Author's Note:
Ah, here it is, finally...the end-of-the-year author's note that all of you (or most of you, I assume) have been waiting for! And the year is already over, as of this writing! Hahahaha...ha.
I'll be honest with you, I had no idea what to write about. Or how to start this author's note off. But better late than never, amirite? Alright then, let's just get into it...
So, 2020 has been an unprecedented year. A pandemic happened. A bunch of protests and riots happened. Several wildfires happened in Australia and California. And the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship...in Disney World. That will forever be amusing to me.
But wait, something else happened in 2020...at least in regards to this story. I went...on a hiatus! One that I will say was strongly overdue. From early June, to somewhere in mid-July, I took a well-deserved break from writing this story. I remember when I had finished writing chapter 157 (ironically called "Crunchtime"), which is the longest chapter to date, and folks in the reviews section were telling me to take a break. Well, I'll say that the break was a year overdue, but...better late than never.
During the hiatus, I barely even read Smash Life, opting to read over Smash fanfiction and just about any story outside of the Smash archive. I hardly ever thought about the story, not generating any ideas until I was ready to start writing again. And I didn't even log into my account at all, during the hiatus. Which I said I wouldn't.
But on July 15th, I got back to writing again. I never mentioned this before, but I wrote chapters 234 through 241 ALL AT THE SAME TIME. A pretty big feat, if I do say so myself. Some chapters were finished sooner than others. The same thing happened with chapters 242 through 248, though they were less compacted. Since I wrote all the chapters together, I decided to publish the new chapters on a daily basis until I was all caught up. And by the time chapter 250 was published...I was back on track!
Was it worth it? Eh...I guess. But it was still fun.
Now, I'm gonna do something I've never done before, in an author's note like this...answer guest reviews! Yeah. I was gonna do it on Christmas Eve, but I was in a rush to publish the chapter. So here I am, to do it now. I won't be answering every review (since some of them are outdated if you know what I mean) and I might be all over the place, but I did my best. Let's get to it! Starting with the anonymous reviewer:
"Will the other Persona 5 confidants appear as well? Are Luigi and Daisy's kids names a reference to their voice actors? Will Kasumi Yoshizawa be called by her real name Sumire Yoshizawa in later chapters? Will the Trails of Cold Steel IV chapter be merged with the Halloween chapter? (The game comes out that day). And finally, what are your thoughts on that farhansuyitno author criticizing your story?"
Perhaps. Yes. Kasumi will always go by Kasumi. Sadly it's a little too late for that. And as for farhansuyitno...I remember when he left behind that review on the first chapter, during that hiatus. The review was kinda...concerning, not gonna lie.
"Will the Trails of Cold Steel 3 chapter still happen when you return? Can you make the Trails of Cold Steel cast residents of the mansion after the Cold Steel IV chapter comes out? (Since it's the final game of the Cold Steel series) A scene of Hubert from the Black Eagles interacting with Sorey and Prompto? (Robbie Daymond voices them) and finally, what are your thoughts on Min Min being in Smash Bros?
That may or may not happen later this year. None of the Trails of Cold Steel characters will be residents. Might not do that scene with Prompto. As for Min Min being in Smash Bros...she's my main in ARMS, so I dig it.
"Have the viruses from Dr. Mario shown up yet? Will a Paper Mario Origami King chapter happen? Are Rean and Juna from the Trails of Cold Steel games going to be a couple? Is Meta Knight's voice based on the Kirby anime dub? And finally, what are your thoughts on the Resident Evil Village trailer with Ethan and Chris returning?
Not yet. The Origami King chapter has already happened. Rean and Juna are totally gonna be a couple. Meta Knight's voice is indeed based on the anime dub. And as for the Resident Evil Village trailer, I've never seen it.
"Will Pit wise up and stop being dumb for Viridi? Has Sonic's attitude toned down in recent chapters? Will you do an Atelier Ryza 2 chapter when the game comes out? How will Tifa and Barret react to Sephiroth when they arrive at the mansion? And finally, will the Trails of Cold Steel IV chapter be in March in time for the Switch version being released?"
Pit will wise up soon. Sonic's attitude has been toning down recently. I can do an Atelier Ryza 2 chapter later this month. You'll see how Tifa and Barret react to Sephiroth in this chapter. And the Trails of Cold Steel IV chapter will be released in March.
"...will you also be featuring characters from Blazblue Cross Tag Battle in the Smash Life fanfic like Ragna, Hyde from Under Night, Ruby Rose, Heart Aino,etc.?"
Heart Aino was intended to appear in chapter 205, but I had no room for her. She'll make an appearance someday. AS for Ragna, an appearance from him is long overdue, so he'll appear one day as well.
"We haven't heard from the fire emblem crew for awhile! Do you think Severa cam be included in? She's been in two games why not one more?"
Oh, the tsundere from Awakening? I'll figure out a way to include her in this story
"Will Lucrecia Crescent (Sephiroth's real mother) come out from her crystallization to knock some sense into her son? Is Sephiroth going to use his George Newbern voice or his voice from the remake? And finally how did you feel about the game awards being rigged? (Animal Crossing did win best family game though)"
I could find a way to make that work. Sephiroth will use his George Newbern voice. And I have no strong opinions on what went down with the Game Awards. On to ThunderFuse926:
"Will More Castlevania Characters Like Soma, Jonathan, Charlotte, and Shanoa ever Appear?"
If the time is right, then yes, they will appear.
"So no wedding for Twilight Princess Link and Zelda?"
The wedding for Twilight Princess Link and Zelda is still happening, people! Just gotta be patient.
"Can we please have more interactions between Wolf and Isabelle please"
It's because they're both dogs, isn't it? Sure. Here's Derick Lindsey (feels good to say that again):
"I wonder what your opinion was on Crash 4 it's about time and if we might get some sort of reference to it in a future chapter"
You know me...I'm a Crash guy, so I love Crash 4. Love the cartoony design, and the fact that YOU CAN PLAY AS TAWNA. (An alternate dimension Tawna, but still a Tawna nonetheless.) Oh, and you can play as Dingodile, too. Don't be surprised to see a Crash 4 reference soon. El pollo campero is back:
"Oof it's been a long time! So what do ya think about Sephiroth? Also, has there been an among us chapter yet? I want to see funny space game antics.
Still shocked that he's in Smash. He's the best sword character in the game, that's for sure. Also, I've already done an Among Us chapter...sorta, in chapter 252. I might do a more fleshed-out one later this year. Next up is...Reviewer:
"can we get a ness chapter?"
Ness is quite deserving of having a chapter mostly centered around him, what with him being one of the original twelve and all. He'll get his chance later this year.
Ah...that felt good. I might answer more reviews later, but I just wanted to get back in the groove of answering reviews again. But yeah, that's all from me. Happy (Belated) New Year, everyone!
Episode 263: NewYear
Every year after Christmas, there was one more holiday, one holiday to end the year with...New Year's Eve! It was a day marked by evening parties, where people could party it up, watch fireworks, or even get wasted. While ringing in the new year, of course.
For Cloud, it was his first time being in charge of the New Year festivities, what with being the man of the mansion and all. While the swordsman had no control over the guest list (that was Master Hand's job), he still got to be in charge of the party decorations. Nothing that he particularly cared for, in all honesty.
The New Year's Eve party would be held in the ballroom, which was spacious enough for everyone to gather in. A large wide-screen television was placed at the front of the ballroom, for everyone to see the ball drop. Everything was lining up perfectly, and Master Hand couldn't be any happier, as he watched Cloud, Mario, and Zelda decorate the ballroom. Gold was everywhere - golden balloons, golden streamers, golden tablecloths, pretty much everything was gold. Which irked Cloud to an extent.
"Since when was gold the official color of New Year's Eve?" Cloud asked Mario and Zelda, while the swordsman was putting gold streamers all over the ballroom. Master Hand wanted him to cover every inch of the room.
"Pretty sure the media decided that a long-a time ago," replied Mario, as he was pumping air into some balloons. "Whatever they say, the general-a public treats as gospel."
"I can tell, from experience...but I can't blame them, they're the ones who decided that a new year was worth celebrating."
"Aw, don't-a be such a Debbie Downer, Cloud! New Year's Eve is lots-a of fun. You can drink, have-a fun, hang out with-a friends...um..."
"So basically it's just like any other big party. Except everyone is celebrating at the same time...or at least in their time zone. Pretty overrated, if you ask me."
"Ahoy mates, do any of you need any assistance?" Dingodile asked Cloud and company as he entered the gaming room. Let it be known that the mutant was never invited to the holiday festivities - he invited himself. Always beat to the sound of his own drum.
"No, Dindogile, they got it all covered," replied Master Hand as he gave the mutant a thumbs up. The giant hand found Dingodile to be a lot nicer than imagined. "But you can stay around-a and hang if you want."
"Just don't bother with any of the plastic cups," Zelda informed Dingodile as she brought the mutant's attention to the golden plastic cups sitting on a table. "Mario just painted those. Couldn't even buy any golden plastic cups from a store..."
"I was trying to save-a some money!" Mario defended himself; he didn't think those plastic cups were made out of 24 karat gold, did he? "So much we can-a do with the party budget that we have."
Mario: Whenever we ring-a in the new year, Master Hand insists on squeezing everyone-a in either the gaming room or the living room, just to see the big grand-a ball drop in Times-a Square. He tries-a to do this every year. But this is the year that he finally put on-a his thinking cap, and think outside-a the box. Having more guests-a than usual can do that to him...
Master Hand: Why can't I squeeze all the residents in one space? Not like any of the residents are claustrophobic. We should've done that weight initiative that we did last year, and have everyone lose weight. We lost weight for a pretty good cause...what's so wrong with slimming down for a New Year's Eve party?
"Master Hand, Master Hand!" shouted Isabelle as she came inside the ballroom to deliver some important news. "An airship just landed outside the mansion. The Overwatch crew is here."
"Oh my! Much earlier than I wanted them to," exclaimed Master Hand, who was giddy to speak with Tracer and company. "Cloud, you and the others keep on decorating. And make sure that Mario's on his best behavior! I got some folks to thank."
"Why do I need-a to be on my best behavior?" questioned Mario, as Master Hand disappeared from the ballroom. "I'm no child...a man-a child perhaps, but..."
"You are a manchild, Mario," Zelda said to the plumber, who looked offended as he gave the princess a look of disbelief. "Sometimes, that is."
Master Hand appeared outside at the front of the mansion, where he was speaking with the Overwatch crew - Tracer, Genji, Mercy, and Winston. The giant hand had invited extended an invite to the Overwatch gang for this evening's festivities...while also asking them to do a favor.
"I cannot thank you enough for setting up that television in the ballroom," Master Hand said to Winston and Genji, showing them his full appreciation. "It was a hassle to get Mr. Game and Watch to set it up..."
"That's why you should never trust a 2-D man to get the job done," remarked Genji, as he was toying around with a few shurikens in his hand. "Or a groundskeeper, at least."
"Is the television working properly?" Winston asked Master Hand, knowing that a malfunctioning television could easily spell doom and gloom for any New Year's Eve party. "We had some problems turning it on during the setup process."
"I dunno, I thought that was supposed to be your job." Winston gave Master Hand a frown, as the gorilla was holding in his anger. "Do I look like some kind of technology expert to you?"
"Getting a television to simply turn on isn't that advanced..." stated Mercy, furrowing her brow as there was some tension brewing between Master Hand and some of the Overwatch crew. Tracer, seeing the tension building up, wanted to alleviate the situation.
"Oh, that's right!" the pilot exclaimed, before blinking away and later returning to her original position with a brown sack. "Master Hand, we want you to give out these to your darling residents."
"Why should I? Christmas was last week," replied Master Hand, as he refused to accept the brown sack from Tracer. "Also, those lousy residents don't deserve my love and affection! They barely love me back..."
"...they're party favors," Mercy explained to Master Hand, with Tracer digging into the sack and pulling out a small brown bag, showing it to Master Hand. "We're giving them out as a memento of the occasion."
"So they're like, New Year gifts? Sort of like Christmas gifts? You just want everyone in the mansion to be spoiled, don't you? I won't stand for it!"
"It's just a small gift, nothing major," Genji explained to Master Hand, who let out a huge sigh of relief. "Not like we're giving out AirPods." A curious Waluigi wandered over to the mansion, his eyes fixated on the brown bag in Tracer's hands.
"Waaaah, a gift, just for me!" the lanky man exclaimed as he ran over to Tracer, snatching the brown bag out of the pilot's hands. "A gift for the Wah-Man! Thanks, Tracer, you shouldn't have!"
"No, Waluigi, that's not for you..." Tracer said to the lanky man, but it was too late. Waluigi opened the brown bag and pulled out...a bottle of lip tick.
"A bottle of lipstick, for me?" Waluigi stared bewilderedly at the lipstick, before letting his confusion go away with a shrug. "Eh, if it makes me feel prettier, then I'll take it."
"Silly Waluigi - that gift bag is for Rosalina!" Tracer told the lanky man, snatching the brown bag and the bottle of lipstick away from him. "If you actually read the name on the bag..."
Genji: Tracer deliberately forced me to go shopping for those nonsensical party favors. I thought that shopping wouldn't be nearly as bad, what with Christmas finally being over with. How wrong I was...
"Can we trust you to give out these party favors for us, Master Hand?" Tracer kindly asked the giant hand, holding out the brown sack to him while giving a big smile. "We would be greatly appreciative if you did!"
"Am I allowed to spin it and claim that the party favors came from me instead?" Master Hand asked Tracer, who sighed and facepalmed at Master Hand while shaking her head. "Okay then, how about Crazy Hand, would that work?"
"The bags already have our names on them...but sure, do what you want to do." So Tracer handed Master Hand the brown sack, which Master Hand placed on his wrist. Better hope that sack doesn't fall off. "Just remember to tell them that the party favors came from..."
"Toodles!" And with that, Master Hand vanished away, taking the brown sack with him. Didn't even let Tracer finish.
"...came from us," Tracer finished her sentence, before letting out another sigh. "I can see why the residents can't seem to stand Master Hand."
"Uh, don't mind if I ask, but...do I still get lipstick?" Waluigi asked tracer and company, who all looked at the lanky man with dubious stares. "If not, I can settle for some eyeliner."
"Let's see if that television is working..." said Winston as he and Genji entered the mansion, embarking on their trip to the ballroom.
The RWBY gang - Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long - seemed like longshots to be back in Seattle, after Dr. Wily announced that he wouldn't be messing around with his universe transport device. Especially after the whole Heartless incident. But thanks to some "forceful" begging from Master Hand (and Crazy Hand), Dr. Wily brought Ruby and friends back to town with that device of his. Just so they could celebrate the new year.
But the RWBY gang wouldn't be met without controversy, as one of the residents apparently had some beef with Ruby. That resident was Corrin, who claimed that Ruby wanted him to record himself riding on the Peleton she got him for Christmas. It was a joke told by Bowser, but Corrin still believed it anyway...
"This where you wanted to see me?" Ruby asked Corrin, as she joined the prince in his room. With Corrin was Zombie, who was...well, acting like a zombie. "Also, why do you have a zombie in your room?"
"He is my bodyguard," explained Corrin; the prince could've done so much better.. Talk about scraping the bottom of the barrel. "He will be our mediator in case things between us get too tense."
"Hurry it up, Ruby, I don't want to waste my time with this!" Blake shouted from outside Corrin's room, waiting in the hallway with her arms folded. "Don't have all day, you know."
Blake: Master Hand invited us ladies for some nonsensical "New Year's Eve" party...just like the Super Bowl, people will find any reason to party and get wasted. They must not have better things to do in their putrid lives.
"Now, Ruby, I want to bring your attention, to this!" Corrin said to the girl as he pointed at the Peleton sitting in his room. "You bought me that cursed bike as a Christmas present, and forced me to videotape myself riding on it!"
"I never did that, that was a lie," explained Ruby, who refused to believe the girl even for a second. "I doubt that you even recorded yourself on the bike!"
"Okay, well, I didn't, but, um, your desire to videotape myself riding that bike affected me greatly, so, um...ZOMBIE, ATTACK!" Having nothing else to say, Corrin commanded his "bodyguard" to attack Ruby. Zombie walked over to Ruby, hardly inflicting any pain on her.
"He is such a disgrace to his family..." Blake had this to say about Corrin, pinching the crown of her nose. The Faunus, looking up, shrieked out of fright when she saw Master Hand hovering above her.
"I'm sorry, Miss Belladonna, did I scare you?" Master Hand asked the Faunus, who quickly went back to her stoic demeanor after being frightened. "Haha, that means I still got it!"
"Whatever - just don't do that again. Also, what's with that brown sack you're holding?" Master Hand dropped the brown sack in question on the floor, before taking a brown bag out of it.
"I want you to give this to Corrin. It's a party favor from me. For the New Year's Eve stuff." Blake took the bag from Master Hand, spotting the name tag on it.
"It says here that it came from 'Tracer of Overwatch.' Is this party favor really from you?" Master Hand let out a hearty laugh in response.
"Of course it's from me! Tracer's name is on there because she just wants to be a glory hog. Wants to steal my credit. Glory hog!"
"Yes, Zombie, chase her away!" Corrin encouraged Zombie, as Ruby very calmly walked out of Corrin's room with Zombie and Corrin following after her. "Show no mercy!" Zombie was moving so slowly, that Ruby felt no need to be afraid.
"Hey, Corrin, catch," Blake called out to the prince, before tossing him the brown bag. "It's a stupid party favor from Tracer...I mean, Master Hand."
"A party favor for me?" Corrin excitedly dug his hand into the bag, pulling out a scented candle. "A scented candle! I could use this to scare away an entire legion of zombies."
"...yeah, go ahead and do you, Corrin," Master Hand said to the prince, who put his scented candle away, before turning his attention to Ruby and Blake. "Unfortunately, I don't have a party favor for you ladies. I don't really love you like that."
"Fine with us," replied Ruby, as Zombie caught up to Ruby and...did nothing to her, other than hitting her gently with its arms. Master Hand floated down the hallway, bringing the brown sack with him...and spotted Falco, who had a black eye.
"What's with that black eye, Falco? Got sucker-punched in the face by a teenage girl again?" Master Hand laughed, making Falco angrier than a whole colony of fire ants. "Need a self-defense seminar?"
"Bruh, who told you about that incident?" Falco questioned Master Hand, who chose not to answer as he gave the avian pilot his party favor and floated away. "Somebody's gonna get these hands real soon..."
After giving Falco his party favor, Master Hand decided to give one to Falco's main man Fox. So the giant hand back outside, where he saw Fox playing some basketball on the mansion's basketball court with Spring Man. If Rayman and Globox played ball outside in the cold, what was stopping Fox and Spring Man from doing the same?
"KOBE!" shouted Fox as he shot the basketball into the hoop, only for the ball to roll off the rim. "Dang it, that was supposed to go in! Perfect shot, too!"
"I think you put a little too much sauce on that one," commented Spring Man, as a tall man carrying a basketball walked over to the basketball court. "Your shooting form was a little off, too."
"Hey, fellas!" the man with the basketball called out to Fox and Spring Man, who looked up and saw the man. Fox recognized the man, as evidenced by the big smile on his face. "Mind if I join ya for some hoops? Found this basketball lying around."
"Well, well, well...if it isn't the imposter!" exclaimed Fox, delighted that the man who impersonated Mario back in episode 253 - when Mario and Luigi went on their vacation - was now back at the mansion. "How are-a you doing, 'Mario'?"
Wardell: Just like literally every other guest, I was invited to the mansion by Master Hand. Told him that I wanted to celebrate the new year with my family, but he just laughed at me and vanished away! I bet that dudes like Guile have very low respect for Master Hand.
"So, Wardell, did you drive-a all the way to Seattle?" asked Spring Man, having no clue how Wardell found his way to the mansion.
"Nah, that Master Hand brought me here on that device of his," replied Wardell, as Spring Man was very alarmed to hear this. "He saw through my disguise."
"Cloud claimed that Master Hand wouldn't see it through," stated Fox, as Wardell nodded his head. "That'll teach Mario to never put his full trust in that guy." Wardell would laugh at Fox, as Bernadetta of the Black Eagles awkwardly approached Fox.
"Um, Mr. McCloud...I filed all those important documents for you, in those cabinets," Bernadetta informed the pilot, whose eyes went wide with surprise. "Just like you asked."
"Excellent work, Bernie!" Fox commended the noblewoman as he held up his hand for a high five, to which Bernadetta silently objected. So Fox patted Bernadetta on her head, which she found slightly embarrassing. "See, you really are trustworthy! Now, why don't you treat yourself to one of Schezo's coconut balls? You deserve it."
"Well, I am kind of hungry right now..." So Bernadetta turned around and walked away, only to bump into fellow Black Eagles member Ferdinand. And the nobleman did not look happy. "...oh, Ferdinand! I didn't see you there."
"What is the meaning of this?!" Ferdinand angrily confronted Fox, while pointing back at Bernadetta with much contempt. "Why are you making this shut-in do your dirty work, and not me?"
"I didn't know classy noblemen like yourself enjoyed doing dirty work," joked Spring Man using Ferdinand's own words against him. Ferdinand frowned harder as Fox, Spring Man, and even Wardell laughed.
"There is no reason for you to choose Bernadetta over me, Fox. Bernadetta is a weakling; she can barely crawl out of bed without crying her eyes out! Is that the kind of woman you want to handle your business?"
"You're sounding pretty insecure there, my guy," Wardell said to the nobleman, who refused to admit that the man was right. Ferdinand just frowned even harder than before. "You're gonna let that 'shut-in' show your flaws?"
"I rest my case..." Refusing to say another word, Ferdinand stormed away from the basketball court and to the mansion, still frowning aggressively. With Ferdinand gone, Master Hand chose to make his appearance.
"Hello Fox, hello Spring Man, hello poser trying to pass for Mario!" Master Hand greeted Fox, Spring Man, and Wardell in that order, with Wardell looking down at the ground. "Fox, since this is New Year's Eve, I want to give you a party favor."
"Uh, thanks, Master Hand," Fox thanked the giant hand, who handed him a party favor with his name on it. "You're not gonna ask me if I love you, are you?" Fox jumped back, slightly flinching.
"Normally I would, but for now...just enjoy your gift." Master Hand would vanish away, as Fox lowered his guard and looked at his party favor.
"Must've taken a lot for Master Hand to give you that," Wardell said to Fox - even he knew that Master Hand was far from a generous individual.
Wario made a very strong impression on Professor Juniper back in episode 234, when he got the Pokemon professor to believe that he was a marine biologist. But the fatso threw it all away when he confessed that he wasn't a marine biologist at all. Desiring to show Juniper his "real" self, Wario invited the professor to the mansion to show her what he was really all about.
"This garlic, or should I say, allium sativum, is native to Central Asia and northeastern Iran," Wario explained to Juniper in his bedroom, while showing off some garlic in his hand. Juniper was trying her best to show her interest. "It's also an excellent source of vitamin B6!"
"So this is what you're really passionate about, huh?" Juniper asked Wario, resting her chin in the palm of her hand as her interest was fading fast. "It's no wonder they never mentioned this in that feature about you in that Columbia University Alumni magazine..."
"I had a feature in the Alumni magazine...?" Wario was at first surprised to learn about this, before becoming overfilled with joy. "Ha, I actually got a feature in the Alumni magazine! Take that, mom!"
Wario: That feature about me in the magazine, what did it say? Did it talk about how awesome I was? Did it do an in-depth look at how pathetically rich I am? Did it even discuss how desirable I am as a potential husband? I need to know every little detail!
"Sorry if I'm interrupting, you two," Master Hand apologized to Wario and Juniper as he appeared in Wario's room. "Wario, this is for you." The giant hand then handed Wario his party favor.
"Is it garlic?" asked Wario, performing a sniff test as he sniffed his brown bag all over. Something that Juniper found to be very strange. "Smells weird...the garlic must be past expired."
"Can you believe that this man had a feature in Columbia University's Alumni magazine?" Juniper whispered to Master Hand as she pointed at Wario, who was still sniffing his bag. Wario knew there was some garlic in there.
"That magazine must really be going downhill then..." responded Master Hand, as Wario's constant sniffing was starting to bother him. "...Wario, quit sniffing that bag, there's no garlic in there!"
Because Master Hand considered himself a "generous" fellow, he took it upon himself to invite two men from episode 215 to the mansion for the New Year's Eve festivities...Kermit and Cero Miedo. One was a wrestling fanatic...the other a guy who made questionable food choices. That distinction went to Kermit, who was in the kitchen doing his thing.
"Honestly, you can't really go wrong with having too much ketchup on a steak," Kermit explained to Min Min and Palutena, who were looking on with disgust as Kermit poured ketchup on a steak cooking on the stovetop. "You could even cook it into the meat. Like I'm doing now."
"This...this is inhumane," remarked Palutena, dismayed as she held her hand on her temple. "How could anyone prepare steak like this?!"
"Still does a better job than you," replied Min Min, as Palutena gave the martial artist a strong look of disbelief.
Kermit: I feel like I don't even have to mention who brought me back here...but hey, if Master Hand wants the whole mansion to know that ketchup on steak is the best, then I don't blame him! He better send me back home before the start of the new year, though.
"Now we're gonna turn the steak down, so the ketchup won't turn to liquid or anything," Kermit explained to Min Min and Palutena, turning the dial on the stove. Master Hand appeared in the kitchen, as Sephiroth came over to the stove.
"Are we having cooking lessons?" the one-winged angel inquired, with Min Min and Palutena both too disgusted to answer the question. Kermit turned around and noticed Sephiroth, thinking that he was interested.
"Hey there, buddy - you like to eat steak with ketchup on it?" Kermit asked Sephiroth, who was extremely baffled that any human being even had the gall to eat steak like that. "You won't know how good it is until you try!"
"Ketchup on a steak?" Sephiroth furrowed his brow in extreme disgust, before walking away while giving Kermit a judging look. "And yet people claim that I'm the psychopath..."
"Good to know that you at least have some standards..." Kermit resumed cooking his steak over the stove; should be grateful that Sephiroth didn't go full Supernova on his behind for his snarky comment. After leaving behind the party favors for Min Min, Palutena, and Sephiroth on the kitchen counter, Master Hand continued into the dining room...
...where Cero Miedo was in an arm-wrestling match with Donkey Kong. The same guy who brutalized Waluigi, at the request of Pit, was seated at the dining room table arm wrestling with Donkey Kong while Pit, Kirby, and Incineroar were looking on.
"Got two words for ya, DK...CERO MIEDO!" Cero Miedo told the gorilla, before letting out a valiant battle cry as he slammed Donkey Kong's fist down on the table. Donkey Kong grunted his pain, feeling as if his arm was torn off.
"Woooo, Cero Miedo, let's go!" Pit cheered for Cero Miedo, who got out of his chair and flexed his biceps. Donkey Kong fell out of his seat, grabbing his arm as it was wracked with pain. "Now's my turn!"
"I would strongly advise you not to do that, Pit," Kirby said to the angel; if Cero Miedo got the best of Donkey Kong, there's no telling what he could do to an inferior competitor in Pit. "We don't need the paramedics to stitch your arm back on."
Donkey Kong: Glad that Cranky Kong wasn't around to see me lose to Cero Miedo - he would've bad-mouthed me for losing! While also bad-mouthing the "author" for making me lose in the same breath. The holiday season has been awfully quiet without Cranky this year...that old coot just might blame the "author" for his absence.
"Our first New Year's celebration together..." Silas sighed happily, hanging out with his girlfriend Kamui in the dining room. "...could be the first of many."
"Are you trying to speak things into existence?" Kamui asked Silas with a teasing smile, as Silas smiled in return. "Who's to say we might die before we get to see December 31st next year?"
"Wow, Kamui, that's a very bold statement...trying to speak things into existence yourself, I assume?" Soon Cero Miedo approached Kamui and Silas, flaunting his chiseled body.
"You lovebirds want to challenge Cero Miedo?" Cero Miedo asked Silas and Kamui, intimidating them by flexing his biceps. Neither Kamui nor Silas felt that threatened. "If not, I won't blame you for avoiding humiliation..."
"Move outta the way, scrub!" Master Hand said to Cero Miedo as he flicked at the man, sending him to the floor. Cero Miedo looked up at Master Hand in disgust, as Master Hand gave Kamui her party favor. "Here you are, my sweet princess!"
"Thank you, Master Hand...I guess," thanked Kamui as she accepted her party favor. Cero Miedo knew he couldn't let Master Hand disrespect him, so he had to set the giant hand straight.
"Hey man - you're just gonna disrespect Cero Miedo like that?!" Cero Miedo angrily got up and confronted Master Hand; you know he was ticked when he referred to himself in the third person. "How about I cream ya in arm-wrestling?"
"Even though I don't have an arm, I would still beat the crap out of you." Cero Miedo liked that Master Hand loved to talk a big game, as he was grinning from ear to ear. "That said, I won't waste my time or energy giving you defeat."
"Gonna punk out just like that, huh?" Cero Miedo backed away from Master Hand, as he confidently nodded his head. "Alright then, fine with me! Maybe another time, I'll show ya who's king. Just you wait and see..."
Being the guy that he was, Sora always had a nose for trouble. So when the Keyblade wielder was carrying around a storybook in his hands...the Paper Mario storybook, one might understandably be afraid.
"Guys, check out this book I found in the attic!" Sora said to Riku and Kairi as he came into the lounge; Riku and Kairi were playing a board game. "It even has Mario on the cover. Pretty neat!"
"Pretty sure that Zelda said not to go in the attic without her permission," Riku said to Sora, but that didn't stop Sora from placing the storybook on the floor and opening it up. "That book might be magic or something."
"And? Whatever magic this book has can't be that bad." Sora looked inside the storybook and saw a picture of Shy Guys, dressed up as ballerinas. "What could go wrong?"
"I think you might've jinxed yourself, Sora..." Kairi said to the Keyblade wielder, who placed his hand on the picture of Shy Guys. Poor Sora had no idea what he was getting himself into...
Just down the hallway from the lounge, Master Hand was looking for someone to give a party favor to. As he floated down the hallway, he heard some ballet music coming from the lounge.
"Why do I hear Swan Lake..." the giant hand wondered as he floated to the lounge...and saw a bunch of Origami Shy Guys dancing around the lounge in their tutus, like ballerinas. Sitting in the middle of the madness was Sora, Riku, and Kairi.
"He did it," Riku outed Sora as he pointed accusingly at the Keyblade Wielder; Sora gave Master Hand an innocent smile, hoping that the giant hand wouldn't punish him for his actions.
"Where is that music coming from?" Master Hand saw the storybook lying on the floor, and gasped. "Is it coming from that storybook? Which one of you cretins went inside the attic?!"
"It was Sora's doing," replied Kairi; imagine being Sora, and being outed by your two best friends. Talk about a sucky feeling.
"Here are your party favors, you two..." Master Hand gave Riku and Kairi their party favors, before looking at Sora for a moment for two. "...you'll be getting yours later, Sora. Shouldn't be giving you one at all..."
"Just so you know, someone left the attic door open!" Sora said to Master Hand, who ignored the Keyblade wielder as he left the lounge.
The residents from the mansion and tower got to see Mario's home movie, Threat Level: Twilight, but not everyone had the opportunity of watching such a classic film. Master Hand happened to be one of those people since he was obviously away at the time. Wanting to do a solid for Master Hand, Ike invited the giant hand to the movie room, showing him Mario's movie on the big screen.
"The acting is about as cheesy as I expected it to be," Master Hand critiqued the quality of the movie, as he was watching with Ike, Soren, Sonic, and Crash. The giant hand was watching the scene where Mario and Pit (a la Emanuel) were having a showdown with the movie's villain, Goldenface, at the hockey arena.
"Fast-forward to the best part..." Sonic whispered to Ike, giggling slightly. Knowing what part Sonic was referring to, Ike pressed the fast-forward button on the remote, fast-forwarding the movie to the bar scene where Mario did the Scarn. Which came with this classic line...
"If doing the Scarn is gay...then I'm the biggest queer on earth!" proclaimed the drunken King K. Rool, as everyone except for Soren was laughing at the Kremling's line from the movie. They were laughing so hard, tears were rolling down their eyes.
"What if you're physically incapable of doing the Scarn, wouldn't that mean you're straight?" asked Soren as he was applying some of K. Rool's drunken logic. Sonic and company stopped laughing, as they looked at Soren with shocked faces.
"That's a pretty insensitive question to ask, Soren," Sonic said to the wind sage, before wagging his finger at him. "Not cool, not cool at all!"
"Agreed, Sonic, not cool - that's why you don't deserve a party favor, Soren!" said Master Hand, although Soren didn't care in the slightest. The giant hand then handed party favors to Ike, Sonic, and Crash. "I'll check out the rest of the movie later - got more party favors to give out. Toodles!"
Ignatz enjoyed drinking tea, just like the rest of the Golden Deer (and everyone from the Garreg Mach Monastary, for that matter). But the commoner was open to trying out other drinks, such as coffee. In fact, he was trying out coffee for the first time, in the cafe.
"Mm, this coffee doesn't taste so bad after all!" remarked Ignatz, who was all smiles were drinking half a cup of coffee. Then the commoner suddenly felt a presence, as if someone was standing behind him. So he turned around...and saw the Lutece Twins, Rosalind and Robert. Like Booker and Elizabeth, Lucario invited the twins to the mansion.
"We only have one question to ask of you," Rosalind said to Steven as she and Robert held up plates. "Cream..."
"...or sugar?" asked Robert, hoping that Ignatz would choose sugar. Ignatz looked at both choices, not knowing which to choose.
"You can't go wrong with either cream or sugar," the commoner said to the twins, who both frowned simultaneously. Ignatz had to make a choice. "I'll just go with cream, for now..."
"Excellent choice," smiled Rosalind, appearing delighted while poor Robert was left in shambles. Ignatz took the piece of chalk from Robert and drew a tally line under "Cream" on Robert's blackboard, before leaving the cafe.
"Ah, there you two are," Lucario said to the Lutece Twins as he entered the cafe, bringing Master Hand along with him. "Master Hand, these are the twins I was telling you about."
"We would like to offer our thanks for letting us attend your party," Rosalind said to Master Hand, who was feeling pretty accomplished as his ego was stroked. "I told Robert that we would've been invited."
"You said that we weren't invited..." Robert said to Rosalind, as Master Hand was getting a first-hand look at the twins' bickering.
"...yet. And now, we are invited."
"Invited, will be invited...might be invited..."
"Now you're just being cheeky."
"Do you suppose we should thank someone else?"
"Why spoil the moment?"
"Our condolences to anyone who wasn't invited."
"But, rest assured that there's a universe where those who weren't invited were invited, and we weep quietly into our pillows."
"Well, now you've done it..."
"Done what?"
"Made me feel sorry for the version of us that didn't get invited to the party."
"Chin up, other us, there's always next year."
"I bet these two get along pretty well," Master Hand said sarcastically to Lucario, before handing the aura Pokemon his party favor. The Lutece Twins would approach Master Hand, wanting to ask him a question, but Master Hand waved them off. "No, thank you...I don't drink coffee.
Master Hand: Those Lutece twins sure know how to make sense, without even making any actual sense. I would love to see either one of them run for office; they would spend the entire campaign deciding which one of them should be President!
Chef Kawasaki's homemade quesadillas were apparently a huge hit among the tower denizens, although it was only because they were the only things that were remotely tasty. The chef, attempting to drum up interest, went around the mansion handing out his creations to the guests. Whether they wanted them or not.
Who were some of these victims, you ask? Champion Link's friends - the Champions of Hyrule (Mipha, Revali, Urbosa, and Daruk), Commander Zelda, Advisor Impa, and Purah, all of whom were back at the mansion. These friends of Champion Link's were told by the Hylian to wait inside the arcade room, for a "surprise". Chef Kawasaki offered them homemade quesadillas to keep them occupied.
"So what do you think of my quesadillas?" asked Chef Kawasaki, extremely eager to hear what they had to say. Any remotely positive feedback would be huge for him. "Are they the best things you've had or what?!"
"They're...acceptable," replied Mipha, as Chef Kawasaki was silently cheering to himself. To be fair, Mipha was way too nice; she would never say a single bad word about Kawasaki's cooking. "Has a bit of a twang to it."
"So, got any idea as to what this surprise is?" Purah asked the others, as some of the denizens of Hyrule were starting to lose their patience. "I bet that Champion Link built himself some new armor!"
"The odds of that happening are tragically lower than him and Princess Zelda ever hooking up," commented Revali, as Commander Zelda was now blushing. Redness was all over her face. "Oh, I'm sorry princess, did I cut in too deep?"
"She's probably thinking about that shotgun wedding," teased Daruk, making Commander Zelda blush slightly more. "Look, she won't even deny it! Haha!"
"Link, are you coming or what?" Commander Zelda called out into the hallway for Champion Link, wanting the whole charade to end. "Today would be nice...getting tired of these jokes..."
"Jokes? As in...a comedy? I used to think that my life was a tragedy, but now I realize...it's a comedy!"
Champion Link finally showed up in the arcade room, dressed up in his Arthur Fleck Halloween costume. He was smiling from ear to ear, showing exuberance as he stayed true to his character, while his friends looked bewildered.
"My mother always tells me to smile and put on a happy face," Champion Link said, speaking exactly how Fleck would, while his Joker mannerisms were bugging out his friends. "She told me I had a purpose - to bring laughter and joy to the world!"
"Since when did you become a Skull Lake merchant?" Advisor Impa asked Champion Link, who broke character as he let out a disappointed sigh. "Your costume is very uncanny..."
"This is a costume that I wore for Halloween." None of Champion Link's friends knew about Halloween, as evidenced by the plain look on their faces. "The original Link used to dress up as Joker, and I decided to follow in his footsteps and...oh, I give up."
Champion Link: Put this Joker getup back on to impress my friends, but I didn't get the reaction that I wanted. Sadly, it was all for a waste. This face paint I'm wearing better not be permanent.
"What is up, my diggity dawgs?!" asked Dr. Wily as he entered the arcade room, dressed up in his Young Wily garb. "Young Wily, back at it again!" The inventor was throwing up gang signs, which made Champion Link's friends confused. "Is this not the spot for wearing our costumes, Champion Link?"
"Let me guess, this was his 'Halloween' costume as well," Urbosa said to Champion Link, as Dr. Wily attempted to do some kind of breakdance to impress Champion Link's friends. Almost broke his back in the process, as he yelped in pain. "You are a bad influence, Link."
"Gotta give him an A for effort," replied Champion Link, while Dr. Wily was lying on the floor writhing in pain. Master Hand appeared in the arcade, sighing when he saw Champion Link and Dr. Wily all dressed up.
"Champion Link, Dr. Wily...Halloween is over," the giant hand said to the Hylian and inventor, before handing Champion Link his party favor. "Better not see either one of you dressed up at the party!"
Master Hand had given out a party favor to just about everyone in the mansion, but two individuals had yet to receive one...Cloud and Zelda. The giant hand went to the foyer, where he saw Cloud and Zelda speaking with Wonder-Red and Wonder-Blue. And a third individual that made Master Hand gasp out of shock, just for being present.
"If you want, I can buy some drinks for the party," Anna said to Cloud and Zelda, as an angry, trembling Master Hand descended where Anna and company were gathered. "Who knows if we run out of..."
"Wonder-Red said that the Wonderful Ones got it covered," Zelda said to Anna, before turning her attention to Wonder-Red and Wonder-Blue. "Thanks for your help, you guys - we were so engrossed with decorating, we totally forgot about the party food!"
"Don't mention it, Princess Zelda!" Wonder-Blue told the princess as he gave her a thumbs up. Master Hand was shaking, ready to unleash his rage. "The Wonderful Ones will have all the party food before the party begins."
"And you can bet your barbacoa on it, too!" exclaimed Wonder-Red, trying to act all heroic as he struck a superhero pose. "Uh, just to be clear, you guys do eat barbacoa, don't you?"
"Barbacoa is a cooking style, dude," Wonder-Blue corrected Wonder-Red, who was now feeling extremely bad about himself as he smacked his forehead. "Tried it out once, almost burnt my hand off...totally worth it, though!"
"You almost burnt your hand off? Is that even possible? Moreover, how is nearly burning your hand off worth it?"
"AAAAAANNNNNNNAAAAAAA!" boomed Master Hand, screaming so loudly that he nearly shook the foundation of the mansion. "Who told you that you can be inside my mansion?"
"You must be Master Hand!" Wonder-Red exclaimed as he pointed at Master Hand, grateful to finally meet him in person. "Creator of the Smash Universe, and master of the..."
"Shut up fool, I'm not talking to you!" Master Hand moved Wonder-Red to the side, so he could give Anna his full attention. "Cloud, Zelda...what miscreant let this vile person to my mansion?"
"That miscreant would be me," confessed Cloud, as Master Hand gasped at the swordsman out of utter disbelief. "I invited her to the party. So you turn her away, we're calling the party off."
"You did let me attend Fox and Krystal's wedding on Corneria..." Anna said to Master Hand, using a cutesy puppy-eyes look to win over the giant hand and change his demeanor. "...least you could do is let me attend your party."
"This is what I get for being nice..." grumbled Master Hand, who was starting to see that being nice and fair was vastly overrated. "...fine! I'll let you be at our stinking party. But don't upsell anyone, okay? We got too many softies in this building."
"So the party is still on? Nice..." said Wonder-Blue, before he and the others heard the doorbell ring. "...I'll get the door!" Wonder-Blue ran to the front door and opened it, seeing Popple standing by on the porch with a large present.
"Is this the Smash Mansion?" Popple asked Wonder-Blue, as Master Hand hovered to the front door. Popple looked at the card in his hand, making sure that he was at the right place. "This should be the place..."
"You are at the right spot!" replied Master Hand, as a relieved Popple stuffed the card back in his pocket. "Is that a belated Christmas present? I'm sorry, good sir, but we don't take those."
"Seriously?! Now you look here, palooka! I didn't come all the way here dragging this present with me just to be turned down, see? You realize how hard it was to carry this thing on my back?!"
"My apologies for you being so weak. Nobody told you to carry that present over your back. We do have a thing called drones!"
"Look, man, I ain't leaving until you accept the present, see?" Popple took out his gun and held it at Master Hand, ready to fire. "Either you accept my present, or I'll blow this cap upside your...uh...um...where's your head?"
"Okay dude, no need to be violent..." Wonder-Blue said to Popple as he held out his hand in front of the Shadow Thief. Wonder-Red would soon join Wonder-Blue and Master Hand at the front door...but not to stop Popple.
"You are Popple, the famous Shadow Thief!" Wonder-Red pointed at Popple, who was smiling after being recognized. Wonder-Blue gave Wonder-Red the biggest inquisitive stare he could provide. "Resident of the Beanbean Kingdom, who has dreams of becoming a super thief!"
"You have information on him too?" Wonder-Blue asked Wonder-Red out of disbelief, before shaking his head in dismay.
Wonder-Blue: Not only does Wonder-Red have an introduction for just about every person living in the mansion, but he also wrote an entire book with their personal information in it! I like Wonder-Red, but man, he can sure come off as an obsessive stalker sometimes.
"I don't have a head, but I'll accept your present if you'll leave us alone," Master Hand said to Popple, who smiled as he pushed the large present inside the mansion, making sure that it fitted through the front door. "Anything else?"
"Nope, just had to make that delivery," replied Popple as he dusted his hands off, before exiting the mansion. "Happy New Year, ya knuckleheads!" And with that, Popple closed the front door.
"That guy doesn't seem trustworthy...and never does that gift," Cloud gave his honest thoughts on Popple and the strange present that the Shadow Thief left behind. Zelda would share Cloud's sentiments, as Isabelle came into the foyer.
"Master Hand, Cortex's minions arrived while you were giving out those party favors," Isabelle informed the giant hand, who was busy inspecting the present that Popple left behind. "They arrived on one of Cortex's airships. I think Dr. N Gin was piloting it."
"Really? Cortex's minions are here?" asked Dingodile, conveniently hearing this news as he entered the foyer "Well, I'll be darned - the whole crew's back together again! But I don't think that was N. Gin driving the airship. Otherwise, the ship would've crashed."
Dingodile: I've been a lone wolf in the city; ever since my restaurant got shut down, I've had to send Tiny and the Komodo Bros back to Cortex's Castle. Had no use for them anymore. The four of us were supposed to stick around for Brio's "takeover", but that never really came to fruition...wonder what that bloke Brio is up to.
Upon arriving at the mansion, Cortex's minions were welcomed inside by Haohmaru, one of Nakoruru's good friends. Haohmaru brought the minions to the lounge, after having cleaned the place out of the Origami Shy Guys. Best to let the minions unwind after what Haohmaru believed was a long trip for them.
"Any of you fellas care for some sake?" Haohmaru asked the minions, who were all sitting together on the same couch. The two biggest minions - Tiny Tiger and Koala Kong - were forced to sit on the arms of the couch.
"Why does it sound like he's saying 'sucky'?" Komodo Joe asked his brother Komodo Moe, who simply shrugged. "Sounds really gross and inappropriate..."
"The only sucky that I would want is one from Master Cortex!" N. Gin confessed loudly, as Haohmaru and the minions all gave the cyborg weird looks. "Tee hee, did I say that out loud?"
"Welp, more for me I guess!" said Haohmaru as he scarfed down his glass of sake in a snap. You know that samurai sure loved to drink.
N. Gin: I love any kind of contact with Dr. Cortex. I even adore being abused mentally and physically by Dr. Cortex! Whenever Cortex hits me in the groin, whether it be by accident or on purpose, I just squeal with overwhelming glee and thank Cortex for the excruciating pain he bestowed upon me! Personally, I prefer that Cortex hurts me on purpose. It just means a lot more that way.
"Here they are," Isabelle said to Master Hand and Cloud as she brought the two to the lounge. As expected, the minions were pretty excited to see Dingodile in person again.
"Dingodile has come back!" exclaimed Tiny as he hopped off the couch to give Dindogile a bone-crushing hug. Dingodile did his best to fake through the pain. "Tiny missed you so much!"
"Whaddaya mean, I came back? I've been in this city the whole time," explained Dingodile, tapping Tiny on his shoulder so that the tiger would end the hug. "Thanks to you, I've had trouble starting my restaurant back up again..."
"Tiny still very sorry for peeing in customer's fries." Tiny held his head low, hoping that Dingodile would accept his apology. "Tiny blames restaurant bathroom for being out of order."
"Only the toilets were out of order, you dingus. You mean to tell me that you can't pee standing up, like a real man?" To be fair, Tiny was a tiger, not a man...
"Alright you two, that's enough," Cloud said to Dingodile and Tiny, before directing his attention to N. Gin. Best to speak with Cortex's right-hand guy. "So, N. Gin, why are your pals paying us a visit?"
"It's about Master Cortex...he has gone missing!" replied N. Gin, leaving Cloud and company very alarmed. Cortex has not been seen ever since he left the mansion in episode 248, so it was a pretty big deal.
"Dr. Cortex promised that he would return to the castle to pay us a visit after the new man of the mansion was named," explained Pinstripe, while N. Gin was looking around the lounge feeling depressed. "But he never came!"
"Nobody has heard from Master Cortex since September. September 11th, for crying out loud! You remember what happened on..."
"No, N. Gin, al-Qaeda didn't assassinate Dr. Cortex. They wouldn't care about a numskull like him. We've already been over this..."
"Is there anything that we can do, Cloud?" Master Hand asked the Cloud, who thought to himself with a finger underneath his chin. "For the moment being?"
"We could have X search for Cortex's whereabouts, on his tracking device," replied Cloud; would X even agree to do this was the question. "I doubt that Uka would want to help; he's still taking his 'sabbatical' from Cortex."
"See? They're all here," Zelda said to Uka as she brought the floating mask to the lounge. Uka saw all the minions gathered together, scowling. "Some of them are really worried about Dr. Cortex."
"They're just as ugly as I remember them..." replied Uka; some of the minions took the floating mask's words as a compliment. "...I'd say they could give Cortex a run for his money!"
"We have a New Year's Eve party soon, this evening," Cloud said to the minions, all of whom were interested. "We can let you attend the party, while X finds out where Cortex is."
"I object!" Uka made his position loud and clear, his voice booming throughout the entire lounge. "I've been having the time of my life, with no stupid Cortex to bother with. I feel like a free man!"
"Uka, these minions really want to see Cortex again," Zelda stressed to the floating mask, who looked towards the minions; N. Gin was the only one who was showing serious concern. "Why pass up the opportunity to let them see their master again?"
"If X finds Cortex...Cortex will be back at the mansion, won't he?" Fighting through some reluctance, Zelda nodded her head as Uka let out a sigh. "Guess it seems inevitable...go ahead, be my guest."
"DR. CORTEX IS COMING HOME, BABY!" cheered N. Gin as he pumped his fists in the air, completely over the moon. Zelda smiled at N. Gin's optimism, while some of the minions frowned at N. Gin's shenanigans.
The New Year's Eve party had just begun, as everyone from the residents to the invitees and the neighbors were inside the ballroom for the festivities. Cloud and Zelda arrived at the ballroom, bringing Cortex's minions along with them.
"Just so you know, you guys are representing Cortex, so be on your best..." Cloud said to the minions, only for them to run off without even letting Cloud finish his sentence. "...behavior. Oh boy."
"Hello pretty lady, how do you do?" N. Gin approached Edelgard as Hubert, standing next to Edelgard, was glaring down at the cyborg. N. Gin offered the house leader an onion ring since he had no real to offer. "May I have your name?"
"No," Edelgard quickly responded, turning down N. Gin as she walked away with Hubert, who was still glaring down N. Gin. N. Gin grumbled as he ate his onion ring and stormed off.
"TINY WANTS PIZZA!" shouted Tiny, grabbing a plate full of pizza and scarfing the pizza slices down his mouth. King Dedede, who was about to get some pizza himself, looked on with a long face.
"Meh, I'm going vegetarian anyways..." the fat penguin muttered as he walked away. King Dedede, a vegetarian? You have to see it to believe it.
"How has Mario been like for you, personally?" Impa asked Advisor Impa, as the two different Sheikah incarnations were speaking with one another near the punch bowl. "Any ups and downs dealing with him?"
"Nothing too negative, but..." replied Advisor Impa, looking behind her for any sign of Mario before leaning in close to Impa and whispering, "...he didn't know that there were multiple incarnations of us."
"Did he honestly believe that?" Advisor Impa nodded her head, as a thoroughly displeased Impa facepalmed and shook her head. "I really wonder if he studied that Hyrulian tome as he claimed he did..."
"How did giving out those party favors go, love?" Tracer asked Master Hand, who was chilling in the back of the ballroom with Crazy Hand. "I made sure that I got everyone."
"Everything went well, no complaints," replied Master Hand, surveying the ballroom from where he was. "I think everyone loved their little gifts."
Slippy: I got a bag of hard candy. But the thing is, I don't have any teeth...
Meta Knight: Why did I get a bunch of stickers? I'm not a little kid!
Researcher Zelda: I got a necklace as a party favor. A bit too expensive, but I'm not complaining!
Sonic: Guess who got a new CD as a party favor? *points at himself* Yup, this guy! I guess that everyone got it good with the party favors.
Morton: *sighs deeply* ...I got a rock. *stomps foot angrily* Halloween never ends for me, it seems.
"Nice party, Master Hand!" Weiss said to the giant hand, showing up with Yang. Hearing good remarks about the party made Master Hand full of pride. "We weren't expecting too much, but you sure knocked everything out of the park!"
"Still feel like we're missing someone," remarked Yang as she looked around the ballroom, feeling that something was amiss. "Where are the guys from the tower?"
"Yes, Crazy Hand, where are the guys from the tower?" Master Hand asked Crazy Hand, who sighed in response. Why don't we take a look for ourselves?
With the mansion having their own New Year's Eve party, the tower was primed to have a party of their own. That was only because of Waluigi, who wanted nothing more than to completely outdo the mansion in any way possible. It was all to prove himself to Crazy Hand.
"Master Hand's having this stupid party, only take away my pride!" said Waluigi, who had gathered all the tower denizens in the decorated lounge, which came with crappy decorations. Everyone was invited against their will. "But I won't let him!"
"This New Year's party, if it even deserves to be called one, is a massive disappointment," said Shadow, thinking that Waluigi needed to be humbled a bit. "Just let us celebrate the new year at the mansion, Waluigi."
"No! I simply can't! Then I would be sending a message to Master Hand that I'm waving the white flag. The only flag that I wave is the checkered flag. And you know why? Because I'm a winner!"
"Stop it, Waluigi, it's not cool to lie like that," Hammer Bro said to the lanky man, who fired a death glare at the hammer-wielding Koopa. "I mean...just keep on doing your thing, bud!"
"I won't let anyone or anything distract me from making this party great. When Crazy Hand shows up, and see the work I've done, he'll be all..."
"WALUIGI!" boomed Crazy Hand, with Waluigi shaking in fear as Crazy Hand appeared in the lounge. "I want YOU to take all these bored people, and BRING them to the mansion for the party!"
"B-B-But what about my own party, Crazy Hand? You gotta give the Wah-Man a chance!" But Crazy Hand refused, as he aggressively backhanded Waluigi.
"Absolutely not! You bring these people to the mansion's ballroom, OR ELSE! And please stop referring to yourself as the 'Wah-Man', it sounds too suspect..."
Begrudgingly, Waluigi would fulfill Crazy Hand's request as he brought the denizens of the tower to the ballroom. At the ballroom, Waluigi got more than what he bargained for as one of the party invitees was flirting with the lanky man.
"I have been hearing rumors that you were single..." Tharja said to Waluigi, having the lanky man pinned against the wall as he stroked his chest. Waluigi blushed profusely, hoping for someone to bail him out.
"I gave up on women a few months ago..." replied Waluigi, hoping that would put an end to Tharja's flirting...but Tharja kept stroking his chest. "...not permanently, per se, but...you know." Shadow saw Tharja all over Waluigi, holding a cup of punch in his hand.
"Here we go again..." the hedgehog remarked as he took a sip of his drink, wishing that he had the energy to sympathize with Waluigi. "...I'll never understand how Waluigi winds up in these kinds of situations."
"May I have some ketchup on my steak, good sir?" Steve asked Kermit, having brought an actual steak to the party. Kermit was surprised by Steve's request at first, before smiling at the craftsman.
"Sure, dude, I can hook you up!" replied Kermit as he gleefully took out a bottle of ketchup, while a few partygoers shook their heads in disapproval at him. Kermit tried to squirt the ketchup on Steve's steak, but missed and struck a nearby Schezo.
"Gah! You got ketchup all over my cape!" frowned Schezo, acting as if he just got shot. Sure had a thing for the dramatics. "How could you do this to me?!"
"Chill out bro, it's just ketchup. Don't take it too personally." But Schezo would take it personally, as he angrily confronted Kermit with his sword out.
"No! I will not sit around and let you harm my reputation like that! The time has come for me to clear my reputation, by assaulting this adult male!"
"Not on my watch..." said Cloud as he grabbed Schezo and dragged the mage away from Kermit. With Schezo gone, Kermit poured ketchup over Steve's steak, making sure not to miss this time.
Toon Link: Cloud has done more than enough to prove his worth as deputy sheriff, these past few months. I think a promotion should be underway. How does "chief of the mansion"
Young Link: Doesn't that have the same meaning as "man of the mansion"?
Toon Link: Shut up Hutch, now you're making me look bad...
"What are you laughing about over there, Master Hand?" Link asked the giant hand, whom he saw in the back of the ballroom speaking with Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth. Who were both looking pretty annoyed.
"Oh, nothing, I was having a wonderful conversation with Booker and Elizabeth here," replied Master Hand, although the looks on Booker and Elizabeth's face suggested that the conversation was anything but wonderful.
"This talking hand was trying to hook us up," stated Booker; the constant matchmaking was starting to get to the police detective, as he facepalmed. "When will it ever end..."
"Booker and Elizabeth DeWitt sounds kinda cute, don't you think?" Master Hand asked Link, who shook his head in disagreement. "Booker, Elizabeth, this man Link is what you might consider a 'hater.'"
"We both share his sentiments," Elizabeth said to Master Hand, who was greatly disgusted that Elizabeth and Booker refused to tie the knot. Perhaps Wolf could work some matchmaking magic on the duo from Columbia.
"Soooo, you come here often?" Sylvain asked Twintelle, attempting to flirt with the movie star. Twintelle simply sipped her cup of tea and walked away, leaving Sylvain empty-handed. "Welp, there goes another one..."
"FACEFACEFACEFACEFACE!" shouted a certain madman as he ran berserk around the ballroom, bothering Fox and Falco specifically; it was Face McShooty, and he was pointing repeatedly at his face. "Hey, you chumps! Today's your lucky day! SHOOT ME IN THE FACE!"
"This is not the kind of company that I wanted," remarked Fox, doing his best to enjoy the party without any distractions. When McShooty got all up in Fox's grill, Fox simply pushed the madman away.
Leon Powalski: Face McShooty...Face McShooty...yeah, I know him! He somehow found his way inside the mansion when the Vault Hunters arrived. Tina said that it was best to ignore Mr. McShooty. Sounds more torturous than letting him bother you if you ask me.
"SHOOT ME IN THE FACE, IT'S NOT SO COMPLEX!" McShooty begged to Falco, making weird grunting sounds to emphasize how much he wanted a bullet to go through his skull. "GIVE ME WHAT I WANT, GIVE ME WHAT I NEED!"
"I got lasers, my shots wouldn't work on you," Falco told McShooty, who was still pointing at his face aggressively. "You're really that desperate, huh?"
"Why don't you shoot your own self in the face, if you want it so bad?" Fox asked McShooty, who was now throwing a tantrum because neither Fox nor Falco wanted to shoot him in the face. "Lousy manchild."
Suddenly a loud gunshot heard, and Fox and Falco jumped out of the way as a bullet was fired. The party stopped, and a collective gasp was heard, as the bullet struck McShooty in the face. McShooty fell to the floor, seemingly dead, as few gathered around his body.
"THANK YOU!" McShooty loudly thanked whoever shot him in the face, giving a thumbs up before putting his hand back down. Everyone looked at where the bullet was fired from...as they had their eyes on Reaper, who was hanging around with Sombra with his gun out.
"Sorry, that guy was getting on my nerves," Reaper apologized as he placed his gun back in his pocket. "Uh, carry on with the party." The party picked up right where it left off, as Winston looked skeptical.
"Who invited them?" the gorilla asked Genji as he pointed his thumb at Reaper and Sombra; Samus, who was nearby, awkwardly sipped from her cup as she walked away quickly.
"Who's-a ready to do the Scarn?!" Mario randomly shouted, clearing as much of the ballroom as he could so he can get his dance on. "K.K. Slider, play the beat! Move it, move it!"
"But I don't even have the right track..." said K.K. Slider, the DJ of the party; Mario stared at the hippie dog, refusing to look away until his demand was met. "...lemme see what I can do."
"Peach! Impa! Peony! Join-a me on the dance floor, and let me show you how it's-a done!" Mario stood at the center of the ballroom, having given an invitation to the three people he named. Would any of them accept?
"You want me on the dance floor, Mario? You got it!" exclaimed Peony as he excitedly ran over to Mario; Peonia looked on worriedly, hands over her face as she looked through her fingers.
"Why is this happening, why now...?" the girl wondered, as Peach came over and hugged her. Once K.K. Slider found a suitable tune, he started spinning the track, as Mario and Peony got in the groove.
"This is about to be something else," Link said to Cloud, as the two swordsmen were ready to see Mario and Peony dance together. "Gonna be one for the memories, I can tell you that..."
"Objectively bad memories," mumbled Cloud, as Mario was showing Peony the ropes before he started dancing. Peony did his best to follow Mario's lead.
"Pardon me, Master Hand, but...I wanna get back home soon," Cero Miedo said to Master Hand, who was deathly afraid of either one of Kermit or Wardell making the same request soon. "Got some stuff to do, you know?"
"I understand, you must be feeling pretty homesick..." replied Master Hand, wishing that Cero Miedo could stay around for a while longer. Too bad that he and Cero Miedo never had their arm-wrestling match. "...but I can't let go leave empty-handed. Princess Zelda!"
"Yes, Master Hand?" Zelda asked the giant hand as she came over, with Uka accompanying the princess. "I hope you're not asking about the..."
"No, no, it's nothing to do with the indoor fireworks. Cloud deliberately talked me out of it. I want you to open that present over there - the one that thief brought in."
"You mean that present over there?" Zelda pointed at the present, which was being guarded by the buddy cops. "Do you want me to make some kind of announcement, before opening it?"
"That would be lovely. I want everyone's attention to be on the present. Want it opened before twelve." So Zelda went to the present, having to maneuver past the dancing Mario and Peony on her way there.
"You jump to the right, and you shake that hand, and you jump to the left and you shake that hand..." Mario and Peony sang together as a few of the partygoers joined their dance. "...you meet new friends, and tie that yarn, and that's how you do The Scarn!"
"Don't you even think about it..." Ribbon Girl frowned at King K. Rool, who snapped his fingers since he wanted to say his classic line.
"I would like to open the present, please," Zelda said to the buddy cops, disgruntled that she was even asking them for permission to access the present. "Master Hand wants it opened right away."
"Had you been anyone else in the ballroom, we would've turned you away," Young Link said to Zelda, whom he and Toon Link had a huge amount of respect for - and it had far more to do than with Hyrulian legend. "But since you're police superintendent, we'll give you a pass."
"You're their police superintendent?" Uka, who was still accompanying Zelda, asked the princess; Zelda shrugged her shoulders, as the buddy cops moved out of Zelda's way. "Congratulations, I guess..."
Zelda: I could care less about what frivolous title I gain from the buddy cops. At least those two know better than to cross with me.
"Attention please, can I have everyone's attention please?" shouted Zelda, with K.K. Slider pausing his tunes as Mario and company stopped doing the Scarn. "I have a present here delivered from...from Popple, and Master Hand wants it opened before the start of the new year."
"New Year's Eve present, let's go!" cheered Junpei, raising his fist as a few others were cheering. Mario, after having the name "Popple" registered in his mind, didn't look too happy.
"This seems like a trap..." the plumber said to Peony, watching cautiously as Zelda slowly began unwrapping the present. Cloud looked on, also watching cautiously as X entered the ballroom, coming over to speak with Cloud.
"Hey X, what's up?" Cloud asked the pacifist robot, who brought his tracking device with him. "Did you ever find out about Cortex's whereabouts?"
"To tell you the truth, I just got this device working a couple of minutes ago," confessed X, before pulling up a map on the tracking device. "Ran into a few glitches here and there."
"Glad you got it all worked out. So did you find out where Cortex is?"
"Well, according to this device...he's in the mansion right now."
"Right now? What do you mean by, 'right now'? Is he right here?" Cloud looked at X in bewilderment, just as Zelda got the wrapping paper off. It was now time to lift the lid off the box.
"Alright, everyone...here it goes!" exclaimed Zelda, receiving a round of cheers and applause that she felt was completely unnecessary. Very slowly, Zelda took the lid off the box...
...and suddenly, the box fell apart on all four sides, making everyone gasp. And guess who was inside the box? Dr. Nitrius Brio, who for some reason was pinned down with his mouth duct-taped and his hands tied behind his back. But there was someone who had his foot planted on Brio's back, with yellow skin and an N on his head...
"Dr. Cortex?!" boomed Uka, as everyone who knew Cortex was stunned to see the evil genius back at the mansion. "No...this can't be...does this mean..."
"I'm baaaaack!" Cortex confidently announced, looking up at the heavens before looking at everybody's shocked faces. Soon Cortex's pet goose appeared from behind Brio, honking loudly. "Shut it, goose, you're ruining my moment!"
"Cortex, is that really you?" Mario asked the evil genius, getting a better look at him to make sure that he wasn't seeing a ghost. "Did you had-a yourself delivered to the mansion?"
"Yeah, and how long were you hiding inside that box?" inquired Wardell, asking perhaps the most pressing question right now. Must've been a miracle for Cortex to find a way to breathe inside that box.
"Happy that you asked, Mario!" replied Cortex as he looked down at Brio, who was grunting in frustration as he couldn't break free. "You see, I never had the chance to seek my revenge on Brio. Mostly thanks to Cranky Kong stealing my shine. So I took care of that."
"And how did you go about doing that?" Zelda asked Cortex, as Uka was now dreading the very thought of being paired up with Cortex again.
"I figured that Brio wanted some revenge, after being denied a chance of taking over the mansion. I knew I couldn't let him get away with it, so I intercepted his plan! With some help from a certain French assassin that I freed from confinement."
"Widowmaker..." uttered Tracer, amazed that Widowmaker and Cortex were somehow able to coexist. A woman like Widowmaker would've certainly had her way with Cortex.
"Brio tried to send a bomb to the mansion, in the form of a present, but with some help, I found Brio, disposed of the bomb, and saved the day! Brio and I spent the entire trip fighting inside the box, but you can see who came out on top."
"Cortex actually came out on top?" said a baffled Chrom, as he couldn't believe the very words that came out of his mouth. "What a way to end the year..."
"And nothing personal, Brio...but if anyone was going to bomb the mansion first, it would be me," Cortex said to the evil genius, whose harsh words for Cortex were muffled due to the duct tape over his mouth.
"Dr. Brio should get a ban, for even thinking about blowing this joint up," suggested Doc Louis, with some of the mansion residents nodding in agreement to the idea. "What say you, Master Hand?"
"We already banned one evil genius from the mansion..." mused Master Hand, so desperately wanting a chin to stroke while in thought. "...I suppose we can ban another. You just made the list, Dr. Brio!"
"Master Cortex! You're okay!" exclaimed a gleeful N. Gin, running up to the evil genius and giving him a big, fat hug. "Hug me, Master Cortex...hold me tight!"
"Go away, N. Gin, you're ruining my big moment..." N. Gin refused to leave, showing Cortex his utmost appreciation during the hug. "I so did not miss this, not at all..."
"Is Cortex even allowed to be back?" Isabelle whispered to Tom Nook who, if you might recall, asked for Cortex to be temporarily banned from the mansion for screwing over the man of the mansion candidates.
"We all know that it wasn't Cortex who was pulling the strings back then..." replied Tom Nook, focusing his attention on Brio. "...I think that Master Hand would let him back in."
Waluigi was beyond exhausted by Tharja, what with the dark mage constantly flirting with him during the party. The lanky man was in the bathroom, taking a few deep breaths after Tharja had him all flustered.
"Who knew that women can be so exhausting..." remarked Waluigi as he left the bathroom...only to momentarily freeze in place when he saw Ryo's girlfriend, King, standing around in the hallway. King, who was looking at her nails, looked up and saw Waluigi.
"Oh, hello there," the bartender said to Waluigi, having recognized his face. Waluigi wanted to run away, but he was practically frozen. "I take it that you were at the party?"
"Why yes, yes I was...or I am, rather!" Waluigi was very nervous; he didn't want Ryo coming around the corner and see him speaking with his girl. "And I take it that Ryo invited you to come?"
"Yes, and his little sister, Yuri...she came as well. His big brother instinct is still as big as ever!"
"Haha, I bet it is...uh, I just wanted to apologize, for earlier in the year. You know, Valentine's Day party..."
"Oh, it's fine, it's fine. It was just an honest mistake. Nothing to hang your head over." Soon Ryo came around the corner, as Waluigi gulped nervously at the sight of the fighter.
"I see you two are making amends, finally," Ryo said to King and Waluigi, smiling as he folded his arms. Waluigi smiled too, in relief. "Took you long enough, Waluigi..."
Waluigi: Felt pretty good apologizing to King. That knot in my stomach is gone now. Interestingly enough, I had that same knot when I apologized to Blake, for trying to flirt with her! Good thing she didn't give me a black eye. Could you imagine getting a black eye from Blake Belladonna?
Falco: *points at black eye* You're probably wondering who gave me this black eye, aren't ya?
Elsewhere down the hallway, Cortex met with Chrom, Itsuki, Minato, Lucario, and Meta Knight - the five men he had screwed over during his pursuit for the man of the mansion job, under Brio's discretion. Uka was back with Cortex, and he hated every second of it.
"Found you all some gifts, to atone for the past," Cortex said to Chrom and company after giving them all his gifts. "These gifts are pretty sincere; they all came from the bottom of my heart."
"If this is in the form of an apology...then we kindly accept," replied Chrom, with Uka salty that neither of the five turned their gifts down. "Provided that our gifts aren't pieces of crap."
"No worries, I put a heavy amount of thought in these gifts. You won't be disappointed! All you go run along now!" So the five left with their gifts, as Cortex felt pretty satisfied. "Uka, is being generous a sign of villain decay?"
"It is if you're not doling out pain and destruction. Maybe one day, Sephiroth can get you back in the groove. He's in Smash now, so..."
"Des that mean Sephiroth lives at the mansion now?! That will take some time getting used to..."
"Don't look now...but we got some company." Uka brought Cortex's attention to Crash, Pit, and Tiki, who came walking down the hallway to Cortex.
"Crash, Pit, Tiki..." Cortex said these names in order, and then Crash ran up to Cortex and hugged him. "...yes, yes, I missed you too, Crash. But in a different way..."
"That was pretty neat what you did there, Dr. Cortex," Pit gave props to the evil genius, who felt happy about being appreciated by Pit again. "Stopping Dr. Brio in his tracks, and saving the mansion!"
"Much appreciated, Pit! Does this mean you forgive me for how I treated you, during the campaign?"
"I did leave the mansion to show solidarity...and most of the stuff you did seemed like a blur. But yeah, it's all water under the bridge."
"Welcome back, Dr. Cortex..." said Tiki, Cortex's crush, as the Manakete walked over to Cortex...and gave him a surprise kiss. On his forehead. Cortex became light-headed, before fainting to the floor. Tiki and company stared at the fainted Cortex, who had a big smile on his face.
Tiki: Waluigi harassed me endlessly about giving Cortex a kiss, ever since Cortex temporarily left the mansion. I imagined that a simple pick on the forehead would suffice.
"He's gonna be like that for a while," remarked Uka, having no problems with Cortex being fainted for however long his unconsciousness lasted. "Sure hope he stays like this forever!"
"Pit! Are you and the others coming or what?" Viridi called out to the angel, her voice ringing from down the hallway. "The ball drop on the big television screen is gonna happen soon, in the ballroom!"
"Oh snap - only five minutes till 2021!" exclaimed Pit, as he and the others hurried down the hallway. "We better hurry!" Uka was the last to leave, laughing at Cortex as he floated away. A few moments later, Cloud showed up in the hallway with Mario, seeing Cortex sprawled out on the floor.
"Great to have you back, buddy," Cloud said to the fainted Cortex, hoisting the evil genius over his shoulder as he and Mario made their way back to the ballroom. "You think that Cortex redeemed himself, Mario?"
"By overpowering the same-a man that manipulated him this year?" asked Mario, thinking of an answer as he walked down the hallway. "Yeah, I think he's done-a the bare minimum. Which is just good enough-a for him."
"I'll say. Bet he doesn't even know that I earned the man of the mansion role...can't wait to see the look on his face when he finds out."
Cloud had a lot in store for him, being the new man of the mansion...and everyone in the mansion, tower, and in the neighboring houses were excited to see how the swordsman would fare, as the mansion's new alpha male. There was a long road ahead of Cloud.
On to 2021...