Author's Note:
Hope that you all are having a great summer so far. Go no clue what compelled me to say that, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Guest reviews:
"Did you hear the news about Shinzo Abe? He has been assassinated during his campaign! Are you planning to make a chapter as a tribute and solidarity to Shinzo Abe since Smash Bros originated in Japan and the Persona series takes place in the same country as Nintendo originate? Could they go on a trip to Japan to learn more about that Japanese Prime Minister and his history?"
I indeed heard the news. Won't be a trip to Japan, but I will do a small tribute to Shinzo Abe (as well as Yu-Gi-Oh creator Kazuki Takahashi). Another guest review:
"Please, no mention of Shinzo Abe. I don't want this story to get TOO political, and that stuff sounds too much to handle, you know what I mean?"
You know what, scratch that...I'll just do a tribute to Takahashi. One last anonymous review:
"Will Pit be at the breaking point if he is forced to serve Captain Falcon?"
Perhaps. You'll see how it goes in this chapter. The Reader has come forth with a small info dump:
"Just dropping by to say this, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U Edition will celebrate its 10-year anniversary on November 18. Maybe you can do something with that?"
You betcha! Might coincide with the Pokemon Scarlet/Violet chapter, but it won't be much of an issue. Moving on:
"Also, wanna add, Portal will celebrate its 15th anniversary on October 10. Might be a perfect time for that Portal chapter we always wanted, no?"
I agree 100%. Moving on:
"Well, looks like we're getting another Kirby game this Summer. Kirby's Dream Buffet will be out as an eShop-exclusive game, and it looks like a Kirby version of Fall Guys. I hope you're excited for another dose of Kirby goodness."
The more Kirby, the merrier! The game looks like a lot of fun. Moving on:
"Well, it's official. Bayonetta 3 is coming out on October 28. Surprised that it was not delayed again. I hope we can see our favorite Umbra Witch shine under the spotlight that week!"
So we got a release date, October 28 - three days before Halloween. Awfully coincidental. Moving on:
And on the topic of games that are actually real, do you think that Metroid Prime 4 will be real too? Because it's been more than 5 years since its reveal, and their development update has been in complete radio silence! Even Retro Studios are not revealing anything!
Fingers crossed we hear something about it later in the fall. I'm still pining for Prime 4 to be released sometime next year. Finishing off with questions from David:
"Will Ms. Pac-Man learn the truth about Namco retconning her out of existence? Is Rise dating anyone yet? (Since Kanji and Naoto along with Chie and Yosuke are the only Persona 4 couples right now). Has anyone in the mansion ever attempted to draw on Haru's large forehead? Will Wii Fit Trainer help Kasumi Yoshizawa improve her gymnastics in time for the Persona 5 Royal chapter? Is Tae Takemi gonna be a temporary nurse for the mansion when she shows up? And finally, do you think Theory is gonna cash in his contract at SummerSlam against Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar?"
She'll learn the truth eventually. Rise is currently dating Yu. Nobody has attempted to draw on Haru's forehead (which is large, I'll admit). Wii Fit Trainer will help Kasumi improve her gymnastics. Tae Takemi may be the mansion's nurse for a short period of time. And I unironically want Theory to cash in at Summerslam, even though it might be too soon. But here's how it'll play out...when Brock and Roman are both down for the count in their Last Man Standing match, Theory will come out and cash in just as the referee is doing the count. With Brock and Roman unable to get up, Theory will be standing tall (and probably taking a selfie) as he wins the titles by doing nothing. (Just like Luigi!) Hey, let a man dream...
Episode 343: Delivery
Today was the expected day Peach would give birth to her second child. It was a day that both Mario and Peach were looking for, and a day that the married couple was preparing for. Mario especially.
For any woman, childbirth was always a stressful experience. The moment a woman goes into labor, stuff goes from zero to a hundred very quickly. Krystal going into labor during her baby shower was a dire moment. Daisy going into labor at a barbecue and on Boxing's Day was a dire moment. Peach going into labor just to get out of a boring meeting...wasn't a dire moment, but it soon became on in an instant.
Mario wanted to make sure that he was extra prepared whenever Peach went into labor. So while Peach was keeping herself calm, Mario was busy practicing for the big moment. Spyro and Hunter offered to help out, although it was the latter who wanted to take initiative.
"This is it...the big-a day," proclaimed Mario, rubbing his hands with anticipation while Peach sat pleasantly in front of a fan. Hunter was pacing around the living room, strangely holding a watermelon close to his stomach underneath a bath towel.
"Is that my bath towel?" Peach asked Hunter, as the towel's pink color was a dead giveaway. Hunter stopped and looked at the towel in question with guilt, hoping that Peach wouldn't have noticed.
"Real men wear pink, you know," answered Hunter, before he continued pacing around the living room while Spyro rolled his eyes. Then suddenly, Hunter pulled out a water bottle and leaked water from underneath Peach's towel... "...oh no, Mario! My water is leaking!"
"Just say that your water broke, dang it!" Mario shouted at Hunter as he ran over to the cheetah, as Spyro couldn't believe that the plumber was playing along. "What should-a I do?"
"I dunno, you're the experienced one. I'm just here to be a test dummy." As Mario stood there with a frown, Hunter fell down to the floor as he was yelling in fake labor pains. "...somebody please help me, I'm going into labor!"
"FYI, you almost burst the watermelon," Spyro said to Hunter, who nearly broke the watermelon in half as he collapsed to the floor. The purple dragon was left ignored, as Hunter kept yelling.
Spyro: The pregnancy simulation wasn't an original idea of Hunter's; it was actually a suggestion from Pit. That right there should tell you everything. I was intended to be the "test dummy", but I told Pit and Hunter that I couldn't do it because of how impractical it was. Holding a watermelon under my stomach would obviously be hard. They responded by calling me a coward.
"Think I'm gonna push..." said Hunter, speeding things up as he inhaled and exhaled while getting himself into a birthing position. "...Spyro, go to the computer and play that song from Scarface!"
"No thanks, I'm good," replied Spyro, yawning as he continued to rest on the living room couch. Hunter kept screaming in faux pain, as Mario tried to recall the last pregnancy simulation he had with Pit.
"Do I need-a to cradle your head?" Mario asked Hunter as he reached out to the cheetah, who slapped the plumber's hands away. Mario was growing stressed, as he didn't know what else to do.
"Give me the anesthesia!" shouted Hunter, trying to sweat on command just to sell the birth. The birth of his, erm, watermelon. "The pain is killing me!"
"How about I give-a you a knuckle sandwich..." Having enough of Hunter's shenanigans, Mario winded his hand up for a punch. The plumber stopped, however, when he heard Peach clearing his throat.
"Do you really want to do that in front of your daughter?" Peach asked Mario, who looked over and saw Jennifer idly standing by. "You're not setting a good example, Mario!"
"Forgive-a me, Princess Peach...I just got a little heated, that's all." Mario showed second doubts as he sheepishly put his hand down, regretting the fact that his daughter almost saw him throw hands. But then again, it would've been worth it.
"You should probably go outside and decompress," Spyro suggested to Mario and Peach, and that was more or less code for "get as far away from Hunter as you possibly can". Both Mario and Peach agreed with Spyro.
"You're right - we should-a decompress." Mario looked towards Peach, who was ready to head out as she turned off her fan. "Wanna go to the park, princess?"
"But what about the pregnancy simulation?" Hunter asked Mario and Peach, with Mario grabbing his car keys and Peach putting away her fan - while also grabbing her towel from Hunter. "Hey, I needed that!"
As Cloud stated in the previous episode, Denzel would be heading back home to Edge following the birth of Mario and Peach's child. Denzel didn't know about this yet, so Sephiroth wanted to tell him the news. You know that Sephiroth had a trick up his sleeve - or maybe he just wanted to mess with Cloud.
"That's weird - this pellet fell out of the Piranha Plant's flower pot," Denzel said to Marlene, showing the young girl a Power Pellet in the mansion gardens. Sephiroth crept his way into the outdoors, making his move.
"Lick it, see what it tastes like!" Marlene encouraged Denzel, who looked at the Power Pellet with reluctance in his eyes. Denzel eventually manned up, closing his eyes as he gave the Power Pellet a good lick.
"I taste...I taste nothing." Unimpressed yet a tad disappointed, Denzel drop the Power Pellet to the ground as the Duck Hunt Dog came over to sniff it. "I don't see how Pac-Man could eat that stuff."
"Don't you two look cute together..." Sephiroth said to Denzel and Marlene, as he finally made his presence known to the two friends. Marlene was spooked upon seeing Sephiroth, hiding behind Denzel for comfort.
"Sephiroth, can you please not bother them?" Aerith politely asked the one-winged angel, stopping her gardening duties to put Sephiroth in her place. Sephiroth whipped out his Masamune and pointed it at Aerith.
"Do you wish to end up as the original Aerith?" Taking Sephiroth's threat to heart, Aerith kept silent as she hastily went back to flowering the plants. "Such an obedient one you are..."
Sephiroth: Denzel has yet to know the truth'. And the "truth" will set him free...
"Wh-What do you want, Sephiroth?" asked Denzel, protecting Marlene as he held his arms out to his side; Sephiroth put his Masamune away, but that wasn't enough to quell Denzel's fear.
"At ease, child...I'm not here for blood," replied Sephiroth, although it was hard for Denzel to tell if the one-winged angel was being genuine or not. "I have come to tell you about Cloud."
"Yeah, what about Cloud? It's probably nothing worth hearing." Hearing this, Sephritoh cracked a smirk as he inched closer toward Denzel. Denzel, still utilizing his big brother instincts, was unmoving in front of Marlene.
"I'd say that it's quite the opposite." Once he got close enough to Denzel, Sephiroth slowly got down on one knee so that he could see Denzel face-to-face. "Mind if I let you in on a secret?"
"Um...sure." Denzel had no idea what Sephiroth wanted to share with him, but all he could do was give an attentive ear and hope for the best.
Thanks to some guidance from Fox, Falco was a much more tolerable vegan compared to the weeks prior. No longer was Falco berating or lecturing others - he was keeping himself in line as the complaints about him dwindled down.
Fox felt as if he had done his part, and now it was time for Link and Zelda to see if Falco had a complete change of heart. Speaking of Falco, the avian pilot was in the kitchen grabbing a snack. And so was Min Min.
"Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot..." said Min Min as she took a steaming bowl of ramen noodles out from the microwave before placing it on the counter. The martial artist sighed in relief as she miraculously placed the bowl without spilling a thing.
"Trail mix, what would I do without you!" exclaimed Falco when he grabbed a small bag of trail mix out from the cabinet, as Min Min stared at the avian pilot. "Aw, what? This one has chocolate!'
"Is it just me, or is there something...different about you?" Min Min stepped closer to Falco, as she couldn't help but notice that Falco looked different than before. She just couldn't put her finger on it.
"Oh yeah, I remembered to use my hair gel this morning. You notice?" Falco stroked his hand over his head as if he was brushing his hair back - but he had no hair, to begin with! Indutiably, Min Min was unimpressed.
"Eh, it'll come to me eventually." Min Min grabbed her bowl of noodles as she left the kitchen, her hands burning with mostly unbridled fury. "Why didn't I wait until the noodles cool off...?"
"Trail mix, huh? An excellent choice," said a certain princess, as Falco saw Zelda enter the kitchen along with Link. Falco opened the bag of trail mix, delicately picking out the chocolate pieces.
"Care for some chocolate?" Falco offered the chocolate pieces to Link and Zelda, and he could easily tell by the looks on their faces that the collective answer was no. "If not, I'll feed 'em to the Duck Hunt Dog. Best garbage disposal ever!"
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Link advised Falco, who placed the chocolate pieces on a napkin so that they could be saved for later. A few bits of chocolate shouldn't outright kill the Duck Hunt Dog.
Falco: Lady Palutena's corn-on-the-cob is disgusting. Wanna know how disgusting they are? When I gave them to the Duck Hunt Dog, it made the poor guy ill. The corn-on-the-cob is so awful, that it caused a dog's intestine to get clogged up! Leia luckily saved the Duck Hunt Dog's life, but she blamed me for nearly killing some mutt. Should be blaming Lady Palutena.
"So what's up?" Falco asked Link and Zelda, eating his trail mix as he rested his hand on the counter. The looks that he was getting from the Hylian couple were full of intent. "Just wanna stare at me eating?"
"Not really," replied Zelda, who found spying on others while they eat to be creepy. She would know, given the number of times Slippy had done it with her. "We're just...evaluating you."
"Consider it a job evaluation of sorts," said Link, giving Falco a sense of where today was headed. Falco knew it himself from the jump, as he nodded his head in understanding.
"So you're just gonna stare at me in general, huh?" asked Falco, appreciating it a bit more if Link and Zelda would stare at him from a distance. "Better thank your lucky stars that I'm good-lookin'..."
"Debatable," Link muttered under his breath, as Zelda nudged the Hylian in his side. Link was just trying to keep it real. "We promise not to be in your way as much, Falco."
Last week, Pit was left to work at Cafe Leblanc all alone (with Sans as his lone customer, no less), while the other baristas attended the impromptu brunch that Pyra and Mythra put together for Klonoa. In retaliation, Pit would get back at his fellow baristas by being a terrible barista all week long.
"Still waiting for my curry, Pit," Donkey Kong called out to the angel, as he was waiting for his banana curry to be served. Predictably, the banana curry was only enjoyed by Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. As well as a few occasional Yiga clansmen.
"My bad, DK, here is your curry," said Pit as he grabbed a bowl of curry and walked over to the counter, smiling sinisterly. "Whoops!" The angel tripped on purpose, as he caused the curry to spill on Donkey Kong's lap.
"AAAAAAIIIIEEEE!" Donkey Kong shrieked in pain as he hopped off of the barstool and ran around the cafe, the hot curry dripping off his brown fur. Pit was satisfied, as Joker was disappointed with the angel.
"poor donkey kong got wasted," quipped Sans, as Donkey Kong jumped behind the counter and looked inside the fridge for an ice pack. All that he saw was liquid coffee creamer.
"Not the creamer, we use those..." Viridi tried to tell Donkey Kong, but it was too late as Donkey Kong grabbed a canister of liquid creamer and held it close to his crotch, feeling much relief.
"Again, Pit?" Joker questioned the angel, losing count of how many times Pit wasted curry on a customer. "Clean up your mess." But Pit refused, as he folded his arms in defiance.
"You can't tell me what to do, DAD!" Pit taunted Joker, acting like a bratty teenager as he stuck his tongue out at Joker. This was the kind of behavior that Joker had to deal with all week long.
"This is no way to act," Kirby scolded Pit, who responded by grabbing an empty coffee cup and tossing it at Kirby's head. "That didn't even hurt..."
"I won't lie, seeing this play out is kinda fun," Terry smiled at Leon Powalski, as he and the pilot got front row seats of Pit being a deviant sitting behind the counter. Pit took Leon's cup of coffee, and slurped it in one big gulp.
"Hope you enjoyed the backwash," Leon said to Pit, who was steadily losing his mind as he let out an evil laugh. The other baristas were left looking inquisitively at Pit, until...
"Oh, Pit!" Isabelle called out to the angel, who stopped laughing evilly as Isabelle came inside Cafe Leblanc. "You're in big trouble, mister."
"Me? In big trouble?" panicked Pit, under the fear that he was being watched - highly expected, with Master Hand always lingering around. "How did Master Hand find out that I was acting badly on my job to get my revenge on my friends?"
"You've been doing what now?" Viridi angrily questioned Pit, who should learn how to not spill too many beans. So many times, that big mouth of his has gotten him in trouble.
"This has little to do with your friends or your job," Isabelle informed Pit, who was relieved despite putting himself in hot water with Joker and company. "Remember when you 'canceled' Toadsworth's flight?"
"I remember it like it was yesterday," replied Pit, smiling for but only a brief moment as a wave of fear caused his smile to fade away. "Why did you use those air quotes?"
"Because we found out what really happened. Turns out, you didn't cancel the flight outright...you gave Toadsworth's pilot the runs, which caused him to miss his flight!"
"Gave him the runs, how?" inquired Kirby, with Pit nervously tapping his fingers as the truth was coming out. That's when Isabelle pulled out a bag of laxatives and placed it on the counter.
"This is what our investigators found at the pilot's home. Pit used these laxatives for a chocolate cake, and the pilot ate it thinking that it was from his girlfriend. Unfortunately, he had to call out sick ever since."
"I'd pay good money to see how Pit's 'cake' turned out," commented Joker, only to crinkle his nose when a part of Isabelle's explanation caught his intrigue. "Hate to ask, but what kind of investigators did you hire?"
News broke out last week that Earnest - the formerly homeless veteran that had a new house to stay in - was arrested. According to the local news, Earnest had got arrested during an apparent drug bust. For anyone that was involved in Earnest's turnaround, it was like a punch to the gut.
However, nobody was more afflicted by Earnest's arrest than Sonic, who saw helping the former homeless veteran as an opportunity to be a better man. The blue hedgehog sat alone just outside the tower, eating a chili dog as Midna descended down to speak with him.
"Evidently, your sadness hasn't prevented you from eating chili dogs," Midna said to Sonic; she would love to see Sonic eating anything other than chili dogs outside of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And occasionally fourth meal.
"First Earnest sells his stuff, and then he gets arrested..." lamented Sonic, too sorrowful to finish the rest of his chili dog as he tossed it afar. "...why did he even sell that stuff in the first place?"
"Should be asking why he sold Guile that stupid truck. Won't stop talking about how 'free' it is to drive through the countryside. It's appalling..."
Guile: I have no clue as to how Earnest got arrested; the authorities are still gathering evidence. That, or the authorities have gathered all the evidence they need, which might also entail that I know how the arrest turned out. But even if I did know, I wouldn't tell anyone. It's their own business to find out.
"You think that any national pride is appalling," Sonic said to Midna, wishing that he had better company; he was really missing Lavenza at the moment. "How would you like it if Link or Zelda talked nonstop about Hyrule?"
"Sonic! You have to come quick," Lavenza called out to the blue hedgehog, who perked up when he saw Lavenza running over to him and Midna. "You must hurry. Hurry!"
"Someone opened up a chili dog stand in town?" asked Sonic, hoping that his biggest dream came true. "Oh boy!" If such a stand existed, Sonic would be the number one customer. Or the only customer.
"No, but you must come and see for yourself. Quickly!" So Sonic followed after Lavenza, as a curious Midna trailed closely behind the blue hedgehog. Whatever it was had to be a big deal, given Lavenza's candor.
Lavenza led Sonic and Midna to the backyard, where they saw a familiar face...no, two familiar faces. Speaking with Master Hand and Anna was a British detective duo from across the pond - Professor Herschel Layton, and Luke Triton.
"A shame that you didn't invite us to Link's wedding," Layton said to Master Hand, a bit disappointed that he wasn't a part of Link and Zelda's big moment. "We would've had front-row seats!"
"Yeah, Master Hand! You invited us to Mario's wedding," stated Luke, as Sonic stared dumbfoundedly at Layton and Luke as if he were seeing ghosts. Midna was in the same boat. "Where was our invite to Link's?"
"I never invited you, you just...showed up in town," Master Hand defended himself, as he recalled the chance meeting he had with Layton and Luke prior to Mario's wedding. "Then I invited you."
"It was my fault, I overlooked putting you on the guest list," Anna said to Layton and Luke, taking the bullet for Master Hand as she accepted the blame. Since that's what good friends do. Sonic couldn't wait much longer at this point.
"Layton! Luke! What's up?" Sonic shouted the British detectives' names, as he came over and gave them both a handshake. A few years ago, the blue hedgehog would have detested seeing Layton and Luke...now he was on good terms with the duo.
"Don't interfere, Anna, let him have their moment..." Master Hand said quietly to Anna, knowing how much seeing Layton and Luke (but mainly Layton) meant to Sonic. Sonic spent much of his time picking on Layton until he eventually warmed up to him.
"Nice to see you both back in town!" As the excitement slowly began to die down, Sonic had an important question to ask. "Why are you both back in town?"
"They had to run a little investigation," Anna informed Sonic, with her trademark smile and finger-up-to-her-mouth pose. "Had to do with Toadsworth's flight being canceled."
"Apparently, Pit got Toadsworth's pilot sick," explained Layton, shaking his head as he expressed his sympathy for the afflicted pilot. "Toadsworth would've been back at the Mushroom Kingdom if it wasn't for that."
"This is what Pit used to send the pilot's stomach into overdrive," added Luke as he took out a bag of laxatives and showed it to Sonic. Sonic recognized the bag as he pointed at it.
"Hey, I've seen those laxatives before!" the blue hedgehog stated, as Layton and Luke both widened their eyes with intrigue. "Knuckles gave Pit his debit card so that he could buy 'em."
"In that case, let me go pay our friendly echidna a visit," said Master Hand as he vanished away in a matter of seconds; Sonic pursed his lips as he felt super guilty at that very moment.
Knuckles: "Just give him your debit card," I said, "no consequences will come out of it," I said...that's why you should never listen to your conscience, kids. I listened to mine, and now I'm stuck on bathroom duty. Why didn't anyone warn me that giving your stuff to Pit gets you punished so easily?
"So Sonic, what's been going on with you?" Layton asked the blue hedgehog, as Anna left so that Layton and Luke could do a bit of catching up. "Proposed to Amy Rose yet?"
"Not unless she proposes to me first," joked Sonic, seeing Amy proposing to him as way more likely than the other way around. "I've just been trying to do a whole lotta self-improvement lately."
"How have you been doing that, Sonic?" asked Luke; Sonic would've loved to provide a long list of examples, but he knew that he wouldn't have the time.
"I helped a homeless man named EArnest off the street get situated into his new home," For a moment, Layton and Luke were both impressed, but then a sigh of Sonic changed the detectives' mood. "Then things went south - Earnest sold all his possessions and got arrested! Nobody knows exactly how it all went down..."
"...except Guile, perhaps," Midna said under her breath, but frankly loud enough to garner everyone's attention. The imp smacked her forehead when she saw the attention she accrued.
"Nice seeing you, Midna," Layton smiled as he tipped his hat towards the imp, who groaned as she looked away and facepalmed. "I'd say that another investigation is in order."
"We're gonna investigate Earnest?" asked Sonic, not confident that he was up to the task of being Layton and Luke's third wheel. "That should be Link and Zelda's call."
"They have a lot on their plate these days, do they not? We'll conduct the investigation ourselves and give them some reprieve." Taking Layton's point into consideration, Sonic nodded as his mind was made up.
"Eh, you're right. Wherever you guys go, I'll follow!" Sonic was going to embark on an investigation with Layton and Luke - and he wouldn't complain along the way. "But first - a chili dog!"
"Has Sonic ever worked with us?" Luke curiously asked Layton, after Layton sped inside the mansion to get another chili dog. Layton thought for a bit as he scratched his head.
"Only begrudgingly, I'll say," responded Layton, as Lavenza was standing off into the far distance, smiling. Midna saw Lavenza smiling through her fingers, wondering what was wrong with the young girl.
Even after all the weeks of consecutive failure, Kazuya was still committed to killing Heihachi. When he couldn't drown Heihachi in a lake, he asked McCree...erm, Cole Cassidy, to shoot Heihachi in cold blood. When that didn't work, he tasked Wolf Hawkfield with maiming Heihachi during a Canada Day cookout. When that didn't work, he tried to entice Klonoa by offering him Pac-Man's check...which Pac-Man came to collect.
But no longer was Kazuya going to rely on another person to kill his dad. He was going back to the basics, choosing to kill Heihachi himself with his own bare hands. And bare feet, possibly. Kazuya spotted his prey, Heihachi, leave his room as he waited for the right time to pounce.
"This spa day will hopefully be as good as they said it will be," said Heihachi, heading down the hallway as he was going en route to the sauna. Kazuya watched Heihachi carefully, being mindful of the growing distance.
"Yes, that's right, keep on walking..." Kazuya said quietly, taking the first step as he walked discreetly over to Heihachi. But he wouldn't get that far, as Akuma stepped out of the room with his arms folded.
"Going somewhere?" Akuma asked Kazuya, who clenched his teeth with rage as he was stopped in his tracks. Kazuya looked behind Akuma and saw Heihachi getting away. "My eyes are right here, you know..."
"You fool! I was going to kill Heihachi." Soon Heihachi went inside an elevator, putting a dent into Kazuya's evil plan as the elevator door closed. "Get out of my way, or else!"
"Fine...make me." Akuma wouldn't move an inch for Kazuya; the only way he'd move was if Kazuya sent him down to the floor with a wicked uppercut.
"Urgh! Why do you care about Heihachi so much? Do you not hate him?" Kazuya believed that if he hated a man, everyone else should hate that man too.
"I never hated Heihachi...in fact, we learned to get along with each other. Something that you're incapable of doing." Akuma's words cut in deep into Kazuya, who grew angrier as he frowned.
"Nonsense! I demand that you step out of my way, or else." Little did Kazuya know that a fighter of Akuma's caliber wouldn't be intimidated so easily.
"Or else what? How about this...we can settle our differences with a fight." Akuma was speaking Kazuya's language, as Kazuya was intrigued by the offer.
"Go on..." Kazuya hoped that the condition of this fight was that whoever won had full permission to kill Heihachi. Yes, he was that committed to his goal.
"If I win this fight, you must agree to leave this mansion forever." Not the kind of terms that pleased the uber-confident Kazuya, but Kazuya nodded in agreement regardless. "But if you win...I will leave instead."
"So that is the game you wish to play..." Kazuya was mildly surprised by the high stakes that Akuma put forth, but he was nonetheless looking to a good fight. "...I'll play by your rules."
"Then we have a deal." Akuma and Kazuya would shake hands, as the two were putting their mansion residency on the line. Master Hand might not be such a huge fan. "Better get to training."
"You do the same...it will be your last day here," Kazuya smirked with confidence, as Akuma walked away to embark upon his training. As the Flying Man walked past, Kazuya smirked even harder. "It'll be Heihachi's last day, too..."
"Heihachi's last day at the mansion?!" the Flying Man whispered, overhearing Kazuya as he looked at the businessman in disbelief. Knowing what his mission was, the Flying Man darted away.
Flying Man: I've been terribly out of the loop...today is Heihachi's last day! Whether it was his personal decision, or Master Hand's, I wish Heihachi nothing but the best in his future exploits. On that same note, it would explain the spa treatment since he typically turns those down. But a spa treatment can only do so much. I shall be his courage, on his final day of glory!
Seeking a change of scenery, Mario and Peach took Jennifer to a nearby park so that their daughter could play on a playground. Peach was with Jennifer at a slide, while Peach was sitting on a park bench.
"Come on down the slide!" Peach encouraged Jennifer, who was standing at the top of the slide showing fright as she looked away. Peach couldn't help Jennifer get over her fears alone, as she looked toward her husband. "Mario?"
"Trust me, Jennifer, I've been-a on worse slides," Mario said to his daughter from the bench, refusing to move a muscle. He was on his phone, googling pre-labor tips and stuff like that. "You got-a this!"
"What slides have you been on?" Cappy asked Mario, finding it childish that a man of Mario's stature went on slides. Even if he was a part of an adventure.
"Went down a slippery ice-a slope while racing a bunch of penguins. The star at the end-a made it all worth it."
"Mario, I would strongly appreciate your help..." Peach said to her husband, as Jennifer showed no signs of going down the slide. It was a big hurdle for any child of her age to climb.
"I can't, I'm on my off-a days," replied Mario, scrolling through a web page on his phone. "Dads can have off-a days." Peach gave Mario a stern look, which made Mario put away his phone and joined Peach at the playground. "That's what Cloud told-a me..."
Samus was in the workshop, doing what she did best - working on a gadget. It was literally the only hobby that kept her sane. Pikachu keeping Samus company at the workshop also kept the bounty hunter sane. On occasion, a person or a thing simply could make that sanity vanish away.
"Lloyd, we've already been through this..." said Samus when she heard loud breathing behind her; pausing her work, the bounty hunter turned around and saw Falco instead.
"Sup," Falco greeted Samus, who wasn't nearly as frightened when Falco spooked her the first time. On the desk was an egg salad sandwich, which Falco took note of. "I see you got an egg salad sandwich."
"Why do you care? Wanna lecture me or something?" Samus would be surprised when Falco did nothing of the sort...and whipped out a bag of potato chips.
"You can't have an egg salad sandwich without chips." Falco tossed the bag of chips to Samus, who caught it as she looked surprised. "That's what I do. Well, used to do."
"Oh, well, uh...thanks, Falco. Appreciate it." So Samus opened her bag of chips - feeding the first potato chip to Pikachu - as Falco left the room where he was greeted by Link and Zelda.
"Not bad, not bad," Link commended Falco, as he felt an odd urge to give the avian pilot a small round of applause. "Trying to improve your score?"
"Nah, just found those chips underneath my bed and wanted to give them away." Falco walked away strutting with confidence, as Link and Zelda exchanged looks with one another.
"Check and see if those chips are expired..." Zelda whispered to Link, who nodded as he ran inside the workshop; a shouting match between Link and Samus could be heard.
Sonic was with Layton and Luke, who was running an investigation (with Midna as the mostly unnoticed fourth wheel). Layton, Luke, and Sonic were in the tower speaking with Guile, who was the person closest to Earnest.
"Sonic told us that you bought Earnest's truck," Layton said to Guile, who was in his room doing clapping pushups. What a showoff. "$4,500, is that right?"
"Roughly ten percent of the original price," answered Guile, sweating pouring down his face with every clapping pushup that he did. Had no quit in him. "Asked if he wanted more, but..."
"Do you know why he needed that much money?" Luke asked Guile, who ended his workout as he hopped back on his feet and wiped his sweat off with a rag. Followed it up with a sip of his Gatorade.
"I'll have you know that he sold many of his other possessions. When he called and asked me to come over, those Walmart trucks had already arrived."
"So he invited you over...that certainly adds a new wrinkle to our investigation." Luke held his finger underneath his chin, as Sonic looked to hop in on the ongoing interrogation.
"That means you have Earnest's number, right?" Sonic asked Guile as he took out his phone, ready to dial once Guile provided the full number. "What's the area code? 206?"
"I can't just give you his number when he's in jail for..." Then suddenly Guile held his tongue, as Sonic, Layton, and Luke leaned in close to the major. The truth was being held behind Guile's lips.
"HA! I knew it!" exclaimed Midna, making her presence known as everyone looked at the imp who was floating high up above. Guile had to make a run for it.
"I hear an American flag burned in the distance...I must go," the major said to Sonic and company as he left his room. To Guile, burning the flag was the same as hurting an innocent child.
"How does one hear an American flag being burned in the distance?" pondered Layton, while also questioning the massive depths of Guile's American values.
"We'll give him an A-plus for that excuse," replied Luke, as Midna had a smile that just wouldn't go away. Guile's behavior made the imp more inclined to keep on following Sonic and the detectives.
Cloud was expecting Peach to give birth today, and so to bid the time until the big moment, the swordsman was chilling in the gaming room. While Denzel was off hanging out with Marlene and Aerith, Cloud was taking it easy while lying on a couch. Well, he was trying to take it easy.
"Do you know if Pac-Man spent his check?" Wario pestered Cloud, salty that Kazuya refused to give him that $1,500 check. His plan of killing Heihachi was better than anyone else's plan out there.
"I dunno, go ask him," replied Cloud, closing his eyes as he just wanted to relax. But that was hard to come back with Wario constantly in your ear.
"No, I can't! He'll think that I'll have an ulterior motive - which I do have, in fact. Just ask him for me, and I'll give you money!"
"Bribing me with money, just so you could get more money...sounds an awful lot like you, Wario." Cloud yawned and folded his arms, as Wario snapped his fingers in disgust and stormed off.
Wario: Know the old saying, "a penny saved is a penny earned"? For a rich guy like me, a check worth $1,500 has the same value as a penny. And I'm gonna need all the "pennies" that I can get!
"Hey, Cloud..." Denzel greeted the swordsman, sounding angry in response; hearing Denzel's voice, Cloud opened his eyes as he sat up on the couch, seeing Denzel standing before him.
"Denzel, what's up?" Cloud asked the boy, who looked ticked off with the swordsman. For Cloud, that was far from a good sign. "Why the long face?"
"Sephiroth...he told me everything. Guess you really didn't want me here." Denzel tightened his fists, while Cloud felt upset that Sephiroth had the audacity to speak with the boy.
"Who said that I didn't want you here? Sephiroth must've told you lies." But Cloud could see that the damage was done, as Denzel believed every word that Sephiroth said to him.
"This whole time I thought you just wanted to see me again...but I see that was far from the truth." On the verge of tearing up, Denzel held his arm over his eyes as he ran away to avoid an emotional breakdown.
"Denzel, wait!" Cloud called out to the boy as he stood up, but it was too late; Denzel ran out of the gaming room for good. Cloud looked exasperated, as Wario rejoined the swordsman after overhearing his conversation.
"I know what would make Denzel feel better," Wario said to Cloud, who knew for a fact that any idea from the fatso was bound to suck. "You asking Pac-Man for his check!" Cloud shoved Wario away, as he sat back on the couch and sighed.
Unfortunately for Mario and Peach, they couldn't get Jennifer to go down the slide. Poor Jennifer was that fear-stricken. Admitting defeat, Mario took out the one thing that would make Jennifer's fears go away...his tablet. Mario was sitting on a park bench with Jennifer, who was using the tablet.
"Indoctrinating your child at an early age...how sad!" Cappy voiced his disapproval to Mario, who was letting Jennifer watch the infamous baby shark video. Most viewed video on YouTube, for better and for worse.
"But look at how much-a fun she's having!" defended Mario as he brought Cappy's attention to Jennifer, who was all smiles as the sharks swam and sang all at the same time. "Clearly, she likes-a it."
"She's a child, that's no excuse. I could show her a video of the rock, and she'd have the same reaction." Cappy looked toward Peach to be Jennifer's liberator, as he saw the princess walking over to Mario.
"I think that's enough screentime," Peach said to Mario, taking the tablet out of Jennifer's hands; Mario looked shocked as Peach paused the video and closed out of the app.
"No screen-a time is ever enough," stated Mario, with Jennifer's smile turning upside down; Mario would use Jennifer's frown as a rebuttal. "Look at what you've done-a to our child!"
"If you teach her how to not be so glued to the screen, she won't act as moody. I'll admit, I'm just as guilty as you are..." Peach put the tablet in her imaginary pocket, as she walked away.
"Serves you right, hehe," Cappy snickered at Mario, happy that the plumber got his comeuppance; looks like Mario would have to entertain Jennifer himself.
When she wasn't doing spa treatments at the beauty salon, Wii Fit Trainer was at the sauna...where she also did spa treatments. Donkey Kong and Ike were receiving treatments, as well as Heihachi who was suckered in by Ike.
"Call me a fool for turning you down so many times," Heihachi said to Donkey Kong and Ike, finding himself in bliss as he had his head massaged by Wii Fit. "This is what I've sorely needed..."
"Kept trying to tell you," Ike smiled at Heihachi, proud of the fighter for finally coming around and seeing what Wii Fit had to offer. "Doesn't this make you feel like a new man?"
"Almost feel like a young man...I wish that this will never end." Heihachi almost wanted to shed a tear, seeing what he had missed out on all these years.
"Sit tight, Heihachi - I'll be back with some bath salts," Wii Fit said to the fighter as she temporarily left the sauna. Heihachi let out a sigh of joy and happiness, with cucumbers over his eyes.
"Question: Can I eat the cucumbers while she's away?" Heihachi asked Donkey Kong and Ike, lifting a cucumber as he turned his head. Donkey Kong and Ike had cucumbers over their eyes, too.
"If you wanna hear her angry voice, go for it," replied Donkey Kong, who had heard Wii Fit's angry voice before..and he still had nightmares and PTSD from it. "Wait until it's over."
"I'll wait as long as I have to..." Putting the cucumber back down, Heihachi continued to rest on his spa bed as he smiled. The smile faded, however, when Heihachi felt a needle piercing into his skin. "...which one of you is poking me?"
"Be still, Heihachi...for I am your courage!" proclaimed a certain beast, as Heihachi lifted his cucumber and saw the Flying Man about to stick another needle into his face. Heihachi shrieked as the Flying Man jumped back.
"You!" Heihachi pointed at the Flying Man, pulling out the needle that was stuck in his face after as he sat up. Donkey Kong and Ike both sat up, taking off their cucumbers as they saw the Flying Man.
"Flying Man! Want a facial massage, too?" Donkey Kong asked the mythical beast, who saw how angry Heihachi was and hopped behind the fighters he gently massaged his shoulders.
"Take it easy, Heihachi...take a deep breath," the Flying Man did his best to soothe Heihachi, though his words had very little effect. The same went for his shoulder massage.
"In case you couldn't tell, I was busy," frowned Heihachi, left with no choice but to be massaged. The Flying Man being rough didn't make him feel any better.
"Correct, and you have a busy rest of your day ahead of you. It is your last day with us, after all!" That was big news to Heihachi, Donkey Kong, and Ike, as the Flying Man wondered why the three looked shocked.
"Today's your last day at the mansion?" Ike asked Heihachi, as he almost wanted to say his goodbyes to the fighter before everyone else did. "So sorry to hear that, man."
"If it's because of your son, we fully understand," said Donkey Kong, not blaming Heihachi in the slightest; the gorilla would go bananas - no pun intended- if he ever had an offspring like Kazuya.
Donkey Kong: It's unprecedented that anyone would wanna leave this place because of an immoral family member. I mean sure, Diddy likes to pick boogers out of my nose while I'm asleep without any discretion, but that's no reason for me to ever move out.
"Don't listen to this bozo," Heihachi said to Donkey Kong and Ike as he pointed at the Flying Man. "He's lying!" The Flying Man was shaken to the core that Heihachi could be in so much denial.
"Why all the hubbub?" asked a returning Wii Fit Trainer, standing by with bath salts in both of her hands. "And why are you holding my needles, Flying Man?"
"Heihachi Mishima is spending his last day at the mansion," the Flying Man informed Wii Fit, who gasped as she nearly dropped both of her bath salts. No bath salts were dropped, unfortunately, as Wii Fit placed the canisters on the floor.
"Aw, Heihachi! You never told us that you were leaving." Wii Fit walked over to Heihachi for a friendly embrace, as Heihachi gently pushed her away. "Does anyone else know?"
"Doubt it," replied Donkey Kong, under the assumption that Heihachi had yet to tell Master Hand about his "decision". "We're just now hearing about this."
"Because it's his last day at the mansion, Heihachi must go out in style," stated the Flying Man, as he wrapped his arm around a frowning Heihachi. "I will make sure of it!'
Pit was originally performing poorly on his job on purpose - messing with people's orders, making a mess, and even getting physical with the other baristas. But ever since he learned that an investigation on Toadsworth's pilot was done and the truth was discovered, the angel showed a gradual change of heart. Joker and company were quick to notice.
"Our lone working barista isn't much of a miscreant anymore," observed Kirby, as he saw a somewhat sullen Pit prepare a bowl of curry for Tom Nook. Having his plan exposed must have rocked Pit to the core.
"I can hear you, Kirby..." Pit said to the pink puffball, with the threat of punishment at Master Hand's...hand looming over him. Soon Dark Pit entered Cafe Leblanc, bringing Adeleine along with him.
"Seriously, you're making a big mistake," Dark Pit warned Adeleine, who sat on a barstool near the counter and got herself all comfy. "I can always fix you a cup of tea..."
"No thanks, I'll just settle for some coffee," responded Adeleine, and once she got comfy, she saw Pit as the only working barista behind the counter. "Oh..."
"You want some coffee? I can make it happen," said Pit, wasting no time as he fixed a cup for Adeleine. Adeleine was surprised that Pit didn't engage in further conversation, much less insinuating that she marry Kirby at once.
"What did you do to him?" Adeleine asked Dark Pit, who was just as surprised as he shrugged his shoulders. The wait for Adeleine wasn't that long, as Pit placed her coffee on the counter.
"Drink up..." Drink up Adeleine did, as she took her cup and took a sip. After Adeleine was done, Pit felt the need to ask the young artist a question. "...mind if I hang out with you and Kirby later?"
"As in, once your shift is over?" In any other instance, Adeleine would say no in a heartbeat - but Pit's remarkably different behavior made her consider a bit.
"Shift won't end until this ankle collar is turned off" Pit rested his foot on the table, showing Adeleine the ankle collar that was gripped around his ankle. "Promise that there won't be any marriage talk or anything."
"Feet off the counter, Pit..." Joker said to the angel, who put his foot back down; the young man resented giving his command, as he strongly felt like a dad.
"If that's the case, then I'm down," smiled Adeleine, sharing some optimism about her free time with Kirby and Pit. Dark Pit on the other hand was the complete opposite, frowning with cynicism.
Layton, Luke, and Sonic carried on their investigation, asking the others about Earnest - or at least those who were the closest to the veteran. The trio stopped by Fox's house to speak with Fox, who along with Falco helped Earnest secure a winning lottery ticket.
"Can I take a picture please?" Fox made his request known to Layton and company, who were in the pilot's living room. Fox had his camera ready to go. "Meant to do this at your going-away party, professor."
"Fox, it's been almost three years," Krystal said to her husband, who was checking to see if the camera settings were correct. Fox refused to let this opportunity slip out of his hands.
"Three terribly long years I've waited!" As Fox was about to snap the picture, he frowned when he saw a certain imp in the frame, right above Layton and company's heads. "Midna, can you move out of the frame?"
"You're kind of ruining the moment," Layton said whimsically to Midna, who grumbled as she moved out of the way. Fox was able to take his picture of Layton, Luke, and Sonic - with Sonic holding bunny ear fingers over Luke's head.
Fox: Sonic was Layton's biggest hater - in fact, he was Layton's only hater. You'd be hard-pressed to see another person say a bad word about Layton. So for Sonic to come around with Layton is a moment that deserves to be... *looks at his phone and frowns* ...did Sonic really have to hold those fingers over his head? Meh, too late for a do-over.
"Now that we got that out of the way, what's up?" asked Fox, putting his phone away as he sat down on a couch. Layton, Luke, and Sonic took a seat as well.
"We were told that you and Falco helped a man named Earnest to get a lottery ticket," Luke said to Fox, who confirmed as such as he nodded his head. Everything that happened after the lottery ticket, Fox refused to speak positively about.
"And he used up all his money to buy a truck...what a guy." Fox felt as if his and Falco's best efforts were wasted, as he looked down at the floor. All that work, all for nothing.
"Was he acting...erm, suspicious before he cashed in his lottery ticket?" inquired Layton, as Fox reflected back upon Earnest being inside the convenience store. He had to monitor Earnest's every move.
"I did see him eyeing a pack of cigarettes at the front." While that sounded minuscule on the surface, that could very well be a sign of something pretty bad. "His hand almost reached for it.
"You say that like it's indicative of his character," Midna interjected as she spoke to Fox, only to be shushed by Layton. Midna threw her arms up in defeat as she looked away.
"What else did his eye take a hold of?" Layton asked Fox, wanting the pilot to relay to him every single detail of his trip to the convenience store. Perhaps not every detail, but just enough.
"He did see a guy with a gray hoodie outside the gas station, accepting money from someone...think he was looking at his kicks. I could be wrong."
With no table to entertain Jennifer, Mario was forced to entertain his daughter with his own wit. He had no idea what kinds of stuff made his four-year-old laugh, but he wouldn't know what to do unless he tried.
"Is your arm in pain? Or is it your armpit?" Cappy asked Mario, who had his hand underneath his armpit as he lifted his arm up and down in front of Jennifer.
"What does it look like, I'm trying to make a fart-a sound!" replied Mario, his efforts proving futile as no sound was made. Even worse, folks at the park were passing by the plumber, giving him weird looks.
"I'm sorry, but that seems outdated." Ignoring Cappy, Mario chose to be great as he kept going on until a farting sound was produced. Peach saw Mario, amused by his desperate attempt to be funny.
"Oh, Mario...I know of a way to spruce up your comedy act," Peach said to the plumber as she came over while wiggling her fingers. Peach wiggling her fingers, as well as her smile, gave Mario every right to be afraid.
"And what's-a that?" asked Mario - and once she got close enough, Peach started tickling away at Mario. Mario laughed uncontrollably as he fell to the ground. "Stop, stop-a it! This is even worse-a than when Kat and Ana did it..."
"That's good." Peach wouldn't let up, as she let Mario have it. A woman and her beau would walk past Mario and Peach, witnessing the latter being a ruthless tickle monster.
"What an odd couple..." the woman remarked, grabbing her beau's hand as she took him as far away from Mario and Peach as possible. For that woman, laughter must not be her best medicine.
"Uncle! Uncle!" cried Mario, literally tapping out as he had tears running down his cheeks. As the plumber sat up, he saw Jennifer looking like she was missing out on the fun. "May I, Princess-a Peach?"
"You have my word," replied Peach, and so Mario became the tickle monster as he tickled Jennifer to no end. Peach smiled with satisfaction, only to later grip her stomach as she felt a cramp.
"Is it time?" Cappy approached Peach, holding out Mario's phone as he was ready to call the ambulance. Wasn't like Mario could just drive Peach to the nearest hospital or anything.
"Almost." Peach took a seat on a park bench, taking a deep breath while allowing the pain to subside. Whenever Peach was ready, she'll let Mario be the first to know.
To ensure that his mind and body were sharp for his fight with Kazuya, Akuma was in the mansion's training room. To help him train were two fellow residents, in the Dragon Quest martial artists...admit it, you forgot that they existed, too.
"Is this room taken?" asked Ryu as he peeked inside the training room, seeing Akuma sparring with the DQ martial artists. Akuma was giving it all like he was training for a fight for his life.
"Just don't touch my sandbags," Akuma told Ryu, who had no reason to worry for he had brought his own sandbag. Ryu entered the training room, dropping his sandbag unto the floor.
"Heard that today was Heihachi's last day..." The sparring session came to an abrupt end, as Akuma punched the male martial artist into the wall and looked at Ryu.
"Who told you?" Akuma showed little regard for the male DQ martial artist, who likely had a broken back as he slumped down to the floor. The female martial artist went to go check on her friend.
"You didn't know? The Flying Man heard it first from Kazuya. He really has a huge knack for spreading the word." This brought much worry to Akuma - worry that Kazuya was looking ahead of his fight, and looking to kill Heihachi right after he was done with Akuma.
"Even if he were to lose, he might still kill Heihachi on his way out..." Akuma said quietly to himself, feeling helpless the more that he pondered on the current situation. Keeping Heihachi alive became his MO.
"Akuma? Are you alright?" Ryu saw that Akuma was lost in a trance, and Akuma soon broke out of it as he ran to Ryu and placed his hands on his shoulders. "Toss me like you did last time, and I will..."
"Shut up, Ryu! Listen to me..." Akuma sported determined fury on his face, as Ryu piped down and hearkened to what Akuma had to say. "...I want you and Ken to keep a close eye on Heihachi, and make sure that he's safe."
"Should we leave him alone if it's his final day?" Ryu was shaken silly by Akuma for asking his question, and it almost gave him a headache. "Ow! My head!"
"Kazuya might be looking to lay a finger on his old man. I don't know if I'll be around to see him until midnight..." Akuma looked to the side as if he had some doubt about his fight versus Kazuya. "...but I want you to keep Heihachi safe at any cost."
"You don't know if you'll be around until midnight? Someone's going to kill you?" Tired of Ryu's constant questioning, Akuma pushed the fighter away as he hoped for him and Ken to complete their task.
"I'll get back to my training. Don't forget what I told you!" So Akuma returned to his sparring practice with the martial artists, not stopping until he reached peak performance.
Ryu: Heihachi might be an old man, but he doesn't need any of my protection. He's not the kind of geezer that I help walk across the street or help find their dentures. Those are reserved for the nice old ladies that I once ogled at before I fell in love with Chun-li. *pauses* Let's keep that a secret...
Other than Pit, nobody at the mansion was more down in the dumps than Cloud. The swordsman earlier got chewed out by Denzel, accused of not wanting to keep the young boy around. And it was all Sephiroth's doing.
Rather than sitting around and moping all day long, Cloud decided to take matters into his own hands. He was going to speak with Sephiroth, and ask him what exactly he said to Denzel to make him so upset and angry.
"This is what you chose to spend Pac-Man's check on..." Sephiroth said to Master Kohga at the Yiga Clan hideout, as he was standing in front of a giant bounce house. The Yiga clansmen were in the bounce house, feeling like little kids.
"He didn't say how we should spend his check," stated Master Kohga, only to gasp when he saw a Yiga footsoldier about to enter the bounce house. "Take off your shoes, young man!"
"But everyone else is wearing their shoes," the Yiga footsoldier pointed out, although Master Kohga chose not to acknowledge the very fact. "So why should I have to..."
"Do not make me repeat myself. Take your shoes off, or else!" Doing as he was told, the Yiga footsoldier took off his shoes before entering the bounce house. "Sorry, Sephiroth, my men are so childish."
"As if you have any room to talk," Sephiroth muttered under his breath, as his long-time nemesis Cloud arrived at the hideout. Cloud saw Sephiroth in full view and was staring down at the one-winged angel.
"Found you..." Cloud said to Sephiroth, who smirked when he heard the swordsman's voice. Sephiroth slowly turned around at Cloud, perfectly delighted by the company.
"Cloud Strife! Glad that you could join us," exclaimed Master Kohga, always viewing Cloud as a welcome guest to his hideout. "Come join my men in the bounce house - it's open to all ages! Elderly included."
"I'm too old for that crap." Cloud had bigger concerns than playing in some bounce house, as he had all his attention focused on Sephiroth. "Trying to hide from me, Sephiroth?"
"How nice of you to pick up on my scent..." Sephiroth said to Cloud, as he had a tense staredown with the swordsman. The tension could be cut with either the Buster Sword or the Masamune.
"Should I call back up?" a Yiga clansman asked Master Kohga after he slid down the bounce house's slide. Kohga, who was enjoying the tense moment, shushed the clansman and made him go away.
"Denzel put me on blast after you spoke with him," Cloud told Sephiroth, who was left satisfied that Denzel gave Cloud a piece of his mind. "What exactly did you tell him?"
"Ever the nosy one, aren't you?" responded Sephiroth; if Cloud wanted a peep out of Sephiroth, he might have to use necessary force. "Why not ask him, if you care that much."
"I could, but I want to hear it from the horse's mouth. Out with it!" Cloud could tell that Sephiroth was playing hardball, as the one-winged angel was just standing there menacingly with his face unchanged.
"Tell me, Cloud - did you keep Denzel away, because of how much you fear me?" Sephiroth was playing mind games with Cloud, as he wanted the swordsman to crack. But much to his chagrin, Cloud was showing a lot of fortitude.
"I'm not scared of you. I just didn't want you to harm Denzel. Would've been more uncomfortable if you weren't always lurking."
"But why even bring Denzel in the first place? To make a good impression on Mario? Was Denzel merely a teaching tool?"
"Is that what you said to him?" Cloud couldn't play pacificist anymore, as he took out his Buster Sword looking for a fight. Master Kohga got all excited as he screamed and hollered.
"Yes, fight, FIGHT!" the Yiga Clan leader encouraged Cloud and Sephiroth, thinking that a fight between the two deserved an audience. "Deflate the bounce house, we have a fight on our hands!"
"How did we even inflate this bounce house, to begin with?" a Yiga clansman asked another, also curious as to where and how Master Kohga obtained the inflatable contraption. "Not like we use electricity."
"Perhaps I did tell him those things," Sephiroth said to Cloud, ready to take his leave as he took a couple of steps away from Cloud. "But this is your matter to solve, not mine."
"Sephiroth, stop!" Cloud shouted at the one-winged angel, who was walking away towards the exit. Master Kohga was equally as disappointed as Cloud, as he was about to miss out on a fight of a lifetime.
"Did you not say that Denzel will be gone after the birth of Peach's child? Better start preparing your farewell..." Sephiroth bid Cloud these parting words, as he left the Yiga Clan hideout altogether. Cloud frowned as he let Sephiroth get away from him.
"No, why did he have to leave so soon?" Master Kohga wailed as he fell down to his knees, as a Yiga Blademaster comforted his leader. Kohga slapped the Blademaster's hand away, before pointing at him. "This is all your fault..."
Being under the warm Seattle sun made Peach feel a little warm, and so Mario took it upon himself to buy his wife - and Jennifer - an ice cream cone. The plumber was at an ice cream stand with Jennifer, deciding on what ice cream flavors to buy.
"We have flavors such as vanilla, chocolate, strawberry butter pecan, and birthday cake," the ice cream vendor said to Mario, who scratched his chin in thought as he looked at the menu. "Pick your poison!"
"I'll take the birthday cake ice cream," Cappy said to the ice cream vendor, spooking the man when his eyes popped out of Mario's hat. The colored sprinkles had the talking hat hooked.
"But it's not-a even your birthday," Mario pointed out to Cappy, who didn't care - he just wanted his ice cream fix in. Especially if sprinkles were involved. "Also, you can't eat ice-a cream."
"Got any proof?" As Cappy expected, Mario had no evidence to share as a rebuttal, and it made the talking hat proudly vindicated. "I'll pay for my own ice cream if you're cool with that..."
Mario: At first, I was against-a letting Peach eat ice cream since I assumed-a that it would hurt the fetus. But a website said that ice-a cream is perfectly safe! Though for all we know, the source could be lying. We won't know unless our child ends-a up having brain freezes for the rest-a of his life.
"I'll take-a the vanilla," Mario said to the ice cream vendor, wanting to play it simple with his selection. Apparently, the ice cream vendor was chuckling at the choice Mario made.
"Why, because you're a vanilla midget?" the ice cream vendor snorted; Mario didn't appreciate the joke, as his frown eventually made the vendor stop laughing real quick. "Uh, what else?"
"What flavor do you think-a your mom would like?" Mario asked Jennifer, letting his daughter make the big decision. Jennifer didn't have to think too long and hard for an answer.
"Strawberry - 'cause she likes pink!" the little girl cheerfully replied, impressing Mario with her sound logic. The ice cream vendor, taking the cue, added strawberry ice cream to Mario's order.
"What about-a you, Jennifer? What flavor do you want?" Mario brought Jennifer's attention to the menu, letting her see the flavors that were listed.
"Butter pecan!" And so the order was completed - Mario was getting vanilla, Peach had strawberry, and Jennifer was settled on butter pecan. Three terribly fine choices.
"That'll be...$16.50," the ice cream vendor said to Mario after he had rung up the order. AS Mario dug into his pocket, the vendor went ahead and scooped up the ice cream as Peach came over.
"Still ordering the ice cream?" Peach asked Mario, as she saw the ice cream vendor scooping up the vanilla, strawberry, and butter pecan flavors. "Ooh, who is that butter pecan for?"
"It's-a for Jennifer," replied Mario, who finally pulled out his wallet after fumbling around for it in his pocket. Peach suddenly gasped as she took a hold of Mario's hand, not letting her husband pull out his card.
"Something wrong, ma'am?" the ice cream vendor asked Peach; he, like Mario, was confused by Peach strangely rushing to action. Realizing the awkwardness that ensued, Peach smiled gingerly.
"Give us a moment," Peach said to the vendor as she took Mario and Jennifer away from the ice cream stand. Seizing the opportunity, Cappy appeared off of Mario's head and went to go speak with the vendor, spooking him as he revealed his true form.
"How about that birthday ice cream?" Cappy asked the vendor, who was so stricken with fear that he fainted on the ground. The talking hat peered over the stand, seeing the vendor unconscious. "Was it something I said?
Cappy: What's so about me that people find scary? Possibly can't be the eyes. Could it be my voice? I sang a nighttime lullaby to Jennifer once and made her cry. *nods his head* Yup, it's definitely my voice.
"Silly Mario, how did you forget so easily?" Peach asked Mario, who honestly had no idea what he forgot as he scratched the side of his head. "Jennifer is allergic to nuts!"
"Thought she was just allergic to peanuts," admitted Mario, grateful that he never gave Jennifer any food products that had nuts in them. The end result would've been tragic.
"Well, now you know. Her allergies are...a bit broader than you probably expected. And you let Jennifer do what she wanted, didn't you?"
"A wise-a man once said that you're better off letting your kid decide-a what they want." Mario would've mentioned Cloud by name, but didn't want to put the swordsman on thin ice.
"That might be true, but you can't give them everything. You are the parent, after all." As Mario heeded Peach's words of advice, Peach grimaced in pain as she felt another labor pain.
"Should I take-a you now?" Mario readily took out his car keys, before looking around the park to see where he parked his car at. "We can hold-a off on the ice cream."
"No, I'm fine. That was just a false warning. I'll still have the ice cream." Taking Peach's word for it, Mario put his car keys back in his pocket, as he directed Peach and Jennifer back to the ice cream stand. There, Cappy was trying to wake the ice cream vendor back up.
"He's out cold," Cappy said to Mario and company, slapping the ice cream vendor's face repeatedly although nothing was working. The talking hat blamed his stubby little arms. "Scared him to death!"
If there was anyone Layton, Luke, and Sonic had to speak with, it was the man and woman of the mansion, Link and Zelda. The Hylian couple was running their evaluation on Falco, who was speaking with Toadsworth at the lounge.
"A nice list you put together, old chap," Toadsworth said to Falco, who was showing the elderly Toad a list of vegan foods that he put together. A list that was for his eyes only.
"Forfeiting the Ice Climbers' parfait was hard, but it had to be done," replied Falco, as Link and Zelda observed from outside the lounge. Midna descended to the two, tapping them on their shoulders.
"You got company," the imp informed Link and Zelda, who saw Layton, Luke, and Sonic standing by. Link, knowing how Sonic acted with Layton before warming up to him, almost had to blink twice.
"Hello again, Layton and Luke - running another investigation?" asked Zelda, willing to help out as much as needed - or as much as she could offer.
Zelda: As the authority, we're not really that involved around this mansion. Part of that is why we're doing our evaluation of Falco.
Link: It's a pretty modest first step, but it shows everyone else that we care.
"Yes, we're investigating a man who got arrested recently," replied Layton; Link and Zelda both knew who this man was, as they were being mindful of Sonic. "A man by the name of..."
"In that case, we'll leave you three alone," said Zelda, no longer willing to help Layton and company as she took Link's hand. "Let's go, Link." The princess tried to take Link into the lounge, only to be stopped by Midna.
"Out with it..." Midna commanded Link and Zelda, standing between them and the entrance to the lounge. "...you've dealt with Earnest. You know the truth."
"The truth about what?" asked Sonic, anxious to find out how exactly Earnest got himself arrested. Layton and Luke were on the cusp of a breakthrough. "What did Earnest get arrested for?"
"Totally didn't get caught in a drug bust or anything," replied Link, letting the truth slip out through his lips as he realized what he had done. Sonic was stunned, while also wanting more.
"Basically, Earnest was caught buying drugs from a drug dealer off the street," Zelda explained the situation to Layton and company, forced to provide all the necessary details. "The police found his dealer, did the drug bust, and...that was that."
"Must have bought a lot of drugs if he sold everything he had," premised Luke, as Earnest had roughly ninety percent of his belongings returned to Walmart. The return total must've been huge.
"Police even said that they found a stash of drugs in Earnest's dryer...among other places." Implying that these drugs were hidden for a while, it would be a miracle if Earnest's house didn't reek.
"Can't teach an old dog new tricks..." sighed Sonic, disappointed that any old bad habits Earnest had while on the streets still lingered. "...how long did you know about this?"
"Since Monday, when we spoke with the police," replied Link, as he and Zelda had some difficult conversations with the law enforcement. "We didn't want to tell you since we figured your heart was broken enough already."
"Our work is far from finished," Layton said to Sonic, not wanting to end his investigation until some kind of closure was reached. "There is a remaining piece of the puzzle that we must fit together."
"So that means you're staying?" Sonic asked Layton, who smiled as he took out his hotel key. Layton and Luke wouldn't be leaving just yet. "Well, well..."
Denzel sat on the porch steps of the mansion, with a thousand-mile stare on his face, as Aerith sat next to the boy and comforted him. Sephiroth's words were ringing in Denzel's head, as Denzel had a huge dislike for Cloud.
"Can we go to the Yiga Clan's bouncy house, dad?" Marlene asked Barret, who led his daughter around the corner of the mansion. Barret bit his bottom lip as he couldn't bear to tell Marlene no.
"We'll see how many manchildren are occupying it first," Barret gingerly smiled in response, only for him and Marlene to come to a stop when they saw Denzel being comforted by Aerith. "Denzel? What's wrong with you, boy?"
"I don't wanna talk about it..." replied Denzel, burying his face in his arms as he didn't wish to say what was dwelling on his mind. The boy was left in great anguish, as Aerith rubbed his back as hard as she could.
"It has something to do with what Sephiroth told him," Aerith explained to Barret, as the thought of Sephiroth screwing with Denzel caused Barret to be beside himself. "I was busy, so I missed the gist of the conversation."
"Were you there when Sephiroth spoke with Denzel?" Barret asked Marlene, who nodded her head; Barret admired Marlene for seldom letting a one-winged angel such as Sephiroth intimidate her.
"Heard every word," stated Marlene, who had heard about enough to tell Barret about the kinds of things Sephiroth spoke with Denzel about. "Sephiroth told Denzel that Cloud didn't want him here."
"Oh, he did?! That can't be any farther from the truth!" Barret's angry response brought some resolve to Denzel, who looked up at the terrorist as his anguish slowly dwindled.
"He also told Denzel that Cloud brought him just to show up Mario. And all the other dads." The second tidbit of information made Barret even angrier, as the terrorist looked to the side frowning intensely.
"Stay right here, Marlene, let me speak with Denzel..." Barret joined Denzel on the porch steps, sitting next to the boy so that he could have a heart-to-heart. "...I'll take it from here, Aerith."
"I'll leave you to it, then," said Aerith as she left the steps and joined Marlene, keeping the young girl some company. Who knows if Sephiroth would swoop by and abduct Marlene for his own diabolical reasons.
"You actually believed a word Sephiroth said?" Barret questioned Denzel, who after hearing Barret's angry outburst realized how downright foolish he was for believing Sephiroth. "Ain't a single honest bone in that man's body!"
"He sounded convincing to me," admitted Denzel, acknowledging how sincere Sephiroth was when he was talking smack about Cloud. Maybe Cloud being the focus was why Sephiroth's words sounded genuine.
"Yeah he sounded convincing - 'cause he wanted you to think that Cloud didn't want ya! But you wanna know something, Denzel?"
"What is that?" Denzel leaned in close to Barret, who was about to speak only to be interrupted by the sound of a lawn mower. Mr. Game and Watch came by mowing the front yard, with Aerith moving Marlene out of the way.
"Any of you tried this bad boy out?" Mr. Game and Watch asked those who were outside, showing off his lawn mower - which wasn't the one that he typically used often. "Works so good, I could just kiss it!"
"Kiss it now!" Aerith dared Mr. Game and Watch, who took up on the challenge as he lifted the lawn mower. Mr. Game and Watch saw the rotating blades in front of him and instantly changed his mind.
"Think that I prefer it kissing the grass instead..." Mr. Game and Watch placed the lawn mower back on the ground, as he continued to mow away.
Mr. Game and Watch: Sonic's buddy Earnest got arrested, meaning that he didn't get the lawn mowing job. Meaning that I get to keep the lawn mower that Tails built specifically for him. I could boast about how I own two lawn mowers now...but screw the old one! This new lawn mower is just... *does a chef's kiss* ...hopefully, Tails won't ask for much when I make him build other appliances.
Dark Pit: *running in the background, with the lawn mower chasing after him* Mr. GW, how do you turn this off? Mr. GW?!
"Fact of the matter is, Denzel, Cloud was scared of bringing you to the mansion," Barret informed the boy, who no longer had any resentment towards Cloud as he was learning the truth. "For he knew that Sephiroth would always be lingering."
"Sephiroth has been very stalkerish," stated Denzel, recalling the many times that he saw Sephiroth staring creepily at him and Cloud predator-like. At times, it bothered him.
"See? He was waiting for the right moment to mess with ya. And you fell for the bait! He saw you as ripe for the takin'."
"I see that you guys even didn't think to invite me," Tifa smiled at Barret and company as she stepped outside, after seeing all her friends gathered around on the porch. "So what's up?"
"I was just having a quick word with Denzel. Sephiroth was trying to put lies in that boy's head!" Dismayed yet unsurprised by Sephiroth's behavior, Tifa sighed and shook her head.
"That's Sephiroth for you - he sure loves to manipulate everyone." Tifa took a seat next to Denzel, who was feeling a lot better. Not a single negative bone in his body. "Didn't let Sephiroth get to you, did you, Denzel?"
"At first I did, but I think I got over it now," Denzel replied with a smile, as his pep talk with Barret gave him a much-needed change of heart. Barret knew he got the job done after he saw how happy Denzel was.
"That's my boy!" the terrorist exclaimed as he smacked Denzel hard on his back; Denzel winced in pain, as Tifa giggled slightly. "Guess this means you won't let Sephiroth bother you anymore."
The labor pains were becoming more frequent for Peach, who had to sit on a park bench as she fanned herself. She brought with her the pink bath towel that Hunter used for his "pregnancy simulation", just in case.
"Whenever you need-a to go, just give me the call," Mario said to Peach, as he was standing at his wife's side; his car was only but a few feet away.
"Okay, just don't stress yourself out," Peach advised Mario, as the last thing she would want is a stressed spouse during childbirth. Especially if that spouse had to drive her to the hospital.
"Mario! Peach! At last, I've found you!" a voice called out to the married couple, and it sounded a lot like Bowser. Must've come to see how Peach was doing. "Have you seen my new persona?"
"New persona?" Mario raised an eyebrow, greatly nervous about what Bowser's new persona was; he had already seen A Pimp Named Bowser and Willy Wonka Bowser, so this third persona of Bowser's might be just as over the top.
"Hey buddy, nice wig!" a man shouted at Bowser, who came down to Mario and Peach strutting his stuff...while dressed as Elvis Presley. Bowser was doing his best Elvis impersonation, doing his dance moves as he strutted his stuff.
"Now introducing...Elvis Bowser!" Once he reached Mario and Peach, Bowser did a grand finale as he performed one last dance move. The crowd applauded Bowser - and even Jennifer was clapping!
"That...that was certainly a performance," Peach offered her two cents, as Bowser looked towards the princess and Mario the most for their feedback. Mario chose to keep silent, which Bowser didn't mind as much for he knew that Mario would only have words of criticism.
"Yes, everyone, clap harder!" Bowser was encouraging the crowd, as he received even more applause and loud cheers. "Titillate the juices of your guilty pleasures, if you will."
Bowser: My Elvis costume was hanging in my closet for years, collecting dust. So much dust, that it could cause a dust storm in the Saharan desert! But then that Elvis movie came out, and that motivated me to pull out my costume and put all the other Elvis impersonators to shame. Granted I don't know these impersonators personally, but I know for a fact that they suck.
"Who wants an encore?!" Bowser asked the crowd, who responded with a loud cheer; Bowser beckoned over to Bowser Jr, who joined the scene carrying a music player. "Junior, play the music!"
"On it, papa!" exclaimed Bowser Jr. as he pressed the play button, with "Jailhouse Rock" blaring from the speakers. Since he knew that he couldn't sing (at least well enough in the presence of strangers), Bowser instead danced to his heart's content.
"Mario?" Peach said to her husband, as she felt the biggest labor pain so far today. But it wasn't just a labor pain...it was a contraction. Mario saw the look on Peach's face and got right on it.
"Going so soon?" Bowser asked Mario and Peach, as he saw Mario helping Peach up from the park bench. He couldn't dance if his two favorite people were about to leave. "I'm just getting started!"
"I have to get-a her to the hospital," Mario told Bowser, as he escorted Peach and Jennifer to his car. The plumber unlocked his car and carefully got Peach and Jennifer inside.
"In that case, I'll follow you. To the hospital, we go!" So Bowser led the crowd to Mario's car, with Bowser Jr. bringing the music player with him. Mario got inside his vehicle and looked done with life as Bowser was dancing behind his car. His scowl said so.
"He must really want to see the baby," assumed Peach, only for her face to squinch as she felt a second contraction. "Mario, step on it!"
"Cappy, can you please-a ask Bowser and his sycophants to move-a so I can back out?" Mario asked the talking hat, who came off the plumber's head. Cappy didn't have any time to waste.
"Mind rolling down the window?" Cappy asked Mario, who rolled down his window so that Cappy could exit the car. Mario rested his chin on the palm of his hand, a vein pulsating in his forehead.
"Let's be calm, Mario," Peach advised her husband, as she tried to stay calm too by fanning herself. Felt yet another contraction. "As a father...you shouldn't let yourself be...too stressed out..."
"I'm stressed-a because I can't move this car. And I can't move-a because these people..." Keeping his cool, Mario poked his head out of his window and looked at Cappy. "...any luck yet?"
"Bowser can't hear me over the loud music!" Cappy shouted to Mario, as Bowser asked Bowser Jr. to turn up the volume. "You'll just have to run him and these people over!"
"Mario I can feel it coming..." Peach warned her husband, holding her pink towel over her lap with the pain exponentially increasing. Mario stepped out of his car, reaching his breaking point. "Mario...?"
"MOVE IT, PEOPLE, I GOTTA GO TO THE HOSPITAL!" Mario shouted at everyone dancing behind his car, getting them to stop as Bowser Jr. stopped the music. Bowser kept doing his thing. "Including you too, Bowser."
"I just wanna liven up the mood," said Bowser, as Cappy heard a big scream from Peach; Cappy went to go check on the princess. "It was either this or slicing up your wife's stomach! The old-fashioned way of..."
"Um, Mario?" Cappy garnered the plumber's attention, as Mario reverted his attention back to Peach. Mario's mouth went agape, as he saw Peach...
...holding her newborn baby in her towel. Peach gave birth in Mario's car, and Jennifer was amazingly tranquil during the whole sequence. Barely a peep.
"...ta-da!" an extremely relieved Peach presented her baby to Mario and everyone else who stood around at Mario's open car door, as the baby was crying. A sign that the newborn was okay.
"So THAT'S how she gave birth to me!" exclaimed Bowser Jr, forever convinced that Peach was his true "mama". Some folks were left with mixed feelings, while a few even fainted.
"Dang it, Bowser! This is all your fault," Mario scolded the Koopa King, blaming him for holding him up from taking Peach to the hospital in time.
"You're angry that your wife gave birth in your car?" questioned Bowser, considering himself blameless only because the baby was (for the most part) healthy. "We all can't choose where our kids are born."
"I can call an ambulance now, right?" Cappy asked Mario as he held up the plumber's phone; the talking hat was waiting for this very moment.
With Peach officially giving birth, it was time for the others to know. While Mario drove Peach to the nearest hospital, Cappy used Mario's phone to call people, such as Falco.
"Gonna tell Fox before telling me, huh?" a salty Falco spoke into the phone, standing in the foyer looking through a window. He saw Fox's Arwing flying into the sky. "You just made it obvious who your favorite pilot is."
"Falco has impressed me," Zelda discussed with Link in the foyer, allowing Falco to conduct his phone conversation with Cappy. "Stopped being overbearing, made a few amends..."
"There's something else, but I can't put my finger on it..." said Link, as Falco finished his phone call and looked back at Link and Zelda. "...yes, Falco?"
"It happened - Peach had her baby," Falco informed Link and Zelda, sparing the few details that Cappy shared with him. Nonetheless, Link and Zelda were excited by the news. "The truck, or my Arwing...what will it be?"
Joker was the next person to get a call from Cappy, as the young man was speaking with the talking hat at Cafe Leblanc. Meanwhile, Pit was serving coffee to Vault Boy.
"Enjoy your coffee," Pit said to Vault Boy as he gave him his coffee; Vault Boy flinched as he expected Pit to pour the coffee on him. "Man, I can't wait until..."
"We'll all be there soon," Joker assured Cappy, taking off his apron and placing it on the counter. "Pit, may I see your ankle collar?"
"Uh, sure." So Pit held up his left foot and was overjoyed as Joker turned off the collar. A sign that Pit's shift ended prematurely.
"Congrats, Pit - you're free to go. Go wild." Based on how Pit acted this week, Joker preferred that Pit didn't go wild.
Joker: Only letting Pit off the hook since Peach just had her child. Until that pilot is well-enough to fly Toadsworth back home, Pit will still had that ankle collar.
"Thanks, Joker!" Pit thanked the young man as he happily took off his cafe apron, eager to spend quality time with Kirby and Adeleine. "Let's go, Kirby!"
"Wait for me!" yelled Kirby, taking off his barista hat as he and Pit went from behind the counter. Right when they ran out of the cafe, Pit and Kirby ran into Adeleine, who was with Dark Pit.
"Wow, what a coincidence!" Adeleine said to Pit and Kirby, as Dark Pit folded his arms and kept a close eye on the former. "Your shift is already over, Pit?"
"Yup! Which means we can hang out," replied Pit, as Dark Pit dreaded the thought of having to potentially play chaperone. "I wanna talk about your wedding...or how foolish I was to speak it into existence."
"Huh...?" uttered Dark Pit, acting as if Pit had just developed a brain; Kirby and Adeleine both had very similar reactions.
Under the guise that Heihachi was going to leave soon, the Flying Man wished to make the fighter's last day as a mansion resident a meaningful one. So with the help of Donkey Kong and Ike, the Flying Man took Heihachi around the mansion for a day of fun.
The Flying Man took Heihachi all over the place - he made him play a few arcade games, go up against Ike in a game of pool, and even let him chill in the mansion's Jacuzzi one last time. Today was eventful, and as with many other good things, it had to come to an end.
"I'm telling you, I'm not leaving," Heihachi said to the Flying Man, as he had told him multiple times throughout the day. The Flying Man took Heihachi's words as a major sign of how much he was in denial.
"Your mind is telling you that you don't want to leave," said the Flying Man, who along with Donkey Kong and Ike was guiding Heihachi to Master Hand's room for a final farewell. "Yet your heart clearly says otherwise!"
"My mind is saying that you deserve a knuckle sandwich..." Soon Heihachi was brought to Master Hand's room, where there was a conversation taking place. Donkey Kong could tell as he had his ear pressed against the door.
"Master Hand seems busy, we shouldn't bother him," the gorilla suggested, but the Flying Man refused to turn away - not when a resident was potentially leaving soon.
"His matters can't wait - he must see Heihachi off!" the Flying Man bellowed, lining himself up with Master Hand's door and looking to kick it down. Kicking down anyone's door, especially Master Hand's, was like asking for serious trouble.
Apparently, the Flying Man wanted that serious trouble as he gave Master Hand's door a shoulder bump, tearing it off the hinges. Inside Master Hand's room, Flying Man and company saw Master Hand speaking with Ryu and Ken.
"What? Kazuya plans to kill Heihachi?" Master Hand asked Ryu and Ken, as this was news to the Flying Man, Donkey Kong, Ike, and most especially Heihachi.
"Akuma told me that Heihachi's life is in grave danger," replied Ryu, while he also feared Akuma's well-being as he suspected someone was planning to kill the fighter.
"Really, I'm just here to agree with everything Ryu said," stated Ken, who was brought along for the ride; he'd happily take any form of credit for saving Heihachi's life.
"Dang it! I hoped that Kazuya had learned his lesson...by now," said Master Hand, only to trail off when he saw the Flying Man and company standing at the doorway - with his door lying on the floor. "Who kicked my door down?"
"HE DID IT!" shouted the Flying Man as he pointed accusingly at Donkey Kong; even a courageous beast like the Flying Man feared Master Hand's wrath.
Master Hand: Kazuya, at this point, is just a lost cause. No amount of therapy will be able to reform him, or at the very least lower his desire to kill his family. Why didn't I invite his son to Smash instead?
"You're going to die, Heihachi?" Ike asked Heihachi, who was previously annoyed by the other residents bidding him farewell throughout his day. "Guess we were right to celebrate your last day."
"This isn't my last day...and I'm not dying either," vowed Heihachi as he entered Master Hand's room, wishing to speak with Ryu and Ken - but mainly Ryu, since Ken was out of the loop. "Where is my son?"
Kazuya was at an open field within the confines of the Yiga Clan hideout, waiting for Akuma to show up. The businessman, wearing his white chi, was making a phone call as he grew tired of waiting.
"Who am I kidding...he doesn't even have a phone," grumbled Kazuya as he placed his phone in his pocket, folding his arms as his patience dwindled. "If he makes me wait this long..."
"You were saying?" a voice called out to Kazuya, who smirked as he looked up and saw Akuma making his arrival. Kazuya and Akuma were staring each other down, the tension building.
"I was kind of hoping that you wouldn't show up. Nothing sweeter than accepting victory without breaking a sweat." Kazuya pulled on his red gloves, making sure that they were firmly tight.
"Hope that you're ready." Akuma got in a fighting stance, as his mind and body were both at a hundred percent. "I'll show you how much you wasted your precious little time training!"
"Hmph, I didn't even need to train. When you're that confident in your ability, training is solely a meaningless chore."
"YES, BOYS, WE HAVE A FIGHT!" Master Kohga rejoiced as he beckoned to his men; a horde of Yiga clansmen showed up in droves, lining up to see Kazuya and Akuma duke it out.
"You want an audience?" Akuma asked Kazuya, figuring that the Yiga clansmen might get in the way. A few foot soldiers were standing too close for comfort.
"Leave them be," replied Kazuya while getting into a fighting stance, his red eye glowing as he had his game face on. "Last man standing wins..."
Mario and Peach were now at the hospital, and Cappy was calling literally everyone on Mario's contact list. Yes, literally everyone - including people that lived in another country. Cloud, being one of Mario's closest confidants, was among the first to receive a call.
"I'll be there soon," Cloud spoke into the phone with Mario as he hurried to his motorcycle, ending the call before Mario even had the chance to say goodbye. "Why is he asking me to bring the balloons now...?"
"Cloud, wait up!" a boy called out to the swordsman, who looked back and was surprised to see Denzel running up to him. Denzel came to a stop as he noticed Cloud's reaction.
"Hi, Denzel," Cloud awkwardly greeted, thinking that Denzel was about to put him on blast - but the neutral body language from Denzel suggested otherwise. "You...wanted something?"
"Wanted to say that I'm sorry for being angry with you earlier." Hearing that made Cloud feel good. "And for believing a word Sephiroth said." And hearing that made Cloud feel even better!
"Heh, I knew you'd come around." Cloud rubbed his hand through Denzel's hair - and then gave Denzel a hug! Well, a one-arm hug. Denzel happily returned the favor with a full hug.
"Yeah!" Barret was heard cheering from afar, causing both Cloud and Denzel to look up with frowns on their faces. Evidently, Barret liked what he was seeing.
"Not your moment, Barret..."
"You're right, my bad. Sorry."
Barret: Haha! My talk with Denzel worked. I really do a good job at mending the fences, don't I? They should make me a fatherly counselor.
Relieved that he was in the hospital, Mario was waiting outside the room where Peach was having her baby inspected by doctors and nurses. He didn't want to enter the room and interrupt - however, his adversary wasn't getting the memo...
"Guy with the brown ponytail had it coming for him," snickered Fox, sitting next to Mario as he was showing him a funny video on his phone. The pilot paused the video when he and Mario saw Bowser and his son, Bowser Jr., coming down the hallway.
"Here comes Elvis Bowser!" shouted Bowser as he strutted his way inside the room, only to be pushed out in a heartbeat. The Koopa King was beside himself. "Not huge Elvis Presley fans, huh?"
"They're trying to do their jobs, papa," Bowser Jr. said to his dad; undeterred, Bowser snatched the music player from Bowser Jr. as he had a change of plans.
"Well, they require a little motivation! Changing plans!" Taking out a "Scarface" CD, Bowser inserted the disc into the music player and pushed the play button. "Push It To The Limit" began playing, as Bowser rushed back inside the room.
"Mama mia," groaned Mario, as he heard Peach and the doctors arguing with Bowser and telling him to vamoose. Eventually, Bowser was kicked out a second time lying on the floor in defeat as the music player was thrown at his head.
"Yes, Falco, you have passed your evaluation," Link said to the avian pilot, walking down the hallway with him, Zelda, and Toadsworth. "You got an A." Mario and Fox looked alive, as they finally had pleasant company.
"Bruh, not even an A-plus? Ah, I'm just kidding," replied Falco, as he and the group came to a stop when they caught up to Mario and Fox. "Yo, Mario - baby here yet?"
"Falco why'd you ask that, they just got here," Zelda frowned at the pilot, whom Fox was looking at. More specifically, Fox was looking at Falco's neck.
"I dunno - for all we know, Peach might've given birth already. Gave birth on the ride to the hospital. Sometimes you gotta adapt."
"Did you remove your neck tattoo?" Fox asked Falco, noticing an empty space on the avian pilot's neck where his neck tattoo would be. Upon closer inspection, Mario too saw that the neck tattoo was gone.
"Yeah, your ugly neck-a tattoo is gone!" the plumber exclaimed, only to flinch in anticipation as he expected Falco to take offense. But Falco was playing it cool, taking Mario's observation to heart.
"Took long enough for somebody to notice," remarked Falco, rubbing the part of his neck where his infamous vegan neck tattoo was. "It was too extra, so I asked to have it removed."
Falco: The pain from getting the tattoo was otherworldly, but having it removed...wasn't half as bad! But in a weird way, it also made me feel violated. I deserve reimbursement from the Aenslands.
"Mario, she's ready to push!" a nurse poked her head out of the room to inform Mario, who sprung into action as he followed the nurse inside the room. Bowser sprung into action as well as he tried to enter the room...only for the nurse to push him away.
"But I'm the kid's godfather!" Bowser tried to argue with the nurse, who was hardly convinced as she slammed the door shut. Bowser sighed, as Falco placed a reassuring hand on the Koopa King's shoulder.
"It's okay, you'll be his godfather one day," Falco assured Bowser, providing him encouragement in his quest to become a godfather to Mario's kids. "Look at me - I'm already a godfather to Marcus!"
"No, you're not," Fox quickly shut down Falco, who waved off the pilot as he didn't know what he was talking about. Or so Falco wanted to believe.
Heihachi could be among the first to see Mario and Peach's second child, but he had some fish to fry with Kazuya. The fighter, along with the Flying Man, Donkey Kong, and Ike learned from a Yiga clansman that Kazuya was at the Yiga Clan Hideout. And so that's where Heihachi and company were headed, to see what Kazuya was up to.
"Large crowd up ahead!" alerted Ike as the group arrived at the hideout, seeing a bunch of Yiga clansmen gathered around. A lot of them were cheering and shouting and hollering, and a whole bunch of other stuff.
"Yeah! Show him what you got!" shouted a Yiga Blademaster, as even the blademasters were getting into it. Heihachi and company had to find out what was going in, as they advanced to the crowd.
"Move aside, gentlemen!" the Flying Man said to ta bunch of Yiga clansmen, who stopped their cheering and looked at the mythical beast. "Let my friends come through. For I am your courage."
"That makes no sense...but we'll move anyway," a Yiga clansman replied, as he and his buddies cleared an open path for the Flying Man and others. How nice of the Flying Man to ask.
Through the opening, Heihachi saw Kazuya and Akuma duking it out in their fight. It was an evenly-contested bout, with both men throwing kicks and punches at each other despite their fading endurance. Heihachi wanted nothing more than to see Kazuya lose.
"Akuma has this in the bag," said Donkey Kong, who was also pulling for Kazuya to lose - not that he hated Kazuya as Heihachi did. He just preferred Akuma to win. "Let's not distract him..."
"Punch him in the gut, Akuma!" Heihachi shouted to the Akuma, who stopped fighting as he looked over at Heihachi. Momentarily distracted, Akuma was kicked into a wall by Kazuya, as the crowd winced in sympathy.
"What did I tell you?" Donkey Kong frowned at Heihachi, who shrugged as Akuma slid off the wall and unto the ground. Kazuya walked over to and stood over Akuma, about to deliver the final blow.
"You're down, but not yet out," Kazuya said to Akuma, who clenched his teeth as he fought through the pain. Kazuya held his fist up high, on the verge of bringing the pain. "Time to finish this..."
"SHORYUKEN!"
From right out of nowhere, a powerful Shoryuken was delivered to Kazuya as the businessman was sent flying into the air. The person who delivered the move was Ryu, who appeared from his hiding spot just to punch Kazuya.
"Nice Shoryuken, Ryu!" Ken gave a thumbs up to Ryu as he stood up from behind some shrubbery, as Kazuya landed on the ground with a loud thud. "Uh, am I allowed to reveal myself?"
Ryu: It all came full circle. Five years ago, I gave an assist that helped Heihachi defeat Akuma. Fast forward five years later, and I assisted Akuma in defeating Heihachi's son, Kazuya. The second time around was more justified.
"Bravo, bravo! Good show!" applauded Master Kohga, with his men also voicing their approval as they were cheering on both Kazuya and Akuma. "Encore, I demand an encore!"
"Looks who's the last man standing," Akuma taunted Kazuya as he confidently stood up, only to drop down to one knee as he was greatly fatigued. Ryu and Ken offered to help him back up.
"This...isn't over..." Kazuya vowed to Akuma as he tried to lift his head up, only to collapse seconds later as he fainted. Akuma's residency at the mansion was now safe.
"We oughta take you to the hospital," Ken recommended to Akuma, knowing which hospital he should take the fighter to as he looked at Ryu. "Didn't Isabelle say that Peach's at the hospital with her baby?"
Peach was indeed at the hospital, with many of her friends and acquaintances coming to see her baby. Among those were Cloud and Denzel, who arrived thanks to a lift from Barret. Denzel couldn't quite fit on Cloud's motorcycle.
"Barret had better leave that water fountain behind, or he's gonna miss out," remarked Cloud as he led Denzel down the hallway to Peach's room. When they reached the room, Cloud and Denzel saw Sephiroth at the doorway...speaking with Layton.
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Layton smiled at Sephiroth, speaking with the one-winged angel for the first time since his brief encounter in episode 97. The conversation was like a clash of styles, making it hard for Cloud to process.
"Never would've guessed that you had a daughter," replied Sephiroth, only to look over and see Cloud standing with Denzel. The image made him displeased. "I should get going..."
"Nice speaking with you, Sephiroth," Layton tipped his hat to the one-winged angel, who went away as he walked past Cloud. Sephiroth had an intense staredown with Cloud as he made his leave.
Sephiroth: The rift I tried to sow between Cloud and Denzel has unfortunately been mended. But no matter. On to the next one... *smiles evilly*
"Hello, Cloud! You're truly a sight for sore eyes," Layton said to the approaching swordsman, who brought Denzel along with him to Peach's room. "May I ask if this is your son?"
"Not really - just a good kid that Tifa and I took good care of," replied Cloud as he placed his hand on Denzel, showing a little fatherly affection. Enough to make Denzel grin. "We weren't like parents or anything..."
"Oh ho ho. No worries, Cloud, I won't make any rash assumptions." A huge relief for Cloud, who knew that Layton would stay in line. "You want to see Mario and Peach's baby? Follow me..."
Layton and Luke were at the hospital thanks to Sonic, who gave the detective duo a ride. Lavenza was on the ride too, and it was at the hospital that the young girl revealed a secret...
"You recommended that Layton and Luke come to town?!" an astonished Sonic spoke with Lavenza in the hallway of the hospital. He was wondering why Layton and Luke were acting nonchalant when he introduced the duo to Lavenza.
"Master Hand had a few choices in mind as to who would investigate the whereabouts of Toadsworth's pilot," explained Lavenza, as Sonic saw a weakened Kazuya being wheeled down the hallway. "Layton and Luke were one of the choices; I swayed Master Hand's mind."
"Heihachi and Akuma will both be goners, mark my words!" Kazuya randomly vowed to Sonic and Lavenza as he was wheeled into his hospital room. The paramedics wheeling him in assumed that he was insane.
"Lemme guess - this is all part of your 'master plan,'" smirked Sonic, curious as to how Lavenza even knew of Layton and Luke; perhaps it was through word of mouth. "You wanted them to help me find out about Earnest."
"I may have heard stories about how you warmed up to them," Lavenza smiled sweetly, holding her hands behind her back. "That alone was the justification."
Lavenza: So he realizes that I have a master plan...said plan is nearing its completion. The involvement of Layton and Luke will only take it to full percentage.
So Cloud and Denzel followed Layton into the room, where they saw Mario, Peach, Jennifer, and a few folks gathered around Peach. Peach was in her hospital bed holding her newborn son, as Slippy was feigning to hold the baby.
"Let me hold him just once!" Slippy begged incessantly to Mario and Peach, nearly leaning over the side of the hospital bed as he desired to touch the baby. "Or is it a she?"
"You let him touch-a our baby, and we'll have to invest-a in bubble wrap..." Mario quietly said to Peach, who obviously knew better as she kept her child tucked away from Slippy. Didn't want to risk it.
"We made it," Cloud announced to Mario and Peach after Layton had brought the swordsman and Denzel over to his bed. Mario was beaming, knowing that Cloud could make the trip.
"What's the name of your baby?" inquired Denzel as he got a glimpse of the baby, which had brown hair just like Mario. Mario wouldn't have asked for anything else.
"Is it Chris? As in, Chris Pratt?" Slippy asked Mario and Peach, dying to know what the baby's name was. The anticipation was killing him. "He's so cool!"
"LINK!" Mario called out to the Hylian, who was having a conversation with Zelda; Link went over to Slippy and dragged him away, while Slippy was begging the Hylian to let him go.
"We decided to go with Louis - or Lou, for short," answered Peach - a fine choice for a name. The inspiration for that name must be a captain from a certain television show. "Mario is still upset that Luigi took the name Charles."
"He is?" asked an eavesdropping Luigi, who was in the room chatting with Daisy; he hoped that Mario had gotten over the name issue by now.
"Meh, it's in the past," stated Mario, as a relieved Luigi returned to his conversation with Daisy. No more unnecessary bad blood.
Layton: Seems like fate that Mario and Luigi's children were born when Luke and I are in town. Coincidentally, we were in town for St. Patrick's 2017 when a friend of mine invited us to a party. The same party where we first ran into Master Hand.
"I have to go pee," Peach randomly announced, making for a height of anxiety within the room. Fortunately, urinating after pregnancy was perfectly normal. "Can someone get the nurse?"
"I'll hold the baby!" offered Toadsworth, as Peach handed Lou to the elderly Toad. Toadsworth held Lou tight, as Link went to go find a nurse. "You're safe with me, sweet Lou."
"Hey!" a certain angel greeted Toadsworth, who nearly jumped in fright when he was approached by Pit. Almost dropped Lou. "Oops! Sorry if I scared ya!'
"Before you ask, Lou is not free to hold." But Pit was showing no signs of wanting to hold Lou, making Toadsworth ease up. "But if you just wish to talk, then that is fine with..."
"Do you wanna officiate Kirby and Adeleine's wedding?" Such a question offended Toadsworth, who wished to withhold from answering. But he could tell that Pit desired an answer.
"Good heavens, no! Officiating a wedding for biologically illegitimate couples is simply not my calling." Toadsworth expected Pit to react loudly, but instead...
"Yeah, I'm right with ya." Huh? Was Pit finally coming to his senses? Toadsworth had to do a double take. "Spoke with Kirby and Adeleine earlier, made some apologies. Turns out a human and a puffball really can't mix!"
"That's good to hear." Toadsworth patted Pit on his leg, and Pit reached for Lou only for Toadsworth to retract the baby. "No touching!"
Dark Pit: All it took was the threat of Pit big trouble for him to change his tune with Kirby and Adeleine. Don't wanna sound like a cynic, but maybe that's why he flipped the coin in the first place. We'll see if he sticks to his guns.
Pit: Ugh! It literally makes no sense. Why must the Mario Bros' babies be born on a Friday?
Kirby: Deanna wasn't born on a Friday...Boxing Day was on Thursday that year.
Pit: Thursday is a day before Friday, so my point still stands...
"Come with me, princess," a nurse said to Peach as she entered the room, helping Peach down from her bed. The nurse escorted Peach to the bathroom, while Mario and Cloud looked on.
"Peach gave-a me a bunch of pointers today," Mario said to Cloud, looking to see if the nurse brought Peach to the bathroom without a hitch. "Throughout the week, as well. Also said that I could-a be a role model..."
"I...might've told her a couple of things," admitted Cloud, as Mario looked up at the swordsman never imagining him to be that thoughtful. "Since I gave you advice, I didn't want your wife to feel left out."
"Aw, how nice-a of you!" Mario, spotting Denzel, leaned in close to Cloud who had to lower himself to the plumber's height. Then Mario whispered: "Is Denzel going back-a home today?"
"That was the original plan," Cloud whispered back, walking back on the promise he made in the previous episode. "But I'll let him stay for another week or two. He's been a good help - for the both of us."
"Saw a vending machine on our way here," Denzel told Cloud, who stood back upright as he had to heed Denzel's request. "Can I get a snack?"
"Sure, champ. Get me something, too." Cloud dug into his pocket and handed a few dollars to Denzel, who accepted the money and left the room. Cloud looked toward Mario, with both men feeling happy for each other.
In their eyes, they didn't do so bad after all.
