Author's Note:

Whoop-dee-doo, a new poll on my profile page! Feel free to vote if you like. Also, this chapter has a little something to do with Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. In a story featuring Persona and Tokyo Mirage Sessions, this is my first time doing anything SMT-related. How amusing. On to the reviews:

"A question. After Link and Zelda's marriage, who do you think is the next (and possibly final) couple to focus on the story? The most reasonable answer might be Cloud and Aerith. But who knows, maybe Tifa could be a "spanner in the works"."

Cloud x Aerith, Cloud x Tifa...either one works just fine. Cloud doesn't seem to be that much into polyamory, so obviously he's gotta settle down with one chick. Another anonymous review:

"You think Steve might have a bit of a rivalry with Dedede since he's also infatuated with Impa?"

Hehehehe...you bet. Another anonymous review:

"Genderswap episode? (lol)"

Confession time...I'm personally not a huge fan of genderswapping. So a genderswap episode won't be happening. Cloudestein has a question about Yuffie:

"...you think we can have a chapter focusing on Yuffie on June, since they're releasing a PS5 port of FF7 Remake on June 10?"

Yes, that is the plan. I've been planning a chapter like that ever since the port was announced. Last up is BowserFan327, who has come worth with their arc idea:

"My idea for an arc is what I like to call, the "Smash Emblem Heroes" arc! This arc has to do with Fire Emblem Heroes so...SPOILER ALERT! This arc is a follow up to the book 4 of it's story mode. I recommend you watch the Book 4 ending on YouTube. This arc will focus on the Fe characters as well as the young smashers in the mansion. Here is a list of characters to look up to learn more about them. This is just an idea. The last four characters are enemy generals from books 3 and four respectively. They formed a group together at the end of book 4. They can launch an attack on the mansion using an army of Fallen Heroes!

Alfonse
Sharena
Eir
Peony
Líf
Thrasir
Plumeria"

(If any of you decided not to look away when you saw the spoiler alert, but kept on reading and got spoiled, then shame on you.) Anyway, this arc sounds like it has a lot of promise. Again, I may not use this suggestion, but we'll see how things go.

Episode 283: Antsy

When Cloud was off fiddling with the Aerith Revival Project, Link needed an assistant to help him with planning his wedding. While Zelda reached out to her own assistant, Researcher Zelda, for an extra hand, Link depended on Rex.

Needless to say, Rex far surpassed Link's expectations. He got Haru to be the wedding florist, helped Link with getting Iori on board with starting up a wedding band, got Link's wedding tuxedo all tidied up, and a whole bunch of other things. These were things that Cloud could've done, but he was too preoccupied. And Link didn't believe that Champion Link was responsible enough.

Rex was still doing his wedding assistant thing, as he and Link were going over the wedding playlist with Iori's band. Rex and Link met with the bed in the recording studio, which they asked for permission to use.

"We are NOT playing 'A Thousand Years', I refuse," Kanji said after he reviewed the wedding playlist, pouting as he had his arms folded. "That dumb Twilight movie ruined it for me."

"Letting a movie franchise affect your opinion on a song...so fickle," Iori shook his head at Kanji, who didn't care what the saxophone singer thought. "...also, I'm the one who dictates what songs we're playing."

"Then you have the floor, Iori," Rex said to the sax player, interested in hearing what his opinion was. "Do you want to play 'A Thousand Years' or not?"

"I'd much rather scrub Waluigi's feet than play that song anywhere." Not the kind of response that Link and Rex expected. Waluigi looked towards Iori, feeling highly offended.

"Dang it...that's one of Zelda's favorite songs," groaned Link, forced to cross the song off his list. Speaking of Zelda, the princess had entered the recording studio along with her maid of honor, Impa. "She won't be a happy camper about that one."

"I have other favorite songs, you know," Zelda stated to Link, who was startled to see his fiancee in the recording studio. The Hylian was so startled, that he nearly dropped his list of songs as well as his ink pen.

"Uh, I knew that already, princes...want to add some to this list?" Link handed the list of songs and ink pen to Zelda, who accepted neither as she simply took a gander at the song list.

"You have some very...questionable song choices, Link. Try and think of the moment, will you? Think of songs for a wedding, not a nightclub."

Zelda: Master Hand had a lot of doubt that Link and I would ever get married. In fact, he even had Isabelle write down a list called "Things That Will Happen Before Link and Zelda Ever Get Married". Which I have right here. *pulls out list* Let's see here... "All conflict in the Middle East gets resolved." Very optimistic prediction. "Wario finding a non-underage girlfriend". Somewhat of a possibility. "The Seattle Mariners actually making the playoffs." Um...ouch. And one more - "The All-Star Manor acknowledging that the Smash Mansion is better in every way imaginable." Okay, now that one is just petty.

"Anyways, Link, we have some important news to share with you," Impa informed the Hylian, before slowly turning her head to Rex. "News that might impact your assistant." Rex was initially scared at first, when Impa faced him, only for his fear to turn into optimism.

"Does it have to do with the awesome work I've done as Link's assistant?" the swordsman eagerly asked, tightening his fists together as he waited for the perceived good news. "Am I getting promoted?!"

"I'm afraid not, Rex. You, along with Researcher Zelda, are going to be...demoted." And just like that, Rex's face instantly fell. Kanji couldn't help but laugh at Rex's misfortunate, only for Iori to silence him with a stern glare.

"Wah, Rex is no longer Link's right-hand man?" asked a very surprised Waluigi, before getting the wrong idea as he stepped up to the plate. "This means the Wah-Man can take his place!"

"You're not taking anyone's place, Waluigi," Zelda told the lanky man, who whimpered as he returned to his original position hunched over in sadness. "Just so you know, Rex, the new assistant will be fulfilling your duties and Researcher Zelda's duties."

"This is stupid, why is she doing this?!" Rex asked Link, hoping that the Hylian wasn't in favor of this sudden change. Rex was doing so well.

"I honestly have no clue," shrugged Link, before leaning in close to Zelda and Impa as he whispered to them: "Why are we doing this?"

"Because I already have someone in mind," answered Impa, knowing how disappointed Link might be. "Researcher Zelda was perfectly fine with the change."

"Uh, is there a way that I could get my assistant role back?" Rex asked Zelda and Impa, hoping that the two ladies wouldn't see his request as an act of desperation.

"If our new assistant turns out to have ulterior motives, then yes, you can have your duties. Just know that this new assistant will help both Link and Zelda until the day of the wedding."

"Can I be the new assistant's...assistant?" Waluigi proposed to Zelda and Impa, raising his finger so he could be noticed. Zelda and Impa just stared at Waluigi, who slowly brought his finger down. "It was worth a shot..."

"Sorry if this news seemed so sudden to you two," Zelda apologized to Link and Rex, able to sense how completely devastated the latter was. The princess and Impa both looked at Rex apologetically, as they left the recording studio.

"I hope that this new wedding assistant sucks at their job..." pouted Rex, as he looked down at the floor...and weirdly enough, Waluigi was siding with Rex, a la his "brother from another mother".

Cloud was still at the psych ward after Master Hand threw some more cash at the staff. Even did it literally, just to send a strong message. As always, the mansion residents were prohibited from visiting Cloud at the ward...but that didn't stop certain residents from sneaking out. One of those residents was Wario, who had an important question to ask Cloud. It was a question that had been weighing on the fatso's mind for some time now.

"Where is the $10,000?" Wario asked Cloud with a greedy smile on his face, as he rubbed his hands together. The fatso was seated upon Cloud's bed, refusing to get off until Cloud gave him the answer that he preferred.

"I already gave it away to Professor E. Gadd," answered Cloud, hoping that Wario would go away - but that only made Wario even more interested, as the fatso crept closer towards Cloud. "And then he gave it Dr. Eggman..."

"Okay, that's fine and dandy, but has this $10,000 been spent yet?" Wario would go as far as hunting Eggman down at his evil lair if it meant getting his hands on the $10,000. "Show me the moolah!"

Wario: Make no mistake about it, I want that $10,000 just for myself. Wanted that money the very moment Pit and Lloyd raised that much from delivering food around town. Sadly, Cloud had to beat me to the punch, but now's the time to make up for my failure. I'm already the richest person in the mansion, by far...gotta add on to my wealth and blow the competition out of the water!

"I'm not showing you anything, the money is gone for good," stated Cloud as he got up off the bed, about to leave the room so he could distance himself from Wario's greedy self. "You want $10,000 that bad? Go and bully your employees into making more microgames."

"But that's too hard, I need something more instant!" griped Wario, watching as Cloud left the room. Nothing Wario could do to reel the swordsman back in. "You can't run away from me, Strife!"

"Always worried about money..." someone said to Wario in a disappointed tone; Wario jumped off the bed in fear, as he saw Midna slowly descend. "...talk about being one-dimensional."

"M-Midna? You want the $10,000 too?" Wario didn't expect to find any competition for the right to claim the $10,000, but he imagined Midna to be an easy opponent to take care of. "Well, that's too bad."

"I'm not here for the money, garlic for brains...I just wanted to stop by and see how Cloud is doing. At least I came here for the right reason."

"I came here for the right reason, too...to get my hands on that money!" As Wario kept his focus on the $10,000, Midna floated over to the door and took a peek outside through the hallway. "Got a feeling that Cloud is lying..."

"Meh, it wouldn't be his first rodeo..." Midna looked left and right through the hallway for any signs of Cloud, before turning her attention back to Wario. "...why don't you do me a huge favor, and keep a close watch on Cloud?"

"Me? Watch over Cloud? Ha! I'm not his babysitter." Wario folded his arms in defiance, only for Midna to fly up to the fatso and get all up in his face. Midna stared down Wario in a highly intimidating manner.

"I'm sorry, did I stutter? Either you do as I say, or you won't even live to see the money that you crave..." Midna's intimidation skills worked, as she had Wario backing down in a hurry.

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Now up for the task, Wario hightailed out of the room and off to find Cloud. Midna smirked as Wario left, folding her arms behind her head.

It only took him less than a week, but Steve finally built Impa's shrine. No, he didn't use any Minecraft blocks to get the job done - the craftsman used actual building material, which showed how much thought he care he put into the making of the shrine. Impa was expected to live in it, and so were the RWBY gang - Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang.

"This is my shrine, which is dedicated to Impa," Steve explained to Mario and his neighbors as he brought them to the shrine. Hunter was noticeably missing from the group. The shrine had a Hyrulian vibe going on, looking like the kind of shrine you'd find in Kakariko Village.

"He actually built this entire thing..." remarked Roy, as he and his wife Lilina saw how magnificent the shrine looked. "...I gotta say, I'm amazed! And maybe a little frightened..."

"Yes, I too frightened myself with how much work I put into this shrine. Haha, haha." Steve tried to win over the others with his robotic laughter, but his efforts proved futile.

Mario: Until the shrine-a was finished, Ruby and the girls had to stay with-a us for about a week. But apparently, a week was too long-a for Hunter to manage. I thought Hunter made-a up with those girls...what happened?

Hunter: Haven't been able to sleep much these past couple of days. I've been keeping a close eye on the four ladies, keeping my eyes peeled just in case they try to kick me and Spyro out of the house. That's why I've been staying awake at night so that way I'll be one step ahead of Dr. Wily's scheme. Spyro, on the other hand, tries to get a good night's sleep in...guess that's just a metaphorical representation of how much of a non-woke sheep he is. I'm more of a...uh...what's the opposite of sheep?

"How about I give you all a tour?" Steve said to the neighbors, as he led them to the shrine entrance. The craftsman tried to open the door, but for some reason, it wouldn't budge.

"Nobody's home, go away!" shouted a voice from inside the shrine, with a very ironic response. The voice sounded like it came from Sonic's mouth.

"Sonic, is that you?" asked Mario after he recognized the voice, joining Steve at the door as he banged on the door multiple times. "Why on earth are you inside-a the shrine?"

"Because, uh, Steve trapped us inside." Us? That made Mario even more suspicious. "And by us, I mean me and Crash. Steve is evil! Don't trust him!"

"I can confirm that I am NOT evil," Steve stated matter-of-factly, shutting down Sonic with facts and logic. And maybe even some sass on the side. "Nor am I not an untrustworthy person."

"Don't listen to him, he's just making up lies! You can tell how evil someone is by how much they...BLAKE WHAT HAPPENED WITH YOUR FACE?!"

"The better question is, what are you boys doing in this shrine?" Yang was heard shouting at Sonic and Crash before a loud scuffle was heard. Sounded like Blake and Yang were wrangling with the intruders.

"Are Sonic and Crash having their butts-a handed to them?" wondered Luigi, before digging through his pockets for his cellphone. "I gotta record this...for my own entertainment, of course."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," announced Steve, as he whipped out a TNT crate and placed it in front of the shrine door. The craftsman detonated the TNT, bringing the door down...

...and revealing Blake and Yang inside the shrine, having Sonic and Crash pinned down to the floor, respectively. With a whole bunch of eyes on them, Blake and Yang stopped what they were doing and helped Sonic and Crash up to their feet like nothing ever happened.

"Uh, hi guys," Yang sheepishly greeted everyone as she scratched the back of her head; Blake did nothing to absolve herself of any suspicion. "Steve wanted to show you his shrine?"

"Blake, why did-a you paint your entire face black?" Mario asked the Faunus, hoping that she knew the weight of her actions. "Don't you know that black-a face is insensitive?"

"This is a facial mask, Mario..." Blake informed the plumber, baffled that his knowledge of beauty products was that low. "...if I might recall, Peach uses facial masks too, does she not?"

"Yeah, but at least when she does-a hers, she's not potentially offending an entire race-a of people. You should really think-a before you do things, Blake."

"That's right, Mario, you tell 'em!" exclaimed Hunter, siding with Mario as he finally showed up with the group of neighbors...while carrying what appeared to be a detonator switch. Mario and Spyro looked at the switch curiously.

"Um, Hunter, what's with that switch?" Spyro concerningly asked the cheetah, worried that one false move could cause an explosion to happen nearby.

"Wow, Spyro. Nosy much? Always gotta be up in my business." Hunter held the switch behind his back, like that would make him look innocent. "I know they're close friends and all, but seriously, stay in your lane..."

"Seriously, Hunter, why do you have-a that switch?" Mario asked the cheetah as he snatched the detonator switch away from him. Hunter reached out for the switch, only for Mario to swat his hands away. "Planning on blowing some-a thing up?"

"Totally not this shrine," uttered Sonic, only to gasp and cover his mouth when he realized that he accidentally spilled the beans. Crash looked just as mortified as Sonic did, while Hunter whistled and inched away.

"You mean this whole-a shrine is going to explode?!" panicked Luigi, before throwing arms up in the air as he ran back to his house for safety. "EVERY MAN-A FOR HIMSELF!"

"Did someone say anything about a shrine exploding?" asked Ruby as she and Weiss came down from some stairs in the shrine. Ruby was rubbing her eyes, implying that she had just woken from her nap. "We literally just started living here..."

"No, Ruby, you were just imagining things," Peach assured the girl before she turned around and gave Hunter a stern look. Mario and Spyro were also looking at Hunter, who had backed himself into a tree with nowhere else to go.

"Let's-a head back home, shall we?" Mario said to Hunter, grabbing the cheetah by the ear as he dragged him to his house. Peach and Spyro followed after Mario, as Hunter kept yelping in pain along the way.

As Joker and the Phantom Thieves expected, the new Cafe Leblanc was a hit at the mansion. The tower denizens were inclined to agree, as they frequented the cafe as much as the mansion residents did. Every day, the cafe was constantly populated, and the person running the cafe, Joker, couldn't be any happier. Of course, the young man could use some extra hands...

"Rodin has been secretly envious of your success with Cafe Leblanc," Bayonetta said to Joker, as she and Tom Nook were chilling at the counter while eating some curry. "So jealous, he won't even admit it..."

"Well, it's not my fault his idea of having a cafe AND a brothel at the tower got shot down," responded Joker, as he was fixing a cup of coffee - not for Bayonetta or Tom Nook, but himself. Can't hurt to drink while on the job. "Let alone a strip club..."

"Rodin did say that the strip club would've been just for strip poker," stated Tom Nook - hard to imagine why that idea had never garnered any of Crazy Hand's attention. "Though I don't know who he'd want to play strip poker with..."

Rodin: Ask some of the guys and girls around the tower if they were down for some strip poker, and for some reason only the men said yes. That's one thing I like about men - they don't care about losing their dignity. Which makes 'em ripe for the pickin'! *grins deviously*

Knuckle: If you ask me, I'd totally kick Rodin's butt at strip poker. Heck, I don't even wear any clothes, I'm practically naked! That alone should give me some kind of immunity.

"Welcome, Pit - care for some curry?" Joker asked the angel who had just entered the room, offering him some curry. "Promise you this one won't burn your tongue like the last one."

"Nah, I just wanted to apply for a job at Cafe Leblanc," replied Pit, as his request caught Joker by surprise. Joker was very humbled that Pit wanted to work alongside him at the cafe.

"Wow, Pit, I'm surprised by your initiative! Although..." Joker understandably had doubts about giving Pit the job, given the angel's history. "...I have to see if you're worth enough to handle the job."

"What's the pay like? What's the hourly wage?" Pit was coming at Joker with some pretty loaded questions, and Joker couldn't handle them.

"There's no money involved...you basically work for free. Just clean the counters, serve coffee, make curry, and that's it."

"Well, the Joker from The Dark Knight said that if you're good at something, never do it for free. How can you not have the same ideology as the man with whom you share your namesake?"

"Some 'Joker' you're supposed to be," Bayonetta teased Joker as she gave him a playful smile. Joker sighed, knowing that he had to appease Pit one way or another.

"Pit, no offense, but we don't need if you'll be good at your job or not," Tom Nook offered his two cents to the angel, doing his best to keep it real. "You can't even be trusted to take out the recycling stuff!"

"Big difference, Tom Nook - that's a chore, not a job," stated Pit, having a supreme amount of confidence in his own abilities. Or the lack thereof.

"You know what, Pit? If you want the job so bad..." Joker said to the angel, who leaned in close to the young man. "...why don't you ask Lady Palutena for permission?"

"Alright, bet!" So Pit turned around and was about to exit Cafe Leblanc...before turning back around at Joker. "Wait, why am I asking Lady Palutena again?"

"Is Lady Palutena not your mother, or parental figure? Most kids usually ask their parents for permission when getting a job. Shouldn't you do the same?"

"Eh, you got a point there. I'll be back!" Pit left the cafe for good, as Joker sighed in relief.

"That should buy me some time...and a little sanity."

Wario was at the psych ward, holding his end up the bargain as he was asked by Midna to look for Cloud's whereabouts. The fatso had spent so much of his time searching for Cloud, that some of the staff assumed that he was lost.

"Excuse me, sir, are you lost?" a nurse approached Wario, who was looking out through an open window in the hallway. Perhaps Cloud had wandered outside, for whatever reason. "Did you set up an appointment?"

"No, I'm just looking for my friend," replied Wario as his reply, without any sort of context given, gave the nurse a very dubious look. "He's tall, got blonde spiky hair, better-looking than me but not by that much..."

"Oh, you must be referring to Cloud Strife! Think I saw him enter one of the restrooms. Don't know which one, though."

"Useless nurse..." Grumbling to himself, Wario walked away from the window as he continued his search. Adhering to the nurse's word, Wario went inside the men's restroom that was just down the hallway.

But when the fatso opened the restroom door, he didn't see Cloud...rather, he saw a man with black pants, with all sorts of black tattoos all over his skin. He was standing in front of the wall, looking down at the floor. Wario had every right in the world to be afraid...especially when the man turned his head around at him.

"Um, nurse, there's some creepy man in the men's restroom!" Wario called out to the nurse, the nervousness coursing through his veins as the man stepped closer to him. It was a new fear that Wario was used to.

"Close the restroom door," the man commanded Wario, who was too stricken with fear to move a muscle. The only thing that could save Wario was the nurse - and it didn't look like she was coming.

"Hello, nurse! Some creep in the restroom wants to kill me!" Wario called out to the nurse once more, as the man with black tattoos walked closer to him. Wario felt like wetting himself out of fear, but he had too much pride and dignity to release his bladder.

"I said close the restroom door...now." The man with tattoos made his second command more sincere, and it worked as Wario slammed the door shut. "Excellent..."

Nurse: Someone was calling out to me? About some creep? I'm sorry, I had just started my lunch break. Is this creep that fat mustached guy I saw scratching his crotch at the window? He totally fits the vibe.

"Wh-Who are you?!" Wario asked the tattooed man, wishing that he had a gun. Using it would be understandable during moments like these. "Why do you want to kill me?!"

"I am the Demi-Fiend," the tattooed man introduced himself to Wario, while also trying to present himself as a nonviolent person. "Do not be alarmed - I'm not in the business of killing others."

"So you don't want to kill me?" Wario loosened up a bit, before seeing the Demi-Fiend as a potential enemy in his path. "Let me guess - you're after the $10,000 that Cloud stole!"

"Cloud Strife? I've heard of that name before." The Demi-Fiend cracked his head, as Cloud's name dwelled in his mind. "Tell me, what is he like?"

"I'm not telling you a darn thing! What do I look like, some kind of gossip whore? If you're that interested in Cloud, go and stalk that man!"

"I will stalk him...after you tell me what I need to know." The Demi-Fiend crept closer to Wario, cornering the fatso near the restroom door. Wario was back to being struck with fear. "Better start speaking, or else..."

"Or else what? You're gonna kill me, even though you promised you wouldn't? How can you fall back on your own word like that?"

"Wario? Is that you?" Cloud's voice was heard from behind a restroom stall, followed by the sound of a toilet flushing. Hearing Cloud's voice, the Demi-Fiend quickly left the restroom, much to Wario's confusion.

"Er...why do you ask?" responded Wario, as Cloud got out of the restroom. Cloud washed his hands over the sink with soap and water, before drying his hands off with some paper towels - only because he didn't trust the hand dryers enough.

"Couldn't leave me alone, could you? Keep that up, and you're gonna be a bona fide stalker. Like Sephiroth. He's already enough to deal with.

"Me being a stalker...haha, very funny..." Wario chuckled nervously as he followed Cloud out of the restroom - while also wondering where the Demi-Fiend had run off to.

Cloud: Wasn't really using the restroom - I only flushed the toilet just to give off the vibe that I was. But the one thing about this psych ward is that they don't mind how long you stay in the restroom. I could literally sit inside the restroom stall for hours, plotting the next terrorist attack or something, and nobody on the staff would mind. But if they see my room preoccupied during the night hours, then they started getting scared...so I still have some kind of curfew.

Mario, Peach, and Spyro were having a stern talk with Hunter in the living room, asking the cheetah why he plotted to blow up Impa's shrine with Sonic and Crash's help. It was during his open discussion that Hunter revealed the extent of his plans. Apparently, he was able to acquire explosives from Dingodile. (Some of which were perfectly legal, mind you.) Even Steve wanted in on the convo, as he desired to know Hunter's full intentions.

"Why do you wish to destroy the shrine that I built for Impa?" Steve asked Hunter, the disdain that he had for the cheetah hidden discreetly behind his plain-looking face. "Do you secretly hate her? Or do you hate how much you love Impa because you know that she is out of your league?"

"Like you're the one to talk, buddy..." replied Hunter, believing that Steve had a better chance at being catapulted straight into the sun than at successfully wooing Impa. "...but for the record, my plans have nothing to do with Impa."

"Hunter, this has to stop," Spyro stressed to the cheetah, greatly alarmed by how motivated his friend was to mess with the RWBY gang. "Those girls, they haven't done anything wrong!"

"I used to think they haven't done anything wrong...for like one second. But Dr. Wily has me thinking that he's the ringleader of those girls, and he's..."

"You still think that Wily wants us gone because he found out about your secret plan? Not our secret plan - I want no part of it."

"You don't see? Wily brought those girls back for a reason. His lame excuse that he used, anyone could see through."

"Don't think he was lying to us...but seriously, though, you should stop. It's not like those girls hurt you personally."

"Oh, but they did! They hurt me personally AND financially! Not only that, but they hurt me physically, emotionally, and spiritually. They oughta educate themselves on how hurtful they are to others."

"Only you think-a they're hurtful to anyone," stated Mario, failing to see how the RWBY gang could pose as a threat to anyone. "And how on earth did-a those girls hurt you financially?"

"Found a quarter in the lake one day, and Weiss asked for it. Just so she could have some money to buy some cheap beauty products from Anna. You have no idea what forced kindness can do to a man."

"My goodness..." Peach facepalmed and shook her head at Hunter, who was sorely convinced that Weiss was trying to make him broke. The joke was on Hunter since he's been broke the very moment he first laid foot in Seattle.

"Hunter, I'd hate to do this, but you are no longer permitted-a to leave this house," Mario told the cheetah, prohibiting him from leaving his house. Very rarely did the plumber give out orders like those, unless in dire circumstances. "This is for the girls' safety."

"You can't do that to me, you're not my parent!" griped Hunter, showing a little defiance as he folded his arms. He was acting like a bratty teenager. "I'll do your stinking punishment, but only if you adopt me."

"Fortunately, we won't be making that horrible decision," stated Peach, slightly offending Hunter as she and Mario both left. "Spyro, keep a close eye on Hunter while we're gone!"

"Lay a finger on my shrine, and you will be very sorry," Steve threatened Hunter before following Mario and Peach out of the house. Hunter couldn't help but snicker at how Steve delivered his threat.

"Nice going, Hunter...now I'm stuck here until Mario and Peach come back," Spyro complained to his cheetah friend, salty that he couldn't check out the shrine. The purple dragon yawned, before lying on the couch. "Am getting sleepy, though..."

"WOOF, WOOF!" Poochy was heard barking, as Spyro's eyes suddenly lit up. Spyro checked behind the couch, sighing when he saw Poochy standing happily to a puddle of urine.

"Really waited until Mario and Peach left so you could pee inside the house, huh?" Spyro shook his head at Poochy as he leaped off the couch, before looking for some cleaning supplies. "Now where Mario leave those wipes...?"

As Spyro ventured into the nearby bathroom, Hunter heard someone knocking on the screen door in the back. The cheetah looked up, and saw Falco standing around outside with Anna; with Spyro nowhere to be seen, Hunter sprinted to the screen door.

"Hey, let's keep it low, okay?" Hunter whispered to Falco and Anna after he quietly opened the screen door, checking behind him to see if Spyro was nearby. "Don't want Spyro's attention..."

"Why are we whispering for?" whispered Falco, as Poochy came over to Hunter. Hunter gently kicked the dog away from him. "Are we making this some kind of secret mission?"

"Probably, but I just can't let Spyro see anything. He might look over and think that you're complicit with...why are you two on the patio?"

"You trying to get rid of those four chicks? Sonic and Crash told me about blowing up the shrine. But Sonic, mostly."

"But why did you bring her?" Hunter pointed at Anna, who was clearly holding something behind her back. Something that made the cheetah feel curious...and somewhat afraid.

"She was eavesdropping on my conversation, apparently. And now she wants in. Turns out she's got the goods..."

"You bet!" smiled Anna as she revealed the item she was holding behind her back - an ant farm of ants, but not the regular ones. "An ant farm of bullet ants, at your disposal!" Hunter widened his eyes with intrigue, while Falco flinched.

Falco: Please don't ask me how Anna got her grimy hands on those bullet ants. I've already answered enough questions about how she was able to sell those counterfeit vaccine cards without ticking some health organization off. Can you believe that people flaunt their vaccine cards on social media? Empty life attention seekers...

Anna: *holds up ant farm* Bought these bullet ants from a pawn shop; it was either them or the lice. While watching people suffer from hair loss is fun, it's nowhere near as fun as seeing them writhing in pain. That Coyote guy online really knows how to build a new kind of audience. His pain is everyone's gain!

"With these bad boys, I can scare those girls off for good," Anna explained to Hunter, caressing the ant farm delicately with her left hand. "Or at least put them in the hospital. Whichever one you're fine with."

"Um, Hunter? My horns got stuck in the cabinet again," Spyro called out to the cheetah, sounding very ticked off to find himself in that unfortunate situation. "Care to help a friend out?"

"Put those ants in those girls' rooms or something, and let me know how it goes," Hunter whispered to Anna, before running to the bathroom to get Spyro unstuck. "Hold tight, Spyro, Spyro, I'm coming for ya!"

Believe it or not, Terry secretly liked curry. So when the fighter heard that Joker was serving some curry at Cafe Leblanc, he was pretty much over the moon. Every other day or so, Terry would visit the cafe just to try out some curry, in the hopes that Joker would introduce a new kind of curry every visit. His visits made him a favorite customer of sorts for Joker.

"This is a red Indian curry that I've been experimenting on," Joker said to Terry as he offered the fighter a bowl of curry. Terry ate a few spoonfuls of the curry, not even bothering to let it cool down. "So what do you think?"

"You know what, Joker? I don't like this curry..." Terry offered his two cents, slightly alarming Joker as he placed his bowl of curry on the counter...before his face started beaming with joy. "...I absolutely LOVE it! Best curry you've made so far, hands down."

"you sure know how to curry this cafe by yourself, Joker," Sans said to the young man, sitting at the counter cracking some puns that nobody appreciated. "you remind me if a basketball player that I know..."

"Sans if you make another stupid Stephen Curry joke, I'm going to ask Master Hand to ban you from ever making puns again." And just like that, Joker effectively shut Sans up, having reached his last nerve.

Sans: joker wants me banned from making puns, huh? does he know that if he does that, he'll just render me obsolete? must not be the smartest cookie in the world.

As Terry finished the rest of his curry, Pit returned to Cafe Leblanc - this time bringing Palutena with him. The angel brought Palutena inside the cafe, holding her by both hands.

"Oh, Pit! Did you ask Lady Palutena for permission?" Joker asked the angel, daring not to ask why he even brought Palutena to the cafe in the first place.

"Nope, not yet - but I'm gonna ask her right now!" replied Pit, as Palutena clearly had no idea what was going on. One minute, she was doing the laundry, and once she was done Pit immediately brought her out of the laundry room.

Pit: A lot of people these days say that if you've never seen anything happen with your own eyes, then it never really happened. I don't want Joker to assume that I actually didn't get Lady Palutena's permission, so he's gonna see for himself - in real-time!

"Lady Palutena, may I have your permission to work at Cafe Leblanc? Pretty please?" Pit asked the goddess of light, before turning his head to Joker as he gave the young man a wink and a smile.

"Sure, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't work here," Palutena responded with a smile, fingers crossed that Pit wouldn't screw things up while working as a barista. "Can't hurt to have some kind of job experience!"

"Sweet! So does this mean I get the job now?" Pit asked Joker his million-dollar question, more than eager to get started. But unfortunately for the angel, Joker didn't look like he would budge.

"Not yet..." replied Joker, as Pit frowned and snapped his fingers in disgust. What more could Pit possibly have to do? "...you still have to ask one more person. The man of the mansion himself, Link!"

"Why do I have to ask Link for permission? Does he own Cafe Leblanc? Does this mean you're not even your own boss?!"

"Well, technically, no...but I did ask Link for permission to start this cafe. Therefore, you should ask him if he thinks you're deserving of a job."

"Alright then, I'll play your little game...future barista Pit, away!" And with that, a determined Pit ran out of the cafe to go speak with Link. Palutena watched as the angel ran away, shaking her head as he smiled.

"Always so eager..." the goddess of light remarked, before coming over to the counter so she could ask Joker a question. "...you're not stalling out on hiring Pit, are you Joker?"

"I'm just trying to teach him a lesson," replied Joker, seeing that Terry had finished his bowl of red Indian curry. The young man fixed another bowl of curry, seeing how much of a happy customer Terry was. "We'll see how long he'll catch on..."

Rex was in a very salty mood, upon learning that he was no longer assisting Link in helping plan out his wedding. While Link was off handling his man of the mansion duties, Rex was sitting in his room, feeling all salty as Pyra, Mythra, Nia, and Dromarch gathered around to comfort him.

"I will admit, you lasted much longer than I expected," Dromarch said to Rex, honestly not doing much to uplift the swordsman. "I imagined that Link would've dropped you after the first week or so."

"You're not helping..." grumbled Rex, before sighing as he buried his face in his hands. "...I was doing so well, and Zelda and Impa just decide to drop me?"

"You think that's bad?" Pyra said to Rex, who rubbed his fingers down his face in bitter frustration. "It sounded like Link didn't even fight for you. How does that make you feel?"

"Probably kept his mouth shut just to appease Zelda...might give him a pass for that one. We might see a lot of appeasing from him before the wedding."

"Rex! My brother from another mother! Let me in!" Waluigi shouted from outside the room as he banged on the bedroom door. The lanky man was the only reason why Rex had his door shut.

"Go away Waluigi, I'm not in the mood." That was Waluigi's cue to enter Rex's room without any voice of confirmation from Rex. "Why do you suck so much at following basic instructions...?"

"Rex...calm yourself. I know how you feel." Waluigi stared deeply into Rex's eyes as he placed his hands on the swordsman's shoulders, creeping him out immensely. "To be denied, after coming so far..."

"Denied of what opportunity?" Mythra frowned at Waluigi, holding in the urge to literally send the lanky man flying out of Rex's bedroom window. "What did you do that was so important?"

"Shh! This is our conversation..." Waluigi shushed Mythra, before bringing his attention back to Rex as he tightened his grip on the swordsman's shoulders. "Rex, when Impa told you that you were no longer Link's wedding assistant...I felt that. I truly did."

"Riiiight..." responded Rex as he grabbed Waluigi's hands...but Waluigi was tightening his grip, refusing to let go of Rex until he was finished. "...can you please let go, you're squeezing my shoulders!"

"That is my intention, I'm doing it for added effect. But that's beside the point! I sympathize with you, Rex. You know why? Because we're both similar."

"Similar in what ways? Educate us, I dare you..." Rex folded his arms, interested in hearing what lame reasons Waluigi could provide.

"Think about it, man! We've both been denied of joining Smash. We both have lots of adoring fans. People see us both as underdogs..."

"I have a girlfriend - and you don't," interjected Rex, stating the one fact that brought the similarities between himself and Waluigi to an end. Poor Waluigi was left speechless after that, looking for a way to recover.

"Well, I have girl...friends! Friends who are girls! I too know four women that I love to consider my best pals in the whole wide world."

"I am not a woman," stated Dromarch, who hated being lumped in with Pyra, Mythra, and Nia. It was quite understandable, being that he was always the odd man out. No pun intended.

"Zelda! Impa! The assistant has arrived!" Researcher Zelda was heard calling out to the princess and the Sheikah, garnering Rex and Waluigi's attention. "Isabelle said so!"

"Tell you what...what if we make this new assistant's life a living heck?" Waluigi suggested to Rex, finally letting go of the swordsman's shoulders. "So much that they'll leave, and Zelda will have no choice but to make you an assistant again!"

"I'm not sure that's such a good..." Rex replied, only to be interrupted when Waluigi grabbed him by the hand and ran out of the room. "...h-hold on for a second, Waluigi, let's talk this out!"

"'Brother from another mother'...what an unfortunate title," remarked Nia, feeling bad about Rex and his association with Waluigi. "It doesn't even make that much sense..."

"Better watch out if Waluigi tries to set up a date with you and Rex," Mythra said to Nia, whose eyes grew wide with fear. "Too much for you to handle?"

Zelda and Impa followed Researcher Zelda to the foyer, as Link and Zelda's assistant had supposedly arrived. Link was on his way to the foyer too, albeit with a certain angel tagging along.

"Leave me alone, can't you see that I'm busy?" Link frowned at Pit as he hurried down the stairs. Pit followed Link to the foyer, where Master Hand and Isabelle were now present.

"I need you to come with me to the cafe," replied Pit, as he joined Link and the others at the mansion's front door. "Not like I'm gonna ask you to trim my toenails again!"

"How nice of you to bring some unwanted company," Impa said to Link when she saw Pit; Pit was the very last person that the Sheikah wanted to see.

"I'm not unwanted company too, am I?" Master Hand asked Impa, extremely eager to see who the new assistant was. "I just want to see the person you and Zelda picked out, so I can laugh at you both if the person you chose is a loser."

"Well, those two put a lot of thought and care into their selection, so I hope that..." Researcher Zelda started, only to find herself interrupted when she heard the doorbell ring. "Oh! That must be them!"

Researcher Zelda excitedly opened the door, expecting to greet the assistant with open arms. But instead, the princess and everyone else saw a lizard standing on the porch, with a tuxedo and sunglasses. Master Hand recognized this lizard instantly.

"GEX?!" the giant hand shouted, as he and Isabelle were left in shock. Everyone was left befuddled, as Waluigi and Rex came conspicuously down the stairs.

"The one and only..." replied Gex the lizard, sliding his sunglasses down his face as he clicked his finger at everyone. "...the lizard of the hour has come!"

Gex: Note to self: never drink tap water at Jerry Garcia's...Whaddaya mean, Jerry Garcia's dead?

"And remember kids, never buy a rocket sled from ACME," advised Gex, although there weren't any kids around. Unless he was addressing Link and company as kids, to show how superior he was to them.

"This is the guy you picked out to be our assistant?" Link asked Zelda and Impa, who were both too puzzled to say a word. Gex heard the words "assistant", and immediately got all excited.

"Me, a assistant? Oh boy!" Gex rubbed his hands together and even licked his chops. He was that excited. "It'll be easy, a walk in the park! Like playing The King of Fighters at Masahiro Sakurai's penthouse."

"This has to be a joke," Rex whispered to Waluigi, hoping that the wrong person had shown up. And everyone's reactions to Gex made it even more obvious that it was.

"His name rhymes with yours," Waluigi pointed out, feeling the need to make that fact known. "Looks like the writing's on the wall..."

Thankfully, Akuma would save the day as he stepped onto the porch and kicked Gex away. Poor Gex was sent flying, yelling into the distance, as Akuma dusted off his hands...like they needed any dusting off anyway.

"Sorry about that, everyone - don't know how that dumb lizard got here," Akuma apologized to everyone huddled around the front door. "This woman showed up not so long ago..." Akuma then stepped out of the way, revealing a girl with purple hair who just so happened to look up.

"Oh!" the woman perked up when she saw everyone inside the mansion staring at her. She went up the porch steps and inside the mansion, more than happy to greet everyone. "Sorry if I kept you all waiting!"

"Wonder who that is..." wondered Rex, furrowing his brow as he stared at the girl. He wondered what her occupation was...and once the girl took out a Poke Ball, that's all Rex had to know.

"Link, this is Iris - former Champion of the Unova region," Impa introduced the Hylian to Iris, who was ecstatic upon seeing Link in person. "Zelda and I believed that she was the right choice in mind."

"Wow, Link! You look even more heroic in person..." Iris said to the Hylian, almost at the point of swooning over the Hylian. "...helping you plan for your wedding is going to be so awesome! Can I hold your hat, please?"

"Thanks, but no thanks - my hat's off-limits," replied Link, but Iris was too excited to listen as she snatched Link's hat anyway. "Hey, give it back!"

"Oh no, she's cute!" panicked Waluigi, watching as Link chased Iris around the foyer trying to get his hat back. "No way you're getting your duties back now."

"That's your biggest concern?" Rex asked Waluigi, giving the lanky man a weird look as Link finally got his hat back from Iris. "The fact that she's cute? I mean, she is, not gonna lie, but..."

"Who are you calling cute, Rex?" a certain Gormotti asked the swordsman, as Nia showed up frowning with her hands on her hips. Rex was startled to see Nia, screaming in fright, as he startled the others in the foyer.

"Was that an Axew?" wondered Iris, somehow perceiving Rex's frightful yelp to be the cry of an Axew. You'd think she would know how an Axew would sound, given how much time she spent around dragon Pokemon. "Ooh! Is there an Axew living at this mansion?"

"You're moving too fast," Impa said to Iris, doing her best to calm the former champion down as she led her away. "How about Zelda and I get you caught up to speed? Go over the necessary details..."

"I'm fine with it! Just as long as I get to see some dragon Pokemon later." Soon Impa came to a stop as she turned around at Zelda, wondering why the princess was staying put.

"I'll be coming over soon," Zelda assured Impa, who nodded her head as she and Iris kept on walking. Zelda only stayed behind to speak with Link, but before she could speak with her fiance, Master Hand and Isabelle came over.

"Dang it, Princess Zelda, why did you and Impa have to make such a fine choice?" Master Hand asked the princess, as his expectations were shattered. "I was really looking forward to laughing at the person you chose."

"Don't worry, Master Hand, there's always next time," Isabelle assured the giant hand, as she followed him back to his room. "Sure hope there won't be a next time, though..."

"So, Link, what do you think of Iris?" Zelda asked the Hylian, intrigued by what her fiance had to say about the former champion of Unova. "She will be helping us with our wedding plans until our wedding day."

"Isn't Impa supposed to be the one to help out?" questioned Link, feeling that Iris's presence was a little unnecessary. "Guess Impa wanted a right-hand lady."

"That...was kind of the vibe I was getting when we started our search. I know that you and Iris will get along just fine." Zelda kissed Link on the cheek, before leaving the foyer so she could fill Iris in on her duties.

"They had to go with the dragon freak, didn't they..." grumbled Link, shaking his head in dismay, only to realize that Pit was still standing around. "...Pit, I am not trimming your toenails again."

"I don't need my toenails trimmed, I promise you," Pit said to Link, who refused to believe the angel. His cynicism was always high when it came to Pit. "Just need you to do me a favor..."

Wario had expected Cloud to return to his room, but instead of returning, Cloud decided to take a stroll around the psych ward. The doctors and nurses were more than fine with this, provided that Cloud didn't pull something funny. Cloud hadn't acted like much of a threat, and he was only staying over because of Master Hand.

"Should we, I don't know...go back to your room or something?" Wario asked Cloud, who was in a waiting room watching some news on a television screen. The fatso had followed Cloud around and was getting tired of it.

"How about you head back to the mansion?" Cloud fired back at Wario, ready to place the fatso along with Sephiroth in his personal stalker category. "There is no reason for you to stay around."

"But I have to stay around because...because I'm lonely." Wario was looking at Cloud with pleading eyes, in an attempt to sell how lonely he felt. But Cloud, being the kind of guy that he was, refused to fall for it.

"Not my fault your foul body odor had to scare everyone off." Cloud walked away from Wario, who took the time to sniff his armpits. "Either that or your bad breath is still kicking."

"My breath isn't that bad." Wario did a sniff test, checking his breath as a man in the waiting room got a good whiff of Wario's breath. The man screamed in horror as he ran away. "Cloud's nose must be stopped up."

Wario: My breath has been smelling a lot better ever since I started using that garlic toothpaste. I even used my breath spray, to freshen up my breath, but it had little effect. That obviously means my toothpaste is working like a charm!

"We meet again..." someone said as they entered the waiting room, catching Wario's attention...it was the Demi-Fiend, and he looked menacing as ever.

"Y-You again?" Wario frowned when he saw the Demi-Fiend, believing that the demon was cruising for a bruising. Had his fists ready to go. "Look, if it's about the money, you can forget it! It's mine!"

"I'm not here for money...I am here for an inquiry." The Demi-Fiend marched closer to Wario, backing the fatso into a wall. Unlike the previous encounter with the Demi-Fiend, Wario was looking to throw some hands.

"Oh, I get it...you're inquiring where Cloud took the money! Hate to break it to ya, but Dr. Eggman has it now! You might get it from him easily because of how fat he is...but, uh, don't take it from me. I give poor advice."

"Yes, Cloud Strife, how was he?" The Demi-Fiend wanted Wario to spill every single detail of his stroll with Cloud, even the unnecessary ones. "Just give me a rundown, and I'll leave you alone."

"How did you know I was with Cloud? You were spying on me, weren't you?!" Wario walked away from the Demi-Fiend, before taking a peek inside a trash can in the waiting room. "Where did you leave your camera..."

"I was spying on you...from the shadows, that is." Totally not creepy at all. "But sadly, I missed most of what happened." The Demi-Fiend walked over to Wario; when Wario saw the Demi-Fiend advancing towards him, he grabbed the trash can and threw it at the demon. But the Demi-Fiend knocked it away.

"No! Why did you have to swat that thing away? Now you've made me look bad!" Wario was looking even worse, falling on the floor and backing away as the Demi-Fiend backed himself into a wall.

"This is the last time I tell you this nicely..." the Demi-Fiend said to Wario in a threatening tone, as Wario refused to back down. "...tell me what happened during your stroll!"

"Mr. Wario?" a doctor called out to the fatso, who looked up. That was the Demi-Fiend's cue to leave, as the demon ran out of the waiting room just as the doctor showed up. "Ah, there you are! I believe you dropped your keys in the hallway."

"My what now?" asked Wario, as the doctor dug into his pocket and pulled out some keys - the keys to Wario's motorcycle. Wario squealed like a little kid on Christmas morning. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Saw it right outside our office," the doctor happily remarked, as Wario snatched the keys out of the doctor's hands. The doctor smiled, walking away as Wario kissed his keys like they were a newborn child.

"Don't you ever leave my sight again, you know better..." Wario was now wagging his finger at the keys in a disciplinary manner before he went back to kissing them. The kiss fest would eventually come to an end, as a frowning Midna descended to Wario and positioned herself behind the fatso.

"Some help you are..." the imp muttered, as Wario turned around and stopped the kissing in an instant. "...how can you possibly monitor Cloud, when you're making out with your dumb keys?"

"Sorry, Midna! Some demon guy was holding me up." Wario put his keys away, as he darted from the waiting room. As Wario left, Midna furrowed her brow...

Steve was back at Impa's shrine, showing a few neighbors around while the RWBY gang were doing stuff outside. Mario, Roy, Fox, and Falco were the only ones to offer to see the rest of the shrine.

"This is a golden statue that I made in Impa's likeness," Steve said to the group as he showed them a golden statue of Impa. Mario and company had already seen the statue when they first entered the shrine since it was big and took up a lot of space, but Steve felt like telling them anyway.

"How did you even find the gold to build this thing?" Fox asked Steve, holding Marcus as he allowed his infant son to touch the statue. "You mined for gold or something?"

"Not only that, but I also took some golden coins from Mario's attic, without his permission." The very moment he heard that Mario glared down at Steve, as some violent intentions were forming in his mind. "I was on a gold shortage."

"Why you little..." Mario growled at Steve, before leaping at the craftsman and sending him down to the floor. Mario was throwing punches at Steve, who was casually lying on the floor and taking his beating like a man.

"Please stop, you are bruising my nose," Steve pleaded to Mario, unflinching as Mario kept punching away. That's when Roy decided to step in, and attempt to pry Mario off of Steve.

Spyro: Mario likes to keep all of his gold coins in the attic. He likes to think of keeping his gold coin collection in the attic is some big secret, but it's not. I mean, those coins have to go somewhere. Hope that I don't ruin some kid's imagination when I say that Mario doesn't keep all his gold coins in his pockets.

"Falco!" Anna quietly called out to Falco, as she came down the stairs. Falco turned to see if Fox and the others were looking, before secretly waking over to Anna and joining her at the bottom of the stairs.

"So how did it go?" Falco asked Anna, who smirked as she revealed a now-empty ant farm. Falco just plainly stared at the ant farm, much to Anna's chagrin. "Is that supposed to tell me something?"

"It means that I've got the bullet ants in those girls' rooms..." frowned Anna, as she put the empty ant farm away. "...apparently, they all share the same room. They sleep in bunk beds. I've littered my lovely ants with them..."

"Alright, that's what's up! Hunter is gonna be one happy camper. So these ants will just sting those girls, and then what?"

"If we played our cards right, and those girls lay on those beds and get stung, they'll start complaining and want to head back home. Dr. Wily would have no choice but to get his device up and working again!"

"I like the way that you think, woman..." Falco pointed repeatedly at Anna with a smile, seeing the merchant as a mastermind of sorts. "...but for the record, I'm gonna take all the credit. Just so I can feel important."

"Take all the credit? I don't think so - maybe we can do half-and-half." Anna flashed her trademark smile while putting her finger on her cheek - admit it, you knew it was coming sooner or later.

"What are you two talking about over there?" Fox called out to Falco and Anna, spotting the two at the end of the stairs. Falco returned to Fox to avoid any further suspicion, while Anna looked for a place to hide her ant farm at.

"Uh, you know, just talking about politics," Falco said to Fox sheepishly, resting his hand on the statue of Impa as he was acting cool. "That ballot recount in Arizona, pretty crazy stuff."

"I'm sure it is..." Fox furrowed his brow at Falco, as Roy successfully got Mario off of Steve. Mario was acting rather erratically, as Roy held him by the collar.

Business was booming as usual for Joker, as residents were still stopping by Cafe Leblanc. One might think that eventually, Joker would receive a surprise visit from someone outside of the mansion - and that was exactly what happened.

"Hi..." Reaper greeted Joker, as he and Moira made a surprise entrance into Cafe Leblanc. Joker, along with Terry and Sans who were still sitting at the counter, was surprised to see the mercenary and his fellow Talon ally.

"ay, fellow skeleton guy," Sans smiled and clicked his fingers at Reaper, who was trying his hardest to ignore the skeleton's presence. "first time at cafe leblanc, I bet. you're gonna love the curry - you'll feel it in your bones!"

"Go jump in a lake..." Reaper growled at Sans, before approaching the counter. The mercenary slammed his hands on the counter, as he pulled his face close to Joker. "Look, kid, I have to tell you something..."

"Don't drag it out," Moira encouraged Reaper, who was heard grumbling; Reaper was clearly the kind of guy that didn't appreciate being told what to do.

"I'm getting to it, don't rush me!" Reaper would soon relax, taking his hands off the counter as he pulled himself away from Joker. "Listen, Joker. I just wanted to...wanted to stop by and say thank you. For, uh...stealing Cloud's heart. Had to ask someone for the right terminology..."

"Is that so? In that case, you're welcome," responded a relieved Joker, who was initially worried that Reaper wanted to express his desire to kill Ryuji for offending him at last year's New Year's Eve party. "We Phantom Thieves had to do our part."

"My thanks go out to you as well," Moira said to Joker, finding a deep sense of appreciation for the young man and the other Phantom Thieves. "Had you not intervened, who knows what Cloud would have done..."

Reaper: Work ain't done yet. I'm gonna see how Cloud handles his return to the mansion, and see how he'll apologize to everyone. Then, and only then, will we see if he has a changed heart...

"Pit can you let go already?!" Link yelled at Pit, who dragged the Hylian inside Cafe Leblanc. Link and Pit were tussling with one another, as Pit was dragging Link to the cafe.

"Joker, I'm back!" announced Pit as he held a tight grip on Link's arm; the angel soon noticed Reaper present, along with Moira. "Reaper, is that your new girlfriend? Hate to break it to ya, but that woman is actually a feminine-looking man. Can't believe that you dumped Sombra for..."

"Not another peep out of you..." Moira commanded Pit, making the angel scared for his life as she charged biotic energy in her hands. In an extremely rare act of playing peacemaker, Reaper gently lowered Moira's arms.

"Did you really have to bring him here, really?" Joker asked Pit, as the biotic energy in Moira's hands went away. Realizing that he was being spoken to, Pit stopped acting all fearful as he faced Link.

"Link, may I have your permission to work at Cafe Leblanc?" Pit asked the Hylian, before giving Joker the same smile and wink as before. Link saw the smile and wink, clearly having no idea what was going on.

"Why are you asking me for?" questioned Link, who probably would've violently tossed Pit out of the cafe if not for his newfound authoritarian role. "You can have the job...I guess."

"YES!" Pit cheered as he pumped his fists, before looking at Joker and expecting the young man to give him the job. Nothing else that had to be done.

"Alright...you got me, Pit," said Joker, conceding to the angel as he threw his arms up in defeat. "Looks like you got the job...but wait! There's one more individual you have to ask."

"Aw, come on!" Pit's happiness turned into frustration real quick, as the angel was now throwing a temper tantrum. "What do I have to do now, ask Master Hand for permission?"

"Correct! Ask him, and the job will finally be all yours." If Master Hand was the last hurdle that Pit had to go through, then so be it.

"Master Hand? No problem." Feeling confident in himself, Pit cracked his knuckles. "I might have to pull out my resume for this one." Pit then left the cafe, trying to remember which computer he saved his resume to.

"What a nuisance..." Reaper had this to say about Pit, before turning his attention to Link. "...you're in charge around here now, right? You should ask Pit to leave the mansion, forever."

"I don't think I have jurisdiction over that kind of stuff," replied Link, choosing to leave those matters up to Master Hand.

Zelda and Impa were in the lounge with Iris, going over the duties that they expected their new wedding assistant to fulfill. Impa had prepared a long list of objectives and was going through them.

"I get to design the wedding dress...so cool!" gleamed Iris, elated to see dress design mentioned on the list. The former champion would know a thing or two about dresses - she wore a very elegant one during her title defenses.

"You pretty much have creative freedom over it," Zelda explained to Iris, who was now even happier. Iris was so darn happy, she felt like squealing and bouncing off the walls.

"Just don't go overboard with the colors," advised Impa, hoping that Iris would keep the design as simple as possible. Maybe two or three colors, but nothing more than that. "We want the dress to be aesthetically pleasing..."

"As long as I design the dress, that's all that matters," stated Iris, happy that she agreed to be Link and Zelda's wedding assistant. "That's probably the only thing I care about."

"Zelda and Impa! I made some fantastic churros..." announced Cilan as he stepped inside the lounge holding a plate of churros. The connoisseur suddenly gasped when he saw Iris, whose eyes locked with his.

"Cilan?" Iris uttered the connoisseur's name, as she slowly stood up from the couch. Cilan was so surprised, that he was on the verge of dropping the churros. "Is it really you?"

"I can't think of anyone else named Cilan," smiled Cilan; her happiness now boiling over, Iris squealed as she leaped towards Cilan and hugged him. It was an ear-piercing that had Impa covering her ears.

"Oh, Cilan! I'm so happy to see you again! I missed you so much!" It has been nearly five years since Iris last seen Cilan, so it was understandable why the former champion was overabundant with joy.

"I missed you too, Iris..." Cilan tried to pry Iris off of him, given how tight she was hugging him, but Iris refused to let go. "...my goodness, you're even a tighter hugger than I imagined."

"Never have I seen anyone so happy to see that walking beanstalk..." Impa murmured to Zelda, having some second doubts as she watched Iris happily embrace Cilan. "...I think we need to start looking elsewhere, princess."

"Be nice, Impa," responded Zelda, seeing nothing wrong with Iris's friendship with Cilan. Iris and Cilan were fellow gym leaders, after all.

Impa: Didn't think that we had hired a literal child when we finalized our choice on who the assistant will be. And Iris used to be the Pokemon champion of an entire region? Unova must be full of children. That Cilan is perhaps among the most mature Unovans must say a lot.

"You never told me that you were in Smash, Cilan!" Iris said to the connoisseur after she was hugging him. Cilan's insides soon found relief. "Is that why you sneaked away from Striaton City?"

"No Iris, I was never in Smash, to begin with!" clarified Cilan, who imagined that he would be a very sucky Smash fighter even if his Pokemon did the fighting for him. "Mario was brought me here, so I could work on his wedding cake. Since then, I've become the mansion's top chef!"

"You got to decorate Mario's wedding cake? That must've been so cool!" Iris was trying not to feel jealous of Cilan right now - the struggle was real.

"Indeed. Now I'll be doing Link and Zelda's wedding cake. Might even make it in the shape of the Triforce, who knows."

"Yeah, that'd be nice. But you know what I think?" Iris took both of Cilan's hands, as she looked Cilan in the eye. "I think you should come with me back to Unova after Link and Zelda get married."

"You want me to go back home?" Cilan appreciated the gesture from Iris, but he was very hesitant about returning to Unova. "I mean, I'd love to, but I kind of like it here."

"Come on, Cilan! You've probably stayed at this mansion long enough. Don't you miss being around with Chili and Cress?" Ooh, now Iris was bringing up Cilan's two brothers...a very useful tactic.

"I do, but they've done a bang-up job operating the gym in my absence. The letters that I've received from them seem to suggest so."

"And what about the gym leaders? Skyla, Clay, Drayden, Lenora...I'm sure they missed you just as much. And don't forget the Elite Four!"

"You have a very strong point there..." Cilan began thinking to himself, as he placed his finger underneath his chin. Fond memories of Unova were playing in the connoisseur's mind, as well as memories spent with his brothers and peers.

"Cilan? Have you made up your mind yet?" Zelda asked the connoisseur, interested in hearing what his decision was. Cilan was done mulling over things, as he looked up at Zelda and Impa.

"Princess Zelda, Impa...Iris and I will be back. I have an important announcement to make." Cilan guided Iris away from the lounge, as he wished to make his decision known to a certain giant hand. Meanwhile, Impa was left dumbfounded.

"Well, it looks like this mansion is going to lose its best chef," the Sheikah remarked, worried about Dunban having to handle all the chef duties soon. Palutena still couldn't be trusted. "Perhaps we were wrong to ask for Iris's services."

"No...maybe this is the right thing," responded Zelda; Impa glanced at the princess, unsure if she was referring to Iris...or Cilan's potential decision to leave the mansion and head back home.

Cilan was now speaking with Master Hand in the giant hand's room, having brought Iris with him just for backup and moral support. The connoisseur was telling Master Hand about his decision, one that he knew would be unpopular...

"WHAT?! You want to head back home to Unova?" boomed Master Hand, hoping that this was just a rare instance of Cilan joking around - but Cilan had sounded very serious.

"After the wedding, yes," Cilan confirmed with the nod of his head, as poor Master Hand was left in shambles. This was a decision that Master Hand did not see coming.

"How can you do this to me? I thought we were friends!" Master Hand was now taking the decision personally; it was likely that he won't recover until the end of the day. "Why, Cilan, why?"

"This is his decision, not yours," Iris defended Cilan to Master Hand, who was now blaming the former champion for influencing Cilan. "Maybe if you had actual great cooks around here, you wouldn't be nearly as upset!"

"But we do have great cooks! Like Dunban, and um...Pyra..." After Dunban and Pyra, there was a huge drop-off. "...would say Min Min, but she only cooks noodles so she's disqualified."

"My thoughts exactly." Happy to have served Master Hand - in just her first interaction with the giant hand alone - Iris smirked proudly to herself as she folded her arms.

"Well, Cilan, if you really want to make your decision official, then take it up with Link." A strong hint of sadness in Master Hand's voice. "I suppose today can mark the start of your...honeymoon phase."

"No need to fear, Master Hand! I'll only be around until October. We'll have lots of last laughs together until then!"

Master Hand: Grrraaaah! Knew that Iris would be nothing but trouble. Thanks to her, we're going to lose Cilan! We must protect the Nohrian twins at whatever cost; if we lose them too, it'll be all over.

Cilan and Iris would both leave the room, leaving Master Hand alone to brood by himself. Master Hand's moment of brooding silence would be cut short when Pit stopped by the room with his printed-out resume.

"Master Hand, Master Hand!" Pit called out to the giant hand, who perked up as his sadness and despair temporarily vanished away. "Can you proofread my resume for me?"

"Proofread your resume? You actually wrote a resume?!" asked an astonished Master Hand, as Pit showed him his resume. And to his surprise...Pit's resume wasn't that bad! Though it was obviously lacking in the education section.

"Made one after Lloyd and I started our food delivery service. I kinda want to work at Cafe Leblanc, so I made a few edits here and there."

"That's nice, but does working at the cafe really require a resume?" While Master Hand was amazed by the resume, he shuddered to think how Pit would handle writing a cover letter.

"Probably not, but Joker might ask for one. Speaking of Joker, he wanted me to ask Lady Palutena and Link for permission to work at the cafe..."

"...and now he wants you to ask me." Seeing the obvious pattern, Master Hand let out a deep sigh. "I think I see what's going on here."

"You do? What do your eyes see, Master Hand?" Pit was eager to know, as he clenched his fists. "Is there someone else that I have to ask?"

"Don't you see, Pit? Joker is trying to test you. Trying to see how you would respond to his every command. He's leading you on!"

"Leading me on? Does that mean..." Pit was putting together the puzzle pieces in his mind, before gasping when he made a sudden realization. "...does it mean that Joker is seeing how gullible I am? Have I been gullible this whole time?!"

"I mean, you've been gullible for many years now...but yes. I'm glad that you've finally figured it out, Pit."

"So what should I do now?" Pit looked down at his resume, seeing no use for it anymore. "You think that Joker will still give me the job?"

"Of course he will! Just tell him that you saw through his tactics, and maybe he'll hear you out. Show him how smart you are!"

"Will do! Thanks for showing me the truth, Master Hand!" Pit saluted Master Hand, before running out of the room with his resume. Once again, Master Hand was alone by himself.

"Pit is really gonna love working at the cafe. Hmm, I wonder how much Joker is charging the others..."

"Master Hand, I just heard from Cilan that he'll be leaving after the wedding," Isabelle stopped by to inform the giant hand, who was back in a depressed mood as he was holding back some tears. "Master Hand...?"

Wario was doing a good job monitoring Cloud, keeping himself close by against the swordsman's wishes. But then Wario stopped, just so he could tie the shoelaces on his shoe - only to realize a second later his shoes never had any shoelaces. Then the fatso looked up...and saw that Cloud was gone! Frantic as ever, Wario searched around the psych ward before heading outside...where he saw Cloud chilling alone in the parking lot.

"You seriously need some help," Cloud said to Wario after he looked up and saw the fatso heading his way. These were the same words that Cloud wished to tell Sephiroth if there were no repercussions from saying them.

"Says the person trying to revive dead people," retorted Wario, as Cloud was unable to come up with a witty comeback. Wario owned Cloud - a personal victory for the fatso. "Also, why are you outside?"

"I can't go outside and get some fresh air? I asked the staff, and they were fine with me being outside. Just as long as I don't leave the premises."

"You sound so privileged when you say that! The psych ward stuff must really baby you a lot. Is it because you're so 'handsome'?"

"Way more handsome than you, that's for sure..." And just like that, Cloud was able to make a comeback at Wario. At least Wario drew the first blood.

Wario: Why does Cloud get all this preferential treatment? I deserve the same treatment too, I'm just as handsome! Heck, I deserve preferential treatment regardless of my looks! I'm rich, for crying out loud!

"So this is your new hanging spot, hm?" a certain demon asked Wario, who was looking around the parking lot. Cloud was looking around too, as the swordsman was now on edge.

"Crap, it's that weird demon guy!" frowned Wario, checking his pockets to make sure that he had his brass knuckles with him. "He must've seen head me head outside..."

"Weird demon guy? Sure you aren't exaggerating?" Cloud asked Wario, and soon enough, the Demi-Fiend appeared before Cloud and Wario, appearing from the side of the psych ward building.

"Cloud Strife...we finally meet," the Demi-Fiend stared down the swordsman in question, as he walked closer. Cloud wished that he had his Buster Sword to deal with the Demi-Fiend, but his trusty weapon was currently confiscated.

"Nice tattoos, buddy," Cloud said to the Demi-Fiend, before looking towards Wario and seeing the fatso taking out his brass knuckles...and struggling to put them on. "Wario, how do you know this creep?"

"He's been doing nothing but follow me around," replied Wario, trying to slip the brass knuckles through his meaty fingers. "Hey, Demi-Fiend, if you still want that moolah...here's the guy you're looking for!"

"It's not the money that I'm here for," the Demi-Fiend clarified to Wario, as he continued to stare Cloud down. Cloud was standing his ground, even if he didn't have his Buster Sword with him. "I'm only here for Cloud..."

"Whatever it is that you want, just do it," Cloud demanded the Demi-Fiend, wanting the demon to leave the premises for good. Didn't want any trouble. "Staring me down isn't going to accomplish anything..."

"HALT!" a voice screeched from up above, and a few seconds later, Midna descended to the parking lot. She made her way down to the Demi-Fiend and met him face-to-face.

"Dang it, Midna, I haven't even got my brass knuckles on yet!" Wario whined to the imp, as he finally got the index finger on his left hand through one of the brass knuckles. "Let me get a good lick on him first."

"Shut your mouth!" Midna silenced Wario, before bringing her attention back to the Demi-Fiend. "Now, how about you come to a mutual understanding?"

"A mutual...understanding?" the Demi-Fiend questioned, cocking his head to the side as Midna started smirking. "Of what kind?"

"From the looks of it, someone must've sent you to the psych ward to check on Cloud. Would you be a dear and tell me who it was?"

"I won't say any names...but I'll have you know that I took orders from a man with one wing." That description was super obvious to Midna, Cloud, and Wario. "Make of it what you will."

"Don't worry, I know exactly who it is..." Midna looked back at Cloud, seeing the swordsman visibly annoyed, before turning around at the Demi-Fiend. "...how about you do me a favor, and tell this one-winged man that I have everything covered?"

"You think he'll believe me?" A simple nod from Midna was all the Demi-Fiend needed to know. "Very well then, I'll leave you to it. Sorry if I might've gotten in your way."

"Oh no, you're fine! Toodles!" Midna waved to the Demi-Fiend, who departed from the parking lot and left Cloud and Wario alone. At least one of them was paying attention...

"Haha, finally got one on!" Wario cheered after he finally got a brass knuckle on his left hand. Then the fatso looked up and saw that the Demi-Fiend was gone for good. "Dang it! Why did you have to scare him away, Midna?"

"Thanks, Midna, you're a lifesaver," Cloud thanked the imp, although he was still feeling rather annoyed at a certain one-winged angel. "Good to know that Sephiroth apparently has cronies now..."

"Cloud!" a voice called out to the swordsman, who turned around and saw Aerith running up to him. "Hi again. Look - I got you some cookies!"

"You did?" To Cloud's surprise, and maybe delight, Aerith pulled a bag of cookies from behind her back. "Well, that's nice. Sure do appreciate it."

Aerith: I've been visiting Cloud at the psych ward occasionally, ever since my first visit. Obviously, it's against Master Hand's "rules", but you know what they say about rules...they're only meant to be broken. *smiles*

"Look at that...even after what he did, Aerith still wants to spend time with Cloud!" Wario said to Midna, now standing with the imp as he watched Cloud try out one of the cookies.

"I can tell you one thing - Aerith is a very forgiving person," stated Midna, and there was no way for Wario to deny that truth. "Cloud is super lucky to have a girl like her."

"What do you think?" Aerith asked Cloud, anxiously waiting to hear the swordsman's critique. Cloud took the time to chew the cookie, savoring the flavor before swallowing.

"Eh, not bad," shrugged Cloud, and Aerith was more than fine with that response. She was expecting that response anyway.

Mario, Fox, Falco, Anna, and Roy wanted to return home, but Steve was holding them hostage at Impa's shrine. Why? Because he still had yet to show them around the RWBY gang's room, of course! Obviously being a man of class, Steve waited until Ruby and friends returned to the shrine so he could finish up his shrine tour.

"This is the room that the four ladies are staying in," Steve said to Mario and company, as the RWBY gang was standing around at the bedroom door. "As you can see, the beds are color-coded."

"And they look very comfy, too," remarked Anna, hiding a mischievous smile as she turned to the RWBY gang. "Why don't you ladies show us how comfy the beds are?"

"No thanks, we're good," Ruby replied with a smile, much to Anna and Falco's chagrin. Hunter would be most displeased. "We did a lot of physical activity outside - don't need our beds drenched in sweat!"

"How about-a I see for myself?" offered Mario as he leaped on top of Ruby's bed, before adjusting himself and getting himself comfy. Anna tried to dissuade Mario, but it was already too late.

"Um, Mario...you might wanna get off," Falco advised the plumber, knowing what would happen next. Mario was getting too comfy as he got underneath the covers; Ruby didn't appreciate Mario violating her space. "Seriously, dude."

"Ooh! This-a bed cover is silky smooth. Did you pick-a this out, Steve? I can tell that you have some-a great taste in..."

Suddenly Mario started screaming in pain, as he jumped out of Ruby's bed and began rolling on the floor. Crawling all over his body were several bullet ants, and they were relentlessly stinging poor Mario.

"MAMA MIA!" shouted Mario, scratching his body in a desperate attempt to get the bullet ants off. The bullet ants were doing their thing...but they were going after the wrong target.

"Wow, he's got literally ants in his pants!" remarked Cappy, taking the time to watch Mario in his plight and not bothering to help him in any way. Mortified, Ruby checked her bed for ants, and the others girls did the same out of caution.

"Why are there ants crawling in our beds?" wondered Weiss as she, Blake, and Yang saw bullet ants crawling around in their bedsheets. "This is so not cool..."

"Yeah, who did this?!" frowned Yang, demanding to know the preparator at once. The blonde looked towards Fox, who looked towards Falco, who looked towards Anna, who looked towards Roy, who looked towards...no one because there was nobody else to look at.

"Er, ladies, let me explain..." Roy said to the RWBY gang, who was convinced that Roy was the culprit. The four ladies were ganging up on Roy, as Mario was still screaming in pain. "...I had nothing to do with this!"

Falco: Our plan, sadly, was a dud...Mario had to be the one to screw things up. That's why he got what he deserved. Got what those girls deserved. But there's another time for redemption.

Roy: *face and body now marked with bruises and scars* Why didn't I just head back home with Lilina? *sighs*

Thanks to Master Hand, Pit had figured out what Joker was trying to do with him. After spending some time rehearsing what he was going to say, the angel returned to Cafe Leblanc, where Joker was serving Samus and Mechanica some curry.

"Joker!" shouted Pit, as he pointed at the young man in question. Joker, Samus, and Mechanica gave Pit their attention. "I finally figured it out."

"Finally figured what out?" questioned Joker, as Samus and Mechanica were sharing the young man's confusion. Pit kept his finger pointed as he inched closer to the counter.

"I saw what you were trying to do - you wanted to see how gullible I was!" Pit was so close to Joker, that he literally had the tip of his finger a centimeter away from Joker's nose. "See how trusting I can be..."

"...and what do you mean by that?" Joker awaited Pit's response, as Samus was surprised that Pit was able to come to a profound conclusion by himself. But little did she know...

"All those times you had me 'asking for permission'...you just wanted if I would go through them. And I did! But once I reached Master Hand, that's when I finally realized..."

"Ah - I see you got the clue out by then. Guess third time's really is the charm." Joker laughed to himself, but in a way that most cunning villains did. Samus and Mechanica glanced at each other, confused.

"What was the point of that whole charade? To see how trusting I was?" That apparently was the right answer, judging by the charming look on Joker's face.

"In theory, yes. I observed how trusting you were of Cloud during that whole money situation. I wanted to see if you learned your lesson...by testing you."

"Well, did I pass the test?" Here it was - the moment of truth for Pit. Joker left the question unanswered, as he went to the back of Cafe Leblanc to retrieve something.

"Seeing that you've 'figured it out'..." Joker returned to the counter, holding up something that made Pit widen his eyes - a cafe apron. "...I suppose this apron is your reward. Congrats, Pit, you got the job."

"He got the what now?" said Mechanica, who was left astonished while Samus was now devastated. Pit was in a happy mood, as he accepted the cafe apron from Joker.

"I got the job? For real? This is so awesome!" Pit was celebrating, holding the apron close to his chest as a smiling Joker looked on. "When do I start?"

"We'll start training on Monday"." That gave Pit two whole days to celebrate. "There's more to working at the cafe than serving coffee and curry."

"Monday? I'll mark it on my calendar. Wait until Dark Pit hears about this!" Pit ran out of the cafe, as Samus was still very much devastated.

"Welp, this cafe was fun while it lasted..." the bounty hunter finally spoke, fearing that Pit would be the downfall of Cafe Leblanc.

Being stung by multiple bullet ants, Mario was rushed to the fitness center by Fox and Falco, so the plumber could be inspected by Leia. Mario was stung so many times, that his entire body was puffy and swollen! He was seated on a bench in the fitness center like he was on display.

"Haha, you look so fat Mario!" Sonic teased Mario, as he and Crash were poking at the plumber's swollen body. Iris was also poking Mario's body, as she, Link, Zelda, and Iris had stopped by to see Mario.

"He looks like an overweight Toad," grinned Iris, who never knew that poking Mario's swollenness would be so satisfying. "Why exactly am I poking, though?"

"Swollen lymph nodes," answered Leia, as she came over and swatted Iris, Sonic, and Crash's hands away. "It's one of the symptoms of bullet ant venom."

"Mario, I'm here!" announced Peach, arriving at the fitness center as she brought Spyro and Hunter with her. The princess gasped when she saw Mario in his swollen state. "Oh my! You're even worse than Fox described."

"Yeah, you almost look like a pinata," snickered Spyro, and the very moment he spoke, he caught the attention of Iris. Iris gasped when she saw Spyro, hyperventilating to hold in her excitement.

"IT'S A DRAGON!" the former champion squealed, as Spyro began to fear for the worst. Iris ran up to Spyro and picked up the purple dragon, hugging him tight as she spun around. "Is he a Pokemon?! Please tell me he's a Pokemon!"

"I'm afraid not - he's a regular fire-breathing dragon," explained Peach, but being a regular dragon didn't stop Spyro from being loved unconditionally by Iris. Despite him gasping for air. "We'll let you stay with us if you want to be around him more."

"Don't you even dare..." Hunter threatened Peach, glaring at the princess as Iris placed Spyro back on his feet. Nearly out of breath, Spyro collapsed onto the floor on his side.

"Nah, I'm good - I've already set up a tent outside the mansion to live in," replied Iris, stretching out her arms as Hunter let out a huge sigh of relief. "I'll be designing Princess Zelda's wedding dress in there!"

Gex: *standing in front of Iris's tent* Blegh...that elixir I tried out in that tent was no good. Super icky. Made me feel like being trapped in Marilyn Manson's pants. Zero out of ten, would not recommend. And I'm off! *runs away*

"You have other duties as wedding assistant, you know," Impa reminded Iris, as she pulled out the list of tasks. "We can't let you have a one-track mind."

"Aw, but I only wanted to design the wedding dress," moaned Iris, as Impa realized that a poor decision might've been made. "I didn't really sign up for all the other stuff."

"I see...pardon me, for a moment." Impa took Zelda's hand, as she guided the princess to a far corner of the fitness center. "I think we made a huge mistake, princess..."

"How? We got someone to design my wedding dress," stated Zelda, as Impa frowned and pinched the crown of her nose. "That's a win in my book."

"But who will order the wedding rings? Handle the party favors? Finalize the venue? Who is going to do all of that?"

"I heard you ladies talking..." Link smirked as he came over to Zelda and Impa, rubbing his hands together. Impa sighed, knowing what Link wanted.

"It really had to be like this..." Impa pinched the crown of her nose once more, before looking up at Link as she said: "...Link, you can reinstate Rex as your assistant, if you choose."

"Great, I'll let him know." Fully satisfied, Link walked away ready to deliver Rex the good news. Once Link left, Impa returned to her conversation with Zelda.

"There is only so much that Rex can do until the day of the wedding. Perhaps we should invest in multiple assistants, to make ends meet..."

Somewhere in Seattle, Sephiroth was standing in front of a lake, staring into the distance. The one-winged angel would be joined by the Demi-Fiend, who approached Sephiroth from behind.

"So, how did it go?" Sephiroth asked the Demi-Fiend, not even bothering to turn around. Sephiroth was so cool, he could correctly infer who was standing in his presence.

"Unfortunately, I couldn't get enough intel on Cloud," the Demi-Fiend reported, blaming Wario for not telling him the info that he desired. "But some imp assured me that she had everything covered."

"Must've been Midna." Wasn't hard for Sephiroth to narrow down the choices, for Midna was the only imp that he knew. "Hmph. It appears that I'm not the only one keeping a close eye on Cloud..."

Link stepped outside the fitness center when he coincidentally ran into Rex and Waluigi. Both Rex and Waluigi were wielding tennis rackets, as Link furrowed his brow.

"Rex and I were, uh, going out for some tennis practice," Waluigi explained to Link, as he innocently hid his tennis racket behind his back. "Totally weren't going to deal with Iris or anything."

"Just spoke with Impa, Rex...you got your job back!" Link announced to the swordsman, who was obviously happy to hear the good news. "Turns out Iris is only interested in designing the wedding dress. You're back to being my right-hand man!"

"I'm so happy for you, Rex!" Waluigi was now sharing in Rex's excitement, as he hugged the swordsman. Rex, while appreciating the gesture, gently pushed Waluigi away. "Glad that I could help out."

"You barely even did anything, Waluigi, but thanks anyway," smiled Rex, finding it oddly heartwarming that Waluigi cared so much about his predicament.

Rex: Apparently, Waluigi made a shirt to signify our "brotherhood". *holds up a teal shirt that reads "Brother From Another Mother, with Rex and Waluigi's faces on it* You know a thrift store I could donate this to?

"Link! There you are!" Cilan called out to the connoisseur, as he showed up in the hallway. "I have some news to share with you. My friend, Iris..."

"Yeah, I know - I've already met her," replied Link, who already deleted the moment of Iris stealing his precious hat from memory. "She is...a bundle of joy."

"Isn't that the truth! Anyway, I speaking with Iris, and she suggested that I go back home to Unova with her, after your wedding."

"Wait, do you want to go back home?" Link had a feeling that Cilan would want to leave soon, given how long he resided at the mansion. But the Hylian still found himself surprised.

"Pretty much. Discussed it with Master Hand, and he said to talk about it with you. So...what do you say?" This was a big decision for Link, and it was something for the Hylian to mull over.

"If that's what you want to do...then sure." Having received Link's word, Cilan now had the green light to leave in October. "We'll make your final months at the mansion a time well spent."

"Good to hear! Can't thank you and the others enough, for taking me in. Only have a couple of months to make it count!"

"Right on. Well, I'll see you around, Cilan." So Cilan walked away, happy that Link was fine with his decision. "Huh, wasn't as hard as I thought it would be..."

"Thought you said you didn't have jurisdiction over anyone leaving," said a certain fighter with a ponytail, as Terry came around the corner. Terry grinned, as he wrapped his arm around Link.

"I guess...I do have that jurisdiction," Link shrugged his shoulders, as he realized the kind of power that he had. "What I did there...was kind of painless."

"Sounds like you got this man of the mansion job down pact." Terry smiled and smacked Link on his back, giving the Hylian his vote of confidence. "Not that anyone around here doubted you."

"I kind of doubted myself, at first...but you know what? Maybe this gig isn't so bad after all."

As long as Link had that attitude, he had nothing to worry about. Could even replace Cloud in a permanent role, if he left behind a good first impression.