FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

_ *Chapter 6: Been Spending Most of Our Lives, Living in a Gamer's Paradise * _

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"Interesting," Hanbei started. "We are not even going in the direction that your room used to be."

"Correct!" Wendy answered. "Your friend has moved 'right on up'. It was probably just the right thing to do after-"

"After deducing that it was the right time for a 'change'!" Junior finished with a smile. Though Wendy didn't initially seemed pleased about being interrupted, she soon gave an approving look for Jr's word choice. Meanwhile, Roy had since crept behind his best friend, and covered both of the pale blue turtle's eyes with his hands.

"Really, Roy?" Hanbei asked with deadpan tone.

"C'mon, humor ya best pal!" Roy replied, grinning. "I dun ask for much!"

"No, you just have a habit of asking for odd-ball things. Perhaps fitting, considering that I am working with an odd-ball himself." Hanbei said with a wry smirk.

Roy chuckled in kind. "C'mon, now. Ain't got dat much further to go. Just down this corridor, and a small flight of steps."

"I would much rather be able to actually see the steps I am expected to traverse."

"Calm down, they easy. I won't let ya down!" Roy assured.

"Fine. Let us just get this over with," Hanbei sighed.

The dragon twins stayed close on their heels and a short distance behind, Wendy and Junior shared a small laugh as they watched the antics of two older boys in front of them.

"Heh, and now, Roy's gone back to being a big kid all over again," Wendy mused with a smile.

"I beg to differ. I don't think the 'big kid' ever left. He's just happy to have his best friend back," Junior nodded.

"Yeah, you right," Wendy nodded as well. "Now, on a completely different note...!"

"Hm? What's that?"

"Before you go on your big prom date tomorrow, you've got a date with the clippers to attend to!"

"Hold up!" Junior's eyes grew wide as saucers.

"Hold up, nuthin'! I am NOT about to have my little brother go out on one of the biggest nights of his young life, looking like some bootleg Raggedy Andy that just hopped up out of bed, looked himself in the mirror and said 'wassup'! Better act like you know!"

"But I like my hair the way it is!" Junior pleaded.

"No, BJ, I'm afraid not. If she was still here, no way Mama would let you out the house looking anything close to what you are now. We're going to get you a nice haircut, and while we're at it, that gay lil fuzz you got on your chin has got to go too!"

Junior let out a long, drawn-out sigh. He had completely forgotten that prom was going to cost him something else besides his freedom for an evening. Truth be told, it had been a long-standing wish of his to let his hair grow out some more, and to be able to experiment with other styles along the way. But as long as he was living at home, living with a loving, yet overbearing older sister? Such a dream would likely always remain out of his reach.

"Fine," Junior relented. "But not now, alright? Tomorrow."

"You sure?" Wendy asked. "Last year, you were dragging your yellow hind-parts so much that you almost made yourself and poor Babs late! And I know you boys aren't likely going to sleep before 2 AM, if that!"

"Don't worry. I intend to be up at a decent time, so we can get this done and over with."

"Alright then!" Wendy said with a knowing smile. "But I'm trusting that when you say 'decent time', you actually MEAN it. No 'SPT: Scaley People Time' delays! Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Junior smiled.

"And I don't think I even need to mention your 'hoop', as Bei-by puts it."

"I get it, I get it! I'll take it out!" Junior groaned, wanting to get off the subject.

"Good!" Wendy smiled. Following their elder koopa brother's large form, they came upon the threshold to Roy's new domain.

"Alrighty! BJ, da door, please!" Roy cued his little brother.

"This way! And boys, don't give away the surprise!" Junior grinned to the young dracos.

"OK!" the twins chorused. The small band had walked a little ways into the room, and then Roy finally released Hanbei's eyes.

"Now, look, Bei-Bei!" Roy beamed with pride. Hanbei's eyes, upon adjusting to the last bits of the setting sun's light in the room, beheld something that was able to incite surprise and awe to even the seemingly-unflappable wartortle.

Roy's new room was remodeled from the manor's old Skylight Lounge, which Bowser saw fit to retire, seeing how he had not held any gatherings in there for years, following his wife's death. Starting from there, Wendy worked her expertise into crafting an area that was as "large and in charge" as her big brother. The result was a room with plenty of open space, enabling Roy to do practically anything he wished.

One corner of the light purple colored room, which he and Junior had gotten much use out of over the last year, belonged explicitly to his extensive array of exercise equipment. Still another corner had a very large television and entertainment center built right into the wall itself, with an equally large sofa as well as a few chairs dotting the area. It was the primary gathering spot of video game enjoyment within the household itself, something that Jr knew would be proven later that evening. The former bar was still present, but largely served a new purpose; the refrigeration units behind the counter were now for holding any amount of food and drink that Roy wanted to keep on hand. This included the occasional Courvosier, or two.

Finally, as if to make for an effective centerpiece, Roy's customized King-size bed laid sectioned off in the middle of the room, right below the main skylight itself. Ever since he was young, Roy had always been enamored by the sky, and could spend hours watching clouds fly by against the endless blue expanse. Now, he had the pleasure of being able to gaze at such when he woke up every morning.

For some one who had been getting accustomed to the room for about a year, it was still easy for Junior to be taken aback by Wendy's self-proclaimed "magnum opus" and seeing the mystified faces of the Draco twins and even the twenty-four year-old turtle made the spectacle of Roy's room seem even more spectacular.

"May I be proud to present: DA** MUTHAFUCKIN' SKYLAND!" **Roy bellowed.

"Woooooooow!" Billy and Jimmy exclaimed together.

"Be honest, Bei-by. Can I cook, or can I cook?" the female Koopa heir said proudly, smiling at the wartortle.

"Very impressive, Wendy. You have truly out done yourself!" Hanbei stated with sincerity.

"Oh, I know! But, in the end, I considered this an interesting challenge that just could not be ignored! It's less of a simple refurbishing and more of a complete make-over."

"Certainly is roomy. And definitely very 'Roy'," Hanbei agreed. "'Skyland' is certainly a nice name..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there, Bei-Bei! When ya referrin' to 'Da Muthafuckin' Skyland!' ya must say it in its entirety!" Roy stated in a matter-of-fact manner.

Hanbei just looked at him with his standard deadpan expression.

"It's like 'A Tribe Called Quest' or 'A Pimp Named Slickback'! Ya gotta say the whole thing!" Roy continued.

"Are you serious?" Hanbei asked, making a small groan of disbelief.

"Hey, don't look at me, Bei-by! I just made the room, I didn't make the rules!" Wendy said.

"So, if I heard correctly..." Jimmy smiled. "EVERY time we refer to 'the *Muthafuckin' Skyland'..." *

"...we must explicitly say 'the *Muthafuckin' Skyland'?" * Billy concluded with a matching smile.

"BOYS!" Hanbei exclaimed.

"Right ya are, young playas!" Roy chuckled.

"I do not want my boys to have an excuse to use such utterly horrid language. It is setting a bad example," the wartortle answered sternly.

"Aw, come on, stop being such a prude, nii-chan!" Junior smirked. "I hung out with you and Roy all of my life, and look how I turned out!"

"...The prosecution rests," Hanbei smirked, returning a knowing glance.

"I love you, too, nii-chan!" Junior chuckled.

"But we're in America now, Hanbei!" Jimmy piped up.

"Yeah!" Billy agreed. "Here in America, women dress in revealing halter-tops and short skirts, while men curse gratuitously and treat women like whores! I love this country already!"

Even Junior, admittedly, was a bit taken aback by how the two young foreigners perceived Americans.

"I should have never allowed them to watch American television back in Japan...." Hanbei muttered.

"Speaking of which!" Roy interrupted, as he led the group over to the large TV monitor. "C'mon! I've got something to show ya on the DVR, Bei-Bei!"

"And that is...?" Hanbei queried, as his best friend fiddled with the remote and accessed the recorded programs from the FiOS menu.

"Just wait 'n watch!" Roy smiled and pressed a button.

"Whoa there, big fella! You hit the wrong one!" Junior exclaimed.

"Aw, boo! Well, any way!"

What ended up popping on screen was a morning talk show that was all too familiar for all present. Even the Draco Twins recognized the program immediately, as soon as the familiar, purple dragon host with funky-looking horns emerged on the screen, amidst a loud audience chanting his name.

*"NEERY! NEERY! NEERY! NEERY!" *

"Hello, and welcome back!" Drago Neery said, mic in hand. "With us now is Sheberta, joining us by satellite from her home! This actually makes it her third appearance on our show! So how are you doing since we last saw you, Sheberta?"

"Pretty damn good since I kicked dat worthless &#@+ing piece of $%^* Raheem out o' my house!" the blond-wig wearing brown rat shouted out with a smile on her face, showcasing a number of gold teeth in her mouth. The audience hooped and hollered in kind. "But I gotta say one thing!"

"What's that?" Neery asked.

"It's hard raising all these kids he left me with, Neery! They, like, need food and $%^*! Tardivion! Dyskinesia! DUN MAKE ME COME OVER THERE!"

"...Well, don't you worry, Sheberta, we're here to help! We've gotten you and your family a *year's supply of Popeye's Chicken!" * Neery said proudly.

" OH MY GOD! THANK YOU, NEERY!!!" Sheberta exclaimed. The audience hollered once more.

"After the break! More on 'Fat Ass Rabbits and the Ones who Love 'em!" Neery shouted. Meanwhile, Roy and the Draco Twins were laughing long and hard, even as Wendy finally couldn't take any more and stopped the clip from playing.

"See, Bei-by?" Wendy turned to the wartortle in question. "When you were around, Roy actually acted as if he could think with the head on his shoulders, at least half of the time! But since you were gone? He's been rotting his mind out watching this triflin' GARBAGE!"

"Hmmm..." Hanbei murmured, as he turned his casual gaze to his pink-capped friend.

"Heh heh....well, ya see..." Roy mumbled, trying to think of an excuse.

"He also didn't vote in the last election, nii-chan..." Junior added as an aside, with a smirk.

"Junior, ya lil boney-ass traitor...!" Roy growled, fixing his younger sibling with a death glare.

"Is this true, Roy-dai?" Hanbei interjected in an ever calm tone.

"Now, Bei-Bei, I can explain! I mean, it was rainin' cats-n-dog sum kinda FURIOUS dat day, y'see...!"

"...And if we had a football game that day, you would have played. You probably would have relished in the notion of all of us playing in the mud, no less," Hanbei smirked.

"Preach!" Wendy threw up a hand.

"Testify!" Junior chimed in.

"ANY WAY...!" Roy shouted out, silencing the group. "This is what I really wanted to show you!"

Roy quickly took the remote away from Wendy, and selected another clip from the DVR's menu. What started up was another familiar sight to Junior's eyes, but may not be so much for Hanbei's, since it had been a number of years. It was "601 & Ride" on Crunk Entertainment Television, better known as CET.

"...They've changed the set since last time..." Hanbei mused.

"Shhh!" Roy hushed with a large smile on his face, as the camera focused in one of the show's two hosts. The male was a burly, pitch-black canine of some sort, sporting blood-red eyes and a bit of an overbite.

"Sup, y'all! This is yo' boy C-Trig again! Comin' up later in the hour, we got a new joint on the way from your gurl, CD-89! But first! We got ourselves one special guest up in here today! Everybody make some noise for the one, the only, that ol' dawg that's been barkin' with da best of 'em! Karex AKA....STINKDAWWWWGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!"

"Hellllllllllllll yeah," the buff, copper-haired hyena said in a deep, yet very relaxed voice, as the camera turned to him. This was a rapper from the old-school that Roy and Hanbei both had been listening to since they were teenagers, with some of his older albums, like "Off da Hook", "Eternal Bliz-oo" and "Dawggystyle" being amongst their shared all-time faves. Currently, he was sporting a modified version of the Cornrow hairstyle, which he had personally dubbed "Gnoll-Rolls".

Junior had seen a number of guys at school rocking that hairstyle within the last year. Part of him relished the notion of sporting such a hairstyle himself, however temporarily, just to see the look on his Dad's face. Junior allowed himself an inner chuckle at that mental image, as well as seeing the all too "comfortable" demeanor of the hyena.

"He probably went the way of Moses and saw about a 'burning bush' before he even came on stage, didn't he?" Junior asked.

"Well, urban legends state that he was named 'Stinkdawgg' for a reason..." Hanbei nodded.

"Will ya lizzas shut da fuck up already?! Ya missing it!" Roy shouted out, and directed everyone's attention back on screen.

"So how ya doin', Stinkdawgg. Last we heard, you were gonna be switchin' to 'Furocity Records'!"

"Dat's right. Had a lot of fun wit da old crew over at YA, but I just figgered it was time for a career move, y'know? Chance to re-invent myself 'n all dat. Even got my own production studio, 'Stinktastic Films' opened up, too."

"Oh, really?" C-Trigg asked.

"Yeah, dawg. First project is going to be related to one of my older jams, Meridian Prime: The Masterpiece. It's gonna be off da chain!" the audience shouted out in support.

"Dat's wassup!" C-Trigg agreed. "Any other projects we can keep an eye out for?"

"Got a few unreleased tracks from back in da day dat I plan to put out from time to time. But most o' my free time is focused on my new album."

"Can we get a hint?" C-Trigg pressed. Stinkdawgg just grinned at first, before the shouts and pleas from the audience finally forced his hand.

"Aight. It's called Multitudes: Tha Star Treatment. Dat's all you getting' outta me! Gots to wait for the release in December!"

"Mark it on your calendars, your cellphone, whatever you gotta do! Cuz you ain't gonna want to miss it!" C-Trigg ordered. "Now, speaking of older jams, how about a throw-back?"

"Yeah!" the crowd answered nearly unanimously.

"Aight then! Here's that song that launched Stinkdawgg's career and made him a voice of a generation! Y'all already know what it is!!!"

The music video that went along with the 90s classic, "What's My Name?" then started played on screen. Roy immediately started bop his head to the beat, and encouraged Hanbei to do the same as Stinkdawgg started rapping.

"Takes ya back, dun it, Bei-Bei!" Roy smiled broadly.

"Indeed," Hanbei relented with a smirk. The two went on to basically rap along with every line of the lyrics themselves, as they allowed themselves to go back to 1993, however briefly. Even Junior hummed along for at least the refrain.

"Yeah, boyee," Roy said, after the song ended. "Dawgg's like one of the last ones we got from our era. Hip-Hop just ain't been the same after that," Roy said.

"I would be inclined to agree. However, to be fair! One could argue the basic notion that dictates: is it merely due to the fact that we are indeed getting old? And that our nostalgia blinds us?" Hanbei retorted.

"Nah, man!" Roy replied with gusto. "These wanna-be's and the rest out today can't compare to the ones who paved the way! Snortorious LAX and Twokat Mewkur. They were like da pioneers, y'know?"

"Hm," Hanbei nodded assent. "Truly a tragedy that they are no longer a part of this world."

"Wha chu talkin' bout, Bei-Bei? Twokat just put out a new album a year ago! He ain't dead!" Roy replied. Hanbei started to respond in kind, but just as quickly thought better of it and remained silent. It was then that majority of the rest of Roy and Jr's kin then came into the room.

"We didn't miss anything, right?" Larry asked.

"Oh, just a few flashbacks last chapter, and then some shameless cameo appearances in this one. Yeah, not much!" Lemmy chuckled to himself. Of course, he was ignored, his humor once again falling flat on ears that didn't get it.

"Hm, I see I count only one blue-haired 'fro in the mix. Can't say I'm surprised," Roy huffed with disappointment.

"Well, you know how it is, Roy. But I'll elaborate a bit for the sake of the readers at home!" Lemmy stated proudly. "We all know that Ludwig has always set himself apart from the rest of us. And it seemed like the more of us that came along as the years went by, the further he went. And then Mom going 'bye-bye', didn't help."

"We all had to deal with Mom's passing in our own way," Wendy interjected. "But in the last few years, especially, he's acted as if he wants nothing to do with this family. Like he wants to be a miserable lil Scrooge all by himself."

"Well, I could tell you more, but that would require a flashback or otherwise long-winded exposition of some sort. And being a mere side-character, I don't think you or I have the power or right to initiate such a thing," Lemmy smiled.

"Be as it may, I thought the 'Omega Prude' would at least grace us with his presence for a lil while!" Roy said gruffly. "Ah well, his loss."

"I suppose I will just have to give his souvenir later," Hanbei mused. "But in any case! Since the rest of you are assembled now, we can dispense with the rest of the gifts. Boys, if you please."

"OK!" the twins said as they went off to fetch the bag and bring it back into the company of the group.

"Oh, yeah! Almost forgot!" Roy smiled with glee as he got right in front of Hanbei. "Gift time is now!"

"You shall be last," Hanbei said with a smirk.

"Aw, c'mon, not this shit again!"

"Remember what I said. Any more of that type of behavior will only result in you waiting longer. Like say...tomorrow. Or maybe..." Hanbei mused.

"Aight, fine, you made your point! DAMN!" Roy threw his hands up.

"Good. Now, we may begin!" With that the light blue turtle first went in the bag, and carefully pulled out a cluster of items that were located with a set of Ziploc bags. "For you, Morton, I grant you the only item you requested me to get when I left. A variety of used panties from a Panty vending machine, complete with pictures for proof."

"Hah hah! Dat's wassup, Bei-by Boy-ee!" the large brown koopa laughed as he grabbed the bags. "See, Larry? Told ya non-believin' ass dat they existed!"

"Japan, only in Japan! Your people are crazy, B," Larry snickered.

"Japan's got it all, even toilets that will *clean your own butthole for you!" * Iggy interjected. "I've been telling Dad for years that we should get some around this camp, but noooo...!"

"You mean they gots toilets over there that make it so a lizza don't have to wipe his own ass?! Why din't ya tell me dis vital info before?! I would have asked for that!!" Morton groaned.

From there, Hanbei would continue to administer other, rather off-kilter or otherwise bizarre gifts to the other remaining members of Junior's kindred. For denizens familiar with being rich as the Koopa family, how "expensive" a gift ended up being was usually of little consequence, compared to how unique or creative it was. For example, Lemmy could care less about how much Hanbei ended up paying for various flavors of authentic pocky, and he REALLY loved the 14" gong he got, as well.

"I LOVE ME SOME GONGS!" Lemmy shouted as he happily gave his new gift a few play-tests. "It'll make my life so much more EPIC! I only wish my fans could hear me now!"

"Well, believe me, WE CAN!" Larry shouted over his older brother's instrument. Roy, however, had soon watched as the last of the other gifts were doled out to his other brothers, and then patiently resumed his spot in front of Hanbei.

"Roy's turn...finally?" the pink-capped koopa pleaded.

"Minna-san!" Hanbei said, drawing everybody's attention.

"That means 'everybody'!" Iggy translated.

"Ima desu ka...?" the light blue turtle continued with a sly grin.

"And that means...?" Roy replied.

"You'd think since you hung out with him half of your life practically, you'd have a better comprehension of his second tongue than any of us...!" Iggy smirked.

"How 'bout less snark, more talk, four-eyes!" Roy shouted back.

"Ah, kowai, kowai~!" Iggy snickered. "Hanbei-san! Iie! Ashita desu nee~!"

"Hontou desu ka? Zannen...!" Hanbei replied with a concerned smirk.

"Aw, c'mon!" Roy growled with frustration. "I can't keep up wit' moon language like dat!"

"Nii-chan, soko made da!" Junior spoke up at last, surprising the company present, with all eyes on him. "What? Can't I pick up a little Japanese here and there over the years?"

"Well, at least one of you guys hanging with Hanbei-san did so!" Iggy smiled. "Developing well in body, mind and culture, Junior might have the makings of being a 'Renaissance Koopa', yet! Perhaps under my tutelage-"

"Migoto desu, Junia-kou," Hanbei congratulated the youngest of the Koopa clan, interrupting Iggy's fantasy.

"Umm.... *Sankyuu!" * Junior gave an emphatic thumbs up with a smile. "Hope you enjoyed that, cuz that about taps me out now!"

"Keep practicing, and there's no limit to what may be able to accomplish," Hanbei encouraged.

"Truth! But still, c'mon! Roy's been waiting long enough, wouldn't you agree?"

"Glad SOME BODY sees it the way I do!" Roy stated indignantly.

"Alright then, Roy-dai. You have been a good sport. Now then..." the periwinkle sea turtle said as he reached into the bag. "First up! Of course, I was not going to leave the land of the Rising Sun without getting you a new game to sink your teeth into. How does the CPS2 beat 'em up classic, Aliens vs. Predator sound?"

"Ooooooooooh! Yeahyeahyeahyeahyeah!" Roy smiled with glee as Hanbei gingerly took out the arcade PCB and set it aside.

"Next up, I know you love Super Robot Wars and JAM Project, so I got you a CD anthology with some of JAM's best hot-blooded songs included," Hanbei continued.

"NICE!" Roy smiled.

"And now, for the centerpiece of this arrangement. This one I actually was able to obtain when Gaisei-sensei and I were in Hong Kong. I can verify that this is an original, though..." Hanbei said as he pulled out a long box. Immediately, all Koopa eyes started to bug out, as they at first couldn't believe their eyes.

The box art was unmistakable. Two boys were pitted opposite each other, as a dome-shaped board was situated between them. Various metallic projectiles were being shot across the playing field at two different playing pieces. If that much didn't already make Hanbei's last gift to Roy apparent, you only had to read the game's title.

"AW, SNAP! MUTHAFUCKIN' CROSSFIRE!!! FUCK YEAH!!!!" Roy shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Well, I'll be damned. Cancel my WoW account! We just got Crossfire back!!!" Iggy exclaimed.

"You've really done it now..." Wendy laughed.

"Yeah! That used to be Roy's favorite game back in the day... til he fuckin' broke ours beyond any hope of repair..." Larry groaned.

"Hah, yeah! And some of dem lil metal balls were disappearin' even before dat!" Morton chimed in.

"Hanbei... we gotta do it!" Roy said, emphatically.

"You mean play a few rounds of the game? We could do that," Hanbei said graciously.

"No no no, even before that!" Roy's smile widened and his gaze quickly turned to his male siblings. "We gots to sing the song!"

"A song...?" Hanbei stated, with an increasingly perplexed look on his face.

"Ya mean ya don't even know the song...? Well, we gots to educate him, boys!"

"Hell yeah!!!" Roy's brothers agreed.

"Oh, God!" Wendy groaned.

"Hush up, woman! This is manly stuff you can't hope to understand! REAL TALK!" Roy commanded.

"This should be good....!" Billy said aside to his brother with a smile. Suddenly, the room was silenced by Lemmy's resounding gong.

"Some time in the future!" the diminutive koopa began in a demented tone of voice. "The Ultimate Challenge...CROSSFIRE!"

Following that, he sat by his younger brothers, Larry and Iggy, already seated on the floor. All three proceeded to make a background beat by drumming their hands on the floor in front of them. Morton, meanwhile, accompanied them by using his trademark "big mouth" to perform some beatboxing.

"You say...!" Roy lead off.

"CROSSFIRE! *YOU'LL * GET CAUGHT UP IN THE...! CROSSFIRE!" Roy and his male siblings shouted.

"Sing dat muthafucka NOW!" Roy shouted louder.

"CROSSFIRE! YOU'LL GET CAUGHT UP IN THE...! CROSSFIRE!" the group shouted louder.

"CROSSFIRE!!!" Roy started.

"CROSSFIRE!!!" the make-shift male chorus answered.

"CROSSFIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!" Junior belted out, with all the dramatic flourish of a metal band lead vocalist. All of the Koopa brothers present proceeded to laugh out loud with each other.

"To think, I had such high hopes for you at one time, Junior..." Wendy held back laughing herself.

"Well, what can I say, except...'I'm the baby, gotta love me!'"

The group fell about the place at Jr's second joke.

"Kid keeps on deliverin'!" Roy said proudly, amidst the laughter. "But yeah....DAT, Bei-Bei, is what CROSSFIRE is about."

"Well, that, and having kids dressed up in bad-ass leather outfits, as if they were ready to throw down in the world of Mad Max," Larry added.

"Quite" Hanbei admitted with an amused chuckle. Junior then proceeded to elbow Roy in the side.

"What?" Roy grunted with a bit of annoyance.

"Don't you think it's about that time?" Junior alluded.

"Time for what?"

"Y'know, with all this gift giving that just happened, and a certain some one being in our midst again...hint, hint!" Junior urged.

"Oh yeah...? Oh yeahyeahyeahyeahyeah!" Roy remembered. "Hanbei, hold dat pose!"

"Hm?" Hanbei queried.

"Jus' stay right derre!" With that, Roy made a bee-line for a closet door across from them, and went inside. Shortly afterward, the pink-capped koopa emerged, with something behind his back and a smile on his face.

"Alrighty! Now, what I got behind my back was intended to be waiting for you when you were originally slated to come back! But hey, since you here now...!"

Roy then presented his best friend with a NeoGeo MVS game cartridge. At that time, it was Hanbei's turn to have a look of utter shock on his face.

"K-...Kunio no Nekketsu Dodgeball Densetsu...?!" the light blue turtle said in disbelief. "Could it be...?!"

"Hah! We FINALLY struck pay dirt!" Roy hi-fived Junior and his brethren.

"Roy-dai...Minna-san! You honor me with this gift. Arigatai!" Hanbei stated curtly, as he then gave a quick quarter-bow.

"Damn, Hanbei. We all like family, here! You don't got to do all dat!" Roy assured.

"But this game, right here! It is one of the most rare arcade games ever released. If you can call it that, since it was technically not even released in Japan! I have been searching for this game since its release in 1996 and never could find it...!"

"Well, you never know what can turn up just one random day on a Yahoo auction...!" Iggy smiled.

"Yahoo Japan...?" Hanbei queried.

"Nope! Regular ol' Yahoo, even!" Iggy corrected.

"Indeed! Of course, this all came about when we were in the midst of trying to find the right gift for you, Bei-by! The *KIA: Koopa Investigation Agency, * was doing the damn thing, on and off the internet! No stone left unturned!" Wendy added.

"I really hope it was not too much trouble..." Hanbei said with an air of concern.

"Oh, getting it was mos' definitely a 'ain't no thang' moment," Roy smirked. "On the other hand..."

"What?" Hanbei asked.

"It still felt like a fuckin' shot in the dark! All cuz trying to drag any thing out of ya's like tryin' to pull out TEETH! You being so damn secretive and all!" The light blue turtle just gave his usual aloof expression.

"Yeah, dat's right! Hit the nail right on da head, din't I?" Roy accused with a grin.

"I fail to see just why this is so much of an...'issue', as it were..." Hanbei resumed his deadpan expression.

"Oh, don't even try it! It's always been like this!" Junior said. "Trying to buy Birthday and Christmas gifts for YOU, and having a guarantee that you'd really like it? Some one could say that trying to find a cure to world hunger might be something easier!"

"You make it sound as if I do not appreciate the gifts. That was never my intention," Hanbei defended himself.

"Over-exaggeration and hyperbole by laughing boy and his accomplice not-withstanding, they do have a point. Year in, year out, the Koopa family would try to get some thing nice for you. You'd always smile and appreciate it, that much is true. On the other hand, it would never seem like anything we got for you set your personal world on fire. For all the money and resources that we have at our disposal, trying to find at least ONE gift that could actually stand to get a real response out of you soon became a nice little "game" in itself among us. And of course, your best friend isn't much help in trying to help narrow things down~!" Wendy grinned.

"Hey! Dat ain't fair! I mean, if ya can't say anything else 'bout me, it's that I put almost EVERYTHING about me out there! Clear as day! So if ya know me, ya mos def know what I like! Dis blue lizza right here tho'!?" Roy emphasized as he pointed at his smaller friend, who was sporting his trademark enigmatic smile.

"So I do not do as much in the way of putting myself on display. That is the way I am. I like being 'mysterious'," Hanbei stated.

"...and 'full of shit'!" Roy smiled back.

"As they say....'you mad'?" Hanbei smirked. A couple of Roy's brothers snickered at that.

"And you know what? Eat a dick, ya lil smug-ass so-n-so!" Roy said, as his finger poked into the middle of Hanbei's chest.

"Saa, itemiro: 'Kuchiku shite!'," Hanbei answered quickly with a larger grin.

"What was that?!" Roy growled back.

"Nothing. Just messing with you as always, my friend," Hanbei continued to smile. "But truly, thanks for the gift. It means a lot to me."

"Aight den. You welcome, of course!" Roy grinned back.

"Translation of that last line, Iggy?" Junior asked his bespectacled sibling.

"What was that?" Iggy asked as he was looking over some of the rare art books that Hanbei had acquired for him.

"Eh....never mind...." Junior waved off with a bit of disappointment.

"Well, 'bout dat time now ain't? What say you, Bei-Bei? Should we pull out the System 256 and play some of dat Tekken? Cuz you know da King 'n I have been wanting a rematch with you 'n Kazuya!"

"We could do that. Or we could do something else. I have a few things that I picked up for myself that I believe will be pleasing for all. One in particular that I hope you and will be able to play later, Roy. But for now..." Hanbei said as he wandered over to one of his own bags, pulling out what looked to be a small CD-ROM in a case, as well as a good-sized red cart.

"How would you guys feel about playing Guilty Gear XX Slash?"

"Guil.....ty......Gear......?" Junior could only mutter, as glee started to consume him.

"Aw, snap! Forgot dat shit was just released a lil while ago! My man!" Roy smiled.

"So wait, it's already on PS2?" Junior asked.

"Hell naw!" Roy corrected. "Ya lookin at da original Naomi version here, son. We gonna be playin' dis on our SuperNova!"

"I trust you have been taking good care of our 'child', right, Roy-dai?" Hanbei asked.

"Sho' 'nuff. Hell, had no reason to touch it since ya been gone...not to mention what had happened last time..."

"Hmm," Hanbei smirked as he went over to the wall console and started to gently pull out a fairly large gray box with some wires sticking out of it. Junior had seen this device plenty of times in action growing up, but even still, it sometimes amazed him to see it at work.

The "SuperNova" was, to put it in lay-man's terms, a device that allowed you to play legit arcade games in the comfort of your own home. By interfacing with the various different arcade hardware boards that existed on the market, it was possible for the SuperNova to play everything ranging from classics like Pac-Man and Crystal Castles to more recent games like Soul Calibur III and Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Hanbei and Roy jointly bought such a model for themselves years ago, in the midst of the Fighting Game craze that described the 1990s.

However, being a SuperNova owner was not for the weak of heart. Besides the numerous costs entailed, you had to put it all together manually. And when something went wrong with any of the apparatuses, including the arcade-style sticks that were a part of the package deal, it usually meant having to do some soldering or buying any number of replacement parts, if necessary.

For the most part, all in-house repairs were handled by Hanbei, who was proficient with working with machinery in this way. The one time that Roy tried to do such an operation on his own, he burned his left pointer finger using the soldering iron, leaving a small scar that could still be seen even now. From that point on, Hanbei laid the ground-rule that dictated: "he who has Xbox-sized hands should not attempt to do delicate work of this nature." Roy did not contest him at all on that topic, after that day.

Meanwhile, the sea turtle had just about finished hooking everything up. He then flipped up the power switch on the box's side, and immediately on screen, a series a diagnostic screens appeared. Hanbei toggled a few options on and off, to make for the best fit for the festivities that were to take place.

"Make it easy for everyone and just put it on 'Free-Play', Hanbei. But don't you DARE turn dat Timer off!" Roy ordered.

"Awwww..." Larry groaned.

"Yeah, dat's right, bitch!" Morton agreed. "You give all us lizzas of turtle-descent a bad name, when you just go hide in the corner all-day."

"It's a valid play-style!" Larry contested.

"More like a bitch-ass play-style!" the burly, brown koopa answered.

"B! Help me out here!" Larry pleaded. "It's a valid way to fight a match, right?"

"Sure, it is," Hanbei answered.

"See?!"

"HOWEVER....there has to be said for how you will not exactly be met with much cheering and adoration for adopting such a style."

"Not to mention that Guilty Gear still does have that 'Negative Penalty' thing in effect if you 'turtle' too much!" Junior added on.

"Correct," Hanbei smiled. "Junior knows his game."

"I study to show myself approved!" Junior grinned back. "Especially for my favorite game series!"

"Good...we'll see how you do in this newest version, then!" the blue turtle said, as he saved the settings and allowed the game to boot. Soon, the screen was filled with an animated intro featuring the game's familiar cast of misfits, while the very large speakers to either side of the monitor played a familiar metal medley that delighted Junior's ears. Finally, the logo to the latest chapter of "The Midnight Carnival" was onscreen: Guilty Gear XX Slash.

"Fuck yeah!" Junior smiled broadly.

"We're with you!" Jimmy agreed, this being the first time they being able to see the game outside of an arcade.

"So, I assume when Ky and Sol finally profess their undying love for each other, that's when the game's title will finally become 'Guilty Gear XXX', am I right?" Lemmy snickered.

"Hey! Cut that out! Enough of that gay shit! We're not doing that again!" Larry warned.

"What's your problem with the gay shit, Larry-Lar?" Lemmy grinned.

"Yeah, what is it with you and the gay shit?" Junior chimed in.

"I thought I told you guys this before! I got nuthin' against gay guys, they just creep me the fuck out! What with them getting down with other dudes and all that gay shit! Gives me the heebie-jeebies! And of course, some one tried to 'recruit' me in their numbers, just this last semester! Sorry, but Larry don't play dat!"

"So, you just get a pair of boxers or drawers thrown your way, in addition to whatever panties your lil fanclub likes to toss at you. Big, fat, hairy, totally scary deal," Wendy rolled her eyes.

"Well....what about when the dykes start hollering your way?!" Larry challenged.

"Please. I've gotten....offers during High School and College, certainly. But I just politely turn them down, because I don't swing that way, either. Life goes on, and some of them are still my girlfriends. In other words, you don't have to act like they got the Black Death, Larry. They're *people, * just like you and me. Plenty of them decent people, at that."

"Exactly! I mean, it wasn't just the girls that wanted to get in my pants at those conventions I went to years ago, lemme tell ya! I'd take them all as compliment, even though I'm perfectly happy with my lady, of course!" Lemmy added.

"...Well, fine!" Larry relented. "As long as they don't try and get all gay around my personal ass....!"

"Now THAT I can 'get behind'. No homo!" Morton laughed, with Iggy and Roy joining him.

Junior, meanwhile, was a bit taken aback by this recent turn of events. In all of the various "open forum" talks that he and his siblings have had over the years, never did this particular subject matter ever get to this level. He had no idea that Lemmy and Wendy were so amiable, as they were. Even Morton, Iggy and, more importantly, Roy seemed to exercise a degree of tolerance, if nothing else. And of course, recalling what Jojo told of his experience with Hanbei would do a lot to state the obvious, even though the blue turtle chose to stay silent through this particular conversation. Could it possibly be that a fear that Junior had nourished for so many years, might have been misplaced? If that much was true, then maybe...

...No. The time was not right, yet. He still had to get through Prom tomorrow, if nothing else. Plus, why break up the mood of what was otherwise a happy time by dropping a bomb like this?

_"I'll have to wait just a bit longer," _Junior mused to himself. _"Then I'll be able to be truly free." _

Having said that, Junior's focus just as quickly turned back the screen, where Guilty Gear beckoned to him. A few rounds of "Guilty Fighting" should do just the trick to get his mind off of things. However, it was at that very point that Junior remembered something critical:

_"I STILL can't play for shit on an arcade stick!" _

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