Author's Note:
In the previous author's note, I was talking about Conker, a video game character who has been sadly forgotten in recent times. However, there is another forgotten video game character who unlike Conker has a remaster coming out today. His name? Klonoa! With Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series being released (on the series' 25th anniversary, no less), Klonoa will be appearing in this chapter. Now to answer a few reviews:
"Aside from Nanaimo Bars and butter tarts, what other Canadian desserts were shown for everyone indulging on from a creamery? Example, "Beaver Tails", Saskatoon Berry Pie, Sugar Pie and Blueberry Grunts?"
I dunno - just use your imagination. Next is Some Smash News:
"Very timely that you wrote a chapter about Canada...since there's a big Smash tournament currently happening in Canada, named "Get On My Level 2022", and it got events for both Melee and Ultimate. Fun fact: Riddles, arguably the best Canadian player at the tournament, plays a combination of Terry and Kazuya. Talk about perfectly balanced, huh?"
Terry AND Kazuya? What an eclectic combination. Riddles must have his inputs on lock. Ending things off with questions from David:
"Will a Portal chapter happen next? Will other Darkstalkers characters still show up and cause problems like Jedah or Pyron? Will Vincent Brooks and Katherine McBride from Catherine have a small appearance? (Vincent had an "Early Bird Cameo" in Persona 3 Portable). Will you combine the Mario and Rabbids chapter with the Persona 5 Royal chapter when both games come out? Do you think Elias is gonna ditch his Ezekiel gimmick for the possible Elrod gimmick? And finally, with AEW hiring Claudio/Cesaro, do you think MJF was right about Tony Khan hoarding money to hire ex-WWE talent?"
A Portal chapter won't happen next. Don't know if any other Darkstalkers characters will appear. Vincent might have a small cameo. The Mario and Rabbids chapter will be combined with the Persona 5 Royal chapter. Elias won't be ditching his Ezekiel gimmick anytime soon. And the more that I look at it, MJF does have a point about Khan. I imagine that the former WWE wrestlers are high on AEW's payroll, which must tick off some of the homegrown talents. But hey, if the ex-WWE wanted to work at another wrestling promotion, then all the more power to them...
Episode 342: Klonoa
Pac-Man was obviously the most famous Namco character to have ever existed. The eater of ghosts had been around for a very long time, as his arcade games made plenty of dough for Namco. And because of his namesake, he got paid generously.
How did he get paid, you might ask? Every week, Pac-Man would receive a Namco check in the mail, which was roughly a thousand dollars or more. These thousands of dollars, when racked up, helped Pac-Man with a lot of finances - helped pay the bills, put food on the table, spoil the kids to no end...the list goes on and on.
But one question remained - did Pac-Man's wife, Ms. Pac-Man, receive a check? After all, she was a video game icon herself, as her arcade game was a top seller. Nonetheless, she has never received a single check from Namco, and it bothered her greatly.
"Oh, sweetie! Another check just came in the mail," Ms. Pac-Man informed Pac-Man, who was in his living room feeding a scoop of fertilizer to the Piranha Plant. Or at least he was trying to.
"No, Piranha Plant, you have to eat the fertilizer!" Pac-Man scolded the plant, who ducked each and every time Pac-Man brought the fertilizer to his mouth. "How else am I supposed to know if this stuff works?"
"You can't just feed him the fertilizer, Pac-Man." Ms. Pac-Man grabbed the scoop and put it in the bag of fertilizer, as Piranha Plant let out a sigh of relief. "Besides, what if the Piranha Plant doesn't like it?"
"He won't like it unless he tastes it. How bad can it be?" To show the Piranha Plant that he had nothing to worry about, Pac-Man grabbed a handful of fertilizer and put it in his mouth. The eater of ghosts grimaced as he tried to chew.
"Wait a minute, is this chemical fertilizer?" Ms. Pac-Man checked the bag, now starting to see why the Piranha Plant was acting so hesitant. Pac-Man finally swallowed the fertilizer, playing off his disgust by smiling and rubbing his tummy.
"Mm, mm, MM! That sure hit the spot." No matter how hard Pac-Man smiled, it wasn't enough to ease the worries that Ms. Pac-Man had. "Oh, is that my check from Namco, Ms. Pac-Man? Why didn't you tell me?"
"Pac-Man, I don't think that you were meant to..." Ms. Pac-Man would be ignored, as Pac-Man took the check out of her hands and sniffed it. Smelt like big fat Benjamins, all in the form of a single piece of paper.
"Let's see how much moolah I got this time." So Pac-Man ripped the envelope and took out the check, as his eyes went wide when he saw the amount listed. "A $1,500 check! Someone up in corporate must've felt pretty generous."
Berkut: Word has it that Pac-Man receives a large check on a weekly basis. I imagined that those checks deserve to go to a man much more deserving - yours truly, in case you weren't aware - so I've tried to hotwire having the checks being delivered to my house. No such luck.
"Another thing also came in the mail," Ms. Pac-Man said to Pac-Man as she handed her husband an envelope with a Pac-Man stamp on top. "Somebody wrote you a letter!"
"A letter? For me? Hand it over!" exclaimed Pac-Man as he tossed his check to the floor like it had expired or something. The Piranha Plant conspicuously picked up the check, smiling with its sharp teeth as it stuffed it in its flower pot.
Ms. Pac-Man handed the envelope over to Pac-Man, who tore the envelope open faster than the one that had the $1,500 check. Pac-Man took the letter out of the envelope, and he read it out loud.
Dear Pac-Man,
Hello! It's your old buddy, Klonoa. Wahoo! Long time no talk.
I just wanted to thank you for inviting me to your brunch, it really means a lot.
Can't wait to hang out with you and the others. Should be a lot of fun!
Anyways, I heard that you're back to living out on your own, so I can't wait to see your home.
And who knows, maybe I'll get to see your family, too! Hope I won't be too overbearing.
That's all from me, I'll be seeing you soon. Until then, take care, Pac-Man!
Sincerely,
Your old friend, Klonoa.
"Klonoa wrote you a letter, how sweet!" cooed Ms. Pac-Man as she held her hands together close to her face. Pac-Man had very limited interaction with Klonoa compared to his other Namco buddies, so a letter from Klonoa was obviously a big deal for him.
"I'll say - haven't talked to that guy in forever!" remarked Pac-Man as he placed the letter on the living room table next to him, as his moment of joy was later replaced by confusion. "So what brunch do you think he's talking about?"
"I dunno..." Soon it hit Ms. Pac-Man, who gasped as she recalled the get-together that Pac-Man held back in episode 278. "...unless he was referring to that brunch you had last year!"
"Shucks, don't tell me Klonoa got his invite super late! Sure would explain why he was a no-show, though. What should I even tell him?"
"Just tell him that the brunch got canceled." But Pac-Man couldn't bring himself to do that; Klonoa was too pure and innocent of a soul to have his precious heart broken into a million pieces.
"No way, that would only make it even worse...ooh, I know, I'll go speak with Mario! He always knows what to do."
If Pac-Man wanted to speak with Mario, then he oughta wait for a while since Mario was kind of busy at the moment. Peach was expected to give birth next week, and so Mario wanted to be extra prepared for the birth of his second child.
How did he plan on being prepared? By deciding on what the name of his child would be. Mario was gathered with Spyro, Hunter, Cloud, and Denzel in his living room, putting together the perfect brainstorming group. At least in his mind.
"Princess-a Peach and I already did an ultrasound," Mario shared this news with Cloud and company; Knuckles would chew the plumber out for wanting to "spoil" the baby's gender. "Our second-a child will be...a boy!"
"Stop clapping, Hunter, Peach hasn't even delivered the baby yet," Spyro said to his cheetah friend, who was clapping with joy in response to Mario's news. The clapping eventually died down.
"Thank you for the applause. Now I've entrusted-a Daisy to hold Peach down at the beauty salon...not threateningly, so that should buy us enough-a time to figure out a name."
"Why can't you decide on a name yourself?" Cloud asked this totally valid question to Mario, as he was not the right person to ask for suggestions of any kind. "It's your kid."
Cloud: Once Peach delivers her baby, I'll be returning Denzel back home. I think I've taught Mario everything that I could teach him. Everything that I know, rather. I didn't expect Mario to take my lessons that seriously, but what else can I say, he's a trooper. Probably one of his few positive traits. We'll see if that'll make him a better dad in the long run.
"I have a few ideas in-a mind, but I'll need-a your guys' second opinion," replied Mario, positioning himself in front of a chalkboard as he grabbed a white piece of chalk. "Before we begin, do any of you have any suggestions?"
"You should name your kid Warhorse!" Hunter blurted out, thinking of the first cool name that came to mind. It was the only cool name that he could think of. "Then he'll never be bullied for as long as he lives."
"That would have probably the opposite effect..." commented Spyro, but Mario didn't seem to mind as much as he wrote "Warhorse" down on the chalkboard. "...Mario, are you serious right now?"
"I'll take-a anything that I can get," replied Mario, who planned on doing a process of elimination later after he had a long list of names. "Denzel, you wanna take a crack at it?"
"Um, what about Gaskin?" suggested Denzel, as Mario nodded his head in approval and wrote "Gaskin" on the chalkboard. "Gaskin was a man who took me in after Ruvie died."
"Wanna name my kid after some old-a man, really Denzel?" Mario went from approval to disapproval in a hurry, as he quickly erased "Gaskin" with an eraser. "What else-a you got? Maurice? Hugo? Beauregard?"
"Beauregard doesn't sound that bad," Cloud gave his two cents, as Mario felt like chucking his chalk at the swordsman's head. "Sounds like a throwback."
"Well, this isn't Throwback Thursday...this is serious-a business. Serious suggestions. Now, everyone-a put on your thinking caps, and use-a your brains!"
"What names have you thought of?" Spyro questioned Mario, throwing it right back at the plumber; Mario was ready as he adjusted his collar.
"Mario! Help! I need your help!" Pac-Man called out to the plumber from outside, knocking on the front door with the utmost urgency. Looking to serve Spyro until later, Mario answered the door.
"House caught-a on fire?" Mario asked Pac-Man as he readily took out his FLUDD; you could imagine the disappointment on the plumber's face when he saw that nothing extraordinary was happening outside.
"Well, it would've if I had let my wife use the popcorn popper! Don't tell Ms. Pac-Man I said that. I wanted to speak with you because an old friend of mine is coming to visit."
"You're trying to hide-a from your old friend?" Mario was slightly disappointed with Pac-Man, never imagining the eater of ghosts to leave any friend hanging out to dry.
"Here's the catch, though. In the letter he wrote to me, he said that he's looking forward to the brunch...which I already had last year! He got a late invite!"
"You gave-a your friend a late-a invite to your brunch?!" Completely missing the point, Mario saw his disappointment in Pac-Man increase tenfold, as he was left shaking his head. "So unlike-a you..."
"He didn't see his invite until later, okay! Anyway, I need your guidance on what I should do so that my friend won't be too upset with me."
"Who is your friend, by the way?" inquired Cloud, believing that Pac-Man was describing a very intimidating and fearsome behemoth of a man judging by the eater of ghosts' body language.
"His name is Klonoa - he's a Dream Traveler." Pac-Man had to elaborate a bit more since Cloud and company all looked confused. "He's a cat...no, he's a rabbit...or maybe he's some kind of dog."
"He's a cat-bear-rabbit...like Chowder!" exclaimed Hunter, hearkening back to a show that he watched on HBO Max one day. A show that he binge-watched against Mario and Peach's best wishes - and Spyro's, too.
Pac-Man: Dream traveling is very serious business - you gotta go to different dreams and basically save the universe from utter destruction. It's sort of like being a Marvel superhero, but only less cool. Thanks to his "job", Klonoa and I have rarely seen each other...heck, I even have a hard time remembering his face!
"Also, what's the pay like for being a Dream Traveler?" Hunter asked Pac-Man, seeing nothing but dollar signs in his mind; Pac-Man wasn't brave enough to tell Hunter that dream traveling was more or less a free job.
"Not a Dream Traveler myself, so I can't tell you," Pac-Man responded the best way that he could, before redirecting his attention to Mario as he had a pickle to get himself out of. "So what should I do, Mario?"
"Put on your big-a boy pants, and face-a Klonoa like a man," Mario provided the best suggestion possible, unnerving Pac-Man over the thought of breaking Klonoa's precious heart. "It's not like I could-a dress up as you and..."
"THAT'S IT! You'll just take my spot, while I hide here." You and your big mouth, Mario. Way to provide Pac-Man an out for not putting on his big boy pants. "You still have that Pac-Man costume, right?"
"Afraid-a not, Peach threw it out the other day." But Mario would turn out to be wrong, as Peach entered the living room holding a costume that strongly resembled Pac-Man.
"Mario, I just got through washing your and Luigi's clothes in the washing machine," Rotom informed the plumber as she held up the Pac-Man costume; the yellow was shining as brightly as gold. "Your Pac-Man costume looks good as new, zroom!'
"...what I meant-a to say was, Peach threw it into the trash-a bin but then Rotom for whatever reason took it out. Since it was in the trash bin, it's unsalvagable. Can't wear it anymore."
"Doesn't bother me!" smiled Pac-Man as his mind was made up; he knew that he could trust Mario to get him out of his sticky situation. "Thanks for giving that costume a good shine, Rotom."
"You're welcome, Pac-Man, zzrt!" replied Rotom, knowing how much appreciation the eater of ghosts had for it. But not for the reason that it. was thinking. "I'll go hang this costume back in your closet, Mario."
"Okay..." Mario responded in a flat tone, as Rotom went back upstairs humming a happy tune. Hunter slowly crept to the chalkboard, took the white chalk, and wrote "Hammerstone" under the list of names.
Tails was all done building a lawn mower for Earnest. The yellow fox had to conduct a few trails to ensure that the lawn mower was working properly - had to make sure it cut the grass without fail, and that it didn't combust while it was in use. That was the main problem that prevented Tails from finishing his project on time.
But nonetheless, the lawn mower was ready, and Earnest was ready too as he was ready to start his new job. After the lawn mower was completed, then came the next step - finding a good box to put it in. There was also Knuckles' crazy idea...
"So, what do you think?" Knuckles asked Sonic and Tails, as he presented to them in the foyer Earnest's lawn mover wrapped entirely in wrapping paper. Sonic and Tails were not huge fans.
"The wrapping paper defeats the whole purpose, don't you think?" asked Sonic, who was put off by the wrapping paper that Knuckles chose; it was pink and had Hello Kitty on it. "He could easily tell what it is."
"No, he wouldn't! He might think that we stuffed a whole microwave oven under the packaging. And a new lawn chair." That didn't convince Sonic and Tails in the slightest, as the two friends tore the wrapping paper right off.
"You have always been such a lousy gift wrapper, Knuckles," Tails said to the echidna, showing great disapproval towards the wrapping paper that Knuckles picked out. Knuckles saw nothing wrong with it.
Knuckles: Used that Hello Kitty wrapping paper as a test of will. If Earnest accepted his gift with no problem, then all is well. But if he turned it down because of the pink, then it would how where he stands as a man - and then he would get no gift. Sure he wouldn't have a lawn mower for his job, but he would reap what he sowed. The Hello Kitty design wouldn't make much of a difference regardless of color.
"Hope you weren't planning on leaving without me," Lavenza said to Sonic as she approached the blue hedgehog, wishing to see him deliver the lawn mower to Earnest. She wanted to be there for every single good deed Sonic did.
"Nah, we were just figuring out how we should deliver the lawn mower to Earnest," said Sonic as he stuffed the Hello Kitty wrapping paper into a trash can, much to Knuckles' chagrin. "Might as well hand it to him straight up."
"Putting in a box would work best." Lavenza knew who to ask, as she saw Snake walking by carrying a cardboard box big enough for the lawn mower to fit in. "May we borrow that box, Snake?"
"I'm only doing this because you're cute..." replied Snake as he handed the box to Lavenza without putting up much of a fuss. As Snake left the foyer, Sonic friends placed the lawn mower inside the cardboard box.
"Now to put on the finishing touch!" exclaimed Tails as he readily took out some duct tape from his imaginary pocket and sealed the top of the box. The lawn mower was now ready to be delivered.
"Cool. Time to move out!" shouted Sonic as he tried to lift the box, but to no avail; the box was heavier than he thought. Knuckles assisted Sonic in lifting the box off the floor, but even he couldn't get the job done.
"Should I go ask for help?" Tails asked Sonic and Knuckles, who were both in pain as they strained themselves trying to lift the box. Sonic and Knuckles' manly egos wouldn't allow Tails to ask for any assistance.
Thanks to a talk that he had with Fox in the previous episode, Falco was committed to being chill about his veganism so that he wouldn't be much of a nuisance to everyone around him. Learning that his behavior secretly bugging out Fox was what prompted the avian pilot to have a change of heart. But for Falco to have a full change of heart, he needed some guidance from his best friend so that he wouldn't devolve into his old ways.
"Really? Do I have to throw out all these vegan brochures?" Falco asked Fox, who asked his friend to clean out any and all vegan-related stuff in his room. "The brochures could change someone's life."
"The life of someone who would actually read them, probably," replied Fox, who was skimming through a brochure right now only to drop it to the floor after he got bored. "How much did those brochures even cost?"
"Not a relevant question..." Falco had to come clean after Fox stared at him intensely. "...they cost me nine dollars apiece." Fox almost wanted to faceplant to the floor after hearing that one.
"...you know what, let's just put these brochures in the garage." Fox scooped up the brochures that were inside Falco's closet and placed them on Falco's bed. "The Rabbids might read them for their own amusement...or eat them whole."
"How is it coming along?" Link asked Fox and Falco, as he, Zelda, and Toadsworth stopped by Falco's room. The Hylian couple had a vested interest in seeing Fox directing Falco's change of heart and wanted to be more involved in the process.
"Can you believe that a single vegan brochure cost seven dollars?" Fox asked Link and company as he held up a brochure; Zelda went over to Falco's bed and picked up a brochure, as she took a peek inside.
"Huh, never knew they had a vegan pyramid," remarked Zelda, as she glossed through the brochure for any info worth reading. "Falco, did you once say that food pyramids were 'straight-up propaganda'?"
"Food pyramids and vegan pyramids are two different things," defended Falco, as Link joined Zelda at her side to take a look at the brochure for himself. Having read and seen enough, Zelda closed the brochure and placed it back on the bed.
"Hey, I was looking through that!" Link frowned at Zelda as he grabbed the brochure and opened it back up. The first thing that the Hylian took notice of was a list of vegan pyramids. "Oatmeal risotto...sounds exquisite. And disgusting."
"We'll worry about this oatmeal risotto later," said Toadsworth as he stepped inside the room, standing next to Falco and putting his hand on the avian pilot. "What we should worry about is changing Falco for the better!"
"Yeah, what the old man said," said Falco as he gently took Toadsworth's hand away; he did not appreciate how touchy Toadsworth was. "Probably won't be instantaneous..."
"Instantaneous, no! Rome was never built in a day, after all. This might be a long journey that in the end will be worth it...but only if you put in the effort."
Fox: "Might be a long journey"...Toadsworth's making it seem like Falco's some cancer patient! On that note, I am so happy that Falco has never even thought about doing something stupid like faking cancer. He's definitely the type.
It took them a while, but Sonic and Knuckles were able to take the box containing the lawn mower out through the front door - and they did it without anyone's help! Took them a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (mostly sweat), but now they could say that it was a job well done.
"Lookin' good, Piranha Plant!" Sonic clicked his fingers at the plant, who shuffled his way inside the mansion. A part of Piranha Plant resented that he was seen in broad daylight...
Piranha Plant: *pulls Pac-Man's check out of his flower pot, smiles intently*
"Hey guys, look who it is...it's Earnest!" Knuckles said to Sonic, Tails, and Lavenza as he saw a familiar truck pull up to the mansion's driveway. Earnest's Ford F-150 truck. "Talk about perfect timing."
"Weird, I don't recall us ever giving him the mansion's address," remarked Tails, finding it fishy that Earnest was paying the mansion a visit. "Do you, Sonic?"
"Who cares, let's go greet him first!" replied Sonic as he led everyone to the driveway; Sonic and company stood outside the truck, waiting for Earnest to roll the tinted driver's window down.
When the window rolled down, everyone was surprised to see a man not named Earnest behind the wheel. To everyone's shock, Guile was in the driver's seat, wearing his sunglasses.
"Guile?!" everyone shouted the major's name in unison, as Guile majestically turned his head towards Sonic and company and pulled his sunglasses down.
"You're looking right at him," answered Guile, who was feeling like a million bucks driving the truck that he had his eyes on for many weeks. "At last...the truck is all mine."
"But that truck belongs to Earnest," stated Lavenza, caught off-guard by this sudden turn of events only to gasp when a harrowing thought entered her mind. "You stole it from him!"
"Stealing from a fellow American! For shame," Knuckles shook his head disapprovingly at Guile, disgusted that the major would abandon his own morals just to have some man's Ford truck.
"I never stole the truck from Earnest!" defended Guile, deeply offended that Knuckles and Lavenza would make such blind accusations against him. "He gave it to me when I stopped by his home."
"Kinda strange for him to do," remarked Sonic, who figured that Earnest loved his truck deeply and would never give it up for the world. "Bet he couldn't even pay his first car payment!"
"But it's probably a bit too soon for him to make a car payment," stated Tails; something just wasn't adding up for the yellow fox, as Earnest's prompt generosity seemed suspect.
"I'll be honest, I was shocked when he yielded the truck," admitted Guile, whose story Sonic and company found way too good to be true. "But I had no other choice but to accept the vehicle, especially since I wanted it badly."
"So I guess this means you'll be spending your time driving down random roads and looking at wildlife," Knuckles said to Guile, as he found the major's hobbies to be boring. Nothing about sightseeing excited the echidna.
"And saluting any proud father that I see. Nothing more American than a good dad being around for his children." Just thinking about a dad playing catch with his son made Guile teary-eyed.
"...uh, we better get going," said Sonic as he ran to his blue corvette so that he could get the engine started. "Tails, Knuckles, you two try and bring that lawn mover over here."
"You're not planning on going to see Earnest, are you?" Guile asked Sonic, snapping out of his teary-eyed trance as Sonic hopped in his ride and stuck his car keys into the ignition.
"Why wouldn't we? Gotta give him his lawn mower." Sonic waited around for Tails and Knuckles to bring the lawn mower, while Guile kept silent. It was almost as if Guile had something to say, but couldn't bring himself to get the words out of his mouth...
Pac-Man was apparently depending on Mario to pose as him when Klonoa visited, and basically tell Klonoa that the brunch at his home was "canceled". While Mario got fitted into his Pac-Man costume, Spyro took a gander at the bunch of names Hunter wrote on the chalkboard during Mario's absence.
"Let's see..." said Spyro as he squinted his eyes, making out Hunter's horrible handwriting. Needed a high prescription to read that chicken scratch. "...Hammerstone, Lancelot, Techno, Jetpack, Stephanie...Stephanie?!"
"Ever heard of gender-neutral names, Spyro?" questioned Hunter, who thought of a certain basketball superstar when the name Stephanie came to mind. "Clearly you don't..."
"At this point, we should just trust Mario's intuition," said Cloud, who along with Denzel stuck around to see how Mario looked dressed up as Pac-Man. "It's his kid, not ours."
"I can't go like-a this...I look ridiculous!" wailed Mario, who came down the stairs along with Pac-Man and Rotom. The despair in his voice said a lot about how uncomfortable the plumber felt.
"You look great, zzrt," commented Rotom, as Mario came into the living room...in his Pac-Man costume. Spyro, Hunter, and Denzel giggle, while Cloud gave a rare smirk.
"I give it two thumbs up!" exclaimed Pac-Man, who had to help Mario down the stairs; Mario could barely even see while wearing the costume, and he was feeling hot in it already.
"This simply won't work-a out well," remarked Mario, able to tell that his mission would be an abject failure. Pac-Man thought otherwise. "The mouth-a doesn't even move!"
"Then just tell Klonoa that I have a facial paralysis. Promise that he won't see you through." It was a very flimsy promise, but a promise nonetheless.
Mario: I can't impersonate Pac-Man. No offense, but Pac-Man has-a no personality! All he does is eat ghosts, and eat pellets, and maybe eat-a some fruit on the side!
Spyro: What about you, Mario? All you do is collect coins, go down green pipes, and eat mushrooms. Does that make you any different?
Mario: Spyro, if you're going to besmirch-a my name, you can do it another time-a when I'm in the mood...
Spyro: Aw, but I like doing it when you're not in the mood! Makes it funnier...
"Mario! I'm home!" Peach called out to the plumber from behind the door, back home a lot sooner than Mario had anticipated. Daisy must not have done a good job at holding Peach down at the beauty salon.
"Don't-a answer the door," Mario commanded everyone, his command fell on Pac-Man's deaf ears as Pac-Man went ahead and answered the door. "Pac-Man!"
"Good afternoon, ladies!" Pac-Man greeted Peach and Daisy, who were both standing on the doorstep having enjoyed their time at the beauty salon. "I was just chatting it up with Mario."
"That's nice," replied Peach, as she and Daisy looked past Pac-Man and saw Mario dressed up as the eater of ghosts. Mario had nowhere to hide. "Oh my!"
"Why are there two of you in Mario's house?" Daisy asked Pac-Man, before eventually seeing that the second Pac-Man in the living room was just a costume. "Wait a minute...is that you, Mario?"
"Mario is not-a home," stated Mario, but it was no use as Peach and Daisy were both laughing together. There was a reason why Mario wanted his Pac-Man costume in the trash.
"I helped him fit into that costume, zzrt," Rotom said to Peach and Daisy in a bragging manner, like it wanted to take credit for dressing Mario. "Said costume is sparkly clean thanks to me!"
"Yeah, Mario here will be posing as me while I hide from my old friend Klonoa," explained Pac-Man; the way he said that so casually made him look like a huge jerk to Peach and Daisy.
"You want to hide from an old friend of ours?" Peach asked Pac-Man, who replayed in his mind the words that he said and realized how insensitive he was. "That is very unlike you, Pac-Man."
"It's not by choice, mind you...Mario is, uh, getting me out of a pickle." Saving himself from further questioning Pac-Man ran over to Mario and pushed him towards the front door. "Now's your time, Mario!"
"You can't make-a go through with this!" Mario said to Pac-Man, with Peach and Daisy moving out of the way as Pac-Man showed Mario out of the front door. "I never agreed-a to anything!"
"True, true, but this is only for my own good." Pac-Man saw that the back of Mario's costume was partially unzipped, and the eater of ghosts didn't see that as a pressing issue. "Go and make me proud!"
"But I..." Mario had no way to turn back, as Pac-Man nudged the plumber towards his house. Left with no other choice, Mario sighed in defeat as he went to Pac-Man's house and knocked on the door.
"Ready to head back home?" Daisy asked Rotom, who reconvened with the princess as Pac-Man checked to see if Ms. Pac-Man would let Mario in. "Hope that Luigi enjoyed his break."
"What break? His break from you?" Rotom asked Daisy, who smiled amusingly as he led the plasma Pokemon away. Once Ms. Pac-Man let Mario into her home - without barely even questioning anything - Pac-Man reeled back inside Mario's house.
"I'm really counting on you, Mario..." said Pac-Man as he closed the front door back, before returning to the living room. There he found Peach staring at the list of names on the chalkboard.
"Such a unique assortment of names you have," remarked Peach, as the names "Hammerstone" and "Jetpack" caught her attention the most. Hunter could tell, as he proudly smirked. "Did you all play a tabletop while I was away?"
"If Mario was actually good at them, we would have," replied Cloud, although he digressed; he wouldn't dare to play any tabletop game if Mario was the dungeon master. "But now that you're here, princes..."
Piranha Plant had Pac-Man's check, and as a plant, he honestly had no idea what to do with it. Should he buy fertilizer for him and Petey Piranha? Or should he buy a new flower pot? Unsure of how to spend the moolah, Piranha Plant consulted Polar Bear for guidance.
"Go buy a mink coat," Polar Bear suggested to Piranha Plant, who imagined how it would look styling and profiling with a mink coat on. "Would get you all the ladies, boss."
"What to do, what to do..." said a brainstorming Kazuya, as he passed by the lounge only to spot Piranha Plant and Polar Bear. The businessman was perplexed by the conversation taking place since only Polar Bear was carrying it along.
"If not a mink coat, then get a pair of Gucci sunglasses. That would also get you all the ladies." Polar Bear sounded as if he wanted Pac-Man's check for himself, as Kazuya took notice of the check upon further inspection.
"Don't mind if I interrupt," Kazuya said as he entered the lounge, coming off as cordially as he possibly could. "But where did that plant find that check?"
"Peep at the design." So Piranha Plant presented the check to Kazuya, which had a Pac-Man design; made it obvious to Kazuya where the check came from. "Namco came through with the big bucks."
"I see...a simpleton like Piranha Plant has no right to hold such a gaudy check. I ought to take it off his hands." Realizing that Kazuya had a point, Piranha Plant glanced at the check as it evaluated its options.
Making its final decision, Piranha Plant surrendered the $1,500 check to Kazuya. Kazuya smiled as he received the check, before placing it in the pocket of his business suit.
"Nice doing business with you, Piranha Plant," the businessman said as he left the lounge...smiling sinisterly. Polar Bear was starting to feel some type of way.
"Should've gotten the mink coat..." the bear whispered to Piranha Plant; he really wanted that check.
Kazuya: I have come to realize there would be a major consequence in killing Heihachi...I would risk being removed from the mansion. Or even from Smash altogether! But with this check... *holds up Pac-Man's check ...I can coerce any man or woman into doing the dirty work for me, and let them take the bullet. The only things that'll remain when the deed is done will be the blood on their hands - and the full satisfaction that I have from my father being out of my life forever.
Speaking of checks, Ms. Pac-Man was wondering why her husband received checks from Namco, but she didn't. She was going through the pile of old mail in her living room, hoping to see any check sent to her that she might've overlooked.
"Bills, junk mail, bills, junk mail, bills..." said Ms. Pac-Man as she went through the old mail, while Mario sat on the living room couch not uttering a word. "...wonder why Namco never gives me a check."
"Probably because you're expendable," Mario said to Ms. Pac-Man, finding it hard to sound like Pac-Man while also suppressing his Italian accent. It was a struggle that he had yet to overcome.
"You think it's because of that legal dispute? Thought they settled it already in court. Do you know, Pac-Man?" Here came the biggest challenge for Mario, as his answer could make or break him.
But Mario didn't have to worry about giving an answer, as he and Ms. Pac-Man heard the doorbell sound. That could only mean one thing - Klonoa had arrived.
"Hello, is this Pac-Man's home?" a voice asked from outside - a voice full of cheer and joy. Ms. Pac-Man knew for sure that it was Klonoa, without a single doubt in her mind.
"He's here!" Ms. Pac-Man excitedly said to Mario as she answered the door, and saw a black creature standing on the doorstep wearing a blue cap. It was indeed Klonoa, Pac-Man's old friend...and Pac-Man wasn't even around to see him!
"Ms. Pac-Man! So good to see you." Klonoa reached in for a hug, as Ms. Pac-Man happily returned the favor. "But where's Pac-Man?" Now came Mario's real test - how would he fare with Klonoa the Dream Traveller.
"He's right here sitting in our living room." Ms. Pac-Man brought Klonoa's attention to Mario, who was doing his best to stay as silent as he possibly could. But only for the moment being. "Made me go answer the door. He should've done it himself!"
Ms. Pac-Man: So obvious that Mario is pretending to be my husband. He wore that Pac-Man costume to a costume party a few years ago. When I see Pac-Man after he's done hiding away from Klonoa, he and I are going to have a difficult conversation...
"Hi, Pac-Man! It's your old buddy, Klonoa!" exclaimed Klonoa as he happily skipped to where Mario was sitting. Mario was feeling the pressure, as he grew sweaty under his costume. Though it could be the lack of insulation causing the perspiration.
"Klonoa, my good friend," said Mario as he stood up with his arms out wide. "Bring it on in!" The plumber awkwardly wrapped his arms around Klonoa, as Ms. Pac-Man was holding in her laughter.
"Missed you too..." Klonoa's voice was muffled, as Mario held him tightly long a boa constrictor. Soon the hug ended, as Klonoa regained his breathing room.
"How's the Dream Travelling coming along? Made some good pay chasing dreams? Literally?" Mario clearly had no idea what Klonoa's job entailed, as he was making a big rookie mistake.
"No, you silly! I do Dream Travelling for free. Saving the world doesn't come with a price tag." If he had it his way, Mario wished that it did pay to save the world multiple times. "But I gotta ask, why are you constantly smiling?"
"It's because...I HAVE FACIAL PARALYSIS!" Mario was shouting at the top of his lungs, and Ms. Pac-Man covered her mouth as the urge not to laugh was even harder to resist.
"Aw, sorry to hear that... hope you feel better." Klonoa wasn't seeing through Mario's costume, which had to make Mario feel good about his chances. so far. "So when is the brunch starting?"
"Yes, sweetie, when is the brunch starting?" Ms. Pac-Man asked Mario, interested in seeing how the plumber would work his way out of the situation. All eyes were on Mario, whose sweating had greatly increased.
"Sadly, I have some bad news," Mario said to Klonoa, left with no choice but to come clean to Klonoa; if anyone had to break Klonoa's cute face, Mario could do it without much repercussion. "There is no brunch at my house."
"How come?" asked Klonoa, tears welling in his eyes as he was really looking forward to the brunch. Mario was doing a good job holding his ground until he saw Klonoa on the verge of an ugly crying fit.
"Because the brunch...will be held at the mansion next door. The Smash Mansion!" Mario was having a lot of momentum, but sadly he wasted it all away when Klonoa's teary eyes got the better of him. Ms. Pac-Man couldn't be any more disappointed.
"The Smash Mansion? Cool!" Klonoa knew very little about the Smash Mansion, so the Dream Traveller was in for a rude awakening. "When will it be starting? This afternoon?"
"This evening." Firmly aware of the hole that he dug himself in, Mario took Klonoa's hand as he led the Dream Traveller away. "Until then, why don't I show you around first?"
"Sure! I'd love to meet your neighbors!" Klonoa was all smiles, as Mario led him past Ms. Pac-Man and out of Pac-Man's house. Ms. Pac-Man sighed, wishing that her husband knew how to man up.
"Dad looked kinda weird," Pac-Man Jr said to Ms. Pac-Man, having just missed Klonoa as he entered the living room on late notice. "His skin was super wrinkly - and he said that he can't have wrinkles!"
"That wasn't your father just now..." Ms. Pac-Man informed Pac-Man Jr, making her son worried sick that an imposter was in the midst and that his mom was totally chill with it. Well, she was at first, but now it was a different story.
With Pac-Man's $1,500 check, Kazuya sought to sucker in a resident who was willing to kill Heihachi. The more the weeks passed by, the more desperate Kazuya was to have Heihachi dead, as his desperation forced him to ask anyone. Literally anyone.
"This check I will give you if you step from behind this counter and do my bidding," Kazuya said to Pit at Cafe Leblanc, presenting to the angel Pac-Man's check. If Kazuya was consulting Pit, then he was already scraping the bottom of the barrel.
"better check yourself before you wreck yourself," Sans said to Pit, not really swaying the angel's mind but rather getting a much-needed pun off his chest. Much to his chagrin, not a single soul was laughing.
"I would be happy to do your bidding, Mr. Mishima," Pit said to Kazuya, who wasn't surprised that the angel took the bait so easily. "But I can't leave because of this ankle collar." Pit placed his foot on the counter, showing Kazuya the ankle collar around his ankle.
"Feet off the counter, Pit," commanded Joker, who was sitting in the back noodling around on his phone. Kirby, Viridi, and Incineroar were gathered with Joker, "looking pretty" as they usually did.
"You dare let Joker boss you around?" Kazuya asked Pit, who did what he was told as he took his feet off the counter. "Is he your dad, much like how Lady Palutena is your mom?"
"Huh, I never really thought about it that way," replied Pit, as Kazuya's questioning forced him to see a different side of his relationship with Joker. "No wonder everyone calls Joker a dad! Joker, are you my dad?"
"Let's stop having this conversation..." pleaded Joker, not wanting to get everyone in Cafe Leblanc started; that amusing encounter he had with Sadayo Kawakami messed him up in the long run.
"Also, you are immortal, and Joker is not," continued Kazuya, attempting to pit Pit against Joker just so that he could successfully lure the angel. "It should be you barking orders, not the other way around!"
"True dat," Pit agreed with Kazuya, now sporting a mean look and putting on his big boy pants as he turned around and faced Joker. "Joker, I demand that you take off my ankle collar, and let me run free!"
"Not happening, now get back to work," responded Joker, who was preoccupied with a mobile game on his phone. Throwing in the towel, Pit reverted his attention back to Kazuya.
"Sorry Mr. Mishima, but I did my best." Pit went back to serving coffee, as Kazuya pinched the crown of his nose. At least now the worst possible candidate for Heihachi's killer was out of the running. Nowhere to go but up.
"i'd be happy to do your bidding," Sans said to Kazuya, who rejected Sans's offer in a heartbeat as he left the cafe. "i bid you a good search, then..."
Stuffing the lawn mower in Sonic's corvette was harder than getting it out of the mansion, but Tails and Knuckles got the job done as the lawn mower was sitting in the backseat. Sonic and company had arrived at Earnest's place, where to their surprise they saw a bunch of men loading Earnest's stuff into a truck.
"A Walmart moving truck!" said Sonic as he and everyone else got out of the car, watching the Walmart employees wheeling stuff out of Earnest's house. "Walmart's really trying to master every service possible.
"Okay, something fishy is definitely going on," remarked Tails, spotting Earnest speaking with one of the Walmart employees. "Why are they taking his stuff?"
"Maybe he's moving down the street," assumed Knuckles; surely Earnest couldn't be thinking about moving out of his digs that soon. "Ever thought about that, Tails?"
"Earnest!" Sonic called out to the veteran, grabbing his attention; the Walmart employee stepped to the side as Sonic ran over to speak with Earnest. "Had no idea that you were moving."
"Erm, I'm not really moving..." stated Earnest, which led Sonic to point at the Walmart truck that was being filled to the brim with furniture. "...oh, that? I'm getting new furniture!"
"I'm assuming you're getting a new truck too, seeing that you gave your old one away to Guile." Sonic looked in the driveway and saw that the Ford truck was no longer there, as Earnest nervously scratched the back of his head.
"Well, he wanted it badly...so I said screw it and gave it to him. Being the kind of American that he wants me to be!"
Guile: Feels weird to say, but the satisfaction that I have gained from acquiring the truck...it's almost misplaced. I feel like if Wile E. Coyote caught the Road Runner. While the chase is over, I have nothing else to achieve. Should I give the truck away to someone, and fight tooth and nail to get it back? Would that ease the void?
Sonic was about to continue the conversation, but the convo had to be put on hold when Earnest heard his phone ring. Earnest looked hesitant at first as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.
"Hello?" Earnest answered the call, looking at Sonic for a brief moment as he turned his head away. "Give me a second, alright?" Earnest asked Sonic, wishing to handle his phone call in peace.
"Take all the time you need, buddy," replied Sonic, as Earnest smiled and walked away; the Walmart employees kept doing their thing, putting more stuff into the so-called moving truck.
"So where is Earnest moving to?" Knuckles asked one of the Walmart employees, who along with another employee was carrying a TV out of the house. "Moving down the street, right?"
"Sure..." the Walmart employee responded as he eyed around, before carrying the TV into the moving truck. The answer didn't exactly give Knuckles a lot of confidence...and it didn't do the same either for Lavenza.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Sonic," Lavenza approached the blue hedgehog, having the same hunch that Tails did when he saw the stuff being moved out into the truck. "But I do think that..."
"House sure is looking kinda empty," remarked Sonic as he took a peek inside Earnest's house, seeing how plain-looking the living room was. "Let's crash the place until Earnest comes back!"
"Did I hear something about 'crashing the place?'" inquired Knuckles as he came over to Sonic, smiling from ear to ear as he had a perfect idea in mind. "I say that we throw a party!"
"That would not be totally ideal," a Walmart employee said to Knuckles, who went ahead and pulled out his phone so that he could contact a couple of peeps. "Oy vey..."
"Hey buddy, think you can let us keep that table?" Sonic asked the Walmart employee as he pointed at the lone table sitting in the living room. "Gotta make the party look somewhat alive."
"Listen, we need to have everything moved out by six o'clock..." The Walmart employee checked the time on his phone and saw that it was still noon. "...though that won't be until a few more hours. Go crazy."
"Then let's party it up!" exclaimed Knuckles as he and Sonic exchanged a high five; Lavenza kept her lips pursed, wondering if Sonic had any idea about the fate that might befall Earnest.
Mario brought Klonoa to the mansion, showing the Dream Traveller around the establishment. He planned on doing this until he built up the courage to tell Klonoa straight-up that no brunch was happening. Or until he came up with a good answer. Either or.
"Now I've heard of Irish Travellers, but never a Dream Traveler!" remarked King Dedede, as he and Ganondorf met Klonoa in the living room. They could both tell that Mario was in the Pac-Man costume; Klonoa had yet to catch on.
"Irish Travellers are a human race," Ganondorf stated to King Dedede, who thought of Klonoa as the strangest human being that he had ever encountered. "Klonoa here is a...is a...dog rabbit thing."
"A cat-bear-rabbit - like-a Chowder!" affirmed Mario, with King Dedede and Ganondorf having no idea what the plumber was talking about. Hunter ought to get those two on HBO Max, pronto.
"Honestly, I have no idea what the heck I am," confessed Klonoa, who had a daily existential crisis about what kind of species he was. Said crisis would last for only a short moment when Klonoa's contagious happiness took over.
"Guess who made pizza rolls!" exclaimed Pyra as she and Mythra came into the living room, each holding a tray of pizza rolls. "And before anyone asks, mine are homemade."
"My pizza rolls are homemade too," stated Mythra, refusing to let Pyra outdo her when it came to being a chef. "Except mine came from a bag in the freezer."
Pyra: Mythra can't be trusted to make pizza rolls from scratch, so I have her bake pre-made pizza rolls. The only way she can screw those up is by undercooking them, which nine times out of ten usually happens. When it comes to overcooking them...it's more like seven out of ten.
"Who are they? Are they handling the brunch?" Klonoa asked Mario, who quickly grabbed the Dream Traveller and ran away. Klonoa was taken out of the living room, as the Blades stood around perplexed.
"Why was Mario dressed up as Pac-Man just now?" asked Mythra, who along with Pyra was able to tell that it was not actually Pac-Man, but rather Mario in the Pac-Man costume. She recalled Mario wearing that costume prior - albeit outside of a costume party.
"Probably lost a bet to Pac-Man," inferred Ganondorf as he folded his arms, taking great pity on Mario as he made his inference. "Our visitor hasn't picked up the scent..."
"Dream Travelers must be stupid," remarked King Dedede, ogling at the Blades' pizza rolls as he wanted to suck them all in one big gulp. "Uh, no offense to Klonoa!"
"Klonoa, that's the name of the little guy Mario was with?" asked Pyra, handing her tray of pizza rolls to Mythra even though Mythra's hands were already full. "Hold these for me..."
"Hey, don't leave me behind!" Mythra shouted at Pyra, who ran out of the living room; Mythra looked at Pyra's pizza rolls, smirking sadistically. "Hmm...wouldn't hurt to toss these pizza rolls out."
A $1,500 check was sure to lure anyone, and that gave Kazuya the motive to seek out some of the more greedy residents. That was why he spoke with Wario in the gaming room because he knew that the fatso would do literally anything just to have his hands on the check.
"1,500 dollars, come to papa!" gleamed Wario as he reached out for the check; Kazuya retracted the check in the nick of time, as Wario fell over and landed on the floor.
"I'll give you this check only if you're willing to kill my father," Kazuya offered to Wario, who crawled back unto the couch that he was sitting on. Wario was happy to kill anyone for that check - even Waluigi.
"Well, you came to the right guy! I can kill Heihachi by suffocating him." Dying via suffocation at the hands of Wario would be a terrible way to go out.
"Suffocate him how?" Kazuya was led to wonder what plan of action Wario would take, and he didn't have to wonder anymore as Wario took out some garlic.
"Simple - I trap Heihachi inside his room, and let out a giant fart. Then the fart cloud will fill the room, and Heihachi will be so overwhelmed by the stench that he'll be gasping for air..."
"...I never should've asked you. Goodbye." Disgusted by Wario's plan, Kazuya walked away as Wario saw his aspirations of having Pac-Man's check going down the drain.
Pyra caught up to Mario and Klonoa, as she saw the two speaking in the foyer. The Blade concealed herself as she eavesdropped on the conversation at hand.
"Really, so the ladies are doing the brunch?" Klonoa asked Mario, leading Pyra to assume that the "they" was her and Mythra. She was in charge of a brunch that she wasn't even asked to do.
"Mhmm! Meant to specify that in the invite," replied Mario, alarming Pyra by how much he was sounding like Pac-Man. Wasn't the best impersonation in the world, but it was working wonders on Klonoa.
"What invite?" whispered Pyra as she furrowed her brow, wondering what sick games Mario was playing. She was slowly entertaining the idea of taking this matter to Pac-Man...the real Pac-Man.
Mario: *takes off the top of Pac-Man costume, giving a big exhale* Can't do it. I couldn't bring-a myself to do it. I was this close to telling Klonoa that the brunch already happened, but his cute-a face distracted me. If I had punched his face-a in, I wouldn't have been guilt-tripped, and then I could've told him the bad-a news. On the flipside-a though, I would be making Pac-Man look bad.
"Nice costume," Link snickered to Mario as he and Zelda came over to the plumber. The Hylian knew that it was Mario, and so did Zelda; they even saw the plumber fit into the costume, for that costume party Ms. Pac-Man alluded to.
"Costume? What costume?" Klonoa asked Mario as he looked at the plumber from head to toe, failing to see what the Hylians see. "Pac-Man's not wearing a costume!"
"Why don't you tell us about your friend," Zelda said to Mario, as she and Link were holding in a laugh; the Hylian couple was committed not to blow Mario's cover, given how terribly convinced Klonoa was.
"This is Klonoa, a Dream Traveller," Mario introduced Klonoa to Link and Zelda, easily telling how much the couple wanted to giggle. His Pac-Man impersonation wasn't helping much. "He's from...he's from somewhere."
"I'm from Breezegale!" cheered Klonoa, a loud and proud Breezegale citizen as he showed some pride for his homeworld. "C'mon Pac-Man, you should've known that!"
"Must've slipped my mind...silly me!" Even with Mario's gaffe, Klonoa was still convinced that he was hanging out with the real Pac-Man. "Uh, you wanna meet Master Hand?"
"Yeah! I bet he's a cool guy." So Klonoa followed after Mario, who wanted to get as far away from Link and Zelda as possible. Those Hylians would expose him before the truth could get out.
"Ever think that Master Hand considered Klonoa for Smash?" Link asked Zelda, as Pyra crept out of her hiding spot and over to the Hylian couple. Pyra tapped Zelda on the shoulder.
"Thought that you deserve to know this," Pyra said to Link and Zelda as he grabbed the Hylians' attention. "Apparently, Mario wants to have a brunch..."
"A brunch for Klonoa, I presume?" inquired Zelda, as Pyra thought about it for a minute before nodding her head. Link and Zelda had no idea what to make of this development. "We rarely hold a meal for a visitor."
"Especially if they're a first-timer," remarked Link, baffled by Mario pulling out all the stops to make Klonoa satisfied. Anything to keep Klonoa from having his feelings hurt. "You might want to get prepared if Klonoa gets on Master Hand's good side..."
Wishing that he was out of Cafe Leblanc being an obedient mule for Kazuya, Pit remained stuck serving coffee and curry to the residents. The angel, who was growing bored and resentful, perked up when he checked his phone and read a text notification.
"A party is going on at that Earnest guy's house!" exclaimed Pit after reading the message, dying to see what this party was all about. He first needed permission to even attend the party. "Joker, can I..."
"You're not going, Pit," replied Joker, who was noodling on his phone; the young man received the same text message Pit had gotten, except that he had read it much sooner. "Why is the party at that man's house...?"
"Must be Sonic's doing," assumed Kirby, and he had no idea just how right he was. Moaning in sadness, Pit placed his phone back on the counter as he went back to work.
"Your day of reckoning is coming..." Pit quietly vowed to Joker, watching with heavy contempt as Joker was scrolling away on his phone. Kazuya had planted a seed within Pit, and it was beginning to sprout.
Meanwhile, at Earnest's house, it was getting pretty lit as the kids these days would say. The party was going on in the living room, with the Crash clan and Rayman and his friends being the party guests. More guests were slowly trickling in, as the party beat was poppin'.
"Wah, I brought the goods!" shouted Waluigi as he showed up at the party holding a bunch of drinks. Mainly alcoholic drinks. The small crowd responded with cheers as Waluigi placed the drinks on the table.
"Alcohol is allowed at this party?" Tails asked Sonic - only asking since he and Lavenza were the only underage folks at the party. "Also, why do you insist on leaving the front door open?"
"Open door policy, Tails - live a little!" replied Sonic, before letting out a big holler as he leaped towards the Crash clan for a crowd wave. None of the bandicoots got the cue, as Sonic fell unto the floor with a thud.
Sonic: This is the perfect environment for a party. You can invite as many people as you want, and not have to worry about any furniture being broken! Really, the table is only for putting food and drinks on. We might break it eventually, depending on the party's mood. I'll give Tails the honors of doing it.
"SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS!" sang Knuckles, the unofficial DJ of the party as he was getting so crunk that sweat was running down his face. Best to keep him far away from the alcohol.
"Sonic, Earnest has yet to return!" Lavenza called out to the blue hedgehog, her voice drowned by the loud party music. The fact that she was standing so far away didn't help matters any.
"What?!" Sonic shouted, faintly able to hear Lavenza although the words were hard for him to make out. He could see Lavenza in his view, at least.
"I said, Earnest has yet to return!" Lavenza was shouting a second time, and she strained her vocal cords as she tried to shout over the music. "Can you give him a call?"
"Give who a call?" Sonic held a hand up to his ear as if that was supposed to help him hear any better. Valuing her vocal cords, Lavenza saved herself the trouble as she went over to Sonic.
"Earnest hasn't returned, can you give him a call?" Lavenza asked Sonic, who could now hear the young girl clearly. Lavenza expected Sonic to take action, but Sonic just did nothing.
"I would if I had his number. Let me hit up Guile." So Sonic pulled out his phone and wandered into the kitchen, as Lavenza was worried about Earnest. Couldn't take him that long to do a quick phone call, could it?
Since Pit was a no-go, Kazuya opted to ask Simon and Richter Belmont to kill Heihachi. He imagined that it would be hard for him to win over Simon, but the effort would be well worth it.
"Why kill Heihachi, when we should be killing YOU instead?" Simon asked Kazuya, who was consulting with the Belmonts in their room. "After all, you do have the Devil Gene."
"Heihachi was the one who gave me the Devil Gene," stated Kazuya, using this (false) line of reasoning causing Simon to reconsider the offer. Richter on the other hand was very much on the fence. "For that reason, he deserves to die."
"Hm, you have a point there." Simon took out his chain whip, looking to give Heihachi a whip lashing of a lifetime. "Heihachi will die for what he did to..."
"Let's think this out, Simon," Richter said to the elder Belmont as he put his hand in front of him, while Kazuya looked on with a heavy frown. "Do you really think that Heihachi gave Kazuya the Devil Gene?"
"He did throw Kazuya into a volcano. Certainly, that has to account for something." If Richter was going to sway Simon's mind, then Kazuya might have to look elsewhere.
"Yes, I'm aware, but did he get the gene that way? Or did he inherit it from a family member?" Richter was starting to speak facts, and Kazuya couldn't let the vampire hunter say a single word.
"If you do as I say, I'll give you this check," Kazuya said to the Belmonts as he presented to them Pac-Man's check, bringing Richter's questioning to an end. Simon and Richter looked at the check, and neither Belmont was hooked.
"You can't entice us with greed that easily," Simon said to Kazuya as he was about to reach for the check, just so he could rip it to shreds. But Kazuya put it away in his pocket in the nick of time.
"Fine then...suit yourself." Kazuya left the room, choosing not to waste any more of his time convincing the Belmonts. "Nothing wrong with having a couple of thousand dollars..."
As Kazuya exited the Belmonts' room, he saw Mario and Klonoa walk by. The businessman recognized Klonoa...and he also recognized Mario in the Pac-Man costume. Saw the costume in Mario's trash bin outside.
"It was pretty neat getting to meet Master Hand!" Klonoa said to Mario, as the Dream Traveller made a good impression on Master Hand. Not too surprising, given how friendly and easy-going he was.
"He's a swell guy once you get to know him," responded Mario, and Kazuya scratched his chin in thought as he saw Mario and Klonoa going down the hallway. He had his attention focused on Klonoa the most.
Kazuya: I met Klonoa at a party a long time ago. Pac-Man was hosting with a lot of his so-called friends that he neglects to see. Only accepted the party invite just to be nice. But about Klonoa, I offered him a handshake, and he said that he had to go use the restroom. For many years, I have waited for that handshake to come. Didn't know a restroom break could last that long.
Master Hand: Klonoa is such a sweet little fella! He was never on my radar when it came to Smash, but his job obligations were the only obstacle in regard to his candidacy. Saving dream worlds must be exhausting, so I'm happy that Klonoa got a much-needed break. Also, why did Mario introduce Klonoa to me while dressed up as Pac-Man...?
Klonoa making a good first impression on Master Hand meant one thing - the brunch at the mansion was to be held. Pyra and Mythra were in the kitchen preparing the brunch, throwing a bunch of stuff together so that everyone (especially Klonoa) would be satisfied. Word about the brunch slowly spread around the mansion, as Fox shared the news with Falco and Itsuki at the Star Records room.
"We're seriously having a brunch?" questioned Falco, worried that he might be forced to attend. That was more or less the protocol."But what about lunch?"
"Technically a brunch is a lunch, Falco," Itsuki informed the avian pilot, who was looking forward to eating his almond soup. "But with breakfast."
"This could be your big break," Fox said to Falco, looking forward to the brunch just to see how Falco would conduct himself. "Your big moment to show your new resolve!"
"But what if I mess up?" questioned Falco, already sounding like a negative ned as he could only think about the possible cons. "What if I brag about what I'm eating, or educate anyone who's eating meat?"
"If you do any of that stuff, then you're insane," replied Itsuki, wanting Falco to keep it up with the progress that he was exhibiting. "Insanity is not a path worth turning back to."
"Dang straight," Fox agreed with Itsuki, voicing his approval for the inspirational quote that the young man delivered. "What do you have to lose, Falco?"
"My almond soup," admitted Falco as he eyed around the Star Records room; if he didn't have that almond soup before the end of the day, he might snap. "Would it be wrong to have a cheat day?"
Freed from the stress that came with hurting Klonoa's feelings, Pac-Man was chilling at Mario's house as he was up in the master bedroom. Denzel, who was wondering where Pac-Man ran off to, caught the eater of ghosts going through Mario and Peach's belongings.
"Mario has clown pants? Who knew," said Pac-Man as he was digging through Mario and Peach's, with a bunch of Mario's clothes on the master bed. Denzel was wrinkling his nose. "They look super comfy!"
"If you like 'em so much, you should wear them," Denzel said to Pac-Man, capturing the eater of ghosts' attention; Pac-Man looked up and shrieked when he saw Denzel standing at the doorway.
"Denzel! H-How long have you been spying on me?" Pac-man hurriedly tried to place all of Mario and Peach's belongings back in the drawer, which was no use as he was already caught red-handed.
"Long enough." Denzel stepped inside the room, as Pac-Man was trying to close the drawer. If it was Peach in Denzel's place, Pac-Man would be dead meat. "Bet that Klonoa is just dying to see you."
"Klonoa? Oh yeah, Klonoa..." Pac-Man laughed sheepishly, feeling the guilt of letting Mario take his place while he remained out of dodge. "...uh, is Cloud still speaking with Peach downstairs?"
"Way to switch up the subject...but yeah, he's still talking. I think they're almost done." Taking Denzel's word for it, Pac-Man finished putting away all the belongings as he closed the drawer and followed Denzel out of the room.
"Really? You think that Mario would make for a great role model?" Peach asked Cloud in the living room, as she was having a lengthy conversation with the swordsman. Denzel and Pac-Man came down the stairs, encountering Spyro and Hunter in the kitchen.
"He is a great role model," affirmed Cloud - what were the odds of him saying that to Mario? Presumably slim. "He just doesn't show it a lot."
"Ain't that the truth," remarked an eavesdropping Spyro, who was in the kitchen looking to fix himself some lunch. Due to how short he was, though, he had to rely on Hunter to get the grub - for better and for worse.
"What I want to say is, Mario should be a great role model for his kids. Stop doing stupid things that would make his family look bad."
"Ah, I see what you mean," said Peach, as she took a sip from a cup of tea that she had prepared. "Spyro has to play as Mario's minder too many times."
"It's almost like Cloud wants to make my life easier," Spyro marveled quietly, only to frown with disgust when Hunter pulled some cheesecake out of the fridge. What was so disgusting about it?
"Hope you like expired cheesecake, Spyro!" Hunter said to the purple dragon as he unwrapped the cheesecake, causing Spyro to nearly vomit. "Meant to eat this last week, but oh well."
Cloud: Mario may have learned a bit from my "teachings", but Peach was kind of left in the dust. So I offered her some words of advice so that she can help Mario be the best dad that he could be. Got a slight fear that anything I shared with Mario fell on potentially deaf ears...
"Any of you care for cheesecake?" Hunter asked Denzel and Pac-Man, as he offered them the cheesecake - which had suspicious mold on it. "Spyro doesn't care for it, sadly."
"I'm not a huge fan of cheesecake..." Pac-Man answered, with Denzel smiling sweetly as he and Pac-Man maneuvered away from Hunter and into the living room. Their presence caught Peach's attention.
"Oh, Denzel! You found Pac-Man," said Peach, who for a brief moment was worried that Pac-Man might've gotten himself stuck in the attic. Only to later realize that she didn't even have an attic. "Where was he?"
"Totally not in your room rummaging through your clothes," replied Denzel, as Pac-Man looked to the side and whistled innocently. Denzel would've said more, but kept silent to save Pac-Man's butt.
"Cloud here was telling me about how determined Mario is to be a good dad, with his second child arriving soon." Peach had to correct herself when Cloud gave her a telling look. "I mean, an even gooder dad. Hehe, gooder - that's not even a word!"
"Been giving Peach a couple of tips," said Cloud, who didn't want to take much credit for improving Mario. He was that kind of guy. "The thought that counts."
"Cloud was a big help in setting Mario straight. And so were you, Denzel." Trepidation found its way into the living room, as Peach said perhaps too much to Denzel. Denzel was understandably confused, as Cloud became worried.
"A big help for what?" inquired Denzel, as Peach realized the damage she had done and looked for any way possible to deflect. It was up to Cloud to save the day - and also save his hide. Peach's as well.
"Peach loves to give everyone unnecessary credit," Cloud explained to Denzel, dousing the water on any fireworks that were ready to erupt. "You have to forgive her."
"It's a small quirk of mine," smiled Peach, relieved that her spilling the beans didn't make Denzel feel any sort of way. As Denzel softened his face, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," volunteered Pac-Man as he ran to the front door and answered it, seeing Pyra and Mythra standing by. The Blades frowned upon seeing Pac-Man. "Hello, ladies..."
"Don't give us any of that crap," Mythra said to Pac-Man, who was left wondering why the Blades were so incensed with him. "We have a major bone to pick with you..."
"Hi, sweetie! How's it coming along with your hiding?" Ms. Pac-Man waved to Pac-Man, standing outside and off to the side as Pac-Man awkwardly waved back. "Told the ladies where you were."
"Thanks, dear..." Pac-Man said to his wife, before turning his attention back to Pyra and Mythra who both obviously looked like they wanted to beat up the eater of ghosts. "...so what's up?"
"Thanks to you, we had to put together a stupid brunch," Pyra angrily pointed at Pac-Man, who saw the brunch as Mario's doing. The guilt that he was having was insurmountable.
"All because you wanted to avoid your 'old friend,'" added Mythra, spiking the guilt within Pac-Man to levels that were seldom reached. "Mario told us the details in private."
"Some 'friend' you are," Pyra voiced her displeasure with Pac-Man, and Pac-Man could just feel the disappointment radiating off of the Blade.
"Speaking of this brunch...how's it going?" Pac-Man asked with a smile, although Pyra and Mythra weren't buying it. Pac-Man's smile instantly faded.
So how was the brunch going? Pyra and Mythra didn't expect too big of a turnout, but there were plenty of residents in the dining room enjoying the food that the blades put together. Mario was at the brunch with Klonoa, so that was a plus.
"Nice Pac-Man costume," Captain Falcon sneered at Mario, who was sitting at the front of the dining room table with Klonoa. Mario was sweating buckets, as he couldn't wait to take his costume off.
"I don't get it, how are you wearing a costume?" Klonoa asked Mario; Captain Falcon would have spilled the beans to Klonoa but opted to let the Dream Traveller find out for himself.
Toad: Our brunch isn't really much of a brunch - Pyra and Mythra just took the leftovers from breakfast this morning and combined it with what we usually eat for lunch. *pauses* But then in that case...
"Those blueberry waffles look delicious," Palutena said to Falco, who was craving his almond soup; Falco spruced up his waffles with some almonds just to compensate.
"Much appreciated, made them myself," replied Falco, taking a bite out of his waffles feeling awkward as Palutena was peering at him. "Made them in the toaster oven, I mean."
"Hiding something, Falco? Do you want to tell me how wrong I am for eating sausage?" Palutena held up a piece of sausage, seeing if it would tempt Falco. "Or do you plan on telling me how superior you are for eating waffles?"
"Nope, just trying to eat my food in peace..." Falco kept eating away, as Palutena left the avian pilot alone and focused on her plate. Falco sighed in relief, as Fox patted him on his back.
"They know what you're all about; they're trying to make you break," Fox whispered to Falco, knowing what kind of trick Palutena was trying to pull. "Gotta keep your head up."
"Got it..." Falco whispered back, being mindful of anyone else that might ruffle his feathers. Fox kept a close eye on Falco, as Master Hand appeared in the dining room.
"We were thinking that you wouldn't make it," Link said to Zelda, as he and the princess were surveying the dining room scene. Master Hand was spooked when he saw Link and Zelda.
"Don't scare me like that, it's very rude..." Master Hand scolded Link and Zelda, even though he had appeared right next to them. The giant hand scanned the dining room to see who was in attendance. "...where's Pit?"
"Working Cafe Leblanc alone," replied Zelda as Joker, Viridi, Kirby, and Incineroar were at the brunch - but not Pit. How messed up. "I don't think his friends gave him the memo."
So Master Hand made a quick pit stop at Cafe Leblanc, where he saw Pit working behind the counter. With Sans as his lone customer...did Joker leave Pit alone with Sans? Talk about inhumane.
"the rabbit at the pet store was so ear-resistible," Sans was telling rabbit puns to Pit, who was looking done with life as he cleaned off the counter. "did you know that his favorite genre of music is hip-hop?"
"Who cares what that dumb rabbit likes..." replied a lonely Pit, alarming Sans with his snappy response; Master Hand was alarmed as well, as he floated over to Pit with some news to share.
"Your friends are at a brunch in the dining room," Master Hand told Pit, whose face brightened up as he was just now hearing about the brunch. "Did they not tell you?"
"Joker didn't think to invite me?" questioned Pit, salty that the baristas left him to slave at the cafe. Even worse, he had to put up with Sans. "Kazuya was right - Joker really doesn't like me!"
"Did Kazuya actually say that?" Master Hand was no stranger when it came to Kazuya constantly stirring the pot (which was a knack of his), but he was doubtful in believing Pit.
"Well, he didn't actually say that, but it could've been implied. No matter, Joker is gonna get his real soon...and so will the others by association!"
"You plan on punishing your girlfriend?" The determined look on Pit's face told Master Hand the obvious answer. "Okay then...you do you..."
The party was still going on at Earnest's house, as Sonic and many others were partying it up. The only ones who weren't partying were Tails, who just wanted to chill in peace, and Lavenza, who was growing worried about Earnest.
"So when is this Earnest guy coming back, Sonic?" asked Amy, who was invited to the party for obvious reasons. Sonic would've been chewed out to oblivion if he neglected to invite his girlfriend.
"He's probably busy, but he'll be here soon," replied Sonic, who was overwhelmed with optimism when he heard the doorbell ring amid the loud party music. "That must be him right now!"
So Sonic sped to the front door and opened it, ready to welcome Earnest into his humble abode. But instead, he saw Guile, which for him was perhaps the second-best thing.
"Sup Guile! I guess you saw that I had called you," Sonic said to the major, who looked like he had some bad news to share. Though with Guile's visage, it was hard to tell.
"I didn't come alone..." replied Guile as he stepped to the side...and revealed Digby, the Happy Home Designer who gave Earnest the keys to his house. Digby's presence let Sonic know that something awry was going on.
"Mind if I come in?" Digby asked Sonic, who reluctantly let Digby inside the house as he feared what news the dog had to deliver. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm afraid that this party...is over."
"Wah...?" Waluigi moaned in sadness, as Digby delivered the worst possible news for everyone under the roof to hear. "How come?"
"Pains me to say this, but Earnest has been selling away his belongings. I didn't know about this until the store contacted me."
"So that's why all those Walmart trucks were there!" exclaimed Tails, who knew for a fact that he wasn't crazy. Sonic was devastated by this revelation.
"But why? I thought Earnest wanted a place to stay," Sonic said to Digby, amazed that Earnest was seemingly giving up on having a forever home. It was too much for the blue hedgehog to process.
"Haven't got the slightest clue as to what's going on, but they're still gathering the details," explained Digby, as this latest development left Sonic in shambles. "By they, I mean the police."
"Earnest must be in big trouble then," inferred Lavenza; if the police were getting involved, then the resolution might not be so pretty.
"About that truck...did he give it to you free?" Sonic asked Guile, as he was trying to make as much sense of the current situation as possible. "Just asking..."
Sonic: Man, this sucks...did all that work to get Earnest off on the right foot, and he just decides to bungle it! Even worse that he gave his truck to Guile - and Guile bought it for much less than the original price! Why couldn't he just buy a different truck, dang it?!
Back at the brunch, where Master Hand had returned, Kazuya stepped inside the dining room looking for Klonoa. He would find Klonoa sitting at the front of the table, enjoying Mario's company. He had yet to find out that Mario was underneath the Pac-Man suit.
"Pass the sourdough bread, please!" Klonoa said to Chrom, who passed a plate of sourdough bread to the Dream Traveller. Kazuya locked his eyes onto his target, as he made his move.
Kazuya: In theory, having Klonoa be the one to kill Heihachi makes sense. He kills Hehiachi, Heihachi dies, Klonoa goes back home without a hitch, and I won't get in any trouble as my life dramatically improves tenfold. Now if Klonoa tells anyone who gave him the check...
"Father, when is Mario going to take off that Pac-Man costume?" Lucina asked Chrom after the sourdough bread was passed, amazed by how long Mario was keeping up with the charade. "It's so obvious that it's him."
"In due time, Lucina, in due time," replied Chrom, slightly unconfident in his response as Kazuya had reached. Klonoa was eating a slice of sourdough bread when he looked up and saw Kazuya.
"Klonoa! Do you remember me?" Kazuya asked the Dream Traveller, giving off a friendly visage as he offered his hand for a handshake. "Kazuya Mishima. We met at one of Pac-Man's parties."
"Yeah, I remember you! Never gave you that handshake," replied Klonoa as he shook hands with Kazuya, which was many years in the making. Now that he finally got his handshake with Klonoa, Kazuya could finally get down to business.
"Since you're our humble visitor, I wanted to hand you a gift." Kazuya pulled out the $1,500 check and showed it to Klonoa who was quickly allured. Many folks were hooked to Kazuya the moment he pulled out the check.
"Psst, what do you think he's up to?" Heihachi whispered to Akuma, who was sitting next to him eating a strawberry parfait. He could tell by his son's friendly demeanor that something was up.
"Obviously nothing good," Akuma whispered back, taking the wait-and-see approach as Klonoa was fixated on the check right in front of him. "Just try and stay in your seat..."
"Is that for me?" Klonoa asked Kazuya as he pointed at the check, to which Kazuya nodded his head. Klonoa smiled, anxious to have his hands on the check.
"But wait! I can't just hand over the check like that," said Kazuya, as he had Klonoa wrapped around his finger. It was time to reel him in. "To obtain this check, you have to..."
"Kazuya! What are you doing with my check, man? The check was addressed specifically to ME! This isn't cool, man!"
Everyone in the dining room turned their attention to Pac-Man, who was standing at the doorway with Pyra and Mythra. Pac-Man, who was dragged to the dining room by the Blades, was looking angry at Kazuya.
"Finally, the real Pac-Man shows up..." Master Hand muttered to Link and Zelda, as Pac-Man marched over to Kazuya. With Pac-Man being present, Klonoa was exchanging looks between him and Mario.
"Look, Pac-Man, I can explain..." said Kazuya, only for Pac-Man to snatch his check out of Kazuya's hand and stuffed it in his imaginary pocket. Pac-Man then turned his attention to Klonoa, whose mind was now blown.
"Pac-Man? But..." uttered Klonoa, still exchanging looks between Pac-Man and Mario as he didn't know what to think. Pac-Man would ease Klonoa's puzzlement as he tore the Pac-Man costume right off Mario.
"Mario?!" Pac-Man frowned at the plumber; only a few gasps were heard, meaning that not everyone knew about Mario dressing as a fellow gaming icon. "Why would you pose as me, just to hog my friend Klonoa?"
"But I thought-a we agreed..." Mario was about to say, only to force himself to play along when Pac-Man gave him a slight wink. "...MAMA MIA, I'M A HORRIBLE PERSON!'
"Yes, he finally admits it," Young Link quietly relished, as Mario fell to the table in faux anguish. Mario was overdoing it a bit, but Pac-Man wasn't complaining.
"Sorry I couldn't see you earlier, Klonoa," Pac-Man apologized to the Dream Traveller, the guilt that he once felt slowly eroding away. "Mario kept me hostage at his house and took my place. Unbelievable!"
"Unbelievable indeed, that sounds so unlike Mario," commented Master Hand, before looking towards the two ladies that came with Pac-Man. "Did Mario really do that?"
"Yes he did," replied Pyra, her and Mythra smiling as they were both covering for Pac-Man's tracks. Anything to save Pac-Man from trouble. "Very despicable behavior by Mario."
"We had to go and rescue Pac-Man," added Mythra, as Master Hand's mind was made up. Mario lost several points in Master Hand's eyes.
Mythra: Pac-Man could've chosen to own up and be the bigger man, but Pyra and I gave him a different out. He's so against hurting anyone's feelings. What a wuss.
"Well, that explains a lot," said Master Hand, who had a certain princess to speak with. "Carry on with the brunch, everyone; I'll be back." The giant hand vanished away, as the brunch continued.
"So Klonoa, how's the Dream Travelling coming along?" Pac-Man asked the Dream Traveller, now with full confidence to speak with his friend. "How's the money rolling in?"
"I do Dream Travelling for free," replied Klonoa, expecting Mario to make a rookie mistake but not Pac-Man. "Saving the world doesn't..."
"Ha, I was just messing with ya. I know, I know, you do it because you have to. You have no idea how happy I am to see you again."
Mario retreated home, where he saw Master Hand in the living room speaking with Peach. Master Hand was busy informing Peach about her husband's "deviant" actions.
"If I were you, I'd be worried about Mario, with him being a father and all," Master Hand stressed to Peach, who was amused by the story the giant hand told. "And with a second child on the way...he's not being a good role model."
"Don't worry, I'll keep him in line," Peach assured Master Hand, as she spotted Mario and smiled at him. The princess was going to put everything Cloud told her to good use.
"Very good! If this happens again..." Having spoken with Peach, Master Hand vanished as he returned to the dining room. With Master Hand gone, Mario approached Peach.
"Cloud's gone?" Mario asked, noticing that Cloud and Denzel had left; the plumber had some unfinished business with the two.
"He and Denzel dipped a few moments ago," replied Spyro, as Hunter was at the blackboard still adding names to the growing list. His creativity apparently knew no bounds.
"Which is a better baby name - Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or Gryffindor?" Hunter asked everyone in the living room, as he required a second opinion. "Hufflepuff's out of the running since it's too on the nose."
"I hope that you have a name in mind," Peach said to Mario; the princess had a name in mind herself, but she wanted to see if her man was prepared.
"I've got a few in mind..." stated Mario, eschewing confidence as he adjusted his collar; Spyro rolled his eyes at Mario's flex.
Another day, another missed opportunity for Kazuya to have Heihachi killed. With no check to lure a resident to do his bidding, Kazuya was left to wallow in his failure, his head resting against a wall in the hallway.
"How did I let this chance slip past my fingers..." frowned Kazuya, as the very thought of Heihachi being alive apparently bothered him. Akuma walked past Kazuya, able to tell what he was so upset about.
"Heh, can't imagine being that dedicated to killing another man," Akuma snorted quietly, taking some delight in how incensed Kazuya was.
Akuma: Heihachi is a big reason as to why I'm living at this mansion. By no means would I let Kazuya put an end to Heihachi's life. He's got another thing coming to him.
Akuma would walk past Sephiroth, whom he saw standing at the arcade entrance staring creepily at Cloud and Denzel. But mainly Denzel. Sephiroth couldn't care less if Cloud saw him.
"Got a problem, Sephiroth?" Akuma asked the one-winged angel, unnerved by the laser-focused look in his eyes. Sephiroth shushed Akuma, as he backed away from the entrance.
"He has yet to find out the truth...and the truth will set him free," replied Sephiroth, giving an ambiguous answer as he carried on down the hallway. Akuma just stood there speechless.
"What is it with him and his non-sequitur replies..." Speechless no more, Akuma kept on walking as his opinion on Sephiroth remained unchanged.
"Wanna hop in, Cloud?" Denzel asked the swordsman as he was playing an arcade; Cloud was busy looking at his phone, reading up on the local news.
"Give me a sec," replied Cloud, before squinting his eyes at a news headline as he scrolled down the page. "'Former Homeless Man Under Arrest'...huh, wonder if Guile knows him."
Once the brunch was over, Pac-Man brought Klonoa over to his house to chat a bit more with the Dream Traveller. And also to get something off his chest...
"The brunch entailed in the invite already happened?" Klonoa asked Pac-Man, who nodded his head as he feared what kind of reaction Klonoa would give.
"I was too scared to tell you straight up," confessed Pac-Man, "So I had Mario pose as me, and let him tell you. But then it snowballed from there..."
"Snowballed how? I got to attend a brunch! And I got to meet cool people too, like Master Hand!" To hear a person refer to Master Hand as "cool" was a rarity for Master Hand, who was caught by surprise.
"Oh really? Glad that you had fun, even if I wasn't there." Pac-Man had to make sure to thank Mario for being such a good chaperone. "By the way, what did you think of Mario's costume?"
"Now that I think about it...it was very wrinkly. And maybe smelly. Did he even wash it?"
"It was washed, supposedly. But I guess that's why he originally tossed it out in the first place!"
Pac-Man was enjoying Klonoa's company without feeling down - certainly pays to be the bigger man.
Pac-Man: I could've given my check to Klonoa, but I have no idea what the currency rates are like back in Breezegale. Does Breezegale even have any kind of currency? Considering that Klonoa does his job for "free", I guess not...
Mario: Pac-Man spoke-a with Klonoa. Good for him to be the bigger man. Me, I'll have to be the bigger man-a myself - and also a better man. A better dad. The delivery can't come soon enough!