Author's Note:
It was first revealed back in E3 2019, and now it has finally come after roughly four years...Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is finally here! At long last, the most anticipated Nintendo game has arrived. Being that Champion Link is from the Age of Calamity era (I may have stated that in a previous author's note), there won't be much TOTK content in this chapter. Couldn't even do a reference to weapon durability, as I had promised to do. But at least I have a good enough reason to bring that the four Champions of Hyrule. New Zelda characters will also be debuting in this chapter, but I won't specific who they are. Gotta actually read the chapter to find out. And now, without further ado, the reviews:
"Lilith. The name of that female Vault Hunter is Lilith. Not Lilac."
Whoops! I've gone back and fixed it. Next review:
"Just saying, if the Suns beat the Nuggets this week, I'm gonna say it thanks to you."
Would you look at that, the Suns did beat the Nuggets on Cinco de Mayo! Too bad that they couldn't win the series, though. Maybe next year they'll actually get out of the second round. Next review:
"Are you planning to make a Bastille Day chapter? If so, here's the suggestion: Master Hand would give everyone a choice to wear Red, White and Blue, trip to Paris as a learning experience to learn French cultures and a French feast."
I think that I've reached my holiday quota so far in 2023 since I've already covered Arbor Day and Cinco de Mayo. Is Arbor Day even a real holiday? I've always struggled with that question. That being said, I would be open to doing a Bastille Day chapter only if I have nothing else planned. George has a question for me:
"Hey, really enjoyed today's chapter, but I have a question for you: When is the Dimentio arc really going to start? Because all that has happened is Organization XIII members showing at the mansion(or Omnis Adest) and then getting their butts kicked by the heroes and then retreating. Just really want to know when all the big stuff is going to happen considering we're already in May. Anyway, with that, thanks for being cool."
Good question! So this current arc, with Organization XIII characters popping up, will be ending in only a few weeks. The purpose of the arc is to reintroduce the members who have already appeared in the story, as well as introduce new ones. The full-on Dimentio arc will start in June. David has questions:
"(Made a botch on the last review). I meant to say Yusuke from Persona 5 not Yosuke in regards to mentoring Namine. Also, will we still see KOS-MOS from Xenosaga show up soon? Are Rex and Shulk gonna be aged up due to the Future Redeemed DLC? Any references to Sonic Prime? And finally, what did you like or dislike about WWE Backlash? (People booed Bianca Belair, Rhea humiliated Zelina Vega, and they showed blood on a PG Show no less)."
KOS-MOS's status is up in the air. Rex and Shulk will remain the same. Might do a few references to Sonic Prime. And I liked everything that I saw from Backlash, nothing that I truly disliked (even if the ending to Rhodes-Lesnar was a little anticlimactic). Bianca Belair being booed was a surprise, but I guess the audience is becoming fatigued from her long title reign. Doubt that WWE will ever turn Belair heel at this point, given how popular she is with the younger WWE fans. Last is A JRPG enjoyer:
"Well, well, well. Skye Bennett (VO of Pyra and Mythra) just tweeted out a comment that she doesn't consider the XC3 ending photo as canon, saying that she thinks Nia is friendzoned, Mythra is single, and Pyra is the only one Rex ended up with. What do you think of her opinion? I think anyone can have their opinion, but in MY opinion, her opinion is wrong."
I'm confused. So does that mean that those babies Mythra and Nia are holding are Pyra's babies? Or somebody else's babies? I guess that Skye Bennett feels uncomfortable admitting that Rex is really into polygamy. Never thought we'd see the day that polygamy exists in a Nintendo game.
Episode 386: Paradox
Champion Link, in his time, was one of the greatest warriors in the land of Hyrule. Armed with his Master Sword, just like any other Link incarnation, the Hylian was entrusted with keeping his kingdom safe from evil clutches.
However, that isn't to say that Champion Link was alone in keeping Hyrule safe. He had four other fellow Champions at his side - Mipha, the Zora Champion; Daruk, the Goron Champion; Revali, the Rito Champion; and Urbosa, the Gerudo Champion. Much like Champion Link, all four were appointed to keep Hyrule free from Calamity Ganon.
Link and Zelda were all familiar with the four Champions, and decided to invite them to stay at Omnis Adest. Champion Link, Champion Link's closest female confidant, was also included. Link and Zelda, along with Champion Link, would show the five new inhabitants of Omnis Adest around their new digs, showing them certain attractions - such as the community swimming pool.
"And this is the community swimming pool," Zelda said to Champion Zelda and company, as she introduced to them the swimming pool in question. "Also counts as a public toilet for the blissfully ignorant."
"Who are you calling blissfully ignorant?" questioned Vector, who was peeing into the pool as if it was a urinal; those in the pool saw the crocodile and screamed as they ran out.
"Well, now's a good time to bother Mr. Game and Watch," said Funky Kong after getting out of the pool, and taking out his phone to call Mr. Game and Watch and notify him about Vector's heinous act. Hopefully, that phone of his was waterproof.
"I'd rather take my chances in my own personal pool," admitted Mipha, who would feel more comfortable if she had her own pool to swim in. The thought of swimming with other species irked her.
"Oh, come on, Mipha, I know you aren't thinking about not including us," Revali said to the Zora, as the others laughed in response - and Revali did not appreciate it. "Wasn't joking, by the way."
"This has been nice, getting to see what Omnis Adest offers," Champion Zelda said to Link and Zelda, as she was a fan of everything that the Hylian couple had showcased. "But I would like to go back to the mansion."
"Aw, want to head back so soon?" asked Link, a little salty that his tour of Omnis Adest was potentially drawing to a close. "We haven't even shown you guys the public bath."
"Link, Zelda, the public bath flooded!" Ashe of the Blue Lions said to Link and Zelda, as he ran over to the Hylian couple to tell them the bad news. "I think it was Vector's doing."
"...on second thought, maybe we should skip over the public bath." It was bad enough that Vector was caught peeing in the community...what could he have possibly done at the public bath to cause it to flood?!
Vector: Yeah, I don't just handle my business in the pool - I also handle business at the public bath as well. The pool is for number one - public bath for number two. I would use my own toilet, but it's been stopped up ever since Louie had his...episode. How is it possible for us to share the same plumbing?
"My thoughts exactly," replied Urbosa as she brushed back her hair, letting the others know with that very move what was on her mind. "That beauty salon is calling my name."
"And I have to go to the mansion to do...uh, manly stuff!" added Daruk, showing off how manly he was as he clenched his fists. It was an unspoken requirement for Gorons to be manly.
"Are these your friends that I've been hearing much about?" Ashe whispered to Champion Link, as he got a good look at the four Champions of Hyrule. His eyes were soon focused on Champion Zelda. "And is that your girlfriend?"
"Just because she's an incarnation of Hylia doesn't mean that she's my girlfriend," replied Champion Link...albeit louder than expected, as Champion Zelda looked at him and furrowed her brow. Champion Link looked tense. "I mean..."
"No worries, I know who your heart is really for..." smiled Champion Zelda, causing Champion Link to blush as she looked at Mipha. Mipha briefly looked up at Champion Link, making the Hylian blush even more.
"Alright, that's enough," Zelda spoke up, saving Champion Link from dying from embarrassment; Champion Link's face was redder than a beet. "You want to return to the mansion, yes? Then let's go."
"You lead the way, princess," Revali said to Zelda, who led the group away from the pool. Link frowned, wondering where his respect was, before following after the others. Meanwhile, Champion Link remained where he was, his face still red.
"How did she figure it out?" the Hylian pondered, as Master Hand was sneaking up on him. Master Hand was moving as slow as a snail - or perhaps even slower - as he extended his index finger.
"BOO!" shouted Master Hand as he poked Champion Link in the back, causing the Hylian to jump up and scream. "Haha, I still got it!" Master Hand was delighted with what he did, while Champion Link massaged his back as if Master Hand had actually hurt him.
"Not cool, man, not cool!" The only thing that Champion Link was happy about was that nobody else was around to see him get spooked. Or hear his scream. "Did you come here just to scare me?"
"That was part of the reason. You were honestly ripe for the taking. So, a friend of mine told me that you've been wanting to be more useful..."
"Well, yeah, 'cause I told..." Champion Link stopped speaking and began to frown as he suddenly wondered where Master Hand obtained that info from. "...who told you that?"
"A man whom we shall call He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Not Voldemort. Anyway, this He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named has told me that you've been wanting to be more useful. Which is why I'm here to help fulfill your goal."
"No thanks, I'm not really interested." Champion Link was about to walk away from Master Hand, but his morbid curiosity prevented the Hylian from leaving. "But what's in it for me?"
"Link and Zelda have both argued that some of the folks at Omnis Adest don't deserve to stay here. Which is why I plan on doing...a process of elimination."
"Oh, so you're thinking about getting rid of people? I never thought that this day would ever come." Champion Link was pleased to know that he wasn't the only person who thought that Omnis Adest was a bit overpopulated.
"Shut up, you're making me self-conscious about my decision-making...so are you in, or out?" Master Hand gave the floor to Champion Link, who mulled his options. On one hand, working side-by-side with Master Hand sounded like a disaster. But on the other hand, it would get Champion Link to feel involved.
"Yeah, I'm in." Champion Link made his final decision, and it was a decision that Master Hand was most satisfied with. Master Hand had a slither of doubt that Champion Link would answer yes.
"Superb! We'll just meander through Omnis Adest together, and you can point out who deserves to stay and who doesn't. Sounds good?"
"Definitely fine with those terms..." So Champion Link would leave the public pool with Master Hand, as an Organization XIII member was spying on the Hylian while hiding behind a pool house. That member was Dark Riku...a la the time-traveling Riku Replica. Not Riku's "evil twin".
Obviously, Champion Zelda and the four Champions of Hyrule had to get to Seattle somehow, and they would find their way into the city through the use of the teleportation device. Anna was asked with using the device to bring forth the new denizens, and she got some much-needed assistance from...Geo Stelar.
"Ooh, what does this button do?" Anna asked Geo Stelar as she mashed a button that grabbed her attention. After the button was pressed, a weird whizzing sound was made by the teleportation device which made Anna nervous.
"Your guess is as good as mine!" Geo replied without a single care in the world, as Anna was back to her smiley self. Omega-Xis, who was in the teleportation room with Anna and Geo, was so very disappointed.
Omega-Xis: Today is Anna's first time using the teleportation device, and she almost got us all killed. Won't say how she did it or how it was even possible, but she almost killed us. I refuse to go into the details because it would probably take up to an hour.
"Let's not break anything," Omega-Xis advised Anna, who was snooping around the teleportation device looking for more stuff to tinker with. "The same goes for you, Geo." Poor Omega-Xis was feeling like a parent chaperone on a field trip.
"Why me, I'm nowhere near the..." Geo frowned, only to trip over a cord on the floor and crash into the wall. The young man left a dent in the wall upon impact, as he rubbed his head. "...that was the air, air tripped me up."
"Stop making up lies." As Geo hopped back up on his feet, Omega-Xis saw Anna messing with a dial on the teleportation device. "Anna, don't touch that!"
"Why not? There's no warning saying that I shouldn't touch it," Anna gave a wry smile, as Omega-Xis looked out of the teleportation room hoping for someone to come in and intervene with Anna. With no one to stop her, Anna turned on the dial until it clicked.
"Oh no...what have you done?" Omega-Xis could only watch in peril, as the teleportation device was suddenly activated. Anna took a step back as she desired to see what the result of her meddling was.
"We're getting more visitors!" exclaimed Geo, just as excited by the prospect of more company as Anna was. The young man checked the teleportation device to see what the destination was. "And they're all coming from Hyrule, neat!"
Dark Riku had seen enough outside at the pool, as he went inside the pool house and declared the building to be his personal hideout. The replica would get some company, as a portal to Twilight opened up in his midst.
"Greetings, Dark Riku," greeted Zant as he walked out of the portal, looking like the menacing figure that he was. The Twili then looked back at the portal, waiting for another person to exit. "Gnasty Gnorc, we're waiting on you."
"Back off, you lousy monsters!" shouted Gnasty, smacking Twilight monsters with his club as he pulled himself out of the portal. The Gnorc landed on the floor as he kept fighting off the Twilight monsters.
"It seems that the denizens of Twilight still won't take a liking to you." With a wave of his arm, Zant closed the Twilight portal as Gnasty was free from the carnage. However, it didn't stop Gnasty from swinging with his club while his eyes were closed.
"Is it over?" Gnasty opened his eyes and realized that the portal was no more. Finding relief, Gnasty stood up and dusted himself off as if nothing ever happened.
"Did a little spying on Master Hand," Dark Riku said to Zant...and Gnasty as well, once the Gnorc was standing upright and looking professional. "Apparently, he's thinning the herd at Omnis Adest. A bunch of people might be removed."
"That could be our biggest gain...or our biggest loss," responded Zant, his mind left to wonder who exactly would be getting the boot. The king of Twili would want nothing more than for the more "capable" residents to be kicked out.
"Sure you will be fine with that oaf?" The oaf that Dark Riku was referring to was none other than Gnasty, who was bent over and looking at his butt as he checked what pair of underwear he had on.
"Phew, it's not the one with the heart pattern, thank goodness..." Gnasty sighed in relief as he stood up straight again, only to notice both Dark Riku and Zant giving him judging looks. "...what, I'm running low on clean undies!"
"I will do my best with him," Zant assured Dark Riku, although he wasn't entirely confident that Gnasty would contribute to a possible failed mission. "You do your duty, while we carry on with ours."
"I'll give you guys an intel report once I'm done," said Dark Riku, who had some slight sympathy for Zant due to the fact that Gnasty was his partner. Marluxia dodged that bullet a few weeks ago.
Done touring Omnis Adest, the Champions of Hyrule returned to the mansion for a little R&R. When they arrived at the front yard, they saw Mario playing with his pet dog, Poochy. And Daruk was sweating.
"Daruk, you're sweating," Mipha informed the Goron, who was staying put where he was while Mipha and the others had already pressed forward. Daruk wouldn't even move a muscle.
"What's wrong, big guy?" asked Revall; noticing Daruk's nervousness; Daruk was sweatier than an unprepared Hylian who came to Eldin Mountains without the proper gear.
"I'm not big! I'm fat! I mean..." replied Daruk, only to bite his tongue as he was showing a kind of nervousness that none of his peers had ever seen from him. It was unlike the Goron Champion to be that incredibly scared.
"You're not telling us what the matter is," Urbosa said to Daruk as she folded her arms, failing to see what the big deal was. "Spit it out already!"
"It's...it's that dog." All the other Champions, including Link and Zelda, were under the assumption that the dog in question was the nearby Yoshi, who was minding his own business while licking an ice cream cone.
"What? Yoshi?" said a confused Link as he looked at the "dog", Yoshi, who enjoyed his ice cream cone so much that he swallowed the rest of it in one big gulp. "He's harmless."
"Woof, woof," barked Yoshi, who overheard the ongoing conversation as he hoped to strike fear into Daruk. His futile attempts at barking didn't work.
Yoshi: People used to think that I was Mario's pet at one time, all because he would ride on me during his many past adventures. By that logic, if I were to ride on a human, could I make that human my pet? I'd love to have a human slave or two.
"I'm not talking about him...I"m talking about that dog over there!" shouted Daruk as he pointed at the real dog - Mario's dog, Poochy, who was playing Frisbee with his owner. There was something about the way Poochy looked that made Daruk's skin crawl.
"Good-a boy, Poochy!" Mario commended his dog, who had leaped up into the air and caught the Frisbee with his mouth. Poochy returned the Frisbee to Mario, who saw Link, Zelda, and the Champions standing afar off. "Hey, guys."
"GET HIM AWAY FROM ME!" Daruk shrieked as he ran up a tree, doing anything to keep away from Poochy. A bewildered Mario looked at Link and Zelda, hoping that Daruk wasn't referring to him.
"He's just scared of your dog," Zelda explained to Mario, as she brought much reassurance to the plumber. Poochy was delighted by Daruk, running to the base of the tree that Daruk ran up and barked excitedly.
"That dog's coming to get me! Make him go away!" Daruk chose to hide up in the tree, while Poochy was barking at him endlessly. The Champion of the Gorons, scared of a harmless dog...how embarrassing.
"Let's leave him there," suggested Urbosa as she pressed forward, with the others forced to follow after the Gerudo. "He can make his home up in the tree." As Urbosa and the others left, Mario went to the tree to reason with Daruk.
"It's okay, Daruk, Poochy is gone," Mario assured the Goron as he picked up Poochy, covering the dog's mouth to keep him from barking. But Daruk wasn't confident enough yet to climb down.
"I don't care! Kill it, kill it with fire!" shouted Daruk, unable to keep Poochy out of his mind; Mario looked dismayed as Yoshi joined him...while licking yet another ice cream cone.
"Found this in my pocket, and now I don't care for it anymore," Yoshi said to Mario before handing the plumber his ice cream cone, as if Mario ever wanted it in the first place. "Care for sea-salt ice cream?"
"Do I look like a Keyblade-a wielder to you?" questioned Mario, before looking back up at Daruk hiding in the tree. Yoshi would look up as well, licking his ice cream cone.
"You know, with how heavy he is, it's amazing that he isn't bringing this tree down." Yoshi's remark caused an imaginary light bulb to ding over Mario's head, as Mario snapped his fingers when he came up with the perfect idea.
"That's it! Stay right-a here and watch Daruk, I'll be back." So Mario ran off to secure the resources needed for his perfect idea while Yoshi stayed behind. Poochy stayed behind too, as he barked up at the tree and shook Daruk to the core.
"Do not fret friend, for I will be your guardian angel," Yoshi called out to Daruk, who let the green dinosaur how he felt about those terms as he let out a depressed moan.
Pit was feeling a bit bored at Cafe Leblanc. Most days behind the counter were full of excitement, but today was one of the more quiet days. So when Joker asked the angel to run an errand for him, Pit quickly pounced on the opportunity.
The only catch that came to Pit running errands was that it usually took him forever to complete one. More often than not, the angel would get sidetracked, either on purpose or by accident. How Pit got sidetracked on purpose, no one truly knew.
"Shouldn't take him this long to get sugar from the kitchen," remarked Joker as he looked at his watch, wondering what was taking Pit so long. The young man did appreciate how quiet it was in the cafe with Pit gone, though.
"maybe he went to get sugar from the grocery store," theorized Sans, who was one person that Joker wished wasn't at the cafe today. Or for the rest of the week, for that matter. Or the rest of the month. "would be sweet of him to..."
"Don't you even dare..." Joker threatened Sans as he gave the skeleton a menacing look, and so Sans kept his mouth shut as he sipped his coffee. "...seriously, what is taking Pit so long?"
"You always underestimate Pit's ability," replied Kirby amazed that the young man trusted Pit to run errands and not him, a more competent cafe barista. "Or inability. Or is it..."
"You got it right the second time," Viridi said to Kirby, as Pit showed up at the cafe with the canister of sugar from the kitchen. Pit was standing at the doorway, not coming inside the cafe yet.
"Joker, I have secured the sugar!" announced Pit as he held up the sugar canister, as Joker was happy - only because Pit had shown up, after doing who-knows-what. "Also, I made a new friend."
"That's good, Pit, now bring the sugar inside," ordered Joker, but Pit didn't want to come inside the cafe just yet. Pit's refusal was leaving Joker frustrated. "Today would be nice."
"But you didn't say anything about my new friend." Pit was playing hardball with Joker, who let out an exhausted sigh as he was forced to give Pit's new friend the time of day.
"Uh, sure, your new friend, let's see them." Not liking the lack of excitement from Joker - or the lack of interest from the other baristas - Pit made a frown. "What I meant to say was, show us your new friend!"
"Now that's more like it!" Pit looked down the hallway and beckoned to his new friend, or may or may not have deterred Pit in his quest of getting sugar from the kitchen. "Come on down, Tulin!"
So Pit walked inside the cafe, and accompanying him was a white young bird. The Rito looked cheery and energetic, and awfully curious about his new surroundings.
"Joker, Kirby, Viridi, Incineroar...say hello to my new Chocobo friend, Tulin!" Pit presented the white bird to the baristas, only to later be surprised by the lack of fanfare from his coworkers. The angel blamed the bird's white feathers for throwing everyone off.
"Pit, no offense, but that is clearly a Rito," Geno informed the angel, knowing the difference between the Rito and Chocobo bird species. Pit sadly was unable to make the difference.
"That's what I keep telling him," Tulin said to Geno, before turning to face the baristas behind the counter and giving them a wave. "Good day!"
Pit: I wish that I had a friendship bracelet to give to Tulin. Used to have one ready to go, but then I ate it whole. It was my mistake making that friendship bracelet out of Sweethearts. *takes out a box of Sweethearts, pours several candy pieces into the palm of his hand, and stuffs them into his mouth* I had to be super selective with the candy pieces.
"Good afternoon, Tulin," Vridi greeted the Rito, showing the kind of hospitality that Joker would expect from a Cafe Leblanc barista. Tulin was impressed by Viridi, acting as if it was the greatest greeting he had ever heard.
"Wow, what a good response!" Tulin commended Viridi, who eyed around the cafe; all Viridi did was tell Tulin "good afternoon", not like she gave the Rito a million rupees out of her pocket. "'Great kids are great greeters.' That's what my dad always says!"
"Are you implying that I'm a 'kid'?" Viridi took great offense to Tulin, as she looked to climb over the counter and give Tulin a piece of her mind. Fortunately, Incineroar intervened and pulled Viridi away from the countertop.
"So Tulin, how did you get here?" Joker asked Tulin, curious about the Rito's origin story and how on earth he ended up at the Smash Manion of all places. "Flew here from a village somewhere?"
"I just showed up here," Tulin candidly replied, not giving Joker and the other baristas much to work with. "I was flying with my dad, and then we...ended up at this place. Don't tell him that I wandered off, he might kill me..."
"Your dad won't be killing you anytime soon," Pit assured Tulin, knowing what to do to save the Rito's butt as he ran to the back of the cafe and grabbed a spare cafe apron off of a wall hook. Joker warily looked on.
"What are you doing with that apron?" Joker asked Pit, who returned to Tulin and handed him the cafe apron. Tulin looked at the apron in his hands, acting as if he was unworthy of wearing it.
"Welcome to the team! The Cafe Leblanc Team!" Pit patted Tulin on his back, and Tulin would fully accept his cafe apron as he put it on and tied up the string behind his back. Joker held his fingers up to his forehead as Tulin fastened the string.
"Thanks, Pit!" Tulin thanked the angel as he was now a part of the Cafe Leblanc crew, although nothing was made official yet. Only Joker had the final say on new hires and always has. "What do you need me to do?
"You can start by making a few drinks." Pit gestured to the coffee machines, confident that Tulin would be able to operate the coffee machines without much trouble. The angel had way too much faith in Tulin.
"Make a few drinks, got it!" Nodding his head, Tulin followed Pit to the espresso machine. Pit stood off the side, waiting for Tulin to work his magic. "So, Pit, what do I need to do?"
"Are you serious? Uh...first, we need to grind the coffee beans!" Pit grabbed a bag of coffee beans and loaded them into the grinder, as Tulin looked on. Pit then turned the crank, and Tulin watched as the beans were pulverized into powder, with the delicious aroma of fresh coffee filling the air.
"Wow, that smells great!" Tulin got his first-ever whiff of coffee aroma, as he deeply inhaled the aroma. Joker wanted to alert Tulin that inhaling coffee fragrance was often dangerous but didn't know how to.
"You three should be intervening," Joker said sternly to Kirby, Viridi, and Incineroar, who were all standing around just like he was. The pot was really calling the kettle black.
"You're the boss, you should intervene yourself," Kirby encouraged Joker as he smacked the young man on his butt for some motivation. Not appreciating the butt smack, Joker frowned at Kirby. "I'm sorry..."
"Now, let's start making some drinks!" said Pit, handing Tulin a pitcher of steamed milk; Tulin didn't know what to do with the pitcher, holding it like a doofus. "Pour the espresso and milk into the cup."
"Oh, right..." said Tulin, as he pulled shots of espresso and poured them into the cup. The Rito then tried to pour the milk...only to spill the entire pitcher unto the floor. "...whoops! Sorry."
"No worries, Tulin! It takes some practice to get the hang of it. Here, let me get you another pitcher." Pit took the pitcher from Tulin and was about to refill, but then Joker (finally) intervened and stopped Pit in his tracks.
"Tulin simply isn't cut out for brewing coffee," Joker said to Pit, who raised his fingers as he was about to say something. Joker saw the move coming from a mile away. "He's not cut out for making curry either."
"I'm pretty good at greeting," stated Tulin, fancying his way of greeting others to be a unique talent of his. That's when Joker found some use in Tulin.
"Fine then, you can be our greeter. You can stand at the entrance and greet folks as they come in. It's so easy, even Pit can do it."
"I strongly beg to differ," disagreed Pit, only to later gasp when he remembered something that Tulin had mentioned earlier. "But wait! If Tulin's standing at the entrance then his dad might see him..."
"...which is exactly why I want him standing there." No, Joker didn't want to see Tulin literally get killed by his dad...the young man had something else entirely in mind.
Link and Zelda took Champion Zelda and the champions of Hyrule (minus Daruk, who was up in a tree) to the gardens, per the request of Champion Zelda. Mipha, Revali, and Urbosa were forbidden to break away from the group until Champion Zelda said so.
"You have to see this flower," Champion Zelda said to the champions, kneeling down on the ground as she held up a sunflower. Only Mipha seemed to care. "Don't you think it looks gorgeous?"
"It looks beautiful, princess," Mipha meekly replied, as Champion Zelda turned to Urbosa and Revali as she awaited their critique. Urbosa nudged Revali in his side, urging the Rito to speak.
"Prettier than any flower I've ever seen in Tabantha, hands down," Revali gave his (dis)honest critique of the sunflower, as Champion Link stuffed the sunflower in her pocket. Champion Zelda then went back to kneeling, as she inspected the other flowers.
"Can't believe that we're forced to watch the princess pick flowers," muttered Urbosa, who could've been at the beauty salon right now and getting a pedicure befitting for a Gerudo lady like her. Revali looked around, realizing that someone was missing.
"I just realized, Champion Link is nowhere to be found," Revali alerted Link and Zelda, who both seemed to be aware of Champion Link's absence as neither Hylian gave much of a reaction. They just stood around as if everything was okay.
"About time you noticed," smirked Link, as Revali scoffed at the Hylian and waved him off. Link was making him look bad. "He's probably stuck up in a tree, like Daruk."
"At least he has a paraglider to get him out," added Zelda, throwing in this humourous little quip just for the sake of it. Nobody seemed to care that much about Champion Link's well-being.
Daruk: Hello? Is that you, staring at me from below? Can you let somebody know that I'm stuck in a tree? So many people have passed me by, and not a single soul has noticed! That dog is still there...he's the ugliest dog I have ever seen! And I have seen my fair share of ugly dogs at Hyrule; some of them are even uglier than a Bokoblin.
"Alright, Lilligant, use Sunny Day!" Aerith commanded a Lilligant, which she had brought from the Pokemon sanctuary. Lilligant caused the sunlight to become harsh, giving some of the flowers in the gardens some much-needed photosynthesis.
"Is that Lilligant going to replace Viridi?" asked Cloud, who was in the gardens watching Aerith do her thing. Sonic was sneaking up on Cloud, maneuvering toward the swordsman as if he were a secret spy agent.
"Silly Cloud! No one can ever replace Viridi. Lilligant is just a fill-in for her." Aerith watered the flowers that she was tending with her water can, as Sonic was one step closer to reaching Cloud.
"Fill-in, huh? That's a nice way of saying that she's her replacement." Soon Cloud felt someone tapping on his leg, as he turned and saw Sonic standing by. "What do you want, Sonic?"
"Man, you're so rude! Never say 'what's up' or anything," Sonic shared his frustration with Cloud, not liking how the swordsman often treated anyone who wasn't in his personal group of friends. "Anyway, I wanted to give you a brief update on Conker."
"I assume that you came to your senses about this whole revival project." As the recent episodes have shown, Sonic did come to realize that such a project was simply unsustainable.
"Yeah, I kinda did. Conker said he moved on from Berri, and Moira wasn't game for starting the project. Dr. N. Tropy also told me that it wasn't worth it."
"Tried telling you that from the beginning, yet you never really listened. A little word for the wise, sometimes it's not worth it to..."
"Do my eyes deceive me? Mipha, my dear sister, is it really you? And Princess Zelda, and Revali, and Urbosa too...what a joyous occasion this is!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing, as they looked up and saw a tall male Zora standing on top of the roof. The Zora leaped down to the ground and stuck a perfect landing, right in front of Aerith.
"Stay back, Aerith...this guy might be trouble," Cloud said to the flower girl, sensing the Zora as a threat as he whipped out his Buster Sword. Sonic would follow suit as he got on the offensive.
"Lower your guard! Please pardon the interruption," the Zora said to Cloud and Sonic, standing up as he exuded confidence with his posture. No longer believing that the Zora was dangerous, Cloud and Sonic did as they were told and lowered their guard.
"Okay buddy, you better have a good explanation for why you jumped down like that," Sonic said to Zora, whom Mipha was almost able to recognize without fail. Mipha walked closer to the Zora, moving away from her group.
"Oh, pardon me...I am Sidon, the Zora prince!" The Zora known as Sidon flashed a smile, as there was a small twinkle in his mouth. A twinkle so legendary, that it could make any lady swoon. "And what is your name, talking blue hedgehog?"
"I'm Sonic, and that other there is Cloud," Sonic introduced himself and Cloud to Sidon, who liked what he saw as he nodded his head impressively. Sidon must be that easily impressed.
"Sonic and Cloud? What fantastic names! Excellent names indeed!" Sidon was exhibiting how friendly and energetic he was, and so far it was irking Cloud.
"Get a load of this guy," Cloud whispered to Aerith in a disparaging manner, fearing that Sidon might give him and Sonic a big fat hug or something. Mipha soon got close to Sidon, amazed at how tall the Zora was.
"Sidon? Is that you, brother?" Mipha asked the Zora, who would lock eyes with her sister. Sidon at first looked at Mipha in astonishment, before having the biggest smile on his face.
"Mipha! So good to see you again! Come and give your little brother a hug!" Rather than waiting on Mipha to initiate the hug, Sidon instead ran to his sister and hugged her himself.
"Such a happy family reunion!" gleamed Aerith as she had her hands clasped together, while Cloud failed to see the appeal. Sidon was so happy to see Mipha, that he picked her up and swung her around.
"This is incredible! Even as your little brother, I can pick you up as if you were an infant child!" Sidon was holding Mipha up high, like how a parent held a newborn baby, before placing his sister back on her feet.
"I see that you have grown a lot; you're no longer my little baby brother," Mipha said to Sidon, who looked up and saw Champion Zelda, Revali, and Urbosa gathered together. The very sight brought much joy to Sidon.
"Friends! It is I, Prince Sidon!" Sidon brought Mipha with him as he walked over to Champion Zelda and company, while Link and Zelda warily looked at the Zora wondering how he ended up at the mansion.
"No need for any introduction, we already know who you are," Champion Zelda smiled at Sidon, who smiled in return as his famous twinkle appeared yet again. Sidon looked at Revali and Urbosa, and then at Mipha as he was full of joy.
"I must say, it is beyond extraordinary to see all three of you in the flesh! Impossible even, dare I say, given that you all have met your end at the hands of..."
"Sorry if we're butting in," Link spoke up, cutting off Sidon as he and Zelda joined in on the conversation. Sidon was delighted to see the Hylian couple. "But are you really Mipha's little brother?"
"Another Link and Zelda?! First I see that my sister and the other Champions are alive and well, and now this? Quite the peculiar land that I winded up in!"
"That is kind of what we wanted to ask you about," Zelda said to Sidon, her and Link growing afraid that some meddling was done behind the scenes that resulted in Sidon's appearance. "How did you get here from Hyrule?"
"Uh, guys, we got more company!" Sonic alerted Link and Zelda, as he saw two individuals enter the gardens - a Rito and a Gerudo. Urbosa looked at the Gerudo with genuine intrigue, whereas Revali stared at the Rito with heavy disdain.
"Well, there's Sidon..." remarked the Gerudo, seeing Sidon gathered with Mipha and the others. Everyone in the group aside from Sidon captured the Gerudo's attention the most. "...and the Champions of Hyrule?"
"And Princess Zelda's with them, strangely enough," said the Rito, who took the time to notice that Daruk was absent from the group. "I'm amazed that they're even alive."
"Yup, somebody messed around with the teleportation device..." Link whispered to Zelda, who frowned as she inferred that Anna was perhaps responsible. It was a mistake to give her responsibility.
"Do you two have any relation to Sidon?" Zelda asked the Gerudo and Rito, hoping to get some answers out of them before dealing with Anna. Anna was bound to find herself in some deep trouble.
"Other than ending up here with him at the same time, not at all," the Gerudo replied, before feeling the need to introduce herself to Zelda and anyone else that wasn't familiar with her. "I am Riju, a descendant of the royal line and leader of the Gerudo people."
"And I'm Teba," the Rito introduced himself next, as Revali was still staring down at him while jealousy flowed through his veins. "I'm guessing that none of you have seen my son."
Revali: Just going to state this obvious fact, before anyone is stupid enough to refute it...that Teba guy wishes that he was even half as talented as I am. Everyone knows that I'm the most superior Rito around, and the greatest Rito to ever live, in fact. The rest of my feathery companions are all fighting for second place.
"Descendant of the royal line, you say?" Urbosa smirked at Riju as she waltzed over to the Gerudo, with a hand on her hip as she was most intrigued. "I take it that you must be a descendant of mine."
"I do believe that I am," responded Riju, feeling honored to be speaking with an ancestor such as Urbosa. It was a meeting of epic proportions.
"Princess Zelda, do you mind if I take Riju with me to the beauty salon?" Urbosa turned to ask Champion Zelda, knowing who she wanted to spend her entire day with. "We have a lot to talk about."
"You can go if you must," replied Champion Zelda, giving Urbosa the green light to take Riju with her out of the gardens. Urbosa and Riju both went inside the mansion, as Revali walked over to Teba with his arms folded.
"So you claim to be looking for your son," Revali said to Teba, whom he had no direct blood relation to unlike with Urbosa/Riju and Mipha/Sidon. "How about I help you find him?"
"Sure would appreciate a Champion's assistance," replied Teba, as he and Revali left the gardens together; Revali kept a close eye on Teba, refusing to keep the Rito out of his sight.
"I must ask, Sonic, have you been able to conquer your aquaphobia?" Mipha asked the blue hedgehog, as she recalled the swimming lesson she offered to Sonic in episode 63. Sonic was nervously scratching the back of his head.
"Not quite - I've been kinda busy," replied Sonic as he gave out his excuse, not at all liking where things were headed. "Why do you ask?"
"Our last swimming lesson didn't turn out...swimmingly, but maybe this time we can make it right. I'd love to teach you again, for old time's sake."
"Yes! A swimming lesson! Good thinking, Mipha!" smiled Sidon as he clenched his fist, with another twinkle appearing in his mouth. Sonic was likely to have two swimming teachers today. "First, we must find a perfect body of water for Sonic to swim in."
"Wait, I didn't agree to anything. Wait!" Sonic felt helpless as Sidon grabbed him by the hand, and led him inside the mansion. Mipha followed after Sidon, while Cloud looked on.
"This I got to see..." Cloud said quietly as he trailed closely behind Mipha, with Aerith frowning as she watched her boyfriend make his leave.
"Sonic's having a swimming lesson? That's gonna be a trainwreck," remarked Link, as he could already see Sonic splashing about in the water like he was falling in quicksand. Champion Zelda came over to Link and Zelda, needing to address something.
"Something is very wrong," stated Champion Zelda, who had a funny feeling building inside of her when she first saw Sidon. "The last I saw Sidon, he was a young child! No way he should be of adult age."
"We had the same suspicions ourselves," responded Zelda, who along with Link had grown very much concerned during Mipha's wholesome reunion with her little brother. "Sidon and the others might've come from a future Hyrule."
"Would explain why Riju called herself a descendent of Urbosa," added Link, knowing who was likely responsible. A certain merchant was definitely at fault. "We may have a paradox on our hands...but we'll get to the bottom of this very soon."
"Hopefully, you'll find out the answer soon," said Champion Zelda, who was beginning to feel lonely without Champion Link at her side. "While you do that, I'll go see what Link is up to."
"Link and Zelda, the teleportation device stopped working," Shulk arrived at the gardens to inform the Hylian couple, who were on their way to the teleportation room anyway. "You gotta come and check it out."
Champion Link was still at Omnis Adest, and he was assisting Master Hand with a little process of elimination - telling the giant hand which folks should stay at Omnis Adest and who shouldn't. Fortunately for the Hylian, he knew one group who belonged on the latter list.
"Baby goes KABOOM!" shouted Tiny Tina, pressing a button on a small remote as she caused some explosives attached to a fire hydrant to detonate. Water gushed out in an instant.
"Dang it! Accidentally shot another window," frowned Mordecai, who was practicing his marksmanship as he was firing with his gun. His aim was terribly off, as evidenced by the broken windows in his vicinity.
"Punching people in the face is so much fun!" exclaimed Brick, who was doing what he did best as he punched Bandanna Waddle Dee in the face. Bandanna Waddle Dee was hardly fighting back, taking his beating like a man.
"Can't believe this is my life right now..." muttered Lilith, the only Vault Hunter not causing that much trouble; the woman was sitting on the sidewalk, with her face buried in her hands.
"I can tell you for a fact that these four should go," Champion Link stressed to Master Hand, as he and the giant hand were watching the Vault Hunters (minus Lilith) do their thing. Master Hand for whatever reason was hesitant.
"But these four played a vital role in stopping white supremacy," stated Master Hand, stating the very justification why the Vault Hunters were allowed to stay at Omnis Adest. Champion Link smacked his forehead.
"You don't know that to be true. That's just some story that Anna told you." As Champion Link and Master Hand were speaking, Dark Riku was spying on them from afar.
"What the heck is white supremacy...?" Dark Riku furrowed his brow; the replica must not have seen any sort of racism in any world he has been to in the Kingdom Hearts universe.
Dark Riku: Personally, if I were in Champion Link's shoes, I would convince Master Hand to remove anyone that can remotely defend themselves. Able to hold your own in a fight? Your butt is outta here. But Champion Link, he's just going to have Master Hand remove all the weak links. Obviously not good for us.
Link and Zelda were notified by Shulk that the teleportation device wasn't working, so the Hylians followed the Homs to the teleportation room to see what the issue was. Both Link and Zelda knew from the jump that Anna was likely responsible.
"Have you met my new friend, Yunobo?" Anna asked Link and Zelda, as she was accompanied by a young Goron lad. For a Goron, Yunobo looked awfully timid, and a little fidgety even.
"I know that you're Princess Zelda and Link, but please don't hurt me!" Yunobo pleaded to Link and Zelda as he cowered in fear, showing off how cowardly he was. The manner in which he was shivering was not a good look.
"We never would get to meet Yunobo because he's..." said an angry Zelda, only to save her breath as she pinched the crown of her nose. After taking a deep breath, the princess regained her composure. "...what did you do to the device?"
"Nothing," claimed Anna, who was evidently lying through her teeth; Link and Zelda could see it, and Shulk could see it as well. "It just started acting crazy on its own!"
"Geo Stelar, what did Anna do?" Link asked the young man, who remained in the room as he was fixing some of the cords that he had tripped over. Granted nothing got loose, but Geo was certain that he broke something.
"Totally not like she turned the dial on the device or anything," replied Geo, as he effectively outed Anna; Anna grinned nervously at Link and Zelda. "Tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen."
"No, you did not! You were happy because more visitors were coming," asserted Omega-Xis, who was watching Geo plugging any cords back in although nothing was really unplugged. "Unwanted visitors, at that."
"Just because I was happy to see the new guys doesn't mean that I actually wanted them here!" Geo angrily stood up and confronted Omega-Xis, refusing to let his companion talk to him in any way.
"I hear arguing, why is there arguing?" inquired Dr. Wily as he ran inside the teleportation room, able to hear Geo and Omega-Xis from the hallway. "Tell me what the topic is so that I can present my best argument and come out on top!"
"Is he going to beat me up?" Yunobo asked Link and Zelda, thinking that Wily was the kind of old man that could easily kick his butt. If only he knew that Wily was really a coward.
"No one is arguing, Dr. Wily," Zelda informed the robot inventor, who let out a sad moan; Wily was looking forward to owning someone in a debate. "We were just reprimanding Anna here for meddling with the teleportation device."
"Well, that's what happens when you let a medieval merchant use super-advanced technology," remarked Wily, thinking that it was a mistake to let Anna anywhere near anything that wasn't a shop stand. "Results may vary - and for the worse!"
"Thanks to Anna, we have a few visitors from Champion Link's Hyrule, many years in the future," explained Link, and that's when Wily started to panic as he was taking deep breaths. "Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that."
"M-Many years in the future?!" fretted Wily as he looked at the teleportation device, with his heart rate increasing and his breathing becoming heavier. "So I was right about this device also being a..."
"Don't say it..." Zelda warned Wily, who proceeded to keep his mouth shut as he got down on the floor in a fetal position. Wily started sucking on his thumb as he rocked back and forth.
"Aw, he looks kinda cute like that!" smiled Anna, charmed by Wily in his fetal, frightened state; neither Link nor Zelda was smiling, as they were both frowning at Anna.
"You have less than five hours to get this device fixed..." Zelda delivered this ultimatum to Anna, whose smile turned upside down in an instant. Link and Zelda left the teleportation room, as Anna finally came to grips with her blunder.
Revali offered to help Teba with finding his son, but only so he could scrutinize the Rito. See just how inferior he was compared to him. Teba had to keep a close eye on Revali as he went through the hallway with him.
"Must say, it's an honor to meet you in person, Champion Revali," Teba said to the Rito, while keeping a moderate distance in case Revali tried to pull something funny. "I can easily tell that you're better than advertised."
"Way better than advertised, in my most humble opinion," asserted Revali, as he checked what kind of arrows Teba had on him. He was lowkey comparing his weaponry to Teba's. "Would show you how great I am, but sadly it would be too effortless for me."
"I can see that you are never running low on confidence. You're also more arrogant than advertised, dare I say."
"It's not arrogance, it's confidence. It only counts as arrogance if you can't back up what comes out of your mouth."
"You know, for a champion you sure could use some humble pie. Ever tried having some?" The very mention of humble pie prompted Revali to snort.
"Sorry pal, but humble pie isn't for me. Wouldn't mind a wildberry crepe, or even an egg tart, but humble pie? I'll pass."
Revali and Teba soon came across Cafe Leblanc, as they were greeted by a distinct coffee fragrance. When the Rito duo walked inside, Teba was greeted by the sight of a familiar face - his own son, Tulin, working as a greeter at the cafe.
"Welcome to Cafe Leblanc! Good afternoon!" Tulin greeted Samus, who had entered the cafe before Revali and Teba did. Samus just stared at Tulin, wondering why the young Rito was being so friendly with her.
"Whatever," responded Samus as she carried on, heading to the counter to order her cup of coffee. Tulin was personally offended by how rude the bounty hunter acted toward him.
"That was such a horrible response! I can tell that she doesn't have any friends." To be fair, Samus did have friends...granted the list was small, but it was better than being friendless. Like Master Hand. Ayo!
"Tulin! What are you doing here?" Teba asked, his voice filled with surprise and delight. Tulin looked up from his post at the entrance and beamed when he saw his father standing with Revali.
"Dad! It's so good to see you!" exclaimed Tulin as he ran over to Teba, giving him a hug. After the hug was over, Tulin saw Revali standing by. "Is that the former Rito Champion, Revali?"
"What do you mean by former?" questioned Revali, confused by the young Rito's word choice; Teba looked over at the counter and saw the baristas at work.
"Here is your coffee, Miss Aran," Kirby said to the bounty hunter after giving her a frappuccino that he made himself. Samus took a sip of her coffee and she went to go take a seat.
"Who are your new friends?" Teba asked, gesturing toward Kirby and the other baristas; Tulin took Teba's hand as he brought his dad over to the counter.
"The boy with the wings is Pit, the girl is Viridi, Joker is the one wearing glasses, and that cat guy standing in the back is Incineroar," Tulin happily introduced the baristas to Teba, although that was one barista that was left out. "And that's Kirby! He's the best chef in all of Dream Land. He's the reason this cafe is so popular!"
"Mostly debatable," Kirby muttered under his breath, before looking up at Teba. Pit looked at Teba, worried that the Rito would take his son away. "So you must be Tulin's dad. It's nice to meet you."
Kirby: The best chef in Dream Land is a title that I'm not really proud of. Not that I'm ashamed of it, mind you. When your only competition is Chef Kawasaki, the title doesn't have that much merit to it.
"Please don't take Tulin away from us, we just met him today!" Pit pleaded to Teba with begging hands, preferring that Tulin stayed as a greeter until Cafe Leblanc closed. The angel had earlier concocted a plan in his mind that involved keeping Tulin at the cafe forever.
"This is an eclectic group of workers, I tell you what," Teba gave his honest critique on the baristas, as he found no fault in any of them. That opinion may change, however, if Pit were to serve him.
"They're also the best friends that a bird can ask for!" exclaimed Tulin, who fell in favor with the baristas already. It pleased Teba to know that his son was seamlessly making new friends. "How about a give you a tour of the cafe."
"That won't be necessary, son." But it didn't matter to Tulin, as he grabbed Teba's hand and whisked him away. Revali would meet with the baristas at the cafe shortly after Teba and Tulin were gone.
"He has a good kid, he really does," the Rito had this to say about Teba, not even bothering to greet the baristas. Tulin would be most ashamed. "But make no mistake about it - I'm better at him in every way possible."
"We have a new item on the menu - humble pie, in case you were wondering," Joker smiled at Revali, causing the Rito to frown; Revali scoffed as he took a seat on the barstool.
"Very funny...no wonder they call you Joker. So how about you cool it with the jokes, and fix me a bowl of curry? I'm starving."
Daruk was stuck up in a tree, and Mario had set out to find something that would get the Goron down. Until Mario got back, though, Yoshi and Poochy gave Daruk some company - with a dash of moral support on the side.
"Have no fear, Daruk, for I will keep you safe!" Yoshi assured the Goron, while Poochy was standing at his feet panting and wagging his tail in excitement. "Woof, woof!"
"Don't bark like that, it gives me anxiety!" pleaded Daruk, very much a nervous wreck as he saw Poochy down below. The way that Poochy was looking at him with his smiley mug bothered him greatly. "Mario, where are you?"
"Here-a I am!" announced Mario as he returned to the tree, bringing Simon Belmont with him. In Simon's hands was a chainsaw, and Daruk figured out what the vampire hunter was about to do.
"Just for the record, using this chainsaw might be extremely dangerous," Simon warned Mario, not knowing how powerful the chainsaw was. There was an off-chance that the chainsaw might go berserk. "Only because I have never used a chainsaw before."
"Then why did you tell-a me that you used a chainsaw before?" Mario questioned Simon, who had nothing to say for himself as he looked down at the chainsaw.
"I don't know." Simon's experience with operating chainsaws was evidently nonexistent, and it made Daruk all the more worried about getting down safely.
Simon: When Mario approached me, I told him that I have used a chain. *pulls out his chain whip* Such as this chain whip. Then I told him that I have also used a saw... *pauses* ...chainsaw. So that's where I messed up.
"Do you think you could use-a that chainsaw to get Daruk out of that tree?" Mario asked the vampire hunter, pointing at the tree; Yoshi raised an eyebrow, as he was not a fan of the method.
"A chainsaw? That seems a bit excessive, don't you think?" he asked, fearing that Simon might screw up and hurt Daruk...and himself. With the tree or with the chainsaw, or both, it didn't matter.
"This is the only way. Just turn-a that chainsaw on, Simon, and cut-a the tree diagonally." Hoping for the best, Simon let out a sigh as he pulled on the chainsaw to rev it up.
"Back away...this might get ugly," Simon warned Mario and Yoshi, who did as they were told as he took a few steps back from the vampire hunter. Daruk peeked out from behind the tree, eyeing the chainsaw warily.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked nervously, seeing that Simon was unable to maintain steady control of the chainsaw. Almost cut his face open trying to wield it properly.
"Don't worry, Daruk, Simon's got this," Mario nodded confidently, seconds after Simon was holding the chainsaw the way it should be held. Simon approached the tree, ready to take a swing.
"If for any reason I mortally wound myself and die...tell Richter he can have my secret stash of baguettes," Simon said to Mario and Yoshi, before turning around and facing the tree. Just as he was about to bring the chainsaw down, the blade suddenly jammed.
"Mama Mia..." uttered Mario as the chainsaw sputtered and died, leaving Simon holding a useless tool. Mario later let out a defeated groan. "...great. Now what do we do?"
"Maybe you should just let me come down on my own," suggested Daruk, who couldn't help but chuckle at the misfortune that happened to Simon. On the plus side, at least nobody got hurt. "Just remove the dog from the premises."
"I know, let's lure him down with some traditional Goron cuisine," recommended Yoshi, as nobody bothered to remove Poochy from the scene. Yoshi departed from the tree momentarily and later came back holding a pile of rocks.
"Bold of you to assume that Gorons can only eat rocks," Simon said to Yoshi, who grabbed a handful of rocks and held them out for Daruk to see. Daruk wasn't moving an inch.
"C'mon, it's limestone! Your favorite!" When luring Daruk down didn't work, Yoshi instead threw the rocks at the Goron, nailing him in the face. Daruk yelped in pain as he clutched his head.
"Gah, you almost got me in the eye!" Daruk frowned at Yoshi after the green dinosaur struck him in the crown of his nose. The Goron had to check for any signs of bleeding.
"My bad, I was aiming for your mouth. Let me take another..." Yoshi was about to throw more rocks at Daruk, but Mario stopped him as he grabbed a hold of his arm mid-throw.
"That won't be necessary," Mario told Yoshi, as he took the rocks from the green dinosaur and looked to put them back where they belonged. The plumber then said to Simon, "Hey, thanks-a for trying, anyway. I'll stick to a new method."
"Sure hope so," responded Simon, still a bit embarrassed by his failed attempt. It was something that he may not live down for the rest of his day.
Urbosa was in desperate need of some relaxation, which was why she was feigning to get to the beauty salon as soon as possible. She wouldn't be alone, for she had fellow royalty in Riju to be her spa mate. Urbosa and Riju wasted no time in making their way to the beauty salon, as the Gerudo ladies hoped to get a massage to ease their troubles. And their bodies.
"We never have anything like this at the Hotel Oasis," Riju spoke with Urbosa while sitting in the spa, greeted by the soothing scent of lavender and the sound of gentle music. The Gerudo, along with Urbosa, was waiting for a bed to be available.
"Hotel Oasis? Tell me more," Urbosa implored, smiling as she rested her chin on her hand. She wanted Riju to tell her all the details, and leave nothing out.
"It's pretty much an inn in Gerudo Town that comes with an eighty-rupee spa plan. The water will leave your skin shiny and smooth."
"Eighty rupees for a spa plan doesn't sound that shabby. I do hope that you keep any non-Gerudo out of this inn, at whatever cost."
"We do our best to keep out any cross-dressers wearing Gerudo clothing. More often than not, the excess armpit hair gives the usual suspects away."
"There's a table that's available for one of you," Bayonetta informed Urbosa and Riju as she stepped out of the massage room, one that Vault Boy walked out of shirtless while holding a towel. Urbosa and Riju both got up, before exchanging looks with one another.
"You can go ahead and take it, I insist," Riju offered to Urbosa, letting the Gerudo take the available massage table since she was the original Gerudo champion. But Urbosa wouldn't take up on the offer, for she felt that something was amiss.
"Why is only one bed available? Not two?" Urbosa questioned Bayonetta, believing that the Umbra Witch was withholding some information. And there was a high probability that she was.
"I hate to say it, but two space pilots had already made their reservations," replied Bayonetta, and Urbosa scowled knowing who these space pilots were. "Don't believe me? Come and see for yourself..."
So Urbosa and Riju followed Bayonetta to the massage room, and there they found Fox and Falco, both on the massage tables getting their backs massaged by Wii Fit Trainer and her male counterpart, respectively. The pilots were enjoying it.
"Had no idea that my back had so many knots..." said Fox, who felt like he was in perfect bliss as Wii Fit was chopping away at his back. Male Wii Fit, meanwhile, was doing compressions on Falco's neck.
"You break my neck, and you're a dead man," Falco warned Male Wii Fit, who smiled knowing that he wouldn't be the dead man if a broken neck were to happen to Falco. Some very dark thoughts in Male Wii Fit's head.
"Fox! Falco! What are you doing here?" questioned Urbosa, as she remained angry; the Wii Fit Trainers paused their massages, as they and the pilots saw Urbosa standing by with Riju.
"What are you doing here?" Fox countered as he sat up quickly, pulling the blanket over himself like he had a body part or two to hide. "And who's that Gerudo chick? Is she your daughter?"
"If she is your daughter, does that mean Gerudo can do asexual reproduction?" asked Falco, asking a question so ridiculous that Fox stared at him inquisitively. Everyone else had similar reactions. "Since, you know..."
"Riju here is more of a descendant," Urbosa answered to the best of her ability, keeping Riju's relationship with her as ambiguous as possible. "However, her relation to me is not relevant. I would like to know, why you are both having a massage?"
"We could ask you the same thing," replied Fox, who would've asked the very same question if Urbosa and Riju were in his and Falco's shoes. "I didn't take you for the type to enjoy a massage."
"Even warriors need to relax sometimes, McCloud. And this spa has come highly recommended."
"Could say that it's high quality. We could all use a bit of pampering, right?"
"Hey boys, sorry I'm late!" shouted MC Ballyhoo as he came running inside the massage room, before taking his clothes off and hopping stomach-first on the available massage table. "Massage therapy, chop chop! Let's move!"
"I take it that he has made a reservation too?" Riju asked Bayonetta, who kept her lips pursed as she was reluctant to answer. Urbosa groaned as she stormed out of the massage room, with Riju following after her.
Urbosa: My spa day is ruined, all thanks to those pilots. But the day is still young; I still have time to kick those boys to the curb. *snaps her fingers, causing a lightning bolt to appear*
Goemon: *from afar* Thunderstorm is coming, a thunderstorm is coming! BUT IT'S STILL LIGHT OUTSIDE!
Urbosa: Change of plans...I won't be using any electricity to give those pilots the boot. But the women of this mansion, on the other hand...
Sonic the Hedgehog, the speedy blue blur, had always been a master of running, but swimming was another story. In fact, Sonic sucked at swimming, and his fear of water was likely to blame.
In her first interaction with Sonic, Mipha offered a swimming lesson to the blue hedgehog in the hopes of helping him conquer his aquaphobia. Even with the involvement of the Inklings, nothing seemed to work. But with her taller younger brother Sidon at her side, Mipha aimed to make things right this time.
"I am so going to drown," Sonic muttered under his breath standing at the side of the mansion's lake. Mipha dove gracefully into the water, her long fins trailing behind her while Sidon stood near Sonic, his muscular arms crossed.
Mipha: I would've preferred to do Sonic's swimming lessons at the pool. But sadly that crocodile peed in it. Mr. Game and Watch was most displeased.
Mr. Game and Watch: First Louie clogs up his toilet, then the pool outside gets contaminated, then I had to clean up around Omnis Adest, then the windows in the lounge get broken, then I have to clean up after the Cinco de Mayo fiesta, then I have to... *groans* ...these people know just how to drive a man crazy.
"Okay, Sonic," Mipha said as she poked her head out from the water's surface, looking at her petrified pupil in Sonic. "The first thing you need to do is relax. Swimming is all about feeling the water around you."
"Got it. Relax," responded Sonic as he nodded his head, taking a deep breath. "Feel the water." The blue hedgehog had his eyes closed for a brief moment, before opening them back up.
"Good, good!" Sidon chimed in, as the devilish side of him wanted to push Sonic into the lake unprovoked just to see his reaction. Anything for the laughs. "Now, let's start with some basic strokes. Mipha, why don't you demonstrate the front crawl?"
"Good thinking, brother," replied Mipha, as she gracefully sliced through the water with her arms and legs. Sonic watched in awe, impressed by her fluid movements. Mipha came to a stop after she swam enough.
"Okay, Sonic, now you try," Sidon said to the blue hedgehog after his sister had reached a stopping point. Sonic took a deep breath and jumped into the water, trying to mimic Mipha's movements. But as soon as he hit the water, he started flailing wildly, splashing water everywhere.
"Help, help!" Sonic called out for help, as both Mipha and Sidon exchanged a worried glance. Sonic was splashing about, and Cloud had a front-row seat as he was sitting in a lawn chair close to the lake.
"Looking like a real professional out there," the swordsman called out to Sonic, as Aerith saw her man sitting in the lawn chair and came over. "Didn't think that it would be this entertaining."
"So this is where you ran off to," Aerith said to Cloud with her hands on her hips, finding it unlike the swordsman to watch someone fail. "You find enjoyment in this, Cloud?"
"Got an extra seat for you. Got a cold one in the cup holder." Cloud gestured to the lawn chair that was next to him, which was unoccupied. To his surprise, Aerith sat down in the lawn chair and relaxed.
"Sonic, are you okay?" Mipha asked the blue hedgehog, who emerged from the water coughing and sputtering. The infamous Sonic drowning music was likely playing in Sonic's head while he was flailing about.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," replied Sonic, although he was clearly far from fine. "Just need to get the hang of it." Sidon shared a look with Mipha, before diving into the water and swimming over to Sonic.
"Maybe we should try a different approach," suggested Sidon, wanting to do a swimming lesson that was easy for Sonic to clear without much trouble. "How about we teach you how to float first?"
"That would be nice," replied Sonic, as he took the time to recuperate from his freakout. Cloud made out a head sticking out from the water just beyond Sonic and company squinting his eyes as he made it out.
"Does that look like a sea monster to you?" the swordsman asked Aerith, who held her hand over her eyes as she made out the supposed sea creature. The creature had green skin, sharp teeth, and was wearing a helmet over its head.
Teba had always been impressed by his son Tulin's courage and determination, amazed by the young Rito's natural talent for archery. He believed that Tulin was a jack-of-all-trades, adept at anything...and so that's why he asked his son to do him a favor at Cafe Leblanc.
"What? You want me to brew you a cup of coffee?" Tulin asked Teba, unsure if his father was asking the right person for the job. His first crack at using the coffee machine didn't go so well.
"You work at the cafe, which means that you must have to pull your weight around here," replied Teba, knowing for a fact that Tulin wasn't only just the greeter for Cafe Leblanc. Quite frankly, though, he was. "Show me what you got."
"Okay then...here goes nothing." So Tulin led Teba to behind the counter, feeling nervous as his father was watching his every move. Tulin carefully measured out the coffee grounds, boiled the water to just the right temperature, and poured it over the grounds with a steady hand.
"You're doing it wrong," Pit notified Tulin, causing the young Rito to stumble and pour the boiled water onto the floor. Almost wanted some of the boiled water on him, as Pit laughed. "Ha, I was just kidding!"
"Pit, that was not funny!" Viridi scolded her boyfriend, who was showing regret only because it was Viridi putting him on blast. Would be different had it been either one Joker or Kirby.
"Look at what you've done, you made Tulin upset," Kirby said to Pit, as Tulin was looking down at the floor likely thinking that he was a screw-up. Pit was feeling bad now.
"Tulin dodged a bullet, thanks to Pit," said Revali, injecting himself into the conversation only because he wanted to. "He would've brewed coffee that would've been no better than anything that I could brew."
"Then in that case, you give it a try," Joker volunteered Revali, as he put the Rito on the spot; all eyes were on Revali, who was used to pressure as he rose from his barstool.
"Step aside, and let a pro handle this." So everyone behind the counter moved out of the way, giving Revali some room to work his magic. Revali did everything that Tulin had done a moment ago (minus spilling the boiled water), as he made what was in his mind the perfect coffee brew.
"Who knew that a bird like him could be so good at brewing coffee?" said Samus, with Revali giving the bounty hunter a glare as he handed his perfectly brewed coffee to Tulin. Tulin had the honor of being the first to taste Revali's coffee.
"Thanks, Revali," Tulin thanked the Rito, as the the aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air. Tulin took a tentative sip, as Revali was eager to hear the young Rito's critique.
"What do you think?" asked Revali as he leaned in close to Tulin, waiting to hear words of praise and...well, even more praise. "Tastes great, doesn't it?" Suddenly Tulin spat the coffee in Revali's face, and a few giggles were heard.
"This is the worst beverage I've ever had! Nothing about it is redeemable." If Tulin wasn't a child, Revali would've angrily strangled the Rito right in front of his father, without much of a care in the world.
"Maybe Revali did something wrong during the brewing process," assumed Teba, as Revali scoffed knowing that he didn't mess up. Revlai never messes up - Revali said so. "Let me brew a cup."
"Don't even bother - the coffee beans are probably past their expiration date," Revali said to Teba, who went ahead and used the coffee machine. Teba made sure to do the same steps that Revali did, and presto, a cup of coffee was made.
"Try this." Teba offered the coffee to his son, and Tulin took the cup and sipped it. Everyone was interested in hearing what Tulin's thoughts were.
"He doesn't like it, calling it right now," guaranteed Revali, expecting Tulin to give out the same critique as before. But then Tulin's eyes grew wide - eyes full of joy.
"This coffee is so much better!" exclaimed Tulin, as Teba was most pleased; Revali on the other hand was shocked, his mouth agape. "It's smooth and rich, with just the right amount of sweetness."
"I'm glad you liked it, son," smirked Teba as he placed his hand on Tulin; Revali wiped the funny look off of his face before coming over to speak with Teba.
Revali: I'll admit it, Teba is better than me...at making coffee. That's just one thing. I'm better than Teba at everything else! The day that Teba will be better than me in every way possible is a day that will never come.
"Gotta hand it to you, you must know how to make a good brew!" Revali gave his props to Teba, whose eyes were wide with surprise. Meant a lot for Teba to be praised by a Champion Revali. "How did you learn to make coffee like that?"
"I guess it just came to me naturally," Teba shrugged as he came off as humble - and humility was one thing that Revali could learn from his Rito counterpart. "It's not that hard once you get the hang of it, I suppose."
No one was set to be removed from Omins Adest today, but Champion Link was giving Master Hand a general idea of who deserved to leave in the days and weeks coming forward. As far as who was most deserving, Champion Link mainly prioritized those who weren't capable. In other words, folks who had no special powers or abilities.
"I once had a cool ninja sword," Harvey said to Champion Link and Master Hand, who were both chatting with the hippie dog outside his RV. Harvey was presenting his best case for why he should remain at Omnis Adest.
"Then let us see this ninja sword," demanded Master Hand as he held his hand out, expecting Harvey to drop the ninja sword in his hand. Harvey was tense, a drop of sweat running down his face.
"Actually, Ryu Hayabusa has joint ownership of the blade...I'll be right back." Harvey ran inside his RV and slammed the door behind him. Champion Link and Master Hand knew for a fact that Harvey wasn't coming back out.
"He's definitely not staying around any longer," remarked Master Hand, as the only thing that could keep Harvey from getting the boot would be having an actual ninja sword. Even if he did have one, it wouldn't be enough.
"You can say that again," replied Champion Link, knowing that Omnis Adest wouldn't miss a beat if guys like Harvey were to be removed. "Was adding him to Omnis Adest your call, or Link and Zelda's call?"
"It was more or less my call. Remember when I said that I wanted more friends? Yeah..." Master Hand desired to be friends with a hippie dog? Champion Link found that to be laughable.
"If you ask me, having a lot of friends isn't all that. What you should really want to have, more than anything else...is respect."
"Respect? Is that more important than having friends?" A pretty loaded question to answer, but Champion Link nonetheless nodded his head. "Hmm..."
"Link! I've been looking all over for you," Champion Zelda called out to Champion Link, showing up near Harvey's RV. Champion Link smiled, delighted to know that one of his friends came back for him.
"Heh, I was getting worried that you guys forgot about me," remarked Champion Link, as Champion Zelda made her way over to the Hylian and Master Hand. Soon a person wearing a black robe appeared from behind the RV, with a dark Keyblade.
"Princess Zelda, look out!" shouted Master Hand, as Champion Zelda turned around and saw Dark Riku sneaking up on her. Dark Riku grabbed Champion Zelda, holding her tight with his Soul Eater Keyblade over her neck.
"Don't come any closer," Dark Riku yelled at Champion Link, who instinctively whipped out his Master Sword. A swordfight was on the cusp of happening. "Make one step, and the princess gets it."
"You let her go this instant!" demand Champion Link, as Dark Riku smirked knowing that such a demand would have no effect on him. Dark Riku in fact relished seeing Champion Link so angry and protective.
"His blade is close to my neck..." said Champion Zelda, fearing that Dark Riku might use his Soul Eater to slice her jugular open. Slicing that vein open would spell the end for the princess.
"Is this how you would treat a princess?" Master Hand questioned Dark Riku, about to say something that would cut in deep into the replica. "You fake Riku?"
"I'm the real Riku!" proclaimed Dark Riku, causing Master Hand to snort; Dark Riku was always adamant that he was the real deal. "And as the real Riku, I've had my way with many princesses. This one will be no different."
"Guys, here is my ninja sword!" shouted Harvey as stepped out of his RV, swinging the ninja sword in question up high...the sword was actually two brown paper tubes glued together to resemble a sword. Everyone gave Harvey weird looks.
Harvey: Yeah, I took the paper tubes from my bathroom and kitchen, and glued 'em together to make this! *holds up homemade ninja sword* Ryu Hayabusa would be so proud of me.
"Ha! That's the most pathetic sword I've ever seen," scoffed Dark Riku, who felt personally offended by how lame Harvey's "ninja sword" looked. "Can you even fight with that thing?"
"Probably not, but check this out," said Champion Link, as he swung his sword and fired a beam of light at Dark Riku, striking him in the face. Dark Riku was in pain as he released his hold on Champion Zelda.
"Thank you, Link!" thanked Champion Zelda as she ran away from Dark Riku while the replica was holding his face in pain. Champion Link figured that Champion Zelda wouldn't be safe outside.
"Zelda, get inside the RV with Harvey," Champion Liink instructed the princess, before staring down at Dark Riku after the replica had recovered. "This might get ugly..."
"But my cool ninja sword!" whined Harvey, who wanted to try his ninja sword out - would be probably for the best if he tried it out on someone other than Dark Riku.
"You heard the man, get inside!" boomed Master Hand, who scurried inside the RV as Champion Link followed him in. Harvey closed the door to his RV, as Champion Link and Dark Riku were ready to throw down.
"I have to admit, that was a nice trick you pulled off," Dark Riku gave his props to Champion Link, as he manifested his dark powers. Darkness was radiating all over his body. "But wait until you get a load of this!"
Urbosa couldn't believe her luck. She and Riju had just wanted a quiet and peaceful massage, but Fox, Falco, and MC Ballyhoo took the massage tables in the massage area. While Fox and Falco made a reservation, Ballyhoo did not.
"I got one tip that you boys should abide by," Ballyhoo said to Fox and Falco, as his back was massaged by Donkey Kong. Strong, firm hands massaging his back - Ballyhoo couldn't ask for anything better.
"Lay it on us," said Fox, his ears tuned for the sage advice that Ballyhoo was about to give out concerning running a record label. Despite the fact that Ballyhoo has never really run a record label before.
"In order for your record label to stay afloat, you gotta stick with the current times. Do what everyone else is doing, and you'll be A-OK!"
"But we like going against the grain. Following mainstream methods is not that cool."
"Going against the grain is fine if done occasionally, not as a standard business tactic. Ever wondered how you ended up in the red in the first place?"
"Can you believe this guy, Falco? He thinks that not going 'mainstream' is why we're trending downwards...Falco?" Fox saw that Falco was enjoying his back massage too much, enjoying himself as his eyes were closed.
"Couldn't hear you, too busy floating on cloud nine," replied Falco, as Male Wii Fit was massaging his lower back. Fox shook his head at Falco, only to notice that Urbosa and Riju had returned.
"Better get out of cloud nine...guess who came back." Not knowing who exactly Fox was referring to, Falco opened his eyes and sat up, and saw Urbosa and Riju standing before him.
"As the Gerudo champion, I demand that you boys surrender those massage tables or else," Urbosa commanded Fox and Falco, letting the pilots know who they were dealing with. "Your friend must go with you as well."
"Aw, but this is my first time being here!" whined Ballyhoo, who did not want his day to end; he'd pay good money to have Donkey Kong massage his back every day if he wanted to.
"You might be champion, but you can't boss us around like that," said Fox, who was so comfortable resting on the massage table that he didn't feel like getting off anytime soon. "We'll let you take it after we're done."
"Fine then, have it your way," Urbosa responded before looking at Riju as she was forced to take matters into her own hands. "Riju, call forth the cavalry."
Riju whistled into her fingers, and after the call was made, three ladies entered the massage room - Raven, Min Min, and Alex. Fox and Falco both looked awfully intimidated, as their massages came to a stop.
"You've brought this upon yourselves..." Wii Fit said to the pilots, as she and her male counterpart backed off and promptly sneaked out of the massage room. They didn't want any part of what was about to befall Fox and Falco.
"You boys have overstayed your welcome," Riju said to Fox and Falco, as Urbosa towered over the pilots with a fierce look in her eyes while her three-lady brigade was at her side. It was at that moment, Fox and Falco knew that they were in trouble.
"No hard feelings, amirite?" Fox asked Urbosa with a nervous smile, as the ferocity in Urbosa's eyes grew even more. The pilot was dealing with the wrong Gerudo lady.
"Shall we tip the scales, Lady Gerudo?" Raven asked Urbosa, holding out her tome as if she was about to cast some nasty spells on the pilots. "Or shall we tip the massage tables instead?"
"I'm on it," volunteered Min Min as she extended her ARMS, grabbing the massage tables and tilting them over. Fox and Falco both slid off the tables and unto the floor, as Urbosa stood over them.
"I'm scared..." Falco said to Fox, as he hugged the pilot tight; Fox would've rejected Falco's hug, but he was just as afraid as his avian pilot friend was.
"Should we save them?" Ballyhoo asked Donkey Kong, while he was still being massaged by the gorilla. The emcee had a front-row seat of seeing Fox and Falco getting their butts handed to them by Urbosa and her lady companions.
"Nah, just relax and enjoy the show," replied Donkey Kong, leaving Ballyhoo helpless as Urbosa, Riju, and the other ladies all ganged up on Fox and Falco. In hindsight, perhaps reserving those massage tables wasn't the best idea.
Daruk was still up in the tree, as he was keeping away from Poochy. Mario, Yoshi, and Poochy stood at the base of the tree, and Mario tried every method he could think of to get Daruk down. But nothing seemed to work.
"You know, I could ask Spyro to ram-a the tree," said Mario as he scratched his chin, as his brother Luigi joined him at the tree's base to see what was up. "But then Daruk might fall on him and crush-a him!"
"Hey, Mario," Luigi greeted his twin brother, before looking up at the tree and seeing Daruk on the tree branches. "Hey, Daruk! What are you doing up there?" Luigi called out to the Goron.
"Long story," Daruk groaned in response, not man enough to admit that Poochy had him scared straight. Luigi might judge him. "Can you help me get down?"
"Sure thing, buddy! Just hold on tight!" Luigi rolled up his sleeves, and jumped up trying to grab Daruk's hand - but the Goron was just out of reach. Luigi hopped again, but still couldn't quite reach.
"Stop it, Luigi, you don't have-a the Super Jump," Mario said to his twin brother, who was forced to give up after a third attempt at jumping. "Trust me, I've tried jumping myself."
Mario: I can do a Super Jump, but it usually depends-a on what kind of shoes I wear. Regrettably, I don't have the right-a pair on today.
"Okay, Plan B," Luigi said, scratching his head; he looked around, searching for another solution. Then an idea came to mind, as he dug into his pocket and pulled out a mushroom. "Hey, Daruk! Catch!"
"A mushroom?" Daruk raised an eyebrow, as Luigi threw the mushroom up at him. Daruk caught the mushroom with his hand. "What's this for, Luigi?"
"Just eat it! You'll shrink-a down and I can carry you down safely!"
"Are you sure that's a good idea? What if it gives me an upset stomach?"
"Trust me!" Luigi gave Daruk his full confidence, as Daruk looked at the mushroom skeptically. But then Daruk shrugged and ate the mushroom, only to spit it out seconds later.
"Blegh! That tastes disgusting! No clue how you and Mario can eat mushrooms like that." After spitting out the mushroom, Daruk shrieked slightly as he heard Poochy barking at him.
"Take it easy, little guy, you got it!" Shulk said to Yunobo, as he escorted the young Goron out of the mansion and to Mario's front yard. Yunobo was taking delicate steps, certain that a monster was going to jump out of nowhere and attack him.
"I'm no little guy, I'm a Goron!" proclaimed Yunobo, feeling courageous but for only a brief moment. "I'm big and strong, and...is that Daruk?" Yunobo and Shulk soon came across the tree that Daruk was hiding in and saw the Goron in question.
"Somebody called my name?" Daruk perked up, as he looked down and saw Yunobo and Shulk gathered with Mario and the others. The Goron smiled upon seeing Yunobo. "Well, if it isn't another Goron!"
"You're Daruk! I'm a descendant of yours!" Yunobo pointed at Daruk, amazed that he could see the Goron champion in all of his glory. His fear of dogs aside. "How are you still alive?!"
"That's a good question. Mario's dog is gonna be the death of me if I can't get down soon!" Daruk let out a chuckle, and that's when Mario furrowed his brow.
"Wait, so you're scared-a of Poochy?" Mario asked Daruk as he scooped up Poochy and held him in front of him. "Why didn't you say so?" Daruk had a lot to say for himself, as he nervously looked around.
"Because I was worried that you would make fun of me. Didn't want anyone to think that I'm a coward."
"But that's not true - you're far from a coward!" stated Yunobo, hating to find Daruk in the scared state that he was in. "The Dark that I hear stories about would never be scared of some dog. He's brave and courageous!"
"Brave and courageous? Yeah! That's my middle name! Why would I ever let some dog scare me up into a tree?"
"So does that mean you're gonna come down?" Yunobo was hoping for Daruk to scale down the tree and face his fears, and that's what Daruk did as he gently climbed down the tree. Once he was back on his feet, Daruk was face-to-face with Poochy.
"May I?" the Goron asked Mario, who nodded his head as he gave Daruk permission to pet Poochy. Daruk reluctantly petted Poochy's head at first, but then got over himself, smiling as his fear subsided. "What a good dog!"
"Now was that so hard?" Mario asked Daruk, who got licked in the face by Poochy. "Seems like he really likes-a you!" Daruk wiped the saliva off his face, as the lack didn't keep him from liking Poochy any less.
Revali gained a newfound respect for Teba, acknowledging the fact that the Rito was better at brewing coffee than he was. As Revali came to grips with the fact, he stood by himself in the hallway as he looked out of a window.
"Look at that - Mipha's giving free swimming lessons," Revali said to Teba, who joined the Rito at the window and saw Sonic, Mipha, and Sidon out in the lake. "I don't need any lessons because I'm simply too good."
"Didn't know that birds can swim," responded Teba, as he looked up and frowned when he saw a portal opening in the sky. He tapped Revali on his shoulder to get his attention. "You see that, up there?"
Sonic's swimming lesson with Mipha and Sidon continued, as the blue hedgehog had learned how to float. Now he was learning how to swim, but he had to do it without any assistance. That was the one hurdle he had yet to cross.
"You can let go of my hand, Sonic," Sidon said to the blue hedgehog, who was holding onto the Zora prince's hand as he swam in the lake's surface. "You must let go, and blossom!"
"He is never letting go of his hand," Cloud said to Aerith, who giggled as she and her man were sitting in their lawn chairs. Suddenly, Sonic heard a loud cackling, and it came from up above.
"What in the world is that noise?" wondered Sonic, he and Sidon stopping mid-stroke as the swimming lesson was put on hold. Mipha and Sidon looked up and saw that the source of the noise was none other than Zant, who came out from the Twilight portal in the sky.
"We have company..." alerted Sidon, but Zant wasn't the only bad guy that would be making his appearance; Gnasty Gnorc rose out from the water and unto the shoreline, shaking the water off of him,
"It was a mistake hiding in the lake...good thing I didn't drown," the Gnorc remarked as he took off his helmet and got a Remoraid out of it, tossing it back into the water. Gnasty then put his helmet back on his head.
"What are those two doing here?" Aerith muttered to Cloud, who had a funny feeling that the head he saw poking out from the lake looked familiar. That head was none other than Gnasty Gnorc.
Zant and Gnasty Gnorc had somehow managed to sneak into Zora's Domain undetected, and now they were causing all sorts of havoc. Zant was blasting everything in sight with his dark magic, while Gnasty Gnorc was stumbling around and accidentally knocking things over with his massive horns.
"What's the big deal, you're interrupting our swimming lesson!" a furious Sonic shouted at Zant and Gnasty, who didn't seem to care for the blue hedgehog that much. For their eyes were squarely on Mipha...and Sidon could see it.
"If it's my sister that you're after, you can't have her!" Sidon shouted at Zant and Gnasty as he wrapped his arm around Mipha in an overprotective manner. "Leave her be!"
"I'm afraid that we simply cannot leave her be," Zant cordially stated as he floated closer to Mipha and Sidon, as Sidon was standing his ground. "I ask that you surrender your sister, and the other Champions, or else..."
Zant didn't come any closer, as an arrow - no, two arrows - was fired at his head. The arrows stuck in his helmet, Zant looked down and saw Revali and Teba, armed with their bows and arrows.
"Said you were looking for the Champions?" Revali asked Zant, daring to fire a Bomb Arrow at the king of Twili if he was asking for one. "Congrats, buddy, you got one right here."
"Why you..." Gnasty growled at Revali as he charged forward at the Rito, his horns gleaming menacingly as he looked to teach the Champion a lesson. But then Daruk charged in and knocked Gnasty away with his Boulder Breaker.
"Denied!" Daruk shouted joyously as he sent Gnasty down to his feet, with Yunobo joining him at his side. Daruk looked at Mipha and grinned. "Saw the bad guys at the lake from Mario's house, so I had to intervene."
"Your decision to intervene was a very poor choice..." Zant said to Daruk, as he now had three of the four Champions in his midst. Gnasty was able to get up following Daruk's attack, recovering rather quickly.
"Ah, so what do we have on the menu for today?" asked Gnasty, snaring as he looked around at Mipha, Revali, and Daruk in that order. "Roasted fish, roasted bird, and roasted candy...I think we're missing someone."
Indeed, someone was missing...as a lightning bolt from above struck the ground and scared Gnaasty, causing him to accidentally back into the water. Zant saw the person who was responsible for the lighting bolt...Urbosa, who had her fingers out.
"Is roasted Gerudo also on the menu?" Urbosa asked with a smirk, with Riju accompanying her; Zant was seething mightily through his helmet.
Urbosa: Our back massages didn't last as long as we wanted them to. Apparently, we had scared off both Wii Fit Trainers, so we had to settle with Donkey Kong. With him splitting duties between three people, he wasn't as effective.
"Had enough?" Urbosa asked Zant, looking to send down a second lightning strike if it was necessary. If the Champions were going to fight back, then there was no point in Zant attempting to capture them.
"We will be back..." replied Zant, saving himself from more trouble as he exited through a Twilight portal that he summoned. Gnasty crawled out of the lake and saw that Zant had left.
"Aw, why would he leave me behind?" the Gnorc frowned as he turned away from the Champions and ran off, running into the woods a soaking mess.
"Who else wants some?!" shouted Daruk as he wielded his Boulder Breaker, looking to bring the fight to anyone who dared to set up. A dark corridor appeared at the lake...and amusingly enough, Dark Riku was kicked out of it as he landed on the ground on his back.
"Stop, I said stop!" shouted Dark Riku as he backed away from Champion Link, who walked out of the dark corridor armed with his sword and shield. Cloud was impressed by the moxie that Champion Link was exuding.
"That's what I want to hear..." said Champion Link, as Dark Riku closed the dark corridor and opened up another one behind him. Dark Riku rose up to his feet, albeit struggling, as he backed away.
"You may have won this round...but next time, I'll be the one left standing." Dark Riku backed into the dark corridor, as he made his escape. Champion Link put his Master Sword away once the dark corridor was gone.
"Nice one, Champ - you drove off the Organization," Cloud said to Champion Link, who would've stood up and applauded the Hylian if he had the energy. And if it was also necessary. "Way to make yourself useful."
"I was just doing my job." Champion Link looked around and saw his fellow Champions...and the folks that accompanied them. Namely Sidon, Yunobo, Teba, and Riju. "Well...this is awkward."
You know what was more awkward than meeting descendants of your Champion pals? Leaving your best lady friend behind in Harvey's RV. Master Hand knocked on the door to the RV, as Harvey opened it.
"En guarde!" shouted Harvey as he held out his homemade sword, only to back off when he saw Master Hand. "Oh, it's just you, Master Hand." Champion Zelda joined Harvey at the door and looked around outside.
"I see that Link has abandoned me," inferred Champion Zelda, as Champion Link was indeed nowhere to be found. Champion LInk wouldn't rest until he had Dark Riku down for the count.
"Anything in the name of justice," Master Hand heartily replied, as Champion Zelda went down the steps that led to the RV front door. "Shall we head back to the mansion?"
Later that day, after Champion Link got accustomed to Sidon, Yunobo, Teba, and Riju, it was time for the four visitors to head back to their time. Anna pegged Mega Man to fix the teleportation device, and Mega Man came through. Sidon and the others were in the teleportation room, as they were making their goodbyes.
"Pains me greatly that I cannot stay longer," Sidon said to Mipha, aware of the reason why he couldn't stick around. Nevertheless, the Zora prince clenched his fist and smiled with a twinkle in his mouth. "That said, I hope to see you again, dear sister!"
"Finally got over your fear of dogs?" Urbosa asked Daruk, who was holding Poochy; Daruk was laughing as Poochy repeatedly licked his face.
"When I get back home, I'm gonna start my own cafe!" Tulin said to Teba, as he felt greatly inspired by serving as Cafe Leblanc's greeter. Liking his son's determination, Teba smiled.
"Note to selves: never let Anna operate machinery such as this," Link said to Zelda, who nodded her head in agreement as a big lesson was learned today.
Anna: Aw, phooey...I lost my privilege to run the teleportation device without anyone's supervision. All the countless gullible customers I could've summoned, to buy my wares...I have squandered that opportunity.
Wily: How could I be so stupid?! Of course that teleportation device has time-machine capabilities, which would explain the whole Ezio situation. I'd love to destroy the advice, but it seems like the mansion needs it. Criminy...
Sonic: Mipha promised to do another swimming lesson with me until I get the hang of swimming. If how I did today was any indication, we're gonna be trying for a long time.
"I'll be right back," Champion Link said to the others, as he exited the teleportation room; once he went down the hallway, the Hylian ran into a giant hand...Master Hand.
"I have a burning question for you," asked Master Hand, who took the time to reflect upon something that Champion Link shared with him at Omnis Adest. "How can I gain the respect of others?"
"Uh, I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask. You're the boss of this place. The 'creator of the Smash universe,' as you claim."
"I know, I know. But sometimes I feel like the others don't take me seriously. Probably because of how I've treated them in the past. How can I earn their respect?"
"Well, have you tried doing something impressive? Or I dunno...something nice? Messing with people is no way to earn one's respect."
"But messing with people is how I find enjoyment. Are you insisting that I should do...the exact opposite?"
"That's the way to go. Oh, and you also have to respect people's wishes. So if someone wants to go home..."
"...then you let them go home. Got it." "Mater Hand sighed, seeing the roadblocks he would have to face. "Why is this respect thing so hard?"
"It's not hard, it's just that people don't know what to do. The easiest way to earn respect, in my opinion, is to be nice and be willing to change."
"Be willing to change..." Master Hand was hung up on Champion Link's second point, his mind dwelling on it for a brief moment or two. "...much easier said than done. Nice talk, Champion Link."
"Anytime, Master Hand. Anytime." Champion Link walked away, as he and Master Hand both went their separate ways. The Hylian momentarily paused as he looked back at Master Hand for a brief second, before turning back around and continuing on his way.
Weird as it might sound, Champion Link unironically enjoyed spending his day with Master Hand...
