plumber stopped momentarily when he saw that Mario and Daisy weren't coming.
"You guys-a coming or what?" Luigi asked Mario and Daisy, refusing to go down the ladder without leaving his wife and brother behind. He wasn't the kind of person to abandon others - usually, he was the one who would be abandoned himself!
"Nope," Mario shook his head, looking down below as he turned his head away.
"What's the matter, you got a fear-a of heights, now? Haha...uh-oh."
Bowser followed Cloud for most of the day, and now the Koopa King found the swordsman alone in the gaming room speaking with Aerith and Tifa. After Aerith and Tifa left the gaming room, it was time for Bowser to make his move.
"Anyone sitting here?" Bowser asked Cloud as he entered the gaming room, sitting on the same couch as Cloud. Cloud knew that Bowser was up to no good.
"You've been following me around all day, haven't you?" asked Cloud, catching Bowser by surprise. But Bowser shouldn't be too startled; Cloud wasn't a dummy, after all.
"Alright, so maybe I am a stalker...but at least I'm not stalking hot bates!"
"Right, as if stalking men like me is any better...you have no standards, Bowser."
"Like you're the one to talk, Strife. You like to keep secrets. Very suspect."
"Bet you don't even know what kind of secrets I'm hiding."
"You know what, I'm just gonna guess. You're planning a surprise for Aerith!"
"No, I'm actually trying to revive Aerith...our universe's Aerith, that is."
"My second guess, you reviving Aerith was going to be my second guess."
"Uh...sure. You know, to tell the truth, I might have some feelings for Aerith..."
"Really? You're kidding me. You and Aerith? Wow. I would have never have put you two together. You really hid it well. Thought you two would be just friends! I usually have a radar for stuff like that. You know, I had the biggest crush on Lara..."
"Yeah, I know; everyone knew how much you loved Lara Croft, no getting around it."
"Eh, pretty much. Well, Aerith is cute. I imagined that you'd go with Tifa instead."
"We are childhood friends...suppose that's criteria for being boyfriend-girlfriend. Might be too late to give her a chance."
"Well, I'll just say this about Aerith...if you like her so much, don't give up. The same goes for Tifa if you choose a different route."
"I'm just worried that if I revive Aerith, she might have feelings for, you know...Zack Fair."
"Pfft! Zack's dead, he's old news. If she still likes Zack, then she's stuck in the past. Just be yourself, Cloud - just do what the real Cloud would do. I know he's in there, somewhere!"
"The real Cloud...do what the real Cloud would do...I'll give it some thought."
"Never, ever, ever give up. Live by those words, man..." Cloud was taking advice from Bowser - and it was pretty sound advice, at that. One might expect it to be the other way around.
After unhooking his hood from the tree branch, Kanji went to go look for Larry, wanting to give the Koopaling a piece of his mind. He would find Larry outside in the front yard of the mansion, nursing a black eye.
"What? Why did you bring that guy to beat me up?!" Kanji angrily confronted Larry, making sure that the Koopaling couldn't get away. "Jotaro Kujo, really?!"
"I don't know, man," shrugged Larry, trying his best to play it cool. But Kanji was feeling the complete opposite of cool right now.
"That guy almost broke my neck! You know how mad I am right now?!"
"So I guess you and I have to fight now, huh? Go ahead, man. Do your worst. I just want to get this over with."
"Hey guys, what's going on here?" asked Rex as he showed up outside, seeing Kanji raising his fist in the air. "Oh boy..."
"Oh, man! I am so gonna enjoy this!" grinned Kanji, surprised to see that Larry wasn't running away and crying for his dad to protect him. "Aren't you gonna run?"
"Nope," Larry shook his head. If he could take a flurry of punches from Star Platinum, then a punch from Kanji would be light work for him.
"Are you sure?" Even though Larry nodded his head in response to the question, Kanji scoffed as he lowered his fist. "It's not even worth it! I gotta do guitar practice so I gotta save my hands."
"Hey, guys! We heard some crazy screaming back here," a female voice called out to Larry and Kanji, and also Rex - who recognized the voice right off the bat.
"Mythra?" Rex perked up, and would you know it, Mythra arrived at the mansion along with Nia, Pyra, Dromarch, and Naoto, carrying a bunch of cat food and supplies. "You ladies are back! Oh, and you too, Dromarch - can't forget you."
"Fortunately," mumbled Naoto, as she grabbed all the food and supplies from Pyra and company and headed to the mansion. "You ladies can go play catch-up; I'll just take these items on inside."
Naoto: I was asked to take Pyra, Mythra, and Nia to some stupid pet store to buy some cat stuff. Reason being was that I had money on me - as if no one else had a couple of bucks to spare. Sometimes I wish that I was broke...
"What on earth happened here?" wondered Pyra as she looked around, seeing some of the damage that Jotaro (but mainly Star Platinum) left behind. "Freak tornado or something?"
"Uh, well, uh..." Larry and Kanji replied simultaneously, looking around guiltily as Nia took a closer look at their faces.
"Why are your faces all jacked up?" Nia asked Larry and Kanji, seeing how bruised the two were. "You guys weren't fighting each other, were you? I hope you didn't let these two fight with each other, Rex."
"These two? Fighting? No!" Rex assured with a cheesy grin, as he wrapped his arms around Larry and Kanji. "These two would never. They actually fell over trying to stop two other guys from fighting each other."
"Okay then! It really pleases me to see you hanging out with the others. I got some shelving to do, so I'll see you later." So Nia and her pals headed on inside the mansion, hoping that Naoto was already packing stuff away. If she wasn't...it wouldn't be too much of a surprise.
"Look, Kanji, I'm sorry about breaking your phone earlier," Larry apologized to the delinquent, feeling like now was the perfect time to make some amends. "Or, you can just hate me, in silence..."
"You mean like, what girls do?" inquired Kanji. "Nah, I'll just ask your dad to buy me a new phone. Only because you're too broke to do it yourself. Ha!"
"Eh, I'm fine with those terms. Just tell don't him about Jotaro Kujo..." So Kanji went back inside the mansion, leaving Larry alone with Rex.
"Had a feeling that Kanji would get back at you for his phone," Rex smirked at Larry as he folded his arms, trying not to make Larry feel intimidated. "But just so we're clear, you don't have any feelings towards Nia, do you?"
"Nope, never did! I just wanted to play an arcade game with her, that's all. I don't want you to get the wrong idea or anything!"
"Alright, that's all I needed to know. Just don't want anyone creeping around my girlfriend."
Nia is Rex's girlfriend, hmm? Rex and Nia, sitting in a tree...