Hello everyone!
Here's the next chapter, and as you can probably see, it's a bit of a long one. The longest I've ever written for FanFiction, if I'm remembering correctly. Basically, it's a collection of short stories of Thomas spending time with each of the villains. Most of them are their own separate story but I did pair up Bowser and Bowser Jr. [since they're related] and Piranha Plant and Dark Pit [since it worked for the story, and because I was pressed for time to write one for Dark Pit].
I hope you like them all; I've put names and lines to separate each story. Enjoy!
Also, there's a dead animal warning for the Piranha Plant story so be warned
Thomas and the Villains
The next two weeks passed, and Tom was slowly yet surely getting used to living on the Smash Bros. Island.
The boy had been relieved to learn that he was not expected to fight in a tournament right away. Apparently, the Master Hand and whoever else ran the game created weekly schedules for each character, stating which days they were fighting in a tournament and which days they had free time. Characters were not forced to fight 24/7, despite the number of human players currently playing the game, meaning that they did not have to constantly be on a battlefield every waking moment. Fighting in a weekly tournament and training here was almost like having a job in the real world.
Still, Tom could clearly see that this was not the real world. When they were not fighting in a tournament or training for one, the characters were acted like normal people, to some degree. Video game characters he had played as and grew up watching evolve as the different Smash games came out were now very real. It was a little disorienting at first, getting used to seeing Link or Pikachu or another character walking around the island, but he was starting to get used to it.
Tom had some extra free time when he was not training [since he did not have any tournaments to fight in], and he spent most of it in his room, playing the unbreakable guitar in his room. He had been playing since he was eight, and was not going to stop just because he was in another world. The music was calming to him, and momentarily made him forget that he was stuck in a video game universe. Besides this, he occasionally played a video game or watched a movie on the TV in his room.
However, the teen spent most of his day training with King K. Rool, who managed to stop acting like a pompous jerk [some of the time] and actually started to teach him how to fight. Turns out, the Kremling was a pretty decent fighter, especially at boxing, so they started with basic hits and blocks so Thomas could build his strength and reflexes. It was slow going work, and Rool said that he was far from being ready to fight in a tournament, but for now the teen was okay with waiting.
The other characters acted relatively normal during their free time. He once saw Kirby and Captain Falcon racing one another through the sky, trying to see if a Warp Star or the Blue Falcon was faster. On Tuesdays, Zelda leading a few other characters in a Bob Ross-style painting session on the lawn. He had even seen the Pokémon Trainer girl outside a few times, playing catch with her Pokémon as her male counterpart fed his nearby.
Tom had been surprised to learn that even the Villains did stuff in their free time, and throughout these two weeks, he found himself learning some surprising things about his housemates.
King K. Rool
"So how'd you get so good at boxing," Tom asked one afternoon, the two of them taking a break from their sparring session.
"I started back in Donkey Kong 64," the villain replied, draining his water bottle in a few gulps. "I was the final boss, and I fought five Kong family members in a boxing ring in front of all my subjects." He smiled reminiscently. "I even had a boxing name: King 'Krusha' K. Rool, 'cause I always crushed my enemies under my feet!"
"So you defeated the Kongs," the teen asked.
"No," the villain said irritably. "You know that villains always lose in the end; it's in our programming. Very rare that a video game ends with the villain winning."
"Programming? Have you always been aware that you're a video game character?"
"Of course. Moment the game goes online in the real world, I started to exist in this one."
"But how does it work? Do you evolve or something whenever a new game comes out?"
"Of course not," Rool scoffed, rolling his eyes a little. "I know you still pretend that you're not a video game character for whatever reason-"
"I'm not pretending," Tom muttered.
"-but this is basic video game knowledge," the Kremling continued. "In Donkey Kong Country, my first game, that version of me still lives there in that world. When they made a sequel, a new version of me, with all the memories of the last game, came into existence in that game. It goes on and on until now; I contain the sum knowledge and experiences of all the other King K. Rools from the games that came before me, and the one before me contains all the knowledge of the Rools before him, and so on."
"Wait, this is kinda confusing," the teen said, setting down his own water bottle. "So you're not the original King K. Rool from the first game… but you have all of his memories and knowledge?"
"Exactly," the villain said with a grin. "And if they make another game that I'm in, then that King K. Rool will have all the knowledge from those games, plus this one!"
Thomas shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around this. "So have you ever met the other King K. Rools from the other games?"
"There's a convention once a year, but none of us go to it."
"Why not?" The Kremling remained silent, and it took Tom a few moments to realize what he was doing wrong, and he sighed a little. "Why not, your Highness," he asked.
"That's better," King K. Rool stated. "Just wanted to make sure you didn't forget. None of us show up because we have better things to do than sit in a room, talking with one another about ourselves."
"Doesn't that sound like a good thing for you," the teen asked.
"What's that supposed to me," the villain asked, frowning at him.
"I-I-I mean," the human quickly backtracked, "is that, uh… uh… Wait, are the past versions of you aware that there are future versions of you?"
"Of course, but they don't have the experiences of the game. The others know I'm a Smash Character, but they don't have the knowledge of my move sets or any of my interactions with the other characters." He tossed aside his empty water bottle, pulling his boxing gloves back on. "Now back to training!"
"Wait, is it like this for all video game characters who appear in multiple games," Tom asked, getting back to his feet. "What about Mario?"
"Of course. He's gonna be going to his reunion in a couple months." The Kremling held up his hands. "Think fast!" His right hand jabbed forward, hitting the teen in the face as he was still putting his gloves on.
"OWW! Thabt wasn'bt fair," the human protested, feeling his broken nose. "I wasn'bt readby!"
"That was just a warm up for me," King Rool said, swinging his arms around with a grin on his face. "I haven't even started going hard on you yet!"
"I wbish Libble Macb was traininbg me," Thomas muttered, drinking some water to bring his life percentage back down before getting back to his feet, ready to continue training.
Bowser and Bowser Jr.
One day, Tom was wandering by the beach, staring out at the blank abyss that stretched out forever in all directions around the floating island.
I wish I could leave this place, he thought. While he liked living in a mansion with video game characters, the island was starting to feel cramped, and he was getting tired of the same old views. He had heard Rool and some of the other villains mention that characters could leave the island, but none of them would tell him how [saying that he had to 'figure it out for himself'].
"Hey! Thomas!" The boy turned around to find Bowser Jr. racing towards him, bringing his Clown Car to a screeching halt right in front of him. "You wanna go to Wuhu Island with us?"
"What," Tom asked, blinking with surprise. "Go where?"
"Wuhu Island," the Koopa prince explained. "You know, that place from the Wii Sports Resort game? My dad's takin' me there for lunch, and he said I could bring you!"
"You can go to Wuhu Island," the human asked, stunned that one of his favorite Wii game worlds was someplace they could go to.
"Of course we can," Junior replied happily. "We can go to any Nintendo game whenever we want, as long as we aren't fightin' in a tournament or somethin'. So is that a yes?"
"Sure!" Thomas was excited, glad that he finally got to get off the island. "That sounds like fun!"
"Great! I'll let dad know that you said yes!" And with that, Bowser Jr. rode away, heading towards the other side of the island. The teen grinned to himself, feeling ecstatic for the first time in a while.
Yes! I finally get to leave this island, he thought giddily. Sure, I'm still going to another game world instead of my own, but it beats being stuck- Wait, did he say that we were eating lunch with his DAD?!
"I'm… I'm about to eat lunch with Bowser," he muttered, his earlier excitement now replaced with fear and anxiety. Bowser, the top villain around, one of the most iconic villains to ever exist, and one of the most notoriously evil ones… And he was about to eat lunch with him.
He should be excited; Bowser was pretty much synonymous with the word Nintendo, and he doubted that many people got an invitation to dine with the Koopa King. In fact, the guy was so busy that he had never even seen him around the mansion. But the boy's memories of all the games he had played featuring the king were clear in his head. And seeing that the other Villains acted like… well, villains, then Bowser would probably be the worst of them all. King K. Rool had told him that Bowser was the unofficial leader of the Villains, so this was the equivalent of having lunch with your boss.
"What have I gotten myself into," he wondered.
[][][]
Ten minutes later, Tom was looking around with shock as he followed Bowser Jr. through the main square of Wuhu Town.
Apparently, all one needed to do to leave the Smash Bros. Ultimate island was pick up the phone and call a cab. One would instantly appear in front of the mansion, and the young teen stared in shock at the Mii in the driver's seat, who said not a word as he drove off with his passengers in the backseat, the prince's clown car in the trunk.
They drove straight towards the edge of the island, and right when Tom thought they were goners, a swirling portal of light appeared, and they drove right through it. There was nothing but light on the other side for a few moments, and then they were driving up a street on Wuhu Island. When they got out, the cab and its driver vanished into thin air, leaving them in this new world.
"This is incredible," the teen said aloud, looking around at the familiar setting that he had only seen on a screen before. A few Miis walked by, going about their days like regular people, though some stopped to watch Tom and Bowser Jr. pass.
"Yeah, I guess it's kinda cool," the Koopa prince said. "Dad had a tournament, so he's gonna meet us at the restaurant."
The bistro looked pretty nice, and a Mii waiter showed them to a booth. The seat next to Tom was large, and he could already guess who was going to be sitting there. Their waiter set out three menus, and Junior instantly turned to the kid's section.
"Hey… how old are you," Tom asked curiously.
The Koopa looked up from the menu, frowning at the human.
"Are you makin' fun of me because I'm little," he asked.
"N-No," the young teen said quickly. "Just… You've been in so many games before this one, and some of them are my favorites. I was just curious, is all. "
The young prince brightened up at that, a smile now on his face.
"Really? That's great! And to answer your question, I'm technically six years old, but I first appeared in Super Mario Sunshine back in 2002." He counted on his fingers. "So that would make me… still six years old. So are the other Koopalings, but they don't get to visit much."
"Wow," Tom replied. "What's it like, staying the same age for so long?"
"It's great," Bowser Jr. said. "I can do whatever I want, and if anyone tries to mess with me, dad kicks their butts!"
"Oh," the boy said, his foot nervously tapping the floor. "Does your dad… often get upset at people that upset you?"
"Of course he does; he's Bowser! You upset him, and he'll show no mercy!"
I'm dead, Thomas thought, looking down at the menu in front of him. I nearly upset Junior with my age question; what if I say something wrong and upset him and his dad gets mad? Or what if I upset Bowser and he-
"Dad," Junior suddenly yelled, standing up in his seat and waving his hands wildly. "Over here, Dad! I want you to meet my new friend!"
Tom never imagined that he would one day meet the King of the Koopas, and he was naturally nervous; Bowser was an iconic video game villain, and one of the strongest and ruthless characters in the game. But here he was: a giant turtle-like creature that could breathe fire, walking past the other tables towards them.
"Junior," the villain said, laughing as his son leaped into his arms, hugging him tightly. "How's my boy?"
"Dad! You're smothering me," the prince yelled, laughing and squirming in his dad's hands.
"I'm glad you made it here safely," the Koopa king replied. He finally noticed Thomas. "And I see your friend made it too."
He set down his son, motioning for the teen to stand up. Thomas did so, trying not to visibly shake with fear as he approached the video game character. The Koopa towered over the boy, and looked like he could easily snap him like a twig. However, the villain smiled, holding out a hand for him to shake.
"Nice to officially meet you," Bowser said. "Junior's been talking non-stop about you; he's excited to have another kid around the house, since his friends only stop by once a month."
"C-Cool," the young teem stammered, the Koopa's hand swallowing his own. "I'm T-T-Tom. Nice to m-meet you, sir."
"Bowser's fine," the villain replied, the three of them sitting down at the round table. "I'm sorry I haven't had the chance to meet you in person yet; being one of the world's most notable villains means spending a lot of time in tournaments, interviews, game promos… I'm lucky whenever I get some time with my son."
"You're gone all the time," Bowser Jr. complained.
"I know," Bowser said sadly, reaching across the table and grabbing his son's hand, squeezing it a little. "But I'm gonna have a free weekend next week, so I was thinking we could go to the castle?"
"Yay!"
Thomas felt an odd mix of emotions, watching the father and son bonding in front of them. His own dad had died when he was young, so he never got to make any father-son memories. He was also surprised to see a villain like Bowser acting like a caring father, so unlike the growling, roaring villain he was in the games.
"Tom?"
"What," the young teen aske, straightening up in his seat as he was brought out of his thoughts.
"Have you looked over the menu yet," Bowser asked him. "I would recommend the salmon."
"Oh, okay." Tom opened his menu, looking at the various options before he realized something horrible. "All of this cost money."
"Of course it does," Bowser Jr. said. "I hope ya brought some!"
"Junior," his dad chided. "We're paying for his meal."
"Really," Tom asked. "Thank you."
"No problem; you're our guest. Now," the Koopa king said, "what kind of things do you like? Junior mentioned you being a Studio Ghibli fan, and I have to ask you what your favorite movie is."
"Uh… Porco Rosso," the young teen replied.
"Really?" Bowser's eyebrows raised with surprise. "Mine too."
Thomas's eyebrows raised with surprise as well. "Really?"
"Yeah. Most people just say Spirited Away because it won an Academy Award, but I like Porco Rosso the best."
So Bowser likes Ghibli films, the human thought, a smile coming onto his face as a waiter came over to take their order. Guess I misjudged him. And it made him wonder if all villains had hidden sides to them.
That was something he had to figure out for himself.
Dark Samus
The Villain mansion had a large movie room, which included several comfy chairs and a large screen that was nearly as big as one in a movie theater. Not only could one watch movies, but also TV shows as well. They had access to every streaming service free of charge.
One evening, Thomas decided to check out the room, hoping that it was not being used. Most of the villains had a tournament the next day, so he figured that they would either be training or going to bed early. However, he saw that this was not the case when he walked into the movie room.
Dark Samus was sitting on one of the couches, a bowl of popcorn next to her as she watched some British show on the widescreen. He froze in the doorway, hoping that she had not seen him, and slowly started to back out of the room.
"There's nothing to be scared of," the dark clone said out loud, still looking at the screen. "I'm just watching the newest season of The Crown."
"Oh… S-Sorry," the young teen said. "I-I'll just go then."
"You can stay if you want," the villain said, picking up the remote and pausing the show. She turned back to him, her glowing blue skull head having a grim smile on it. "You say you're from the real world; have you followed the Royal Family at all?"
"Uh…" Thomas looked up at the screen, seeing several characters sitting in a fancy room. "That's Princess Diana, right?"
"The People's Princess," Dark Samus agreed. "They really found a good actress to portray her for this season."
"Cool. Though I must confess that I… don't really follow the Royal Family much. My foster mom did, and I think she's mentioned this show before."
"It isn't historically accurate in some respects, but it's still a very good show. And the acting is superb" She turned back to the screen. "I'd offer for you to join me, but it's rated TV-MA."
"Oh. That's… not what I expected to hear," Tom said. He did not want to watch the show, but he was surprised that villains, who constantly broke the law, would care about TV and movie ratings. He also realized that the dark clone was probably a 'super fan,' meaning that if he said anything negative about the show, he would probably face her merciless wrath.
Dark Samus turned back to him, cocking her head a little.
"What do you mean by that," the dark clone asked, her voice sounding a little clipped and tense. The boy instantly felt a chill run down his spine, and he had to fight the instinct to bolt from the room.
"I… I-I-I just meant that…" He swallowed the lump in his throat. "I t-thought that, since y-you were a villain, that you wouldn't care about stuff like… show ratings."
"Just because I'm a terrorist doesn't mean I'm irresponsible," the villain replied. "You're thirteen years old, right? You shouldn't be able to watch this show until you're seventeen, unless you have a parent or guardian that gives you permission."
"Oh… okay," Tom said nervously. "Well… I'll leave you to your show, then."
"Okay." He walked out of the room, and he heard her un-pause the show, the sound of British people talking floating into the hallway.
Yeah, I'm gonna just watch shows in my room from now on, Thomas thought, going back up to his room.
Ridley
"Good," King K. Rool said, holding the punching bag steady as Thomas punched it. "Remember to keep your shoulders square, and to exhale as you punch."
"Got it," the young teen replied, punching the bag again and again, his fists feeling sore but not in a bad way. He could tell that he was slowly getting stronger, and he now looked forward to his daily training sessions.
"Okay, that's enough," the Kremling King said a few minutes later, letting go of the bag as the human lowered his arms, breathing heavily. "That was decent, but you still have a long way to go."
"Thanks, your highness," Tom said, a bit of sarcasm in his voice.
"Watch it," Rool said, a slight frown on his face. "Want me to stamp you into the ground again?"
"No," the human said, wincing at the memory of being hit so hard that he was stuck halfway out of the ground.
"Good." The villain's phone pinged, and he walked over to the bench and picked it up. "Oh! My package is here!"
"You can order stuff," Tom asked incredulously.
"It amazes me how slow you are," King K. Rool said. "So there's something called a computer, and you can go onto this magical device and buy stuff with money. And money is something we use-"
"I get it," the human said irritably. "So I can order stuff and have it sent here?
"Only if you have money, which I happen to have a lot of," the Kremling bragged, walking out of the room. "We're done for today; make sure you put up the boxing gloves!"
"Yes, sir," the teen said out loud, waiting for him to walk out of the room before he muttered, "I'll tell you where you can shove your money."
Tom took off his gloves, slowly walking over and picking up Rool's gloves that he had left on the ground. He was tired from all of their training, and he was ready to take a shower and crash into bed. He took them and hung them on a nearby hook, turning to leave.
Suddenly, something knocked his feet out from under him, sending him to the floor. The young human cried out in pain, half-expecting to see the Kremling standing over him, probably laughing at him for failing to stop the sneak attack. However, he froze when he found someone else standing over him, a malicious grin on their face.
"Well well well," Ridley said. "What have we here?" His tail swung around, poking Thomas in the side, hard. "Not a lot of meat on you."
"W-W-What do you want," the teen stammered, trying to sound brave but failing as he trembled on the floor, too scared to move.
"Just thought I'd check in and see how you're doing with your training," the space pirate said, his tail snaking around to poke the boy in the face. "You seem scared."
"L-Leave me alone," Thomas said, backing away from the monster.
"I'm allowed to be in the gym when I want to," Ridley said, walking towards a nearby weight bench. "I'd ask you to spot for me, but seeing that I could snap your spine like a twig, I don't think you could handle it."
The young human's hands clenched into fists, and he got to his feet. He had no idea why this particular villain seemed to like messing with him, but this would not be the first time he had encountered the pirate. Whenever they passed in the hall, the monster would growl or swing his tail at him, laughing whenever he flinched.
"You know, I've eaten plenty of humans like you before," Ridley said, laying back on the bench, starting to bench press a set of heavy weights. "The only good thing about your species is how tasty you are." He chuckled a little. "And if you think I'm kidding, just ask Samus about how her parents died."
"I… I'm not scared of you," Thomas lied, trying to look tough like King K. Rool always told him. "If you're t-trying to mess with my mind or whatever, it's not gonna work."
"Hmm," the villain said, lifting and lowering the weight a few more times. Suddenly, he sat up and chucked the weight right at the human, who screamed and ducked just in time. The barbell imbedded itself in the wall behind him, a loud thud! echoing around the gym.
"Then I guess I'll have to step up my game," the space pirate said, standing up and slowly walking towards him, his claws brandished. "Ever since this game went online, I've found myself starved for someone to torment. It's in my programming; I love torturing those weaker than me." He stopped right in front of Tom. "And you are about as weak as they get around here."
"G-Get away from me," the teen snapped, swinging a fist at the villain, who simply caught it with a clawed hand.
"It's almost too easy," the monster sighed, squeezing the boy's hand and breaking it. The young human cried out in pain, trying to pull his hand free from the villain's grip, but was unable to do so.
"And just so you know," Ridley said, lowering his head and bringing it to Thomas' ear. "You will never be as strong as me, and you will never stop being afraid of me."
The villain straightened up and let go of his hand, walking past him and pulling the weight out of the wall in one swift move. Turning around, he suddenly roared, sending a stream of fire right at the teen's face. Thomas screamed, ducking and running out of the gym and down the hallway as cruel laughter echoed in his ears. He did not stop running until he had reached his room, slamming and locking the door behind him.
"Oww," the young human gasped, cradling his broken hand as he walked to the bathroom. He got some water running, and drank it right from the tap, feeling his bones pop back into place as his health went back to zero percent. When he straightened back up, he took one look at his reflection in the mirror before he started crying, covering his face with his hands to muffle the sound.
In this moment, Tom was reminded of where he was, and who he was stuck with. It upset and angered him; bad enough being stuck in this game world with no escape. How come he had to get stuck with the Villains? Why was he not with the Heroes, who were good people like he was? It did not make any sense.
Also, for the first time in nearly ten years, he wished for his mom to comfort him.
Meta Knight
The mansion had a library, and one afternoon, Thomas decided to check it out for himself.
It was a large room, and looked like an old-fashioned library one would find in a murder mystery mansion. There was wooden paneling covering the walls, shelves of books and volumes that reached from the floor to the ceiling [though in this case, the books just kept going up, so high that he could not see the ceiling], and a large fireplace, but it was not lit at the moment. There were a few couches and chairs, as well as a few desks, and one of these chairs was taken.
"Hello, Thomas," Meta Knight said, looking up from his book.
"Hey, Meta Knight," the young teen replied, smiling a little. Meta Knight was the only villain besides Bowser and Bowser Jr. that not only treated him with some respect, but also called him by his actual name. He had shown him around the mansion when he first got here, and Thomas had seen him as a possible ally in this world. He was also the only villain besides Rool and Junior that he talked to on a daily basis.
"What're you reading," the boy asked, walking over to him.
"'The Art of War,'" the knight replied, showing the cover to him. "A good read, and one I would recommend to you when you get a little bit older."
"I'll keep that in mind," Tom said, looking around the room. "A lot of books here."
"Almost every book in existence," Meta Knight said. "Every book in the real world has a digital copy somewhere online, and they're uploaded here in book form for us to enjoy."
"But I take it not a lot of villains come in here," the human said, walking to one of the shelves, noticing the layer of dust covering everything. There was also a lack of scorch marks and scratch marks on the walls.
"Not really, but I've always liked reading." The short villain opened his book once again. "It's a nice break from fighting and training."
"Yeah," Thomas agreed, turning back to the Smasher. "Is there any manga in here?"
"Yes, to the left of the fireplace," he replied, and the boy walked over towards that section of the library, finding the manga section with ease. They appeared to be in alphabetical order, so he climbed a nearby ladder to find the right book.
"Wait, these are all in Japanese," Tom said a minute later, taking the book off the shelf and looking at the cover.
"So," Meta Knight asked, looking up at him. "Nintendo's a Japanese company, so anything Japanese would naturally be in its native language."
"Really," the teen asked. Now that he thought about it, he could recall seeing some snacks and drinks in the kitchen that were definitely not American. "All of the stuff in my room's in English, though."
"Probably because you're American," the knight explained, turning back to his book. "Just tap the spine to change it to English."
"Tap the spine?" But Thomas did as he was told, and to his surprise, the Japanese characters instantly turned into English letters. Looking through the book, he saw that the whole thing was in English now. "Cool!"
"We can read any book in our native language," the Smasher said. "I'm reading this in the language of Dreamland, for example. But if you want to learn Japanese, I'd be happy to tutor you."
"Learn Japanese," the young human asked. "Can't I just, snap my fingers and understand it automatically?"
Meta Knight laughed a little.
"If it were that simple, none of us would need to train," he said, looking back at the boy. "Our brain is a muscle, and like the rest of our body, it needs exercise in order to grow."
"I guess that makes sense," Tom said. "And I'll probably take you up on that offer; it's sounds better than what we usually learn in school."
"Which reminds me; you're still a child, so you should technically be taking classes, should you not?"
"Uh…" The teen climbed down the ladder. "Well, it was nice talking with you, Meta Knight. I'll just be in my room."
"Thomas," the knight said in a warning tone. "Don't make me teleport over there." The human did not move, and the Smasher turned back to his book. "I'll talk to Rool about setting aside some time for you to study."
"Fine," the boy groaned, walking out of the library and hoping that Meta Knight was not as ruthless with his tests as he was with his sword.
Ganondorf
One evening, Tom was playing his guitar in his room, lightly picking at the strings when there was a knock at the door.
"I'm sorry, I can't play right now, Junior," he called, hoping that the Koopa prince would go away. Bowser Jr. was quite an energetic child, and he had already spent most of that Saturday trying to keep up with the young Smasher.
There was no reply, but there was another knock on the door a few seconds later. Sighing, the young teen set the instrument aside, getting off his bed and walking to the door.
"Junior, I said I couldn't-"
His excuse died in his throat as he opened the door to find Ganondorf standing on the other side, his arms crossed with a stern expression on his face.
"Oh… You're not Junior," the boy said.
"I should think not," the villain said. "I need to talk to you."
"To me," Thomas repeated. "About what?"
"About…" He looked up and down the hallway. "May I come in?"
"Uh…" The teen was not sure if he should let the villain into his room. After what had happened with Ridley, he was still wary of the more violent and cruel villains, Ganondorf being one of them. He could literally turn into a demonic beast, so the last thing he needed was to be in a room with him.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Ganondorf said, as if reading his mind. "Let's go outside if it'll make you feel better."
"... Okay," Thomas agreed, the Smasher stepping aside so he could close the door to his room and lock it [Wario tended to be a bit of a kleptomaniac].
As the boy followed the Zelda villain through the mansion, he wondered what he could possibly want to talk about. They never talked when passing in the hall, or when they were sitting near each other for meals. Ganondorf tended to hang out with the other heavys like King Dedede and King K. Rool, so he wondered if Rool had asked the Evil King to talk to him. Leaving the house, they walked a short distance towards the grove of trees, stopping under one that was within view of the house, but away from listening ears.
"Okay," Tom said, awkwardly kicking a stray rock aside. "So… you wanted to talk to me?"
"Yes," Ganondorf said, a stern expression on his face. "I wanted to ask you for a favor."
"A… favor," the boy asked, looking up at the Smasher with surprise.
"Yes." The villain seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking again. "Can you… teach me to play the guitar?"
If the teen had not seen the villain's mouth move, he would have sworn that he had misheard him. He had not played any Zelda games, but he knew of Ganondorf's reputation of being cruel, ruthless, and the literal embodiment of evil. Sure, he knew that the characters in this world had hobbies and interests outside of fighting in tournaments, but this request caught him off guard.
"You… want me to teach you to play the guitar," Thomas asked, surprise all over his face.
"Yes," the video game character said. "I know a bit about music already; I play the pipe organ every now and then, but I want to broaden my abilities."
"That's you," the boy asked, recalling sometimes hearing the sound of an organ playing throughout the mansion some evenings.
"You seem surprised," the villain said.
"I just… I didn't take you for a music guy."
"Well, I am what you call a 'music guy.'" His eyes narrowed a little, and they glowed slightly. "And I think it would be unwise of you to refuse teaching me."
"O-Okay, I'll teach you," Tom said quickly, taking a step back from the villain.
Ganondorf was silent for a few moments, the frown still on his face, and then he nodded, his eyes fading back to a normal hue.
"Thank you," he said. "And forgive me for the threat…I didn't mean to scare you there."
"It's fine," the young teen said, managing to put a weak smile on his face. "So you want to learn acoustic?"
"Yes," the villain replied. "No one else here plays, and when I heard you playing one night, I figured that I could ask you. Especially since you have a lot more free time, seeing that you're not fighting in any tournaments yet."
"Yeah." Thomas shifted his feet again. "But I take it you want to keep this whole guitar thing just between us?"
The Smasher's eyebrows raised with surprise. "You catch on quick."
"I mean, it's kinda obvious, seeing that you wanted to talk to me in private."
"That is true." His eyes glowed again. "And if you tell anyone about what we discussed here today-"
"I got it," the boy said quickly, holding up his hands. "My lips are sealed, I promise."
"Good." Ganondorf's eyes faded back to normal. "Now how much do you charge?"
"Charge?"
"I'm not some charity case, so I'll be paying you for each lesson. I have most major currencies: gold, jewels, souls of the innocent-"
"I'll take cash," Tom said, wondering how the heck one got their hands on souls. "USD, preferably."
"Deal. Now stand here for a few minutes until I go back inside, and then leave." Before the teen could reply, the villain walked away from him, cape swishing in the wind as he headed back towards the mansion.
"... That was terrifying," the young human said to himself, letting out a breath of air that he was not aware of holding. He was once again surprised to see that while the Villains were still unsavory characters for the most part, he was starting to see another side ot each of them. And now Ganondorf was secretly wanting to play the guitar?
I guess it's like Rool said, Thomas thought, walking back towards the mansion. Always expect the unexpected.
Wario
"WARIO," Thomas shouted one afternoon, striding down the hall and stopping outside the villain's door, hammering on it. "Give it back!"
The door opened, and the yellow-and-purple clad character, a wide grin on his face.
"What's the matter," Wario asked. "I'm trying to get some sleep."
"At three in the afternoon?"
"I need at least eighteen hours of sleep every day." He gestured to his pot belly. "All this handsomeness doesn't just happen!"
Tom managed to bite his tongue, crossing his arms.
"Give me back my TV," he said.
"What guitar," the anti-Mario asked innocently, his sly grin somehow widening, like the Cheshire Cat's.
"You know what... Wait, did you take my guitar to?!"
"... No."
"Don't play dumb," the young teen said angrily. "I know you took it... them! Whatever!"
"It could've been anyone."
"You spray painted a 'W' on the wall!"
Wario finally laughed, the sound loud and annoying, nearly making the boy grind his teeth together.
"I just needed one until my replacement got here," the villain said, going into his room, which would have put every pigsty to shame with the amount of junk everywhere. "And you left your door unlocked."
"I did not," Thomas said. A minute later, the Smasher returned with his flat screen and guitar case, handing it to him.
"No harm no foul, right," Wario asked.
"Stay out of my room," he replied, walking back down the hall, doing his best to not drop the TV and guitar as he awkwardly carried them towards his room. "If this is broken you're paying for a new one!"
"I'd like to see you try," the video game character called back, laughing once more as he shut his door.
I hate him, Tom thought, wondering how anyone, whether they be a Hero or a Villain, could stand living with him. He also made a mental note to ask Meta Knight or Ganondorf for magical help to keep the pesky character out of his room.
Piranha Plant and Dark Pit
Piranha Plant could not talk, despite having the biggest mouth of everyone on the island.
Thomas knew about the plant, of course; he had played enough Super Mario games throughout the years to recognize the man-eating plants that tried to stop Mario and his friends from passing the level. He could also spit out spikey balls, which were actually not as heavy as they looked.
One evening, as he was in the kitchen making himself some macaroni for dinner, the plant hopped into the room. While the young teen was not really scared of this particular villain, he was still wary of him.
"Hello," he said, stirring the noodles in the pot. Piranha Plant briefly looked over at him, regarding him for a few moments before hopping over to the pantry. Tom decided to focus on his own dinner, which was finished a few minutes later as he took his bowl over to the table. Blowing on it to cool it down, he started to eat.
Piranha Plant hopped out of the pantry a minute later, holding a large bag of mulch in his mouth. He slammed it on to the counter, causing Thomas to jump and see what the character was doing. The plant, still holding the bag in its mouth, kept whacking it against the counter until it split open, spilling dirt everywhere. Instantly, he dug in and started to eat it, cleaning the entire counter in a few seconds.
Oh… so that's how he eats, the teen thought, watching the plant grab the empty bag and throw it out. It vanished into the pantry once again, probably to get another mulch bag. Tom turned back to his food, figuring that while the noise of the bag hitting the counter was annoying, it was bearable.
However, this quickly changed when Piranha Plant came hopping out of the pantry with a cow carcass. It had no head or fur, just the meat and bones, and the boy gasped as he watched the plant drag it towards the counter, lifting it up before his head.
"NO!"
The Smasher paused right before he could swing the dead animal, looking in his general direction. Not wanting to end up like the cow, Thomas steeled himself, slowly getting to his feet.
"I… I can help you cut it up if you want," he offered, trying to sound and look friendly and non-threatening. "That way you don't… you know…"
Piranha Plant regarded him for a few moments, probably thinking it over. Then, he set the carcass carefully on the counter, and nodded at him.
"Oh… okay." The young human cautiously approached the plant, looking at the dead animal with disgust. He had never butchered an animal before, and he did not even know where the sharp knives were kept.
"Let's see," Tom muttered, pulling open the nearest drawer to find some utensils, but no sharp knives. He opened a few more drawers, and eventually found the knives. Selecting one that looked like it would probably be best, he turned back to the carcass, unsure of where to start.
"Uh… you don't happen to know how to cut one of these," the teen asked the carnivorous plant. It shook its head, then jerked its head towards the cow. "I'll figure it out."
And I better, he thought. Before he decides to eat me!
Suddenly, a new voice spoke up from the kitchen doorway.
"That's not the right way to go about doing that." The human looked up to find Dark Pit standing in the doorway, a slight frown on his face.
"You'll need a smaller knife," the dark angel continued, walking over to them. "Have you ever butchered something like this before?"
"Uh… not really," the teen replied.
Dark Pit sighed, brushing him aside and taking another knife from the drawer. Without saying a word, he started to butcher the carcass, cutting it into smaller pieces with skill and ease. It was actually pretty interesting to watch, and Thomas and Piranha Plant both watched the clone for several minutes. When he finished, he dropped the knife in the sink, turning on the water to wash his hand.
"You might want to come with me, newbie," he said. "Double P's not exactly a neat eater."
"Okay," Tom said quickly, walking back over to the table to grab his mac and cheese. As he passed the plant, it hopped in front of him, blocking his path. It made a small grumbling noise, nodding its head at him.
"Um… You're welcome," the teen said nervously, and the plant moved so he could walk out of the room. Dark Pit followed a minute later, and the two of them walked down the hall as the sound of loud chewing came from the kitchen behind them.
"Thanks for helping me out," Thomas said.
"No problem," the dark angel said shortly. "But it's the only time I'll do it."
"Oh-" The clone walked away, climbing the stairs to presumably go to his room. "... Okay."
Looks like he's still the sullen one, the boy thought, walking into the living room to finish his dinner. Dark Pit was the closest person in the house that looked human, but he was one of the most distant characters of them all. He was like a moody teen, and Thomas was secretly glad that he did not have to deal with his moodiness 24/7.
"But those were some cool knife skills," he said to himself, taking a bite of his dinner as the sun set outside.
King Dedede
One day, while walking by the living room, Thomas was stopped by a yell.
"You!"
He stopped walking, taking off his headphones and turning to see who it was. He saw the back of someone's head, sitting on the couch, and a large mallet sat nearby. Even without seeing his face, it was easy to tell that the big bird was King Dedede, whose selfishness and pridefulness rivaled that of King K. Rool's.
"Uh… me," the teen asked.
"Yes, you," the blue bird said. "I can see your reflection in the TV! Come here, now!" Figuring it would be best to obey, the human walked over to the couch, now facing Kirby's enemy.
"I need help," King Dedede said frankly.
"Okay, Tom replied, figuring it would be a chance to see how this particular character acted. "With what?"
"The TV remote."
"Oh… Is it missing?"
"It's right there," the king explained, pointing at the device, which sat on the coffee table right in front of him. "Could you get it for me?"
The human blinked at him, looking back at the remote, then at the bird, then the remote again, and then at the bird.
"Are… you sick or something," Thomas asked.
"Of course not," King Dedede snapped. "And stop dawdling; I want to watch Kitchen Nightmares!"
"But the remote…"
"What about it?"
"It's right in front of you."
"Yes, glad to see that you have eyes! Now hand it to me!"
Wow. I guess he's as lazy as I had heard, the young teen thought, knowing by now that arguing any further with the villain would get him beat up or killed. So he picked up the remote, handing it to the big bird.
"Now go away," the Smasher snapped. "I'll call you if I need you."
"Okay," the boy said, doing his best to not mouth off to the video game character and left the room. There was nothing special about his first encounter with King Dedede, but he made a mental note to not mess with him; he had been hit by the king's giant mallet before, and he was not keen on repeating the feat.
Mewtwo
The main antagonist of the Pokémon franchise was not that much of a mystery to Thomas.
Mewtwo was also silent most of the time, though he occasionally spoke every now and then, but only to discuss something related to fighting or tournaments with another character. Being new, the teen was not included in these conversations, but he did not mind.
The young human had never been really into Pokémon like everyone else seemed to be. When Pokémon Go first became popular, he remembered his whole elementary school becoming struck with Pokémon Fever. He still liked the TV shows and the characters themselves, but he was not one of those fans that collected trading cards or wore Pikachu hats and so one. But he knew a little bit about Mewtwo, and decided that, unlike the other characters, he would not try to approach him and give him his space. He figured that if the Pokemon wanted to approach him, he would let him.
Besides, his friend back in the real world, Ned, always played as Mewtwo and beat him as that character, and he did not want to get beat up by the real thing.
Wolf
Finally, there was Wolf.
Not trying to make jokes, Thomas thought he was kind of a Lone Wolf character. He hung out at the edge of the room whenever the other Villains were gathered together. He always took his food and ate somewhere else, and he was probably the second-scariest person there behind Ridley.
The teen had only had one encounter with Wolf so far. It had been one evening, and the boy had gone downstairs to get some water before he went to bed. The house was quieter, since most of the other characters were just settling into bed, and he walked through the halls to the kitchen, turning the light on.
Wolf was sitting at the kitchen table, a bottle of beer in his claws. Suddenly seeing him nearly made Tom yelp with surprise, but he managed to keep himself from freaking out. The mercenary glanced over at him with an almost bored expression, taking a few sips from his drink.
Not saying anything, the young human grabbed a glass from the cabinet, going over to the fridge to get some water. It filled up, and when it was finished, he drank it, pointedly looking away from the villain. When he was finished, he set the glass in the sink, and turned to leave.
"I believe you."
Thomas stopped in the doorway, not expecting the video game character to talk to him. Like Mewtwo, Wolf rarely talked to anyone, and he definitely did not talk to the teen. Figuring that him standing there was getting awkward, he decided to turn around to face the villain.
"... What do you mean," the boy asked, feeling intimidated by the merc, despite them being on opposite ends of the room.
"Exactly what I meant," Wolf said, taking another sip of his drink. "That you're not a video game character. Not really."
Tom blinked with surprise; this was the first time someone said that they believed him. However, his happiness was smashed when the villain said -
"You shouldn't be here."
The wolf got up from his chair, downing the last of the beer before dropping the bottle in the trash. He walked towards the teen, who shrank back away from him. The mercenary only looked at him with a frown, walking out of the kitchen.
You shouldn't be here… Thomas knew that the words were probably true [after all, he was supposed to be in the real world], but the way Wolf had said them… it made him feel like an imposter or an intruder. Right when he was actually starting to feel at home in the mansion. This thought would still keep him up as he lay in bed, wondering once again how and why he was there.
Woah! That took a lot of energy to write!
I tried to keep things fun and almost humorous while keeping each villain's personality and interests at heart. They have their likes and hobbies outside of fighting, and it was fun to write about them in this way, all while they continue to be the bad guys that they are.
Please follow and/or favorite this story if you haven't already, and feel free to leave a review with your comments if you'd like!
Have a great week, all of you!
-aggiefrogger
Note: I do NOT own all of the TV shows and movies and franchises mentioned in this chapter.