Author's Note:
You know it already, but Super Smash Bros Ultimate...has been released, finally! It is finally time. A college friend of mine pre-ordered the game on the Switch, and invited me and several others to play Ultimate for the first time at midnight - so I've updated this chapter a couple of minutes early. I'll also be shooting a bit of a short film about Ultimate, for one of my classes, so hopefully that'll turn out well. I'm so hyped right now...I'm also just as hyped to answer some reviews:
"Will the antagonists from the Mega Man Zero show up? Is KOS-MOS's appearance gonna be based on her Episode III look? Is Laphicet Crowe from Tales of Berseria gonna have his Innominat powers and will he be able to control it? Is Viridi using her Hynden Walch voice or her replacement voice in Ultimate? And finally, what are your thoughts on the upcoming Super Robot Wars game for Switch? (Switch is region free and an Asian version of the game will have English text)"
Perhaps. KOS-MOS will be based around her Episode III look. Laphicet will have and be able to control his powers. Viridi still has her Hynden Walch voice. (The new voice is...eh.) And if Super Robot Wars made it unto the GameBoy Advance and 3DS, then it deserves a Switch game. That's all I gotta say. Another anonymous review:
"Could you please add Rex, pyra, and mythra from xenoblade chronicles 2 to the smash mansion? They really deserve to be in smash"
They're already in the Smash Mansion...you might've overlooked them. Here comes Waddle-Dedede, with a Sonic-related request:
"Can Sonic Turn into a werehog again and he wants to make everyone turn into werewolves or something like that"
Sonic can turn into a werehog again, but will he turn everyone into werewolves? I don't even wanna get into that. Waddle-Dedede also has a question for me:
"What's your favorite meme?"
Do I even have a favorite meme? Hmm...probably not. On to el pollo campero:
"Since these next few chapters are holiday themed, will there be any references to the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular? One of my favorite traditions"
Oh yeah, that Rockettes thing they do every Christmas! I might do a reference to that for the last holiday-themed chapter. GreaterDoomerUKI has returned, and with questions, which I'll just number:
1. Could you rate your thoughts on Spirits.(Also needs more Pit and Kirby).
2. I've been wondering. Which is your favorite Mario, Kirby, Metroid, Legend of Zelda, Sonic, Street fighter, Mega Man, and Xenoblade game?
3. Which would be your favorite Smash Game? (Ultimate doesn't Count)
1. I like the new Spirits mode - it's like an enhanced version of the events mode from the previous Smash games. Except you can earn stuff that can upgrade your characters.
2. I won't be listing Odyssey or BOTW, since those are universally liked games, but some games I like from those mentioned series are...Super Paper Mario, Kirby: Epic Yarn, Skyward Sword, Sonic Colors, Street Fighter 4, Mega Man 5, and Xenoblade Chronicles X (which I've played sparingly). Unbelievably, I never played a single Metroid...though that may change, once Metroid Prime 4 comes out.
3. My favorite Smash game would have to be Smash 4. I would've loved that game even more if it had any semblance of an adventure mode.
Episode 155: Thievery
A true hallmark of Christmas was the Christmas tree - a tall, green tree in your living room that one can decorate. Whether it was ornaments, candy canes, or even stockings, anything could go on the Christmas tree, provided it fitted the holiday spirit, of course.
Master Hand, in the previous episode, entrusted Champion Link and Pit with finding a tree. This was seen as a bad decision by the giant hand, for A) Champion Link still didn't really know much about Christmas, and B) Pit was, well, Pit. It was a recipe for disaster.
But to everyone's surprise, the recipe was anything BUT disaster! For Champion Link and Pit were able to find a Christmas tree in due time, just in time for the start of December. Despite looking plain originally, the three has since been decorated, eliminating a lot of naysayers who believed that the tree was dampening the Christmas mood.
"CHAMPION LINK, PIT, GET YOUR SORRY BEHINDS IN HERE THIS INSTANT!" boomed Master Hand, from the living room, as he was inspecting the Christmas tree. Moments later, Champion Link and Pit both came running into the living room, not wanting to make Master Hand upset.
"What is it, Master Hand?" inquired Champion Link, before Master Hand slapped the Hyrulian silly. Did the same thing to Pit too, as the angel kinda got in the way.
"What is the meaning...of this?" Master Hand pointed at the top of the Christmas tree, pointing out the lack of a star. Any Christmas tree without a star (or anything at the top, for that matter) made the tree feel bare, regardless of how much decoration it had.
"You're talking about the top of the tree? Yeah, it's a little brown around that area, but that was an oversight on our part. Honestly I had no idea Christmas trees could brown...but, you learn something new every day."
"No you bozo, I'm talking about the lack of a star. Every Christmas tree needs a star! Without it, the tree will feel incomplete, and completely worthless! I can't let this tree in the living room while it's not fully decorated!"
Champion Link: We had that tree for about a week now, and all of a sudden Master Hand wants to complain...that guy's awareness must be seriously low. Or maybe he's just in the mood for some complaining.
Pit: A star, for the tree? Nah, we couldn't find one at the dollar store we were at. The frozen aisle section apparently ran out of stars, so we were out of luck.
"We're sorry, Master Hand, we overlooked getting a star for the tree," Champion Link sincerely apologized, although Master Hand wasn't willing to buy the apology. At least not yet. "If we shopped at a better place, we would've found one..."
"But alas, you didn't, and now we're stuck in this perilous situation," said Master Hand, acting like it was the end of the world because of how the tree looked. "I want you boys to redeem yourselves, and find a star for the tree before the end of the day. I wonder how the others feel, seeing a tree so bare..."
"Chill out dude, you're acting like someone tore all the decorations down," Pit tried his best to soothe Master Hand, only to be flicked in the face by the giant hand. "Ow, you almost broke my nose!"
"Your nose must be fragile then. Just like your brain." Master Hand floated away from the living room, having to make a closing remark before he left for good. "I better not see you two hanging around the Yiga Clan - I know you two are probably ecstatic about the clan's existence proven true, but please just let Impa and company handle them..."
"Speaking of the Yiga Clan...how did you have the directions to their hideout?" questioned Champion Link, asking a question he would ask Master Hand time and time again. As always, Master Hand remained silent.
"That...that is none of your business. Quit being so nosy, will ya? Good grief, it's always the same question every time..." On that remark, Master Hand vanished away from the living room, leaving Champion Link skeptical.
"Master Hand knows the whereabouts of the Yiga Clan, that's super shady!" remarked Pit, who wouldn't put it past Master Hand for knowing where an evil group of thieves and assassins had their hideout. "We should call the cops, and have 'em arrest..."
"We can't call the cops on Master Hand, that would be asinine," stated Champion Link, as Pit looked away and pouted. "The policemen wouldn't know how to handcuff Master Hand, nor fit him inside their police car. Also, Master Hand would easily punk the police, which I'm sure he has done in the past."
"Oh you have no idea..." Pit wanted to give Champion Link a brief rundown of Master Hand's dealings with the police, but that would last for hours. "So, about the star...should we go back to the dollar store, and find one there? There should be a star in that frozen aisle, this time around."
"I'm sure there's a star we could use somewhere in the mansion. I mean, you guys have been setting up Christmas trees for years now, right? Let's ask someone who might know where to look."
Champion Link and Pit went outside to the hammock, where they would find Pac-Man relaxing. The eater of ghosts was the mansion's resident party planner, and not some holiday expert, but Champion Link trusted his advice.
"If I were you, I'd look around in the basement for a star - there's all sorts of crap you can find down there," Pac-Man said to Champion Link and Pit, wondering why he was relaxing outside when it was cold. "The Rabbids will give you some trouble, but they're easy to get along with if you ignore them."
"No way am I dealing with this pests - I want to keep my sanity intact," said Champion Link, knowing well what those Rabbids were all about. "You sure we can't look in the attic?"
"Did I say you could look in the attic? Everyone knows you can't go into that attic nowadays, without Master Hand's permission. Not ever since that whole Calamity Ganon dealio during the summer. That machine is still inside!"
Pac-Man: Asked Master Hand why he has yet to remove that Ganon machine, and he claimed that it required "too much work and effort". *chuckles* Well if that's the case, then I'd hate to see him run a gaming tournament soon, if ya know what I mean...
"We'll ask Rosalina if we can use Luma as a star!" suggested Pit, as Champion Link and Pac-Man gave the angel weird looks. "What, Luma is a star, and she's the right size for the tree! All she has to do is stay in place, and..."
"...would you be wiling enough to feed Luma star bits, to keep her satisfied?" Pac-Man asked Pit, who shut his mouth in a jiffy. Feeding Luma would require too much work and effort for Pit. "Yeah, that's what I thought...oh, I know, why don't you ask Mario and Luigi and see if they have a star to offer?"
"Good thinking Pac-Man, I didn't even think about asking the Mario Bros," replied Champion Link, as the Hylian and Pit walked away from the hammock and towards the Mario Bros' homes. "Thanks, man!"
"Don't mention it!" Pac-Man waved to Champion Link and Pit, before going back to relaxing in the hammock. "Can't believe that suggestion even worked..."
At the Mario residence, Mario was arranging the Christmas gifts around his Christmas tree when Impa and Lana entered the house. Mario had given Impa a spare house key, whenever the Sheikah and Lana went out to investigate the Yiga Clan.
"Howdy ladies, how-a did it go?" asked Mario, as Impa closed the front door behind her. She and Lana were holding bananas - the unofficial trademark of the Yiga Clan. There was no stopping a Yiga clansman and their love for bananas.
"It went well, I suppose, found some bananas lying about that might belong to the Kongs," replied Impa, as she and Lana placed the bananas on the nearest table. "Have you seen a Yiga soldier in this house, while we were away?"
"Not to my-a knowledge." Mario honestly didn't know what a Yiga soldier looked like - all he heard from Impa was that a typical Yiga soldier wore a red bodysuit. Very specific description. "Why would they come-a here?"
"I don't know, maybe they might know where Lana and I live. They could be tracking us down. Or they might have their eyes set on those presents, under the Christmas tree...don't know why you have so many, considering it's just you, Peach, and the baby."
"Mario could have bought presents for the two of us!" theorized Lana, as Impa looked at the blunette like she was insane. She then looked towards Mario, who was trying to hide a smile.
"Mario wasted his hard-earned money on the two of us? Bummer..." Impa sat on the living room couch, resting for a little bit. "What if Lana and I completed our mission before Christmas, what would you do then Mario?"
"I'd give them to charity," replied Mario, as Impa scoffed a little. The Sheikah thought the plumber had said that just to look good. "Although Princess-a Zelda might be interested in the gifts."
"Don't waste those presents on her..." Christmas presents donated to the charity it was!
Impa: I've never understood the whole point of Christmas - seeing so many people spend their money to make their loved ones happy almost makes me sick to my stomach. All that money wasted could go to something useful, like...
Lana: Aw Impa, don't be such a scrooge! Is there anything you're not remotely cynical about?
Impa: I would say your common sense, which is nonexistent as far as I'm concerned...
A knock was at the front door - could be from Champion Link or Pit. Impa didn't feel like getting up and answering the door, Mario was still busy with the presents, and Lana was...somewhere else. Possibly in her room. But someone would rise up to the occasion, as a certain cheetah emerged from the bathroom.
"I'm coming!" Hunter shouted, running to the front door with toilet paper flying from his heel. He opened the front door, seeing Champion Link and Pit standing on the doorstep. "Sup dudes, how's it goin'!"
"Hey, is Mario home?" asked Champion Link, as Mario stopped his work for a brief moment. "We're just looking for some Christmas decorations, to finish decorate the Christmas tree at the mansion."
"Did some-a one say, Christmas decorations?" Mario spoke up, as he looked at Champion Link and Pit with glee. Impa saw the plumber's glee, and looked up at the heavens as she shook her head. "Say no more, my ponytail-a friend! I'll be right-a back!" Mario dashed away, flying up the stairs, as Spyro showed up from the nursery room.
"Man, that baby is a real piece of work..." the purple dragon remarked, yawning as he approached Hunter. "So what's up? What did I miss?"
"Champion Link and Pit are here, and they said they wanted some Christmas decorations for their tree," explained Hunter, as Spyro found himself wiping his face. Jennifer must've drained him. "Sounds to me like they want their tree to be better than Mario's!"
"Wait a minute, that's not what he said!" exclaimed Pit, but it was too late - Spyro believed Hunter, as the dragon looked at Champion Link and Pit with a shocked face. Impa, watching this unfold, chuckled to herself.
"So what do you think this is, some kind of competition?!" Spyro got on the offensive, ready to fire away at will. No pun intended. "You wanna one-up Mario or something?! Well how about I burn your tree down?!"
"Alright boys, today's-a your lucky day!" shouted Mario as he came down the stairs, with a box full of Christmas decorations. He brought the box to the front door, placing it down next to Hunter. "I got a whole bunch-a of decorations for Christmas trees, from ornaments to..."
"We just need a star, if you don't mind," Champion Link smiled gingerly, seeing Spyro and Hunter looking at him and Pit with glares. Mario saw the friends glaring, and just thought something was wrong with their eyes.
"One-a star, coming right up!" Mario dug into his box of tree decorations, and pulled out a star. Just what Champion Link and Pit needed. But as Mario held up the star, Spyro placed his paw on the plumber's arm.
"No Mario, don't do it," the dragon advised the plumber, before looking back at Champion Link and Pit. "Those two are trying to make their tree better than yours. Are you sure you want that?"
"I mean, if that's what they want-a to do, then sure...Master hand could have-a put those boys up to it. He always loves-a to have high standards-a for everything."
"But what if this was some kind of master plan to make you look bad?" assumed Hunter, trying to get Mario to think. "It could bulletin board material for Master Hand, so he could mock you and make you look bad! Isn't that right, Impa?"
"I've never liked Christmas, so I have no say in the matter," replied Impa, hardly even paying attention. Those Christmas presents for her were gonna look so good for charity. "Leave me out of the discussion..."
"Okay, so Impa might not agree with me, but Lana would! Isn't that right...Lana?" Took him long enough, but Hunter realized that Lana was nowhere to be found. "Well, Princess Peach would have to agree with me!"
"Agree with what?" questioned Peach, as she walked out of the nursery room with Jennifer, feeding her milk. "What are you boys even talking about? All I heard was Christmas trees and Master Hand..."
"Just say you agree with me, princess, that's all you have to do," Hunter pleaded to Peach, leaving her with a tough decision. Peach mused as she looked over at Mario, who was dissuading his wife by waving his hands.
"Okay Hunter, I agree with you wholeheartedly!" Hunter grinned and pumped his fist, as Mario faceplanted unto the floor. How could his wife do him like that? Peach, you absolute monster!
Peach: I have absolutely no idea what I just agreed to. But it had something to do with Master Hand, that much I'm certain.
"Can't believe you would-a do that to me, princess..." grumbled Mario, getting himself off the floor as he approached the box of decorations, digging inside. "My own-a wife, siding against me..." Mario pulled out a Christmas star, and walked over to Champion Link and Pit. "Here's-a your star, boys."
"Not so fast, Mario!" said Hunter, leaping into action as he swiped the star away fro Mario and placed it back in the box of decorations. Mario looked at the cheetah like he was crazy. "You're really just gonna let those two one-up you with their stupid Christmas tree!"
"They never specified-a that they wanted their tree to be-a better than mine. You're just making stuff-a up!" Unable to reason with Mario, Hunter took it upon himself to take the box of decorations, and run away. "Where do you think-a you're going?!"
"Away from Champion Link and Pit, so they'll never get to decorate their tree further!" As he said this, Hunter opened the screen door, and ran outside before closing the screen door shut. Everyone was left bewildered.
"For the record, I have nothing to do with that, taking the box was Hunter's idea," stated Spyro, not wanting to share any blame with his best friend. Then suddenly, a loud scream was heard outside, from Hunter, alarming the others. "Don't tell me Hunter sprained his ankle..."
So Mario and Spyro ran outside to the backyard patio through the screen door, while Champion Link and Pit reached the patio the other way. There the four found Hunter, sprawling on the patio in pain, with arrows pierced through his backside.
"Hunter, what happened?" questioned Mario, as he came over to check upon the cheetah. Cappy inspected Hunter's backside, taking a good look at the arrows.
"It was terrible man, real bad..." replied Hunter, as he tried his best to lift himself up. "...I was about to look for a hiding spot for these decorations, and then...OW!" Hunter winced in pain, as Cappy pulled out an arrow.
"Sorry, my bad," Cappy apologized to Hunter, who was glaring down the talking hat. "Go on with your story..."
"As I was saying...I was looking for a hiding spot, when these three dudes in red bodysuits popped out of nowhere. They fired arrows at me, and man did it hurt! Oh, and they also took the box while I was down."
"Dudes-a in red bodysuits?" Mario's eyes widened, as he looked towards Champion Link. The Hylian knew too well who was responsible. "Could that mean...?"
"Yup, I'm afraid the Yiga Clan is back to no good..." replied Champion Link, as he folded his arms. The Yiga Clan sure loved to steal anything they laid their eyes on. "...first the turkeys, and now a bunch of Christmas decorations. Soon they're gonna steal all the food at the New Year's party!"
Champion Link: Everyone thought I was crazy when I said the Yiga Clan existed...good thing I had Lakitu record footage of the Yiga hideout, just to show everyone that the clan exists. Though there are some out there who think the footage is some kind of lie, like it was scripted out or something. That's how conspiracy theorists are born - believing in their own ludicrous idiocy, and finding the dumbest hill to die on.
"Do you know where the Yiga Clan ran off to?" Cappy asked Hunter, who was slowly getting himself back on his feet with help from Mario and Spyro. Hunter pulled out an arrow from his backside, wincing in pain.
"They used their smoke bombs to get away, so I have no clue where they went," replied Hunter, as he pulled out another arrow from his backside. "Though I would assume they returned to their hideout."
"Well, I've been to their hideout before, so there's no way I'm going back again," remarked Champion Link, as he folded his arms. He already proven the existence of the Yiga Clan, so he was golden. "Pit can go inside and take a peek."
"Uh, I don't think I can, because, uh...Viridi wants me to help fill her stockings!" Pit nervously responded, looking for an excuse, as Champion Link and company looked at the angel. "...because she's really into that kind of stuff!"
"That's weird, because Viridi always hated-a Christmas stockings," said Mario, as Pit eyed around the area, eyes darting left and right as sweat ran down his face. "Never liked-a 'despicable humans' filling her stockings with-a unwanted stuff."
"But she accepts gifts from humans, so what's her point?" questioned Cappy, as Mario shrugged. Impa and Peach showed up, exiting through the screen door, just to see what was going on.
"Um, where's the box of Christmas decorations?" inquired Peach, seeing that the box was missing. Would devastate the princess if those decorations were gone forever, in possession of the Yiga Clan.
"Some Yiga dudes ambushed me for no reason and took the box," explained Hunter, as Peach gasped, nearly dropping Jennifer to the ground. "And as you can see, they fired arrows into my butt..."
"Oh goodness, not the decorations, we only had a couple left to use!" In a worried state of mind, Peach looked towards Mario, confident that her husband would remedy the situation. "Mario, you're going to the Yiga hideout and get our decorations back, right?"
"Hmm, let-a me think..." mused Mario - he caught the attention of Impa, who was looking at the plumber with a stern look. Like she was gonna punch Mario in the face if he didn't oblige to Peach. "...I will go to the hide-a out, and retrieve our decorations!" Impa smiled, seeing that intimidating Mario seemingly did the trick.
"Please tell me you're not gonna take me with you..." Pit pleaded to Mario, going as far as begging on his knees with his hands clasped together. Mario looked at Pit for a second or two, fearing that Pit's fright would hold him back.
"I won't take-a you with me, Pit." Hearing this, Pit got back on his feet, letting out a sigh of relief. "You'll just bring-a me down. Not to mention you would-a get yourself killed. If I'm looking for a side-a kick, I need some-a one worthy for the job..."
Pit: Mario said that I was a worthless sidekick...and to be honest, I gotta agree with him. I'm more suited as the main hero anyways.
Samus has always been a mainstay in the workshop, as she was usually the only person in that room. Hardly anyone else used the workshop for anything - unless you were upgrading your Mega Buster, like Mega Man, or testing out your capabilities, like R.O.B. Samus even had her own desk in the workshop, which was only meant for her, and her only.
With all that being said, you could only imagine how surprised Samus was, when she walked into the workshop and spotted Sonic seated at her desk, furiously working away on his mysterious machine. The one provided to him by the "Seattle Stalker", who sent some new parts to the hedgehog. Samus patiently waited next to Sonic, wanting the hedgehog to go away.
"I would love to use my desk today, if you don't mind," the bounty hunter said to Sonic, seeing her patience starting to fade away. Good thing Samus wasn't in any mood to seriously hurt Sonic. "You're kinda holding me up, Sonic."
"Not sure if you ever got the memo, but you have enough space to work on your stuff, ya know," replied Sonic, as he was applying a scrap metal part to the machine. You'd think the hedgehog would ask Tails, a boy genius, for assistance - unless Tails was still afraid of what the machine could be capable of.
"I have to work on my Power Suit, and my desk gives me all the space I need to do so. So if you don't move aside..." Hearing enough of Samus' mouth, Sonic slammed his fist on the desk, looking up at the bounty hunter with disdain.
"It's always gotta be you and that stupid, crappy Power Suit, doesn't it? What, you got nothing else to work on? You broke all your other suits? Or did they stop working just to spite you? Also, why you gotta act like you own this workshop?"
"Ah, Samus, my home-a girl!" exclaimed Mario as he entered the workshop, before tempers could flare. Samus' eye twitched, at the thought of Mario calling her his "home girl". That was something she'll have to shake off. "What's going on-a in the hood?"
"Uh, nothing much Mario," replied Samus, initially unsure how she was supposed to respond. Mario has never acted to casual with the bounty hunter. "You seem oddly chipper today. Why are you so happy for?"
"Yeah Mario, you came here to tell me how much of a scrap piece of junk my machine is?" asked Sonic, not forgetting the very words Mario said to him when the plumber was dressed up as the Ghost of Christmas Future. "Go ahead and say it to my face, I don't care!"
"I wasn't even-a speaking to you..." Mario said to Sonic, as he walked over to Samus. Samus felt like backing away, just for good measure. "...so Samus, are-a you busy today? It's okay if you-a say yes..."
"Well I was supposed to be busy, until Sonic came in and ruined my plans," replied Samus; Sonic looked towards Mario and shook his head, convincing the plumber that Samus was lying. "What do you want anyways?"
"My Christmas decorations got stolen-a by the Yiga Clan, and I need a few bodies to come-a with me and infiltrate-a the Yiga Clan's hideout." The offer sounded somewhat appetizing to Samus, but the bounty hunter was on the fence about going. "What do you say?"
"Is there anyone else coming along? It better not be Pit, I refuse to be seen in the open with that nitwit. I would have to kill him on the spot, if I have to."
"No worries Samus, I've already told-a Pit he's not allowed to come." Samus felt extremely relieved, hearing that. "I'll be just you and-a me, the two of us..."
"...and me, Cappy!" Cappy blurted out, making his presence known. The talking hat refused to be left out.
"Alright, I'm down. Let's just make this quick, so I can get to working on my Power Suit." Samus followed Mario out of the workshop, looking at Sonic as she made her exit. "You better be done by the time I get back..." the bounty hunter warned the hedgehog.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, just don't get stuck in there forever..." retorted Sonic, continuing to work on his machine. The machine wasn't a gun, as Ema said...so what else could it possibly be?
Zelda: Master Hand has always been against setting up Christmas lights indoors - he sees it as a bit of a fire hazard. Very understandable viewpoint. But with some convincing from Link and myself, we managed to get Master Hand to come around. And now, he expects the light bill to be egregiously high, like in the thousand dollars range. So maybe the fire hazard ISN'T the reason...
Link and Zelda hung up Christmas lights around them mansion, wherever it was convenient -the living room, the gaming room, and the lounge. They even hang some lights in some of the bathrooms, as a suggestion from Wario - who confessed to Link and Zelda he was too lazy to even flip the bathroom lights on.
"X hooked all the lights to this generator, so we can turn on all the lights at once," Link explained to Zelda, standing in front of the generator in the living room. "Did you bring the Pokemon required to turn this bad boy on?"
"Sure did," smiled Zelda, as she motioned over to Pikachu and Pichu, standing next to the princess. With that generator running, that light bill for the mansion was gonna be absolutely insane. "Should we do a countdown, or..."
"Ew, no, no countdown, that's too cheesy! What do you think this is, kindergarten? Just command Pikachu and Pichu to Thunderbolt the generator at will." Link and Zelda both stepped out of the way, as Pikcahu and Pichu stepped forward towards the machine.
"Okay, Pikachu and Pichu, you know what to do...use Thunderbolt on that machine." Heeding Zelda's command, Pikachu and Pichu started to generate electricity in their cheeks, building as much electricity as needed.
"Pika..." uttered Pikachu, as he was about to reach his breaking point. Can't fire too much electricity, or the generator might short-circuit!
"STOP!" Mario shouted out, as the electricity in Pikachu and Pichu's cheeks went away. Soon Mario came running towards the mouse Pokemon, with Samus forcing herself to follow the plumber along. "Save-a your electricity for later. I need-a you both!"
"Mario, what on earth is going on?" asked Zelda, as she and Link went over to speak with Mario. "We were just about to charge up the generator, so we can turn on the Christmas lights!"
"Well I hate to be the bearer of bad-a news but...my Christmas decorations-a were stolen, by the Yiga Clan!" Zelda gasped in shock, while Link smiled to himself, laughing inside at Mario's expense.
"That's no big deal, you can always go to the store and buy new decorations," stated Link, as Zelda frowned at her boyfriend and nudged him in the side. "Excuse me for trying to look on the positive side..."
"I understand that you need-a to charge up that generator, but I really need Pikachu and Pichu to come-a with me," continued Mario, stressing the importance of the situation. "Send that Yiga Clan back-a home to Hyrule packing!"
"Mario I thought you said it would only be you and..." Samus spoke up, only to be shushed by Mario when the plumber held his hand up to the bounty hunter's face.
"Zelda, Link, can you just-a let me borrow Pikachu and Pichu, for a little while? Promise I'll bring-a them back..." Link and Zelda wanted to know why Mario couldn't just find two electric-type Pokemon from the sanctuary, but they assumed the plumber trusted Pikachu and Pichu more.
"Eh, we could just get Elec Man from the tower next door and have him charge up the generator," shrugged Link, as he walked away. Zelda looked at the Hylian, unsure of what to say. "Come on Zelda, let's go."
"Just make sure those two are in one piece," Zelda said to Mario, before following Link out of the living room. Pikachu and Pichu were now a part of Mario's crew.
"Awesome, you found your two Pokemon, now can we go to the Yiga Clan hideout?" asked Samus, expecting (and hoping) Mario to say yes. But much to her chagrin, Mario was thinking to himself.
"We could use-a one more body..." said Mario, as Samus let out a sigh. But hey, at least the bounty hunter got to work with her favorite Pokemon, Pikachu and Pichu.
As a giant, murderous dragon, Ridley had quite a gigantic appetite. He could literally eat anything - from meats of all kinds, to even humans themselves. But today, Ridley was on a vegetarian diet, as Mega Man was outside in the backyard feeding Ridley some vegetables.
"Two balls of cabbage, down the hatch!" shouted Mega Man, as he tossed some cabbage into Ridley's mouth. Ridley chewed the cabbage, grimacing as he did so. "It's okay, Ridley, cabbage isn't that bad! Though I wouldn't know, since I never had any...but I heard it's pretty good!"
"Found-a you!" shouted Mario, as he and his gang arrived at the backyard, just when Mega Man was about to toss another ball of cabbage into Ridley's mouth.
"Please don't talk to Ridley..." pleaded Samus, only for her prayers to be answered when Mario approached Mega Man. The plumber took the cabbage out of the robot's hand, and ate it for no reason.
"I have a crisis on-a my hands," Mario started, before spitting out the cabbage that he was chewing on the ground. Ridley looked on, feeling disappointed. "My Christmas decorations have-a been stolen, by the Yiga Clan. I need-a you to help me get my decorations back."
"I'd be more than happy to join," grinned Mega Man, before looking behind him at a pile of cabbage. "Gonna need someone to feed Ridley, though. I'll be right back."
Mario: How did I pick-a out my crew? Easy - I just found-a individuals that match up with-a the Hylian ladies. Samus, whose cynicism is-a on par with Impa's; Pikachu and Pichu, who combined are-a just as cheerful as Linkle; and Mega Man, who is equal with-a Lana in terms of...blueness. And no, I'm not trying to do better than-a Impa...I'm just sending her a message. Open for-a her interpretation only.
Champion Link and Pit stayed behind at Mario's place, chilling out in the living room until Mario returned. Spyro and Hunter were keeping a very close eye on the two, ensuring they didn't mess with Mario's Christmas tree (or presents).
"We totally should've chilled out at Luigi's place," Pit whispered to Champion Link, as he eyed at the ever attentive Spyro and Hunter. Sparx was also keeping watch. "At least Daisy would offer us some milk and cookies."
"Don't think for a second we can't hear what you're saying..." Spyro warned Pit, putting some fear in the angel. Pit shivered, as he sat back on the couch. "Heading next door just for milk and cookies? What a freeloader..."
"No Samus, you can't use-a your Plasma Gun - it'll be too effort-a less," Mario said to the bounty hunter, as the plumber and his crew entered the house. Both Champion Link and Pit were surprised to see Mario empty-handed.
"Back so soon, already infiltrated the hideout?" asked Champion Link, as he got up from the couch. "Were you successful in getting your decorations back?" Mario looked at the Hylian funny, before laughing.
"Silly Champion Link, we haven't even went-a to the hideout yet!" the plumber replied, as Champion Link sat back down. That Christmas tree needed a star ASAP, before Master Hand went on another fit. "We must be properly equipped-a first."
"Properly equipped with what, exactly?" questioned Mega Man, as he and the others followed Mario. "I got my Mega Buster, Samus has her Plasma Gun, and Pikachu and Pichu have their electricity...so what else do we need?"
"Like I told-a you before, you don't need some-a Mega Buster or gun...for all we ever need-a and more is in the bunker." Mega Man, Samus, Pikachu, and Pichu would all follow Mario down to the bunker - the four exchanging looks of concern with one another - as Peach appeared, from the nursery.
"Was that Mario's voice I just heard?" the princess asked Champion Link and company, still holding Jennifer. "Did he get the Christmas decorations yet? That was very quick of him, if he did..."
"No, he came back just so his gang could be 'properly equipped' for infiltrating the hideout," replied Champion Link, as Peach now had a nervous look on her face. "Given your face, I'm sure you know what that means."
"Oh, I definitely know what he means by being 'properly equipped'...whoever's in this gang of his, well, they're going to be pretty embarrassed soon. I'd hate to see the looks on their faces when they.."
"Princess-a Peach, get a load-a of this!"
Mario and his gang showed up, and they all looked very different...for they were all wearing Christmas-themed clothes. Mario wore the Santa Claus getup, from the previous episode; Samus wore a very fitting Christmas sweater and Christmas leggings; Pikachu and Pichu were both dressed up as elves; and Mega Man wore a reindeer costume. At sight of these costumes, Champion Link and company found themselves laughing, as Peach pursed her lips.
Samus: I know those boys weren't laughing at me; I arguably have the least flattering outfit out of the others. Maybe because I'm a woman, and Mario knows how to respect my dignity. Poor Mega Man, though...we should hold a moment of silence, for his now lost dignity.
"You expect to beat up the Yiga Clan dressed up like THAT?!" Hunter wheezed, pointing and laughing at Mario and the gang, as Mario - holding a sack - placed the sack on the floor and took out some large candy canes.
"That's right - we'll beat-a the Yiga Clan to a blood pulp, with-a the power and spirit of Christmas!" proclaimed Mario, as Hunter and company laughed even harder. Mario handed the large candy canes to Samus and Mega Man. "Here are-a your weapons, you two!"
"I wouldn't really consider this a 'weapon'..." remarked Mega Man, as he inspected his candy canes; he and Samus had two each. "...in fact, I remember you using these things for Christmas decoration last year."
"True, but that was last-a year - this year is some-a thing different. If you whack-a some Yiga solder really hard, those candy canes-a will do enough damage."
"Mario, you said that Mega Man and I can't use your weapons...but you're perfectly fine with Pikachu and Pichu using their electricity," stated Samus, wanting to know what kind of logic Mario was using. "How can you possibly..."
"Electricity isn't a weapon Samus, it's nothing more-a than an energy source! Thought you were supposed-a to be smarter than that..." Samus felt her fist clenched, tightening up; she could see her and Mario fighting with one another in the hideout. Kinda like how Mario and Impa fight with one another most of the time...
"Why do I hear nonsensical arguing..." said Impa, sipping from a cup as she appeared from her room...only to stop in place when she saw how Mario and his gang were dressed. "...I'm sorry, Mario, but those are some of the lousiest costumes I've ever seen. I get the festive mood and all, but still."
"Mario is going into the Yiga Clan hideout dressed up like that," Peach explained to Impa, who was drinking from her cup...only to spit out the contents, upon hearing what Peach said. The Sheikah found herself choking, as Lana came to the rescue, running out of the room and to Impa and applying the Heimlich maneuver.
"Can you just tell Mario to go, before he kills Impa?" the blunette asked Peach, who turned towards Mario. Mario knew what was coming next, as he held out his hand in front of Peach.
"It's okay Peach, I got-a the memo," the plumber told his wife, as he led his gang out towards the front door. "Not my fault-a Impa's throat is super weak." After Mario and company left the hosue, Champion Link and company went back to laughing, as Lana was able to relieve Impa.
Star Records had plenty of talent under their belt, like the idol singers, Knuckles, and Little Mac, but the three heads of the record label - Fox, Falco, and Itsuki - weren't entirely above signing new talent, whenever the opportunity arose. And they weren't above giving out management roles, either.
"Really bruh, you sure having Krystal as the treasurer is such a good idea?" Falco asked Fox, as the pilots and Itsuki were speaking at the desk in the Star Records room. Falco and Itsuki were both sensing a lot of favoritism in Fox. "We could just give Ayaha that job."
"Ayaha has too much on her plate already," stated Fox, confident that Krystal could do her treasurer job without fail. Totally not biased in thinking that. "With Krystal, Ayaha will have someone to lessen her workload, and someone she could relate with."
"Ayaha already has someone to relate with, Tsubasa," Itsuki pointed out, making Fox look foolish in the process. "Quit coming up with excuses for why having Krystal as our treasurer is a good idea."
"I'm not making excuses, I'm trying to keep it real! Who do you know that would be a better treasurer than Krystal?" Itsuki and Falco looked at another, before thinking quietly to themselves.
"I'd nominate Wario - at least he has some experience with money," answered Falco - never has Fox felt so disgusted with his best friend before.
"Heck, I'd go with Mario - granted he's not the best long-term planner, but he's known for getting the job done," answered Itsuki; for a moment, Fox believed that Itsuki was joking.
Fox: All these haters, man, they're everywhere...first Knuckles and Little Mac shot down the idea of Krystal as Star Records' treasurer, then Tsubasa and Eleonora, and now my dudes, Falco and Itsuki. Why do I think Krystal would make for an awesome secretary? It's really simple - she's beautiful, and, uh, she dresses nice, and um...I mean, if you're beautiful, you're pretty much set for life. Just ask the Kardashians.
Falco: When Fox mentioned the idea of Krystal having a Star Records job title, I thought he was just joking. Now he's on a quest to become the most delusional man on planet earth.
"Mario and Wario, as better candidates over Krystal?" asked Fox, before chuckling to himself as he sat back in his chair. "You guys must be on that good stuff. Krystal will add a lot of personality and swagger to Star Records."
"And that's all she's ever good for, for us," remarked Itsuki, although the very biased Fox thought otherwise. A knock was at the door. "Hello, who's there?" Itsuki called out.
"Are you busy? Mind if I come in?" said a voice from behind the door, belonging to a woman. "Just wondering if I could sign with Star Records - if you have enough space for me, that is." The very prospect of signing new talent to Star Records made Fox and Falco smile, their eyes growing wide.
"We aren't that busy anymore, you can come right on it!" Itsuki replied - and in came Ribbon Girl, the Arms competitor who was also a pop singer, on the side. Ribbon Girl headed to Itsuki and company, making sure her Arms didn't get in the way.
"Hi, you three, I just wanted to speak with you for a hot minute." Ribbon Girl extended her left Arm to grab a chair in the far distance, before pulling said chair to the desk and sitting down in it. Fox, Falco, and Itsuki were left speechless. "So I was wondering if I could sign a contract with..."
"Hey Ribbon Girl, am I late?" someone shouted from down the hallway, as Ribbon Girl's friend Spring Man showed up, peeking inside the room before entering in. "Don't tell me I was late - wouldn't wanna miss being a part of history!"
"...he's not signing with us, is he?" a concerned Falco asked Ribbon Girl, as he pointed at Spring Man. Ribbon Girl giggled, wondering how Falco came to such a humorous assumption.
"Absolutely not - he's the one who put me up to this. Signing with Star Records. He told me about how successful you guys were as a record label, and he advised that I sign with you guys and enhance my music career."
"Yeah, that was totally my doing! Ribbon Girl would have never thought about signing with Star Records if I never told her. Somewhere down the road, she's gonna thank me for saving her career!"
"Okay dude, we get it, you're the great enabler," Fox said to Spring Man, before redirecting his attention to Spring Girl. "So, what are you in for? The money? The passion? The attention? This isn't some kind of dare, is it?"
"Nope, not at all!" replied Ribbon Girl, with a cheerful smile. "I've always wanted to continue my music career, as a pop singer. And seeing that there won't be another ARMS competition, for the near future...now would be a good time to get back on track."
"Twintelle is the best ARMS girl, I'm just sayin'," Falco stealthily whispered to Fox, who nodded his head in agreement. Twintelle was so fine, she had every male in existence talk a storm about how thick she was.
"Did he...say something?" Ribbon Girl asked Fox, looking at Falco. Realizing that Ribbon Girl was on to him, Falco cleared his throat, as he backed away a couple of inches without raising any suspicion.
"Uh, no, he must've been speaking to himself," replied Fox, sticking up for his friend. That's what bros do. Bros before hoes. "Anyways, how about we have a contract signing, later today?"
"Sounds fine with me!" With a contract set in stone, Spring Man turned away and smiled, pumping his fist.
With the directions Champion Link provided him earlier - the directions Sora received from Master Hand, in the Thanksgiving episode - Mario would lead his gang through the forestation near the mansion, on the search for the Yiga Clan hideout. Mega Man felt relieved - mainly because there was nobody around to see him dressed as a reindeer. At least not yet.
"Quite odd that Master Hand knows where the hideout is..." the Blue Bomber remarked, as he and the others traversed through the forestation. "...almost makes me believe he's in kahoots with the Yiga Clan leader."
"I wouldn't put Master Hand-a past that if he was," said Mario, knocking tree branches down with his candy cane weapon. "Remember, those candy canes can-a be used for other than attacking!"
"I mean they probably don't hurt as much, so I hope they would be used in other ways," mumbled Samus, as Mario overheard the bounty hunter. He stopped and turned around, giving Samus an angry face.
"Was that sass-a I detected, Miss Aran?" Seeing Mario so mad amused Samus, so the bounty hunter opted not to say a single word. "Yeah, that's-a what I thought! Now keep-a your thoughts to your-a self..."
"Intruders spotted!" a voice shouted out, as two Yiga soldiers appeared via smoke bomb, with their bow and arrows. They were about to fire away with their arrows...until they saw how Mario and company were dressed up. Both soldiers were laughing, as they fell to the ground.
"Nice one Mario, now you got the Yiga hoodlums laughing at us," Mega Man said to the plumber, who approached one of the laughing Yiga soldiers - and knocked him out with his candy cane, smacking him across the head. The other Yiga soldier was shocked, but he got smacked upside the head too.
"Congratulations on finding out-a the reason for the costumes, Mega Man," responded Mario in a sardonic tone, like he was about to clap sarcastically. "Such an astute-a observation..."
Mario: Cappy bought-a the festive wear from the Cappy Store, in his home-a town. Makes me wonder how he's-a able to spend so much. How can he even-a carry money?
"Alright, so what do we do with these two losers?" asked Samus, as she grabbed the unconscious Yiga soldiers by the black ponytail on their heads. "Do we leave them here, or use them for later?"
"We could use-a them as leeway to get inside-a the hideout," replied Mario, conjuring a surefire plan as he stroked his chin. "Don't think the hide-a out is that far from-a here."
It was a happy day in Seattle, or a happy week rather - the Emerald City was getting their own professional hockey team, and everyone were excited. However, no one was more excited than Ken, who thought that having hockey in Seattle was long overdue. And he wished to celebrate in the biggest way.
"Cloud Strife!" Ken yelled out the swordsman's name, as he entered the lounge and headed towards the swordsman. Cloud, chilling out near the wall, held his head down low as he was prepared to say no to whatever Ken had in store for him. "How about a game of hockey, my man?"
"No thanks, I'm only vaguely interested in sports for only two occasions," replied Cloud, with his hands in his pockets. Those occasions being Thanksgiving, and the Super Bowl. "Go play hockey with Ryu or something."
"Playing hockey? With Ryu?" Ken backed away from Cloud, chuckling nervously as he fiddled with his fingers. "I can't play with Ryu...he's too good for me. I can't make him look bad by comparison."
"Lemme guess - Ryu kicked your butt in hockey." This was indeed correct, as Ryu remained silent. "Well it's nice to see there's one thing you aren't good at. Just gotta do the same for Ryu, and it'll all come together."
"I will beat Ryu in hockey...one day." With Cloud turning down his offer, Ken walked away from the swordsman and looked towards the couch, seeing a certain prince reading the latest edition of Swordsman Weekly. "Well if it isn't Chrom! Google Chrom!"
"Please don't call me that..." seethed Chrom, angered enough to tear his magazine into pieces. Chrom always resented having his name associated with an Internet browser. "...what do you want anyways?"
"I just wanna know if you were down with a game of hockey." Chrom imagined his chances of beating of Ken at hockey, let alone any form of competition, and believed that his probability of winning was low. "Are you game, or not?"
"Look Ken, I'd love to play, but I'm reading a magazine right now." Despite the response, Ken remained near the couch, waiting for a definite answer from Chrom. "...I'm not going to play hockey with you."
"Trying to avoid taking an L, I see...that's understandable. But let me know if you change your mind." With another swordsman in Chrom rejecting Ken's offer, Ken was forced to look elsewhere for an opponent...
...and as the fighter was about to exit the lounge, he bumped into a guy he played ping pong with - Rex, who was accompanied by Pyra. Rex trembled at the very sight of Ken.
"Rex, the man who bested me in ping pong!" exclaimed Ken, obvious to how afraid Rex was. "How about another competition? I know you're as much of a foreigner as anyone else, but...have you ever heard of hockey?"
"I-I've heard about it from Sonic, in spades," replied Rex, stammering a little; Sonic was the last person one should listen to about sports. "H-He said that it was like ice skating, but manlier and more physical. He never explained what ice skating was..."
"You are so naive..." Pyra smiled at Rex, who could only smile in return...albeit nervously.
Hunter: This is a random thought, but that Rex guy is a huge player - he's even more into polygamy than Mario is! Got four chicks on his side...What do you mean, the tiger is a dude?
"Sonic is right - hockey is just like ice skating, but with pucks and hockey sticks!" explained Ken, clenching his fist as he talked about hockey. "And there's no style points, either - it's all in the name of the game!"
"And you want me to play against you...in hockey?" questioned Rex, unsure if that was such a good idea. He only won against Ken in ping pong, because the fighter was left distracted. Hockey would be an entirely different beast.
"Sure, why not, it would be a great learning experience! But don't worry, it's not like we're gonna play today - I'll give you a week's worth to be prepared. We shall play next Friday! Deal?"
"One week might not be enough for..." Rex suddenly looked down, and saw that Ken was shaking his hand. That Ken, he just couldn't help himself. "...I guess we're playing hockey next week!"
"Great! Really looking forward to it already! Can't wait! We're gonna such a great time, I can already tell!" As Ken kept talking up a storm about the hockey match, as he left with Rex and Pyra, Chrom was spying on Rex from afar, with a devious smirk.
Chrom: Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of the day Rex shaved my entire head bald. While Lucina has all but forgotten about that incident, I still haven't - and I'm going to seek my revenge. No, I'm not going to shave Rex's head...yet, since that'll serve as a cherry on top. I'll embarrass Rex a few times, and then go in for the kill!
Lucina: *showing up from behind* "Go in for the kill?" What do you mean by that, Father?
Chrom: N-Nothing Lucina, I was just talking about the Christmas party! Because you know what they mean, by going in the for kill...going all out and having a good time!
Lucina: But the party hasn't even been confirmed yet...
Chrom: That's because I can see in the future, I just decided not to tell you.
Lucina: Well now we all know why Yliesse got attacked in future times...
Chrom:...excuse me?
Mario and the gang reached the entrance to the Yiga Clan hideout, and miraculously, they reached the entrance without any encounters from the Yiga Clan. Samus still had the two unconscious Yiga soldiers, having dragged the two with her.
"Bringing these two with us was a total waste," remarked Samus, as she took the two unconscious Yiga soldiers and rested them against a rocky wall. She then looked over at Mario, who was far from the group, dancing in place. "Mario, what on earth are you doing? Trying to get yourself killed?"
"No, I'm trying to get-a the Yiga Clan's attention," replied Mario, doing some kind of weird shuffle. Even Cappy felt embarrassed for the plumber. "We would have went-a with a sneak attack, but we forgot-a to plan one. Samus, you should've reminded-a me!"
"Like I would even..." Samus suddenly looked towards Pikachu and Pichu, as both Pokemon were judging Mario. Seeing the mosue Pokemon made Samus smile. "Pikachu, Pichu, would you mind electrocuting Mario, and knock some sense back into him?"
"I don't think that would be ideal!" fretted Cappy, who knew that he would probably be electrocuted along with Mario. But nonetheless, Pikachu and Pichu were charging up their cheeks with electricity.
"Pika..." said Pikachu, as he and Pichu were ready to unleash a wicked Thunderbolt on Mario. Then out of nowhere, Mario stopped dancing.
"Wait!" the plumber shouted, holding out his hands in front of him, as Pikachu and Pichu discharged the electricity they built in their bodies. "I hear foot-a steps..." Mega Man quickly got on the offensive, as he wielded his Mega Buster...erm, candy cane.
"Sounds like it's coming from up above," the robot listened, as he had his candy cane pointed towards the edge of the cliff above him. "You sure I can't use my Mega Buster, Mario?"
"Ha, we got 'em right where we want 'em!" a Yiga soldier shouted, as he leaped down from the cliff aiming for Mega Man with his sickle. Out of instinct, Mega Man threw his candy cane at the Yiga soldier, nailing him in his throat and sending him to the ground.
"...you know what, I actually stand corrected." Mega Man went over to retrieve his candy cane, as the Yiga Clan remained down, clutching his neck. "Maybe this candy cane isn't so bad after all!"
"I still beg to differ," stated Samus, as she walked over to Mario and tapped him on the shoulder. "How about we get a move on, before we get ambushed again?"
"How about you let-a the leader do his thing, and not boss-a him around?" retorted Mario, as Samus frowned at the plumber. Samus really was like Impa, in a way. "And yes, we shall-a get moving. Everyone-a follow me!"
Samus, Pikachu, Pichu, and Mega Man all followed Mario throughout the hideout, passing by lit torches as they ventured through the tunnels. During their travels, they came across an old man - the very old man Champion Link and pals encountered in the Thanksgiving episode.
"I've been here...for weeks now..." the old man said to Mario and company, extending a hand to the group. A miracle he was still alive. "...please save me..."
"Eh, we'll think-a about that," responded Mario, as he led his gang further down the tunnel. The poor old man looked miserable, as his hand fell unto the ground. Someone will save him one day...if he's still alive by then.
Ignoring the old man entirely, Mario and the gang continued through the tunnels, on the lookout for the box of Christmas decorations. During their trek, Mega Man heard some commotion from a nearby room.
"Guys, I think I hear something!" the robot whispered to the others, as everyone joined Mega Man at a doorway. Everyone peeked inside, and saw two Yiga dudes...hanging up Christmas wreaths on the wall?
"Oh man, the boss is gonna flip when he sees this!" one of the Yiga members exclaimed, like a Christmas wreath on a wall was the most spectacular thing in existence. "He'll squeal and acknowledge us for how festive we are!"
"Then after that, he's gonna promote us!" the other Yiga member added, as he held hands with his fellow Yiga clansman. "From garbage boys to honorary garbage boys!" The thought of being promoted made the Yiga members squeal...and Mega Man and company heard enough, as they backed away from the doorway.
"The Yiga Clan celebrates holidays?" wondered Samus, leading Mario to muse over what the true intentions of the Yiga Clan were.
Old Man: The Yiga Clan...held me against my will for weeks on end...they took away my pride...my dignity...my livelihood...my clothes...my wallet...but most importantly, they took away the one thing I hold dear...my beef jerky, which I had meant to eat until I was captured. Kept it in my back pocket for days...
"Intruder alert, intruder alert!" someone shouted, as a Yiga Blademaster showed up shining a lantern on Mario and company. Soon out of nowhere, a bunch of Yiga soldiers showed up, via smoke bomb.
"Crap, they found us..." frowned Samus, as the Yiga dudes from the room came out, armed with sickles. Mario and the gang was surrounded, with absolutely nowhere to run to.
"State your business here, and why you're dressed up in such stupid costumes!" Mario felt like he had to do a little explaining, so the plumber prepped himself by clearing his throat.
"We're here to spread-a Christmas joy!" Mario shouted with great joy, with his arms out wide; Samus facepalmed, while Mega Man looked the other way. Pikach and Pichu felt too humiliated to even react.
"You came to your hideout...to spread Christmas joy? Excellent! You're just the kind of folk we needed!" This response from the Yiga Blademaster made Mario and the gang all sorts of confused. "We could afford to spread some Christmas joy around here!"
"This might be a trap," Samus whispered to Mario, who nodded his head. It was quite strange to see a Yiga Blademaster go from serious to happy so quickly, especially without the presence of bananas.
"If you really want-a us to spread Christmas joy...then how about you let-a us speak with your leader?" Mario proposed to the Yiga Blademaster, who held his hand up to his chin. Mario had a good dose of Thunderbolt waiting for whoever the Yiga Clan leader was.
"I supposed that can be arranged...I'll go see if Master Kohga is busy right now. (He could be sleeping, for all we know...) The rest of you clansmen watch over the Christmas-y folk until I contact Master Kohga. Understand?"
"Yes sir!" the Yiga members saluted, as the Yiga Bladmaster turned the other way, heading down the tunnel. Once the Blademaster was out of sight, a random Yiga soldier dug into his pocket, pulling out some bananas.
"Who wants to make the biggest banana split ever?" the member asked his fellow clansmen, who simultaneously cheered while raising their fists. And Mario thought Donkey Kong was super obsessed with bananas!
It was now time for the official contract signing, as Ribbon Girl was in the Star Records room at a table, surrounded by Fox, Falco, Itsuki, and her best friend Spring Man. All the Star Records employees were present, including Ayaha and Doc Louis - the latter not even being under the record label's name. Riding on Little Mac's coattails. Lakitu was also there, with his camera, ready to snap pictures of the momentous occasion.
"Say, Kiria, we never signed an official contract with Star Records, did we?" Mamori whispered to the idol singer, who kinda wished she was somewhere else right now.
"Don't mention that to Fox and Falco, we can't give them any ideas," Kira whispered back, hoping the contract signing would end soon. Wasn't like it was supposed to be terribly long.
Kiria: Is it illegal to be working for Star Records, without having signed a contract? Eh, Fox and Falco have done so much shady stuff under the company's name, so I'm not all that concerned. Don't think I know know about your racketeering, Falco - I've seen you use that money to buy gifts for your stupid girlfriend.
"We are here to announce the signing of Ribbon Girl, renowned pop singer, to Star Records," Fox started things off, as he pushed the contract towards Ribbon Girl. "Before you sign, Ribbon Girl, is there anything you want to say?"
"RIBBON GIRL IS THE BEST, RIBBON GIRL'S NUMBER ONE, WOOT WOOT!" sang Spring Man, singing the same line multiple times expecting the others to sing along with him. But they didn't, and so Spring Man stopped, awkwardly clearing his throat.
"...I have nothing to say, Fox," replied Ribbon Girl, as she looked back at Spring Man with disdain. "Can we just get this over with already, before Spring Man tries to embarrass me again?"
"Didn't have to tell me that twice..." Fox took out a black ink pen and gave it to Ribbon Girl, who signed the contract as Lakitu snapped photos. As Ribbon Girl shook Fox's hand with her giant hand, Lakitu snapped more photos, as Doc Louis looked on with a frown.
"You see that, Mac? A new addition to Star Records..." the boxing trainer said to Little Mac, who looked at Doc Louis funny. "That Ribbon Girl's trying to take your spot...boy, you might have to compete with her, to maintain your spot!"
"I highly doubt she's trying to replace me, Doc," responded Little Mac - never before has Doc Louis cared so much about anything remotely related to Star Records.
Once Mario and the gang were ready to met the leader of the Yiga clan, Master Kohga, they were brought to an open area of the hideout. This open area had Christmas greenery adorned on the cave walls, and a small Christmas tree in the far corner. The tree was plain - wasn't decorated yet. But there was a box next to it.
"That must be my box-a of decorations..." Mario alerted the others, as he and his gang were brought out by the Yiga soldiers. The Yiga Blademaster from earlier appeared, still wielding his blade.
"Master Kohga will be here shortly," the Blademaster informed Mario and the gang, before looking up at the sky above him. "Just gotta wait for him to wake up from his nap...he can be such a heavy sleeper, sometimes."
Just then, a puff of smoke appeared, and once it vanished away, Mario and company saw a portly man, dressed in all red while wearing the Yiga mask. Judging by his attire, the man looked like the clan leader.
"Man, didn't I tell you I would meet them in my private lair?!" the leader shouted at the Yiga Blademaster, before looking behind him and see Mario and the gang, with the Yiga soldiers behind him. "Oh my, are those the guests?"
"The intruders, you mean," clarified the Yiga Blademaster, knowing for a fact the Yiga Clan would never allow guests in their hideout. "The ones who claimed they would spread Christmas joy around our hideout."
"Oh yes, Christmas joy, just what we needed! We need all the Christmas joy we can possibly afford! Now, for the guests...erm, I mean intruders...would you mind introducing yourselves?"
"I'm-a Mario, and the robot is-a Mega Man, and the smoking hot-a blonde is Samus Aran," introduced Mario, triggering Samus when he called her smoking hot. Samus was never into that kind of stuff. "The two-a yellow mice are Pikachu and-a Pichu."
"And I'm Cappy!" Cappy blurted out, his eyes appearing on Mario's cap, as he alarmed the Yiga clansmen. That talking hat refused to be left out.
Yiga Soldier: A talking hat...a hat that talks...that thing might be even more valuable than that Sheikah Slate!
"I see...time for me to introduce myself," said the leader; Mario and the gang better be ready for some fantastic posing. "I am the leader...of the Yiga Clan! The strong! The burly! The one! The only! MASTER KOHGA!" Master Kohga did a fancy spin as he said his name, leaving nobody impressed.
"Uh huh..." uttered Mario, as he eyed around the open area. "...Pikachu, Pichu, use-a Thunderbolt on Master Kohga." Following Mario's command, Pikachu and Pichu electrocuted Master Kohga, as Mario, Samus, and Mega Man made a mad dash for the decorations.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?!" the Yiga Blademaster shouted, as a few Yiga soldiers appeared in front of Mario and company, stopping their progress. Pikachu and Pichu were done electrocuting Master Kohga, who was all sooty as he was down on one knee.
"That's not...the way...to spread Christmas joy..." panted Master Kohga, as he struggled to stand up. A few Yiga clansmen would help their leader out. "Who even are you people...bunch of posers..."
"Why did you have-a to steal my decorations?!" Mario snapped on Master Kohga, once the leader was able to stand without support from his underlings. "Pikachu, Pichu, Thunderbolt-a that man again!" As Pikachu and Pichu charged up their bodies with the remaining electricity they had, a Yiga soldier stepped in front of Master Kohga in the nick of time.
"No, stop! Hold your fire!" the Yiga soldier cried out to Pikachu and Pichu, who stopped charging their cheeks with electricity. The Yiga soldier then turned to Mario, wanting to get something off his chest. "There's a reason why we stole your Christmas stuff."
"Is it also the reason why-a you got Christmas greenery hanging around-a this cave?" Mario looked around the cave, seeing the Christmas greenery hung up. "Are you trying to get-a in the Christmas spirit or some-a thing?"
"Yes, it was Master Hand who suggested it!" Mario's eyes widened, as he took a step back; Samus and the others were as equally shocked. So Master Hand DID know where the Yiga Clan was! "When he visited us, and took us to this city, he said that the easiest way we can be accustomed to modern times was to celebrate holidays. We tried celebrating Thanksgiving, but our plans were dashed when our turkeys were stolen..."
"Is that why you stole-a those turkeys from the mansion, so you could have-a your own Thanksgiving feast?" It was all starting to make sense to Mario...the Yiga Clan's actions appeared to have a reason behind them. A misguided reason, but a reason nonetheless.
"Precisely. And when our feast was ruined, we had hoped to redeem ourselves, during the Christmas season. So we stole your box of decorations, when he saw that cheetah dude carrying them outside. We've always wanted to decorate that Christmas tree over there..."
"What you've heard from the Yiga soldier is all true," Master Kohga spoke, confirming everything that was said to be a fact. "Master Hand gave us the incentive to 'modernize' ourselves, if you will, and we listened to every little thing he had to say. Including celebrating the holidays."
Master Hand: Yeah, I totally convinced Master Kohga to have his Yiga Clan celebrate Christmas, it was a total doozy. When he asked me if he could steal gifts from little children, I was like, "Duh?" How old does Kohga think I am, two and a half? If you're not celebrating Christmas by stealing others' gifts or drinking eggnog, then you're obviously doing something wrong.
"If you wanted to decorate your tree so badly...then why couldn't you just ask Mario for decorations?" asked Samus, slowly coming to a understanding of the Yiga Clan's intentions and actions.
"Because we don't know how to ask nicely, for the things we want - we just prefer to steal," explained Master Kohga, refusing to give up a livelihood of thievery. "It's pretty much in our blood. Like how beating up Champion Link is in our blood."
"You know, you could ask-a nicely...if you want us to decorate-a your tree for you," proposed Mario, as Master Kohga and the Yiga clansmen looked at the plumber like he was crazy. Even Samus and Mega Man were giving Mario similar looks.
"Really, you'd do that for us?" In a generous mood, Mario nodded his head. Master Kohga got all giddy, giggling happily and tapping his feet as he clapped his hands. "Okay, I shall ask away! Um...Mario...would you, uh...help us, decorate our tree?"
"Glady," replied Mario, as Master Kohga motioned the Yiga soldiers near Mario to move out of the way. The soldiers did as they were told, allowing Mario to walk over to his box of decorations. Had to check the contents, to make sure it was his box. "After we finish-a decorating the tree, why don't we...spread-a some Christmas joy around-a your lair?"
"This whole 'spreading of Christmas joy' better not take that long..." stated Samus, who had important things to do. She still needed to do some work in the workshop, after all.
Once Mario and the gang were done spreading Christmas joy around the Yiga hideout, Mario returned to his house, while Samus and the others returned to the mansion. Mario carried his box of decorations inside his home, where everyone from Peach to Spyro was ready to greet him.
"Some good-a news, everyone - I finally got my box-a of decorations back!" announced Mario, as everyone save for Impa cheered. Impa couldn't for the life of her understand how getting your decorations back was such a big deal.
"That's great, Mario!" smiled Peach, as Champion Link and Pit were expecting to receive their star - if Spyro and Hunter were gonna allow that. "So what took you so long at the hideout - was the Yiga Clan giving you fits?"
"Actually, as it turned-a out...the Yiga Clan just wanted to celebrate-a Christmas. That's why they took-a the decorations, so they could decorate-a their own Christmas tree. Unfortunately, it wasn't in their nature to ask-a nicely."
"It should be their nature, from now on..." frowned Hunter, whose backside was still reeling from those arrows. Stung even more than his own arrows.
"In reality, the Yiga Clan are just-a trying to become acclimated with-a modern times. And they might need-a someone to show them around." After he said this, Mario looked towards Impa, knowing she was the right gal for the job.
"So you want me to do it?" asked Impa, before shrugging her shoulders indifferently. "Eh, it can't be that hard..."
Impa: The Yiga Clan needs someone to modernize them...and apparently Mario thinks I should be the one to do it. The Yiga Clan better be glad I'm pretty modernized myself - otherwise they'd be in trouble.
"Well Mario, what about our star?" Champion Link asked the plumber, who held his head down, not wanting to answer. That's when Champion Link knew.
"Unfortunately, I had to give-a the star to the Yiga Clan, for-a their Christmas tree," replied Mario, as Champion Link and Pit both looked sad. Master Hand was gonna have their heads for sure.
"Ha, in your face!" taunted Spyro, as he and Hunter were all smiles. Those smiles would fade away, however, when Peach gave the two friends a very stern look.
"Come, follow me, I know a way to make it up-a to you." Mario placed his box on the floor, as the despondent Champion Link and Pit followed Mario outside. Once they were outside...
...Mario quickly closed the front door, before pulling out a star - a star for the mansion's Christmas tree. Champion Link and Pit were both gleaming.
"Turns-a out I had two stars in my box," explained Mario, as he handed the star to Pit - who snatched it away happily. "Didn't want-a Spyro nor Hunter to know - I knew what-a they were all about. Just don't tell-a anyone, aight?"
"You got it, Mario!" Pit saluted the plumber, as he and Champion Link walked away. "WE FINALLY GOT A FLIPPING STAR!" Pit raised the star up high, high enough for the whole world to see.
"...hopefully Spyro and Hunter didn't hear that," Mario had this to say, before entering back inside his house.
Thanks to Elec Man, Link and Zelda were able to get the generator powered up. All the Christmas lights in the mansion turned on, including the lights on the Christmas tree.
"Looks like the generator's running perfectly!" exclaimed Elec Man, with his hands on his hips as he watched the generator do its thing. "I would advise not to have it running all the time - it'll drain the mansion's light source."
"We'll obviously avoid that as much as possible," smiled Zelda, who was in the living room with Link. Just then, Champion Link and Pit showed up, with the star Mario had given him. "Oh, you finally got a star for the Christmas tree?"
"Mario was kind enough to spare an extra one he had," replied Champion Link, as he took the star from Pit. "Now it can go up at the top..." Champion Link approached the tree, realizing he wasn't tall enough to reach the top. So the Hylian had to jump, to reach the tree's top...
...and after the fourth or so attempt, the Hylian managed to get the star on the tree, but in the process caused the tree to fall over unto the floor. Champion Link screamed for his life as he fell along with the tree, nearly breaking the Christmas lights and ornaments and whatnot.
"...at least the Christmas lights don't have a fire hazard!" grinned Link, shedding some positivity on the incident while Champion Link's life flashed before him. Zelda looked up at her boyfriend, shaking her head.
After grabbing a quick bite, Samus went to the workshop, expecting Sonic to be gone. But alas, the hedgehog was still there, working on his machine. It made Samus extremely bitter.
"You're asking for this, Sonic..." the bounty hunter took out her Paralyzer, as she neared Sonic very slowly. Once she got closer to the hedgehog...
"All done!" announced Sonic, as he raised his fist in the air. He turned around to see Samus, who quickly put her Paralyzer away. "Back in time, huh Samus? How was your trip down the Yiga Clan hideout?"
"I'd rather not talk about it." Samus knew that if she spoke about her experience, she would be stuck telling her story to Sonic for hours.
"Why not? Did a bunch of Yiga guys check you out? Made you feel uncomfortable. That's understandable, if you don't wanna talk about it. Now if you excuse me, I got a pet hedgehog to feed..."
Sonic took his machine and left the workshop, giving Samus her space back. Samus went to her personal desk, and saw a note lying on the surface. The bounty hunter picked up the note and read it...
You are doing well, my friend!
Here is another spare part.
Don't give up!
Yours truly,
The Seattle Stalker
"The Seattle Stalker, huh?" Samus raised an eyebrow, before scoffing and tossing the note unto the floor. "Sounds like a fraud."
Certainly didn't sound like a fraud to Sonic.