Author's Note:
Happy Canada Day to any Canadian readers out there! After some thought and consideration, I decided to make this chapter of Smash Life, well, about Canada Day. But don't fret - I also threw in a little something in here for Cuphead: The Last Delicious Course and Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak. None of you have to worry about a thing. We got a lot of reviews today, so let's dive right in:
"Will Pit get his revenge against Joker, Viridi and the rest of the staff for overworking?"
At this rate, he might as well. Another anonymous review:
"Was Pit forced to sleep in Cafe Leblanc? Will Pit get a break for Canada Day? If not, here's an idea for Pit: Captain Falcon forces pit to make a special Falcon Curry for his order during or after Canada Day. For Canada Day chapter, I would like to see what Captain Falcon does in Vancouver."
Pit isn't forced to sleep in Cafe Leblanc; Joker isn't that sadistic. But he will get a break in this chapter. Captain Falcon won't be doing that much in Vancouver, I'm afraid. The Reader has a question about Vega:
"...small question, isn't Vega banned from the mansion for being one of Bowser's accomplices on killing Mario? Or is the ban over? Is he gonna get banned again for being Eggman's accomplice this time?"
Good question! Vega did get a ban for helping Bowser, and his ban quietly ended some time ago. He won't be punished for working with Eggman. The Reader also has questions about the recent NIntendo Direct:
"1. Portal is coming today. So much for that Portal chapter, huh.
2. Live a Live is coming on July 22. I was curious about how you would tackle the chapter? Would you have all of the protagonists from all of the timelines, or would you only focus on some of them?
3. PAC-MAN WORLD RE-PAC IS COMING ON AUGUST 26! THE PAC IS TRULY BACK! Is another Pac-Man chapter on the cards?
4. NieR Automata is finally coming to the Switch on October 6. Is it finally time to see 2B and 9S on Smash Life? Also, could you have 9S meet Alm, since they're both voiced by Kyle McCarley?
5. Mario Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is coming on October 20. I guess it's time to bring out the Rabbids from the basement again, huh? I hope Rayman is salty seeing his franchise being overtaken by those pesky Rabbids.
6. And prepare the hype train, because Persona 5 Royal is coming to the Switch on October 21! Same week as Mario Rabbids! And we'll also be getting Persona 4 Golden and Persona 3 Portable soon. What do you think of their long-awaited coming to the Switch?
7. Speaking of Persona, will you have a chapter based on the games? Maybe have the Confidants from P5 (Kawakami, Sae, Mishima, Iwai, Sojiro, Takemi, etc) and Social Links from both P4 (Dojima, Nanako, Ai, Kou, Daisuke, etc) and P3 (Tanaka, etc) appear in that episode?"
1. Portal really came out sooner than I imagined...welp.
2. Haven't quite figured that out yet.
3. Haha, you betcha! Wonder if they'll remake World 2 and World 3.
4. 2B and 9S will indeed make their Smash Life debuts, this fall. And I could totally work out an Alm-9S interaction.
5. The Rabbids will be getting their day in the limelight when Sparks of Hope is released. Funnily enough, I was just thinking about how much the Rabbids overshadowed Rayman. But at least Rayman's still hanging around.
6. It was only a matter of time until Persona came to the Switch. Been waiting for Nintendo to pull the trigger.
7. There will be a chapter based on each game, and the Confidants will get their chance to shine.
A JRPG enjoyer has questions about Xenoblade Chronicles 3:
"1. Do you like the cast? I personally really love the cast.
2. When they do appear in a chapter, would you try and bring the other "Heroes", or are you gonna stick with the six main characters? I suggest you to do the latter."
1. I like the cast. A very diverse group of characters.
2. I'll stick with the six main characters as much as I can.
A JRPG enjoyer also has questions concerning the Direct:
"1. So, about Persona. Do you think we can see the Velvet siblings doing siblings stuff? I don't know, man, I just wanted to see more from Elizabeth and Margaret.
2. Speaking of Margaret, can we actually have an appearance from Marie? Pretty please? If not, then youareastupidjerksndihateyousomuch! Okay, that last part was just a joke.
3. And will we finally have an appearance from Kotone, the female protagonist of Persona 3? You've been teasing her appearance for almost 3 years! How long are you gonna play this game? (Fun fact: Kotone is the only name ever given to the female protagonist by the official lore, it's from a stage show.)
4. And now onto NieR. Can you have 2B interact with Aigis? It would be cool seeing the 2 android girls together.
5. And If you have to choose, who would you pick, Tetsuya Nomura or Yoko Taro?"
1. Once Lavenza is through with Sonic, I can make that happen.
2. Why of course! An appearance from Marie is long overdue.
3. Almost three years? Dang. Kotone will appear when the time is right.
4. A 2B-Aigis interaction would be spectacular.
5. Ooh, good question...I'd go with Nomur, since I'm more familiar with his body of work.
One last thing from A JRPG enjoyer:
"Oops, forgot to ask a question regarding Three Hopes. Since they're playable in Three Hopes, does this mean we'll see Monica, Rodrigue, and Holst appear in the next chapter accompanying the Black Eagles, Blue Lions, and Golden Deer?"
Sadly, no - I didn't know where to include any of the three in this chapter. But when the Garreg Mach students appear again, those three will be there. David's got questions:
"With Digimon Survive coming out the same day as Xenoblade 3 are you gonna have both games for the one chapter? Will Aerith wear her white dress she had in Crisis Core for when the game is released? Is Pit gonna persuade Dark Pit to pull an Elias/Ezekiel on Ryuji or Travis? (I still think Elias and Ezekiel are the same person). A No Man's Sky chapter for when the Switch port comes out? And finally, what are your thoughts on Triple H returning to manage NXT and can he undo the damage Vince caused to the brand? (Might be tough since William Regal is with AEW now)."
Yep. Aerith will indeed wear her white dress. That sounds too elaborate for Dark Pit to pull off, but who knows. A No Man's Sky chapter might be hard to do. And I would love to see how Triple H would handle NXT 2.0. Obviously, he can't bring the Black and Gold era, but I'm interested in seeing how he would work with the new talent and all. TIME TO GO has returned:
"No offense, but for a guy who doesn't like Miis and OCs, you sure are having a lot of fun with your Earnest. I don't know why you're focusing too much on some random veteran who lived under a bridge, when you can focus on some ACTUAL characters that live in the mansion, like, I don't know, Ness and Lucas? R.O.B. and his robot pals? ARMS characters not named Ninjara? The Kongs? Simon and Richter? Dark Samus? Hell, you can try and focus on Cloud and his relationship with Tifa and/or Aerith, yet you decide to have him play parent to some kid from Advent Children! I don't know man, I just don't like you focusing on some random character and making them more important than actual important characters!"
You know, sometimes I think about how the characters you mentioned (and several others) get tossed to the side for random characters, as you call them. But that doesn't mean that I don't like those characters, it's just that they're frankly pushed to the side for storytelling reasons. Those characters you mentioned will be of focus soon, and as for characters like Denzel, they won't be stealing the spotlight any longer. (In fact, Earnest and Denzel will only be making a few more appearances.) Now for TIME TO GO's suggestion:
"You know what, I got a perfect video game character you could've put on Earnest's place. Conker! Conker is one of the most miserable characters in video game history. Even Microsoft hasn't done anything with him (besides that one teaser that doesn't go anywhere)! You had the perfect plot with Conker not being wanted by anyone, and someone from the mansion decides to help him!"
Oh, Conker...I can't even recall the last time that squirrel was relevant. Or the last time he had a game released. Was it Live & Reloaded? If Microsoft won't do anything with Conker, then I might as well give Conker his own little storyline. Capping it off with Guy w the Jokes:
"Well, it's official. Ms. Pac-Man have been replaced by Pac-Mom for the upcoming Pac-Man World remake. You need to have Pac-Man clarify things out. I don't know how, but you can't stay silence about Namco and their unwillingness to buy the copyright of Ms. Pac-Man!"
They did WHAT?! Never knew the blackballing of Ms. Pac-Man was that serious. Now I know why Pac-Mom was in that gameplay trailer. Pac-Man will definitely had to put his foot down.
Episode 341: Vancouver
Master Hand sure loved holidays. That much has been proven a lot over the years. Every year, the giant hand held a big Thanksgiving dinner, hosted a cookout on the 4th of July, and even arranged a party for couples on Valentine's Day. Folks from out of town and beyond usually were invited over on these holidays, which had become a bit of a tradition.
Master Hand loved holidays so much, that he celebrated ones that weren't even American holidays. One particular instance was when he rang in the Chinese New Year, by having the mansion hold a Spring Festival celebration. The Chinese restaurants in Seattle were almost out of peppered steak around that time. Another instance was Boxing Day, a shopping holiday that only the British Commonwealth countries partake in, such as Canada.
Speaking of Canada, the country up north was celebrating its independence today, on a day known as Canada Day. And with Master Hand being a lover of holidays, he just had to add Canada Day to his repertoire. There was perhaps no holiday on the calendar that Master Hand refused to celebrate...with Halloween likely being the only exception, for now.
Master Hand: Oh, Canada...you might be asking yourselves, what exactly is Canada Day? To put it simply, it's just a Canadian version of the 4th of July. People grill out, shoot fireworks, get wasted, all the works. But instead of getting wasted on overpriced beer, Canadians opt for maple syrup. Moreover, you don't really hear the Canadian people boast about their country being the greatest in the world. They're too nice to involve themselves in such conversations.
Lucario: *wearing a grilling apron* Master Hand wants to have a cookout for Canada Day, so I'll be out grilling. Whatever food doesn't go on the grill today will be saved for the 4th of July...where I'll have even more food to grill. So I have TWO massive workloads on my hands. Ask me how I feel about that.
Seattle was only three hours away from Canada, so Master Hand chose to hold the festivities in the British Columbian city of Vancouver. To get everything ready for the road trip, Toad got the engine for his bus going.
"My brother and his friend will be visiting today," Cuphead informed Toad, who was checking the pressure of the bus's tires. Cuphead was so giddy, that he was bouncing his knees up and down.
"That's good! Did you tell them that we'll be traveling to Vancouver?" asked Toad, and that's when Cuphead's happy bouncing came to a stop. Cuphead looked nervous as he twiddled his fingers.
"...not yet, but I'll tell them as a surprise. If they get here in time..." Not sure how he would break the news to Mugman, Cuphead walked away thinking of the right explanation to give. Toad continued pumping the tires as Master Hand showed up.
"Toad, what on earth are you doing?" Master Hand asked the bus thief, who stopped pumping the tires as he wondered what he did wrong. That's when Toad realized as he looked at his air pump.
"Silly me - this air pump doesn't even work anymore!" chirped Toad as he tossed the air pump away, before pulling another one out of his imaginary pocket. Master Hand swatted the air pump away.
"We are NOT riding on a bus to Vancouver. We have way too many people for that." This was sad news to Toad, who was longing to take everyone on a bus trip across the border. The dream would have to be realized another time.
"Too many people? Can't I just rent a second bus?" Sadly Master Hand would not allow it, as evidenced by his prolonged silence. Toad moaned in sadness as he lowered his head.
"Hello, Master Hand," a certain noblewoman greeted the giant hand, who turned around and was delighted to see Edelgard approach him along with Dimitri and Claude. "We are back, just as Anna asked."
"She really tried her darndest to convince us," added Dimitri, who had some slightly mixed feelings about being in Seattle for the second consecutive week. "We all took the bait - the students included."
"I gotta say, her charm really won us over," smirked Claude; being the charmer that he was, he knew whenever someone used their own cham to its max potential. Real recognizing real.
"Lady Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude! Welcome back!" exclaimed Master Hand, as Toad looked past the house leaders and saw a bunch of guests arriving. "I have been expecting you."
"Arrived just in time before the rush," stated Dimitri as he turned back and saw folks making their arrivals at the mansion. Among the Crash clan and Rayman and his friends, there were also folks such as Phoenix Wright, his daughter Trucy, Jasmine of Olivine City...and Reaper, who regretted accepting the invite.
"Ask me why we're attending this stupid get-together again?" Reaper asked the accompanying Doomfist, who once again was playing plus-one to a Talon buddy of his. But Reaper was already a plus-one, so that made Doomfist a plus plus-one.
"Because the higher-ups said that you needed to go out more," stated Doomfist, as Reaper silently vowed to shoot the Nigerian cyborg in the head before the end of the day. "Myself included."
"So I threaten to kill one Talon lackey in the office, and now I'm forced to attend this stupid cookout or whatever as punishment. Stupid rules..."
"Didn't envision a cookout before the 4th of July, but I'll take it," Phoenix said to Trucy as he stretched his arms, only to be pushed to the side by Reaper. "Hey, I was stretching here!"
"Stretch somewhere else..." As Reaper went up the porch, with Doomfist lagging behind, it was clear as day that the mercenary was not in a happy mood. But then again, when was he ever in a good mood?
Anna: When I sent out those invites, I never made any mention that the cookout will be held in Vancouver. Figured that some folks wouldn't handle it! So I just promised everyone free food, since that's all it takes to reel people in.
"Pardon me, I have some important business to get back to," Master Hand said to the house leaders, not letting himself get too distracted from some friendly pleasant company. "We'll chit-chat later!"
"Take your time," Edelgard said to Master Hand, who vanished away in less than the blink of an eye as more and more folks were coming in.
Master Hand returned to the teleportation room, where Anna was watching Mega Man using the teleportation device. Master Hand had a very special guest in mind that he wanted to bring along for the festivities.
"The device is all set to go, Master Hand," Mega Man informed the giant hand, who curiously took out a list and an ink pen. Once Mega Man keyed in the coordinates, he was ready to push start.
"Alrighty then, let 'er rip!" exclaimed Master Hand, as Mega Man pushed the start button on the teleportation device. Mega Man took a step back as the teleportation device worked its magic.
In a matter of seconds, there was a man standing on the teleportation pad - a basketball player by the name of Wayne, whom Master Hand apparently deemed his "most favorite athlete". Wayne was noodling on his phone when he looked up and saw Mega Man.
"Sup Mega Man," greeted the basketball player, and it wasn't until he saw Mega Man's face that Wayne realized where he ended up at. "Aw, come on!"
"Welcome!" Anna happily greeted Wayne, as Master Hand scratched off an item on his list with his ink pen. Wayne looked completely done with life as he shook his head at Master Hand in dismay.
"You've got some issues, Master Hand...and so does your friend." Wayne was now stuck at the mansion, already losing count of how many times such an instance has occurred. "Isn't it too early for the 4th of July?"
"Too early? We're celebrating Canada Day!" exclaimed Master Hand, as Wayne facepalmed at the giant hand and muttered a few choice words under his breath as he groaned. "Why the long face?"
"Master Hand, this ain't right - you can't just force a bunch of people to celebrate a holiday that's not even an American holiday."
"To be fair, these people have no problem celebrating Memorial Day. Comes with the territory of residing in the world's greatest nation!"
"You tell him, Master Hand," Guile said to the giant hand as he poked his head inside the room, just to point at Master Hand and commend him. It was no secret that Memorial Day was Guile's favorite day on the calendar.
"He's a veteran, so I know he's not that down for Canada Day," Wayne remarked after Guile left, as Anna smirked and placed her finger underneath her chin in true Anna fashion. "Seriously?"
"I might've swooned Guile with his own portion of baby-back ribs..." smiled Anna; the merchant sure knew how to tickle anyone's fancy. That was her biggest trick to reeling in the dough.
"Well, you can't force me to participate in anything you got planned. Can't tell me what to do." Wayne walked off the teleportation pad and exited the room, re-engaging his typical mission of staying as far away from Master Hand as possible.
"Make sure you keep a close eye on him," Master Hand instructed Anna, who readily accepted her task without question. "Won't let him get too distant..."
Since he wanted to go all-out for Canada Day, Bowser wanted to wear a giant red sweater to show off his Canadian pride - or at least trick people into thinking that he liked Canada. When the Koopa King found that he had no such hoodie in his closet, he ran off to Mario's house to have Peach knit something for him - on very short notice.
"This will be my first-a time being in Canada legally," Mario said to Bowser, who was in the plumber's living room waiting on Peach to be done knitting the sweater. Bowser grew impatient by the second, for he did not know when everyone would be leaving.
"Good for you, pal," Bowser responded as he was watching television, only to raise his eyebrows as he looked at Mario with pure shock. "Wait a minute, did you just say 'legally'?"
"Remember when Peony and I crossed-a the Canadian border?" Mario jogged Bowser's memory, as Bowser soon recalled Mario being stuck in a Canadian jail. Before that incident, Bowser believed that jails in Canada were nonexistent.
Bowser: Mario illegally entered a country... *smiles as he wipes a tear from his eye* ...just thinking makes me wanna smile! About time Mario fully embraced the dark side.
Also in the living room were Blathers and Brewster, who were coaxed into joining the Canada Day cookout by Anna. Blathers had closed his museum for the day, and now he was sitting on Mario's couch sleeping away.
"Who...HOOOOOO!" Blathers awoke when he felt Brewster tap him on his shoulder. The owl almost had a mini heart attack, but Brewster calmed him down. "Dearest me, did I doze off again? Much obliged for waking me up, Blathers."
"About this Canada Day, coo..." Brewster said to Blathers, who was all ears as his sharp attentiveness made a rousing return. "...will the museum be closed on July 1st, going forward?"
"Just this one time. It is the least that we could do to show Master Hand and Anna...our full appreciation..." As Blathers slowly drifted back to sleep, Peach came running down the stairs with Bowser's sweater.
"Now presenting...Bowser's Canadian sweater! Ta-da!" exclaimed Peach as she went to the living room and presented a red sweater, which looked...very small for Bowser. Looked like a sweater for Bowser Jr, rather.
"How the heck am I gonna wear that, princess?" Bowser asked Peach, who glanced at the red sweater and realized how small it was in comparison to Bowser's body. "That thing would constrict my vital organs!"
"Whoopsie daisy...I was thinking about Mario the whole time I was knitting. I'll knit you another sweater, Bowser - just sit tight!" Peach tossed the small red sweater on an asleep Blathers, before retreating back to her room.
"Can't really blame-a her for that one," Mario grinned as he grabbed the red sweater, checking it out while Bowser grumpily folded his arms. "This sweater might-a be my size."
"Serves you right for asking for a sweater too late," Cappy taunted Bowser, who grabbed the hat off of Mario's head and threw him to the floor before stomping on him repeatedly. "Ow, stop it! Hat abuse, HAT ABUSE!"
"This will be a hectic Canada Day...coo," remarked Brewster, watching as Mario intervened between Bowser and Cappy - while using the small red sweater to pull the Koopa King away.
Bowser was one step ahead of the curve, as Master Hand apparently instituted a dress code for Canada Day. All the residents and guests were asked to wear something red before stepping foot in Canada, whether it be a red shirt or simply a red hat. A big shock for many of the guests, since Anna never told them that they would be going to Canada.
"Does my red cape count?" Galar champion Leon, one of the invitees, asked Isabelle as folks were scrambling around looking for any red piece of clothing they could find. The scene wasn't as chaotic as Isabelle envisioned.
"Looks red enough to me. You're all set!" replied Isabelle, as Leon let out a sigh of relief and walked away. Isabelle would soon be joined by Sonic and Knuckles, with the latter wearing a red scarf.
"Are my red shoes acceptable enough?" Sonic asked Isabelle, lifting his right foot and pointing at his iconic red shoe. "Knuckles claimed dibs on that scarf."
"You gotta admit, it makes me look fashionable," Knuckles said to Isabelle as he tossed his scarf behind his head, expecting Isabelle to be impressed. Isabelle just plainly stared - not the reaction Knuckles hoped for.
"Knuckles you're already red - you don't really have to wear anything," Isabelle informed the echidna, who looked up in realization - while also thinking of himself as a gigantic buffoon.
"Ha! I already knew that. I just wanted you to critique my fashion sense." Knuckles sheepishly took off the red scarf, holding it up high in the air. "Any takers? Come and get it!"
"I will kindly accept that scarf if you are that willing to impart," the Golden Deer's Lorenz said to Knuckles, taking the scarf out of the echidna's hand and placing it around his neck. "Hmph! Now I have met the necessary qualification."
"Not so fast," said Claude as he came over and yanked the scarf away from Lorenz. Lorenz gasped haughtily as he clutched his pearls. "That scarf looked way too nice on you. Try this on for size!"
"No, Claude...please don't!" Lorenz could only cower in fear, as Claude did the unthinkable and placed a red propeller hat on his head. Lorenz felt ashamed as Sonic, Knuckles, and even Isabelle all snickered at the nobleman.
"Nice hat," said Sonic, with him and Knuckles doing everything they could to stifle their laughter. "Though it doesn't look very...noble, of you." Sonic's joke had Knuckles over the edge, as Knuckles burst out laughing.
"Suck it up buttercup...this is only just the beginning," Claude smiled at Lorenz, who stormed out of the living room in a huff as Sonic and Knuckles were laughing hysterically. That couldn't have happened to a more deserving person.
Claude: Lorenz lowkey played a role in Ashe nearly getting killed, so he's been in the doghouse. With today being a holiday, I decided to go all out and let Lorenz really have it. He might've apologized to Ashe for what he did, but that wasn't enough to save him.
"Why does Master Hand keep sweaters like these?" Denzel asked Cloud as he held up a red Canadian sweater he found in a closet. Cloud stared at the sweater, wishing that he had an answer.
"Sometimes I wonder myself," replied Cloud as he rummaged through a box full of clothes, pulling out a red wristband. The swordsman didn't want to wear anything too flashy. "This wrist band should do."
"Aw, Cloud, you really think that Master Hand would let you in Canada with that itty bitty wrist band?" Aerith asked Cloud while wearing a long red dress she had found in her closet. A kind of dress that she might wear to a bouncing nightclub.
"Master Hand never specified how much red we were allowed to have." Cloud placed the wrist band on his left wrist, testing to see if it would fit on properly. "I'm just doing what he's asking of us..."
For Pit, a lone positive of Canada Day is that he didn't have to man Cafe Leblanc by himself. The angel would be in Vancouver, where he could hang out with his friends and drink all the maple syrup that he wanted to drink. Provided that there wasn't a limit.
But until everyone was ready to leave, Pit had to serve as the cafe's lone barista. The angel stood behind the counter as people were coming to the cafe to get in their coffee fix before the big trip. Or in Sans's case, tell a few Canadian jokes.
"papyrus said that he didn't know what the capital of canada was," Sans said to Dawn and Barry - the two Pokemon trainers who happened to be on Anna's guest list. Dawn turned down her invite; Barry sadly did not, so Dawn was forced to come. "i said to him, 'you ottawa know it.'"
"That joke wasn't even remotely funny," said Dawn as waited on Pit to fix her cup of coffee...while Barry was laughing his butt off. Dawn found herself gravely disappointed in Barry's sense of humor.
"Another joke, tell us another joke!" Barry encouraged Sans, who appreciated the Pokemon trainer for recognizing his comedic genius. Dawn was slowly on the verge of losing it.
"did you know? in ottawa, yukon see the northern lights." Sans had Barry laughing a second time, as Barry laughed and slapped his knee. Those sitting near Barry gave judging looks, much to Dawn's embarrassment.
"Oh man, keep telling jokes like those and you'll NEVER get fined!" Being the only person in the universe to never catch a fine from Barry would be quite a title for Sans to achieve.
"I'm out..." grumbled Dawn, having grown tired of Sans's puns as she got up and left the cafe. Like any other cafe patron (except Barry), Dawn had a breaking point when it came to Sans.
"Here is your coffee!" exclaimed Pit as he placed a cup of coffee on the counter...only to realize that Dawn had left. The angel looked around the cafe, growing panicked by the second. "Aw shucks, Dawn disappeared just like that?"
Pit: Having these guests over at the mansion on a holiday, it feels like Christams in July. *gasps happily* Christmas in July! *runs past Robin*
Robin: *stares into the camera* Don't tell me he's running off to play "Carol of the Bells"... *"Carol of the Bells* blares in the distance, as Robin walks away* Off to my room I go...
"I like how fine you are with letting that skeleton repel your customers," another guest on Anna's guest list, Cranky Kong, said to Joker as he sat near the counter with his cane. "Why not ask the author to remove him for you?"
"...I've still working on it," replied Joker, while at the same time who this fabled author was. He had heard many tales about the author, yet Cranky refused to disclose the author's true identity. How peculiar...
"You're in Vancouver? That's excellent," Kazuya spoke into a phone, as Joker and Cranky drew their attention to the businessman. When he saw that he was being eavesdropped on, Kazuya got up and walked away.
"There he goes, being suspicious again," Joker said to Cranky, watching as Kazuya went to a far corner of the cafe so that he could conduct his phone conversation in private.
"I would like for you to kill my father, Heihachi Mishima...and Ryo Sakazaki as well. Word around here is that he was the one who sent Balrog on me."
"Your coffee is getting cold, Mr. Mishima!" Pit called out to Kazuya, grabbing a cup off the counter and holding it up for Kazuya to see. Kazuya ignored the angel as he resumed his call. "If you don't want it...I'll happily drink it for you!"
"No, there is nobody else that I want you to deal with. One person does come to mind, but I have growing doubt that he can actually die..."
Kazuya: Balrog made me look like a fool when he laid his hands on me. Granted nobody saw me, but I had an arm in a sling and a black eye to show for the trouble that I had endured. And Ryo was responsible for it...he will surely pay. Sonic might've gotten off easy, but Ryo? Hopefully, he won't be as fortunate...
Falco made a very questionable decision in the last episode when he got a vegan tattoo on his neck courtesy of Lilith. The avian pilot enjoyed showing off his new tattoo to the residents, and with Katt Monroe at the mansion, he could display to his girlfriend his new vegan lifestyle.
"On a scale from one to ten, how would you rate my tattoo?" Falco asked Katt in the foyer, anxious to hear his girlfriend's honest opinion. "Probably should've said five to ten, 'cause I know that you wouldn't rate it so..."
"I give it a negative infinity," answered Katt, as Falco looked shocked at first only to laugh at Katt under the guise that his girlfriend was joking. "Wish that I could go lower..."
"See, Katt, this is why you're such an awesome girlfriend. Saying silly stuff just to make your man laugh." As Falco laughed, with Katt rolling her eyes, Link and Zelda observed from a distance observing Katt's body language.
"Well, what should we do, Zelda?" Link curiously asked the princess, who bit her bottom lip as she honestly didn't know what action to take. "Want to put an end to it now, or let Katt suffer for an entire day?"
"Let's just wait until the cookout starts..." replied Zelda, buying herself and Link an ample amount of time to figure out a game plan. If a game plan wasn't developed soon, Katt and everyone else might suffer.
"So, how's it coming along you two?" Toadsworth asked Link and Zelda as he entered the foyer, instantly making the Hylian couple nervous. Zelda was more nervous than Link, for what it was worth.
"With the guests? I think that everyone's accounted for," replied Link as he looked towards Zelda, who nodded her head in agreement with a nervous smile that Toadsworth saw right through.
"I wasn't talking about that! I was inquiring about Falco." Toadsworth saw Falco now showing off his neck tattoo to Rayman and his friends, with Globox being the only person out of the trio remotely impressed
"We haven't gotten a hold of him yet, but we're waiting on the right opportunity," replied Zelda, right when Link was about to say something. Toadsworth was disappointed to hear this.
"Playing the waiting game, I see...I wouldn't bid my time if I were you." Toadsworth left Link and Zelda alone as he walked away, hoping that action would be taken against Falco soon. Link and Zelda looked at each other, both showing clear hesitance.
"Link, Zelda, we have an emergency!" Wily frantically informed the Hylian couple as he poked his head in through the front door. "We have a plague among us! Come quick!"
"This has better be serious..." said Zelda as she and Link followed Wily outside and unto the porch, where they saw E. Gadd and Cortex standing by with Uka. "...so where is this 'plague', Dr. Wily?"
"Do you not see it?!" Acting as if Zelda had lost a million IQ points, Wily pointed at E. Gadd and Cortex - but E. Gadd specifically. . "How can you not see the cretin standing before you?"
"Is Cortex scaring you?" asked Link, as Cortex smiled and prided himself in the possibility that he was instilling fear within Wily. "Are you high, Dr. Wily?"
"At last, I'm being feared again!" grinned Cortex, letting out an evil laugh as his confidence was reaching levels not reached in a long time. "My villainous intimidation has returned!"
"I'd be scared of you too if I ever saw that ugly mug," commented Uka, as Cortex refused to let Uka's comments bother him. He was on an emotional high.
"Have you any idea how ironic you sound? You're the textbook definition of ugly! If I ever looked up the word 'ugly in the dictionary..."
"Didn't you get arrested for mooning at a playground? Without the buttocks?" Judging by the lack of response from Cortex, maybe he did get arrested for such a crime. "Never happened to me..."
"Argh! How could you be so blind?" Wily growled at Link and Zelda, ashamed that the Hylians didn't realize who it was that was bothering him so. "It's clearly E. Gadd. He's the plague doomed to infect us all!"
"You should go find some genuine friends, Dr. Wily," Zelda said to the robot inventor, as she and Link were ready to head back inside after their precious time was wasted. "All that bitterness will make your brain rot."
"I can put an end to his brain rot," smiled E. Gadd, pointing at himself as Wily was disgusted by E. Gadd's one-tooth smile. "Why not make a friend out of me, Dr. Wily?"
"NEVER!" bellowed Wily as he lunged at E. Gadd, wrapping his arms around the inventor's neck. Link, Zelda, and Cortex stepped in to break up the tussle, while Uka watched smiling as he wished for the struggle to go on forever.
Then suddenly a loud screech was heard, as the tussling came to an end. Near Captain Falcon's Falcon Flyer was Ridley, who was screeching as Simon and Richter Belmont were riding on top of him.
"Vancouver, away!" shouted Richter, as Ridley rose up into the sky and flew towards Canada. Isabelle ran out of the front door as she saw Ridley and the Belmonts making their leave.
"Master Hand, the Belmonts are leaving! Ridley, too!" yelled Isabelle, and right on command Master Hand appeared outside. "Looks like the Falcon Flyer is about to leave as well!"
"WHAT?!" boomed Master Hand, as he saw the Falcon Flyer rise up from the ground. The hatch opened, revealing Captain Falcon and a handful of others - including Lucario. "He's got the grill master, too?!"
"Just giving you a heads start!" Captain Falcon said to Master Hand, giving the giant hand a two-finger salute before closing the hatch and taking off. Master Hand growled, seeing the others leave without his permission.
"Isabelle...tell Mega Man to get the teleportation device ready." Master Hand floated away, now finding himself in a bad mood. Not the kind of mood he wanted to be in. "Some people just had to be impatient..."
Lucario: I had to get the cookout started soon, and I couldn't do that while waiting around on Master Hand. Captain Falcon thankfully had enough juice in his Falcon Flyer to fly me over the border. Don't tell him this, but he's a lifesaver. Only for today.
Lucario was now on Canadian soil, as the aura Pokemon was at a park in Vancouver cooking meat on the grill. Keeping him company was folks that rode with Captain Falcon on the Falcon Flyer - Samus, Red the Pokemon Trainer, Dante, Dunban, Fiora, Bomberman, and Wayne. Guests such as Dingodile, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, Zeke von Genbu, and Pandoria had also joined the ride.
"Ah, nothing like fresh Canadian air to get the heart pumping!" exclaimed Zeke after he did a brief inhale and exhale, albeit with a bit of dramatic flair. Those near the Crown Prince tried to distance themselves.
"Why did he get an invite?" wondered Wayne, muttering under his breath as he anticipated being called "string bean" by Zeke a few times. Or however many times he would allow it.
"So Master Hand rented this John Hendry park for a cookout, eh?" a Canadian park ranger asked Lucario, who was flipping a couple of burgers on the grill.
"Sure did," replied Lucario, slightly interested in knowing how the negotiations turned out. The Canadian officials must've been an easy bunch for Master Hand to win over. "You have no problem with it, do you?"
"Not at all, not at all! Master Hand can anything he wants at the park as he pleases. Just as long he doesn't burn our trees down." The park ranger left Lucario alone as he walked away, only to bump into Dingodile.
"Whoops! Sorry about that, mate," Dingodile apologized to the park ranger after he accidentally stepped on his foot. "Didn't mean to step on ya."
"No worries - it should be me apologizing instead!" The park ranger was exhibiting a kind of logic that a foreigner like Dingodile did not quite understand. "Shouldn't have put my foot there."
Whatever helps you feel like a good guy..." Dingodile walked away from the park ranger, shaking his head as went over to the grill to see how Lucario was shaking up so far.
"Before you ask, we have enough 'shrimp on the barbie,'" Lucario said to Dingodile after sensing the mutant's presence, as he threw a pack of hot dogs onto the grill. "Lady Palutena bought an entire pack."
"I was just curious about those fries." Dingodile pointed at a basket of fries on a table next to the grill, which was smothered with peppery gravy. "Why in blazes does it have gravy on it?"
"Those aren't fries." Believing that Lucario was perhaps infected by the park ranger's Canadian-ism, Dingodile furrowed his brow at the aura Pokemon. "That's actually called poutine. A classic Canadian dish."
"Why not just call it gravy fries...?" Dingodile was left scratching his head in bewilderment as he walked away, showing that he had plenty to learn about Canadian culture.
Dingodile: Putting gravy on French fries? A big no-no in the land down under. Us Australians are more dignified than that. On that note - care for some kangaroo meat, with Vegemite on top?
Lucario and the others wouldn't have to wait for long, as the first wave of visitors arrived. Mega Man brought an entire horde of people to Vancouver through the teleportation device, as everyone was teleported across the border.
"Here we are, in Vancouver, British Columbia!" Mega Man exclaimed to the folks he brought along, before looking at a timer on the wrist. "And it took us...only less than ten seconds! Sure beats a three-hour drive."
"A very noticeable lack of British influence, I'll say," remarked Pit as he looked around the park, seeing no British flags in sight. He was looking forward to meeting so many British people. "Do the people here at least speak in British accents?"
"No, but they speak in French," replied Kirby, as Master Hand magically appeared in Vancouver checking to see if Mega Man and company made it to Vancouver safe and sound. "At least they do in Quebec.
"Sorry, Yoshi, but that hockey jersey you're wearing is not allowed," Master Hand said to the green dinosaur, whom he saw wearing a jersey of the Colorado Avalanche - this year's Stanley Cup champions. "It's not Canadian enough."
"But the Avalanche used to be called the Quebec Nordiques!" Yoshi argued to Master Hand, presenting the best and only argument he had. "The Nordiques!"
"That's good and all, but the Nordiques are old news now. Put on a Montreal Canadiens jersey or something!" Forced to wear another hockey jersey, Yoshi took his jersey off and sighed in defeat.
"Has anyone seen Fox and Falco?" Master Hand asked the others, now being on the lookout for the pilots and their romantic partners. "They were supposed to be in the first wave..."
"I'm afraid they didn't make the trip," replied Mega Man, causing Master Hand to gasp as the thought of the pilots being left behind scared him. "Tried looking for them, but they were nowhere to be found."
"Surely they'll be in the second wave," surmised Dunban, and seconds after the Homs had spoken, the second wave of visitors arrived in Vancouver, led by X. Master Hand went over to X in a hurry.
"X, please tell me you have seen Fox and Falco," Master Hand asked the robot, his nervousness growing more palpable by the second. Any person left behind would be the end of Master Hand.
"They were out of the mansion right when it was time to leave," stated X, and that made Master Hand even more rattled than before. Master Hand was doing his best to hold it together.
"Out of the mansion?! So they just left?" Very slowly, Master Hand's nervous feelings were evaporating into feelings of anger. "If I find out that Fox and Falco took their ladies to some lousy restaurant in secret..."
"We took our ladies to a restaurant?" a certain pilot asked, as Master Hand was relieved when he saw Fox approach him along with Falco. "Dang, that's news to us."
"I personally wouldn't have minded a double date," said Falco, who always dreamed of going on a double date with Fox, Krystal, and Katt. Deep down he knew that Katt would be a holdover.
"Fox, Falco! Thank goodness you're safe," Master Hand gleamed to the pilots, who were disturbed by the idea of Master Hand fretting over their safety. "I was growing worried that you had bailed out on us!"
"Nah, we just followed Captain Falcon's lead," stated Fox as he pointed at his and Falco's parked Arwings, which were right next to Peppy, Slippy, and the Star Wolf members Arwings. Master Hand sighed.
"Couldn't wait like everyone else, I see...impatient bums." Relieved that Fox and Falco were in Vancouver, Master Hand floated over to Lucario and see the aura Pokemon's progress.
"Burgers are almost done," Lucario informed Master Hand, throwing several slices of Canadian bacon onto the grill and placing the cooked burgers on a tray. "Canadian bacon shouldn't take that long."
"You have so much more to grill. Why didn't you start grilling earlier?" Master Hand's question caused Lucario's right eye to twitch, as Lucario kept his emotions in check.
"Maybe if I was in Vancouver sooner, then maybe I would've gotten a head start..." Lucario dabbed a bit of garlic powder on the Canadian bacon, just to give the bacon a little kick to it.
"Could've gotten a 'head start' back home. You didn't have to wait on everyone. You're the grill master." Master Hand gave these words for Lucario to ponder over, as he floated away. Lucario grumbled under his breath.
"Soooo...got any veggie burgers for me?" Falco approached Lucario as he rubbed his hands together, looking at the burgers. A part of him mounted the fact that he wouldn't get to taste any of the Canadian bacon.
"Unfortunately, yes..." replied Lucario, as Falco looked offended at the aura Pokemon feeling some type of way. "...by unfortunately I meant that only you can have the burgers and no one else!"
"That's cool, but the others can try out the veggie burgers if they want. Regular people still eat veggie pizza, amirite?" Falco tried to get a laugh out of Lucario, smiling and nudging the aura Pokemon. His efforts proved futile.
"Are you saying that you're not a regular person?" Fiora asked Falco, leaving the avian pilot to reconsider the words that came out of his mouth. "You must put yourself on a very high pedestal."
"Was only a matter of time until your vegan lifestyle gave you such a big head," remarked Dunban, standing next to Fiora as his remark put Falco on skates. Falco couldn't let Dunban and Fiora get the better of him.
"Wonder if they sell V8 drinks at the vending machines..." said Falco as he made his getaway escape, running away from Dunban and Fiora. The avian pilot ran past Link and Zelda, who had arrived in Vancouver in the first wave of visitors.
"Lucario's got plenty of stuff left to grill," Link said to Zelda, seeing the large amount of uncooked meat that Lucario had remaining. "Think that'll buy us some time until the cookout begins?"
"Unless a distraction comes our way, we should get the job done," replied Zelda, hoping to reason with Falco before the avian pilot proved to be a nuisance during today's festivities.
While everyone on the mansion grounds was in Vancouver after the final wave, there was one person who stayed behind at the mansion...Cuphead. The cup was in the foyer waiting for Mugman and his friend, who had yet to show up.
"Where the heck are they" wondered Cuphead, who was feeling skittish about being the only person in the mansion by himself. That feeling vanished away when the doorbell rang.
"Hello, Cuphead? You home?" Mugman's voice was heard from behind the front door, as Cuphead grew ecstatic in an instant. Cuphead answered the door and saw Mugman, who was accompanied by a female companion of his.
"Mugman! About time you made it!" exclaimed Cuphead as he hugged his brotherly, holding him tightly in a brotherly embrace. After the hug ended, Cuphead saw Mugman's female friend, who was a yellow chalice.
"I'm sure that you remember Ms. Chalice," Mugman reintroduced Cuphead to the yellow chalice, who smiled and waved at Cuphead. "Our very own friendly damsel in distress!"
"Rest assured I didn't have to be saved...this time, at least," giggled Ms. Chalice, exhibiting her cheerful personality - although there was another side to her that had yet to be seen.
"Yeah, sorry we didn't arrive sooner. Kinda made a wrong turn at Salem, Oregon; I'd rather not get into the fine details."
"Better late than never!" exclaimed Cuphead, grateful that he wouldn't spend time in Vancouver without his friends. Speaking of which... "Oh, and by the way, we won't be hanging out at the mansion today."
"How come? We were looking forward to it," said Ms. Chalice, as she and Mugman were caught off-guard by the change of plans. Mugman so wanted to school someone in a game of poker.
"Today's Canada Day, and Master Hand apparently wants to hold the celebration across the border." Cuphead suddenly gasped as he remembered something, snapping his fingers when the thought came to him. "The Nanaimo bars! Must be still in the fridge."
"People in the state of Washington celebrate Canada Day?" Mugman asked Ms. Chalice, as Cuphead quickly ran to the kitchen while the thought was dwelling on his mind. "Do Minnesotans do the same?"
For Cuphead, the day was saved as he grabbed several boxes of Nanaimo bars (which were basically layered dessert bars) from the kitchen fridge. The cup passed through the living room stuffing the Nanaimo bars in a large bag when he saw that the television was left on.
"Uh oh! Someone must've left the TV on," said Cuphead as he grabbed the TV remote; on the screen was a breaking news headline that read, "Giant Monster Spotted Near Canadian Border...".
"Ready to go, Cuphead?" asked Mugman as he and Ms. Chalice ventured into the living room...with Cuphead turning the television off. That news headline had little effect on Cuphead.
"Sure am!" Cuphead hoisted his large bag of Nanaimo bars, pulling a box out of the bag and showing it to his friends. "Had to make sure that I grabbed our Canada Day dessert."
Nana: The ingredients for the Nanaimo bars were very expensive since the recipe called for gourmet chocolate. But Cuphead was happy to make the bars regardless, he didn't need that much help. Did need some guidance on who was allowed to sample the bars...Duck Hunt Dog was almost a goner yesterday.
"Great! So how do we get to Canada?" Mugman asked the million-dollar question, as he imagined the trip to Canada to be a long, arduous one. Cuphead was about to proclaim how short the trip would be, until...
"The teleportation device...we have no one around to use it!" the cup panicked, putting his hands on his head; operating the device without the guidance of Mega Man or any of the other robots would be ill-advised.
"We can just walk across the border," suggested Ms. Chalice, thinking that the trek to Canada would make for a great bonding experience. "Doesn't have to be entirely on foot."
"Yeah, you're right! We could ask for a cab to take us to Vancouver since that's where the cookout will be. All we need is money for the fare..."
Anna imagined that Snake would feel "lonely" in Vancouver without his best friend, Hal Emmerich, so the merchant invited Hal to the mansion for Canada Day. Snake and Hal were hanging out at the park right now, standing at a lake with Villager who was fishing.
"Great to have you back, buddy," Snake smiled at Hal, wrapping his arm around the hacker. Villager could take in solace in that he could be with Snake and Hal without being suspicious of the two.
"Didn't think that I would be in Canada, but I'll take it!" responded Hal, who hoped to ask Anna questions later about the inaccuracies of his invite. "So any updates about he-who-shall-not-be-named?"
"Beats me - I don't really follow that stupid Harry Potter crap." Snake's response reached the ears of Corrin, who was playing with Kana when he looked back at Snake and gasped.
"I wasn't talking about Voldemort." After a matter of seconds, Snake realized who Hal was referring to. And he felt stupid for not getting it the first time. "What, you think that I'm a Harry Potter fan?"
"You follow all the other nerdy stuff, so I wouldn't be surprised..." As Snake watched Villager reel in a rainbow trout, Corrin kept glaring at the former spy before turning his head back.
Elsewhere at the park, Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings hoped to play on the playground before the cookout started. But the only problem was that there was already a group of kids hogging the playground for themselves.
"Papa, these kids won't give up the playground," Bowser Jr. said to Bowser, who came over who his kids (and favorite child) wearing a Canadian sweater. One that actually fitted him.
"They're all Canadian, they'll leave if you ask them," said Bowser, wanting to see Bowser Jr. take action and stand up for his rights. "Even if you don't ask nicely!"
"Really?" Taking Bowser's word for it, Bowser Jr. went up to the kids playing on the playground and shouted to them, "Hey you bums! Give up the playground or else!"
"Okay," one of the kids said, as he and his friends left the playground without putting up much of a fight. Shocked by the result, Bowser Jr. looked back at Bowser with surprise on his face.
"That's my boy!" exclaimed Bowser, showing fatherly pride in Bowser Jr. as he gave him a thumbs up. There was a reason why he only had one favorite child.
"How do you like my tattoo?" Falco asked a Canadian woman who was sipping water at a water fountain. The woman nearly spat out the water at Falco out of shock as she lifted her head.
"It looks nice, I guess," the woman replied, trying her best to be sincere as she wiped her mouth with her arm and walked away. Yearning for more validation, Falco saw a man walk by holding a Starbucks cup.
"You definitely seem like the kind of dude that likes a good vegan tattoo," Falco approached the man as he showed off his neck tattoo, while the man didn't look too impressed. "Yay or nay?"
"If saying this will make you leave me alone...then yay," the man replied as he resumed walking, taking out and phone and pretending to look at it. Falco was satisfied by the response, but it wasn't enough.
Falco: The Canadian people have given me props, but the only problem with them is that they're, well, Canadian. They're probably being too nice. I need more genuine feedback.
"Hey, Falco," Link called out to the avian pilot, with Zelda standing at his side; Falco didn't hear Link as he chased after a Canadian police officer who was walking on foot. "And there he goes..."
"We should try being more aggressive," Zelda suggested to Link, vowing not to let Falco get away with the next opportunity she and Link had. "It'd be easier to get his attention that way."
"You're coming to this park?" Kazuya spoke into the phone, as Link and Zelda saw the businessman conducting a phone call. Kazuya was speaking with the same person from earlier. "That is good news!"
"I've got a bad feeling about him...but what else is new?" Zelda kept herself quiet, as she and Link observed Kazuya so they could eavesdrop on him.
"He's playing a game of Frisbee with Ryu and Ken Masters. Can't miss him." After noticing that Link and Zelda were watching him - with both Hylians looking away after being caught - Kazuya frowned and walked away.
"That's weird, we didn't see Heihachi playing Frisbee," Link said to Zelda, placing a finger underneath his chin as he wondered who Kazuya's target was. "Unless it's someone else he's after..."
"Have you two seen Kazuya anywhere?" Joker asked Link and Zelda as he ran up to the Hylian couple, nearly out of breath. The young man was spying on Kazuya and was trying to keep up.
"He went that way," answered Zelda as she pointed in the direction that Kazuya went; Joker ran off, staying hot on Kazuya's heels. "Good thing we don't have to do double duty."
If Wayne wanted to keep his distance from Master Hand, his best intention was to hang out with individuals whom Master Hand would be associated with the least. Having done some process of elimination, Wayne chose to stick around with Dawn and Barry...but mainly Barry. For better and for worse.
"Hey buddy, that's my shoulder bag!" Barry shouted a man who was about to grab Barry's bag off a picnic table. Dawn and Wayne, who were sitting at the picnic table, did their best not to get involved.
"Oh, this was yours?" the man asked Barry as he pointed at the shoulder bag, which was open and had stuff spilling out. "It was lying here unattended..."
"As if! You lay a finger on that shoulder bag, and you're getting a fine!" An honest Canadian man, receiving a fine? Barry was truly off his rocker.
"You don't have to fine me, buddy! I'll leave it alone." The man held his hands back as he backed away from the picnic table, abstaining from a potential momentary loss.
"Good! And for the record...I'm not your buddy, friend!" At that exact moment, Wayne looked up from his phone as he feared the chain reaction that Barry potentially started.
"He's not your friend, guy," Mr. Resetti came over to inform Barry, letting the Pokemon trainer know what was up.
"He's not your guy, brother," Wario said to Mr. Resetti as he joined in on the conversation, with all the dudes setting each other straight.
"He's not your brother, mate," Ty the Tasmanian Tiger said to Wario as he joined the fray, only to show instant regret afterward. "Did I just ruin the flow...?"
"This is what I get for wanting peace of mind..." Wayne sighed deeply as he returned to his phone, with more and more men joining in the conversation that Barry inadvertently started. Because of a shoulder bag.
"Alright, alright, break it up you jannies!" boomed Master Hand as he appeared at the picnic table, causing those who had drawn near to walk away. The man that Barry bothered also left. "You're all welcome."
"Thanks, Master Hand," Dawn sarcastically thanked the giant hand, as Barry grabbed his shoulder bag before anyone could potentially snatch it.
To get to Vancouver in due time, Cuphead and his friends had to get there through some kind of transportation. Cuphead didn't have any funds to afford a single plane ticket, but he was confident that he had enough for a cab ride.
"Chump change isn't gonna cut it," a cab driver said to Cuphead in downtown Bellevue, as Cuphead only had a couple of coins to spare. "You're out of luck."
"Welp, guess that means we're talking to Canada entirely on foot," remarked Cuphead as he put the change back in his pocket, hoping that his legs would hold up during the trek. But when all hope seemed lost, Ms. Chalice approached the cab driver.
"Sure you can't give us a free ride?" Ms. Chalice asked the cab driver, acting all flirty and romantic as she bated her eyes several times. The cab driver tried not to fall for her trick.
"I would, but that would be against the law..." the cab driver replied, as Ms. Chalice inched closer to him while revving up the cuteness factor. "...also, I would be playing favorites!"
"I could be your favorite." Ms. Chalice got even closer to the cab driver, twisting her heel around. It wasn't until she blew the driver a kiss that she completely won him over.
"...that works for me!" Now swooned by Ms. Chalice, the cab driver hopped in the driver's seat and got his taxi started. "Everyone hop aboard!"
"Nice work, Ms. Chalice!" said Mugman, as he and his friends got inside the taxi. Ms. Chalice's manipulation worked like a charm, no pun intended, as the taxi took off down the road.
"So where are you all headed?" the cab driver asked Cuphead and friends, who were sitting in the back of the taxi. Ms. Chalice leaned in close to the driver and whispered in his ear. "Vancouver, Canada?!"
"Maybe this will make the ride worth it..." said Ms. Chalice as she kissed the cab driver on his cheek; the cab driver smiled, as he drove the taxi without any further complaint.
Anna had invited two groups of friends from Sora's universe for Canada Day - specifically the Wayfinder trio (Terra, Ventus, and Aqua) and the so-called ice cream trio (Roxas, Axel, and Xion). With Roxas and Ventus both in the same location, it has led to plenty of confusion.
"Nice kite-flying skills you got there," Roxas said to Ventus, as the two identical-looking Keyblade wielders were flying kites in an open field. "Seems like you got the hang of it!"
"What else can I say, I'm a natural," smiled Ventus as he flew a blue kite, while Roxas was flying a red kite. Caspar and Annette standing on the side, the former unable to tell who was who.
"I'm confused, which one is Roxas and which one is Ventus?" a confused Caspar asked Annette, as the question had been dwelling hard on his mind for an awfully long time.
"I'd say the one flying the red kite is Roxas since he's the better-looking one," answered Annette, and once he saw where Annette was coming from, Caspar slowly began to understand.
"Ah, I got it. Thanks!" Now able to tell the difference, Caspar smiled as Annette walked away. The joy that Caspar initially felt had gone away. "But wait, they both look the same!"
Out of everyone that was in Vancouver, nobody was happier than Ike. The swordsman was reunited with his main man in Soren and was going around telling the Canadian folks about Soren's great deeds. No matter how falsified they were.
"Legend has it that Soren fought an entire pack of grizzly bears and won," Ike said to a small group of Canadian kids, telling them the kind of stories that he thought they would enjoy. "Fought them to the death!"
"If that actually happened, there would be no way that I'd be standing here right now," stated Soren, who didn't think that he would stand a chance against even one grizzly bear. But Ike didn't care either way.
"But that's not all. Soren once threw a bomb and killed like ten people - before the bomb even exploded!" Having enough of Ike's tall tales, Soren walked away from Ike to keep himself from the delusion.
"So you became a vegan...all because of some chicken nuggets?" Katt asked Falco, chatting with her boyfriend on a park bench that Soren walked past. Falco confirmed as such with a nod of his head.
"It wasn't until I spent a day in jail that I realized the error of my ways," stated Falco, trying to show Katt how much of a changed man he was. "I let so many bird people down."
"Maybe if you hadn't wrecked that kiosk, then you wouldn't have had that epiphany." Katt would soon stop speaking, as she looked up and saw Link and Zelda drawing near, wishing to speak with Falco.
"Hope that we aren't interrupting your conversation," Zelda said to Falco and Katt, as Katt looked cautiously at Falco believing that the avian pilot was in big trouble. Falco didn't seem to think the same way.
"Well, technically, you kinda are," Falco told Zelda, wishing for the princess and her boyfriend to vamoose so that he could enjoy his time with Katt. "I was telling Katt here how why I became a vegan."
"Speaking of being a vegan, we have gotten some complaints," stated Link, and Falco widened his eyes as he had a hunch about what these complaints were. "Complaints about..."
"Let me guess, it's about my neck tattoo. Should've known..." Falco looked away and shook his head, baffled by how so many haters were in his midst.
"Well, it has more to do than just your tattoo. Way more. The majority of the complaints that we got from the others have been mostly about..."
"Attention, everyone! We have a very special presentation starting in a few," Master Hand called out to everyone, sounding anxious to get his special presentation started right away. "Everyone meet at the lakeside!"
"We'll talk about this later..." Zelda said to Falco, as she and everyone else went over to the lakeside. Master Hand never specified which lakeside everyone had to go to, which led to a minor case of the blind leading the blind.
Zelda: So close, and yet so far...surely Falco wouldn't mind us sitting next to him during the cookout. He could use some extra company.
Everyone was gathered together, as Master Hand, Mario, and Anna were standing at the forefront of the lake. The chatter among the large crowd had much to do about what Master Hand's "special presentation" entailed.
"Hello everyone! Happy Canada Day!" Mario greeted the large crowd, the chatter slowly dying down as all the attention was focused on Mario. "How are you all-a feeling today?"
"Miserable," answered Reaper, wishing that he was back at Talon headquarters plotting somebody's death. Mario refused to continue until he got a more positive answer.
"We are doing splendidly!" exclaimed Toadsworth, giving the kind of response that Mario wished to hear as Reaper grumbled under his breath. "This has been a lovely excursion so far."
"Indeed, indeed," Mario smiled as he nodded his head, pleased to know that there was at least one person who was enjoying (or didn't mind) Canada Day. "This might sound a bit cliche, but thank-a you all for coming."
"Move aside, Mario, you're doing it all wrong..." Master Hand said to the plumber as he smacked him out of the way, electing to take the reins. "...so who's ready to get this party started?!"
"YES!" cheered Captain Falcon, followed by a few small cheers; the small reception he got gave Master Hand enough assurance that his special presentation would turn out A-OK.
"Good! Now as an FYI, this presentation was planned by Anna on mostly short-term notice. And since he wanted to wait late to start grilling, our grill master Lucario will unfortunately not be joining us."
"Didn't want to see your presentation anyway, but thanks for your concern," Lucario called out to Master Hand, as he was still working on the grill. Fortunately for the aura Pokemon, his work was almost done.
"First things first, we'll be introducing our, erm, master of ceremonies," stated Anna, as she was using the term "master of ceremonies" a little too liberally. "He's a man that in my opinion is the pure embodiment of Canada."
"Think I know who it is," Little Mac whispered to Doc Louis, knowing a boxer he fought on the world circuit that embodied Canada to a tee. Doc Louis knew who it was as well.
"Without further ado, give a warm welcome to the champion of Canada, the number two fighter on the major circuit, and Salmon Arm's very own...pro boxer Bear Hugger!"
The "master of ceremonies" Bear Hugger made his grand appearance, in the form of a large Canadian lumberjack wearing blue overalls and no undershirt. Little Mac and Doc Louis's thoughts were instantly confirmed.
"Happy Canada Day, eh!" Bear Hugger greeted the crowd, with many folks having mixed feelings about the lumberjack based on his appearance alone. It was hard for many to get excited.
"Now I know what you're thinking, that this guy doesn't look-a the part," Mario addressed the crowd, as he heard all the murmurings that sparked when Bear Hugger stepped onto the scene. "But Anna chose-a him, so don't blame-a me for..."
"Give me a hug, you hoser!" Bear Hugger gave Mario a patented bear hug, as he picked up the plumber off his feet and held him tightly. Mario was gasping for air as Bear Hugger gave him a good squeeze.
"Ha! He just called you a hoser!" Yosuke pointed and laughed at Mario, who was dropped to the ground as his insides were in agony. Mario was lying on his back in unimaginable pain.
"I'm-a okay..." assured Mario, erasing any concerns about him as he hopped back on his feet. Nearly cracked a bone or two in the process.
Mario: Had Bear Hugger squeezed-a me any tighter, he would've broken every bone-a in my body! Would've gotten me a hefty settlement, but the pain-a just isn't worth it.
"That's our master of ceremonies, really?" complained Wendy Koopa, as she voiced her dissatisfaction with Anna's choice. "You can't be serious."
"He looks like a cross between a lumberjack and a redneck," said Rayman, unable to tell which stereotype Bear Hugger fitted more.
"Bear Hugger!" Doc Louis said to the lumberjack, who took out a bottle of maple syrup, took the cap off, and drank it whole. "Haven't seen you in well over a minute."
"Shut up, Doc Louis! You and Bear Hugger can talk later," Master Hand said to the boxing trainer as he pushed him away from the front. "Bear Hugger, why don't you tell these...hosers, a bit about your homeland?"
"Better yet, how about I sing to them the Canadian national anthem, eh?" suggested Bear Hugger, as the crowd took issue with the lumberjack singing his heart out. Hopefully, some folks brought their earplugs.
"Ooh, even better! The floor is yours." So Master Hand and the others kept silent, as Bear Hugger cleared his throat and was ready to sing...albeit loudly:
O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love thou dost in us command.
We see thee rising fair, dear land,
The True North, strong and free;
And stand on guard, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.
O Canada! O Canada!
O Canada! We stand on guard for thee,
O Canada! We stand on guard for thee.
"That...that wasn't half-bad!" critiqued Marth, finding himself a fan as he gave small applause for Bear Hugger. Bear Hugger wanted to keep singing, but he ended up coughing as his vocal cords were strained.
"Fabolous job, Bear Hugger," Master Hand commended the lumberjack, who had to scarf down a bottle of syrup just to ease his vocal cords. That syrup must be like miracle water in Canada. "Now what else can you teach this crowd?"
"Is it my turn, Master Hand? Almost forgot that you were doing this thing today. Good thing that I remembered in time!"
Fear found its way to the crowd, as a giant white sasquatch appeared. The sasquatch for the most part seemed friendly, as he joined Master Hand and company while holding a Quebec flag.
"Came a bit too early, but I'd say you're right on time," Anna said to the sasquatch, seeing that Bear Hugger couldn't go any longer given the current condition of his vocal cords. "Everyone say hello to Sasquatch!"
"Hello, Sasquatch!" greeted Hunter as he waved to Sasquatch, before leaning in close to Spyro and whispering to the purple dragon, "He must be a long-distant cousin of Bentley."
"Not all abominable snowmen are related to each other, Hunter," Spyro quietly informed the cheetah, as Sasquatch stuck his Quebec flag into the ground.
"In case you couldn't tell, Sasquatch here will be repping the province of Quebec," Master Hand stated to the crowd, as Anna couldn't find a better French Canadian representative. "Rayman, I imagine that this will be right up your alley for you and your pals."
"We're only French - not French Canadian," clarified Rayman, with those near him debating whether or not the limbless hero could truly be considered French. "Big difference."
"I may not know a lick of French, but I'll do my best," Sasquatch assured the crowd, hoping to make the most of the opportunity that was given to him.
Researcher Zelda: Last time I checked, there has been no evidence of sasquatches being found in Quebec. Who is Anna trying to fool?
"Got a question for you, Sasquatch," Lloyd said to the abominable snowman as he raised his hand, delighting Master Hand with his thirst for knowledge. "Does Quebec have its own national anthem?"
"That's a pretty stupid question to ask," Samus said to Lloyd, as she always found herself baffled by the swordsman's ignorance. More so than anyone else.
"How so? A lot of Quebecers act like their territory is their own country. Got any idea how rude they are compared to other Canadians?"
"I reckon that there is a French Canadian national them out there," stated Sasquatch, giving Lloyd enough assurance that he wasn't a fool. Samus might have to eat her words. "I might remember how it goes."
"Well then, let's-a hear it!" Mario encouraged Sasquatch, who took a moment to recall the lyrics of the French Canadian national them. After a brief moment, Sasquatch pulled out an accordion and was ready to sing:
There's no Canada like French Canada,
It's the best Canada in the land.
The other Canada is hardly Canada.
If you lived there for a day, you'd understand!
"Is that even a real anthem...?" questioned Samus, who was looking around thinking that she was taking crazy pills. Nevertheless, Lloyd was fully convinced as he applauded Sasquatch's performance.
"Yes! I knew it all along!" exclaimed a vindicated Lloyd, as hearing the French Canadian national anthem (which really wasn't the anthem) made him feel like a genius. "Take that, Samus."
"That's not what an anthem is supposed to sound like...Master Hand, can you believe this?" Samus couldn't believe that Master Hand was casually letting all this tomfoolery slide.
"To be fair Quebec does have a national anthem, but I forgot how it went," Master Hand said to Samus, partially blaming himself for not knowing enough French to sing the anthem himself. "Perhaps Rayman could lend a hand."
"I'M NOT A FRENCH CANADIAN, I'M ONLY FRENCH!" Rayman shouted at the top of his lungs, as Master Hand was getting on his last nerve. One day Master Hand will tell the difference.
"Master Hand, the last of our guests is here!" Anna informed the giant hand, as she saw a man with face paint and a red ponytail drawing near. Master Hand saw the man, and beckoned him over.
"Here is the last phase of our special presentation...give it up for Wolf Hawkfield!" exclaimed Master Hand, as the man with face paint got a small reception from the crowd. Curiously enough, Kazuya was smiling when he saw Hawkfield...
"Well, if it isn't my old rival," remarked Akira Yuki, as this was his first time seeing Hawkfield in who knows how many years. The fighter backed away when Master Hand pointed in his face.
"Save your friendly discussions for later..." Master Hand said to Akira, before turning his attention to Hawkfield, the Native American woodsman. Who also happened to enjoy karaoke. "...Hawkfield here will be repping Ontario. Correct?"
"I may not know that much about Ontario, but I can portray its culture through interpretative dance," replied Hawkfield, as he performed some interpretative dance moves on the fly. Nobody in the crowd knew what the dance moves did...and neither did Hawkfield.
"He's a much better dancer than you," Uka whispered to Cortex, watching as Hawkfield was moving his arms up and down - which was pretty much the bread and butter of the interpretative dancing.
"As if! He's barely even moving his legs," Cortex whispered back, while those near the evil genius yawned at Hawkfield's performance. "I have more rhythm in my left toe than his entire body!"
"Please don't take your shoe off..." But take his shoe off Cortex did, as the evil genius revealed his exposed foot to the others. Daisy, standing close to Cortex, was first to see the foot as she shrieked.
"Princess Daisy?" Luigi said to his wife, who fainted to the ground in a hurry; it wasn't until he saw Cortex's foot that Luigi understood Daisy's reaction. "MAMA MIA, PUT-A YOUR SHOE BACK ON!"
"Why? Is it too warm to leave it exposed?" pondered Cortex, as everyone around him took sight of his gnarly foot. The main focus was Cortex's big toe, which made folks either scream or shield their eyes.
"Dr. Cortex, please put your shoe back on!" Master Hand commanded the evil genius, seeing the disgusted reactions as Hawkfield was forced to put an end to his interpretative dance. "We don't want people to lose their lunch before the cookout."
"And who is this 'we'?" I see that some of you can't handle proper foot pedicure..." Cortex was left in a bad mood as he put his shoe back on, with those who saw his foot feeling relieved.
Cuphead and friends were in the home stretch, as they were getting closer to the Canadian border. But due to state regulations, the cab driver had to stop his car just beyond the borderline.
"This is about as far as I can take you," the cab driver said to Cuphead and friends, who all got out of the car with Vancouver in their midst. "I'm all out of gas, too!"
"Thank you for the ride..." Ms. Chalice thanked the cab driver, leaning in close and giving him another kiss on the cheek. The cab driver smiled, almost on the verge of fainting out of love.
But the driver would be snapped out of his romantic trance when he and the others heard a loud roar. Everyone looked towards the direction where the roar came from...and saw a giant monster approaching.
"Oh no, it's an ugly monster!" panicked Mugman, as he hugged Ms. Chalice for comfort. Cuphead squinted his eyes as he made out the monster.
"That's no ordinary ugly monster...it's a Magnamalo!" screamed Cuphead, who recalled a Magnamalo about to wreck the mansion back in episode 275. "Nobody ever told me that there was another one!"
"You three are on your own - I'm out!" the cab driver said to Cuphead and friends, as he hurriedly pushed his taxi down the road. Better find shelter soon.
"No, wait!" Mugman called out to the cab driver, who ignored the cup as he tried to get away. Mugman then gulped nervously, as he turned around and saw the Magnamalo inching near.
"Nice monster..." Ms. Chalice said cautiously to the Magnamalo, who saw the chalice and her pals as a miniature snack. But Cuphead, determined to make it to Vancouver, refused to let the Magnamalo scare him.
"If this is our only obstacle in getting to Vancouver...then so be it!" the cup shouted, as he bravely crawled onto the Magnamalo and got on top of his back. The Magmalo roared, as Cuphead secured his position. "Hop on, you guys!"
"What, are you crazy?!" Mugman shouted at Cuphead, as the Magnamalo was unable to shake Cuphead off of him. "You're gonna get us all killed!"
"I said, hop on!" Exchanging worried looks with one another, Mugman and Ms. Chalice did as they were told as they climbed on top of Magnamalo.
"We'll just leave this to you..." Ms. Chalice said to Cuphead as she held tightly unto the cup. Cuphead smiled in response, as he was taking control.
"Vancouver, Canada...here we come!" shouted Cuphead, as the Magnamalo let out a piercing scream and started to run.
Lucario was all done grilling the food, which meant that the Canada Day cookout could finally begin. Everyone treated themselves to some grilled steaks, steak kabobs, salmon, and other kinds of grub - with a handful of cocktails on the side.
"Anyone care for more maple syrup?" asked Bear Hugger as he went around offering syrup - not as a condiment, as a meal portion. It was more than likely that he had syrup running in his veins.
"We'll gladly take-a some!" yelled Mario, as he was sitting next to Luigi; Bear Hugger happily came over to the Mario Bros and poured syrup into their open mouths, as the Mario Bros' wives judged their husbands.
"Gotta build-a up our Bros Points," stated Luigi, only to see the inquisitive looks that Peach and Daisy were giving him and Mario. "It's an inside-a joke..."
"So you know the Aenslands personally?" Pit asked Sasquatch, who informed the angel and his friends about his past few encounters with Morrigan and Lilith. "Did they ever try to seduce you?"
"Thankfully for me, they said that I was out of their league!" replied Sasquatch, before grabbing a handful of Canadian bacon and stuffing it in his mouth. His plate indubitably had a lot of food. "But they did say that I was 'cute', though."
"You heard that, Dark Pit? Morrigan and Lilith think that Sasquatch is cute!" Pit said to the doppelganger, who walked by while accompanying Adeleine. Dark Pit looked at Sasquatch, wondering why he should care.
"Good for him," replied Dark Pit, before grabbing Adeleine's hand as he made haste and returned to his seat as soon as possible. "Just keeping walking, Adeleine...don't even look back."
"But I forget to get a drink," Adeleine said to Dark Pit, who didn't care in the slightest as he didn't want Adeleine to suffer from Pit's shenanigans.
"Nice hat," Ashe smiled at Lorenz, who walked past the commoner while wearing his red propeller hat. Lorenz grunted as his hat made him the butt of jokes all day long.
"It is time..." Kazuya came over to Hawkfield, sitting near Ashe, as he whispered into Hawkfield's ear. Looking up in realization, Hawkfield stopped eating his food as he got up from his seat.
"Dude, you're literally leaving your steak unattended," Sonic informed Hawkfield, who walked away from the picnic table without saying a word. Lavenza, who was standing by, saw Kazuya making his retreat and felt suspicious.
"I fear that he's back at it again..." the young girl whispered to Sonic, who was about to take a piece off of Hawkfield's steak when nobody was looking. Gotta strike while the iron was hot.
"You don't mean Kazuya, do you? How many times do I have to deal with that guy?!" Sonic despised having to put Kazuya in his place but frankly, it was something that had to be done.
Sonic: Kazuya has done all sorts of diabolical stuff, and somehow he has yet to get in trouble with Link and Zelda? Or Master Hand? He must have some incriminating photos of the three...though I wouldn't wanna imagine what dirt he's got on Master Hand.
"I can't eat regular burgers, 'cause I'm a vegan," Falco said to the Wayfinder trio and the ice cream trio, showing off a veggie burger that he was eating. "That's why I'm eating this veggie burger."
"That is...certainly a choice to make," commented Aqua, as Falco could tell that the Keyblade Master was unfamiliar with the vegan lifestyle. Raphael, seeing Falco's veggie burger, was in shambles as he felt like dropping his plate to the ground.
"There, there," Axel comforted the downtrodden Raphael, patting the burly commoner on his back. "I bet you he's just posturing because it's a holiday."
Raphael: Why would Falco voluntarily choose to be depressed? Kinda weird, if you ask me.
"It's now or never," Link said to Zelda as the Hylian couple walked over to Falco, about to speak with the avian pilot a second time. The Wayfinder trio and ice cream trio had left, leaving Falco ripe for the taking.
"Link and Zelda! Wanna see my vegan burger?" Falco asked the Hylian couple, showing them the insides of his burger like it was show-and-tell. "The patty has soybeans and tofu."
"That's lovely, Falco, it really is," replied Zelda, wanting to discuss some important matters before she and Link found themselves interrupted. "So about those complaints we were telling you about..."
"Yeah, who was complaining? Give me a list of names so I'll know who to throw hands with." Falco was willing to throw hands with his anyone - as long as Fox wasn't on the list.
"There won't be any hands thrown," assured Link, fearing that any act of violence carried out by Falco would only hurt the avian pilot's vegan cause. "These complaints are confidential."
"So what you're saying is that these complainers are cowards...eh, I can live with that. Just what were they complaining about?"
"About how overbearing you became," replied Zelda, giving Falco the time to reflect upon how he interacted with the other residents as of late. "A lot of people personally can't stand you anymore."
"It's gotta do with the neck tattoo, doesn't it? Maybe it was stupid of me to show it off so often. Should've just gotten it on my arm."
"As we said, it's more than just that. People have taken offense to how much you have been lecturing them about your veganism."
"They have? I was just trying to convince them to eat healthier, that's all. That can't really offend anyone, can it?"
"Depends on how you go about it," replied Link, prepared to say something that he knew would cut in deep into Falco. "Even Fox thought that you were acting too out of line."
"He did?" Falco was given a moment of pause, as the thought of his best friend growing tired of him finally made him feel guilty. "I didn't really mean to take it that far..."
"Hope you all are enjoying the cookout!" Master Hand said to everyone, forcing Link and Zelda to once again end their conversation with Falco. "So, has anyone learned anything during Canada Day?"
"I've learned that this has been a waste of our time," answered Reaper, as a few others found themselves in agreement with the mercenary. Not the kind of answer that Master Hand was looking for.
"I am learning that the Canadian people are very nice and generous," answered Petra, with Master Hand showing his appreciation towards the commoner for her positive attitude.
"That's the spirit, Petra!" exclaimed Master Hand, happy that there was at least one person who was having a good Canada Day experience. "Canadians are the best neighbors that Americans could ask for."
Dorothea: How would I describe the Canadian people? Imagine if you took Ashe, and made a million clones of him and put them in one country. That's pretty much Canada in a nutshell.
Reaper: To me, Canada is just the same as America. The only difference is that not everyone is a jerk. I'd feel miserable if I lived up here.
"Master Hand, we're missing our dessert," Isabelle informed the giant hand, as a crucial part of the cookout was missing; it never even occurred to Master Hand until Isabelle mentioned it.
"You mean those Nanaimo bars?" asked Master Hand, who oversaw Cuphead making the Nanaimo bars in the kitchen. Just to ensure that the recipe wasn't completely botched. "Cuphead should have them."
"That's the thing, though...Cuphead isn't here. He didn't make the trip." Isabelle made Master Hand full of worry, as a resident left behind was a crisis that Master Hand did not want on days such as these.
"Didn't make the trip?! How come?" Looking for someone to blame, Master Hand directed his anger towards Zero, one of the robots responsible for bringing the visitors to Vancouver. "Zero, was Cuphead not a part of your traveling party?"
"He wanted to stay behind and wait on Mugman," replied Zero, giving Master Hand slight assurance that Cuphead was still at the mansion. "I can go back and see if he's still there."
"Hold that thought, Zero," Cloud said to the robot as he came over to Master Hand and Isabelle, holding his phone out as a video was playing. "I think that you should see this, Master Hand."
"See what?" inquired Master Hand, as he and Isabelle took a peek a the video. It was a news video of the Magnamalo that Cuphead and friends spotted...and according to the headline, the Magnamalo was heading towards Vancouver!
"That Magnamalo is coming this way!" panicked Isabelle, as Zeke immediately perked up after the Magnamlo was mentioned. "It's going to ruin our cookout!"
"Not on my watch," said Leon, as the champion of Galar took out his Poke Ball ready to send out his Charizard if necessary. "My Charizard will take care of it!"
"Stand back...this is my time to shine!" Zeke said to Leon, him and Pandoria rising up to the occasion. The Crown Prince desired to recruit some allies first. "Cloud Strife, String Bean...this is your calling!"
"Beating up monsters isn't my calling, bro," stated Wayne, electing to remain in his seat as he ate a slice of Canadian bacon. "Besides, the food's too good to pass up."
"He's not your bro..." Barry said to Wayne as he stood up from his seat pointing at the basketball player...only to sit back down when Dawn gave him a frown. "...right, sorry."
"Okay, but what does this have to do with Cuphead?" asked Master Hand, and so Cloud zoomed in on the video to show Cuphead, Mugman, and Ms. Chalice riding on top of the Magnamolo. "Why he is and Mugman riding on that hideous beast?"
"Probably their death wish," assumed Cloud, thinking that Cuphead and friends were absolutely no match for the Magnamolo. "Doubt that their bullets would have any effect on..."
Suddenly a loud roar was heard in the distance, as the Magnamolo ran into the John Hendry park scaring people away. Those at the cookout were on edge, with many leaving their seats and taking cover.
"Heel, boy, heel!" Cuphead said to the Magnamolo, miraculously bringing the monster to a stop. The Magnamolo was still being aggressive, thrashing about in place as it threw Ms. Chalice right off.
"Ms. Chalice, no!" screamed Mugman, with Ms. Chalice shrieking as she was flown across the air...only to land in the arms of a returning Hawkfield. Cuphead and Mugman both sighed in relief.
"My hero!" Ms. Chalice smiled as she hugged Hawkfield, who placed the chalice back on her feet. Hawkfield returned to the cookout at the right time.
"You're welcome," Hawkfield said to Ms. Chalice, as he took out a tomahawk. Looked like Hawkfield was ready for carnage.
"Thank goodness! Hawkfield is going to dispatch the monster for us," gleamed Master Hand...only to look confused when Hawkfield was heading in Ryo Sakazaki's direction. "Hawkfield, you're going the wrong way!"
"Buddy, where are you going?!" Cuphead called out to Hawkfield, as he and Mugman tried to keep the Magnamalo contained. Sonic saw what Hawkfield was planning to do - and so did Joker.
"No!" shouted Sonic, as Hawkfield stood behind an unsuspecting Ryo with his tomahawk held high. The blue hedgehog delivered a Spin Dash to Hawkfield, causing him to drop the tomahawk to the ground.
"Blasted hedgehog..." Kazuya growled through clenched teeth, as Joker ran over to pick up Hawkfield's tomahawk. Joker, looking at the Magnamalo, considered his options as he looked at the weapon in his hands.
"Worth a shot..." the young man said as he hurled the tomahawk at the Magnamalo, nailing the monster in the face and causing it to scream. Gave Zeke just the opening he needed.
"It has come...my big moment!" the Crown Prince shouted, taking out his sword as he and Pandoria rushed towards the downed Magnamalo. Zeke let out a battle cry as he jumped up in the air and landed on the Magnamalo, driving his sword through the monster's back.
"Hey, watch it!" Cuphead frowned at Zeke, as he and Mugman were in the way of Zeke's attack. Zeke cared more about making himself look good than anyone's safety. "A heads up would've been nice..."
"Hold steady..." Zeke kept his sword wedged into the Magnamalo, refusing to let up until the monster was defeated. In a matter of seconds, the Magnamalo let out a cry of agony, before collapsing to the ground.
"Is it over?" asked Wayne, who was on this phone during the whole ordeal as he looked up and saw Zeke standing triumphantly on the Magnamalo. "Did he actually kill that thing?"
"Color me surprised," replied Mewtwo, who was just as surprised as Wayne was; Zeke and Pandoria stepped down from the Magnamalo, with Zeke expecting everyone to chant his name.
"The Magnamalo has been defeated!" proclaimed Zeke, as the round of applause gave him the confidence boost that he craved. The Crown Prince then pointed at Corrin. "Corrin, you and I are now even."
Corrin: I'm on even terms with Zeke? That is... *nods* ...some very good company.
Nia: Poor Corrin...when should I start giving him my sympathies?
"Ms. Chalice! You're okay!" Mugman said to the chalice, who rejoined the cup and Cuphead as the friends embraced each other. There was hardly a scratch on any of them.
"Same could be said to you two," Ms. Chalice said to Cuphead and Mugman, before remembering the dessert that Cuphead was supposed to bring. "Oh! Do you still have the Nanaimo bars, Cuphead?"
"Sure do!" replied Cuphead as he dug into his imaginary pocket and took out the sack. How that sack was able to fit in his pocket was a mystery. "Who wants dessert?"
"He did it, he brought the Nanaimo bars!" rejoiced Master Hand, as Cuphead took the dessert bars out of the sack. "The cookout is saved."
"That's good, but who's going to dispose of the Magnamalo?" asked Cloud, thinking that something needed to be done with the Magnamalo's body. Master Hand looked towards the Canadian "masters of ceremonies" - Bear Hugger, Sasquatch, and Hawkfield.
"We're on it," said Bear Hugger, with Hawkfield pulling his tomahawk out of the Magnamalo's head. With Ryo living to see another day, Kazuya angrily banged his fist on the table.
Later that day, everyone was free to enjoy their dessert in peace, with no threat looming. Everyone was chomping down on the Nanaimo bars, while also indulging themselves with other Canadian desserts - which were purchased from a nearby creamery.
"Jasmine, relax!" Diddy Kong said to the Steel-type gym leader, who was gobbling up the Nanaimo bars one by one. "This isn't an eating contest."
"I'm sorry, must've gotten carried away," Jasmine sheepishly replied, now regretting the fact that her appetite was on display for the others to see. Evidently, she had plenty of room left in her stomach.
"Still don't know why you invited me over for Canada Day," Wayne said to Master Hand, who was trying to enjoy his dessert in peace until Master Hand came over. Poor guy just couldn't have nice things. "I barely have any history in Canada."
"But you do have a history in Canada - is this not the land where you once tore your Achilles?" Master Hand asked Wayne, who was touched in a sensitive spot as he glared at the giant hand. "Erm, was that too out of pocket?"
"This is why I don't like you, Master Hand..." Wayne got up and walked away, as Master Hand felt heavy regret over his poor choice of words.
"I know that this is one course you won't make any comments about," Lucario said to Falco, who was helping himself to some butter tarts. The relief Lucario had from no longer grilling could not be understated.
"Could taste a bit of egg, but it's not too overpowering," Falco critiqued the butter tarts, taking note of how sweet they tasted. The avian pilot then saw Fox walking past by with Krystal. "Fox, wait!"
"Oh, dear..." moaned Krystal, among to a stop along with Fox as Falco wanted to speak with her husband. "...don't tell me you can't eat those butter tarts."
"Nah, these butter tarts aren't half-bad- the tart shells really deserve a chef's kiss. Just wanted to know how Fox felt about how I was acting."
"Acting about what?" asked Fox, his eyes darting left and right as he didn't like how Falco was growing on to him. "Did they tell you?"
"Link and Zelda? Yup, they told me..." Worried that Falco was going to snap on him, Fox closed his eyes and turned away. "...which is why I need your help."
"Help with what? Being less annoying?" Fox was shocked by Falco's plea for help, and Krystal was too - if not a bit relieved.
"I mean - if my best friend was growing sick and tired of me, then clearly I wasn't doing something right. You know what I mean?"
"If that's what you really want, then I'll do my best to keep ya in line. Our first motive would be to get rid of that ridiculous neck tattoo..."
"Getting the neck tattoo was already enough pain for me...can't imagine how removing it would feel like!" Falco would share a laugh with Fox, as Link, Zelda, and Toadsworth observed from afar.
"Whaddaya know...our discussion actually worked!" exclaimed Link, relieved that he and Zelda pounced on the chance to speak with Falco. "Though I guess that means our work isn't done yet."
"Not quite," replied Toadsworth, glad to see that Falco was taking a step in the right direction. "Wouldn't be wise to let Fox go about this alone. You two would have to be involved!"
"We weren't much involved before...but this would be a good start," remarked Zelda, trying to keep herself as motivated and optimistic as possible.
Zelda: It's not so much that I don't want to work with Falco...it's just that he can be quite a handful. But him having Fox in his corner might make my job a little easier.
