"The field is now halfway set of the Invitational Duel Monster Tournament that will crown the new #1 contender to challenge for the World Champion. And the tournament itself will kick off with the first-round matches at World Collide. In addition, the premium live event will feature the World Champion himself, the Prince, Isaac. As he takes on the juggernaut, Walter, in what will surely be a hard-hitting affair."
"Hard-hitting is an understatement, to say the least, Dazzle Feather. Walter not only beats his opponents, but he also inflicts pain on them. He's won all of his duels in less than five minutes. That's something not even the World Champion has done to any of his previous challengers. Safe to say, folks, we might be looking at a new top duelist."
In the background of the school auditorium, Izzy, Sunny, and Roll were all gathered on the main floor as they were hoping to get some dance practice ahead of the Fall Formal, which was rapidly approaching.
"Okay, just two more steps to the left," said Izzy as she instructed Sunny and Roll, who followed where her arm pointed, "Oh, one to the right." The pair followed her instructions again. "Take it back now, y'all!" As Sunny and Roll did that, they inadvertently bumped into each other and fell.
"Izzy!" shouted both girls as the teen turned around to see her downed friends.
"Oops. My bad," said the girl as she began to help her friends up.
At that moment, the doors to the auditorium opened, and Mario, Hitch, and Zipp, the trio, were on their way to soccer practice. They wanted to stop by and see how their friends were doing trying to learn Izzy's new crazy dance she came up with as the results spoke of themselves.
"Is falling a part of the dance?" asked Mario as he saw Izzy help his sister and Sunny up.
"Yes. But that's not till the end," clarified Izzy.
"Maybe we should take a break, Izzy. We've been at it for quite a while. Besides, I also have a dance that I came up with and want to try to perform with all of you." suggested Sunny.
"No, thank you," stated Mario.
"Aw, come on, lover boy. What's the problem? Too embarrassed." snickered Zipp.
"Embarrassed, rich girl. Please," responded Mario as he got in the girl's face.
"Here we go again," groaned Roll as she hated how her brother and Zipp tried to one-up the other.
Before Zipp and Mario could get into it, their attention and everybody else was turned to the TV in the room. They all looked up as the new anchors were talking about the upcoming World Championship duel as it had something that really interested everybody, especially Mario.
"This is a live feed, everybody!" said Skye Silver as the small screen in the corner was enhanced and filled the whole screen. "Apparently, Walter has just finished decimating another opponent in under five minutes. And just as he was celebrating his win with his manager, Mr. Lee, they were interrupted by none other than the World Champion himself."
On the live feed, Isaac stood as he stared up at his opponent, who merely glanced at the World Champion. After such a dominant win, the ultimate underdog showed his heart and guts as he stepped to his challenger. The two foes locked eyes as they didn't once take their gaze off the other. Standing at his client's side, Mr. Lee had a microphone as he began to speak.
"Well, it certainly is an honor if I say so myself. So, Mr. Isaac, on behalf of my client, Walter, and I. We want to thank you. Thank you for gracing us with your presence. Because you just witnessed Walter beating, victimizing, and conquering another duelist on his path to your World Championship. So, with all due respect, Mr. Isaac. I hope you.."
Before Mr. Lee could finish his taunt toward Isaac, Walter grabbed his manager's microphone and kept staring at the champion. Mr. Lee was shocked as he didn't expect his client to cut him off but was soon silenced when the larger man looked at him as he knew not to get in the way of his client. Walter then looked back at Isaac as he began to speak his peace.
"I know. I know you're a fighting champion, Mr. Isaac. I know you're always fighting the odds. You have the utmost respect for this great sport! You are a fighter, and these people and everyone watching all know!" stated Walter as the crowd seemed to give some cheers toward their beloved champion. "They love you! But listen here, addict. Come Worlds Collide, you're not fighting the odds, Mr. Isaac. You're fighting me! It's not gonna be enough for me to beat you, one, two, three. It's not gonna be enough for me to defeat you. I'm gonna torture you. Mr. Isaac, I hate people like you. Always running around, expecting sympathy from everybody. People like you who run around and take away things from hard-working people like me! Mr. Isaac. I really hope you are addicted. Addicted to losing! Because at Worlds Collide, you're going to get your fix!"
Walter got in Isaac's face as the World Champion had his head turn. The first instance that he was called an addict by his opponent triggered something inside of the man. Watching this, Mario had a smile on his face. Seeing Walter talk down on his father and say outloud to everybody the truth about his father being a junkie made him happy. For once, finally, people could stop being deceived by the smoke, mirrors, and mystique of his old man and see him for what he was. In short, Mario hoped Walter would beat his father so badly that reality would slap him in the face, and he could finally say to everybody, including his friends, that he was right.
But... Mario should have known better. As much as he wanted to call his father out, he should have known his father was a passionate speaker. He was about to get a slap in the face as a reminder of his father's identity. Walter was going to taunt Isaac some more when the World Champion took the mic from his opponent in the blink of an eye. Walter felt disrespected by Isaac doing that. He was held back by his manager, Mr. Lee, who managed to calm him down as Isaac was about to speak some truth.
"Heh. First of all, holmes, I gotta give it to you, big man. That was pretty good. You want to talk about addiction, ese? You want to go down this road, vato loco?! Pues orale, ese!" shouted Isaac as he was going to spit some truth to Walter, the crowd, and everyone watching, including his son. "You know what, holmes? We're going down that road, well, let's do what they say in Spanish. Vamos a decirlo directamente. Let's tell it straight up, man!"
The crowd reacted to that as Isaac took a deep breath while staring down his foe.
"Truth is, Walter. I am an addict. See, Walter, I came to a point in my life, ese vato, I came to a point where it was do or die, holmes. I had to make a decision! Do or die?" said Isaac. "And you know what, ese? I did! Because I am here right now! Day by day, I have earned my way into this game, man. Day by day, I have earned the respect of not just these people, of my fans, but also of my family! Day by day, I have earned my life!"
Roll and Mario were watching this passionate moment of their father as each felt different emotions. For the boy, he could feel his heart hurting as he struggled to silence the words of his father as he spoke.
"And see, holmes, when I stand across you and see what this is all about. Do you know what being World Champion symbolizes for me, ese? That symbolizes my way of telling my family that I did it. That I made it to the top. That's my way of telling my kids I'm a champion to provide them with the best life possible, that I'm going to be there for them, that I'm going to get them the bikes they always wanted. That I'm going to tell them that I love them!"
Roll started to get choked up hearing her father speak so passionately as a few tears started to form in her eyes. As for Mario, he was clutching his head as he tried to ignore what his father was saying, as it was nothing but lies.
"That's my new addiction, holmes. See, when I step onto this field, yeah bro, I am addicted. I'm addicted to the high that I get from them!" shouted Isaac as he pointed to the crowd that cheered him on. "I'm addicted to the high that I get when I go home, and I tell my family: "Hey, I'm doing it!". I'm addicted to the satisfaction that I get to tell everybody like you that didn't believe in me, you can stick it up your ass! I'm addicted to the Do-Or-Die-feeling, holmes, that I'm gonna have at Worlds Collide. Because you know as well as I do, holmes, ohhh, what a high it is when we're in there, brother. See, but the difference between you and me, Walter, is that I'm an addict, and I'll do anything and run over anybody that it's gonna take to defend my title at Worlds Collide and still be World Champion, orale vato!"
Isaac screamed as loud as he could and slammed the mic in front of Walter's face. For just a second, there was a hint of fear from Walter after hearing the World Champion's promo. Isaac was leaving the field as the crowd was now fully on his side; they cheered him on as he walked away.
"A fired up and passionate World Champion in Isaac. And at Worlds Collide, he looks to prove there is indeed a way out of hell! Isaac can do that at Worlds Collide!"
The live feed soon ended as it returned to the broadcasting studio, and they began to talk about what transpired. The teenagers were trying to process what they had just seen and what was said as Isaac's words resonated with them.
"Anybody else get chills?" said Zipp as she got all tingly after hearing the World Champion speak.
"Roll..." said Sunny as she looked at her friend.
The girl merely brought a hand up to cover her eyes momentarily to wipe away the tears. She brought it down along her face as she took some deep breaths. Safe to say, the words spoken by her father affected her as they got her to feel emotional. She soon composed herself as she gave a thumbs-up to her friends. The girl was fully on her father's side, hoping he would win. While Roll was supporting her father, Mario left the room after hearing his father finish speaking as he clutched his head like a bad headache.
The boy was trying to fight it and not let his father's silver tongue get to him. He knew he was right, and his father used his smoke and mirrors to trick everybody into getting him on his side. Yet, while he believed that, he was having a hard time sticking to that. Eventually, he fell against some lockers as his breathing got a bit faster.
"He's not right. He's not right. He's not right!" said Mario as he repeated that to himself, not to be swayed by his father's words. "He's nothing but a junkie. He's nothing but a junkie. He's nothing but a junkie."
Over and over, Mario clutched his head while repeating those words as if to offer some sanctuary and silence from the world. The boy managed to silence any criticism as he could only hear his thoughts. He sighed in relief as he wouldn't admit this out loud, but he hoped his father would lose and get victimized. Maybe then... he could finally move on. And Mario... could finally have peace instead of this torturous hell he lived every single day.
Days slowly passed as the entire school had gone into Fall Formal mode. Pipp was tasked with decorating the entire school auditorium and the entire place, as the girl took her job seriously. She'd spent late nights in her room, planning to make this Fall Formal the best. The others also expressed their own interest in one of CHS' biggest events.
It was currently lunchtime, and Sunny, Hitch, Zipp, and Roll were all seated at a table. Approaching them was Izzy, as the girl seemed to have some kind of machine in her hand. She approached the table her friends were eating at and simply placed the machine in the center. It got the attention of the others as they all looked at the girl for a second, who smiled before they ignored her and went back to eating.
"Don't you guys wanna know what that is?" said Izzy, who didn't like her friends not asking her about her toy.
"Is it a transporter from the future that you can beam to another table, 'cause if it is, what button do I push?" remarked Zipp.
"That's so hurtful," said Izzy in a sad tone as she sat down.
"Come on, Zipp. Don't have to be that rude," stated Sunny.
"See. Sunny's interested in my device," smiled Izzy.
"I'm really not," apologized Sunny as she turned to look at her friend, making Izzy pout.
"Aw, come on, Izzy. Tell us about your doo-hickey," said Hitch as he tried to cheer up the girl by asking her what she wanted to hear. She perked up and smiled at a moment's notice, forgetting how sad she was just a minute ago.
"Okay. It's called the Snowbee. Watch." stated the girl, leaning over to turn the machine on.
The funnel at the top began to shoot out snow-like stuff as it rolled down on the teens, covering them and their food. All the while, Izzy giggled and had her arms out high as she enjoyed the fake snow. Eventually, Zipp had enough as she shut the machine off, and it stopped shooting snow into the air.
"It makes pretend snow," smiled Izzy as some of her hair was covered in it.
"I see that. It's all over my tostada," said Roll as she dusted her shoulders and blew the fake snow off her food.
"And my pizza," said Sunny as she lifted the half-chewed slice as it was covered in snow.
"Well, do not eat it," stated Izzy.
"Why?" asked Zipp as she shook her shirt to remove some snow.
"'Cause it says the fake snow is toxic and can cause abdominal bleeding," said Izzy as she pulled out the instructions manual and read the warning casually and calmly.
Everybody else just dropped their food and shoved all their containers into the middle. The group of teenagers seemingly had lost their appetite after Izzy's antics.
"So, what made you buy a machine that poisons people's lunch?" asked Roll with a fake smile.
Izzy smiled once more as she reached into her backpack and pulled out a heavy catalog.
"This catalog," said the girl, showing off the front cover to her friends.
"Gadgettron?" said Hitch.
"Yeah. I visited there when I went on my daily recycling through town. I noticed a magazine rack outside a clothing store had this and picked it up. It's filled with all kinds of cool stuff you can buy," said Izzy as she opened the catalog and flipped through the pages. "Ooh, like this- a tree face. You put it on your tree to give it a face." Izzy folded the page and showed it to her friends, hoping they would be as excited as her.
Sate to say, the others all stared blankly at their overbearing friend.
"What if you don't have a tree?" asked Sunny.
"It also works on bushes," responded Izzy.
The others just began to dust off the remaining snow on their clothes and, in the instance of the girls, brushed their hair to make it fall out. While the others were being shown Izzy's new device, Mario was at his locker as he was reading something.
"Hey," said Pipp as she was shown approaching her crush.
The boy put away the note he received and closed his locker before walking away. Pipp noticed the teen walking as she quickly followed him; the girl was determined to ask the boy the question she wanted. Mario noticed the social media girl following him as she trailed him like a lost puppy. He felt annoyed as he turned left down the hallway, to which Pipp did the same. He stopped as the girl did the same, keeping her love-sick expression. Mario sipped from a nearby water fountain as Pipp watched her crush drink. The boy glanced back to see the girl still staring at him as he kept walking.
"Alright, what do you want, chica?" asked Mario as he had enough and turned to face Pipp.
"What makes you think I want something from you?" said Pipp as she tried to play it off cool.
"You really want me to spell it out?!" shouted the boy.
"Alright," confessed Pipp, as she knew she couldn't fool the teen any longer. "So, you know how the Fall Formal is coming up. I was wondering... if, well- if you were planning on going?"
"The Fall Formal?" reiterated Mario.
"Yup," said Pipp as she dwindled her fingers.
"Ehh. I've never been a big fan of dances... I'll probably just stay home," said the boy nonchalantly.
"You don't wanna go?" asked Pipp as she slid up next to her crush and put on her best flirty and innocent look possible.
"Not really... I'll pass," said Mario as he dismissed and shut down Pipp's advance without knowing.
Pipp's face changed on a dime as it went to a dreaded one.
"It's just a bunch of people dressed up in suits and dresses taking pictures!" stated the boy.
Pipp then noticed something happening nearby. She spotted two girls talking amongst themselves as they were interrupted by someone. The someone was a boy as he presented a boutique of flowers to the girl he wanted to ask out for the Fall Formal and gave a big smile. The girl accepted and took the flowers as her friend smiled, seeing how cute it was for her friend to be asked out. Pipp seeing this from afar and then seeing Mario snicker and chuckle to himself at something funny really got to her. She felt like a gasket was about to blow.
"WELL THEN!" shouted Pipp as she walked past Mario and bumped into him to knock him to the side. "Hhhmpff!"
"Ughhh!" said Mario as he was pushed to the side from Pipp and looked at the girl walking away angrily.
"Hhhmmpfff!" said Pipp as she gave one last glare at Mario before walking away.
"Gees, what the hell is her problem?" said Mario, unaware of why Pipp was suddenly angry. "Was it something I said?"
"You really ARE oblivious, aren't you?" said Sunny.
The boy turned as he saw the girl was nearby and was at her locker when she noticed Pipp trying to ask Mario out to the Fall Formal for him to dismiss her advance.
"And I suppose you know what it is?" asked Mario as he looked at his friend.
"Of course," stated Sunny as she closed her locker. "She was..."
"Sunny!"
Skidding around the corner was Hitch as both teens turned to see their friend, who seemed to be running for his life. His face was one of fear as he quickly hid behind Sunny.
"You gotta HIDE ME!" stated the boy as he peeked through the girl's hair. "The Fall Formal dance is coming up, and I-"
"I know. I know," sighed Sunny, as she already knew the predicament. "The girls are hunting you down... again."
"EXACTLY!" confirmed Hitch.
"Again?" said Mario with a raised eyebrow.
"Let's just say this isn't the first time it's happened in our lives," responded Sunny as she recalled several similar times like this in the past involving her best friend. Hitch was still peeking out from behind his childhood friend to see if the horde of girls that spotted him were still chasing him.
"Seems that animal magnetism of yours really works its charm, eh, bro?" said Mario with a sly smile.
"Very funny," said Hitch as he kept an eye out.
"So what happened?" asked Mario.
"Well..." stated Hitch as he began to recount the events.
After lunch period was over, Hitch headed to his next class. However, things began to happen when it was over, and he exited the classroom. At first, he didn't notice it as he walked, but the crowd of girls he was passing by seemed to notice the boy. With the Fall Formal coming up, many girls were looking for a date, and with how appealing Hitch was, they all seemed to take a liking to the teen.
"He's so dreamy!"
"OH MY!"
"AHHH!"
"Uhhhhhhh..."
"Mmmmmm..."
*Giggles*
"He's SO Hot!"
Hitch's shadow was shown passing over some of the girls eyeing him.
"Hmm?" said Hitch as he noticed a crowd fawning over him.
Soon, a rumbling was heard. Hitch turned as he heard something.
"Whoa. What? Huh?"
"Hitch! RUNNNNNNNN!" shouted someone. "AHHHAHAAA THEY'RE COMING! Aaaagggggahhhhhugggggaaaa..."
The person was run over by the stampeding girls, who all wanted to claim the boy for their own as their date for the Fall Formal.
"Ugggaaaa! Gaaaaahhhhh!"
Hitch now saw the massive horde charging at him as he began to book it.
"And that's what happened," said Hitch as he recounted his tale.
"Man, I don't envy you at all," snickered Mario.
"Can't you just tell them that you're not available? Just say you're already taking someone else," explained Sunny.
"I don't have anybody. Besides, who would I ask?" said Hitch as he heard footsteps approaching.
"Oh, I don't know," said Sunny as she began to think hard. "Why don't you just say... you're taking me to the dance?"
"Hyyyyyuttt!" exclaimed Hitch as he jumped into a nearby trashcan. Showing how desperate he was to hide.
Sunny was embarrassed, to say the least, at how her friend acted while Mario gave a small chuckle. The boy didn't seem to hear Sunny's suggestion as he was too focused on hiding.
"Well, you two have fun with this. I'll catch you later at work, Sunny."
"Aren't you going to go check on Pipp? You know, find out why she's so upset?" stated the girl.
"I'm sure whatever it is, it'll blow over," responded Mario as he just left.
"Is the coast clear?" asked Hitch, peeking his head out. Sunny just facepalmed herself.
Zipp was shown on her phone in another part of the school as she walked through the halls. She was passing by the main hall as Izzy, sitting against some lockers reading the catalog she showed off, saw her and tried to get her attention.
"Zippster, wait, wait, wait..." said Izzy as she lunged and grabbed the girl's foot.
"Oh, okay, all right," said Zipp as she almost fell over from Izzy, suddenly grabbing her heeled boot. "Alright. You caught me. What?"
"I wanna show you what I got," said the girl, lifting her face from the floor and looking up at her friend.
"Sure," said the athletic teen as she hesitated and almost regretted that she asked.
Izzy smiled as she got herself off the floor and stood up. She threw some of her hair back and showed the necklace she was wearing. It was a simple necklace that had a pendant with a star.
"Okay, now, walk towards me," instructed Izzy.
Zipp shrugged as she took a step forward.
"Closer."
Zipp took another step.
"Closer."
The girl scoffed as she looked around to see many students around as she knew any closer, and some people would get some wild ideas. So she began getting as close as she could to Izzy when her necklace suddenly let out a siren wail. Zipp immediately backed up with her hands like she was being arrested.
"Step away!" said the necklace as the siren continued. "You are too close to this person."
Everybody else was now paying attention to the pair as they heard the siren and looked at them.
"Hey, I didn't do anything," said Zipp as she turned to face the other students still with her hands up.
"The police are on their way," said the necklace as Zipp's expression changed from a chuckling nervous to a glare as she turned her head at her friend.
"Would you turn that thing off!" shouted Zipp to Izzy.
The girl smiled and chuckled as she touched her necklace as the alarm ceased.
"It's the world's best alarm necklace," said the girl as Zipp rolled her eyes and began to walk to the left to where her locker was.
"Oh, and look!" said Izzy as she followed her friend to her locker and showed off something else. "The world's brightest key chain."
"Yeah, ow, okay!" said Zipp as Izzy just point blanked, turned on the keychain, and flashed the light in the girl's eyes as it blinded her. "All right, that's bright. You can turn it off now!" stated the girl as she blinked to regain her vision.
"Too bright?" asked Izzy.
"No, I loved that," lied Zipp as she rubbed her eye. "Uh, Izzy, you think maybe you're buying, you know, too many things from that store?"
"No," answered Izzy honestly as she looked to walk away. "Oh, hey, can I borrow some money?"
"Uh, yeah, sure. How much?" said Zipp as she dug into her pocket and pulled out her wallet to see how much cash she had.
"$49.95 plus shipping," explained Izzy as Zipp gave her friend a look, now knowing why she asked for money.
"First off, where are you even getting the money to buy all this stuff?" asked the girl.
"Oh, Mario," confessed Izzy.
"IZZY!" shouted Mario as the boy's voice echoed, signaling he was hunting for the girl so he could kill her for borrowing his money without his permission.
"Don't worry, he's rich. He won't notice a few bucks missing from his bank account." said the girl.
"Izzy, I'm gonna kick your stupid ass!"
"Heh, bye!" said the girl as she zipped away in a puff of smoke.
Mario appeared as he drifted around the corner and saw Zipp.
"Where is she, rich girl?" asked the boy.
"She's gone," confessed Zipp.
"She's so... I don't want to say stupid, but she's stupid. But she's not stupid, but she could be stupid. Which makes her stupid, but she's not really stupid. You know." vented Mario as he couldn't wrap his head around Izzy and her demeanor and personality.
"Y-Yeah, I think," said Zipp, as she didn't quite know what her friend was saying.
"She's stupid-unstupid if that makes sense," growled Mario as he left to continue to track down the overbearing and energetic girl.
"That girl has a problem," said Zipp.
It was later that Izzy somehow managed to evade Mario hunting her down. In the end, the boy gave up mainly because he had to get to his job of working the food truck with Sunny, and he'd let Izzy off the hook for now. The two teens were currently handing out food as they noticed how many people were shown asking others to their dates for the Fall Formal.
"So, Sunny, did you manage to help Hitch with his ladies' problem?" snickered Mario.
"All taken care. I basically told him that he's taking me to the dance, and that was final. Now, he doesn't have to worry about any more girls trying to grab him." Sunny recalled dragging the trashcan that Hitch was hiding in earlier and telling her friend she would be his date to the dance just to settle the issue.
"Hey, guys!" said Izzy.
"Izzy," growled Mario as he turned to see the girl standing before the ordering window; she smiled like nothing was wrong. "What do you want now?!"
"Relax. I'm just here because I brought a gift for Sunny," stated Izzy.
"A gift? What kind of gift?" asked the girl as she came over and saw her friend.
"Well, I recently bought something..."
"With my money!" yelled Mario.
"It doesn't matter," said Izzy as she brushed what Mario said aside and pulled out her gift. "Ta-da." Izzy placed the machine on the counter for the two to see.
"What is that?" asked Mario.
"It's the world's most powerful portable juicer for juicing on the go," stated Izzy. "I figured Sunny might want it so that she can make smoothies whenever she wants."
"That's the lamest shit I've ever heard!" said Mario as he wasn't impressed.
"No, it's really cool. Look it..." said Izzy as she grabbed food beside Mario.
"Hey, that's my burger!" shouted the boy as Izzy took his food.
Izzy dropped Mario's burger on the top; she then took the pressed and pushed it down on the food as the dispenser dispensed it as it was now turned into juice. Mario and Sunny watched the cup filled with the juice of the burger as the girl was initially impressed by what she saw.
"See?" said Izzy as she handed the cup to Mario containing his burger.
"You juiced my burger," responded the boy casually.
"Why chew what you can drink?" said Izzy, as that was her logic.
"Okay. Look, Izzy. I appreciate the gift, and it's a very nice thought, but... I think Mario is right. I think you need to stop buying so much stuff." said Sunny.
"But there's so many cool things," said Izzy as she pulled out the catalog and looked through it.
"Mario..." said Sunny as she looked to the boy for help.
"Alright. Come on. Lemma have it." stated the teen as he leaned over and put his hand out for Izzy to give him the catalog.
"Maybe I can only buy things that I really want," said Izzy as she pleaded with her friends to change her addition.
"Izzy..." said the boy as he got his voice to be a bit louder.
"It's time to say goodbye," stated Sunny. "Don't you think that's the best thing to do?"
Izzy looked at her friends before looking at the catalog. The girl was sad as there were so many things that she wanted. In the end, Izzy could see her friends were right about her little addiction as she closed the catalog and petted it gently before handing it over to Mario with a small squeal. He grabbed the book and ripped it in half in front of the girl; as she squealed even more, it hurt a bit.
"Look, Izzy. I know it hurts now, but you'll feel better soon," stated Sunny.
"I know," said the girl, taking a deep breath. "Well, I'm all better now. Thanks guys. I needed that." Izzy then walked off as she hummed to herself, the girl now over her addiction.
"Well, that was fast," said Mario, tossing the ripped book into the nearby trash bin.
"Well, at least your money is safe... this time," chuckled Sunny nervously as she returned to making smoothies.
Mario returned to his dorm once he and Sunny finished their shift. He entered as he heard some music from Roll's room, indicating she was there. The boy sat, grabbed the remote, and flipped on the TV.
"With the participants now selected for the Invitational Tournament, the first-round matches will occur at Worlds Collide. And at that same event, as the main attraction, the World Champion will defend his title against the man they call the juggernaut." stated the reporter.
"And if there was any doubt on the World Champion feeling any personing going up against his foe, then just listen to this promo. A passionate one that the World Champion cut as he moved so many to tears." said another reporter as it played what Mario's father said.
"Truth is, Walter. I am an addict. I came to a point where it was do or die, holmes. I had to make a decision! Do or die? Day by day, I have earned my way into this game, man. Day by day, I have earned my life! Do you know what being World Champion symbolizes for me, ese? That's my way of telling my kids I'm a champion to provide them with the best life possible, that I'm going to be there for them, that I'm going to get them the bikes they always wanted. That I'm going to tell them that I love them! That's my new addiction, holmes. See, when I step onto this field, yeah bro, I am addicted. I'm addicted to the high that I get from them! I'm addicted to the Do-Or-Die-feeling, holmes, that I'm gonna have at Worlds Collide. Because you know as well as I do, holmes, ohhh, what a high it is when we're in there, brother. See, but the difference between you and me, Walter, is that I'm an addict, and I'll do anything and run over anybody that it's gonna take to defend my title at Worlds Collide and still be World Champion, orale vato!"
"If that doesn't make you feel anything, I don't know what. One thing is certain: you do not want to miss the battle between the Prince and the juggernaut."
Mario remembered what the reporters said and heard his father's passionate promo again. The boy hunched over as he put his hands on his head. The teen was struggling with the words his father spoke.
Author's Note: The title works for two reasons. Izzy and her obsessionwith buying weird stuff that catches her attention but also spending a ton of money to buy useless stuff in the long run. And the second dealing with Mario and his proclamation about his father. Though... that little speech that his father cut, if that doesn't tug at your heart strings then I don't know what will. You can see just how passionate his father was when he spoke from the heart. Plus, the Fall Formal is creeping closer as the whole group is looking forward to that, apart from one person.