Author's Note:
Let's get down to business...
"Do you think Captain Falcon would enjoy swimming in a Poolrooms because it reminds him of a pool at the Smash Mansion?"
Perhaps. Another anonymous review:
"Hi. This might be silly, but I've been playing Stanley Parable on the Switch (it was released on April 27). That game has a narrator that told the player (Stanley) what to do. I kinda have an idea related to that game. In one chapter, Cranky Kong came to the mansion, as usual, to reveal the author's identity, but out of nowhere, the story (yours) actually interact with Cranky, and somehow gave some instructions for Cranky. What instructions? I don't know. That's for you to decide."
Sounds super complicated on paper, but there might be a chance that I can make it work. One last anonymous review:
Gonna say this again. The backroom idea should be scrapped. I read about it, and it sounds VERY unfit for the show. Doesn't make any sense at all. This is not a horror show, this is a documentary. And that backroom thing can not be documented by anyone. The closest thing you can do is revisit that Empty Room thing that you got. You know, the one with Lucario? That made a little more sense.
The Empty Room! Haven't used that one in years. And yeah, you do have a point there about the backroom. Empty Room it is, then. The Reader with some news:
"Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is coming to NSO next week, May 20. Is Adeleine's return on the cards? Pit's gonna love this."
Darn it! How did I not know about Kirby 64 ahead of time? The least I can do is have Adeleine return next week. Moving on:
"A packed episode aside...I know why you made these episodes. The lack of a new Switch game for May is really telling. I mean, Live a Live is coming on May 27, hope you made something out of it."
Actually, Live a Live comes out on July 22nd. But I'll be ready for it by then. David's got questions:
"Will Sonic's punishment end in time for the Sonic Origins Collection release date? (Sonic 3 will not have its original music though). Will the Brothers Bear from Donkey Kong Country 3 show up? Has the Banana Fairy Queen from DK 64 shown up or been mentioned? A chapter of Pit or Corrin having a pizza party for the Ninja Turtles Collection release date? (Or have them have a watch party of the 1990 film). Is Nia in her regular or blade form? And finally, what are your thoughts on Roman Reigns going part time and not coming back until September?"
That's like a month from now, so we'll see. Don't know about Brothers Bear or the Banana Fairy Queen showing up. They can have a Ninja Turtles pizza party, I suppose. Nia is in her regular form. And Roman Reigns going part-time...I'll believe it till I see it. And going last is Romance Enjoyer:
"Well, FEH just released a wedding alt for Roy (& Eliwood) and Lilina. And since Lyn alteady got a wedding alt on FEH, I got a suggestion for you. Have Roy celebrate his wedding anniversary with Lilina, and he can invite Eliwood and Lyn to celebrate theirs, too. Maybe it can help Roy's relationship with his family."
Not gonna lie, Roy looks clean in his wedding alt...and so does Eilwood. That said, I would definitely entertain the idea of Roy having a wedding anniversary, if it means getting him on the same page with everyone.
Episode 335: Amigos
Ever since joining Smash, Terry Bogard had yet to see any of his friends. Sure he had Ryo, Iori, and Nakoruru to keep him company, but the Legendary Hungry Wolf had longed to see other faces. Terry wanted to see his old pals again, whether it was Kyo Kusanagi, acclaimed pop star Athena Asamiya, or even his own son Rock Howard.
When Asuka caught up with her fellow ninja friends a few weeks ago, that made Terry even more emboldened to bring his crew to the mansion one way or another. So the following weeks ever since Asuka's friends came to visit, Terry made a few phone calls, asking his friends if they were available to come to Seattle one day. Sometimes he came off as desperate, but that showed how much he longed for companionship.
Soon it was decided - Terry's friends were all coming to the mansion today, and Rock Howard was a part of the group. As one might imagine, Terry was beyond ecstatic as he was looking out the window in the lounge, expecting the group's arrival.
"So you're bringing everyone on your tour bus?" Terry spoke into the phone, as Master Mummy and Chrom were both eavesdropping on the fighter. "I sure do appreciate it, Athena! See ya soon!"
"Athena? As in the goddess, Athena?" Chrom asked Terry, who ended his call with Athena as he put his phone away. "The guys from the manor are coming to visit us?" Inviting the All-Stars without Master Hand's permission would be terribly ill-advised.
"Nope, that was Athena Asamiya, the pop star." Terry acted as if Chrom and Master Mummy knew who Athena was, but both men were clueless. "C'mon, you guys, you haven't heard of her?"
"I don't care for pop music," stated Master Mummy - makes sense given that he was a mummy and all. Not caught up with the times. "Its catchiness and happy nature make my ears bleed."
"I know you've heard of Athena Asamiya before, Chrom." Much to Terry's chagrin, Chrom was not that familiar with Athena or her music. "Ever heard her song, 'Psycho Soldier'? Fiyah, fiyah..."
"Did I just hear someone singing Straight Fiyah?" asked Roy as he poked his head inside the lounge, being reminded of his old k-pop group. Chrom, who had repressed his memories of Straight Fiyah, frowned at Roy.
"Go..." Chrom commanded Roy, who took the prince's command and angry stare to heart as he ran away from the premises. Chrom reverted his attention back to Terry...who was still singing "Psycho Soldier".
"Please stop Terry, you're making my ears bleed more than mainstream radio!" Master Mummy pleaded to the fighter, who was singing his heart out no matter how out-of-tune he was.
Terry: The whole gang is here! *pauses* Well, they will be here in a matter of minutes. Traffic forbidding. There's only one person who might be a holdout, though...had to make her abide by a few "rules" unlike the others. If she actually shows up, I'll be surprised.
Little Mac was to be discharged from the hospital today, and Doc Louis wanted his protege to have a hero's welcome when he returned to the mansion. So he personally asked Master Hand to throw a small celebration in the foyer, with a "Welcome Back" banner hanging up and all that jazz. Link, Zelda, and the party planning committee were put in charge of putting up the decorations.
"A little more to the left, Pit," Zelda directed the angel, who took time away from his baristas duties to help out Viridi with the decorations. Pit was standing on a ladder holding the banner when the ladder started to lean.
"Uh oh...man overboard!" shouted Pit, with Viridi gasping as the ladder started to fall towards the floor. Pit, for whatever reason, hopped off the ladder and delivered an elbow drop to Cloud who was just walking by.
"Ouch," Cloud winced in pain after Pit brought him down to the floor; the swordsman was struck in the back of his head, as Pit nearly missed his target. "You're lucky your aim was off, Pit."
"Pit, was that really necessary?" Viridi scolded her boyfriend, who inadvertently ripped the banner while pulling off his crazy stunt. "You nearly tore a piece off the banner!"
"Wasn't my fault that the ladder fell...or that Cloud was walking by when it happened," Pit pleaded his innocence as he got back up on his feet, letting Cloud get back up on his own. "Both the ladder and Cloud were to blame."
"You sure know how to deflect," Cloud said to Pit, before checking out the banner that the angel ripped along with the other decorations. "Seriously decorating the foyer, huh? Thought that Master Hand was joking."
"We thought so too," replied Link, who along with Zelda was overseeing the work being done by the party-planning committee. "But it was a request from Doc Louis, and...you know."
"Yeah, I understand. You're just saving us from never hearing the end of..." Cloud stopped speaking, as the doorbell rang. Everyone except for Cloud had completely frozen at that moment.
"Oh dear, that must be them!" panicked Palutena, who had yet to hang up all the balloons; Rosalina was still hanging the streamers from the ceiling.
"Guys, don't panic - could be someone else," advised Travis, as the rest of the party-planning committee was frantically rushing to finish their jobs. "Maybe it's some homeless kid that got lost somewhere."
"How many homeless kids do you know?" Cloud asked Travis before there was knocking at the front door. Pretty aggressive knocking at that. "I recognize that knock from anywhere..."
"It's me, Doc! Left my keys in the room," said the person standing behind the door, as the party-planning committee became even more panicky; Travis was still cool as a cucumber. "Is the, um...not-really-special presentation ready?"
"Not-really-special presentation?" Little Mac was heard speaking with Doc Louis, as Pit advanced towards the front door. Palutena gasped as Pit's hands were inches away from the doorknob.
"Pit, don't open the door!" Palutena whispered loudly to the angel, who froze and turned back at the goddess of light looking confused. "We're not ready..."
"My deepest apologies for keeping basic hospitality alive, Lady Palutena," apologized Pit, before defying Palutena's command as he opened the front door. Palutena had her hands over her eyes, as Pit saw Little Mac and Doc Louis.
"Top of the afternoon, kid!" Doc Louis happily greeted Pit, as he was holding unto a wheelchair that Little Mac was sitting in. There was still a cast on Little Mac's right leg - and there was a blanket over Mac's legs. "Mind letting us in?"
"Please say so, please say no," Zelda pleaded quietly, not wanting Little Mac or Doc Louis to see the unfinished work in the foyer. But it was too bad that Pit couldn't hear the princess' pleas.
"Don't have to ask me twice!" chirped Pit, moving out of the way as he allowed Doc Louis to wheel Little Mac inside the foyer. Once inside, Little Mac and Doc Louis saw the decorations...that the party-planning committee was still putting up.
"Welcome back, Little Mac," Link awkwardly greeted the boxer, who saw the ripped banner hanging from the ceiling. Whereas Little Mac felt neutral about how the foyer looked, Doc Louis on the other hand was disappointed.
"Lemme guess, this was your idea," Little Mac asked Doc Louis, who was very much beside himself as he had a few angry words he wanted to share with Rosalina and company. And Link and Zelda, too. And anyone else, by mere association.
Doc Louis: Gave Master Hand a week's notice in advance, and that's all they have to show for themselves? That so-called party planning committee better be glad they're not a business, 'cause I'd review bomb them so hard that it would make the Hiroshima nuke look tame by comparison!
"How is your leg feeling, Little Mac?" Zelda approached the boxer, whom she expected to be out of the cast by now. Perhaps Little Mac's leg could do a bit more healing at home.
"Alright Doc, do it..." Little Mac said to Doc Louis, who tore the blanket off of his protege...to reveal that the cast was a fake. Little Mac confidently stood up and walked away from the wheelchair, showing that his right leg was fully healed.
"I TOTALLY UNDERSTOOD THAT REFERENCE!" shouted a geeked-out Pit as he pointed at Little Mac, before calming down after seeing how many weird looks he was receiving. "Sorry, sorry for ruining the moment.
"Bravo, Little Mac, well played," commended Travis, understanding the reference as well while applauding Little Mac. Part of him now wished that he could pull the same stunt on his wife Sylvia one day.
"Yeah, it was nice of the hospital to let us take that wheelchair," said Little Mac, before his eyes darted left and right as if he had a secret to hide. "Or maybe we might've stolen it..."
"Good thing that those security cameras didn't catch us!" smiled Doc Louis, his smiling eventually fading away after thinking that he might've said too much. "I mean..."
"Hey Cloud - leaving so soon?" Little Mac called out the swordsman, whom he saw trying to sneak out through the front door. "Not gonna give me a hero's welcome?"
"Would say that you're far from a hero, but call yourself what you want," replied Cloud, slightly hurting Little Mac's feelings as he left the mansion. "Gotta go ask Mario a quick question."
Cloud went to Mario's house, where to his surprise he saw Mario speaking with Barret in his front yard. It appeared that Mario and Barret were having a thought-provoking conversation, as evidenced by how many times Barret kept nodding his head.
"Mario, you busy?" Cloud asked the plumber, even though it was pretty obvious that Mario already was. Way to butt into a conversation, Cloud. "Need some advice on how to..."
"Wait-a your turn, man!" Mario said to Cloud, putting the swordsman in his place; Cloud wasn't used to Mario yelling at him like that. "Barret is trying to teach-a me how to be a better father."
"That sounds good and all, but I have an issue that is more..." Cloud suddenly crinkled his nose, as the topic that Mario and Barret were discussing finally clicked in his head. "...you're talking about what now?"
"Mario here had an epiphany while he was at the hospital," stated Barret; if you might recall, Mario was admitted to the hospital in the last episode due to dehydration. Self-inflected dehydration, at that. "Just reflecting on his recent behavior, and whatnot."
"Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Is Mario going to start some dumb phase like Knuckles did after he did time in jail?" Imagine if Mario did something similar to what Knuckles had done; Lil Mario had a bit of a nice ring to it.
"I was very displeased-a with myself, Cloud," said Mario, sounding like a man who had done a lot more self-reflecting than he intended to. "Specifically the actions that led-a to me hurting Little Mac."
"Well, you did start a fun run in Little Mac's honor after we learned he had rabies. I'd say that was a good job you did." That was more or less Sonic's idea, and Sonic had hardly received any credit for it. As he preferred.
"True, true, but it wasn't enough to atone-a for the stuff I had done beforehand. Perhaps if I had beaten rabies in that 7K, it would be a different story..."
Mario: Not only did I go out of my way to hurt-a Little Mac, but I also tried to do the same-a with Charles' new pet, Elfilin. That is no way for a man-a of my caliber to act. And since I have another child on-a the way...I have to do better. Learning from a fellow dad might-a help me get back on track.
"You were never going to beat rabies in the first place, no offense," stated Cloud, who was among the first to voice his disinterest in being a part of the fun run. A few saw him as being insensitive towards rabies victims.
"If I was more-a properly prepared, I could've made it possible," surmised Mario, wishing that he had accepted that bottle of water from Jill when it was offered to him. Would've made a big difference. "But I have-a more processing matters now - being a good-a dad."
"Not sure if you knew this, but Cloud is a dad himself," Barret informed Mario with a smile, and Mario didn't know this as he looked particularly surprised. Cloud looked at Barret wide-eyed.
"You and Aerith eloped?" Mario questioned Cloud, thinking that the swordsman took a page out of the Chrom handbook of tying the knot. "And you adopted a kid? All without-a telling me?"
"Mario you fool, Cloud didn't marry Aerith in secret! But he did adopt a kid." This was big news to Fox and Falco, who were passing by when they overheard what Barret had said.
"Cloud adopted a kid?" marveled Fox; given how much Cloud kept to himself, Fox considered any secret of the swordsman to be an absolute treat. "What's their name?"
"His name...is Denzel," Cloud replied with a sigh, hating the fact that he was now owning up to being a parent. Or at least being a parental guardian. He could already foresee the others calling him a deadbeat, as they had done with Robin a few years ago.
"And how come we never met this 'Denzel'?" Falco questioned Denzel, having some doubts about Denzel being a real person. "I bet you don't even know where he lives!"
"I think he might be living in Midgar." Both Fox and Falco gasped in response, and that's when Cloud realized he goofed up. "Actually, scratch that...he might be in the city of Edge."
"Phew...you almost had us there," Fox sighed in relief as he clutched his pearls, nearly seconds away from accusing Cloud of being a terrible father. His and Falco's views on Midgar remained unchanged.
Fox: Any wise parent stuck in Midgar would move their family out of that dump after coming to their senses. Unless they wanna live down there forever. In which case, they're not that bright. Which makes it no wonder why Sephiroth tried to blow that place up. If only he got away with it.
"Cloud can tell you more about Denzel if you want," Barret offered to Fox and Falco, although Cloud wasn't interesting in giving out any history lessons.
"No thanks, we got stuff to do," replied Fox, who had to handle some business at the Star Records room. There were hardly any off days in the life of a record label CEO.
"I wouldn't mind-a hearing his story," said Mario, who wanted Cloud to tell every little detail about Denzel - whether Cloud wanted to or not. "Who knows, Cloud might even help-a me be a better father!"
"Don't count on it..." grumbled Cloud, hating the position that Barret forced him into. Mario was about to find out the hard way why Cloud detested talking about his personal life.
"That's the spirit!" exclaimed Barret as he smacked Mario on his back, nearly crushing the plumber's spine with how much force he gave. "Why don't we head on inside?" So Mario and Barret went inside Mario's house, while Cloud stayed behind. "Waiting on you, Cloud."
"Knew I should've waited until later..." Cloud was still grumbling, as he went inside Mario's house and slammed the front door. With Mario and company gone, Fox and Falco continued on their merry way...
...only to stop at the driveway when a tour bus pulled up into the mansion. The tour bus was pink and all sparkly, and it had the face of a Japanese pop star on it. Fox was the first to recognize who the pop star was.
"Seeing a ghost?" Falco asked Fox, who was trying not to freak out as he was pointing at the bus. Falco stared at the bus, failing to see what the big deal was. "Is it on the bus? Do I need a Scope Lens or something?"
"You don't recognize that face?" questioned Fox, as Falco stared long and hard at the pop star's face that was on the tour bus. The name was escaping Falco at the very moment. "It's Athena Asamiya!"
"Athena Asamiya, huh? That's cool, I guess." Soon it finally hit Falco, and the avian pilot became just as hyped as Fox was, grabbing his friend's shoulders. "Athena Asamiya is in town?!"
"This is unreal...she's like, one of Japan's biggest pop stars!" Fox got extraordinarily hyped, as the tour bus door slowly opened. Fox and Falco were expecting Athena herself to be the first to step out of the bus.
However, their hopes were dashed when a different woman exited the bus instead. It was a blonde woman who looked awfully familiar to Android 18 of Dragon Ball Z fame. Had short hair, blue eyes, and even wore blue pants as well.
"We are NOT stopping for roadkill on the way back to the airport," the blonde said to a man who followed her out of the bus - a dude who wore all black. Save for a white t-shirt and headband. "Just letting you know."
"Well, excuse me for not having lunch before the trip...everything happened on short notice," the man in black responded, as other folks stepped out of Athena's tour bus. Fox and Falco both kept their eyes peeled.
"Let's see who we got here..." said Fox, as he saw a Japanese dude, a guy with long blonde hair, and a young male blonde all exit the bus. But no sign of Athena Asamiya, much to Fox and Falco's chagrin.
"What are you two gawking at?" the guy who wore black asked Fox and Falco, standing too close to them as he spooked both pilots. Falco was so scared that he screamed and jumped into Fox's arms. "Hey, relax! I won't bite!"
"Didn't know you had it in ya to scare someone, Kyo," the blonde woman said to the man in black, as Fox and Falco slowly took the time to realize what great company they were in. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
"With how good-looking I am, I didn't think that it was possible." Kyo flashed a smile that made the blonde woman roll her eyes, as Fox dropped Falco to the ground and pointed at Kyo.
"Wait a minute, I know who you are..." Fox said to Kyo, who was alarmed that the pilot was still gawking. "...you're Kyo Kusanagi!" Kyo felt happy to be recognized, as Fox then pointed at the blonde woman. "And you're Blue Mary."
"You want a pat on the back for that or something?" Blue Mary asked Fox as she cracked a smirk, delighted by how much Fox was fanboying right now. Kyo didn't seem to mind as much.
"And you must be Fox McCloud," Kyo said to Fox as he took a few steps towards the pilot...before stopping when he stepped on something. Or someone. Looking down, he saw that he had stepped on Falco. "This is Falco Lombardi, right?"
"My beak..." Falco wheezed in pain, as Kyo was standing on his beak; Kyo grabbed the avian pilot's hand and helped him up to his feet, before dusting him off. "...thanks, bro."
"No problem." Kyo patted Falco on his shoulder, before bringing the avian pilot and Fox's attention to those that were near the bus. "I bet you don't recognize those faces."
"Joe Higashi, Andy Bogard, and...some blonde guy," said Fox as he took a gander at the Japanese man, the long-haired guy, and the young male blonde. All of whom were waiting around. "But there's Athena?"
"Alright, that should be everyone!" shouted a voice from the tour bus, as the woman of the hour - Athena Asamiya - finally exited the vehicle. Fox and Falco got hyped again, hugging each other and jumping up and down. "Did I miss anybody?"
"I think everyone's accounted for," replied Andy, as Kyo and Blue Mary were both giving the pilots judging looks for their overexuberance. Andy did a brief headcount, just to make sure. "Wait, we're missing somebody..."
"We are?" Athena knew exactly who that missing person was after she had done a headcount herself. "Oh, how could I forget!" The pop star ran back inside the tour bus and came out seconds later with a mysteriously cloaked woman.
"Is it safe to come out?" asked the woman, who was clenching her hood tightly as she held it over her face. Athena had to escort her out of the bus.
"Of course, it's safe! You can reveal yourself, no one's out to get you." But the woman refused to yield, as she refused to let one soul see her face.
"Let her go...I'll take it from here," Joe Higashi said to Athena, taking the cloaked woman away from her; with Athena now open, Fox and Falco ended their joyous enthusiasm as they ran over to the pop star.
"Athena Asamiya, right?" Fox asked Athena as he took her hand and shook it, acting all business-like. Talk about a complete 180. "I'm Fox McCloud, and this is my good friend, Falco Lombardi. We're CEOs of the record label company, Star Records."
"CEOs of a record label company?" Kyo furrowed his brow at Fox and Falco, believing that neither pilot had the chops to run a successful company. "Aren't you two space pilots?"
"Space pilots...and astute businessmen," affirmed Falco, before proceeding to shake Athena's available left hand. He refused to be outdone by Fox. "It is nice to have you in town, Miss Asamiya."
"Thank you for the warm greetings," Athena thanked Fox and Falco with a smile, feeling awkward to have both hands shaken by the pilots. Fortunately for her, the dual handshake came to an end. "It's nice that you run a record label and all, but..."
"You're dang right it's nice that we run a record label!" exclaimed Fox as he wrapped his arm around Athena, ready to present a huge offer to the pop star. "But you know what would be even nicer?"
"If you signed with us," Falco convinced Athena, trying to plant the seed in Athena's mind. The pilots were hoping to reel in the biggest catch of them all.
"That would sound nice," Athena offered her two cents, as Tsubasa and Kiria both exited the idol singers' house and saw the pilots trying to swoon Athena. "But I'm an idol singer, am I want you're looking for?"
"You're exactly what we're looking for," replied Fox, as Tsubasa and Kiria drew closer to hear what Fox was discussing with Athena. "We have idol singers at Star Records, but they really aren't that good."
"We beg your pardon?" an offended Kiria called out to Fox, as she and Tsubasa were both looking very angry. Fox gulped nervously.
"...I mean, they're good but as good as you are. We can make you the top star on our payroll, but only if you agree to sign the dotted line."
"She's not interested right now," Andy said to Fox as she grabbed Athena by the shoulders and shoved her away from the pilots. "We only came here to visit a friend, my brother - Terry Bogard."
"We even brought his adopted son," added Blue Mary, bringing Fox and Falco's attention to the blonde guy who was casually standing around. "Say hello to Rock Howard."
"How's it going," Rock gave a friendly two-finger salute to Fox and Falco, keeping a cool demeanor about himself. Just like his adopted father.
Blue Mary: Rock was adopted by Terry after his dad, Geese Howard, refused Terry's help and fell off of a building. Terry took him under his wing and pretty much raised him to be the man that he wanted to be. Rock thinks of me as his aunt, which is kinda neat in a way.
"We better get going before Terry worries himself sick," said Kyo, looking towards the mansion entrance; the man turned back at Fox and Falco, bidding them farewell with a wave. "Nice chat, you two."
"Have fun with Terry," Fox said to Kyo, who led everyone else who was on the tour bus to the mansion entrance. The pilot then remembered something as Kyo made his leave. "Oh, and watch out for..."
"Yeah, yeah, watch out for Iori Yagami...Terry already gave me a heads up." Kyo waved off Fox, aware of Iori's presence at the mansion. If he and the jazz singer crossed paths today, it would be quite the fiery showdown - no pun intended.
"Please consider our offer!" Falco called out to Athena, giving her something to ponder over during her stay. That's when Kiria and Tsubasa confronted the pilots, startling them both.
"Hey, ladies..." Fox nervously greeted Kiria and Tsubasa, his nervousness precipitating into the sweat that was running down his face. "...we were, uh, just about to welcome back Little Mac."
"Didn't seem like that to us," said Kiria as she folded his arms, looking to give her bosses a piece of her mind. "Hope you weren't planning on welcoming him back anytime soon..."
It was the one-week anniversary of the death of Kana's pet cat, Sparkles. Sparkles, whom Corrin alleged to have found on the street "for free", had died after Steve euthanized her in her freezer. All because Ganondof begrudgingly agreed to let Steve assist him in being a cat nanny. Kana was lamenting over her loss, glossing through pictures of Sparkles in Corrin's room.
"I didn't get to keep Sparkles for even a few months," said Kana, sitting in her bed next to Corrin as she went through the pictures of Sparkles. Should be noted that Sparkles looked ill in all the pics. "Why did she have to go, papa? Why Sparkles?"
"Thought for sure that chocolate I gave her would've improved her health," replied Corrin, as he had a comforting hand on Kana's back. Standing outside Corrin's room and looking through the doorway were Sonic and Lavenza.
"I'm really about to do this, am I?" Sonic asked Lavenza, about to do something that he would possibly regret soon. He was stuck following Lavenza's orders for a foreseeable future.
"You wish to become a better man, do you not?" asked Lavenza; Sonic groaned and rolled his eyes as he entered Corrin's room, capturing the attention of Corrin and Kana.
"Hello, Sonic - have you come here to pay your respects to Sparkles?" Corrin asked Sonic; the prince was bothered that no one had anything nice to say about Sparkles, although he never asked.
"I was thinking that maybe you should have a funeral for Sparkles? In the backyard?" The idea sounded intriguing to Corrin, who rubbed his chin in thought. "The best way to eulogize that cat, in my opinion."
Sonic: Tried to adopt a cat for Kana, but she just turned it away. Said that it was "imperfect" compared to Sparkles...even though it came straight out of a pet shelter where it was probably treated like a king. Or queen. Who knows where the heck Sparkles came from, but since Corrin was the one who found her, I'll reserve my judgment...
"What do you think, little one?" Corrin asked Kana, interested in what his daughter had to say about Sonic's idea. "Would you like a funeral for Sparkles? We still have Sparkles' body preserved."
"If it means showing everyone how much I loved Sparkles, then yes," replied Kana, confirming that the funeral was to take place outside the mansion. Sonic was shaking his head at Corrin and Kana, but not for the reason that you might be thinking.
"Deferring to your kid, really?" Sonic asked Corrin in a very disappointing matter, believing that the prince should have made the final decision himself. "Ah, so much for being a man..."
"A funeral for Kana's dead cat in the backyard, you say?" Link was heard speaking to someone, as Sonic ran out of Corrin's room and saw the Hylian and Zelda speaking with Lavenza. "Think it's a good idea, princess?"
"Kana did love that cat dearly," replied Zelda, as Sonic expected Link and Zelda to call out Lavenza for making such silly suggestions. "And so did Corrin, to an extent. We'll have Volnutt organize the proceedings."
"Thank you for hearing me out," Lavenza thanked Link and Zelda, as Sonic turned away and pulled on his head in frustration. Sparkles' funeral was becoming more like a reality.
"You too, Link? Are you for real?" Sonic scolded the Hylian, who was puzzled as to why Sonic of all people was reprimanding him. "What is it with you and Corrin kowtowing to females? C'mon!"
"Are you being sexist, Sonic?" Zelda frowned at Sonic with her hands on her hips. She had an awfully stern look that deliberately rattled Sonic to the core, and had him shook.
"Um, uh...I better go type up the program for the funeral!" Sonic was so scared of Zelda, that he turned around and sped down the hallway. He ran past Terry, who was coming down the hallway singing "Psycho Soldier".
"Athena's name is magic...mystery, is what you see..." Terry sang as he came across Link, Zelda, and Lavenza; Link and Zelda were both cringing, and Terry noticed right away. "...don't hide how you really feel about my singing."
"It would be much better if you had sung in Engrish instead," responded Link, offending Terry greatly as he caused the fighter to frown. "Oh, by the way, Isabelle told us that your friends have arrived."
"They have?!" Terry was too busy singing, that he was distracted from his job of keeping a lookout for Athena's tour bus. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Until they saw Terry, the group of Kyo, Blue Mary, Joe, Athena, Rock, Andy, and the mysterious cloaked woman were hanging out in the living room, which they were directed to by Isabelle. Slippy entered the living room, gasping when he saw Blue Mary.
"Oh, would you look at that - we have even more gawkers," Blue Mary said when she saw Slippy, who was pointing at the blonde woman with excitement as his arm was shaking. "Just what the doctor ordered."
"It's...it's Android 18!" Slippy squealed with joy, having an embarrassing fanboy moment as he was hyperventilating. What a way to make a first impression. "Luminary, come quick!"
"Someone called?" asked the Luminary as he coincidentally showed up in the living room, and saw Slippy excitedly pointing at Blue Mary. "Who am I even looking at?"
"Don't you see? It's Android 18! Or at least a woman who looks like Android 18." Failing to see what the big deal was, the Luminary walked away and left the living room, much to Slippy's chagrin. "Luminary, wait! Come back!"
"Maybe I should've grown out my hair, just as I promised myself..." remarked Blue Mary, touching the ends of her short hair as Slippy chased after Luminary. Terry couldn't arrive any sooner.
"Sorry I was late, everyone!" Terry apologized to everyone as he ran inside the living room, nearly out of breath. Just like that, the mood in the living room was uplifted. "Elevators were out of order again."
"Better late than never, as I always say," smiled Kyo as he rose up from the couch that he was sitting on, before approaching Terry and shaking his head. "Long time no see, Terry."
"Nice seeing you again as well, Kyo Kusanagi." Terry's handshake with Kyo would be interrupted when Joe broke through the handshake and made his presence known to Terry.
"Finally, the legend of Joe Higashi has finally arrived at the Smash Mansion!" shouted Joe, striking a pose and yelling so loud that he probably woke up someone taking a nap a floor above. Terry applauded Joe's theatrics.
"Still a master in theatrics, I see." As he was done clapping, Terry soon directed his attention to his good friend Blue Mary, who was standing by. "Hey there, Blue Mary! How's the freelance agent gig coming along?"
"It's not a gig...it's a job," Blue Mary corrected Terry, who looked afraid at first as he flinched, only to ease up when Blue Mary smiled. "But it's coming along fine. Thanks for asking."
"Phew, you almost scared me there." Terry's attention was soon drawn to Athena, perhaps his favorite pop singer in the whole wide world. Terry went up to Athena, placing his elbow on her shoulder. "Hey, Athena...how about an autograph?"
"Maybe later," Athena kindly replied as she gently pushed Terry away. She would push the fighter towards Andy, who was the happiest person in the living room to see Terry. Hard to tell since he rarely showed emotion.
"About time we have a brotherly reunion," Andy smirked at Terry, before embracing his brother as he and Terry hugged it out. Talk about a heartwarming moment...but there was one more heartwarming moment to be had.
"Guess your own son is going last, huh?" Rock said to Terry, who was still hugging Andy when he looked over and saw his adopted son. Terry couldn't have broken from his hug with Andy any quicker.
"Rock, my boy!" Terry would show Rock some love, as he ran up to his son and gave him a hug. Rock didn't ask for one, but as Terry's son, he had no choice but to accept it. "Hope you didn't miss me too much."
"Not at all - I've been busy, doing my own thing." As Terry and Rock hugged it out, Bowser showed up from the dining room, coffee in hand, when he saw Terry and Rock's embrace.
"Alright Bowser...this is your moment," Bowser said quietly to himself, somewhat unnerved by the wholesomeness playing out in front of him. "Use that coffee to ruin their perfect moment. You already have the crowd."
Bowser: That's it...Junior and I are taking hugging lessons. My own son has never in a million years hugged me like that! Forget the Koopalings - all of them are lost causes.
"Is it just me, or have you grown a lot since I last saw you?" Terry asked Rock as he ended the hug, thereby ending Bowser's window of opportunity to sabotage the moment.
"It's just you," Rock smiled in response, as he and the others saw Bowser standing around awkwardly in the living room. Bowser brought plenty of attention to himself, being the only non-human. "I see that you've got some good company here."
"Great company, you mean," affirmed Bowser, drinking his entire cup of coffee in one gulp before tossing it into the trash can. Totally missed, but it's not like the Koopa King cared. "Who's the cloaked person sitting on the sofa?"
"Hm?" said Terry as he looked towards the cloaked woman who had traveled with Terry's friends, sitting on a sofa by herself. Bowser walked over to the cloaked woman, only to stop in place when the woman put up her hand.
"Please don't come any closer," the cloaked woman commanded Bowser after she had felt the Koopa King's presence - did she have any idea who she was talking to?
"Silly woman, I don't have to abide by your rules - or anyone's rules. I'm King Bowser!" Bowser would defy the cloaked woman's command, as he grabbed the cloak and tore it right off. The woman that he saw underneath the cloak surprised him - and Terry.
"Woah nelly! Mai Shiranui!" Terry exclaimed when he saw another one of his good friends, Mai Shiranui. And Mai was looking much different from how she usually looked.
"Dang it! She's wearing normal clothes." Bowser expected Mai to wear her traditional red garb but instead, Mai had on a more modest attire - a brown jacket, white shirt, and blue jeans, along with a pair of sunglasses. And Mai hated it.
"Unfortunately..." Mai sighed depressingly as she rose up from the couch, hating how tight and form-fitting the jeans were on her legs. "...it was the only way that I could even come along for the trip."
"Terry did say that there were too many perverts at this place," stated Kyo, relaying information that he had gained from Terry as his eyes fell upon Bowser. "There goes a prime suspect right there..."
"Watch your mouth buddy, I'm no longer a simp!" Bowser defended himself to Kyo, who refused to take the Koopa King's words as sincere. "I'm focused on being a great single father now! Princess Peach and Lara Croft, they are well enough alone."
"Why did you mention Lara Croft?" Athena asked Bowser, who was deeply insulted by Kyo as he took his dignity with him and stormed out of the living room. "Well, that was weird..."
"So Terry, I heard that you were killing it at bowling," Andy said to his older brother, having heard the story in full from Blue Mary. "Bet you were on fire."
"You bet!" grinned Terry, who would tell his friends about his bowling exploits all day long if he wanted to. Might even have to drag a few details out. "I also came in second place in a 7K I ran."
"Got a medal to show for it?" inquired Blue Mary, as Terry went from being proud about his recent accomplishment to full of nervousness in a heartbeat. Blue Mary wanted some physical evidence of Terry's success.
"We also want to see your bowling trophy, too!" shouted Joe, putting the pressure on Terry as he had the fighter sweating buckets. Terry had nothing to show, leaving him in quite a pickle. "We all know you got one."
"Right you are!" exclaimed Terry as he pointed both of his fingers at his friends, consciously backing out of the living room. "Let me go see where I put my medal and trophy at. You guys go hang out in the gaming room while I'm gone."
"Isn't that where he said the perverts would linger?" questioned Mai shortly after Terry had left the living room, hightailing away a few seconds later. "Maybe I should have stayed at home..."
Cloud was at Mario's home, where he was forced by Barret to tell Mario about how he raised Denzel. While his story captured the interest of Mario, the swordsman felt disgruntled when Peach, Spyro, and Hunter all began to eavesdrop.
"And yeah, that's pretty much it," said Cloud as he concluded his story, happy that he finally brought his tale to an end. "Tifa and I pretty much raised Denzel. And Marlene, while Barret was away."
"In that case, Tifa's your one true love, not Aerith," Hunter tried to convince Cloud, starting up some unnecessary drama as Spyro gave him a funny look. "Dump Aerith while you still can."
"He would if they were actually dating," Spyro said to Hunter, unable to recall any time that Cloud took Aerith out on a date. Save for that time Aerith had to leave for Radiant Garden in episode 162. "Is there any way that we could meet Denzel, Cloud?"
"I'm afraid there isn't," replied Cloud, leading Mario to laugh at the swordsman; Cloud looked over at Mario, wondering what was so darn funny. "Somebody tickling you?"
"Have-a you forgotten about the teleportation device?" Mario asked Cloud, who unironically wanted to answer no just for his own sake. Cloud didn't want to waste anyone's time - especially Denzel's.
"You know, I think Mario might be on to something here," Barret sided with Mario, and Cloud was not a fan of where things were heading. "Why not have Mega Man bring Denzel to the mansion?"
"That would be lovely," gleamed Peach, thinking that Peach deserved to see the boy that he raised - after who knows how many years. Cloud looked at Spyro and Hunter, hoping that the two friends would reject.
"I'm personally not against it," Spyro offered his two cents on the idea, and now Cloud looked towards Hunter as his last hope. Talk about a dire situation.
"Me too - Denzel deserves to be reunited with his mom and dad," Hunter sided with Spyro, who gave his cheetah friend another funny look. Hunter looked offended this time around. "Am I not allowed to call them mom and dad until they get married?"
"How about you stop playing matchmaker..." Spyro was surprised that Cloud hadn't spoken out yet; Cloud was too dismayed with everyone to clap back.
Hunter: *shakes his head in disappointment* Cloud, Cloud, Cloud...that man let an evil jester escape from who-knows-where, and basically wasted everyone's time all because he was simping hard for Aerith. A dead Aerith, at that. When in actuality, his one true love was around the whole time. Tifa Lockhart. For shame.
Spyro: If he tries to hook Cloud up with Tifa, then I quit. It's bad enough that Pit is committed to having Kirby and Adeleine get married - and also have kids! That would be a big, giant slap to any form of human biology.
"Then it's settled - we're gonna pull Denzel out from Edge!" confirmed Barret, as Mario let out an empathetic "Yeah!"; Cloud wanted to express how much he hated everyone but kept his feelings to himself.
"I'll call Mega Man and tell him to have the device ready to go," said Peach as she ran off to go get her phone, while Cloud looked on in annoyance. Mario saw Cloud pinching the crown of his nose, and patted his back comfortingly.
"It's okay, Cloud - you'll get to see-a your son soon," Mario assured the swordsman, who wanted none of whatever kindness Mario was feeding him. In fact, Cloud almost wanted to punch Mario in the face.
No one was more upset about E. Gadd coming in first at the 7K than Dr. Wily. Wily tried to sabotage E. Gadd by putting laxatives in his drink but instead used Imodium by accident. As a result, E. Gadd powered himself to victory, making Wily's nightmare come true - and Wily has been sulking ever since.
"I demand that we invalidate E. Gadd's victory," Wily said to Itsuki in the Star Records room, as he was going around complaining to the others. "Old geezers like him deserve nothing!"
"By that logic, your victory should be invalidated if you had won yourself," replied Itsuki, putting Wily in his place as he stacked together the documents that were on his desk. "Which we wouldn't have to worry about, because you wouldn't have won anyway."
"I hate you..." Continuing with the sulking, Wily glared at Itsuki as he stormed out of the Star Records room. At that same time, Little Mac entered the room, happy to be away from Doc Louis for a change.
"Hello, Little Mac," Itsuki warmly greeted the boxer, seeing him for the first time since his hospital visit in the previous episode. "How's your first day back at the mansion coming along?"
"Fine, I guess," replied Little Mac, feeling oddly sentimental to be back in the Star Records room on his own two legs. "Doc Louis is salty about the lack of welcoming from everyone, but it's all good."
"And now you can have all the time away from...so, is there anything you wanna talk about?" Evidently, Little Mac did, as he took a seat at the desk and pulled his chair closer to Itsuki.
"Been meaning to ask, does Star Records have an insurance policy?" Not knowing how to answer Little Mac's question, Itsuki nervously bit his bottom lip. "Just in case another plumber attacks me for no reason."
"...let me get Fox on the phone." So Itsuki took out his phone and dialed Fox's number, not even bothering with Falco due to slightly obvious reasons. After a few seconds of dial tone, Fox answered the call.
"Sup," Fox said from the phone, as the sound of the Duck Hunt Dog barking in the background could be heard. Up to Itsuki's imagination what the Star Fox pilots were up to.
"Hey Fox, I was wondering if you and Falco can come over. Little Mac has a question about our insurance policy."
"Look, man, we'd love to, but um..." What excuse could Fox possibly have for not coming? "...we're in the doghouse. Literally."
"Literally in the doghouse? What do you mean?" Itsuki asked Fox...who along with Falco was stuck in a doghouse. He was crammed inside the Duck Hunt Dog's doghouse, with very little wiggle room.
"Exactly what I said," answered Fox, only for he and Falco to look up in sudden fear when the Duck Hunt Dog came over and kicked up his hind leg. Fox and Falco both screamed. "No, please! Go away!"
"Go away from what?" All Itsuki heard was screams, as the Duck Hunt Dog savagely peed on Fox and Falco. Done handling his business, the Duck Hunt Dog happily walked away as Fox and Falco were both drenched in dog urine. "Are you okay?"
"We were a few seconds ago." Fox knew that the stench would be hard to get off...and being stuck in the doghouse would only make it even harder.
Tsubasa: Fox and Falco want to sign an idol singer and make her the highest paid one at Star Records? Fine with us, they'll just have to pay for their desperation. Sadly that lesson Tom Nook gave to Fox fell on deaf ears.
Volnutt: Asked Fox and Falco how they got stuck in the Duck Hunt Dog's doghouse, and Falco claimed that it was because Kiria and Tsubasa were "being a bunch of haters". That didn't really answer my question.
Out in the backyard, Volnutt was setting up things for Sparkles' funeral. While Mr. Game and Watch and Dark Pit lined up the folding chairs, Volnutt was arranging items at the front, such as pictures of Sparkles.
"Pit said that he will be bringing the coffin to put Sparkles in," Corrin informed Volnutt, who was setting up the pictures when he saw something in one of them that caught his eye.
"Corrin, why were you feeding Kana's cat grapes?" questioned Volnutt, seeing a picture of Corrin feeding Sparkles grapes. And not just individual grapes - an entire grape stem.
"Cats love grapes; every cat lover would know." Corrin had nothing to back up his claim, but Volnutt chose to let the prince be great as he carried on with his current task. As Volnutt set up the last picture, he saw Fox and Falco in the doghouse.
"I'll get you two outta there once the funeral starts," Volnutt called out to Fox and Falco, as Joker ran up to Volnutt and whispered into the robot's ear. Volnutt frowned in an instant. "What do you mean, a hearse just pulled up?"
"Man, I'm not waiting until a funeral for some stupid cat starts," complained Falco, who was unable to move his arms or even his legs. Kiria and Tsubasa had him trapped in that doghouse good. "Is Itsuki still on the phone?"
"Yeah, why?" asked Fox, fearing that Falco was about to make a dumb request; if Falco wanted to order twenty burritos as he had done last time, then Fox would turn him down in a hurry.
"I was thinking that maybe we can buy some time...tell Itsuki about Athena Asamiya. Have him make a sales pitch to her."
Everyone that was at the Mario household was now in the teleportation room, where Mega Man was trying to reel Denzel to the mansion. Everyone was excited to see Denzel, save for Cloud.
"Sorry that they forced you to do this," Cloud quietly apologized to Mega Man, who had keyed in the coordinates to Edge. That was the place where Denzel was allegedly living at.
"Are you kidding me? I would love to meet your adopted kid, Cloud," replied Mega Man, unable to contain the optimism that he was feeling right now. Cloud groaned, seeing that another person was on the bandwagon.
"Where did I leave my Buster Sword...?" Cloud had his eyes set on destroying the teleportation device, but by the time he would find it, Mega Man would have already brought Denzel to the mansion.
Mario: Never in my wildest-a dreams did I imagine that I would learn-a how to be a better dad from Cloud. I guess this will be his way of paying me back after I had taught-a him how to be a great man of the mansion. *pauses* Taught him in spirit.
"Ooh! What's happening in here?" asked Aerith - the last person that Cloud wanted to see - as she and Tifa went inside the teleportation room. "Are we bringing another one of Master Hand's 'friends'?"
"Ever better - we're about to see..." Cappy was about to spill the beans to Aerith and Tifa, only for Cloud to grab the talking hat and toss him away. Both Aerith and Tifa gasped, as Cloud threw Cappy against the wall.
"He was about to spoil the surprise, I had to do it," Cloud explained his actions, as Mega Man powered on the teleportation device. Denzel was on his way, much to Denzel's chagrin. "Crap..."
"Here he comes!" announced Mega Man, taking a step back as he allowed the teleportation device to do its thing. Everyone watched with bated breath, although Cloud in particular was wishing that he could disappear.
Once the teleportation device was done, there was a boy standing on the teleportation pad. He was an unfamiliar face to everyone he saw before him, except for a few individuals in particular.
"...Denzel?" Tifa uttered the boy's name, as her voice was full of amazement and surprise. Denzel, who was at first confused when stepping into his new surroundings, was startled upon seeing Cloud and Tifa.
"Cloud? Tifa?" Denzel spoke, having been reunited with the two people that he looked up to the most. It was almost like a happy family reunion of sorts.
"Um...hi, Denzel," Cloud awkwardly greeted Denzel, only being able to enjoy the moment more if not for Mario and the others' interference. A part of him wished that the teleportation device had malfunctioned, but the chances of that were slim.
"Why are y'all standing around?" Barret asked Cloud and Tifa, as he grabbed the two and pushed them towards Denzel. "Embrace the boy!" Cloud and Tifa were now standing close to Denzel, left with no choice but to embrace him as Barret had commanded.
"Hey there, Denzel," Tifa smiled at Denzel, who caught the martial artist and Cloud by surprise when he wrapped his arms around them for a hug. It was a very heartfelt hug, at that.
"I missed you guys so much..." Denzel said to Cloud and Tifa, a tear running down his face. In case it wasn't super obvious, Denzel had missed Cloud and Aerith A LOT.
"How sweet," smiled Peach, standing next to Mario as she was almost getting emotional herself. Bowser passed by the teleportation room when he took a peek inside, seeing Cloud and Tifa being hugged by Denzel.
"Move along, Bowser - nothing to see here," Bowser said to himself in a very reassuring manner, assuming (and hoping) that Denzel was just a huge fan who wanted to meet Cloud and Tifa in person.
Bowser: So who was that kid anyway?...That was a kid Cloud used to watch over?! This is too much, too many guys are coming after my "best dad ever" crown. Junior better prove himself to be an expert hugger by month's end, or I'm gonna put him on the market sooner than the Koopalings!
"I see...wrap the arm-a around the waist," Mario observed Cloud, nodding his head in thought as Cloud wrapped an embracing arm around Denzel. "Very nice form, I'll admit."
"Why are you analyzing the man like that?" Barret asked Mario with a smirk, giving the plumber a playful nudge that almost knocked him off his feet. "Wanna admit that you're not a good hugger?"
"Like you have any room-a to talk. What's your daughter up-a to?" Mario had Barret scared straight, as Barret's eyes immediately went wide with fear. It was that fatherly fear that overwhelmed Barret.
"Marlene! Hold on tight, baby girl, daddy's comin' for ya!" Barret ran out of the teleportation room, hoping that Marlene hadn't gotten herself into trouble. Denzel saw Barret run away after he had heard Marlene's name.
"Marlene lives here?" Denzel asked Cloud and Tifa, as his hug with the two came to an end. Denzel fashioned himself as a big brother figure to Marlene.
"Yup! Sure does," smiled Tifa, as Aerith was inching closer to get a closer look at Denzel. "But Barret is around to keep her out of trouble."
"Pretty cool to see a beautiful family reunited," Hunter smiled with joy, as Spyro frowned at the cheetah and shushed him. "Stop hating on families, Spyro! Come on!"
"I didn't know you started a family with Tifa, Cloud," Aerith playfully said to the swordsman, as Spyro wished that Hunter had kept his mouth shut. Aerith was a small reason why Cloud was against bringing Denzel on board.
"Not really - we just watched over Denzel and Marlene, because reasons," replied Cloud, desperately attempting to downplay his parental guardian role only to look down at Denzel and smirk. "But, it's good to see Denzel again...it's been a while."
"Is this the place where you live now?" Denzel asked Cloud as he took a close inspection of his new surroundings; he took a few steps forward and walked into Mario and Peach.
"Mama mia! Where's my hat?" Mario panicked after he was approached by Denzel, as he patted the top of his head with his hands. Cappy floated over to Mario, likely suffering from concussion-like symptoms.
"Right here..." Cappy moaned in pain, before repositioning himself on top of Mario's head. Now that he got his hat back, Mario could now formally introduce himself to Denzel.
"The name's-a Mario!" Mario held out his hand to Denzel, giddy over being able to shake the boy's hand. "Welcome to the Smash-a Mansion!"
"Hi, Mario, I'm Denzel," Denzel introduced himself to Mario as he shook the plumber's hand, while Cloud and company looked on. "Have you been taking good care of Cloud?"
"Pfft, as if...he's been taking good-a care of me!" Mario laughed at his own joke, and he expected Cloud to laugh along with him...but he was only met with silence. That's what he deserved for having too high expectations.
"We've kept each other in check, I'll say that much," stated Cloud, proving that he could have Mario's back - and that was one thing that Mario could count on from the swordsman.
"Say, Denzel, you haven't hung out with Cloud in so long," Tifa said to the boy, wanting Denzel to reconnect with Cloud. It was the right thing for Cloud to do. "Why don't you two spend some time together?"
"YES!" Mario would answer for Denzel, getting all excited for no reason; everyone stared at Mario, who piped down in a hurry. "I'll leave the decision-a to Denzel. The floor is his."
"Yeah, I would love to," replied Denzel as he looked at Cloud...and the person that was standing next to Cloud, Aerith. Denzel had a lot of questions about her. "Isn't that the woman who got killed by Sephiroth?"
"Now isn't a good time to ask," replied Cloud as he grabbed Denzel and whisked him out of the teleportation room, ready for a day of bonding. "You up for some table tennis?"
"'Table tennis'? How does that work?" As Cloud led Denzel down the hallway, Mario conspicuously left the teleportation room and followed after Cloud and Denzel. Well, it wasn't really that conspicuous as everyone saw him in broad daylight.
"Mario, where are you running off to?" Tifa asked the plumber, who had already left the room; electing not to be left behind, Peach would leave as well to see what her husband was up to.
"He wants to 'learn' from Cloud's example, to be a better dad," Mega Man informed Tifa, who was suddenly reminded that Peach was due for a second child in a few months. "That was why I had to reel in Denzel."
"And here I thought that Cloud wanted a reunion..." Tifa seemed disappointed in Cloud, as she let out a sigh. "...typical Mario, having to put things in motion."
Until Terry found a ribbon and bowling trophy to show off, his friends (and Rock Howard) were free to hang out in the gaming room. Mai detested going to the gaming room, for she was told that the more perverted residents would hang out there.
"Go away..." Mai commanded King Dedede, who was creeping up on the ninja; Mai just wanted to keep to herself, but it was obvious that King Dedede failed to get the memo. Or maybe he just didn't want to.
"Are you Mai Shiranui's twin sister?" King Dedede asked Mai, for the Mai Shiranui that he knew would never dress so modestly. Mai was left to accept the fate that was imposed upon her.
"Sure, let's go with that...how about you leave me alone." Fully convinced that he had spoken with Mai's twin sister, King Dedede would grant Mai's wishes as he walked away in peace.
"Smile!" exclaimed Slippy, who was taking a picture of Blue Mary and the Luminary standing together. The frog had dragged the Luminary's behind to the gaming room to capture this "special" moment.
"I'll make sure to have that photo deleted," the Luminary assured Blue Mary after Slippy had taken the picture; the image was a bit blurry, but was picture perfect enough for Slippy.
"I...must...prevail!" shouted Ryu, his muscles tensing mightily and sweat running down his face. The fighter was in an arm wrestling match with Andy...albeit on the losing end, as Andy would soon come out victorious.
"I strongly beg to differ," retorted Andy, before slamming Ryu's fist down to the table as a small group of spectators cheered. Ryu wallowed in defeat, his mouth agape in shock. "Easy work."
"The one thing I love about this mansion is, I get a sense of privacy," Ribbon Girl discussed with Athena - two pop stars having a conversation, who would have ever thought? "No dealing with crazy fans."
"We should totally switch places..." Athena said to Ribbon Girl, fully enticed as she had her hands clasped together. Soon Little Mac entered the gaming room, holding a card in his hand.
"Is there a..." the boxer spoke up, nearly second-guessing himself as he squinted hard at the card that he was holding. "...is there an Athena Asamiya here?"
"That would be me." Upon hearing her name, Athena stood up from her seat, as Little Mac hustled his way over to the pop star. "And you are...Little Mac?"
"Little Mac, of Star Records." Little Mac had to throw that in there, and that tidbit of information made Athena raise her eyebrows. "I have heard that you were interested in Star Records..."
"Erm, somewhat." As Athena spoke with Little Mac, Ribbon Girl couldn't help but look on warily. "Did Fox and Falco wish to sign me to a contract?"
"There's another Star Records CEO, and he was wondering if you were interested in negotiating a contract. So are you in?"
"I'll entertain this contract negotiation...but maybe just this one time. I didn't think they were still interested in me!" So Athena followed Little Mac out of the gaming room, and Ribbon Girl was tempted to get down to the bottom of whatever was going on.
Little Mac: My first day back from the hospital, and I'm stuck running errands. Do Fox and Falco honestly believe they have an actual chance of signing Athena Asamiya?
Ribbon Girl: Are they really trying to sign a new talent? And an idol singer at that? Has Tom Nook not taught Fox anything?
Elsewhere in the gaming room, Kyo and Rock were playing a game of billiards with Dante and Donkey Kong. Joe was the lone spectator, cheering for his friends after literally every move they made.
"Yeah, Kyo! Once more towards victory!" Joe cheered on for Kyo, who accidentally struck a cue ball so hard that it ricocheted off the table. The cue ball bounced off of King Dedede's belly before landing on the floor.
"Must he always be this hyper?" Dante asked Kyo, growing tired of Joe's shenanigans; the unnecessary fist pumps that Joe was doing were getting under Dante's skin.
"Only on his worst days...and best days," replied Kyo as he went to go retrieve the cue ball. As he walked back to the pool table, Kyo would run into the last person that he wanted to see.
...Iori Yagami. Iori was having a word with K.K. Slider when he ran into Kyo, as some bad blood was brewing between him and his longtime rival.
"I'll give you that Dizzy Gillespie was a great jazz musician, but I insist that..." said K.K. Slider, only to look up and see Iori and Kyo embroiled in a staredown of epic proportions. "...oh boy."
"Uh oh, we got a problem!" shouted Dante, knowing how fiery of a showdown between Iori and Kyo would be. No pun intended whatsoever. "Somebody sound the alarm!"
"No need...we promise that we'll make it quick," Iori said to Dante, smirking as he held up his right hand. "Or rather, I will make it quick..." A blue flame was lit on Iori's hand, burning with intensity.
"Had a feeling that I'd run into ya sooner or later," Kyo said to Iori, returning the favor as he held up his own hand and ignited a flame. His was of the traditional red variety.
"It seems that our paths were bound to intertwine eventually...and what a better time than now!" Somebody ought to sound the alarm just as Dante said, or else things are gonna get ugly in the gaming room.
"Guys, guys! I found my bowling trophy!" Terry called out to Kyo and his other friends, as he was heard shouting from outside the gaming room. Fearing that Terry would only get in his way, Iori took his blue flame away as he put his hand in his pocket.
"We will meet again..." Iori vowed to Kyo, bringing K.K. Slider along with him as he led the hippie dog away. Kyo put out his own flame, as Terry ran inside the gaming room holding a trophy of sorts.
"Ta-da!" Terry presented his trophy, as his friends all gathered around to see the trophy for themselves. Terry was beaming with pride. "Here it is - my very own bowling trophy!"
"You're welcome, Terry," Mewtwo said to the fighter, who wished that Mewtwo hadn't spoken a word - didn't want anyone to blow his cover.
Mewtwo: He literally painted a bowling ball in gold paint, and glued it to a trophy from the storage room. Had to help him with the process. On another note, arts and crafts day will sadly be put on hold for the time being...not that I care.
"Nice trophy!" Joe applauded Terry, as the others followed suit and clapped along with Joe. Terry was happy to know that his friends all had low standards.
"Oh, and here's the medal that I won for coming in second place," said Terry as he dug into his pocket and showed off a silver medal. His friends were impressed, as Leaf came around looking for one of her belongings.
"Has anyone seen my Pokemon Contest medal?" Leaf asked those in the gaming room, her question left unanswered as she kept searching. Wily, who tried to keep his mind off of E. Gadd, was beside himself again after seeing Terry holding up the silver medal.
"Drat, that means E. Gadd must've gotten a gold medal..." seethed Wily, as the very thought of E. Gadd being handed a medal made him want to puke his guts out. "...I can't let him have it!" The robot inventor ran out of the gaming room, wanting to pay E. Gadd a brief visit.
"That's a pretty cool trophy, dad," Rock said to Terry as he approached his father, with his uncle Andy not that far behind him. "May I hold it?"
"Of course, you can!" replied Terry as he happily handed his trophy to Rock...only for the golden bowling ball to roll off the trophy and land on Andy's feet. Terry flinched, as Andy was tensing up.
"...it's okay, I've been through worse," said Andy as he let out a giant exhale, his face showing that he was clearly in a lot of pain. He was taking it like a man.
"Wait a minute, where's Athena?" questioned Blue Mary as she and the others finally realized that Athena was no longer in the gaming room. "She couldn't have just left like that."
"Actually she did...sort of," replied Ribbon Girl as she approached Blue Mary and company, knowing exactly where Athena had run off to. "Star Records has a hold of her now."
"Star Records? You don't mean..." Terry said to Ribbon Girl, and once he figured out who the guilty party was, Terry groaned and smacked his forehead. "...Fox and Falco! I should've known."
Funeral arrangements for Sparkles were finished, which meant that it was time for the funeral to begin in the mansion's backyard. The funeral was free for anyone to attend, although Link and Zelda did have to invite a couple of folks to pump up the attendance. Just so that Corrin wouldn't be too disappointed.
There was no dress code for the funeral; the residents were free to come as they were. However, there was one person who wanted to be spiffy for the event - and that person had to be Chrom. The prince, wearing a blue suit, was styling and profiling as he and Lucina took their seats.
"Way to kill the mood," Chrom chastised the others for their casual wear, as he took his front row seat; he had already chastised Lucina for her attire, and Lucina didn't bother to care.
Chrom: I accidentally got barbecue sauce on my blue tuxedo, so while that's at the cleaners I asked Marth if I could borrow his suit. He didn't want to concede, but Caeda was happy enough to let me borrow it. Marth should totally listen to his wife more.
"Thank you for the flowers," Corrin thanked Piranha Plant and Petey Piranha, who placed a few flowers on Sparkles' casket. The casket was awfully big, as Makoto came over and saw Sparkles' body inside.
"Why did they give Sparkles a human-sized casket?" Makoto asked Joker, who came over to his girlfriend; Joker should have a lot to say, given that his fellow barista Pit had secured the casket in the first place.
"Because according to Pit, the funeral home didn't have 'cat-sized' ones," replied Joker, who was unable to talk Pit out of wasting the funeral home's time.
"Psst, Link and Zelda..." Corrin whispered to the Hylian couple, who were about to take their seats when they heard their names. Link and Zelda came over to speak with Corrin. "...we should do a repass."
"But there are still people coming in," stated Link, as folks were coming in and taking their seats; they were in their usual garb, much to Chrom's dismay.
"That makes it a perfect time. Let's do it." Left with no other choice, Link sighed as he was forced to address the current crowd. Whatever made Corrin happy.
"Attention everyone, may I please have your attention?" Link stood at the front speaking in a highly commanding voice, as everyone drew their attention towards him. "We will be now doing a repass. We'll start at the front, and work our way to the back."
"This funeral feels so discombobulated," remarked Lucina, as she and Chrom were among the first to see Sparkles' dead body. Link and Zelda stood by, making sure that everyone was acting in an orderly manner...
"Waluigi!" Zelda scolded the lanky man, who apparently kissed Sparkles - almost getting the lips. Those that were near Waluigi were left cringing.
"Wah, I was just paying my respects to the deceased!" Waluigi defended his questionable motive, grumbling to himself as he took his seat. As the repass carried on, Rosalina and Ganondorf would join the funeral.
"Not as small of a crowd as I thought it would be," Rosalina said to Ganondorf, as she and the demon lord were looking for available seats. Corrin turned his head and saw Rosalina and Ganondorf, gasping when he saw the latter.
"Begone with you!" Corrin boomed as he stood up and pointed at Ganondorf with heavy disdain. The prince was starting a scene - a big no-no at a funeral. "Send him to the gulag!"
"Corrin, what is your problem?" questioned Sonic, who was standing by passing out funeral programs; Lavenza made him hold up his "promise" to Zelda. "Stop being so extra!"
"How can I not be, when this man is present?" Corrin kept pointing at Ganondorf, letting the others know how despicable the demon lord was. "A murderer has no right to be at their victim's funeral."
"I didn't murder Sparkles," Ganondorf tried to clear up his name, only so that Corrin wouldn't bother him. "I just...watched it happen." Not really helping your case there, buddy.
"Just take a seat, Ganondorf," Zelda said to the demon lord, who along with Rosalina took a seat while Corrin glared at him intensely. Volnutt stood near the casket, surveying the funeral scene when the Duck Hunt Dog walked up to him.
"Woof, woof!" the Duck Hunt Dog barked at Volnutt, who knew what the mutt wanted based on his response. Volnutt should be the next dog whisperer.
"Want a bone?" Volnutt asked the Duck Hunt Dog, who was nodding his head as he panted with joy. Volnutt reached underneath the casket and pulled out a bone, handing it to the Duck Hunt dog. "Here ya go! Saved this one just for you."
"Woof!" The Duck Hunt Dog accepted his bone from Volnutt and happily walked to his doghouse so that he could happily chew on it. Speaking of his doghouse, it was no longer occupied...
Since he was done arranging stuff for the funeral, Volnutt had time to free Fox and Falco from being stuck in the Duck Hunt Dog's doghouse. After a brief pit stop at Fox's house (to wash off the stench of urine), the pilots went to the Star Records room, where they saw Athena. Little Mac held up his bargain.
"A singer of your caliber could bring Star Records to new heights," Fox said to Athena, as he and Falco were holding contract negotiations with the pop star. Itsuki chose to take himself out of the equation.
"Heights that no mere mortal is meant to reach," Falco followed up on what Fox said, doing his best to entice Athena. Itsuki was observing from a few feet away, with an amused face.
"Sounds impossible, but I do appreciate your optimism!" Athena said to the pilots, who were convinced that they were making a good impression. She had the pilots feel like they were on cloud nine.
"So tell us, Miss Asamiya...what kind of perks would you like?" Fox asked Athena; just when Athena was about to answer, someone was knocking on the door.
"Open up, you two!" Terry shouted angrily at Fox and Falco from behind the door, refusing to be deterred. Terry had been knocking for quite a while.
"No way hombre, we're about to make history," replied Falco; wanting to be a good Samaritan, Itsuki walked towards the door only to be stopped by Falco's cold stare. "Nuh uh uh...wait until we're finished."
"As you wish," said Itsuki as he meekly returned to his post, reverting back to observant mode. He could only imagine how ticked Terry was feeling.
Itsuki: Athena is a talented and accomplished star, so it's good she has that going on for her. But would she sign with Star Records? *pauses* Maybe if they held her at gunpoint.
Terry was growing frustrated as he stood outside the Star Records room with Rock and Andy. Terry, Rock, and Andy were taking turns trying to get inside the room, but to no avail so far.
"This Star Records...are they always trouble?" Andy asked Terry, who banged on the doors with both of his hands. In almost bitter defeat.
"Only if there's a big talent in town," replied Terry, although he had to use the phrase "big talent" very lightly when Gex came to mind. "Really turns their screws loose."
"Any luck yet?" Ribbon Girl asked Terry and company as she appeared on the sixth floor. The answer to her was obvious from seeing how ticked off Terry was.
"Not even close," replied Rock, as Ribbon Girl went over and saw that the door was locked. The door wouldn't be opened until contract negotiations with Athena were finished.
"Would use my ARMS to knock the door down, but...I'll spare them this time." Ribbon Girl walked away, knowing what must be done to take care of Fox and Falco - and who would put the pilots in their place. "You boys just stay tight!"
Ribbon Girl went to the elevator, pressing a button on the pad. When the elevator door opened, she saw Tsubasa and Eleonora standing together.
"If you want to use the Star Records room, don't bother," Ribbon Girl informed Tsubasa and Eleonora, who were both about to exit the elevator before they heeded Ribbon Girl's warning. "They're having 'contract negotiations.'"
"With Athena Asamiya, I assume?" Tsubasa asked Ribbon Girl, who nodded her head; Tsubasa groaned as she whipped out her phone to text someone. "Kiria isn't going to like this..."
"Athena Asamiya? Is that why her tour bus was in our driveway?" inquired Eleonora, who had assumed that whoever drove the tour bus had parked there by accident. Would be a terrible mistake to make.
Cloud was happily reunited with Denzel and was doing stuff with the boy, such as table tennis and playing an arcade game or now. The swordsman was now at the Pokemon sanctuary, standing outside the entrance where Denzel was petting Pikachu.
"Go ahead and pick him up," Cloud encouraged Denzel, who was down on one knee as he petted Pikachu's head. Pikachu was enjoying the fine treatment. "Don't be shy."
"I'm scared that he might shock me," said Denzel, and he wouldn't be wrong for thinking that. "But if you insist..." Putting his big boy pants on, Denzel scored up Pikachu and held him in his arms. So far, so good...
"You're holding him-a all wrong!" Mario called out to Denzel, effectively blowing his cover as he poked his head from behind one of the statues at the entrance. Pikachu was spooked by Mario, as he began charging his cheeks with electricity.
"Pika...CHHHUUUU!" the mouse Pokemon shouted, unleashing a wicked Thunderbolt on Mario that left the plumber shocked. Mario was covered from head to toe in soot, letting out a cough as black smoke exited from his mouth.
"Nice shot..." Mario faceplanted onto the floor, as Pikachu's Thunderbolt had taken the fight out of him. Served him right for being so critical.
"See, Master Hand? That's Denzel," Aerith said to the giant hand as she brought him to the sanctuary entrance. "That's the boy Cloud used to raise."
"Great googly moogly! I didn't know he still existed," said an amazed Master Hand, his mere presence and majesty intimidating Denzel. "Thought that he was just an illusion."
"Just an illusion...?" Mario said to Master Hand, finding the strength to slowly lift his head up off the floor. Cloud saw how intimidated Denzel was, seeing that the boy had a lot to learn.
"Don't be scared of him, he's not that frightening," Cloud assured Denzel, who took Cloud's word to heart as he sported a more calm visage. "Speaking from personal experience, he's just fool's gold..."
Spyro: Unlike Mario, I have a better way to spend my time; I could care less about stalking a man and some kid that he used to raise. But at least he's doing it with the mostly right intentions.
"Put it in there, Denzel!" said Master Hand as he offered himself to Denzel for a handshake. Denzel hesitated at first, before manning up as he shook Master Hand's...hand. The biggest handshake of his life, literally speaking.
"Ha, he feels like a giant marshmallow," remarked Denzel - nobody had ever described Master Hand as such before, and it left Mater Hand at a loss for words. Mario and Cloud thought that it was funny, though.
"I would be offended by that, but I'll let it slide..." said Master Hand as he ended the handshake, with an important question that he wished to ask. "Will you be living with us, Denzel?"
"We haven't discussed that yet," replied Cloud, conspicuously grabbing Denzel by his shoulders and taking him away from the sanctuary. "Maybe later."
"I was asking the boy, not you!" But Cloud didn't care, as he hurried down the hallway and made himself look awfully suspicious in the eyes of Master Hand. Cloud wasn't ready yet for such conversations.
At Sparkles' funeral, folks were asked to give a eulogy on Sparkles - and those were hard to come by as only a few attendees had any connection with Kana's former pet cat. Consequently, only a few individuals had something to say, such as Lucas.
"My only memory of Sparkles was when she scratched my crotch while I was asleep in the living room," Lucas spoke, his embarrassing story earning a couple of giggles from the funeral crowd. "Other than that...that's all I got. Sparkles will be missed."
"Such beautiful words..." remarked Lavenza, as there was a very small round of applause. Sonic, who was sitting next to Lavenza, rolled his eyes since Lavenza said those three same words for every eulogy.
"Thank you for the kind words, Lucas," the unofficial leader of ceremonies, Volnutt, thanked Lucas as he allowed the PSI whiz to take his seat. "Is there anyone else who would like to come up and say a few words?"
"I got something that I want to say," replied Knuckles, standing up from his seat as Volnutt gave the red echidna the floor. "When are we gonna bury that stupid cat already?"
"Sparkles was not a stupid cat!" Corrin passionately defended Kana's deceased pet, as he turned around and gave Knuckles a death glare. "She was the best cat a girl could ask for..."
"She sure was smelly, though," Ludwig Koopa muttered under his breath, as Wendy gasped at her brother and nudged him. "Sorry for keeping it real..."
"If no one else has a eulogy to give, then we can proceed with burying Sparkles," announced Volnutt, as a satisfied Knuckles sat back down in his seat. "Everyone follow me to the burial site."
So the attendees all arose from their seats, ready to follow Volnutt to the burial site where Shovel Knight and the Duck Hunt Dog awaited. Steve was watching from the distance, and who knows what he was plotting in his head...
With the baristas attending the funeral, Joker once again depended on Sans to run Cafe Leblanc by himself in the baristas' absence. Kyo entered the cafe, on the hunt for Terry and the gang, only to see Tom Nook and Ribbon Girl sitting at the counter.
"On a positive note, Athena Asamiya is a worthy talent," Tom Nook said to Ribbon Girl, who had given the tanuki the rundown on Fox and Falco's attempt to swoon Athena. "But do they think that every single who comes through here will sign with them?"
"Apparently so," replied Ribbon Girl, as Kyo was looking around for any of his friends' whereabouts. "Thank goodness Itsuki isn't like them."
"care for a cup of coffee?" Sans asked Kyo, who went up to the counter to ask the skeleton a few questions. "promise that i'll give you my best shot."
"Not in the mood," replied Kyo, who wouldn't have taken a seat at the counter if he wasn't on the move at the very moment. Didn't have much time to talk. "Have you seen a Japanese guy with funny hair? Or a chick who looks like Android 18? Or..."
"that chick waltzed in here not so long ago." Sans pointed at a woman sitting at a table by herself, trying to keep a low profile. Upon closer inspection, Kyo saw that the woman was...
"Mai!" Kyo ran over to Mai, who tried to keep her head down - but it was no use. Her cover was fully blown. "You really thought that you could hide here from everyone, huh?"
"Used to think that until you showed up..." grumbled Mai, counting down the hours and minutes until she could take off her "normal" attire. "...I can't wait to get back home."
"Kyo and Mai, sitting in a tree..." a voice sang to Kyo and Mai, who saw Iori sitting by himself and smiling sinisterly as he stood up. "...K-I-S-S-I-N-G."
"Chill out, Iori...like I would ever steal Andy's girl." Kyo was pretty ticked off, and that was how Iori liked it as he crept towards the martial artist.
"Yeah, Iori, not cool," Mai frowned at the jazz singer, who was left stunned as he stopped in his tracks. And it wasn't because of what Mai was wearing.
"What? I don't even get a hello?" Iori questioned Mai; why was he acting so surprised. Mai knew what he was all about. "Where is the politeness?"
"As if you have any room to talk..." responded Kyo as he confronted Iori, standing toe to toe with the jazz singer. Iori smirked, seeing that Kyo was looking for a fight. And the person behind the counter had a front-row seat.
"this is gonna be good..." smiled Sans as he whipped out a bag of popcorn; the skeleton might not mind Cafe Leblanc being burned to the ground, but with Joker, it would be an extremely different story.
"How about we skip the fluff and get right to it," said Iori, as he and Kyo were both charging an intense flame in their hand. "If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you will..."
"Hold it, Iori!" shouted Ribbon Girl as she ran over to the jazz singer, preventing him from landing the first blow on Kyo. "Why don't you use your flame for something more useful?"
"What could possibly be more important than burning Kyo to a crisp?" It was always a dream of Iori's to burn a human body to ashes. Pretty gruesome dream, but it put a smile on Iori's face whenever he thought about it.
"Star Records is trying to sign Athena Asamiya to a contract," Tom Nook informed Iori, as he stood at Ribbon Girl's side; Iori didn't even have to ask who was involved with the contract signing. "We were wondering if..."
"...you want me to burn the contract instead of Kyo. Got it." Iori extinguished his flame, grumbling as he looked at Kyo and was forced to spare him. "We will have our battle one day, Kusanagi..."
"Wait, Iori, before you go..." Kyo said to the jazz singer, who looked mildly curious as Kyo went over to Mai and grabbed her shoulders. "...I think that you might need some extra firepower."
"'Extra firepower'?" Mai asked Kyo, who flashed a smile hoping for Mai to get the clue. "Do you mean what I think you mean?"
The final part of Sparkles' funeral was burying Sparkles, as Pit and Incineroar (but mainly Incineroar) brought the cat's casket to the burial site. Everyone stood around at the giant hole that Shovel Knight and the Duck Hunt Dog dug up.
"It is time," announced a somber Shovel Knight, double-checking to see if the hole was big enough for the casket to fit in. "Lower the casket into the hole. And be gentle!"
"We'll try," replied Pit as he and Incineroar lifted the casket together...only for Pit to drop the casket on his foot. The angel screamed in pain as the casket opened, with Sparkles' body falling out.
"Cat overboard!" shouted Sonic, but everyone was too fixated on Pit who was left in a world of pain and agony. Wii Fit Trainer was there to check on Pit's foot, diagnosing the severity of the injury.
"I'm fine, I'm fine..." Pit was obviously not fine, but he was able to shake off the pain as he got back on his feet with some assistance from Wii Fit. A hobbled Pit hopped on one foot, as he rejoined the crowd.
"Oh dear - the casket's open," observed Makoto, being only the second person to notice that the casket had cracked open. But when looked inside the casket, and the hole, she saw something amiss. "But where is the cat's body?"
"Sparkles?" fretted Kana, as everyone was on high alert; Sparkles' body had been misplaced, and not a single person knew where it was. Except for one...
"I have realized, burying Sparkles would simply not do," said a certain craftsman, as everyone saw Steve standing at a far distance. In his hand was Sparkles' body, which he was holding up.
"Steve, don't do anything stupid..." Link advised the craftsman, taking a few steps closer towards him; he couldn't take too many steps, for who knew what Steve would pull.
"Rather than burying Sparkles, we should cremate her instead." Steve held up his other hand, and in it was a burning torch. No way would anyone let him burn a dead cat's body in broad daylight.
Steve: The best part about cremation is that there is no pain involved. Just the rush of memories, as the ashes fill the air.
"Steve, put the cat down," Zelda commanded the craftsman, who defied the princess' command as he brought his torch closer to Sparkles. Kana couldn't bear to watch, turning away and hugging Corrin tightly.
"No, I can not - nature must take its course," stated Steve, as he held the torch right underneath Sparkles' tail. Who knows how much was enjoying this moment.
"Sonic..." Lavenza whispered to the blue hedgehog, wanting him to take action. Seeing what must be done, Sonic ran up to Steve to deal with the craftsman by himself.
"Hey, Steve...nature stinks!" Sonic taunted Steve, leaping into the air and delivering a Spin Dash to the craftsman. Steve fell to the ground, landing on his back as he dropped his torch and Sparkles.
"I have fallen and I cannot get up," said Steve, sounding like an old person in a Life Alert advert as his torch was resting on top of him. "I am also on fire."
"Uh, cool story, bro." Sonic backed away from Steve, allowing the craftsman to burn away as Makoto scooped up Sparkles' body and brought it back to the burial site.
"Shall we resume with the burial?" Shovel Knight asked the funeral attendees, as Makoto gently placed Sparkles back in her casket. Sonic returned to the burial site, as Lavenza gave him a smile of approval.
Fox and Falco made steady progress with Athena, and the pilots were ready to have Athena put pen to paper. Fox bestowed upon Falco the honors of giving Athena her Star Records contract, and they apparently had one ready to go.
"Today would be nice," Fox said to Falco, who was pulling out the contract and giving it to Athena at a snail's pace. Athena had all the time to wait.
"It's called 'dramatic effect', bruh - look it up," retorted Falco, forced to place the contract on the desk instantly. Athena took a gander at the contract, skimming through the fine print.
"What does it say here about unlimited free sunglasses?" asked Athena, pointing at one of the provisions listed on the contract. Take a super wild guess who that contract was originally for. Any wild guess.
"Ignore that...that wasn't meant to be there," replied Fox as he took out an ink pen and furiously scratched out a bunch of stuff on the contract. Once he was done, Fox handed his pen to Athena. "Alright, Athena, put your signature on the dotted lines, and you'll be officially..."
"Seriously?!" groaned Falco as he heard another knock at the Star Records' door - albeit softer than Terry's aggressive knock. "How many times..."
Fox and Falco went to go answer the door, planning on telling Terry off and asking him to leave them alone. But when they opened the door, they instead saw a friend of Terry's - Mai Shiranui. And for the first time today, Mai was smiling.
"Hello, boys..." greeted Mai, who was back to wearing her classic red ninja garb; Fox and Falco were doing their best not to be distracted. "...did someone order a hot chick?"
Blue Mary: Mai has been wearing that red garb under her clothes the whole time. Putting that shirt and pants on really made her feel some type of way.
"Man I can't be doing this, I'm married for Cripe's sake!" fretted Fox, putting his hands on his head as he retreated to the Star Records desk. Falco on the other hand just stood there, flustered and transfixed by Mai.
"...I HAVE MORALS!" the avian pilot shouted at the top of his lungs, before retreating to the desk himself. Seeing the powerful effect she had on the pilots, Mai sashayed her way inside the room as Itsuki stood close by.
"Just don't look away from your phone, Itsuki..." Itsuki said to himself, keeping his eyes glued to his phone screen as Mai crept towards Fox and Falco. Both men were huddled together, shivering in fear.
"I see that they finally let you express yourself," Athena said to Mai, who was towering over the desk as she stared into the souls of Fox and Falco. Mai was too much for either pilot to resist.
"Nice little contract you got here," Mai smiled at Fox and Falco as she grabbed Athena's contract, holding it in the air. "Would be such a shame if someone were to..."
"...burn it," Iori would finish for Mai, stepping inside the room and walking to the desk. Mai handed the contract to Iori, who ignited a blue flame in his hand as he burned the contract to smithereens.
"Oh, darn - guess I won't be signing with Star Records after all!" Athena shrugged her shoulders, nonchalantly accepting her fate. She was fairly neutral on signing, but Mai and Iori ultimately made the decision for her.
Kyo: Iori would oftentimes help me out - only so he could have a chance to fight me - so today I wanted to return the favor. Anything to keep Athena in her hometown of Japan. *smiles, then facepalms out of embarrassment* I did not just call Japan a city...
"Iori, you monster!" Fox pointed disdainfully at the jazz singer, who blew the contract ashes into the pilot's face. "You're gonna pay for this!"
"I'd much rather see you try," responded Iori, as he placed his hand on Athena's shoulder...the hand that didn't have the blue flame. Stop worrying. "I believe that your friends are waiting for you..."
Athena followed Mai and Iori out of the Star Records room, with Mai closing the door behind her. Waiting for Athena in the hallway were Terry, Andy, and Rock.
"That was awesome, Iori!" exclaimed Terry, who had seen everything from outside the room as he held up his hand for a high five. "Gimme five!"
"Go jump off of a cliff..." Iori said to Terry, leaving the fighter hanging as he walked away and went to the elevator. Terry couldn't be too upset, for he was rejoined by Athena.
"How did it go?" Tom Nook asked Terry and company, as he and Ribbon Girl came down the hallway. The tanuki expected to hear good news.
"Turns out that I won't be joining Star Records," Athena said to Ribbon Girl, and that was the kind of news that Ribbon Girl wanted to hear. "Probably for the best, I suppose."
"You're much better off staying in Japan," Ribbon Girl said to Athena, who figured that the ARMS fighter had a valid point. "Would be an unwise move to abandon all your adoring fans."
"Yes - even the crazy ones!" Athena let out a giggle, only to notice Tom Nook being entranced by Mai. For obvious reasons. "Is the tanuki going to be okay?"
"My oh my..." said Tom Nook, becoming flustered by Mai - so much that he fainted unto the floor in a snap. Mai looked at Tom Nook's unconscious body and felt bad about herself.
"I can see why you wanted me to dress normally," Mai said to Terry and the others, seeing that her friends were not only looking out for her but for any male that she left entranced. "Hated those jeans, though."
"Pardon us..." Kiria said to Mai and company, as she and Tsubasa brushed past the group to reach the Star Records room. But Ribbon Girl stopped the two in the nick of time.
"If it's about Athena Asamiya, she's not signing," Ribbon Girl informed Kiria and Tsubasa, with Athena nodding her head to confirm. Kiria, who was about to give her bosses a piece of her mind, was suddenly relaxed.
"She's not? Good for her, then. Glad that everyone came to their senses."
Cloud had an eventful day with Denzel, and it was hard for him to say goodbye to the boy. As he and Denzel walked down the hallway, they came across a certain one-winged angel.
"Why did he have to be here...?" Denzel moaned upon seeing Sephiroth, who was standing menacingly across from Cloud. Denzel had a bit of history with Sephiroth...remnants of him, that is.
"Not a single move," Cloud commanded Sephiroth, uncertain of whatever tricks his arch-nemesis was plotting to pull. If he even had a trick. "Keep your hands off of Denzel."
"Whoever said that I wanted to be hands-on?" asked Sephiroth, as a young girl by the name of Marlene emerged from behind the one-winged angel. Marlene was all smiles when she saw Denzel, her older brother figure.
"Hi, Denzel!" squealed Marlene as she ran over to Cloud and Denzel, giving Denzel a warm hug. "Daddy told me that you were gonna be staying with us."
"Well, it looks like you've finally found me," Denzel smiled at Marlene, as Cloud couldn't help but crinkle his nose. Was he hearing right?
"Might want to take a listen..." Sephiroth said to Cloud, seeing the swordsman's visage, as he motioned over to Master Hand's room. Cloud took a peek inside the nearby room and saw Master Hand speaking with Mario, Aerith, and Tifa.
"If you wanna go through with this, then you're gonna have to find him a bed," Master Hand explained to Mario and company, with Cloud slowly coming to terms with what was on the horizon. "Those two sleeping in the same bed would be freaky."
"Luigi slept-a with Charles in the same bed," Mario randomly stated, as Tifa and Aerith peered down at the plumber with questionable looks. "Granted, this was when Charles was two years-a old..."
"We'll find the right-sized bed for Denzel, no worries," Aerith assured Master Hand as Mario saw Cloud peeking in through the doorway, winking at him. No doubt that Mario had some sway in the decision that was made.
"Cloud, what are they talking about?" Denzel asked Cloud, believing that a great wealth of information was being discussed inside Master Hand's room. Cloud stepped away from the door and faced Denzel.
"The good news is...you won't be going back to Edge anytime soon," replied Cloud, leading Denzel to learn that his time at the mansion was now fully extended. And for how long, who knew.
"So that means I'll get to stay with you? Great!" Denzel was ecstatic upon hearing this news, and so was Marlene...but Cloud, nearly not as much.
"I'll be watching you..." Sephiroth vowed to Cloud with his classic evil smirk, as he walked away and left the swordsman alone. Perhaps Sephiroth was the reason why Cloud wasn't fully excited.
Mario: Today was a good start, but I need-a more. Much-a more. Cloud will serve as a fantastic template-a for me to learn from in regards-a to being a better father. Not the first-a person that I would have chosen, but I can't complain. And neither should-a Cloud.
Sparkles' funeral was over, and the burial was done peacefully with Sparkles buried six feet under. Kana sat with Corrin in the foyer, reflecting upon Sparkles as Terry, Andy, and Rock came around the corner.
"Sorry about your cat," Terry gave his condolences to Kana, wanting to redeem himself from last week; the fighter flinched in anticipation of Kana's response.
"Thank you, Mr. Bogard," Kana thanked Terry, now in a much better mood than she was beforehand. Terry let out a sigh of relief, clutching his chest, as Blue Mary entered the foyer.
"Ryo just told me that his girlfriend King is a manager at a steakhouse in town," Blue Mary said to Terry, as she had done some catching up with Ryo Sakazaki. An old acquaintance of hers. "How come you never told us, Terry?"
"I figured that you already knew!" replied Terry, and he knew that it wasn't the best answer as Blue Mary frowned and folded her arms. "I take it that you and everyone else wanna have lunch there?"
"In a perfect world, that's where we could've spent our entire time at." Well, Blue Mary, beggars can't be choosers. But imagine all the trouble that Terry and his friends could've avoided.
"Is that who I think it is?" Rock asked Terry, as he saw Mario coming from Master Hand's room. Terry couldn't pass on the opportunity of introducing his adopted son to Mario.
"Mario! Come and meet my son, Rock Howard!" Terry encouraged the plumber, who stopped so that he could take a good look at Rock. Mario looked at Rock from head to toe, looking for any similarities to Terry.
"Another dad for me to learn-a from...mama mia," Mario shook his head, choosing to stick with Cloud from now on as he exited the mansion. Rock looked at Terry, left with many questions about his encounter with Mario.
"Must be a bad day for him," Terry said to Rock with a faint smile, with an answer than was even lamer than the one he gave Blue Mary. He sure was terrible at making excuses.
No way that Mario could possibly learn from his example.