Chapter 36: Can't Play it Safe Forever
"Couldn't they switched the candles with, oh I don't know... light bulbs and electricity?! I mean this pretty stupid! The flame could go out and all of our work would be worthless!"
"Those are not ordinary candles, Brawler." Said Zelda, "I enchanted them so they wouldn't go out. They are brighter than a simple light bulb not to mention they don't use power, so we're saying energy. Just keep doing your work and you and your friends can be done."
In the foyer of the mansion, a length repair was going on: The chandelier had crashed to the ground after Donkey Kong decided to take a swing on it, (don't ask.) after that they had to install another one. First, Olimar, Toon Link, Villager, and Kirby assisted by getting rid of the metal scrap off the floor; then Ganondorf and Bowser pulled the new chandelier with the help of a pulley system; finally, Brawler got the ladder, screwed in the screws, lit the candles shortly after he placed them; with Zelda, Swordfighter, and Gunner unpacking new candles from cardboard boxes just in case they need more.
"Why did I decide to do this *# $?" Muttered Brawler.
"It's not that bad, son!" Olimar called from the floor below. "You got the easy job, I'm stuck with clean-up. You can't even imagine how heavy this scrap is."
"Yeah Brawler, quit your whining. You're making a big deal out of nothing!" Shouted Toon Link.
"Whatever." The fist-fighter rolled his eyes as he placed the final candle in its place holder. "Zelda! I'm almost done, just got to light up this one, and I'm finished."
However, before he can get his match out. Kirby-who had been tasked with sweeping the rug with a broom. Accidentally bumped into the ladder, tipping it over. Brawler barely gripped onto the chandelier as the ladder fell to the ground-his body dangling 3 stories from the floor as he held on to dear life.
"BRAWLER!" Exclaimed Gunner.
"What the hell?!" Sword stopped his unpacking to see his friend in danger.
"AHH! KIRBY, YOU PINK BITCH! WHY THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!?" Brawler yelled at the hero of Dreamland. He was mighty pissed.
"Oh this not good, how do we get him down?" Zelda tense nervously under the immense pressure of the situation.
"I have an idea!" Said Villager, pulling out a butterfly net out of nowhere. "Brawler, let go! I'll catch you!"
"YOU'RE NOT CATCHING ME WITH A #$ &% NET!" Brawler's voice echoed throughout the foyer, his anger only outmatch by his stubbornness.
"But how else can we get you down?"
"Oh, I don't know…HOW ABOUT USING THAT DAMN LADDER THAT JUST FELL JUST NOW!"
"I don't think that's possible." Interrupted Ganondorf.
"Huh? Why not." Asked Bowser.
The evil lord pointed to the ladder on the ground, it had broken into several pieces when it hit the rug; apparently it was much weaker than it looked.
"Oh, dammit no…" Brawler groaned when he realized that the option was no longer available. He wondered how he would get down, until he remembered his training. "Okay, I have a plan. I'm going to let go and land on the floor."
Zelda was really surprised to hear that idea, never thought he had the courage to do it. "You really want to go through with that?"
"Why not? We can't get harmed with fall damage." Reasoned the fist-fighter.
"Yes, that's true, but if you don't land the right way, there could be complications-"
Brawler didn't want to continue to list to the princess, he'd just about had it with the Veterans and their "Playing it safe attitude. He'll show them how wrong they are.
The Mii let go of the chandelier, allowing gravity to take control of his body. He heard gasps and shouts calling his name, but he didn't really didn't pay attention to that. Right when he was about to hit the floor, he activated a double jump in mid-air- canceling the momentum as the fighter did a front flip on the ground. A perfect landing. "See?...No problem."
The trophies formed a circle around Brawler, voicing their opinions.
"Wow! That was cool Brawler." Said Villager
"Got to admit, that was somewhat interesting." Admitted Bowser.
"You're not hurt are you, should we call Dr. Mario?" Blurted Gunner, looking exceedingly worried.
"Quit panicking Gun, I'm fine." Replied Brawler, as he cracked his neck. "Or at least I would be fine if a certain klutz didn't try to hurt me!" Brawler starred at Kirby who gave out a sheepish grin in return.
"Well good thing nothing happened, thankfully." Sighed Zelda.
"Happened? Did we miss something?" Said a noble voice, everyone turned around to see: Marth, Mewtwo, Wolf, and Wario standing in the doorway.
"Oh, hey guys!" Spoke Sword. "We were finishing up setting up the chandelier. Took a lot of work, but we managed to complete it."
"That's good to hear, I assume there wasn't any complications?" Asked the prince.
Every time Brawler saw Mewtwo's face, he couldn't help but to feel angry. But since living in the mansion, he managed to maintain his rage to a sizzling disgust. He doesn't lash out at the Pokémon too often, but he occasionally yells and shout at him from time to time. Hopefully right now wasn't one of those times. He just wanted to get work over with, and sleep in. He thought of some words to get the advisor of their backs.
"Not really happened, we just-"
"Oh! Brawler was using the ladder to fix the chandelier, and Kirby knocked it down. It was pretty crazy to see him hanging onto the fixture." Answered Villager.
Why did he say that? WHY THE HELL DID HE SAY THAT? Did he secretly hate him or was he just obvious? Perhaps there was a reason Brawler hated the kid in the first place.
Marth's eyelids went up spontaneously "He was hanging onto the chandelier?!"
The fist-fighter shook his head in annoyance. "It was no big deal, I let go and activated a double jump before I landed. No harm done."
"Why didn't you just waited for help? It would have been easy for-"
"There was no way in hell I'm going to hold my breath and wait for a rescue, Marth." Brawler harshly interrupted. "By that time by grip would had slipped, I took the best way out and made contact with the ground just fine."
"But what if-"
"At ease Marth." The Pokémon's telepathic voice echoed through their heads. "Our friend here is alright as you can see, isn't that right, Brawler." Mewtwo spoke in a way that confused the fist-fighter, he couldn't tell if he was congratulating him, or taunting him.
Knowing what type of person he was, the Mii went with the latter option. "I can pull my weight, I'm not weak."
"You're not weak in the flesh, your mind however is a whole different deal." Mewtwo starred in his adversary's eyes, waiting for the next response.
"Well maybe if you all had actually tried to help us adapt to this world, we wouldn't be a burden to the team!"
His outburst vibrated across the room, drawing the Smashers in to listen more intently.
"Guys come on let's-"
"No, let them." Said Zelda, holding Gunner's hand to stop her pleas.
"You mean yourself and the Newcomers? That's not true, none of you are a burden to the team."
"Yeah, for the moment!" Retorted Brawler. "There will be a time when we have to go out there to learn and survive. I know you want to handle us with kid gloves, but you can't play it safe forever. Sometimes the safe option isn't always the best option."
"How much you want to bet they're going to beat each other up?" Whispered Wario.
"Er, I say it's a fifty-fifty chance." Answered Wolf.
"I understand your misgivings, and I agree with you. But I must comply with the vote of the majority."
"Oh pah-lease! We both know you're not the type of guy to just accept things with no question!" Brawler argued to Mewtwo. "Now that I have think about it, why didn't you go tell them off on how stupid the "majority" are? You're one of the most experienced and powerfully Smashers around here, you were here since the Melee era for crying out loud! Why stay put?"
"I'd admit. Putting aside my pride is not something I relish. But I'm willing to go that if we're going to maintain the peace, and order around here."
"So there's nothing I could do, to convince them?"
"I highly doubt it."
"My god…" Brawler face palmed, pressing his hand hard against his forehead. "Even when the answer is right in front of you, you still don't get the message. You and that damn jackal are hopeless."
Before Mewtwo had the chance to retort to the fist-fighter's disrespectful remark. Wolf's communicator buzzed, emitting a loud beeping sound that emanated throughout the entire room.
"What is it?" Asked Marth.
The canine looked at his device. "The next Newcoming; its here."
"Oh!" The prince exclaimed with the utmost of surprise. "We have to get over to the command center!"
"I handle it, I'll use teleport." Mewtwo looked back at the fist-fighter "Don't call us hopeless, we've been through so much that you couldn't even comprehend. You know nothing." With that, the two fighters vanished in a flash of energy, nowhere to be seen.
"I'll call you whatever I damn like!" Spat the Brawler, insulting the spot that the Pokémon was standing before. He went over to the ladder and positioned it right next to the chandelier. The group looked at him dumbfounded. "What? I'm not going to leave a job unfinished. Pick up the paste and let's finish this already!"
Mewtwo and Marth appeared in a flash inside the command center, getting the attention of Lucario, Snake, R.O.B., Fox, Samus, Mario, Wii Fit, Meta Knight and King Dedede.
"Came here the moment we got the message." The prince stood straight to demonstrate his assertiveness. "So where's it's pinpointing to?"
"[Right here.]" The robot pressed a button on a keyboard, making the main computer to display the world map. The particular red dot that they were all excited about, was located somewhere in Onett.
"Ness's home town?" Spoke Snake.
"[That's not all.]" R.O.B. turned around. "[We know where the Newcomer is at specifically; Jack's Casino.]"
The fighters grunted and cringed, not out of fear, but out of annoyance.
Well, except the penguin.
"What's wrong with Jack's Casino? The last time I was there, they had wide assortment of medicine, food, and candy…oh the candy." The king salivated over the memory of chugging down several candy bars down his gullet.
"You're thinking of the drug store." Samus emphasized. "We're talking about a casino, something completely different."
"So? Isn't just an ordinary casino?"
"Dedede, you should know that nothing is ordinary around here. Normal is practically fantasy." Meta rubbed his temples out of utter disbelief.
"Based on your reaction, I'm guessing you're not familiar with Jack's Casino?"
"Nope." The penguin said to Lucario.
"Well if you must know, Jack's Casino is a gambling establishment that appeared after the Subspace incident. This casino is not native to Onett; it appeared right out of the blue on day, and I don't mean it was suddenly built. It literally materialized out of thin air."
"[And that's not all!]" Spoke R.O.B. "[This casino was named, and run by an entity known as Jack Grey; an undead skeleton in a fancy tuxedo.]"
"Undead skeleton?! Did he came from Tox Falls?" Questioned Wii Fit.
"[Yes, or so he claimed, he doesn't talk about his past much. He just boasts about how powerful he is.]"
"You made contact with him?" The trainer asked, wondering how a rabid skeleton could become the man of the house.
"Yes, several times." Marth said, answering the trainer's question. "The day we discovered the casino, we sent a team there to investigate, and they we're gladly invited in by Jack Grey. We learned from that visit that this casino (or at least Jack claims) is a multidimensional gateway to a pocket dimension somewhere in the Omniverse. Its purpose is to invite beings from all levels of reality; to play poker."
"WHHHAAA?" Screeched King Dedede. "That's insane! Wait, hold up! I thought nothing can get in or out of this realm?"
"It can't." Said Mewtwo. "The statement of the casino being multidimensional, is just that, a statement. We conducted tests under the permission of Jack himself, we found no evidence of his claims being true. If you ask me, I think he's lying."
"So that would mean that Jack's Casino is native to the World of Trophies?" Wii Fit asked. "Hmm, I wonder if…"
"That doesn't matter right now, we need to send a team there to retrieve the Newcomer."
"Yes, the a team!" Mario spoke. "Who should a go to Onett?"
"[I already got that covered. I calculate this mission having a greater chance of success if Snake, Lucario, Wario, Wolf, Bowser, Ganondorf, and Meta Knight goes to the casino.]"
"R.O.B,, most of the fighters in this team are villains, why's that?" Ask Fox.
"[Jack Grey has a tendency to take a liking to people who lean more to their darker nature; don't ask he just does.]"
"Okay, but why Snake and Lucario? They're not bad guys." Said Wii Fit.
"The skeleton apparently respects Lucario and I." Said Snake. "I guess it's because of our indomitable will."
"Oh, can I come?" Asked Dedede.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Said Samus.
"Why not? I am a bad guy. I am perfect for this mission."
"Dedede, you are more goofy than evil." Samus replied bluntly. "The most wicked thing you ever did was steal food from your world. Jack would laugh his jaw off if you ever told him of your deeds."
"Awww." The king hung his head in shame as he watched the canine and the solider waving off the robot as they exited the door.