Round 4: Day 2
Luigi
Smash Mansion
Jungle Japes Stage Room
1000
Luigi sighed. He never liked Jungle Japes. The rushing water beneath the combatants clashed with the foreboding yet jazzy island rhythm. If this wasn't enough, a Clap Trap, some underling of King K. Rool, could snap out of the raging rapids, spelling an almost certain end.
The only thing worse than that was King K. Rool's footsteps, who paced around him, his girthy footsteps making the wooden platform creak in warning.
"Tell me," King K. Rool snarled, "How much do you know about Kremling history?"
"Almost none," admitted Luigi, scratching the back of his head, "I've asked, but Donkey Kong always looks like he's going to break me in half whenever I do, and the books about it paint you guys with an incredible bias."
King K. Rool nodded approvingly, "At least you can perceive that. Perhaps you aren't the ignoramus that I thought you to be."
Luigi nodded back. He'd been called worse.
"So," Rool's rant rolled on, "For as far back as anyone can remember, the Kremlings have been pirates. The greatest of them all, however, was my great-great grandfather, Quinn Scurvy. He settled on what is known now as Donkey Kong Island, conquering the entire Northen Kremisphere. For three generations, we stood as the most powerful force on that island. The Queen Banana Bird, the island's deity, saw this as a great injustice, so she empowered that old coot Cranky Kong, handing him a generation's bounty on a silver plater with the Banana Hoard."
"I know that part," Luigi interrupted, "The Kongs have told us what happened next a great many times."
A scowl befell King K. Rool.
"To belabor you with that part of Kremling history was not the point. My most successful move against the Kongs was when I returned to the roots of my forefathers. So, I surmise that to beat them you must think like a pirate."
"I'm pretty swell with a cutlass. Didya see that party we did way back? I won the most duels."
The Kremling King tutted, shaking his head.
"No no no," he groaned, "Even if I busied myself with such inanities, that is such a superficial understanding of what it means to be a pirate it's almost laughable."
"Are you going to condescend to me, or are you going to show me what you mean?"
King K. Rool smiled, his next worth slithering out of his throat, "Yes, I shall."
Before Luigi could blink, King K. Rool had kicked him below the bell, his scaly foot powerful enough to hold him in the air on his claws.
"Mama mia!" Luigi whimpered, collapsing off of the king's foot and onto the floor.
King K. Rool immediately grabbed him by the throat, staring down at him, "This is how you must fight. Do you understand?"
"Not gonna fight like that, not ever, especially not against Donkey Kong. He's a friend." Luigi wheezed, his face still contorted in a grimace as he clutched his nethers.
King K. Rool snorted ignantly. The cup's worth of mucus that now covered Luigi's beard and face were the least of the younger Mario Brother's problems.
"Hmph," King K. Rool grunted, "So be it. Stop code, ABZR."
"No contest," declared Mill's canned voice.
The rotting wood and rushing water became a blank room, King K. Rool still sneering.
"Waste of my blessed time," he muttered, turning and walking out the door.
Luigi lay in a crumpled heap for the next thirty seconds, the pain finally lessening to the point where he could ease himself into a standing position. As he did, his communicator rang. Upon accepting the call, King Bob-omb's mustachioed face appeared on screen.
"Ah, Luigi," shouted King Bomb-omb, "I trust King K. Rool's training went to my expectations?"
"This was your idea?" Luigi's voice cracked in shock.
The old king snickered, "I can tell by the octave of your voice that it did. Daisy may be sold on you, but I thought I'd insert my opinion on a commoner producing the next heirs to the beautiful Sarsaland Empire, Ta-ta for now Green Mario."
King Bob-omb's shrill, victorious laugh rang with such ferocity that it echoed around the room for a few seconds after he disconnected the call. Luigi silently limped out of the Training Room, Olimar the ninja trio, and Sly Cooper shooting him concerned expressions as he walked by. He was halfway up the stairs when his communicator rang again. Accepting the call, Daisy's smiling face appeared on the hologram.
"Hey lovebug, done already?" she asked.
"You could say that," Luigi said through gritted teeth, "K. Rool's only purpose was to deliver a kick to my jewels, courtesy of King Bob-omb."
Daisy frowned, "Well shit, there goes my plan for tonight."
Luigi smiled. He knew what she meant.
"I appreciate it, but you're taking a potential new ally turning on us rather well.'
"Because I figured that there was some ulterior motive there if King Bob-omb was extending an olive branch," explained Daisy.
"Doesn't that put the kibosh on that 'gain favor in the Koopa Kingdom's metal forgeries,' plan?"
"I mean, we get a reasonable price on metal 'cause Bowser knows I'll either kick his ass again, or worse, I'll tell Peach if he touches our price point."
The pain had faded some, Luigi's gate became less of a limp as he walked up the stairs "Man, this ruling stuff is significantly easier when you realize how big a wuss Bowser is."
Daisy laughed at her fiance's conclusion, "Yep. And it'll get easier when Junior takes the throne I think."
"Yeah, sweet kid," Luigi agreed with a nod.
"So, what's the plan for today?"
"Go to Doctor Mario's get some megavitamins for the injury, then work some free weights, maybe swim."
"Sounds nice. Peach and Mario want me to do the political conference, so I'll be at that all friggin' day."
Luigi offered a reassuring smile, "Ehhhh, it'll be fine Daisy! You know Zelda'll be there, Palu, and we all know Peppy better than we did the old dog."
Daisy smiled back. However, her's was a much wrier and forced expression.
"Yeah, but it ain't the returning faces you gotta worry about. Jin's dad's company's been harassing Peach to get ahold of some 1-Up Mushrooms for some medical implements."
Luigi frowned, "I wouldn't have known if you hadn't told me."
"Well for one thing, Toadsworth has been fielding all of her political calls, and he's about to kill him. For another, ya know that's how Peach is, and she knows the Elite Four people have it worse. Apparently Kazuya's been calling non-stop to get some Pokemon to join his army of beasts."
"Oh Seven Stars. That means…"
"What?"
"Heard Ken and Chun talking about Kazuya using boxing kangaroos in his army. I didn't think they were serious."
The Queen of Sarsaland snorted in laughter, exaggeratedly rubbing her chin.
"Boxing kangaroos huh? Maybe we'll have something to talk about after all."
"Oh Stars Daisy don't."
Even though Luigi could only see Daisy's face from the neck down in the hologram, he could tell from the way her entire body hunched that she was doing that goofy shrug she did when she was up to a mischievous ploy.
"Never say never babe. See ya tonight, Daisy out."
And with that, her holographic visage was felt a knot of unease form in his chest.
Where's King K. Rool Luigi asked himself I'd almost prefer he kick me in the nards again!
Donkey Kong/Banjo-Kazooie
Smash Mansion
Battlefield Stage Room
1100
"Banjo, I can feel you shivering from back here. What's wrong?" Kazooie asked as the duo descended the Mansion's massive basement stairwell.
"Well, I mean, Donkey Kong ain't what I was expectin." Banjo quivered.
"How so?" asked Kazooie, her voice wrought with concern
"Always heard he was laid back and full of attitude, figured anybody that Diddy held in high regard had to be right? But he's so serious it's spooky."
"He's just spooked himself, because those bozos you two raced with have turned to the dark side."
"You're right," Banjo nodded, "I could stand to be a little more empathetic,"
Kazooie smiled as the two reached the bottom level, "That's my Honey Bear,"
Banjo smiled back. Luckily, the door to the Battlefield arena was the very first along the expansive hallway, so they stepped in. Before them, in the completely blank room, was Donkey Kong, in the middle of a one handed pushup.
"Ah, you're here," grunted Donkey Kong, hopping to all fours.
"Do you mind if we pick the music, or…?" Banjo asked slowly.
A simple shrug from the Kong Island steward was all Banjo and Kazooie needed to head over to the panel.
"Wow," Kazooie gasped, " You can play all the music in Smash in here,"
Banjo watched Kazooie eagerly scroll throug the list, "Man, it really puts in perspective how much music is here."
"Does it ever! Look at all the musical history here. Literally the majority of video game musical history right at our fingertips."
As Banjo scrolled Kazooie squawked, "Oh my Jiggywiggy they have Bit Crusher , I could use something a little funky, something a little Cowboy Bebop-y"
"Of all the games you pick something from Tekken 4's soundtrack? Ain't nobody liked that game."
Kazooie scoffed back, "Namco crawled so that Street Fighter 4 could run. Capcom had Fighting Evolution out at the time, a completely unserious company."
"Come to think about it, even Ryu rolled his eyes when he brought up that tournament during breakfast the other day. But what the heck does "unserious" mean?"
"You cannot possibly sound any older," Kazooie snapped, "It's exactly what it sounds like."
"This is why I have the DLC group chat muted, so much new lingo to learn."
"Now you're starting to sound like Hubert," Kazooie rolled her eyes.
Donkey Kong clearing his throat so loudly that the walls shook..
"If we could get on with this," growled DK.
"Yeah sure," Banjo yipped, selecting Bit Crusher from the music list.
As the world around them morphed to an expansive waterfall flowing off a mountain, Banjo spoke up, "If it's not too much trouble, why'd you ask us to spar?"
'Because your Wonder Wing is a lot like Luigi's Green Missile," DK explained, finally turning to look at them, "Consistent, powerful, and fast."
"Thanks big guy," Kazooie said with a salute.
The two readied themselves as the canned voice of Mills Frames counted down. From the word go, Donkey Kong jumped to the rightmost platform, leaving him open for a beak drilling from below.
"Ha!" Kazooie hollered.
"Thought you'd go high, but I forget how lethal you are from the ground," Donkey Kong thought aloud.
Banjo-Kazooie briskly rolled away from a barrage of Kong Slaps on the platform.
"And we know how lethal you are from above. Don't think we didn't watch the hundred man Melee from back in the day!"
Donkey Kong grinned, jumping to the left platform. Banjo followed from before, Kazooie maneuvering them into their classic Talon Trot formation. A jump to meet Donkey Kong was met with a series of clubbing blows, Donkey Kong launching forearms from the full range his massive arms would allow. Banjo reeled back, unleashing his own clubbing blow.
"We've got moves too, don't forget," chided Banjo.
Donkey Kong was smiling now, a Breegul Bash sending him into full on laughter.
"So you do," Donkey Kong laughed, "But I've got some moves myself.
A Kong Spin was easily thwarted with a single egg shot, the monkey falling to the lower Blast Zone.
"1999 called big man," Kazooie taunted as the score appeared, 4-5 Banjo Kazooie, "They want their Dragon King the Fighting Game-ass moveset back."
Donkey Kong jumped off the Revival Platform, landing on the opposite side of Battlefield, frowning deeply.
"In case you've forgotten, we're in Round 4. I didn't need my Coconut Gun to beat any of the other members of The 12, so I don't need it against you."
"Fair enough," Banjo and Kazooie said simultaneously.
As a Super Scope appeared, falling through the air, Kazooie cupped it in her wings, throwing it to Banjo.
"But I bet you're missing it right about now huh?" she taunted.
Donkey Kong could only grit his teeth as he charged in some vein hope to close the distance before the bear with the bazooka got a shot off. Unfortunately, two fully charged blasts hit him before he could.
"Hit the treadmill junior," barked Kazooie.
Donkey Kong wordlessly jumped, clubbing the duo with his interlinked hands, knocking the Super Scope out of Banjo's hands. Before Banjo could even reel from the blow, Donkey Kong scooped the Super Scope into his hands.
"Who needs a treadmill," Donkey Kong smirked, as he charged the Super Scope, "When you can do that."
A fully charged blast, followed by a rapid fire onslaught of several smaller blasts, pelted the bear and bird. Throwing the dud Super Scope did not deter the Banjo-Kazooie from charging at their opponent. Donkey Kong jumped as the gap was closed, but Banjo-Kazooie snapped out of the roll quickly, Kazooie grabbing Donkey Kong from behind, pecking him upward.
"Anotha one," Kazooie giggled.
A drilling beak barge sent him further up.
"Anotha one," she said again.
A pump kick sent Donkey Kong to the upper Blast Zone. The score stood at 3-5 Banjo-Kazooie.
Banjo rolled his eyes,"You need to limit your King of Skill watching."
"What? You're not my dad." Kazooie snapped, playfully pecking Banjo on the head.
Using the invincibility of the Revival Platform, Donkey Kong wound up a Giant Punch. This did not deter Banjo from leaping into the air with Kazooie's wordless assistance, launching into DK with as a hard a forearm attack as the bear could muster, Donkey Kong fired back. The gap in damage meant that Banjo and Kazooie flew further, but they fired right back, jumping onto their massive foe and clubbing him on top of his head with shots.
"Why won't you go away?" came an uncharacteristic whine from DK.
"You think we're bad," shouted Kazooie, "Luigi's gonna be way worse."
"Yeah," Banjo agreed in the midst of his forearm strike barrage.
DK could only try to swat them away, but regardless of how far they flew, they always came back. It was only when a Final Smash appeared that DK was able to swat the team away and use his Giant Punch to break open the ball of power immediately. On instinct, Banjo and Kazooie had jumped back into the fray, only to be clipped by the first punch.
"We're getting Jungle Ora-Ora'd," cried Kazooie, as a final uppercut sent them into the Blast Zone. The score stood 3-4.
Donkey Kong charged, as soon as Banjo stepped off the Revival platform, scooping the bear easily into his signature Cargo Throw. Tossing them forward, he picked them up for another Cargo Throw. The second their feet left the stage, a clubbing axe handle blow rained down upon Banjo's head, sending them to the Blast Zone.
"Did we just get fucking Ding-Donged?" insisted Kazooie as they appeared on the Revival Platform.
Donkey Kong rolled his eyes, "You do something cheap in one tournament one time and you get railed forever. Anyway, I'm done here. Stop code ABZR."
The room reverted to white and featureless as Mills' pre-recorded voice announced a 'No Contest.
"But we didn't even do a single Wonder Wing," Banjo insisted, speaking so loudly and so suddenly his voice cracked.
"But I have everything I need to know. You've helped me train for Luigi's tenaciousness, thanks."
"If you need somebody more cheap super move-ish," Kazooie advised, "Terry's always down to spar."
"Yeah!" Banjo added, "His Buster Wolf moves him about the same distance, and comes out way faster, so if anything you'll be over prepared.
Donkey Kong rubbed his chin in thought, "Terry…"
He sauntered towards the door, pausing.
"Thanks you two," he said, without turning to look at them, "I can see why Diddy holds you in such high regard. Can't say that much for any of your other Tiger Island chums lately."
"Yeah, we can't either," Kazooie nodded.
"Good."
And with that, Donkey Kong opened the door, letting himself out, and closing the door behind him.
"So what?" Kazooie said, jokingly putting up her dukes, "Wanna train with some bots?"
"Nah," Banjo yawned, "It's time for a nap."
Kazooie kissed Banjo on the forehead, "There's my lazy bear."
And so, the two headed up the stairwell, a nap on their minds.
Zelda
Smash City
Hyrule Section
The Sheikah Gym
800
Captain Falcon couldn't let the fish woman see him stumble.
Despite the fact that he rode a wave of water, this defied everything he'd ever known about water, specifically that one couldn't stand upon an ocean-sized wave of it. As such, his brain would give pangs of danger, causing him to stumble briefly. In contrast, the champion of th Zora, Mipha, stood almost statuesque, proudly holding her trusty trident. Even more absurd was Zelda, who stood in her fighting stance as if there wasn't a typhoon headed her way.
As the water engulfed her, he could see flashes of her channeling her chi in the deep. Mipha leapt off the tidal wave, the water resting on top of her.
"Falcon, now!" ordered Mipha.
Falcon saw Zelda rise from the murky deep, looking completely unphased. Falcon frowned, but he had his orders. He cocked back his glowing fist.
"FALCON PUNCH!"
Zelda channeled her chi, his signature move bouncing off of her as he flopped into the water..
The sound of stone slowly sliding apart could be heard, the water slowly draining into the parted stone below.
The two heard applause. In a platform above, the rest of Hyrule's champions, along with Erdrick, Purah, and Blathers clapped.
"Bravo, I say, bravo!" Blathers hooted, "Ganondorf won't be able to deal with a warrior so stoic under pressure."
Purah tapped at the Shiekah Slate, light protruding out the back. What projected on the wall was Zelda's previous sparring matches earlier that day. Erdrick got lost in the blonde's graceful movements, watching transfixed as she jumped over, on, and around the constantly advancing champions, seeming to have an answer for their every move, including, most promisingly, Falcon's strikes.
"Yeah!" Daruk's voice thundered from the back of the platform, "You even gave this ole rock hide a pounding,"
Purah snorted, cupping a hand to her mouth. The noise was enough to shake Erdrick from his trance.
Thank heavens no one noticed, thought Erdrick.
"Purah, young lady," scolded Urbosa, "That's unbecoming of a…"
Urbosa wa suddenly overcome with laughter,
Everyone, minus Revaldi, who only scoffed, found themselves chuckling.
"If we all could find our maturities please," Zelda ordered through a dissipating laugh, "I would like to change clothes and shower. As if the sweat from training since sunrise wasn't enough, I grossly underestimated how gross being in a wet dress would be."
Immediately, Impa stood at attention, "I could find a towel Your Highness."
"I doubt a towel will help Impa, but thank you."
"Hoot!" Blathers nodded, "Indubitably! That's why Celeste and I always wait to go on the water rides as we're about to leave Nintendoland."
Daruk leaned over to Revaldi, "Did he just annunciate 'hoot?'
Again, the Ruto scoffed, "You're one to make fun of someone else for how they speak."
As Daruk huffed, an idea came to Erdrick.
"Hey Zelda, would you like to go to Nintendoland with me?"
"Perhaps after the next round of fights. For now, a walk in Smash Park is much more suitable. Tomorrow perhaps?"
Erdrick nodded eagerly. Zelda giggled, opening up a portal. She, Falcon, and Erdrick stepped through.
"Absurd," Revaldi snapped as soon as the portal closed, "He isn't even of royal blood, and yet he seems to have caught the Princess' eye."
Mipha scoffed, "You sound like my brother. Not only is Erdrick a more than capable warrior of holding up the bloodline, I think they're cute together."
Murmurs of agreement came from the others, causing Revaldi to dart his gaze to each champion, eyes widening.
"You all sound like those miserable fangirls," protested Revaldi, "I've had enough of you."
With that, he took flight, drifting out the gym's door.
"Oh my," tutted Blathers, "Is he always this high strung."
"He is snookums, but once you get to know him he's a big ole sweetie, just like you."
As Blathers blushed, Impa announced to the group, "Speaking of Nintendoland, I've got tickets, anyone want to go?"
"Tally ho!" cheered Blathers.
With that, Impa opened up a portal to the massive theme park, the remaining Champions stepping through.
Ganondorf
800
Smash Mansion
Stage Floor
Gerudo Valley Stage Room
"In use," a hologram above the door's keypad read.
Samus sighed as yet another hologram appeared. On the door, "100-man Smash" flashed. As quickly as it had appeared, it was replaced by Ganondorf's profile picture with the number zero below it. The number began to climb, increasing once a second by Samus' mental count.
Quickly she texted Bayonetta.
He said he wanted to train at 800 hours today, and then he gets wrapped up in a 100-man Smash?
Bayonetta's text back was immediate.
It's a show doll. He's flexing his muscles. Don't let it get to you
Samus frowned. Why was this bothering her so much anyway? It wasn't beyond any of the villains to flex their muscles before asking for help. She'd been around Smash long enough to begrudgingly train with a few. As far back as the Melee tournament, Samus had found herself unnerved by the hulking man. It was his manner of speech, definitely, flipping from flowery political language to an outwardly conving tone in a matter of moments.
"GAME" she heard from beyond the door.
Samus couldn't help but smile to herself. Ganondorf had made good time, but hadn't come close to Donkey Kong's record, fortified all the way back in the Melee days.
No one will, Samus affirmed as the door opened.
Stepping through, she was met with the sight of Ganondorf paced around a blank, white room.
"Ah, you're here," hissed Ganondorf, turning with a flourish of his cape, "Good."
Muttering to himself Ganondorf headed over to the room's console. Samus blinked. Was the Triforce flashing?
"We will simulate a match in accordance with the room of Round 4," he explained, keying at the console.
Samus shrugged, "A deal's a deal, so whatever you have in mind is good to me."
Ganondorf chuckled as the room once again became a barren desert, two cliffs interconnected with a bridge. The combatants stood on either side of the bridge, staring each other down as the countdown came and went. Samus charged, with Ganondorf immediately trying for a Warlock Punch, Samus able to effortlessly stop running just in time for Ganondorf to snap his fist forward.
"Did you honestly think I was going to run into that?" Samus sneered, charging a Charge Blast.
Ganondorf only laughed, launching immediately into a Wizard's Foot. Samus jumped, retaining the charge, her arm canon blinking forebodingly as the charge reached full power. Twisting in mid-air she fired. Dark energy pulsed off of Ganondorf as he took the shot, unmoving, launching into Samus and connecting with a Warlock Punch!
"Are you…alright?" asked Samus.
Ganondorf laughed, "Never better. My destiny is at hand."
The two charged one another, Samus rolling backward to avoid a shoulder barge from the King of Gerudos. Samus' Grapple Beam latched around Ganondorf's throat, pulling him close.
"Do you always get like this when you have to fight Zelda?" Samus asked, volleying Ganondorf's head with overhand chops.
Through the bounty hunter's strikes, Ganondorf smiled, "The inner workings of the Triforce are much bigger than you or I."
Samus scoffed, launching him up with a burst of fire. Despite being so thoroughly dismissed, Ganondorf still smiled, launching down into a Wizard's foot, into a quick overhead slice of his sword, sending Samus asunder.
"I wouldn't expect you to understand," Ganondorf snarled as Samus came charging back, "Prophecy seems to be beyond you spacefaring folk."
Samus jumped to a platform, as Ganondorf darted back and forth underneath, vying for a Flame Choke that wasn't there.
"You forget Ganondorf," Samus began, "I'm a Chozo. They literally saw my future, and despite the things they didn't foresee, I still attained that future. I imagine it works the opposite way too. You can avoid the prophecy."
Ganondorf jumped up, catching Samus with a dark magic infused stomp, sending her up to the upper Blast Zone.
"Quite astute Aran," Ganondorf nodded.
From the Revival Platform Samus sighed, this time in relief. This was as the calmest Ganondorf had sounded since she walked in. His overall mannerisms had become less erratic as well, snapping into his fighting stance for the first time.
"That said, I'm still owed a training session."
Samus frowned.
He just can't help that haughty king crap, can he?
"So you are. Bring it," she demanded.
10 minutes later
Ganondorf exited the Gerudo Valley room, a smile on his face. He'd fought both Samus in and out of her suit, and won.
"So remember," Samus said, "Sheik will hit you quicker when she transforms, so be prepared to channel your chi and parry.
"Aye," Ganondorf grunted.
With that, the two parted ways, Samus heading deeper into the hallway while Ganondorf headed up the stairs, nearly tripping as Pikachu darted down the stairs, leaping his way onto Samus' shoulder.
"Did Bayo send you to check on me?"
Pikachu laughed, "Yeah. Figured Ganondorf would get all sexist if she did it herself?"
Samus stopped, briefly considering a round of 100-man Smash in Pacland, before deciding against it and continuing on.
"How'd that go by the way?" he asked.
"Decent," Samus said, "I feel like I got through to him."
Pikachu nodded approvingly, "Well good."
Again, Samus stopped.
"How do you feel about doing some rounds in Umbra Clock Tower?" she asked.
Electricity excitedly bounced on his cheeks, "Sounds good to me!"
And so, the two stepped inside.
Cafeteria
Ganondorf had just received a bottle of water from the vending machine when a familiar hand clasped his shoulder.
"What do you want Wario?" seethed Ganondorf.
"Word-a on-a the street-a is that you're gettin' some urges-a thanks to ze Triforce,"
"It's not something I'm proud of, considering all that opposition to Zelda in this place has gotten me in the past."
"Ah, but I think you should be proud of it. If it weren't meant to be, the Goddesses wouldn't have split their golden power in-a twain. If it weren't meant to be, you wouldn't have taken over Hyrule in both the past, present, and future. Remember who you are-a."
Ganondorf frowned, taking a swig of water.
"You may have a point," Ganondorf sighed, finally turning to look at his former money manager, "I can offer the Yiga Clan as training partners to Sephiroth at any time,"
"EXCELLENT!" boomed Wario, skipping away as he laughed.
Ganondorf grinned, the Triforce of Power flashing once again.
Red
1200
Smash City
Pokemon Section
Galar's Best Curry
"You're right Green, this is the best curry I've ever had," Red said, shoveling potatoes dyed red by spice into his mouth.
"You picked a good dish," Green said, biting into a forkful of Dry Toast Curry much less feverishly.
"Ya know," mused the third person around the table, Fox McCloud, "I'll have what you're having green, that looks good."
"Could we stop schmoozing for one second?" barked Falco, seated next to Fox, "Ya don't get invited out to lunch for no reason in this line of work, so spit it out."
Red and the table's final occupant, Krystal, sighed simultaneously, each glancing around the restaurant's pub-like atmosphere. A ping from Red's communicator, revealing an enthusiastic 'YES' from Lucas snapped the Pokemon Trainer out of it.
"I figured," Red began, "That I could spice up my usual training team with the people who probably know Wolf the best. You in?"
Fox nodded, "Sure,"
In contrast Falco shook his head, "Pay up,"
"Falco!" Krystal hissed.
"What?" shrugged the avian, "Fox an' me got eliminated embarrassingly early, an' Blue over here didn't fare a ton better."
"Even so," Krystal said, "I'm a millionaire several times over, between jobs on Kew and this."
Falco smirked, "Wouldn'ta known it based on the shack we found the legendary Kursed Klaws in,"
"My point is that I don't have to ask for money, and you shouldn't either."
"Fella's gotta make some dough his own way. Somebody," Falco trailed off, shooting daggers at Fox, "Might blow ya money chasing some tail."
"I don't think that'll be a problem anymore though, will it Fox?" Krystal asked, aiming a much sweeter expression his way.
"If you say it won't, then it won't," Fox declared.
"If money is what'll keep this working relationship civil, then that's what you'll get. 10 Smash Coins each a reasonable price?."
The curry Green was eating tumbled out of her mouth as her jaw fell open.
"That's 30 million…"
"Of our currency? I know Green. Saved up a sizeable chunk during my championship days, then invested in Silph when they went public."
"Wow…" Fox gawked.
Meanwhile, Falco shrugged, "Ain't gonna hurt to have an extra 10 mil in the pocket."
"You'll be training alongside Lucas and Green as well, that won't be a problem will it?"
"For 10 mill, you could ask me to train with them Team Chaotix dorks and I'd do it." Falco laughed.
"So I assume it's a deal for the rest of you as well?"
The Star Fox Team nodded.
A thumbs up cast by Red was the end of the conversation. The fivesome ate their curry in silence.
Wolf
1500
Smash Mansion
Residency Hall
Wolf staggered down the massive hall of apartments. The trek from his bed to his door was harrowing enough, with his vision blurred and head throbbing, but he had to make it to Doctor Mario's infirmary if he was ever going to get better.
Game and Watch tutting only drove the imaginary railroad spikes of a hangover in deeper.
"Young people and their sloth," growled Game and Watch. "In my day, we had to get up at the crack of dawn to work. You young people have it so good today, with yer save states and yer money."
Wolf had a witty reply ready about how the impossibly old man had implied he hadn't had money in his own day, but he was sure that if he opened his mouth to speak, he might throw up. Instead, casting a middle claw into the air, aiming it in all directions, he staggered away. It was as he nearly tumbled down the staircase to the main hall that he made a mental map of the Mansion, remembering that the kitchen was closesr than the infirmary.
"Nope, ain't makin' that," slurred Wolf to himself as he descended the rest of the way.
"You alright?" asked Sly Cooper from the bottom of the steps.
Yoshi walked past without even looking at the two, "Wolf's drunk again, move along."
Sly nodded knowingly, walking away.
Now thoroughly embarrassed, Wolf had more desire to make it to the cafeteria than ever before. Lurching all the way there, he rested his head on the counter, his arms crossed in front of him.
"Black coffee," Wolf grunted, "And throw in some tabasco in there," Wolf slurred.
"Right away Mister O'Donnell," chirped the male Wire Frame behind the counter.
The food magically appeared, the space pirate swiping it into his clawed hand, staggering to the open table.
No sooner had he brought the cup to his lips did Meta-Knight appear.
"Shit!" yelped Wolf, "You scared me,"
"I do not mean to alarm Wolf," Meta-Knight began, "But your service in protecting Lady Jigglypuff during the Subspace War is one that cannot be repaid."
Wolf sipped the coffee, gagging at the blend of flavors.
What dumbass thought this up? Oh yeah, me, Wolf realized.
"Are you alright Mister O' Donnell?"
"Eh," he waved a dismissive hand, "I've had worse."
"No matter," Meta-Knight continued, "It is in your best interest to know that Red is now training with your contemporaries Fox and Falco."
"Let 'em," Wolf said through a slurp of tabasco coffee. "Either my ace in the hole works or it don't."
Meta-Knight shook his head, "Were it not for the fact you saved Lady Jigglypuff. I would not pay you the time of day,"
"Real shook up by that ya prick. Thought we were friends,"
Meta-Knight furled his cape, disappearing.
Showoff, Wolf grumbled, slamming the rest of his ungodly concoction.
Cloud
1200
Smash City
Final Fantasy Section
Gold Saucer, Smash City location
Damn it Dio Tifa thought to herself for the hundredth time today.
As she watched the scene unfold before her, she had to admit that all this cursing of The Gold Saucer's owner was projecting. This was a monster she'd created.
Five lifelike projections of the Proud Clod stood in the Battle Square, surrounding the other player in this demented game.
But Cloud paid it no mind. He hadn't for the entirety of his climb up the Battle Square's ranks, finally reaching what Tifa had to think was the upper echelon. On one hand, it was like watching the world's most graceful ballet dancer jump from missiles like stepping stones on a lake, slashing at the giant robots at every opportunity. But on the other, it felt wrong to just watch. But Cloud had insisted, despite Tifa having planned the day as yet another team affair.
"Oh shit!" screamed Jessie
This briefly snapped Tifa out of her thoughts, but her worry turned to relief as one of the Proud Clods collapsed. But Cloud didn't even pause, leaping through the air and slashing at the next one.
"Damn," Wedge gawked, "And I thought he was unstoppable when we knew him."
"Yeah," nodded Barrett, "Spikey's the best damn warrior in the game, and he only gets better."
The rest of the group began to clamor happily amongst each other, all except for Tifa and Aerith, who exchanged worried glances. Red XIII, was the first to notice, snapping up from his laying down position into a sitting position.
"It's his proximity to Sephiroth isn't it?" asked the Cosmo Canyon Native
Tifa and Aerith nodded. This silenced the clamor.
"Yeah, come to think of it, this is just Cloud in the Northern Cave ain't it?" Yuffie pondered.
The crew watched in silence as another Proud Clod fell. There was a brief pause in the action, all of the Proud Clod's missiles having successfully dodged, their machine guns overheated. Cloud, his spiked blond hair somehow not matted down by the sweat that glistened off his face, took in big gulp of air, silencing all of his gasps for air as he jumped right back into the thick of it.
"Do you think Cloud is taking this too seriously?" asked Vincent.
"Vinny, have you seen the money on the line?" Yuffie shouted, "He'd be an idiot not too."
"No," Zack shook his head, "I understand what Vincent means. If Sephiroth saw this as anything more than a fun competition during a vacation, he could've killed the rest of the Smashers with no thought. So what Vincent is asking is, why is Cloud fighting like his life's on the line?"
"Do you agree with that line of thought?" asked Red.
Zack once again shook his head, "I was there when he found out he was a god. What if beating Cloud provides a similar ego boost."
"Didn't he already beat him though, during that training exercise?" asked Wedge.
"Yeah," Barrett snapped, "But it was just that, a training exercise. This is as real a fight as these two will ever get against each other."
Another Proud Clod fell, Reed yawned.
"Don't you think we're jumping to conclusions here?" the former Shinra executive asked, "Tall, dark, and brooding has that devil hunter guy, and Cloud has Banjo and Kazooie."
"I mean, they're really popular around the city, but does anyone think they stand a chance?" Jessie asked, her voice oozing self-assured flippancy.
"Right, but considering Sephiroth's cheated death three times now, it's always safe to assume you're going to have to fight him," Zack countered
"And that's not all the times we thought we beat him when we got pulled into that war with Materia," Tifa added
Another Proud Clod fell. Cloud executed the same manuevers he'd used to dodge the missiles and machine gun fire before, but his movement was much slower, at least according to Tifa's eyes. Nonetheless, the final Proud Clod fell before him, the robotic corpses dematerializing before them.
"Six," Cloud panted, "I can take six."
"DIO!" Tifa boomed, spinning around in her bleacher seat and shouting up to the tower above them, "SHUT IT DOWN!"
The Battle Square fell silent with a failing hum, Tifa leaping over bleacher seats below her to get to the stage.
"I get a potential battle with Sephiroth being so close to hand has you obsessed with training, but can we do something fun next round? You, me, and Denzel?"
Cloud nodded, "Sure, if you let me do something first,"
"What's that?" Tifa asked, placing her hands on her hips.
"I wanna hit up the Trophy Museum part of the Hotel first, at least get some biographical info on the bear and bird I'm about to fight."
Tifa's annoyed glare turned into a warm smile, "I mean, that's where we'll be headed from anyway, so I don't see the issue with that. We can even grab some of that McDonalds the kids wanted to try before we go."
"Sounds good. Where were ya thinking of going?"
"Nintendoland," Tifa answered, "The kids had so much fun when just the three of us went, they've been dying to go again."
"Can I go to Nintendoland with Cloud and Denzel, please?" Marlene asked, she and Denzel huddled together playing their own portable gaming systems.
"Nah," Yuffie answered, "You're having a girl's day with Aunt Aerith, Aunt Jessie, and me remember?"
Immediately, Marlene brightened, "OH YEAH!"
"'Sides," Barrett said, "You and me are gonna head to Nintendoland after the round comin' up, remember?"
"Yeah!" Marlene nodded.
"Glad that's…" Cloud began.
But suddenly, he took a knee.
"Holy Bahamut," puffed Cloud, "Didn't realize how tired I was."
"You can come up to our hotel room and sleep. That Mansion's probably gonna be too crowded this time of day anyway."
Cloud grinned up at Tifa, "Sure babe."
Tifa smiled, offering him a hand, "That's what I liked to hear."
Tifa wordlessly pulled Cloud to his feet, activating a portal, to the hotel suite, the group walking through it and out of the Gold Saucer single-file.
Ken/Dante
1800
Smash City
Street Fighter Section
Capcom Arcade Stadium
The three biggest buildings in Smash City were Smash Stadium, the Trophy Hotel, and Capcom Arcade Stadium. Newly constructed to accommodate the influx of Street Fighter Universe residence, as well as the entertainment they brought to the city, the stadium hosted a stocked arcade, hence its name, and a hotel within the stadium. Ken figured this stadium was designed in the spirit of the Rogers Centere in Toronto, a place he'd attended many games as a function of business, and this was way nicer than Rogers could ever hope to be.
Ken's reverence was broken by yet another shocked gasp from Nico, one of Dante's friends.
"Cool isn't it?" Ken said.
"Yeah, I mean, this is all been so crazy. I mean, first I get to meet Doctor Albert Light himself, then I get to go party with y'all Smasher types," the girl's Creole accent quivered with excitement.
Ken nodded"As you've said, multiple times,"
Dante wadded through the crowd of monsters, martial artists, assassins, and devil hunters to get to Ken.
"Thanks for being patient with her Masters," Dante grinned approvingly, "She's a bit of a bundle of energy."
Despite her ear-to-ear smile, Nico seemed to shrink, "Y-yeah. Sorry."
"It's fine Nico, don't worry," Ken assured her, "I have kids, and I have to keep Karin's crew under control sometimes. You're far more composed than any of them."
Nico's demeanor seemed to brighten again.
"If you're sure."
Ken winked, "Sure I'm sure."
At that moment Kyrie, Nero's girlfriend, appeared, pulling Nico away by the hand. Over the den of noise the crowded hotel suite was becoming, he heard her say something about "Bothering Mister Masters," Sans shuffled through the crowd, dodging an ongoing game of tag between Frisk and Mel.
"Huh," Sans said, slapping a reassuring hand on Ken's shoulder, "Nice to know that our kids get along."
"Yeah," Ken said, pointing through the crowd, "And our old ladies."
Sans followed Ken's finger, and sure enough, Toriel and Eliza had become fast friends, giggling over something.
"Well I'll be damned," Sans sighed.
Ken raised an eyebrow, "You seem nervous about something? Worried about the kid."
"COMRADE MARMADUKE WILL WIN!" roared Zangief, audible by the entire hotel suite.
"You sure have some selective hearing, big guy," Ken laughed.
"A good Russian's hearing is always find tuned for the morale of our comrades!" Zangief insisted
Ken turned to Sans, pulling the skeleton in closer
"Seriously, are you worried?" Ken asked.
"I mean, I do want him to win. He's a good kid that's really come into his own. I just wonder if a rasslin' battle royal is the best way to train for Smash."
"WRESTLING IS THE BEST WAY TO TRAIN!" shouted Undyne from the front of the room, not removing her face from the glass.
"Y-yeah," stuttered Alphys from atop Undyne's head, "Wrestling is the closest thing we have to anime in real life."
"I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THIS ANIME IS," Zangief shouted, "BUT COMRADE UNDYNE UNDERSTANDS CORE PRINCIPLE OF SOVIET ATHLETICS,"
"YEAH!" cheered Undyne.
Alphys' eyes began to dart from left to right"I..um...don't think that's a good thing."
"Bah, capitalist nonsense," spat Zangief
"AND WE'RE GOING LIVE IN THREE…TWO…"
"Oh thank God," Ken sighed.
"One…"
The video screens flared to life while music began to play.
You think you're special, you do…
Sans manifested a pupil to roll, "Limp Bizkit, really?"
"What's wrong with some nu metal?" Ken demanded as the crowd cheered to the video package.
"It just feels so…90s. We live in the year 2018, or at least that's what it was when I left home, and wrestling's still in 1999."
"DUMAYU, NET" Zangief boomed, "Comrade Durst sings the hymns upon which our sacred sport is conducted!"
"If you say so," muttered Sans.
"Hey!" screamed Undyne, "The opening match is starting!"