cassfics

[cassfics]

Party’s Over

On The Cover: Darren, William, Piero, and The Bearoness are all dressed as various video game characters. A dark shadow looms behind them, tendrils reaching out. The tagline reads: "Can they survive this interpersonal strife, or will they find out that the PARTY'S OVER"

Piero threw themself back on the couch, exhausted from the extensive use of their powers. They focused on the feeling of one of the few real things in the newly decorated house.

"I gotta say, this place is really coming together!"

William entered in from the kitchen, "Although, I don't understand why you went with such an old television. Couldn't you mime up a flatscreen?"

The ever silent Piero simply shrugged and rolled over to make room for their originally uninvited housemate. Even if William was a somewhat spoiled, disowned heir of one of the most powerful families in Apex City, he did at least get them some furniture, and sitting on a real chair was nice sometimes. 

"They should be here any minute" William said, adjusting his tie. Despite this being simply being a night for friends to hang out, he was adamant about dressing nice, as he was taught all hosts should. Piero was simply wearing their regular outfit.

As if to punctuate the sentence, there was a knock at the door. William took a deep breath and opened the door revealing Darren, wearing a colorful sweater and carrying a large pitcher of Brown Liquid.

"I understand that the Natural Waters I brought to the picnic are not, in fact, ideal for humans. So this time I have brought tea. It is also filled with plants." She lifted the pitcher as she entered. William took it and put it in the cooler of ice that he had prepared for the other drinks. He figured Piero had enough to do making the entertainment and didn't need to make a refrigerator on top of that.

Darren gently sat next to Piero on the couch, "I see that Jackie has not yet arrived?"

Piero simply shook their head no, but was interrupted as the door suddenly burst open! A large Robo-Bear in modified COPI hoodie came charging in carrying a bag full of various snack foods. The bag was immediately dropped unceremoniously on the ground. "Hey Guys!!! I had Static Jacques pick up some snacks that are good for parties!"

"Oh, is he coming?" William said, clearly nervous about having an unexpected guest show up.

"No, why would he?" replied The Bearoness, continuing to be oblivious to Jacques' feelings.

Sensing the coming awkward silence, Piero began handing out imaginary controllers and gesturing for people to take their seats. William and Piero took their spots on opposite sides of the couch with Darren between them and Jackie sitting on the floor in front of her.

"So William, you said something about a Team Building exercise? Is that what this strange device is for?" Darren asked, trying to figure out what the three-pronged device she had been handed was.

The Bearoness chimed in, "Yeah, even if I had human hands, I don't think I could hold this"

"We will be partaking in the greatest team-building exercise of all time: Playing Video Games!" William said, a hint of ironic nobility tinting his voice

Sudden recognition hit Darren's face "Oh! So this is a Videos Game? I have heard Officer Darren's Spores talk about them quite often."

William looked to Piero, realizing he forgot a vital piece of information, "Which game did you mime up anyways?"

The Mime snapped their fingers.

It was Mario Party.

William's face went pale, then quickly changed to a face of exasperation. "Really? Again?"

Piero simply gave a smirk and an over-exaggerated shrug.

After an extended explanation of the rules of the game from William and Piero (but mostly William), it was time to select characters. The clacking of sticks filled the air as the two housemates fought to lay claim to their favorite green dinosaur. Thanks to their position as Player 2, Piero emerged victorious once again.

"This Princess Toadstool, is she a human? or is she also from a different planet?" asked a particularly puzzled Darren.

"I always thought she was a peach, or maybe it was a strawberry?" suggested Jackie, carefully tapping a button to select Donkey Kong.

William sighed as he resigned to selecting Mario "I'm not sure any of these characters are human"

---Turn 1---

The Bearoness looked down at the imaginary pile of plastic under their paws, “Uh, I think I broke this controller by mashing too hard during that game. That and being a rad as heck Cy-Bear. Do you think you can put together something a little more sturdy? Maybe a bit bigger?”

Piero concentrated for a second and wiggled their fingers around as they mimed up a third-party controller.

“Oh sweet! Mad Catz!” The Bearoness exclaimed as they gave the larger buttons a test with their claws.

---Turn 5---

“Hahaaa! My path to victory has only just begun!” shouted William, striking a pose.

Jackie began chuckling menacingly, “We’ll see about that! It looks like the next star is right in front of me!”

Piero used this distraction to mime a shepherd's crook and steal the Party Sized Doritos, only to make direct eye-contact with Darren. A second passed. They handed the alien visitor a chip and nodded. A contract was signed.

---Turn 17---

A belch rang out, followed by a small cloud of spores. “This shopkeeper, they are giving me conflicting feelings. However, I am enthralled by this magical lamp of his.” remarked Darren, hair tendrils slipping further into a can of Baja Blast.

“How long is this game anyways?” The Bearoness managed to ask between attempts to open a bag of Twizzlers with their mouth.

William looked over at Piero. Piero opened another can of seltzer. William sighed loudly.

---Turn 28---

“Piero, I swear if you use another one of those ghosts on me, I will make sure *both* of us are destroyed!” growled Jackie at a smirking Piero.

The crinkling of plastic filled the air as William opened a Cosmic Brownie. “Please, by all means, take each other out. Cement my victory!”

---Turn 36---

“Hey, Darren, you alright? It’s your turn.” William said as Piero gently shook the cheese-dust covered alien. Darren slowly stirred and looked around at her surroundings.

“Huh? Oh, sorry. I must have dozed off…” she said, slowly while picking her controller back up. It was now upside down.

--Turn 48---

Nearing the end of the game, William had maintained his lead, mostly due to The Bearoness and Piero spending 20 turns stealing coins and stars from each other. However, Darren was only star behind.

Unfortunately, the next star was on the other side of the map.

Just as Darren was about to start their turn, Piero jumped up off the couch and started animatedly gesturing to get her attention.

“What? Oh. Oh! OH! The Lamp!” Darren excitedly navigated the menu as she realized what Piero was “saying”.

William stood up in shock, “No! No Way! Impossible! I refuse to believe this!”

Within moments, the Mushroom Genie had whisked the Princess into a tie for First Place in this, The Ultimate Battle.

--The Super Star--

The last 10 minutes of the Final Turns felt like an Eternity. Despite all of his best efforts, and Darren being mostly asleep on the befurred back of The Bearoness, William still remained tied with his closest competition. And yet…

It was time to find out who was the Super Star.

But first! Bonus Stars had to be distributed! Piero began a drumroll on an imagined snare, causing The Bearoness to jolt to attention and knocking their plant-based friend to the floor. William’s knuckles grew white as he clutched the controller.

The Bonus Star for Most Mini Games Won goes to… Yoshi!

The Demon Summoner’s grip on his controller loosened, but only slightly. Sure, Piero was so far behind that the bonus star wouldn’t make a difference, but he was still stuck in a tie.

The Bonus Star for Most Coins Collected goes to… Mario!

William completely dropped his controller as he raised his hands in victory! “Finally! My victory is here at last!”

His celebration was cut short by Piero tapping him on the shoulder and pointing back to the screen. William froze as he saw what was happening.

The Bonus Star for Most Event Spaces goes to… Princess Peach!

William remained motionless as the Resident Mime started laughing. Darren was still fast asleep on the floor with The Bearoness curled up around her.

Piero decided it would probably be best to end the game now before William was broken completely. They dispelled the screen and console as their roommate finally just sank into the couch, unsure of what the outcome would have been. They mimed up some blankets and pillows to make sure their guests would be comfortable when they woke.

The Party was over.