Author's Note:
First off...coming of with a title for this chapter was super hard. Might be because of the writer's block I was having when writing this chapter. Haven't really had a writer's block since chapters 15, 21, and maybe 36. Secondly, we got some reviews to answer:
"Can you include the other Darkstalkers characters? (Jedah, Lord Raptor, Anita, and Felicia) Jake Muller from Resident Evil 6? are the Star Fox vehicles based on their appearance in Assault? Can you include a small scene of Asbel, Cloud, and Haseo interacting with each other? (They share the same Japanese voice actor, Takahiro Sakurai) are you gonna tone down the Terror Mask's foul mouth when he shows up? And finally, will any other Tales characters become residents of the Smash Mansion?"
Don't know about the Darkstalkers characters. Jake Mulller may appear. The Star Fox vehicles are indeed based from Assault. May include a scene with Asbel, Cloud, and Haseo. Terror Mask's language will be toned down completely. And there probably won't be anymore Tales mansion residents. One more guest review:
"Can you please add the character Garr and make him and sonic fight alot"
Who the heck is Garr? Is he someone from the Archie comics? No anime/manga and comic characters allowed.
Episode 82: Missing
Shortly after Mario and Peach tied the knot and got married, there was discussion about the newlyweds possibly moving out of the Smash Mansion and living in a separate home, like Luigi and Daisy did. Although Mario nor Peach never really entertained the idea, there were some residents of the Smash Mansion who would greatly miss having the presence of the plumber and the Mushroom Kingdom princess...and surprisingly, Master Hand was one of them. Poor hand was gonna miss messing with Mario on a day-to-day basis.
However, Master Hand felt like Mario and Peach couldn't live at the mansion forever now that they were married, and with Luigi having his own place, Master Hand felt that Mario was deserving of having his own place too. He couldn't care less if Mario wanted a home or not - he just wanted the plumber and Peach to live happily ever after, just like all the wonderful fairy tale couples you've read about when you were a kid.
Little did anyone know that Master Hand had secretly hired a group of carpenters to secretly build Mario and Peach's house, right next to Luigi's home, during night hours when everyone was fast asleep. The name of this group was...the Carpenters (what, you expected something more fancier than that?), and Master Hand would pay them early in the morning, before breakfast, for their efforts, before demanding them to depart from the mansion's premises, so nobody would ever know that they were responsible for building the house. However, on this bright, early Friday morning, the Carpenters were working in overtime, after having asked Master Hand for permission. Clearly the Carpenters wanted Mario's house to be completed ASAP.
"No slacking boys, I want this house done in top shape for Mario and Peach to see!" Mutoh, the bald-headed leader of the Carpenters, barked at his workers with his arms folded, with a grin on his face. "We're gonna blow Mario's pants off when we show him his home, he'll be like, 'Mama Mia, I lost-a my pants!'"
"But sir, Mario doesn't wear pants, he wears overalls," Ichiro pointed out, as he was working away at the exterior of the house. Mutoh shot a quick glare at Ichiro, letting the worker feel his fury and indignation. Mutoh was the kind of guy you didn't want to tick off, not by any means.
"How dare you make an obvious point and make me look stupid! Get back to work this instant!" Ichiro would point out that he was already working, but since he didn't want to further aggravate Mutoh, he just quietly continued working on the house, nervously looking away from Mutoh's face.
Mutoh: Master Hand hasn't exactly been considerate with his pay...he only gives us men one rupee apiece. Says that due to low funds, he can't give us something along the lines of a red rupee, or even a gold rupee...but ask yourself this. How can that man have "low funds", and yet able to afford and pay for everything in the Smash Mansion, and cover for everyone that lives in said mansion, huh? Bet ya he's just being frivilous and saving money for that stupid car of his...and let me tell ya, when I saw Master Hand's car for the first time, I thought it was some kind of evil monster! Thankfully the boys stopped me in time before I could lay a beating on the car...hoo boy, we would've been in big, BIG trouble with Master Hand then.
Fox yawned and outstretched his arms as he exited the Smash Mansion, wearing his pajamas. The pilot had heard noises from inside the foyer, and came outside to do some investigating. He would find the Carpenters working away on Mario's house, now having learned who was responsible for the house's construction. Fox and Falco legitimately thought an alien race other than the Shroobs landed on earth, and were building a house next to the Smash Mansion, just so they could spy on the earthlings while residing in the facade of a normal, American home.
"So those guys are the ones building that house..." remarked Fox, scratching his chin inquisitively. No point in standing around any longer. "Might as well introduce myself to 'em, look like a friendly bunch." So the pilot walked up to Mutoh, and laid his hand on his shoulder; Mutoh screamed and turned around, like he had seen a ghost, only to see Fox standing behind him.
"Oh man, you scared the living daylights out of me, don't do that to me again!" frowned Mutoh, catching his breath with a hand on his chest. Once he was done with his breather, the carpenter regained composure - before bursting into a hearty laugh, which slightly befuddled Fox. "I do have to admit, that was one heck of a scare, got me real good! Gotta give you props for that. What's yer name?"
"Fox McCloud's the name - I'm an space pilot, and the leader of a mercenary team called Star Fox," Fox would introduce himself to Mutoh, shaking his hand. Mutoh had a very firm grip, but that's what you would expect from a strong carpenter like him.
"Nice to meet ya, Mr. McCloud - you can call me Mutoh. My boys and I are working on this house for Mario and Peach; Master Hand hired us to work on the house during nighttime, when Mario, Peach, and the others are asleep. Having to sleep in during the daytime is not the greatest thing in the world...and the pay Master Hand's been giving us hasn't done much to compensate for it."
"Trust me buddy, I know Master Hand pretty well, he's cheaper than your average dollar store. Asking him for money is like asking a bulldog to stop panting." Ain't that the truth. "So, have Mario or Peach seen this house you're building for them?"
"I reckon that they didn't - heck, I don't think they even know we're building a house for them! Probably haven't been outside, or payed much attention to construction us boys have been doin'. But mark my words - when Mario sees the house once it's finally finished, his pants will be blown completely off!"
"He doesn't wear pants..." cooed Ichiro; you probably know what was about to happen to the carpenter. Why did he even attempt that?
"You're not wearing pants yourself, so who are you to judge the fashion sense of the Mushroom Kingdom's hero?!" Mutoh snapped on Ichiro, who kept his mouth shut and resumed his work. "Yeah, that's what I thought, now I better not hear a single peep out of ya until this house is finished!"
Ichiro: On the plus side, I won't have to worry about Mutoh docking my pay, since Master Hand's the one who's paying us...d'oh, here I am, slacking off and not doing my work...I should get back to work before Mutoh yells at me again... *runs off*
"Tell you what Fox - how about you keep Mario and Peach away from the construction as much as possible, so that they'll be all surprised when they see a completed house," Mutoh said to Fox, who found this offer quite favorable. Easier said than done, though. "Their reactions will have much more meaning if they're not in the know, you know?
"Yeah man, I feel ya, I'll do as you say," Fox agreed to Mutoh's terms, as he shook the carpenter's hand. "I'll ensure Mario and Peach don't take a single step outside the mansion!"
Mario was in the kitchen, fixing himself a cup of orange juice. Like anyone else, the plumber would wait until breakfast was ready to get some orange juice, but his taste buds were really bothering him, and a cup of hot coffee certainly wouldn't do.
"Just couldn't wait until breakfast was ready, couldn't you?" sighed Dunban as he was cooking breakfast - waffles, bacon, and eggs for everyone. Granted, the Homs had a hard task ahead of himself whenever he cooked breakfast, since he had to cook for at least over a hundred residents, but no challenge was too big nor too small for the mighty Dunban.
"My mouth-a was killing me, I needed some-a thing sweet like some orange-a juice to make-a my mouth feel better," stated Mario after he was finished drinking his orange juice, placing his glass on the kitchen counter. "I simply couldn't have-a waited until breakfast to satisfy my taste-a buds."
"You could've done what I do and just eat a spoonful of syrup, that's what I would have done if I were you." Mario didn't care that much for Dunban's silly method - he was just glad that his mouth was back to normal. That's what mattered the most.
"Hey, Mario, my main man, top of the morning!" Fox would greet the plumber as he entered the kitchen, catching the plumber off-guard with his enthusiasm. Also, why was Mario Fox's main man - was Falco demoted or something? "Got anything planned for the day? Planning on spending some R&R with Peach after breakfast? Or how about spending some time with Poochy? Whatcha got planned?"
"Honestly I have-a nothing planned for today...except paying the bills-a that Master Hand wants-a me to pay," replied Mario, heaving a heavy sigh. Sometimes it was hard being the man of the mansion, though things won't get any better when Mario and Peach get their own place. "But, if you have-a something planned Fox, I can regulate the bills-a to Isabelle, she doesn't mind paying them-a one bit. In fact, she doesn't mind-a anything at all! Scrubbed my back and-a my feet...and other body parts I can-a not mention, yet I never heard-a Isabelle complain once!"
Isabelle: Yes, I have to admit Sir Mario made me massage nearly ninety percent of his body...even though I didn't want to, I just wanted him to feel happy and content. Even if it came at the risk of having to touch his buttocks.
Fox: Three things are certain in life...death, taxes, and...crap, forgot what the third thing was. But no matter what, I'll avoid all of those three things, even if it's inhumanely impossible. *pauses* Inhumanely impossible? Heck, I'm a freaking fox, so I probably won't have to worry about death or taxes! *folds arms behind his head* Falco and I will be living in paradise, while those humans like Mario will be miserable! Talk about having a last laugh!
"I was thinking that maybe you could join Falco and I in watching a movie...from the nineties," Fox said to Mario, putting some emphasis and flair on the word nineties just to sway Mario's mind. Because who didn't love the nineties? Mario mused over Fox's offer, before coming to a forgone conclusion...or rather, a request.
"Can Peach join-a us in watching the movie?" the plumber would ask Fox - no way was he gonna leave his sweet-loving wife out of the mix.
"Of course she can, it'll make our plans...our plans for fun, more exciting - the more people the merrier!" Fox's Freudian slip caused Dunban to look at the pilot with an inquisitive stare, for he felt that for whatever reason, Fox and Falco were up to no good. "I was thinking that maybe we can watch the movie around noon, at least an hour after breakfast is over. How does that sound?"
"That's fine-a with me! I'll make sure to tell-a Peach about this." It was in this very moment that Dunban felt something must be done...like Fox and Falco had an ulterior motive, and said motive must be exploited quickly.
Breakfast was almost ready, and to mentally prepare herself for the day, Samus was meditating in the living room. Doing this meditation would help the bounty hunter tune out most of the distractions she had to put up with throughout the day, but one distraction in particular would advance to the living room, smiling and grinning creepily with intent as he made his way over to Samus.
"I can show you the world...shinning, shimmering, splendid..." the distraction known as Snake sang with his gravelly voice to Samus, who cringed like any other woman in this predicament would. "Tell me princess, now when did you last let your heart decide?"
"You aren't...singing to me, are you?" Samus asked as she looked around, hoping someone like Peach, Lucina, or even Daisy was around. Felt weird that Snake was calling her a "princess", Samus's mother never called her that (or so many would assume). "I take it that you're still smoking crack?"
"I can open your eyes...take you wonder by wonder...over, sideways and under on a magic carpet ride..." Snake whipped out a purple carpet, seemingly out of nowhere, and showed it to Samus, who wasn't impressed. It was like the bounty hunter's overall disdain for Snake had reached levels never before seen.
"Aw, you even brought a purple carpet, like the one from Aladdin...too bad it isn't a magic carpet. But I can't fault you for trying to impress me. You're still not going to be my boyfriend, so how about you do this singing crap to someone who is actually interested in starting a relationship?" Samus got up and walked away, leaving the living room to meditate elsewhere. And that left Snake quite disheartened.
Snake: "If at first you don't succeed, then dust yourself off and try again..." Those were the words from the late singer Aaliyah, and no, I don't like Aaliyah, or care for her music - Knuckles has been blasting Aaliyah's music nonstop, and I am ashamed to say that her songs and lyrics are now ingrained in my brain, all because of Knuckles. But make no mistake, if Aaliyah was in Seattle, I'd ask her to be my girlfriend on the spot, we're not that far apart in years. I'll just have to wait around, and wait for...Whaddaya mean, the woman's dead?!
"So, how did it go?" Sonic would ask Snake, the former spy trudging to the foyer where Sonic was. "Did Samus say the golden word, did she agree to be your girlfriend, forever and ever until the end of time?"
"What does the look on my face indicate?" asked Snake, pointing at his face. His face was the pure embodiment of disappointment, sorrow, and negativity, like he had just found out that his closet relative had died. (Like Snake would actually care, since most of his relatives were dead. He and Samus have a lot more in common than you think...)
"She agreed to be your girlfriend, didn't she?! Oh man, I'm so proud of you Snake, goes on to show you that even senior citizens your age still got it!" Sonic happily threw his arms around a downtrodden Snake, who was ticked that Sonic apparently didn't get the memo. "Well technically you're not a senior citizen, but you know what I mean..."
"She decline me, you stinking hedgehog!" Snake angrily grabbed Sonic, and threw him unto the floor, before stomping his foot in defeat. "Samus rejected me yet again, and there's no point in going back to her again...why doesn't she want me? Is it because of how I look? Is it because of how I am? Has my accelerated age done more harm than I could have ever imagined?! Why me, cruel world, why me..."
"Um, excuse me, but...I could possibly be of assistance," said a voice belonging to a girl. Snake looked to his side, and saw Ashley, the young witch's general spookiness enough to spook the former spy. "I see that you're having trouble winning Samus's heart, and I think I might have the answer to your problems...do you want my help?"
"No, Snake doesn't want your help - he wanted to seek romantic advice from me, and me only!" Sonic frowned at Ashley, wishing the young witch would disappear and go away. "You've never been in a relationship before, so what assistance could you possibly have? And don't even bring up that Young Cricket guy - we all know he only went to that Valentine's Day dance with you because of Master Hand and his rule of 'needing a date to attend'! So tell me Ashley, what business do you have with Snake, huh?"
"I'm guessing you forgot about this..." Ashley dug into her pocket, and pulled out a love potion, which Sonic recognized. Ashley had used this love potions on the cruise ship, with Pit and Viridi...those were times Ashley wanted to forget. "I was gonna throw my love potions away after that Pit-Viridi fiasco, but I held on to them just in case...also, I didn't know where to throw away the potions. Would have thrown them in the lake, but I didn't want potions to soak in the water and cause the Pokemon to be start relationships with one another. Not even sure if that would be possible, according to Pokemon mating and all that stuff."
"Do you think that if Samus drinks that potion, then she'll fall in love with me?" Snake asked Ashley, not sure if he should trust the young witch or the love potions she had made. The former spy had never seen the love potions in effect - unless he forgot with his poor memory - but he was willing to take whatever chance he got.
"Yes, but in order for the potion to work, she would have to look at you. Otherwise Samus will experience some major body complications, as Pit once did. But Pit is a dummy, and Samus is far more wise...I think you'll have no problem winning over Samus."
Ashley: ...I think Snake is going to have MAJOR problems winning over Samus. If this was a younger Snake I was dealing with, no problem, but the Snake I'm stuck with is cranky, stubborn, and kinda smells. He would have to require full cooperation from Samus, and cooperation just isn't Samus's thing. So Sonic and I will do the dirty work for him.
With Snake driving her out of the living room, Samus went to the lounge to meditate a little bit before breakfast. However, another distraction had made their way to the bounty hunter, although this distraction was a lot more tolerable...Cloud Strife.
"Top of the morning, Miss Aran," Cloud would greet the bounty hunter, interrupting her meditation as he showed a relatively rare instance of him demonstrating politeness towards a fellow resident. "How are you doing?"
"I was doing just fine until you interrupted my meditating..." muttered Samus, surprised by how friendly and polite Cloud was acting towards her. But she knew why Cloud was acting unlike his usual self, and why the swordsman was here in the first place. "You're here to ask me about that 'secret project', huh? Have you planned your obituary in case Master Hand finds out and gets your hand on you?"
"Why would I be afraid of Master Hand? He's always constantly talking a big game, and never backing up his words. He's kinda like that fake bully in class who talks about how great he is and how he's gonna kick your butt, yet does nothing. Lets his words speak for how futile he is." Bet you wouldn't say that if Master Hand was around, huh Cloud? "I just want Sora to leave me alone, go irritate someone else before I have to kill the guy."
"Look at you, being all savage and expressing desire to kill an innocent kid...gotta say Cloud, Sora's presence is starting to change you a little bit." Cloud refused to believe that Sora was changing him, as well as Sora being an "innocent kid"..."annoying pest" was a much better description. "I'm still working on the project - I'll let you know when it's ready. Then once the project goes into effect, you can continue the rest of your days without having to worry about Sora, and everyone lives happily ever after...you get the point."
"Alright, thanks for everything Samus. I know you didn't want to build anything, or help me for that matter, but hopefully your effort and work will pay off." Cloud would leave the lounge, leaving Samus to resume meditating, and Cloud would find Bowser standing near the lounge entrance, using a cellphone. "Since when did you start using a cellphone?" the swordsman would ask the Koopa King, who was greatly offended that Cloud had the gall to ask him such an asinine question.
"What, it is because of my large hands - you think my fingers would prevent me from texting anyone?!" Bowser barked at Cloud, getting spit on the swordsman and forcing him to smell his gnarly morning breath. "You think I'm just some guy that would text Peach only, and nobody else? Well let me tell you brother, that Peach ain't the only person I got on my contact list...I also got Pauline too! So now I have two contacts on my phone, didn't expect that, did you? DISCRIMINATOR!" Cloud shook his head as he walked by, leaving Bowser to do whatever he was doing on his phone.
Bowser: Got Pauline's digits after the wedding, before that hotel fire started. I would have asked her out, but Pauline looks a bit too old for my tastes, she just ain't my type. Not to mention that she's believed to be Mario's mother, which would mean that if I married her, then I would possibly be Mario's...father. *strokes chin* Heh, that doesn't sound that bad when you think about it, then I can go around telling people that I'm Mario's daddy, like I own Mario - and Mario will NEVER live it down!
"Hey Bowser, may I speak with you for a quick minute?" Dunban would approach the Koopa King, and after the exchange he had with Cloud, Bowser suddenly grew skeptical of why Dunban of all people wanted to speak with him.
"Why, you got something against big-handed people like myself too, think I shouldn't be operating a cellphone or any other device?" questioned Bowser; Cloud really put the Koopa King in a bad mood, although the swordsman had meant no harm. "Go ahead, point your finger at me and laugh away! I got a pretty thick skin, so your jabs and insults won't hurt me! Give me your best shot, I dare ya!"
"I'm not here to pick on you or insult you...I'm here to ask you for a favor." Bowser suddenly became all ears, as Dunban leaned in and looked around for any eavesdroppers, before whispering to Bowser. "Fox and Falco wish to watch a film with Mario, and Mario is bringing Peach along. I heard Fox slip and mention something about some 'plan', and I think he and Falco might have an underlying ulterior motive they plan to unleash on Mario..."
"Only one person is allowed to unleash some devious plan on Mario, and that person, is ME! Always knew Fox and Falco were up to no good - tried telling the others that, but they just wouldn't listen! Why wouldn't they listen, why do they refuse to accept the truth?"
"I think their reasons are pretty obvious..." Do you feel the strong aura of irony radiating from Bowser's comments? "Fox said that the film will shortly after noon, and that's when we'll strike! But we'll have to start off small...so here's what I want you to do..."
Once breakfast was over with, Toon Link and Young Link went to Master Hand's room...adorned in their police uniforms. The two Links had won over the trust of Master Hand when they found the thief who stole Peach's wedding ring (King K. Rool), and now they were about to receive the one thing every police officer flaunted on their uniforms...police badges!
"Before I give you your badges, I just wanted you boys to know that having Seattle's police department make the badges wasn't as easy as I imagined it to be," started off Master Hand, as Isabelle approached Toon Link and Young Link with a box in her hands. "Bribed them, threatened them...nothing worked on those guys. Threatened to throw them inside the Black Hole, or in some lake of fire, and they just laughed at me. But when Organization XIII unleashed the Heartless and the Shroobs on the city, what did those scrawny policemen do? Shut down the entire police department and let you guys do all the hard work! How is it that one can be scared of some lousy aliens and monsters...but not me?"
"Like I told you before Master Hand, you can't outright bribe or threaten people forever, it can only get you so far," stated Isabelle, having to lecture Master Hand on what he can and can not do for the nth time. "Don't think that you can abuse your power just because you created the Smash universe and all."
"'Don't think that you can abuse your power just because you created the Smash universe and all,'" Master Hand repeated what Isabelle just said, but in an extremely mocking and sardonic tone. "And don't think you can tell me what to do because you're my assistant, Isabelle. Can't have it both ways, you know. Now give what Toon Link and Young Link came for and give them their badges!"
So Isabelle took off the lid of the box, and showed Toon Link and Young Link their police badges, customized with the Smash logo on it. The police badges were really worth the time and effort and the great lengths Master Hand went to have them made.
Toon Link: *holds up police badge to camera* We finally got our own police badges, and man does it feel awesome! Wait until I tell my grandma and Aryll about this!
Young Link: Yeah this badge feels awesome, we really worked hard to deserve it too! We're not like those lousy boy scouts who constantly pester random folks and beg them to buy cookies, mooching up to them just for some silly badges. Boy scouts get badges in the name of constant imploring and kissing up to strangers...Toon Link and I get badges in the name of justice!
Toon Link: You thinking about grabbing some doughnuts and malasadas to celebrate the occasion?
Young Link: Quit reading my mind...
"Master Hand, we have a major issue on our hands!" Itsuki burst inside the room to alert the giant hand. "So remember two days ago, when I printed out a bank statement for Star Records? Well, I had left it on the desk back in the Star Records room, so Ayaha could proofread and analyze everything...and when I came to the Star Records room today, I saw that the bank statement...was GONE!" A missing bank statement? Sounded like a case for Toon Link and Young Link to crack.
"When was the last time you saw the bank statement?" asked Isabelle, having questions that needed to be answered. "Was the bank statement there when yesterday, do you know if Fox or Falco had anything to do with its disappearance?"
"It was on the desk yesterday, in the very same spot I put it. And Fox nor Falco had anything to do with the bank statement's disappearance, asked them about it this morning and they were both shocked. I wouldn't point fingers just yet...but I wouldn't be surprised if you were behind this, Master Hand."
"Oh yeah sure, blame the elephant in the room, blame the giant floating hand who could possibly do no wrong!" frowned Master Hand, if he even had the ability to frown or display any emotion. "Blame the head honcho of the mansion, and not yourself! Placing important documentation where it would be likely stolen...I thought you were better than this, Itsuki."
"And I thought you were better than stealing the money for our profits to make car payments for the Lamborghini that you don't even drive," Itsuki fired back - Master Hand certainly didn't have a retort for that. But he was still salty with Itsuki for accusing him. "Just help me find the bank statement, and then we'll just put this whole thing behind us and everything will be back to normal..."
"I may not help you, and neither can Isabelle...but the two police gentlemen you see before you definitely could," replied Master Hand, referring to Toon Link and Young Link. Both kids were craving for another case to crack, and solving the mystery of Star Records's missing bank statement could quench their thirst for solving crimes around the mansion.
"Eh, would've preferred an actual police cop duo, but I suppose these two will do..." Itsuki shrugged, before making his way to the Links and kneeling down at them, needing to tell them some vital information. "Now I will be gone for most of the day, since they're having a movie at the lecture hall, so I want you boys to find the bank statement for me and have it in Ayaha's hands before the end of the day. Can I trust you boys in getting the task done?"
"You can always count on us!" exclaimed Toon Link, giving Itsuki a confident thumbs up. Itsuki couldn't believe that he was putting his trust into two kids dressed up as police officers, but it wasn't like he had any other choice.
Dunban: I do not yet know the full extent of Fox and Falco's plan, but I do know the movie they're planning on watching with Mario and Peach...the Titanic it would be something bootlegged, like Despicable Me 3. If I were to deter Fox and Falco's plan, I would not only require cooperation from just Bowser...but everyone else in the mansion. And maybe changing things up a little...
An hour after breakfast, Mario and Peach headed to the lecture hall, sitting at the front row as Fox and Falco made preparations for the movie. Peach felt like she and Mario were receiving V.I.P. treatment, what with the married couple watching the movie by themselves, along with Fox and Falco.
"So nice of Fox and Falco to invite us over for a movie!" gleamed Peach, enjoying a quick conversation with her husband Mario before the movie began. "And what better movie to watch than the Titanic, one of the most romantic movies ever created!"
"Well said-a Princess Peach, Fox and Falco couldn't-a have found a better movie than-a Titanic!" exclaimed Mario, relaxing comfortably in his seat, looking at his wife to the left before looking to his right. "Don't you think-a so, Link?" Mario would ask the Hylian sitting right next to him...having to do a double take when he saw Link sitting at the front row, along with Zelda. "L-Link? Zelda? What business do you-a two have here?!"
"Word broke out that you and Peach were watching a movie, and so we wanted to see the movie with you guys," explained Link, holding a bag of popcorn. It was a bag of popcorn you would expect to see at a movie theater.
"Bowser and Dunban were very kind enough to give us food and drinks while we watch the movie too," added Zelda, who was drinking from a cup of grape soda through a straw. "I know this is way too early for movie night, but this is perhaps the best grub we've had at movie night, since ever!"
"And we got the front seats in the house!" Midna poked her head in between Link and Zelda, grabbing some popcorn from Link's bag and eating it. "Hmm, this is the first time I've ever eaten popcorn...not as bad as I thought it would be."
Fox and Falco, after they were done making preparations backstage, walked out onto the stage, and were shocked to see Link, Zelda, and Midna at the front row, situated next to Mario and Peach. Only Mario and Peach were allowed to watch the movie, but the Hylian couple and the imp didn't seem to care.
"Bruh, y'all have no business here, who told you that you can be here?!" Falco snapped on Link and company, nearly going off the stage before Fox came in and made the save before things got ugly. "Get out of our sight or else!"
"Why don't you tell that to everyone else wanting to see the movie?" retorted Midna. Fox and Falco looked up, and soon feared for the worst when the other residents filled in into the lecture hall, holding popcorn and drinks and candy and nachos and all sorts of things you would typically consume at a movie theater. This was a moment meant for Mario and Peach only...and now that moment was becoming mightily wasted.
"Thanks for the great snacks, Fox and Falco, this might be the best movie night to ever take place at the mansion!" Robin would thank the Star Fox pilots, who weren't even in charge of the concessions. In fact, the duo didn't even know how said concessions were acquired!
"Hold up, hold up, and hold up - where are you people getting those concessions from, Falco never brought any food!" Fox questioned those who were entering the lecture hall. But nobody, not even Robin, would bother to answer the pilot's question, as they took their seats.
"That was totally my doing - bought all the essentials, and had my kids give the concessions away for free!" a voice was heard, as a certain giant koopa would join Fox and Falco on the stage, eating from a bag of popcorn. Fox and Falco were disgusted to see Bowser, who was cheesing it up as he enjoyed the salty looks on Fox and Falco's faces. "Thought I could spruce things up and invite more people, and give 'em some free food as incentives for showing up! Everyone loves freebies!"
Bowser: Who doesn't like free stuff? Free hugs, free refreshments, free massages, and even free custom sports jerseys. (Unless you're into organized crime, since hat's the only way you can get 'em.) Granted, the popcorn, candy, and drinks I bought from the store wasn't free, but if there's anything I learned in life, it's that not everything has to be free. I think that's what the British tried to each Americans back in the late 1700s, before America wised up.
"You tell everyone in this lecture hall not named Mario or Peach to leave this instant!" Fox demanded from Bowser, as he angrily pointed a the lecture hall seats, which were now filling up. But Bowser refused to budge; he wouldn't give in into the likes of Fox.
"No way Jose - I promised these people they would get to see a movie, and I enticed them enough with free grub to the point where they wouldn't even THINK about leaving, so ya better do with what you got!" retorted Bowser; Fox, throwing his arms up in defeat, walked away, with Falco following after him. "Yeah, that's what I thought - now go take your seats so we can get this thing started!"
Once the lecture hall was jam-packed, Fox and Falco would take their seats, taking the two available seats behind Mario and Peach. The Star Fox pilots would have taken the two available seats next to the newlyweds, but Luigi and Daisy had already taken them.
"Did Bowser ever specify where-a he purchased the concessions from?" Luigi asked Daisy, scarfing down on a bag of popcorn and drinking from his cup of soda at the same time. Dude was living the American dream. "I wouldn't-a trust Bowser in-a buying food, especially after that one-a time he bought me pound-a cake. Stupid pastry made-a me terribly sick!"
"Either Bowser bought you that pound cake out of complete spite...or your body just works funnier than usual," responded Daisy, taking a huge bite from her nachos. "After that whole soy sauce incident, I think I might go with the latter..."
"Please don't bring-a that incident up again, the end-a less humiliation I've-a suffered was far-a enough..." Wanting to change the subject, Luigi turned his head towards Mario, who was suddenly tempted to eat the nachos Pac-Man kindly got for him. The plumber wanted to eat said nachos, but as most previous chapters of "Smash Life" has taught you, Mario and Hispanic food was a very unwholesome combination. Mario didn't want to risk eating the nachos and having to miss the entire Titanic movie because of an upset stomach, so Peach had to dissuade the plumber each time he was tempted. "Don't you think that-a the young ones would-a be disturbed by some-a of the scenes-a in this Titanic movie?"
"Like that slutty French-a girl scene?" asked Mario, a mere second away from eating a nacho chip with melted cheese on it before Luigi asked him his question. "I'm sure the scene-a in question has been censored-a in this version-a of the movie. Right, Fox and-a Falco?" Mario turned around to face Fox and Falco, who were salty that Bowser was ruining their plan. But to the truthful, the pilots didn't really have much of a plan anyways...they just had to keep Mario and Peach away from Mutoh and the Carpenters as much as possible. So everything else didn't necessarily matter, like the residents wanting to see the movie and all.
"Eh, Falco and I didn't preview the movie beforehand, we thought it would require too much work, so if the youngins see any partial nudity or stuff like that...well, at least they're learning something new," was Fox's reply, not at all caring about the innocence of some of the younger viewers. Toon Link and Young Link would be able to miss out, since they were on the case.
Once everyone got situated and all, the lights in the lecture hall dimmed, and the silver screen turned on, as the movie Titanic was about to start. But to everyone's confusion, the classic Super Mario Bros theme song sounded, as the word "LIGHTMOTIVE" appeared on the screen, in rainbow colors. This was far from the Titanic movie everyone was expecting.
"This better not be what I think this is..." said Jacky, fearing for the worst like everyone else was, and soon the fears of everyone in the lecture hall was suddenly realized, when the title of the movie appeared on the screen...Super Mario Bros. A woeful movie so dreaded, it even accumulated over two hundred movie sins from the CinemaSins YouTube channel.
Dunban: Went to the back after Fox and Falco went off-stage and changed the movie from Titanic to Super Mario Bros - that's the equivalent of Ben Affleck going from Jennifer Garner to someone like...say, Jocelyn Wildenstein, if you ask me. Don't know what role Titanic would have in Fox and Falco's plan, but if changing the movie won't damper their plans, then inviting the residents to the see the movie (which Bowser helped me out with) should do the trick.
"Those two Italian dorks kinda remind me of Mario and Luigi!" Pit would say to Viridi, pointing at the screen as the first scene of the movie took place. Less than two minutes into the movie, and the residents had just about enough.
"That's because those two Italian dorks you speak of are Mario and Luigi," stated Viridi, as Pit was now looking at the screen in utter confusion. Obviously this was his first time watching the Super Mario Bros movie...what a very fortunate dude.
"Although this may-a not be the Titanic...watching this crap-a movie with you-a makes watching the movie more-a tolerable," Mario said to his wife Peach...who was taking a nap, likely doing it out of missing the movie on purpose. With the princess asleep, Mario could eat his nachos in peace...and maybe miss out on the movie if his stomach acted against him. Everything seemed to work out perfectly.
While the mansion residents were subjecting themselves to pure, unadulterated torture by watching the trainwreck that was the Super Mario Bros movie, two British detectives were busy snooping around the mansion for any clues regarding the hotel incident...Professor Herschel Layton and Luke Triton. The detectives have been searching all day long, even skipping breakfast and using breakfast bars to give them the fuel they needed to get them through the morning hours; Layton and Luke would have opted to take a break from their day of investigating and watched the movie in the lecture hall, but one look at the silver screen was all they needed.
"Gotta say Layton - the folks who were responsible for making that horrid film of Mario and Luigi are dumber than a bunch of rocks!" remarked Luke, as he and Layton were living room, looking for clues. They would look around at the Four Seasons hotel, but the hotel owner forbid anyone from the mansion to ever step foot in the hotel again.
"Now now, Luke, no need to be all rude...there's no reason for you to insult innocent rocks!" smiled Layton, looking underneath one of the living room couches, before moving to the couch cushions. Either Layton was positive there were clues underneath the couch and under the couch cushions, or he was just buying time. "Apparently we're not allowed inside the hotel, despite having nothing to do with the explosion, so we'll just have to stay at the mansion and find any sort of evidence, if any."
"Disguising ourselves and infiltrating the hotel would be a great way to look for clues, if we have convincing disguises that is," suggested Luke, as he was checking behind the TV. Forget Layton - maybe Luke's the one who's buying time. "We can dress up as health inspectors, and tell the hotel employees that we're at the hotel to inspect the food, and then we'll find more clues that way! Provided we don't wind up buried."
"As long as the hotel staff doesn't try to kill us off with their food, then we wouldn't have to worry about the possibility of being buried," stated Layton, now looking underneath one of the living room tables when a certain paper lying on the floor caught his eye. The detective reached out to grab said paper, and rose up to his feet as he read the sheet the paper with curious eyes.
"What's that you got there, Professor Layton, is that an actual clue?" asked Luke as he came over to the detective, who was now looking at the sheet of paper with a shocked expression on his face. Layton must have found a clue...or maybe he just found a scandalous love letter that his eyes were not meant to see. Would be funnier if it was the latter.
"I do think we found another clue, Luke...golly, this might be the best clue so far!"
Young Link: Sometimes when you work as a police officer, you often have to take big risks, very big risks. Everyday police officers have to risk being with their family and loved ones to stop deviant crimes, and deal justice to wanted criminals who wish to harm others. Toon Link and I, we have to risk watching perhaps the most romantic movie in existence to help Itsuki find a bank statement from Star Records. Really wanted to see that "French girls" scene...
Toon Link: You and me both, buddy...you and me both. But when there's a job that needs to be done, it's gonna be done. When there's foul play taking place, justice has to be dealt. When you see a grown man sagging his pants, you pull his pants up and tell him to show some respect! Nobody wants to see your business!
Young Link: Are you insisting that sagging your pants is a devious crime?
Toon Link: Great minds think alike, do they? *high-fives Young Link*
The police duo of Toon lInk and Young Link, eating their doughnuts and malasadas, were in the printing room looking for the bank statement, with their trusty police hound Duck Hunt Dog sniffing the floor for the missing document. The two Links assumed someone saw the bank statement lying on the Star Records desk and wished to make a copy of it, and they had left the document in the printing room by accident.
"Nothing in the copy machines, or Zero's funky printing thingamajig," stated Toon Link, after inspecting the devices he just mentioned. The Hylain was nearly to the point of pulling out his hair, as he was slowly becoming distressed; he really didn't want to let Itsuki down. "What about you, my partner-in-crime?"
"Just finished checking the printing machines, didn't find anything," replied Young Link, having just finished his glazed doughnuts. Glazed doughnuts and police officers truly go hand-in-hand - rarely do you see a police officer without a doughnut in his hand. "You don't think someone took the bank statement and shred it into pieces, do you?"
"That's kinda the thought I got going on inside my head, but who would even think about doing such a thing? What would be there to accomplish from shredding an important document that isn't yours? Wouldn't make a huge ton of sense. Did you find anything, Duck Hunt Dog?" The police mutt shook his head no, dismaying Toon Link and Young Link even more. The police duo had to find that bank statement - Itsuki was depending on them!
"Obviously the bank statement isn't here, so we'll just have to take our search elsewhere." So Young Link, Toon Link, and the Duck Hunt Dog exited the printing room, continuing their search elsewhere...until Toon Link saw a certain someone making their way through the hallway. The Hylian pulled Young Link and the Duck Hunt Dog away, as he hid himself and the others behind a large vase.
"Keep quiet, you two...I think I found the person who may be responsible for the missing bank statement..." Toon Link quietly whispered to Young Link and the Duck Hunt Dog, as he pointed at a short man, walking by wearing an astronaut suit with three Pikmin following him.
"It's the blindness faker..." mouthed Young Link, as Olimar and his Pikmin nonchalantly walked by. "What if...what if Olimar used his faux blindness as a ploy to steal the bank statement?" What would Olimar even do with the bank statement anyways...?
"Or even worse - what if when we interrogate him, he uses the victim card and uses his fake blindness in his favor, and paint us as VILLAINS? Olimar could make Master Hand lose our trust, and we would have our police badges taken away, and we would never go on police adventures ever again!"
"That sounds like a pretty scary thought...but just like you said, when there's a job that needs to be done, it's gotta be done, and if Olimar is truly the culprit in the crime, then justice must be dealt. So let's go get him!"
So Toon Link, Young Link, and the Duck Hunt Dog arose from their hiding spot, following closely behind Olimar and the Pikmin. Toon Link Both Links donned his bow, and had an arrow pointed at Olimar...and when the time was right, the Hylian fired the arrow at poor Olimar, striking him in the back of his knee and sending him to the floor in pain.
"Gaah, cramp, got a cramp in my leg!" wailed Olimar, under the belief he was suffering from a leg cramp...until he rubbed the back of his knee and felt Toon Link's arrow, pierced through his skin. "What? How did this arrow get here? This must be Dark Pit's doing, isn't it?" Olimar wouldn't speak anymore, when Toon Link and Young Link approached the astronaut, their bows pointed at him as he remained on the floor.
Olimar: *sitting on a patient bed at the fitness center* Walking through the mansion and minding my own business...and I take a literal arrow to the knee, or the back of my knee, rather. *sighs* The guys back at Hocotate Freight would never believe me if I told them the entire story.
"You are now under temporary arrest, anything you say or do will be used against you in the Smash Mansion Court of Law!" Toon Link said to Olimar. Yeah, like the Smash Mansion Court of Law ever existed... "State your business - how come you were in the hallway, not watching the movie like everyone else?!" Olimar could just say that he didn't want to watch a crappy movie, but the astronaut had a legit reason for why he was out of the lecture hall.
"I was watching the movie, but I had to use the bathroom really bad so I had to go..." answered Olimar...only to feel a stinging, shocking feeling in the right side of his body. Young Link had just tasered him...but where in the heck did the Hylian get a taser gun from?!
"Did you not hear the man, he said anything you say will be used against you in the court, wouldn't want what you just said used against you, huh?!" Young Link snapped on Olimar, who never before has been more scared of two lousy kids than he was right now. "Now answer the question - why were you in the hallway and not in the lecture hall?"
"Why did you taser me for...like I had told you, I was..." And for the second time, Olimar got tasered. Dude might as well shut up, but he would probably get tasered again for not answering Toon Link's question. A lose-lose situation.
"This is pointless...we'll never pry an answer out of Olimar if we keep this up," said Toon Link, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Already fired an arrow at the back of his knee, so we could just take him to the fitness center and have Leia deal with him. Maybe once he's fully healed, he'll be more cooperative."
"How about we grab some more doughnuts and malasadas, and then we'll take Olimar to the fitness center?" suggested Young Link; Toon Link would be a blundering fool to say no to that!
The Super Mario Bros movie everyone was watching was (thankfully) halfway through, with some of the residents either sleeping away, on their cellular devices waiting for the movie to end, or checking to see if there were more concessions, like popcorn and candy and whatnot. Sonic was playing a game on his cellphone when the young witch seated next to him, Ashley, nudged him with her elbow.
"Do you see that, a few rows up ahead?" Ashley whispered to Sonic, pointing her finger at an individual seated three rows up from where she and the hedgehog where. Sonic squinted his eyes, seeing the individual in question in plain sight.
"Yeah Ashley, I do see that...and it's flat-out disgusting," Sonic whispered back, shaking his head in disdain. "Wario should know better than to scratch his privates with his hand in his pants, especially in the presence of others."
"I'm not talking about Wario, you buffoon...I'm talking about her." Ashley pointed at Samus, who was busy noodling away on her phone in indifference. Bored was an understatement of a word to describe how the bounty hunter was feeling. "She's on her phone, looking at who knows what...how about you distract her, while I pull up a picture of Snake on her cellphone? Then you give Samus this love potion..." Ashley pulled out the potion from underneath her red dress. "...and have her drink it, so that the first person she'll see will be Snake, on her phone. Then Samus will fall in love with Snake, and everyone wins. Sounds like a good plan?"
Sonic: Was at first a bit skeptical in trusting Ashley...but the girl's got some mad love potions, so her value is only dependent on those love potions she makes. Knowing what happened with Pit and Viridi, if the use of the love potion goes worse than expected, then Samus might end up having urinary problems, like Pit once did. Hard to imagine Samus having to make constant bathroom breaks, since she wears her blue bodysuit 24/7. Wears that thing all the time and catches no flak from anyone, but people who spend their lives naked like me can't even go inside a JC Peny store without warranting an arrest! I blame sexism...
"Eh I suppose, lemme make my way over to Samus..." replied Sonic, taking the love potion from Ashley and making his way over to Samus, making sure not to step on anyone's feet. And yes, the hedgehog did same "excuse me" and "pardon me" as he moved past everyone; while Sonic may be a jerk, he still knew to use polite phrases. Once Sonic saw there was an available seat next to Samus, who was sitting by herself to no one's surprise, the hedgehog took the empty seat, without Samus caring to notice.
"Thought you would be sitting with your pals Tails and Knuckles, Sonic," said Samus, her eyes fixated on her phone. Okay, so maybe Samus was more observant than everyone assumed she was. Good to know. "Can't even respect my personal space, can you?"
"Well I thought you were lonely by yourself, so I wanted to give you some much-needed company." Sonic, who was holding the love potion in one hand and an empty cup in another hand, took the top of the cup off and poured the love potion in it, before placing the top back on and handing the cup to Samus. At that time, the hedgehog saw Ashley advancing towards Samus, which gave the blue blur the cue. "Samus can you look over here, got something I want to give to ya..."
"This better be good..." Samus placed her phone down and looked towards Sonic, who offered the bounty hunter his cup...his cup of love potion. "Oh, look, a cup of soda just for me, you shouldn't have, Sonic..." Before Samus accepted the drink from Sonic, Ashley snatched the bounty hunter's phone, which was left unlocked, and pulled up a photo of Snake online, one that resembled him. Once the deed was done, Ashley retreated, running back to her seat. "Any other souvenirs you wish to give to me?"
"No, that's all I got for ya. I'll leave you be for now!" Sonic quickly returned to her seat, as Samus returned to her phone, which had a black screen on it, and pressed the button to turn the screen back on. Only time will tell if Samus drinks the potion...and sees that picture of Snake on her device.
Toon Link and Young Link, staying on their duty, traveled on their Segways as the looked around the mansion for the missing bank statement from Star Records, with the Duck Hunt Dog accompanying them. They searched high and low, left and right, inside and outside (the outside part didn't happen as much, they only went to the gardens), but still no sign of the document they were looking for. They kept searching, until they encountered two detectives in the hallway...Layton and Luke.
"Ah, Toon Link and Young Link, I see that you two are in your police uniforms," remarked Layton, who received a pass from being attacked by arrows from the Links because he was a renowned detective who could do no wrong. "And I see you must've earned your badges from Master Hand, too! Cracking another case, I assume?" Rather than answering Layton's question, Toon Link wished to make a remark about a somewhat momentous occasion.
"Here we are, standing in the presence of one another...two worlds collide!" exclaimed the Hylian, as Layton and Luke exchanged questionable looks with one another. "This is like Captain America meets Superman, Michael Jackson meets David Bowie, Gandalf meets Emperor Palaptine!" Good thing Corrin wasn't around when Toon mentioned Palpatine's name, otherwise the prince of Nohr would start fangirling. "This is a dream meeting that everyone would dream about, and love to see!"
"Yeah...so what are you two police officers up to?" asked Luke, awkwardly moving on from Toon Link's...erm, theatrics. "Since Layton and I can't look for clues at the hotel because of the owner, we have to look for clues here at the mansion, and we found this - a bank statement!" Luke held up the piece of paper Layton found to the Links...who were both astonished, but for a reason.
"Funny you showed that to us...because we were looking for that bank statement ourselves!" stated Young Link, to Layton and Luke's surprise. "Itsuki said that the bank statement was missing, after he placed the document in the Star Records room, and he wanted us to retrieve it for him so Ayaha could take a look at it."
Toon Link: This is beyond despicable...Layton and Luke essentially did our work for us! We let Master Hand down, because we showed that we can't even complete the easiest tasks, like finding missing papers! Let's hope Master Hand doesn't take our badges away...
Young Link: Or even worse...disallow us from eating doughnuts and malasadas on the job! Those sprinkled doughnuts were starting to grow on me...
"Itsuki wanted you to retrieve the bank statement and have Ayaha take a look at it, is that so?" Layton asked the Links, with a finger placed underneath his chin. "Luke and I analyzed the bank statement shortly after I found it in the living room and...well, you have to take a look."
So Toon Link and Young Link headed over to Luke, as the young detective showed the police officers the bank statement. It showed everything purchased by Star Records had purchased and afforded, like props, electronics, dental services...and several tanks of propane, located at the bottom of the document.
"Someone from Star Records purchased propane tanks?" questioned Toon Link, who couldn't believe what he just read. He was almost at a loss for words. "Where these propane tanks responsible for the hotel explosion?" Layton nodded his head; he and Luke saw the security footage of the propane tanks being placed in the hotel.
"Last week Zero had security footage from the hotel, and it showed a hooded man and his goons place the propane tanks within the ballroom," explained Layton, taking the bank statement from Luke. "I would assume Itsuki was behind the explosion - he must have wanted Ayaha to use white-out on the line where it makes mention of the propane purchase, to cover up any evidence that he was behind the attack."
"But I don't get it, how did the bank statement go from the Star Records room, to the living room? Was Itsuki trying to hide the document to avoid any suspicion?"
"Either he had second guesses about placing the statement in the Star Records room, or he wished to hide the statement and forgot where it was, so you boys could retrieve it for him and have Ayaha cover up the evidence, which I believe he forgot to do. But this all seems too confusing...so why don't we just show this to Mario and see what he thinks?"
The Super Mario Bros movie was nearing its climax, and everyone was just dying for the movie to end. Fortunately for everyone, the almost unbearable movie would come to an abrupt stop, when...
"STOP THE MOVIE THIS INSTANT!" Layton burst through the lecture hall doors, accompanied by Luke, Toon Link, and Young Link. The detective was angrily pointing at...no one, to be exact, but he did grab everyone's attention upon arrival.
"THANK THE GOD ALMIGHTY WE'RE FINALLY SAVED!" exclaimed Wolf, speaking for just about everyone as Fox ran onstage to stop the movie. He could have stopped the earlier, but you gotta give the people what they want, even if it sucks, right?
"Professor Layton, what's-a the matter, why'd you-a interrupt the movie, did you find-a a clue?" Mario asked as he got up from his seat and headed towards the detective, not caring if the movie was stopped or not. Once Mario reached him, Layton gave the plumber the Star Records bank statement. "What's-a this?"
"A bank statement Luke and I found in the living room, lying on the floor," replied Layton, as Mario read the bank statement. "Look at the last item on the list..." Mario looked at the last item...and gasped when he read the word "propane". "I believe someone from Star Records ordered propane tanks that were a part of the hotel explosion!"
"Oh is that-a so?" Mario scowled as he turned his head towards Falco and the Star Records crew, who were sitting together...all of them were confused, looking at one another with confused looks on their faces.
Doc Louis: Was THIS close to losing my cool from watching that crap movie and going ham on everyone out of anger until my man Layton saved the day and stopped that movie. So Professor Herschel Layton...you da real MVP.
"Okay, who was the wise guy that swapped Titanic with Super Mario Bros?!" questioned Fox, walking from backstage after seeing someone had tampered with the movie player, with an angry look on his face. But Mario was even angrier, and so was Dunban, who felt fishy about Fox and Falco all day.
"I knew you and Falco were planning something all along!" the Homs rose up from his seat, pointing angrily at Fox. "You must be the one who purchased the propane tanks. and you had Mario watch a movie because you know he's the head of the mansion, and you didn't want any important information to reach his ears! Why did you buy those propane tanks for?! Tell us right now!"
"Chill out Dunban, quit accusing people..." Shulk tried to calm down Dunban, who refused to sit back down in his seat. "Making yourself look like a utter fool." 'Utter fool' may be an understatement, considering this is Dunban we're talking about.
"Never did I buy any propane tanks, and you must be a dummy if you think that. Also, the reason why I originally had Mario and Peach watch a movie with just themselves was because...because I felt like they needed more romantic moments together! Yeah, that's why. You were the one who invited everyone else to watch a movie, thereby ruining their perfect moment. Stupid jerk!"
"SILENCE!" Master Hand's voice boomed, as Master Hand appeared in the lecture hall. "Heard this stupid conversation about propane all the way from my room! Then again, I can hear pretty much anything from my room. I know, I feel special...now what's this about propane?"
Master Hand came forth to Mario, believing the plumber had the answers, and Mario would show the giant hand the Star Records bank statement, pointing at the propane listed at the end of the document. Having known that the propane tanks sparked the explosions from Layton, Master Hand seemed interested in knowing who the culprit was.
"Luke and I found this bank statement in the living room, on the floor," explained Layton, weary of Master Hand's reaction. He backed away a few inches, just to be on the safe side. "Not exactly sure how it got there..."
"This was the very statement Itsuki asked Toon Link and Young Link to look for..." stated Master Hand, slowly turning his attention to Itsuki and company, who were all growing nervous. "I won't accuse anyone just yet, since I know Fox and Falco are from Star Records and they didn't have anything to do with the explosion...but other than those two, I'm holding everyone one of you Star Records members accountable until we get this thing sorted out. Yes, that includes you Ayaha."
"Great thinking, Master Hand. Glad you weren't quick to accuse someone on the spot...unlike Dunban over there."
"Just doing my job. Now, Mario and Peach, there's something I wish to show you...it's a little surprise I've been preparing for you both."
Dunban: ...alright, alright, I'll admit, I was wrong about Fox and Falco, they didn't have an evil plan...they just wanted Mario and Peach to have romantic moments together. And Bowser and I ruined that. Of course a non-romantic person like me would ruin something romantic... *shakes his head* ...perhaps I should ask Vanea out on a date. Does she even do dates?
Mario and Peach were standing outside, with Master Hand and the Carpenters gathered around. Mutoh had his hands over Mario and Peach's eyes, as the newlyweds were standing in front of something they didn't even ask for.
"Mario, Peach, I know you didn't ask for this, but I wanted to do it for you anyways, for I thought it would be for the absolute best," said Master Hand, with the anticipation inside Mario and Peach reaching unfathomable levels. "I didn't want you to find out about this today, but Fox was able to keep the surprise a secret, without me telling him to. Surprisingly. And now, I give you...the site where the future of your marriage will take place. Mutoh, you can remove your hands."
So the carpenter removed his hands from Mario and Peach's eyes, and once the newlyweds opened their eyes...they saw a house that looked eerily similar to Luigi's. Needless to say, neither of them expected a house built just for them - they were surprised, happy, shook, joyful, all sorts of feelings.
"Master Hand, you were-a building a house for us-a this whole time?!" asked Mario, who was happier than a jackrabbit. This was like receiving a Christmas gift you kinda wanted, but didn't asked for on your Christmas list. "I know Peach and-a I didn't make any mention...this whole-a time, when I saw-a the construction from inside, I thought you were-a building a brothel!"
"You perverted bozo, I wasn't building a brothel...Peach and the ladies would have talked me out of it anyways. I figured that since Luigi and Daisy were married and living on their own...maybe you and Peach could do the same. Had the Carpenters build the house while you were asleep, and their work has finally paid off!"
"Thank you so much, Master Hand, we never knew you were considerate enough to have someone build us a house to stay in!" thanked Peach, who wanted to kiss Master Hand but didn't know where to kiss him at. "And thanks to you too, Carpenters!"
"You're welcome princess - now you get an indefinite break from those mansion folks!" replied Mutoh, breaking into a laughing fit, before turning his attention to Master Hand. "So, Master Hand, about that pay..." ...and just like that, Master Hand immediately vanished. As Fox had told Mutoh earlier, asking Master Hand for money is like asking a bulldog to stop panting. Mutoh must have forgotten that. "...well at least I tried."
In the kitchen, Mamori, Asuka, and Ashley were about ready to start another episode of Microwave Idol Mamorin. Like any given episode, the three girls had a special guest to microwave stuff with them.
"Welcome everyone, to another episode of Microwave Idol Mamorin, with your hosts Ashley, Asuka, and yours truly, Mamori!" Mamori started things off, as Sonic stood from the kitchen entrance, eating a chili dog. "We're gonna warm up your heart, with the press of a button!"
"Today on our show we have another special guest...he's a veteran from Virtua Fighter, and he's pretty tough too!" added Asuka - any idea who it is? "Our guest for the day...Akira Yuki!" The fighter walked onscreen, wearing a white cooking apron. Sonic couldn't help but laugh at his fellow SEGA buddy.
"How long do I have to wear this stupid apron, it's cutting into my masculinity..." frowned Akira, tying the strings on his apron, while Sonic continued to laugh. But the hedgehog wouldn't laugh anymore, when someone tapped him on the shoulder...Snake. The former spy looked like he was in a state of panic.
"Sonic, I don't think our love potion plan was a success..." said an exasperated Snake, before looking around like he was extremely paranoid. "Please tell me Samus drank that potion...or that she saw me, at least..."
"There you are Snakey, I've been looking all over for you..." said a female voice, but it didn't come from Samus. Rather, this voice came from someone Sonic did not expect to be in love with Snake, or with anyone from that matter...Kiria. The idol singer was standing a couple feet from Snake, smiling seductively and waving to the panicky former spy.
Samus: Yeah, like I would ever trust anything Sonic gives to me...gave that drink he offered to Kiria. Moments later, Kiria randomly fell in love with Snake, which means I could have fallen in love with Snake...phew. Dodged a major bullet there.
Kiria: I had zero interest in pursuing, and I didn't like older men...but once I took a look at Snake once I finished my drink, I just knew he was the perfect guy for me. Love might not be so bad after all...
"Come here, you lovable old man!" a now lovestruck Kiria chased after Snake, who screamed and ran away as Sonic looked on. By the looks of it, the hedgehog might need another love potion...and maybe a potion just for Kiria.
Later in the day, around the evening hours, Jakob headed outside and stood in front of Mario's house, instantly knowing that it belonged to the plumber. The butler, who just finished another round of negotiations with Mario and Master Hand, analyzed the house, scratching his chin.
"Mario must be moving out of the mansion soon with Peach..." remarked the butler, deep in thought and consideration as he continued to scratch his chin. "...which must mean that there's now a possible 'opening' at the mansion..." Now a smile was forming on Jakob's face...
...and like Jakob had said in the previous episode, he had nothing to lose.