Author's Note:

So, what do we have on the menu for today? Mario Vs Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, Persona 5 Royal, and another Switch release that I overlooked, New Tales of the Borderlands. Can you believe that this is my first time covering Mario Vs Rabbids in his story? The Rabbids haven't been featured a lot lately, and now they have a chapter dedicated to them. Let's dive right into the review:

"Just got a crazy news. Turns out the reason why Hellena Taylor (Bayonetta's OG voice actor) was replaced in Bayonetta 3 is because she's only offered a measly $4000 for the WHOLE GAME. She tells it all in her Twitter, and she even said that she wants us to boycott Bayonetta 3. What do you think of that? Are you joining her cause by boycotting the game too? Honestly, after the news came out, I feel like supporting her."

I've never boycotted a video game ever, and I doubt that I'll be boycotting Bayonetta 3. (A moot point given that I probably won't ever get Bayonetta 3, but that's beside the point.) An update:

"Updates on the Bayonetta news: Jennifer Hale (Bayonetta's new VA) just released her own statement on her Twitter. She stated her support for VA's right to be paid well, but she also said that people worked hard on this game, implying that boycotting Bayonetta 3 won't be good for them. What do you think of Jennifer's statement?"

Ooh, Jennifer Hale! Big fan of hers. So many great characters she voiced. Numbuh 86, Mandy from Totally Spies, my Overwatch main, Ashe...the list goes on. As for Jennifer's statement, it was a good one. You don't ever want to do anything that would discredit or harm a person's hard work. Another anonymous review:

"Since the Yankees won and advanced to ALCS, you should have Mario celebrate the Yankee's victory. Since the Mariners lost, how will Alph reacts to Astro's victory?"

Had no room to fit Mario's celebration in this chapter. With the Mariners out of the playoffs, and the Astros advancing, I think that Alph will be a very happy camper. The Astros may very well win the whole shebang this year. Last is David:

"Will Tangle the Lemur and Whisper the Wolf from the Sonic IDW comics show up? (They did make a game appearance in the Sonic Forces Mobile game). Would Ashley be a Bray Wyatt fan? (She'd probably would like Abby the Witch from Firefly Funhouse). Do Ashe and McCree (Cole Cassidy) have a love/hate relationship going on? Has anyone in the mansion mistaken Lucio for Kofi Kingston? And finally, what are your thoughts on Survivor Series bringing the War Games match to the Raw and Smackdown brands and the rumors of the WWE European Championship returning?"

Slight chance. I can see Ashley liking Abby the Witch, but not Bray Wyatt. Ashe and Cassidy (feels weird calling him that) do have a love/hate relationship. Nobody has ever mistaken Lucio for Kofi Kingston. I'm all for the War Games match coming to Survivor Series if they're gonna mix things up. (I do enjoy the traditional Survivor Series match.) And I don't think that the European Championship should return. You should never have too many titles in one promotion. Though I would love to see the Hardcore Championship reinstated and replace the 24/7 title...


Episode 357: Rabbids

Dr. Wily was on a mission - to find a time machine. It was a mission he had been on since Giovanni mentioned a time machine back in episode 351. How Wily even detected Giovanni saying anything about the time machine remained to be seen, but that didn't stop the robot inventor from finding the contraption.

The search has been daunting, as Wily searched high and low. He would snoop around Seattle, searching in the most random of spots, or he'll even go out of the city and see if the time machine was possibly hidden somewhere for later use. Over time, many folks grew increasingly worried about Wily, believing that he was losing it.

But no matter what, Wily was adamant about the fact that the time machine was out there, somewhere. And today, it happened...the robot inventor finally made his big discovery! Albeit in the place that anyone least expected. To prove that he wasn't crazy, Wily brought the "important people" - namely Master Hand, Mario, Link, and Zelda - to show where he found the supposed time machine.

"The time machine is in our basement...?" Master Hand asked Wily, who led the giant hand and company deep into the basement as he made his way down the basement stairs. In the basement were the Rabbids, who were roughhousing each other.

"Told you that I wasn't crazy," replied Wily, shoving the Rabbids out of the way and moving all the junk around. It was like the basement somehow got junkier since the last time Wily visited.

"Well, Dr. Wily, we can't knock-a on you for your dedication," Mario said to the robot inventor, who was done cleaning the area of any junk. With the junk out of the way, Wily and company were greeted by a Rabbid rubbing its belly against a washing machine.

"Alright then, show us your big 'discovery,'" Zelda said to Wily, doing a pair of finger quotation marks. Wily realized what was wrong, as he...kicked the Rabbid near the washing machine away. Nothing more.

"Ta-da!" Wily presented the washing machine to the group, wondering how the four would react. Much to his dismay, neither one of Master Hand, Mario, Link, or Zelda seemed to care.

"We did need a new washing machine," Link finally responded, as an annoyed Wily smacked his forehead and rubbed his hand down his face. "But I'm confused - is the time machine somehow in there?"

"You fool - this is the time machine!" No matter how hard Wily stressed the very fact, not a single person was convinced. "This is a time machine perfectly disguised as a washing machine to dupe people."

"Dr. Wily, out of all the crazy conspiracy theories you came up with lately...this doesn't even crack the top five," Zelda dismissed the robot inventor, more convinced than ever before that Wily was off his rocker. "Let alone the top ten."

"This is no conspiracy theory - this is the real deal! I even saw the Rabbids using it one night!" That got a laugh out of Zelda and the others, as they couldn't believe a word Wily was saying.

"Those Rabbids can't be trusted to turn on a light switch without poking themselves in the eye," snickered Master Hand, as Wily's face was turning red. But not red enough for steam to come out of his ears. "Or chipping a tooth!"

Master Hand: The Rabbids are only good for two things - collecting dust, and eating dust. And being literal dust bunnies. That's about it.

"I'll show you...I'll show all of you!" vowed Wily as he grabbed the Rabbid he kicked away, pulling him back to the washing machine. "Go on, press the button. You can do it!"

"Dr. Wily, this is insane," Mario said to the robot inventor, who was shoving the Rabbid in front of the washing machine. The Rabbid appeared confused as he scratched his head, not knowing what to do.

"No, I'm not insane - I'm perfectly normal. Don't be bashful, Rabbid friend, press that button already!" Instead of pressing the button on the washing machine, the Rabbid pressed Wily's nose as he giggled.

"Sadly Wily's insanity is one machine that will never be turned off," quipped Master Hand, as the others were in a laughing mood while the Rabbid kept mashing Wily's nose in. Eventually Wily had enough as he slapped the Rabbid's hand away.

"Fine, if he won't turn it on, then I will," grumbled Wily as he threw the Rabbid away, bravely approaching the washing machine as he took a deep breath. "Step back everyone...this might get ugly."

"Oh no, the washing machine is gonna kill us all even though it's not even plugged in..." exclaimed Link as he faked his fear, bringing Wily's attention to the fact that the washing machine was indeed unplugged. Wily sheepishly smiled as he plugged in the machine cord through the outlet.

"...there, now we should be in business." With the machine now plugged in, Wily rubbed his hands together as he slowly feared the worst. "As I said, this might get ugly, so..."

"Thanks for keeping my new washing machine nice and tidy," Rayman was heard speaking, as the door to the basement from the outside was opened. The person who opened the door was Altaïr, who led Rayman inside.

"I let the Rabbids watch over it," Altaïr explained to Rayman, as he came across a Rabbid rubbing a towel on his hiney. The smile on the Rabbid's face indicated how much he enjoyed it. "They could be trusted enough to...not break anything."

"New washing machine? What new washing machine?" Wily asked Rayman, acting all defensive as he stood in front of the washing machine in question with his arms out to his side. "This is a time machine, disguised as a..."

"Silly Wily! You can't fool us," Rayman said to the robot inventor, brushing him to the side as he approached his new washing machine. Wily feared what Rayman was about to do, as he put his hands on his head.

"Rayman, you ninny! You have no idea what you're up against. You could doom us all!" The theatrics from Wily was amusing to the others, making them laugh; even Altaïr himself was laughing at Wily!

"Oh really, I'm gonna doom us all...okay doc. Tell me, if this was really a time machine, would it do THIS?" Rayman had his finger away from the start button, as Wily looked away fearing for the worst.

Once Rayman pressed the button, the washing machine turned on and it made all sorts of sounds. It wasn't acting like how any other washing machine should, as Rayman took a few steps back.

"See what you have done?!" Wily shouted at Rayman, greatly anticipating whatever monstrosity was about to come out of the washing machine as he used a Rabbid as a human shield. "I've tried to warn you..."

"Maybe it's just recalibrating," assumed Link, as the washing machine kept making noises while bright lights flashed from it. As the machine continued to spaz out, three Rabbids - and a robot with rabbit ears - were spat out from the appliance.

"Pfft, it wasn't even that-a bad," snorted Mario, downplaying Wily's concerns as one of the Rabbids stood up on his feet. The Rabbid looked like Mario, with the red cap and blue overalls - and even the mustache. "Mama mia! That Rabbid looks-a just like me."

"That Rabbid looks like Peach as well," stated Zelda as she recognized a Rabbid having the same blonde hair and pink dress as Peach did. The Rabbid that looked like Peach took out a pink cell phone and snapped a selfie.

"So we got a Rabbid Mario, Rabbid Peach, and Rabbid Luigi," observed Cappy, as the remaining Rabbid resembled Luigi. The robot that arrived with the three Rabbids looked disoriented, only to later come to its senses.

"That was quite the rush..." the robot spoke, only to be greeted by Mario and the others; its focus was mainly on Mario, the most easily recognizable face out of the bunch. "...oh! You must be the famous Mario."

"Nobody better!" Mario smirked proudly as he folded his arms, only to soften up after suddenly realizing how the robot recognized him so quickly. "Where do you know-a me from?"

"My name is Beep-0, I'm a robot assistant from the future. At least I think I'm from the future." Beep-0 had no idea which time period he originated from, but that didn't stop Wily from pointing at the robot accusingly.

"You probably are from the future, which means that you're possibly EVIL!" Wily accused Beep-0, his disdain for time travel leading him to believe that any time traveler couldn't be trusted. "I will stomp on you until you are no more!"

"Altaïr, please take Dr. Wily away," Master Hand commanded the assassin, who did as he was told as he grabbed Wily and dragged him up the stairs. Wily did his best to fight out of Altaïr's grasp, even biting the assassin's arm.

"What's his problem?" Beep-0 asked Master Hand and the others, shortly after Altaïr forcibly dragged Wily out of the basement. Wily could be heard shouting obscenities at Altaïr out of pure rage.

"Eh, he's just getting old," replied Rayman, ignoring Wily's angry and profanity-filled shouting as he turned his attention to his new, still spazzing-out washing machine. "At least I have my..."

Suddenly, the washing machine spazzed out even more, and once it was done malfunctioning, the washing machine teleported away from the basement. Almost like magic.

"Woah, my washing machine just vanished!" exclaimed Rayman, checking around the spot where the washing machine originally was. No matter how hard Rayman searched, his new washing machine was nowhere in sight.

"Yeah, about that...that wasn't just a washing machine," Beep-0 said to Rayman, who turned around and looked at the robot all funny. Even Mario and the others were giving Beep-0 the same face. "It's also a time machine! I've seen a few Rabbids mess around with it before."

"So Wily was actually right for once..." stated Link, as the sound of Wily shouting from outside the basement sounded like it was getting farther away. Altaïr must be taking Wily to the buddy cops' police station, for "safekeeping".

"Talking about that old coot with the mustache? Then yeah, he was right on the money." Now that he finally discovered a time machine, Wily's quest was finally fulfilled. Maybe now he would stop acting crazy; one can only hope.

"Hey, where did those Rabbids run off to?" questioned Zelda, as the three Rabbids that arrived in the basement were nowhere to be seen. Suddenly a loud explosion was heard, as Rabbid Mario stood at the outdoor entrance with his fellow Rabbids while wielding a gauntlet. The basement door was broken down.

"Sayonara, suckers!" Rabbid Mario said to those down below, speaking with an Italian accent as he led the three other time-traveling Rabbids out of the basement and to the outside.

"Mama mia!" fretted Mario, while Master Hand was seething now that his basement door had to be repaired. "That Rabbid stole-a my accent."

"And my washing machine is gone," Rayman also fretted, not caring that his washing machine had time-traveling capabilities. In his mind, that only made the washing machine even cooler.

"Looks like hunting down those Rabbids is on the menu..." stated Link, before kneeling down at Beep-0 so that he could speak with the robot more directly. "...on a scale from one to ten, how rascally are those Rabbids?"

"They're not that bad, actually!" replied Beep-0, as a Rabbid grabbed the robot and tried to eat it. A worthy attempt, but only one that nearly cracked the Rabbid's teeth. "Compared to the regular Rabbids...they're a solid two."


Cloud: We're enjoying our time in Arcadia Bay so far; Aerith really seems to dig this place. Haven't gotten any word about Organization XIII, so I like to think that Master Hand making us spend our time here is an overreaction on his part. But I do have one bone to pick...and it's got to do with Big and Cream. What are they after?

The presence of Big the Cat in Arcadia Bay was a bother to Cloud, who encountered the purple cat in the unlikeliest of places. Cloud had seen Big outside a hospital, near the harbor, inside a gas station, and even inside the women's restroom of the gas station. Every time Cloud reported his findings to Aerith, Aerith would tell the swordsman to "lay off of Big for once".

With Cream the Rabbit also in Arcadia Bay, Cloud expected to see her around town quite often as well. When the swordsman ate outside with Aerith at Rue Altimore, a French/Italian restaurant, he was constantly looking over his shoulder.

"Never seen you so on edge before," Aerith said to Cloud, marveling at how high-alert the swordsman was. It charmed her seeing Cloud showing any sign of fright or suspicion. "Acting a little superstitious?"

"Only a little stitious," answered Cloud, returning to his meal after Aerith caught him red-handed. The swordsman really wanted to enjoy his baked spaghetti, but it was hard to do that with Big possibly creeping around the corner.

"Your dad seriously spent $500 on a tip?" a certain photographer asked, as Max Caulfield exited from Rue Altimore with Chloe Price. Cloud wished that he had a newspaper to shield his face with.

"More than he has ever spent on Christmas shopping," replied Chloe as she and Max took off down the road, only for Max to come to a stop. Chloe saw immediately why Max stopped, as Cloud and Aerith were sitting in her midst. "Well, well..."

"Can I take a picture of you guys? Pretty please?" Max held out his camera, as Cloud and Aerith knew what was coming next. Left with no choice, Cloud sighed as Aerith got up and placed her chair next to Cloud's.

"We're ready when you are," Aerith said to Max as she sat down in her chair, smiling at the camera. Cloud mustered a half-hearted smirk, as Max snapped a quick photo of the two friends.

"Awesome! That was picture perfect." As Max and Chloe took a glance at the final result, Cloud briefly turned his head around just to make sure that Big wasn't possibly photobombing the picture.

"So like, are you two a couple?" Chloe asked Cloud and Aerith, asking a loaded question that even had Aerith blushing. Cloud was about to answer, only to bite his tongue.

"Did you really have to ask that at a time like this?" Max frowned at Chloe as she grabbed her friend's hand and took her away, as Aerith let out a sigh of relief. Cloud was in relief as well, as he was in no mood to make fully committal answers.

"You gotta admit, they look cute together." Quite frankly for Chloe, Max didn't seem to think that way as she groaned and shook her head. As Max and Chloe passed a dark alley, they heard an ominous evil laugh.

"So you two are pretty close with Cloud and Aerith, are you?" a female voice called out to Max and Chloe, with the latter quickly getting on the offensive as she was looking to throw hands if needed. She'd fight anyone to protect Max in a heartbeat.

"Who goes there?" Chloe looked towards the dark alley where the voice came from, as a woman in black emerged from the shadows. That woman in black was...Tharja? What was she doing snooping in Arcadia Bay?

"Why don't you ladies come with me?" Tharja beckoned to Max and Chloe with her finger, smiling at them both. Max and Chloe both exchanged looks with one another before reluctantly following Tharja into the dark alley.

"If she kills us, I'm blaming you," Chloe quietly muttered to Max, making out Tharja to be some kind of psychopath. Totally understandable, given that Tharja was hiding in a dark alley of all places.


Halloween was fastly approaching and as a result, Cafe Leblanc was adorned with Halloween decorations. Cobwebs dressed the countertop, while a few skeletons were hanging from the walls. Every table in the cafe even had a pumpkin on the surface. And since Halloween was drawing near, you know that Sans had to come through with the Halloween-themed puns.

"orange you excited for halloween, ike?" Sans asked the swordsman as he showed him a jack-o-lantern; Ike lightly smiled, and Sans deemed his joke a success.

"Ha, I totally get it...not," replied Ike as his light smile faded away in an instant, with the swordsman walking away from Sans and over to one of the tables. A skeleton was sitting in his intended spot, as Ike touched it. "...nice to meet you, Mr. Skeleton."

"I'm bad to the bone!" the skeleton spoke, as a voice came out from its skull. Ike uncharacteristically shrieked as he jumped back, ready to square up with the skeleton as he had his fists out.

"Th-This was your doing, wasn't it?!" Ike pointed at Sans, thinking that the concept of skeletons speaking was Sans' idea. The unchanging smile on Sans left Ike wondering if Sans was truly at fault.

"It was my idea, Ike - those talking skeletons came from the Halloween store," Joker informed Ike, as he caught Pit holding a jack-o-lantern in his hand. Pit looked at the jack-o-lantern intently, licking his lips. "The jack-o-lanterns aren't edible, Pit."

"Aw, but it's begging to be eaten!" argued Pit as he turned the face of the jack-o-lantern to Joker, and spoke with a deep voice, "Hello, my name is Jack. Please eat me and put me out of my misery." Pit's impersonation got a laugh out of Viridi.

"Stop laughing, it wasn't that funny. And put that jack-o-lantern where it was, Pit, or else I'll..." Joker stopped speaking, as he saw Ryuji standing at the cafe doorway looking at him while pointing at his watch.

"Or else you'll what? Eat it for yourself?" Pit held his jack-o-lantern away from Joker, who immediately understood the cue that Ryuji was giving him. Having received the message, Joker took off his cafe apron and hung it on the wall.

"Where are you going?" Kirby asked Joker, who took out the keys he used to lock the cafe and tossed them to the pink puffball. "Oh!" Kirby caught the keys with his hands, as Joker was clearly in a rush.

"My friends and I have to go somewhere. Don't know when I'll be back, so Kirby, you're in charge." For the time being, Kirby was the boss of Cafe Leblanc, and Pit couldn't be any more beside himself.

Joker: Us Phantom Thieves are going to the Halloween costume to look for some Halloween costumes. According to Captain Falcon, the store has costumes for all ages. How does he know this? He frequents that place regularly throughout the year. Whoever the store owner is should look into finding a new hobby.

Pit: I've been slaving for Joker as the only barista for weeks. For weeks! The least that he could do was make me his second-in-command. Or the assistant to the manager. Or even an assistant manager. *gasps out of excitement* That would make for an awesome story arc!'

"Way to put me on the spot!" Kirby shouted at Joker, who waved to his fellow baristas as he followed Ryuji out of the cafe. Kirby sighed out of exasperation, as Incineroar patted his head to cheer him up. "Sorry, Incineroar, your head pats won't work this time..."

"kirby was named temporary boss...that's gotta be a pain in the neck, amirite Alucard?" Sans asked Alucard in a joking manner, as several folks in the cafe booed and jeered at the skeleton. Sans relished in the booing.

"Look who's talking," muttered Alucard, taking a sip from his cup of tea as Sans silently encouraged the cafe patrons to boo him more. He was feeding off of their heavy disapproval.

"it's cool, you guys; i'm always here for the boos." As the booing and jeering died down, Sans looked toward the baristas with a smile and asked, "am i a natural or what?"


The teleportation device was one of the mansion's many marvels, as it came through in the clutch for many situations. Whether it was gathering guests for a big get-together, making a trip to a faraway city like Inkopolis, or even going to save Donkey Kong from a corrupt music executive...the mansion could always rely on the teleportation device for easy transportation.

Unlike most other guests, Tracer and her Overwatch friends usually arrive at the mansion with their own mode of transportation, so they never really got to see the teleportation device in action. Mega Man kindly invited Tracer and Winston to the mansion to show off the device, since the two were inquiring so.

"Such a magnificent contraption!" gleamed Winston, standing in the teleportation room as he and Tracer admired the teleportation device. Believe it or it, it was their first time seeing the device in full view. "May I ask what Master Hand's impetus was for building this?"

"He really wanted to take us to Brazil for the Summer Olympics," Mega Man explained to Winston, who recalled Rio de Janeiro hosting the Summer Olympics. Given the shenanigans that took place, it was a miracle that nobody was banned from the country. Except maybe Yuffie.

"I bet you all had a wonderful trip," Tracer said to Mega Man, who gave a half-hearted smile; only a handful of folks didn't enjoy their time in Brazil. "Did you ever meet Amigo?"

"Amigo who?" Mega Man had no idea whom Tracer was referring to, and it made Tracer gasp in shock. How did Mega Man of all people not know Amigo?!

"You know, the monkey with the maracas?" Tracer shook some imaginary maracas in her hands, only to stop when Winston put his hand on her shoulder.

"Let's not get carried away," Winston advised Tracer, who regained her usual poise as she put her imaginary maracas away. Tracer will just have to ask about Mega Man's adventures in Brazil another day. "Show us how this device works, Mega Man!"

"Sure thing! We can do a quick test run," said Mega Man, his fingers ready to key in some coordinates on the dashboard. But he couldn't key in just any coordinates at random. "Anyone you wanna bring over?"

"Ooh, I know!" Tracer excitedly answered as raised her hand, waiting for Mega Man to call on her. Mega Man inquisitively eyed around for a moment before pointing at Tracer. "Try bringing in Soldier: 76 - but from the past. Commander Jack Morrison!"

"Tracer this isn't a..." Winston was about to inform the pilot, only for Mega Man to shush him with his finger in front of his mouth. Winston was one word away from summoning an erratic nuisance.

"It isn't a what now?" Tracer got up in Winston's grill with her hands on her hips, daring Winston to come up with a suitable comeback. When Winston didn't say a word, Tracer pulled away. "Okay then, how about Tyrion Lannister?"

"He's a Game of Thrones character - no known machinery can summon him!" Oh, but if Winston saw the DVR player in the movie room in action, then he would have no choice but to eat his words.

"Know what, how about I just summon someone myself," said Mega Man, tired of Tracer's impractical suggestions as he keyed in the coordinates. Tracer zipped over to Mega Man, watching the Blue Bomber go.

"Who are you bringing forth, love?" Tracer asked Mega Man, eager to meet the person that would be teleported to the mansion. The pilot still had some hope that Mega Man would somehow summon Jack Morrison.

"I'm going to a place where none of us have been before...the Borderlands," answered Mega Man, and once he had all the coordinates keyed in, the robot pulled on the lever. "Worst-case scenario is that we end up with a crazy lunatic..."

The teleportation device started doing its thing, and Tracer and Winston both marveled as the device was working its magic. Mega Man had his Mega Buster pointed at the teleportation pad for good measure, as the device summoned a masked man with an orange mohawk.

"Oh no..." groaned Mega Man, lowering his guard as he recognized the man; Tracer and Winston recognized the man as well, as they saw him acting a fool at a New Year's Eve party a few years ago.

"IT'S ME AGAIN! FACE MCSHOOTY!" shouted the man, Face McShooty, who was back again with one goal on his mind - to be shot in the face. The worst-case scenario was realized, as Mega Man facepalmed.

"I thought that Reaper killed him at the party?" Winston questioned Mega Man, as McShooty was doing some kind of funky happy dance as he was waiting for somebody to shoot him in his face. Something reminiscent of the funky chicken.

"We all thought so too..." groaned Mega Man, who was facepalming so hard right now; of all the people that Mega Man could've summoned from the Borderlands, Face McShooty was at the bottom of his list. And that truly said a lot.

Mega Man: After McShooty got his late Christmas wish and was shot in the face, we all agreed that he was dead. Apparently, he was well enough to beg me to take him back home.

"SO WHO'S GONNA SHOOT ME IN THE FACE?!" asked McShooty as he looked around the teleportation room, rubbing his hands with much excitement. A few potential "suitors" were in his midst. "COME ONE, COME ALL!"

"I'll be the one to do it!" volunteered Tracer as she whipped out her pulse pistols, ready to fire away. Winston put his arm out in front of Tracer, preventing the pilot from making her move.

"Don't waste your bullets...it's not worth it," Winston advised Tracer, while McShooty was gesturing to his face by pointing at it repeatedly. "It'll take more than just bullets to take care of him."

"Bruh, Mega Man, you owe me thirty bucks," Falco said to the robot as he walked inside the teleportation room, coming to a stop when he saw McShooty. One look at Falco got McShooty all fired up.

"YES! ANOTHER CONTENDER!" McShooty squealed with joy as he ran up to Falco, bringing the avian pilot's attention to his face while moving around in place rather frantically. "SHOOT ME IN THE FACE, YOU KNOW THE DRILL!"

"It was part of a test run," Mega Man explained to Falco, who was giving the robot a mean-looking side-eye. Saving himself some trouble, Falco groaned loudly as he took out his Blaster.

"Let's just get this over with..." said Falco as he pointed his Blaster at McShooty, firing a simple laser in the man's face. McShooty gave no reaction, which brought forth much confusion. "...hey, what gives?"

"I DON'T WANT NO STINKING LASERS! I WANT BULLETS!" shouted McShooty as she slapped the Blaster out of Falco's hand, before throwing a temper tantrum as he stomped on the floor. "REAL BULLETS, DO YOU HEAR ME?! BULLETS THAT WILL SHOOT MY BRAINS OUT!"

"Do I look like I carry a real gun? I mean, I would if I wanted to, but..." Suddenly McShooty took a hold of Falco, grabbing the avian pilot by the shoulders and shaking him silly.

"TELL ME WHO HAS A REAL GUN THEN, I BEG OF YOU!" McShooty sounded like he was crying, shedding tears behind his mask; clearly being shot in the face mattered that much to him. "ALL I ASK FOR IS TO BE SHOT IN THE FACE ONCE..."

"This is hopeless, not even a single face shot can keep him down," stated Winston, who couldn't help but feel some kind of sympathy for McShooty due to how brutally insane he was. "What else can we do?"

"We could always behead him - mass execution style," suggested Tracer, as an inquisitive side glance from Winston prompted the pilot to elaborate further. "You know, like how the Saudi Arabian government does!" That explanation didn't make Winston feel any much better.

"Mega Man, a little help here?" Falco called out to the robot, struggling to take McShotoy's hands off of his shoulders. Mega Man charged up a Charge Shot and fired it at McShooty, breaking him free from Falco.

"YOU FOOL! YOU DIDN'T GET ME IN THE FACE!" McShooty frowned at Mega Man as he quickly recovered, getting up on his feet in almost record fashion after being knocked down. "DOES ANYONE NOT KNOW WHAT A FACE IS ANYMORE?!"

"I sure would love to know..." Falco muttered under his breath, making his getaway escape as he ran out of the teleportation room. McShooty saw Falco leave and was incensed, nearly throwing a fit.

"HEY, YOU! I'M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU YET!" McShooty chased after Falco, hoping that the avian pilot would redeem himself and shoot him in the face...but only with an actual bullet.

"Well, that was a wonderful test run!" exclaimed Tracer, doing a brief moment of applause as she was the only person clapping her hands. Mega Man and Winston were in no mood to call the test run a success.


Wearing her Power Suit, Samus stood outside in front of her Gunship with Sonic, Crash, and Lavenza. She was about to go into outer space, as she had promised Sonic that she would find the remains of Conker's girlfriend, Berri. And she was only doing it out of the purity of her heart. Totally not because Sonic badgered her enough.

"Crash, what is this?" Samus asked the bandicoot, who handed her a coupon to some outer space restaurant. The coupon was entirely colored green, which was suspect to Samus.

"Oh! That's a coupon for the Toxic Burger," Sonic explained to Samus, as Crash smiled and nodded his head with nothing but burgers on his mind. "He wants you to buy him a meal."

"Maybe after I"m done, I can swing by there and get him what he wants." Samus reached inside the Gunship, where her lone passenger Pikachu awaited, and placed the coupon near the driver's seat. "Not even gonna waste my time..." Samus muttered under her breath.

"Pika pika?" uttered Pikachu as he took a gander at the Toxic Burger coupon, flipping it to the other side. There was a coupon to a place called Nuclear Pizza on the back, as Pikachu was allured.

Samus: Berri's remains are likely to be somewhere in space, so I'm going into the depths of the solar system to find these remains just to satisfy Sonic. I couldn't care less if I end up empty-handed. But, this is a way for me to get away from the mansion and spend quality time with Pikachu...so it's a win-win situation even if I lose. The losing part is to be expected.

"If you have nothing else to share with me, then I better get going," Samus said to Sonic and company, sheathing her helmet over her head as she was about to board her Gunship. At long last, the bounty hunter had a justified purpose for taking an extended break from the mansion - even if it was for a day.

"We're counting on ya, Samus!" Sonic expressed his support to the bounty hunter, who boarded her Gunship as she wished to wave off Sonic. She didn't have the energy to do it.

"Best of luck in your travels," Lavenza said to Samus, who closed the hatch of the Gunship as her spacecraft was set for takeoff. The Gunship lifted up in the air and took off into the skies. Crash waved goodbye as the Gunship flew into space.

"She is such the right person for the job..." Sonic was bound to be terribly disappointed if Samus returned home and came back with goose eggs - literal goose eggs or not. "...Mercy's cool too, for being involved."

"Hello, police? A child of a friend of mine is getting beat up..." Fox spoke into his phone, as Sonic and company saw the pilot nearby making a phone call to local authorities. "...no, it's not Falco. And no, Falco didn't sell any fake lottery tickets. Not this time."

"Who's the child that's getting beat up?" Sonic asked Crash and Lavenza, as the former shrugged; wanting to investigate, Sonic brought his pals over to Fox just to eavesdrop a bit.

"Describe the aggressors, you said? Okay...they have long ears and large mouths...one of them has a mustache..." The person on the other line had heard enough from Fox, as they hung up on him in a jiffy. "...knew I shouldn't have mentioned the mustache."

"Any child abuse afoot?" Lavenza asked Fox after he put his phone away, nearly startling the pilot. Fox looked away, debating whether or not Lavenza and the others deserved to seat the beatdown.

"Wouldn't say that it's full-fledged child abuse, but...I'll let you guys be the judge. It's going on in my backyard, apparently." Exchanging worried looks with each other, Sonic, Crash, and Lavenza followed Fox to his backyard.

In Fox's backyard, Sonic and company saw Bowser Jr. on the ground, getting beat up...by Rabbid Mario and Rabbid Luigi. Rabbid Peach was taking selfies, as the beatdown was in the background of her photos.

"Spare me! I'm just a kid!" Bowser Jr. pleaded for mercy, while Rabbid Mario and Rabbid Luigi kicked him senselessly. It was a classic Boyz In Da Hood style beatdown, as the Rabbids weren't letting up.

"Age doesn't matter when it comes to the bad guys," Rabbid Mario said to Bowser Jr, his thick Italian-Brooklyn accent leaving an impression on Sonic. He had Sonic almost fooled that he was Mario stuck in Rabbid form.

"All these pics are gonna look fab on my page..." said Rabbid Peach, speaking like a typical valley girl as she did multiple duck faces. Credit for taking such selfies with those giant lips of hers.

"I would stop them, but they're...you know, Rabbids," Fox explained to Sonic, knowing how predictable Rabbids were as a species. Sonic knew as well, but he wouldn't let that deter him from saving Bowser Jr. from harm.

"Alright you two, that's enough!" Sonic shouted at Rabbid Mario and Rabbid Luigi as he confronted the Rabbids, with Crash trailing behind. The Rabbids ceased their beating, as Rabbid Luigi looked afraid.

"Uh oh, you guys, it's Sonic the Hedgehog!" fretted Rabbid Luigi, cowering in fear as he felt a spin dash coming his way. Rabbid Peach stopped taking selfies, as everyone's attention was on Sonic.

"Can we like, take a selfie together?" Rabbid Peach approached Sonic with her phone, only for Sonic to gently push her away. Rabbid Peach was gonna have to wait for that selfie with Sonic later.

"If it isn't Sonic the Hedgehog...my biggest rival," Rabbid Mario mean-mugged Sonic, approaching the blue hedgehog as if he was a cowboy in a Western standoff. Hands in his pockets and everything; he was only missing a toothpick in his mouth.

"Dude, we never even met before," Sonic said to Rabbid Mario, who reached the blue hedgehog and looked at him from head to toe. Rabbid Mario was sizing up his enemy, looking for any potential weak spots.

"This may be our first meeting, but it won't be our last." Rabbid Mario treated Sonic as the Joker to his Batman, frowning intensely. Sonic eyed around, wondering if he should take action.

"Thanks for the distraction..." Bowser Jr. thanked Sonic, crawling away while he still could...but then Rabbid Mario whipped out his gauntlet, pointing it at Bowser Jr. and stopping the young Koopa's progress.

"Who said that you could get away?" Rabbid Mario's intimidation tactic worked, as Bowser Jr. collapsed to the ground to protect his own hide. Rabbid Mario kept his gauntlet on Bowser Jr, for good measure.

"Leave him alone, he's just a kid!" Sonic said to Rabbid Mario, who turned his head back to the blue hedgehog as he put his gauntlet away. Rabbid Mario's full attention was on Sonic once more.

"Since you are my arch-nemesis, I have no choice but to defeat you," Rabbid Mario said to Sonic, desiring to show the blue hedgehog and the others what he was made of. Fortunately, Sonic had a counteroffer in mind.

"Why defeat me..when you can defeat someone bigger and badder?" Sonic offered to Rabbid Mario, who was instantly hooked as the mean mug on his face went away. "Heard of a guy named Bowser?"

"I'm listening..." Rabbid Mario wasn't the only Rabbid hooked, as Rabbid Luigi and Rabbid Peach joined him at his side looking at Sonic. Sonic looked at Bowser Jr. with a face that screamed "trust me".


The Phantom Thieves arrived at their destination - the Halloween Store. The establishment was fairly packed for the most part, as folks were shopping for their Halloween essentials. Joker and his friends exited the van as they soaked in the Halloween Store...if they even cared to do so.

"Ah, the Halloween Store!" exclaimed Morgana, trying to bring some form of excitement to the trip. There was little to no excitement to be found during the ride to the store. "It looks...the same as it did last year."

"If it ain't broke don't fix it, I guess," Ryuji shrugged, as he and the Phantom Thieves were about to enter the store. But the friends came to a stop, as Captain Falcon exited the store nearly ambushing the Phantom Thieves.

"For the record, all this candy is for me," Captain Falcon informed the Phantom Thieves, with several bags of Halloween candy in his possession. "And for Nowi and Nah. No touching."

"We wouldn't want your stinking candy anyway," Ann said to Captain Falcon, who stormed off with a huff as he returned to his parked Blue Falcon. As Captain Falcon tossed his candy in his vehicle, the Phantom Thieves finally entered the store.

Captain Falcon wasn't the only familiar face in the Halloween Store, as the Inklings, Bowser, and Shovel Knight were also shopping for Halloween stuff. The Inklings were checking out several Halloween costumes on display when the female Inkling saw the Phantom Thieves.

"Don't look now, but your crush is here..." the female Inkling whispered to her male counterpart, who turned his head and blushed upon seeing Kasumi. The male Inkling quickly hid his face with a Jigsaw mask.

"Is she looking this way?" the male Inkling asked, as the female Inkling couldn't help but snicker quietly. The female Inkling didn't even give a heads-up, as Kasumi walked past.

"Hello, Inklings!" Kasumi greeted the squid youngsters, as she was checking out the Halloween costumes. No cue from the female Inkling yet. "Hmm, this black dress might work."

"Feeling it now?" the female Inkling asked her male counterpart, who was still blushing behind his Jigsaw mask as he felt a nervous pit in his stomach. Poor guy's heart must be racing.

Male Inkling: I got a good chance with Kasumi. Probably a better chance than whatever Bowser Jr. had. Yukiko telling him off was understandable; he's a turtle for crying out loud! But I, on the other hand, I'm a...squid person who can't even swim without my skin dissolving. Which isn't that much better, but at least I try to look human.

"Do you sell Mexican hats?" Bowser asked the owner of the Halloween store, as he was shopping for clothing items to create the ultimate Halloween costume. "Or do I have to go to a Mexican store for those?"

"You mean a sombrero?" the store owner asked Bowser, who gritted his teeth as he obviously resented being corrected by anyone. Especially if it was by one of his kids - or his favorite child. "Yeah, we don't sell those."

"And yet you sell Christmas trees?" Bowser brought the store owner's attention to several Halloween-themed Christmas trees, which were displayed at the front of the store. "We haven't even gotten to Thanksgiving, yet you're selling all this holiday crud! I blame inflation..."

"Sometimes you gotta stay on top of the latest trends. But check this out!" The store owner ran to one of the Christmas trees, pulling the cobwebs off of it. "This Christmas tree comes with authentic cobwebs."

"Cool, I'll be sure to let my buddy Jack Skellington know!" Bowser walked away from the store owner, who lowered his head as his chance of selling his first Christmas tree was squandered.

"Pardon me sir, but does thy store have a changing room?" Shovel Knight approached the store owner, holding a Headless Horseman costume. Makoto saw Shovel Knight from the corner of her eye, while Joker was checking out some items on the clothing rack.

"Leave him alone, Makoto, he won't bother you anymore," Joker said to his girlfriend, able to sense Makoto looking at Shovel Knight while feeling uneasy. It was a sixth sense that he developed as his relationship with Makoto endured.

"How can you be so sure?" Makoto asked Joker, as the store owner guided Shovel Knight to the nearest dressing room. Yusuke and Haru were a few feet away from Makoto, with the former eavesdropping. "It's hard for some people to just let things go."

"Funny you should say that..." Yusuke steadily approached Makoto, surprising the young woman and Joker with his stoic presence. "...take a look over there." Makoto and Joker turned around and saw the Inklings; the male Inkling still had the Jigsaw mask over his face.

"What's the big deal, it's just the Inklings..." Makoto quickly saw what the big deal was, as Kasumi passed by the Inklings and the male Inkling turned away. "...oh, would you look at that."

"The male Inkling seems to be very enchanted with Kasumi. The clues were all there during our night out at Dusk 2 Dawn. Love is in the air, and Kasumi has yet to pick up the hint!"

"I thought the Inkling just wanted to hang with us," Joker discussed with Yusuke and Makoto, wishing that he had noticed the male Inkling's crush on Kasumi much sooner. "Now it all makes sense..."

"Don't look now, but I think they're talking about you," the female Inkling quietly informed her male counterpart, who made a funny sound behind the mask he was holding over his face. "What's the matter? Can't take it?"

"Wish I could just vanish..." the male Inkling admitted, as the nervous pit in his stomach that he felt earlier was lingering. That pit in his stomach made him almost nauseous like he wanted to throw up.

"Here's what you should do. In the spirit of Halloween..." The female Inkling took the Jigsaw mask away from the male Inkling, as the male Inkling was overcome with worry. "...you should face your fear, and confess your love to Kasumi."

"Are you CRAZY?!" The male Inkling shouted so loud, that everyone in the store turned their attention to him. The male Inkling lowered his head, as he took the female Inkling to the restroom area to speak with her in private. "I mean...are you crazy?"

"What could go wrong? You tell Kasumi how much you love her, and you can finally get over yourself. And if she tells you off...then she tells us off. Simple."

"That's what I'm trying to avoid..." The male Inkling stressed this with clenched teeth and a whispered voice, as the sound of water running from a faucet was heard from the men's restroom. Wolf later exited the restroom, running into the Inklings.

"About to make out, you two?" Wolf teased the Inklings, before cackling as he walked away from the restroom. Wolf the matchmaker never took a day off, even when he was out in public.

"Confess your love to Kasumi today and you can avoid stuff like that," the female Inkling encouraged her male counterpart, who nervously swallowed knowing what he must do. Now or never.

Female Inkling: I can tell by the look on his face...he's gonna bungle it. *snorts*


While Zelda was holding it down at the mansion, the threesome of Mario, Link, and Rayman set off to find Rayman's new washing machine...which was also a time machine. Accompanying the trio was Beep-0, a robot with rabbit ears who happened to arrive in Seattle through the washing machine. From the future, allegedly.

"It's highly plausible that the machine fell from the sky and crash-landed somewhere," Beep-0 said to Mario and company, who were searching around a park in downtown Seattle. With that info in mind, Mario approached a couple sitting at a park bench, being all romantic.

"Pardon me, but did you happen to see a washing machine fall from the sky some-a where?" Mario asked the couple, as the man frowned and took his girlfriend away from the plumber. "Hmm, maybe I wasn't too inviting."

"Nice job, Mario, now that couple thinks you're a weirdo," Link said to the plumber, as he and Rayman were checking behind a tree. While Link and Rayman worked as a duo, Mario chose to work alone.

"I can point you towards a good spot to look," Beep-0 offered to Mario, who flat-out ignored the robot as he left the park bench and walked away. Poor Beep-0 looked sad. "Nobody ever asks me for help..."

"May I ask how you even purchased this washing machine?" Link asked Rayman, wondering how the limbless hero wasn't aware of his new washing machine's capabilities. Perhaps Rayman forgot to read the details before making the purchase.

"That's the funny part - I didn't actually buy it!" Rayman confessed to Link, who responded with a double take; that only made Rayman's acquisition of the washing machine even more suspect. "Altaïr showed it to me one day and asked me if I wanted it, and I was like...sure."

"Altaïr does venture out of the mansion late at night..." As Link took the time to reflect upon Altaïr's nighttime excursions, Midna slowly descended from up above and positioned herself behind the Hylian. "...we do have that unwanted chocolate sprinkler, for a reason."

"Boo!" shouted Midna, causing Link to scream and jump into Rayman's hands. Midna laughed her butt off, as Link was catching his breath. "Just prepping you for Halloween, Link."

"Worst prepping ever..." Done catching his breath, Link hopped down from Rayman and recollected whatever dignity he had left remaining. "...what do you want, Midna? We're busy."

"The better question is, have you seen my washing machine?" Rayman asked Midna, who was giving the limbless hero a judging glance. "It's new!" Rayman smiled as he said this, but it was not enough to turn Midna's frown upside down.

"You're at the park looking for a washing machine? Pathetic..." Midna pinched the crown of her nose as she shook her head in dismay. "...but if you're dying to know, I have seen your stupid appliance nearby."

"Y-You have? Show us!" So Midna guided Link and Rayman away from the tree, while Mario kept searching for the washing machine. Mario didn't notice that Link and Rayman were leaving with Midna until a second later.

"Wait-a up for me!" Mario called out to Midna and company, as he ran after the three; Beep-0 was keeping up with Mario, keeping a steady pace behind the plumber.

Soon enough, Midna brought Link and Rayman to the washing machine, which was lying on the ground. Mario and Beep-0 caught up with the others, seeing Gnasty Gnorc lying on the ground with a huge bump protruding from his head.

"Nice, we finally found it!" celebrated Rayman as he shared a high-five with Mario and Link. Also tapped Beep-0 on its head so that it wouldn't be left out. "Seems that it also knocked out that Gnasty dude from the pep rally."

"He's definitely out cold," stated Beep-0 as it inspected Gnasty, who was unconscious with his arms and legs sprawled out on the ground. Gnasty's hammer was but a few feet away.

"Think we should throw him in a dump truck where he belongs?" Link asked Mario, wanting to take advantage of Gnasty's state of unconsciousness. Best to take care of Gnasty now before he wakes up.

"Was thinking of the sewer, but I like-a your idea more," Mario sided with Link, as Rayman crept over to the washing machine. Rayman lifted the machine with both hands, struggling to lift it off the grass at first.

"You're coming with me..." Rayman said to his washing machine as he returned to Mario and Link...but on his way back to the duo, he accidentally stepped on Gnasty's exposed hand. "...whoops!"

"Hm?" Gnasty woke up, lifting up his arm as he knocked the washing machine out of Rayman's hands. Gnasty was rubbing his head, feeling the massive bump on his cranium. "Where did the stars go?"

"Oh great, now you've done it!" Midna frowned at Rayman, as it took Gnasty a brief moment to be fully awake. Pulling himself up to his feet, Gnasty saw Rayman in his midst with the washing machine.

"Were you looking at me?" Gnasty leaned in close to Rayman all up in his grill, sending chills down the limbless hero's spine. Rayman was shuddering in fear as he placed his hands on the washing machine.

"Nope...just came here to find my new washing machine!" Rayman nervously replied, putting his hands on the washing machine. But then Gnasty put his own hands on the machine, refusing to let Rayman take it away.

"I reckon that this is the doohickey that knocked me out!" Exerting his muscle, Gnasty pulled the washing machine away from Rayman and caused the limbless hero to fall face-first unto the ground. "I must destroy it."

"But you can't!" Beep-0 warned Gnasty as if the Gnorc would magically listen to him. Gnasty wasn't the kind of guy that listened to anyone, even if it was his own consciousness. "That washing machine...it's also a time machine!"

"Oh, Hylia..." Midna facepalmed at Beep-0; although Beep-0 was trying to do the right thing, he did nothing but make Gnasty smile evilly as evil intentions entered the Gnorc's brain.

"A time machine, you say?" said Gnasty, looking at the washing machine in his possession as he knew what to do with it. "Then I'll just give it to my good friend Giovanni! He won't have to depend on his Team Rocket cronies any longer."

"Giovanni is building a time machine?" Link asked Gnasty, who realized that he was spilling the beans on a part of Dimentio's master plan. Gnasty would be letting Dimentio down if he ran his mouth further.

"Absolutely not, no! No machine of the sort is to be found. We never had this conversation. Gnasty Gnorc, AWAY!" On that note, Gnasty ran away from Link and company, bringing the washing machine with him. Gnasty ran awfully fast for a guy his size.

Wily: Just had another epiphany...I can feel something in the air...there must be another time machine afoot! And not one that the despicable speck known as E. Gadd would build. This one, I fear, is from a...
Min Min: *from outside the room* Dr. Wily, are you going on another tangent about a time machine? Shut up and eat your noodles already!
Wily:
No you shut up, you're not my mom! *grumbles as he takes a bowl of noodles and slurps from it* Altaïr says that I've been too "combative", so Master Hand has me locked up in Min Min's room. Nothing wrong with bragging to everyone else - even if I got too handsy.

"Welp, there goes my new washing machine..." lamented Rayman, acting all defeatist as he didn't think that Gnasty would give up the washing machine. Thought at he might as well buy one from the store.

"This is all your fault," Midna scolded Beep-0, hoping that the robot knew how guilty he was. Since Beep-0 was an outsider, Midna went easy on him. "Why did you have to tell him that?"

"I just thought that maybe he would have a change of heart and yield," Beep-0 defended its actions, as Midna groaned and smacked her forehead. Midna couldn't be too angry with Beep-0; it was new to the game.


Cloud and Aerith were at some train tracks in Arcadia Bay, with Aerith balancing on the tracks with her arms out to the side. Cloud was keeping watch of Aerith, while also on the lookout for Big or Cream.

"You should really give this a try, Cloud," Aerith encouraged the swordsman, only to suddenly lose her balance; Cloud caught her in the nick of time.

"Thanks for showing me why I shouldn't..." responded Cloud as he placed Aerith back on solid ground; a light was approaching in the distance, and a train sound was heard. "...here comes the train."

"Guess I got off at the right time!" Aerith stood at Cloud's side, as she and Cloud waited for the train to pass. The train was coming down the railroad, bringing plenty of cargo along.

Then out of nowhere, a mysterious pair of hands pushed Aerith onto the train tracks, positioning the flower girl in front of the incoming train. Aerith watched as the train got closer and closer, as Cloud's hero instinct was triggered.

"Aerith!" shouted Cloud, coming to the rescue as he tackled Aerith in the nick of time. As Cloud and Aerith landed away from the train tracks, the train passed by a split second later.

"Wow, that was...unexpected!" remarked Aerith after having her life saved, not sure what to make of her being pushed in front of the train or Cloud saving her in due time. "Thanks for saving me, Cloud."

"It was just the right thing to do." Before he had a chance to help Aerith up to her feet, Cloud was caught by surprise when Aerith pecked him on the lips. Aerith herself was surprised, not knowing what came over her.

"Uh...that was the right thing for me to do!" Aerith tried to play off the romantic moment that had spurred, as Cloud recollected himself and helped Aerith up. Aerith dusted her dress off, with Cloud assisting her.

"These railroad tracks are too dangerous. Let's hang out somewhere else." So Cloud and Aerith left the train tracks, with Cloud taking Aerith to a place in town where she won't get run over by a train.

Standing on the other side of the tracks was Chloe - the person who had pushed Aerith in front of the train in the first place. With no blood on her hands, Chloe sighed in relief as she clutched her chest.

"So, uh, how did I do?" Chloe turned around and asked someone in the distance, as Max appeared...and walking with Max was Tharja, who was smiling with satisfaction.

"For a first-timer, you weren't so bad!" Tharja commended Chloe, patting the young woman on her shoulder; Tharja then turned her attention to Max, pointing at the aspiring photographer. "You will be next."

"Ah, figures..." lamented Max, hoping that whatever Tharja had in store for her didn't involve pushing innocent people in front of moving vehicles.


Done taking care of business at the Halloween Store, Bowser shopped at other places in town to complete his epic Halloween costume. The Koopa King needed some feedback, so he contacted Rosalina and asked her to stop by a clothing store that he was at.

"Done yet?" Rosalina called out to Bowser, as she and Luma were waiting outside a changing room at a Macy's store. The wait finally came to an end, as Bowser exited the changing room.

"Honest thoughts and opinions only," Bowser told Rosalina, while wearing his mismatched Halloween costume - it consisted of a sombrero, a Native American sweater, Chinese harem pants, and a pair of Air Force 1s. Rosalina bit her bottom lip.

"Um...I'll give you an A for effort." Rosalina watched as Bowser did a 360, showing the mother of Lumas all the contours of his questionable Halloween attire.

"That's good, but what do you actually think about the costume? Yay or nay?" Bowser could tell that Rosalina was nervous, and he was going to press her until she gave an honest critique.

"What do you even call it?" Rosalina was deflecting as much as possible, much to Bowser's chagrin. But that didn't stop Bowser from sharing a few details about why he designed his Halloween costume as such.

"I call it...Multiculturalism! The opposite of racism. The intent is to show how accepting I am of other cultures. So, what do you think?"

"There's a different way to go about showing that you aren't racist. This isn't the way to go about it." From those comments, Bowser inferred that Rosalina didn't like the costume, and it dismayed him very much.

"It's the sombrero, is it? Is that what's throwing you off?" Bowser sighed as he took off his sombrero, walking away from Rosalina as he held his sombrero in his hands. "Back to square one..."

Rosalina: Bowser isn't a genuine racist; he's more of an insensitive one. He will say things that sound harmless to him but might offend others. Oftentimes he'll go on a tangent about social justice warriors "mucking up the Bay Area" soon afterward, which doesn't help his cause any.

"Sir, you have to pay for that sweater!" a store worker called out to Bowser, who defiantly walked past the security gates as they sounded the alarm. Shoplifting made Bowser feel good.

"Do you even know who you're speaking to? Buzz off!" Bowser clapped back at the store worker as he exited the store, tearing the price tag off his sweater. "I'm really gonna enjoy shoplifting more during the holiday season."

"Gonna do some holiday shoplifting, eh? Typical Bowser..." a voice called out to Bowser, who looked around the store entrance to find out who was speaking to him. For whatever reason, Bowser was looking upward.

"Alright, who goes there?" Bowser finally looked to his left and saw a trio of Rabbids - Rabbid Mario, Rabbid Luigi, and Rabbid Peach - all strapped as they carried their weapons. Rabbid Mario was giving Bowser the death glare.

"He looks scary even when he's dressed up like that!" remarked Rabbid Luigi, the only Rabbid afraid of Bowser as he was nervously biting his nails. Rabbid Peach, meanwhile, was taking more selfies.

"Bowser...my biggest arch-enemy in the whole wide world," Rabbid Mario confronted Bowser, sizing up the Koopa King as he stared deep into his soul. Bowser hardly took Rabbid Mario seriously.

"Mario? You turned yourself into a Rabbid?" Bowser asked Rabbid Mario, thinking that "Mario" would be easier to pummel now. "Peach and Luigi too?"

"I ain't turned into nothing..." Rabbid Mario's Italian-Brooklyn accent further convinced Bowser that he was the real Mario, likely a victim of an experiment gone wrong. "...now it's time for you to put up or shut up!"

"Sorry, but I can't take you seriously when you're looking like this." After much internal debate, Bowser chose not to lay a finger on Rabbid Mario as beating him wouldn't be fair. "I want the real Mario, dang it!"

"We got him right where we want him! Attack!" Rabbid Mario whistled into his fingers, as Rabbid Luigi and Rabbid Peach rushed into action. Rabbid Peach ran towards Rabbid Luigi, who tossed Rabbid Peach into the air as she soon landed on top of Bowser's head.

"BOING!" shouted Rabbid Peach as she leaped off of Bowser, who was holding his head in pain. While Bowser was ailing, Rabbid Mario slide into the Koopa King and sent him to the ground.

"Mario quit playing, this isn't funny!" Bowser yelled at Rabbid Mario, who fired his gauntlet in the Koopa King's face. Rabbid Luigi followed up with an attack of his own, striking Bowser with his yo-yo from the distance.

"Any last words, King Bowser?" Rabbid Mario asked Bowser, as he and the other Rabbids stood triumphantly over their downed opponent. The Rabbids weren't done manhandling Bowser just yet.

"Stop!" shouted Sonic as he ran over to the Rabbids with his phone out, as Bowser was sparred from further harm. "Bowser isn't the guy you're after."

"Sonic! You're my hero," Bowser heaped praise on the blue hedgehog, taking the time to pull himself up to his feet and dust off his sweater. "Never thought I'd actually say those words..."

"Whaddaya mean, he isn't the guy we're after? He's Bowser!" Rabbid Mario said to Sonic, unaware that Bowser was about to make his grand escape. But Rabbid Luigi was, as he tapped Rabbid Mario on his shoulder to try and get his attention.

"True dat, but I just got a call from Mario. He said that he knows of a villain who has Bowser beat in spades!" Triggered by what Sonic said, Bowser came to a stop as his getaway came to a halt.

"Got a call from Mario? But that right there is Mario!" Bowser said to Sonic as he pointed at Rabbid Mario, almost certain that he wasn't crazy. "Also, who's this so-called villain that you speak of?"

"And get this: Mario also said that this villain stole your washing machine! The one you traveled in!" This tidbit from Sonic won the Rabbids over, as they knew how powerful the washing machine was if left in the wrong hands.

"He's got the time-washing machine?!" panicked Rabbid Luigi, with his hands on his head; Rabbid Mario was calm and collected, while Rabbid Peach took yet another selfie. "That machine's nothing but trouble..."

"I can give you guys a ride in my Corvette. Someone will just have to ride in the trunk." So Sonic led the Rabbids to his Corvette in the parking lot, while Bowser remained where he was looking confused.

"Mario traveled in a washing machine...?" Bowser crinkled his nose as he scratched his head, wondering how Mario could make it out of a washing machine alive provided that it was turned on. "What's a time-washing machine?"


As a masochist, it was Face McShooty's life goal to be shot in the face as many times as humanely possible. Problem was that at the mansion, not many folks carried a real gun with bullets that McShooty craved. But Falco, who was stuck with McShooty, knew of a resident that could meet the masochist's needs.

"YIPPIE! HOORAY! MANY WORDS OF EXCLAMATION!" cheered McShooty, who was standing in front of Barret in the terrorist's room. Barret's daughter, Marlene, kept away from McShooty while hugging Barret.

"What is this man's deal?" Barret asked Falco, offended that the avian pilot had the audacity to bring McShooty to his room. Barret was enjoying a splendid tea party with Marlene until McShooty kicked his door down.

"He craves being shot in the face," Falco explained McShooty's life mission to Barret, who was staring at McShooty with disdain and a newfound sympathy. "Can't make this up."

"YES, I LOVE MY FACE - I LOVE IT WHEN SOMEONE SHOOTS IT EVEN MORE!" McShooty said to Barret, as he was hardly running low on energy. If it wasn't for his masochism, McShooty would make for a great hype man. "SO GET ON WITH IT! SHOOT ME!"

"He's scaring me..." Marlene whispered softly to Barret, as McShooty scared her more than Sephiroth ever could. That truly was saying a lot.

"Sorry, Falco, but I can't do this," Barret said regretfully to the avian pilot, who stared at the terrorist as if he wanted to strangle him. While Marlene watched in horror, no less. "I can't shoot this poor fella when my sweet daughter's watchin'!"

"Come on, Barret, you're my only hope," stressed Falco, as if Barret was the only resident that carried firearms. Shows ya how hard Falco looked. "Tell you what, we can hide Marlene in the closet and..."

"FINE, IF YOU WON'T SHOOT ME, SOMEBODY ELSE WILL!" McShooty said to Barret, refusing to wait on the terrorist's decision as he stormed out of the room with bloodshed on his mind. "SMELL YA LATER, YOU FILTHY COWARD!"

"Get back here!" Falco shouted at McShooty as he ran out of the room, refusing to let McShooty out of his sight. Who knows, McShooty might steal a gun from someone and shoot himself in the face...either way, the end result wouldn't be pretty.

"It's okay, Marlene, he's gone now," Barret said to his daughter, who stopped hugging her foster dad as the coast was now clear. Barret then furrowed his brow, as he heard someone speaking on the phone in his closet.

"You're scared of Big the Cat?" said a voice from the closet, as it sounded an awful lot like Tifa. Giggling was heard, as Barret crept towards the closet door. "What has gotten into you, Cloud?"

"Tifa...?" wondered Barret as he put his hand on the closet doorknob, before slowly pulling the closet door open. The terrorist caught Tifa red-handed, sitting on the floor while talking with Cloud over the phone.

"Oh, so you aren't scared, you're on 'high alert.' Sounds like you're scared to me!" Soon Tifa recognized Barret peering down at her, as she looked up at the terrorist and smiled innocently. "Hi, Barret! I'm on the phone with..."

"I know who you're talking to..." Barret grabbed Tifa and pulled the martial artist up to her feet, before removing her from his closet. "...next time, how about you give me a warning?"

"Sorry, it's just that your closet is super comfy to sit in compared to mine." Hearing enough from Tifa, Barret kindly escorted the martial artist out of his room and slammed the door in her face. He only slammed the door just to send a message.

Tifa: Guess what - Cloud called me, not the other way around. I mean it doesn't sound like a big deal, but I was the first person that he called while he was in Arcadia Bay! He didn't call anyone else! Well, that makes him sound like an uncaring jerk, but this could be a sign. Not ready yet to say that the stars are aligning...

"Sorry about that interruption; Barret was angry, as per usual," Tifa apologized to Cloud, walking down the hallway as she continued her phone conversation with the swordsman. "Anything exciting happened today?"


"Not sure if this counts as 'exciting', but I saved Aerith from an oncoming train," replied Cloud, conducting the phone call while outside the gas station. Aerith was inside the convenience store doing some shopping. "I'm a hero now."

"Silly Cloud! You've always been a hero," stated Tifa, laughing off at her friend's strong sense of hubris. Cloud looked over his shoulder as a person exited the store, making sure that it was Big.

"Mostly when I have to be. Somebody's gotta do all the heavy lifting." Yet another person exited the store, and once again Cloud felt the pressing need to look over his shoulder.

"You really do a lot of heavy lifting...literally speaking, if you know what I mean!" Rather than laughing sardonically at Tifa's joke, Cloud looked over his shoulder a third time - just to look at a fat guy pumping gas. Cloud was becoming paranoid.

"Very funny...anyway, I gotta go. Promised Aerith a boat ride in the ocean." A boat ride sure beats meandering around the town; a lovely change of pace from the usual daily fare. "Our captain shouldn't be much trouble."

"Sounds like fun. Maybe you can give me a boat ride one day!" That request from Tifa made Cloud raise his eyebrows, as Tifa gasped after letting that little tidbit slip off her tongue. "If you're down for it, that is."

"We'll have to see about that. Glad that I could get to speak with you." Cloud should look into reaching out a bit more - who knows, someone might be worried sick about him in Arcadia Bay.

"It's no problem. Talk to you later!" To be the first person to be contacted by Cloud since he left for Arcadia Bay...it put Tifa in a happy mood.

"Later." After saying his goodbye, Cloud ended the call and put his phone away - just as Aerith exited the convenience store.

"Look what I got!" Aerith squealed to Cloud, showing off what she purchased as she reached into her bag. She pulled out a red lighter and flicked it on. "Got my very own lighter."

"You needed a bag for that?" Cloud walked away, shaking his head; Aerith spent all that time in the store, and all she had to show for it was a red lighter. "Waste of a bag..."

"I also got some candy. You might like some of it!" Aerith followed after Cloud, as she and the swordsman set off to their next destination. Peeking from the corner was Tharja, who looked toward Max and Chloe and nodded her head toward Max. Max gulped.


The male Inkling was going to do it: he was going to overcome his fear, face Kasumi like a man and tell her how much he loved her. He was going to do it alone, to show the female Inkling that he could handle it. So while Kasumi shopped at the Halloween Store, the male Inkling eyed his target as he took a deep breath.

"You got this..." the male Inkling assured himself, smacking his cheeks with his hands as he bravely walked over to Kasumi. He came to a stop, however, when Futaba cut him off to chat with Kasumi for a brief moment.

"Check this out! Got this for fifty-percent off," Futaba said to Kasumi as she showed her friend a gold headpiece with a snake on it. It harkened to her Shadow self in Memento.

"Recreating your Shadow self in Halloween costume form is...a choice," Kasumi faintly responded with some reluctance, while the male Inking bided his time by twiddling with his thumbs. "But you do you."

"It's just a headpiece! It's not gonna kill anyone. That's all." Futaba left, allowing Kasumi to carry on with her shopping. Soon Kasumi looked in the male Inkling's direction, taking sight of the squid.

"Inkling boy! Hello again!" Kasumi made her advance to the male Inkling, who played it cool as he was soon face-to-face with his crush. "Really liked that Jigsaw mask you were wearing?"

"You mean this?" the male Inkling nervously chuckled as he held up the mask in question, unsure of why he was holding on to it. It was probably like a non-squeezable stress toy. "I was planning on buying it."

"Going as Jigsaw for Halloween? I think you could pull it off." His brain almost fried, the male Inkling responded with awkward laughter, as Kasumi laughed with him. The female Inkling, observing her friend from afar, smacked her forehead.

"So, uh, I was thinking..." Once his awkward laughing fit ended, the male Inkling mustered all his strength as he felt his stomach tighten. "...of something that I wanted to say to you."

"Oh! Go on?" Kasumi gave the male Inkling her full attention, interested in what the male Inkling had to say. If the male Inking's stomach was still clenching, it was probably in all sorts of knots right now.

"Let's just say...let's just say that's something that I've wanted to say to you for a long time." The pressure was mounting, as Yusuke looked over and saw the male Inkling with Kasumi.

"May I have your attention?" Yusuke whispered quietly to his nearby Phantom Thief friends, halting their shopping and bringing their attention to the male Inkling and Kasumi. "Someone is shooting their shot..."

"Woah, are you for real?!" Ryuji shouted loudly, bustling past Ann to get a closer look. Way to be super secretive, Sakamoto. "Inkling kid, go for it!"

"Shh!" Ann angrily shushed Ryuji, whose outburst and words of encouragement put an extra amount of pressure on the male Inkling's shoulders. Kasumi glanced at Ryuji, wondering what his outburst was for.

"Go for what?" Kasumi asked the male Inkling, whose stomach was in so many knots that it just might tear apart. "What is he on about?"

"The thing is..." the male Inkling replied, slowly losing the courage to even look Kasumi in the eye as he lowered his head and meekly uttered, "...I like you?"

"Could you repeat that? I can't hear you." Kasumi leaned in close to the male Inkling, putting her hand close to her ear. The pressure was erupting like a volcano, as the male Inkling couldn't take it anymore.

"I CAN'T DO IT! I'M SORRY, KASUMI!" Feeling shame, the male Inkling held his Jigsaw mask over his face as he ran out of the Halloween store. Kasumi looked befuddled as she stood upright, staring at the store entrance.

"That kid left without paying..." the store owner frowned as he stood behind the front counter, before shrugging as he carried on with his usual business. "...eh, that mask was like a dollar anyway."

Captain Falcon: The owner of the Halloween store doesn't care about shoplifting if you're stealing cheap items. It's for that reason that I steal Halloween candy whenever it's on sale! On that note, don't let Nah know; she might tell on me and get me in trouble with her mom.

"Least he got past the 'speak to her face' part," remarked the female Inkling, glad that her friend had the stones to confront Kasumi. Even if Kasumi came to him first. Wolf crept up on the female Inkling, spooking her.

"If things don't work out between the male Inkling and Kasumi..." Wolf said to the female Inkling with a smile full of bad intent. "...I can work some Inkling magic if you catch my drift." The female Inkling turned Wolf down, kicking him in the shin as she walked away.


Gnasty Gnorc had captured the time-washing machine, planning on giving it to Giovanni as a means of proving his worth to Dimentio. But before he could return to Dimentio's base, he first had to verify that the machine was legit. That is why he was doing a test run...not in a secret place, but out in the open at a waterfront. Bold move.

"Where are the instructions?" pondered Gnasty as he looked inside the time-washing machine, searching for an instruction manual. He could just, you know, press the button, but it wouldn't hurt to know how the machine operated.

"Look, mama, it's the Mariners mascot!" Luma said to Rosalina, who was walking down the boardwalk when she came across Gnasty sticking his head inside the time-washing machine. So much of Gnasty's head was inside the machine, that it was a struggle to pull out of the opening.

"That's not the mascot, that's the goblin who played as..." Rosalina was about to correct Luma, only to later take out her wand as she recognized Gnasty. "...stay right there, Luma."

"Cripes, I'm stuck!" fretted Gnasty as he tried to pull his head out, while Rosalina neared the Gnorc. After multiple attempts, Gnasty freed himself from the time-washing machine, turning around as he was met by Rosalina.

"Gnasty Gnorc, are you?" Rosalina pointed her wand in Gnasty's face, and Gnasty could tell that Rosalina meant business. Gnasty backed away towards the time-washing machine, but Rosalina was hot on his heels.

"That is I! Erm, have we met before?" Gnasty reached his hand out for his hammer, but it was nowhere near him. If only he had a pair of stretching arms.

"Frankly, we haven't, but Spyro has told me stories about you." Spyro...hearing his name made Gnasty sick to the core. Also made Gnasty frightened about a potential Spyro run-in. "You've had quite the track record lately."

"Spyro is to blame; he has to kick my butt every week! Every week! But this week, I'll turn the tables..." Gnasty held his finger towards the power button on the time-washing machine, threatening to press it.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." But Rosalina would be ignored, as Gnasty pressed the button and took a step back. Rosalina was on guard, anticipating what the machine would do.

Just like earlier, the time-washing machine was spazzing out of control, making exotic and strange noises. Rosalina was growing more vigilant, as Gnasty watched the machine do its thing.

"Oh yeah, he's gonna like this..." grinned Gnasty, his unbrushed teeth showing revealing his poor dental hygiene. "Giovanni's gonna like..." Out of nowhere, a Luma came flying out of the time-washing machine, striking Gnasty in the face.

"Lumas?" inquired Rosalina, squinting her eyes, as more and more Lumas pelted Gnasty. Lumas came out at full force, as Gnasty shielded himself.

"Must...get...to hammer..." said Gnasty as he held his hand out to his hammer, which was still far away from his current position. Settle down, Gnasty, you're not Thor.

As Gnasty tried to make progress, he was struck in the face yet again - this time by a Rabbid. Gnasty fell to the ground, as the Rabbid floated in the air while holding by a Luma plush.

"That Rabbid looks like me," observed Rosalina, noting that the Rabbid's hair and attire were strikingly similar to hers. The lone difference from Rosalina was the Rabbid's uncaring attitude. "What if that is me...?"

"I've been ambushed...by a rabbit?!" growled Gnasty as he got up on one knee, with Rabbid Rosalina meeting him face-to-face. Rabbid Rosalina looked as if she was done with life.

"Meh..." uttered Rabbid Rosalina, expressing her apathetic nature with a plain response. The Rabbid then lifted her plush Luma, commanding the Lumas to attack Gnasty relentlessly.

"Are those my siblings, mama?" Luma asked as he floated over to his mother, joining her in watching the Lumas going ham on Gnasty. Some Lumas fired ice at Gnasty, while others were firing literal fire. And it had Rosalina curious.

"They all have rabbit ears, so I doubt it," answered Rosalina, observing the facial features of the Lumas which were similar to Rabbids. "I'd say they're your distant cousins."

"ENOUGH! I've had enough!" shouted Gnasty, causing the Lumas to cease their attack on the Gnorc; Gnarc crawled towards his hammer, grabbing it and using it to prop himself up to his feet. "I'm gonna end this..."

"End this how?" Rosalina asked Gnasty, who gripped his hammer in his hand as he eyed the time-washing machine. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Forget you, lady! If destroying the time machine means fewer of those stupid stars, then so be it!" Gnasty hurled his arm back, ready to toss his hammer like a javelin toward the time-washing machine. If only Spyro was here to stop Gnasty...

"My word, would you look at that! Up in the sky!" a voice shouted from afar, stopping Gnasty mid-throw as the voice captured Gnasty's attention. "Is it a bird? A plane? No...it's Spyro the Dragon!"

"How does he keep finding me?!" Refusing to take yet another beating, Gnasty ran away from the premises as he left the waterfront. "You can have your stinking time machine...I'm out!"

"A big goblin scared of a little dragon...not as mean and nasty as he looks," remarked Rosalina, glad that the time-washing machine wasn't destroyed. The end result would've been catastrophic. "Thanks for the assist, whoever you are."

"That would be I," said a certain British detective, as Layton made his appearance along with Luke. The detective duo was eating chips that they obtained from a waterfront concession stand.

"Must say, Mr. Gnorc is quite the pro at punking out!" remarked Luke, as he and Layton saw Gnasty in person for the first time. But if that was the case, then how did Layton know how to scare him off?

Layton: Mario has me caught up to speed while I'm in town. Organization XIII, Gnasty Gnorc, the new Overwatch watchpoint - all of it is common knowledge to me. Now I'd hate to conduct a wide-scale investigation if the time ever calls for it..after all, Luke and I are really enjoying our extended vacation!

"Professor Layton!" Mario called out to the detective as he, Link, Rayman, and Beep-0 arrived at the scene. Fearing that they might've been late, the four arrived right on time. "Gnasty Gnorc..."

"Already taken care of," Layton informed Mario as he flashed the "OK" hand signal, letting Mario know that his work was done. "One mention of Spyro sent him running to the hills!"

"My new washing machine!" squealed Rayman as he ran to the time-washing machine, holding it tightly with his hands like it was his newborn son. "I don't care if you got time-traveling capabilities, I'm glad that you're safe..."

"What kind of Lumas are those?" inquired Link as he pointed at the Rabbid-faced Lumas floating in the air, noting the differing sizes and colors. "Their faces look so...uncanny."

"Those are Sparks; they're like a hybrid species of Lumas and Rabbids," explained Beep-0, as Link soon focused his attention on Rabbid Rosalina. Rabbid Rosalina rolled her eyes as she let out an apathetic groan.

"A Rabbid Rosalina? Wonder if there's a Rabbid Link out there, heh." Keep on hoping, Link - maybe one day, Rabbid Link will come into existence.

"If you all excuse me, I'm gonna bring my baby home," Rayman said to the others, lifting the time-washing machine with both of his hands as he carried his new appliance away. "Nobody's gonna stop me now!"

"That android at the watch-a point, 2B...did you say that she was from-a the future?" Mario asked Link, who was reminded of 2B and how she ended up in Seattle. Link pursed his lips, watching Rayman carry his time-washing machine.


Cloud and Aerith went to a pier, as they were ready to embark on their boat ride. Cloud had high expectations for the boat's captain, but those expectations were dashed when he saw who was piloting the boat.

"You have got to be kidding me..." the swordsman groaned when he saw the boat's captain - Big the Cat. Big was behind the wheel wearing a captain's hat, with Cream as his lone passenger.

"Yay! We have board mates, Cheese!" Cream said excitedly to her Chao friend, while Cloud was looking at Big with heavy disdain. Cloud wanted to strangle Big and tackle him into the water.

"Hop aboard, mateys!" Big shouted to Cloud and Aerith, who got inside the boat and took a seat with Cream. Once everyone was situated, Big took off as he drove the boat away from the pier.

"Didn't know that you could drive a boat, Big," Aerith said to the purple cat, who was humming a happy tune as he felt the calm, gentle breeze. "How do you keep so many jobs?"

"Bet he gets fired from every single one of them," said Cloud, doubting that Big could hold multiple jobs at once. Aerith nudged the swordsman in his side.

"I am a man of many talents," stated Big, driving the boat through the ocean as he traveled along the Oregon coastline. He was kinda good at this whole piloting thing, almost a natural at it.

Big: Where's my boating license? Beats me. I probably left it in the restroom somewhere. Or at an ATM machine. Might even be stuck in the card slot.

"We keep going around in circles," Cloud pointed out, as Big was going about in the middle of the water with absolutely no rhyme or reason. Big was starting to make Cloud seasick.

"That's no way to talk to the captain, good sir" Big said to Cloud as he wagged his finger at the swordsman, who was so seasick that he felt the urge to vomit into the water.

"Yeah, no way to talk to the captain!" Aerith playfully scolded Cloud as she too wagged her finger, before dropping her serious visage as she giggled. Cloud's seasickness boiled over, and the swordsman vomited in his mouth.

"HELP! Somebody help!" someone cried out to those on the ship, as Max was stranded in the water. The photographer was splashing about on the water, terrified that she might drown.

"Uh oh! We got a woman overboard!" alerted Big as he drove the boat over to where Max was, mashing down on the pedal as he drove at the highest speed that the boat would allow. Time was of the essence.

"Wonder how she ended up in the water like that," wondered Aerith, and then suddenly Big made a sharp turn that nearly caused the boat to topple over. In the process, Aerith fell out of the boat and into the water and was crying for help.

"Aerith!" Cloud called out to the flower girl, while Big was speeding off to Max. Now two ladies had to be rescued from drowning. "Big, you have to turn the boat around!"

"No can do! One person at a time," responded Big, who at this rate might not be able to catch up to Max in time. Taking matters into his own hands, Cloud jumped into the water and swam to Aerith.

"Aren't you going to save me?" Max shouted at Cloud, thinking that Big wouldn't be able to reach her. It was getting dire for the photographer, as she was on the verge of drowning.

"Oh dear, I can't watch!" panicked Cream, covering her eyes with her hands as she couldn't stomach the situation any longer. It seemed like the finest moment had arrived, as Aerith and Max both sank into the water at the same time.

A moment of tranquility found its way into the scene, as Cloud dove into the water. Very calmly, Cream was peeking out through her finger, and moments later...Cloud emerged from the water, swimming Aerith to the pier.

"Hooray! Aerith's been saved!" cheered Cream, as Cloud swam back to the pier and arrived on the shore. He placed Aerith gently on the sand, with Aerith coughing out water.

"You alright?" Cloud asked Aerith with some tears in his eyes, worried that he was going to lose Aerith forever. How screwed he would be if that ever happened. Done coughing out the water, Aerith opened her eyes and looked up at Cloud.

"Cloud...you saved me," Aerith said to the swordsman with profound thankfulness in her eyes, as she slowly sat up with some assistance from Cloud. The flower girl coughed a bit more. "...thank you."

"Hate to know what it would be like to lose you..." responded Cloud, before being caught by surprise when Aerith pecked on the lips a second time. Except this was more of a kiss. Cloud and Aerith stared at each other, with Aerith not knowing what had gotten into her.

"Did that as a thank you." Aerith played off the kiss, as Big returned his boat to the pier. Big and Cream got out of the boat and ran down the pier to see if Aerith was okay.

"How is she? Is she alive?" Big asked Cloud, who crinkled his nose at the purple cat; one of these days, Cloud just might slap Big silly.

"Yes...she's alive..." Cloud plainly stated, before recalling another woman who was washed away at sea. "What about Max?"

"The girl who was in the ocean, right? She was already rescued." Big pointed in the distance at Max, who was on the shore with Chloe. Chloe's was soaking wet, meaning that she had to save Max herself.

"Talk about a crisis averted." Cloud watched as Chloe checked on Max, with the young woman finding relief that Max was breathing. Crisis averted indeed.

"Yeah, I don't think I'm such a big fan of boat rides anymore..." Aerith admitted to the others, as she wrung out the water from her dress. Observing from afar was Tharja, who was looking at Cloud and Aerith with a contented smile.


Gnasty was out of the waterfront, coming to a stop once he reached an empty parking lot. The Gnorc caught his breath, certain that he outran Spyro and left the purple dragon in his dust.

"I should be in the clear," inferred Gnasty, looking up in the sky and seeing no signs of Spyro. Looked to his right and left - no sign of Spyro either. He was greatly pleased. "Can't catch me, dragon!"

"Alright guys, we got him!" shouted Sonic, car window rolled down as the blue hedgehog pulled up into the parking lot in his corvette. "Go, go, go!" Sonic got out of the car along with Crash, Lavenza, and the Rabbids.

"What the..." Gnasty had no time to think, as Rabbid Mario knocked him off his feet with his gauntlet. With Gnasty down, the Rabbids stood over the Gnorc with their weapons pointed at him.

"Got you right where we want you!" Rabbid Mario said to Gnasty, threatening to blast him with his gauntlet again if he didn't play nice. "Where is the..."

"One moment," Rabbid Peach said to Rabbid Mario, brushing past the Rabbid with her phone out as she took a selfie with Gnasty. Gnasty gave a mean look as Rabbid Peach took the picture. "Okay, carry on!"

"As I was saying..." Once Rabbid Peach returned to her original position and posted her selfie online, Rabbid Mario carried on with the investigation. "...where is the time-washing machine?"

"I left it alone," replied Gnasty as he shocked the Rabbids, who were worried that Gnasty might've wrecked the time-washing machine. "My nemesis Spyro was drawing near, so I took off before he could flame my butt."

"Wahoo! The day is saved!" cheered Rabbid Luigi as he pumped his hands in the air; his excitement died down when he saw that he was the lone person celebrating.

"Work's far from finished," stated Rabbid Mario, glaring at Gnasty as he had one final objective to take care of - kicking Gnasty's butt. Gnasty already had his butt kicked once today. "I've been told that you're even worse than Bowser, Gnasty Gnorc..."

"Not entirely true," stated Sonic, not wanting to catch any flak from Gnasty; he would hate to be second to Spyro on the Gnorc's hit list. "Not like anyone has ever said that, ever."

"I'm worse than Bowser, eh..." said Gnasty, laughing evilly as he got back up with the use of his hammer. The Rabbids looked at each other, wondering why Gnasty was laughing. "...I'll tell you someone who's worse than Bowser!"

"A-And who is that?" asked Rabbid Luigi as he shuddered in fear; he had a lot of Luigi in his DNA. His constant worry was truly Luigi-esque.

"Dimentio - he's worse than any baddie you've ever faced! And once he's done taking care of the wretched Smash Mansion, he'll come after the universe! You heard it here first!"

"Dimentio wants to nuke the universe?" Lavenza asked Gnasty, who saw the young girl standing with Sonic and Crash. It wasn't until he saw Sonic that he regretted the info he shared.

"Whoops! There I go again, letting stuff slip out of my mouth. You didn't hear a thing, you hear me? A thing!" On that note, Gnasty escaped, as the Rabbids chose to spare the Gnorc. He was no longer their problem.

"Worse than any baddie we've ever faced..." said Rabbid Mario, the words of Gnasty Gnorc reigning in his mind. Sonic heard his phone ring, as Crash dug into the hedgehog's imaginary pocket and handed his phone to him.

"Hello, Mario?" Sonic took his phone and answered the call, hearing a voice other than Mario's. "Oh, hi Link! Yeah, we still have the Rabbids. We found Gnasty and he was...what's that? Sure, we can swing by there." Sonic looked at Crash, and said to the bandicoot, "Sorry, Crash, you're gonna have to ride in the trunk again!"

"Aw..." Crash moaned in sadness, knowing how rough the ride was for him inside the trunk. Felt like an almost stationary tumbleweed as the car moved.


Ashamed of himself, the male Inkling sat on the concrete outside the Halloween store wallowing in his failure. He was not alone, for the female Inkling was there to comfort him.

"Look on the bright side - you didn't throw up or wet yourself," said the female Inkling, trying to speak positively and share some bright points about the male Inkling's failed attempt.

"And that's a good thing because...?" the male Inkling inquired, still holding onto the Jigsaw mask that he took out of the store without paying for it. Bowser would be so proud of him.

"That's what happened when Wario tried to tell Palutena that he liked her. He did both things at the same time! It was funny...and also kinda sad."

"Not like Wario ever had a chance with Palutena, to begin with." The male Inkling let out a defeated sigh as he looked at his Jigsaw mask. "Think I've ruined my chance with Kasumi..."

"Inkling Boy!" Kasumi called out to the male Inkling, as she exited the Halloween store with her shopping bag. She saw the Inklings sitting together, and hustled her way over to them.

"Well, this is your big shot...make the most of it," the female Inkling said to her male counterpart, as she got up and walked away. Kasumi caught up to the male Inkling, sitting on the concrete next to him.

"Hi, Kasumi," the male Inkling awkwardly greeted, amazed that Kasumi wanted to speak with him after the blunder that occurred earlier. Maybe Kasumi was that forgiving. "So, uh, about what I said back there..."

"Oh, I'm well aware," smiled Kasumi, as the male Inkling looked surprised; even the female Inkling, who was standing off to the side, did a double take. "Yusuke told me everything. I was so oblivious!"

"O-Oblivious to what? What did Yusuke tell you?" The giggling from Kasumi didn't make the male Inkling feel any better. "What did he say?"

"He told me that you had a crush on me. He saw the signs. And so did his friends!" The thought of the Phantom Thieves knowing about his crush on Kasumi made the male Inkling want to white out.

Wolf: The Phantom Thieves apparently knew that the male Inkling had the hots for Kasumi. I see them all as potential matchmakers in the making - especially Yusuke. He has the suavity for it.

"So...you think it'll work out between us?" the male Inkling asked Kasumi with a smile, believing that the young woman would take a chance on him. He was shooting his shot.

"I dunno, would it?" questioned Kasumi, considering all the logistics of pursuing a romantic relationship with an Inkling. "I mean, I'm a human, and you're...you're an Inkling."

"Technically I'm considered human. Minus the fact that I have pointed ears...and sharp teeth...and can turn into a squid." Citing all those traits made the male Inkling let out a defeated sigh.

"We can still be friends, can we? Would you be fine with that?" It was a worthy compromise, and it was one that Kasumi offered without having to break the male Inkling's heart.

"Sure, I can work with that. Friends?" The male Inkling held out his hand to Kasumi for a handshake, as the female Inkling smacked her forehead. Rookie mistake, male Inkling, rookie mistake.

"Friends." Kasumi kissed the male Inkling on his forehead, before getting up and returning to the Halloween store. The male Inkling was smiling intensely, as his female counterpart returned to him.

"Easy there, tiger! Know your role," the female Inkling said to the male Inkling, smacking his face to snap him out of a possible trance he might fall into.


Barret at first was against shooting McShooty in the face, valuing the sanctity of Marlene. But the more he thought about it, letting McShooty run amok would be bad for the residents. So Barret decided to take care of McShooty himself, as he went to go look for Falco.

"Falco! I've changed my mind," Barret called out to Falco, as he found the avian pilot with McShooty in the arcade room. McShooty was in front of the Doom Slayer, posturing for the marine.

"I do not intend to interrupt your busy day, kind sir, but PLEASE SHOOT ME IN THE FACE!" McShooty begged the Doom Slayer, whom Falco selected to shoot him in the face. The Doom Slayer had no say in the matter, for obvious reasons.

"You pegged the Doom Slayer to shoot him? I'm cool with that." As McShooty turned around at Barret, the Doom Slayer fired a bullet at his head. And it angered McShooty greatly.

"ARE YOU STUPID OR SOMETHING? I SAID TO SHOOT ME IN THE FACE! NOT THE SKULL, NOT THE BRAIN, NOT EVEN THE WEIRD BIRTHMARK ON MY RIGHT CHEEK! THE FAAAAAAAAACE!"

"Hey, at least he shot ya!" Barret got on McShooty's nerves, as McShooty confronted the terrorist to give him a piece of his mind. Barret got his gun arm locked and loaded.

"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM, MISTER TOUGH GUY?! I'M FACE MCSHOOTY! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? I PREFER TO BE SHOT IN THE FACE! ANY OTHER PLACE ON MY BODY IS IRRELEVANT! SO SOMEBODY PLEASE SHOOT ME IN THE FACE, THAT'S ALL I WISH FOR!"

McShooty would finally get his wish, as a bullet was fired in his face before Barret could make his move. McShooty fell backward unto the floor, now a fully satisfied masochist man.

"THANK YOU!" McShooty thanked whoever fired the bullet, while Barret was salty that somebody else stole his thunder. Barret turned around and saw Tracer in the entranceway wielding a gun.

"Perfect shot!" chirped Tracer, before blowing away the smoke from the nozzle. Barret grumbled as he held his gun arm down, muttering a couple of words under his breath.

"You, my friend, are a hero," Falco said to Tracer, as he slid McShooty's body out of the arcade room. Barret frowned, believing that the hero honors could've gone to him instead.

"Seen my gun anywhere?" Dante approached Tracer, who stealthily hid the gun in her hand behind her and looked away. "Thought that you might know..." Dante pressed on down the hallway, as Tracer uncovered the gun.

Dante: A gun that belongs to me has gone missing. Heard a loud pop sound earlier, so I know that my gun is in the mansion somewhere. I've tried asking my pals about it; Mega Man was acting pretty suspicious.


While she was grateful that Max was saved from drowning, no thanks to her heroics, Chloe had a bone to pick with Tharja. While Max was at her home recuperating, Chloe confronted Tharja, who was chilling outside at Rue Altimore.

"Okay, that was not cool," Chloe angrily approached Tharja, who was taking a sip from her margarita as if she didn't have a care in the world. "Making Max jump in the water and almost drown so that she could be saved?"

"'Could' is the key word here," replied Tharja after sipping her margarita, with a mischievous grin that made Chloe want to punch her in the face. "It was mainly a test of wills for Cloud."

"Speaking of Cloud, why are you obsessed with him? And Aerith? What's your end goal?" Certainly, there had to be a reason why Tharja of all people was lingering in Arcadia Bay.

"I would tell you, but frankly I'm forbidden from doing so. My 'superior' would prefer that I keep my secrets close to the vest!"

"Knew we shouldn't have trusted you..." Chloe was fed up with Tharja, storming off as she refused to speak with the dark mage further. Tharja took yet another sip of her margarita.


Per the request of Link, Sonic swung by Rayman's house to drop off the three Rabbids. Rayman installed the time-washing machine in his laundry room and was met with a problem.

"Somehow this machine has no running water," Rayman explained to Globox and Barbara, as he had conducted a test run without any clothes. All the machine did was make weird sounds.

"You brought us a faulty machine!" Barbara scolded Rayman as she slapped the limbless hero silly. If any person was deserving to be slapped, it was Altaïr. "No way we can get back the old one."

"Globox used to poop occasionally in the old machine; getting rid of it was for the best," Globox randomly stated, with a smile of relief on his face. Looking mortified, Rayman and Barbara both ran to their rooms as all their clothes needed to be sanitized.

Meanwhile, Mario and Link were chatting with Rabbid Mario, Rabbid Luigi, Rabbid Peach (who was taking more selfies), and Beep-o in Rayman's living room. Mario offered to return the four to their time, but instead...

"You guys want to stay here?" Link asked Beep-0 and the Rabbids, as Beep-0 looked up at Rabbid Mario who nodded his head in confirmation. Rabbid Mario had plenty of sway in the final decision.

"The Rabbids told me that they wanted to defeat a 'great evil,'" Beep-0 explained to Mario and Link, as Bowser was no longer the Rabbids' concern."A great evil who is known as Dimentio."

"Gnasty must've told them," Link whispered to Mario, having no problem with the Rabbids' mission. Doubted that they could actually defeat Dimentio, though. "In that case, we'll catch you later."

"We'll meet again, plumber man..." Rabbid Mario said to Mario, as he shook hands with the plumber. A lot of mutual respect between the two, and then in came Rabbid Peach as she butted in.

"This is just for the memories," Rabbid Peach said to Mario and Link, taking a selfie with the two. Both men weren't ready, but that didn't bother Rabbid Peach any long as she looked cute.

"I'll try and keep in touch if it's possible," Beep-0 told Mario and Link, hoping to give them an update in the near future as he led the Rabbid trio out of Rayman's house. "Be seeing you!"

"Aw darn, they didn't wanna go back where they came from?" asked Rayman, arriving in the living room at the last minute. He had barely gotten started on inspecting his clothes, some of which may have to be thrown out thanks to Globox. "Talk about a waste of a trip for Sonic, for you guys."

"That's not all we came here to do..." Link said to Rayman, perhaps too upfront with the limbless hero. Rayman almost thought that he was in trouble. "...may we borrow your washing machine?"

"Sure, I'd love to!" Went easier than Link expected; he intended Rayman to put up some resistance. "But I gotta figure out how it works first. So we'll see."

"How long will it take you?" Link needed a timeframe, and Rayman tapped his chin as he was deep in thought. A moment later, Rayman shrugged.

"Beats me. Buuuuut, if you really want a new washing machine, Altaïr can always hit you up!" Rayman left the living room, clicking his fingers at Mario and Link as he returned to his room.

"Well, that went-a nowhere," Mario said to Link, who was left empty-handed; Link needed that time-washing machine, certain that it could bring 2B back to the future. Long as it was working properly.

And who knows, it might even be useful for many other things! Provided that Wily doesn't get his grubby hands on it.