Author's Note:

"It takes two to make a thing go right...it takes two to make it outta sight!"

No, I'm not referring to the most famous rap song of the eighties. Or even the movie starring the Olsen twins. I'm talking about the newest Switch port, It Takes Two - which inspired this chapter. This installment was a lot longer than originally intended, but I'm just happy that I got it done. Gonna answer some reviews, and this first one is from A JRPG enjoyer:

"...what other character you can pair Tharja with, huh? I don't see any of her possible suitors fit for her besides Henry. Just sayin'."

Now that I think about it, you're right. Henry is the only character that can play off of Tharja. No one else can. David has questions:

"If 9S does show up will Berkut mistake his voice for Alm's? (Since Alm and 9S share an English VA). Will Bayonetta have an appearance change and voice change in the story? Has Orbulon appeared yet? Does Mona still have feelings for Wario? A short scene of 9-Volt talking to Dva over games? And finally, do you think The Bloodline will fall apart and lose their titles because of the animosity between Jey Uso and soon-to-be-Uso Sami Zayn?"

A good chance that might happen. Bayonetta won't have a change in appearance or voice. Orbulon has appeared in a few WarioWare-centric chapters. Mona does have some small feelings for Wario. Would love to see 9-Volt interact with D. Va for a scene or two. And I do think that the animosity between Jey and Sami will be the Bloodline's downfall. That said, I'd love for WWE to keep the Bloodline storyline going for as long as they can. (That opening segment last Friday was gold.) Last is Guy w the Jokes:

"Recently, I randomly read a chapter, it was chapter 232. In that chapter, there's a scene I particularly like, the ones with the Lutece twins. Can you possibly bring back the Lutece twins? They can do nothing, but they can still be very entertaining. What do you think?"

I can see why you would be fond of the Lutece twins. If they were to return, they would need a justifiable reason for doing so. Now for a joke:

"Now, technically it's still Halloween, so I had a pumpkin joke for you: You ever heard of a pumpkin being used in a seance? It was a Ouija gourd. Ugh, even I hated that joke."

Eh...wasn't the best joke, but I will give you an A for effort. It was a worthy attempt.

Episode 359: PlayDoll

Ashley: It is the middle ground between light and darkness - between man's grasp and his reach; between science and superstition; between the pit of his fears and the lifelight of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area that might be called... *looks around * ...The Subspace Zone.
Skull Kid: Ashley...I was hoping that you would be done with this crap.
Ashley: Well, you clearly hoped wrong. Just play the theme song, or I'll smite you.
Skull Kid: *sighs, takes out flute as he plays the Twilight Zone theme song*

If the scene in the tower's library in the last episode was any indication, Ahsley enjoyed reading. She preferably enjoyed reading in peace, which was hard to ask for when you're living at the tower. However, it's not like the mansion was any better.

Whenever Ashley finished a book, or got tired of it and wanted to read a new one, she could always find a new novel in the library. But there are times when Ashley would want a new book altogether and not some dusty book that she can grab off the shelves anytime she wanted. She wanted a book for her own personal library, to read on her own time.

So Ashley did what anyone who enjoyed reading would do, and ordered a new book. This book was to be delivered in the mail and due to her disdain for mailmen, Ashley expected one of her tower peers to bring the book to her. The book was said to arrive in the mail today, and so Ashley waited inside the room for her delivery.

"I highly advise you not to skip leg day," Waluigi said to Ashley as he entered the room, where Ashley was sweeping the floor with her small broom. "Let me show you why!" Waluigi rolled up his left pants leg to show his newly-toned calves, as Ashley forced herself to look for a brief second.

"Love how you expect me to magically care all of a sudden," Ashley said to Waluigi before going back to sweeping the floor, hardly impressed with Waluigi's ongoing body transformation.

"Just thought that you might want to see..." Waluigi rolled his pants leg back up as he exited the room...only to return seconds later when he remembered something important. "...oh wait, I forgot! A package just came in."

"A package? For me?" Ashley's face brightened up, as her eyes went wide with excitement. It was the most excited that Ashley had ever looked, and Waluigi knew that he had the young witch completely hooked.

"THIS PACKAGE! Hahahaha!" Waluigi confidently lifted up his shirt, revealing his developing six-pack. Ashley obviously didn't care for Waluiig's abs, frowning and wielding her wand as her eyes turned glowing red.

"You have until three to leave before I end you..." Ashley threatened Waluigi, who valued his laugh enough to hightail out of the room. Valuing his livelihood, Waluigi ran out of the room as Ashley's eyes stopped glowing.

"Really scared him straight, Ashley!" Red said to the young witch, as Ashley's wand morphed into the red imp fittingly known as Red. Ashley picked up her broom, finishing up sweeping the floor.

"He got what he deserved." Ashley swept up the last of the dust, before picking up the dust with a dustpan and tossing the contents into a small trash can. The young witch then put her broom away and went to her toy box.

"What are you doing now?" Red followed Ashley to the toy box, as Ashley lifted up the lid and saw dolls inside - dolls of people like Mario, Pikachu, Mega Man, and so on and so forth. Ashley picked out two particular dolls - Cloud and Aerith.

"Cloud must be enjoying his free vacation in Oregon." Ashley was looking at the Cloud doll specifically, turning it over momentarily as she looked at the doll both front and back. "Bet he and Aerith are having a fun time..."

Cloud would be having a fun time in Arcadia Bay...if it wasn't for Big and Cream (but mainly Big) bothering him at the most random of times. The swordsman couldn't go anywhere in town with Aerith without worrying about Big following his scent. Even if it was at a doughnut shop.

"A lot of doughnuts you got there," Aerith said to Cloud, who had bought a box of a dozen glazed doughnuts all for himself. Aerith chose to be modest and just get a simple chocolate doughnut. "Better not go on a sugar rush!"

"I was thinking that we can share these doughnuts later," responded Cloud, dispelling any concerns from Aerith that he refused to share. No way was Cloud that selfish, especially when Aerith was around.

"Really only wanted one for today, but maybe I can get another." As Cloud made the purchase with his debit card, the box of doughnuts was all his. The worker at the counter gave Cloud his box, and Aerith her doughnut.

"Thank you, and have a good day!" the worker said to Cloud and Aerith, who both walked away from the counter with their doughnuts. Aerith took a nibble of her doughnut, while Cloud checked the box to see if everything was there.

"I remember when Mario ate a bunch of doughnuts and went on a sugar rush," Cloud said to Aerith, reminiscing as he and Aerith exited the doughnut shop ready to head back to their abode. "He was singing songs by AC/DC and..."

"Howdy!" greeted Big, who was standing outside the doughnut shop entrance as he waved to Cloud and Aerith. Cloud winced when he heard Big's voice, nearly dropping his box of doughnuts to the concrete.

"What do you want now, Big?" With every time he encountered Big, Cloud's disdain to punch the purple cat in his face grew and grew exponentially.

"See the name of this store?" Big pointed upwards, as Cloud and Aerith looked up and saw a tall store sign just above them. "'Up All Nite Donuts.' Guess what I've been doing..."

"Nobody cares. Let's go, Aerith." So Cloud took Aerith's hand and led the flower girl away from Big, who was waving goodbye to his two favorite people.

"Good talking with you!" After he was done waving, Big tried to enter Up All Nite Donuts only to realize that he was too big for the double doors. "Shoot, I thought these doors were automatic! Me and my big belly."

Big: People say a lot of things about Cloud - "Oh, he's so uncaring." "There's nobody more miserable than Cloud." "Cloud doesn't care about anyone but himself." Yet in the time that he's been in Arcadia Bay, he has acknowledged my presence every time we meet. Does that make Cloud look uncaring, miserable, and selfish? I don't think so. If there is anyone who considers themselves an enemy of Cloud, then they're an enemy of me. Transitive property. *pauses, then whispers* That's how transitive property works, right?

"Aw, you're always so mean to Big," Aerith said to Cloud, as Big finally got inside the doughnut shop after forcing his weight through the door. "I take it that you don't care for him that much?"

"Nice of you to finally notice..." answered Cloud, only to frown and come to a stop when he came across a mech - a pink mech that came with a rabbit motif. "...why do I recognize this?"

"ZING!" exclaimed the pilot of the pink mech, D. Va, as she leaped out of the mech and stuck a landing in front of Cloud and Aerith while wielding her cell phone. Cloud and Aerith both looked befuddled as D. Va held her phone out for a selfie.

"Do you know this woman?" Aerith asked Cloud, as D. Va had to get her face right for the selfie - always gotta get those duck lips right, or the whole selfie will be thrown off.

"Frankly I do, I think what she's doing is all an act," replied Cloud, aware that Aerith was not at all familiar with D. Va due to her two-year absence away from the mansion. "At least I hope it's an act..."

"Hey! You guys want to get in the picture?" D. Va asked Cloud and Aerith after she was done with her selfie. Cloud tried to escape along with Aerith, but it was too late as D. Va wedged herself between the swordsman and Aerith.

"Smile, Cloud," Aerith instructed the swordsman, getting her smile ready as D. Va adjusted the camera on her phone. Cloud was clearly in no smiling mood.

"Say cheese!" Once everyone was situated, D. Va took the picture as the bright flash slightly blinded Cloud. Cloud was hoping that D. Va just wanted one picture, but instead... "Let's do another one."

"Not interested." Cloud tried to escape, but he had nowhere to go as D. Va held him tightly. Then suddenly, Cloud felt someone running his pockets as he felt a hand down his pants leg. "What the..."

"I've got the translocator!" announced Tracer as she stood up, holding Cloud's translocator and holding it up high. Better not hold it too high - otherwise, a bird might snatch it away.

"Tracer, that's mine! Give it back!" Cloud was in no power to get his translocator back, as D. Va was still holding unto him tightly. Tracer marveled at the translocator as if it was the shiniest gem in the Cave of Wonders.

"Wonder what this button does," said Tracer as she looked at a button on the translocator, looking at Cloud with a whimsical smile on her face. "Who knows where it might take me!"

"Don't do it!" But Tracer went ahead and did it anyway, as she pressed the button and was teleported away by the translocator. Cloud grunted as Tracer was out of sight, but not nearly out of mind.

"Aw phooey...she was my passenger," said D. Va as she released her hold on Cloud, heavily against the idea of flying back to Seattle alone in her pink mech. "Maybe this town won't be so bad!"

Donkey Kong: If you ever see Tracer, let her know that she owes me a rematch at table tennis. She literally cheated with her stupid "blinking" malarkey. Also, let her know that Winston's looking for her. He suspects Tracer snuck out of the watchpoint without saying a peep. She probably "blinked" away. What a cheater!

"Look on the bright side, Cloud - you get to spend plenty of time with me!" Aerith said to Cloud, happy that the swordsman can't possibly teleport away from her. She was certain that Cloud hadn't used the translocator yet, but if she knew...

"And with me," Big said to Cloud and Aerith as he joined the two friends, holding several doughnuts in his arm. The purple cat was eating a sprinkled doughnut, licking the sprinkles off his lips.

"No thank you," Cloud said to Big as he took Aerith and hurried away, hoping that Big wouldn't follow after him. But Big remained where he was, as he offered a sprinkled doughnut to D. Va.

"Thanks, but no thanks - I only accept hand-outs from my adoring fans," D. Va kindly said to Big as she turned down the doughnut, knowing that Big wasn't a huge fan of hers. Big's heart only went out to Froggy, and nobody else.

While he waited for Tracer to show up, Winston was in the dining room eating from a large banana souffle that was made by Dunban. The gorilla shared this banana souffle with two fellow banana fanatics - Donkey Kong and Master Kohga.

"This banana souffle is just right!" smiled Winston after eating a hearty spoonful of the souffle, feigning to eat the entire dessert by himself. It was that good. "The egg yolk, the lime juice...everything is perfect."

"Too bad Olimar won't like it, he dislikes bananas," stated Donkey Kong, as he caused Master Kohga to gasp and drop his spoon to the floor. Kohga took out a note and a feather that already had ink on its tip.

"Note to self: murder Olimar in his sleep for his profound ignorance," Kohga said out loud as he wrote his note, as Donkey Kong and Winston both paused and gave the Yiga Clan leader concerned looks. After he was done, Kohga looked up at the gorillas, confused.

"Chill out, buddy...it's just his opinion." Apparently, whatever Donkey Kong said triggered Master Kohga as the clan leader gasped a second time and wrote down yet another note. "What are you writing now?"

"P.S.: punish Donkey Kong for dismissing Olimar's horrible life choices." Done with his note-taking, Master Kohga put his note and feather away as Donkey Kong was left pinching the crown of his nose.

"Mind if I get some of that banana souffle?" Sonic asked Master Kohga and company as he had a small bowl out with a spoon in it. "Wanna get some for my main man Crash."

"Hiss!" Master Kohga hissed at Sonic, who gave the clan leader a concerned look as he exited the dining room for his own safety.

Sonic: Crash has been dealing with stomach problems ever since he ate that alien food, and now he has to be on a soft food diet while he recovers. I wanted to tell him to man up, but Lavenza argued that it wasn't good advice to give. Since when was telling someone to man up considered not good advice?

"Could it be?" said Winston as he arose from his chair, seeing a person trying to get inside the mansion through the backdoor. With the shade over the door, it was hard to tell who was fumbling with the doorknob.

"Aha...finally got it!" exclaimed a female voice from outside and soon the backdoor was opened by a woman...but not the woman that Winston was expecting. Entering the dining room was Tifa, who was holding a red book.

"Tifa Lockhart!" exclaimed Master Kohga, as a disappointed Winston grumpily went back to eating the banana souffle. The wait for Tracer continued. "Care for some banana souffle? Promise I won't cut your hair off if you take a sample."

"Maybe later. I got this book, and I wanna check it out first." Tifa held up her book, which was titled Book of Love, as she left the dining room and hurried to her room. The way in which she was moving so fast was suspect.

"Maybe later? I'll hold you to it, then." Master Kohga hoped that Tifa would later hold up her end of the bargain - otherwise, it would end very badly or rather embarrassingly for the martial artist.

"What was the name of that book?" asked Winston, unable to get a good look at the book's cover due to how quick Tifa was to retreat. "I barely had a chance to look at it!"

"Think it was called the Book of Love," answered Donkey Kong, who knew from the jump that Tifa would obtain such a book in the first place. "I reckon that she's serious about starting a fling with Cloud!"

Tifa was indeed serious about starting a fling with Cloud, thinking that now was the perfect time to pursue a relationship with the swordsman. She had to get to her room ASAP, so she took the elevator. Guess who joined her in the elevator?

"MAKE ROOM FOR ME!" King Dedede shouted from down the hallway, reaching the elevator in time before the doors closed. The fat penguin got inside the elevator, taking up much space. "Fourth floor, please."

"Fourth floor, coming right up!" responded Tifa as she pressed the "4" button on the dashboard, and soon the elevator had liftoff. It was moving at a very slow pace, though. "Aw, I forgot...this is the slow-moving one."

"What's that book you got there?" King Dedede took a gander at the Book of Love in Tifa's hands, and as you would imagine the book's title allured the fat penguin greatly.

"Nothing that you would care to read." Tifa wasn't budging at first, but she had no other choice when King Dedede intruded upon her personal space. "It's a book on love. There, happy now?"

"I could tell that much, I can read the title...but what is it about?" King Dedede hoped to hear many details about the Book of Love, as he rubbed his hands together with excitement. But Tifa wouldn't budge any further.

"I dunno, I haven't really read it yet. Just saw it out of the package, and wanted to give it a good read." Tifa first saw the book when it was out of the package...and she dared not to inquire about who it was for? She really must be that lovestruck!

Tifa: *holds up the Book of Love* Found the book lying outside its package on the road, near the mailbox. On one hand, I would give the book to its rightful owner... *glances at the cover* ...but I wanna take it out for a spin. Might give me some good advice.

There was something wrong with the dolls that Ashley made of Cloud and Aerith - specifically Cloud. He was missing some yarn in his left arm! With Ashley running low on yarn in her room, she consulted Marlene - a fellow doll lover - at the mansion asking her for yarn. Specifically the black one.

"Got a whole roll of yarn that you can use," Marlene spoke with Ashley in the hallway of the fifth floor, as she presented to the young witch an entire roll of black yarn. "You could also use it for the knitting club you're in!"

"So that Yoshi can pester me about where I got it from?" questioned Ashley as she accepted the black yarn from Marlene, stuffing the yarn in her pocket. "Though you could join the knitting club and save us both some trouble."

"Papa won't let me join the knitting, long as Yoshi's still a member. He's still upset by that whole...butt-slap incident. You should ask him yourself."

"Don't think that I would want to..." Soon the elevator door opened, and Tifa hurried out of the elevator with the Book of Love. Tifa ran to her room, passing by Ashley and Marlene.

"Hi, Ashley! Love those dolls!" Tifa said to the young witch as she reached her room, before closing the door ever so slightly. Ashley and Marlene looked at each other, befuddled by why Tifa was in such a hurry.

"She actually complimented my dolls...I'll have to burn these." Evidently, Ashely acted pretty adversely when it came to compliments and kind remarks. The young witch looked at her dolls, while Marlene peeked inside Tifa's room.

"Psst, Ashley! Come here!" Marlene whispered to the young witch, who joined Marlene at Tifa's doorway and peeked in inside Tifa's room through the creaked door opening. Inside, Tifa was sitting on her bed holding the Book of Love, reading the text inscribed on the back.

"'Dr. Hakim has served as an instructor in the art form of love for over 20 years and is the author of the groundbreaking book, 'Book of Love,'" Tifa read out loud, never at one point questioning what credentials Dr. Hakim had. "He is also a prolific singer and songwriter, having written over 50 different songs of praise and worship inspired by his one true passion: love. He currently resides wherever love, passion, and guidance are needed."

"Sounds like a fraud," Marlene whispered to Ashley, thinking that the description of Dr. Hakim sounded too good to be true. Ashley was barely listening, as she was quick to recognize the book that was in Tifa's possession.

"Book of Love? But that's the book that I ordered..." stated Ashley, wondering how the Book of Love ended up in Tifa's hands. Nevertheless, Tifa flipped the book over on its cover, seeing Dr. Hakim's name at the bottom.

"Alright, Dr. Hakim, let's see what kind of advice you got," said Tifa as she opened the book...but to her surprise, the book suddenly came to life. It jumped out of Tifa's hands and grew a pair of eyes, purple strips of paper for its eyebrows and mustache, and white strips of paper for its arms and legs.

"Hola, amigo!" the book greeted Tifa, as it apparently had a mouth to go along with its other developed physical attributes. "I'm Dr. Hakim! Worldwide best seller and an expert on love!"

"Uh...hi, Dr. Hakim!" Tifa understandably didn't know what to think of Dr. Hakim, unnerved that the author was seemingly trapped within his own book. That was the backstory Tifa was rolling with, mainly for her own sanity.

"I take it that you're Ashley, the young lady who purchased me. You're in luck because I was the last copy - because I was selling the best! Haha!"

"Why does he have a Spanish accent...?" Marlene whispered to Ashley, who was transfixed by Dr. Hakim as she was currently overwhelmed by a strong feeling of buyer's remorse.

"I've helped millions of couples, and now I'll help you get back with your significant other! So who's the man that you're going through a rough patch with?"

"That's the thing though...I'm not going through a rough patch," Tifa explained to Dr. Hakim, whose contagious excitement died down for a brief moment as his smiling momentarily ceased. "I want to start a relationship, with Cloud Strife."

"No problem! I can start new relationships as well as I can with repairing damaged ones. Put your trust in me, Ashley, and I'll make Cloud Strife your boyfriend in no time!"

"That's not me, you bozo..." Ashley was about to snap at Dr. Hakim, almost blowing her cover as she nearly fought her way inside Tifa's room. Marlene had to hold the young witch back, and Ashley dropped her Cloud and Aerith dolls in the process.

"Actually, I'm Tifa Lockhart," Tifa had to correct Dr. Hakim, who did a double take as he laughed and smacked his forehead. For an expert on love, Hakim was clueless about a lot of things.

"Forgive me, Miss Lockhart! I thought that you were Ashley all grown up. Let's just get this done, shall we? Cloud Strife, where can we find him?"

"He's not here, sadly...he's with a friend of his in Arcadia Bay, Oregon." The sigh that Tifa let out signified how much she missed having Cloud around. "Basically keeping her safe and all that jazz."

"I see...this might be a problem! There is no way that we can work a long-distance relationship into a love triangle." Dr. Hakim confused Tifa, as the mere mention of a love triangle had Tifa amused.

"Love triangle? Whoever said anything about that?" Tifa was laughing her butt off, while Ashley was looking on with her lips pursed. But why? "It's supposed to be me and Cloud!"

"And the third party. Hate to break your heart, Tifa, but there's plenty of love in the Oregon air. Cloud's in love with somebody else!"

"That's impossible, Cloud's supposed to be safeguarding Aerith from a possible threat from Organization XIII. I know for a fact that he's..."

"Dr. Hakim is telling the truth, Tifa," Ashley informed the martial artist as she stepped inside the room, with Marlene pulling away from the door so that he couldn't be seen. "Cloud's only interested in Aerith."

"And there she is! Ashley the witch!" Dr. Hakim exclaimed when he saw Ashley, as he held his arms out wide; he had a strong tendency to do that. Ashley stared menacingly at Dr. Hakim, diminishing his excitement.

"He's only interested in Aerith?" Tifa asked Ashley, hoping that the young witch was pulling her tail just to play with her emotions. But if there was one thing about Ashley, she was never afraid to share the truth. "How do you even know this?"

"That's what Fox shared with us at a Star Records meeting once. He even saw Cloud kiss Aerith, when he and Falco spied on him in Arcadia Bay. They saw everything."

"Saw everything of what?" inquired Fox as he poked his head inside the room after hearing his name called. Falco was standing right beside him. When no one said a word, Fox furrowed his brow as he slowly pulled away.

"We'll be speaking with you later..." Falco pointed at Ashley as he left; Ashley was unaffected by Falco's threat, as her face remained unchanged.

Ashley: Fox and Falco shared Cloud's kiss with Aerith at a Star Records meeting, and instructed us not to share that information with anyone. They should have known better to make an announcement like that when I'm in the room.

"Cloud wants to be with Aerith?" questioned Tifa, her heart now shattered into a million pieces; she was looking forward to greeting Cloud when he came back home, but now things were hitting a little different.

"Si, that is who Cloud chose to be with..." replied Dr. Hakim as he picked up the dolls of Cloud and Aerith off the floor, putting the two dolls together as if he was making some romantic magic. "...you can see these dolls if you want to rip some heads off."

"Go ahead if you wanna, I can craft new ones," Ashley said to Tifa, who took the dolls from Dr. Hakim and looked at them while she held them in their hands. Tifa was beginning to feel sad, as a teardrop was forming in her eye.

"It's my fault for wanting to take a chance with Cloud..." said Tifa as the teardrop ran down her cheek and landed on the Cloud doll. Dr. Hakim gasped, as another tear ran down Tifa's cheek - this one landing on the Aerith doll.

"Oh mi!" exclaimed Dr. Hakim, as an imaginary light bulb was dinged over his head. The talking book was so excited that he couldn't hide it. "I'm afraid that my work here is done."

"What do you mean, your work is done?" Tifa asked Dr. Hakim as she wiped away any remaining tears from her eyes. "Where are you going next?"

"Let me clarify...my work at this mansion is done. I'll be off to Arcadia Bay to do a little, erm, investigating. Going to see what your friend is up to."

"Okay, well, take your time." Tifa hoped to hear a good report from Dr. Hakim later, and learn when and why Cloud chose Aerith over her. The truth may or may not break her further.

"I may be back in four hours, give or take. Just know that my services are far from over. Adios!" And with that, Dr. Hakim vanished away, as he was off to Arcadia Bay. Tifa continued to sit on her bed as she looked at the Cloud doll, before tossing it to the side.

"Still keeping that book?" Marlene asked Ashley, who exited the room allowing Tifa to keep those dolls. She figured that Tifa would be a little destructive with those dolls at a later time.

"If I didn't know that it was alive and had a Spanish accent, then I would've," muttered Ashley as she tarried down the hallway, reminding herself to purchase another book to read. "Thanks for the yarn, by the way."

Where were Cloud and Aerith right now in Arcadia Bay? They were at Tony's Liquor Store, checking out the alcoholic drinks that were on the shelves. Not a single drink caught their attention.

"I just realized something..." Cloud said to Aerith, who harkened her ear to what remarkable discovery Cloud had just made. It was sure to be something completely mind-blowing. "...I don't even drink liquor."

"Then why did you suggest that we come here, silly?" Aerith asked Cloud, smiling as she gave Cloud a good ol' smack on his arm. Let that be anyone other than Aerith, and they would be in big trouble.

"Beats me - maybe I was just in the mood for window shopping." Suddenly Cloud felt a funny feeling in his bones, and throughout his body, as he looked into the palms of his open hands. "Feel anything funny, Aerith?"

"I do feel a funny tingling sensation - nothing too painful. Feels like my body is having a mind of its own." That was the same sentiment Cloud had, as he felt his body almost changing form.

And that's exactly what happened, as Cloud rapidly shrunk down in size. The swordsman was now so small, he was only a head taller than the bottom of the store shelves. Four inches tall, at best.

"Well, this is very weird..." remarked Cloud, slowly getting used to being as small as a mouse. Pinky from Pinky and the Brain could stand heads and shoulders with him. Cloud looked at his arms, which were no longer human flesh. "...extremely weird, I'll say."

"Haha! Look at you, Cloud!" Aerith called out to Cloud, approaching the swordsman from behind. Cloud turned around at Aerith, whose appearance was much, much different from before. "Why do you look like a tall stick of clay?"

"Why do you look like a wooden doll?" Not knowing what Cloud was talking about, Aerith turned to face a mirror lying on the floor and saw her and Cloud's reflection. She and Cloud were now dolls - they took on the form of the same dolls that Ashley had made!

"Oh wow, I do look like a wooden doll!" Aerith was relishing in the fact that she was a doll, while Cloud wanted to be back to normal at once. "I bet this was your doing, Cloud."

"Always gotta blame me when things go awry, don't you..." Cloud was taking Aerith's words seriously, and it amused Aerith to see Cloud all up in his feelings. "...why do you always blame me?"

"Yes, why do you always blame him?" asked Dr. Hakim, who showed up at the spot as he sided with Cloud. The talking book arrived at the liquor store in record time, but then again, he was a magical book.

"Thank you...AH!" Cloud was soon greeted by Dr. Hakim, as the talking book frightened him. Not that often do you encounter a talking book with a mustache when you're the size of a doll. "What on earth is that?"

"I'm Dr. Hakim! Worldwide best seller and an expert on love! I met your good friend Tifa, and she was in luck because I was the last copy. That's because I was selling the best! Haha!"

"You were a best-seller? I believe it," said Aerith, hanging onto every word that Dr. Hakim said; it only took Cloud less than two seconds for him to stop taking Dr. Hakim seriously.

"I've helped millions of couples, and now I'll help you..." Dr. Hakim stopped speaking as he lost his train of thought, unsure of what exactly he had to help Cloud and Aerith with. "...help you...actually, I don't know."

"Aw, he thinks that we're a couple!" Aerith chirped at Cloud, who at this point was fully incensed with Dr. Hakim's presence. Cloud wanted Dr. Hakim to completely go away right now.

"Getting too far ahead of yourself buddy..." Cloud said to Dr. Hakim as he approached the talking book, looking like he wanted to teach him a lesson. But Dr. Hakim stopped Cloud's progress as he held his hand out.

"No, no, no! Not a step closer," Dr. Hakim instructed Cloud, as he heard the store door open followed by the chiming of a bell. A customer had stepped inside the establishment. "You have company. We'll chat later."

"Company? What kind of..." Cloud had to wait to get his answer, as Dr. Hakim vanished away in a small flurry of red roses. A perfect way for a love expert to make his escape. "...where did he go?"

"Cloud, Chloe is coming!" Aerith called out to the swordsman, as she heard some loud footsteps getting closer and closer. "Play dead or you'll freak her out!" Aerith did her best Woody impersonation, lying down on the floor limp with a smile on her face.

"Fine..." So Cloud would lie on the floor, not caring in the slightest about how his form looked. As Cloud and Aerith lay there, a tall shadow loomed over them, as Chloe was towering over them.

"Are these dolls? Of Cloud and Aerith?" wondered Chloe as she picked up Cloud and Aerith, taking a gander at them both. The young woman smiled, as she had a few plans in mind. "I should show them to Max!"

Chloe ran out of the liquor store, neglecting to fulfill whatever objective she had to accomplish. Shortly after Max left, a certain evil jester appeared in the liquor store...it was Dimentio!

"So this is the place where Cloud is staying with his lady friend..." said Dimentio; how in the world did he know about Cloud and Aerith's current whereabouts? Who told him? "...thank you, network drive!"

"Pardon me sir, but you can't just enter the store like that," the store clerk kindly said to Dimentio, standing from a safe distance behind the counter. But no distance was too safe for Dimentio, who snapped his fingers as he encased the store clerk in a glass box.

"Cloud may have already left, but I still detect his scent. Aerith's too. Wonder where they will take me!" Dimentio floated out of the liquor store, as the store clerk was left banging on the walls of the glass box that trapped him.

"Let me out! Let me out!" Sadly for the store clerk, not a single person could hear him except for Dimentio. Speaking of Dimentio, the jester returned to the store just to grab a few bottles of liquor off the shelves.

"Will be needing a few rounds of bubbly - the boys and I will be breaking champagne like happily married newlyweds at a wedding reception! Ciao, friend!" Dimentio floated out of the liquor store, holding the bottles of liquor as he left the store clerk alone in his predicament.

"HEEEEELLLLPPP!" the store clerk banged on the walls of the glass box repeatedly, but it was no use - he was pretty much trapped until someone broke him free. Too bad for him, that glass doesn't break that easily.

Max had fully recovered from her harrowing experience two episodes ago - when Tharja made her jump into the water to see if Cloud would save her over Aerith. Cloud ultimately chose Aerith, and so Chloe had to rescue her friend from drowning. Max had finally gotten over the incident, as she was standing alone at a telephone pole waiting for her friend.

"About time you returned," Max said to Chloe when she saw her friend walking down the street towards her, holding Cloud and Aerith behind her back. "You didn't go to the liquor store, did you?"

"...maybe I did," replied Chloe, knowing how disappointed Max must feel; but she knew just the thing to make Max's disappointment vanish away. "But look at what I found!" Chloe unveiled Cloud and Aerith in their doll form to Max, who was lightly intrigued.

"Dolls of Cloud and Aerith? That's weird." Max took Cloud and Aerith from Chloe, and was looking at Cloud as she analyzed the contours of his spiky hair. "Cloud looks like clay. And his hair is so pointy!"

"I take great offense to that, you know..." Cloud said to Max, scaring the young woman; Max screamed as she dropped Cloud to the concrete, clutching her chest as she almost had a heart attack.

"D-Did you hear that?" Max was so scared, she was literally shaking - even more than the average emotional Tumblr user. "The Cloud doll spoke to me!"

"That's weird, I didn't hear anything," stated Chloe as she picked up Cloud, looking at the back of the swordsman for any sort of pull string. Chloe poked Cloud in his back, annoying him in the process. "He feels funny!"

"Not so hard," Cloud snapped at Chloe, and Max gasped after she heard Cloud speaking a second time. Chloe heard Cloud too, as she looked at the swordsman-turned-doll with a newfound intrigue.

"Whaddaya know, this doll can speak! There's gotta be a specific way to trigger his lines, though." Chloe looked all over Cloud's doll body, wondering what the big catch was. As Chloe continued to inspect Cloud, a dark mage happily approached Max and Chloe.

"Good afternoon, ladies!" the dark mage greeted Max and Chloe, who both looked up wondering if the dark mage came from a medieval festival or something. "My name is Henry, your happy-go-lucky Plegian Dark Mage!"

"Uh...that's cool." Chloe eyed around the surrounding area, with no clue why Henry was speaking with her and Max. "You got lost on your way to a Dungeons and Dragons meeting?"

"I take it that you are Max Caulfield and Chloe Price. Correct?" Henry was making Max and Chloe feel suspicious - how did a dark mage like him know their identities from the jump? "I'll take your silence and confused stares as a yes!"

Henry: For any of you asking why I'm in town, it's because I was put on assignment. Can't tell you outright what this assignment entails, but I'll tell you one bad thing about it...there's no bloodshed involved! It's impossible for me to have fun if I can't cut someone's head open or place hexes on unsuspecting people. But I'll never abuse an animal, no siree! Animals are my friends. Plants, too.

"Mind if I ask what you're holding in your hands?" Henry asked Max and Chloe, seeing Max holding Aerith in her hand and Chloe holding Cloud in hers. Max wanted to dismiss Henry, but Henry's unflappable joy made it hard to do so.

"They're dolls," answered Max as she held Aerith up high, with an easily impressed Henry oohing and aahing unnecessarily. "Dolls of Cloud Strife and Aerith Gainsborough. You might..."

"Oooh! Funny coincidence - those two are my prime subjects! Dolls of Cloud and Aerith are what I would love to get my grimy hands on!" The way Henry wiggled his fingers made Max and Chloe all the warier.

"He acts and speaks like a sociopath...we should just go," Chloe suggested to Max, as she and her friend walked away when the opportunity presented itself. But Henry wouldn't let them get away so easily.

"Wait, before you go!" Henry held out his hand to Max and Chloe, who both came to a stop to give Henry more of their time. "I have a friend suffering from a terminal illness, who loves dolls!"

"Tell your friend that we're keeping them in our thoughts and prayers. Let's go, Max!" Chloe and Max tried to get away from Henry a second time, but Henry caught up to the two friends and jumped in front of them.

"Please hear me out! My friend would love nothing more than to hold dolls made in Cloud and Aerith's likeness. Show them how much you care, and let them hold those dolls! I beg of you!"

"I don't think he's lying," Max said to Chloe, believing Henry's tale; Chloe desperately wanted to say no, but she sighed as she had no choice but to give in.

"Take us to your stupid ill friend..." Chloe said to Henry, who was full of joy as he clapped his hands together. Granted Henry was already full of joy, but now he was even fuller.

"Rest assured that you'll make my friends' day! Henry, Max, and Chloe, away!" Henry took off, running like the wind while Max and Chloe just stood there. Something about Henry's bubbly nature unnerved the two friends.

"Still don't know how he knows our names," remarked Max, as she and Chloe went in the direction that Henry ran off to. Hopefully, the answer will come for Max and Chloe sooner than later.

Link was on a mission to get that time washing machine from Rayman, but that was a hard mission to fulfill. In his last attempt, he had to deal with an angry mechanic when he visited Rayman's house. Today, he encountered a different problem.

"I'm coming!" shouted Zelda as she came running down the stairs, hearing the doorbell ring. Zelda answered the door and was greeted by Link...who was strangely holding Tracer wearing a sombrero. "Link...?

"Guess who crashed the party just when I was about to sweet talk Rayman?" Link asked Zelda, and the answer was obvious as he held the guilty party. Tracer tipped her sombrero to Zelda with a smile.

"Saludos amor!" Tracer greeted Zelda as she held her sombrero out to the princess, who wanted none of the pilot's fun. "That's Spanish for..."

"I know what that means, Tracer..." said Zelda, as Tracer leaped down from Link's arms and dusted off Link's shoulders before patting the Hylian on his head. "...explain the sombrero."

"There's not really much to explain...not like I've been around the world using this!" Tracer dropped the sombrero to the floor and held up Cloud's translocator, "A little dingy that Cloud owns."

Tracer: My time in Mexico was well spent, I'll say. The best part was when I came across the boss of a drug cartel! Made him look foolish as I blinked away while he tried to throw a punch at me. His men will never see him the same way ever again!

"If it belongs to Cloud, then you should give it back," Zelda stressed to Tracer, who knew that she was in big trouble when she saw Winston emerge from the living room. "Is that why you traveled with D. Va to Arcadia Bay?"

"Please be quiet, love...that was supposed to be a secret mission," whispered Tracer, being super mindful of Winston; but it was too late, as Winston frowned at Tracer and joined Zelda at the front door.

"A secret mission?" a justifiably angry Winston said to Tracer, as the disappointment he held towards the pilot could not be understated. "You went to Arcadia Bay for a secret mission?!"

"I didn't come back empty-handed!" Tracer had a big smile on her face as she held up Cloud's translocator, thinking that it would make Winston's frown go away. Needless to say, it didn't.

Max and Chloe had no high expectations for Henry's terminally ill friend, but they imagined that this friend of Henry's would be at a hospital recovering in bed. Since they were, you know, terminally ill and all. So when Henry led the ladies to a lumber mill, there was plenty of confusion to be had.

"This isn't a medical facility," stated Max as she and Chloe stepped foot in the lumber mill, which was unattended for the most part. The workers must be on their lunch break. "Is this where your friend is?"

"Guess you could say that they live here," answered Henry, his answer making Max and Chloe all the more curious - and not in a particularly good way. Who on earth lives at a lumber mill? "Tharja, I have brought your prey!"

"Tharja? You don't mean..." said Chloe and right on time, Tharja emerged from the top of a pile of logs stacked together. Tharja sat on the logs smiling at Max and Chloe, who both had a bone to pick with the dark mage.

"We meet again, ladies," Tharja greeted Max and Chloe, who were ready to turn back as the lumber mill exit was just behind them. "What's that you got there? How about a little show and tell?"

"They have acquired dolls of Cloud and Aerith!" Henry announced to Tharja, whose intrigue had gone through the roof; Tharja leaped down from the logs as she wanted to take a closer look.

"Interesting! Hand them over, I want to see how they feel..." Tharja was wiggling her fingers, and that was more than enough reason for Max and Chloe to not yield Cloud and Aerith to the dark mage.

"Is this your so-called 'terminally ill friend'?" Chloe frowned at Henry, despising the fact that she and Max were set up. "Bump this..." The young woman tried to escape, but she ran into someone's fat belly...the belly of a large, purple cat.

"Haha, that tickles!" giggled Big, who arrived at the lumber mill along with Cream. Chloe, realizing who she ran into, took a step back as she recognized Big and Cream from two weeks ago.

"You're the cat that drove that boat around and tossed Aerith into the water!" Chloe pointed at Big, before slowly turning her finger to Cream. "And you were his passenger...what's going on?"

"Don't you see? We're all working together," Tharja explained to Max and Chloe, as there was some kind of partnership going on with her, Henry, Big, and Cream. And Cheese, if you wish to count the Chao in.

"We're doing it for the greater good!" exclaimed Cream, electing not to specify what this greater good was - now wasn't a good time to spill any beans.

"May I see that doll?" Big asked Chloe as he took Cloud out of the young woman's hand without even asking. The cat poked Cloud repeatedly and he enjoyed it too, as he giggled away. "Hehe, he feels like Play-Doh! The good kind, too."

"That's enough poking, Big," Cloud snapped at the purple cat, and he could care less if he ruined his and Aerith's cover. He was that tired of Big. Big gasped, as he looked at Cloud with newfound amazement.

"This Cloud doll sounds like Cloud..." Slow-thinking as he was, Big suddenly came to a profound conclusion that strongly deserved to be shouted out loud. "...maybe this doll is Cloud! Can you hear me, Cloud?"

"Yes, I can hear you...you're literally screaming in my ear." Cloud was more annoyed with Big than ever before, as Big snugged the swordsman tightly against his belly in a hug. Cloud got a faceful of Big's bloated mass.

"Then this doll must be Aerith," inferred Cream as she saw Aerith being held in Max's hand. Max kindly handed Aerith over to Cream, but only because the rabbit wasn't being rude. "Hi, Aerith!"

"Hello, Cream, you look...way bigger than what I'm used to!" remarked Aerith, as the usually small Cream looked like a giant in her perspective. The flower girl couldn't wait to get back to her original form.

"I'll be darned! Cloud and Aerith, both end up as dolls! This is just like falling into a vat of maple syrup at Willy Wonka's chocolate factory."

Evidently, there was one more person at the lumber mill, as a certain lizard wearing sunglasses and a tuxedo emerged from behind a pile of logs. It was Gex, and Cloud and Aerith less than enthused to see him.

"Sorry for not making my 'huge' arrival sooner," Gex apologized to everyone, having to be mindful of his word choice as Big was present. "I was treating the fellas to some crab cakes. Oregon sure knows their seafood!"

Gex: Remember kids, never buy a marvolay from a guy with a top hat...What is a marvolay? You tell me. Google it if you wanna.

"And where are your 'fellas'?" Tharja asked Gex, who was quick to notice that he was all alone. Gex clicked his fingers to someone in the distance, and he was later joined by three individuals - Bandanna Waddle Dee, Funky Kong, and Kicks.

"Woah, dudes! Those crab cakes were absolutely SLAMMIN'!" exclaimed Funky Kong as he rubbed his tummy; the Kong was truly the life of the party.

"My shoes need some shining..." fretted Kicks as he looked down at his feet; the skunk's worry was short-lived, after realizing that he wore no shoes.

"Bandanna Waddle Dee, reporting for duty!" shouted Bandanna Waddle Dee as he gave a salute to nobody in particular; Gex turned the Waddle Dee around so that he was facing him specifically.

"A talking Waddle Dee? Now I've seen it all," remarked Cloud, as Tharja was resting her hand on her temple looking disappointed. She was looking that way ever since Gex showed up.

"Is he your boss?" Max asked Tharja, wondering why Gex wanted Bandanna Waddle Dee to salute him so. Perhaps Gex was in need of an ego stroke, and Bandanna Waddle Dee saluting him gave him the boost he craved.

"Apparently so..." replied Tharja as she took her hand away from her face, her overall attitude showing how she felt about Gex taking charge. "...our superior named him as such."

"Gex asked the superior for his own squad, and he got wanted he wanted!" added Henry, speaking in a complaining mood but one that sounded oddly jovial. You couldn't pay Henry to sound angry. "Yet when I asked for my own army of zombies..."

"Quit your complaining," Cloud said to Henry, shutting down the dark mage as he didn't want to hear any yapping. Gex heard Cloud and gasped when he saw what the swordsman had become.

"Great Scott! Is that you, Cloud Strife?" inquired Gex, running over to Big with haste. He took Cloud out of Big's possession, never imagining that he would be able to hold the swordsman in the palm of his hand. "Is it really you?"

"I'm here too!" chirped Aerith, as Gex was shocked to see the flower girl also in doll form. Gex took Aerith away from Cream and was looking at Cloud and Aerith simultaneously, his mind blown.

"Well, put me in a clown suit and call me Krusty! Cloud and Aerith, as dolls...how could this have happened?" Only one person - or one book, rather - knew how Cloud and Aerith ended up in the state they were in.

"Yes, how could this have happened?" said a voice, followed by some charmingly evil laughing; Cream hugged Big out of fear as everyone looked around for wherever this voice came from.

"Show yourselves!" shouted Tharja, and soon the unwanted guest made his appearance...as Dimentio appeared close to Gex and snatched Cloud and Aerith out of the lizard's hands.

"Ack! Apprehended by a jester!" exclaimed Gex, as Dimentio was smiling at both Cloud and Aerith as he held them dearly. "Jesters are my worst enemy!"

"Cloud Strife...and Aerith Gainsborough," Dimentio uttered the names of his two victims, meeting them both for the first time. Albeit not in the way that he originally intended. "...finally we meet, like angry, burly dinosaurs with terrible indigestion!"

"Angry, burly dinosaurs with terrible indigestion? Reminds me of that awful baked potato I had at Jeff Goldblum's house." Gex, for whatever reason, had the urge to make that quip, and it made Tharja groan and facepalm.

"Put a hex on him already..." Tharja begged Henry, who was in no mood for hexing as he was transfixed by Dimentio's presence. Henry watched as Dimentio floated away, taking Cloud and Aerith with him.

"Where are you taking us? Let us go!" Cloud shouted at Dimentio, who came to a stop as he snickered at Cloud's commands. Dimentio rarely took commands from anyone who was stuck as a doll.

"Why should I? We're just getting acquainted," stated Dimentio before turning his attention to the squad that Gex was apparently named a leader of. "And there is nothing that you peons can do to stop me."

"Nyah!" shouted Bandanna Waddle Dee as he threw a spear at Dimentio, who disappeared away in the nick of time. The spear landed on the ground. "Darn it, he got away too quickly."

"Or maybe your aim was just off," Funky Kong said to Bandanna Waddle Dee, who took out another spear and jabbed the gorilla in the shin with it. "Ouch! Relax, it was just a joke!"

"Ooh, are we doing ouchies?" squealed Henry as he ran over to Bandanna Waddle Dee, while Funky Kong was hopping on one leg holding his shin. "Do me next, do me next! I want to see my blood!"

"Slow your roll, buddy - now isn't the time," Kicks said to Henry, pushing the dark mage away; Henry looked back at Bandanna Waddle, as he fantasized the Waddle Dee driving his spear through his leg. Preferably without much pain.

"This is fantastic...that stupid jester Dimentio took Cloud and Aerith away from us," groaned Tharja, as she and the others literally had Cloud and Aerith at their fingertips. "I'm blaming you for this, Gex."

"You know that creep?" Chloe asked Tharja, whom Gex looked at all offendedly as he clutched his pearls. The way Tharja looked to the side suggested that she might have encountered Dimentio before, or was at least familiar with her.

"Our superior warned us that Dimentio would visit this town. Mainly because of Cloud or Aerith. Would tell you why we're keeping watch of those two, but we can't say just yet..."

"We should file a police report," suggested Big as he raised his finger, getting the others to consider his idea. Big wasn't as slow-thinking today, he was truly bringing his A-game. "Bring Dimentio to justice!"

"Oh yes, that is the way to go," Cream sided with Big as she put her hands together, optimistic that the Arcadia Bay police would do their jobs without fail. "Let's put Dimentio behind bars!"

"But he can just vanish out of his jail cell without anyone knowing," stated Tharja, hoping that Big and Cream and anyone else was considering the logistics of Dimentio potentially being arrested and incarcerated. "Can you believe this, Gex?"

"It sounds like a lousy attempt..." Gex offered his two cents, tapping his chin in thought as Tharja hoped for the lizard to make the right decision. "...but it's a lousy attempt worth taking. The fellas and I will speak with the local authorities." And just like that, Tharja was beside herself.

"I'd say it's worth a shot," Kicks shrugged his shoulders, not too confident that the police would hunt down Dimentio but was willing to put in the effort. That was the kind of initiative Gex liked to see.

"Right on, my skunky friend. Fellas, move out!" So Gex led Funky Kong, Kicks, and Bandanna Waddle Dee away from the lumber mill, while Tharja ran her fingers down her face.

"...you ladies can go ahead and run along now," Tharja said to Max and Chloe, fingers over her face as she didn't have the strength to look at the two friends. "Best not to waste your time with their dilly-dallying."

"It's getting late anyway, so we better get going," Max said to Tharja as she and Chloe left the lumber mill, brushing past Big. "Good luck with your search for Dimentio."

"Don't give us your words of encouragement..." Tharja was soon done facepalming, looking up at the heavens as she did a brief inhale and exhale. The only person that would calm her now was Henry.

"Crows in the sky! Maybe they can lead us straight to Dimentio," chirped Henry as he saw crows flying up in the air; Tharja buried her face in her hands as she sobbed without any tears.

Cloud's translocator was an object of importance - so much so, that Link believed that Mario deserved to see it. Mario was in his living room inspecting the translocator, while Link, Zelda, Tracer, and Winston stood by.

"I remember telling Reaper to ask Sombra if she could give-a me one of these," Mario said as turned the translator around in his hand, inspecting every inch of the device. "But alas, he never listened."

"We don't know why you would ask him of all people to do a favor, but all the more power to you," Winston said to Mario, who heard someone knocking at his front door. Mario seemingly knew who it was as he put the translocator down on the table.

"Hey Mario, I got the new mushroom-flavored coffee that you wanted!" Pit shouted from outside, as everyone in the living room except for Mario cringed. Mario answered the door and saw Pit holding several bags of coffee mix.

"May I see?" Mario asked Pit, who gave a bag to the plumber; Mario opened the bag and got a whiff of the coffee smell, as he smiled. "They smell as good-a as they look!"

"Oh cool! Is that Sombra's translator?" Pit ran inside the house as he saw Cloud's translator, as Mario turned around in fear. "How did you get this, Mario?"

"Now, Pit, that is not yours..." Link said to the angel, who ignored Link as he picked up the translator. Rushing to action, Winston knocked the translator out of Pit's hands before Pit had a chance to press the button.

"And this is why stealing the translator from Cloud was a bad idea," a frowning Winston said to Tracer, who smiled sweetly as Winston picked up the translator off the floor. Pit was strangely in shambles.

"Sombra gave up her translator to Cloud?" the angel whined as he fell down to his knees, banging his fists on the floor. "So unfair!"

Pit: Cloud gets so many nice things! Being the man of the mansion, getting to go on a free-expense vacation to a town in Oregon...he's spoiled, that's what he is.

"Got a lot of nerve talking about things being unfair, Pit," said Spyro as he ventured into the living room, soon frozen by the gaze of Mario. Mario was looking at Spyro with intent in his eyes, as Spyro cautiously backed away. "Oh no...picked the wrong time to leave my room."

Leading the trio of Funky Kong, Kicks, and Bandanna Waddle Dee throughout Arcadia Bay, Gex snooped around for any local authority in sight. Eventually, he came across a police officer who had just placed a ticket on the windshield of a car parked on the wrong side of the road.

"Haven't seen a jester lurking about," the police officer said to Gex and company, done with his task as he put his ink pen and notepad back in his pocket. "Though I did see a clown in the middle of the night. Might've been my grandpa!"

"Have you seen a jester floating through the air?" Bandanna Waddle Dee asked the police officer, providing a more accurate description - but it wasn't enough to get a desirable answer. "He's in 2-D, and is made out of paper..."

"In 2-D, made out of paper, and floats through the air." The police officer looked to the side, as he almost wanted to laugh at Bandanna Waddle Dee. But his job didn't exactly mandate laughing at civilians. "You boys do LSD?"

"If you're talking about the drugs left in Jimi Hendrix's abandoned trailer, then yes," answered Gex, who prided himself as the last person to have ever made contact with Jimi Hendrix. It was a high tale he often told others as a flex.

"Right...well, those drugs are illegal, so I'll have to arrest you." The police officer took out some handcuffs, looking to arrest Gex and his fellas. All thanks to Gex's big mouth. "One size should fit all..."

"HEX!" someone shouted, as a hex was placed on the police officer, putting him to sleep in the process. The hex was placed by none other than Henry, who was standing by with Tharja, Big, and Cream.

"Alacratz! Saved by the death fetishist," exclaimed Gex, believing that Henry saving his butt from an arrest wasn't a very good look on his personal record. Ditto with Tharja, Gex didn't find her any better.

"No need to thank us," Tharja said to Gex and company - but specifically Gex - as Big grabbed the slumbering police officer and gently placed him inside the ticketed car. He had to open the car door, which sounded the car alarm.

"What do I do, what do I do...?" panicked Big as he looked for a way to turn the alarm off, before seeing the key in the ignition. Big took the key out and sighed in relief as the car alarm turned off.

"But I should thank you," Gex said to Tharja, who thought otherwise as she folded her arms and rolled her eyes. "I was seconds away from being toast - and not the good kind either!"

"Let me tell you something obvious that you need to hear," said Tharja as she got up close and personal with Gex, with something that she wanted to get off her chest. "I...never...cared for you."

"Right back at ya, tuts." Plenty of tension was brewing between Gex and Tharja, as Cream had to gasp at Gex's properly-timed clap back. "Not much you can love about a creepy goth chick who enjoys stalking people."

"I don't stalk people anymore..." Tharja pointed her finger in Gex's face, growing incensed by the second. "...it was just a phase. I wanted to be the leader of this operation, but for some reason, our superior had to ask you..."

"News flash - it was the other way around. I asked the superior." Gex just dropped a massive bombshell, as Tharja pulled away and gasp with her hands cupped over her mouth.

"You asked the superior to be the leader? And he said...yes?" Tharja was now questioning the superior's decision-making skill - and was a little jealous that she was passed over in favor of Gex.

"You betcha! And you know why I wanted in on his shindig? Because I was used! Used, I say! Used by the Turks to find some man so ugly that he has to wear a large fish helmet to protect himself - and others!"

"Gex was used by an ethnic group from Asia?" a confused Big asked Cream as he scratched his head, with Reno, Rude, and Elena slipping his mind. "Or is Turkey in Europe?"

"So when I encountered Mr. Superior on that fateful day, I said to him, 'put me in, coach!' Guess what he did? He put me in! I wanted in because I wanted redemption from those posers!"

"What about those three?" Tharja pointed at Funky Kong, Kicks, and Bandanna Waddle Dee, which was quite the eclectic squad that Gex had assembled. Quite frankly, Gex had a reason.

"Those three were recruited just so I could make them feel important. While their friends were off being great, these three have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for that opportunity! So I gave them that opportunity..."

"Actually, I joined Gex just to get out of town," admitted Kicks as he raised his hand...erm...paw. Or hand. Whatever you want to call his appendage. "See new places, meet new people, all that good stuff."

Kicks: I really wanted to get out more; selling shoes all day gets tedious after a while. From where I'm from, hardly any of the townsfolk even wear shoes!

"Gracia Divina! Cool it with the bickering!" shouted Dr. Hakim as he magically appeared in the presence of Tharja and company, with his hands over his nonexistent ears. "I can hear you even from far away."

"A talking magical book?!" squealed Henry, looking at Dr. Hakim wide-eyed as he aimed to make the talking book a part of his book collection. "I must claim him, or else!"

"My apologies - I thought that you were a bickering couple," Dr. Hakim apologized to Tharja and Gex, as he had been looking forward to settling some relationship drama. "You definitely gave off the vibe."

"None taken...whoever you are," responded Tharja, curious as to why she was speaking with a talking book with a Spanish accent all of a sudden. "Who even are you?"

"Glad you asked! I'm Dr. Hakim!" As he did with his previous introductions, Dr. Hakim strutted about oozing charisma with every step. "Worldwide best seller and an expert on love! I've helped many lovers out, including most recently Cloud and Aerith. A couple-to-be!"

"You don't say?" Funky Kong asked Dr. Hakim, grinning while scratching his chin; a stern look from Tharja wiped that smile completely off of Funky's face.

"Got some bad news about this...this couple-to-be," Tharja said to Dr. Hakim, feeling oddly uncomfortable about referring to Cloud and Aerith as a couple. Made Dr. Hakim raise an eyebrow in intrigue. "They've been kidnapped - doll-napped, I should say - by an evil jester."

"Ah, yes, them turning into dolls may have been my doing," admitted Dr. Hakim, crediting himself for Cloud and Aerith becoming dolls in the first place. "But take heart, my ninos! They can get out of this predicament together through love!"

"We believe you, hombre," Gex said to Dr. hakim, showing off his own Spanish tongue just to keep himself up to par with the talking book. "Guess this means that our..."

"This really means nothing," Tharja shut down Gex, leaving Dr. Hakim to wonder why the dark mage was being so testy. After seeing how many eyes were on her, Tharja regained her usual composure. "Can love truly save them, Dr. Hakim?"

"Of course, it will!" replied an optimistic Dr. Hakim, certain that love would guide Cloud and Aerith out of the clutches of evil. Love solves life's many problems. "But if love doesn't win outright...then perhaps an assist will."

Due to Dimentio's wandering nature, it was hard for the documentary crew to keep up with the jester. But several cameramen were able to reach Dimentio, who arrived at an abandoned house in Arcadia Bay.

"Knock, knock! It is I, Dimentio!" Dimentio shouted from behind the front door, while still having Cloud and Aerith in his possession. Neither Cloud nor Aerith was able to fight out of Dimentio's grasp. "I have returned, like an angsty ex wishing to rekindle with their lover!"

"You say that like you're speaking from experience," said the person that opened the door, Gnasty Gnorc - likely taking a break from instigating in Seattle. And from getting his butt kicked by Spyro.

"That...may or may not be true." Dimentio followed Gnasty inside the house, as Gnasty looked around before slamming the door and locking it. "Enjoying your week off so far, I presume?"

"Does feel weird not being in the Emerald City. On one hand, I want to screw over everybody at the mansion, but on the other hand...there's Spyro..."

"To be fair, none of us told you to cause mayhem at the mansion to prove your worth. That was your prerogative." Dimentio and Gnasty went inside the living room, where two of their allies awaited - Zant and Magolor, the latter of whom was using the laptop stolen back in episode 322.

"Haha, check this out!" Magolor said to Zant, laughing as he pointed at the screen; footage of the male Inkling dancing in a lamb costume was played. "It's a video of the male Inkling dancing."

"Pull the lid down...the leader is here," murmured Zant, as Magolor was quick to notice Dimentio in the living room hovering next to Gnasty. Magolor gasped as he closed the laptop.

"Greetings, gentlemen!" Dimentio greeted his fellow villains, who all focused their attention on the jester. When Dimentio spoke, people always listened regardless of affiliation. "Pains me to say, but I sadly do not have the bubbly. The police made me return the drinks I stole...and I conceded."

"Sounds very much unlike you," remarked Zant, only for Dimentio to snap his fingers as the bottles he stole from the liquor store appeared on the floor. "There it is. Had me afraid for a moment."

"Frightening people is what I do best. That's not all I have! Drumroll, please..." After Magolor did a brief drumroll by tapping on the laptop, Dimentio presented to everyone Cloud and Aerith. "...ta-da!"

"What's the big deal? Just some lousy dolls," said Gnasty, failing to see what the big fascination was. The Gnorc leaned in close to Cloud, tapping the swordsman lightly with his finger. "This one feels authentic, though."

"Don't touch my hair!" shouted Cloud; Gnasty retracted his head as he and the other villains were left in shock. "Also, you got some spit in my eye."

"As you can see, they're not regular dolls..." stated Dimentio, with Gnasty whipping out his hammer and wielding it. Just in case. "...they're Cloud and Aerith, turned into dolls! What are the odds?"

"What were the odds of you being in town..." As Cloud tried to squirm out of Dimentio's hands, Zant walked over to Dimentio to get a closer look at Cloud. "...oh, great. This guy."

"How nice to meet you, Cloud Strife," Zant said to the swordsman, speaking as if he was meeting Cloud for the first time ever. Which befuddled Cloud.

"Are you talking to me like that because I'm a doll?" Before Zant had a chance to answer his question, Cloud was snatched away from Dimentio by Magolor, who also snatched Aerith. "Put me down!"

"Cloud and Aerith, sittin' in a tree!" sang Magolor as he pressed Cloud and Aerith's faces together, making them smooch. He was enjoying every second of it. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Enough childish games," Dimentio said to Magolor, taking Cloud and Aerith away from him like a parent taking away a child's favorite toy. "This is a call for celebration! For we have not one, but two persons of value in our possession!"

"Indeed! Let's crack the bubbly!" exclaimed Gnasty, as he grabbed a bottle of alcohol and screwed off the top. The Gnorc was so strong that he didn't even need a can opener. After cracking the bottle open, Gnasty drank the bottle in one gulp.

"I do believe we have company," said Zant as he heard someone knocking on the door - must be a landlord looking to demolish the abandoned house. "You go answer the door, Gnasty - I'll open the rest of the bottles."

"You got it!" Tossing the empty bottle to the side, Gnasty went to the front door ready to tell off whoever was at the doorstep. He had no idea what to expect when he opened the door. "I'm sorry, but this house is..."

"Annyeong haseyo!" greeted a pink mech...but it wasn't the pink mech that was speaking to Gnasty. It was the person piloting it, D. Va. Recognizing the mech from when he got ambushed at the new Overwatch watchpoint, Gnasty gasped.

D. Va: So the jester I saw floating around town, that's Dimentio? Knew there was something fishy about him. I know he's made out of paper, but he looks so thin. I could make him a decal for my mech!

"Not you again! Go away!" Gnasty slammed the door on D. Va and looked around for any nearby furniture to board the door with. But with the house being abandoned, there was no furniture to be found.

"What is the problem, Gnasty Gnorc?" Dimentio approached the Gnorc, who was sweating in fear for he knew what D. Va was capable of doing when she had her mech. "You are wearing your fear quite well."

"She's here! She's going to destroy us all!" Gnasty was looking for a way to escape, turning his head in all sorts of directions. Dimentio failed to understand what had Gnasty so stricken with fear in the first place.

"Who's here? Let me see..." Dimentio hovered over to the front door, only for Gnasty to push him away. Gnasty was looking out for Dimentio's livelihood. "...whoever it is can't be that intimidating."

"Well, she's not intimidating, per se...but she can still kick our butt! We can't let her know that anyone's here, granted it's too late but..."

"BOOSTERS ENGAGE!" shouted D. Va as she crashed into the abandoned with her pink mech, leaving behind a gaping hole in the process. Dimentio and Gnasty were both ambushed, with Dimentio dropping Cloud and Aerith to the floor.

"You alright?" Cloud asked Aerith after the two landed, while D. Va went ham on the villains as she fired rockets at them. Magolor ducked behind Zant for cover, and Dimentio hid behind Gnasty who received the brunt of the rockets.

"Yeah, I'm fine," replied Aerith, as Cloud helped the flower girl up to her feet. Cloud and Aerith fired as D. Va fired away at the villains until Dimentio summoned a glass box that encased him and his compadres.

"Aw, now you're cheating!" whined D. Va as none of her rockets were able to penetrate the glass box's walls. Dimentio laughed as the flurry of rockets came to a stop. "Not fair!"

"All's fair in love and war," stated Dimentio, before noticing Cloud and Aerith trying to sneak away. "And speaking of love..." The jester snapped his fingers as he summoned a box that trapped the two friends, right before they stepped out through the front door.

"What love are you..." started D. Va, only to look down and spot Cloud and Aerith close to her feet. She would question why Cloud and Aerith were dolls, but something that came to mind made her gasp happily. "...don't tell me they're a couple!"

"People and their silly assumptions," Aerith smiled at Cloud, who was stone-faced and keeping silent as he chose to just let things play out. The cat was nearly out of the bag.

"We presume that they are a couple...we have the evidence to prove it," stated Dimentio, before giving a nod to Magolor; Magolor opened up the laptop, pulled up some footage, and turned the laptop towards D. Va.

"Check this out!" Magolor said to D. Va, who leaned in close as she saw footage of Cloud smooching Aerith outside the Arcadia Bay Bed and Breakfast. D. Va cooed as Cloud awkwardly looked away.

"Aw, how cute!" gleamed D. Va, who couldn't look away from the laptop as Magolor replayed the footage. With D. Va distracted, Dimentio snapped his fingers as the glass box encasing the villains vanished.

"Cloud, look!" Aerith shouted at the swordsman, bringing his attention to the glass box that was no longer over their heads. "Dimentio snapping his fingers made the box go away."

"Now, Gnasty...go for the kill!" Dimentio instructed the Gnorc, who wielded his hammer as he charged toward D. Va's pink mech. Gnasty let out a battle cry as he held his hammer up high...

...only for the left hand of the pink mech to extend and grab the hammer. Gnasty looked confused as he tried to take his hammer away, but to no avail because of the pink mech's grip.

"Did you honestly think that I would fall for that so easily?" D. Va asked the villains, throwing Gnasty to the floor with much force. "Time for a selfie!" Gnasty's eyes widened, for he knew what was coming next.

"SHE'S GONNA BLOW!" shouted Gnasty as he grabbed Dimentio, Zant, and Magolor, holding them tight as he had his back turned towards the soon-to-detonate pink mech. Talk about taking one for the team.

"Let's get outta here!" Cloud said to Aerith, grabbing the flower girl's hand as he ran out through the front door. Only had a few seconds to spare before the big explosion.

Spyro had flown to Arcadia Bay, with a "special package" that Mario wanted to deliver to Cloud. The purple dragon arrived in town with the package attached to his underbelly, touching down near the abandoned house that the villains occupied.

"Sure hope I'm in the right part of town," said Spyro, who detested doing any walking on foot. The purple dragon saw D. Va exit the abandoned house through the hole she made in the wall, before coming to a stop as she took her phone out for a selfie. "Hey, it's D. Va!"

As D. Va took her selfie, her pink mech exploded, causing the abandoned house to be destroyed in the explosion. Spyro flew over to D. Va, who checked her phone to see how the selfie turned out.

"Hi, Spyro!" D. Va greeted Spyro as she looked down after saving her selfie to her phone, kneeling down at Spyro and gently petting his head. "Sorry that you missed being in my selfie."

"It's cool, I'm not here to..." responded Spyro, only to come to a stop when he looked past D. Va and saw the villains standing in the rubble. Dimentio had summoned another glass box, which saved the villains from harm.

"How does he keep doing it?!" Gnasty groaned when he saw Spyro, who was glaring not only at him but the other villains. Most of his focus was on Zant, whom he remembered from the treaty.

"Hey! I remember you!" Spyro marched up to the villains and was speaking with Zant, giving the ruler of Twilight a small piece of his mind. "You're that Zant creep that Link was obsessing over. Mario even wanted to square up with you!"

"Dragon, I don't even know who you are," Zant said to Spyro, who could forgive the Twili since he barely had any interaction with him in 2019. "And I have never met Mario, to be painfully honest."

"Never met Mario? Ha! You actually believe that I would..." Spyro suddenly stopped speaking, as Dimentio held up his hand. Spyro grunted as he had a lot more he wanted to say.

"You may speak with Zant another time, Spyro...if I will allow it," Dimentio said to the purple dragon, as Zant summoned a Twilight portal behind him. "Since we've been compromised, we might as well get going."

"What's the matter? Too scared for a butt whoopin'? And why does he have a laptop?" Spyro saw that Magolor was holding a laptop, and Magolor was relieved that it remained in one piece.

"Beats me! Totally not like my former underling stole it from the mansion. Even comes with a network drive, too! I won't say anymore and let you figure out why that's so useful for us..."

"Useful for what?" Spyro watched as Dimentio quickly disappeared, making his grand exit with a literal last laugh as the glass box went away. "...hey!"

"Time to go, gentlemen," Zant said to Gnasty, as he led Gnasty and Magolor through the Twilight portal. Gnasty stopped and turned around as he looked at Spyro, with one foot through the portal.

"One day, I will turn the tables..." Gnasty vowed to Spyro, before finally going through the Twilight portal; the portal vanished once all three villains had gone through.

"Ha! Fat chance." Past history showed that no matter the circumstance, Spyro would always come out on top over Gnasty. "Wonder what a network drive is. Probably should ask Mario."

"Spyro, look! Look what I found!" D. Va shouted as she ran over to Spyro, holding Cloud and Aerith in her hands. "Saw these two dolls running away."

"Getting tired of being in someone's hands..." muttered Cloud, as D. VA held the swordsman and Aerith close to Spyro for the purple dragon to see. Seeing how Cloud was squirming, Spyro could tell that something was up.

"Cloud? Is that you?" Spyro asked the swordsman, almost wanting to laugh; for once, Spyro felt like the big guy compared to Cloud. "Kamek put a spell on you and Aerith?"

"If he did, then he'll hear it from me." All of a sudden something funny was happening with Cloud, as the swordsman felt a funny feeling in his body. The same feeling that he felt earlier at the liquor store. "Do you feel that, Aerith?"

The funny feeling continued to grow, as Cloud and Aerith were growing in size. D. Va dropped the two out of her hands, as Cloud and Aerith kept growing and growing - until they were back to being full-sized humans.

"Wow...these are the coolest dolls ever!" marveled D. Va, hilariously missing the point as Spyro smacked his forehead. Aerith was looking at her arms and legs, and Cloud was inspecting his torso, as the two friends were back to normal.

"Cloud! You're normal again!" Aerith said to the swordsman, so happy that she leaped into Cloud's arms. Cloud caught Aerith in the nick of time, surprised by Aerith's candor...and willingness to jump in his arms.

"You mean we're normal again," reaffirmed Cloud, as Aerith was so happy that she gave the swordsman a small kiss on his lips. Not knowing what had gotten over herself, Aerith sheepishly jumped down.

"Got too excited there, heh..." As Cloud and Aerith awkwardly tried to play off the kiss, Spyro and D. Va both smiled as they had front-row seats of the action.

"Fantastico! My plan worked like charm," exclaimed Dr. Hakim, whose random appearance at the scene startled the others. He sure had a knack for appearing at random locations.

"Oh great, it's the talking book..." groaned Cloud, who wanted to kick Dr. Hakim into the sky and over the horizon if he was in the mood for it. "...what was your stupid plan?"

"My plan was turning you both into dolls, to test the love you had for each other. To see if you were meant for one another. I can say without a doubt that you have passed with flying colors!"

"We didn't show any love...did we?" asked Aerith as she second-guessed herself, failing to recall any moment in the day when she and Cloud exhibited love.

"Your kiss in the abandoned house might've precipitated things, but Cloud rescuing you from destruction sealed the deal! It showed how much he cared for you, that he was willing to save your life."

"First off, that wasn't a kiss," Cloud clarified to Dr. Hakim, wondering just how much the talking book saw from a distance. Maybe Dr. Hakim was always there. "That was just Magolor rubbing our faces against each other. And me saving Aerith wasn't an act of love. It's called doing the right thing."

"I call it as I see it. Those were two acts of love, no questions asked. And since my work here is done, I must be off. Adios!"

His work done in Arcadia Bay, Dr. Hakim vanished into thin air, leaving nothing behind but a bunch of red roses. Everyone just stood around awkwardly, as if they had witnessed a collective fever dream.

"So, uh, Cloud...I got a package for you," Spyro said to the swordsman as he broke the awkward silence, bringing attention to the package strapped to his underbelly. "It's not much, but it's from Mario...so that's why it's not much."

"I can give you a ride back home," D. Va offered to Cloud and Aerith, tapping on her wrist tech as she called down a pink mech. "No touching the Doritos, though - they're all mine."

Aerith stayed at a small one-bedroom house in Arcadia Bay, while Cloud resided in the penthouse outside in the backyard. Spyro flew to the house along with D. Va, who was flying Cloud and Aerith in her pink mech.

"We have arrived!" announced Spyro as he and D. Va landed in the front yard; D. Va opened the hatch of her pink mech as she, Cloud, and Aerith got out.

"Surprisingly, that ride was absolutely painless," remarked Cloud, grateful that he made it back to the small house in one piece. D. Va eating chips during the ride made the swordsman wary.

Cloud: Yeah, I still suffer from motion sickness. I will say this - D. Va's piloting didn't make me feel any better.

"Now that we're home, show us that gift," Aerith said to Spyro as she bent down slightly at the purple dragon with her hands on her knees. The anticipation was killing her during the ride.

"This is only for Cloud," Spyro clarified to Aerith, as he used his mouth to cut apart the rope that tied the gift to his underbelly. Cloud picked up the gift, which was bundled in brown wrapping paper.

"'To Cloud, from Mario...and Tracer'?" Cloud read the note card on the package, before unwrapping the gift to see what was inside. To his surprise, he saw a few bags of mushroom-flavored coffee mix, it was an item that he had already previously owned.

"It's your translocator!" said Aerith, as Cloud saw a note wedged inside the translocator. Cloud pulled the note out and unfolded it, as he read it out loud:

Cheers, love! Here's your translocator back. It's been too much trouble for me. Sorry for stealing it.

Cheers again, Tracer

P.S.: The coffee is from Mario. He REALLY wants you to try some. So give it a try!

"She gave you back your translocator! How nice of her," D. Va smiled at Cloud, only for her smile to turn upside down when Cloud handed her the translocator. "Hm? You don't want it?"

"Tell Tracer that I don't need it anymore," Cloud said to D. Va, who wasn't sure what to think as she accepted the translocator from the swordsman. "Let her know I've got some priorities I need to keep in check." Cloud looked towards Aerith, who smiled in response.

"If that's what you wanna do, then so be it." D. Va tossed the translocator inside the pink mech, before hopping inside. "I'll see you later! Annyeong!" D. Va closed the hatch of her mech, and she took off into the skies.

"Mario told me that he misses your texts," Spyro said to Cloud, as he and the swordsman watched D. Va flying away. "But I doubt that you ever texted him."

"Never did," admitted Cloud before turning his head to Aerith, who was looking up at the sky. Cloud was stricken by Aerith's beauty. "Tell Mario not to text or call me unless it's an emergency, alright? An actual emergency."

"We're gonna have to redefine Mario's definition of what an actual emergency is...'cause there's a difference between a broken leg and burnt microwave popcorn. Who knows, maybe he'll get a clue."

Meanwhile, peeking from behind some shrubbery were Gex, Big, Cream, Tharja, Henry, Funky Kong, Bandanna Waddle Dee, and Kicks - the eight who were tasked with keeping watch of Cloud and Aerith.

"I'll be! Cloud and Aerith are back to being regular humans," stated Gex, as he considered today to be a rousing success. "They must feel like broads taking a shower at Beetlejuice's mansion."

"I cannot believe that we put our trust in a talking book..." grumbled Tharja, pressing her fingers against her forehead; now she had to acknowledge that love saved the day.

"He would be a fine book to have..." said Henry, smiling as he thought about the possible love hexes that he could place on others. A quick look from Tharja got the dark mage to stop fantasying.

"So I guess this means Cloud and Aerith know that we're on to them," said Big, although his constant appearances around Arcadia Bay had already made Cloud feel suspicious. Aerith, hardly at all.

"True, but we still have to keep the course," said Bandanna Waddle Dee, who was now on high alert after the events that had transpired today. "Who knows when or if Dimentio will return!"

"Right on, brotha!" exclaimed Funky Kong as he gave Bandanna Waddle Dee a high five, even though Waddle Dee didn't call for one. The gorilla smacked Bandanna Waddle Dee in the face, sending him on his back. "Whoops..."

Ashley was playing with her dolls in her room, and after she was done she put her dolls away. As the young witch opened her chest, about to place the Cloud and Aerith dolls back inside, she got a visit from Dr. Hakim.

"Good news, Ashley!" Dr. Hakim said to the young witch, "Cloud and Aerith have feelings for one another. They are in LOVE!"

"That's good," responded Ashley, who didn't even give Dr. Hakim a single iota of her attention as she placed the Cloud and Aerith dolls back inside the chest. "Now go away before I ask for a return."

"As you wish, young Ashley. Dr. Hakim, signing off! Hasta que nos encontremos de nuevo!" Dr. Hakim was now gone for good, vanishing as he left nothing but a bunch of roses in Ashley's room.

"Maybe that money wasn't horribly spent after all..." Ashley looked up momentarily as she reflected upon the news Dr. Hakim shared, before closing her chest. At least she was assured that Fox and Falco weren't pulling anyone's tail at that Star Records meeting.

Dr. Hakim wasn't done quite yet, for he had to make a quick pit stop at the mansion to check on Tifa. Tifa was in the dining room, eating whatever was left of the banana souffle with a spoon, as Dr. Hakim appeared on the dining room table.

"Tifa Lockhart, I have some good news...and some bad news," Dr. Hakim said to the martial artist, who was looking despondent as she stuffed a spoonful of the souffle into her mouth. "About Cloud and Aerith..."

"...yeah, I know," answered Tifa, as she did not wish to hear another word from Dr. Hakim. Knowing how Tifa must feel, Dr. Hakim sighed as he hopped down from the table and vanished for good.

"Who said that you could bother the souffle?!" Master Kohga boomed at an unresponsive Tifa as he marched inside the dining room. "I claimed dibs on the remaining bit!"

"Go and make your own souffle..." Tifa ate another spoonful of the souffle, as Master Kohga was taken back by Tifa's visible sadness and left the dining room without any trouble. Kohga was giving Tifa a pass - but just this once.

Ashley: It's true what they say: love never fails. Even says so in the bible. That said, I'm having a lot of buyer's remorse right now...
Skull Kid: You've read the bible before, Ashley? Color me shocked.
Ashley: Not another word... *points her wand at Skull Kid* ...play the theme song.
Skull Kid: *takes out flute, plays the Twilight Zone theme song*