Author's Note:
Since this is the last week of the Olympics, I made this chapter an Olympics-themed one, hence the title name. There is no capital "C" in Pyeongchang, the name was stylized to avoid confusion with Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. Now that I got that cleared up, I can focus on answering guest reviews...
"Have any references to the Pokemon movies been made yet? Can you include a scene of Chie, Emmeryn, and Teepo from Tales of Xillia interacting with each other? (Erin Fitzgerald voices them) a nod or reference to Persona Q? Is Muzet gonna flirt with some of the guys when she shows up? And finally do you think Fire Emblem Warriors has gotten way too much hate since it came out?"
No references yet. I may do that Tales scene. Could include Persona Q characters in the future. We might get a taste Muzet's flirtatious side. And why has Fire Emblem Warriors gotten hate for? What's so about that game that even gets hate in the first place? I never saw people hating on Hyrule Warriors, but I digress. Another anonymous review:
"what a boring episode there was no eroticism or sonic trying to be perverted with samus or bayonetta do something like that and I'm happy"
So lemme get this straight, you thought the episode was boring...because there wasn't anything erotic or sexual? Umm...okay. And you want Sonic to be perverted with Samus or Bayonetta? Sounds like a death wish waiting to happen. That being said, Sonic would have a better chance with Samus, for some obvious reasons. Last on the clock is Derick Lindsey:
"I recently have been binge watching Inspector Gadget (the 1983 series to be specific) and I was wondering if this would be a good suggestion for a future chapter: Pit after seeing Layton and Luke solve a crime (it could be the one here if you want) and decides to be an Inspector himself and of course he's lousy at it so Viridi has to solve the case for him while Kirby has to make sure Pit doesn't get himself killed, You can even have Lloyd be his idiot self for the Corporal Capeman role if you want."
Ah, Inspector Gadget, from 1983! Loved that show. Pit would definitely fit the inspector role, in my opinion - having Viridi solving cases for him would be gold. Lloyd as Pit's sidekick, too. Moving on:
"It was never followed up on but did Berkut manage to get Alm poisoned?"
I won't spill any details...gotta read the chapter to find out!
Episode 114: Pyeongchang
The 2018 Winter Olympics. A sports spectacle where athletes from all around the world gather to compete in a wide array of winter-related sports events, such as snowboarding, speed skating, luge, and even snowball juggling. Well, if snowball juggling was ever an official Olympic sport to begin with...
The Olympics were held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, which was rebranded as PyeongChang leading up to the Olympics to avoid any confusion with Pyongyang, the capital of the neighboring country North Korea. Pyeongchang was a very snowy territory in Korea, and although it wasn't as cold and frigid as, let's say, Siberia, its arctic conditions remained as the territory's penchant.
With the Olympic set to end this upcoming Sunday, Master Hand desired to take the residents on a trip to Pyeongchang before the games were officially over. The mansion roster had grown in size since the Smash Mansion made its trip to Rio for the 2016 Olympics, but Master Hand wasn't particularly sold on doing multiple trips with the teleportation device...much like how Samus wasn't sold on going to Pyeongchang in general.
"Seriously Master Hand, are we all really required to go to Pyeongchang?" the bounty hunter questioned the giant hand, as the two were going through the hallway. "How about you just take along whoever's interested, and leave the others here?"
"I'm taking you all because you're all uncultured swine who are afraid of the cold," retorted Master Hand, who instructed Zero to get the teleportation device booted up and ready to go. "Must I remind you that the only ones playing outside when it was snowing in Seattle were Link AND Cloud? When Cloud's having fun than you, you know you're doing something wrong."
"That doesn't necessarily mean everyone doesn't enjoy the cold...maybe they had more important things to do." What could possibly be more important than a snowball fight? Samus obviously didn't understand the meaning of fun. "And I'm sure nobody wants to go to South Korea, especially with the Olympics going on."
"Don't think that just because you don't feel like going means that everyone else should feel the same way, Ms. Aran. Can't help but think that all the time you've wasted in your workshop has obstructed you from keeping an open mind on the finer things in life. Obstructed you from having fun." Samus was ready to clap back, but she decided to save it for later. "Besides, what are the cons of going to Pyeongchang anyways? There might even be a k-pop idol singer lurking about - you could get their autograph!"
Master Hand: Yes, yes, I'm very much aware of Roy and his k-pop band, Straight Fiyah...and I'm also aware that Roy is a stupid idiot for wanting to make his musical dreams a reality. Truth is, that man is gonna bomb hard when he realizes that his dreams are just a delusion, and that he literally has zero skill at all. He sings worse than a banshee, and he dances like an awkward teenager with braces trying to impress the girl of his dreams. And needless to say, his bandmates are stupid idiots for agreeing to partake in this whole madness. Roy will bring them down to his level of delusion, and make them submit with his experience.
"The last thing I would want is for some stupid Korean music idol to even lay a finger on me," replied Samus, finally reaching the workshop. There she would be safe and sound, but only for the time being. "I'm sure Roy will get plenty of autographs from those lousy singers." The bounty hunter entered the workshop, and Master Hand, with nobody to speak to, would vanish...
...and appear in Mario's home, so he could give Mario (and later, Luigi) about his plans to go to Pyeongchang. Didn't take Master Hand that long to find Mario, for the plumber was in the living room, humming away as he watered his plants with FLUDD.
"Top of the evening, Mario - I see that your flowers are blossoming with exceeding joy," said Master Hand; either he was being serious, or he was just getting on Mario's nice side. "Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?"
"Aside-a from watching the Olympics, not really," replied Mario, finishing up on watering the plants. "Why do you ask-a Master Hand, have you got-a plans yourself? If it has anything-a to do with your 'fun run', then I'm not-a obliging..."
"What is it with you and not donating funds to charity...I'm sure every run for charity is a sham, and mine would be no different. But that's not what I'm here for...I was wondering if you, Peach, and Lara were interested in coming with the residents and I to Pyeongchang."
"Don't forget about me!" exclaimed Cappy, refusing to be ignored by Master Hand. How Master Hand desired to flick the talking cap off of Mario's head...
"I would-a like to visit Pyeongchang before the Olympics are-a over...I should speak with-a Peach and Lara about the matter. Would hate to leave-a them behind."
"But why would you even need to speak with them for, going to Pyeongchang would be an automatic yes! What would you even bother discussing with them about? What to wear? What to do? Where the best spots for photobombing on live television are? Give me a break!"
"Lara has-a PTSD, you know...only vivid memory or flash-a back, and she could go bonkers!" Lara being triggered by her PTSD and harming someone would be a very bad look. "I'm just-a trying to play it safe..."
"Okay Mario, go ahead and do what you want...but let me tell you, that sometimes you can't always play it safe. You can't be too careful anymore, if you know what's waiting for you...that's an actual song by the way, by Paramore. Absolute banger. I recommend that you give it a listen in your spare time."
Done speaking with Mario, Master Hand would teleport to Luigi's home, and to his surprise, he was the only one home! Well, except for Polterpup and Charles, with the latter seated in his high chair.
"I'm all alone...with Luigi and Daisy nowhere to be found...and I'm left in the company of their child, Charles..." Master Hand said to himself, thinking of devious thoughts and plans. "Now's my golden chance, the moment I've been waiting for!"
The giant hand approached Charles, and looked at him intensely with his nonexistent eyes, only for Charles to smile and clap. That young fella was immune to fear and danger - a complete opposite of his father. Master Hand then pulled away from Charles, and put his middle finger and ring finger on the floor, as he began to do some...dancing with said fingers. He kicked out both fingers like they were legs, dancing like he was a member of the Rockettes. Charles would continue to smile and clap, as Master Hand grabbed a nearby cane with his index finger and did some classic cane dancing. Only thing missing was a hat.
Master Hand would continue to entertain Charles, until Luigi and Daisy came down from the stairs with Rotom. Once the three reached the base of the steps they saw what Master Hand was doing with Charles, entertaining the infant; Luigi and Rotom remained chill, while Daisy, on the other hand...
"GET YOUR FILTHY HAND AWAY FROM MY CHILD!" the princess yelled as she snatched a nearby broom and ran to the living room to protect her baby. Master Hand's dancing act would soon be over, as Daisy aggressively whacked him with her broom, all while Charles smiled and clapped even harder. Apparently he was very fond of any act of violence.
Luigi: Life tip: never do anything around-a Charles when Daisy's around, otherwise she'll get-a very overprotective. Learned that the hard-a way, when I was vacuuming the living room-a floor while watching over Charles. Daisy saw me, and accused-a me of plotting to suck-a up Charles' flesh with the vacuum (doubt that would-a even be possible), and we had a pretty long-a argument that resulted in me not receiving any dinner that night and later sleeping on-a the couch. What sucked-a was that Daisy had cooked-a barbecue that night, and she gave-a my portions to that freeloading ninja Yuffie..
Yuffie: Yeah, Luigi ticking off Daisy was pretty much the greatest thing he ever done. Getting two helpings of those barbecue ribs felt almost criminal, yet it felt so right at the same time. It's like cheating on a final exam, and the teacher allows you to do it. If only school operated that way...
"I do believe-a that Master Hand was just-a entertaining Charles," Luigi offered his two cents, as Daisy finished up her senseless beating on Master Hand. Once she was done, she put away the broom and ran over to Charles, picking him up and cradling him in her arms.
"It's okay Charles, mommy's got you, it's gonna be alright..." Daisy consoled Charles, leaving Master Hand to writhe on the floor. As Daisy comforted her son, Luigi tiptoed past his wife over to Master Hand, with Rotom following him.
"Did you come-a here for something, Master Hand?" the plumber quietly asked the giant hand, who was left moaning in pain. Unwritten Rule #5: never underestimate or doubt the vigor of an angry Daisy, not by any means.
"2018...Olympics...Pyeongchang...mansion...residents...for one day...you interested?" Master Hand asked Luigi, enticing him with the offer while dealing with the pain. Who knew a broom would be so effective against the giant hand?
"A trip to Pyeongchang, South Korea?" inquired Rotom, smiling with delight. "For the Olympics? A one-day visit sounds splendid, zzrt! When shall we leave?"
Once Master Hand recuperated from his injuries, and once the teleportation device was fully initialized, it was time for everyone to make the trip to Pyeongchang. Keep in mind that not everybody was prepared, for there were several individuals missing. But Mario and Luigi were there in the teleportation room, along with their crew. Much to Master Hand's delight, Lara was down with traveling to Pyeongchang, and so was ever pregnant Peach, around seven months pregnant.
"What is this...strange contraption?" asked Lara, as she took a glance at the teleportation device. It was the first time the tomb raider had ever seen it. "Never seen anything like it before?"
"That is called a teleportation device - it can literally transport you to anywhere in the world, and even beyond," explained Zero, the robot seeing how completely marveled Lara was. "Mega Man originally built it so we could travel to Rio de Janiero, and we still use this device to this day."
"So that means I could possibly return to my home country of Britain, and leave Seattle for good?" Zero would nod his head in response to Lara's question, as Bowser looked on, feeling weary. "I see...I should look into using this device one day."
Bowser: Oh crap, Lara is already considering going back home to Britain, and I have yet to win her heart! I can't just let her return home empty-handed, there's gotta be something I can do to make Lara love me! Wolf would be no help, as he told me I would have no chance with any human chick. Got no clue as to why he would tell me that, as his chances are just as slim.
"Isabelle, is everyone present?" Master Hand asked the shih tzu, not feeling like doing a head count. That required too much work, and too much counting. Besides, counting over a hundred people would be quite frustrating.
"Not everyone is here...we're still missing Sonic, Knuckles, Ashley, Jacky, Akira, and Samus," replied Isabelle, as Master Hand growled in anger. The giant hand did not care for the first five folks mentioned...but he did care for Samus, who made it clear that she wasn't going to Pyeongchang. She would rather spend time in the workshop than visit a foreign country, and the thought of that made Master Hand seriously ticked.
"Well if Samus wants to keep working on her crappy Power Suit or whatever, then the more power to her, she can do what she wants." Why single out Samus for? That was a question Isabelle would ask if it came without the scrutiny of Master Hand. "We'll just leave without her, and she can cry her eyes out that she missed out on a wonderful trip! Screw that woman." Master Hand, done with his tangent, turned to Zero. "All set to go?"
"We're all set!" responded Zero, giving a thumbs up. The device was booted up, ready for teleporting. "There should be enough room for everyone here, and if not, we'll just have to do some piggybacking, for the short people..."
"I got dibs on Palutena's back!" Wario shouted out loud, as everyone looked at the fatso with weird looks. "...you know what, I'll just hitch a ride on Ike instead." Wario still didn't want anyone to find out about his secret crush on Palutena, and he was one moment away from blowing his cover.
By the mighty power of the teleportation device, Master Hand and company would wind up in Pyeongchang, soon greeted by the cold. Some folks remembered to bring a jacket and other gear, while folks such as Crash and Yoshi were able to withstand the temperatures. Other folks, such as Corrin, were left shivering, as they chattered their teeth.
"Wh-What is this f-f-foul gas exiting my m-m-m-mouth?" the prince wondered, being able to see his breath. Acting like he was some Floridan witnessing the cold for the first time - and to be fair, this was Corrin's first experience with freezing cold.
"Relax Corrin, it's just your breath," assured Kamui, worried that her twin brother was going paranoid. Imagine Corrin attacking his own breath with his Levin sword.
"How fitting that we ended up in the city part of Pyeongchang..." remarked Cappy, hopping off of Mario's head as he took out a Pyeongchang tour guide. "That should prevent any of us from getting lost. According to this tour guide, Pyeongchang has this mountain, called Mount Odaesan, which is home to various Buddhist temples. There are also two major ski resorts, both of which are...you know what, I shouldn't be reading you guys this stuff, I made tour guides for all of you! The thought that counts!"
"Um, Cappy, when did you make those tour guides?" a concerned Peach asked Cappy, as the cap took out a bunch of tour guides and passed them out. Peach was worried about the printer she and Mario recently purchased, fearing that Cappy might've unintentionally sabotaged it.
"I actually didn't make them, I printed them out online from the interwebs. Kept printing them out until the printer started beeping. That must've meant that the site I got the tour guides from ran out of tour guides. Had no idea it was possible." ...or maybe that beeping indicated that you used up all the printer's ink, Cappy. Mario and Peach will now have to order more ink because of you!
Mario: Honest-a question: is it possible to punish-a your own hat? Can I ground him by leaving him-a in my room, and locking the door-a shut? But then, how would I be able to go on joy-a rides in my car at night, and successfully fool-a people into thinking Seattle is haunted by ghosts? Maybe I can have-a Jacky hotwire my car.
"You know what, screw your tour guides, and screw all of you - Straight Fiyah is going to tear South Korea down!" proclaimed Roy, as everyone rolled their eyes at the swordsman. "Let's go boys, let's show the South Koreans who the hottest new k-pop group is!"
"Let's just follow him and see how long we can stick around," Ike whispered to Marth, as the two swordsmen, along with Corrin, Robin, Alm, Berkut, and the newest member of the group, Crash, followed after their self-proclaimed leader, off to who knows where. "The moment he starts to show off his endemic singing skills, we leave him in the dust for good..."
"Then he'll have nobody but his own self to make himself look like a dire fool...sounds like a surefire plan," grinned Marth, bumping his fist with Ike's, as Straight Fiyah embarked on a journey to spread the news about their name...a journey only Roy was serious about.
"Man, it's a good thing I exited the group when I had the chance..." Chrom said to Lucina, who nodded her head in agreement. "...though Crash wasn't a solid choice for my replacement." That wouldn't matter, at least until Lucina got her plan going.
Berkut: Somehow, someway, Alm is still alive...that poison at the maid cafe must not have worked. Or it was so weak, that it had literally no effect on Alm. Remind me to give that cafe a bad review online...clearly their quality isn't top-notch.
Sonic was one of the six who was left behind at the mansion, and the hedgehog's reason for being left behind was that he was taking a shower. Wanted to smell fresh and clean while he was in Pyeongchang. Unfortunately for Sonic, he took his shower on late notice; not taking his shower earlier would bite the blue blur in the back.
But Sonic wouldn't be alone, for Knuckles too was left behind after recording a rap song in the recording studio. Tails tried to inform his echidna friend that it was time to go, but Knuckles was too much into the groove to listen. Now, Knuckles was frantically running about in the mansion, wondering where everybody was.
"Oh, sure, go ahead and leave for Pyeongchang and leave ME behind!" frowned the echidna, frantically searching and assuming he was being set up. "Real funny, you guys - this is no way to show respect to..." Knuckles' angry fit would come to an end, when he ran into Ashley. The young witch looked up at Knuckles, staring into his eyes with her ominous look, her emotionless gaze ever apparent. "Ashley, what are you still doing here?"
"Staying away at the mansion while the other peons are at Pyeongchang, obviously," answered the young witch, as she twirled her wand. "I managed to hide away from Master Hand while he was rounding everyone up, and to my surprise, he didn't catch me...which meant my mission was a rousing success."
"Man, we absolutely killed it in the fitness center, didn't we Akira?" Jacky spoke with his best friend and fellow Virtua Fighter bro as the two were walking through the hallway. Both men were sweaty from head to toe. "Sorry you had to take an L in our push-up competition!"
"Well what can I say, you win some you lose some," shrugged Akira, extremely humble as he accepted his defeat. "You can't win if you never lose. Otherwise you're just straight up cheating at life!" Both Jacky and Akira were astonished to see Knuckles and Ashley standing together, and were concerned. "...why aren't you two at Pyeongchang?" asked Akira.
"Hold on a minute, Akira...I think we were so much into our competition, that we were left behind!" Imagine being left behind on a trip to a foreign country in Asia, and your excuse was that you were too busy doing push-ups. "Oh man, oh man, what do we do?!"
"Relax, Jacky, we can just go to the teleportation room and boot up the device so we can teleport to Pyeongchang. Only thing is, none of us know how to work that crazy thing...so in a way, we're all screwed."
"Whaddaya mean, we're all screwed?" asked a familiar voice, as Sonic joined the group. He was wearing a towel around his waist. "Don't tell me we've been left behind by Master Hand...leaving people behind, that must be a first for him."
Master Hand: Will I punish those who chose to stay behind at the mansion during our trip? That only depends on the intent. I'm willing to give everyone except Samus a pass if they completely forgot. Or if they didn't hear me remind them that we were ready to go. Thought my yelling was loud enough. As for Samus...it's pretty clear as day she boycotted the trip. She can sit the workshop all she wants and think of herself as a modern day Rosa Parks, while I think of what to do with her once we return.
"Sonic, why do you have a towel wrapped around your waist?" Ashley questioned the blue blur - not that she mind, she was left curious. "We're used to seeing you walking around with no clothes on, same goes for Knuckles."
"You're used to seeing a person walking around indoors naked?" grimaced Sonic, as he made an absolutely disgusted face. "Wow, you people have no morals at all! Or maybe it's just you, Ashley. I've seen you attempting to murder your pet rabbit by tossing him into the washer machine, you heartless monster...if looks could kill, I'd be dead by now!"
"...that's actually a stuffed animal, but keep believing whatever you want, Sonic." As Ashley and company remained in the hallway, another person would join them...Samus Aran, he was walking by carrying some new parts from her Power Suit. The moment she saw the five gathered together, she immediately turned away. There was a particular reason why she did this.
"Just keep on walking Samus and they won't make you do anything..." the bounty hunter said to herself, keeping her eyes forward. She wouldn't get that far, when Akira grabbed unto her leg trying to stop her.
"Please, Samus, you can't go, for you must do us all a huge solid!" begged Akira, as Samus tried to escape from Akira, but to no avail. "We have to get to Pyeongchang, so we can enjoy the experience with everyone else!"
"Look, I couldn't care less about Pyeongchang, or taking you all there. I just wanna be alone, and finish my projects, without some stupid giant hand interrupting me, or some idiotic marsupial always interfering with my plans. Why would you need me for, anyways?"
"Because you're the only person aside from the robots that knows how to use the teleportation device, perhaps?" answered Sonic, as Samus stopped in place and realized this. "You did help Mega Man some in building that thing." This was in fact true, and there was no way for Samus to deny it. The bounty hunter was now left in the precarious position of taking Sonic and company to Pyeongchang, with the odds against her. "Maybe once we're gone, you'll have ALL the free time to yourself...so how about it?"
"Fine, I suppose I can teleport you guys to Pyeongchang, if you're that desperate," sighed Samus, as everyone except for Ashley showed their appreciation for the bounty hunter. Ashley just did nothing. "Let me go boot that device back up..."
Being that he was in a foreign country, Master Hand took up on the opportunity to spread awareness about Pikachu Day, and tell the Korean natives how great the day was, so that the word would hopefully be spread to other Asian countries, somehow...somehow. The giant hand would ask random Korean citizens (ones that spoke English, to make things easier) what day it was, hoping they would answer the question correctly.
"Excuse me, good sir, what what is today?" Master Hand asked a Korean dude, who was taking a picture of Pyeongchang's mountain range. Understandably, the man was spooked upon seeing Master Hand.
"Today would be Friday, I believe," the man answered...only for Master Hand to snatch the dude's phone, and hurl it over the mountains like a javelin. "Hey what was that for, my wife gave me that phone!"
"The correct answer to that question was Pikachu Day you bozo! Tell your wife that she's a bozo too for marrying you! And tell you're children they're bozos as well, just for being your offspring! But if they're young, then don't bother, they won't be able to handle it...just tell them that when they're older."
Leaving the man wonderfully confused, Master Hand hovered away, looking for another Korean to ask, when he saw Link at a stand, selling Pikachu Cheesesteaks and spreading the awareness like a true hero, with Zelda and Greninja with him. Pikachu and Pichu were perched on the stand, just for selling purposes. Nobody would dare to pass up on the opportunity to buy a cheesesteak after seeing Pikachu's cute face...and Pichu's face as well.
"Link, my man, selling those cheesesteaks and making that money all in the name of awareness!" exclaimed Master Hand, commending the Hylian for his efforts. He was never more proud of Link until now. "Good for you to have your girlfriend join the initiative!"
"To be clear, Greninja and I are only here for 'moral support'," clarified Zelda, who wanted nothing to do with Pikachu Day. Greninja nodded his head, sharing Zelda's sentiments. "Link is doing all the selling."
"Frankly Pikachu Day needs all the moral support it can get, so I commend the efforts of you and Greninja to make Pikachu Day bigger than ever. So, Link, you must be making a fortune by now, are ya?"
"Sure am, Master Hand - I'm already at 53,330 won!" replied Link; if Master Hand had eyes, his eyes would be bulging out with excitement. "We're making that dough today!"
"53,330 won?! That's Bill Gates money right there! Just wait until we transfer that South Korean currency to U.S. currency, we'll be stinking rich! I will be stinking rich! Just think of the things I could do to enhance my Lamborghini!" Oh, if only Master Hand knew South Korean currency worked...
Zelda: According to my calculations, 53,330 won equals too... *taps away on a calculator* ...$49.93, in U.S. currency. Rounded up, that's fifty dollars, but in Master Hand's mind, that amount is close to twelve billion. I won't tell him or Link the true calculations, it's best if they found out themselves.
"But we can't just stop there, there are other various methods to increase awareness about Pikachu Day," expressed Master Hand, while Link was making another cheesesteak sale. "We should hijack the South Korean television stations, and the government too, and announce a PSA that will undoubtedly bring awareness to the entire country, as a whole. Or we can just sell Pikachu Day merchandise, that would be easier. Say, where is Ayaha?"
"Beats me, though if I had to guess, she's with Tsubasa and the gang," replied Link, making yet another sale. Having Pikachu and Pichu around must be driving up the sales. "Probably at a gift shop or something."
"They have gift shops at this desolate wintry place? Well Pyeongchang does have a town...a small town at that, maybe some people enjoy the freezing cold. Or they're just crazy. No matter, I must consult my Pikachu Day advisor right away, and see if she has any bright plans for creating more awareness. The fate of Pikachu Day depends on it!" Master Hand vanished away, leaving Link to continue his business.
"Still can't believe you a part of this whole Pikachu Day bandwagon..." Zelda shook her head at Link, fully disgusted with her boyfriend. "Oh, the silly choices you make sometimes..."
Thanks to Samus, who booted up the teleportation device, Sonic, Knuckles, Ashley, Jacky, Akira, and some cameraman who stuck around at the mansion were teleported to Pyeongchang, ready to soak in everything the host city of the Olympics had to offer. There was one problem, though...
...instead of arriving at a snowy location, with mountain ridges and many Olympic events taking place, the group would find themselves in some town square, with tall building and skyscrapers towering over them. Wherever the group was, it wasn't even close to being Pyeongchang.
"Aw crap, Samus must've warped us to Pyongyang!" panicked Akira; either Samus accidentally selected Pyongyang on the device, or her apathy got in the way. Regardless, Akira and company were stuck in Pyongyang, the capitol of North Korea, and they had no way to return home.
"Of all the countries to be accidentally warped to, and it had to be North freaking Korea..." moaned Sonic, looking down at the ground. "I'd hate to be stuck in a country under the rule of that toupee-wearing midget, Kim Jong Un! At least I think he's wearing a toupee...with him and Trump, it's hard to tell."
"Do have to admit, this place isn't as bad as it seems," remarked Knuckles, as he took a look around the city of Pyongyang. The citizens of the city were going about with their daily lives, hardly paying any attention to the five (or six, if you wish to include the cameraman, but he's not that important anyways). "This must be the chill side of Pyongyang, away from all the impoverished territories I've seen online."
"Are you all lost, are you by any chance a part of the tour?" a Korean tour guide approached Knuckles and company, with several American tourists behind him. The tour guide looked friendly and nice, but Sonic thought otherwise.
"Stand back you guys, this dude might be a secret spy agent from the North Korea government..." the hedgehog warned the others, as the group slowly backed away cautiously. "The tourists behind him must've been brainwashed, unable to recover from their..."
"Whoever said I was a secret spy agent? I'm just your friendly North Korean tour guide, showing our visitors around our nation's capital. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise." The group slowly began to warm up towards the tour guide, but Sonic still had his doubts.
"Fine then, Mr. Tour Guide, we believe you...for now. But pull something funny, and we'll beat you up so bad your friends can't save you." Sonic and company would join the tourists as the tour guide resumed the tour, with Sonic keeping an ever suspicious eye on the tour guide...
While Sonic and friends were having a tour of Pyongyang, the threesome of Pit, Viridi, and Kirby were watching the Olympics crew set up things for the next Olympic event. There were standing rather close; surprisingly those three haven't been escorted away or even arrested yet.
"This setup crew needs to hurry up and get this whole thing set up already," frowned an impatient Pit, who had no idea what Olympic event was about to take place. "Whatever the event is, it better be some basketball - would like to see the men's national team again. Basketball must be on a very long delay this year in the Olympics."
"Um, Pitty...there is no basketball in the Winter Olympics," Viridi informed her boyfriend, ashamed that she even had to tell him that information. "Basketball was never a winter sport, it has always been summer. Been that way since forever."
"Why, because basketball players aren't allowed to play in the cold? Did the NBA make some silly rule prevent players from playing in frigid temperatures? Stupid NBA, always ruining great things...first the draft lottery, and now this..."
Pit: Never wanted to admit this straight up, but now I feel like it has to be said...the United States is THE most racist country in the planet! Think about it - all the talented athletes they've sent to South Korea, and not a single one of them is black! How could they possibly bring the black man down like that? Even the African countries sent more black athletes to Pyeongchang than the U.S., and that's just sad! Sad!
Kirby: The African countries have more black athletes because they have more concentrated black populations Pit... *sighs* ...and here I thought you said you never saw color...must've been a lie.
"Spreading the awareness about Pikachu Day, my amigos?" asked a loud voice, as the trio turned around and were spooked by Master Hand. Master Hand had a very strong habit of scaring people like that; apparently he didn't see any problem with it.
"Master Hand, how could you call us that evil racial slur, I'm appalled!" gasped Pit, leaving Master Hand - and Viridi and Kirby - in complete and utter confusion. "I understand that with being the creator of the Smash universe, you can do whatever you want, but that shouldn't allow you to say whatever you please..."
"Kirby I'm not sure if your mastery of the Spanish language - or any foreign language, for that matter - is up to par, but amigos means friends in English," explained Kirby; the pink puffball must've learned some Spanish from Meta Knight. After all, Meta Knight did consider himself Hispanic...
"Oh I see...sorry for my ignorance. This whole time I thought amigo was just a Mexican variant of the word...you know what, just forget about it. Forget that I ever said anything."
"We're terribly sorry, Master Hand, but what awareness are we supposed to be spreading anyways?" questioned Viridi, miffed by Master Hand's fascination with Pikachu Day. "There is literally no one to spread awareness to! And those guys over there setting up everything are too busy to listen to us anyways!"
"That's because you're too afraid to spread the good news. I can't blame you - most people I know are too scared to spread awareness about anything, they'd rather be silent and not allow to have their voices heard. But in this time and age, more and more people have the power to say what or how they feel, and that comes with spreading awareness. And the more awareness we spread, the more we can encourage change in these trying times. So go out there and spread that awareness and create change as you see fit, while I do the same myself."
Following his short speech - one that could possibly move someone to tears, somehow - Master Hand vanished away, as Pit, Viridi, and Pit exchanged weird looks with one another. How could informing others about Pikachu Day possibly spark change?
The tour throughout Pyongyang was going swell for Sonic and company, and the tourists as well; the tour guide was being very informative and willing to answer questions, and wasn't cold or hostile towards anyone. However, Sonic still had his doubts about the guy, still certain he was a secret spy agent, and that he was leading the group to a giant boiler room where everyone would get boiled alive. For that very reason, Sonic was standing very close to the guy...way too close for comfort.
"As you can see, these are statues of two former leaders of North Korea - Kim Il Sung and Kim Jung Il," the tour guide explained to the group, as they were on Mansu Hill Ground Monument. "The citizens of North Korea come here to pay their respect to these famous leaders..."
"You want us to pay respect to them?" snorted Knuckles, shaking his head in disgust. "Nah man, we're good...can't pay respect to someone you've never met before, amirite guys?" With that logic, OGs like Abraham Lincoln and Gandhi don't deserve any single shred of respect, unless you went back in time and met them in person. Otherwise you're just wasting your time!
"I said the citizens of North Korea pay their respects. If any of you want to pay respect, then I'm not stopping you...granted you don't have to since you aren't naturalized North Korean citizens, but I'm not stopping you, and neither is anyone else."
Sonic: Is it a very common thing for North Korean leaders to have ugly-looking toupees? Is that some kind of tradition?
Just then, a bunch of North Korean school kids came to the statues, led by a group of teachers. The school kids - and the teachers as well - were all paying their respects to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jung Il, as the tourists watched.
"As you can see, the schoolkids of North Korea are paying their respects to the North Korean leaders of times past," explained the tour guide; if we apply Knuckles' logic, then we can see that what the North Korean youth were doing was all for naught. "It's a very common thing for them to do that every school day."
"Ooh, so they go on field trips on a daily basis?" asked Jacky, who asked his question without even raising his hand. How impolite. "Man, if only they did in America...maybe then I wouldn't have skipped class! Asian countries killing America when it comes to education, even back in the eighties..."
"I wouldn't consider what the schoolkids are doing to be a field trip...just a little tradition that has become an essential part of their everyday lives. Let's get a move on people, there's other places for us to explore..." As the tour guide kept the tour coming along, Sonic still kept a suspicious eye out on him...
If Master Hand truly wanted to spread awareness about Pikachu Day at the Olympics, he would have to do so with the athletes participating in the winter games. For that reason, the giant hand headed down to the Athlete Village, undetected, to speak with some Olympians. He was inside one of the apartments, and he would knock on a door. A man answered the door, surprised to see Master Hand.
"Um, this is awkward...I was expecting room service," remarked this young man; we shall call him Roger. "Who are you, and how did you get here?"
"That is none of your concern, for I have a question far more important than yours," replied Master Hand, stressing the importance of what he was about to ask. "Is today, my red-haired friend, is today Pikachu Day?"
"'Pikachu Day'? What the heck is that?" Master Hand gasped in shock when he heard Roger's response - how could he be so ignorant? "Why not have a day for other Pokemon?"
"You poor, wretched soul...why, Pikachu Day is the greatest day known to man, and it's all about Pikachu! And, well, Pichu. All the other Pokemon are completely irrelevant. Some of them, anyways. Pikachu Day is so great, that it can be celebrated everyday. Why have to wait for Christmas and Thanksgiving to arrive, when you can just celebrate Pikachu Day on the daily? Sure, you don't receive gifts, or dress up in costumes, or have large feasts with family and friends...but thanks to the human race, such traditions have become overrated over time. Pikachu Day is where it's at!"
"That...that has got to be the zaniest thing I've heard during my time here. Don't know if I should feel concerned, or weirded out. But anyways, just go away and leave me alone...and try and do the same for the other Olympians, okay?" Roger closed the door on Master Hand, leading him to sigh.
"It's gonna be okay, Master Hand, he'll learn...they'll all learn, one day," Master Hand said to himself, before refocusing his attention on other matters. "Now, what was I doing before?"
Although it was hardly mentioned in the previous episode, Snake infiltrated the Aston Manor club when the ladies went on their girls night out, hoping to land the woman of his dreams. Was his mission a rousing success, just as he hoped it would be? Unfortunately for the former spy it wasn't, for he once he found the perfect woman, he tried to make his move and swoon the woman to the best of his ability. The woman was disgusted by Snake's romantic advances, and slapped him silly, before security had to escort Snake out of the nightclub. At least there was someone at the Aston Manor who didn't quit their jobs...
Due to the failure of his previous mission, Snake was back on the hunt, as he had his eyes set on finding a smoking hot Korean woman and making her his own. The former spy was spying on some Korean chicks at the Pyeongchang Olympic Plaza, looking through his trusty binoculars.
"Eenie meenie minnie moo...which one of you ladies wants a go..." Snake said in a somewhat creepy manner, as he found himself smiling intently. So many choices were available in front of them - all he had to do was grab hold of the opportunity when it was nigh. "Come and take a chance with me, I won't bite..."
"Snake can I ask you a serious question?" a calm voice asked Snake, startling the former spy as he threw his binoculars up in the air. The women from afar heard the noise, and walked away out of fear.
"Why'd you do that to me, I was about to claim my future wife!" Snake scolded the person that spooked him, Cloud Strife, although Cloud couldn't care less about Snake's romantic status. "Why must you be so against me having a girlfriend, my future wife? Have you no shame?"
"You having a girlfriend, let alone being married...like that's gonna happen, with that geezer look of yours." Even Snake had to admit it - the accelerated age was holding him back. "But I have something that's more important than your little quest for love...do you think I'm a clone of Zack Fair? Thought you might be the best person to ask..."
"What could possibly be more important than my love life...wait, what was this about you being a clone?" Upon hearing the question, Snake thought Cloud was just playing around, pulling his tail, but one look at the swordsman's face and he saw that he was being serious. "Where did you come to that silly conclusion?"
"Actually, Wolf told me about it two weeks ago...and the more I dwell upon the thought, the more I believe that he might be on to something. Since you were cloned from your dad, Big Boss, I thought that maybe..."
"Okay, first off, don't mention that guy's name - just hearing that name makes me feel salty. Also, you think that because I'm a clone myself I know who's a clone and who isn't? Get outta here with that, man..."
Snake: Whom do I dislike more, EVA or Big Boss...hard to tell, honestly. Both my mom and dad were responsible for the creation of Liquid Snake, which means they both deserve an extreme amount of blame for Liquid's very existence. But I think I got along better with EVA - Big Boss and I kinda butted heads over the years until he died. My biggest regret is that I never got the chance to berate him for making Liquid an actual person. Don't know whose bright idea that was...stupid moron.
"If I were you, I would ask SOLDIER if I'm a clone, since they're into cloning stuff," Snake offered this advice to Cloud, although terms between Cloud and SOLDIER were very tense. "They might know something that you don't. Wouldn't hurt to ask. Mind if I ask how apart you and Zack were, in terms of age?"
"We were only a year apart," answered Cloud; he was born in 1985, and Zack was born in 1984. "Given that, I highly doubt SOLDIER would clone me after someone who was born a year ahead of..." All of a sudden, an interesting thought entered Cloud's head. "...what if Zack himself was a clone, and they cloned him and I after someone else?"
"Now that's just straight up silly talk...starting to think this clone thing has gotten to your head. You should just use this time at Pyeongchang to chill out and relax, and forget about your cares and troubles...you'll only wind up in more trouble if you let Wolf get inside your mind like that."
"Yeah you're right, this is my fault for taking Wolf seriously. I should just go and see what Aerith is up to, hanging out with her would prevent me from thinking about this whole clone thing again." Hopefully it would prevent you from thinking about the hullabaloo ever again, Cloud.
"That's the spirit, now go spend some quality time with your woman. Do as I say, go!" Snake would shove Cloud away, as Cloud left Snake alone in peace. Once the swordsman was gone, Snake let out a sigh. "About time I got rid of that guy...why he thinks of himself as a clone, I might never understand. Guess the rumors about him being emo were true...but I can't see a man over thirty years of age still maintaining that emo lifestyle. But that's just me..."
"Snake, Snake, SNAAAAAAAAKE!" Master Hand's voice boomed, as the giant hand appeared to Snake. Just when Snake was about to resume his woman watching. "You're not busy by any chance, are you?"
"I was about to look for my future girlfriend and wife until you showed up...I was already interrupted by Cloud, and I cannot afford to have you do the same thing." Snake turned around, and saw a new group of Korean ladies enter the Olympic Plaza, along with their male friends. "I see more prey...I should look into taking out those guys first, they'll get in my way. And if those guys are in love with any of those girls..."
"Wait, so you're looking for a girlfriend AND a wife? Wow Snake, I never would've guessed you of all people would practice polygamy, but when you're a single senior citizen, you can get desperate sometimes. But when you do find your future wife and girlfriend...can you tell them one thing?"
"Only depends on the context of what I have to tell." Snake wouldn't want to destroy whatever chance he would have with his significant other because of Master Hand's input. "And it better not have anything to do with..."
"Pikachu Day, I want you to tell them everything they need to know about Pikachu Day. The more you celebrate Pikachu Day, and the more you create awareness about it, the better your relationships shall be. Granted it hasn't been proven before, but now's your golden opportunity to become a trailblazer for the greatest day ever created!"
Master Hand: You see, Pikachu Day isn't a day meant to be celebrated only in the United States...it needs to be a worldwide thing, celebrated by people of different nationalities and colors. Which is why the Olympics is the perfect venue to introduce Pikachu Day to people from all over the world, and spread the awareness, as a means to unite everyone together and create meaningful dialogue. Dialogue about how great and awesome Pikachu Day is, of course!
Nearing the end of the tour, the tour guide would treat the tourists...Sonic, Knuckles, Ashley, Jacky, and Akira included...to some North Korean cuisine. He took everyone to a Korean restaurant named Okryugwan, which was known for selling noodles. Everyone sat in the restaurant and ate their noodles in peace - everyone except for the tour guide, who was constantly looking over his back and seeing Sonic staring at him intently. The hedgehog would stare intently at the restaurant employees as well, certain that they might be secretly working for the government.
"Sonic, if you're not going to eat your noodles, then I would gladly take them," Ashley said to the blue blur, who was still looking at the tour guide, like he was plotting internally to kill him. He then turned his gaze to one of the workers, who saw Sonic and held her head down quickly.
"Those noodles could potentially be poisonous, for all we know," replied Sonic, slowly taking his gaze off the worker before turning his attention to Ashley. "Why should we risk our lives eating these noodles, so we can all die, and allow North Korea to tell America about it and brag about killing tourists in their face? I'm just doing America a favor..."
"This has completely gotten to your head, Sonic - all the North Koreans we've seen or met today have been nice to us, and you've treated them like trash," said Knuckles, the echidna who believed that paying respects to fallen historical figures was asinine. "Not all North Koreans are brainwashed zombies!"
"Knuckles has a point Sonic, in this country there are some diamonds in the rough here and there," agreed Jacky, as he slurped his noodles. Sonic had no idea what he was missing out on. "Ain't that right, Akira?" Jacky turned to face Akira...but Akira wasn't there! His bowl of noodles was there, but that's about it. "Akira, where are you man?!"
"What seems to be the problem, is someone missing?" the tour guide perked up, as Jacky frantically scoured the restaurant for his best friend. His search eventually led him to the restroom. "A missing tourist, just what I needed..."
"You would be the one to ask what the problem is, would you?" Sonic stood up and pointed at the tour guide, who was left in confusion. "That's because you kidnapped Akira - threw him in a sack and sent him to the North Korean government for inspection while everyone was busy eating their noodles. Fess up, bro!"
"Don't be ridiculous, I had nothing to do with your friend's kidnapping...and I don't work for the North Korean government! Stop thinking that I do, please!" Jacky would exit the restroom, and he was more exasperated.
"Looked everywhere in the men's restroom, Akira was nowhere to be found..." Jacky informed the crowd, everyone growing more concerned about Akira's whereabouts. "Even looked in the women's restroom, and Akira wasn't there either. Don't know what compelled me to look there for. But getting slapped by that Korean chick was totally worth it, in my opinion."
Jacky: How would I rate this restaurant's restroom? *pauses, then thinks* Let's just say I'd rather take my chances outside of the restaurant, and leave it at that...
"Hold on everyone, let me call Koryo Tours and notify them about the situation at hand," the tour guide told the tourists, as he took out his cellphone. Sonic watched him suspiciously; the tour guide could be calling Kim Jong Un, informing him that they captured an American tourist of Asian descent. Did Akira even have United States citizenship? "Hello? Oh, it's me, Cheong, one of the tour guides. We have a bit of a crisis on our hands, one of the tourists from my group has apparently gone missing..."
"I knew it, I knew you were gonna call your man Jong Un!" Sonic snapped, as the hedgehog pounced on the tour guide and brought him to the floor. Everyone watched as Sonic had the tour guide pinned to the floor, swatting the phone out of his hand. Akira would later show up, witnessing the scene at hand.
"What did I miss?" the fighter asked out of curiosity, as Sonic held the tour guide's arms behind his back.
Wanting to give the South Korean crowd a performance they would remember for the rest of their lives, Roy and the rest of the Straight Fiyah crew - but mostly just Roy - found a stage to venue to perform at, in the Gangneung Ice Arena. This arena was meant for holding ice skating events, but apparently that didn't stop Roy - and Straight Fiyah - from using the arena as a place to perform.
"Man, I sure hope Roy and his stupid k-prop crew doesn't come up in here and perform," remarked Fox, seated with Falco and Ema, as the three were watching some ice skating events. "That would be a very Roy thing to do, at this point."
"Didn't you two sign Straight Fiyah to Star Records in the first place?" smirked Ema, as she learned in close to Fox and Falco. Trying to make them feel guilty. "Had you not, you would have quelled Roy's delusion, and you wouldn't have to worry about whatever crazy things he plans on doing!"
"I wouldn't say that we signed Straight Fiyah to a record deal...we're just giving Roy and his crew a chance to prove themselves," affirmed Falco; already they were proving that they deserved to belong in the back of the line behind all real k-pop boy groups out there. "There's really no timetable for how long Roy has to prove that his boy band is legit."
"Heh, I'm surprised that you boys are even entertaining Roy's nonsense. If I were you, I would definitely..." Ema suddenly looked out on the ice, and saw that the ice skaters that were supposed to be doing their thing had to leave the ice, for there was an intruder. "...wait a minute, is that...is that Crash? Please don't tell me what I think is gonna happen..."
Everyone in the Gangneung Ice Area watched as the ice skaters left the ice and allowed Crash to take their spot. But the bandicoot wasn't alone, oh no...for the rest of Straight Fiyah would join the bandicoot onstage, and they were all on skates. A pure trainwreck in the making.
"Sweet mother of pearl, they're going to sing while on skates, I can't watch this..." Fox said as he shielded his eyes and turned away. Already some of the members, such as Alm and Corrin, were slipping on the ice. "Let me know when it's over..."
"Will do, Fox, will do," assured Falco, having to watch the trainwreck unfold, as Straight Fiyah assumed their positions once all the members were able to stand on the ice without slipping. There were murmurings in the crowd, about why Straight Fiyah was here, and once the murmuring died down, "DNA" by BTS played over the speakers. Straight Fiyah would do their dance, as the members either fell to the ice or bumped into one another. The only ones that were left standing were Roy and Crash, with the latter having some amateurish experience in ice skating.
"Now Crash, here's your big moment, time to show the world what you're made of...take it away!" Roy pointed at the bandicoot, as Crash began to sing with his gibberish voice to the tune of the song. Setting the trainwreck on fire in the process. Fox, Ema, and anyone else in the crowd stomaching the performance watched with pained faces; you've got to be wondering what the announcers were thinking right now.
Robin: Roy's plan to give "the greatest musical performance in South Korea history" was successful, initially - have Crash run go ham on the security guards and allow us to enter the arena, while Aku drugged (...or rendered unconscious) whoever was in charge of the music, and change the music with his telekinesis and whatnot. Even found some nifty ice skates lying about, to skate on the ice. The security guards would get to us though, eventually, and the police came to arrest us. Now we're left with two choices - leave South Korea for good, or be put in jail. And if we have to leave, then everyone else will too...
Roy: Did I care about losing my dignity back there? Nope. Dignity is just a crutch people use to think that they have confidence. Confidence is nothing but a lie - a mechanism used to remind people that they exist. When you're out there performing, you don't care about trivial things such as dignity and confidence - you just leave it all out there, and let your audience feel your presence.
Contrary to what Link said, Pyeongchang did not have a gift shop...but they did have a superstore at the Gangneung Olympic Park. Master Hand, who went on a wild goose chase searching for his "Pikachu Day advisor", would find his advisor exit the store along with Tsubasa and Touma, with the former carrying some shopping bags in her hands.
"Ah, Ayaha, how is my advisor doing?" Master Hand asked Ayaha, nearly scaring the crap out of her and her friends. "I take it that you've done a splendid job spreading the awareness during your little shopping excursion?"
"Spreading the awareness about what, exactly?" questioned Ayaha, before remembering what Master Hand was talking about. A good thing she remembered in time... "Oh yeah, Pikachu Day! Tsubasa, Touma and I have been telling the South Korean folks about it, letting people know."
"We never spread any awareness about that stupid day..." stated Touma, only for Tsubasa to nudge him. Lowkey saved Touma's life. "...what I meant to say was, we sure spread a lot of awareness today! Yes we did! Soon enough, South Korea will celebrate Pikachu Day everyday! Maybe even North Korea too!"
"Sure hope so - Pikachu Day could be the one thing that can bring both Koreas back together again. If Truman and Eisenhower couldn't do it, then the spirit of Pikachu Day will! Would you like to come with me, Miss Oribe? I have some innovative new ideas about Pikachu Day that I thought you might give an ear too..."
While Ayaha - and Tsubasa and Touma too - walked with Master Hand, they would pass by Mario and Donkey Kong, who were chilling out near some refreshment stand. The two friendly rivals were enjoying a conversation about Funky Kong, DK's friends.
"Funky Kong hails from the Kong family, which may explain why so many people mistake him for being my cousin," explained Donkey Kong, as Mario took a sip of his drink, through a straw. "But really, the Kong family is extended to family relatives and friends. Surprisingly there isn't that much incest involved. There might be some incest going on, that Cranky probably never told me about."
"I'm positive the lovely folks-a from Alabama wouldn't mind that," chuckled Mario, expecting Donkey Kong to laugh...the gorilla instead just stared at Mario. Talk about a dud of a joke. Mario's chuckling would end when Lara approached the plumber, needing to speak with him.
"Mario, do you have a minute?" the tomb raider asked Mario. "Won't be long...just need to ask you something. Something very important..."
"Sounds like a private conversation...and for that reason, you can just take my seat, Lara," said Donkey Kong, as he offered his seat to the tomb raider. Lara would take a seat in the now available chair, as she and Mario were face to face.
"Before you begin, I just-a wanna know...does this conversation have-a anything to do with-a Bowser?" asked Mario, cracking his knuckles just in case. "You came-a to the right guy then..."
"Actually, Mario...it has nothing to do with Bowser," confirmed Lara, making Mario feel salty. He never minded getting his hands on Bowser. "It has more to do...with me. And my future. So, today was my first time seeing this...teleportation device you have in the mansion..."
"Oh yes, the device Master Hand pretty much-a forced Mega Man to build, to take us-a to Brazil for the Summer Olympics. We use it to teleport-a to certain places around the world, and even to places-a that are in separate dimensions! It really saves-a us from buying plane tickets."
"I can see...speaking of plane tickets, I was told by Lady Palutena that I was supposed to receive a planet ticket to London as a Secret Santa gift from Pit, but it was burned to crisp somehow. That plane ticket was my one shot at returning to London. And with the resources the mansion has..."
"Well the mansion does-a have a lot of resources; it's kinda like a college dorm, but with-a out the administrators and all. Say, did-a you ever go to college before embarking upon-a your tomb raiding career?"
"I had attended the University of London - had to work multiple jobs to pay off my tuition. It was there that I met my best friend, Samantha Nishimura...sadly she isn't doing so well."
"Terribly sorry to hear-a that...what happened-a to your Samantha friend?" Mario was unsure if that was worth asking, but his curiosity was peaked.
"Basically Samantha was possessed by this demon, and stabbed herself trying to evict said demon, and now she's in a hospital recovering. She's been there for quite a while, and I want to hunt down the individuals responsible for Samantha being possessed in the first place. That is why I want to return back home, back to my roots..."
"What are you-a trying to say, Lara?" Mario kinda knew what Lara would say next, judging by the tomb raider's body language, and was well prepared.
"What I'm trying to say is that, well, seeing how that device works and all, and with my desire to return home...I'm ready to head back to London."
"WHAT?!" Master Hand's voice boomed, heard from afar, but it wasn't in response to what Lara just said. It was more than likely that the giant hand found out about Straight Fiyah's shenanigans, and how the Olympic officials wanted to dispel the group from South Korea. That came at the hefty price of having all the residents, and several others, return to Seattle, just because Roy wanted to make a name for his boy band.
However, one person that heard Lara's decision to return to London was Bowser, who was seen eavesdropping on Mario and Lara from a considerable distance. Bowser bit his nails nervously, seeing that the time he had to win over Lara was now dwindling...
Master Hand: Welp, stupid idiots gonna do stupid idiot things...and thanks to Roy, our trip to Pyeongchang has to be cancelled short. I knew Straight Fiyah were bad, but I had no idea they were bad enough to risk being banned from a country that invented the genre they specialize in! Really says a lot when you think about it.
Bowser: Dang it, why didn't I talk Mario out of bringing Peach and Lara on the trip to Pyeongchang? Now that Lara's seen that teleportation thingy, she's seriously giving consideration about returning to London via that device. I can't let Lara return to Britain if I don't have her heart, and I can't let her use that device... *pauses* ...unless...
"Finally got all the upgrades for my Power Suit done!" exclaimed Samus, as she rested comfortably in her chair in the workshop, her arms outstretched. "All it took was for the mansion to be deserted for me to focus on my work. Yet Master Hand claimed that I can't have fun...some people find fun in the most routine ways of life. Everyone's different, though Master Hand can't understand that...I should get myself a nighttime snack."
So Samus left the workshop, and went down to the kitchen and grabbed herself a malasada, scarfing it down. She then went inside the fridge, and found some orange juice...and drank the entire carton. Working on the Power Suit must've made her hungry. And thirsty. By the time Samus returned to the workshop...
"Samus Aran...we're baaack!" announced Master Hand, as the giant hand and a few residents made their way down the hallway. Samus just looked at Master Hand, all dumbfounded. "Just arrived a few minutes ago. Back a lot sooner than expected, but on the plus side, everyone can go to bed on time...like that's ever a good thing."
"I imagined you would be gone for the rest of the night..." said Samus, still dumbfounded. That's what the bounty hunter was hoping for, anyways - would've had the whole mansion to herself.
"Yup, that was the plan, until Roy and his stupid idiot band Straight Fiyah had to go and ruin things for us. Thanks to them, Donkey Kong no longer has to carry the burden of being the fun-ending killjoy. Roy and his boys can all share that title now. So, did you have fun Sonic, or were you too preoccupied with your precious little Power Suit?" Very interesting of Master Hand to bring up Sonic...
"Hey Samus, have you seen Sonic anywhere?" Tails approached the bounty hunter from behind; Samus went from dumbfounded to nervous as she turned to face Tails. "I didn't see him in my room, not even Shaymin knew where Sonic went. What about Knuckles, is he still here?"
"Oh no..." Samus uttered with a thousand mile stare, for she knew where Sonic and Knuckles were...
...in Pyongyang. Or more specifically, in jail, behind bars, thanks to the actions of Sonic earlier. Sonic, along with Ashley, Knuckles, Jacky, and Akira, resided in a jail cell awaiting their fate; hard to believe their fate would be a positive one, given how most North Korean jails operated.
"So...what's the over/under for how long we're staying here, you guys?" Sonic asked his cellmates, who were all glaring at him. "Five days sounds good? Yeah, I'ma go with five..."