Author's Note:
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is finally here! And to celebrate, I'll be including characters from the game in this chapter. Only the six main protagonists, though. Will any other XC3 characters appear in future installments? Only time will tell.
"Hey man nice chapter. quick question don't know if you heard but warner bros is doing their own smash bros called multiversus, it will ne released on july 28 or at least the end of june. will you do a chapter about multiversus like you did with nickelodeon all star brawl?"
Only if Multiversus gets ported to the Switch. If the development lead's comments are any indication, there's sadly a slim chance of that happening very soon. Another guest review:
"Well, the big man is leaving. Vince McMahon is apparently retiring from WWE at the age of 77. What do you think of this decision?"
I find it oddly fitting that Vince had to step down because of a sex scandal. Genuinely believed that he would work until he died or something. That said, I am interested to see the direction WWE will take under Triple H. He said that he has different plans for the main roster, as opposed to NXT, so I'm excited about the new era of WWE. Another anonymous review:
"Hmm, August seems lacking in video games releases (besides Pac-Man World). Well, let's check on the anniversaries. F-Zero is celebrating its 31st anniversary (in the US only) on August 23rd. Now that's a throwback. Really need that F-Zero chapter, man."
August is very much a clean slate. But an F-Zero chapter? That is long overdue. Moving on:
"And Persona 3 is celebrating its 15th anniversary (also in the US only) on August 14th. Look, I know we already got a Persona chapter with P4AU, but come on. This one doesn't need to be a full-fledged episode. Just give some subplot for them. I need that Elizabeth screentime. And maybe we can have Tanaka as Anna's rival, since Tanaka is basically Persona's Anna, he keeps appearing in other games."
More screentime for Elizabeth and President Tanaka? Done and done. One last anonymous review:
"Hey, today (July 27) is the 15th anniversary of The World Ends With You series! Anything you want to do for it? Maybe reintroducing Neku to the story? You know, since he's (SPOILERS) in the new game or whatever?"
Neku will be reintroduced at a later time. On to A JRPG enjoyer:
"Then in your luck, because next week, on the 27th, they are releasing an Octopath prequel titled "Champions of the Continent" on phones. Maybe try and include Octopath next week? Since, you know, next chapter is Xenoblade 3 and all. And presumably Digimon, but why would you have a Digimon chapter when the mansion is already sticking with Pokemon, their biggest rival. It's like if you're having a Sony chapter in this story...wait a minute. Well then, I changed my mind. Do whatever you want."
Got nothing planned for next week, so I'll include some Octopath. The Digimon may appear another time. Moving on:
"You know, rereading the chapter, there's one big question that keeps popping up in my brain. Where is Nah? In the story, you showed Captain Falcon and Nowi having fun together, and Nah isn't there! You also showed Lucina and her friends on a beach vacation and a easter egg hunt, and Nah isn't even there! What happened to her? Is she safe? Is she alright? Don't tell me you actually forgotten her!"
No worries, Nah's safe. I may have overlooked her a few times, but she's perfectly fine. Didn't know how to work her into the last chapter, but I promise that when Nowi reappears, Nah will be with her. David with questions:
"Will the Rex, Pyra, and Nia love triangle be finally resolved in the Xenoblade 3 chapter? Is Pit gonna try to get Asuka and Yuffie to convince Master Hand to get a Turtle Van in time for the Ninja Turtles Cowabunga Collection? (It finally has a release date of August 30). A scene of Pit and Ryuji reacting to the SummerSlam results? (It's confirmed to be TV-14 as well). A small scene of Berkut and Rinea just to see what they've been up to? And finally, what are your thoughts on Vince McMahon finally retiring from WWE? (Tony Khan even bragged about finally beating WWE when Vince announced his retirement. No one likes a braggart)."
No. He won't do that. No reaction from them. I'll give an update on Berkut and Rinea in the next chapter. I've already said my piece about Vince up above, but I will say though, Tony Khan's social media antics are not befitting for a CEO of a company. Imagine if someone like Kevin Feige acted on Twitter the same way that Khan does. "I let Robert Downey Jr.'s contract expire as I felt his acting wasn't good enough. Spider-Man: No Way Home coming to theaters THIS DECEMBER!" Uh, let's move on to An NFL fan before I get too carried away...
"Bad news for Falco. Julio Jones is joining the Buccaneers for a one-year deal. From being in a team that got destroyed by Tom Brady after leading 28-3, to actually being in Tom Brady's team. Hope Falco won't stress himself."
How much help does Brady need?! More importantly, how does this move affect LeBron's legacy? In all seriousness, I hope that Julio Jones can have a much better season than he did last year. He deserves to ride off into the sunset with his head up high. Last is TIME TO GO:
"Before anyone gets too excited about a freaking stray cat, here's a reminder. Stray is only available on the PS4, PS5, and PC. No Stray on Switch, no Stray chapter. Capiche?"
Pardon my ignorance, but...what's Stray?
Episode 345: Foreigners
It was no big secret that Kazuya hated Heihachi. In fact, "hate" wasn't even a big enough word to describe Kazuya's disdain for his father. He hated Heihachi so much, that he straight up wanted him dead!
While Kazuya took some time away from the mansion to train for his third and final bout with Akuma, the businessman contacted his personal bodyguard to kill Heihachi - Anna Williams. Anna Williams if you might recall was a part of Bowser's 'killer7', back when Bowser wanted to have Mario killed so that he could take Peach for himself. She received a ban for her involvement in Bowser's plot but like Vega, her ban quietly ended some time ago.
With her ban lifted, Anna had no problem getting inside the mansion without any sort of trouble. All she had to do was enter the mansion, locate Heihachi, lure him away, and kill him. Easy peasy. Anna had just arrived at the mansion grounds, speaking on the phone with Kazuya.
"Hm, that's strange, Mario's car is not in the driveway," Anna spoke into the phone with Kazuya as she took a quick glance at the neighboring houses. "And neither is Luigi's..."
"That should be the least of your concern," Kazuya said to Anna over the phone as Williams made her way up the porch steps to the front door. "I want Heihachi a dead man by the time I return."
"Right..." Once she reached the front door, Anna rang the doorbell. She also knocked on the door for good measure. After a couple of seconds of waiting, Anna lost her patience. "...they're not answering the door."
"Give them some time - it takes them forever to respond." Left with no other choice, Anna was forced to wait as she heaved a sigh. Then the bodyguard noticed a sign hanging on the front door, albeit flipped around.
"Someone must've forgotten to fix the sign." So Anna flipped the sign around...and frowned when she saw the inscribed message. "'The Smash Mansion is currently at the beach'?"
"What?!" Kazuya shouted so loudly, that a mailman could hear Kazuya's voice out of Anna's phone all the way from the mailbox. "What do you mean, they're at the beach?"
Yes, the Smash Mansion was at the beach, and it was a pretty huge affair. Not only were the mansion residents at the beach, but the tower denizens were having fun under the sun as well. Mario and his neighbors, as well as Rayman's friends and the Crash clan, were also a part of the fun. Oh, and E. Gadd and Cortex, too - Master Hand didn't want to leave them out.
"COWABUNGA!" shouted Crash, wearing his swimming trunks as he did a cannonball dive into the ocean. The bandicoot made a big splash as he splashed water on a sandcastle E. Gadd and Cortex were building.
"Darn you, bandicoot, we were almost done!" Cortex angrily shook his fist at Crash, while Wily was sneaking up on E. Gadd. Once he got close enough, Wily threw a water balloon at E. Gadd's exposed back.
"That's what you get for existing!" cackled Wily as he pointed at E. Gadd, before running away; he expected E. Gadd to be devastated, but E. Gadd was remotely chill as he simply dried off his head with a beach towel.
"Think fast, Banjo!" Min Min shouted at the bear as she tossed a beach ball at him. Banjo didn't react, as the beach ball struck him in the head. "I said think fast, you dolt..."
"Think fast about what?" Banjo asked Min Min, perplexed as he scratched his head. Min Min smacked her forehead, as Kazooie picked up the beach ball that was thrown at Banjo and threw it at an unsuspecting kid.
"Does anyone need some sunscreen?" Lucina shouted to anyone that could hear, as she held up a bottle of sunscreen. Iggy Koopa went over to the princess and accepted the sunscreen from her.
"I won't need that much," Iggy assured Lucina as he screwed off the cap of the sunscreen...and squirted the sunscreen into his mouth. Lucina looked disgusted as Iggy swallowed the sunscreen whole.
"Iggy, that is meant to go on your body...it's not edible." Evidently, Iggy didn't know that, as he stared at the bottle of sunscreen profoundly. Up until this point, his entire life was a complete and utter lie.
"Now you tell me..." Iggy dropped the sunscreen to the ground and walked away, while a still disgusted Lucina picked the sunscreen up. "...if I find out that vaseline isn't edible either, I'm done. I'm out."
Master Hand: Been five years since we last went to the beach. I wanted to hold off on going on another beach trip, given how much the mansion had grown since then. And I couldn't leave anyone at the tower behind, because then I'll have to hear Waluigi and his cronies crying all night long. But thankfully, Isabelle found a beach on the Washington coast big enough to account for everyone! I had to make this beach vacation real quick, since summer is almost ending, apparently. They're already putting those back-to-school commercials on television!
Everyone was having fun on the beach, with some bathing in the sun and others getting sand in their swimming trunks. A few folks were apparently doing the latter on purpose. Mario was playing a game of beach volleyball - he, Researcher Zelda, Greninja, and Dante on one team, and Yoshi, Kumatora, Rodin, and Wario on the other.
"Serve's-a up!" shouted Mario as he served the ball to the other team; as opposed to the traditional volleyball serve, Mario instead kicked the volleyball over the net with much force.
"MAYDAY, MAYDAY!" screamed Yoshi as he and Kumatora jumped out of harm's way, with the ball sailing past the two. Team Mario had scored a point, as Peach was applauding from her beach chair.
"Nice serve, Mario!" the princess commended her husband, with Lou sitting on her lap. Peach was a fan of Mario's serve, while Mario's teammates were the exact opposite.
"Mario, you don't have to kick the ball!" Researcher Zelda scolded the plumber, worried that he might've kicked someone's head off. To have that happen on beach day would be catastrophic. "This isn't Avatar: The Last Airbender."
"Why do you say that? Because-a we have a Waterbender in our midst?" asked Mario as he pointed at the lone Waterbender in question, Greninja. Greninja looked puzzled, as Kumatora retrieved the ball.
"The goal is to win - NOT to kill us," Kumatora said to Mario, as it was her turn to serve. Since she wasn't in the mood for inadvertently killing anyone, she was going to serve the ball the old-fashioned way.
"Yeah, I don't wanna die before I get a taste of victory!" Wario followed up on Kumatora, sitting on the ground eating his chicken wings. Garlic-flavored chicken wings.
"Are you ever gonna get off your butt and do something?" Kumatora frowned at Wario, as Mario saw Master Hand and Isabelle walk along the beach - with the latter speaking on the phone. "You're just like a college student that takes all the credit in a group project."
"Master Hand! Isabelle!" Mario called out to the giant hand and Shih Tzu, running over to speak with them while Kumatora was yelling at Wario. The plumber was quickly shushed by Master Hand, as Isabelle was still on the phone.
"Yes, Kazuya, we're at Long Beach Peninsula," Isabelle spoke into the phone, sounding quite nervous - as anyone probably would be if they were speaking with a Mishima. "It's just south of...and he hung up."
"Serves you right for trying to give him directions," Master Hand said to Isabelle, as he turned his attention back to Mario. "Yes, Mario, what do you want?"
"You were speaking with-a Kazuya? What did he want?" asked Mario, knowing that something was up when he saw Isabelle speaking on the phone. Her phone. Isabelle only used her phone for paying cell phone bills and answering dubious spam calls.
"He wanted to know why we're at the beach," replied Isabelle as she put her phone away, making doubly sure that Mario didn't see her K.K. Slider wallpaper. "He was gone for a week."
"Now he's back in town...or so it seems," stated Master Hand, thinking that Kazuya saw the sign left on the front door - when it was actually Anna Williams.
Isabelle: When we asked Kazuya why he wanted to take his leave from the mansion, he said that it was because of "personal reasons". We assumed that he had to throw a few extended family members into a volcano.
"Mario, you coming back or what?" Kumatora called out to the plumber as she was holding the ball; she would resume the volleyball game without Mario, but that would be too unfair.
"Of course - I have a small-a yet impactful speech I want to give when my team wins!" replied Mario, desiring to recite a speech that he saw on a certain animated show. Take a wild guess what that show was. "Mind walking with-a me to the volleyball net, you two?"
"I can't walk, unfortunately, but sure," replied Master Hand, floating along as Mario and Isabelle walked over to where the volleyball match took place. "If you must know, Kazuya left because of personal reasons."
"He never elaborated any further," added Isabelle, as Mario rejoined his team; Rodin took the time to get Wario off of the sand but to no avail. "He didn't even want us to contact him!"
"Man, why are you so heavy?" Rodin asked Wario, finding it a struggle to lift the fatso even a foot off the ground. It amused Wario seeing Rodin struggle, and it even made him feel proud too.
"Well, I would love to pick-a him up, but I'm kinda in the middle of some-a thing," Mario said to Master Hand and Isabelle, wanting to resume the volleyball game so that he wouldn't hold up the others. "But you could ask-a Peach to..."
"Don't bother - knowing Kazuya, he'll just walk to the beach by himself," Master Hand said to Mario, as an eavesdropping Dante perked up when Kazuya's name was mentioned. "Still, I fear for Heihachi's safety..."
"You actually fear for Heihachi's well-being?" Dante asked Master Hand, pleased to know that the giant hand wasn't as hands-off as he thought he was. "And here I thought that you never cared!"
"Ah, Dante! How'd you like to be on 'Kazuya Watch'?" In a perfect world, Dante would say no - but with Master Hand presenting the offers, the odds were obviously against his favor. "You are a devil hunter, after all."
"Not anymore...but if no one else is game, then I'll do the job." Dante flexed his fingers, having confidence in his own abilities; he had previously dealt with Kazuya in the past, as episode 315 had shown.
"Great, then you're hired!" Master Hand tapped the shoulder of a bewildered Dante, signifying that the job was his, before turning his attention to Rodin. "Rodin will be your sidekick."
"Sidekick for what?" frowned Rodin, who ultimately gave up on lifting Wario as he dropped the fatso. It was a pretty graceful fall for Wario. "Why do I have to be a sidekick?!
Dante: Master Hand didn't feel like asking anyone else to be on the lookout for Kazuya, so I'm the one stuck doing it. *sighs* But it's whatever. At least I got an extra pair of eyes.
Rodin: *shakes his head* Gotta keep the black man down, huh?
"But if Dante and Rodin are on watch duty, who will replace them?" Researcher Zelda asked Master Hand, as Mario stroked his chin wondering who would be good replacements. Mario didn't have to think long, for a (un)worthy replacement arrived.
"Someone looking for a replacement?" asked Waluigi as he showed up, striking a pose in his unflattering swimsuit. Many folks shielded their eyes from the sight, while Master Hand made a few vomiting sounds.
"Nobody asked for you, Waluigi," Kumatora said to the lanky man, who was unfettered as he strutted his stuff unto the volleyball field. Waluigi had joined Team Mario, much to the chagrin of Mario and his teammates.
"Researcher Zelda, you be the eye candy and distract the others with your good looks," Waluigi pointed at the princess, who cringed in response; Waluigi then pointed at Mario. "Mario, you pass me the ball so that you can make me look good, I will..."
"There's no passing in volleyball," Mario informed Waluigi, who appeared shocked at first only to later snap his fingers in disgust. "Also, making you look-a good is too tall of an order."
"Is it because I'm too good already? Haha, you finally admit it!" Waluigi cackled with his head pointed up towards the heavens, while everyone was giving him judging looks. Master Hand and Isabelle included.
"Let's just go..." Master Hand said to Isabelle as he and the Shih Tzu left, having more important matters to attend to than watch Waluigi potentially drag Team Mario down.
Going to the beach was a huge relief for Mario, who for the most part had to do a lot of Peach's household chores in the wake of Lou's birth. It was also a huge relief for Pit, who didn't have to work as the only barista at Cafe Leblanc today. For the first Friday since Canada Day, the angel got a chance to have some fun.
The only problem was that he didn't have the kind of fun that he wanted - instead, his fun came at the expense of someone else. Pit was being buried in the sand by Mechanica and Shovel Knight, having been told that it was part of a "social experiment".
"Guys you have to unbury me, I have to go pee," Pit said to Mechanica and Shovel Knight, who ignored the angel as he kept piling on the sound. Seconds later, Pit sighed in relief. "Scratch that, I changed my mind..."
"Care for a drink?" Shovel Knight asked Pit, holding a juice box with a straw up to the angel's mouth. Pit sipped through the straw, only to later spit out the contents unto Shovel Knight. "Watch it, I just shined this armor!"
"What even is that, poison?" Pit found the taste so repugnant, that he was desperately trying to spit it out of his mouth. Thereby getting saliva on Shovel Knight in the process. "How much did it cost you...and also, where can I find some?"
"This isn't poison - it's an apple juice box that I found on the pavement!" Shovel Knight glanced at the juice box label, slightly panicking when he saw that the expiration date was in April. "Totally not expired."
"...and we're done!" announced Mechanica, as she patted the last of the sound around Pit's neck. Pit was covered up to the chin with sand, with very little movement for his arms and legs. "All that digging made me hungry."
"Dost thou care for lunch? I'll pay for thy meal." So Shovel Knight and Mechanica got up, as they went to go find the nearest food joint on the beach. Meanwhile, Pit was left alone, unattended with no one to keep him company.
"You're coming back, right?" Pit called out to Shovel Knight and Mechanica, who picked up the pace as they ignored the angel. Pit failed to pick up the cue. "Yup, they're definitely coming back..."
Mechanica: No social experiment is taking place - and I'm not doing anything for science either. I just felt like burying someone in the sand, for some reason. Pit was the right guinea pig to fulfill my odd desire. Won't dig him out for... *sets time on her watch* ...another ten hours. The others won't mind.
"Least I have you, Snake," Pit said to the former spy, who placed his beach chair next to the Pit's head and sat down on it. Snake got himself comfy, as he put on his sunglasses.
"Know what I like about the beach?" Snake asked Pit, not expecting an answer for he knew that Pit's reply would be purely idiotic. "Being away from the mansion. Meaning no encounters from any 'foreigners'..."
Snake soon had to eat his own words, as he and Pit heard an excellent flute solo playing nearby. Turning his head, Pit saw a young man with a ponytail playing the flute, walking along the beach. With him was a young woman who happened to have wings on her head.
"...guess I spoke too soon," grumbled Snake after seeing the wings on the young woman's head. The former spy angrily got up and folded his beach chair before storming off, as the young woman spotted him.
"Enough with that flute solo, Noah," the young woman said to the young man, who played a few more notes before putting his flute away. "The beachgoers don't seem to be huge fans of it."
"That was my way of paying tribute to the fallen Aionios soldiers," Noah defended himself, as he and the young woman unknowingly walked past Pit. "Even you know that, Eunie."
"Have you seen my friends anywhere?" Pit asked Noah and Eunie, scaring the both of them as he made them jump back in fright. "I'm just a lowly angel who's got his head stuck in the sand."
"We can tell...you want us to help you out?" Eunie asked Pit as she knelt down a bit to get a closer look at the angel. If she knew any better, she would leave Pit in the sand where he belonged.
"No thanks, I'm good." Pit would quickly change his mind when taking into consideration the fact that he had to change out his swimwear. "Scratch that, on second thought, I'll need all hands on deck..."
"Why should we help you?" Noah asked Pit, more reluctant to free the angel from his sandy prison than Eunie. Good on the young man for having doubt.
"Because I'm a good guy. I'm an ally destined to end all conflict!" Pit just blurted the first argument that he could think of, and it seemingly worked on Noah as the young man was apparently hooked.
"As in, an ally destined to stop the war between Keves and Agnus? Which side are you an ally of?" Now here was the pivotal moment - Pit had to provide the right answer if he wanted to get on Noah and Eunie's good side.
"Keves all day, baby. Screw Agnus. Agnus sucks, Agnus sucks, Agnus sucks!" Pit's chant earned him weird looks from the nearby beachgoers, but his answer was enough to convince Noah and Eunie. Minus the "Agnus sucks" part.
"Well, I'm sold. Let's him out, Eunie." So Noah and Eunie worked together to dig Pit out of the sand, working fast and efficiently so that Pit could be freed from his sandy prison soon.
"You guys sure are good at this digging-people-out-of-sand thing." In less than a minute, Noah and Eunie dug out a bunch of sand, before pulling Pit out from the ground. Pit was now a free man.
"Might want to get those swimming trunks changed," Eunie advised Pit, spotting the very noticeable wet spot on the angel's swimming trunks. "It was nice meeting you...whoever you are."
"Call me Pit!" Pit spat into his hand and held his hand out to Noah and Eunie, who both balked at the handshake. "It's okay, my saliva has healing powers. I'm an angel!"
"Erm...if you excuse us, we have some friends of ours to find," Noah said to Pit, taking Eunie's hand as he led the young woman away from Pit. "Told them that we had to stick together..."
"Alright then, I'll see you two around. And remember - Keves rules, Agnus drools!" Pit watched with joy as Noah and Eunie left, and then seconds later that joy quickly turned into fear.
Pit: What have I done...I've made myself a target! By expressing my support for Keves and denouncing Agnus, I've become an enemy of the latter country! What if a spy from Agnusheard our conversation? What if they're out to kill me? *gasps* What if they try to bring the war to Seattle?! It'll be all my fault...
Beach days were the perfect day for couples to get loads of quality time in. Such as was the case for Tails and Coco, as the couple was at a beachfront shop checking out some trinkets.
"I'd recommend buying this surfboard," the shop owner said to Tails and Coco, showing them a blue-and-red surfboard that was on display. "It belonged to a surfer who got eaten by the shark."
"That's cool," replied Tails, as Sonic was spying on the yellow fox and Coco from afar through a pair of binoculars. Lavenza stood next to him. "Did you keep the surfboard, as a memory?"
"Nah, I stole it from him before he got eaten by the shark. Whether or not he actually got eaten is unknown, but I still have his surfboard!" The shop owner laughed his butt off, but Tails and Coco weren't laughing as they both walked away.
"A waste of our time..." Coco muttered under her breath as she and Tails returned to the shores - only to be stopped in their tracks by Sonic and an accompanying Lavenza. "...oh, hi Sonic."
"Admit it already, we look great together," Tails said to Sonic, who appeared to be holding something behind his back. The way that he was looking made it seem like he was holding said object against his will. "What's with that face? Wanna call our relationship a sham?"
"Lavenza forced me to buy you this..." replied Sonic as he revealed whatever was behind his back...a personalized pillow with Tails and Coco on it. Sonic closed his eyes and turned away as he held the pillow out.
"Aw, Sonic, you shouldn't have!" Coco smiled as Sonic reluctantly handed her the personalized pillow; Coco accepted the pillow with open arms. "We look so cute together."
"I get my own personalized pillow, right?" Tails asked Sonic, seeing that Coco was already hogging the pillow and claiming it to be hers. Coco was holding the pillow real close to her chest.
Sonic: Lavenza says that if I wish to be a better man, then I have to stop being so impulsive. Meaning that... *gulps, then hesitates* ...that I have to acknowledge that Tails and Coco are a couple. Look, I get it - they're both gorgeous blondes, and they're both colossal nerds. But that doesn't mean that they have to be together. Is it wrong to call Tails a blonde?
"Hope that you all are enjoying your day at the beach," Layton said to Sonic and company as he and Luke approached the four. Layton and Luke were both wearing red-and-white striped swimwear.
"Woah! Never thought I'd see the day," exclaimed Sonic, astonished to see Layton and Luke wear anything other than their usual attire. "Super old-fashioned, but I'll give you points for trying."
"We're always trying our best," replied Luke, counting down the hours until he had to take his swimsuit off. He felt a slight tug around the butt cheeks. "Anyway, Sonic, we have some good news...and some bad news."
"The good news is that you found out about the drug dealer that got Earnest busted." Sonic was waiting around for a response, only to be left with disappointment with Layton and Luke kept quiet. "You did, right?"
"That's the bad news, I'm afraid," replied Layton, understanding Sonic's dismay as Sonic lowered his head and sighed. "But the good news is, we have an inkling of where this drug dealer might be."
"We spoke with Guile earlier, and he implied that the drug dealer is still at large," added Luke, and that sparked a new hope within Sonic as the blue hedgehog quickly lifted his head up. Guile clearly knew more than originally he let on.
"Still in large? As in, he's on the run?" asked Sonic, eager to find out who this drug dealer was and make them cry for their mother. "But Earnest is the only one who got jail time?"
"Appears to be the case, apparently. But when we spoke with the local authorities, they say that the drug dealer was last seen on this beach."
"I'd bet good money that Guile knows what the drug dealer looks like. If he knows this much..." Guile did know a lot on the surface - and it made him look awfully suspect.
"The police know what he looks like. They identified him as a young man with a ponytail, who mostly wears red clothing." Taking that description to mind, Sonic saw a young man wearing red and with a ponytail walk by...Noah.
"Playing your flute isn't going to lure our friends, you know," Eunie said to Noah, who was being eyed by Sonic; Noah had his flute back out, resisting the urge to play another flute solo.
"I know, I just feel like I have another song in me," responded Noah, as he and Eunie walked further down the boardwalk. Sonic still had his eye on Noah, as he scratched his chin in thought.
"To be honest, the flute-playing is pointless anyway - not like you can harness the life force of the fallen soldiers at a place like this."
"Wouldn't hurt much to try. Even if it doesn't, it might prove to be useful in another way. You can never know."
"What if he's the drug dealer?" Sonic asked Layton and Luke as he pointed at Noah, regretting the fact that he was letting the young man get away. "He fits the description."
"Well, yes, but..." answered Layton, knowing that fate was against him as Sonic had a convinced look on his face. Sonic wanted to at least attempt to see if Noah was the drug dealer. "...sure, why not."
"Right on! I'm ready when you are." So Sonic allowed Layton and Luke to lead the way, as he waited for Layton to make the first move. "Any minute now..."
"Please don't let him get too far ahead..." Lavenza whispered to Layton, as Sonic was tapping his foot impatiently. Sonic wanted to nab Noah before the young man got any further.
Guile was resting on a beach chair, basking in the sun with a magazine over his face. Snake placed his beach chair next to Guile's, taking a seat with a coconut drink in hand.
"Sleeping, huh?" Snake asked Guile, whose lack of response suggested that Guile was out cold. Guile was rarely a heavy sleeper. "Dreaming about flying on an eagle, while holding the US flag?"
"Must be a dream that you have," quipped Leaf, who was sitting on her own beach chair next to Snake. Snake screamed when he saw Leaf, who was being fanned by Ivysaur. "Since you worked for the government and all."
"Just because I worked for the US government doesn't make me an America-loving freak..." Snake redirected his attention to Guile, who was sleeping soundly with his hands together. "...is Guile sleeping or what?"
"Probably, but I wouldn't disturb him if I were you." But Snake disturbed Guile anyway, as he took the magazine off of the major's face. He then saw a pair of sunglasses over Guile's eyes.
"Peek-a-boo!" shouted Snake as he lifted Guile's sunglasses, seeing Guile's eyes closed. Guile angrily opened his eyes and punched Snake in the nose, sending the former spy away.
"An honest man can't even rest anymore..." grumbled Guile, closing his eyes shut as he put the sunglasses back on. The major went back to sleep, as Snake was on the sand holding his nose.
Guile: Got my nine hours of sleep in last night, so I have no need for a nap. Really, I'm just laying low from the law. *pauses* Trafalgar D. Law. He's a One Piece character, in case you didn't know...Since when did I start reading manga? What even is a "manga"? I know about those Japanese cartoons with the ninjas and men passing kidney stones, but this "manga" is foreign to me.
"Snake, you're bleeding!" Leaf alerted the former spy, who had blood trickling down his nose as he tried to stop the bleeding. Two folks - one, a bespectacled young man wearing a long orange scarf, the other a young woman with cat ears - drew near and saw Snake's plight.
"Here, let me patch that up for you," the young woman with cat ears said to Snake, as she ran over and pinched the former spy's nose. In a matter of seconds, he got the nosebleed to stop.
"Didn't need anyone's help, but thanks anyway," Snake offered his thanks, as the bespectacled young man cleaned the blood off of the former spy's face. That's when Snake crinkled his nose. "Who even are you people?"
"Guess that introductions are underway...I'm Mio, and this is a friend of mine, Taion." Done cleaning off the blood with a white cloth, Taion gently patted Snake's nose.
"All cleaned up," said Taion, before tossing his cloth in the nearby trash can; it was a good thing that she brought a cloth with him. "That was quite the gusher you had there."
"Meh, it wasn't that bad," attested Snake, as he got a good look at Mio and Taion. He was more intrigued by the former, partly because of her cat ears. "Such a thick accent you have. Please tell me that you two are from England..."
"Never heard of it," replied Mio, and that's when the budding interest that Snake had died down instantly. "I'm just a simple Gormotti from Agnus." Hearing that Mio was a Gormotti was like a gut punch to Snake.
"Knew there was something about you when I saw your cat ears," Leaf said to Mio, as Snake had his hands on his hips and shook his head not knowing what to think. Mio was astonished to hear that Leaf was familiar with the Gormotti species.
"You've seen a Gormotti before? Incredible! Where have you seen them?" Mio wanted Leaf to tell her every little detail, as Snake shook his head.
"We somehow keep attracting foreigners...forget you guys, I'm outta here," grumbled Snake as he folded up his beach chair and stormed off. He hoped that the next beach spot he found was free of any unwanted visitors.
"How rude of him," Taion commented on Snake, viewing the former spy as a grumpy xenophobe; taking a keen interest in Leaf, Mio squatted down near the Pokemon trainer's beach chair wanting to pick at her brain.
"Tell me, where have you seen the Gormotti before?" Mio asked Leaf, her chin resting on her knuckle as she waited for Leaf to spill the beans.
Link and Zelda had a much-needed break from their usual duties at the mansion, enjoying their time at the beach. Subbing in for Rodin who was put on "Kazuya Watch", Link was playing in the volleyball game against Mario's Team. Zelda, meanwhile, was sunbathing.
"Here-a we go!" shouted Mario as he served the ball over to Link's team by kicking it. Just couldn't let go of the bad habits. The ball sailed past the outstretched fingers of Link, as Mario scored.
"Dang it! It was out of my reach," frowned Link, as Mario celebrated with his teammates - Researcher Zelda, Waluigi, and Greninja. None of his teammates appreciated the way he was serving the ball, but you can't say that it wasn't effective.
"Nice one, Link, you gave up another easy score!" Wario scolded the Hylian - kinda ironic given that the fatso had yet to remove his keester off of the ground. He wouldn't move an inch until he ate all his chicken wings - and he was taking his sweet time doing it.
"Like you have any room to talk, Sir Eats-A-Lot..." retorted Link, as Mario was giving out high fives to his teammates. After his team celebration ended, Mario faced everyone on the opposite side of the net as he had a rousing speech to deliver.
"Yes! We defeated-a you for all time!" Mario said menacingly to Link and company as if he had caused the volleyball net to be caught ablaze. "You will never rise-a from the ashes of your shame-a and humiliation!"
"Game's not over yet," stated Kumatora, as the Doom Slayer went to fetch the ball. Kumatora saw how much Mario was into his speech, what with his hands out and the mean look on his face.
"I know, I just really wanted to recite-a that. What's the score?" No one would have the chance to answer, as a whistle was heard nearby. For whatever reason, Link gulped nervously.
"Yoohoo, Link!" Zelda called out to Link, waving to her husband while sitting in a beach chair next to Peach. The princess held up a bottle of lotion. "I need you to apply this body lotion on me."
"Don't do it, it's a trap," Mario warned Link, who felt his stomach tighten as he didn't know what to do. Link, feeling a drop of sweat on his face, slowly held his arm up and pointed his finger at Researcher Zelda.
"I don't want Researcher Zelda, Link...I want you." Seeing how hesitant her husband was, Zelda pulled out a bell and held it up high for Link to see. "Would be horrible for me to ring this bell..."
"Resist, man, resist!" Wario encouraged Link, who was taking a deep breath as he refused to let Zelda take control of him. "She's using the Pavlovian method to mess with your brain."
"Funny how the guys are all bent out of shape," Kumatora whispered discreetly to Researcher Zelda through the net, as Researcher Zelda giggled. Tightening his fists and closing his eyes shut, Link slowly marched towards Zelda.
"Mama mia!" panicked Mario, watching in horror as Link made his advance toward his wife. Soon Link came to a stop, giving Mario and Wario hope that he was having second thoughts.
"Wario...tell Champion Link to sub in for me," Link said to the fatso before he continued his trek. "Hopefully for the time being." Wario was left in shambles, as Mario faceplanted unto the sand.
Wario: *shakes his head in dismay* ...simp.
As Wario shouted for Champion Link's name - still refusing to move an inch off the ground - Link was stuck applying body lotion to Zelda. And he hated every minute of it, too.
"I'll be right back," Peach said to Zelda as she got up from her beach chair, needing to go change Lou's diaper. As Peach left, a blonde woman wearing a black catsuit approached Link and Zelda.
"Missed a spot," Zelda said to Link, pointing at a spot on her shoulder; Link grumbled as he applied the body lotion to the spot. "Try and not to be so rough..."
"Princess Zelda?" the blonde woman called out the princess's name, as Zelda lifted up her sunglasses and saw the woman standing before her. "Nice to meet you. I'm Nina Williams."
"It's nice to meet you as well." One good look at Nina, and Zelda knew from the jump that there was something significant about the blonde. "Are you...are you Anna Williams' sister?"
"Why yes, I am...I'm quite flattered that you know me." To Nina, being known by the princess of Hyrule was a huge deal. "I assume that you have dealt with my annoying sibling."
"I didn't tell you to stop..." Zelda frowned at Link - who stopped applying the body lotion so that he wouldn't "look bad" in front of Nina - before turning her attention back to Nina. "...yes, we had a brief run-in with her. Bowser recruited her to kill Mario."
"Bowser wanted Mario dead...no surprise there. Glad that he never contacted me." Taking a brief look around the beach, Nina leaned in close to Zelda as the conversation became secretive. "Speaking of Anna...you haven't seen here at this beach, have you?"
Elsewhere at the beach, Heihachi was on his phone, scrolling away with his finger. A rarity since he hardly used his phone for anything over than calling his enemies and wishing them a bad day. Keeping him company was Fox, who was building a sand sculpture.
"Hey Heihachi, what do you think of my sand sculpture?" Fox asked the fighter after he was done crafting his masterpiece. Heihachi was too invested in his phone to pay Fox an iota of his time.
"Called that woman hours ago, and she hasn't responded," frowned Heihachi, wondering what the hold-up was. Fox failed to notice Heihachi's demeanor as he was dying to show off his sculpture.
"You see, I was originally shooting for Dumbo, but then a stupid Frisbee struck the sand. Might've been the Duck Hung Dog's doing. So I switched it up to Cthulhu and..."
Fox suddenly stopped speaking, as he saw a woman walking on the sidewalk..Anna Williams. With the younger Williams speaking on the phone, Fox gasped as he exchanged looks between Anna and Heihachi.
"You were saying something?" asked Heihachi as he finally looked up from his phone...only to be thrown into a porta-potty by Fox. Fox held his hands behind his back as Anna drew near.
"At the beach - I'll call you later. Ciao!" Anna spoke into the phone, before ending the call as she put her phone away. The assassin soon reached Fox, who was smiling sweetly. "Greetings, Fox McCloud."
"Sup," Fox greeted Anna, who was smiling seductively to get under the pilot's skin. Heihachi was making loud angry noises from inside the porta-potty; if he kicked the door down, it would be all over.
"So, Fox, you and your friends are on vacation, is that right?" Anna leaned in close to Fox, who was hoping that Krystal wasn't looking his way. "Heihachi Mishima...where is he?"
"He dead." That answer stunned Anna, particularly because of how sudden Fox delivered it. Anna took a step back to process the response.
"Heihachi's dead? Are you sure?" Anna needed further confirmation, fearing that her trip to the beach was for naught.
"Amen." Fox was standing steadfast, as his answers somehow made Anna slightly convinced. It was surprisingly working.
"If Heiahchi is truly dead...then who killed him?" This was the make-or-break moment - depending on his response, Fox might end up in a world of hurt.
"I killed him." Fox killing a dude like Heihachi sounded plausible, and that's when Anna started to take Fox's responses with a grain of salt.
"Where?" Here came the second-most pivotal question - the site of Heihachi's supposed death greatly mattered.
"Church." On the surface, it seemed like Fox didn't know what he was doing, but he knew exactly what he was doing.
"Killed him at a church service...and you're positive that the information you've told me is true."
"Yes sir...I-I mean ma'am!" Fortunately for Fox, he didn't receive a slap in the face for his slip-up as Anna spared him.
"I assume that you're lying, so I'll be on the lookout for Heihachi. But in the slightest chance that you're telling the truth...thank you in advance, darling."
"You got it, Ms. Williams!" Fox saluted Anna as she walked away, finding relief as the assassin made her leave. The pilot had no idea how he worked his magic on Anna, but he was happy that it proved to be effective.
Fox: Thank you, Kendrick Lamar...
Once the coast was clear, It was time to free Heihachi from the porta-potty. Fox opened the porta-potty door and let Heihachi out, bracing himself for an earful he might receive.
"Door was jammed from the outside..." grumbled Heihachi, salty that he couldn't swiftly kick the door down. Every failed attempt was like a shot to his manhood - and his ego. "...why did you throw me in there, Fox?"
"Lars Alexandersson stopped by for a hot minute. Had to thwart some family drama." Now Heihachi wished that he had gotten out of the porta-potty sooner.
Pit and Kirby had lots of fun during beach day five years ago, when they manipulated King Dedede with a cassette. With Pit unable to recreate the magic, Kirby looked to Viridi to take the angel's place.
"Place this tape into King Dedede's cassette player," Kirby instructed Viridi, handing the goddess of nature a cassette he obtained from the NME Superstore. "The magic won't begin until you press the play button."
"This sounds so mean...but so fun at the same!" squealed Viridi as she took the cassette from Kirby, seeing King Dedede in front of a vending machine. Viridi tiptoed over to King Dedede, while Kirby pulled out a microphone.
"Alright mister, prepare to end up in my belly!" King Dedede said to the vending machine, as Viridi got close to the fat penguin and reached around for his cassette player. "All these snacks are mine..."
King Dedede: Kirby has demonstrated a newfound ability to suck in large objects. For instance, he can suck in an entire vending machine without fail! But when I do the same thing, I get called out for being greedy. But what does that make Kirby, huh? Guy's lucky he's cute - imagine the heinous crimes he could commit with that adorable face of his. *grimaces*
King Dedede prepared his lungs, taking a deep breath as he sucked in a lot of air. Viridi switched out the cassette tapes, before pressing the play button and running back to Kirby.
"Hello, young Padawan, and welcome to 'Know Your Role and Shut Your Mouth, the 19th Edition'!" said the narrator of the cassette, Kirby, who was speaking into his microphone. King Dedede stopped sucking as he pressed his hand against his headphones.
"Weird, I don't recall pressing the play button," wondered King Dedede, daring not to question why his cassette player was playing a different tape. "And why the 19th edition? How many other editions did I miss?!"
"Silence, young grasshopper! It is clear that you are stressed out. Stressed from the rigors of life, and the hurdles that come on a daily basis. But take heart! With this tape, you will be the talk of the town, the cream of the crop, the hottest thing since sliced bread! Follow my every word, and one day you will see your name in the bright lights."
"Hey hey, now you're speaking my language!" King Dedede was now fully on board, and Kirby and Viridi tried to stifle their laughter. Those two had Dedede wrapped around their finger. "What's my first lesson, sensei?"
"Your first lesson is not a lesson, but rather a test of will. Someone at this beach is out to get you..." Taking Kirby's words to heart, King Dedede was on edge as he got on the offensive.
"Who? Show me where they are!" King Dedede whipped out his hammer, willing to bash in anyone's head with it. Man or woman, young or old...it was equal opportunity. King Dedede don't discriminate.
"Your enemy comes in a pair - two members of a notorious street gang. Take them out before they take you!" So King Dedede kept his eyes peeled, as his attention was soon drawn to two friends that came into his view...Mio and Taion.
"Leaf is apparently close friends with a Gormotti," a fascinated Mio discussed with Taion, sharing with him the details of her convo with Leaf. "The Gormotti's name is Nia, and she has a Blade called Dromarch."
"Clearly this earth is far more advanced than we give it credit for," said Taion, as King Dedede got his hammer ready; once Mio and Taion drew close, King Dedede confronted the two friends.
"WHAT SET YOU REP, CUZ?!" King Dedede shouted at Mio and Taion, in a poor attempt at being hood; Kirby and Viridi found it super hard not to burst out laughing hysterically.
"...because what?" Mio crinkled her nose at King Dedede, failing to understand the fat penguin's gangsta lingo. The Gormotti leaned in close to Taion and whispered to him, "What is this bird on?"
"Quit yer whisperin', I know you can hear me!" King Dedede Mio's full attention, ready to go into attack mode if the Gormotti didn't heed his words. "I can tell that you're unlike most other cat girls. Not like the ones that attended Comic-Con."
"I think he's trying to patronize you," Taion whispered to Mio, only for King Dedede to point in his face. Taion retracted his head, as Viridi held a hand over her mouth to contain herself.
"And you! I can tell that you're a hood rat...totally not because of your skin color or anything." King Dedede had to switch up real quick, as he saw Doc Louis walk by giving him a judging look. Or maybe that look was for Mio.
"Taion is not a hood rat, I can tell you that much," Mio told King Dedede as he took the fat penguin's hand away from Taion's face. Taion eased up. "Now if you excuse us, we have a friend to find."
"Okay then, I'll let you hoodlums off the hook...but be warned! I'm always watching you..." King Dedede did the appropriate hand signal to Mio and Taion, who were both thinking less of the fat penguin. "Always watching..."
"We got it the first time," responded Mio as she led Taion away from King Dedede before the fat penguin could annoy her further. "Now if you excuse us, we have to find our friends. Picked the wrong vacation spot, Taion..."
"Not my fault that we all got scattered," Taion defended himself as he and Mio left the premises; King Dedede watched the two friends leave, under the guise that he scared them both straight.
"You can't let them get away, young Padawan," said the narrator of the cassette, as Viridi was now speaking into the mic. Speaking without laughing was a struggle for the goddess. "You must stop them before they blow up this entire beach!"
"I will not fail the mission, sensei..." vowed King Dedede, getting his game face on as he quietly made haste after Mio and Taion. Once King Dedede was gone, Kirby and Viridi both burst out laughing.
Cloud and Denzel were having fun on the beach, playing a game of Frisbee together. Cloud seldom played Frisbee, but all it took was enough convincing from Denzel to make the swordsman come around.
"Why are you crying, papa?" Marlene asked Barret, who was watching Cloud and Denzel play Frisbee as a tear ran down his eyes. Barret tried to suck the tear up so that Marlene wouldn't see.
"Never seen Cloud have this much fun before..." sniffed Barret, seeing the joy expressed on Cloud's face - when in truth Cloud was his usual stone-faced self. "...I'm proud of that boy. I mean, man. Cloud's a man."
"Looking great out there, Cloud!" Aerith called out to the swordsman, as she and Tifa were also spectating the Frisbee game. Cloud was momentarily distracted as he looked at Aerith.
"Heads up!" shouted Denzel, with the Frisbee flying towards Cloud; Cloud ducked in the nick of time, as the Frisbee struck an unsuspecting E. Gadd in the head. Cortex, who was with E. Gadd, prevented the inventor from falling backward.
"Yeah! Serves you right!" Wily shouted at E. Gadd from afar, as several beachgoers stared at the robot inventor. Seeing the attention he accrued, Wily sheepishly ran away.
Uka: Why was it that E. Gadd got hit, but not Cortex? Is being associated with that N head giving him bad karma? Meh, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Glad that he's learning things the hard way!
"Professor E. Gadd, you alright?" Cloud asked the robot inventor, checking to see if his good friend was okay. Denzel ran off to retrieve the Frisbee, and as he did, he saw Snake storming off with his beach chair.
"Stupid foreigners..." muttered Snake, saying a few choice words under his breath as Denzel picked up the Frisbee. Looking in the direction that Snake came from, Denzel saw Toadsworth speaking with two "foreigners".
"Wonder what his problem is," Denzel had this to say about Snake, desiring to see what was so about the two "foreigners" that made the former spy ticked. So the boy walked over to Toadsworth, just to eavesdrop on his conversation.
"My, my! I can tell that you two came from very far," Toadsworth said to the "foreigners" - one a big guy with gray skin carrying a large sword, the other a petite girl somehow able to carry a large hammer.
"Very far is an understatement," the big guy smirked, choosing not to go into detail about how he and the girl arrived at the beach. "How we ended up at this beach shall remain a mystery..."
"There you are," Cloud called out to Denzel, as he caught up to the boy and saw who Toadsworth was speaking with. "Who are they?" Sensing Cloud's presence, Toadsworth turned around and saw the swordsman standing with Denzel.
"Mr. Strife, hello!" greeted Toadsworth, giving a small wave to Cloud and Denzel before directing their attention to the folks he was speaking with. "Why don't you and Denzel you say hello to my new friends? Lanz and Sena!"
"Nice hair," the big guy, Lanz, said to Cloud as he was enchanted by his spiky hair. Cloud's hair was always a topic of note to anyone that the swordsman met.
"Good afternoon," greeted the petite girl, Sena, coming off as shy in her tone; "good afternoon" was perhaps the best that she could muster.
"Some big weapons you got there," Cloud said to Lanz and Sena, drawn to the sword and hammer they were holding respectively. Lanz, on the other hand, was drawn to Denzel's Frisbee.
"Say, what's that you got there?" the big guy asked Denzel as he pointed at the Frisbee. Amazed that Lanz had never seen a Frisbee before, Denzel held up the object in his hands.
"It's called a Frisbee," explained Denzel, demonstrating how the Frisbee worked as he flew it at a low altitude. The Frisbee landed on the ground a few feet away from Denzel. "Cloud and I were playing a game of Frisbee."
"Mind if we play?" Sena asked Denzel, who looked up at Cloud since the swordsman would have the ultimate final say. "Lanz and I deserve to unwind a bit."
"We can play together if that's what you want," offered Cloud; if Lanz and Sena weren't such noobs, Cloud would've instead opted to play in teams. "The rules are simple - no explanation necessary."
"The fewer rules, the better," smiled Lanz, excited to play Frisbee for the first time as he pounded his fist in the palm of his hand. "So who gets the first toss?"
Zelda allowed Link to get back to playing volleyball (this ending Champion Link's short tenure) as the princess had some big fish to fry. She was speaking in private with Nina Williams, who was sharing some important info.
"Your sister is coming to Seattle...to kill Heihachi?" Zelda spoke with Nina at the beach's Statue of Liberty replica, as Nina was sharing with the princess a few details of Anna's dastardly plan.
"I suspect that she has already made it to this beach," feared Nina, keeping her eyes peeled around the beach for any signs of her sister. A sly chick like Anna could be anywhere. "She knows how to find her prey."
"How did you find out about Anna's assassination plot?" At this point Zelda should stop asking Nina questions - she had to let Master Hand know about the danger bound to fall upon Heihachi.
"Let's just say that I got a tip from someone." A head with a laurel wreath peeked from around the replica statue, causing Nina to furrow her brow. "Wouldn't say that I always see eye-to-eye with this person, but..."
"Princess Zelda, I have some bad news!" announced Pit as he jumped from behind the statue, choosing the opportune moment to reveal himself. "I have brought a war to this city by accident..."
"That sounds lovely, Pit," responded Zelda, ignoring the angel as she maintained her focus on Nina. But Pit, refusing to be ignored, grabbed Zelda and commanded her full attention. "Can't you see that I'm..."
"We have no time to waste!" Pit frantically looked to his left and right, before leaning in close to Zelda and saying, "The ongoing war between Keves and Agnus...it's real." The way that Pit whispered those last two words didn't do much to ease Zelda's confusion - or her annoyance.
Pit: I'd hate to be captured by a secret agent from Agnus...they might make me a prisoner of war! From what I've learned, prisoners of war usually have it very rough during confinement. But who knows, perhaps the Agnus forces will treat me with kindness and deliver gummy ears to my jail cell every day.
"Is he...is he special?" Nina asked Zelda, thinking that Pit was stuck in his own imagination. Zelda remained silent as she allowed Pit to exhaust his delusion. "I can shoot him in the head if you want me to."
"Please, Zelda, you have to help me!" Pit stressed to the princess, wanting Zelda to take action before a few soldiers from Agnus arrived at the beach. "If I don't find shelter soon, they'll kill me!"
"Shelter, you say? Then just hide in Toad's bus," answered Zelda, as Pit was reminded of the bus that he and a handful of other residents traveled in. "But ask Toad for permission first."
"On it!" So Pit ran away from the statue, leaving Zelda alone as went to go search for Toad. "Those Agnus forces can't catch me now! Agnus sucks!"
"Again I ask, is he special?" Nina asked Zelda, having missed her opportunity to shoot Pit. She would've done the other mansion residents a huge favor had she pulled the trigger.
"Special is one way to describe him," replied Zelda before getting back to the conversation at hand, with Anna Williams looming large. "So tell me more about your sister..."
Getting prepared for his eventual fight with Kazuya, Akuma spent his time at the beach meditating. The fighter sat on the sand with his eyes closed and his legs crossed, while Dante and Rodin stood next to him keeping their eyes peeled for Kazuya.
"Ain't nothing for you to worry about," Rodin assured Akuma, taking a quick puff from his cigar; couldn't be on lookout duty without smoking a blunt. "We got this under control!"
"Thanks, but no thanks - this is my battle, not yours," replied Akuma, while still appreciating Dante and Rodin for looking out for him. Dante held his hand over his eyes, as he made out Anna Williams in the distance.
"Uh oh, Kazuya's bodyguard spotted at three o'clock!" the vigilante alerted, as he saw Anna speaking with Terry and Diddy Kong. "Rodin, you keep Akuma company, while I have a word with Little Miss Williams..."
"Yeah, we haven't seen Heihachi anywhere," Diddy informed Anna, as Terry shook his head no; Anna hoped that Terry would at least point her in the right direction, but she thought wrong.
"You two are useless...good riddance," Anna hissed at Diddy and Terry, who both walked away without saying a word. Just when Anna was about to leave, she suddenly ran into Dante.
"Hi there, good-looking," Dante smirked at Anna, acting flirty to get on the assassin's good side. Anan stood her ground, as she stuck her nose up. "You come here to the beach often?"
"Sorry, but I'm not really attracted to demon hunters." Anna walked away from Dante, who was hot on Anna's trail as he kept pace with the assassin. Even when Anna picked up the pace, Dante was right at her side.
"C'mon, I just wanted to chat. Do a little small talk. I won't hold you up for long." Eventually, Anna came to a stop, and Dante came to a stop as well as he had pushed all of Anna's buttons.
"You should feel lucky that I'm sparing you. But that said..." Anna slowly reached for her gun, and she pulled out the firearm in less than a blink of an eye. "...I can always change my mind."
"So you're a guy who likes guns...you're definitely my type." Dante would even the score with Anna as he whipped out his own gun, waiting for Anna to her own gun at his head. "Hate to break your heart, but I'm already taken."
"OW! Stupid crab!" Rodin was heard shouting in pain, as Dante and Anna saw the demon lord get his big toe pinched by a crab. The pain was insurmountable. "Akuma, save me!"
"Save yourself..." grumbled Akuma as he continued to meditate, while Rodin hopped away on one foot screaming obscenities. Akuma opened his left eye and saw Anna approaching. "Oh no..."
"Hi Akuma," Anna greeted the fighter, whom she had some kind of familiarity with. Dante was standing by, as he observed Anna's every moment. "I have a little message for you."
"From Kazuya, I assume?" Akuma was done meditating, as he stood up and dusted the sand off his pants. Rodin was still screaming. "What did he want to say to me?"
"Oh, nothing much - he just wanted to remind you to say your goodbyes to your friends. Since you won't be staying at the Smash Mansion any longer once he's through with you."
"You mean once I'm through with him...we'll see who gets the last laugh." With Anna having delivered her message, the assassin smiled at Akuma as she left the premises. Akuma looked down and saw Rodin, holding his foot in pain. "...much obliged for embarrassing me, Rodin."
"GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF ME!" Rodin shouted for help, unable to pry the crab off of his foot. That crab was holding unto the demon's toe for dear life.
Things were picking up in the volleyball game, as Link had returned to the game and Wario was finally participating after finishing his wings. With Link and Wario both in the fold, Mario's team had to switch up their game plan. Mario brought his teammates into a huddle.
"See Kumatora?" Mario said in the group huddle, as everyone saw Kumatora juggling the ball with her legs. Looking like a real pro. "When she runs toward-a the ball, there's just the slightest hesitation of her left foot. I'm willing to bet a childhood-a injury has weakened her."
"Can you confirm this childhood injury to be true?" asked Waluigi, wishing that he had known about Kumatora's supposed childhood injury earlier. He wouldn't stop annoying Kumatora all day long until he got all the full details.
"I dunno, I just felt-a like saying that. Anyway, keep-a serving the ball to her left, and we'll destroy her and the rest-a of the team. Dismissed!"
As Mario and his team broke from the huddle, play immediately resumed. The volleyball game would receive a few spectators - two of them being Noah and Eunie, the latter sitting on the ground.
"Seems like a good stopping point..." remarked Noah, who wished to press forward but had no choice but to vibe with Eunie taking a break. The young man watched as Mario served the ball over the net, with Wario falling to the ground as he couldn't hit the ball.
"Gave up an easy goal...for shame," Link shook his head at Wario, giving the fatso a taste of his own medicine. Wario grunted at Link as he slammed his fists angrily on the sand.
"We should get in on the next game," Eunie suggested to Noah, as Mario was celebrating another scored goal with his teammates. Sonic, Layton, and Luke were all sneaking up on Noah.
"I'd rather not, they look too skilled," replied Noah, who had some reservations after seeing how Mario served that ball. Once again, Mario chose not to hit the ball with his hands.
"Ready to do this, guys?" Sonic asked Layton and Luke, who were both reluctant but found the strength to nod their heads. Sonic and the British detective took their first step, looking to teach Noah a lesson as Lavenza peeked from behind a trash can.
Lavenza: Sonic is sorely convinced that the boy in red is a drug dealer. I would step in and tell him otherwise, but...I'd rather much that he finds out himself.
"If you want in, I won't stop you," Noah said to Eunie, as Sonic and company walked over to the young man. Once he caught up to him, Sonic tapped Noah on his shoulder, garnering his and Eunie's attention.
"Hello, good sir," Layton greeted Noah as he tipped his hat, coming off as friendly and cordial. Yes, Layton had to wear his top hat. "My name is Professor Herschel Layton, and this is Luke Triton. And that is..."
"Why'd you do it, man? Why did you give Earnest those drugs?" Sonic asked Noah, skipping past the introduction phase as he dived to the heart of the matter. He had no time for pleasantries.
"A talking blue hedgehog...what are the odds," remarked Noah, completely no-selling the questions that Sonic asked of him. Sonic saw that as a sign of Noah trying to deflect.
"Erm, what my friend wants to know is, are you in the business of drug dealing?" Layton asked Noah, forced to take initiative during the interrogation before Sonic caused things to go off the rail.
"Can't say that I ever was into drug dealing," replied Noah, baffled that such an accusation was made against him. But nonetheless, he had no choice but to play along. "Never did any drugs of the sort in Keves."
"C'mon man, we know you got all sorts of drugs hidden in your jacket," said Sonic, who would rip off Noah's jacket to prove how guilty the young man was. "Also, what kind of made-up place is Keves?"
"Keves isn't made up...it's our home," Eunie said to Sonic, interjecting herself into the conversation as she showed a little pride for her country. "Something that you wouldn't know about."
"I'd stop insinuating things if I were you," Noah warned Sonic, as he reached behind his back and pulled out his sword. A big sword, at that, as Sonic was very intimidated.
"Drug dealers carry swords now?!" wondered Sonic, who somehow overlooked Noah carrying a sword while he was spying on the young man. "Thought that they carried guns instead."
"Look out!" shouted Cappy, as an errant volleyball was headed straight towards Sonic and company. The volleyball struck Layton in the head, with plenty of force behind it.
"Mama mia!" exclaimed Mario, as Layton fell in an instant; the professor was down for the count, showing no signs of consciousness as the spectators were freaking out.
"That ball just killed Layton!" King K. Rool overreacted, as the entire scene was in a state of frenzy. Sonic looked mortified at Layton's unconscious body. "Nurse, we need a nurse!"
"But we don't have a nurse anymore," stated Yusuke as the guilty party, Wario, held his hands behind his back hoping for no one to look his way. "Oh, why did this have to happen..."
"Relax, people, I got this under control!" Sonic assured everyone, as he picked up Layton and carried him away. "Got this under control..." Luke followed after Sonic, as a few folks cheered on Sonic for taking action.
"Pretty unfortunate what happened there," Eunie said to Noah, having some sympathy for Layton; being hit by a volleyball from Wario was no joke. "But what was that interrogation all about?"
"Beats me; maybe they had the wrong guy," replied Noah, who felt as if he had some unfinished business with Sonic, Layton, and Luke. "Think we need to reach some common ground..."
Luke: Layton got knocked out by a snowball during a snow day, and Sonic barely cared at all about his well-being. Then the same thing happened with a volleyball, and Sonic was all concerned and everything. Guess he really has changed.
Kapp'n had to leave the beach momentarily, for he had to pick up someone. The turtle returned to the beach in his taxi, as a man stepped out of the vehicle and did a brief inhale and exhale...that man being Kazuya.
"Here we are, at the beach!" announced Kapp'n, before holding his hand out to Kazuya. "Fare?" Kazuya looked at Kapp'n like he was trash, before swatting the turtle's hand away.
"We're practically neighbors; I don't have to owe you a penny," replied the stingy Kazuya, as he stepped away from Kapp'n's taxi. "But thanks for answering my call." As Kazuya entered the beach, he saw Fox showing off his sand sculpture to Olimar.
"I call it - Cthulhu Reborn!" Fox said to Olimar, who was thinking of the right words to say about Fox's sand sculpture. "It was originally intended to be Dumbo, but some idiot threw their Frisbee at my masterpiece."
"That may have been my doing," Olimar fessed up as he took the blame, only to back away when he saw Kazuya drawing near. Wondering why Olimar was leaving, Fox turned around and saw Kazuya.
"Fox McCloud! Where is Akuma?" Kazuya asked in a commanding tone - didn't even greet Fox, or ask him how his day at the beach was going. The dude got straight to the point.
"He dead," replied Fox, hoping to work the same magic he did on Anna Williams with Kazuya. But his attempt proved to be futile, as Kazuya grabbed him by the neck with one hand and held him up in the air.
"Don't play your nonsensical games with me. Where is Akuma?" To show that he meant business, Kazuya squeezed tight on Fox's neck until the pilot started begging for mercy.
"He went to go get ice cream..." wheezed Fox, recalling the last time that he saw Heihachi; taking Fox's word for it, Kazuya dropped the pilot to the ground.
"Eating ice cream before his big fight...rookie mistake." Kazuya walked away to go look for his opponent, while Fox was left gasping for air.
Akuma and Polar Bear were at an ice cream stand, with Akuma eating a fudge ice cream cone and Polar Bear delighting himself with a strawberry sundae. Nothing like some ice cream to melt your cares away while at the beach.
"Imagine all the ice cream that I could buy if I had Pac-Man's check," Polar Bear said to Akuma, who rolled his eyes as he distanced himself from Polar Bear. Akuma finished off his ice cream cone as he inserted the remaining cone into his mouth.
"To think that Kazuya used that check to entice Klonoa..." growled Akuma, remembering where he was when Kazuya offered Pac-Man's check to Klonoa during dinner that night. And speaking of Kazuya...Akuma just so happened to run into the man.
"Akuma! How are you enjoying the beach?" Kazuya asked the fighter, coming off as super friendly to get under the fighter's skin. Akuma didn't take the bait. "Shame that nobody ever told me about it."
"As if you deserved to know..." Akuma could tell that Kazuya was ready for a fight, as Kazuya was already wearing his black chi. "...your training better have paid off. Best to give it your all."
"I've trained in the mountains day in and day out. Don't know what you did to prepare, but I expect you to be on your A-game, too."
"It's okay, you won't have to worry much. Best two out of three?" Akuma held his hand out, acknowledging last week's fight as part of a three-fight series.
"Best two out of three..." Kazuya shook Akuma's hand as he smirked deviously, seeing nothing but victory ahead of him. "May the best man win. That best man being me, of course..."
"Meet me at the shore at four o'clock. We'll have our fight then." Once the handshake ended, Akuma and Kazuya both went their separate ways. They were going to tear the house down real soon.
"Kazuya? You're really gonna have that fight?" Sonic was heard calling out to Akuma, who came to a stop as he saw Sonic gathered with Layton, Luke, and Lavenza. Layton was awake, holding an ice pack to his head.
"I'm afraid so...depending on the result, this may be one of the last few times you'll see me. Barring a visit in the near future, of course."
Master Hand: I've been told by Isabelle that Kazuya and Akuma are having a fight on the beach - the loser has to leave the mansion. I've got my money on Kazuya, but if Akuma wins, then I'll let him take Kazuya's place. *pauses* No, I can't have THREE Street Fighter reps in Smash...
"If you excuse me, I have some business to handle," Akuma said to Sonic, cracking his knuckles as he carried on. Sonic felt helpless as Akuma left, wishing that he could somehow intervene.
"How's your head feeling?" Luke asked Layton, who kept applying the ice pack to his head. A smile from Layton gave Luke full assurance that his superior was doing alright.
"A lot better than it was a few minutes ago," replied Layton, before looking up at Sonic with a ton of thanks in his heart. "Thanks for the ice pack, Sonic."
"Sorry that I got you hurt," Sonic apologized to Layton, putting the blame on himself for Layton being attacked by Wario's errant volleyball. "I had put you into that position and..."
"No, I put myself in that position. Maybe if I had been a few inches over, things would've been different!" Layton was able to put on a smile while discussing the incident, whereas Sonic simply could not.
"Like, what if we came after the wrong guy? What if that wasn't the drug dealer?" As Sonic expressed his doubt, Noah and Eunie came around the corner.
"Well, that guy did have a sword...and most drug dealers don't carry swords," stated Luke, not knowing a single drug dealer in Britain that was armed with a blade. A knife, perhaps, but never a giant sword.
"Pardon us - I take it that you're talking about a drug dealer?" Noah asked Sonic and company after he and Eunie caught up to the group. "I'm not much of a dealer myself, but..."
"Yeah, we can tell - sorry for wasting your time," Sonic apologized to Noah, only to notice that the swordsman and Eunie had yet to leave. "Do you wanna help out or something?"
"Help out with your situation, if that's what you're asking," replied Eunie, as Sonic was surprised by Noah and Eunie's offer. Layton and Luke, even more so. "Noah could tell that you had a problem to settle."
"And I have just the tool to settle it!" stated Noah as he showed off his sword, wielding his magnificent blade in his right hand. "But only if necessary."
"The drug dealer we're looking for wears red and has a ponytail," Luke provided the description to Noah and Eunie - and the latter realized that he coincidentally met the criteria. "He's said to be at this beach."
"I thought that you were the one," Sonic admitted to Noah, feeling bad for rushing to judgment; that didn't bother Noah any, as the swordsman grinned.
"Drug dealer's still at large, huh?" asked Noah as he held his sword over his back, happy to do a solid for Sonic and company. "We'll bring him to justice!"
Pit found solace by hiding in Toad's bus, away from any potential Agnus secret soldier that was out to kill him. The angel believed that if he hid in the bus long enough, the secret Agnus forces will depart from the beach and no longer view him as a threat.
"Pit, open up! It's me!" shouted Toad as he stood outside his bus, knocking on the door. Accompanying him were Zelda, Nina, and Pit's so-called mother, Palutena.
"I can't - they'll snipe me from afar," Pit replied from inside the bus, not willing to take any chances. The angel feared that by mere association, anyone he came in contact with during beach day was on Agnus' hit list.
"See? Told you that I wasn't kidding," Zelda said to Palutena, who was certain that the princess was pulling her tail. But as she learned, Zelda was not exaggerating a bit.
"Let me handle this..." Palutena said to Toad, who moved to the side as he allowed the goddess of light to reel Pit out of the bus. Palutena knocked on the bus door like how any angry parent would. "...Pit, open up!"
"Lady Palutena, is that you?" asked Pit, sounding as if he was finally easing up - but the angel wasn't committed yet to opening that door. "Sorry, but I can't come outside. I might get you killed!"
"I'll kill Lady Palutena myself if you don't get out..." Nina threatened Pit, making a sound as she pulled on the trigger of her gun. Nina's threat worked like a charm, as Pit slowly opened the bus door.
"Anyone out to kill me?" asked Pit as he looked to his left and right, while Nina put her gun away. That threat she delivered to Pit made Nina awfully satisfied.
Nina: Is it possible to kill an angel? I would love to kill Pit point-blank - not like his existence is that meaningful anyway, from what I've seen first-hand.
"Alright Pit, what's the matter with you?" Palutena asked the angel with her hands on her hips, as Pit had no choice but to come clean.
"I accidentally expressed my loyalty to Keves and made myself an enemy of its rival nation, Agnus," Pit explained his "situation" to Palutena, who saw how dead serious Pit was as she furrowed her brow in confusion.
"May or may not be fictional countries," Nina whispered to Palutena, convinced that Pit was stuck in la-la with no way of getting out. With that info in mind, Palutena thought of a way to help Pit get over his fears.
"Well, Pit, I have spoken with the Agnus government officials," stated the goddesses of light, winning over Pit as the angel looked up with newfound joy. "They said that they have no qualms about your...allegiance to Keves."
"Th-They don't?" stammered Pit, amazed by how much sway Palutena had with those in power. Couldn't be too surprised, given that Palutena was a goddess. "So that means they won't make me a prisoner of war?"
"Nope! Long as you keep your Keves affiliation to yourself, you won't be a blip on Agnus' radar." This was good news to Pit, who raised his fists as he was no longer living in fear.
"Yeah baby, I'm a free man now! Agnus no longer sucks!" Pit celebrated his "freedom" as he ran from the bus and ran into the first person he saw, Bomberman. "Guess what, Bomberman? I'm free!"
"What did Guile do to you...?" Bomberman asked Pit, taking sympathy on the angel; Pit responded by running away and cheering his butt off. A befuddled Zelda and company watched.
"Happy that's taken care of," smiled Toad as he went back inside his bus, relieved that Pit was out of his handy transport vehicle. "Now I can watch my cheesy soap operas in peace!"
"Shall we get back to finding my sister?" Nina asked Zelda, hoping to locate Anna Williams in due time. If Heihachi were to die at Anna's hands, it would be a mission failure for Nina.
"Who, Anna Williams?" Bomberman asked Nina, startling her and the other ladies with his sudden presence. "Saw her lurking around the ice cream stand." Just the tip that Nina needed...
For their first time playing Frisbee, Lanz and Sena weren't doing too bad. The two were playing with Cloud and Denzel, with Sora trying to inject himself into the fun.
"Over here, Cloud! Over here!" Sora called out to the swordsman as he waved his arms up in the air; the Keyblade wielder went ignored, as Cloud hurled the Frisbee towards Lanz.
"Great catch!" Sena commended Lanz, who caught the Frisbee with one hand; the folks that were around applauded Lanz's spectacular catch, as Lanz smiled.
"Now, how about this for a power serve!" shouted Lanz, wielding his giant sword, the big guy threw the Frisbee up in the air and struck it with his blade, as he sent the Frisbee flying across the sky.
"That was our last Frisbee..." said Denzel, watching as the Frisbee flew right over Cloud's head and into the horizon. Cloud, Denzel, and Sena all frowned at Lanz, who sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
"Might've put too much 'oomph' into that one," Lanz admitted apologetically, having underestimated his own strength. Soon Pit ran into the scene, as his jubilation had yet to run out.
"Guys, guys, I have some great news," Pit addressed the mansion residents, as Lanz and Sena were not included in the angel's big announcement. "I'm a free man! I won't be a prisoner of war!"
"War? What war?" inquired Dovahkiin, who had an unattainable thirst for war and bloodshed as he whipped out his sword. He was waiting for this moment. "Who has declared war on us?!"
"The war between Keves and Agnus." And just like that, Pit now had Lanz and Sena's full attention. "I was implicated at first, but not anymore!"
"Great sparks! Whoever told you about this war?" Lanz asked Pit, curious as to how a complete stranger was aware of an ongoing conflict taking place far away from earth. "You're hardly anyone that I've ever seen from Keves."
"A fellow Keves supporter? Up high!" Pit held up his hand, as a confused Lanz gave the angel a high-five. Pit then held up his hand to Sena. "You a fellow Keves supporter, too?"
"Actually, I'm from Agnus," Sena meekly replied, as Pit gasped at the girl; Pit exchanged looks between Lanz and Sena, astonished at how the two were able to coexist.
"You two know each other?! So are you like, friends? Even if you're from warring counties?" Pit's mind was absolutely blown; he was almost convinced that the Keves-Agnus war was now old news.
"More like traveling companions. We're working together to try and end the war." A part of Sena wished that her traveling companions were nearby, to sell the point home for Pit. "If only we hadn't gotten scattered..."
Lanz: The six of us were supposed to stick together. But then Noah wandered off to play his blasted flute, and Mio got distracted by a hermit crab scuttling along the shore! It was a mistake to make those two our leaders.
"Well then, in that case, I wish you both the best in your efforts," Pit said to Lanz and Sena, acting all gentlemanly as he shook their hands. The turnaround from the angel was immaculate.
"So I guess you're not a supporter of Keves anymore," Cloud asked Pit, slightly regretting that he even asked the question. But Pit appreciated the question regardless, as he was showing a change of heart.
"If people wanna support either Keves or Agnus, then that's cool. I hope and pray that both sides can come to peace soon!"
Dante and Rodin were taking a break from their duties, as they momentarily paused their "Kazuya Watch"...to buy some balloons. More specifically, buy some balloons for Steve, who didn't have any cash on him.
"Here are your balloons! Enjoy!" the balloon vendor said to Dante, who made the purchase, as he handed the vigilante a bunch of balloons. Rodin and Steve stood by, the latter with his big toe bandaged.
"You owe me three bucks, man," Dante said to Steve as he gave the craftsman his balloons. Steve giddily accepted the balloons from Dante, holding them all in his hand.
"I feel as high as the clouds," remarked Steve, as the balloons lifted the craftsman up into the air. Dante and Rodin looked up as Steve ascended into the air, with the balloons floating him away.
"Imagine if I shot one of those balloons with my gun," Rodin snickered at Dante, as Isabelle approached the balloon stand when she saw Dante and Rodin standing together.
"Aren't you boys supposed to be on the lookout for Kazuya?" Isabelle asked Dante and Rodin, sounding heavily disappointed; Rodin just looked at Isabelle as if she was born yesterday.
"Of course we are, why do you..." Rodin suddenly stopped speaking, as he quickly understood why Isabelle was so upset with him. "...crap, Steve threw us off schedule!"
Thanks to the cassette he was listening to, "'Know Your Role and Shut Your Mouth, the 19th Edition", King Dedede was convinced that Mio and Taion were members of a street gang. Moreover, he was told that Mio and Taion were not only out to kill him, but also plotting to blow the beach up to smithereens.
King Dedede kept a close eye on Mio and Taion, following them everywhere they went. The fat penguin followed the two friends to the ice cream stand, where Anna Williams was speaking to them.
"He's this tall, has a gray mustache, and an ugly hairstyle," Anna described Heihachi to Mio and Taion, who were both ordering ice cream. King Dedede paid close attention to what ice cream flavor Mio and Taion bought.
"I believe he went over there," Mio said to Taion as she pointed right behind Anna. The ice cream vendor handed Mio and Taion their cream popsicles, as King Dedede kept his eyes peeled.
"Alright, young Padawan, now's the time to take action!" said Viridi, speaking into the microphone as she and Kirby were hiding behind a palm tree. Pulling up on his...pants, King Dedede angrily confronted Mio and Taion.
"HOLD IT! I see that you both ordered red-flavored popsicles," King Dedede said to Mio and Taion, who both had red cream popsicles. "That means you're both affiliated with the Bloods!"
"Don't you mean strawberry-flavored popsicles?" Taion tried to correct King Dedede, who remained undeterred as he was dead-set on proving Mio and Taion's gang affiliation. "Also, we hardly have any clue what you're talking about."
"Do you mind? I was speaking with them first," Anna frowned at King Dedede, who took sight of the assassin; King Dedede grinned as he fell into a deep, romantic trance.
"Anna Williams...remember me?" King Dedede asked the assassin, who wished that she could say no as she found Dedede greatly off-putting. "You turned me down two years ago..."
"...and for very good reason." Anna encountered King Dedede during the events of episode 253 - and the memory was far from pleasant. "Please leave me alone - I'd hate to waste any of my bullets on you."
King Dedede: Met Anna Williams at the mansion while she was looking for a fashion gala. Obviously, no such gala took place, but I pretended that I was the organizer of the event just to woo Anna. She saw right through me and slapped me so hard, that she left a mark on my face that remained for a week!
"This is borderline creepy," Mio whispered to Taion, not sure what was worse - King Dedede flirting with Anna or King Dedede being flirty in general. Either way, King Dedede was straying away from his "mission".
"Don't let the sexy woman distract you! Remember the task at hand!" Viridi shouted into the microphone, though the narration on the cassette was hardly getting to King Dedede. Left with no other choice, Viridi held her mic up in the air.
"Viridi, don't!" Kirby pleaded to the goddess of nature, knowing what was about to happen; Viriid threw her microphone at King Dedede, but instead of hitting Dedede in the head...the goddess accidentally struck Mio.
"Hey!" shouted Mio, wincing in pain as the microphone struck one of her cat ears. The Gormotti held her ear as the mic fell on the pavement before Taion picked it up.
"It came from over there," Taion said to Mio as he pointed at the palm tree that Viridi and Kirby were hiding behind. King Dedede saw the two bodies behind the palm tree and frowned.
"Oh no, here he comes..." Kirby whispered to Viriid, as he saw King Dedede marching over to the palm tree. Kirby and Viridi had no time to escape, as King Dedede grabbed the two and pulled them out in front.
"I KNEW IT!" bellowed King Dedede, who was absolutely heated after Kirby and Viridi spent their day making the fat penguin look stupid. "I knew that you were messing with me, Kirby! When that cassette started playin'..."
"If you knew all along, then why did you still follow our instructions?" Certainly, that was something for King Dedede to ponder over, as Dedede looked up in realization.
"I dunno, maybe I just felt like messing with those strangers." Speaking of whom, King Dedede turned around at Mio and Taion...and saw that both of them were gone! "Where did they run off to?"
"BEACH FIGHT! I REPEAT, BEACH FIGHT!" shouted Lakitu as he traversed over the beach on his cloud, sending the message far and wide. "Kazuya Mishima vs Akuma! Winner takes all!"
"They're fighting already?" said Anna, as she looked at the shore and saw a large horde of folks crowding together. While Anna was distracted, the person running the ice cream stand was kicked away by a certain assassin.
"Care for a soft serve?" a voice asked Anna, who looked towards the ice cream vendor...and instead her sister, Nina, standing in his place. Nina took an ice cream cone and smushed it in Anna's face.
"Grraaah! Nina, you little..." Once she wiped away the ice cream from her face, Anna saw Nina looking all smug. "...how did you know I was here?"
"Unfortunately for you, my client was ahead of the curve." Nina was raring to fight as she put up her fists, while her sister was incensed. "Shall we?"
"You're DEAD!" And so it was on, as Nina threw down the ice cream stand and started fighting with her sister. Kirby, Viridi, and King Dedede watched from afar as the Williams sisters duked it out.
"Nothing like a good ol' sibling rivalry," remarked Kirby, watching as the two sisters threw it down. King Dedede was watching with his mouth agape. "King Dedede, are you okay?"
"Think I like the older sister more now..." replied King Dedede, seeing how much of an advantage Nina currently had over her little sister.
It was four o'clock, which meant that Kazuya and Akuma were about to have their fight. The two combatants are standing along the shore, as a large group of spectators gathered around to witness the match.
"Better crowd than the Yiga Clan, I suppose..." remarked Akuma, slightly appreciating the crowd diversity as Kazuya stood across from him. "...are you ready to lose, Kazuya?"
"It'll be you who'll be losing," guaranteed Kazuya as he got into a fighting stance, with Akuma doing the same. The crowd was mostly rooting and cheering for Akuma, but Kazuya paid them no mind.
Link: We started another game of volleyball and it was going well...but then Kazuya and Akuma wanted to have their fight. So we called off the game just so we wouldn't be a distraction.
Mario: But Link, you're the authority - you can tell-a those two to have their fight later!
Link: Trust me, Mario, you don't want to get in Kazuya's way...there's a reason why Zelda and I give him a long leash.
The fight began, as Kazuya and Akuma ran towards each other with both men looking to land the first blow. It would be Akuma who landed the first strike, as he punched Kazuya in the face.
"Yeah!" shouted Ike, as Kazuya recovered quickly from the punch; Kazuya and Akuma started trading blows, as they were kicking and punching each other.
"This is no way to solve problems," Taion said to Mio, as he and the Gormotti were among the spectators. They were drawn to the fight after seeing the wave of spectators. "Such degeneracy is unfavorable. Why not use words?"
"Because using words is apparently too much for some people," replied Mio, as Kazuya now had Akuma in a headlock. Mio's cat ears perked up, as she heard someone calling her name. "Do you hear that?"
"Mio! Taion! Over here!" Lanz was calling out to the duo, waving his arm to get their attention. Being the big guy that he was, Lanz was easily recognizable among the crowd as he stood next to Sena.
"See? Told you they didn't get too far," Taion said to Mio, as he and Gormotti hustled their way over to where Lanz and Sena were gathered. "About time we found you, Sena."
"It's great to be found," grinned Sena, happy to be reunited with her pals from Agnus - a country that no longer sucked, according to Pit. "Lanz was kind enough to keep me company."
"Say, have you seen Noah and Eunie by any chance?" Lanz asked Mio and Taion, who both shook their heads no. Lanz glanced over at the ongoing fight, as Akuma fired a Hadouken that Kazuya narrowly dodged. "Betcha they would be enjoying this fight!"
One person that didn't want to enjoy the fight between Kazuya and Akuma was Mario, salty that he had to call off his volleyball game. But it was a small blessing in disguise, as the plumber got to spend some quality family time. He was sitting at a beach picnic table with Peach, Jennifer, and Lou, far away from the fight.
"I did a pretty good-a job out there," Mario said to Peach, dedicated to being a good model by being humble about his performance. "Not the best, but not the worst-a either."
"At least you're being modest," Peach smiled in appreciation, as she held sweet Lou in her arm. Lou, who was sucking on his pacifier, spat out the pacifier as it rolled across the ground. "Mario, can you get that?"
So Mario got up from his seat to retrieve the pacifier, which had traveled a fair distance from the picnic table. It was farther than Mario expected, but the plumber still got it regardless.
"Gotcha!" exclaimed Mario as he picked up the pacifier, only to look ahead and see Noah and Eunie perched behind a palm tree. Curious, Mario wandered over to the two, as Noah sensed the plumber's footstep.
"Ssh! Not a single sound," Eunie whispered to Mario, as she and Noah were watching something...or someone. Joining Noah and Eunie, Mario peeked around a corner and saw Falco speaking with a man.
"Are you kidding me, this isn't lettuce!" Falco frowned at the man, who coincidentally had a ponytail and red clothing. In Falco's hands were leaves - but not the kind that the avian pilot desired.
"Listen, man, I have to get rid of that stuff soon," the man told Falco, who looked at the "lettuce" and saw that it was some kind of cannabis. "Before they find me. I survived the drug bust..."
Falco: Some guy at the beach promised me lettuce for my homemade salad, and instead he switched up and gave me cannabis. I'm not looking to make another dramatic life change. And honestly, this ain't me.
"Drug bust? The same one that got that former homeless man arrested?" Falco asked the man, who felt guilty as his legs were quivering in fear. Noah and Eunie were convinced that they found their guy.
"Pr-Probably..." the man stammered, only to later freak out when he heard a high-pitched tune nearby. "...oh no, it's them! I can hear the siren!"
"What siren?" Falco looked around, as the man made a run for it...and unfortunately, he ran the wrong way, as he ran into Noah and Eunie. The former playing his flute.
"Why hello there. Glad that I got your attention," Noah greeted the man, whose legs were shaking even more as Noah wielded his sword. "Why don't we get properly acquainted?"
"Are you associated with the police?" The man backed away from Noah, but it was no use as Noah and Eunie drew closer to him. "Spare me, I beg of you!"
But Noah would not spare the man, as he went absolutely ham on him with his sword. Mario watched the beatdown from the palm tree, wincing with every blow Noah delivered.
"Sup," Sonic greeted Mario as he and Lavenza approached the plumber. The blue hedgehog was eating a chili dog as he saw the senseless one-sided beatdown taking place. "Ha! Is that the drug dealer who's getting beat up?"
"From the looks-a of it, yes," replied Mario, noticing that Falco was hardly involving himself in the beatdown. Falco simply tiptoed away and ran, only to bump into an arriving Layton and Luke.
"We'll take that off your hands," Layton offered to Falco, taking the cannabis from the avian pilot and inserting it into a plastic Ziploc bag. As Layton zipped the bag tight, Noah was through with the drug dealer.
"Might've gone in too much on him, but I sent a strong enough message," Noah said to Layton and company, standing tall over the bruised and battered drug dealer. Layton went over to the drug dealer and squatted down, lifting his head up.
"I take it that you were the one who sold Earnest Ridgeway all those drugs?" Layton asked the drug dealer, who coughed a few times as droplets of saliva and blood fell out of his mouth.
"It was me...I got away with the drug bust," replied the drug dealer, admitting fault as Layton dropped his head back down. Layton stood up, looking toward Sonic and Luke.
"The case is now closed," confirmed Layton, as Sonic and Luke celebrated with a high five. "Now to call the police and have this man arrested..."
Guile: The man who sold those drugs to Earnest got arrested? Serves him right. *pauses* That is all that I can say about this matter.
The fight was still going on, as Kazuya and Akuma were trading blows. Sonic arrived at the fight scene along with Lavenza as he appeared through the crowd, looking to intervene if possible.
"Akuma, watch out for that punch!" Sonic shouted to the fighter, as Kazuya threw a punch right at him; Akuma ducked out of the way and delivered a kick to Kazuya, sending him back.
"Thanks for the heads up," Akuma said to Sonic, as Kazuya wiped off his mouth and saw Sonic standing among the crowd. Kazuya was grinding his teeth.
"Stay out of this, hedgehog!" Kazuya pointed at Sonic, before getting back into the fight as he tried to throw another punch at Akuma. Akuma grabbed Kazuya's fist in the nick of time.
"You ought to do what he says," Lavenza advised Sonic, not wanting him to get seriously hurt; Sonic watched as Kazuya pushed Akuma across the sand, trying to overpower his foe.
"Just give up already," Kazuya said to Akuma, whose face was squinching as he wouldn't let Kazuya get the better of him. Akuma eventually dropped down to one knee, as Kazuya took advantage and kicked him away.
"C'mon Akuma, you got this!" cheered Shulk, as he and many others were rallying behind the fighter. Sonic, seeing Akuma struggling to get up, finally decided to step in.
"Sonic, no!" Lavenza screeched, as Sonic sped towards Kazuya about to do a spin dash on the man. Kazuya saw the spin dash coming from a mile away as Sonic jumped into the air...
...and once Sonic got close enough, Kazuya sent the blue hedgehog flying with a wicked uppercut. The crowd reacted as Sonic flew up in the air and came crashing down, landing hard.
"That's got to hurt..." remarked Mio, with Sonic lying on the ground in pain as Lavenza tended to him. Seconds later, Steve came floating down to the surface, after a few of his balloons had been popped.
Steve: Earlier I had ten balloons...and now I only have three. I am whelmed.
Little did Sonic know that he proved to be a big help, as his distraction gave Akuma an ample amount of time to stand on his two feet. Akuma had some fight left in him to finish the job.
"KAZUYA!" the fighter shouted, using his remaining energy to dash towards Kazuya with a fist held out. Kazuya stood in place as Akuma made his advance.
"Come a little closer..." said Kazuya, not moving a single inch as he waited for Akuma to get closer. Once Akuma was once enough, Kazuya unleashed his Heaven's Door maneuver - grabbing Akuma by the head, and then slamming him to the ground.
"Is it over?" asked Isabelle, who watched a majority of the fight with her hands over her eyes. The Shih Tzu peeked through her hands and saw that Akuma was out cold, as Lakitu checked his vitals.
"Akuma is unable to battle," announced Lakitu, before lifting up Kazuya's arm to signify the businessman's victory. "Kazuya Mishima wins!" The crowd was not a huge fan of the result, as there were moans aplenty.
"So glad I didn't wager any bets on this fight..." muttered Berkut as he and a handful of other disgruntled spectators walked away. Mio, Taion, Lanz, and Sena were among the few who remained.
"Did no one want him to win?" asked Mio, wondering why everyone was so disappointed. If she was familiar with Kazuya, she would know. "I guess not..."
"Mio!" shouted Noah, as Mio and company saw the swordsman and Eunie from afar; Noah and Eunie ran over to the group, as the six "foreigners" were happily reunited. "Forgive us for not linking up sooner."
"It's okay, I'm to blame as well. Never should've gotten sidetracked." Passing by the group of six was Snake, who was beyond disgusted to see the reunion.
"Now that we're all together again, we can properly enjoy our little vacation," stated Taion, fingers crossed that the six will never split up while they were at the beach. "Gotta unwind before we return to Colony 9."
"Lousy foreigners..." seethed Snake as he left the group of six alone, choosing not to let Noah and his comrades ruin his beach day.
With Kazuya having fought with Akuma, Dante and Rodin deemed their "Kazuya Watch" a failure. Rather than spectating the fight, the duo elected to hang out with Heihachi at Toad's bus.
"What happened to your foot?" Heihachi asked Rodin as he glanced at the demon's toe. Rodin was taking a smoke break - how many smoke breaks does one man need?!
"Beats me," replied Rodin as he puffed a smoke, letting Heihachi use his own imagination. Heihachi would be greeted by familiar company, as he was approached by Nina.
"Congrats, Heihachi...you're now in safe hands," assured Nina, who was hoisting an unconscious Anna over her shoulder. Nina tossed the younger Williams sister at Heihachi's feet, before dusting her hands off.
"Good job," Heihachi commended Nina for her efforts, only to look down at Anna and see different ice cream flavors smeared all over her face. "I see that you have taken some liberties to humiliate your sister."
"What can I say, I couldn't resist. But I have to give you props for thinking ahead, Heihachi. Otherwise, you would've been a dead man..."
"We'll take this dub," Dante said to Rodin, taking partial credit for Nina saving the day as he held his fist out. Rodin gave Dante a fist bump, as he too took credit for Nina's best efforts.
That evening, after everyone returned to the mansion (and the tower), it was time for Akuma to bid his farewell. The fighter enjoyed his last dinner at a mansion resident, and now he had to say goodbye.
"Are you sure about this, Akuma?" asked Mater Hand, as he and Isabelle were in the foyer to see Akuma off. Akuma held a bindle, indicating that he didn't have much to take with him.
"What's done is done," replied Akuma, knowing how hard it must be for Master Hand to see him depart. "I appreciated the time I spent here, but it's time to move on."
"Sorry that it had to be like this," Isabelle said to Akuma, who had to be a man of his word - since he lost to Kazuya, he had to be the one to leave. "But you will come back to visit, right?"
"If Cilan can do it, then why not..." Akuma sounded non-committal in his response, but he knew what was expected from him. "Goodbye, Master Hand. Thank you for the opportunity."
"I'll be seeing you," Master Hand said to Akuma, who nodded his head to acknowledge the giant hand. Akuma exited through the front door, as Kazuya stood at the top of the staircase smiling evilly.
Kazuya: Finally, Akuma is gone. With him out of the equation, that's one less person standing in my way of killing Heihachi. I'll take a break for now, but in due time Heihachi will meet his end...I'm sure of it.
Sonic: Sucks that I couldn't help Akuma win his fight. He'd still be here at the mansion if I was a bigger help. But I did learn a good lesson today about being rash. Hope that Lavenza's happy.
Heihachi: Akuma is leaving, which means that I'm stuck with my idiot son... *grumbles* ...where's Jin when you need him?
Ryu: With Akuma gone, I have one less sparring partner to train with. This mansion has now gotten weaker.
Ken:...why do I still feel that this is somehow my fault?
Akuma stepped down from the porch and turned around, looking at the mansion one last time. The fighter walked away, as an alien looking through some binoculars was staring at him. It was Magolor.
"There he goes..." said Magolor, watching as Akuma knocked on Luigi's front door looking to say a few more goodbyes. A Persian walked up to Magolor, slightly spooking the alien.
"So Akuma is leaving the mansion, I take it? Quite the shocking development, I'll say. Wouldn't you say so, Dimentio?"
Magolor would be greeted by some company, as he was joined by Dimentio...and a man wearing a black suit with a red R on it. The sharply-dressed man that Dimentio was with was Giovanni, who was back at the mansion for the first time since episode 135.
"Perhaps, but I won't lose sleep over it," replied Dimentio, "The mansion will recover quickly from this loss."
"I cannot thank you enough for freeing me from my jail cell," Giovanni offered his thanks to Dimentio, who flashed a smile as Persian rubbed its head against Magolor. Magolor gently pushed Persian away. "Happy to be a part of your master plan."
"Was the least that I could do. And like a spy agent getting a call for a new mission, we are ready to take action! My revenge tour is almost ready to begin..."
After spending time away on his own "vacation", Dimentio was prepared to embark upon his so-called revenge tour. What evil plans did the jester have in store?
