Life's A Beach

[PointMaid]

Also in the arcade, Reina waves. She's eyeing one of the pinball machines.

[Mr. Lee Hammer]

Jimmy walks into the arcade, seeing the anemone and a short teenage girl playing there.

Ahh.... arcades. Haven't seen any of those in so long. I remember as a kid, I used to go up to my arcade and played Pac-Man and Space Invaders all the time. I would use so much quarters in these places, I drove my parents crazy. Those games look like they evolved over the years. Last I remember back home, there was the Super Nintendo and the Sega Genesis and this new console they had called the PlayStation. Do kids play those anymore?

[PointMaid]

Ah, I have an old Play Station. But my dad can be a bit of a cheapskate.

[MadameButterflyKnife]

Dan dumps his stuff into room 9I. As he puts his stuff away, he takes a moment to look at the balcony.

There was something beautiful about being so high up, watching the world unfurl underneath you. A feeling of power, of untouchability as you looked down at the trees and people down below. This must be what it felt to be a god, watching from the heavens. Or a bird. That would explain why birds were like that, Dan muttered to himself. He puts away a bag on the corner of the balcony as he heads back inside to check out the rest of the hotel.

He makes his way inside the arcade, admiring the high tech games. "Kids these days, they must be incredibly lucky." Dan then notices Jimmy inside the arcade. "I don't recognize most of those games you're listing, sir. And I don't believe we've met? It's nice to meet you. The name's Dan Cooper."

[Huney]

"So what's the sitch 'round here, bud? Think I wanna know what I'm dyin' for."

[Mr. Lee Hammer]

Old Play Station? Don't tell me they have like new units of PlayStations. I'm almost curious to go back home and see how everything has changed. It's kind of fascinating., he says then he turns his attention to Dan and offers his hand.

I'm Jimmy Scott. But you can call me Shoehorn. Glad to see more faces around here. I was about to give a tour of the island to everyone here, to show off everything. And to really explain my mission here. And I imagine you're all hungry after being on the boat for so long. I can conjure up some delicious meals. I'd be honored if you would all join me around the island so I can really answer any question you have and treat you all to dinner.

[MadeOfMilk]

Haaaaah.... eh you know what I'm bored already.

> Head to the arcade and hope all the games are on free play

[MadameButterflyKnife]

"You'd want to give us a tour of the island? I'd appreciate that, yes. And a meal would be very appreciated as well, yes." Dan reaches into his pocket and grabs two cigarettes. He puts one in his mouth and offers the other one to Jimmy. "Would you like one?"

[Zanreo]

Paruko waves back to Reina, still looking through the games.

"Super Nintendo? Well, I do have something like that somewhere... I've always had an interest in retro games"

[Mr. Lee Hammer]

I'm not a smoker. But I do appreciate the offer though. Well, whenever you're all ready to see everything, I am definitely raring to go.

Jimmy overhears Paruko referring to the Super Nintendo as retro.

Super Nintendo retro? Why is there an Ultra Nintendo? A Nintendo 3000? I am truly fascinated with everything now. I wonder what kind of consoles Sega has now? The Genesis was a great system. Surely they're still going strong on consoles with Sonic the Hedgehog. No matter, I'm ready when everyone else is.

[Kennifer]

Amanda decides to turn off the radio again for now, but keeps it on the Rock station for when she comes back to her room. She then takes the elevator up to the 5th floor to check out the arcade.

[PointMaid]

Huh, dinner? And a tour... Yeah, I'll take that offer. Thank you very much.

Reina never gives up a free dinner, and she is hungry. At least this way she'll know what's being said. She hates being out of the loop.

[Mr. Lee Hammer]

Jimmy takes everyone out on a tour of the island. He shows them all the sights of the Tropicana, showing off all the various animals, such as birds, the mammals like the monkeys, the lemurs, the rabbits, the hogs, the turtles, the frogs, the fish, etc. and shows off all the various plants and trees around the area. The others sense his extreme passion as he talks about everything he sees. After a long while, he gathers everyone around.

I will have a meal for you all in a bit. But before that, I want to tell you about myself. I am the leader of the Sharks. And what I have just showed you all, this is what I live for and this is what I'm fighting for. I've came to this island 25 years ago after me and my wife managed to survive after our cruise ship sunk. And she was quite the animal lover and she showed me the beauty of nature. With how animals operate, hunt each other, take care of their own, and looking after each other. Just like family. No worries at all. That is until sometime ago, Victoria came around here and built that damn hotel on this island. And her workers totally disregarded everything here. Some creatures and plants ended up dying for no good reason all because of her. And she didn't care at all. And that is how I formed the Sharks. I managed to take some of her own people who were disgruntled for working under her and we went after her people. And eventually she fired back and formed her own gang, the Crows.

He takes a breath before continuing.

She argued that she was benefitting the island, trying to bring more people in, to earn more money. But it is all at the expense of all this great beauty here. It looked so much better before she brought this eyesore to this island. If you watched everything suffered as I have, it really would bring a tear to your eye. And so that's why you're all here. Some of you are Crows and some of you are Sharks. Some of you want to bring an end to this war. And I ask why? Violence may not always be an ideal situation but you have to do what you have to do to achieve the greater good in the end. Even if you end up getting your hands dirty. Something I've tried getting through to my daughter, but she refuses to see reason. She's definitely stubborn, like her mother. If you have any question for me, feel free to ask. I will tell all, within reason.

[Kafkaesque]

Seth is following along, now wrapped in a long amalgamation of whatever odds and ends he could find scattered around the hotel. He allows Jimmy to do the extensive talking for once, occasionally silently nodding to indicate he's got the point.

[Kennifer]

Amanda follows, nodding a bit here and there.

She does think the animals are pretty cool, especially the lemurs and rabbits. Those are very cute indeed.

[Huney]

"Now looky, I won't be pretendin' I'm all peaceful-like, but can't somethin' like this more a... diplomacy thing? Are people really dumb enough to take human lives for a hotel?"

...

"'Gain, not judgin'. I torture people for a livin'."

[MadeOfMilk]

Hmmm.... you know, maybe I should just cut to the chase and invade Pekopon from here already. Less bloodshed that way.

[PointMaid]

Reina just looks nervous about all this and fidgets with her hat.

[Mr. Lee Hammer]

Jimmy laughs as he hears what Tony had to say.

Oh, Tony, Tony, Tony. You're like a mafioso, aren't you? I'm sure you've had to fight in some turf wars in your time. To keep out any unwanted guests off your property. And you know how sometimes, you have to have what your people call "persuasion"? That's just what I'm doing. Showing them they're not wanted her. And this isn't just my turf. This is all for nature. I'm just a mere man, but I like to think I'm the closest thing here there is to mother nature and as they say, you don't mess with mother nature.

[MadameButterflyKnife]

Dan takes another drag off his cigarette as he looks at the flora and fauna. "Mister Spider there's got a point; have you attempted talking to them? Meeting up with them, face to face. Is it paranoia, that they'll try to take you out before you take their leader out?"

[Huney]

"Mm."

Tony puts a finger to his chin. In truth, he was always behind the scenes. Since he's a higher ranker, it's up to the goons under him to fight his battles. Course, he remembers the days where he fought lesser games with his best friend Tommy Ants.

Oh, Tommy, you were so young... how could the Eels have been so merciless...

"Well, sure, I guess my question's more aimed at the hotel staff. I mean. It's a hotel. Not really worth it. There's nobody out here to raise the profits..."

[Mr. Lee Hammer]

Well, Dan, I have tried to talk to Victoria before. But she just brushed me away like I'm common garbage. She's one of those people who just lives in her own world. And I like to think of myself as the protector. When you destroy something precious without care, then I shall do the same. So many of these animals died for no just cause. So it is how they say, an eye for an eye. And again, Tony, she's trying to turn it into a vacation spot, where she can profit off of that. Have all these drunken idiots who come here for Spring Break and pollute everything. It's so disgusting. Now I'm not here to attack any innocent people who are here on vacation. I'm not a savage. My fight goes strictly to Victoria and her people.

[Zanreo]

Paruko looks around as she follows the tour, just taking in the sights. This did look nice, yes... She does start looking kind of uneasy as Jimmy starts talking about this war between the two gangs, though.

[MadeOfMilk]

Excuse me sir! Do you believe a planet-wide invasion is in order?

[Mr. Lee Hammer]

Jimmy answers Keroro's question.

A planet-wide invasion, like aliens from another planet or another galaxy? As long as they're willing to be friendly with humans, I would be willing to give them a chance. I like to think we would welcome any species that wants to come to this world.